Lexa POV

Two days later, I woke up on a strange bed and still in my wolf form. I sat up a little bit and looked over at my leg. The bandages and splint had been taken off and I flexed it experimentally. There was pain as I stretched, but I felt that it was well enough that I could shift. I closed my eyes and breathing deeply, shifted. I opened my eyes when I was done and smiled seeing legs and arms again. I ran my hands over my leg and felt a small knot where the break had been. I probably still couldn't put my full weight down on it, but there shouldn't be a problem with letting it heal in my human form.

I glanced around the room and saw it decorated simply. Done in soothing colors that promoted relaxation and sleep. I was sitting up in a queen sized bed with a simple head and footboard. There was a waist high dresser along one wall with a door that probably led to a closet. There was a window behind the bed and it was shuttered against the outside. There was an ottoman on the other side of the bed and a few tasteful paintings or prints were on two of the walls with a long mirror hanging over the dresser. I scooted to the edge of the bed and gingerly stood up, keeping only a light weight on my leg. When I could stand a bit steadily, I looked into the mirror and was struck by how bad I looked. My hair lay in tangled strands, my cheeks looked more prominent and there were deep dark circles underneath my eyes. Even the color of my eyes looked tired. I sighed and hobbled over to the dresser and leaned on it. I suddenly wanted a shower, but it looked like I needed to leave the room to find it. On the back of the door was a terry cloth robe hanging on a hook and I took it down. I wrapped myself in it and reveled in the warmth and softness. Against the wall, next to the door was a cane, I took it and hobbled out of the bedroom.

I found myself behind the stairs of Clarke's home. I could hear voices from the other side and walked towards them. I saw Raven, Harper, and Monty hanging around the kitchen bar, eating and I suddenly realized that it had been quite a while since I had last eaten. My stomach loudly announced itself, making everyone turn in my direction and I blushed. Raven recovered first and smiled seeing me.

"Good," she said, from her spot on the bar. "You were able to shift. We were afraid that you might have to completely heal before you could."

I chuckled, making me cough at the dryness in my throat, "My pack has some surprises of it's own. We heal a tad quicker than normal."

"Are you hungry," Monty asked as I came up to them. "We were making sandwiches, if that's okay with you."

"That's fine," I replied, smiling kindly. "Sandwiches sound perfect. Do y'all have any juice?"

Monty started making me some sandwiches and Harper asked, "That's an understatement. We've got orange, apple, grape, peach, orange mango, banana pineapple, strawberry banana…"

She would have gone on, I think, but I interrupted her by saying, "Orange juice is fine. Thank you."

She nodded and poured me a huge glass before putting it in front of me. I took a huge gulp and sighed as the coolness wetted my dry throat.

"So, how are you feeling," Raven asked me when I put the glass down.

I looked at her and replied, "Like shit. Which is what I deserve for being stupid enough to go out in the storm."

She chuckled, "We're all stupid sometimes, Lex. Me included."

That got a laugh out of Monty, making her glare at him. He just laughed and shook his head.

"Don't mind him, he doesn't know a damn thing."

He looked up at her sharply and said, "Oh, really? Who was it that was convinced that Ms. Heppins wanted her car in the teacher's lounge? You had detention for the rest of the year as her helper."

"Hey," she cried indignantly, "Finn said that there was no way that I could do it without any one finding out. I had to prove him wrong."

"Then there was the time Jasper dared you to sing 'Oops I did it again' while using the flag pole at the school as a stripper pole," Harper said, laughing, "You ended up face planting during the second verse."

"Okay, okay," she said, holding up her hands in surrender. "I've done a lot of stupid things in my youth, but so have a lot of people."

"Has Clarke," I asked as I took a bite out of the sandwich.

The three of them looked at each other and burst out laughing. I guess she had.

"Oh, yeah she has," Raven said, when she got control of herself. "Remember when we dared her to climb the library and paint clothes on the frieze up there?"

"I remember being three sheets to the wind when I did that," a voice said, making them freeze and I turned to the voice. Clarke smiled at me when she came down the stairs. "I don't think the weather's gotten all of the paint off of them yet. Hardest part was trying to figure out how low I had to climb down before I could jump off. Being drunk and trying to gauge height takes skill. A skill that I apparently don't have."

Clarke sat next to me and I had to fight the immediate urge to lean towards her since she was mere inches from me. Monty handed her a sandwich and a glass of dark liquid. From the scent, it smelled like sweet tea. I felt a blush rise at her nearness and focused on my food in front of me.

"I'm glad to see you up and about, Lex," she said as she swallowed a bite.

