A woman who looked to be in her late-thirties sat curled up in a chair next to the window. The window overlooked the backyard of her house, where her children and the younger members of the pack were playing. She watched them with a slight smile on her face.

They laughed a bickered, running around the area and playing in the wet mud, rain dripping from the skies into their clothes and hair. As Clary clutched her chipped mug and stared out of the window, she remembered a night like this, nearly twenty years ago.

It was the night where she had realized what it had meant to be an alpha. Her mind flashed to that night, a small smile gracing her features as she remembered it.

Two figures were standing behind a tree in a forest. A girl and boy, both who looked to be in their late teens. They were clearly not related, with their contrasting features. She was petite, with long red curls, pale skin, and bright green eyes. He was tall, well built, with golden skin, hair, and eyes. It was raining, for the first time in a month. Not the soft drizzling rain that children like to play in, but the pelting rain that made it impossible to see, with crackling lighting.

The two of them were doing patrols, and waited for the call of their pack, to see if the rest of them needed any help. Suddenly a piercing howl was heard. Any ordinary person would have jumped, startled by the sudden sound, but the female only smiled, for this was the sound of their pack. The sound of their family.

Another howl was heard. This one however, was laced with agony. She was quick to shed her smile. She heard a rustle to her side, and when she looked there, Jace was gone. She sighed. He was always impulsive, and she was the one who usually thought things through. That didn't make her any less powerful than him, though.

With a small intake of breath, she morphed into her true self. A few years ago, the transformation from woman to wolf had been painful; now to be in her true form brought comfort. Her body shrunk, and dark red fur; slightly darker than her hair appeared on her body.

Her teeth sharpened, and a tail grew out. She could feel her senses heightening, and her eyes turned gold.

She bounded off silently behind Jace.

She reached the clearing where the cry of distress was heard from. The forest now long gone, she shook her head to get rid of the water now soaking her fur.

She saw Jace standing with the other members of the pack, and looked to the side to see what had caused one of the members of her pack to cry in distress. Opposite to them, was another pack, invaders to be specific.

She inhaled, and the familiar scents of her pack reached her nose, along with another slightly unfamiliar scent; the intruding alpha. She breathed in again, and suddenly she recognized the scent. Her half-brother, Jonathan Morgenstern.

Of course, he didn't know that they were related. both of her parents were alphas, and they were killed in an attack three years ago, passing the alpha spark to their respective children. Jocelyn to clary, and Valentine to Jonathon. Of course, clary being the daughter of two alphas, she was much stronger than a usual alpha, and her pack was pretty large too.

Jonathan's mother was a human, who Valentine had been in a relationship with before meeting Jocelyn. Before she had died, Jocelyn had told clary about her half-brother.

Fear bubbled in her stomach, but she started walking towards Jonathon. He turned to her and snarled wolfishly. "Move girl." She kept on walking towards him, choosing to ignore the fear that spiked in her stomach.

Jonathon turned towards the Jace. "Alpha," he acknowledged, tilting his head. Jace scowled at him, not even bothering to correct the intruding alpha's mistake.

Jonathan opened his mouth to continue speaking when he noticed that the Clary was still walking towards him. "I said move girl!" his voice rose, fury evident in his tone.

Just before she reached him, she jumped, her wolf body tackling him to the ground. She raked her claws against his chest, and he gasped from the pain from the wound inflicted. Her pack moved forward, ready to intervene if their leader needed them too. His pack slowly walked forward, hackles raised, ready to attack if given the command.

Her eyes flashed red, and he gasped. "You're the alpha." She growled in response, shaking her head once again to get rid of the rain. Clearly he had underestimated her. She climbed off him and changed back into her human form, barking orders at her pack to back off.

All fear was gone, replaced by adrenaline that was coursing through her veins. She crossed her arms and looked down at him, giving him a look so fierce that he flinched under her gaze.

"This is my territory." Her voice was the only sound other than the rain falling onto to the ground. "You have trespassed once, the next time I won't let you off so easily. The next time you come here unannounced, it will mean war." Her steely tone left no room for disagreement.

He stood up and nodded, tilting his head towards his pack. The slowly turned around and went back to wherever they came from. "Agreed," He spoke to the Clary, who he had clearly underestimated.

He turned and began walking away and suddenly turned around. "Your name, Alpha?" he asked her, unable to suppress his curiosity. "Clarissa," she told him, inclined her head towards the woods, clearly meaning for her pack to leave.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard him murmuring. "Clarissa-famous or bright," He mused, "A name fit for an alpha."

She turned around and bared her teeth to him, "I know." The alphas both bounded off into the night, in opposite directions, behind their packs.

Clary pulled the edges of her sweater closer and took a sip from the mug in front of her. She looked at her daughter being trained outside in the rain by Jace. She was seventeen; the same age clary had been when the alpha spark was passed on to her. She was still the alpha of the pack, though it had grown in numbers.

She placed her mug on the table and went towards the door. She leaned on the doorframe, letting raindrops fall on her face. She turned her face towards the sky and closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of being home.

"You think you're too old to have some fun, mom?" he daughter teased, flicking her wet golden hair, so much like jace's, over her shoulder. Clary grinned at her, "Definitely not." She pounced forward and tackled her daughter to the ground. Jace joined in, and soon they were all covered in mud, enjoying themselves in the rain.

x.X.x