Sophie

I walk downstairs, seeing that everyone is still buzzing about the party tonight. Everyone loves my sister. She's sweet and kind and as her younger sister, I would know. She's never been mean or catty to me or anyone. She's one of the kindest women I've ever met. I just hope that her mate recognizes what a gem she is.

I'm sure he will. And if she's lucky, he'll be an Alpha. That will make her a Luna and she can show that pack all the kindness that she has shown ours.

After sending trays of food up to my mother and sister and eating my own breakfast, I go in search of my father. Because I'm his daughter, I usually don't knock on his office door unless I know he has company. I lean my ear against the door and when I don't hear anything, I open the door to find my father with his head in his hands. I can smell the scent of scotch and I see an empty glass beside him on the desk.

"Dad, is everything okay?" I ask, worried. First my mother, now my father.

His head snaps up as he looks at me.

"Soapy, I didn't hear you come in," he says, snatching the glass off his desk and putting it in the drawer along with the bottle sitting beside him.

Soapy. It's what my sister called me when I was born. My father loved it and never dropped the nickname, regardless of how many times my mother scolded him for using it.

"Why do you look so worried, Dad? Isn't today a good day?"

"Of course, sweetheart," he says, standing to walk over to me and hugging me.

My parents have always been very protective. No matter how many friends we had, we were never allowed to participate in their 18th birthday parties. That's another reason I'm so excited for tonight. I've never actually seen anyone find their mate before. Well, I have within the pack, but usually you can tell who will be mated to whom. They start spending time together before they turn 18, like they are feeling the bond before it completely forges. Then, on the 18th birthday of the youngest of the two, they yell 'MATE' and rush into each other's arms. It's very romantic.

But I've never seen a ranked member find their mate. All ranked members have parties like Amelia's, or at least, I assume they are like Amelia's. I've never been to one. No matter how much I begged and pleaded, I was never allowed. Amelia either. So, today is extra exciting for us.

"Is something wrong with the party? Do you need help?" I ask.

"No, honey," he says, looking at his watch. "Look at the time. You should go start getting ready."

My father's voice remains sad, even though he pastes a smile on his face.

"If you need anything, let me know," I say, as he leads me to the door of his office.

"What I need is for my Soapy to go get ready for her sister's party."

"Okay, Dad," I say.

The rest of the afternoon, I get ready. Our omegas put my long chocolate colored hair into an intricate half-up half-down hairdo. They put just a bit of makeup on my face, to 'enhance my natural beauty', as they say. Since Amelia is the guest of honor, I'll be greeting our guests with my parents as they arrive, so I have to be done earlier than she does.

However, I want to see my sister all dressed up before everyone else does. As her sister, I think I deserve a sneak peak of how beautiful she is. My sister's hair is a lighter shade of brown than mine is. Where my hair is straight, hers has a natural curl and the omegas have enhanced that. She's stunning.

"Amelia! You look gorgeous!" I say, walking into her room.

"Thanks, Sophie. You look great as well," my sister says.

"Oh Amelia. I'm so excited for you! Tonight is going to be perfect," I tell her.

"I hope so, Soph. I really do."

"Well, he'll get one look at you and there's no way he'd ever reject you. You look like a princess."

"Thank you."

'Sophie, the first cars are arriving, where are you?' my mother asks me in the mind link.

'Coming, mother,' I say.

"I have to go. I'll see you down there."

My sister holds on to my hand as if she wants to say something as I pull away. I stop, turning to look at her, seeing the indecision on her face.

"I love you, Soph."

"I love you too!" I say, moving out of her room and heading downstairs. I put a smile on my face as I walk out the front door of the packhouse to begin greeting our nearly 200 guests.

Hunter

"Hey, what time are we leaving to head to the Alpha's daughter's party?" Lucas, my Beta, asks.

"Do you mean what time are we heading over to Alpha Carter's party? Or do you mean what time are we heading over to Alpha Amelia's party?" I ask my Beta, my tone sharp. "They have names. You should know them and use them."

It's an uncalled for response and I know it, but I hate these parties. How any Alpha can find his mate and then share their first encounter with everyone in the room is beyond me. If anyone were to see my mate like that, I'd kill them. I don't care if that meant I had to decimate every pack in this world. I don't share. Never have, never will.

"Come on, Alpha. You know I didn't mean it like that. It's the way it is," Lucas says.

"Maybe it shouldn't be the way it is. We consider ourselves an advanced species from the humans and yet they ended this ridiculous practice centuries ago."

I turn, looking at my Beta. "Do you really not care that every man in the room will watch you sleep with your mate on her first night? You don't care that they'll see her in some stage of undress? You're willing to share the woman the Moon Goddess chose only for you with every lecherous man in the room?"

"Geez, Alpha, when you say it like that, it sounds creepy. There are ways to make sure she's covered. I'm not like some of those losers who strip their mate down and bend her over so the men get a front row view of him taking her as she sobs her heart out. I wouldn't do that."

"Yeah? So, it's better that you're covering her body, but she can still see the room full of men behind you watching her as you pump into her?" I growl.

"What has gotten into you?" he asks me.

"I refuse to do that to my mate. The bond is supposed to be sacrosanct, and this forced act of a public mating does not fall in line with that. There is nothing about it that is sacred and don't tell me that those males don't get off watching that poor woman get claimed in front of them." By the time I finish speaking, I'm snarling.

"I don't know what to tell you, Alpha. You know that our pack, no pack, will accept your Luna if you don't claim her publicly.

I do know. It's why I'm glad that I haven't found my mate yet.

My sister was older than I am. After her public claiming, she told me how horrible it was for her, how she could never trust her mate to care for her after that. She practically begged me to never mistreat my mate like that. I loved my sister, and I was devasted when she jumped off a cliff high enough to ensure she wouldn't survive. When the packhouse doctor examined her to find out if she was pushed, he confirmed that she was pregnant with a female pup, and I knew exactly why she did it. She refused to allow her daughter to go through what she went through.

I have no intention of ever putting my mate through that. My sister was a strong woman, an Alpha female, and it was more than she could bear. If I ever do find my mate, and goddess willing I won't, but if I do, I won't mate her in front of a room full of onlookers. I won't be the reason that my mate can't ever trust me or worse, would prefer to end her life than live with me.

So, unlike my Beta, I have no desire to go to this party. If for some reason this girl is my mate, I will refuse to mate her in front of everyone. If she's not, I have no desire to watch her public claiming.

However, I am an Alpha. An Alpha who was invited to this Alpha female's birthday party and on the off chance that she is my mate, I'm going. I refuse to allow anyone else to try and claim my mate.

So, once we're ready, Lucas and I get in the car and head to Alpha Carter's pack lands. I drive because I need something to occupy my mind, something other than the possibility of what will happen tonight. When we arrive, I park in the already packed parking area and Lucas and I begin making our way to the packhouse.

When we get closer, I see Alpha Carter, his mate, Luna Amy, and a young she-wolf. I lift my nose in the air and realize that this female is a juvenile, not Alpha Amelia. However, she has the scent of the family so she must be a younger sister.

When we step up, I greet Alpha Carter and Luna Amy before turning to the young wolf. I feel a strange pull to her.

"What is your name, pup?" I ask her.

Her chin juts up and I smile at her defiance. "You're not that much older than I am, Alpha. And my name is Sophie."

"My apologies, Alpha Sophie," I say, taking her hand, then leaning over and kissing it. "I meant no offense."

Alpha Carter growls at me. "Sophie, as you stated, is underage Alpha."

I turn and look at him. "I meant no harm, Alpha."

I hold his gaze until he nods, recognizing that I wasn't trying to be inappropriate with this young female. It makes me wonder who may have tried something with her already tonight. It's not wise of Alpha Carter to let her stick around if her sister finds her mate. The males become randy and depending on how the male claims his mate, the process can put the ranked males into rut. Based on the look he's giving me, he's dreading tonight more than I am.

I step inside and see that the festivities are already going. There are several she-wolves in attendance who will provide an outlet to the randy males if the need arises. I don't participate in those activities either. The entire process pisses me off. As I look around, I realize that every male here is hoping to get laid tonight, one way or another. It angers me. This innocent girl is celebrating her 18th birthday and instead of being the sweet party it was meant to be, it's already feeling more about the ranked males in attendance than it is about the birthday girl.

There are a couple of Alphas here who aren't falling into the craze of excitement and those are the ones I migrate to. I get a drink and go stand beside the four Alphas who are watching as the excitement in the room increases.

In some instances, even after the male identifies the female as his mate, they wait to complete their claiming until after dinner. I see that this girl's parents, her name is Amelia, are hoping that if she finds her mate, that he'll at least give her the time through dinner to get to know him.

"I can't decide if I want her to be my mate or not," Alpha Calvin says.

"I hope she's mine. There aren't a lot of pure Alphas left in our area. Amelia and her sister are the last two local Alpha females in this generation," Alpha Dutton says.

"The energy in this room is getting so thick you could cut it with a knife," Alpha Robin says.

"They make me forget that we've supposedly evolved from the wolves that give us our strength," Alpha Kayce says.

As I sip my drink, Alpha Carter comes back inside and announces that everyone should move to the back room. We all move as instructed. I notice the younger sister, Sophie, standing off to the side, practically bouncing on her toes.

My wolf, Shaw, nudges me to go stand beside her.

'Shaw, what's up?'

'I want to protect that girl. I like her.'

That's unusual. He usually doesn't pay a lot of attention at these things. For him, there's nothing wrong with mating in front of everyone. In fact, he thinks it ensures that everyone knows that she is yours. However, he recognizes that the human side of our psyche doesn't agree with this. He doesn't fight me in my argument for claiming our mate publicly. At least, he hasn't so far, but we haven't found her yet either.

