Crimson Moon

by TheGiantEmu

Alex Ebony has lived her whole life believing that she was your average alpha werewolf. But when a psychotic homicidal vampire comes after her, she finds that she's got a thirst for blood as well. As she struggles with her newfound darkness, she has try and keep her pack, protect her town, stop a vampire whose hellbent on genocide, all while fighting off those who try to take her.

1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Seventy-seven days it lasted. That's how long they fought. All it took was seventy-seven days to divide the world for eternity. The God of Light and his celestial soldiers defeated the demonic army of Tsar Santanail, in the battle for the souls of man. The God of Light offered them a home beyond death, an afterlife for their spirits to rest. But Santanail, disagreed. he wanted us to be confined to the mortal realm, soulless, composed of clay. In a display of defiance, Tsar Santanail tempted the first humans back to earth as their spirits tried to pass on. This sparked the war that ended in compromise, giving humans a spirit that was encased in a clay shell, and the earth was split into two halves, night and day. The God of Light hung the sun in the sky to protect man from Tsar and his monsters, confining the beasts to the shadows, leaving Santanail to rule only in darkness. But the damage had already been done.

The souls that went back were changed, no longer human but something else. Fearful of the abnormalities, man began a great hunt. They treated them like a disease and slaughtered them to near extinction. After a few years, only one of Tsar's creations remained. In an attempt to ensure the survival of his lord's legacy, the beast chose a lonely peasant woman to help him carry out his mission. By the time the hunters found him, the women had already given birth to its child.

The baby, a boy, looked normal, except for the bright silver streams that covered his body, and his eyes that were pure silver in likeness. His mother couldn't stand his presence, knowing what he was, yet couldn't let him be slaughtered at the hands of her people, so she fled. She raised her son deep in the forest, away from civilization in secrecy.

The boy endured many hardships. His mother had no love for him and made certain that he was aware. It didn't take long for him to realize it was because of his... unique appearance. As he grew older, he began to develop certain abilities. During winter he was able to keep they're garden alive, cure his mother when she fell ill, even produce a fire from the dampest wood. He was a child of extraordinary gifts, but all his mother saw was a despicable monster, attempting to play some kind of trickery like his father had. So he left, fled to the woods on his own where he would cease to be a burden to anyone. In time, he learned how to hide his silver appearance from people, allowing him to travel freely from village to village without so much as a second glance.

He mainly kept to himself in the forest, practicing his skills without any interference or opposition. Then one day he found a lost wolf cub who looked cold and hungry. The boy used his gift to warm and feed the cub. After that, the small wolf stayed with him, and they became close companions. They grew up as each others only family. They did everything together. Neither would go anywhere without the other.

As the years stretched on the boy began to understand the wolf. Started to understand when his friend was upset or unnerved. Seeing this connection he started to wonder if he could make it stronger. He used his powers and soon made it to where he and the wolf could communicate through their minds. Their bond grew stronger and stronger with each passing day.

Then one stormy night it was all taken away. It was a horrible night and the two friends were out searching for shelter. They walked and walked but found no place safe enough to stay. Then suddenly a bear came charging through the trees. It was obviously rabid and took the two companions by surprise. It would have killed the man if his friend hadn't been quick to act. He leaped onto the bear and it thrashed and clawed but it couldn't get free of the wolf's grasp. It finally got a hold of the smaller animal and threw him against a tree.

By this moment the man was in full alert and using his abilities, he quickly got rid of the attacking animal, but his efforts weren't soon enough. His friend lay motionless on the ground.

He rushed to his side and found him covered in claw marks and a branch in his side. The wolf gave a little whimper, the only sign he was alive. The man quickly went to work, using healing spells to try to save the only family he had. But his efforts were in vain, the wolf's wounds were too great.

"Stop my friend," the dying soul pleaded, "it is no use."

"No," the man replied, "you are going to be fine, I am going to fix you."

"There is nothing to fix, everything has its time and mine has come."

"But you cannot go, you cannot leave me."

"Don not be sad. I will always be with you in your heart and your memories."

The man refused to let his friend go. In that moment he called upon the strength of the winds and the power of the lightning. He summoned the life of the plants and solidity of the earth. He conjured up the force of the river and the ever growing fire that had hit a nearby bush. He asked the forces of nature to save his friend in any way they could.

At that moment, as the wolf drew his last breath, his soul entered the man along with a small piece of each element he called upon. From then on he lived as one with his friend and soon they began to become one. He would randomly find himself change from man to beast. He learned to control the shift and then found he also held power over the forces which had made him that way.

As time went on he got stronger and faster and learned to live with civilized people. He couldn't bare to see people suffer as his friend did, so he became a healer. For every person that he saved with his magic touch, he would leave an imprint on their soul. That mark would be passed on to their children who would find themselves to have similar talents as the man. Whether it be the soul of a wolf or the silver glow of magic. The protectors and werewolves were born.

Chapter 1

"Where is he?" Fallon spat in aggravation; one of his little minions was half an hour late and nowhere to be seen. "I am not a man to be kept waiting," he hissed angrily. He ran a hand through his dark hair, his brown eyes lit with anger. The light drizzle shined in the moonlight, leaving small spots on his cardigan and trousers.

"Just calm down I'm sure he'll be here soon." Fallon's assistant new his words were useless. He'd only known the guy six months but knew all too well the boyish look that Fallon had was nothing more than a front. Looking at him now you'd think he was a harmless school boy, no older than twenty, but there was no limit to what he would do. And his age? Lets just say twenty was a few centuries short.

Fallon started to speak when another dark haired man burst into the alley, panting and wet. He wore a button-down shirt with ripped jeans. Fallon turned and his features relaxed almost immediately. His shoulders drooped, all the tension left his body, and even his eyes glazed over with an unreadable look, as if nothing was wrong.

"You're late," he said without the slightest hint of irritation.

The man started fidgeting. "I'm sorry," he exclaimed, "I got lost."

"Is that so?" Fallon said taking a step closer, "You'd think with all the new toys they have these days people would be able to get around more easily." The assistant stood very still. He could hear the other man's heart beating at a rapid pace and smelled the sweat dripping from his temples. With every move that his boss made he seemed to catch his breath, as if he was expecting something to happen.

"Now where can I find the girl?"

The henchman straightened, "She lives in a small town, just over three hundred miles south of here. Its surrounded by miles of forest in all directions so it should be pretty easy to get into."

Fallon crossed one arm over his chest and propped his other elbow on it, resting his forehead in his hand. "Its because of the woods that getting in is so tricky you idiot. Don't you know anything about protectors?"

At the man's blank expression, the assistant stepped forward, "You turned him last week, Sir."

"Of course I did. You know we really should get a book to keep some sort of log about that, there's just too many of you to keep it all straight."

"We had one, sir, but you got upset and threw the bookie out in the sun while he was holding his logs and they burned with him."

"Was that who I killed this morning?"

"No, Sir, the bookie died yesterday. You killed your tailor this morning because you ripped the suit he was working on, but got mad at him for not making the seams strong enough."

"Oh, yeah," he responded as he remembered his actions. He clapped and rubbed his hands together with a look of hunger in his eyes. "Well I think it's time to reward this kind fellow, don't you?"

The assistant nodded. He took a step back to make sure there was a safe distance between himself and the messenger, who seemed nervous after hearing about Fallon's past transgressions. He knew what was coming; surely he'd heard the rumors about the monster who stood before them. How he would slaughter dozens out of boredom, hundreds out of anger, and even thousands if he got really pissed off. But no one ever seemed to care. All the signs said run far, far away from Fallon, but all anyone seemed to see was the promise that one day vampires would be the dominant ones. Humans would become cattle and anything with power that could rival theirs would be hunted to near extinction.

The assistant wanted more than anything to take out Fallon where he stood, and get rid of this revolting monster once and for all. But he couldn't. He needed him to trust him and keep him close. Besides, even if he did manage to kill him it would do no good. The hunters he had compelled to protect him would come after him. You'd think that with his death the compulsion would where off. But it didn't work like that. They would be forced to carry out their last mission. If that mission was to protect a vampire, the hunters wouldn't stop until the killer was dead. He wished he could stop it but he wouldn't risk his life for some stranger, he couldn't. He knew that for his plan he needed them both alive. Stay out of the way and live another day, he thought.

Fallon smiled, he had the hunger in his eyes. In a blur he was behind the messenger and had him in a headlock. His pupils darkened to pure black and turned into a sort of smoke that seemed alive and swirled around. The whites of his eyes became crimson red and peaked in and out of the smoke. His ears sharpen to points, and his canines grew into long sharp fangs. His skin became a sickly gray color and seemed to hug his body, making him seem hollow, as if to show that he was nothing more than a walking corpse. He bit the man in his neck and blood started flowing everywhere. The messenger shifted his own features but was powerless against the stronger monster attacking him. The horror and utter shock clear in his wide eyes. How could he be shocked? Just another idiot looking to sign up for riches but overlooking the fine print which was bold, underlined, and in all caps stating 'YOU WILL DIE'. If vampires don't end the human race then they're own selfish greed will.

Fallon pulled his head back, blood dripping from his mouth, and ripped the man's head from its body with one quick tug.

He spit on the ground, "I hate doing that," he said, "Vamp blood is too thick, and bitter, and well... dead." He smiled as if he had just made a clever joke. "Now," he said, still seeing the world through red and black eyes. "Go find her and bring her to me."

His assistant looked at the body on the ground, regretting his decision to ever be part of this. He turned to Fallon, "If she's as powerful as everyone says, I won't be able to just swoop in and take her."

The older vampire chuckled, "Then gain her trust, trick her, I don't care what you have to do, just bring her to me."

The henchman nodded and started to leave. "Oh, one more thing," Fallon said, stopping him. "The girl isn't as powerful as everyone says she is. She's more-so." He turned to leave, "I'll be in touch," and in a blur Fallon was gone.

The assistant sighed to himself. And the good times keep on coming, he thought.

The alarm screeched, ripping through the silence. Alex rolled over and turned it off. She laid there for a minute, staring at the ceiling. Her mind kept replaying the dream she had just had, and she came to the realization that she could no longer ignore it. It was the third night she had seen Fallon, each time he was working towards the same goal, which apparently, involved some girl. The first time it happened she tried to do a tracker spell to find him but came up empty. She started to think the guy didn't exist but three visions in one week? It couldn't be a coincidence.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to picture the scene more clearly. Who was the assistant? She had witnessed the ordeal through his eyes, as if she were him, so she didn't know what he looked like. she tried to remember his voice, but it was always muffled and slightly distorted. Did she know him? She had to, there was no other explanation as to how she was able to be connected to him like that. But no one she knew would consort with a vampire, especially not one like Fallon who clearly didn't have any concerns for anyone but himself.

What was she supposed to do? how was she supposed to find these guys if she had no way of knowing who they were, and why was she seeing them? Was the person they were looking for in her town? The guy described the location as surrounded be forests and posed the threat of protectors. It fit.

She let out a sigh. The only thing she could was be prepared for Fallon to show up, at least until the dreams stopped. There was a possibility that he wouldn't, but she would be stupid not to take the threat into consideration. She decided not to tell anyone about yet, not until she was certain. There was no need to worry everyone about something that probably wouldn't happen.

She pushed the vision out of her mind. It was too early to ask herself questions that she didn't have the answers to. She didn't even know why her alarm was going off anyways, school wasn't for another week. "Cole!" Alex heard shuffling downstairs. She jumped out of bed and was in front of her guardian in literally a second. Cole stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hey Alex, I was just going for a walk." His eyes darted around the room, deliberately avoiding hers.

"Don't 'hey Alex' me. Why is my alarm going off at five-thirty in the morning?"

"Um...well, hey you want some breakfast? I can go into town and get you some."

Alex folded her arms and cocked her hip. They went through the same argument every year. She knew he was just trying to be a good parent figure but it could be so annoying sometimes.

She pushed past him, ignoring the smirk on his face. She ascended the stairs to the second floor and went into her room to get dressed. Once she had showered and put on some clothes, she stood in front of the mirror. Despite her efforts to stop it, her mind wandered back to her vision. Who was that guy in her dream that had stood by while Fallon had murdered someone? Granted that someone had been a vamp himself and you technically can't murder something that was already dead, but that wasn't the point. He didn't seem happy about it, so why didn't he do anything? She stared into the mirror. The gears grinding in her head were almost visible behind her brown eyes.

Sometimes she forgot she wasn't normal. Her reflection gave no sign that she was anything but human. She turned on the sink, and forced the water to stay in the air with almost no concentration. This time when she looked into the mirror her eyes were a bright, supernatural blue. She was one of the few werewolves whose eyes looked normal when she wasn't in wolf form or using her power. She had never met another wolf with eyes like hers, with eyes that sometimes looked normal. A sliver of water appeared in her reflection. She looked down and realized she was still holding the water in the air. She turned off the facet, gradually lowered the water into the sink, and left the bathroom.