I nodded, swallowing my own food, "So, am I. I'm sorry for putting y'all through so much worry."

"That's putting it mildly," Raven replied.

I stiffened at the reply, but nodded, "It is. I'm not usually that reckless and I wasn't thinking clearly."

"It's fine," Clarke said, laying a hand on my arm. "You don't have to explain yourself to these guys. You will have to explain to Lincoln and Anya, though."

I sighed, "You're right. Thank you for saving my life."

She chuckled and the sound made a shiver run down my spine, "Your welcome. I'm just really glad that all you got out of it was a few busted bones and a mild case of hypothermia."

I snorted, "You make it sound like I only had a cold."

"I'd rather you have a cold than dead, Lex," she said softly.

I looked over at her sharply and I could see that she had been scared that I was going to die. She dropped her gaze and took a bite out of her sandwich, which left me confused and elated at the same time. Why did the thought of me dying scare her? I mean, sure, you could call us friends, but there seemed to be something else in her eyes that was at odds with our friendship. I wanted to press, but not with witnesses. I turned my focus back onto my food and was disappointed that I was nearly done. When the last of the food was gone, I played with my glass of orange juice unwilling to speak again.

"I'll give Lincoln a call," Raven said suddenly. "Let him know that you're up."

"Thanks," I replied, looking over at her gratefully.

She smiled at me and then her eyes shifted over to Clarke and I saw a weird emotion stray across her face before she urged Harper and Monty to go with her. Alone with Clarke, I suddenly became nervous and wished that I was suddenly anywhere else but here.

"Why'd you do it, Lex," Clarke asked after a while. "Why'd you go out into the storm?"

I sighed and looked over at her and into her eyes. For a moment, time seemed to stop as I got lost in them and then she blinked, breaking the spell, and I said, "I let the day get to me. I had been drinking and feeling lonely and miserable and sad. I had to get outside to get away from it all. It was stupid."

"Damn right, it was stupid," she said, anger sparking in her voice. "Why didn't you call someone? Lincoln? Anya?"

I felt my own spark of anger and replied, "There's no one to call, Clarke. I can't talk to Lincoln about the shit that's bothering me and the one person I can, Anya, hates my fucking guts. So, I had no one that I could have talked to and that's part of the problem. I have no one."

I felt my anger dissolve as tears started falling. The aching loneliness that had driven me into the storm came back in a rush and I felt powerless to stop it. I heard her shift and suddenly I was wrapped in her arms. I turned to her, my face against her shoulder and began to sob earnestly. As I cried, a small part of me realized how good it felt to be held by her. Her scent mixed with her perfume enveloping me in a cocoon of warmth. It felt right being in her arms and I wrapped my own around her waist and pulled her closer. It felt like I was home and it helped ease the ache and I started to feel calmer and steadier.

When the crying had eased, I stayed where I was because I didn't want this feeling to go away. I didn't want to let go of her. I did though when I felt her pull back from me. I immediately felt ashamed and I looked down at my hands as I laid them in my lap. I didn't want to look up, afraid that I'd see something in her eyes that would break my heart. I didn't want to risk it.

I looked up in surprise when she said, "I was so scared when Octavia called me. So much so, that I called Nate to commandeer one of the Sheriff's snowmobiles and bring me right back to the house."

"You, you did," I stammered out. "Why would you do that? Why were you so scared? It's not like we're dating or anything. We're only friends. Aren't we?"

"I was that scared because we are friends, Lexa. I probably wouldn't have freaked out if Octavia had told me it was Lincoln," she said chuckling softly. "I just don't know him that well to care that much. Then there's the fact of where they found you. You were at the edge of my property. It would have given Anya more ammunition to hate me even more."

I tilted my head to look at her as I considered her words. She was right. If I hadn't been found until after the storm, the pack would have come after Clarke and her friends because they would have assumed that they had done something to me. I shuddered at the thought and glad that it hadn't been the case.

"Why was Octavia even out in the storm," I asked, because I'm pretty sure Clarke told them the same thing I had told my pack, stay indoors.

Her eyes flashed in anger, but her voice was calm when she answered, "She thought that just because I was in town with Janice, she could do whatever she wanted. She had decided that she wanted to spend the night in the small cave and see what it was like to be in the middle of a snowstorm. It was pure chance that it happened to be the exact spot where you collapsed."

"Is she prone to not listening to you?"

She laughed, "She's prone to rebelling and getting bored easily. She thought she'd get off easy by finding you and bringing you to the house, but she didn't. She now has to help Harper with the horses, clean the house to my specifications, clean my studio, and shovel the snow for the next month."

"That's a lot of cleaning," I said, smiling and shaking my head.

