Author's Note: Thank you all for the reviews! Just to let you know though, this is NOT my writing style; it's modeled after Annette Curtis Klause's, and these characters and the setting are hers also. A good fanfic should feel like a continuation to the story, if that's possible, so this is my attempt at it. Please keep the reviews coming! Also, if anyone knows Gabriel's last name… PLEASE send it to me on a review.

Chapter 3

A young couple walked into the large and very comfortably furnished house, which looked more like an old world manor than a house, and walked up to the front desk. A round faced boy with a name tag that read, "Willem" handed the smiling brunette a brochure while she waited to be attended.

Welcome to the High Country Inn and Suites

Owner(s): Gabriel and Vivian
We Accept: American Express, Discover, Visa, MasterCard and Checks
Price Range: US$125 (US Dollars)

Location: Mountains/Country

Amenities: Hot tub/Jacuzzi, Smoking and non-smoking rooms available upon request, Private porch with scenic view, Stocked refrigerators, Full breakfast, Sitting room/library and television in room

Winter Sports: Snowmobiling, Sledding, Skiing

Sight - Seeing:, Art/Historical site/district, various galleries and Museum

Daredevil Sports: Mountain climbing

Other Sports: Hunting and Golf

Out In The Town: Crafts, Farmers market, Concerts, Movie cinemas, Theatre, Shopping district and Antique shops/malls

Out In Nature: Nature reserves, stargazing/bird watching, hiking groups available upon request

"Alright, how can I help you?"

"We have a reservation for three nights here."

"Okay and your last name is…"

"Smith. It's under Jonathan." Willem punched a couple of keys into the computer and printed out a receipt.

"Here you go. Sign here, and here. This is your key. Your room is upstairs and down the hall, number 53. Have a good day."

The couple smiled wide and held hands. They had had to reserve this room three weeks in advance, but it was well worth it. The inn was one of the most talked about places around, with it scenic views right next to the Green Mountain National Forest.

"I'm sorry… Willem… do you think we could get to meet the owners?" Willem was used to their curiosity. Obviously the owners had to be doing something right to attract so much attention.

"Yeah, no problem." He pulled out a walky-talky and dialed number 2. "Viv, there are some guests down here that want to meet you." A woman's muffled voice answered him, and Willem went back to typing on the computer. "She'll be down in a minute."

Just then, a young woman in blue jean overalls walked downstairs. The couple noticed her golden hair slipping out of its low ponytail and there were paint stains on her white shirt and cheek. This was the amazingly beautiful woman from the brochure, but she wasn't rich or glamorous looking like they would've expected. She held out a paint streaked hand, and the brunette shook it vigorously.

"Hi, I'm Vivian. It's nice to meet you."

"Are you painting a picture or something?" They were still confused at her disheveled appearance.

"No, I'm finishing some renovations upstairs. Is there anything I can help you with?" The guests eyed here with surprise, the owners did their own renovating.

"No, we're fine. We just wanted to meet you. Thanks though!" Vivian smiled and walked back up the stairs and down the hall to one of the rooms. She leaned against the doorframe and licked her lips at the sight in front of her. Gabriel was sawing a piece of wood for the headboard, and his muscles were rippling and his white shirt was stuck onto him, his hair was messy and small locks of it clung to his face making him look like a male model for hair gel. She snaked her arms around his back, breathing in his rich and wonderful scent. He purred but kept right on working.

"What did they want?"

"What else? They wanted to see some incredibly posh looking owner, and all they got was a dirty, paint streaked one." He laughed and quit working for a minute, setting the saw down onto the bench. He then turned around in her arms and picked her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist and kiss him.

"How is anything supposed to get done if you two can't concentrate?"

Gabriel snarled, "Not now little brother." Ulf laughed and set the can of paint down onto the tarp and left the room. Gabriel let Vivian down and picked up the hand saw again, getting right back to work, grinning. Vivian walked over to the tray of paint, and continued applying the beige coat onto the walls. The Five worked on the inn during the weekends, and went back to their own homes at night. Only Gabriel and Vivian lived in the Inn.

By lunch, they were almost all the way done with the room and walked down into the kitchen. The hired help were already getting to work making today's lunch. Vivian grabbed a tiny chunk of the raw lamb meat and popped it into her mouth, letting the juices spill down her hands. Gabriel handed her his glass of cold water and watched as she licked the blood off her fingers.

