My alarm woke me up at too-early o'clock and I dragged myself out of bed and yawn. My heavy feet thumped loudy as I walked down the little stairs to grab something to eat. No-one was awake yet so I had to be quiet as I scoffed down some cereal and phoned Rico to see if he was up, it was answered on the first ring so I guess he was having to be quiet too. My packs patrols were really strict but you never had to work yourself to hard. Everyone had a partner and I trusted them to patrol and raise an alarm if anything seem weird or odd. I went with Rico, Henry with Chase, Liam with Ronald, and James with Lloyd and Colin. Until about a year ago there were wolves patrolling 24/7 but we had had about 5 years with no weird disappearances or odd smells so we now only patrolled 5am – 10pm and with 8 wolves it wasn't hard. We had the day split into 4 shifts, and there was a calender at everyone's houses that my dad and I make at the beginning of every year, so that everyone works fair. I was currently thinking up a new one. Today, Rico and I had the 5am – 9am, Liam and Ronald had 9am-1pm, Henry and Chase had 1pm-6pm and the Trio (James, Lloyd and Collin) had 6pm-10pm.

I raced out the front door, into the woods and phased.

Yo Boss. What's the route today?

He asks the same dam question every time, and he should know its a pattern. Route 1, Route 2, Route 1, Route 2.

OK then so I haven't a memory, just answer the question?

'ROUTE 1' I screamed, can you even scream in your head?

I loved running. I could run, for what seemed like forever, I would listen to the sounds, or watch the trees race around me. Today, I just saw everything in Rico's head. It was mainly him thinking about Kayla, his imprint, and how much he loved her. I wished I would imprint. People are forever asking me out but I won't go out with them in case I break their heart if I do ever imprint. I couldn't look into it much further, reading someone's head was hard, like there was an invisible wall that you had to press up really close to be able to hear what's going on the other side. You never got the full picture so it would sometimes be disjointed and wouldn't make sense, and when Rico started running faster I lost connection with him and had to speed up to tell him was time to go home.

Being a wolf, it was sometimes awesome and other times dreadful, and although I am the alpha now, but dad has to attempt to phase at least once a month, to keep immortality to live with my mum. It's a really confusing and messed up family, but I look older then my dad, and yet I am only 17... My mum is half vampire, and dad a werewolf so Carlisle believes I'm ¼ Vampire, ¼ Wolf and ½ human. I need blood occasionally, maybe, once a month? I simple go hunting like I would if I lived as a wolf permanently but use the blood not the meat. Animal blood seems to be absolutely fine for me, but I have never tried human blood, and I never get the blood-lust I know the Cullen's get.

A phased into my human form, and shoved the shorts that were in a little cupbaord on the edge of the trees for me to use to change into, and ran into the house, I walked into the house, went straight upstairs and into the shower. Running exhausts me when it has no interesting scents to follow, or distintive paths, although the trail may be weak and confusing, for some reason the thrill of following something makes time fly faster the usual. The scent of vampires really isn't as bad as the old pack make it out to be, they used to say it burnt their nose, and that even when you got used to it it was vile but to us, was just a sweet but bitter, citrus smell. It wasn't nice, but neither was our scent to them. When a no-mad crossed through a few years ago I went to my Dad for advice, he told me to follow it until it is at least 10 miles out of LaPush and they were no way it could of looped around. Simple. He also mentioned that following a Vampire trail is easy as long as you know that you are following a vampire, and that you need to kill what you're following 'an Instinctive Pull' he had described it, but again, he was making it out easy then it needs to be! I had to keep stopping to check where it was headed, and it was very easily confused with other scents. But it was nothing, I had all the wolves following it and after a week, the trail was too weak and the search was useless. There were no news reports that read 'missing person' or 'murder' so we assumed he/she was just passing by. I had never told my dad it was hard, I thought that my pack might be bad at it or something.

I pulled on some jeans and a white t-shirt, grabbed my phone from the side and slipped it into my back pocket. I raced down the stairs and I was surprised that everyone was up, and ready! Normally Samantha is in her Pjs until like 12, and it was just past 10. Henry and Marie were playing some gay game on the Wii and Samantha was sat up at the table talking to mum who was making pancakes, for me I hoped. I slid into the chair next to Samantha (Who was called Samantha after 'Sam' who was the 'alpha' of the old pack – but she hated being called Sam)

"Morning Mum, Morning Samantha," I greeted them very politely.

"Hey hunnie, How was your patrol, well don't for not waking any of us up this morning..." Mu was so happy and chirpy all the time, I loved it,

"Patrols Good. Nothing at all. I wish I could just stop this stupid patrols, they are useless and we all know it. We're safe."

"Babe, why do you think they are stupid?" she was weerily asking while slipping a chocolate pancake in front of me.

"I had a good look into everyones mind last pack meeting, and I mean a good look. I dug, to see why they were all so down, and none of them where like themselves, they where like a shell, and an empty shell."

Mum gave me a confused expression, so I continued,

"They hate having to be wolves. They don't mind when their busy doing something, or following a strangers scent. How did Sam and Dad do it? When I was told the pack histories all I heard is about how the cold ones make the magic appear and can make them want to to fight, but my pack don't seem to even care wether they are following a Vampire, animal or human." I tried to make mum understand.

My mum struggled for words, but then said,

"have you spoke to dad?"

"No, I don't want him to think I am a bad alpha " I replied, scoffing down the pancakes.

She looked at me with a disapproving face. I knew she was going to tell me that dad would never think that, but I could always sense that he was thinking it.

"I know what you're thinking, but I really want to be able to tell the whole pack that they can stop phasing – at least those who have imprinted, they need to move on now, after the whole voltouri thing that saved your life, no one has stepped into our land with any intention to fight."

My mum stared at me... and I could tell that I had said something that confused her, it was strange, I don't think I had said anything that would make her look like this. I thought back on what I said, and didn't say a word until I knew I had said nothing out the ordinary...

"Mum...Mumma...?" I whispered...

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'YOU WISH YOU COULD', MASON YOU ARE THE TRUE ALPHA OF THIS PACK WHY CAN'T YOU SAY THAT THEY CAN? - IT'S YOUR PACK AND YOU DECIDE WHAT HAPPENS..." My mum exploded, "I WOULDN'T HOLD YOU BACK IF YOU WANT TO STOP PHASING'

I did want to stop phasing, I really wish I could, but like I said, I can't tell my pack what to do, I can order, but if they don't want to stop phasing, they don't have to. I cannot force my pack to do something, they just listen to me to make pack life easier, Lloyd has said sometimes that there is a streak of demand in my voice when the packs life is threatened..

"Mum, I've told you before, I hate having to force the pack into something." I explained.

"Wait, you can't order the pack around?" Mum was questioning me now.

"I probably could if I had to" I continued...

WOW. I didn't realise that mum cared that make about the pack. By the time I had time to think up the last part of my sentence my mum had dashed to the phone and was on the phone – I'm guessing – to my dad.

"why isn't Mason true alpha of his pack?" my mum was saying innocently down the phone. I could hear my dad reassuraring her that I was indeed Alpha. I knew that I was alpha and if I had known bringing this up would be such a big deal..