OK. I know last chapter I set it up so that it would seem like things would lead straight into Eva putting Randy's plan into motion, but I think I'm going to put another chapter worth of build into that. Reason being = I got blindsided with another idea as I was working on this chapter by mah muses. And, after hearing them and their idea out, I decided to roll with it. Now, just a heads-up, this chapter's gonna be pretty Alex-centric as I decide to give you guys some story background on youngest member of the pack house family. Warning: There will be some mentions of gory stuff (as in mentions of dead bodies) and some violence. There will also be some angstyness in this chapter too. Warnings done and out of the way, I hope you guys enjoy.

Kaitlyn and Alex's hybrid talk and supernatural lesson had gone on for a good amount of time. Most of it was used by Alex explaining to Kaitlyn that there were even more species of supernatural creatures that existed in the world than she had known about and began learning about. While this seemed like a lot for the two-toned woman to take in, she was grateful to learn all of it anyway. 'At least with learning this, it'll prepare me for what to expect in the world,' Kaitlyn thought. Once Alex was done with her lecture, Kaitlyn said "Wow. That's so crazy. Who would've guessed that so many types of creatures existed alongside humans?"

Laughing a bit, Alex said "Yeah. It's all pretty crazy once you really get to learning about them. I honestly didn't know that so many different species existed myself until I read some of the books here. Now, I'm about as knowledgeable on the subject as most people would hope to be."

"Guess I can say that that's pretty awesome," Kaitlyn said, smiling over at the younger brunette.

"It's nothing all that great," Alex said, blushing a bit. "I...just wanted to make sure I knew as much as I could about what my brothers and my dad, along with the guys here, are."

Feeling curious about Alex talking about Matt, Jeff, and Gilbert the way she did, Kaitlyn asked "Hey, Alex. Matt, Jeff, and Gilbert. They're not really your family members, are they?"

"Nope. Not at all," Alex said, bluntly.

"Well...if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your own biological family? The whole time I've been here, I don't think I've heard you or anyone here ever really talk about them," Kaitlyn said.

"Oh! Well...that...that's because...my biological family's all dead. They were all killed," Alex said, biting down her slightly-trembling bottom lip.

"They're all- They were all-Alex, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked," Kaitlyn said, taking one of Alex's hands in hers.

"No, no! It's totally fine, Kait! Really!" Alex said, in spite of the few tears that were rolling down her face.

"No, it's not, Alex! How can you just so calmly talk about your own blood family being dead like it's no big deal?!" Kaitlyn asked, feeling that Alex wasn't reacting well to this.

"Because I've long since accepted it, Kait!" Alex shouted, yanking her hand out of Kaitlyn's as she quickly rose to her feet. Turning back to look at the two-toned older woman, Alex, who now had tears rolling freely down her cheeks, said "I was only 9 when it happened! How am I even supposed to react to the trauma that came with my own blood family being killed? How am I even supposed to feel about having to abandon my old life and join an entirely new family? How am I even supposed to say that when I first found out that my new family was different in a supernatural sense, I wanted to be as far away from them as possible because I was scared that what happened to my blood family would happen to me? ...How am I supposed to say that, despite knowing so much about the new world I'm a part of, I still get scared of so much of it? Just...how am I..." That was all Alex could get out before she covered her face and let sobs come without relent from her.

This was something that admittedly had Kaitlyn feeling worried, largely because...she had never seen-or even knew-Alex had such a side like this. Alex, who Kaitlyn had come to know as a very smart, capable, helpful, and protective person, was having a breakdown the likes of which Kaitlyn didn't even know could come from a person. This was making Kaitlyn feel worried as she didn't quite know what to do in a situation like this, so it felt like a huge relief to the two-toned woman when she saw Matt and Jeff come into the front living room with Trish and Ashley following behind them. Seeing Alex in such a state of hysterics and Kaitlyn speechless about what was happening before her had the other four immediately starting to feel worried and confused about what was going on.

"Kaitlyn, what's wrong with Alex?" Trish asked.

"I...I'm not really sure," Kaitlyn said, nervously. "We were just sitting and talking about some supernatural stuff I had questions about, then I asked Alex about her biological family and that just led to Alex going off on a run about it. Did I say something wrong?"

"What? No! No, you didn't at all," Ashley said, trying to reassure the two-toned woman.