After brushing her brown hair, she headed downstairs where Cole was making her an omelet. She pushed passed him and started making a pot of coffee.

Cole's dirty blonde hair curled at the edges. He had a scruff of a beard and for some reason owned a lot of flannel. Cole had a sort of confident homeless look to him and most women his age seemed to think he was attractive, even some of the girls in her school thought he was a looker. All Alex ever saw was an annoying father figure. Ten percent of the time she felt like being his little girl and wanted him to know how much he meant to her, and the other ninety percent she wanted to strangle him and use him for a chew toy.

Alex slumped in the chair at the table and looked aimlessly at its surface.

"Oh, come on, you're not still mad at me are you?"

She shrugged, "I haven't decided yet."

"What else is new? As much as you get mad at me, I'm surprised you haven't plotted my death yet."

"Electrocution. Its effective and can easily be covered up."

"Oh, I see. And you wouldn't happen to be planning on bringing Ace into this would you?"

"Of course not, but if you were to say be plugging in an electronic device and some water just happened to be in the socket, well I can't be responsible for what happens." She smiled deviously.

Cole laughed and shook his head, "So you want to go for a run today, or are you meeting up with the gang?"

"Since I'm not in the killing mood today, I think you should go by yourself this morning as your punishment."

Cole put on a mask of distraught and fear. "But there's so many dangers in the woods," he said sarcastically, "The three little piggies might come attack me at the absence of the big bad wolf."

Alex smiled. She had a good mind to shift and show him how big and bad she could be. But instead she said, "Cute, you must have been working on that one for months."

Cole grabbed his chest dramatically. "Ouch," he said, "and here I thought you liked my jokes." Alex laughed at that.

She was about to cut into her food when she heard a howling in the distance. She turned to Cole, "That's my cue." She stood up from her untouched meal.

"I'll see you later, be careful, and don't get into trouble," he raised his eyebrows and pointed an accusing finger at her.

Alex was already at the door. "Me, trouble, never." She winked at her guardian, and turned. She shifted into a five foot tall wolf, wincing at the slight pain she got when her bones morphed, and bounded out the door. As she ran from the house she heard Cole say, "Yeah, like I haven't heard that before."

She fled through the forest, the trees passing by in a blur. At the corner of her eyes she saw two forms join her on either side. To her right was Grey, a white and gray wolf with a black snout, paws, and tail. To her left was Lorraine, or Lora, a wolf who had brown and sandy colored fur.

Alex remembered when they had their first fight with some hunters. They hadn't tried to cast any spells to keep the wolves from using their power because they knew that they were new to things. That had turned out to be a big mistake. The hunters and wolves had tumbled through the forest and came to the edge of a cliff. When Alex had realized that the fight was getting nowhere, she screamed at the pack to help her try to push them over the cliff. Unfortunately the hunters guessed what they were up to and tried the same. They almost succeeded. One of the attackers clapped and sent a shock wave through the air. Alex had dug her claws in the earth and braced herself against the invisible force. When it had subsided, she looked around to see if everyone was okay. Everything seemed fine except for one thing, Wayne was gone.

"Wayne," she had yelled.

"Help I'm down here, over the cliff,"Wayne replied.

The others had resumed combat and Alex hurriedly went to her friend's aid. When she had looked over the edge she saw him. He was in human form and holding on to a sick looking branch. He must have changed form on the way down to get a grip on something to stop his fall. He was just out of arms reach. Alex shifted and leaned over the side. "Use the branch to hoist your body up some and I'll grab you."

"I can't the branch is too weak. If I shift my weight, it'll snap."

That had been the last straw for Lora. She must have been listening to their conversation over the sounds of the fight. When Alex turned to look at them she saw the rage in her eyes. That's when it happened. Lorraine made a low growl and then raised her head and let out an ear-piercing howl. The hunters all dropped and covered their ears just as a handful of branches, one for each hunter, shot out and took hold of their targets. They wrapped themselves around the witches and threw them over the cliff. Lora had stopped howling and now stood watching the scene with satisfaction, while the rest of them looked at her in awe.

Then Wayne rose over the edge and landed on the ground softly, still holding the branch which Lora was willing to guide the boy she loved to safety. Ace had been the first of them to speak saying, "That was awesome. Just one problem, couldn't you have done that before things got bad." Lorraine gave him a shy smile and then they had all turned to leave.

"So what do you think it is this time?" Grey's voice rang through Alex's mind with the slightest echo, bringing her out of her thoughts. In wolf form they weren't able to speak out loud but all werewolves had a psychic connection and communicate telepathically if they wanted to.

"They probably found another guy to set Alex up with," Loraine teased.

Alex smirked. "If that's the case I'll hand them over to the vampires and hunters myself."

They sped through the forest at top speed, stopping in a small clearing. Two teenage boys were standing in the center. One was about six feet, had a slight build with a buzz cut. His eyes were an unnatural shade of brown. The other was a ginger, about the same height, with slightly more noticeable muscles and dark purple eyes. The three girls shifted back to human form, and again Alex felt the pain of her bones changing. She was so grateful that they got to keep their clothes on when they shifted. Where they went, she had no idea, and she honestly didn't care.

Lora was blond with bright unnaturally green eyes that were magnified by the string of green vines on the outer half of the skin around her eyes. She was wearing a pink sleeveless blouse with a blue mini skirt and sandals. She had on mascara, light eyeliner, blush, and shiny lip gloss. Grey on the other hand, wore heavy black eyeliner and that was it. She had black hair with silver streaks in it, natural of course, and was wearing a black tank with camouflage cargo pants with army boots.

"Hey guys," said the ginger giving a smile to the new arrivals.

"So what is this about Ace?" Lora asked.

"I don't know I just got here." Ace pointed to the boy with the buzz cut, "Ask Wayne."

"Wayne?" Lora said moving a strand of blond hair behind her ears. Wayne stepped over to the group who had formed a small circle. He reached into his pocket and pulled out three bullet casings.

"I found these in the rocks by the river. At first I didn't think anything of it, people hunt in these woods all the time, but when I went and picked them up," he paused, not wanting to say what they all knew was coming. He tossed the shells to his alpha, "Those things, that left the casings, were not of human origin."

She looked down at the silver in her hand and shook them around a little. She picked one up and sniffed it. The smell of gunpowder was still fresh. Inside of it was a crushed substance. Alex hit the end to her index finger until some fell out. Then she took her thumb and moved the residue around in a circular motion. It was a mixture of herbs that had been spelled to do some serious damage.

"Wayne when did you say you found these?" Alex asked.

"I didn't, but it was only a few minutes ago. As soon as I found them I called you guys. Why?" he replied.

"These bullets were fired not too long ago. Fifteen, maybe thirty minutes at most."

"That can't be right," Grey said, "at least one of us would have heard the shots, even with a silencer, or at the very least we would've heard those hit the rocks."

Alex shook her head gravely, "No we wouldn't have," she held up her fingers with the powder substance on them. "You see this? It's a burnt mixture, roses and wolfsbane," She picked one up and held it over the others. "Now, listen," she dropped the one in the air onto the other two. When they hit, there was no sound. Not a clang of metal, not even a thud. "These hunters knew what they were doing." Feelings of dread and anxiety filled the air.

"So why use silver?" Lora asked, "Only rookies do that. All the experienced ones know its useless."

"To throw us off our game. If they make us think they're new players, we'll let our guard down." The pack stared at their leader with grave expressions.

"So they're hunters, we know that much. But are they hunting us?" Ace asked.

"It doesn't matter," Grey said, "There's wolfsbane and rose residue in those. These guys are looking to kill anything they can find, vampire and werewolf alike."

"Yeah but they've got to be after something," Wayne explained, "If they're smart enough to try and trick us like this, then they can't be dumb enough to come onto our territory without good reason. Our protectors have warnings set up all over this town for anything that even thinks about coming here."

"Great, not only do we have to deal with the hunters, but there's another potential threat that's possibly worse. That's just great," Ace blurted out.

"Thank you, Babe, for that lovely piece of information," Grey said in a very sarcastic manor.

"No he's right. We could have bigger problems then we realize," Lora said.

"Do we tell our protectors?" Wayne asked.

Alex thought for a moment. The four wolves looked at her expectantly, waiting on her response. Sometimes she wished she wasn't the Alpha. She took a deep breath and worked out her plan.

She knew the hunters and they're prey would know about her pack by now. They couldn't be out in the open like this. They had no idea how many of them there were, or how experienced they were. She and her pack, her friends, needed to get out of the woods. They needed to lay low until the threats were located and taken care of.

"School starts in a week," she began, "We need to stay under the radar until then. If there are hunters here then they'll be watching these woods like hawks looking for whatever it is they're trying to kill, and I don't want any of you caught in the crossfire. Only call the pack if it's an emergency. And after you get home, I don't want any of you in your wolf forms again until we can locate them. If you see anyone who might be more than human don't attack them. Learn their face and alias if you can, but don't give yourself away. Then I want you to come to me immediately, understand?" The others nodded in agreement. They may be stronger and faster than the hunters but you have to be a fool to underestimate them.

"Not that I'm against your decision or anything," Ace intervened, "but why don't we find them and eliminate the threat?"

"I'm hoping that they'll eliminate each other," she responded. "If the hunters kill they're prey, they'll leave town patting themselves on the back. If the prey wins, then they'll hit the road and continue to do whatever it is that they do. They know we're here and they'd be idiots to challenge us."

"And if neither party leaves?" Lora asked.

"Then we'll be ready." The pack nodded in acceptance.

Grey was the first to speak, "We should probably get out of here. If there are hunters they probably heard Wayne's howl." It was as if she had read her mind. Her unusual gray eyes darted around the clearing looking for signs of movement. She quickly threw her black hair in a ponytail. Grey always did that when she was about to run.

"She's right," Alex said, "We should go, we'll meet at the movie theater at noon. I want an update from each of you every eight hours, sooner if anything comes up."

When the others showed that they understood, the pack went their separate ways hoping the hunters weren't nearby. She hoped Cole was alright. She wouldn't know what to do if something happened to him. He was the only family she had. Her mother had died giving birth and the identity of her father was a mystery. Cole would take care of himself, of course, but that didn't stop her from worrying. The image of Cole being shot down by hunters popped into her head and she quickly pushed it aside.

She was coming to her house in the middle of the forest when something smashed into her side. She went tumbling, the world around her spinning uncontrollably. When she finally gained control over her body she rolled onto her feet and turned to face the cause of her momentary lapse. She found herself eye to eye with a pure black wolf; its orange eyes a big contrast to its dark fur. She snarled, this guy was obviously new.

"Who are you," she demanded.

The other wolf stared at her. "I was about to ask you the same question," he paused and looked her up and down.

"You're on my territory. That means you answer to me, not the other way around."

"Yeah, see I never really was any good with authority so..."

"That'll get you killed one day, considering what we are," she said with mild amusement.

"I take it you're the alpha in this town, I never met one who was a chick before."

"There's a first time for everything."

"So what, you and your girlfriends decided to try and run with the big bads?" He asked with a chuckle.

She lunged at him and he dodged her attack. "Watch your tongue," Alex growled as she turned to face him.

"That hit a nerve," he laughed. "Good, now maybe you can help me."

"Why would I ever help you?"

"Trust me, this benefits you too sweetheart."

"I'm not in the mood for games. This is my territory and I suggest you leave before I send you crawling back with your tail between your legs."

"You know, you really should control that temper of yours. maybe you didn't hear me but I'm trying to help you."

"Please, you're obviously a lone wolf. You don't want to help anyone but yourself."

Suddenly a twig snapped. They both turned their heads in the direction of the noise. She could just make out the rhythm of a heartbeat about fifty yards away. There was a faint smell like burnt coffee and spices. She knew that smell. It was the same smell she was greeted with whenever she came home after Cole had been practicing magic.

"Crap they found me."

Alex turned to the other beast, her curiosity peeked as much as her senses. "Who found you?" she asked, admittedly, afraid of the answer.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. The hunters, they've been tracking me for days."

Alex wanted to scream. "You brought them here," she accused. "Do you realize what you've done? You've put my pack, my family in danger." all she wanted to do in that moment was rip the head off of this guy. He brought the hunters into town. Because of him her pack was running through the woods trying to get somewhere safe. On the even darker side of things they weren't far from her house. If Cole was still at home, there was no way he was prepared for an ambush.

"Look I'm sorry alright. Now I suggest we hall tail before they catch us."

With that he turned and ran, in the same direction as her house. She growled in frustration and chased after him. It wasn't long before she caught up to him. Alex tackled him to the ground, the way he had tackled her.

"What is your problem?" He yelled.

"You're heading straight for my house. My protector is there and if you lead the hunters to him you could get him killed."

"How was I supposed to know?"

