Author's Note: In order to give my story more time to develop, I've changed the Prologue so that neither Paige nor Phoebe know that Chris is related to them.

Chapter 1

Amaris glanced up at the old Victorian house and bit her lip, uncertainty filling her. It was the right house, but should she proceed with her plan? After all, they might not even need her-they could easily defend themselves from anything that dared attack them.

Last night, after their Alpha had ended the pack meeting he'd called, Amaris had circled back, and was unsurprised to see that the girl had been taken, presumably by the Charmed Ones. The demon stench that covered the area where she had originally found the girl indicated that it was a low-level demon who'd had his snack interrupted.

She'd then done some research, followed some trails and called in some favors, all to find out who the girl was. Apparently her name was Lila Einder, and her mother, Jenna Einder, was a big time lawyer who struck fear into the hearts of those she went against. She was also a Wiccan, one with the power of premonitions.

However, when Amaris had dropped by Ms. Einder's office, she'd found out that she was frantic and searching for her daughter and was not in the office.

This information was gleaned from her assistant who had originally told her that the lawyer had called in sick. Sensing she was lying, Amaris had persisted in her questioning, and eventually, the assistant had crumbled and told her everything.

The fact that Lila had yet to be returned could only mean one thing: the Charmed Ones still had her. They were most likely trying to protect her from the demon that had attacked her earlier.

Earlier, she'd been intent on storming over to the Halliwell's home to demand that they return the child to her distraught mother, or at the very least tell her that her daughter was safe.

Maybe they could convince the mother that they just needed to vanquish the demon, but in order to protect Lila would need to keep her for a few days or so. It was better to let the mother know what was going on rather than leave her in the dark about everything (in her mind at least).

Now, though, Amaris was rethinking her original plan.

What would they do to her if she just walked up and asked them about the little girl they'd found? Surely they'd not only turn her away, but they'd know she was the wolf from earlier and would probably try to kill her.

And her plan probably wouldn't meet the witches approval, either. They didn't know enough about her to be able to trust her, let alone agree to any plans she proposed.

But the wolf wanted to know that Lila safe and that the demon who's harmed her would die, so she had to find out, danger or no. If she didn't, the wolf would freak out and she might go berserk, and no one wanted or needed her to go slashing people up.

So, taking in a deep breath, she walked over to the dwelling of the Halliwell's and knocked on their door. At first no one answered her, so she waited. As she waited, she began to feel that what she was doing might not be the smartest choice of action. She should be out investigating and trying to destroy the demon, not wasting time. If Lila was with the Charmed Ones then she should be perfectly alright. If the door didn't open in the next three minutes, then she'd leave and try to track down the demon and kill it. The wolf, however, didn't like this idea. It wanted to make sure the little girl was really okay, and it would not leave until it found out.

She sighed and closed her eyes, fighting to calm the wolf and rationalize with it. She couldn't just stay out here forever, a stranger standing at their door for no real reason. If no one opened the door soon she'd-

The door flew open then, and in response, her eyes shot open, too. If they were a threat it'd be best if she could see them.

Standing in the doorway was one of the brunettes from the night before. She recognized her scent easily-it was the woman they'd referred to as "Piper."

Piper eyed her for a long moment, her expression unreadable, before she asked, "Who are you and what do you want?"

Amaris blinked, startled by the bluntness of the question. Obviously this woman was the leader of her sisters, if her the tone of command was any indication.

The witch cleared her throat, and she remembered that Piper had asked a question and was waiting for an answer, so lost in her thoughts as she was.

Blushing sheepishly, she said, "Oh, I'm Amaris. I was just wondering about the little girl that I know you have."

Piper's eyebrows shot up to her hairline.

Better to tell the truth than to lie, she mused. Lying wouldn't help the situation at all.

Sighing, she leaned in and whispered, "I'm the bear-sized wolf from last night."

Piper blinked stupidly at her before she backed away a little, her stance cool and guarded.

Amaris merely shrugged at Piper's obvious repulsion of her and told her, "You seem to value truth immensely. I figured that telling you the truth right off the bat might make you more inclined to not blow me up."

At this, the door opened a little wider, though Amaris could tell the the witch could still freeze or blow her up in a matter of seconds.

Still...

Closing her eyes, she mentally chanted, please don't blow me up, please don't blow me up, before asking, "I'd like to see her, if that's alright with you."

In her head, she guessed what all the book the Halliwell family possessed-the Book of Shadows, she believed-had told them. It had probably mentioned the immortality bit, silver harming werewolves, and more importantly, how packless wolves turn insane and bloodthirsty. She needed to know what she had to do to ease the woman's worries. So when Piper still refused to budge, she added before she could stop herself. "I'm bond to a pack, I assure you. No going insane and munching on the bones of harmless villagers for me."

Yeah, that'll really reassure her, Amaris thought dryly, watching alarm creep into Piper's face.

There went any chances of seeing Lila and making sure she was alright.

That thought concluded, she turned on her heel to walk away. However, before she was even halfway down the walkway, Piper's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Wait!"

She turned to find the witch hurrying down the sidewalk towards her. Amaris didn't move for fear the witch would rethink her decision and walk back into the house. Once she had finally arrived, Piper grabbed her by the shoulders, looked her straight in the eye and asked,"You really won't try to hurt us?"

Normally the wolf would call challenge to someone staring her in the eyes, but now, the wolf understood she'd have to do this calm and unflinchingly in order to be permitted to see the little girl.

Bowing her head but still keeping her eyes locked on Piper's, she vowed, "No harm will come to you or yours."

Piper hesitated, biting her lip in thought. Finally, she sighed.

"I can always blow you up or freeze you later," she said, as though to herself, giving a shrug of her shoulders as she thought about it. Then she turned around and walked back into the house, Amaris following behind her.

They'd barely entered the house when a little girl came running down the stairwell. She was making a beeline for Piper when she spotted Amaris. She halted, staring wide-eyed at the werewolf. With distrustful eyes she edged forward, gradually getting closer to the witch while making sure to steer clear of her companion.

When Lila was within a foot of both of them, Amaris slowly bent her knees so that she was at eye level with the little girl. Smiling warmly, she extended a hand and said, "Hi, my name's Amaris. What's yours?"

Lila's gaze flickered from her extended hand, to her face, then to Piper's face. Whatever she saw in the witch's expression must've been some form of encouragement, for a grin spread across her face and she eagerly grasped Amaris' hand with her own.

"My name's Lila," she said, and the two shook hands. Amaris smiled, and the wolf was pleased. Now that she was here, the wolf's instinct to protect those that were hers could be fulfilled.

She righted herself,mother turned to Piper and asked, "May I explore your home a bit more?"

The witch hesitated, so she added, "I'll be in your line of sight the whole time, I promise."

Piper sighed and gave a nod of consent. Amaris, grinning, spun on her heel and dashed into the living room, eager to explore as much as the house as she possibly could.

Piper, after chuckling to herself, followed her.