(Emily POV)

I slowly woke up to the sound of an owl in a nearby tree. Shifting my hip slightly made me wince as a big stick jammed into my bare skin. Wait. What the hell? Why am I in the woods, laying on a stick? I began to wriggle around slowly when an arm snaked around my bare waist. Why the actual fuck? Am I naked in the woods? My heart began to beat frantically as I tried to recall what happened to get me here. Then it all came flooding back. Dinner, the pain, screams, and I was a wolf. Reese was a wolf, I know it was him. It smelled just like him. I forced my eyes wide open and shifted slightly to see who was behind me. My movement must have woken him up because the minute I turned my head I was met with beautiful dancing blue eyes. Reese. And…. Oh my god. Why are we naked? My eyes grew wide as I took in our precarious position. I laid on my left side while Reese was curled up along the back of my body, almost completely flush against me. I shifted a bit more to be able to sit up when something brushed against my back. My cheeks went flaming hot. Did we? No. I would remember that. I think… When I got upright I noticed that I wasn't the only one who was naked. Everyone from dinner was laying in various spots around us. Naked as the day they were born. I felt Reese shift and sit up beside me, taking in my shock as he lightly chuckled. He stood up and offered me a hand. I tried to keep my eyes on his face but in the process of standing up I couldn't help but sneak a peek. Holy… wow. I tried to cover myself as best as I could while Reese rummaged around in the woods nearby. He came back wearing his pants from dinner and tossed me his shirt. I took it gratefully and slipped it over my naked body. He took my hand and started heading toward I'm assuming the house we were in when I woke up earlier. It must be at least midnight.

My mind was churning by the time we made it inside. Reese took my hand and led me to a sitting room. Taking a blanket and wrapping it around me, before pulling me onto the big couch beside him. "What's happening to me?" I asked so quietly that I'm not sure how he could have heard it.. Even though I know what happened to me, the human part of my brain refused to believe that it was possible. Reese studied me for a minute, thinking over his words carefully before answering me. "Do you remember at any point, someone biting you?" He was serious. Okay, think Emily. I remember the night I was taken, a man came in and brought a big dog. The dog bit me on my right leg. Then everything was hazy and fuzzy until a day or two before I escaped. "Nobody bit me, but there was this dog- it was huge and it- I remember it biting my leg." Reese took a deep breath as he grabbed my hands in his. "Em, the dog that bit you was a wolf. It was a werewolf. You went through your transition and- well now you're a werewolf too. Just like me and everyone else who lives here. It's why I never invited you over here. I wanted to keep you away from all of this." He looked defeated, running his hand through his hair as he slumped back onto the couch. "I want you to feel comfortable asking me anything, okay?" He shifted his hand to rub my shoulder as I snuggled into his side. While I probably should be more freaked out than I am, something about Reese brings me comfort . "Okay, well um- we uh, we woke up naked- did we..um" I tripped over my words trying to figure out how to ask him if we'd had sex that I somehow forgotten about. He smiled and shook his head at me. "No love, I remember promising you that I was a gentleman the night that we met. If that time comes I promise you'll be the one to make that decision." Whew. Okay. Good. Not that I haven't thought about it, but after recent events it isn't high up on my to do list. I let out a long breath I didn't even realize I had been holding in. "So I turn into a wolf, is it like a full moon kind of thing? Do I need to throw away all of my silver jewelry? How many of us are there? Will it always feel like I'm about to die?" The questions flew out of my mouth as fast as my brain could put them together. I heard a rolling laugh coming from the doorway as I turned to see the others coming through the door.

The others filed into the room and took up spots on various pieces of furniture while someone started a fire. Jeremy sat across from me and smiled warmly. "Well, I certainly didn't expect you to find out about all of this because you triggered a change before we had the chance to speak." He said, "So let's start with the basics and go from there, does that sound alright?" I shook my head yes and he continued. "Introductions are in order I believe". He turned to the blonde woman sitting to his right "This is Elena, she and her husband Clayton and their two children live at Stonehaven with me in Bear Valley." She smiled warmly at me, which I returned. It was a little less awkward having at least one other woman here with me. He turned to Nick who I had met the night they found me "I believe you know Nick, and this is his father Antonio Sorrentino" he gestured to the other man sitting beside Nick. They looked to be brothers rather than father and son. I must have given away my thoughts because Nick piped in "Werewolves age slower than everyone else, one of the perks" he added with a wink. Antonio welcomed me into his home and told me that I was welcome to stay for as long as I needed. Next Jeremy turned to Noah whom I'd also met that night. Noah just smiled at me and nodded his head in hello. I couldn't help but notice that he never got too close to me, I hope I hadn't said or done something to offend him when he helped me to the car.

