A week later, Nate and I heard a horn blaring in the drive. Looking at each other in confusion, we walked out the front door and had to brace ourselves as we were hugged by Bellamy and Octavia.

"You guys made it," I said, once I'd caught my breath and smiling.

"I told you we'd be here," Bellamy said as he slung an arm around my shoulders. "We just had to leave before dawn to avoid the Sheriff and his Deputies."

"You didn't have any trouble, did you," I asked worriedly.

"Nope," Octavia replied as she made a beeline for the fridge. "Oh, goody, it's fully stocked."

"Of course," I said, laughing. "No werewolf home is complete without a fully stocked kitchen. We'll probably have to buy a second fridge and maybe a freezer, but this is good for now."

"So, do we get a tour," Bellamy asked, smiling at me.

"But of course, kind sir," I said, teasingly. "Come on. We'll start downstairs and make our way up."

They followed me downstairs and immediately Octavia claimed a room for herself.

"Octavia, are you sure you want to bunk down here," I asked. "There's no windows."

"This is perfect. Feels like a cave," she replied, happily. "My own personal cave."

"Suit yourself," I said, shrugging. "Come on, there's more to show."

We climbed back up the stairs and we showed off my studio, which was looking like a studio now, and the amazing view from the back deck. You could see that nearly all the buildings were up, but that the interior still had a lot to work to be done. Going up the flight of stairs, Octavia fell in love with my bedroom and threatened to kick me out if she ever got the chance. I laughed at her and she refused to look any bit ashamed of what she'd said. The attic was nearly complete when we climbed the stairs. Soon enough, we were lounging in the living room, looking out at the view as the sun began setting, turning the forest into shadows.

"This place is great, Clarke," Bellamy said as he slung an arm behind me on the couch. "I can't believe how quickly they've gotten the work done."

"I can't either, but I'm glad it's going quickly," I replied. "Have you heard when everyone else is supposed to make their way here?"

"They should all get here within the next two weeks," he said. "Next up is Raven. She should be here in a few days. I'll leave that one bedroom on the second floor for her and take one of the ones downstairs."

"Take whichever you want, Bell," I said. "There's no pecking order here. There's no low man on the totem pole. We're all equals."

"We wish that were the case, Clarke," Nate said, shaking his head, "You're still Alpha. There's no way to change that."

"True," I said, carefully, "But beyond that everyone is equal. Everyone does their fair share. Everyone gets a job, that means you, Octavia."

"What," she exclaimed innocently, "I had a job."

"For all of two weeks," Bellamy teased. "This time, you've really got to make the effort and put in the time. If Clarke says everyone works, everyone works."

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms. "I'll get a job."

"Good."

"Hey, what's up with that crate in the garage?"

"The construction crew dug it up when they were setting the foundation for the stables," I replied. "Haven't really looked at it."

"Can we open it?"

"I don't see why not," I said shrugging, "but let's wait for tomorrow. Tonight, we shall get your stuff in the house and dinner."

With those last words, we finished the night on a high note. Except that my night ended on a very low note. The nightmare struck again and once more, I fell asleep in Nate's arms.

"Well, you look like shit," Octavia said, as I came down the stairs.

I glared at her and growled low in my throat, "I had a fucking nightmare. Took me hours to calm down and Nate had to come sleep with me again."

"I'm sorry," she said sympathetically and poured me a cup of coffee.

I took it with a nod of thanks and headed to the dining room, so that I could check my emails.

"You're dreaming about the attack, aren't you," she asked quietly as she joined me.

I nodded, "From what I remember of it, yeah. Just flashes and pain. Nothing else."

She fell silent and I was grateful for that respite. Looking through my email, I caught one from Rachel. I opened it and was surprised to read the contents. Someone wanted to commission a painting, but she let the person know that I was on sabbatical for the moment. Curious, I shot her an email asking for the person's email address. I had never done a commissioned work before and I was curious as to what they would want done.

"Huh," I said leaning back as I sent the email back to Rachel.

"Huh, what," Octavia asked, looking over at me.

"Someone wants to commission a painting," I said. "I think that's the first time I've ever gotten that request."

"That surprises you? Clarke, your paintings are beautiful and buyers snatch them up almost immediately," she said, smiling. "You've only been doing this for like, five years and you're already a multi-millionaire. Do you know how rare that is?"

I shook my head, grinning, "I've never really given it much thought. I've also never really looked at how much money I've made."

"So, you're saying that you've never Googled yourself," she asked, teasingly.

I chuckled and replied, "I can honestly say that I have never Googled myself."

She took the tablet away from me and typed away. I leaned over curiously and saw half a dozen links concerning myself or at least people also named, "Clarke Griffin."

"Octavia, if you're curious about the artist side of me, try "artist known as Griffin." I only sign my paintings with Griffin," I told her.

