Running with the Pack - 13. Chapter 13

Life took on a sense of normalcy Ethan was unaccustomed to. Between work, Aiden, and living with the Tucker family, he felt like he had a purpose in life for the first time. The memory of what it had been like to be alone for all those years was present, but seemed as though it was so long ago. He was becoming friends with Jack, who at three years younger saw him as just as much of an older brother as he did Casey and Joe. Ryan and Zach, who at times could be the typical pesky little brothers, were also in their own way helping Ethan get comfortable with family life. Casey, as one of Aiden’s two best friends, watched out for him and made sure to include him in anything they did. Trevor also made him feel like an important part of the group, but he was around less and less as he was away during the week attending a university across the state while still trying to come home on the weekends.

The nice cool days of spring had given way to the warm beginnings of summer. Rafe and his crew rapidly progressed on the house they were building. Ethan still gave his all and worked just as hard as the lycan he was surrounded by. Rafe had given up telling him not to push himself as hard as he did. Those of lycan blood might have more strength and stamina, but you could not prove it by the work the teen put in.

Pulling Ethan aside, Rafe advised him. “Don’t overdo it today. We have a special event to go to tonight.”

“What kind of event?” Ethan’s curiosity piqued.

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” The big man patted him on the back.

Ethan put it out of his mind and got back to work. He figured whatever was going to happen that night would happen; right then he had work to do and people depending on him to keep up. He noticed Rafe shook his head knowing the he was not going to slow down.

When they arrived home that night, everyone got cleaned up and Ethan noticed Mary was not in the kitchen cooking like always. Knowing there was something special, he did not give it much more thought. Once Aiden showed up, the entire family piled into Mary’s van and drove out past the alpha’s house. Parking and getting out, they walked a short distance to a large meadow in the forest. Ethan saw a few people standing around including the alpha and his wife.

Trevor approached Aiden and bumped fists with him before doing the same to Ethan.

Casey repeated the process with his friend. “Glad you could make it. Hope the drive back from school wasn’t too bad.”

“Wouldn’t miss it bro, you know that. Besides, there’s no class tomorrow.”

Trevor and Casey took their usual positions flanking the couple. It always made Ethan smile as it was the same every time, Trevor on Aiden’s left and Casey on his right. Even when the three went wolf, their positions were identical except for Ethan missing from the formation.

Ethan focused his attention on Aiden. “So what’s going on tonight?”

His boyfriend grinned. “You’ll just have to wait and see. We can grab some food while we wait though.”

Filling their plates, they stood around talking with the few pack members who were there while it got darker. Ethan watched as Rafe walked to a fire pit in the center of the meadow and lit the wood already stacked in it. As he observed the activities around him, he noticed Ryan seemed to be getting more and more agitated as sunset turned to dusk.

Everyone gathered into a group and Rafe stood before all those assembled. “Friends and family, thank you for joining us tonight in this extraordinary place on this special occasion. Since we have a new family member with us who’s unfamiliar with what’s happening, I want to explain why we’ve gathered. Yesterday was the summer solstice, which is enough of a reason to come together. Tonight is the beginning of the full moon that will have families and friends doing the same all over the territory in celebration.”

Ryan stripped out of his clothes, screamed out in pain as he dropped to his knees. Mary, Joe and Jack tried to comfort him. Ethan ran over to help, thinking there was something wrong.

Rafe continued. “Tonight, before our family and friends, will be Ryan’s first shift since he is now of age. As the moon rises, the wolf within our son will be set free.”

Ethan turned at the words before focusing his attention back on Ryan.

The young lycan rolled around on the ground in pain, begging to make it stop. Mary, Joe, Rafe, and several others huddled around him; softly talking to keep him focused. Ethan had stepped back over to Aiden to give the others room to help Ryan. He watched, thinking this would be his fate at some point and was a little afraid. Other members of the group had stripped down and were shifting into their wolf form. The full moon slowly crested the treetops, filling the meadow with soft light. As the rays from the satellite hit Ryan’s body, he again screamed in agony. He looked to his parents, pleading for help.

