"Jayce!"

The young man being called for turned and smiled widely as a preteen girl rushed towards him, bending over a little (less than he did their last visit, he notes) to hug her tight.

"Hey there, Kaitlyn. How was the trip into the woods?" he asked as they separated and he got a good look at her. It had been about six months since she had last been able to visit, having come for the span between Christmas and New Year's last. "How are Mom and Dad?"

Kaitlyn shrugged. "They're the same as always. If Granpa didn't basically demand I come by for a few weeks in the summer I think they would have had me at this summer camp they found already, and I think I'm still going to have to go once I go back."

"Is it not the same one from last year?"

"I don't think so, not from the way Mom was talking." Kaitlyn wrapped her arms around herself and chewed on her lip some. "I think it's one of those religious camps. Mom has been going to this church for a while, since a bit before the school year started. Dad doesn't go and seems to ignore a lot of what she says about it, but I don't like some of it."

Jayce had been afraid their mom would start looking for a way to explain why his existence was a sin. She wasn't a shifter but their father was, and given Kaitlyn was nearly thirteen and showed no signs of having a Change she likely wouldn't be one either. It probably made their mom try extra hard now to find a way to separate the two of them further.

"I'll see if Gramps can talk to her." He was her father so while it was a longshot, he did have the right to say something. If Kaitlyn would Change, he'd have even more say in what would happen to her as the Alpha of the pack their Dad was in. "In the meantime, Casey and Karey are going to meet us out at the lake later."

"Isn't tonight a full moon? Won't you need to get ready to go on the run?"

"Not tonight." Jayce walked to the door where Kaitlyn had dropped her suitcase when she saw him in the cabin. They moved through the large mansion of a cabin to the upper floor where they both had rooms here and took the bag into hers. "I asked Gramps to stay here tonight. I don't get a lot of time with you, and I only have tonight and tomorrow off work."

Jayce worked at a local mechanics shop, mostly running the front but learning the trade when there's time. He was also in school for mechanical engineering, taking mostly online courses. The local college tried to accommodate shifters as much as they could with courses, but available teachers meant that he tended to have most of his classes online with the odd semester having a class on campus.

Kaitlyn dug out her swimsuit and a sundress that she held up and turned to Jayce. "Do you think Karey would approve?"

"I don't know, Katie, but I'd think so," he told her with a grin and a chuckle. "You know I don't understand clothes and stuff."

His sister giggled and pushed him from the room. "I'll just ask her at the lake then."

"Good idea. I'll wait for you downstairs."

Twenty minutes later, the siblings were getting in Jayce's Jeep and heading off in the direction of the lake to meet up with his friends, fraternal twins Casey and Karey, who had stuck by him ever since the three were in elementary school. When his First Change happened and he chose to transition to match his wolf, they didn't change their minds about him and just kept on being his friends even as some of his other friends ostracized him.

The trip was less than fifteen minutes, and Kaitlyn filled the whole time with teen gossip about the drama that was happening amongst her peers at school. Jayce listened carefully, but he had no idea who any of the people she was talking about even were. He recognized names and the continuation of some of the drama from before winter break, but that was about all he really kept up with during the drive.

The twins had beaten them there, both standing near Casey's truck jostling each other playfully about something. It was tempting to tap into his wolf to listen in, but Jayce wasn't comfortable with that for such a superficial reason.

Kaitlyn got out of the car and immediately ran to Karey, her favorite person, and started talking to her about her dress and then about several of the same pieces if gossip Jayce had just been exposed to in the Jeep. Unlike him though, Karey knew who she was talking about and asked relevant questions about each bit Kaitlyn told her.

"Girls, right?" Casey joked as he stood next to Jayce, who just chuckled. "Wanna go ahead and get in the lake while it's still daylight? I've got the fire supplies in the bed of the truck for when the sun starts sinking."

Knowing the girls like he did, Jayce definitely didn't mind and pulled off his shirt to toss it over the side of the truck bed. He kicked off his shoes next to the tire and waited for Casey to be ready. Karey, seeing them getting ready to swim, stopped Kaitlyn's stories and pointed it out.

"I think the boys are ready to swim. What about you?" she asked, motioning towards her brother and Jayce who were now flexing a little before they stood next to each other and counted down to race to the lake, jumping off the old dock that they'd been fixing for years together to jump into the water. Jayce had been first, his shifter body being a little more suited to running and being slightly stronger than a human.