She nodded and redid the search. She handed it over to me and I skimmed over the links. First and foremost was a link to Rachel's art gallery. Then a handful of articles about my works. Next came the art forums. They discussions went from stroke technique to guessing who I was or even what gender I am. I laughed at that part, but then it froze when I found a Tumblr page discussing the golden wolf. I quickly backed out of that page and clicked on Rachel's link. I went to the images of my paintings and scrolled through them quickly. The golden wolf was in every painting of a pack of wolves. Either hidden among the masses or off to the side watching or standing over the pack.

"Holy shit," I breathed out. "I didn't even realize that I was doing that."

"Doing what," Octavia asked as she took the tablet away from me and started scrolling through the paintings. "Hey, you've painted yourself into these. Did you know that?"

I shook my head and replied, "No. I never realized that I was doing it. Not even when I finished the pieces, but I'm there. Whenever I painted a pack of wolves, I'm there. Why the hell would I do that?"

"Don't know," she replied. "Maybe your subconscious mind or something. Hey, do I have time for a run?"

"You've got the tablet in front of you, O. If you have more than a half hour before 8, you can run. If not, you'll have to wait until they're gone for the day."

She looked at the time and frowned, "Damn. Now, what am I going to do?"

"How about," I said, as I took the tablet and found a bookmarked link, "Look here for a job. It's got every job available in Eden right now. Try and be productive for once."

"But, Clarke, we just got here," she whined at me. "Do I really have to?"

"No, you don't. You're a grown woman. You can do whatever you want," I said sternly. "You can unpack your room or you could look for a job. The choice is yours."

"God, why are you being so bossy, today?"

"Octavia," I said, taking a deep calming breath. "The house is mine. Got the deed and everything. There is still the property tax that I have to pay every year. There's utility bills that go out once a month. There's a million other things that we have to pay for. We all need to pitch in, even if it's part time. This isn't a vacation. This is home."

She sighed, closed her eyes for a minute, opened them and said, "I got it, Clarke. It's time for me to grow up."

I smiled at her and said, "It's not so bad. Once you get that first paycheck, it's deeply gratifying to see it. You have money of your own, that you earned on your own. It's an awesome feeling. Trust me, okay?"

She nodded, "Okay. I'll look later. I'll go and help the guys with our stuff."

"Good," I said and watched her as she headed downstairs.

I refilled my coffee cup and headed back up to my room. Rummaging around the desk, I found an old sketch pad and a couple of pencils. Taking them and the coffee out onto the balcony with me, I settled into one of the chairs and took a moment to gaze out at the beauty of the forest. I sighed, flipping to a fresh page, and started sketching. I wasn't really paying attention to what was being drawn on the page, just lines and shadowy vague shapes. When it felt like I was done, I stopped and glanced down at it. My eyes widened in fear at what had emerged. I had drawn the forest that surrounded me, but there, in the middle and off to the side slightly, was both the mill and the pond. They were both illuminated by some unknown light and a brief memory flickered in the back of my mind. I growled the memory away and flipped the page and started again, this time focusing on the forest. When I was done, I looked down and the damn pond was once again there. I growled louder in frustration and threw the pad back inside my room, listening to it plop on the rug. I raked my fingers through my hair in frustration and shivered slightly as I encountered the shaved half of my head.

"Dammit," I muttered to myself and got up angrily from the chair.

I walked to the railing and looked down and towards the front of the house. I listened for a moment, but could hear nothing but the wildlife. I glanced quickly behind me and then without a moment's thought, leaped over the side and landed lightly on my feet. I gazed up at the balcony and smiled slightly seeing the height that I had dropped from. I turned my gaze to the forest in front of me and stepped into the shadows. I found brush that could easily hide my clothes, stripped and hiding them, I shifted and took off at an easy lope. I picked up my pace as I wove in and out of the trees, feeling the fallen leaves shift slightly as I stepped on them, the scent of the forest surrounding me in a comforting blanket.

I started to slow down when I felt the twinge in my shoulder, but still pushed on. I didn't stop until the pain had gotten worse and I found myself on a cliff overlooking a small valley. I shifted, rubbing my shoulder to ease the pain, and I sat on the sun heated rock with my legs outstretched in front of me. We were so far in the mountains that I didn't really have to worry about being spotted and took this moment to enjoy the autumn sun. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back as I continued to work out my shoulder.

The warmth of the sun above and the warmth from the rock below allowed my body to relax. I hadn't realized that I'd been tense, but I shouldn't have really been surprised by it. My life had been pretty much turned upside down and then tossed higgly piggly to the wind by just one night. A night that I couldn't even remember, but it was a night that was starting to invade my life.

I sighed and opened my eyes as I felt the tension return. So, much for getting away from it. Instead, I turned my focus outward and took in the area I'd found myself in. I was confident that I wasn't in the pack's territory, but I still kept an ear out.