I move closer to where Sophie is watching the stairwell, waiting for her sister. The room has gone quiet. I step behind her, blocking the other males from getting too close to her. Her mother, Luna Amy, is standing beside her and she turns, glaring at me until she sees who it is. I realize that Shaw must have felt the inappropriate excitement of the other males in the room. If Ameilia isn't their mate, Sophie is the next best choice.

I nod at Luna Amy, letting her know that I mean no harm to her daughter. She seems to understand, turning back to watch her oldest daughter walk down the stairs.

I know immediately that her mate is here. The question is, which one of these males is it. I follow her gaze as Calvin pushes forward in front of the others.

"Mate," he says quietly, and I realize earlier that he had already smelled her. He knew Amelia was his mate and he had been watching the other males in the room get excited about watching him claim her tonight.

"Mate," Amelia says, a tentative smile on her face. Because I'm standing so close to Sophie and her mother, I see the fearful look Amelia gives her mother. At her mother's subtle nod, Amelia finishes walking down the stairs to Calvin.

Of all the Alphas here, Amelia could do much worse than Calvin. Of course, that may not matter. If my sister is any indication, the night of the marking and mating could set a bad tone for the rest of their lives.

We all watch as Calvin gently leans in and kisses his mate. Her cheeks turn a delicate shade of pink. She waits, obviously knowing that Calvin will decide the pace for the rest of the evening.

"Alpha Carter," he says, turning to Amelia's father. "Let's have dinner."

I see the tension drop off of Luna Amy's shoulders. Sophie seems oblivious to what will happen later tonight, but Calvin is doing the best he can with the laws of our kind. He's giving Amelia time to get to know him.

He escorts her to the dining room and the rest of us file in. I reach out my arm to Sophie. "May I escort you to your table, Alpha Sophie?" I ask her as Alpha Carter comes up to escort his mate into the dining hall. The two of them seem to be having a private conversation and aren't paying attention to me and Sophie.

"Thank you, Alpha Hunter. You're very kind," she says, taking my arm. Shaw seems pleased that she knows my name.

"How old are you, Alpha Sophie?" I ask her.

"I'm sixteen, Alpha. I still have a couple of years before it's my turn to find my mate. I'm so happy for Amelia. Do you know Alpha Calvin?"

"I do. He's a good man, a good Alpha."

"Amelia is the sweetest, kindest woman I've ever met. I hope he appreciates what a wonderful Luna and mate she will be for him," she says, making my heart hurt even more.

As we walk into the dining hall, the other ranked members in the room become bold and begin chanting, "Mark, Mark, Mark!"

I see Amelia go pale and Calvin turns and snarls at the others in the room. "If you don't like the pace of the evening, feel free to leave."

That shuts everyone up quickly. I can see Sophie's confusion at what is going on. I know that for my sister, she was protected from all of this until she was nearly of age. Apparently, Sophie is the same. I'm thankful that Amelia, at least, seems to understand what will happen this evening.

I walk Sophie to the table with her parents, Amelia, and Calvin, tucking her into her chair and nodding at Calvin, before going to find my seat.

Sophie

Something feels off. I can't figure out what it is, but the air in the room feels heavy with anticipation. Over dinner, I watch my sister as she gets to know her new mate. My parents seem to relax, and my mother even smiles at Calvin.

I'm glad that Alpha Hunter said Alpha Calvin is a good man. I hope he will appreciate my sister.

I spare a glance over at the broody Alpha. He has been very kind to me, but there is an anger buried inside him, I can feel it. Rather than scaring me, as it probably should, it excites me. He looks more deadly, more intimidating, more hot.

As dinner winds down, I notice my sister getting fidgety, nervous. I frown. My sister never gets nervous.

Alpha Calvin reaches over to cover her hands with his. "Amelia, it looks like there is a dance floor set up for dancing. Would you like to dance tonight? It is your birthday, after all."

She nods, smiling softly. "I enjoy dancing."

"As do I. But I will say that the only other male that I will permit to dance with you tonight is your father."

"Thank you," she says.

He strokes her cheek in a very intimate gesture. "I want tonight to be as pleasant as possible for you."

It feels as if there is an undertone to his words, something that I don't understand. Since my mother hasn't given me 'the talk', I have to go by what I've heard from the mated females in the pack. I've heard that the first time can be quite painful, so maybe that's what Alpha Calvin is referencing.

When Calvin stands from the dinner table, taking Amelia's hand and pulling her to her feet, I feel the strange energy in the room ratchet up again. Everyone gets quiet and turns to stare of Alpha Calvin and Amelia.

"For anyone who would like to enjoy dancing, there is a dance floor available. My mate is off limits to anyone who values their life. As I mentioned earlier, if you don't like the pace that I am setting tonight, feel free to leave."

I frown, trying to figure out what is going on. I turn and look at my father. He's basically turned over the direction of the evening to Alpha Calvin, as has my mother. I would think that my father would be leading this, not allowing another Alpha, even my sister's mate, to decide what will occur next.

As I look around the room, seeing all eyes on Alpha Calvin, I'm startled by the grey eyes of Alpha Hunter, staring straight at me. I feel my cheeks heat, and I quickly look away, but not before I see a hint of a smile on his face.

Everyone stands and as the tables are moved back, I step out of the way, and into the warm, hard chest of someone. I look over my shoulder and see Alpha Hunter.

"Alpha Sophie, may I have this dance?" he asks me.

I turn and look across the room where he was sitting only moments ago. How did he even get over here that quickly?

When I turn back to him, his eyebrow is raised in question, a smile twitching at his lips again. He finds me amusing.

I look at my father, who is staring at Alpha Hunter. Alpha Hunter doesn't look away from me, but my father turns his head to me and nods. I turn to face the Alpha.

"Thank you, Alpha Hunter. I'd be honored to dance with you," I say politely.

His smile widens and he nods, putting his arm out for me, very formally. I take his arm and see that Alpha Calvin has done the same with my sister. As we pass, Alpha Hunter stops and leans in to say something quietly to my father. I can't hear what he says since the music has started, but my father looks at him a moment, then nods, before Alpha Hunter takes me out to the dance floor.

'He's cute,' Hedda, my wolf says in my head.

'Very cute,' I say. 'How old do you think he is?'

'Not too old, early 20's maybe,' she says.

"Do you like to dance, Sophie?" he asks me.

"Yes, but I've never had a chance to dance with anyone outside of our pack."

He pulls me to him, as others get on the dance floor. "Meaning, I'm your first Alpha, other than your father, whose arms you've danced in?"

There's something about the way he says it, along with the electricity in the air, that has me blushing again. Instead of answering, I nod.

The music starts and it's a fast song, one that I love. "Then let's make the most of it, shall we?" he asks, before wrapping his arm around me to take my hand and spin me around.

My smile is instant. Alpha Hunter likes to dance. Not all men do and not all men know how to dance well. I turn and look at him and his eyebrow is raised again as if in challenge.

Oh Alpha, challenge accepted.

This is a choreographed song, as most of the ones chosen for tonight will be, meant to allow my sister to show off her skills as a graceful dancer. She and I have been taking dancing lessons for years. At first, I hated it, until our instructor helped me to realize that I need to feel the music, let it guide me.

I begin dancing and I can see that Alpha Hunter wasn't expecting me to be quite as accomplished as I am. What he doesn't know is that my mother loves to dance, and she insisted that her daughters learn as well.

Alpha Hunter is a fantastic dancer and partner. He spins me around the room, making sure that I don't stumble, catching me easily during times when he's going too fast for me, and changing his pace to make it easier for me.

When the song is done, much, much too quickly, I'm panting, and I know my cheeks are now rosy from the dance.

"Excuse me..."

Alpha Hunter's eyes move away from mine, looking over my left shoulder. "No."

"You can't dance with her all night, Hunter," another Alpha growls. I'm about to say something, not wanting them to fight over me, when something about Alpha Hunter stops me. There's something deadly about his aura. It's not directed at me, it's directed at this Alpha. I'm not sure why, but Alpha Hunter has been nothing but kind to me, so I follow my instincts and stay quiet.

"Alpha Sophie, may I have this dance," another Alpha has come up on my right side. I look at Alpha Hunter, not sure why I feel the need to get his permission, his approval. He looks at me and nods.

I turn and see Alpha Kayce. "Thank you, Alpha. I'd be honored."

Something passes between Hunter and Kayce before he passes me off. Kayce spins me away, not quite as good of a dancer as Hunter. When I turn, I see Alpha Hunter standing face to face with another Alpha.

"Are they going to fight?" I ask, worriedly. I don't want anyone ruining my sister's birthday.

"If they do, Hunter will take it outside."

"Should I go..."

"No. Dance with me, little Alpha," Kayce says, smiling down at me.

He dances me around the room and when we come back to where I left Alpha Hunter, he and the other Alpha are nowhere to be seen.

"Doesn't my sister look beautiful?" I ask Alpha Kayce.

"Yes, she does," he says, looking at her with a sadness in his eyes that I don't understand. Maybe he was hoping to be my sister's mate.

I notice that Alpha Calvin never lets anyone dance with my sister. They don't leave the dance floor and he never looks away from her, talking to her and getting to know her. He's so sweet.

After Alpha Kayce, I dance with Alpha Dutton, then Alpha Robin, then my father and when a slow song comes on, Alpha Hunter is back to dance with me again. Other Alphas have attempted to dance with me this evening, but this group has refused to allow them to.

I'm not sure how long I remain on the dance floor, but much too soon, my mother is waving me over. Alpha Dutton, who is currently dancing with me, leads me to her.

