Page 156 of The Hyena’s Guardian

“You disappeared into an ancient supernatural prison for two days,” Mac replied. “You’re lucky Melvin hasn’t physically attacked you yet.”

“That still feels possible.”

“It remains possible,” Melvin confirmed.

Theron stood several feet away through most of the exchange, watching with the uncertainty of someone who did not yet know where he fit inside something this openly close. Mac noticed first.

The Alpha’s attention shifted toward Theron fully then, steady and assessing without carrying even a trace of hostility beneath it. Wind moved quietly through the grass between them while the late sunlight caught against the porch railing behind Mac’s shoulders.

For a moment nobody spoke.

Then Mac stepped forward. “Welcome to Colorado,” he said simply.

The sincerity behind the words moved through the space between them.

Theron held his gaze for a long moment before inclining his head once. “Thank you.”

Melvin stepped forward next without hesitation. “You’re taller than I expected.”

Matt barked out a startled laugh.

Theron looked genuinely caught off guard. “That was your first observation?”

Melvin shrugged lightly. “I spent the last two weeks hearing about you from Matt. I expected at least one terrifying immortal wolf guardian situation.”

Matt looked offended. “I was not that dramatic.”

Mac and Melvin both looked at him.

Theron considered that briefly before nodding once. “He was significantly more dramatic than he currently believes.”

“Oh wow,” Matt muttered. “This betrayal is escalating rapidly.”

Melvin laughed softly before stepping closer and offering his hand toward Theron without hesitation.

The older wolf paused only briefly before taking it.

The gesture itself was simple, but Theron still found himself caught off guard by how easily it was offered. There was no fear in Melvin’s expression, no guarded caution, and no expectation that Theron needed to prove himself worthy of standing there. The acceptance felt immediate and uncomplicated in a way Theron still had not fully learned how to trust.

From the look in Melvin’s eyes afterward, the panther shifter seemed to understand that too.

Matt watched the realization move quietly across Theron’s expression before the older wolf looked back toward the house again. Warm light spilled softly through the windows while the scent of food drifted faintly through the cooling mountain air. The easy familiarity between Mac and Melvin, combined with the complete absence of fear or suspicion directed toward him, stirred something complicated inside Theron’s chest.

The idea of home still felt distant enough that he did not fully know how to trust it yet, but for the first time in centuries, it no longer felt impossible either.

Mac seemed to recognize exactly what Theron was struggling to process.

“You don’t have to figure everything out tonight,” he said calmly. “You already survived the hard part.”

Something about hearing that from another Alpha hit differently. Theron lowered his eyes briefly before nodding once. Then Matt took his duffel and led him inside, where dinner turned into controlled chaos almost afterward.

Matt should have expected that.

At some point Marcus and Diaz arrived carrying enough beer and takeout containers to feed an army despite Melvin already cooking for half the state of Colorado. Marcus nearly dropped an entire tray of food when he walked into the kitchen and found Theron standing beside the refrigerator studying the magnets attached to it with visible suspicion.

“Oh hell,” Marcus said. “He’s real.”

Theron looked toward him calmly. “That is generally how existence functions.”