"Oh!" Kaitlyn exclaimed, completely forgetting she was in the middle of a gossip session and working on taking off her sundress. Karey also slipped off her shorts and tank top and slipped off her sandals. The two of them walked to the lake instead, and Karey told the teen a little about some of the new things that have popped up in their small town.

"They're talking about signing on with an amusement park company to have one between here and the city. I'm assuming the city is also involved some, but the pack had to be included too since there's a lot of land between them that belongs to the local pack." Despite not being shifters, the twins were usually involved enough with the pack due to Jayce that they were usually clued in on most of the pack news. "If everything gets signed in the next few months, we may be able to go check it out during one of your visits the next year or two."

"That would be so cool!" the teen exclaimed.

They walked into the lake, Karey relieved to he in the cooler water after being in the sun and warming up a bit too much waiting for Jayce and Kaitlyn. The teen, however, took a bit longer to adjust to the cool water.

The boys swam over as they were getting in, and soon enough the four of them were swimming, splashing, and playing in the water. As the sun started to sink beneath the tops of the trees in the area, Casey got out to set up the fire and Kaitlyn, a little tired from the play, got out to help him.

"She's getting older so fast," Jayce muttered as he floated next to Karey, eyes closed as he enjoyed the last of the sun hitting them. He was unaware of Karey watching him as she floated alongside him. "Makes me feel old every year I see her."

Karey chuckled. "We aren't old. You've got a decade on her, that's all."

When Jayce Changed and his parent learned that he was going to transition his human body to match the wolf, they were so angry and eventually moved from pack territory to the city and left Jayce with his grandfather. It wasn't long after that they learned his mother was pregnant again, wanting to replace the child that they abandoned. He didn't see them outside of pack activities, but even during those they avoided him.

"Eleven years older," he muttered.

"Close enough."

They floated quietly until Casey hollered that the fire was ready and swam back to the beach. They got out hot dogs and s'more ingredients, just warming up and drying by the fire as the air cooled from the sun going down. Eventually Kaitlyn put her dress back on and Karey put on her shorts. Jayce was warmer than the others as a shifter so he stayed in just his swim trunks a little ways from the fire while Casey was sat closer as he taught Kaitlyn how to roast hot dogs safely.

"How long is she staying?" Karey asked Jayce as they watched her brother with his sister.

"A week. I'll spend tomorrow with her, probably take her into town. She likes the diner, thinks it's really retro."

"It is kinda retro with the design, very 60s and 70s."

Jayce chuckled. "I know. I just don't think of it like that, I guess. It's what we grew up with as a hang out. Well, and here for us and the pack."

"We have a couple new places in town now. There's some kind of rec center that just opened up about a mile north on the way to the city," Karey pointed out. "Casey and I were going to check it out tomorrow afternoon, around 2. It's supposed to have an arcade and laser tag, plus some other things."

"I'll ask Katie about it tomorrow. She really wants breakfast at the diner, but knowing her it'll be closer to lunch when we make it to town."

"Just text me if you are going to join us."

They stayed for another two hours before they packed up everything and made sure the fire was safely put out. The twins drove off first, heading home in the town that was up against pack property and where they all met and went to school together. Once they were driving off, Jayce and Kaitlyn got in the Jeep so they could head back as well.

Their grandfather was home when they got back, and when they went inside they found him sitting up with a wildlife magazine waiting for then.

"Granpa!" Kaitlyn exclaimed as she ran over and practically tackled him. He didn't look as old as he was, a benefit of being a shifter. Their lifespan wasn't that much longer than a humans, but shifters tended to age better since they were more active and stayed healthy. Not all if them, but it was the more usual side effect of the Change.

"Hello, Katie," Keagan greeted, tossing aside his magazine and hugging her tight. "It's so good to see you."

Kaitlyn then started to tell him what they did at the lake, and then some of what she'd been up to since her winter break. He listened raptly, though he Jayce knew he wasn't sure who some of the people Kaitlyn mentioned were. Not that his sister cared, she just wanted to share her life with them and was happy that they listened to her.

Jayce interrupted her at one point after a wide yawn. "Sorry, but I'm going to shower and get to bed. Leave a list on the table if you need anything from town, Gramps. We might be spending most of the day there tomorrow."

"I'm going to the city anyway," Keagan told him quietly. "If we need anything then I'll get it while I'm there."

There wasn't a reason for his grandfather to go into the city except for his parents, Kaitlyn, or medical care so far as Jayce knew. And as far as he knew, his grandfather was healthy as any wolf. While it worried him, he decided that if it was something serious then he'd be told about it and let the concern take a backburner in his mind.

"See you in the morning, Katie."