And it was interesting, to say the least. Alex didn't know whose features to focus on, since each teammate was showing different ones. The most animated ones were McGee and Tony's. They both had their jaws dropped to the ground. As per Gibbs's style, the man showed nothing.

"But how?" McGee asked for the 12th time. "I thought a wolf couldn't be created?"

Ziva sat between Ned and Eyal still in her wolf form. Upon arriving and attempting to shift back, they discovered she was unable to do so. From what Hotchner told them, it was her wolf's doing. If it didn't feel safe to let Ziva out, it would hold the form.

"Ziva is a born wolf." Nathan replied.

"But how?"

Alex huffed. "Is that all you're going to say?"

McGee spluttered a few times. "What else am I supposed to say? She is a wolf!"

"How can she be a wolf?" Gibbs spoke for the first time since seeing his teammate. "She didn't even know she was a wolf."

"Her wolf side was suppressed." Hotch walked up the stairs to the porch with a folder in hand. "I had Garcia do a bit of research. I knew Da-vid sounded familiar."

"What you find?" Ned asked.

Pulling a picture out from the folder, he laid it on the table. "The man in the picture is named Thomas Hotchner and the woman in the picture is Rivka Da-vid."

Tony frowned. "That's Ziva's mother."

"Hotchner?" Alex questioned. "Whose that?"

"That is my Father." Hotch replied.

'Where is he going with this?' Ziva growled.

Hotch turned to the white wolf, narrowing his eyes at her. "Easy with the growling."

"Aaron." Ned motioned for him to continue. "Keep going. What's the connection to Ziva?"

"Back then mating between humans and wolves was not easily accepted." Hotch continued. "Many times the human was killed by their pack mates. If the female was pregnant, they would simply wait for the pup to kill her." Pulling another photo he laid it over the other one. It was Rivka and Thomas hugging each other with a smile. "They kept their relationship hidden from the pack for a while, but Thomas did the one thing he shouldn't have done. He mated with her. The pack found out and as you can imagine things didn't go too well."

"She left." Eyal remembered hearing this story. "Thomas Hotchner was the first of the purebloods to take a human mate."

"My father broke the bond." Hotch went on. "Rivka ran off, marrying Eli Da-vid. Eli was aware that she was carrying the child of another man, but not what that man was." He looked over at Ziva. "Rivka went in search of a witch. When you were born she had them suppress your wolf side. It was never meant to break free."

'What broke it?' Ziva asked.

Hotch shrugged. "It could have been various things. But my guess would be on your motherly nature. When you found out your daughter was in danger, you snapped the hole."

"Where is your father now?" Alex asked.

Hotch looked down at his hands. "He was killed a few years ago. My father had gone mad after the death of my mother. After he entered the human's town and wreak havoc, the alpha put an end to him."

"Who was the al-" Alex paused staring at Aaron who gave a short nod.

Ziva seemed to have understood just as quickly. 'It was you?' Hotch nodded once more. 'What about my mother?'

Hotch frowned. "What about her?"

'Did you or your pack have anything to do with her death?' Ziva growled.

Hotch flashed his eyes at the she-wolf. "I warned you once to watch the growling. You may be Eyal's mate, but I still outrank you."

'Answer the question!' Jumping from the couch, she landed on the table in the middle of everyone. Baring her teeth at the alpha. 'When we got the report they said she died of natural causes, but later found a foreign toxin in her.'

"What's that have to do with me?" Hotch snapped. "I'm not some fucken snake!"

'She had a bite on her arm.' Not getting a response quick enough, she lunged at Hotch.

The alpha male was quick to wrap his arms around her and tossed her over the porch. She landed on the grass yard with a yelp. Shrugging his jacket off he jumped over the banner and landed on all four paws. The black wolf paced in front of her, growling a warning for her to stay down. Of course, Ziva was never one to back down easily. Lunging at him again, she managed to Knick him on the shoulder.

The team all braced themselves on the banner, looking down at the two wolves.

Tony turned to Eyal and the other wolves, only to find them still sitting. "You're not going to stop them?!"

Nathan shook his head. "No, Ziva is still new to all of this. Aaron had been cutting her some slack, but even she needs to learn our rules."

"Any other wolf would have been forced to submit after the first warning." Alex added.

"She is your mate!" Tony yelled at Eyal. "You're going to let another man attack her?!"

"Hotch won't harm her." Eyal replied. "As Nathan said, Ziva's wolf needs to learn the rules of our kind. She may be my mate, but Hotchner is still an alpha of the pure line."

Alex nodded. "I'm mated to Nathan, but I don't outrank either of them."