Jeremy explained that these were all prominent members of his pack, which spanned the entire length of North America. He told me there are others out there like us, some who are aligned with the pack and keep an eye on things for him in various places in the US. Then we went over Mutts, the werewolves who weren't members of the pack. I tried to soak in as much information as possible. He explained hierarchy in the pack and how each member has a set of jobs they were expected to do. He let Elena explain scents, how I would learn to track and fight in order to defend myself and my pack should I chose to stay. She told me that it was very much my choice if I wanted to be in the pack or not, but if I decided not to join that I would more than likely be hunted down. Apparently, I smell like a bitch in heat and the scent I give off is tantalizing to other wolves. "Should you decide to stay with the pack, you are under it's protection at all times. Any attack against you is a direct attack against all of us." Jeremy added as Elena was explaining all of the pros to being in the pack.

Once we had gone over the basics 'werewolf 101' as Nick put it, Jeremy asked everyone to leave the room aside from himself and Elena. I felt Reese tense up beside me and let out a low growl. He looked over to see if I would be okay without him, waiting for me to give him a sign that I was comfortable enough for him to leave me alone with Jeremy and Elena for a bit. I gave his hand a little squeeze and flashed a nervous smile his way. He studied me for another minute before he got up and followed out the door behind the others. Once the door was closed behind him Jeremy returned his attention to me.

"Okay Emily, I know that you've been through a terrible ordeal in the last few months. I need you to tell me everything you remember about the night that you were taken, and the people who took you." I thought back to that day, and tried to remember the hazy details-

(Flashback)

Reese and I had met up for breakfast at a little diner on the edge of a park we hiked in all the time. We ate and talked for about an hour, then he paid for the food and we hopped into his car to head over to one of our favorite trails. We got out and went for a hike, Reese was really excited to show me a new trail that we hadn't ever gone down before. We walked for a few miles before we came to a clearing on top of a hill. At the bottom of the clearing was a beautiful babbling stream, littered with rocks and pebbles on each side. We'd explored around the stream when I got too close to one of the slippery rocks on the edge and fell in. Reese couldn't contain his laughter, clutching his sides and nearly falling to the ground at the sight of me soaking wet. When he came over to help me up, I splashed him in the face. The shock on his face sent me into squeals of laughter. We had a water fight in the stream, splashing and laughing without a care in the world. He'd pulled me to him in the middle of the stream and kissed me. I eagerly returned the kiss, feeling him smile into the kiss as I pulled myself up onto my tiptoes to deepen it. We stayed like that for a while before we started back toward his car, hand in hand, laughing and making plans to meet up the next day for dinner. I had a few exams I needed to study for the next day, so he took me back to my apartment. He'd started keeping a change of clothes there for the nights that he ended up staying over. We changed our clothes and he left with a promise to call me tomorrow after my exams. He wished me luck and kissed me goodbye before he left. I'd just started studying in my living room when I heard a loud knock on my door. I walked over to it and opened it slightly. There was a tall man standing there, he smiled at me when I opened the door. "Hi, can I help you with something?" I asked him. "Hello little Sheila, I was wondering if Reese was still here? I was supposed to meet him for lunch down the street and he never showed. I saw his car in front of your building when I drove by earlier." He said, smile never leaving his face. He was Australian too, so I assumed it must have been some of Reese's family. I mean it isn't usually a coincidence that you know two Aussies in one place. "No, I'm so sorry, you just missed him about 10 minutes ago" I explained. I was about to offer him Reese's cell number when he slammed his hand on my front door. "Perfect" he hissed as he pushed his way into my door. I tried to fight him back to get the door shut, but it was no use. He was almost double my size and weight. He chased me around my apartment to my living room where I made a dive for my cell. We knocked over a lamp as he tackled me to the floor, sending the broken glass deep into my skin. His hand clamped over my mouth as another large man came into the room. He seemed to sniff the air as he walked around, "Oh this is the right place, he's been here alright." He said as he walked into the bathroom and held up the wet clothes Reese had left here. "She's not going to be too happy that he's moved on. Grab the girl and we'll head to the cabin to see what she wants us to do with the human. All I know is that she wants her alive."

