AN – For those of you that are interested in the original soundtrack listing of the original nine Wolf Lake episodes, here's some of the titles for you… the list is not complete as of yet, but it has some of the more sought after titles… including the name and performer of the song being played on John Kanin's initial trip into Wolf Lake in the Pilot, when he was riding on his bike and the memories of Ruby were haunting him… Which should make some of you very happy, seeing as how some of you have contacted me in the past, wondering if I knew what it was… So here goes!

~*~

The song being played during John's trip into WL in Ep. 1… (drum roll please) – "Limit of Shunt" by Beanbag

The song being played when Luke pulls up in his car beside Sophia and asks her to join them. Promising to go 'easy' on her this time, also taking place in Ep. 1… "Black Bullet" by KidneyThieves (officially one word, but some places list incorrectly as two… ) This is a pretty interesting group, with a kick ass sound… there aren't nearly enough women singing the leads in groups like this.

The song being played after Sophia had joined Luke's entourage, when she's sitting in the back trying to keep Shawn off of her, and Luke is watching her in the rear-view mirror with glowing eyes (I LOVE this scene and this song!) also taking place in Ep. 1… "Change (in the house of flies)" by Deftones

The song being played when Sophia and Luke were alone together in his car, and Luke was trying to give her a basis for comparison on what it was like to make the Change, by racing his car at a very high speed. Taking place in Ep. 2… "American Boy" by Hypnogaja (this song has not been officially released yet… although you could probably download it off of Kaza or something… if not however, never fear, it is scheduled to be released on some soundtrack later this year… )

The song also being played in Ep. 2, when John was running through the labyrinthine passageways beneath the hospital, as per Sophia's tip that Sarah was in trouble, and Vivian chasing after him in wolf form is… "Mary, Mary" by ChumbaWamba (one word)

~*~

I hope some of you found the above useful!

That's all I've got right now… if anyone knows any other titles, then please, PLEASE let me know so I can make that knowledge available to the rest of the fans who are struggling just as hard as I am to complete this list. Your contribution would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you to everyone that reviewed! I'm so happy that most of you seemed to have really enjoyed the beginning of this series… Be sure to continue to let me know what you think as this story progresses…

Special thanks to my betas on this one… and especially to Ashione for her eloquent interpretations of my work, and Lady Lioness for her much needed critique and objective reviews. Thanks to both of them, the last two chapters are even better than what I could have done on my own… They're the best!

~*~

Chapter Two

"This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to her! She's supposed to be just a normal human girl, with a chance at a normal life. One that would have been free from this one." Matthew Donner ranted yet again as he paced across the hard wood flooring of Sherman Blackstone's house. The line of his mouth tight and pale eyes glittering harshly.

He turned abruptly on his heel and came to stand in front of Sherman. Looking down at the Keeper with barely suppressed anger. "Do something, Sherman. Do something to fix this, or I swear…"

Sherman's brows went up as he took another sip of his coffee, and then fought to keep from choking on it. "Do what? Wave my hands over her? Pull out a magic wand and tap her on the head with it? I'm sorry, Matt, but if you came here thinking I was going to be able to work some type of miracle, then you're sadly misguided. I can't make her into something that she is not. I can't change what she is."

"But she's not one of them!" Matt all but roared back in defiance. Spinning back around to pace about the room again in frustration.

"That's not your decision to make, Matt." Sherman stated simply. Clearing his throat, and raising his mug to his lips once more. Pointedly ignoring Matt's agitated and potentially volatile mood.

"This shouldn't have happened." he persisted. "I promised Marie that it wouldn't." He came to a halt in front of the stone fireplace. Looking down unseeingly into the blackened and cold ashes resting there, as if he were helplessly expecting some sort of secret that could help him, to be revealed from their bleak remains.

Or maybe that bleakness was just a harsh reminder, weighing in heavily on his heart, of what would never be.

Suddenly, in a flash of movement, he brought back his clenched fist and sent it flying. Punching a hole halfway into the stone and mortar. Chips of rock and cement cascading down to land at the foot of the old hearth, and to smash loudly against the hard wood floor.