"What's left upstairs?" asked Esmé, pouring herself a glass of the cooking wine.

"Just the furniture. Where's Tomas?"

"He's gone to go pick up Rudy and a couple of others. Help set up the tables, please." Vivian sighed and picked up a stack of white plates and sauntered into the brightly sunlit dining room. The entire east side wall was covered in windows, and the bright greens and blues of the forest outside shone through. She put the plates down onto the tables and walked back into the kitchen as the guests came downstairs and from outside for lunch. There were at least twenty people already seated by the time lunch had officially started.

Vivian had just gotten settled with her own plate when she heard some cars pulling up outside. She dropped her fork and ran outside to greet the rest of the pack. Uncle Rudy and several of the pack members stood on the driveway, suitcases in hand, looking at the inn with open mouths and wide eyes. Vivian fondly remembered their look as her own, on her very first day here. "Welcome to the North Country Inn and Suites" she announced, and led all of them upstairs to their rooms to settle down for lunch. They pulled up several of the tables and made one long table in the middle of the room. All of the previous guests were done with lunch, and had retired or gone out for some sightseeing, so the dining room belonged to the pack.

"Where's Gabriel?" one of them asked.

"He's probably back upstairs, let me go get him." Vivian skipped up the stairs, two at a time, and walked into the room they had been working on; Gabriel was supervising a worker as he was fixing the curtains onto the rod, but turned around when Vivian ran in. "Everyone's here babe! Come on, downstairs right now." She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him back downstairs.

With the rest of the pack there, lunch was a completely different affair than it had been only a few minutes ago. Everyone was loud and talking at the same time and food was being passed up and down the table, and little kids were making noise with their plates and utensils.

After lunch, the elders gathered into the large living room to talk and watch television, while the kids went outside to play in the massive backyard. Vivian curled up onto a deck chair, to sit and talk with Esmé and the red head she had seen give birth. The little girl in her arms was a year old. "It's amazing how fast time flies by, isn't it?"

"Yes, and thank the moon goddess nothing has happened in a year." Esmé said while she took a sip from her drink.

"Well, aside from the restoration of the inn, and our flourishing business, nothing bad has happened, you mean." Esmé nodded slowly, smiling, and continued watching the kids playing. "Maybe one day I'll get to see my grandson or daughter playing with those cubs." Vivian blushed scarlet, but her face was still composed as she watched the children.

"Mom, we've already talked about this. I'm not going to wait or plan for a child. If it happens, it happens." Only recently had she become Gabriel's lover, on her nineteenth birthday. Loup-garou didn't actually get married, as one female could beat out another to become queen bitch, but Gabriel had promised Vivian that there would be no other besides her, and that was enough.

Reflexively, she rubbed the pendant he had given her. The white gold chain was long so she could still wear it in her fur, and the round disk was mother of pearl, so it shone like the moon. "I'm going to go check on Rudy and the others."

Inside was a lot different from the peace outside. Willem and Gregory were play fighting, and Finn and Ulf were out leading a group on a guided tour of the reserve. Uncle Rudy was in his usual seat at the dinner table, watching TV and drinking a beer, and Aunt Persia was probably upstairs in a room sleeping. A lot of the pack members were out on the hike, but the ones still inside were making up for their absence by being talkative.

"Hey Viv! Are we going to get to go out today? As in, out, out?"

"Of course! That's why we moved here. You guys are going to love it. The reserve is perfect for… nighttime hikes." And so she spent the rest of the afternoon willing time to pass by quickly so they could once again run together as loup-garoux.

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Vivian watched with sweet intimacy as her mate doubled over and his spine popped into place. She was already fully changed and restless for the run to begin. It was already two in the morning, and they had decided to all go out so late so that the humans in the inn wouldn't know anything suspicious was happening. She felt someone nip the back of her neck and she knew he was ready to go, so she set out from among the trees at full speed towards the others. They saw the pair come out, and they howled and ran. No previous running experience could compare to this one. She was finally free to let herself go, and run as far and as fast as she could manage.