"Thank you, Alpha," she says as we walk up.

"Your daughter is a wonderful dancer, Luna Amy," he says, smiling down at me. His praise makes me smile. I know that I'll be practicing even harder for the next two years before my birthday. I want to be the most incredible dancer my mate has ever danced with.

'I liked all the Alphas we danced with tonight,' Hedda says.

'You like all Alphas,' I joke.

'I am an Alpha. I want my mate to be of equal rank.'

"Sophie, it's time for you to go upstairs," my mother says.

Sophie

"What?" I ask, shocked. "Mother, the party is just getting going! I want to dance more and there's going to be cake."

"I've already sent some cake to your room, Sophie. Warrior Julianne is going to escort you to your room. Do not go anywhere else other than your room," she says as Julianne steps up beside her. Her eyes are tracking all around the room.

"Let's go, Alpha," she says.

"But mother..."

"Sophie!" my father barks roughly. He's never used that tone of voice with me before. He sees my shock and moderates his tone. "Do as your mother says."

"Yes father," I say, lowering my head and following Julianne out of the room. I turn and look one more time at the party-goers. Most of them are watching Alpha Calvin and Amelia, but my eyes lock on grey ones and Alpha Hunter winks at me as I step out of the ballroom.

Hedda begins purring in my head. I ignore her, still irritated that I have to leave the party.

Even though I'm annoyed with my mother, there's no reason that Julianne should miss the fun.

"I know where my room is, Julianne. I can get there by myself," I say, just as one of the ranked males steps into Julianne's path.

"Hello pretty, are you coming back?" he asks her, glancing at me over her shoulder.

"I'm afraid it's my job to make sure Alpha Sophie makes it to her room. Move out of my way or I'll move you," she says, taking a defensive stance.

"Feisty, I like that. If you get bored, come find me," he says. I've never seen a man speak to a woman that way. It's...

'Covetous,' Hedda says. And she's right. I realize the hairs on my arms have gone up during the exchange, leaving me feeling uncomfortable.

"Let them pass, Owen," I hear Alpha Hunter's voice behind me.

I turn, seeing that his face is much more serious than it was a moment ago. His hard gaze never leaves Alpha Owen's.

"You ruin all my fun, Hunter, especially after you and your friends kept Alpha Sophie to yourselves all night," he says, but he moves out of the way.

I see Julianne's shoulders relax and we move past Alpha Owen.

When we're far enough away and walking up the stairs, I look back almost expecting to see Alpha Hunter watching to make sure I go upstairs.

"What was that about?" I ask Julianne.

She turns and looks at me, then looks around.

"Your parents haven't told you?"

"Told me what?" I ask as we get to the Alpha floor.

She looks around. "I probably shouldn't say."

"Julianne, everyone has been acting so weird today. Just tell me. I won't say anything. I swear!"

We get to my room, and I can smell the scent of cake. My mom said she sent a piece up for me and it's here, waiting. Instead of going to get my cake, I turn to Julianne.

"Please, Julianne!"

She looks behind her, as if my parents are going to catch her saying something.

"Okay, fine. But you can't tell anyone that I told you."

"Okay," I say, pulling her into my room, and closing the door.

"Do you know anything about ranked members getting claimed?" she asks.

"No. Isn't it the same as everyone else?" I ask.

"No. Listen to me. You need to stay up here. Promise me you won't go back downstairs. Promise me!"

"Okay, I promise. What? What is it?"

She sighs, rubbing her hands over her face. "Claimings for ranked members are public."

I frown. Public?

"What does that mean?"

She takes my shoulders, leaning down slightly to make sure we're eye to eye. "It means that Alpha Calvin will have to mark and mate your sister front of that room full of men."

"What? No way! My parents would never allow that."

"Your parents have no choice. Once a ranked male finds his mate, he is in charge of when and how the public marking and mating occurs."

I begin shaking my head just as I hear cheers begin downstairs. Julianne stands, looking at my door. "When I leave, lock your door. You had a couple of Alphas looking out for you tonight, but that doesn't mean that one or two won't get past them."

Looking out for me? Does she mean Alpha Hunter?

She walks to the door, opening it slightly. "I need to get to my room before it's done. Stay up here and keep your door locked. You're safest here," she says, turning to look back at me.

"Sophie! Are you listening to me?" she asks urgently. I nod, walking to the door.

The chants of 'Mark' and 'Mate' have gotten louder.

"I'll wait until I hear your door lock but do it quickly. I need to get to my room. I've heard that some matings can send ranked members into rut and they'll take anyone around. That's why there are she-wolves here that you didn't recognize."

Everything Julianne is saying makes sense with everything I've seen today, but I just can't believe that my mother and father would allow that to happen to my sister.

I close the door and lock it, hearing Julianne rushing down the hall. Once I'm sure she's gone, I unlock my door and peek into the hallway. The chants are getting louder, and I carefully step out of my room and slowly make my way to the stairway banister.

I slide down the wall and carefully turn my head so I can see four floors down into the main living area of the packhouse where the chants are happening.

I watch as Alpha Calvin brings my sister to the front of the room. He snarls at the men in the room, quieting them. Then he turns to my sister. She looks like she's about to throw up. This is what my mother told her this morning. This is why she looked so scared when she smelled her mate earlier.

I watch as Alpha Calvin gently pushes her against the wall, into the darkest part of the room. It's not dark enough, not when you're in a room full of ranked shifters, but it's the best he can do.

I search, finding my parents standing on the side of the room, just watching. Why aren't they doing anything?

I turn back to my sister. 'Please.' I see her mouth to her mate, tears streaking down her face.

I'm not sure what he says to her, but he kisses her tears before kissing her. I watch Alpha Calvin slide his hand up my sister's leg, pulling up her pretty dress and exposing her bare leg to everyone. I watch, horrified as my sister begins to sob, but Alpha Calvin doesn't stop.

I look at the men in the room, all staring, watching as my sister is claimed in front of them. As I search, I don't see the dark hair of Alpha Hunter anywhere.

I look back toward my sister and see Alpha Calvin undoing his pants. His hips thrust forward and my sister twitches. I slap my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming. As I look away in horror, my eyes connect with the grey eyes of Alpha Hunter. He's standing outside the room, on the other side of a wall, watching me, not what's happening to my sister.

Is this why he was being so nice to me tonight? Knowing that one day this might be me and him? Hedda whines in my head at that. While she isn't as appalled at what's happening as I am, she does recognize that I wouldn't want it and because of that, she's against it.

Everything I ate tonight threatens to come back up and as I run to my room, I hear the cheers of the ranked members behind me. When I get to my room, I lock the door and look around.

I won't ever be put in that position. Ever.

The only way for me to escape it is to leave. I need to run away, to get away from this place.

I push away from the door and quickly strip out of my party dress. I pull my hair down and quickly brush it out, pulling it into a simple ponytail. Then I grab a bag and throw some casual, comfortable clothes into it.

I find the money I've been saving and put it into my bag. It won't last me long. I'll need to figure out a way to get a job somewhere far from here.

As I look around my room, I realize that I can't leave without saying goodbye to my parents.

I quickly grab a pen and paper, and scribble a note to them, letting them know that I love them, but I can never go through what Amelia went through tonight. I doubt they'll get it before tomorrow morning. My mother looked as nauseous as I felt. That's good because it means I have more time to escape from here.

I grab my bag and take one more look around my room. I realize I've led a charmed, protected life up until now. But all of that is about to change.

Sophie

Nearly two years later

"Sophia! Get your head out of your ass and come get this food for table six!" my boss, and I use that term lightly, yells from the back.

I've been on my own for almost two years. I tried changing my name, but it became obvious quickly that I didn't answer to the fake names that I made up, so I had to go with something close enough that I'd actually realize they were talking to me. Sophia.

When I left my pack, I had run for weeks, barely stopping and skirting around the pack lands that I knew were in my area. Once I was out of our area, I had to be more careful. It wouldn't be good for me to end up on someone else's pack lands. They might just hold me until my 18th birthday and force their mark on me.

I finally stopped running in a small town full of humans. In the time I've lived here, I've only stumbled across two lone wolves passing through. They had asked if I was okay, recognizing me as a pup, but because they were also running, they didn't argue when I said I was fine.

When I got here, I found a small apartment, or rather, an efficiency. The entire place is smaller than my bedroom back home. But I don't care. Here, I'm free. There's no chance that any Alpha or ranked member will claim me publicly. I still wake up with nightmares about what happened to my sister.

"Coming Josephine." It's not her real name. Her real name is Jane, but she hates it, saying it's boring and plain. We live in a town that is boring and plain, so I'm not sure what she thinks changing her name is going to do for her.

I grab the food and head to table six. I lift my nose, identifying which one of them is the shifter. I smelled him when he walked in, but I didn't make eye contact, choosing to watch him subtly. When I walk to the table, his eyes lock on mine, and I look at the others at the table. They are all human. He's hiding as much as I am.

"Patty melt?" I ask, waiting for them to point me to the person who ordered the food.

"Reuben?" I ask, again waiting for them to tell me which one.

I sniff the next one. "Burger, rare?" I already know this one is going to the shifter.

"He likes it bloody, miss. I hope they didn't overcook it," one of the humans says, laughing at the shifter.

I look at the plate. "There's blood running off the burger, so I hope that works for you," I say, handing him the plate. He nods and I hand out the rest of their plates and ask if they need anything else.

When they don't, I go back to my other tables and it's not long afterward that table six heads out.

"Sophia, break!" my boss yells at me. I don't need a break, but I'm required to take one by human standards.

I walk out back, where most of the humans go to smoke. I'm about to step out of the alleyway when the shifter from earlier steps up.

"Hey, Sophia, right?"

