Sorry about the wait guys! Been working on finishing WTFD, but I'm gonna try to focus on this one again, because I love werewolf Delena :)

Anyway, yall enjoy!

Three weeks.

That's how long I'd been locked in this cage.

That's how long it had been since I'd turned into a...even thinking the word is too hard.

I laid on the cot, staring at the ceiling, fighting the urge to break down into tears, or scream.

Or both.

But I'd already learned that it did no good.

Alaric Saltzman, my new Alpha, had proved that no amount of screams, tears, or curse words would change his mind on letting me out.

I hadn't understood the need for keeping me locked away.

At least, not until a few days ago.

I shivered at the thought of what had nearly happened.

Being a...a wolf...it was the strangest feeling in the world.

Absolute freedom and complete enslavement, all at the same time.

You are chained by the animal and its instincts, unable to deny what it demanded of you, even if the human part of your brain knew that it was wrong.

I'd gotten free and had tried to run away.

I'd ended up in town, scared, hungry, and on edge.

There had been a family out...a little boy with his mother, leaving one of the stores on an otherwise empty street.

I'd been a breath away from attacking them when the others had caught up to me and dragged me back to the Pack's land.

When I turned back, and realized what I'd almost done, I began to realize the cage wasn't so much a prison as it was a safeguard.

I was a monster now, and it was the Pack's insurance that I wouldn't go revealing our existence by killing innocent bystanders.

So I was stuck here, laying in silence...waiting without answers.

Eventually though, my daily company arrived.

Alaric...my only companion for the past three weeks, here for yet another lesson.

The stair creaked as he descended them, and I pulled myself up from the cot.

His scent hit me just as he came into my vision, and it was strange that I was beginning to notice the differences.

Another perk of my new existence I suppose.

"Elena," he said, as cheerful as one could fake being under these circumstances, "You're already awake."

"Well considering there isn't much to do in here besides sleep…"

"You finished the books then?"

I stared down at the pile of paperbacks he'd let me borrow.

Unfortunately all that was left of them shredded pages and half chewed covers.

"My bad."

He chuckled a little, "Don't worry. There are copies….how are you feeling today?"

"Bored," I said, giving him the same answer I had every other day, "Frustrated. Irritable. Testy. Should I go on?"

"I think I get the point," he said kindly, which was even more frustrating.

No matter what I did, he never reacted any differently than this polite indifference.

As if he'd seen and done and heard anything I had to throw at him.

And hell, maybe he had.

"You should be happy about today then," he said as I wrapped my fingers around the poles of my cell.

"Oh yeah? And why's that?"

"Because I'm going to let you out."

I blinked, a sharp ache of hope rushing through me, "You are?"

He smiled at the sound of my voice and nodded, "I think you've earned it. You've done well this week, controlling the wolf. And there's enough of the Pack here today to help out, in case anything happens."

"Damon?" I question longingly.

Alaric's expression dropped and my stomach followed.

"No. I'm sorry. He has to stay away for a while more...punishment for breaking our law."

"For turning me," I recalled.

In all honesty, I wasn't sure how my reunion with him was going to go.

It was a big enough pill to swallow that the man I'd planned to marry was a fucking werewolf.

And on top of that he'd turned me into one as well.

I felt as if I deserved an explanation, and hoped like hell he had one.

Because as frustrated and confused as I was, I missed him, and I wanted him back to tell me why he'd done what he had.

"But the others," Alaric continued, "Stefan, Mason, Enzo, and Tyler...they'll be here."

Meeting them had felt like a lifetime ago, but knowing I'd get to see a familiar face, however unfortunate the circumstance, excited me.

"So you're letting me out now?" I asked, straightening.

Alaric walked over to the cage, "As long as you can assure me that you will do your best to control yourself. Stay in human form until we all go out to Change. I don't want to take any chances."

I nodded solemnly.

It wasn't as if I was going to volunteer to go hurt people, and the pain of the Change wasn't something I was willingly going to put myself through.

"I swear."

He nodded, then pulled out a key and unlocked the door.

It took everything in me to keep from sprinting up the stairs and out of the house, just to feel the fresh air outside, but I knew that any sudden moves wouldn't do me any favors in the trust compartment.

And I did want Alaric to trust me.

Because the sooner he did, the sooner I didn't have to stay in that damn cage anymore.

It was just hard to keep in mind that he wasn't keeping me a prisoner to be cruel, but to be safe.

After all, it wasn't his fault that I was a new werewolf, prone to emotional explosions and instinct driven.

And the person who's fault it was was too far away for me to do anything about it.

I sighed deeply, and looked around the room I was in.

The basement, stacked with a mess of books and scrolls and records.

I'd stared at it for hours through my bars and had seen all there is to see within its confines.

"Can we go upstairs?" I asked.

Alaric nodded, "If you want."

I moved towards the steps and actually found myself afraid of ascending them.