Rafe announced. “It’s time.”

Auburn and chestnut colored fur with sand highlights began to cover Ryan as his body reformed itself from human to wolf. The process took much longer than the smooth and effortless way Aiden transformed. It seemed to take about two or three minutes, but once it was done, a good size wolf rested on the ground panting. Rafe, Mary, and the rest gathered had all shifted into their animal. Only Aiden, Trevor, Zach, and Ethan remained human. Ryan slowly got up on all fours and took his first few steps; quickly getting his balance as he walked on large paws for the first time. He was like an awkward puppy that had not quite grown into his paws yet. Ryan tried a couple times unsuccessfully, but on the third attempt finally let out a prefect howl. Rafe threw his head up and howled at the moon followed by all those in animal form. Aiden and Trevor followed suit letting their human voice carry the call of the wolf.

Ethan walked over to the wolves with no fear in his actions or scent. He approached a sand colored wolf that was Mary. “You’re beautiful. You both are.” Rafe stood beside her and nuzzled his mate, rubbing their faces together in a loving act. Looking over to the alpha and his mate, as well as the others gathered, Ethan was amazed by the variety of colors and sizes.

Ryan had been slowly walking around, getting more comfortable being on four legs instead of two. He turned, saw Ethan in the midst of the wolves, and bounded over happy to show off his new shape. Jumping up as he got near, he landed his front paws on Ethan’s shoulders causing the much smaller human to stumble back. Ryan’s tongue hung out happily as he gave a small woof to his friend and brother.

“You make a great looking wolf too.” He scratched Ryan’s ears.

With a bark and growl from Rafe, all those in animal form took off across the meadow for a group run in the forest; Rafe and the alpha led the way.

Aiden walked up behind Ethan, wrapping his arms around the smaller form. “This was Ryan’s emergence ceremony. It’s a special time for the family and their close friends when a pup shifts for the first time.”

“How come you guys didn’t shift and run with them? I can almost feel you want to.”

“You and Zack can’t change so someone needs to stay with you guys just on the chance a wolf’s instincts get the better of their human side. Trevor volunteered for that. Since you’re my mate and you couldn’t run with the pack, even though part of me would like to, I’d rather be here with you.”

Ethan turned to Zach. “I guess it’s just you and me for a while that are the non shifters.”

“No big deal. I bet you Ryan comes back with fleas.” Zack’s giggling caused the other three to break out laughing.

“I noticed when they took off Rafe and the alpha were side by side. When I see you three run, you’re always a little ahead of Trevor and Casey.”

Both Trevor and Aiden smiled at the observation and Trevor explained. “Since tonight is a family event, the alpha’s a guest. He’s still the boss which is why he was beside Rafe. If it had been a pack event, he would have been in front of all the other wolves with his mate close to his side.”

Aiden nodded at his friend before continuing. “Sometimes though, either the alpha will pick someone else like his mate to lead the run and he’ll stay at the back to make sure the slowest member isn’t left behind.”

“I guess from what the elders said, I can expect my change to be like Ryan’s. They did say it hurts like hell.”

“Our first shift is always painful, but it will be a little different for you. I don’t want to scare you, but you’re body will need to adjust more quickly to the changes so it will be a more difficult shift. You’ll will have less than a month from the bite to your first shift. Ryan was born with this in his blood. It was painful for him, but as long as he didn’t fight the wolf, he was never in any danger.” Aiden tried to explain without causing fear in his mate.

“The doctor went over all that with me so I could get used to the idea. He explained all the risks, but said I’d have you with me when I change and you’d help me make it through.”

After an hour or so, wolves began returning to the clearing and shifting back to human; Ryan would remain wolf until moonset. Once everyone was back, the event took on the atmosphere of a birthday party. Ethan dozed off on a soft bed of grass and was out for the rest of the night.

******

He woke in bed the next morning. Aiden was walking back into the room after getting ready to head to the academy. He kissed the top of his pup’s head. “Try and get some more sleep. I have to get to work.”