Clarke shrugged, "It's about the worst punishment I could think of that we could all agree on."

"You all agreed on the punishment," I asked, confused.

"Yeah. It's how we do things here. When it comes to decisions that affect us as a whole, we discuss it as a group and then decide together. I may be Alpha, but I don't make unilateral decisions. It's our way of keeping a harmonious balance."

"Raven said something like that at the dinner party," I said, thinking. "That everyone is treated equally and whatnot. It's strange actually witnessing it."

"Well, when you've had your whole life defined by where you are in the pack hierarchy and forced to abide by that…you want something different. For us, it's equality."

"I can understand that, but it wouldn't work in a larger pack. You actually need that hierarchy and adherence to it."

"True, but we're not a pack," she replied with a smile.

I smiled back, "Which is why it works."

"Exactly."

I heard a clatter coming down the stairs and I turned to look over at them. Raven was coming back down and she had a slight frown on her face.

Clarke must have noticed it because she asked, "What is it, Rae?"

"I just got off the phone with Lincoln," she said, as she poured her own cup of coffee. "He's on his way to come get you."

"Cool, but why is that a bad thing suddenly," I asked, confused.

She smiled wanly at me and said, "That's not the bad. Anya's coming with him."

That surprised the hell out of me, "Why is she coming with him? I don't understand. She pretty much hates me and Clarke."

"I know. That's why I've got this look on my face."

Clarke snorted, making the two of us look at her, and she said, "Remember, she thinks I stole Lexa from her and that I'm a threat. She probably thinks that I'll do something to Lexa, like locking her up in a sex dungeon or something and refuse to let her go home."

"What," I exclaimed. "A sex dungeon?!"

Clarke smiled, "Well, who knows what she thinks is in this house. It's a large house. It could very well be that I do have someplace like that hidden away."

"Do you," I asked, suddenly curious as my mind tested the water in the gutter.

Raven and Clarke laughed and she said, "God, no. That would be the worst kind of thing to have in this house. We're traumatized enough as it is, we don't need to add fuel to the fire."

"Oh, god, that's right," I said, feeling like I'd just dunked my head back out into the storm. "It's so easy to forget the shit y'all have been through."

"And that's what we want," Raven said, sober now. "Bad shit happened to us and it may have colored how we react to certain things, but it doesn't define who we are. Even though some of us had parents who drank themselves to death, doesn't keep us from enjoying alcohol. Some of us have been beaten, but it doesn't mean that we're not going to avoid rough housing or be timid around one another. We've grown up with one another, so we know what makes each other tick and what we can and can't do."

"Which means, y'all can still have fun without accidentally throwing a wrench into it."

"Yep. And we really do like to have our fun. Speaking of fun, Clarke, when the hell are we going to have our Christmas feast and run? You haven't even let us open our presents yet."

"Tomorrow," she answered. "We'll have it tomorrow. Promise. And if you behave, we can open the presents tonight."

She jumped up and hugged Clarke tightly, "Thank you. You beautiful, intelligent, caring, woman, you."

"Easy there, tiger," she replied, laughing. "You keep it up, I'm dragging you upstairs and having my way with you."

Raven immediately let her go, making her laugh harder, "Why do you always have to ruin my mood."

"Oh, please. So, you're telling me that you can tease me to the ends of the earth because you know I'm attracted to you, but I can't do the same?"

"Exactly."

"That's not fair," she replied, in mock indignation. "That's just mean."

"That is rather mean," I said, smiling in sympathy.

Raven arched an eyebrow and gave me a slow mischievous smile and I knew I was in trouble. She sauntered over to me and I tensed nervously. I glanced quickly over at Clarke, but she had the same smile on her face. Oh, shit, what the hell was about to happen?

She stopped mere inches from me and leaned over until I could feel her breath tickling the hairs on my neck and whispered, "Yipee-ki-yay, motherfucker."

I whipped my head around so fast in shock that she didn't have time to move away and I hit her hard.

"Fuck," she cried out as she clutched her head. "That fucking hurt."

"No kidding," I said, clutching the side of my head.

Clarke was laughing so hard that she had fallen out of her stool and lay crumpled on the floor, still laughing.

I glared at her and said, "This isn't funny, Clarke. Raven's got a hard head."

"Me?! You've got the hardest head I've ever encountered before."

I looked at her, "Are you telling me that you've done this before?"

"Well, no, but still. God, my head hurts."

"God, that was the funniest shit I've ever seen," Clarke said through her laughs, "I got the whole thing on video. This is one that neither of you'll ever live down."