What if I did lose control?

"It'll be alright," Alaric assured me, "We'll take care of you, don't worry."

His tone was a comfort and I believed him.

So with a deep breath, I took a step, then another, and another.

The landing at the top of the stairs brought with it an entire new collage of scents.

I breathed them in, unable to separate them, but happy to have something other than the smell of pages to fill my nose with.

"Why don't I give you the tour?" Alaric offered.

Not really knowing what else to do, I nodded, "Sure."

"This way," he motioned, moving past me to walk down the hall, and I followed him.

We ended up in a room that was very familiar to me, the foyer.

The first part of the house I'd really seen, on the day Damon had brought me here.

"The library is in there," Alaric pointed, "And my study, which you've seen, of course, and around the corner there is the kitchen, but everyone is in there at the moment, so we'll save it for last."

I nodded and he motioned to the stairs.

Scents of each of the guys hit me as we reached the upper floor, though one in particular stood out.

Walking ahead of Alaric, I stopped in front of a door that was just down the hall.

I breathed deeply and felt my eyes sting a little at the familiarity of the smell.

Slowly, I lifted a hand and touched the door.

"That's Damon's room," Alaric confirmed what my senses were telling me, "You can smell him, can't you?"

I nodded, and swallowed back tears, "Can...can I go in it?"

"Usually I'd say no," he admitted, "But given that it's you, I don't think he would mind."

I gave him a small smile of gratitude and turned to the door.

It opened easily, and Damon's scent was even stronger inside of it.

Whiskey, woods, leather, and some kind of dark spice.

I swallowed again and stepped across the threshold.

Alaric did his best to give me privacy, and I appreciated it.

Especially as I looked around the room and was hit with a fresh wave of pain.

It was so...Damon.

Simple, slightly messy, yet oddly organized.

He had books stacked on one wall, clothing items scattered around at random, and cultural items from his studies placed on mantles and shelves.

The bed was large, the blankets made, but crumpled, as if he'd been lying on top of the sheets at some point.

There was an adjoining bathroom, but nothing really stood out about it.

There was nothing really personal in the room either, I noticed.

No photographs or sentiments.

But it was his, nonetheless.

I turned around and walked back toward the door, suddenly unable to spend another second surrounded by that smell.

"Let's go see the others," I said to Alaric, hoping he'd agree because I could've used the distraction.

He nodded, "Alright."

Luckily, a distraction is exactly what I got, in the form of a rowdy bunch of overgrown boys.

The second we entered the kitchen, and were noticed, voices started up.

"There she is!"

"You're finally letting her out to play, huh?"

"Alaric, are you sure this is a good idea? What if she-"

"Oh, who cares! Give the girl a break, would you!"

"Says you, who's been itching with curiosity to see her."

A laugh.

"As if you haven't. We all wanted to!"

"I still can't believe Damon did it."

"Well what did you expect-"

"Enough," Alaric chided them, raising a hand, "I won't have you overwhelming her."

They obliged, but I couldn't help but smile.

This at least, was familiar.

Especially as Enzo smiled and Mason sent me a wink.

They were acting the same as they had on the other occasions I'd seen them, and I nearly had to remind myself that they'd been apart of Damon's secret.

"So," I began as they all began sitting back down, "You're all wolves?"

"Born with the gene," Mason nodded.

"We didn't go through the Change until a couple years back though," Stefan added.

"Yeah and it hurt like a bitch," Mason continued, before glancing me over, "How're you holding up?"

"As well as you'd expect for someone who just had their life flipped upside down and has been shut in a cage since," I told him as I took one of the empty chairs, "But thanks for asking."

Enzo chuckled from a few seats down, "Still touchy, I see."

"She's adjusting," Alaric spoke for me, "And if your remember what it's like to have instincts you can not control respond to every question you have, you'd be a bit more sympathetic."

I smirked at the scolded look that crossed the guy's face.

"Don't worry about it," Mason addressed then, "The instincts balance out some eventually. You just gotta try not to kill anyone in the process."

He and a few of the others laughed at the look I gave them, and Alaric sent them a stern glare, "That's enough."

"Oh we're just picking," Mason defended, "You can hardly blame us."

"Yes, well I think your mouth would be better put to use eating your food," Alaric told him, "And Tyler, why don't you pass some to Elena."

The younger Lockwood nodded, and handed me a bowl full of biscuits.

Someone else, a man who was unfamiliar to me but bore a striking resemblance to both Mason and Tyler, gave me a plate as well.

"Here you are," he said, and put a slab of ham onto it, "Eat up."

I took one look at the food and wanted to devour it, but something in my mind forced me to strike down that particular urge.

After all, being an animal didn't mean I had to be an animal.

So I picked up the meat and took a bite.

The others continued their meal, but resumed the conversation that they must have been having before Alaric and I had joined them.

