Chapter Twenty-Eight – The newcomers

**“Adam. You awake yet?”** Devan’s voice sounded in his head, slowly dragging him out of the sleep. **“Alpha! You need to wake up!”** The voice became more persistent. **“Alpha!”** The voice shouted, finally dragging Adam out of the most pleasant sleep. Talia was still sleeping beside him, her back turned towards him and her curls sprawled all over the pillow.

**“Adam. Come on. You must come down. Now!”** Adam continued to nag, forcing Adam to action. With a yawn he stood from the bed, threw on some clothes he found on the floor and made his way downstairs to where Adam was standing.

“What did you wake me for?” Adam asked sleepily, not appreciating such a wake-up call. “This” Devan answered as he led the alpha outside to where several dozen people of all shapes, sizes and colors were camped out.

“What is this?” Adam asked. His eyes scanned the area, trying to find a familiar face. He found none. “Where did they all come from?” He continued to ask as Devan waved forward one of the females in front. She was a tall woman, with pale skin and raven black hair.

“This is… I’m sorry, I forgot your name” Devan turned to the woman, speaking in English. So the woman wasn’t local, or even from the same country as them. “Marjatta” The woman introduced with a Finnish accent. “We came because a friend told us this was a safe place” She continued.

Adam took in the woman once more. Up close he could see the dark rings under her eyes, how her clothes were ripped here and there. She looked like she had been traveling on foot through a rather uninviting area.

“A friend? Who? Is this friend here?” Adam asked. The woman shook her head. “No, she had to go. But she told me to give you this” Marjatta held out a piece of paper, it was ripped at the edges and folded in half. Adam took it and folded it out from him and Devan to read.

*‘Sorry for the lack of warning. Didn’t know where else to send them. N.’*

Devan and Adam eyes one another, both reading the little note once more.
“Didn’t you say Nadine was in Finland?” Adam asked, remembering the conversation they had just a few days ago. “Yes. I never got a hold of her though. You don’t think?” Devan let the question linger in the air as they took in the crowd, Adam counting as Devan tried to arrange for sleeping accommodations with Monica.

“Is something wrong?” Marjatta asked as the men continued to stand in front of her in silence, their eyes darting back and forth between her and the people standing behind her. They had nowhere else to go, this was their last hope.

“No, no of course not. We’re just trying to figure out the logistics” Adam answered her, putting forward a welcoming smile. “It’s not often you wake up finding 37 people on your lawn” Adam continued.

“We have a couple of empty huts that families can reside in. There should be a few empty rooms in the house for those who don’t like to share. But we have to get some tents as well, some of you have to sleep outside” Devan said.

“Oh, that’s more than fine. We’ve been sleeping under the stars for a long time now. Some of us have traveled for much longer than others” Marjatta visibly relaxed, her shoulders no longer tense, and her lips curled up into a smile.

“Is everyone from other countries in Europe?” Adam wondered. “Mostly yes. But there are some from Asia, as well as a couple of Norwegians we met at the border” Marjatta answered. “And none of us are rogues, I can tell that you’re wondering. We’ve all shared the same faith, shun from our pack because we didn’t fit in with the ideal. Or disagreed with the alpha” Marjatta’s smile turned into a frown. There was so much suffering in the world it broke her heart.

“Well, you’re safe here. As long as no one tries to attack any member of my pack, leave the people in town alone and just don’t stir up any problem you’re all welcome to stay for as long as you’d like” Adam believed in helping those less fortunate, and he was not about to turn away any of these people unless they gave him a valid reason.

“Thank you. She was right, out mutual friend. She said you were a good and kind Alpha who had his heart in the right place” Marjatta gave him a low bow before turning to her group with a smile on her face, telling everyone they could stay.

The group gave out a mix of loud cheers and sighs in relief. The whole area smelled was cleared of any sense of fear and worry. It was the worst scent in the world, Adam was glad to be rid of it.

“So, Monica will be with us shortly to help everyone get settled. Devan, can you send Dimitri and Filip to go into town to buy some tents? Preferably large enough to fit two and four people. And…” Adam paused as a familiar sent hit his nose, waking Damir up from his slumber.

“What’s going on?” Talia stood in the doorway, her hair messy and only wearing one of Adam’s t-shirts. She was using one hand to shield her eyes from the sun who was poking over the treetops, and the other was rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

“I’m gonna go help Marjatta and Monica get this all set up. And find out if there are any, Goddess forbit, orphans among them” Devan took his leave, joining Marjatta as she walked into the group of people, talking to her and others as they walked.

“So, we’re taking in about 37 new wolves today” Adam explained to Talia, who in turn looked at him with bewilderment. “Well, that’s very kind of you. But, why?” Talia looked over at the group, they all looked exhausted and overjoyed at the same time.

“They need refugee from something and someone. I don’t really know all their story yet, but…” He showed her the piece of paper, making Talia look even more confused than before. “So, who is N and why here?” She asked, sounding a bit more against the idea than she intended. “I mean – yeah, why?”

“My best guess in Nadi. Marjatta over there” Adam pointed to Marjatta where she walked around with Devan. “She’s from Finland. Last we heard; Nadi was in Finland. Which makes no sense considering who she works for, but I’m not gonna get into the details of that. Any way – Nadi sent them here because she believed they would be safe her. The nearest camp just went up into flames a few days ago, the same night you called actually”

“Camp Čárajávri” Talia said thoughtful. “I considered to stop by there – but I had this feeling it was a bad idea, so I just kept on walking” The universe had saved her from some very horrific scenes.

“Yes, so she sent them here. And you know me, I don’t turn away people” Adam had built this pack, the Northern Moon, from the ground up with welcoming wolves who were not wanted anywhere else. It was his whole idea, creating a safe place and a pack for anyone who needed it.

“And you’re sure…” Talia trailed off as she wrapped her arms around herself, a small shiver going down her spine. Adam could sense her worry and wrapped her in his arms, hugging her tight. He got why she worried about rogues and wolves she didn’t know.

“Marjatta says so, and I have no reason to not trust her. But if anyone tries to hurt you, or anyone else I care about…” He didn’t need to finish; they both knew what would happen. Adam rarely resolved to violence, but when he first did, he could easily protect both himself and everyone he cared for.

“And I have your back, in case anyone wants to try stab you in the back” Talia assured, making him smile. He might be an alpha to be considered, but Talia was a force to be reconned with.

“I’m still amazed that Xavier could still get up after being thrown out of that window” Adam gave her a warm smile, and she returned with nudging him in the shoulder with his fist, a big grin wide on her lips. “I went easy on him” She confessed with a chuckle. “And you know – he kind of saved my life, and he heals people, it didn’t seem right to injure him too badly” She added, making Adam shake his head while still looking fondly at her. She was something else entirely.

“If you two lovebirds are done eyeing each other I could use some help over there!” Monica called from the side of the house. She had exited from the back of the house, her hands full of towels and soap.

“We should go help” Adam said before drawing Talia in for a kiss, enjoying the feeling of her soft lips pressed against his.

“Today please!” Monica continued. She was the only one Adam allowed to boss him around, she was like a mother to him, and he would let her treat him like a son for as long she wanted.

“Coming!” Adam shouted back before releasing Talia. “I’ll just go find some more clothes” Talia said as she went back into the house while Adam turned to help Devan, Monica and the other wolves that had come out to help make a plan and get the new wolves settled.