Sherman didn't flinch. He didn't even bother to look up from his coffee. He just waited for the proverbial dust to settle.

Matt stood there for a few more minutes. Staring dully into the newly created hole as the tension in his body slowly began to seep away. Leaving him feeling nothing but overwhelming numbness in its wake.

"I should have sent her away when she was born." he stated simply and not for the first time. "Sent her so far away that this town never would have even had a chance to touch her… Influence her."

"But it's not the town's fault, Matt." Sherman sighed. Strangely unable to come up with one of his every day wisecracks in the face of his friend's pain. "Sending her away wouldn't have done her any good in the long run. Her DNA would still have been an issue. It wouldn't have stopped her from having to come to terms with the rising of her beast."

"You don't know that." Matt replied. "She was born half-human. It might have worked."

"But you didn't send her away, did you? And why was that, do you think?"

Matt leaned his palms up against the mantle and hung his head. Not answering.

Sherman answered for him. "Because somewhere in that thick skull of yours, you acknowledged that this was a possibility. She had to know who she was, Matt. Where it was that she had come from. She had to know about her blood legacy, and she absolutely had to be around the Pack. What would have happened if you had sent her away, and she had never known the truth of where she had come from? What the hell do you think her life would have been like then? What would she have had to endure when the symptoms would have begun to surface? It would have been too much of a risk to the rest of the Pack, and it would have had a potential of driving her mad. They never would have allowed that. A potential female Skinwalker on the loose and the constant fear that if she ever took an ignorant human male to her bed, that she very easily could have killed him without meaning to, as her body made the Change for the first time. You're concerned about what will happen to her now… But at least here she won't have to worry about ripping some poor guy apart… At least here she knows the truth of her heritage. "

"Not all of it." Matt whispered hoarsely. Head still bowed.

Sherman's hand stilled. Mug hovering a couple of inches away from his mouth. Sighing quietly, he dropped it away and set it down in front of him of the coffee table.

"None of the young ones of the Pack are cued in on everything until after their body has made the first Change. You've always known that. It is just one of the many traditions that we follow in order to remain safe from the rest of the world."

Matt turned to glare at Sherman. "That is not what I'm referring to, and you know it."

"Yes, unfortunately… I think I do. But there is most certainly nothing I can do or change about that."

Matt looked at Sherman for a moment, before turning his gaze back to the fireplace. Muscles in the line of his jaw clenching reflexively. They remained like that for an indefinable span of time. Their combined silence weighing heavy in the surrounding room.

"What am I supposed to do?" Matt's question suddenly broke the silence. Bringing Sherman's gaze back up to the line of the other man's turned back.

It was a moment before he replied carefully. Tone cautious. "It's not your fight, Matt. It's hers. She has to decide what she will do with the options presented to her."

Matt spun around suddenly. Eyes glittering dangerously. "Options." he scoffed. "That is exactly what I'm talking about, Sherman! She doesn't have any options. The Pack will strip them from her the moment they realize that she is truthfully one of them. And that… boy… isn't going to rest until he's made that happen, and in the process, ruined her life."

Sherman frowned slightly as something finally clicked. "So that is what this is all about. It's about him. Luke Cates."

Matt turned back around. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh… I think you do." Sherman slowly came to his feet. Casually following Matt when he stalked off towards the direction of the front door. "It isn't so much that Sophia is about to Flip, or even that she might be forced to remain in Wolf Lake… You knew that was a possibility from the moment she was born. You knew that, and you came to terms with it. This is about him. You don't care so much if she is forced to remain in Wolf Lake… you just don't want her to be forced to remain with him."

"He'll hurt her, Sherman. He'll use her, and he'll break her heart. I've watched him and others just like him do it over and over again for years. She deserves better than that."