A loud yelp caught their attention. Hotch had Ziva on her back, belly up with him towering over her. The white wolf tucked her tail between her legs and bared her neck. Lowering his head he intended to nuzzle into her neck as a sign of forgiveness when a shot rang out. Snapping his head up his entire posture changed. No longer standing over the wolf as a reprimanded pack mate, he stood in front of her in a position of protecting her.

Hotch snarled at the person in front of him holding the gun. Lowering his head he bared his teeth, snarling and shaking his head in anger. His tail wagged in slow motion warning the person in front of him to lower the gun.

Alex looked over the porch's banner only huff. "You looking to get your insides ripped out?"

The man looked up, glaring at the female. "So you just allowing that animal to attack anyone?"

"That animal is Aaron and he isn't attacking anyone." Alex snapped.

"I know very well who that that is." Lowering his weapon, he looked over at Hotch. "Strauss ordered me to bring this to you. The team is on the way." Tossing the file on the ground, he turned and walked away.

Hotch ignored the file for a moment, turning back around to Ziva. 'You're new to all this I get it. You are not used to the idea of submitting to anyone.'

'It's not in me to submit.' Ziva kept her head and body low to the ground.

Hotch chuckled. 'Perhaps, but your wolf is. You may be mated to Eyal and have the status of an alpha female, but your wolf is a beta. I had nothing to do with the death of your mother.' Hearing the low whimper, he sighed. 'Ziva, you're the only blood family I have. You're my sister. I would never force my status over you.' Giving her a quick lick over her head, he trotted over to the file, picked it up, and walked into the house.

Ziva laid there for a while. His words echoed in her head on repeat. 'You're my sister.' After Ari, she never thought of the possibility of having another sibling. Regardless of them being half-siblings. She had a brother. She had a family once more.

"Ziva?" Eyal got down on one knee, inspecting for any injuries. "Ziva?"

'I have a brother.' She yelped.

Eyal chuckled. "So I heard."

"What does that mean for her?" Tony asked. "Her being Hotchner's sister?"

Ned shrugged. "Nothing, besides her having a brother. Ziva carries half of the pure line, but she's also half human. Still, she will be held to a higher standard than most females."

"For now we need to focus on how to get her shifting under control." Alex sighed. "We can't have her going full wolf on a suspect."

"There are many things we need to teach her." Nathan added. "But the two most time issued are her shifting and her emotions."

'Mom, you okay?' Ewa walked over to her with Eyla in tow. 'We saw Alpha Hotchner and you fighting.'

'Wouldn't call it fighting, more like an argument.' Ziva nuzzled into her daughters, peeking over at Eyal. The man seemed so out of place. 'Eyal, what's wrong?'

"Nothing." Giving her a soft smile, he looked away. "I have to head over and help Ned with a pack issue. I'll be back in a bit."

'What the hell was that about?' Ziva got even more confused to see him walk past Ned and into the house.

'Give him some time.' Ned approached her and her pups. Kneeling down he ran his hand over Eyla's back. 'He's still trying to get into the role of father. It might not be easy for him to wake up and find his pups are running and getting in trouble already. He probably has no idea how to interact with them.'

'You do fine with them.' Ziva pointed out.

Ned chuckled. 'I've been with them since their birth.'

"You had no idea she was one of you?" Gibbs leaned against the porch railing.

Alex turned to face him shaking her head. "No. I didn't even know one could suppress their wolf side."

"So there could be more like Ziva?" He asked.

"I can bet on it. I wouldn't be surprised if many went in voluntarily." Alex nudged him pointing toward a group of teenagers. "You see the oldest?"

"Yeah."

"He has not shifted since the first time he had to."

Gibbs was confused. "Is he like Ziva?"

Alex shook her head. "No, he can shift fine. But he sees what he is as a curse. So he refuses to give into that side."

"Yet you keep him with you." Gibbs asked. "Even though he doesn't like what he is."

"Of course." Alex turned to rest against the rails. "He's still a member of the pack. He may not like what he is, but he has never failed to protect us. In fact, he's already joined the FBI academy, he hoping in joining Aaron's team someday."

Gibbs looked over at her, a surprised look in his eyes. "Is that all everyone looks to join? Law enforcement?"

Alex shook her head. "No. We try and get as many as we can into law enforcement, but we don't force anyone. The reason being is to keep humans safe in a way. Many of the cases they get have some connection to the supernatural. Many are wolves. But you have many in different fields. Eyal works for Interpol but used to be Mossad. Aaron is a fed. Ned works for MI6. Nathan is a freelancer. Clay is a detective. But we have many that work as chefs, school teachers, etc."

"And you?" He asked.

"Me?" She shrugged. "Before I started working with you and the team, I had plans of joining the FBI. I had seen a few lectures they did at schools. But I was mostly being trained as my packs lead beta and dealing with wolf politics."

Gibbs laughed. "They just as bad as ours?"