“I better get up and ready for work too. It’s not the weekend.”

“After being out so late, Rafe and the family are taking the day off so rest.” Aiden kissed his mate on the lips before heading out.

Ethan tried for about a half hour to get back to sleep before he finally gave up. After showering and dressing, he went down to the kitchen. He began pulling things out of the pantry and getting them ready for breakfast whenever the family got up. He had just finished setting up the coffee maker when Mary walked in.

“What are you doing in my kitchen?” Her attempt at mock annoyance had her giggling with her normal chipper morning joy.

“I couldn’t sleep after Aiden left, so I figured I’d get things ready for breakfast. You always cook for everyone and if it’s a family day off, that should apply to you too.”

She walked over and flipped the switch to start the coffee. “It’s your day off too, so how about we cook together and get it done faster.”

“Deal.” Ethan grinned.

She looked over what he’d prepared and found batter all ready for blueberry pancakes, bacon was prepped to fry up, and eggs were scrambled. They began cooking and it was not long before Rafe and the kids began wandering into the kitchen. Ethan flipped pancakes and filled a plate to set on the table while Mary took care of the bacon and eggs. Ryan looked tired but could not stop going on about how cool it had been changing into his wolf for the first time. Ethan smiled wondering how long it would be before he was doing the same thing. When he had a family before, it had been mostly tolerable in the house aside from the yelling and indifference to his existence. This felt more like what he thought a family should be.

******

With no work that day, Ethan relaxed during the morning. He played video games with the boys and listened to Ryan go on and on about his first change. Jack rolled his eyes. He also helped Rafe with yard work and laughed when the big man called for his three sons to get their asses outside to help as well. By afternoon, Ethan wanted to get out of the house for a little bit and told Mary he was going to walk over to Aiden’s place and wait for him to get off work. It was a warm day, but not overly hot and he enjoyed the feel of the sun hitting him. It felt good to have time to himself. Since he arrived in town, there had been someone around constantly. He was also able to clear his thoughts while walking.

About halfway between the Tucker house and town was a covered bridge crossing over a river. The bridge was about two hundred feet long and new enough to have two lanes for traffic but still retain the appearance of old ones in the area. He had seen people sitting on the railing of the open sides fishing, as well as swimming below. There was a spot in the river deep enough people would jump off the side into the water. With the trees on both sides, the bridge seemed like it should be on a postcard or painting.

Ethan stopped when he reached the center of the bridge seeing two wolves move out of the brush onto the roadway ahead of him; their ears and tails down, they held their heads low. Turning to look behind, three more wolves blocking any escape in that direction. The ones behind him were all snarling and growling, acting much more aggressive than the other two. He balled his fists and slowly moved towards the edge people usually jumped from. The five wolves stalked towards him, penning him in. Ethan tried to keep watch on both ends of the bridge as the five grew closer, hoping someone would drive by and help him.

“I don’t know what your problem is with me, but I’ve done nothing to any of you. I just want a chance at a happy life like anyone else.”

The wolves came closer, growling at him. Ethan was beginning to get seriously pissed.

“You guys know I can’t tell who you are in that shape. It must make you feel real brave, hiding behind your fur. Knowing I can’t identify you if the alpha asks who went against his orders to leave the human alone. I’m guessing Michael sent you since I doubt he’d be man enough to come after me himself. Whatever his reason is for hating me.”

One of the wolves moved a little ahead of the other two by its side and growled louder.

“Well, what a surprise. You didn’t just send someone to attack me for you this time, but decided to come and supervise yourself? Guess you’ll stand back while they do all the work, wouldn’t want you to break a nail or lose another challenge to a human. Yeah, Aiden, Casey, and Trevor explained that whole staring thing from the last meeting. They told me it’s a simple form of challenge. One you lost to a mere human before you had to hide behind one of your friends so you couldn’t see me.”