"Perhaps," Sherman remarked. "But as I recall, you used to be no different when you were that age... And I still don't believe that is what you are so afraid of. Call me callous, but I think if you genuinely believed Lucas wanted Sophia for nothing other than just a shot at 'flipping' her, then I think that after seeing what you saw last night, you wouldn't be this worked up about that possibility. You would want your daughter to survive, even if you had to toss out your human ideals and morals for a little while. And you and I both know that her best chance at surviving would be is if she did flip with Luke. I believe that you would be stepping out of their way and allowing nature to take its course. But you don't believe that Luke just wants another piece of tail, do you, Matt? You think he wants her. And you're afraid that if she flips, then she won't have a choice in the matter of who her mate becomes… You believe that he will take her for his own."

Matt stilled. His hand on the door knob. He looked over his shoulder at Sherman, and his eyes – just moments ago filled with intense emotions – were now as empty as glass.

"You're right, Sherman. He and I, once upon a time, were no different. Which is why I know so very well what he's thinking every time his eyes now come to rest upon my daughter. I also know how strong he is in the gift all of the males of strong lineage possess… and I also know how attracted she is to him, despite that she has now begun to fight him. If he ever unleashes his power on her, she won't be able to deny him. So yes… I do fear… I fear that not only will she become his mate, but that in the end, it won't even be her choice."

"She's strong too, Matt. She's the only daughter of your line. She will not be without her own… abilities."

Matt shook his head sadly. "It doesn't matter. It won't save her. Not up against this. I know what I'm talking about, Sherman. You know it, too. Luke is more than strong enough to be Alpha one day. He just needs a few more years under his belt before he will have that hard edge required for the job, and then he will be a force to reckon with. Vivian is only protecting the position for him until he is ready, and then she will step aside. Her duty to Willard and the rightful heir will be fulfilled. His line is one of the last true ancient ones… as is mine. I know personally just how much stronger those particular abilities are because of that infusion... And how he can use that against her to get what he wants."

With that, the knob turned under his palm, and he swung the door open. Allowing the first rays of dawn to shine blatantly through. Cutting through the heavy shadows cloaking the small hallway.

As he stepped through, he paused and looked back towards Sherman. A tiny glimmer of some unrecognizable emotion shining in his haunted gaze.

"Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me that he only wants her as just another piece of tail, and not that he's suddenly beginning to wake up to the fact that he is going to have to lay claim to a future mate very soon… Tell me that he's not wanting her for more than the high of her impending Flip… and tell me that she couldn't possibly be falling for him, despite what he's already put her through. Tell me that none of that is possible, and that I'm being foolishly paranoid for being as concerned as I am."

Sherman opened his mouth in protest, but nothing came out. It fell closed again as he slowly shook his head. Shrugging one shoulder helplessly.

Matt nodded. A dark shadow of sadness falling across his features. Turning his head towards the light outside as he stepped clear of the door-frame.

"That's what I thought."

The door clicked back in place behind him.

~*~

"Just what the hell did you think you were doing?"

Luke came to a halt in route towards the staircase leading from the front entrance way and to his upstairs bedroom. He shook his head wryly and turned slowly to face his mother, standing at the sliding door entrance into her office, arms crossed over her chest and her head cocked to the side in what was a familiar expression of hers.

He didn't answer her. He just stood there. Mouth pressed into a thin line. A darkness glittering in his gaze that she had been seeing more and more of over the last week or so… and one that she was just now beginning to understand.

Vivian Cates gaze flicked over her son closely. Taking in his appearance. Noticing the lack of shoes on his feet and the mess of his clothes and hair. The scent of the change was present as well, heavy on his skin. But that she had expected.

Vivian slowly started to saunter over to him where he was standing at the foot of the staircase. Arms still crossed over her chest, and honey colored eyes less than pleased.

"Please tell me that what I just heard isn't true, Luke. Please tell me that the rumors circulating are false, and that you didn't attack that human boy who Sophia Donner was out on a date with, and that you didn't toss him about thirty feet in the middle of the town, where anyone could have been watching. Please tell me that you are not so foolish that you would risk exposing the Clan and yourself by such foolish actions, and that my resources need to have their stomachs pulled out through their ears for spreading such lies about my son."

Luke didn't answer her. But then again… he didn't have to. Her resources were just too dependable.

Looked like they would get to keep their stomachs, after all.

