Cris's POV

When morning came, I awoke refreshed. I stretched my body out in bed and my muscles came to life. After checking the clock, I saw that we had two hours left before we had to leave. Our small room was filled with the sound of Corey's sleeping breaths and my ears could make out the deep snores of Shay next door. I hated waking people that slept so contently, but we had to move.

My tummy grumbled and nudged me into action. I was definitely hungry now. Rolling out of bed, my hot feet touched the ice cold floor, and I flinched at the unwelcome jolt it caused. While sitting on the edge of the bed, I realised I was still dressed from last night. I looked over at Corey and saw that he was out for the count, but if I had to get up then so did he! I picked up my pillow and lobbed it at him.

He groaned and turned away from me. Pulling the blanket up over his head he muttered, "Go away Cris, it's too early!"

"No such luck little guy!" I stood and walked over to his side of the room. In one swift movement, I pulled the cover from him.

He squealed as the morning air hit his body and sat up alert. "Alright already, I'm up. Happy now?"

I left the room feeling rather pleased with myself, and by the time I had showered, Corey was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. The smell had also raised Shay from his slumber, and he sat with the biggest plate of steak and eggs in front of him - he looked extremely pleased. Yes I know, steak in the morning is gross, but Shay was a huge carnivorous bear and bacon didn't really cut it. Corey handed me a plate as I walked to the table. I was happy with the lighter option, and settled for an English breakfast. My brother always was good in the kitchen; he was good at a lot of things when he could be bothered.

Once we had stuffed ourselves, the guys showered while I tidied up. Next, we packed a tiny amount of clothes and made our way to meet Jaden. We were glad to find, with the exception of some fisherman heading out to work, that the streets of Barrow were quiet. The morning air was clean and crisp, and my hot breath was visible on the breeze. To my side, Shay and Corey were shivering with anticipation.

When we finally arrived at the outskirts, it wasn't surprising that the whole pack was there. The twins and Lee seemed to be in a better mood, and we promised them if things progressed we'd call. It was sad saying our goodbyes because we didn't know what was going to happen and hated any time apart. Eventually, after some manly hugs and back patting, we stopped putting it off, checked that no one was watching and phased. We left our heavy coats behind with the boys, and they tied the remainder of our belongings in a small sack around our hind legs. It was a hindrance; normally we would store them in hidden spots, but it was an obvious necessity to have them on us where we were going.

The run south was expected to take a while. The rumours had centred around Washington State, and we, being the Inupiat (I suppose some would say Eskimos), lived in the most northern city in Alaska. This meant that to get to Washington State we would have to run through Alaska and along the coast of Canada. The terrain would be hard going, and no one had ever really scaled maps to wolf speed; it could take days for all we knew. Our route would also be lengthened to include a detour, as we had decided to stay clear of Denali.

I started to realise how good it felt to finally stretch our legs and run as a pack with a purpose. We didn't have much need for this back home. As the miles flew by underfoot, I felt our group mind combine; it was filled with laughter and giddiness from feeling so free. A part of me knew it was my wolf side taking over, and I happily let it loose. The constant beat of Jaden's wings above us set our tempo.

The journey itself was beautiful. As we ran further south the landscape started to change subtly. Soon green trees appeared and mountains surrounded us on the horizon. We finally reached the Canadian-American border where we decided to rest. Phasing into human form, we found some thick undergrowth in a forest and threw ourselves down, letting sleep consume us. When morning came, we debated the best way to move forward. We had to be careful now because a polar bear this far south would draw unwanted attention. It was bad enough with two white wolves, but at least Jaden wouldn't stand out.

To keep a low profile Shay agreed to stay in human form. In turn, we would run alongside him while tracking. It meant we would be slower, but it was the best option available. In the meantime, Jaden could fly ahead to keep an eye on our surroundings.

We had planned that our next stop would be the city of Seattle, and after much travelling we reached its suburbs. As soon as we arrived, we started to pick up some old leech scents. We were cautious and decided to stay away from the scent and bright lights, choosing to again sleep rough. I say we 'chose' to sleep rough, however there wasn't really a choice; motels weren't an option because spare cash wasn't a luxury we had. Anything we earned kept a roof over our head, and if we had money left over it was sent to our families.

The next morning, we slowly moved on from Seattle. It was natural for us to track the old Vamp trail, and after some time it lead us to a dreary town named Forks. We started to relax. While we didn't know the area, it felt safer for us to phase in this sunless place and the large acres of forests provided great cover. Once deep inside the trees, Shay was delighted to transform and join us. We then continued forward quietly following the scent into unknown territory.

Hours passed, and the woods seemed never ending. I couldn't help but get lost in the different browns and greens, and my thoughts gradually wandered. This place was as beautiful and surreal as home, where after twenty-five years the landscape and colours of the wilderness still amazed me.

I was brought back to the present by Jaden's thought's piercing the pack mind; anxiety clear as he spoke, "Game time boys. Incoming. Two wolves. Some miles ahead."

I felt Shay's excitement, and could imagine Jaden rolling his eyes at him. "Shay, they look like Cris and Corey!"

