A/N: Thanks for checking out my story! I will say this now - I am a book reader and this is my approach as to how they could possibly combine their current season one plot and characters with the book Stolen. If you want to remain 100% unspoiled as to possible characters or plot ideas then this probably isn't the story for you. I just wanted to get that out there since I'm sure there are some readers that might fall into that category. For the rest of you - book readers and non-book readers alike - I hope you enjoy!

This also is in the same 'world' as my other Bitten stories - Close of Business and Echos - but as of right now, they aren't necessarily prequels or something that you have to read to understand this one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bitten or the collected works of Women of the Otherworld.

Prologue

Paige drummed her pen against her notepad. She was reduced to taking notes on paper instead of her laptop due to her mother's insistence. Council meetings were always long and tedious and this one hadn't even started yet.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. They were already running fifteen minutes behind. She didn't know why it surprised her. It shouldn't. She had been attending council meetings on and off since she was five and then regularly once she turned twelve.

In theory the council sounded like it was something that would be exciting. A council for supernaturals to discuss issues, grievances, and concerns in their world? How in the world could that ever be boring?

It was when the supernatural world wasn't as vivid as Hollywood and the literary community made it out to be. Sure, there were witches, necromancers, half-demons, shamans, and vampires, but they weren't anywhere near what pop culture told them what they should be. There were other types of supernatural races out there too, deviations of the major races and then there were the sorcerers. Sorcerers tended not to get along with anyone who wasn't a sorcerer or on their payroll. The council had been formed as a way of protecting themselves from the sorcerers and the power they wielded.

Paige sighed again. Her mother was chatting away with Kenneth, the shaman representative. She desperately wished she had her laptop here. She could be using this time to do important things, such as try to fix her resume for her endless job search or see if she had any luck with her dating profile, or hacking into an unmentioned financial institution that charged outrageous overage fees for not processing the transactions in the proper order.

Paige sighed as she slumped in her desk. Her mother would get on to her later about that. She needed to maintain the proper posture. She was being groomed as her mother's replacement. She knew that the day wouldn't be here anytime soon. Her mother was in excellent health and in no signs of slowing down. Besides, taking on the duties of the council in addition to her mother's role as leader of the North American Witches Coven on top of the rest of her life? She might be able to schedule an hour or two of sleep in a week.

The door opened and she smiled. Adam was here. She had known Adam since he was eight and somehow managed to never develop a crush on him. Objectively she knew that he was good looking but he just wasn't her cup of tea. His step-father followed, the representative for half-demons. He had a grim face today, which was atypical.

"Is this everyone," he asked.

Paige looked around the room. There was Cassandra, the vampire, her mom, the witch, Kenneth the shaman and now Robert the half-demon. There should have been a necromancer representative but that was one of the issues slated to be discussed today. The previous one had died unexpectedly and hadn't started training a successor.

Adam came and sat next to her, his grin was dimmer than it usually was. He wasn't exactly having the greatest of luck with the job search but he preferred to spend his days surfing in the ocean.

"We have a problem," his dad Robert began. This was unheard of. The meeting hadn't been called into order, nor had they gone over the business they had discussed last month.

"Supernaturals are going missing," he said and the room was deathly quiet.

"Missing," her mother repeated.

"I've had several reports of people … being rounded up."

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Six months had passed since the Pack had stood its harshest test to date. Malcolm Danvers had unleashed a whirlwind of carnage against them and somehow they had stood strong in its wake. True, they weren't all there, not anymore. They had lost two members before the last battle, Peter and Antonio. Logan had left the Pack after discovering that his girlfriend Rachel was pregnant with a boy and he did not want to follow Pack law that dictated that he take his son away from Rachel and raise him on his own.

There were a lot of Pack laws that seemed outdated these days. Unfortunately the laws were in place for a reason. They had stood the test of generations, preserving their kind since they first emerged. It was a barbaric practice but that was what had to be done to protect everyone. What mother would accept that her son was a werewolf and not look at him differently? Not have him committed to a psychiatric facility? Send him away from his father, the one who is supposed to guide him through his first Change?

Elena knew that despite this, the laws had to change. They had to change. They didn't have the numbers they once had. They couldn't take another loss. The Pack was too small – Jeremy, Clay, Nick, and her. That was it. That was all that remained. There weren't any small children running around, the hope for the next generation and this was no time to consider having children either. The threat was too big, too dangerous.