"Just go that way," she said motioning in the opposite direction. he nodded and ran off, and she went a separate way. She hoped they wouldn't figure out where her home was, that was the last thing she needed.

She heard the hunters chasing after her in pursuit. She needed a plan, she couldn't just wait and hope they gave up. Think Alex, think. If only she could melt into a puddle and wait for the hunters to pass. A puddle, that's it. She quickly changed directions. Those hunters were in for a fight they wouldn't forget. She was almost to the river when her path was blocked by two men with rifles. Alex came to a standstill. The man on the right was short and wide with a scraggly beard. The one on the left was tall and thin with a smooth face.

"You were right Tom, this one was headed for the river," the tall man chuckled.

The short hunter smiled, "Told you the spell pointed out a water vermin."

"Yeah all right you win, you'll get the money later," the other one replied.

Alex felt the presence of two other figures behind her, one male and one female. She could sense the water inside their bodies, and the beads of sweat that had forced their way to the surface. She turned sideways so she could keep an eye on both sets of hunters. She looked around trying to figure out her options. There was no way to tell whether the hunters were well trained or not. She could fight them. The chances of her winning though were slim. Three hunters she could handle with no problem, but four she wasn't sure about.

If she howled, her pack would be there in seconds. But that wasn't an option. Undoubtedly that was what the hunters wanted her to do. She wouldn't have them come running to rescue her when it would probably get them killed. As she stood there, she had no doubt the whole thing was a trap.

The witches were on either side of her in a sort of circle. They covered a good amount of ground. There wasn't a place wide enough for her to run through. All of them had weapons so if she tried to jump over them then they could probably injure her pretty good. One of the hunters shifted her weight. It left just enough room for her to squeeze through. She braced herself so she could go through at top speed.

One of the hunters must have guessed her plan because at that moment, she reached into her back pockets and pulled out a piece of glass. She crushed it in her hands and turned around, throwing the pieces in an arc behind her. As Alex watched the glass spread out and made a wall, blocking that exit.

The hunter laughed, "You're not going anywhere," she said, "If you even attempt to break through that barrier, every shard of glass its made of will shoot towards you and impale you before you even have time to blink. Trust me it hurts more than any pain you've ever felt." She jerked her chin towards the other hunters and they began to create the same type of wall.

Alex dug her claws into the ground and prepared to jump through one of the closing gaps when something behind two of the hunters caught her attention. She whipped her head in that direction just in time to see a black figure soar over the men. It soared through the opening just as the warlocks were finishing the glass barrier. A wolf landed in front of her and the others tightened their grip on their weapons. It was the same one who had knocked her down just seconds before. It was the one who had brought the hunters here.

"Oh great, let me guess, you brought more with you?" she mused.

"Really? I come and risk my own fur to save yours and that's the thanks I get?" he asked

"Well if you hadn't brought them here in the first place I wouldn't need your help, now would I?"

"Would you look at that," the witch said, "It seems like these two animals are having a lovers' quarrel."

"Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll take each other out," the tall one said laughing. Alex snapped in his direction, silencing him, then turned back to the other problem and growled.

He tucked his tail between his legs and ducked lower to the ground in response saying, "And here I thought cats would be my biggest nuisance when I became a wolf."

Alex was in awe, "Seriously? You're making dog jokes now?"

"Oh come on, every werewolf likes a good dog joke now and then."

"Not when they're facing a group of hunters who are trying to kill them."

"Wow you really have no sense of humor do you?"

"Could you be anymore annoying?"

"That depends, are you challenging me? I suppose its possible. I don't know I've never tried it but I'd be willing to give it shot."

"It was a rhetorical question you-"

Her sentence was cut short by the squeal of the black wolf. His body hit the ground and she saw the short hunter lower his gun.

"I'm not waiting any longer," he exclaimed.

Alex instinctively stood over the dark wolf as the other hunters started to attack. The woman pulled out two machetes, one man pulled out a couple of daggers, while the other two started loading their guns. The ones with blades started taking turns trying to stab them and Alex was able to keep them at bay by swatting at them and trying to bite them. The other two drew their weapons to shoot, and the wounded wolf sent a stream of fire at each of them, causing them to drop their guns. A second later, the man with the daggers stepped a little too close. Alex hit him with her paw and sent him right into the glass. Just as the witch had said, hundreds of tiny glass shards broke apart and impaled the hunter. He screamed in agony as he hit the ground.

Alex shoved the other wolf on his side and placed her paw beside the wound.

"Ow," he screamed, "What are you doing?"

"Shut up you big baby and hold the rest of them off," she told him. The alpha took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating on the bullet that was deep in the black fur. When she opened her eyes, the fur had begun to shift. The dark wolf started to scream as the bullet came into view, followed by a small stream of water that had traces of what she assumed to be rose and wolfsbane powder. She stepped back and prepared to fight off whoever was left, but found that the fighting had stopped. There was a charred corpse and the man that had the glass in him had bled to death, but the other two were nowhere to be found.

"What did you do to me?" He asked, getting to his feet.

"I manipulated the water in your body to push the bullet out, and I took out most of the wolfsbane that was in your system."

"You could have warned me you know. Or at least told me that it was going to hurt."

"Now where's the fun in that," she said. "What did you do, disintegrate the other two to ash?"

"No they got away."

"What!?" She screamed.

"And we're back to being angry. You know for a second there, I almost liked you."

"You are unbelievable," she huffed. Alex sniffed the air and used her heightened hearing to figure out which way they went. In seconds she had her answer and took off after them. The other wolf protested but she ignored him. As the alpha drew near her target, a sudden pain overtook her. The insides of her body started to burn. Black spots swam across her vision. No, no not now. Alex fought the pain willed it to go away, but her efforts were useless. She collapsed and tumbled as her momentum propelled her forward. She wanted to howl in agony but stopped herself. She wouldn't have her pack rush to her aid and the remaining hunters ambush them. The pain caused her body to start shifting back into human form but forced herself to stay a wolf. She couldn't risk the strangers in the woods to know her identity.

She opened her eyes, not remembering having closed them. The last two hunters stood over her, looking confused and relieved. Their expressions of astonishment confirmed that they hadn't spelled her or injured her. One looked to the other as if searching for an answer as to why the wolf had suddenly collapsed. Of course neither of them had any idea why. Honestly, neither did Alex. Before the hunters could recover from their shock, the black wolf appeared, jumping into action. Then everything started to blur. Gun shots rang out, a big shadow attacked the spell casters from all sides. After what seemed like only a moment, the only figure left standing was the wolf.

He turned to Alex. "Are you okay?" He asked moving closer. She clenched and clenched her paws, the pain still searing through her.

"There's a river... I need you to get me to it." The simple sentence took all her energy to form even mentally. She felt hands grip her back. Her senses were disoriented so she couldn't see what it was, but was almost certain the dark wolf had morphed. She slowly shifted to human form to make it easier on him just in case. She felt him lower her to the ground. Her clothes turned soggy. Her hair swished back and forth slowly. She willed the water to engulf her, knowing her eyes turned that strange blue like they always did when she turned or used her power. She felt the water seep into her skin, slowly washing away the pain. When she no longer felt as if she were dying, she stood. The water, that had trapped itself into the fabrics of her clothes, just fell off as if it were a jacket she could just shed.

Alex turned to thank the lone wolf but he was gone, vanished as if he'd been an illusion. She wondered if she should look for him, when Cole appeared from the trees. He was panting hard and had a look of worry and concern. When he saw her he rushed over and gave her a hug.

"Are you all right? I sensed you were in trouble and went to look for you. When I heard the gunshots I just knew you had been hurt. What happened?"

"There were some hunters who followed a wolf in to town, but they're dead now so everything is fine."

"Are you okay? Did you get shot?" Cole started frantically for checking her for flesh wounds.

"No, no, Cole would you stop I'm fine. Look why don't we go back to the house and just relax. I'll tell you everything."

Chapter 2

They raced back to the house. When they got there, Lora, Wayne, Grey, and Ace were waiting in front of the door. When Alex came into view, they all rushed forward, asking her about the gunshots and where she'd been. She led them all into the house and told them the story. She told them about the mysterious wolf running into her, the hunters chasing her, and the guy just vanishing without a trace. She left out the part about the agony she felt that left her crumbled in a ball on the ground. This wasn't the first time the wave of unbearable pain had taken over. It was almost as if... her body was changing, she could feel that something was trying to happening, yet it was fighting itself to stay the way it was. No, that was crazy, it didn't make any sense.

When she had finished talking, she waited on their response.

Wayne was the first to speak. "So the bullet casings I found were from some hunters who had followed another lycan in town?"

"You," Lora began, "just happened to, literally, bump into him on your way out of the woods."

"Then the hunters came after you, and were able to surround you because a spell told them that your element was water, and the assumed you would go to the river," Ace added.

"Then your knight in shining black fur comes along and you two just kicked butt," concluded Grey.

Alex smiled. Sometimes she wondered if her pack had the ability to morph into one person. They always seemed to know what the other was thinking even when they weren't using their telepathic connections. All she wanted to do was laugh and make a sarcastic comment, but instead she replied, "Well when you put it like that..."

Cole spoke for the first time, "Okay then," he started backing towards the door, "See, I'm just the protector, so I think I'll leave you five, very strong and very capable young wolves, to deal with the dead hunters and Sir Howls-a-lot." The rest of them started to protest and Alex was about to go over there when Cole threw a powder at all of them and they stopped. The five of them were frozen in time. "Hey, Alex, don't forget to take the trash out. Have fun!" He said and left.

After a few moments they unfroze. Wayne grinned, "Ladies and gentlemen, Cole has left the building," he said in a low voice.

"Hey, no fair, he cheated!" Ace exclaimed.

"And they tell us not to abuse our abilities," Grey scoffed.

"Yeah, but if they practiced what they preached, that would actually make them responsible adults which, let's face it, they aren't even close," Alex said. They all busted out laughing. "Okay, okay," she said, calming them down and getting their attention, "Now we need to figure out what to do with the dead bodies and loose animal."

"Obviously, we should find and destroy the bodies. But as far as the other wolf goes, I think we should offer him sanctuary." Lorraine suggested.

"Yeah that's not happening," Alex responded.

"What? Why?" Wayne asked.

"Yeah I mean the guy did help you fight," Lora added.

"But it was his fault that I had to fight in the first place."

"I'm with them," Ace admitted, "He doesn't seem like a threat and he did eliminate what was. I say we owe him."

"I don't know, I'm with Alex," Grey said, "We don't know anything about this new guy. I mean sure he helped her out this time, but he was the one who was being hunted. He saw an opportunity and he took it. That doesn't make him a stand up citizen."

"Finally, one of you has some sense."

"Come on, its not like we're letting him into the pack," Lora pointed out.

"Yeah," Ace agreed, "Its just sanctuary. We can revoke it anytime we want."

"But that means he'll stay," Alex protested, "And if he stays, then so will the pain in my neck."

"Let's put it to vote," Wayne suggested, "All those in favor of offering sanctuary?" He, Lora, and Ace raised their hands right away. After a second, so did Grey, who gave a nervous shrug when the alpha looked at her in shock.

Alex was quiet for a moment. "Okay! Fine! He can consider our town a safe haven. Grey, Lorraine, and I will go find him and tell him the good news. Ace and Wayne, you can take care of disposing of the bodies."

"Wait why do me and Wayne have to get rid of the bodies?"

"Because you're the guys, and you're the ones who are supposed to do the dirty jobs." Grey offered.

Ace looked at her in awe. "I know my girl did not just play the gender card."

She put up her hands in a mock surrender, "I'm just stating the facts."

"But you are the biggest feminist I have ever met, and as your boyfriend, that was offensive."

Grey sighed, "Okay, but we really don't want garbage duty. Its really gross and I had a big breakfast."

"We don't want to do it either," Wayne protested, "You're big girls, you can handle it."

Lora batted her eyelashes at Wayne. "But babe," she began, "you would do it for me wouldn't you?"

Ace looked at his friend, "Don't do it, man. Don't fall for it." Wayne blushed and said nothing. Alex looked from Grey to Ace and saw the same question in her eyes. Wayne and Lora had been dating for three years now. He had a crush on her ever since they were little kids. Lorraine always said he was a little annoying but her energy seemed to boost whenever he was around. Ace and Grey on the other hand had hated each other for the longest time. Each of them wanted to be the tough guy of the group and always tried to out do each other. Then when Ace started going out with Jessica Staten, the peppiest girl in school, Grey got jealous. They had got into a fight because she had told Ace that Jessica was wrong for him. When he asked why she cared she kissed him and they've been together since.

"Fine," Ace said throwing his hands up in defeat. The girls smiled, gave their boyfriends a hug and a kiss, and then they set out together.