"Damn it, Luke! How could you? How could you break the most important rule that we all live by? Do you have any idea what could have happened last night, if someone other than fellow members of the Clan had witnessed your actions? What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking." he finally replied. Eyes shifting slightly in warning. Tone rumbling in his throat as if his vocal cords were still somewhat animalistic. "Besides, the ungulate in question will just assume that I was pumped up on steroids or some such crap. There isn't any danger of exposure."

"Oh really? And what about what Sophia did to you, hmm? Don't you think that what she did is going to strike him as a bit odd?"

Luke looked away silently. Muscles tightening in his cheek.

Vivian sighed, and unfolded her arms. Rubbing her forehead vigorously, as her anger suddenly left her. "Yes Luke, I heard about that, too… and that is not going to be as easy to pass off… I don't even know exactly where to begin with all this mess, that doesn't involve this kid having to suddenly… disappear."

If Vivian had expected any reaction from her son at those words, she was to be sadly disappointed. To be honest, she had the sudden disconcerting revelation that her son probably wouldn't be quite as… against that idea as he should have been.

She looked at him then in a new light… One that was very uncomfortable.

"I think what really surprised me about all of this, though… was how it got started. You were spying on them, weren't you? That's not like you at all. Just what exactly do you feel for this girl, Luke?"

Her son's gaze suddenly hardened and became cold as hastily thrown barriers slid into place. She knew then that she had inadvertently struck a very sensitive nerve, and that revelation sent the wheels turning in her mind once more.

"Sophia is about to Flip. That's all." His answer was simple. As if he expected that to be enough. And given the way of the Pack, normally it would have been. But not this time. Not after what she had just seen on his face.

Vivian shook her head. Deciding to verbalize her thoughts as they came to her to him to see what other reactions she could entice.

"No, I don't think so. If it was any other time, and your attack was on another member of our kind, I would have been willing to accept that answer. But you've never been this reckless in your pursuits before. You've never attacked human males and in so doing, risk exposing yourself… But then again, you've never had to feel like you had to attack a human before, because none of the ones you have pursued before have tried to run from you the way Sophia is. You're used to being the one true authority to the younger members of the Pack, next to me. They follow you without question, and the males acknowledge you as their dominant. If you had made it known that you are in pursuit of one of our young females, like you did with Sophia, then they all recognize yours as the dominant claim and stay clear."

She then looked up at him knowingly. "But Sophia didn't play by the rules, did she? She didn't try to take one of the other members of the Pack as a potential interest. One that you could pull rank on and beat up if you so desired… she took a human. And that is something that has never happened to you before."

Vivian paused to shake her head wryly. "It must have really pissed you off to think that a simple human boy was treading upon your territory and there was nothing you could do about it. That is... until you decided to lose control of your emotions. I think I'm actually going to have to thank that girl for knocking you down a few pegs before you had really done something stupid… like Change right there in the damn street like you were so close to doing."

She looked back up at him, and all humor fled as her lips hardened. "Sophia is part human, Luke. You've always known that. And it was an acceptable possibility that she would seek out a human boy as a potential love interest. And up until she flips, it is well within her right to do so. We can make no interference. She is not one of us, Luke! Not yet, and until she is, you have no right to do what you just did!"

"She is going to Flip." Luke interjected defensively. "I've watched her for so long… what happened tonight is proof of just how close to the surface her beast is." 

"But she hasn't flipped yet, Luke… and you have to acknowledge the possibility that she just might not. There have not been very many half-breeds borne within in the Pack, granted… But the ones that we have had, did not all make the Change, despite the fact that most of them showed signs of it… and those that did begin to Flip… well… you know as well as I do that most of them were not strong enough to survive."

Luke's pale eyes narrowed. Immediately hostile towards such an outcome existing in this case. His expression turned slightly feral, as his voice shook with the sudden presence of anger therein. "So I'm supposed to just stand back and watch her slowly killing herself with every passing day that she refuses to acknowledge the existence of her Otherness, and just pray that she survives it when it finally comes to claim her by force? Is that it?"