I'm instantly on alert, Hedda's canines extending.

"Hey! I don't want any trouble," he says, his hands up in front of him. "I just wanted to say thank you for not saying anything."

"I figured you were hiding since you were among so many humans. They didn't seem to know what you are."

He shrugs. "Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks and see if you're okay or need anything. Us lone wolves have to stick together."

"I'm good, thanks. Just don't tell anyone that you saw me here."

"Same goes. I'm Jethro," he says to me.

I raise an eyebrow at him, and he smiles.

"Okay, I'm Jaime. James. You smell like an Alpha. You running from the claiming process?" he asks me.

"What's it to you?" I growl.

"Again, just asking. I don't mean anything by it. I've seen several ranked females, several of them Alpha females on the run from the claiming process. It's a nasty business."

I sniff the air again. "Would you still say that if you were a ranked member?"

"I have two sisters, one older and one younger. I have no desire to see either of them treated like that, especially if it meant that my friends got to see her in that position. What kind of standard does that set, especially if she's the Luna of her pack. Not everyone agrees with me, but if they don't figure it out, there won't be a lot of ranked females left in the packs. Take care of yourself and watch your back. I've heard that Alphas have started hunting for the missing females, specifically Alpha females, to bring them back whether by force or by forcibly marking them."

"Thanks for the head's up," I say.

We both hear someone calling for Jethro.

"You'd better go," I tell him.

He nods. "Remember what I said, be careful."

That night, I think about what Jaime told me. I haven't come across any Alphas or Alpha females, but in the forest where I let Hedda out on the weekends, I've found faint trails that smelled like ranked females.

Over the next couple of days, I worry about whether or not it's time for me to move on. If Alpha females are passing through this part of the country, it will only attract more wolves. And if Alpha males are hunting Alpha females, it's only a matter of time before they find me.

I decide to head back to a different forest this weekend, one that I don't go to often. The terrain is rockier than the one I usually go to, but that's where I've been smelling the Alpha female scents.

When I get there, I sniff the air, making sure there are no Alphas or other ranked werewolves in the area. I listen, making sure I can't hear any sounds of wolves running or people whispering in the forest around me. All I hear are birds and the creek that runs through this part of the land.

I find a spot where I can tuck my clothes away and I shift. Hedda is a big wolf, and we have to be careful not to run up on any hunters. She's been shot at before, but she's faster than the hunters and so far, she hasn't been hit by any bullets.

I let her take over as she runs. She hates that she can only come out a couple days a week, but she understands that it's necessary to protect both of us.

This landscape provides a much-needed challenge for Hedda, and she has to focus to climb up the rocky terrain to find open land to run through. Then she has to make her way back down the rocky terrain to run again.

She's feeling pretty good and has been running for hours when we hear a scream.

'Hedda, what is that?'

'I'm not sure,' she says, turning to head in the direction of the scream.

As we get closer, my stomach tightens and Hedda slows down. We can hear what sounds like crying from a female and what sounds like encouragement from several males.

Hedda gets on her stomach and crawls to some bushes, carefully and quietly pushing her way through. Once we can see, my stomach clenches and nausea rolls through me.

There's a woman, a she-wolf, on her hands and knees. She's sobbing as a male, most likely an Alpha pins her head to the ground while he pumps into her from behind while three other men cheer him on. The Alpha, or whatever he is, has practically stripped the woman and she's bare to the men watching her.

As I watch, his canines extend and he grabs her by the hair, pulling her up to him. "Never run from me again," he snarls before slamming his canines into her marking spot.

She screams as her body twitches with pain.

'Hedda, get us out of here.'

She hurriedly crawls away from the scene and once we're far enough away, she begins running at full speed.

'What are we going to do?' she asks.

'We have to go. We have to get away from here. Our town is the closest town. If they are looking for a place to stay...' I can't finish and I don't need to.

'They'll find us,' Hedda finishes.

I stop to get my clothes, but Hedda reaches up in the tree to grab them in her teeth, not wasting time for me to shift. Then she races to our little apartment. By the time we arrive, it's dark, so I quickly shift and go inside, packing my bag and grabbing the money I've set aside over the last couple of years.

As I step outside, I look down the street and see several men, large enough to be ranked shifters, standing outside the diner, noses lifted in the air, sniffing.

'HEDDA!'

'I see them. Quick, get to the bus station. They won't be able to follow our scent once we're on a bus.'

I stay in the shadows, running to the bus station. There's only one bus leaving tonight, and it won't be leaving for another hour. That's too long to wait.

"Where's the next nearest bus station?" I ask the attendant.

"Sixty miles north sweetie, but you'll never make it there to catch their last bus. It leaves at the same time ours does," the attendant says.

"Thank you," I say.

'Hedda?'

'I can make it.'

'Let's go,' I say, moving into the shadows and shifting. She grabs the bag, and we race through night to get to the next bus station.

We haven't been running long when I hear the howl of the hunt go up behind me. They've found my little apartment. They're after me. I can only hope that my trail from earlier today throws them off.

As I run, I hear gunshots. The ranchers in this part of the world don't like wolves getting too close to their livestock. I know where to stay in order to be safe, but the Alphas, or ranked members chasing me don't. It won't kill them, but it will slow them down.

We arrive at the bus station with five minutes to spare. I get my ticket and jump on the bus just as the doors are closing. As the bus pulls away, I see several men racing up to the station, their noses in the air. I slide down in my seat, hoping they won't figure out that I'm on this bus until it's too late.

Hunter

"Why hasn't Alpha Aiden returned my call," I growl at Lucas.

"He's out hunting Alpha females like the rest of them," he says, gloomily.

Lucas found his mate a year ago. Once he claimed her, he realized just how right I was to hate this process. His mate, while a good Beta female and role model for the pack, still struggles with their mate bond. Every time he touches her in public, she flinches away from him.

I know he hates it, but she's actually more comfortable with me than she is with him. I asked her about it once and she told me that she saw me walk out of the room during the claiming process. She said that she trusts me because I did what I could to give her a bit of privacy. The same couldn't be said for the others at the party, and so, she still struggles with Lucas' touch.

I also know that it extends into their bedroom. I don't ask, and he hasn't said anything to me, but Kinsley hasn't gotten pregnant yet, so I doubt they are banging and I know it must be killing him to not be able to touch his mate.

"Anyone in their right mind who's paying attention realizes that all we're doing is causing more problems for our packs. They need to end this ridiculous process and stop having these public claimings," I growl, standing and pacing.

"Yeah, I agree with you," Lucas says contritely.

There's a knock at the door and before I tell her to come in, I already know it's Kinsley. When she opens the door, she looks surprised to see Lucas in here. She collects herself quickly, then glances back at me.

"Alpha I was wondering if you wanted lunch. I wasn't sure what your plans were for today." She glances at her mate. "I could bring you lunch as well, Lucas."

"I'd rather have lunch with you, Kins," he says.

"There's a lot going on. I don't really have time to stop for lunch today."

"You have to eat Kinsley," he says to her. I watch the interaction between them, but I stay out of it. This is their mate bond, and he has to figure it out. There was a time when Kinsley did lose too much weight and I had to step in. It was soon after they had been mated and she had stopped eating completely. As much as I don't want to interfere in a mate bond, she is a pack member, and I was worried about her. I brought her into my office, and I told her that she either needed to start eating or that she would have to start having all of her meals with me.

I'm not sure if she didn't believe me, but when I started insisting that she sit beside me at every meal and I watched everything that she ate, she finally took me seriously. She doesn't eat as much as she should, or as much as Lucas would like her to eat, obviously. But she hasn't gotten dangerously thin again.

Lucas turns to look at me, a pleading look in his eyes. Where he is unable to make headway with his mate, I am able to as her Alpha.

I sigh internally. I can at least try to help. "Kinsley I was going to talk to Lucas about the missing ranked she-wolves over lunch. You might have a different perspective, different insights, something that we're overlooking that could help us find some of these females. Would you be willing to have lunch with us and talk through that?" I ask her. I leave the decision up to her. I won't force it.

She looks at me a long moment, then looks at Lucas. "I'm not sure what information I can provide that would be helpful."

"Neither do I, but you're a Beta female, and these are ranked females on the run. They're in danger and we need to do something to help them. You have insights to that different than what Lucas and I have."

She looks thoughtful for a moment, and I wait her out, letting her make the decision.

"All right. I'll get three trays of food and I'll be back."

When the door closes, Lucas looks at me. "Thank you, Hunter. I know our mate bond is not your problem, but as my Alpha, as her Alpha, you seem to have a better understanding of how to get through to her than I do."

"I give her choices, Lucas. I don't tell her what to do, except in the one instance where she was killing herself. Everything I do leaves the decision up to her. Perhaps you should try that."

His lips press together, and I know that he understands that their very first meeting, his claim of her, has caused all of these problems. That night, she had no choice. It didn't matter how kind he was during the process, it didn't matter what he had done to make it as private for her as possible. She can't move past it, and they can't move past it together.

One night, not long after they were mated, he got drunk and told me that the moment that his canines sank into her flesh, he felt her fear, her embarrassment, and her shame at what was happening. The strength of her emotions had flooded into him, and it had made him almost incapable of completing their mate bond. He hadn't even been able to come. He had immediately pulled out of her and scooped her up in his arms, taking her from the room. But the damage was done.

I walk to the conference table thinking back to that birthday party two years ago. That party seems to have been the catalyst that started it all. Sophie Meyers, the younger sister of Amelia, ran the night of her sister's claiming. Calvin, like Lucas, had done everything that he could to make that evening better for his mate. Like Lucas and Kinsley, Calvin and Amelia had a rocky start. However, they seem to be finding their way, unlike Lucas and Kinsley.