Alex had gone north. Lorraine went east, Grey went west and the boys would keep an eye out for anything in the south. They had decided to do their tasks in wolf forms, in case trouble came along. Alex was beginning to think she wouldn't find anything when a new, yet familiar smell caught her attention. It didn't take her long to figure out what it belonged to. She stopped walking and stood still. "You can come out," she said.

A figure stepped out from the trees and she recognized the lycanthrope instantly."Glad to see you're okay," he said.

"I'm tougher than I look."

"Yeah I have no doubt about that. What are you doing out here anyway? Shouldn't you be at home resting before you have another... whatever that was," he said sounding almost concerned.

"I'm out here looking for you actually."

His wolf features seemed to rise up in a smirk. "What? Did my charm win you over that easily?"

She fought to hide the annoyance she felt. "Hardly. My pack voted and they want to offer you sanctuary here if you want it."

He thought for a moment, "Do you want to offer me sanctuary?"

She hesitated. "I'll admit, I'm not your biggest fan, but you seem like an okay guy and I kind of owe you for saving me back there. So, yeah, I think its the least I can do."

"The offer is very tempting, and I'm truly grateful, really, but I'm afraid I have to decline."

"Why? It's a sweet deal."

"Let's just say I have major trust issues."

"Suit yourself," she said, trying to seem indifferent, but she was surprised to find that she was a little disappointed that he wasn't going to stay. While he was incredibly annoying, she could tell he had his charms, now that she wasn't ready to rip his head off. Alex stared at the figure before her eyes, "Who are you anyway?"

A mental chuckle vibrated through her mind. "I was wondering when you would ask me that again," he said.

Alex waited for him to say more but he didn't. "Well are you going to make me beat it out of you?"

He sighed. "Let's just say I don't like giving people my identity. I usually don't stay in one place too long so I don't bother getting acquainted with anyone."

"What, fighting hunters and saving each other's life doesn't make us buddies?"

"Just because you fight along side someone, doesn't make them you're friend."

Something dark flashed in his eyes. She tried to make out what it was but it was gone as soon as it came. Had he been betrayed by someone? Did he betray someone else? Is that why he didn't have a pack? Red flags went off in her head and she began to think that this wasn't such a good idea after all. "Well I'm sure you have your reasons."

"You seem awfully nice considering I almost got you killed earlier. Not to mention the fact that you seemed to want to kill me."

"Well I'm a werewolf. We tend to have mood swings and over exaggerate about pretty much everything."

He laughed, "You're not too bad."

Alex was silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure you won't reconsider?"

He nodded, "Yeah I'm sure."

She turned to leave but stopped, "And thanks again by the way, for saving me."

"Likewise."

With that she nodded, turned, and left.

She arrived back at the spot where the first two bodies once were, now bare except for the grass that grew there. Wayne and Ace had finally done something right for once. The others were already there in human form and she quickly shifted back as well. They all turned to her as she entered the small clearing.

"We didn't find anything," Lora reported. The others shook their heads in confirmation.

Alex was quiet for a moment. She wanted to tell them about her short encounter with the wolf, but a bigger part of her was against it. He seemed to want to keep to himself and if she told them he declined, one of them would probably try to find him and convince him to change his mind. "Me neither. He must have split the second the hunters were dead."

"Well now that's out of the way," Ace shrugged, "Who's hungry?"

The others looked at each other. Leave it to Ace to bring up food at a time like this. He did have a point though. She didn't get a chance to eat that morning before Wayne called all of them into the woods. Her stomach growled at the thought. She had no idea how hungry she was. "I haven't eaten all day, so I'd say that I am," she confessed.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I could really go for some pizza right now," Lora said standing.

Alex called the Pizzeria and ordered three large meat lovers with extra cheese. They were five teenage werewolves and they ate a lot. Then she went into the kitchen to fix everyone a drink. She rummaged through the cabinets for some glasses. She tensed up as she sensed someone was behind her and turned to see Lorraine standing in the doorway, leaning against the wall. Her body relaxed and she tried not to make it look obvious that she had been on edge. For the past month she had been like a deer during hunting season. Every little thing made her defenses shoot up. She knew why too. It started around the same time as her dreams of Fallon had. No matter how many times she told herself that it wasn't real, the wolf in her wouldn't allow her to put down her defenses. So far all of the dreams had been nothing but talk, about things she didn't understand completely.

Lora gave her a weak smile. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't."

"Alex, I can her your heartbeat from here."

She ran a hand through her hair and let out a nervous sigh, "Sorry, its just been a really long day."

"A long past few weeks you mean?"

"What?"

"You've been acting a little strange lately. Is something bothering you?"

Alex tried to uneasiness and anxiety she felt, though she doubted her efforts were doing any good. "No of course not, why would you ask that?"

"Come on, Alex, we've been friends for most of our lives. I can tell when something's bothering you."

Alex tried her best to seem indifferent, but there was no way she was getting out of this without telling her something. Lora would keep pushing until she got some answers. She didn't want to tell her about Fallon yet, because she didn't know what he was planning, or what his end game was, it might not even concern them. Besides she didn't have any evidence to back her story. The pack would raise a lot of questions that she wasn't equipped to answer. She couldn't mention the blackouts she kept having because she was even more clueless about those than anything. There had to be some lie that Alex could pull off and get away with.

"It's Cole, he's been practicing magic a lot lately and I'm a little worried about him. I guess he's trying to test his limits and stretch them." It wasn't a lie. Alex had noticed her protector doing more spells than usual. Almost every time she came home he was passed out on the couch and the house smelt of burnt herbs and spices.

"Him too huh?"

"Wait, Lizzie's trying to up her game too?"

Lora nodded, "She won't tell me why either. Normally it wouldn't bother me, but lately its like, she's It worries me too sometimes when Elizabeth practices magic. But you shouldn't worry too much. Cole knows what he's doing, he'll be fine."

Alex felt relief flow through her chest. She had dodged the bullet this time but it wouldn't be long before one of them started asking questions again. She'd been quiet too long. She decided to tell Cole what was going on. He would know what to do or at the very least tell her that she was insane and help her forget about it. "Yeah you're probably right," she said. Lora gave her a smile and then the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," they heard Grey shout from the living room.

Lorraine gave Alex a look of encouragement then left the kitchen. As soon as she was gone Alex let out a sigh and slumped against the counter. She hated keeping things from her pack, but there was nothing else she could do at this point, or at least that's what she chose to believe.

After she fixed everyone a drink she went in the living room. She and her pack ate and talked like a bunch of normal teenagers. After a few hours her friends left. When they were gone she sat on the sofa and turned on the TV. She stared at the screen without seeing what was on it. Her mind was going through everything she knew about Fallon, trying to piece something together and figure out how she was going to even begin to explain this to her guardian.

A little later Cole walked in. "Hey," she said.

"Hey, what are you watching?" he looked at the TV, which at the moment held the image of some people walking through a tunnel, guns raised, looking as though they just saw their worst fear come to life.

"I have no idea," she admitted.

"There's a shocker for you."

"Oh shut up," she said giving him a light shove as he slumped down on the couch next to Alex and he shoved her back. "How did everything go?" Alex glared at him. "What?"

"What do you mean, what? Dude, you froze us."

He laughed, "Yeah, I know, pretty cool right? I've been trying to get that one down for weeks. Freezing one or two people is easy, depending on how strong they are. But a whole pack of-"

"Oh my god, why do I even bother," Alex interrupted.

"Oh, come on, Al, you guys have to know how to do these things eventually. Its our job to make sure that when you're all off on your own, you can handle things properly."

"Well, you have a very annoying job."

"Yeah, but it has its perks."

Alex crossed her arms and eyed him. "Okay it was kind of awesome how you froze us," she said as her face broke into a grin.

"Ha, I knew you were impressed."

"Hey, I got to give credit where credit's due."

"As do I, which means I owe thanks to that new wolf who killed all of those hunters."

"He had a little help from yours truly."

"Did he?" Alex looked at Cole, who's face had grown serious.

"Cole, what are you talking about?"

"I came across the bodies as I was tracking you. Two of the four were burnt to a crisp, one had been clawed and bitten to shreds, and the other was impaled with tiny pieces of glass. They were killed by a fire wolf and a barrier spell."

"Yeah he killed two and I killed two. I threw one into their own spell and ripped the last to shreds."

"No, you didn't. You take one or two kill swings and you're done. Short and sweet, that's how you've always done it. This kill was sloppy, and way over done."

"What can I say? She was a tough broad, it took a few more hits to get the job done."

"You said she."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, it was a male that had been torn to pieces."

Alex hesitated, "I must have gotten mixed up. It all happened so quickly."

"Alex," he said with finality, "tell me what happened."

She stared at the ground for a moment, "I don't know."

"Would you please stop lying to me and tell me the truth!?" He said in a raised voice.

"That is the truth," she replied calmly. "Look, something happens to me and I can't do anything until its over."

"What happens?"

"I don't know. There's this pain, and it just comes out of nowhere. Its not like a cramp, where its in one spot, but it hits me everywhere at once and its... torture. I can't move, or breath, and it takes every ounce of strength that I have to keep from screaming."

"How long has this been going on?"

"A month, maybe two."

"How often?"

"I'm not sure. Its always random."

He sighed, "No, its not."

"What?"

He leaned forward and rested his head in his hands, "You should have come to me about this sooner."

She studied him for a moment, "You know what's happening to me don't you?"

He looked at her, "Yeah I do."

"Please, do tell."

"What if I told you I could make it stop?"

"I'd shake your hand and throw you a freaking party, but first you have to tell me what's happening."

Cole didn't answer. He stared at his hands as he struggled to find the right words. "I put a spell on you a long time ago and its wearing off. I didn't know it then, but a side effect of it weakening, is the pain you've been experiencing."

"A spell? A spell for what?"

"To... suppress something in you."

"Is there something wrong with me?"

"No," he said immediately, turning towards her and taking her hands in his, "There is nothing wrong with you. Do you hear me? Nothing. Don't you ever forget that."

"Cole, you're freaking me out."

"I didn't think it would wear off this soon. I had hoped to have this discussion before you had to face it, to get you used to the idea first."

"Cole what the heck are you talking about? Get used to what? You're not making any sense."

"Its not going to be easy for you to hear."

Alex's patience was wearing thin fast, "Cole, tell me what's going on."

Cole took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "As you know your mother died giving birth to you." He paused as if finding the right words. "But it wasn't because she wasn't strong enough... it was because you were too different." Alex was confused. What was he talking about? Before she could ask he continued, "Your father didn't know about your mother when they met. By the time he found out he had already fallen in love. When she got pregnant they knew she wouldn't make it. You were too much of a contrast to what she was that not even her werewolf abilities could save her.

"After your birth and your mother's death your father ordered me to put a spell on you to protect you, to mask what you truly were." he looked at her with pity in his eyes. What was he talking about? What did he mean by masking what she really was? "The spell was meant to wear off when you got older so you would learn who you are."

"And what's that?" She asked bitterly.

"I think you know, Alex," Cole said.

"No I don't," she snapped, "because what you seem to be implying isn't possible."

"Your father was a vampire, Alex" he calmly, "and so are you."

She chuckled angrily, "You're insane." The floor seemed to drop out from under her feet. Her heartbeat quickened to an alarming rate and each breath seemed to become harder to take.

"Just calm down. Everything is going to be okay."

"What is this, huh? This is some kind of sick joke, right?"

"If you truly thought it was a joke, then why are you taking it so seriously?"

"Because I don't appreciate being called bloodsucker filth, that's why."

"I think, its because you figured out the common factor."

"Of what?"

"Your episodes."

"There is no common factor. I told you, they're random."

"Nothing in our world is random, Alex."

She shook her head, "We're done with this conversation." She got up and started walking towards the stairs when the smell hit her. Alex stopped where she was and turned to see Cole holding a pocket knife in his right hand, and his left hand was covered in blood.

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"Giving you proof."

Alex held her breath and waited for a few seconds. She kept running the memories of the episodes through her head and found that she had been exposed to blood before every single one. She tried to find an exception, but came up empty handed.

After a while, she sighed and gave a smirk. Nothing was happening. Alex moved to leave, so relieved that tears tried to force their way to the surface but she kept them at bay. When she was halfway up the stairs her body stopped as if she had hit a wall. A wave of pain overwhelmed her entire being. All of the strength she had left her and she lost her balance. She tumbled down the stairs to the floor. The impact of each step felt like a numb poke compared to the pain that had caused her to fall. For a minute she thought she heard herself scream but she couldn't have been sure. Her canines shot through her gums and her claws forced themselves out, leaving long, jagged marks in the wood as she gripped the floor. It was happening again, but this time it was different. This time it was a lot more forceful. This time instead of healing it with water or feeling it slowly die out, it stayed, and soon she blacked out.

Alex woke up in her bed. She ran through the conversation she'd had with Cole, trying to find some fault in it. Trying to find some way that she could prove his story to be a lie. There was no way that she was one of them. How could she be? Werewolves and vampires were polar opposites. There was no way that one person could be both. She tried to imagine herself with those lifeless red and black eyes and that grotesque skin. The thought made her feel sick.