Those were the last words I heard before something hit me in the back of the head and the darkness took over. When I woke up I was on a dirty mattress in a dark room. My hands and legs were bound to a bed. I tried to free myself, but the ropes wouldn't give. I'd put blisters on my wrists from fighting against the ropes so hard when I heard voices coming toward the door. The second man who was in my apartment came in first, walking with a big- no huge- dog behind him. He smiled a bone chilling smile at me as he made his way over to the side of the bed to caress my face. I was begging and pleading for them to let me go between sobs. The man just laughed and told me it would all be over soon. I watched the giant dog inch it's way toward my bed, pausing so that I could feel it's hot breath peppering my skin. It paused and looked at the other man before he nodded and the dog clamped down onto my skin. I screamed as I was pushed into levels of pain I didn't know existed. From there I was in and out of consciousness for a while. Waking up long enough to scream and cry. To beg the men who came in to hurt me to stop.

I filled them in on how I'd managed to escape, stopping at the point that I found Reese, Nick and Noah in the clearing. I paused when I felt Elena shift to put her hand on my knee. Her eyes betraying the sadness she was feeling. Giving me a look of understanding. Jeremy had been quiet thought the entire story and seemed to be deep in thought. He quickly stood up and said that he needed to make a few calls and he would be back later. "I'll have someone make you some more food before you go to bed, you need to eat to retain your strength" he added before he walked out of the room and shut the door back behind them. Once she was sure everyone was far enough away Elena took my hand in hers as she turned to me. "Emily, I know this isn't something you want to talk about, believe me I really do, but I have to know if they raped you" my stomach started clenching into knots at her words. I've been trying to push it back out of my mind, forget the way it felt and how rough they'd been with my already beaten body. I tried to speak but words wouldn't come as tears pricked my eyes and I could feel my throat tighten. All I could do was look at her and nod my head yes before quickly looking back at my lap. "Is there any chance at all that you could be pregnant?" She whispered to me. I looked around frantically as my heart sped up and fear gripped my body. "I don't know" I cried as she reached her arm over my shoulder and pulled me into her. "If I am- I can't- I mean I don't want to-" I couldn't finish the words forming in my mouth. She looked at me with kind eyes and nodded her head. "I understand honey, it's okay to feel that way. Does Reese know?" My heart stopped. No he didn't, we hadn't even talked about any of this. But I knew from one of our midnight talks and a few too many glasses of wine that his mom had been raped, that's how he came to be. I couldn't talk to him about this, he could never know that it was even a possibility or that I had no intentions on becoming a mother if my worst fears came true. What would he think of me if he knew? He could never love someone so weak. Elena noticed my thoughts as she nodded almost as if she was silently turning the same wheels in her head as well. "Tomorrow I'm going to take you out to town with me okay? We will get you some more clothes and take care of everything you need, does that sound okay?" I nodded my head again as she got up. "Please, don't tell Reese any of this" I said under my breath. She paused as she reached the door and whispered back over her shoulder "Don't worry Emily, I'll never betray your trust. Us girls have to stick together." With that she turned and walked out the door.

My body felt numb as the memories came crashing down around me of my time as a captive. I felt dirty. I needed to be clean. I slowly stood up and made my way through to the kitchen where I could hear voices. As I entered the room the aroma of decadent food wanted to me and my stomach let out a soft growl. I stood in the doorway silently for a minute just watching Nick and Noah laughing and cooking together. I smiled to myself, this really is like a big family. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye as I turned to see Antonio walking toward me. "Is there anything I can get you?" He asked with sincerity sparkling in his brown eyes. "I was actually wondering if there's anywhere I could maybe take a bath, or a shower?" His eyes lit up with understanding as he motioned for me to follow him. We walked back up the set of stairs that Reese had carried me down earlier. He pointed out rooms along the way showing me where everyone slept. We stopped in front of another door and he opened it up revealing a beautiful bedroom. The walls were painted in a beautiful pale blue, white billowing curtains fell perfectly along the wall of windows. To the right of the room was a huge canopy bed with a white down comforter and grey pillows. A small white desk was placed in front of one of the windows, with a plush fuzzy white chair pulled up under it. I almost gasped at the beauty of the room, it was beautiful and it oozed peaceful vibes as we walked in and he motioned to another door on the left side of the room. I opened it up to reveal a huge en-suite bathroom. A white soaking tub was set up in the middle of the room in front of a window overlooking the forest in the back. There was a shower big enough for three people in the corner, with more nozzles and shower heads than I had ever seen in one place before. The vanity was huge, complete with a seat and lighted mirror on the end. This was the kind of room you'd see in a magazine.