I remember the outrage that occurred after Sophie ran. Many Alphas bonded together in a way they never have before, fighting against her father Alpha Carter, wanting him to go after his daughter. But he refused. He said if she was unwilling to participate in these events, then who was he to force her into them?

Several Alphas threatened to go to war with Alpha Carter if he didn't find his daughter and bring her home. But several of us, including Robin, Dutton, and Kayce, stood beside him. I was surprised when Alpha Ezra, my sister's mate, also stood beside him. I guess I shouldn't be, though. My sister killed herself to get away from the mate bond. Alpha Ezra has never recovered from that.

Alpha Carter has been an outspoken activist on eliminating the public claiming process since the day that Sophie left. For a long time, the Alphas kept tabs on him, certain that he knew where his daughter was, ready to go find her and drag her back. However, from everything that I could tell, she never contacted him, and he never sent anyone out to find her. They still keep tabs on him, just not as aggressively as they did at the beginning.

That was two years ago.

Somehow the word of Sophie's disappearance, of her rebellion against this process, sparked a revolution of sorts among the ranked females. Rather than waiting until their 18th birthday to tell them what was going to happen, mothers began telling their daughters at younger ages, helping them plan their escape.

Some Alphas have locked down their packs, refusing to allow any ranked females out alone. Rather than fixing the problem, this has actually made things much worse. In some instances, ranked she-wolves are choosing death rather than the public claiming. This has only made the Alphas become even more strict in keeping tabs on their ranked female members, and therefore causing those females to go to even more dire extremes to get away from them.

The packs have become divided, creating clear alliances, and splitting the packs into one of two sides. One side is in agreement that the public claimings should end and the other is still fighting to continue with this antiquated process. In some packs, such as my own, there is disagreement within the pack itself. So far it has not become a problem for me. I don't have any young ranked she-wolves that will be coming of age in the next few years. But eventually this will need to be resolved. I refuse to have a public claiming in my pack.

I think back to that night, of Sophie Meyers and her excitement at the thought of finding her mate. That's how it should be. A young she-wolf excited on her birthday to find the man that the Moon Goddess made just for her. I remember how sweet and innocent she was, how she smiled as we danced around the dance floor. Something about her has stuck with me for these last two years. And I've wondered more than once if she survived on the run. If she did, she would be on the verge of coming of age and her time on the run would most likely be coming to an end.

'We should try to find her,' Shaw says in my mind. I'm not the only one who was taken with that young she-wolf that night. Shaw felt very protective of her, and he howled sadly when we heard that she had run.

'Shaw, she could be anywhere. How do you propose that we find her? I ask him.

'Well, the typical way is that we actually would start a search, Hunter,' he says sarcastically.

'Really? You want to begin hunting her, just like every other Alpha wolf out there? She would run from us. You know she would. And I couldn't blame her. You saw the look on her face, same as I did.'

Her look of horror as she watched her sister claimed in front of that group of people has haunted me for two years. I hated that look. It was such a stark contrast to the happiness that she had on her face all night before that moment.

I shake my head, putting thoughts of Sophie out of my mind as Kinsley walks back in. Lucas jumps up to grab the trays from her arms.

"Thank you," she says politely, almost painfully polite, as if they are acquaintances and not mates.

I ignore the interaction, sitting down to start the conversation about how we can possibly help these she-wolves. With our own pack divided, I'm resistant to bringing them inside our pack. However, they need our help and I have to do something.

Sophie

The thing about buses is they stop a lot. I had about four solid hours before the first stop around 4:30 AM. It had taken me a long time to be able to relax enough to fall asleep. So, I only slept an hour, two at the most before we reached the first bus stop.

I hadn't seen the Alpha wolves following me, but that doesn't mean that they wouldn't have been able to figure out where this bus was going if they realized I was on it. So, I hop off at the first stop. Because of the early hour, there is nobody selling bus tickets. Instead, I ask the bus driver where the next nearest bus stop is. He gives me a funny look, reminding me that my ticket took me past this stop.

"I got a message from my family. I need to get back home," I tell him, making up an excuse on the fly.

"The nearest bus station is going to be about an hour east of here. I'm not headed that direction, otherwise I'd drop you off," he says kindly.

"That's okay," I tell him. "Do you know what time the bus station opens?"

"It usually opens around 6:00 AM. You could find an all-night diner, grab some breakfast and be back here in time to grab the next bus, or if you're in that much of a hurry, about 20 miles from here, there's a train station.

"They have passenger trains here?" I ask.

He looks around to make sure no one's watching us. "I didn't say it was a passenger train. But the trains go in all directions. You could hop a train, get off in a city somewhere, and grab a bus to your destination. I'm not saying that's what you should do, I'm just saying that I know people who do it, especially if you're in a hurry. But be careful, they do periodic checks for stowaways."

Thank you," I say, and he points me in the direction of the train station.

I carefully make my way from the bus station, sniffing the air to make sure there are no werewolves nearby. As soon as I'm far enough away, I strip down, put my things in my bag, and shift. Hedda runs the 20 miles quickly and easily. Before long, we can hear the sounds of the train tracks, the whistles of the trains, and the sounds of large cargo being loaded onto the train beds.

Hedda carefully slinks closer to the train tracks, keeping her body low to the ground. When we're close enough, I can see that all of these trains are cargo trains and my bus driver was correct, they're heading in all different directions. I had been heading east and if the Alphas figured that out, that's where they'll be going to look for me. So instead, I find a train that's going west, and I wait until the cargo is loaded.

Hedda carefully begins making her way west outside of the train station. We'll have to jump into a train car, hopefully a train going this way will have a covered car that can provide us some protection from the sun or rain, and hopefully that train car isn't filled with animals going to slaughter.

Once we're far enough away, she begins jogging more quickly, keeping the train tracks on our right. We hear the sound of a whistle behind us, and she turns, seeing that there is a train heading in our direction. She finds a place where she can hide in the tall grass, and we wait to see what this train looks like as it passes.

The sky is starting to lighten as the sun begins to rise. Soon it will be too light out for us to try and jump on the train without someone seeing us. So, I'm hopeful there's a covered car on this train.

'If not, we'll catch it for a while and then I can jump off and we can wait for the next train,' Hedda says.

'We'll have to be careful. We don't want to inadvertently stop in the middle of someone's pack lands.'

'We'll be careful.' she says, as the train begins to make its way past us.

It's a long train and it's taking a while for it to get up to speed. While we wait, we watch the cargo cars passing us by.

'There,' Hedda says. Through her eyes I can see that there are several covered cars coming our way. She begins running alongside the train, easily maintaining a pace so that we can allow the covered cars to catch up to us. When we do, I can see that there are some that have sliding doors that are open. The cars themselves are empty and that's where Hedda heads.

She picks up her pace, pushing herself to the same speed as the train as she moves closer, gauging the distance between herself and the open door. As the train picks up speed, so does Hedda, but I know that we're running out of time. She's going to have to leap soon or we're going to miss our chance.

'We'll make it," she says confidently.

'I trust you as always,' I tell her.

I give her control. My wolf is strong, powerful, and intelligent. I know that I can put my life in her hands, and I do that now. I feel the muscles in her legs and her body tighten as she begins to run even faster, closing the gap between us and the open car door.

Just as I think she won't make it, she leaps, sliding into the car and slamming into the other side, safely inside.

She pants, catching her breath as she gets to her feet. It takes us a moment to realize we're not alone in this car. The moment she does, her hackles go up and she takes a defensive stance, ready to attack if necessary.

"Please." There's a girl huddled in the corner, pleading with me. "Please just let me be."

Hedda stands up out of her defensive stance. 'She's running too,' she says, sniffing the air. 'Gamma,' she says, identifying her rank.

She's small for a Gamma, either that or she's still very young.

'She's still a pup," Hedda says and takes a step towards her. The moment she does, the girl begins running for the open door.

There's no way this girl could make the jump, given the speed that the train is going, without breaking multiple bones in her body. Hedda, instinctively wanting to protect her, leaps and pins her down.

"NO!" she screams. "I'm still a pup. I'm still a pup."

Hedda steps back but puts herself between the open door and the girl. As the girl begins scooting backwards into the corner, I pull the shift.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I tell her.

"You're a she-wolf?" she asks. "I thought you were one of them, one of the Alpha's or other ranked wolves hunting us. Your wolf is so big, I thought... I didn't look... I mean..." she stammers.

"It's okay, you're okay. I'm running too," I tell her, putting my hands up in front of me. "You don't need to run from me. You don't need to jump from the train. You'll hurt yourself for sure. What's your name?"

"Penny," she says softly.

"Penny, I'm Sophie. My wolf says you're a Gamma. Is that correct?"

I watch as her eyes go wide. "Sophie? THE Sophie? Sophie Meyers?"

'Hedda, how does this girl know our name? And why does she look so excited?'

'I have no idea.'

"Yes, my name is Sophie Meyers," I say to the girl. "Have we met before?"

"Oh my goddess. I can't believe it. We weren't really sure if you were dead or alive, if you'd survived after all these years. It's been two years, right? You ran two years ago?" she asks, ignoring my question.

Now I'm getting a little freaked out.

"How do you know about me? I ask her.

"Sophie Meyers. You're the legend. You're the reason that all the ranked females have started to run. We found out about you, and we realized that there was another option out there, that we didn't have to accept what was being pushed on us, that we didn't have to accept these public claimings. When you ran, you started a revolution. You started it all."

Hunter

I'm not surprised that Kinsley had some great ideas about how we could help these she-wolves. While we know we can't take them in, she did have a great idea to find ways to make sure that they had food and water. Many of these girls are young, still underage pups, who may have little to no way of feeding themselves.