And what would happen with her pack? They've all lost so much to vampires, would they really follow one? Would they even be friends with one? The pack was all she had ever known, they were family. How could she get through this without them? Of course she would have Cole, but he had just confessed to lying to her all of her life. She wouldn't let him off the hook until he told her everything, or until she was able to except what she was.

All this time she'd been an even bigger monster then she thought. Now don't get it wrong she wasn't ashamed of being a werewolf, it was kind of cool sometimes. But to the humans she was a monster, period. That's why they kept their world a secret. If it were to ever be known to them she knew what would happen. Half of them would do whatever they could to be one of them, and the other half would hunt them down to extinction.

Alex decided that she wasn't going to sit there and worry about, she was going to talk to Cole. It was still dark outside, so it was possible he was asleep, but if he was she was going to wake him up and they were going to deal with this.

As she stood up, she heard mumbled voices coming from downstairs. Alex used her heightened hearing to tune in to what they were saying.

She heard a woman's voice, "Listen she's just scared and confused. Once she learns about herself and sees she's not a threat she'll calm down." Lizzie? It had to be. What was Lora's protector doing here?

"Lizzie's right. Once we answer her questions she'll be fine." That sounded like Nicholas, Ace's protector. Alex stretched her hearing even more and was able to make out five different heartbeats. The first three had to belong to Nick, Cole, and Lizzie. She assumed the other two were Seth, Grey's protector, and Keith, Wayne's protectors.

Beep, beep. "Ahhh!" Alex covered her ears. She hated it when that happened. A regular alarm was bad enough but when it's heightened to ten times its original volume, it was torture. The five protectors burst into the room. Cole ran over and grabbed her shoulders. Nick went over and turned off the alarm. Alex lowered her hands and shook her head as the ringing in her head grew faint. "I'm fine, it happens all the time," she admitted as she eased Cole away from her.

Keith stepped closer. "Are you okay?"

"Hey, its what I get for eavesdropping right?"

"That's not what he meant," Seth said.

"Yeah, I know what he meant," she snapped. Seth took a step backwards and Alex blinked hard, realizing what she'd said. "Sorry, I didn't mean it to come out like that."

Seth shrugged, "No harm, no foul."

"I take it you all know?" They nodded. "Since when?" They all glanced around at each other nervously, waiting on someone else to speak. It answered her question perfectly, "Yeah, well thanks for the heads up."

"Don't be angry with them, it was my decision," Cole said.

"It was about my life."

"You have every right to be upset, but believe me, I was going to tell you."

"When? Huh? After I found out for myself? After I killed someone?" He seemed shocked when she said that, like he couldn't believe she thought he'd let it get that far. "Were you ever going to tell me?" He stared at the ground but said nothing.

Lizzie spoke up, "I'm sure you have some questions, and we'll tell you everything you want to know. Why don't we go downstairs and make some coffee?"

The tone of her voice was gentle, but did nothing to the numbness that Alex felt. In the past few hours she had felt everything from hate to despair and back. Now there was just emptiness. They all stared at her. She calmly moved past them, and went downstairs. She sat down at the kitchen table. Cole took a seat across from her and handed her a cup of coffee. Seth and Nick stood at either side of her as if waiting to stop her if she tried to run. Lizzie and Keith took positions on either side of Cole.

No one spoke for a minute. Then Alex asked the question that has been echoing through her head, "Why did you lie to me?"

Cole met her gaze. "Vampires," he began, "can sense other vampires. In the few months that you were... both sides of the coin, we were attacked by them countless times."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because they could also sense the wolf in you."

Keith spoke, "As you know werewolves and vampires have been at each other's throats since who knows when. Well when they heard news of a hybrid," he paused as if that last word might set her off. "Well when they heard that, they got curious. They wanted to know how you were what you are and if they could create more like you."

Cole took over, "That's why we put the spell on you, to protect you."

"Where's my father," she asked unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "You said he was the one who ordered me to be protected so where is he?"

"Alex your father was very reckless after your mother's death..." he trailed off.

"Alex," Lizzie interjected. Her voice was gentle and sympathetic, "your father tried to save you from a group of hunters, and well there were just too many for one vampire."

Alex felt like she had been hit. She thought her dad just didn't want her because she was a werewolf not because he was dead. So did he just kill everyone who knew what she was? If something as big as a hybrid had been known to even a handful of vamps and hunters, she would have heard whispers by now. That kind of thing doesn't just go away.

Suddenly, something clicked. She had heard talk, she just didn't know it. She had to be what Fallon was after. Why else would she have been able to see him? Her town fit the description the messenger gave, and Fallon did mention that protectors were guarding it. He said that the girl was more powerful than anyone knew. That's who he was after, and why, it all made sense now. For a second she was so happy, she had finally figured it out. Her joy was short-lived as the reality set in. That meant he was coming to her town, with what sounded like an army of vampires. They were all going to be in for a fight, and with this new revelation of her vampire side, she was going to have to figure out how to use it and fast. She was also going to have to figure out how to tell her friends without pushing them away.

"Is it still suppressed?" She asked.

"Yes," Cole answered.

"How do I activate it?"

They all looked at each other in surprise. "I don't think that would be wise at the moment," Nick said.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Alex," Seth said softly, "you're in a very emotional state right now. Its understandable given the severity of what's going on. I think it would be best if you took some time to assess what's happening before you rush into things."

"I don't have time. You guys said it yourselves, there are going to be people coming after me."

"They won't be able to sense you until the spell wears off," Cole said.

"What if someone already knows?" Alex asked, "You told me that the enchantment was supposed to last longer than this. What if someone is weakening it?"

"She's right," Lizzie admitted, "Someone could already know. She should be in control if they come for her."

"It seems like our safest option," Keith said, "Are we all in agreement?" All of them nodded with the exception of Cole.

He stared at Alex with hopelessness, "I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter now, we have to do what's necessary." He nodded in response. "So how do I activate it?" It didn't matter how much she wanted to forget the past hours, she had accept what she was. She had to move forward and do what she does best, fight.

Cole was the one to answer, "You have to drink blood from a human."

Chapter 3

Cole and Alex sat in the car outside of the grocery store watching the manager as he closed for the night. She heard the ding of the cash registers as he emptied the trays. When the last tray had been deprived of its contents, the manager turned off the lights and stepped outside into the cool autumn night.

"I don't know about this," Alex said. She stepped out and started pacing the length of the car. Her heart was racing. She had begged Cole for days to not make her do this. A couple times she had asked him if there was another spell he could do to suppress her vampire again, but he said no. she had even looked through all of his spell books to try and find something that could help but always came up empty- handed.

Cole opened his door and stood. "Come on, Alex, we've been through this." he shut the door, walked over and leaned against the car. He followed her with his eyes. "You can't stall forever you know."

"I don't have to do this," she said.

"Yes you do, because if you don't, the episodes will grow longer and happen more often. The pain you experience will get worse. It will come to a point where the episode doesn't end and you'll be forced to feed anyways."

"I'm a strong girl, I can handle it."

"No you can't. I've seen what it does to you. You can't move, you can barely breathe."

She knew he was right. It had been two nights since she found out she was only half werewolf, and half of the other thing she had despised her entire life. She'd already had three episodes, each one worse than the last. She knew the only way to stop it was to drink from a human, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The second the first drop of blood touched her lips she would be one of them. She would be part of a race that caused nothing but death and destruction. They had murdered her parents and the parents of all of those in her pack.

Ace hated them most of all, and she couldn't blame him. He was three years old when they took his family. It was a Tuesday, around nine o'clock. He and his dad were just getting home from the movies when they came out from all sides, knocking his father unconscious before he had a chance to shift. They dragged them into the house and tied them up. They began torturing his parents, making a game out of it. When they got bored with them, they moved on to Ace and his fourteen year-old brother. In the end they killed the three of them, leaving Ace tied to a chair and bleeding.

How would she be able to face him after this, knowing that every time he looked at her he saw the bloody corpses of his family? Would she even care if he did? Would she still be her? Every vampire she had ever met had been the same. They all craved blood, loved to kill, and didn't care who or what was their victim. Most of them have no control when they feed, and the ones that do don't use it.

"Alex," Cole said and she looked at him, "Your pack will understand."

"I'm not so sure."

"Alex, they're not just some high school buddies of yours or even your family. They're your pack. Your bond is stronger than blood or friendship, its so much more. It can't be broken just because you turn out to be a little different than you thought. As long as the part of you that is bonded to them doesn't die, then the five of you will be fine."

Alex nodded. "What if I can't stop it?"

He put his hands on her shoulders. "Look in my eyes. Do you see any doubt in my eyes when I say that you will not kill this man? That you will be able to stop when the time comes?" She shook her head. "Good, because I know you can do this. You know you can do this. Its not going to get any easier if we keep standing here talking about it, so go do it.

Alex took a long hard look in his eyes. She saw in them that he meant it. She looked over to the store manager. He was getting into his car. She sighed, "I hate it when you're right," she admitted.

Cole smiled "I know. I just wish it happened more often."

Alex chuckled. She walked over to the man who was now getting out of his car. He'd seen her, too late now. "Can I help you?" he asked. Alex fought back a sigh. Small town people were so friendly, it was annoying sometimes. That just made it harder for her.

Alex hesitated. You can do this, she thought. She took a deep breath. In a moment she was behind the man, and had his head tilted back before he knew what was happening. At the sight of his veins pulsing, as he struggled to get free, her hunger took over. Alex bit the man's neck, using her wolf fangs to break the skin. As she drank, she felt her ears tighten, her vision turned red, and her fangs burst through her gums. She bit down harder on the man's neck as the thick red liquid rushed into her mouth. Her entire body surged with energy as she gulped down his blood. It tasted like nothing she had ever tasted before. It was rich and salty and made her crave more with each passing second. She could feel her bones strengthening and her body felt more alive than ever. She felt the life she was taking away become her own, making her feel strong, powerful, invincible even. She couldn't remember anything that had ever made her feel so alive.

A voice came from the distance, "Come on, Alex. Stay in control." Cole's words brought her back from her thoughts like she had suddenly awakened from a nightmare that she shouldn't have enjoyed. She fought the urge to suck the man dry and forced herself to pull away. The man fell to the ground, barely conscious. She turned away from him and tried to wipe the blood from her mouth. Cole rushed over and bent down beside the store manager. His veins started to glow silver and his eyes misted over as he began to chant under his breath, holding on hand on the man's wound and the other on the man's temple. After a moment he stood up and handed Alex a rag to clean herself off with.

The sides of the wound stretched to meet each other as if an invisible zipper was closing it. Cole wiped the blood from the store manager's neck with another rag. Then he handed her the dirty cloth and told her to wait in the car. Once she was away from the man, her vision turned back to normal, her ears loosened, and her canines retreated back into her mouth.

The man started to wake up. "Hey are you alright?" Cole asked. The guy grabbed his neck, "Yeah, what happened?"

"I don't know you just collapsed," Cole replied. They both stood and her guardian helped to steady the stranger. The man got into his car and drove off. Cole walked over to the car and took his place in the driver's seat. He turned to Alex, "You did it," he said, "I'm proud of you." She gave him a weak smile and with that he started the car and they made their way home.

It was true. She had done it. She had drank someone's blood and she didn't kill them. So why wasn't she happy? Now her heart was filled with more sadness and dread than it had ever been. She couldn't help thinking about the feeling of power she had experienced in those short few moments. When she had wanted to deny him of one of the things that gave him life. Would she be able to control it next time? What had brought her back this time was hearing Cole's voice. What if he wasn't there to save her next victim? What if he was her next victim? It was only a matter of time before she killed someone.

Alex ran through the woods. The pack was meeting at their usual spot at the top of the tallest hill in town. She took her usual route, but something was different. Where were Grey and Lorraine? They normally met up with her by now. Maybe they were already there. She sped up, anxious to find out. When she arrived at the spot, the others were gathered in a group. Alex felt a rush of relief flow through her, but it was quickly taken away when she noticed how tense the rest were.

"What's going on?" she asked.

The brown wolf stepped forward. "We want you to leave," he said.

She waited on further explanation. When he offered none she asked, "Ace, what's wrong? What's the problem?"

"There won't be a problem if you just turn and go."

She turned to the dark gray and blonde wolf. "Wayne, what's he talking about?" Wayne bowed his head and wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Wayne!" she yelled.

He cringed. "The way I see it," he said raising his head a little, "is you have two options: You can either get out of Dodge, or you can stay and leave town the hard way."

What was happening? Wayne never went against her, none of them had. It wasn't the fact that they weren't treating her like an alpha that made her upset, but that they weren't treating her like a friend. They were acting as if she had betrayed them, as if she did something horrible and unthinkable. "I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what I did to deserve this. You can't just kick me out of town," she said as firmly as she could.