Finally the sun was coming up, and Vivian threw herself onto the leaf covered floor panting heavily. Gabriel sauntered towards Viv, holding her clothes as she lay down, half changed. His mate looked like a wild forest nymph with leaves still stuck in her hair and a glowing moon pendant dangling from her neck. He lay down beside her and looked up at the sky through the forest canopy. Most of the pack had already gone back to the inn. Just then, Esmé and Tomas came out from behind the trees, giggling and throwing themselves onto the floor beside Vivian and Gabriel.

"Oh look at you, Mr. Big shot."

"What about me?" he growled, his voice it's usual roll of thunder.

"Vivian's made you soft." He got up suddenly, daring Tomas to say that again. But he laughed and lay back down with Vivian in his arms.

"Yeah, I suppose she has," he murmured, grazing his hand across her cheek.

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Sadly though, it didn't matter how wonderful the night was, as the next day Vivian had to get up and go to school. As it was, classes and the whole school were exactly the same anywhere in the United States, and the Five were still outcasts in the school for some reason. Vivian rolled and pulled the white sheets off the bed and wandered towards the bathroom groggily. Gabriel was already in town, or in some other room working. The tawny haired girl in the mirror with the golden skin forced her thick hair into a ponytail, changed into a white blouse and blue jeans and walked downstairs for breakfast. She poured herself a cup of coffee and grabbed a muffin from a tray on one of the tables. The rest of the Five made their way into the kitchen, still sleepy and groggy and grabbed plates of scrambled eggs and cereal.

"Viv, you need to eat more. Here." Finn put a plate of pancakes down in front of her, and laughed. The Five climbed into Vivian's truck, and they made their way down to school. "Damn! We have a test today." They all groaned and walked into the crowded hallways.

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"How was school?" asked Gabriel, as he watched Vivian finish working on the mural in their room. It was a forest scene, just like her last room, but there were more loup-garoux visible, and the forest wasn't as dark as before, and there was actual flora among the foliage. She dipped her paintbrush into the white paint and slashed some more light into the moon in the middle of the painting.

"You know I hate it when you ask me that. It's stupid that I have to still go to school, and then be expected to come home and be alpha-female. If you must know, we had a test in English which I probably failed. My art teacher thinks I'm a prodigy, and I'm signing up for co-op so I can skip half of the school day to come work here."

Gabriel wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. "Good. You need to be here more often" he whispered, kissing the back of her neck, causing her to gasp and have to drop the paintbrush before she messed up the mural.

He carried her down the stairs, piggy-back style, and set her down on a chair in the kitchen. The pack was outside again, so they had the inn to themselves. "What can I get for you?"

"Surprise me." Gabriel walked into the pantry and came back with a glass of red wine. Vivian took long sips of it, letting the warmth spread down to her toes, as she watched him prepare two plates of braised lamb. It was deliciously rare and served on a bed of mashed potatoes.

"Viv, I have to leave tomorrow. Some more of the pack are planning on moving into town, and they'll need help. I'll only be gone two days…" Vivian looked down at her plate, pushing the potatoes around in circles. This girl had changed him, he knew that. Before he would've done anything for the pack, and only for the pack, but now she was his top priority. She looked up at him suddenly, with fire in her eyes. His heart melted as she led him upstairs.

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Willem was surprised to see Vivian running around and working with such fervor. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to his side. "Hey, what's going on? You're not usually so hard working. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah pup. Everything's just fine. I'm just anxious to get these rooms done. That's all."

"You know there are people here hired to do that work."

"Yeah, I know. I just need to keep busy before I lose it."

"Take a break." He shoved Vivian all the way to the dining room and sat her down, telling one of the waitresses to bring her a coke. The queen bitch stared out the window, admiring the dark greens and olives of the leaves and grass outside. The sliding glass doors were open to let the breeze in, and the red head's daughter, Katherine, came tottering in towards Vivian, who scooped her up and sat her down on her lap. "Hey baby. Where's your mama?" The child looked up at Vivian, her little green eyes smiling as much as she was, and tugged on Vivian's moon pendant.

She carried Katherine with her towards the receptionist's desk, to phone for her mom, when the front door opened bringing in a strong breeze. A girl with short dark hair and too much eyeliner walked in, causing Vivian's smiled to fade. "What are you doing here Kelly? How did you find me?"

"That's not important. Vivian, I need your help. It's Aiden."