"Well...why's Alex so hysterical about it?" Kaitlyn asked, looking over to where Matt and Jeff were trying to calm their sister down.

"It's...it's a bit of an issue that Alex has underlying guilt about it," Trish said. Letting out a heavy sigh, Trish said "You see, Kaitlyn, Alex is the only surviving member of her birth family."

"No," Kaitlyn said, unable to find the words to say anything as it felt like the air had been sucked from her body.

"Trish is right, you know," Matt said, standing beside Jeff, who was hugging a much less hysterical Alex close to him.

"But, wait. How is it that you, and I guess Jeff too, know about this?" Kaitlyn asked. "Did you guys have anything to do with what may have happened to Alex's family?"

"No! Of course not!" Matt asked, feeling immediately defensive that Kaitlyn would even ask him such a thing. "It's just...you see...it's a pretty long story. One that'll take a bit of time to really talk about."

"You can tell me now," Kaitlyn said, now that Alex had fully calmed down from her fit of hysterics.

Matt almost opened his mouth to say something else when Alex's tear-laden voice said "You can tell her, Matty. It's no problem."

"Lexi, are you sure?" Matt asked, looking at his younger sister.

"Yes, Matt, I'm sure," Alex said. "I...I need to hear the whole story of what really happened all those years ago, anyway. I've only been told bits and pieces of it, so I just want-no, I need to know the full story. Please...just tell us the whole story. And don't leave anything out."

Again wanting to try to dissuade the women from hearing this story, Matt decided to give in to their request and, letting out a breath, said "OK. I guess, since you two want to know so bad, I can tell you. And, besides, we've been meaning to tell you all this for some time now, Lexi. No better time than the present, I guess. All of this goes back 12 years..."

12 Years Earlier

Matt and Jeff Hardy, along with their father Gilbert Hardy, walked through the abandoned and bloody wreckage of what was once a peaceful and happy home. As they looked around for anything that they could take back for the newest addition of their family, it saddened the three men greatly to know that what happened here actually happened.

It was still pretty unbelievable; one minute the three men were being roused out of their sleep at the pack house with an eerie feeling of creeping dread filling their heads, the next they were running through the woods at a lightning fast pace, and the next they were standing outside of the house of two of their close friends, looking on in horror at the broken in windows and the broken down door and hearing the sounds of a child's hysterical sobbing. Stepping into the house, the three men looked around to find the source of the sobbing and followed it until they found a small slightly tanned-skinned girl sobbing in the sitting room area of the house, near where the bodies of two long dead people were now lying. Stepping forward to the child, the three men stopped as Jeff knelt down and asked "Alexis? Alexis, what happened here? Sweetheart, can you talk to us please?"

Not being able to say anything, the girl, Alexis, looked up at the sound of the voice and, upon seeing the three men, ran over to the green- and blue-haired man and, throwing her arms around Jeff's neck, hysterically said "Jeffy! Matty! Uncle Gilbert!"

Picking Alexis up from the floor, Jeff rubbed the child's back and shushed her as he tried to calm her down while Matt and Gilbert walked over to the corpses of their dead friends. As the other two men surveyed the corpses, they noticed that both seemed to have the same injuries that likely led to their deaths: Both bodies had large claw marks and gashes that ran the lengths of their torsos, along with bite marks on their arms and legs. Sharing a look with his dad that said "This has to be the work of either other wolves or demons", Matt stood and, walking over to Jeff and a not-as hysterical Alexis, asked "Alexis, darlin'. Do you want to come with me, Jeff, and Uncle Gilbert? It's not safe for you to be here alone, so do you want to come live with us?"

Wiping her face as she looked at Matt, Alexis asked "But, what about Mama and Papa?"

"We'll take care of them, dear," Gilbert said, walking over to join his sons.

"You will?" Alexis asked in a small voice. Seeing Gilbert nod his head, Alexis said "OK. But...what about my stuff that's here?"

"We'll come get some of your things sometime tomorrow. But, for now, let's head back to our house for the night so that we can get you cleaned up and put to bed," Gilbert said.

"OK," Alexis said, nodding her head. Wanting to take one last look at her parents but not wanting to see what had become of them again, Alexis buried her face in Jeff's chest as she let herself get carried out of what was left of her home by the three men that would later become her family.