Vivian sighed. Slightly taken aback by the presence of emotions in her son that she had never sensed there before, but had already assumed were beginning to grow. "There is nothing that goes on in this town that I am not aware of… I have known of every single one of your encounters with that girl, and I have seen this… obsession that you have for her grow with every passing day. I tried to convince myself that it was nothing more than a passing fancy, and that you'd get bored with it eventually. But now your interest in her is starting to become a liability. And with Ruby on the loose again, I can't afford to have anymore… liabilities. Until Sophia Flips, you have no power over her. That's the law of our people, and you know that. You also know, that if you try to… influence her in the way of our males before she is truly one of us, that it could not only make any future claim you have on her null and void… but could also force me to reprimand you severely for breaking one of the rules that has protected the young females of the Pack for centuries. If your goal is to take her as your mate, then you will have to – "

Luke shook his head and cut her off suddenly. Facial features slipping into a cold and unemotional mask once more. "You misunderstand my interest, Mother... I feel nothing of the likes of what you are insinuating, towards Sophia. Why would I risk taking a half-breed for a mate, when she would be considered nothing but a weakness for someone who plans on fulfilling the shoes of their forefathers? She is just another… passing fancy and will remain so. You're right though, what happened tonight was foolish. Foolish and irresponsible, and I assure you, that it will not happen again. I will not let my hunt of the moment become as you put it, a liability for you, or for the Clan. I know what my responsibilities are, and I will not let myself forget them."

Taken aback by the formal harshness of his words, Vivian was silent for a moment, before finally asking one final question carefully. Unsure of what thoughts were currently running through her son's mind… or his heart.

She had an unsettling thought that maybe… just maybe… she was better off not knowing.

"And what will you do about Sophia?"

His lips twisted humorlessly. "I will deal with her accordingly, and I will… not draw attention to my… intentions where she is concerned."

Vivian's eyes narrowed. "She is Matthew Donner's daughter, Luke. He will not take well to your interest. He's made that clear on more than one occasion. I don't want to have to pick up the pieces when he gets done with you."

Luke laughed. The sound callous and arrogant. "Yeah, well… something tells me after taking his daughter home last night, he'll just might be changing his tune where I'm concerned."

"And if he doesn't? Luke, you don't have to be the one. There are other males in the Clan. Ones that find Sophia attractive, and I'm sure that any of them would… "

The sight of Luke's eyes burning like twin golden embers with startling hostility and the sudden rumbling from his chest took her back a bit and made her pause. Inwardly shocked at how swiftly he was metamorphosing from one mood to the other. She had never seen him like this. She cocked her head to the side, looked at him appraisingly, and took in the clenched fists and the muscle ticking in his jaw… as well as the personal scent of her son's wolf boiling under the surface of it all…

It was an impression that spoke volumes. And one of the things it said was that if she finished that comment and mentioned names, she would most certainly be preparing funerals by that night.

Luke didn't need an excuse to rip into someone. He was already there, and it was only that thin resolve that separated his beast from the man that kept him from turning violent.

Luke didn't give her a chance to finish regardless, however, because he quickly turned his back on her in an attempt to keep her from seeing what she had already seen, and paced off. Muscles along his cloth-covered back rippling with the contained wolf within and the feral scent of the change clinging strongly to the air currents trailing behind him as he made his way up the stairs. Disappearing into the dimly lit shadows of the upstairs' hallway.

Wisely, she remained quiet. Allowing him to depart even as her eyes narrowed speculatively as she watched his retreat.

And then she knew. She knew that, despite his agreements and his defensive comments to the contrary, that all of her words of caution had just been – for the most part – worthless.

Whether he realized it – or was willing to admit it – yet or not, her son was in love.

And with an unwilling, un-flipped, half-human girl at that… Who just happened to be the daughter of the man who should have been Alpha, despite Willard's biological claim on the title…

Her son could say what he wanted to say about not wanting Sophia as his mate… But the truth was, his wolf would have no one else. Even if that meant possibly sacrificing a future as Alpha. The way he was acting was typical of a male of their species who was being deprived of the mate to their Otherness. They were dangerous and temperamental because the lack of that particular connection made them vulnerable. And the one thing that could make a wolf turn feral faster than anything, was the feeling of being weak or defenseless.

