2.

Running as fast as he could, Angel sighed in relief as he finally saw the entrance to his pack's cave. They had lived in the large cavern in the side of the mountain for hundreds of years, and he couldn't imagine living anywhere else. The entrance was hidden by an outcropping of rocks and a waterfall, so unless you knew it was there you would never be able to find it. He had only been carrying the mysterious female wolf for twenty minutes but yet he was still worried about her. He hadn't gotten too good a look at her injuries but from the blood he could tell that she had at least a few deep cuts. Angel knew that his pack would take care of her and he had to admit that he was really interested to find out what had happened. Changing out of his wolf form he gently gathered the female into his arms and rushed into the caves.

"Hurry, hurry! Someone get out here and help me!" shouted Angel, screeching to a halt, searching desperately for anyone who could help him.

"What's goin' on man?" questioned a lean bleach-blond. He emerged from a side cave followed by seven other teenagers, all with confused expressions. Upon seeing the bloodied wolf lying in their friends arms everyone came to a halt.

"I found her in the woods, there were two males there and it looked like they had been attacking her. I don't know how badly she's hurt but we need to get her patched up and soon, before she looses too much blood." Upon saying this Angel spotted his parents coming down the hall and rushed towards them.

"What's going on here Angel? I thought you went out for a while, are you back already?" questioned his father, Giles, the leader of the Raiselk pack.

"When I was out walking I found her surrounded by two other males and she was just lying on the ground and she looked pretty beat up. Please, can you help her?" Angel pleaded. He didn't know what it was about this young girl, but he knew that he wanted to help her and couldn't stand just watching her lying in his arms, bleeding.

"Okay Angel, just calm down, we'll help her," stated Giles mate, Jenny, as she stepped forward and put an hand on her sons arm, guiding him back into another side cave, this one equipped with chairs, a table and two couches. Angel gently lowered the girl onto one of the couches and then stood back, allowing for his mom to inspect her.

"You said you found her in the woods?" asked Gunn, one of Angel's best friends. All nine of the pack's teenagers had been extremely close since they had all been in diapers. Forming a deep friendship over years of being part of the Raiselk pack the nine of them were inseperable.

"Yeah, I was just out walking when I heard a bunch of noise and when I went to investigate I found her."

"She looks pretty beat up," added Willow, the red-head of the group, peering anxiously over the side of the couch at their unconscious guest, still in wolf form.

"Was she just out on her own? Where was her escort?" asked a disbelieving Spike. All of the males shared a look. They were all extremely protective of all of the females of their pack and none of them could ever imagine letting one of them wander around alone in the woods, especially at night. Although most of the werewolf packs were friendly, there were still a few who weren't and it was far from safe.

"Yeah, as far as I could tell she was alone. I didn't see anyone else around except for her attackers and something tells me that they weren't there to protect her," stated Angel.

"How long has she been uncounsious?" asked Giles.

"Since just after I got to her, is that a problem?"

"No, we are just going to have to get her back into her human form and then we can see about patching up her wounds and hopefully when she wakes up we can ask her some questions and get to the bottom of this mystery," reassured Jenny, amused at her son's over-protective behavior.

Every cleared away from the couch and allowed Jenny to move closer to her patient. By now other members of the pack had shown up, all curious as to the commotion taking place in one of their many living rooms. Before anyone could ask any questions Gunn quickly stepped up to them and explained the situation. Not wanting to make too much of a crowd, all of the adults backed off, dragging their children with them, although some escaped from their parent's clutches to run and gather around the prone form of the unfamiliar wolf.

She was really a very beautiful wolf, if it wasn't for the large amounts of blood staining her fur. By examination of the untainted spots on her coat, you could tell that she normally had a shiny silver coat, streaked with a dark black color which was concentrated mainly on her ears and paws. She was, by normal standards, petite and at the moment her size only added to her seeming frailness. Smiling, Willow went about ushering the kids out of the door and to their parents, aided by her friends, Fred, Faith and Cordelia. After the room was once again cleared, everyone turned their attention back to their guest.

Kneeling next to the couch, Jenny gently placed her hands on the girl's head, being careful not to hit any of her cuts. Closing her eyes, she chanted the ancient conversion spell which allowed any person with good intentions to change a werewolf from their wolf form to their human form. Everyone gasped as right before their eyes a young blond girl appeared, covered in blood and cuts, her eyes remaining closed. Jenny stood up and ushered them all out, including her mate and son, firmly shutting the door in all of their faces. Turning back to her young charge, she set to work.

An hour later she emerged from the room and went to join her husband who was eating a late dinner in the kitchen. Approaching him from behind she wrapped her arms around him, kissing his neck.

"Hey," she said, "I'm done."

"How bad was it? Do you think she's going to be alright?" questioned Giles anxiously.

"Oh yeah, she'll be fine. She had a few bad cuts and scrapes, not to mention numerous bruises, but I patched her all up. It's lucky that Angel found her when he did. I can't imagine what would have happened if she had been hurt even more."

"Has she woken up yet?" asked Giles, pulling his mate around in front of him.

"No, not yet, but I'm sure it will just be a matter of time. Hopefully sooner then later because I can't wait to get to the bottom of this mystery."

"Here here. Now what do you say to going and finding Angel? I'm sure that he's extremely anxious waiting for news." Chuckling, Jenny followed him out of the kitchen in search of her son. No doubt he was with his gang of friends, watching a movie.