Lady and the Wolf [Book One, Lady and the Wolf Series] -Published-

Chapter Ten: The Return

He hated flying. Between the screaming children — why they allowed children in first class was beyond him — and his mother's constant complaints, he wondered if going full frontal lycanthrope on the plane would be a good escape to this otherwise hellish experience.

Aiden seemed to be doing quite splendidly with that little iPod thing he had blasting into his ears. The rest of the world appeared to be just a distant figure whenever Aiden would listen to that trash. To any other passenger, the music that vibrated through his earphones was just a soft murmur, but to Van and any other shifter, it was like a bass loudspeaker at a concert placed right beside your ear. He wondered how the pup could tolerate that torture.

"Attention passengers, we'll be landing at Domodedovo International Airport in approximately thirty minutes. Please fasten your seatbelts, and I hope you enjoyed flying with Delta Airlines."

Aleksandra sighed. "Thank God, I couldn't bear another moment on this God-forsaken human contraption. Aiden?"

Her attention soon turned to her grandson. With a swift hand, she yanked the earphones out of Aiden's ears. The wolf pup seemed to be in a state of shock for a moment. Aleksandra smiled.

"It's rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you, boy."

Van sighed. It looked as if Aiden had no idea what he was in for with this woman.

Let the torment begin... Van thought disdainfully as the plane began its decent.

*******

His Lycan was already calling out with an emotion he had never felt before. The beast inside him knew where he was, the place Van was born. Although Van himself was not a person who felt excitement or joy or was even overly eager for such trivial matters, he still felt almost happy to be back in the place he had once called home.

Aiden looked lost as he, Van and Aleksandra moved into the Mercedes limousine Van had specially imported years before. Even now, in the many years he had been absent from his homeland, it still carried the scent of memories long lost.

"Van! It has been a while," came a cheery, gruff voice from the front of the limo. His English was still rough but understandable, nonetheless.

Van knew this voice well and chuckled. "Ivan, how have you been?"

The red wolf grinned cheekily, a sharp pointed fang just overlapping his lower lip as he did so. His sharp Russian accent made it almost impossible for Aiden to even understand him, so the young pup simply gazed quizzically between the driver and his uncle.

"I've been well, sir. The house is so alive today! Everyone's glad to have you back home." The grin never left his boorish face. "And who might this young pup be?"

Aiden knew he was being referred to when the Russian wolf's eyebrow raised and his bright blue eyes seemed to avert directly onto the boy.

Van was in the middle of a much-needed stretch and answered, rather casually, just as he cracked his neck. "Aiden, my nephew," he grunted.

Whenever he returned home, it was as if a hundred blocks of steel had been relieved from his shoulders. He felt free to relax. Maybe that was why he rarely returned to his homeland. The more comfortable he became, the more he felt obliged to stay.

Ivan leaned over the front seat to shake the boy's hand, but his effort of kindness was quickly diverted as Aleksandra slapped his hand away.

"Drive, Ivan. It was so sticky hot on that damn plane that I now need a bath," she snapped with a rigid expression playing on her aged face.