Lora stepped forward and looked as if she were about to cry "Please just leave," she begged, "Do yourself and the rest of us a favor and just go." Now Lorraine was telling her to leave. What could she have possibly done to make Lorraine not want her around.

Alex was getting angry. They were acting strange and none of them would say why. "What's going on?" She asked again. This was ridiculous. None of them had ever treated her this way before, ever. She couldn't fight the anger boiling inside of her, but it wasn't all she felt. Her eyes started to hurt. She could feel the tears trying to force themselves out, like a bug trying to beat its way out of a window.

Ace was the only one looking at her. His head was raised high and his legs were tense as if he were ready for a fight. His eyes were full of hate and hurt. "I am still the alpha!" she screamed.

Ace lunged forward, as if those last words just set him off. He was quick, too quick for the eye to see. But Alex was quick as well and jumped out of the way just in time. Her senses immediately sharpened. The slightest movements and sounds became clear. She noticed the way her fellow wolves' fur swayed in the slight breeze, and the rhythmic beating of their hearts as they pumped blood through their veins. Her reflexes stood on end as they waited to take action when the time came.

Ace bared his teeth. "You stopped being the alpha the moment you became one of them."

One of them? What was he . . . her heart stopped. A lump suddenly formed in her throat and it became hard to breathe. Oh no this wasn't happening. How did they know? "What are you talking about," she asked. Even in her own mind her innocence didn't sound convincing. Her voice was shaky and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't calm her nerves.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You stopped being the alpha the minute you became a vampire."

Alex stepped back as if she had just been slapped. "How did you know," she croaked.

"Did you honestly think we wouldn't find out?" Ace asked, "How long did you think you could keep it a secret? Were you planning on getting rid of us, huh? You see, the only thing I can't figure out is: why the charade? What did you hope to gain?"

"You're making it sound like I planned this."

"Didn't you? Alex, these things don't just happen by accident."

"Ace, stop," Lora pleaded.

"Why?" he asked, "Lorraine, she's not our friend, she probably never was. She's a vampire, a murderous, bloodsucking vampire. She's probably been waiting for a chance kill us."

"Ace!" Alex screamed. It must have come out more harshly then she intended because they all looked at her then. She couldn't help it. All of her anger and despair just kept building and all he was doing was adding more bricks to the pile. "I am still part of this pack, I am still family."

"You are not family," he roared, "you're nothing more than an enemy. Now leave before I kill you a second time."

What was happening? These were her friends. They had known each other since Pre-k and have been inseparable since. The five of them had been through a lot together and always had each others' backs. But not now. Now, when she needed them the most, when she hated herself for what she had become, and hated it even more knowing she couldn't change it. Now, when she needed a friend more than ever, they all turned their backs on her. "I'm still me," she said weakly.

"No you're not," Grey said in a low voice. She'd been so quiet that her thoughts startled Alex. She raised her head and met Alex's gaze. Her eyes were so full of sorrow and pain it hurt to look at them. But what she said next made the floor fall out from under the lonely alpha. "You're a monster," she finished.

The last word echoed through Alex's mind. She felt an unbearable burning in her side. The other wolves blurred and faded. A horrible screaming filled her ears. The burning in her side got worse and she realized she was the one screaming. When she opened her eyes her vision was red. Her canines had grown to full length in her gaping mouth which was still releasing a horrible wailing sound. She tried to sit up, but black spots dotted her vision, forcing her back down. She felt someone pry her hand from her side, which had been clutching the blazing skin. Somehow, she twisted her head to see Cole kneeling down beside her bed. His face was twisted into a look of either concern, confusion, or both.

The pain started to slowly subside. The room grew quiet, and her skin stopped burning. She laid there for a minute breathing heavily. She felt her hair glued to her neck with sweat. Slowly, she attempted to sit up once again, and this time Cole helped. As soon as she stopped moving, she felt dizzy and thought she would lay back down for a second. Fortunately, her guardian was there to keep her steady.

"What happened?" she asked.

"A mark," he said, "on your left side above your hip."

Alex was shocked. Marks could mean a number of things. Some were like labels and others were spells. They were used for everything from good luck to curses. The label ones were permanent. The spells were temporary.

She whipped her head toward him. "From a hunter?"

"No this one was natural. It was caused by..." He trailed off. his sentence was never completed and it didn't need to be. She threw the covers off and went to the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror. Slowly she rose the corner of her t-shirt and revealed the lines. Just as Cole had said, it was right above her left hip. It was an image of a wolf head howling and what looked like a heart with a single drop of blood falling into the wolf's mouth. So that is the mark for a hybrid, she thought. Well this was great. Now she had to worry about her shirt rising up and someone seeing it, as if she didn't have enough to worry about.

Alex parked her motorcycle in the school parking lot beside her friends' car. Ace rolled his eyes. "Its about time you got here. What took you so long?"

The truth was, she was trying to prepare herself for the day. She had been trying to get her hunger under control ever since she activated the vampire in her. granted she had made a huge amount of progress, but she still wasn't sure if she could successfully keep it on lockdown. before she could come up with a lie, the quarterback walked over. "Hey, Alex, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked. He flashed her a smile that he probably always used to get his way, no doubt.

She looked at her friends and nodded her head toward the school and they left. "So what's up, Jeff?" She asked noticing all of his friends watching them. She focused her hearing to see what they were saying, careful to keep her eyes on Jeff.

"There's no way," one of them was saying, "he can handle Alex. That girl always does her own thing and even if she did agree to date him it wouldn't last a month."

"I think you're underestimating Jeff's charm," another guy protested, "he'll win and you two will owe us fifty bucks."

That was all Alex needed to hear. She became aware of Jeff talking and started listening. ". . .so I was wondering, since we're both single, and the most popular people in school, if you'd want to go out." He flashed her a charming smile.

She stepped closer and started to playfully mess with his jacket. "Awe," she said, "I'd love to." His smile got bigger. Alex wanted to laugh but stopped herself. She saw her pack watching her out of the corner of her eye. This was just too easy. She couldn't resist. Besides, it was about time someone put a dent in this guy's ego. "There's just one problem." Now it was her turn to flash him a devilish smile. "You're a jerk, and I know you made a bet with your friends that you could get me to date you for a month. What was it? Fifty bucks?"

Jeff's smile faded and he looked shocked.

"Technically that was two problems but who cares right? Oh and welcome back," she said with a smirk and walked off. When she reached her friends, they were laughing. Lora tried to say something but laughed even harder. Alex turned back to see what Jeff was doing. Her eyes searched the parking lot and stopped on a boy she had never seen before.

He was leaning against a black SUV. His hair was a golden blonde that stopped at his ears and seemed to reflect the sun at every angle. He seemed to be smirking at her. After she had been starring at him for a moment he nodded at her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned. Grey was smiling. "Come on, let's go," she said. She followed her companions up the steps to the school and did everything she could not to look back.

When she crossed the threshold the smell almost knocked her out. Everywhere she turned she smelled it. Blood. It was everywhere. Her mouth ran dry and the air refused to enter her lungs. The chorus of heartbeats rose to her ears. She ran to the bathroom, ignoring the questions and concerns from her pack. When she reached the door, she flung it open. She hurriedly made sure the stalls were empty and then locked the door. She stood in front of the sink, turned on the water, and took some deep breaths. Control, control, she thought. Alex knew it was going to be hard, now that she was part vampire, but it was more difficult than she had anticipated. She lifted her shirt and looked at the reflection of her side in the mirror.

She remembered the dream. She remembered how scared she was. She recalled all of the things that her pack had said to her and the burning in her side that woke her up. Looking back on it now she was glad for it. She was happy that the pain brought her out of her nightmare. The emotional pain was too hard to bear. Her friends wouldn't really do that to her would they? They wouldn't resent her and cast her out for being something that she didn't know she was? But then again she wouldn't blame them if they did. She hated herself now. Everything about her had been a lie. She was a monster and there was nothing she could do about it. A monster, what Grey had called her. Not Grey, her subconscious dream of Grey, but either way it hurt just as much.

A banging on the door brought her out of her reverie.

"Alex are you okay?" It was Lora. "Come on, Alex, open up. You're freaking us out." She pulled down her shirt and went to the door. When the locks clicked, Lorraine and Grey burst into the room. "Are you okay," Lora asked, "you just bolted."

No, she wanted to scream. She wanted to cry and tell them everything Cole had told her. She wanted to tell them the truth, to tell them what she really was, and what she had become. She wanted to tell them how she felt about herself and everything she had been bottling up for the past week. She wanted to tell them everything but she couldn't. She couldn't risk them knowing. She didn't know how they would react and she didn't want to lose them, not now. Not with everything that was going on with Fallon.

Instead she said, "I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little sick. When the hunters attacked me in the woods, they did something and the affects haven't worn off." That was the story she and Cole had come up with until she decided to tell them the truth.

Grey let out a sigh of relief and shoved Alex's shoulder. "Don't scare me like that. Man, you gave me a heart attack."

Alex smiled. "Well its a good thing you're not human or we would have to rush you to the hospital."

They both smiled. "Can we come in?" a voice shouted out from the hall. It was Ace and he sounded every bit as relieved as Lorraine and Grey.

"Yes" they yelled.

The two guys appeared in the doorway. They smiled at Alex. "Glad you're okay," Wayne admitted, "but next time, could you tell us you are experiencing magical stomach aches before you take off?"

"Sure." They made their way to first period and started the day off like any other school day. Then, in their third class, the intercom came on.

"Alex Ebony, please report to the office. Alex Ebony, please report to the office." The others looked at her.

"New kid?" Lora asked.

Alex sighed, "Probably."

"An alpha's work is never done," Grey teased.

Wayne looked over to Ace, "I got ten bucks on vamp."

"Hunter in training," Grey added quickly.

"Dibs on human," Ace shouted.

Lora shrugged, "Guess that leaves me with protector."

Alex smiled and held out her hand. each of them reached into their pockets and pulled out ten dollars to give her. When they had all given their share, she folded the money and put it in her jeans. "I'll go collect the results," she said and made her way out the door.

When she got to the office, the blonde boy she had seen in the parking lot was leaning against the counter. Up close he was about six feet and had a nice build. He wore blue jeans and a white buttoned up shirt that was open over a black t-shirt. The lady behind the desk he was talking to looked up and greeted Alex. When the boy turned and saw her he smiled in recognition. She could see the amusement in his pale blue eyes.

"Good morning Alex, welcome back," Lizzie said walking up to her, "This is Chase Rivers. He is new in town and needs to be shown around the campus."

"Of course I will Miss Kay," she always felt weird addressing Lizzie by her last name but people couldn't know how close she was to the principal. "Hi, Chase, I'm Alex its nice to meet you." She held out a hand to the new guy and he shook it still smiling.

"Well Chase," Lizzie said, "you're in good hands. If you need anything just ask and I will be happy to help."

"Thank you, it was nice meeting you." He nodded to Lizzie and Alex headed out into the hallway. The corridors were empty and everyone was in class counting down the minutes until lunch. "So how long have you been in town?" he asked.

"All my life. Its a small place but its nice. Do you have your schedule?" He handed her the piece of paper he had been holding. "So where are you from?"

"California," he said, "I lived there for five years and before that, I lived in Georgia," he said matter of fact.

"California wow. What made you move here?"

"Let's just say my dad thought it would be good for me to have a change of scenery so he sent me here to live with my cousin."

"Who's your cousin?"

"His name is Ace, Ace Rivers."

Alex stopped walking. He was Ace's cousin? Since when did Ace have a cousin? "Really?"

He turned to her. "Yeah do you know him?"

"Yeah its just that he never mentioned he had a cousin, and he certainly never mentioned you would be coming to town."

A look of realization passed his face. "I take it you two are close. Well he and I aren't. In fact I hadn't met him until a few days ago."

"Well I guess that does explain a few things. Come on I'll show you where your classes are and then I'll introduce you to everyone at lunch."

They made their way down the hall and Alex pointed out to him where his classes were. Every time she turned around she felt his eyes watching her. She fought the urge to read his thoughts. It was one of the abilities she had gained when she became a vampire. Besides, guys always did that when she showed them around. She had just finished showing him his last class when the bell rang and they started making their way to the cafeteria. They got their trays and she showed him to their usual table at which her friends were already seated. When Ace saw them coming his eyes got big and he slid down in his seat. He knew that Alex wasn't going to take it easy on him. She set her tray down and pulled up an extra chair for Chase.

"Well, well, well," Grey said, "who is this."

Alex and Chase took their seats. "This is Chase Rivers," she began. She pointed at Ace, "his cousin."

"Really," Wayne said, "interesting."

"Sweetie, is there something you forgot to tell me?" Grey asked.

"I guess I forgot to mention it," he said.

"How long have you been here, Chase?" Wayne asked.