I must have paused at the door with a look of wonder on my face, Antonio stood patiently near me, allowing me enough time to register my surroundings before he spoke. "If this room is okay with you, it's yours for as long as you want it. I'm sorry that your first experience with our kind was as brutal as it was, I only hope that we can show you that our family is much different than the monsters you met. You'll be safe here dear." He added with a small pat on my shoulder. With that he turned and grabbed some towels and soap out of a linen closet. He sat them down on the vanity before he turned to walk out. "I sent Reese over to your old apartment to get some of your things. He should be back soon. Please take as long as you need and when you're done come down to the kitchen so we can get some warm food for you, okay?" I nodded as tears threatened to fall again. I had no idea why these people were being so kind to me, but I was so thankful that they were. He took a few more steps to the door when I stopped him. "Antonio" he looked up at the mention of his name. "Thank you, for welcoming me into your home. I don't- my family is all gone and- I'm just really grateful to you." As I finished the tears I had been trying to hold back crashed down my cheeks. Antonio took a few steps forward and gently wrapped his arms around me. Rubbing small circles into my back as I cried. There was something so fatherly about Antonio that made me miss my own father more than I had in months.

Once I was calm he released me and told me to come find him when I was done. I started my bath and filled it with some of the soap Antonio had left for me, watching as the huge tub filled with lightly scented bubbles. I stripped my clothes off and did a once over of my body in the mirror. I barely recognized myself as I took note of all the bruises covering my skin. Most of the cuts I had gotten during my escape had already healed, but Jeremy said that was expected. Apparently another perk of being a werewolf is speedy healing. My heart sank as I took in my bones poking out from under my skin, I looked sick and pitiful. I made a mental note to eat as much as possible to get myself healthy again. As soon as the bath was ready I stepped in and hissed at the hot water burning my skin. But I didn't care, I pushed myself down into the steaming bath and felt the tension in my sore muscles start to dissipate. I grabbed the loofa that had been sat on the table by the tub and ripped the tag off, painfully scrubbing every inch of my body over and over until I was raw and red. I just needed to wash it all away, the pain and hurt and the memories of what those men had done to me. Before I could stop them a new stream of hot tears was pouring down my face. I sat back in the water and let the feelings come, letting my tears wash away my fear and shame.

I'd cried all of the tears my body could muster and sat in the water until it was so cold that I was shivering. I slowly stood up and wrapped a towel around my body. I walked over to the mirror to see my eyes were puffy and red from all the crying, as I grabbed a rag and started to wash off my face. Once I was satisfied that it was free from tear stains I sat back and took in my reflection. My eyes were bright from crying, they always turned such a light shade of green when I cried. My lips were puffy and my skin was clear. I looked much better than I had when I entered the bathroom. I slowly made my way out the door of the bathroom, into the bedroom. I stopped in my tracks when I noticed the bed had been piled up with things. Things I recognized and bags upon bags of things that had tags on them. Beautiful clothes, jackets, shoes, socks. All of them costing more than everything I owned in my entire closet at my apartment. Another bag contained nothing but new bras and underwear, I blushed as I thought about Reese picking them out. A small chuckle escaped my lips when I thought of how lost he must have been picking out all of this, but somehow he'd managed to get the right sizes. He must have gotten the sizes off my clothes at my apartment.

I put on a comfy matching light pink set and slipped on some black leggings and a teal green hoodie. Walking back in the bathroom I wondered if it would be rude to look through the cabinets for a blow dryer as I remembered Antonio telling me this was my room now. I rummaged through the drawers in the vanity until I found what I was looking for. I set to work fixing my hair as best as I could, lightly drying my hair as I watched my curls begin to form back into their usual ringlets and not the wadded up mess it had been before. I found a new toothbrush and some toothpaste in one of the bags and brushed my teeth twice, relishing the feeling of clean teeth. I put on some chapstick that I found in one of my jacket pockets from my apartment and slipped my feet into a pair of the fuzzy moccasin slippers I found on my bed. Rummaging through my duffel bag filled with things from my apartment I found the beaded choker necklace Reese had bought for me. We had been out one day and I saw it in a shop window. He must have noticed me admiring it, because the next day he surprised me with it. I smiled at the fond memory and fastened it to my neck. Finally I was starting to feel a bit more normal.