"Worse." Alex grumbled. "Here you can rip a man's throat out and continue talking as if it never happened." Glancing over at the team, she stared at McGee. "How's McGee taking all of this?"

"He seems fine." Seeing the look she gave him, he frowned. "Is he not fine?"

"His scent reeks of confusion and fear." Alex replied.

"How can you tell?" Gibbs asked. "Their scents?"

"Well, confusion smells like a bunch of scents mixed in. You can't figure out which is what and makes your head dizzy. Anger smells like the lava of a volcano erupting from its slumber." Taking another deep breath she picked up on his fear. "Fear is almost undetected. It's like being lost in darkness. Gives a sense of loneliness."

"That's what McGee is feeling right now?" Gibbs became worried for their youngest agents.

Alex's hand shot out to stop him from running over. "No, that's what it feels and smells like to us. I don't know how he feels." Looking over at McGee she sighed. "He's most likely confused about all this and scared of Ziva."

"Of Ziva?"

"It's a common reaction. He was already confused with Hotchner and the rest of us. Not imagine how he feels with Ziva being what she is." Alex explained. "He will need someone to speak with him. Try and help him understand it better."

"And who do you suggest?" Gibbs was hostile towards anyone getting near his teammate. And she couldn't blame her, they have been through a lot. "One of the wolves?"

"Ned or Nathan would be the best option." Alex suggested. "They are the most well-known of our kind. And they will go easy on McGee."

"What about Ziva?" He pointed to the white wolf. "Who's going to help her shift back?"

Placing a hand on his arm, she tilted her head to the side. "You. She respects and looks up to you. Right now she feels foreign in her own body. She needs a reminder of who she truly is. No one better than you."

"Ned!"

"What?!"

"Can you come help me with this real quick?" Alex nudged him towards Ziva, handing him a blanket. "If she does shift back, she won't be wearing any clothes."

"Right." Clutching the blanket in his arm, he slowly made his way over to her.

Ned frowned at Gibbs pealing past him. "Where's he going?"

"Don't worry about it." Grabbing his hand, she hauled him towards the back of the house. "We need to start the marking ceremony between Eyal and the girls."

"First we need to talk to the girls." Ned reminded her. "They need to know what this means for them."

"Tonight?" They both knew this was time sensitive. The older the girls got the more bonded they got to Ned in the sense of alpha and beta form. "They need to be scent marked by their alpha/father."

"We will talk to them tonight." Ned assured her. "First we need to get Ziva to shift back."

"I already have that covered."

Gibbs approached his agent, clutching down in front of her. "Still having trouble in changing back?" Ziva whined. "Do you know why?"

'If I did I wouldn't be in this mess.'

"It's because you believe you have lost your identity." Gibbs spoke with a soft tone. "But you are still you. The same one that drives me to a near heart attack with your stunts. Scares the crap out of Tony and McGee. Doesn't know how to drive like a normal human being."

'That was the old me.'

"You're probably thinking something along the lines of 'that's the old me.' But it's not. So you change into a wolf." Gibbs shrugged. "Apparently that's the normal thing nowadays. Listen, Ziva, this doesn't change who you are. It doesn't change what makes you, you." Grabbing the blanket and placing it over her, sat down beside her. "Just close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Relax yourself and calm the wolf."

Alex stood by Ned watching the new wolf slowly begin to shift back. "Not bad for a human."

Ned rolled his eyes. "Still don't like him."

"Not sure you like anyone." Shoving him lightly she called for her sons. "Where are Ewa and her sister?"

'They were by the creek.' Noah replied.

"Can one of you bring them to us?" Ned asked.

Seth nodded. 'I'll go.'

"Noah, go get your father please."

'Can't you just call for him?' The young pup mumbled.

Alex raised a brow. "If I could I would have done that. Go get him now please."

Noah took a few steps, before backing up. 'Can Seth do it?'

"Noah." Alex sighed. "What is the matter with you? Go call your father." To her surprise, the pup shook his head. Before she could growl at him, Seth was back with the girls. "Seth, go get your father please."

"Okay."

"You and I are going to have a little talk later." Alex growled at her pup.

Noah growled back at his mother. 'For what? All I said was I didn't want to go call him.'

"I asked you to do one thing." Alex tried to keep her temper at bay. "Next time do it."

'If I don't want to I won't!'

"Noah!" Nathan came around the corner, his eyes shifted to those of his wolf. "Watch your tone when you speak to your mother."

Noah had fallen to his stomach the moment he heard his fathers voice. 'S-sorry.'

"What's the hell is going on with you?" Nathan eyed both his mate and pup. "Noah I asked you a question."

The pup quickly shook his head. 'Nothing, I didn't mean to raise my voice.'

Raising a brow, he let it go for the moment. "You called for me?"