"Not just wolves then?" my mind questioned.

"For sure!" replied Jaden.

"Well, at least we haven't wasted our time!" grinned Shay, showing a mouth full of ivory teeth.

"And it's daylight. There's no moon; they're not werewolves," Jaden threw in.

"Well then, looks like we might not be the only skin walkers." Corey, as always, sounded optimistic.

"Damn it! So no fight?" Shay was disappointed.

I processed everything quickly. "Let's just see what follows. Jaden, stay high and use your judgement. If things go sour you're to leave!"

"You mean if you die?" he thought sarcastically.

Ignoring him, I continued; "You two stay here and watch my back; I'm going to phase and see if they'll talk."

I could tell no one liked this plan, but I refused to dive in claws blazing. It was to our advantage to keep Jaden hidden. Besides, I didn't want to fight if they were like us. I took in my surroundings again and listened carefully. I could now hear the sound of heavy paws coming closer. The scent, brought with the drum of their feet, wasn't unappealing like vampires. It was similar to our own - maybe more woody?

Just then their pace slowed, and a huge black wolf and slightly smaller dark grey one came into view. They stopped some meters from us in an attack position, and a growl escaped from the grey one. Corey and I immediately became defensive, however Shay responded to the threat with a deafening snarl, which caused both wolves to glance at him and hesitate. The grey beast quickly resumed his aggressive stance, but surprisingly the black one retreated out of sight. Some seconds later, where the wolf had disappeared a man stepped out of the forest; he was half dressed in old cut off jeans, but his appearance otherwise was much like ours: dark skin, muscular, and he stood as tall as me. His hair was longer though, and his eyes looked tired. Despite all this, the man had the distinct air of authority, and I immediately knew I was dealing with an Alpha.

Sam's POV

Paul and I smelled something new coming towards us and it was our duty to find out what. We had set off expecting a routine patrol today, and were more than a little surprised by the new scent. Our land had been safe for years; all I knew was this wasn't a blood sucker. When we finally reached the clearing, 'unexpected' didn't come close. Fair enough, I could understand the wolf, but the bear? Come off it! I'd seen some things, but a polar bear in Washington? And who the hell was the guy?

Paul's thoughts were an incoherent angry babble, and he immediately started growling. His hackles had been up ever since the scent hit us downwind. In response, the bear let rip a terrible snarl.

Ok... so its teeth were definitely bigger; it made sure we got a good look at them, and its paws were massive!

"Paul, shut up! Don't you dare start a fight ... I'm going to talk to them. If the rest of the pack joins, tell them to come."

Paul wasn't happy I corrected him, but it wasn't my problem he had a hot head; it was just my responsibility to stop him being a pain in the arse. I slowly backed into the woods covering my back and phased. It was a risk, but they hadn't posed a threat so far, and I needed to communicate with the human one. Stepping back out it was easy to recognise the leader was the human.

"I'm Sam." I pointed at myself and paused a few feet away. I was debating the best way to get my point across. "I don't want to be rude, but you're on our land. What's your business?"

I sized up the man; he was like us in so many ways. It was easy to assume they were shape shifters, but friend or foe?

The stranger walked forward and held out his hand. "Cris," he said.

I shook it.

"And we are here because of you." He gave nothing more away, and was neither friendly nor aggressive.

Just then, an owl screeched three times. That was unusual; normally all animals avoided us, and it was also daytime. Both Cris and I looked up at the canopy meters above us, but there was nothing to be seen. When I turned back to look at the man, his face was sceptical.

He looked me in the eye as he spoke, "We aren't here to fight. We just want to talk some things through."

Then I heard it and realised why he looked doubtful; my pack was coming. I was alarmed that he knew before me. His ears had to be better than mine.

I glanced at him as his wolf and bear started to growl again. I raised my hands in a peaceful gesture, "They won't harm you. Just understand that we're wary of newcomers."

As I spoke, I was pleased to see that Jared, Collin and Brady had finally appeared. It was impossible to describe the reassurance I felt from just knowing my back was covered; it was one of my strongest wolf instincts.

In some ways it was luck that not everyone was phased. I still didn't like to involve the cubs and our numbers wouldn't have assured our visitors right now. Plus, I still wasn't sure what this was about, and I didn't want to fight if we could avoid it.

"I have no choice really. I have to believe you. We're clearly outnumbered." Cris was looking past me at the joining wolves and returned to his previous passive manner.

Diplomacy finally got the better of me. "I'd like to invite you back to my house. I can't let you leave just yet, but I'm willing to keep you as guests until we've talked further."

I knew it wasn't the wisest of plans, but I didn't like being in the open forest; there could be more of them. We also didn't know their purpose. At least my house was familiar, and far enough outside of La Push to keep the residents safe.

I turned to speak to my pack, "One of you go ahead and make my house safe." As an afterthought I added, "And find him!"

My mind went to Emily and my unborn child - I didn't want them in any danger. I saw Jared leave, no doubt to take her to Kim and to call Jake.

Satisfied, I motioned for the strangers to follow me and my pack fell around them in synch in case they tried to escape. As I led them to La Push, hundreds of questions ran through my mind.