I opened the door and started to make my way back through the winding halls of the huge house. Suddenly realizing I had no clue where I was. Great. How does someone get lost inside a house? I thought to myself as I made a series of twists and turns that led me to a dead end. Just then I heard a door open, making me jump and spin around. Noah walked out of the door and skidded to a halt when he realized it was me. I must have looked terrified because he held out his hands in a 'I come in peace' gesture. I felt my cheeks heat up as I looked at my feet "umm, I'm sorry. I'm trying to find the kitchen and I somehow got lost." I looked up at the end of my sentence to see he looked just as embarrassed as I must have. So that's it, he must be really shy. I realized as his cheeks grew red before he answered "it's okay, I couldn't find my way around here for weeks when Antonio took me in. Come on and I'll show you." He walked down the hall and I followed silently. We finally made our way down the stairs and I thanked him for helping me. As I walked into the kitchen I gawked at the sheer amount of food on the table. "What can I do to help" I asked as I walked up to the table. Nick who had his back turned to me jumped a little at the sound of my voice. "Geez, you're so quiet. You almost gave me a heart attack" he squeaked. I smiled at him as he handed me some plates and asked me to set the table. I glanced at the clock and realized it was nearly 3 in the morning. Suddenly feeling terrible because I knew this was all because of me. I'd ruined their dinner and changed, causing everyone else to have to go out for a run too. As I sat the last plate on the table I felt strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me toward a muscled body. I took a deep breath in as Reese bent down to brush a sweet kiss onto my head. I felt him breathe in deeply before he whispered "well you certainly smell better" I could feel his smile on my skin as I turned around to give him a light slap on the arm.

Dinner was, thankfully, uneventful and I ate until I couldn't eat another bite of food. My eyes were getting heavy as I felt sleep tugging at the corners of my consciousness. After the table had been cleared I tried to help with dishes but was shooed out of the kitchen by Nick and Elena who ordered me to get some rest. I'm not sure why I didn't protest, I normally would have. It's rude to leave the cleanup to your hosts after all. But something about the way they told me to go to bed made my body turn and obey immediately. I stopped at the top of the stairs, feeling a bit panicked at finding the room Antonio had shown me earlier. Reese started up the stairs behind me seeing my hesitation. He smiled warmly at me as he scooped me up and started down the hall, ignoring my protests that my legs worked just fine. I'm not sure why the way he scooped me up made my heart flutter, but his touch was sending electric butterflies zooming through my stomach. We got to the door and he shuffled me to get it open without putting me down. He walked over to the bed and dropped me onto the soft feathery comforter. I slipped off my moccasins and slid under the cover. My body sighed in relief as I felt myself sink down in the plush mattress. Reese hesitated before grabbing my hand and pulling me toward him to plant a soft kiss on my forehead. He started to get up when I squeezed his hand. He froze and looked at me, waiting for me to explain my hesitation. "What's wrong sweetie?" He asked as concern clouded his face. "I was wondering if you were allowed to stay with me, I mean if you want to." I mentally cursed myself for sounding so weak and pitiful, but I needed him right now. For some reason I just needed him to be near me, to fee his skin and breathe in his scent. It's the only way I'll be getting any rest tonight. He looked me over before he squeezed my hand again. "Okay" he smiled "let me go change and I'll be right back." I nodded and watched him walk out the door.

I laid there under the covers mulling over everything I'd learned today. As insane as all of this sounded to the human and logical parts of my brain, there was a small part of me that couldn't help but accept that this was right. Even though I didn't know anyone here but Reese, I felt safe here. My mind tried to take me back to my captivity but I quickly brushed that away. All I want is to forget, to move on past this. I was lost in my thoughts when I saw Reese come back into the room. He was wearing basketball shorts, and a t-shirt. I smiled at him as he walked over to the bed. Sure we had fallen asleep snuggled up watching movies but we had never just crawled in bed together to go to sleep. I felt the covers move and he shifted his body in beside me. His warmth filling in where cool sheets had just been. He took his hand and gently brushed some of the curls away from my face before he leaned down to give me a chaste kiss on my lips. I smiled and turned to lay on my side beside him. He wrapped his arm around me and shifted until my head was laying on his chest, our legs wrapped around each other. I took a deep breath as I let his scent fill my senses, it was like a drug as I felt it work through my body until I was completely relaxed. I traced small circles on his chest as I felt him running his hands through my hair. He kissed me on top of my head one last time, I faintly heard him whisper "You're okay babe, sleep. I'll be right here." As the warmth from his body pulled me into darkness and sleep took over.