Present Day

"And that about finishes the story of what happened to Alex's family. Since she was an only child, we only had her to deal with. News had then gotten out about the slaughter of Alex's parents, so we were visited by authorities to see if there was anything that we might've known that could possibly help them in their investigation. We also had to let Alex see a child shrink because she was having really bad night terrors about what she had seen the night of her parents' murder," Matt said.

"Who...or what killed them?" Kaitlyn asked as a few tears ran down her face.

"From what we were able to get from our look-through of the house, we've been able to piece it together that Alex's parents were killed by Rabids. We just haven't ever been able to find out who those Rabids were," Matt said. Hearing Alex gasp behind him, Matt turned around to see his sister covering her mouth as a look of shock and devastation covered her face. "I'm sorry, Lexi. We should've told you what happened, but we didn't know how you'd take the news."

"No, no! You don't have to apologize, Matty," Alex said, plastering a brave yet sad smile on her face. "I'm...honestly glad to finally know what happened to my parents. It just feels like a huge weight's been lifted from my shoulders now. And...I get that you guys had to keep this under wraps and a secret from me. Honestly, I'm pretty thankful for that, so...thanks for being so secretive with me."

"It's no problem, sis," Matt said, smiling a caring smile at his younger sister.

"So, that covers what happened with Alex when she was younger," Kaitlyn said, wiping her face. "What about when Alex found out what you guys really were? I can't imagine that she took it the best when she found out that her new dad and brothers were werewolves."

"She didn't take it well. Not at all," Matt said. "In fact, we had days where Alex just seemed pretty difficult to deal with."

10 Years Earlier

"But I don't want to go to school!" Alexis said as she sat on her bed in her room in the pack house the Hardy men lived in.

"Alexis, you have to go. Remember?" Jeff asked as he ran the hairbrush he had through Alexis's curly dark brown hair.

"I just don't know why!" Alexis said, a whine starting to color her voice.

"It's so that you can get smarter and learn new things. And also meet new people," Jeff said, pulling Alexis's hair into two pigtails.

"But, I learn plenty here," Alexis said, pouting a bit. "Can't I just stay here with you, Matt, Papa, and the others?"

"We'd love it if you stayed here with us, Lexi, but don't you at least want to give going back to school a try?" Jeff asked.

"I...guess I can," Alexis said. "But, what if I don't like it? What if it ends up being bad for me?"

"Then...then we can teach you here," Jeff said, smiling at Alexis.

"Really? You guys would do that for me?" Alexis asked.

"Of course, Lexi. We're your family now, and all we want is for you to be happy here," Jeff said as he now stood in front of the younger child. "And if that means having to be makeshift teachers for you, then...we'll do just that."

"Thanks, Jeff," Alexis said, smiling as she wrapped her arms around Jeff's neck. Pulling away from the red- and blonde-haired man, Alexis bounced off of her bed and, smoothing down the fabric of her skirt, asked "So. How do I look?"

"Simply adorable, sweetheart," Jeff said, smiling. Taking hold of Alexis's hand after his sister grabbed and put on her backpack, Jeff said "Now, come on. Let's take you to show everyone your first day look."

"OK," Alexis said, walking alongside Jeff out of her bedroom.

Present Day

"And, surprisingly enough, Alex took to going to school pretty well," Jeff said as Alex blushed a bit. "We only really had problems with her when it came to how she socialized with other kids her age. Living here, Alex didn't really have much in the way of kids her own age to talk with, aside from some of the guys who were teenagers around when she was 11, so we only had to deal with Alex having socialization issues at school."

"But, I was able to work at getting over them," Alex said. "Admittedly, I'm still not the biggest social butterfly, but I can socialize with folks well enough."

"That's great to hear," Kaitlyn said, smiling at this. "So, moving on. Alex mentioned something about when she first found out about what you guys are. What was that like?"

A bit of an uncomfortable silence descended on Matt, Jeff, Alex, Ashley, and Trish upon Kaitlyn mentioning this. The reason being because this was a particularly touchy subject to really talk about. But, since this was something that Kaitlyn wanted to learn about, the five felt it'd be best to let her know. Taking a breath and letting out, Alex said "Admittedly, when I said that I was scared after learning what Matt and Jeff and the others were, something...else happened that kinda triggered that too."

"Something like what?" Kaitlyn asked, starting to feel a chill run down her spine.

"Well..." Alex began.