"Oh, hell no," I said, standing up and limping over to her. "Hand it over, Griffin."

She sat up and held her phone protectively to her chest, "Nope. Not gonna happen. It's in the cloud. You'll never get rid of it now."

I groaned, "God, is that what being friends with you is like?"

She smiled up at me and said, "Maybe."

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"Welcome to the family," Raven said, coming over and laying an arm around my shoulders. "You'll fit in just fine. By the way, you need a shower."

I stiffened and inhaled subtly, "You're right. Which way to the shower?"

Clarke got up and said, "Come on. I'll show you where the bathroom's at and Raven will get you something to wear."

"Me," she cried. "Why does it have to be my clothes?"

"You're closer to her size than Octavia and on top of that, it's your fault that Lexa's head hurts."

"Well, what about my head?"

She shrugged, "Punishment?"

"Fuck you, Clarke."

"I wish you would."

Raven threw up her hands and said, "God dammit, woman. Stop it."

"I will when you will, but I know you won't."

Raven let out a huge sigh, "Let me go get some clothes. Just remember to behave, Clarke."

"What, I'm the epitome of good behavior."

Raven leveled a look at Clarke and I saw her blush and drop her eyes, "Yeah, alright. I'll behave."

"Good," she replied, smirking. "Make sure you do."

"Whatever. Come on, Lexa," she said, walking back towards the bathroom.

I limped quickly to keep up, wondering what just happened. Clarke took me to a door that was between the bedroom and another door. She opened it up and I was immediately impressed by the size of it.

"Damn, Clarke," I said, walking in. "Is anything in this house small?"

"Nope," she said, leaning against the doorway. "Well, maybe our gym. I may knock out a wall to make it bigger."

I spun around and clutched the counter before I fell, "You've got a damn gym in your house, too. What the hell?"

She laughed and stepped forward, making me put my back to the counter, "What can I say, we like to look good for our perspective significant others."

I swallowed thickly and I noticed her eyes follow the motion. Her eyes darkened briefly before she took a step back and smiled at me sadly. Apparently, that attraction was just as bad for her to ignore as it was for me.

"I'll let you get cleaned up."

"Thanks," I said, suddenly unsure. "Um, thanks for letting me cry on you."

"It's what friends are for, Lex," she said, softly and noticed that she seemed to want to reach up, but kept herself from doing it.

For a moment, we just stood there and then she abruptly turned and walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I let out a long breath, suddenly realizing that I had held it. God, I wanted her so damn much. I growled in frustration and took a long and hot shower, trying to ease the tension in my shoulders and that feeling below my navel. Clarke would be the death of me.

When I was finally done, I toweled off and blow dried my hair before braiding it down my back. I felt better. More in control of my emotions and glad to finally be clean once again. Walking into the bedroom, I was surprised to see a duffel. I opened it up and saw my own clothes in it. Lincoln and Anya must be here. I dressed and with one final look around, feeling a want to stay a little bit longer, I walked back out into the house.

Lincoln was sitting on a stool, leaning in close to Octavia and flirting with her. Anya stood on the opposite end, glaring at everyone. When she saw me, there was a flash of anger and disgust before her face closed off into a mask of neutrality. I sighed, whatever had made her decide to come with was not because she had been worried about me. She was all business as my Beta.

"You ready," she asked, gruffly.

"Yeah," I said, walking over. "We can go. Where's Clarke, Octavia?"

"Oh, she went into the studio," she replied, standing up. "Something about her paintings."

"Oh," I said, a bit disappointed, but looking over at Anya, I had a feeling it was more about avoidance than anything else. "That's cool. Can you tell her thanks for everything?"

"Yeah, I'll be sure to tell her that."

I nodded and then a thought occurred to me, "Hey, if you guys don't have anything planned for New Year's Eve, you should come to Polis. You know, party with our pack and whatnot."

She grinned, "Sounds like a blast. We didn't have any plans and it'll be good for Clarke to go out and mingle more with our kind since Janice is out of town."

I perked up at that bit of news, but tried not to show it. I think it leaked through though because Octavia raised her eyebrow at me. I shook my head subtly and she took the hint.

"Let me walk y'all to the door," she said, getting up.

Lincoln got up with her and we walked over to the front door. Opening the door, she stood stiffly as Anya walked by and feinted at her. Octavia gave no indication that she was intimidated by her, which surprised us. The women here were definitely more powerful than normal. I followed and we shared a hug. Lincoln stayed behind a moment and I politely avoided my gaze as they said goodbye. Anya growled, but said nothing at the display. Getting into the truck, I sat and leaned against the door, suddenly tired and ready to sleep in my own bed.