"I'm just saying," Stefan said, "Perhaps it will be good for him. That pack is hardly threatening and he did get along with Oscar."

"Yes but it's Damon," Enzo pointed out, and my attention jumped, "He hardly gets along with anyone."

"Considering what he did though," Mason piped, "I think time away is fitting. I mean, do you know anyone else that would have the balls to try and Change a fema-"

"You're food is getting cold," Alaric cut him off, clearly not wanting this line of conversation to continue in my presence, but something Mason said had grabbed my interest.

"Are women not allowed to be Changed?" I asked, and all of their eyes jumped to me.

I blushed a little under their gazes, "I mean...is that why it's illegal?"

Mason opened his mouth to answer me, but Alaric cut him off, "Biting any human without permission is against our laws. It's risks exposure and needs to be done safely."

"But he said it was ballsy to bite a female," I pointed out, and could almost feel a level of tension in the room.

Surprisingly, it was the strange man, who responded.

"Alaric, she'll need to know eventually."

"Not now, George," the Alpha said, and I got the sudden impression that something was going on that I wasn't meant to know about.

"What are you talking about?" I pressed.

"Nothing," Alaric said, meeting my gaze, "Try one of the biscuits, they're quite-"

"You're lying to me," I said, feeling the flip of my emotion to annoyance, "Why?"

Alaric sighed deeply, "I'm not lying. There are just certain things that need to be revealed in time."

"Yeah screw that," I said, "I've had enough with surprise reveals, so why don't you just tell me what's going on!"

"Elena, you need to calm down-"

Yeah, because that was totally going to work.

"And you need to tell me the truth, now!" I insisted, standing to my feet.

I felt itchy in my skin, as if the Change was preparing for something, and I tried to take a deep breath.

"Please," I added, "I...I don't like secrets."

Alaric stood as well, and eyed me, "Alright. But let's step outside."

My own eyes narrowed, "Why?"

"Because I don't think you're going to like what I have to tell you," he answered gravely.

I swallowed, but followed him to the back door, slightly aware of the others getting up to follow us.

Being outside was slightly distracting, my senses jumping to the new surroundings.

There were so many colors that somehow seemed clearer, so many sounds, and smells.

It didn't feel real.

I looked around at the spacious yard, then the surrounding forest.

It was so remote, so perfect for a family of werewolves, I realized.

And the house, with it's wide patio and stone coloring was simply beautiful.

But that wasn't why we were out here.

I took a few more breaths, and forced my brain to refocus, "Alright. We're outside...what is it that I need to know?"

Alaric waved the others back, wanting us to have at least the illusion of privacy, before speaking.

"In the past, there have only ever been born male wolves. The gene is biologically passed down from father to son. Daughters simply don't inherit the gene from their fathers."

I frowned, unsure of what he was getting at, "Okay…"

"There are only two ways to become what we are," he elaborated, "To be born or bitten. Each of us here were born. You however, like Damon, were bitten."

I automatically reached for the hand that held the scar from Damon's teeth, and remembered the sting from that bite.

"There have been a few in the past," Alaric continued, "Who have tried to bite a female, for one reason or another, but each and every time, the female died in the first Change. Once it became clear that this was specific to the gender, it became against our law to even make the attempt."

I could only stare at him as I tried to work out his words in my head.

When I ran them through the second time, and they still unfolded with the same meaning, I laughed dryly, "Wait...so you're telling me that...that no other female has ever...that I'm-"

"You're the first I have ever seen or heard of, to survive the Change," Alaric said, "The first female werewolf in the history of our existence."

I scoffed, "No...see that's impossible. Because Damon wouldn't have…"

He watched as it clicked in my mind and my throat contracted.

Damon wouldn't have bitten me, knowing it would kill me...knowing that no other female had survived a bite.

No, Alaric had to be lying.

"You're lying," I accused, stepping back.

"I'm not," he said sadly, "You are the first to survive."

"But Damon bit me," I stated, "He wouldn't risk my life!"

Mason grumbled something, and I turned on him, my eyes stinging, "What?" I demanded.

He straightened, "Nothing."

"No. What the hell did you say?" I marched toward him.

"Just that Damon might have thought it was worth it...you know, to be able to tell you about all this."

"Worth my life?" I exclaimed, and he shrugged.

I swallowed, and swallowed, and swallowed, "No...no he wouldn't…"

But then I remembered his argument with Alaric.

About how we'd have to leave.

Alaric hadn't wanted me here, and now it was clear to see why.

Had Damon really bitten me on the one in a million chances I'd live and get to stay here with him.

I recalled him stumbling in after the bite, and Alaric's words.

Either way, you've killed her.

A sharp pain shot through me and I cried out as my knees buckled.

"Elena?" a few different voices were around me, but my vision gave out and I felt the wolf emerge.

Sad chapter, but important for the story!

Let me know what you thought :)