Disclaimer: I do not own any of the WR characters, just my own.

A/N: No flames, just constructive criticism and ideas for continuing the story.

CH. 3

Sitting straight up and breathing hard, with clear blue eyes that were filled with tears, Ari awoke, from the dream where she had to leave her brother to die in that forest of flames. Taking in a long and shuddering breath, she wiped the tears from her face and sighed. "That's weird. Why would I remember that, that memory came out of the blue…"

Flashback

Almost 13 years ago, that fire had happened. Ari ran, stumbling over fallen trees and boulders that appeared in her path. Behind her she heard the howl from Kiba cut painfully short. She blinked back tears and kept running "He told me to get to safety, I owe it to him to live" she thought to herself.

After what felt like an eternity of running, she reached the lake that was on the outskirts of her packs territory. Without hesitating, she dove into the cool water and swam for the far shore. However, she had forgotten in her rush to escape, the legend that surrounded the lake, and because of this, it was considered a sacred place.

The lake itself had a spell laid on it. One where when entered by one who was in dire need of help, a portal would open in the waters, and transport the person to a different place, one where they would be safe. And Ari just so happened to be a person in dire need of help. Without knowing it, she had activated the spell of the lake. The water around her began to glow a brilliant blue, and suddenly, a whirlpool appeared in front of her and began to pull her in.

Struggling, she tried her hardest to free herself from the pull, but with no luck. She spun faster and faster, all the while yelling for help, knowing none would come. As she approached the center, Ari gave one last attempt to free herself, and then, she was swallowed up… And appeared in an entirely different world, a world where wolves were still known to exist.

Shakily, Ari got to her feet, and looked around. She had landed in front of a building that said Red Cross on it. She had no idea what those words meant, but it looked like a place that would definitely protect her from the elements, and the temperature was dropping, and she was wet still from her swim, so she headed inside. Once inside, she blinked in surprise. It was so…clean... The walls were shockingly white and everything looked very sterile. There was a lady sitting at a desk that was staring at her in surprise.

"Honey, where'd you come from? Are you alright?" asked the lady at the desk.

Ari walked over to the lady and asked her, "Please, I'm all alone, can I stay her for the night?"

"Yes of course dear, I'll set up a bed for you right away." She gestured for Ari to sit back down, and then went off into a back room and laid out some blankets and clean clothes that looked like they'd fit the girl. Walking back into the room, she realized she should ask where the girl's family was, so she did.

Promptly, the girl's eyes filled with tears that threatened to spill over, but never did. Ari told her an edited version of her story, leaving out the fact that her and her family were wolves of course. The woman was filled with sympathy, and went over to her computer printed out a form that would place the girl under government care until she was adopted. She helped Ari fill out the form and once it was complete, dropped it in the box with the rest of the outgoing mail. She then guided her to the prepared room, showed her the bathroom and brought some food for her to eat, and then left the room to give her some privacy. Ari quickly ate the food, changed and then fell into a deep sleep. The woman came back a short while later and discovered that Ari and fallen asleep, so she turned off the light and shut the door. A few days later, Ari was placed into foster care, and a few months or so later- she was adopted.

The couple who had adopted her were young, having been married for only 7 years. But no matter how hard they tried, they could not have a child. So, they decided to adopt. They had applied and were waiting for a reply, when one day in the mail, the received the letter saying that they were approved to adopt and they wanted to arrange a meeting between them and a young girl of about 5, who matched what they were looking for. The date came and they met with the foster family and their potential new child.

At first glance, the two loved her. She was sweet, well mannered and one could already tell that she would grow into a beautiful woman. Ari was nervous about meeting them, but her foster mom assured her that they would be wonderful people, and she relaxed when she realized that they were indeed. They reminded her of her parents and she felt at ease around them instantly. After that meeting, the papers were finalized and she became the daughter of Adam and Lynn Hampton.

End flashback

It had been 12 years from that day, Ari realized, the day when she became part of the family she had been adopted into.

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