8 Years Earlier

For the longest time, Alexis, who had taken to being called Alex by her classmates and family members, always felt so...left out of certain things by her family. Be it when the guys would all disappear into the woods on nights of the full moon or why it seemed like so many of them had to leave in groups at a time to "go to work" as they said or even when she went to go visit Mr. Wright, the man that she'd talk with about how she was doing at school and just how she was feeling in her life, Alex couldn't help but feel that there something her family was keeping from her. Even when she tried to question them, their answers all seemed to largely be the same: "It's nothing, Alex. You'll find out when you're older." 'Well, I'm older now. So, I don't see why I can't find out what the deal with all of this is,' Alex thought on the night of one full moon. So, when the guys all left the house that night, Alex decided for herself that tonight would be the night that she'd figure out what they were all being so secretive about. Once the men were all gone from the house, Alex slipped out behind Cody Rhodes, one of the teenagers that lived in the house with his dad and older brother. Making sure to be quiet as she followed behind the group, Alex kept up with them as they wound their way through the woods until they reached a clearing that was a ways away from the house. Standing behind one of the tress as she watched and listened on, Alex could barely make out what some of the guys were saying.

"I still don't think it's a good idea that we keep all of this a secret from Alex. Since she's 13, don't you think it's about time she learned about all of this?"

"Not until she's older, Seth."

"I know, I know, Matt. But, we say this every full moon and we still haven't told her yet. How old do you guys plan on letting Alex get before we have tell her what she needs to know about the world she's been living in her whole life?"

"As old as she can. She's still pretty young, Seth, so we can't just unload all of this on her. She wouldn't understand."

"Me, Seth, and Ro were all able to understand. And we were pups when we found out."

"That's because you three were born into all of this. Alex was too, but even her own parents were doing what they could to keep her out of our world. We still can't let her know."

"If you say so, Matt."

"Enough fighting, you four. We need to be ready to help Cody out. Dusty, Dustin. Is Cody ready?"

"Ask him for yourself, Gil. Cody, my boy, you ready to finally take your place amongst the pack?"

"I...I guess I am, dad."

"Alright then. And, don't be worried. You've got me and your brother and the others here to help you out."

"OK. ...So...what do I do as far as transforming goes?"

"You just let the sensation travel through you, Codes. Don't fight your inner wolf as it tries to come out. Just let it happen."

"OK."

That was the last Alex heard from any of the guys before she heard a night-piercing scream come from one of the teens in the house. Peeking around from behind the tree that she was hiding behind, Alex couldn't believe what she seeing: Cody was bent over as screams of pain came from his body. But, that wasn't even the worst thing Alex saw. No, the worst thing the 13-year-old saw was Cody's body seeming to reconstruct itself as his bones seemed to grow, expand, and contort at odd angles as fur covered his body. Still in total disbelief of what she was even looking at, Alex watched on until finally the whole thing ended and what now replaced Cody out in the clearing amongst the others was a large and scrawny wolf with dark brown fur and glowing yellow eyes. After all of that was done, Alex couldn't hold in the next words that spilled from her mouth: "Holy shit!" Alex soon regretted this as the minute the words left her mouth, everyone gathered in the clearing, including the wolf that was Cody, turned to look at her.

"Alex. Sweetheart. How long have you standing there?" Jeff asked, walking towards the shocked 13-year-old.

Alex didn't seem to hear Jeff as she said "C-C-C-C-Cody, h-h-h-h-h-he, he turned into a wolf."

"Yes, yes he did," Jeff said, letting out a heavy sigh at this. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this."

"Find out what? Why did Cody turn into a wolf? And why aren't any of you guys going to do anything about it?!" Alex asked, practically screaming the words out.

"It's...it's what he is," Jeff said, trying to get his words out. "Just...Alex, can you go back to the house with Trish and the others, please? We'll explain it all you there."

"Why at the house? Why can't you tell me here?" Alex asked, starting to feel irritated that it seemed like Jeff was skirting telling her something.

"Because...it just isnt' safe here for you, Alexis. You need to go back to the house NOW!" Jeff said, practically barking the last word.

"But, WHY?!" Alex asked, hating the way she was being talked to. "Jeff, please. Stop keeping me out of the loop of stuff like this. I hate that it seems like something like this is happening to people that I love and care about. Please...just talk to me about this!"