Jeremy had reached out to the extended family of the Sorrentinos but they all gave noncommittal answers. They were still grieving Antonio's loss, or so that was the reason they gave him. Jeremy never said much but his tone suggested that there might be more to it than simply that.

Malcolm.

Before Jeremy was Alpha, Antonio's father Dominic was Alpha. When Dominic died, there was a power struggle between Jeremy and his father Malcolm. Jeremy ended up the winner but it cost the Pack half of its members either due to desertion or death. Their numbers hadn't recovered since and now they were withering away.

Elena would sometimes hear Jeremy pacing in his room or having nightmares. It was hard not to hear. Old houses had thin walls and she had supernatural hearing.

There weren't any scars to Stonehaven itself from the attack. The house had been repaired, new furniture bought, and bodies buried. Jeremy had devised several new ways of blocking off old hidden passages and further securing the Alpha's secrets.

Elena had thrown herself into her work, her new work. She didn't have time or the luxury to be a photographer, or at least not right now. She was working full time for the Pack. She was checking up on mutts and offering a select few Pack membership with Jeremy's blessing.

Karl was an example that she used. Karl had originally teamed up with Daniel Santos and Malcolm in the attack against the Pack but realized – at the last minute – that this wasn't a fight he wanted to be a part of.

She had a few that were interested in joining but needed time to think. She wished she spent most of her time doing that. No, most of her time was spent with Clay chasing down more rogue mutts that Malcolm convinced to act out.

Elena had seen more dead bodies than she cared to in the past six months. Philip still haunted her at night. She stubbornly refused to switch rooms, although she did have a new mattress and bedding. She was going to get past this. In the last month, she even made it to the point where she didn't have anxiety when it was time to get under the covers.

Elena finished her bedtime routine in the bathroom and softly padded her way to her bedroom. She didn't have to worry about anyone being in there, or at least not Clay being in there. Of all of the rooms in the main house, her room was the one that had a remaining working lock. When they would fight, he would yell and pound on the door, stalking outside, but he knew that he couldn't break in. Jeremy had forbidden it and to Clay, it was the word of God.

Elena slipped under the covers and sighed. It was her first night in a week to be back at home. She had finished up a trip to Chicago that was unfruitful and her bringing back a new wardrobe. It was better not to chance bloody clothes with all of the random baggage searches the airlines conducted.

She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. She tried not to replay the events of six months ago but each night she failed. She relived each punch and kick without fail. It was a stark reminder of how little they had progressed since then and how far Malcolm had.

Clay had hardly finished putting the plates of bacon on the table when Jeremy strode in. The bags under his eyes looked worse than the last time she saw him. She wondered if he had managed to sleep at all last night.

He didn't respond to their morning greetings, simply handed her a printed article about a wolf attack in Ohio.

She wanted to say something snide in return. She wanted to point out that she was trying to repair her relationships with the Pack but that was hard to do when she was constantly being sent away on business but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew that Jeremy liked having her around. She knew that ultimately, all of this came back on her for running away from her duties.

Clay looked over and frowned at the location. He had gone with her a few times but he mostly stayed back at Stonehaven these days. He needed to be here in case Malcolm tried to kill Jeremy again.

He grabbed a mug of coffee and gnawed at a piece of bacon. Once he had something in his stomach, he gave Elena a sad smile.

"I know you only just got back," he said.

"I'll leave once I'm repacked. I think my clothes are almost done, so once they are, I'll be on the next flight out."

Clay had remained quiet during this. Elena knew that he wanted more time with her but that was secondary – Jeremy needed protection, the Pack needed protection. Without Jeremy, there wouldn't be a Pack to safeguard their kind from the human world. Once this was over, they would have their much deserved time. That was what got Elena through the long flights and endless nights.

She grabbed her laundry out of the dryer. She eyed a few shirts, wondering how long this set would last. She sighed and went to her room, only to find the door blockaded by Clay.

"Any idea how long you'll be this time?"

"Hard to say," she said. "Right now it's just the one article that is being passed around the media. I need to get there before it turns cold and we have to wait for another."

Clay started to reach for her but pulled back. He did that more frequently now, after Toronto. Before there wasn't any hesitation or question about physical contact, now there seemed to be a question mark following him, despite his best intentions.

"If you need help, you know, just call."

"Nick knows," she said, pushing past him and going in her room. She started the monotonous task of folding and packing her bag.

"If you want," she started, turning around, but Clay was already gone.