I put Kinsley in charge of finding a place where we could leave food and water for the females on the run who might be travelling through the area, a place that would be safe from scavengers and the animals of the forest. We all agreed that the she-wolves who are running won't come too close to the pack, but there are areas where they could skirt around the local packs, including ours, if they were passing through.

The first time she left food and water, she went back the next day and was disappointed to find that no one had come through. She left a note letting them know that if they were passing through, that the food and water was for them, that they could take it, and to be safe.

It was two more days before she finally found the food and water missing with a simple note saying thank you.

Now she goes nearly every day to check to see if she needs to put more food and water out and to continue to leave notes about anything that we know, any warnings that we can give to the she-wolves who are on the run.

I'm at my desk going through the latest list of casualties within the packs. More and more, the ranked she-wolves are putting themselves at risk in order to get away, sometimes resulting in their death. Because of this, the Alphas and ranked members are putting restrictions on the ranked she-wolves, locking them into the pack houses, refusing to let them leave or not allowing them to go anywhere alone.

There are some she-wolves who have accepted their fate, some who are not fighting the system, but they're becoming more and more rare. It won't be too long before we're going to have a real problem on our hands, and I won't be the only Alpha unable to find a Luna or to provide an heir for my pack.

As I'm reading through the list, becoming more and more agitated, the door to my office swings open and Lucas comes in looking distraught. He closes the door and throws himself in a chair in front of me.

"What is it?" I asked without preamble.

"Alpha Zahn caught his mate. He hunted her down, found her, claimed her in front of the warriors that he had taken with him. Then as he was bringing her home, she jumped off the mountain pass they were on." He puts his face in his hands, his fingers sliding into his hair and grabbing hold.

"Is she dead?"

He laughs, mirthlessly. "No, she survived. She's in critical condition, from what I can gather, nearly every bone in her body is broken. But she's alive. I doubt that she'll be happy about it when she finally wakes up.

He looks up at me with haunted eyes. "That could have so easily been Kinsley. What if she had tried to kill herself like that, Hunter. What if she..."

He covers his face with his hands as his body wracks with the sobs over the fear for his mate. I've just stood up to walk around my desk and console him when there's a quick knock at my door and it opens before I can tell them to come in.

Kinsley steps in, looking at me, then at her mate. "Alpha I... What's happened?"

When Lucas realizes that his mate is there, he stands and in two steps, he has pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her neck. Kinsley stiffens in his arms, and turns to look at me, not sure what she's supposed to do.

"Lucas was just telling me that Alpha Zahn hunted for and caught his mate. He marked and mated her, and then on the way home, she tried to kill herself."

I watch as realization dawns on her and she slowly wraps her arms around her mate, who is quietly sobbing against her neck. I turn around, giving them a little bit of privacy, as much as I can in my office.

When he calms down, Lucas steps back, taking Kinsley's face in his hands.

"If you ever think about taking your life, if you ever would rather die than be with me, then you reject me, Kinsley. I will accept it. I would rather be a broken man than to have you not in this life. This world is a better place with you in it, and it would be worth it to me to live like that, as long as I know that you're alive. I know you don't love me as much as I love you. I know that you may never love me as much as I love you, and I'm okay with that. But the thought of not being able to see you, of you not being here. It just..."

His voice breaks and he takes a moment to collect himself. "Please Kinsley, promise me. Promise me that you won't do that," he begs her.

"I won't do that Lucas. I've never tried to kill myself."

"You practically starved yourself to death, Kins," he says.

She sighs. "I'll admit after everything happened, I felt nauseous all the time and it was hard for me to eat. And sometimes, when I remember that night... Sometimes it's hard for me to eat even now. But I'm not trying to kill myself, Lucas. It wouldn't do that. Not to you, not to Alpha Hunter, and not to this pack. I swear."

He pulls her to him, holding her tightly. Her arms go around him, and even for me, I can see that it's uncomfortable for her, something she's not used to. But whether it's the mate bond or it's just the kind of person that Kinsley is, she feels the need to console him.

"Thank you, Kinsley," he says softly into her hair before stepping back.

She heads to the door. As she reaches for the doorknob, she turns and looks back. "If you're not too busy, I could have lunch with you today," she says to Lucas.

"I'm not too busy, Kins. And even if I was, I would make time." He looks at me out of the corner of his eye and then back at her.

"Would you be more comfortable having lunch with me and Alpha Hunter, or would you prefer it just be the two of us?" he asks.

I'm proud of Lucas for giving her the option. It's what I suggested and he's taking my suggestion to heart.

I watch as Kinsley looks at me and then back at Lucas. "I would be more comfortable if it was the three of us having lunch," she says honestly.

He looks at me and I nod. "Maybe we can talk about what's going on with the she-wolves that you've been contacting Kinsley. You can give us an update over lunch," I say to her.

"I'll get the trays and I'll be back," she says, smiling at Lucas before heading out.

When she leaves, he goes into the bathroom and washes his face, blowing his nose and pulling himself together. I sit back down behind my desk, waiting for him.

"That seemed promising," I say to him as he sits down in front of me.

"I've thought a lot about what you said, about Kinsley not having choices and how I need to give her options. I would have preferred to have had lunch, just the two of us. But this way, maybe she'll be open to eating with me again. I think you're right, that the way to gaining her trust is by allowing her to make decisions that are best for her."

Lucas and I work together for the next hour, and when there's a knock at the door, he jumps up to open it. He takes the cart from Kinsley and helps her to set the trays on the table. I notice as she passes him, she reaches out and lets her hand graze across his back.

I feel the sharp sting of jealousy that Lucas has someone in his life while I'm still alone. He and Kinsley seem to finally be finding their way together, and I'm still without a mate or a Luna.

Sophie

"What are you talking about? I didn't start anything," I say to Penny.

"You may not have meant to, but you did. Word of you running, of your father standing up to the Alphas and refusing to track you down, spread like wildfire. Our mothers and sisters began to realize that we didn't have to abide by the laws that we don't agree with, that we have a choice. Granted, it's not a great choice, being on the run, but it's better than being forced into something that you can't live with.

She reaches out, taking my hands. "Some of the Alphas are on our side. Some of them agree that we need to stop this process."

"But not all of them," I tell her, remembering the girl in the woods. "Some Alphas are still out hunting, otherwise we wouldn't have to run."

"You're right, and some Alphas have put so many restrictions on their ranked females that they're not even allowed to leave the packhouses. Ranked she-wolves have started taking extreme measures, some of them taking their own lives to get away from this process.

"What? Why? Why would they kill themselves?" I ask shocked.

"They would rather die than live with the embarrassment of having been claimed publicly. For some, it's not worth it."

I scrub my hands over my face. This is why there are so many she-wolves on the run now. When I first ran, there weren't any. It was just me, and it was easy to hide. Now it seems I'm going to have to be much smarter about hiding.

"Where are you going? I ask Penny.

"There are rumors of a place, a pack that is leaving food and water for those of us on the run. I never learned to hunt in my wolf form, and it's been a really long time since I've eaten. So, I'm heading there in the hopes of getting food."

"It could be a trap, you know," I say to her.

"I know. But I've heard it from more than one source, and no one stays. They take the food and water that have been offered and they keep going. That's what I intend to do as well.

"But don't you think that the Alphas that are hunting the ranked she-wolves will hear about it and they'll start staking the place out. If I were an Alpha hunting a ranked she-wolf, that's what I would do," I tell her.

"Maybe, maybe not. I don't know, but like I said, I'm hungry and I have to do something."

I turn and go to my bag, grabbing some granola bars that I stuffed into it when I left. "Here, eat these," I say, tossing them to her. "It's not a hamburger. But it will take the edge off."

She devours them quickly, and I pull out my last two bottles of water, giving her one. "Make it last. I only have two left, one for me and one for you," I say.

"Thank you so much. I don't remember the last time I ate."

"You're welcome. You said my father stood up to the Alphas. What does that mean?"

"I don't know everything. But what I heard was that the Alphas threatened war against your father unless he came after you."

"What?" I ask, terrified that my family had to go to war to protect me.

"Some other Alpha sided with your dad threatening to fight alongside him if a war broke out. Apparently, that was enough to keep the Alphas from going to war."

"Do you know anything about my sister, Amelia? It was her birthday the night that I ran. She found her mate that night, Alpha Calvin. Do you know anything about them? Anything about her? Is she okay?" I ask.

"Alpha Calvin is one of the Alphas that stood beside your father, I believe. I don't know much about your sister, but in cases like this, no news is good news, right? It means she hasn't tried to kill herself and hasn't done anything drastic."

I feel terrible, having had no idea that I was causing this many problems for my family.

"Maybe I should return home," I mumble to myself.

"NO! You can't! If you do, all of this will have been for nothing. You are the reason that it's working. You were the reason that there's a possibility that things might change. Please don't go back."

"But my family..."

"They've survived this long, right? Even if you didn't realize what was going on, they've managed to get by this long. You going back would change everything. Please, you have to continue."

"What about you? Where are you going? Where does this end? Where do we find a safe place to live our lives?" I ask her.

"I don't know. I only know that I'm not being held prisoner in my pack, waiting until the day I turn 18, so that some man who calls himself my mate can claim me in front of my pack. How could I even face them every day after that? How could I look them in the eye? How could I be their ranked member after they had seen me in that position?"

I understand exactly what she means. That's why I ran. As a Gamma, she has the potential to be a Gamma, Beta, or a Luna. But for me as an Alpha female, I know that an Alpha will want me. The thought of having to lead a pack who had seen me in such a personal state still makes me sick to my stomach.

