And another chapter :D wondering if I'm posting these up too quickly, but I have another 47 chapters for you all, so you know, it's cool for now :)

Please review, it's always appreciated

They'd both been walking for about twenty minutes, getting to the open glade where so many of her pack had been massacred when there was a great whooshing sound, as if something had cut through the wind, and snarls ripped from the throats of four Balverines that was circling them. Danny could see Ben's fingers twitching towards his gun, so she shot her own hand out and grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him from doing so.

All the while, she kept eye contact with one Balverine that she recognised. The largest and the one that looked most confused at her now.

"Daenerys…?" it whispered, and she grinned at him, striding forward with more confidence than she was aware she had, and wrapping her arms around Kali's neck again.

"It's nice to see you again!" she cried, her first language slipping out, easier than anything she'd had to do in the last few months. "This is my friend," she added, pointing to Ben.

"Leave them," Kali called, warning the other three Balverines off. "This is our sister, she grew with us. That is her mate."

Instantly the Balverines recoiled, knowing that it was a great dishonour to kill their own family, and an even greater dishonour to kill their mates. The smallest Balverine of the three trotted up to her, and nosed her hand, sniffing.

"She smells familiar," it noted, and it looked up into her eyes. "Do I know you?"

"Yes Ika. She saved your life when you were a pup. The last time the humans were here."

Danny stared at this young Balverine for a moment, and he stared back, before realisation dawned on them both and they hugged, happily.

"You're the pup who was chasing the butterfly!" she cried, and he nodded ecstatically.

Danny turned and saw Ben standing awkwardly, as the other two Balverines sniffed him, mumbling their distaste but not threatening him in any manner.

"Are you okay Ben?" she asked him, changing back to Anglican as she remembered Ben didn't understand what she was saying in Balverine, and his head snapped up and he nodded mutely, before he remembered his voice.

"Yeah, yeah, just waiting for you…" he said, trying to look at ease, when in reality his heart was pounding a mile a minute. She smiled at him, trying to put him at ease, and then turned back to Kali.

"We actually need help… can we speak to the alpha?" she asked, and Kali chuckled, a low rumbling growl in his throat, but friendly anyway.

"I am the alpha, but come back into the hollow. You'll need to see everyone anyway."

Ben was following close behind Danny, as they walked along with the four Balverines. It made him wonder how man and beast had become so hostile to one another, when these animals were so placid right now, and so comfortable around himself and Danny. Watching Danny made him think too. Had he made the best decision when he'd convinced her to come back to Bowerstone with him about six months ago? That was six months of her life he'd altered and taken control of, and he had no right to influence her decision the way he had. She obviously belonged here, the way she loped about, smiling and talking to them as if she hadn't a care in the world.

The trees, after becoming incredibly dense, thinned out almost instantly, and revealed a large hallow, with nests up in the trees, burrows in the ground, and about a hundred Balverines looking down at them with bright yellow eyes.

The alpha howled something to them, and there was a chatter, clicking sounds and howls sounded back, and Ben watched anxiously as Danny took a few steps forward, only to be jumped on by about twenty of the creatures, each embracing her and licking her face, some whimpering and crying out. He could only watch on in a mix of curious wonder and bittersweet happiness as she beamed at them all, chattering away in their language, before she stopped dead, hushed them all, and moved away, in his direction.

She passed right by, and crouched by the head of an old grey bitch. Ben watched as she stroked her fur gently, smiling slightly as tears rolled down her face. She looked up at Ben, and with a sniff informed him;

"This is my mother."

He took a few careful steps towards the old animal, saw that she was crippled, her legs sticking out oddly… probably arthritis in her old age, and her bones were almost visible through the pale skin and thinned out fur. Her eyes were a pale yellow, and he could only assume the creature was blind too. But she sniffed the air, and whined a little, making Danny shush her before beckoning Ben closer.

"She wants to smell you" she whispered to him, before mumbling something to the Balverine. He held his hand out to the Balverines nose, and waited as she took a long sniff, then whined again and licked his hand. Her tongue was rough, like sand. He was surprised how gentle each of these creatures were, and looked up at Danny, who had tears in her eyes.

"She likes you," she told him, taking hold of his hand with her own and lacing her fingers through his. "A lot."

"Well… I like her too," he smiled, and looked down at the old girl, before running his fingers gently through her hair. Danny translated what Ben said, and the creature smiled wolfishly before closing her eyes and falling asleep. She must really be old.

"As long as you only tell her that I'm a rather debonair gent, then everything should be alright," he laughed.

"I told her you're a scum bag and an arrogant ass. She suggested setting Kali on you, but I told her it was ok."

He knew she was kidding, her eyes told him so. Yet he still felt somewhat intimidated by the multitudes of Balverines watching them.

After meeting her mother again, and talking for a little while with her family, she sat down with Kali and spent the best part of an hour telling him all about what had been happening to her, which led her up to being able to explain how she needed her pack to help her.

Kali stayed quiet for a long time, chewing the inside of his cheek as he thought it over.

"The humans kill us," he said finally "why should we help them?"

"I can make it so they won't kill you," Danny bargained "If the pack stops threatening people, and we can convince other packs to do the same, then we can all live alongside one another."

"Have you forgotten what they did to us?" he whispered, narrowing his eyes at her, the calm gold turning into an angry yellow.

"Of course I haven't," she growled back "I watched them shoot Drogo. He died in my arms… I heard his last words," she gulped, feeling a lump in her throat as she recalled those few choked words he'd managed before he died. "Even though they killed him, he said I should forgive them…"

"Drogo hated the humans… he'd never forgive them."

"He had nothing left to lose," she hissed, feeling angrier "Why hate people in death? The Mother doesn't allow hate…"

Kali scowled at her, and she felt Ben take hold of her arm, gripping it tightly. He knew something was going wrong.

"Kali… if we don't work together then everything will die. All humans, all Balverines… everything. This monster took my sight from me, and it didn't even touch me. It's evil, and it's not going to stop."

Kali went quiet again, while Ika stared on nervously while the older Balverine thought over everything.

"I'll think about it," he sighed "How long do we have?"

Danny paused and looked at Ben, who looked back. He was pale, and there was a frightened glint in his eye that betrayed his stoic face.

"How long do we have?" she asked him, and he cleared his throat before replying;

"Less than a year."

Danny turned and relayed the information to Kali, who sighed again, then asked her to leave. He'd find her and tell her if they would fight or not. He needed to address the pack first, but he wanted her to leave.

So she took Ben's hand, and did exactly that.