"Uh, a few days," he said confused.

"Oh, you are so dead," Grey said.

"Am I missing something?" Chase asked, though no one seemed to her him

"Look," Ace explained, "I found out the day those... uh, other visitors came to town and it hardly seemed like the right time to mention it."

"Speaking of right times, this is not one. Why don't we discuss this later?" Lora pointed out. "Let's talk about something else."

"Oh," Alex remembered, "I almost forgot. This is Grey, Wayne, and Lorraine but most people call her Lora."

Chase nodded his head. "It's nice to meet you."

"So how long are you in town for," Grey asked.

"I'm not sure. It may be for a month or two or maybe even the whole year."

"Are you staying with Ace," Wayne wondered out loud.

"Yeah. He and Nick have been great."

So Nick knew too. Why didn't he tell her? Surely he at least told Cole. Maybe they figured Ace would tell them which, obviously, didn't happen. "Well I hope you enjoy your stay, however long it may be. We don't get many new visitors here." It was true. They didn't get many human visitors there. Supernatural, on the other hand, came and went almost every week. "The scenery must be quite a contrast from California."

"It is," he said, "there's a lot more green. I kind of like it, though. For some reason I have always been drawn to the forest."

Grey looked at Alex questioningly. Alex shook her head slightly. He didn't smell like a werewolf and his eyes were a natural color. Its not impossible for a human to be lycan born, but it is uncommon.

"Chase Rivers come to the office, Chase Rivers come to the office." He stood, "Well it was nice meeting you, I guess I'll see you around." He looked at each person at the table, his gaze falling on Alex last. He looked at her a second longer and looked like he wanted to say something else but decided against it.

When he was gone Grey spoke. "He was cute. I think he has a thing for you, Alex."

She shook her head. "Please, you guys think that any boy who looks at me has a thing for me, and I will not have you guys try to set me up with him. Besides, he's Ace's cousin. Speaking of which..." They all turned to Ace.

"Now look," he said, "I didn't say anything because I knew he was human and I didn't think it mattered."

"So he is human?" Alex asked.

"Yes. His father is my mother's brother, who was born human. Growing up he always felt like he didn't belong because he was normal. When the opportunity came he left for California and they never heard from him again. When we got the letter saying he was sending his son here to meet his family we assumed he was one of us. But when he arrived his humanity couldn't have been more obvious, and neither could his ignorance about the existence of werewolves."

Alex thought about that for a minute. It usually happened with twins which was even more unlikely for their kind than it was with humans. Sometimes the lycanthrope gene skips a generation resulting in the werewolf born human to have a were-child. In this case, that wasn't so. Even Alex had sensed the humanity on him when they first met, but hearing him say he was Ace's cousin made her second guess herself. "Well, we still need to keep an eye on him," she said decidedly, "even though he is human, any vampires passing through may sense he has wolves in the family."

The others nodded. "Hey did you guys hear," Ace asked apparently eager to change the subject, "those hunters Alex came across were originally after a vampire."

"How do you know that?" Grey said suspiciously.

"When I gave Nick some of there weapons he said some of them were strictly for vampire use only."

"But the wolf I saw," Alex said, "told me the hunters were after him."

"Nick said they must have lost track of the vampire and picked up the trail of your new boyfriend."

"First of all, he is not my boyfriend, and second you are already on probation because of your cousin. Do you really want to go there?" He didn't say another word.

"Now," Wayne began, "I wish Alex wouldn't have killed them and they would have gotten the vampire." The rest laughed at that.

Alex felt a wave of nausea. She thought for a minute that she would faint. The dream she had came back into her head. She thought of how hostile her friends had been knowing what she was. She wondered if she would ever tell them the truth now, but they would find out eventually. The longer she kept it from them the more it would hurt them when they did finally find out. "I'm sure not all vampires are bad."

The others stopped laughing and turned to her. They looked at her like she was crazy, as if she suggested they all jump off a cliff to see if it would completely kill them or not. "Alex, are you feeling okay?" Lora asked.

"I'm fine. I was just pointing out that there may be good and bad vampires like there are good and bad werewolves."

They all looked taken a back. Ace was the first to speak, "Is that spell the hunters put on you affecting your brain? Don't ever compare us to those filthy blood suckers ever again. We've seen a vampire drain the blood of a baby, I don't know of any werewolf who would even think about that. Since when do you care about those monsters anyway?"

The bell rang and the lunchroom erupted into a chorus of scraping chairs. She hurriedly got up and dumped her tray, leaving her pack behind. The rest of the day went by in a blur. The words her pack had spoken rang through her head. I wish Alex wouldn't have killed them and they would have gotten the vampire, Wayne had said. What if her dream hadn't been a dream? What if it had been a vision? It had never occurred to her that this might be the case, mostly because she didn't want it to be true. Don't ever compare us to those filthy blood suckers ever again, Ace had said to her. He hadn't even tried to hide the anger in his voice. Would he hate her if she told him? Would they all hate her? Would they understand and be there for her? Would they throw her out of the pack or let her stay? There was only one way to answer these questions. She had to tell them. Even as she thought it, she knew she couldn't bring herself to do it.

When the day was over she met her pack in the parking lot. She thought about when they had appointed her as Alpha. She had been ten at the time and very nervous. She had no idea how to run a pack and was still considered a small child to most. Cole had sat across from her in the living room that night, perched on the edge of the coffee table.

"You'll do fine," he had reassured her. "Every alpha gets scared at first but you will be a great leader."

"You don't know that," she had protested, "you're just trying to make me feel better."

"That's not entirely true. Every pack that is formed needs a leader and its the instincts of werewolves to know exactly who's fitting and who isn't. And they chose you. They see the strength in you that you have not yet seen yourself."

At the time she had felt a twinge of sadness. Every other ten year old was worrying about what they wanted for Christmas and how long before they hit puberty. And there Alex was expected to lead a pack of werewolves like a general leading his soldiers. Its not fair, she had thought. She didn't dare say that to Cole though. Even though he might understand and comfort her the way he always did, she didn't dare say it. It was different for the lycanthropes. You had to grow up fast and take responsibility or you may never have the chance to grow up at all. She had sat up straight then and held her head high. This was her time to grow up just as every child must. She looked at Cole and with the most confidence and pride she could muster she had said, "I will lead the pack."

Then, the word had felt foreign to her. Like every time she called them a pack she was somehow saying she hadn't ever really cared about them. Now, though, she knew the true meaning of the word. To others it may have meant a group or simply multiples. But not to her, not to them. To them it meant friends, family, and partners. It meant that they were bound by something more than blood or a simple way of life. When you were part of a pack, you belonged. You felt like you knew that you would give your life for them and, without a doubt, knew they would do the same for you. You felt as though you were connected somehow. A connection that could never be severed, even by death. That was what a pack truly was and what it truly meant.

But she still couldn't bring herself to tell them. She didn't want to lose her pack. As she approached them she gave them a casual smile and tried not to let her feelings show. It must have worked because they returned the gesture.

Suddenly, Ace dropped to his knees. He threw his hands up in a pleading gesture, and then in dramatic despair, said, "Please oh supreme one, forgive me." He grabbed his chest dramatically, "My heart is full of despair and I truly regret what I have done." Ace bowed his head. After a moment of silence he looked up, "Uh . . . Alex, Aren't you going to forgive me."

Alex still said nothing. She turned to Grey who shrugged and nodded. When the others did the same she looked back at Ace. "What happened to supreme one?" A smile appeared on his face. "Get up and stop making a fool of yourself."

Ace stood and hugged Alex who kept her arms folded. "I knew you'd understand. So are you ready?"

"Ace!" the others said in unison. He immediately stepped back and recoiled.

Alex stepped forward, not even trying to hide her curiosity. Ordinarily she wouldn't have thought twice about the question, but her friends were clearly trying to hide something. "What's going on?" None of them said anything but they all blushed and averted their eyes. The similarity in their actions were a little creepy sometimes. "Well, it's good to know the connection between you guys isn't reserved to just mental." After another moment of silence she decided to find out for herself. She turned to Wayne, who seemed to always know what was going on, and pushed with her mind.

I knew this was a bad idea. Alex always gets mad with things like this. It's not like it was my idea, I mean I've been against it from the start. So what if Ace's cousin was new and didn't have any friends? If I was her, I wouldn't want to be told that I had to go on a date with him.

What!? Alex yelled in her mind. Wayne's head snapped to attention. He looked straight at Alex. "Did you say something?" he asked. Had he heard her? Could she send people messages through her mind too? She tried to play it off. "You guys set me up with Ace's cousin didn't you?"

"How did you know!?" they asked, again, in unison.

"Because I know you guys, and how you think. And if you guys don't stop speaking all at once as though your reciting the pledge, I swear I will throw you in the river myself."

"Alex look ..." Ace started, "actually that might be kind of fun. A good challenge considering how strong the current is."

Grey rolled her eyes. "Why do I put up with you?"

"Because you love me and you know there's no other guy who can keep up with you."

Wayne threw up his hands, "Guys, focus. Angry alpha ready to rip off our heads here."

Lorraine stepped forward. "Look, Alex, its not anything serious. All you have to do is go see a movie with the guy. Ace wants him to feel welcome and you are the perfect girl for the job." She looked at her with a shy smile and encouraging eyes.

"She's right," Grey pointed out, "and who knows? You might actually like the guy." When she caught sight of the angry stare Alex flashed her, she quickly changed her last opinion. "Or you might actually not like him and forget that I ever said you would."

She looked from one pack member to the next. They all stood in a small half circle and looked at her with pleading eyes. Ever since the four loners had turned into two pairs, they had been trying to find someone for her to go out with. Sure she had dated before, but it was never really serious. She just wasn't the serious relationship kind of girl. She enjoyed the usual fling or two but not relationships. She had a pack to worry about, and a serious boyfriend was the last thing she needed. They apparently thought that she felt left out. Of course, they had her best interests in mind, but they could be really annoying sometimes.

She threw up her hands and sighed deeply, trying her best to show her agitation. "Fine, I'll do it." she announced. They all cheered and ran to hug her.

"See, I knew you'd come around," Ace admitted. They all got into there cars and Alex got on her motorcycle. Ace rolled down his window. "Would this be a bad time to ask for my money?" She picked up a rock and threw it at him. He used his reflexes to catch it before it could hit him in the face. "I'll take that as a no," he replied. "By the way," he added, "you're supposed to meet him at six."

"What!?" she screamed. Before she had a chance to yell at them they all drove off. Great, she thought, I have to spend the night with a human and hope that I don't wind up killing him before it's over with.

Chapter 4

When Alex got home she stormed inside and slammed the door behind her. Today had been challenging with fighting her hunger, lying to her pack, and now she was going to have to spend her evening with Ace's human cousin. What was she supposed to say if things went south? Hi Ace, sorry I drained your cousin dry. I guess I should have mentioned the whole vampire thing. But you guys aren't that close, right? She cringed at the thought.

Cole appeared in the kitchen doorway, leaning against the frame. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She threw herself on the couch and turned to look at him. "Why don't you ask me what isn't wrong? That would take up less time." she admitted. Cole remained silent and continued to listen. "Aside from the fact that I can barely go to school without fantasizing about ripping someone's throat out, or the fact that I'm lying to the four people who I'm supposed to be able tell anything to, but I'm terrified that they will have and resent me for something that I have no control over but has apparently been there my entire life, it turns out that Ace has a human cousin, and in order to make him feel welcome, they set me up on a date with him." On top of all of that, there was a psychotic, homicidal vampire who was out to get her, but she decided to leave that part out.

"You're worried you're going to lose control and hurt him aren't you?" He said moving to sit beside her.

"No, I'm afraid I'm going to lose control and kill him."

"You made it through the school day without killing anyone didn't you?"

"Barely."

"Alex, you don't give yourself enough credit."

"No, Cole, you give me too much. Just by showing up, I'm willingly putting him and everyone else at risk, despite my best intentions. If the others would quit sticking their nose where it doesn't belong, things like this wouldn't happen."

"If you're that worried about it, don't go."

"Yeah, and what am I supposed to say when they start asking questions?"

"The truth."

"Don't," she warned.

"I'm serious," he said. "Honestly, I don't see what's so bad about you being a vampire anyways. You can do all these incredible new things, and its not like its changed anything."

"Seriously? How can you say that? You know what those things did, what they've stolen from you, from them, from all of us."

"And how much have the hunters taken?"

"That's beside the point," she protested.

"Is it?" Cole outstretched his arm and bright silver lines began to show. "I look like the hunters. I share their strengths, their weaknesses. We get our power from the same place. How many wolves have they killed? How many people have they let die in the collateral? I understand your confliction with the vampires who have committed the crimes you speak of, but not all of them are lost to the hunger. Some of them still have some humanity left. They were all human once."