"So where is this place? This place where they provide free food and water to the wolves on the run?" I ask.

She gives me a general sense of where the place is and I realize it isn't far from where my father's pack is. That makes me wonder if it isn't him and my mother leaving this food and water out. Even if it's not for me, they are still able to help those who are like me.

"Maybe I'll go and check this place out too," I tell Penny.

She looks at me a moment. "Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm thrilled to be spending time with you and to have finally met you. But if the two of us stay together for too long, the possibility of both of us getting captured is higher, do you know what I mean? I think it's better if we split up soon."

"I understand. But we don't have to split up yet, right? I mean, there's protection in numbers too, and we could at least get there to see if it's safe, before we split up. If they only provide food once a day, you could take the first batch and go, and I could wait for the second day.

"You would do that?" she asks, surprised.

"I've been on the run a lot longer than you have. I found ways to survive, and I've eaten more recently than you have. So yes, I would do that."

"Honestly, I would love the company for a while. If I wasn't afraid of being captured, I would ask if we could stay together. But as it is..."

"I understand, truly I do. None of us want to be captured. While we're on this train, I think one of us should stay awake and make sure we stay safe. If you're tired, I'm happy to take the first shift," I tell her.

"Actually, I found a safe place and was able to sleep last night. So, I'm good if you need to rest."

"Thank you. I only got a couple hours of sleep. If anything scares you or worries you at all, wake me up. If we start to slow down, wake me up."

"I will."

I use my bag as a pillow and find a spot away from the open door. I lay staring up the ceiling of the train car, listening to the sound of the metal wheels on the rails as the car rocks back and forth.

It's been two years since I've seen my family, two years since I've spoken to them. Even if this isn't them leaving food and water, I'll still be close enough that maybe I can sneak onto their pack lands. Or maybe I can somehow let them know that I'm alive and well, and that I love them. If I'm really lucky, maybe I can spend the night, safe, in a warm bed in my old packhouse.

The thought of being tucked into my old bed, safe on the Alpha floor, my parents down the hall, is the last thought I have before I drift off to sleep.

Hunter

Lucas and I head to my office after morning warrior training. We walk in, ready to look over the patrols and everything else that we need to tackle today. I sit down at my desk, and he sits across from me. I noticed something different about him this morning, A spring in his step, but I didn't want to ask in front of everyone. Now, however, it's just the two of us.

"Something's different. What's going on with you?" I ask.

He gives me a smug smile. "Why would you say something's different?"

"Besides the fact that you're my Beta and my best friend, I've known you for a long time. What's up?"

"Kinsley invited me to sleep in the bed with her last night."

I look at him a moment, not exactly sure how impactful this is. They've been together over a year. "Was that..."

"After I marked her, I told her she could have the bed and I would sleep on the couch until she invited me to sleep with her. Last night was the first night that she finally invited me. Nothing happened and I'm okay with that, but she let me hold her all night. I haven't felt this calm since I met her."

"Congratulations, Lucas. Seriously, I'm happy for you."

"I think you were right about giving her choices. It seems the more that I'm giving her options, the more open she is to including me in her life. We still have a long way to go but we took a step in the right direction last night."

"Good. I'm glad to hear it. And I hope you continue to make steps in the right direction."

We begin going through the work for the day, making sure our patrols are scheduled properly, making sure we account for our she-wolves who are no longer able to shift because of pregnancies. Unlike ranked members, the warriors and the omegas don't claim their mates publicly. So, generally speaking, once they're mated, they begin having pups right away.

It's getting close to lunchtime when Kinsley knocks on the door. I'm about to tell her to come in, but Lucas is up and heading to the door before I have a chance to. He opens the door, smiling at his mate.

"Hey Kins, come on in."

She returns the smile, and a soft blush flushes her cheeks. She looks down a moment before looking back up at Lucas. "I needed to speak with you and Alpha Hunter for a moment," she says, stepping into my office.

"Hey Kinsley, what do you need?" I ask.

"I need to go into town tomorrow. I usually go once a month, just to make sure that our grocery bill is paid and there aren't any problems. It's never been an issue before, however, now it means I won't be able to leave food for the she-wolves because I'll be in town. I was wondering if one of you would be willing to go and leave the food and water for the she-wolves. I don't know if word has gotten out or if perhaps it's the same person coming back multiple times, but the food is gone every day now. I'd hate to think that somebody's going hungry just because I had to go into town," she says.

"Don't you normally go in the mornings?" I ask her.

"I do, and I know that that won't be possible for you. That's why I was wondering if maybe it would be Lucas that would go instead," she says.

"Actually, I would like to go. I'd like to see how you have it set up, and I'd also like to check to make sure that there are no Alphas around. If we're just getting the word out to she-wolves on the run, I would hate to think that the Alphas have started staking the place out. I don't want us to inadvertently leave a trap for these, she-wolves," I say to her.

"I'm glad you said that, Alpha. I've been thinking the same thing, wondering if we shouldn't change the spot where we're putting the food. My only concern with that is will they know how to find it if we move?"

"Let me check it out tomorrow and see. I won't be able to go in the morning, but I'll go in the afternoon. Hopefully if it's a new person every day, the time of day won't matter. I hope, anyway."

"I can take you this afternoon, show you where the place is, where I leave the food. How I hide it," Kindley suggests.

"Perfect. Let's plan to go after lunch. You usually drive right?"

"Yes. That way I can clean up if there's anything left behind and then I can leave the food and secure it.

"OK, let's go this afternoon then. We may as well bring another supply of food since we're going anyway. That way if someone does come in the morning, it won't be as fresh as when you leave it, but there will be food and water there for them.

"That's a great idea, Alpha. I'll have another food basket put together and then I'll have lunch sent up for both of you?" she asks, looking back and forth between us.

"I think we're done here," I say to Lucas, giving him the opportunity to invite Kinsley to have lunch with him.

"I'll get the patrols posted, Alpha," he says before turning to his mate. "I'll take lunch in my office, Kins. If you have time, you're welcome to join me."

She looks down and blushes again. "I have time," she says softly.

"Good. I'll see you in a few then," he says, gently kissing her cheek as he passes her.

She turns her head and watches as he walks out the door. Before he steps out, he turns and winks at her making her blush an even deeper shade of pink.

I feel jealousy for their relationship flowing through me again. I want a mate. I want a relationship with someone, someone who I can grow old with, someone who I can love and dote on, someone who loves me in return. I get angry all over again about the process that we have for claiming ranked she-wolves which is impacting my ability to find and take a mate.

"Alpha?" Kinsley asks and my head snaps up to her.

"I'm sorry, did you ask me something?" I ask, not having heard her if she did.

"You were growling Alpha. Is everything okay?

"It looks as though you and Lucas are finally finding your way together. I'm happy for you, but it frustrates me that our process has caused the problems in your relationship that it has and that it's impacting my own ability to take a mate. Sometimes I feel it more strongly than others. My apologies. I didn't mean to startle you."

"You're a good Alpha, Alpha Hunter. I have no doubt that you would make a great mate. But speaking from experience, no matter how good your mate is, that initial claiming makes everything so much more difficult."

"Which is why I'm working hard to try and change it. I want to find my mate, but I don't want to find her only to lose her.

"I hope that you're able to make changes to the process Alpha Hunter. Truly, I have no desire to raise a daughter in this environment. To know that she would have to go through what I went through... And I was lucky enough to be mated to Lucas. He's been more patient with me than I ever expected. Many others aren't as lucky as I am."

I nod, knowing she's right. "Come get me when you're ready to go."

A few hours later, we're in the car, driving up into the mountains.

"I intentionally chose a spot that's difficult to get to and requires someone to be smaller than an Alpha. It's going to be hard for you to get into this space," Kinsley tells me.

"I'll manage."

When we park, I grab the supplies and begin following Kinsley up an unmarked trail. I make note of where we are, breathing in the air around me, making sure I can find this place on my own tomorrow.

As we climb, I sniff the air, happy and a little surprised that I don't smell any Alphas or other ranked werewolves in the area.

"You chose a place that's in bear territory?" I ask Kinsley.

"Yes. It's a risk for the she-wolves, but they're out here on their own anyway. The bears are at least a deterrent for the ranked wolves coming after them.

I give my Beta female an appraising look. It was smart of her. She's right. The ranked wolves would bypass the area once they smelled the bears, not wanting to risk an attack. Being a hunting party, they would be in small groups and bears have been known to take on up to ten wolves at a time, even werewolves.

She begins ducking through rocky areas, places that are very small. She helps me through, both of us making sure that I don't scratch myself to the point of bleeding. If my scent is here, the she-wolves won't come. As it is, just having me here is a risk, but it's one I'm willing to take if it means that we might be able to feed a starving female.

After maneuvering through several small openings, I see the spot where Kinsley leaves the food and water. She's found a perfect area. There's a small little pool here with water dripping from a lake or river nearby. The she-wolves could take the opportunity to wash themselves off while they eat and drink before leaving again. In truth, they would probably be safe to spend the night here, but I doubt that any of them would do that.

I lift my nose in the air, smelling the scent of multiple she wolves who have come to take the food and water that we're offering. There's another scent more potent in the air.

'Fear,' Shaw confirms.

"I'm rethinking you moving this place, Kinsley. You found a nearly perfect place here. My only concern is that they have to get in and out, and there would be ways for the Alphas to lay ambush for them."

She shows me a note, one that she replaces with one in her pocket. The note says that the food and water are for anyone who is hungry or thirsty. It gives an update on the latest that we've heard about where the Alphas are hunting, and then it gives directions on how to exit a different way than we entered.

"Are you sure you're not part fox, Kinsley? I say, yet again impressed with her.