"Yeah." Placing a hand on his chest, she hinted for him to give her a moment. "When we are done here, come look for me. Understood?"

Noah dropped his head in both embarrassment and anger. He felt the eyes of the other wolves on him. The giggling of the common children laughing at him. 'Yes, alpha.'

Seth walked over to his brother, nudging him lightly on the shoulder. 'What you do?'

'I-nothing.' Shoving his brother away, Noah settled under the large willow tree by the creek.

Seth laid by his side. 'What's going on with you?'

'I'm fine Seth.'

The younger brother scoffed. 'Right, that's why you shake like a newborn every time dad is near.'

'I do not.'

'Noah, you verbally stuttered when dad simply called your name.' Nudging him gently, Seth let out a whimper. 'Are you scared of dad?'

Knowing there was no out from this, Noah gave in. 'When he attacked me, I suddenly realize just how powerful and aggressive dad can be. When I see or hear him, all I see is him lunging at me. I know it was a punishment and he wouldn't do it for the hell of it, but I can't help feeling this way.'

Looking over at their parents he growled softly at his father. 'Have you talked to mom?'

Noah shook his head. 'I don't know how.'

'It's mom, of course, you do.' Seth chuckled. 'Listen dad has always been the lean-back kind of guy. I guess he was just scared.'

'Yeah so scared he bit my ear.' Noah flicked the injured ear. It had healed, but the knick on the top remained. 'I'm just a failure to him.'

'Dad never said that.' Seth growled. 'He punished us for failing in telling them what the girls were up to. Because of that, they were hurt and so was Alpha Ziva.'

'He punished me.' Noah snapped. 'I don't see a bite on you.' Shoving his brother off, he jumped over the creek and into the woods.

Seth was stunned for a moment. Not sure what the hell that was about, he shrugged it off. 'Damn cry baby.'

Tony walked over to Ziva, grinning at seeing her back to herself. "I thought you were planning on staying on all fours for good."

"Just a minor bump." Fixing her hair in a messy bun, she took Tony by the hand. "Can we talk for a bit?"

"Sure." Leading her to a bench, he yelped at being pulled away. "What?"

"Let's go for a walk." Knowing Tony hated the woods, she pointed at the woods. "In there."

"I don't do creepy woods." Tony shook his head.

Ziva shoved him forward. "I will protect you. I got teeth and claws now."

"You always had claws Ziva." Tony grumbled at being dragged to his death of that he was certain. "If we find a cabin in the woods, I am leaving your furry ass behind."

"Cabin in the woods?" Ziva never did understand half the things he blurted out.

"It's a horror movie." Tony jumped over a log and plopped himself down on it. "No need to go any further in."

"Fine." Taking a seat beside him, she took in the smells around them. "Being what I am pretty much explains why I am the way I am."

"It makes a few things clearer." Tony agreed. "Your speed and quick healing, although not as quick as theirs, it was faster than normal. Also explains your attachment to Eyal and his pack."

"I suppose, but I wanted to talk to you about earlier." She took his hand. "Thank you for everything you have done."

"Don't. Part of all of this is my fault. If I hadn't shot Eyal none of this would have happened." Tony gave her a sad smile. "I had allowed my jealousy to take control of me. And for that I am sorry. It doesn't mean my feelings have changed, but I understand where I must draw the line."

"I'm truly sorry Tony." Ziva whispered. "I knew there was some affection between us, but I never thought you felt that strongly."

"It's fine Ziver." Tony waved her off. "It's in the past. Who knows I might find myself, someone, here."

Ziva raised a brow. "A she-wolf?"

Realizing what he had said, he quickly shook his head. "Probably not."

Noah ran through the forest letting his wolf take over. In his mind he was curled up in a corner, crying softly. He felt like a failure in his father's eyes. And his father would be right to think so. As the oldest, he'd be the next in line Alpha. But what good of an alpha could he be when he allowed Ewa and Eyla to run off. He should have stopped them. Should have run to his parents.

Jumping over a fallen tree, he landed on the other side only to fall through a dug hole. Hitting the bottom with a loud yelp, Noah felt the darkness slowly begin to overtake his senses. He fought to stay away. He needed to howl for help. Attempting to move he cried out loud at the pain shooting up his leg. Raising his head his eyes widen to see a spiked stick stabbed through his upper leg.

'Mom! Dad!' Noah called for them but received no answer. 'Dad!' Tossing his head back he howled in hopes of anyone hearing him.

In the state of panic, he didn't stop to think about who would dig a hole in the middle of the forest. He didn't stop and catch the scent of hunters lingering smell in the hole. Of the bells hat rung when he first fell through the hole. All he could think about was the pain. The smell of blood. The sound of desperation in his howl.

'Mom. Dad. Please.'