Alex stared down at the floor. She knew he was right. She knew how foolish and hypocritical she was being but she couldn't bring herself to accept it. Every time she tried she thought about Ace's family, or Fallon, or someone else who had lost a loved one so a vampire could eat or have a good time.

"I guess its my fault," Cole admitted. "Mine and the other protectors. We let your grief turn into hatred, and watched as it grew, but didn't try to stop it. We figured it would keep you safe, keep you from being manipulated and drive you to fight harder. A mistake that I should have fixed a long time ago." He took her hand and she looked up at him. "Don't let it continue. You can make things right because of what you are and who you are. Its not going to be easy, but in time things will be as they should, and I will always be right here no matter how good or bad things get."

Alex nodded. Cole put his arm around her as she rested her head on his chest. There were two parts of her life that always seemed right, her pack and Cole. But with all the lies and secrecy, she was down to only one, and was more grateful than she had ever been.

A few hours later, Alex pulled into the movie theater. As she got off her bike and walked toward the entrance, she expected herself to be nervous and anxious, but she wasn't. She had thought long and hard about what Cole had said and decided that she was done hating herself. There was a whole new side of her now and that meant a whole new world of possibilities. It was time for her to suck it up and get over it.

She was wearing the same t-shirt and jeans that she had worn to school that day. Lora would have said that her outfit wasn't 'girly' enough. Apparently you were supposed to dress up for dates, complete with makeup, but Alex never wore skirts or dresses and definitely not makeup.

Standing by the entrance was Chase. He was wearing a black leather jacket with jeans and a blue t-shirt. He had been looking down at his feet but raised his head as Alex approached. When he caught sight of her he smiled, and she stopped just a few feet in front of him.

"Alex, what are you doing here?"

She stared at him confused. "What?" she asked. "You're kidding right."

"No why?"

She smiled. Maybe this would be an interesting evening after all. "Why don't we start off by you telling me why you're here,"

"I'm supposed to be meeting someone, but I'm not sure who. Kind of like a blind date I guess. Ace said to wait by the door and..." he stopped. A look of realization took the place of his confusion.

"By the look on your face I can see you've figured it out. It didn't take you as long as I thought it would."

He chuckled nervously, "Well, I'm embarrassed."

Alex smiled. "Well if it makes you feel any better I didn't know until a few hours ago. Looks like we both got hustled."

"As a matter of fact, it does make me feel better," he said. Chase held out his hand and smiled. "So since we're here why don't we hustle on inside." Alex raised an eyebrow questioningly. Chase paused and scrunched up one side of his face. "That was kind of bad wasn't it?"

"Kind of?"

"Yeah, see it sounded better when echoed through my hollow head."

Alex smiled at that and then took his hand and they went inside. As far as first dates go, it wasn't that bad so far. Usually she felt awkward and misplaced, but he actually made her comfortable. Plus, he was cute, there was no denying that. Actually, he was downright gorgeous, but she reminded herself that he was human. It would never work out.

After they got their tickets they stood in line for concessions. Chase leaned over and said , "Looks like someone didn't learn their lesson this morning." Seeing her confused expression, he pointed toward the door. Standing at the entrance was Jeff, the jock who bet his friends that Alex would go out with him. He was holding hands with a girl who had on so much makeup, it looked like her face would melt if it rained. She wore a low-cut, pink tank-top and black booty shorts.

Alex held back a laugh. It was Jessica Hart. Admittedly she and Alex never liked each other. Jessica always wanted to be the best at everything and be the most desired girl in school. She would be too, if it weren't for Alex, who all the guys thought was the hottest girl they'd ever seen, but that was probably the werewolf in her that made them see her that way. Just because they didn't know what she was, the gene didn't stop attracting them. The only good thing that ever came from Jessica was the union of two of her best friends. She was the one that pushed Grey over the edge, making her confess her true feelings for Ace.

Chase was right. Apparently he didn't learn his lesson this morning. But how did he... "You were eavesdropping,"

He smiled, "I wouldn't really call it eavesdropping..."

"Oh really? Well what would you call it then."

"Closely observing my surroundings."

"Come up with that one all on your own, did you?"

"I did actually. I'm a lot more witty than I get credit for."

"Well you could have fooled me. Now, why don't you closely observe the menu?"

"Wow, and I thought my jokes were bad."

"Oh, please that was twice as good as yours, and I'll have you know that people find me hilarious."

He shrugged, "Well you could have fooled me."

She gave him a playful nudge. He laughed and turned back to the front. They got there food and went to their seats. It wasn't until Alex sat down that she realized something. Her hunger for blood was gone. She had grown so accustomed to the urge for it this past week that she hadn't even noticed when it had vanished. Had she learned to control it that quick? It wasn't likely. Maybe Cole had put a spell on her to suppress it. No he had told her that he wouldn't do that so she could learn. So then why wasn't she feeling anything?

"Are you okay?" Chase asked.

She shook her head to clear it. Alex turned to see Chase looking at her with concern. She started to speak when the movie commercials came on and she averted her attention.

"Alex?" he said with a little more urgency and worry.

"I'm fine," she said, "just thinking."

"What? Counting the calories in the popcorn and soda?" She elbowed him, "Ow."

"No, but if that's the kind of girl you like to hang out with, then this was a waste of time."

Chase smiled, "Its true, that's the kind of girl I usually go out with, but I have to say that I like the change."

"And here I thought you were just another shallow douche bag."

"See, I knew you'd warm up to me."

She shook her head and turned back to the movie. It was weird how fast she became comfortable with Chase. Usually first dates were boring to her and she was counting down the seconds until she got home. But there was something about Chase that made her feel as though they had done this a million times. Grey had been right. She did actually like this guy. She almost wished that she'd known the guy before she became a vampire. Almost. Things were way too complicated now for her to be in a relationship, and the whole human and vampire thing just made it worse. No, right now her priorities were her pack and Fallon. She needed to figure out how she was going to take him down, with the help of her friends of course because he had too many resources for her to do it alone. But when she told them about him, she would have to tell them about her, it was inevitable.

When the film was over Alex and Chase went outside and stood in front of the theater. "Do you need a ride home?" Chase asked.

"No, my bike's parked over there."

"So that was your bike you were leaning against this morning."

"Why did you think it wasn't?"

"I don't know. There's not that many bikers in this town, and most of the girls in this town seem like they wouldn't know what one looked like if it ran them over."

"Yeah, well, I'm not like most girls around here."

"Fortunately for us," he replied. She looked at him questioningly and he just simply grinned. She couldn't tell if he was being playful or if he was serious. His personality would suggest the first, but there seemed to be something genuine underneath.

"I should probably get going," she said, trying to put a stop to whatever they were doing.

He averted his eyes to the ground and started to shift his weight, "Yeah I need to get back."

Cole was already asleep when she got home. His spell books were out and she figured he had been practicing his magic. It always tired him out, each spell required a certain amount of mental and physical strength. The stronger the spell, the more it drained him, and he seemed to be doing a lot of big enchantments lately. She quietly put a blanket over him and put his herbs and books away. As she was putting the last one on the shelf she paused, holding it by the spine. She closed her eyes and murmured a few words under her breath. Suddenly, the sent of burning plants filled the air. The living room melted away. She opened her eyes and saw the outside world fly by her. Alex kept waiting for it to stop, but she kept going, farther and farther away. Then it began to slow. It paused outside of a hotel, in front of a woman. Her back was to her so Alex couldn't see her face. She saw Cole's arm outstretch in front of her to get the woman's attention...

Alex felt a tug on her neck and the hotel disappeared as her living room came back into view. "What are you doing?" Came Cole's voice from beside her.

She whipped her head in his direction and found him staring at her angrily. All she could do was stare back, her mind hadn't fully recovered from the trip. Her gaze wandered around him and settled on the necklace dangling from his hand by his right side. She absently reached for it and he snatched it behind his back. "Hey, that's mine."

"I'll give it back when you answer my question," he said.

Alex had fully composed herself now, "Who is she?"

"Who?"

"The woman that you just tracked and communicated with over thousands of miles."

"You were retracing my spells?"

"Yeah, so?"

He held up the necklace, it was a bright blue gem in the shape of a tooth and had a silver vine wrapped around it that hooked it to the chain. "Alex, I didn't give you this so you could spy on me. Its for emergencies, so we can borrow strength or abilities from each other when need be. So I could show you what magic feels like to help you be more prepared."

"If you weren't passed out every time I came home, maybe I wouldn't have bothered."

"I'm a protector. Practicing magic is what I do."

"Not like this. You're pushing yourself too much. Cole, what I just witnessed, what you did earlier, takes at least three average witches to pull off. One to do the tracking, one to communicate, and one to keep the connection going. Doing it by yourself is reckless and stupid."

"And necessary."

"How? Who is she? Are there others? Just tell me, please."

"I can't. Its too complicated. All you need to know is that I'm trying to keep you safe, now more than ever."

"And what if you kill yourself along the way, huh? What if you try to do what's 'necessary' and its too much for you to handle? You exert yourself too much and you die, then what? Who's going to protect me then?"

"I've already got people in place in case that happens."

"You've planned for it!?" Alex didn't know what to think. Was he expecting to die? Did he want to die?

"I admit its not the ideal situation, believe me. I hope I see the day when your... hybrid-mutant babies start their lives," he chuckled, "Maybe you'll even let me be their protector too." She gave a sad grin and nodded. "But you have to understand, Alex, I will protect you by any means necessary. One day you may hate for it, but at least you'll be alive to do so."

She stayed quiet for a moment trying to stay calm. Yelling at him wouldn't do any good, but trying to reason with him wouldn't either. He was as stubborn as she was, its where she got it from. But she couldn't let him think she was okay with it. "I get it," she said, "I do. But you have to be more careful, because I swear, if you keep on the way you have been, I will put you so out of reach of magic you'll forget the word. Do you understand?"

Cole stared at the floor and shook his head slightly. He walked over to her and put the necklace in her hand. "Its been a long night," he said, "I'll see you in the morning."

There was so much more she wanted to say, so many questions she wanted him to answer, but she let him go. In the morning, they would pretend that conversation never happened and go about as usual. He might even forget about it in a few days, but she knew she wouldn't. It would be in the back of her mind until it was resolved, like all of her other problems. There were so many lately she started to wonder if she had enough room for another one.

The next morning, not a word was said about their argument, just as she suspected. All he was interested in was her so-called date with Chase, so she gave him the whole story from start to finish. He didn't say anything while she was talking, but when she got through he smiled at her and said, "See, I told you, you had nothing to worry about."

"And I was so hoping you wouldn't say I told you so." Alex replied with a sigh. He stayed quiet but continued to smile. "What? No snarky comment, I practically held the door open?" He shrugged and sipped his coffee, still smiling. "Why are you grinning like that?"

Cole seemed almost giddy as he said, "You've got a thing for Chase."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, okay, we're not having this conversation."

"You like him," he said in a sing-song, teasing voice.

She stood up and grabbed her things, "Whatever, I have to get to school."

"Chase and Alex sitting in a tree..."

"What are you, a twelve year-old girl?"

He shrugged, "I could be, you don't know what I got."

"Goodbye," she said as she walked out the door, not even bothering to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"You know you love me," he shouted after her and she laughed in response.

Later, at school, she had to repeat the whole story to her friends. Ace stood off to the side smirking the whole time, while Grey had the look of pride as she realized she was right. Lora was as excited as Cole had been, maybe more so, and Wayne seemed to be analyzing the situation thoroughly. She was thankful they didn't ask her about it when Chase was around. That would have been awkward. She kind of hoped she wouldn't see him at all that day. the date went well, sure, but she still felt weird about it and she feared that feeling would get worse when she saw him. But when she got around him that strange feeling of familiarity was still there, which both relieved and annoyed her.

"They've been asking you questions about last night haven't they?" he asked.

"How did you guess?" She said sarcastically.

"Just a hunch. I mean its not like Ace waited up for me and asked me the same questions as soon as I got home or anything."

Alex laughed. "Yeah well at least Nick didn't tease you like a middle-schooler this morning."

"Cole didn't?"

"Cole did."

"How bad?"

"Bad enough that I didn't even want to see you today."

"Didn't want to see me? Whoa, that's a whole other level of bad. I mean like extremely extreme."

She chuckled, "Yes, Chase Rivers, you are the highlight of my day."

He put his hand to his chest, "Wow, I just got this weird feeling in my chest. Its all warm and fuzzy. I kind of like it, say that again."

Alex shook her head and started to walk off. He followed her saying, "No seriously, say it again.

Alex finally managed to escape him when the bell rang and they had to go their separate ways. As the teacher started class, she turned and looked out the window, almost jumping out of her seat. Was she seeing things? She squinted her eyes and realized that it was really there. Out the window, among the trees, was a pair of bright orange eyes, but she didn't know any wolf with orange eyes. In fact she had never met a wolf with orange eyes until a few days ago, and he had said he was leaving town. Did he decide to stick around after all?