She chuckles at that. "No. I just have an idea of what they're feeling, what they're trying to escape from. I've used that to guide my notes and my plans for them."

"Start looking around, see if you can find a place that's as good or nearly as good as this one. I would hate to give this place up just because we're nervous about Alphas being around. Worst case scenario, maybe Lucas and I can begin patrolling here, trying to keep the place safe."

"We'd need to be careful with that too. We wouldn't want your scent to be too strong or they won't stay."

"Agreed. Okay, let's head back the way we came. I don't want to know the secret exit."

Kinsley chuckles again. As we make our way back out to the main area, there's a moment where the breeze blows in our direction, and I suddenly get the scent of orchids. I stop, lifting my nose in the air and taking a deep breath, wanting desperately to go find the source of the scent.

"Alpha?" Kinsley asks, and I realize that I've taken a step in the direction of the scent. I stop, looking around, seeing nothing. I'm pretty sure I know what this scent is though.

'Shaw is that...?'

'Yes, that is the scent of our mate.'

I'm not sure how I feel about that. If she's here, she may be hungry, she may need water and I don't want to scare her off. I'll be back tomorrow. Maybe I can catch her and at least try and talk to her, let her know that I'm not like the others, that I won't claim her publicly, that she can trust me.

I take one more look around, lifting my nose in the air, trying to catch the scent one more time.

"It's nothing, Kinsley. Let's head back."

I turn and walk away, getting in the car and looking around as we begin to head back to the pack. I don't see her, but I know she's there. My mate.

Sophie

Penny woke me up in the middle of the night and I took my shift, watching and making sure that we stayed safe while she slept. About an hour before sunrise, I woke her. I could see a train station coming ahead and we needed to get off this train before anyone spotted us.

As the train starts to slow, I strip out of my clothes and put them in my bag, shifting back into my wolf. I make sure that Penny is doing the same, then I grab my bag in my mouth and wait until the train slows as much as I feel I can let it before I need to jump. I find a spot with grass, and I leap, quickly turning to watch and make sure that Penny joins me and lands safely.

Her landing isn't as graceful as mine and it looks as though she might have twisted her ankle. I race over to her, sniffing her leg. I nudge her with my nose and wait. She puts weight on her leg and almost instantly, she lifts it again, a painful yelp escaping her lips.

I look around. We are very exposed here and as soon as the sun comes up, anyone close by will be able to see us. We need to get to the forest, and we need to do it quickly.

I shift and quickly take Penny's paw in my hand. I gently move my hand up to the knee joint where she flinched, whimpering as I touch it.

"I'm going to have to carry you Penny. We can't stay here, we have to move."

She shakes her head, pushing me with her nose, telling me to leave her.

"I'm not leaving you. I know it's going hurt to shift, but I need you to shift, and then you can climb on my back. I'll carry you. We've got to get to the forest before the sun comes up," I tell her urgently.

When she doesn't instantly shift, I take her face in my hands. "We don't have much time. It's going to be hard enough for me to travel carrying you. We have to go, Penny. You have to shift."

She nods, and I release her face. She whimpers as she begins to shift and when her leg shifts back, she cries out before slapping her hand over her mouth. Her knee looks terrible. It's swollen and already bruising an ugly purple color.

"That's going to take some time to heal. Come on, we need to get going."

I help her up into a standing position, grabbing both of our bags and handing them to her. Once she has them over her shoulders, I turn, crouching down in front of her and I help her get onto my back. She wraps the good leg around my waist, and I carefully wrap my arm underneath the thigh of her bad leg. She whimpers softly as she bends her knee and lets it hang.

"I'm going to have to run Penny, so just hang on."

"Okay, just hurry," she says and I can hear the pain in her voice.

I take off running as fast as I can. I run in the opposite direction of the train station and train tracks. It looks like there's a mile, maybe two, before I can get to what looks like a forest. I hope that's what it is. I hope it's a thick forest, where we can hide and maybe find a place to let Penny rest and heal.

When I get to the tree line, the sun is just starting to rise and I can see very quickly that this is no thick forest. This is just a smattering of trees, and we'll have to continue on.

Penny pushes her face against my back as I run. I can hear her whimpering periodically, but she keeps the sounds as quiet as she possibly can. I frequently stop listening to make sure that no one is following us, that no one has caught our scent. This is a bad situation, and it would be very easy for us to be captured.

Somewhere around noon, I stop near a lake, sitting Penny on the ground. I need to catch my breath and she needs to stretch out her legs. Thankfully the trees have gotten thicker as I've run. I'm still moving in the general direction of my parents' pack, hoping that it's them leaving the food out. I know we'll need to be more careful as we get closer to my parents' pack. There are several wolf packs in the surrounding area. I don't know how many of those Alphas have found their mates, but I'm sure if they haven't, they'll be on the hunt for one.

I take our water bottles and fill them quickly in the cool lake coming back and handing one to Penny as I sit beside her. I drink the water quickly, thirsty after my long run. Then I look down at her knee.

"How does it feel?" I ask her.

"Better," she says. I look at it and see that it's turned into a yellow and green bruise from the ugly black and purple that it was earlier today. That's a good sign that it's healing, but the fact that it's still bruised means it's not healed enough.

"Do you want to try walking on it?" I ask her.

"Yeah, let me at least try and if nothing else, maybe I can walk for a while. The forest has gotten thicker here."

"Okay," I agree, knowing it would be better if I can look around, see if I can find a place for us to hide tonight. I pull out two more granola bars from my bag and hand her one before taking our water bottles down to the lake and refilling them.

"Let's try walking around the lake, maybe there's an area here where we can hide for the night, or at least let you rest until your knee is healed. It looks like it should be fine by tomorrow and then we can both begin to run.

"I'm holding you back. You should just go without me," she says.

"I'm not leaving you here. You're at risk at being captured. I'm not going to do that to you."

She nods and surprises me by reaching out to hug me. "Thank you."

"That's what friends do."

"I wish we were the kind of friends who could stay together and not have to separate in another day or so."

"Me too. Maybe someday. We can hope."

I help her up and wrap her arm around my shoulder before we begin making our way slowly around the lake. We both listen intently for the sounds of footfalls, running paws, growls, or howls of any kind.

It's slow going as Penny limps her way around the lake trying not to put too much weight on her bad knee. Once we're around the Lake, I look around and see that away from the lake, the forest becomes thicker with trees.

"What do you think, Penny? The lake or the forest for tonight?" She looks around, then looks back at the forest.

"I feel too exposed here by the lake. I feel like anyone in the area will come here to get water, and then they will find us."

"I agree. I think it's time for you to climb back on my back. I'd like to make some good time and get away from this lake. As soon as someone catches our scent, they'll come after us and I'd like to be far enough away that we still have a chance."

"Why don't we swim across? If we get in the water, our scent will be lost, and it will take a long time for them to find our scent again. If we swim straight across, we can get out and then cut left heading north again."

"Are you sure your knee can handle it?" I ask her, worried about her ability to swim. It's why I hadn't already suggested that we cross the lake.

"I'd rather take longer to heal than to get caught," she says resolutely.

"Okay, let's do it. We'll swim together. I'll carry our bags and keep them over my head. You worry about swimming and keeping your head afloat."

We strip off our clothes and make our way into the water. It's cold and my body is covered in goosebumps almost immediately. Once we're submerged in the water, Penny looks at me. Her lips have already started turning blue.

"At l-l-least the c-c-cold f-f-feels g-g-good against m-m-my knee," she stutters with the cold.

I nod, focusing on keeping our bags over my head as I use my legs to kick and push me across the lake. Penny uses her arms, pulling her body behind her, letting her bad leg drag limply in the water. Thankfully, there isn't much of a current. The problem is the cold.

By the time we reach the other side, the sun is starting to set. We get out and I immediately grab clothes out of both our bags, handing hers to her and putting mine own on.

Once we're dressed, I give Penny our bags and I help her get on my back again. It takes me about a mile to work out the cold and the stiffness in my joints. But after that I get into a rhythm and begin running. This time it's not as painful for Penny. And she's able to listen for sounds of others chasing us while I focus on running and finding a place where we can be safe for the night.

While I'm running, I cross the path of a small Alpha hunting group. So rather than stopping, I continue on much longer than I intended to. It's well into the night when we finally find a place to stop. We both collapse, exhausted. Neither of us even bothers to change. We put our bags under our heads and fall asleep.

It's late the next day when we wake. I step out of the little shelter I found and sniff the air, looking around. We had both been so tired that we hadn't kept watch, but I don't hear anything, and I don't smell anyone. I turn back and I look at Penny. She's checking out her knee and it looks much better than it did yesterday.

"How does it feel?" I ask her.

"Better. Healed," she says.

"Good. I don't think we're too far from where we're supposed to be based on the directions you gave me. If we run hard, I think we can be there in a couple of hours, early afternoon at the latest. Then you can have some food and maybe you'll be nice enough to share the water with me," I smile at her.

"I'll share both the food and the water with you," she says. "You've been so kind and so generous to me."

"Let's just see what's there. Let's hope that there really is food and water."

We pack up our things and we start slow, making sure that Penny is able to run on her injured leg. But it seems that it's healed, if not completely, then almost completely, so we begin running much harder. It's early afternoon when we arrive.

We slow down and I let Penny take the lead. She has a better idea of where she's going. The terrain here has become much rockier than the forest, and we have to be careful. I lift my nose in the air, sniffing to see if I smell any Alphas in the area.

What I smell stops me dead in my tracks. A she-wolf. It's expected. It's not a scent I recognize, but it makes sense that a she-wolf would be the one leaving food and water for us.

But it's the other scent that freezes me. The scent of pine... the scent of home.

'Mate,' Hedda says.