Because if they were feeling it, then it was almost always assured that their chosen was feeling the same affects as well. Whether they were willing to admit it or not…

Their males could withstand a lot a lot of things... But if their mate was in pain… well… then their immediate and unforgiving instinct was to lash out at anything or anyone who could be contrived as being a possible threat. Regardless of the origins of said pain…

Because, whether that threat was real or imagined just simply didn't matter when it came down to the promise of blood on the tongue.

Which basically meant that now all she could do until Luke and Sophia resolved their differences, was pray that when the blood began to flow, it would not be followed by the stench of death that she feared was most assuredly to follow.

~*~

Steam wafted thickly through the small interior of his bathroom, as Luke shut off the water, and stepped out of the shower. Snagging a towel as he walked over to the counter, and fastening it around his lean waist.

Clearing the steam away from where it fogged up the mirror, he ran his hands briskly through his soaked hair. Pushing it away from his forehead. The muscles along his chest bunching and releasing as they flexed from the movements of his arms. Water streaming off of his naked skin in thin but multiple rivulets. Running down the center-line of his body and chasing over his sides. Soaking into the towel clenched so tightly below his navel and riding low on his hips. Some running with a faint pink tinge from having encountered the various cuts and scrapes on his back that had re-opened underneath the pressurized hot water. The product of an impact that would have completely shredded a human body.

Dropping his hands away from the top of his head, he braced them against the damp marble of the countertop that surrounded the sink, sinews and tendons twisting under the surface of his skin, and studied his reflection… but his focus was elsewhere. Shadows of the memories of that previous night dancing through his mind's eye. Memories of her… of her laughter… her agony… And her eyes as they had met his for a brief moment. Burning with a fire that had nothing to do with her unrealistic human emotions, and everything to do with the struggling wolf within.

And then the memory of her… welcoming the touch and kiss of another…

And of that human… looking at her with such fear and horror. As if he had just seen confronted by some monster… some loathsome creature instead of the incredible female whose beautiful, wild soul was just beginning to awaken inside of her…

His own eyes caught fire and he clenched the sides of the marble top with inhuman strength. Feeling it begin to crunch slightly beneath the force, as the tips of his fingers began to burn with a familiar pressure and resulting release, as he remembered the pain in her eyes when she had seen that look, and how that had been such a painful blow to her heart.

Turning in a sudden burst of inhuman speed, he lashed out at the dark mahogany cabinets that lined the way behind him, and laid the wood wide open. Slicing it all the way through the thick grain with one swipe. Imagining the throat of Scott Nichols under his claws rather than the thick, hard lifeless wood that bore the brunt of his fury.

He chose to ignore the similar yet less deeper marks that lay across his chest and shoulders as they re-opened from the sudden viciousness of his pent-up assault, and began to trickle a few drops of blood down the otherwise flawless expanse of his skin, before resealing once more. Marks etched by a more feminine hand, that had nothing to do with his impact with the windshield of his car, and everything to do with the girl that was responsible for said impact…

Marks that she had given him in what she had thought was only a dream, but was truthfully only the first move on his part in a dangerous game that he had every intent of winning.

One way… or another.

Turning once more, this time to face the door, he smacked it open with one palm, and stalked out. Leaving the raw mess of mangled cabinets behind. The steam escaped with him into the relative coolness of his room as he prepared for the day.

And for his next move.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well, I want… to take his eyes out…

Just for looking at you…

Yes, I do.

And I want… to take his hands off…

Just for touching you…

Yes, I do.

And I want… to rip his heart out…

Just for hurting you…

And I want… to break his mind down…

Yes, I do!

And I want… to make him regret…

Life since the day he met you…

Yes, I do.

And I want… to make him take back…

All that he took from you…

Yes, I do!

And I want… to take his hands off…

Just for touching you…

Yes, I do.

~ Lyrics from "Just For" by Nickelback ~