"We will, Alexis. But, it'll have to wait until we get back home. Please, just go home n-" Jeff was in the middle of saying before a snarl followed by lots of yelling caught his and Alex's attention. Neither Hardy was prepared for what happened next: The wolf form of Cody was charging at them, growls spilling from his muzzle as he ran over to where Jeff and Alex were standing. The next thing either Hardy knew, Cody was leaping at them and, in a blur of dark brown fur and claws, Alex fell to the ground screaming and clutching her face as Jeff fell to the ground in a tussle with Cody. As the two men fought around near her, Alex could only scream and cry as blood ran down her face from where one of Cody's claws had raked across her face. Even when she felt herself get picked up and carried through the woods by who she knew was Roman, Alex still cried and held her face as a mixture of emotions flooded through her body. In between the pain, the fear, and the slight anger that was flowing through her, Alex knew this to be true: She had to leave. She had to get away from Matt, Jeff, and the others...and she had to do it soon.

Present Day

"And, believe it or not, I actually tried to run away from here a few times. But, my escape attempts were pretty much met with one of the guys always seeming to be in the right place at the right time to get me and bring me back here," Alex said.

"You...you tried to run away from here?" Kaitlyn asked, her face displaying all of the shock and surprise she was feeling in that moment.

"Yeah. I...actually did. But, eventually I gave up on trying to leave since I knew what the end result would be. That didn't mean that I was completely okay with living here. But, to make it all better in a way, I finally got the talk from Matt and Jeff and the others about what they really were, what they did every night, and I even got the talk that I was a part of their world. I eventually figured that last part out when I was walking down the main path from here to the city when I saw stuff flying around me and moving around in the woods that didn't look completely normal," Alex said. "The only thing about living here that served as a major problem for me was that...I couldn't bring myself to want to be around Cody after what he did. Although...you'd never believe that, seeing how he and I are now."

Seeing that Kaitlyn seemed more than mindblown by everything she just heard, Trish said "I think we should cut storytime to an end for the night. It's time for some of us to be heading to bed, anyway."

"Oh. OK," Alex said, nodding her head as a yawn escaped her. As Matt and Jeff left the room with Ashley and Trish following behind them, Alex walked over to Kaitlyn and, giving the older woman a hug, said "Don't worry, Kait. My story's got a happy ending. I came to learn everything I could about the world I now live in, Cody and the others were able to help me feel comfortable around the wolves again, and...now we got to meet you. So, I guess you can say everything all worked out in the end." Pulling away from the two-toned woman, Alex said "We can continue our supernatural lesson tomorrow if you still want to. See you in the morning, Kait."

Once Alex walked out of the room, Kaitlyn stretched out on the couch she was sitting on as everything she just learned swam through her head. Sure, Kaitlyn had her own brush with death the night that monster tried to eat her in her apartment...but she never had an experience the likes of what Alex had experienced within the spell of 12 years. Kaitlyn honestly couldn't believe that Alex was able to stay so positive in the face of everything she's been through, but she did know this: Alex was one of the strongest people she had ever come to know.

...

Watching the outside of the pack house like he had come to do many nights, Randy stood and listened to everything going on inside; from most of the women talking about baby shower plans to Matt, Jeff, Alex, Ashley, and Trish telling Kaitlyn about Alex's whole pathetic life story, Randy couldn't help but despise all of it. And, quite honestly, he couldn't wait to bring an end to all of it.

*throws tissues away and hides tissue box* Well, then. That was a pretty emotional ride for our heroes to go on. And the end bit...that shall be where we commence with the major plot of this fic. ;) Also, I feel the need to bring this up: I made a few switch-around changes to the timeline of when Alex got her scar. After typing all of this up, it just seemed to flow a bit better than my initial idea (that I have typed up and saved onto my flash drive), so I decided to roll with it. Now that this pleasantly emotional bit of exposition is out of the way, we charge ahead with the pack and Eva as we go through the next two days. What do you think'll happen next? Stay tuned to find out. And, until then, don't forget to R&R please. =)

New rule time! #12: People that are born in the supernatural world can actually have their second sight and other such powers blocked and/or hidden to lower their exposure to the supernatural world. The only way this can be stopped is if the person undergoing this blockage chooses to end it. ...Now, I hope this rule makes sense as it sure as hell makes a lot more sense in my head. ^^,