As Ethan tried to keep an eye on all five aggressors, they failed to notice the faint, sapphire blue glow in the iris of his eyes.

“Really though, five wolves against one human? You probably need that many with you to try and convince yourself you’re not the pack bitch.” Ethan taunted. “Or maybe they’re around because you are their bitch. I had to deal with guys like you on the street. All bark in a group, but legs in the air begging for it in private. You’ll never be man enough to come at me one on one. The last time you attacked me during a fight, you couldn’t even turn me with a bite. You’re a pathetic excuse for a wolf. You are nothing like the strong, kind man your father is. Like Aiden is. You’re weak and only go after people you think are weaker. To make yourself feel strong. Guess what, fur ball? This human isn’t afraid of you. Come at me one on one if you’re brave enough.”

The wolf he thought was Michael growled more aggressively and snapped its teeth as it moved almost within reach of Ethan. He grew angrier by the minute. The faint blue glow in his eyes ignited into a small flame. It began to gain strength as the forced confrontation poured gasoline onto his inner fire.

None of the wolves paid any attention to his eyes as they prepared to attack their prey; their focus on the parts of his body they intended to bite before dragging him off. All could pick up the scent of pure anger rolling off Ethan, not a hint of fear in his scent. This gave at least two of his attackers pause as they held back with their tails tucked. They also failed to notice the sound of the rushing water running under the bridge stopped as it froze over with a thick layer of ice.

Ethan clinched his fists, ready to fight as best he could. He did not know how he would do it, but hoped he would get a shot in at Michael before it was done. The moment the wolves charged him, he swung his fist as hard as he could, striking Michael in the nose. The wolf yelped in pain as bones crunched and pulled back as the others behind him neared their prey. Ethan dropped to protect himself and pulled his legs back to kick out as hard as he could. He briefly closed his eyes and thought of Aiden.

Beneath them, the ice shattered with a loud crash sounding like glass breaking. Small shards the size of pebbles, some razor sharp, flew up from both sides of the bridge. The ice arched over the railing from all sides and aimed in the direction of all five wolves, exploding into little puffs as they pounded into their fur and flesh at high velocity. Ethan only opened his eyes after hearing the painful yelps from the wolves to see them running away, tails tucked between their legs. Seconds later, he collapsed onto the roadway and blacked out.

******

By the time he was found, the river had returned to normal. A pack member driving by saw the boy lying on the bridge in the middle of the roadway. As he approached, he could easily pick up the scent of fresh blood from multiple shifters. He immediately called Emergency Services and the alpha.

John could smell the drops of blood and called in trackers. He knew the scent of Michael and his friends and suspected what might have happened. His eyes flashed in anger over his orders being ignored, especially by his son. He had the trackers follow the blood trails with orders to detain until sheriff’s deputies could pickup all involved.

Doctor MacRae and one of the EMT’s were busy checking Ethan over when the alpha approached.

“Doctor, is he hurt? Did they bite him?”

“I can’t see any injuries on him other than from his hands being clinched tight and a few scrapes from falling I think, clothes are fine. It’s like he just collapsed right here. I have no clue why he’s unconscious and would like to get him back to the clinic for a thorough examination.”

They carefully loaded Ethan into the alpha’s truck to take back to the doctor’s office. On the way to the clinic, the alpha called his beta, who was also the county sheriff and quickly explained the situation. “Dan, I need you to oversee the trackers and handle the investigation at Pine Creek bridge. Also, have someone pick up Aiden and bring him to the clinic. I’ll call Rafe to meet us there as well.”

“Yes, Alpha”, was all the sheriff said before disconnecting to take care of his orders.

Once they arrived at the medical clinic, Ethan was placed in a private room. The doctor hooked him up to the monitors and began his examination. Everything looked normal and after they got Ethan stripped down, he could still find no injuries or bite marks on the boy.

About twenty minutes later, Aiden came crashing through the doors of the clinic followed by the beta in his sheriff’s uniform. “What happened? Where is he?” Aiden demanded.

“Calm down, Aiden.” The alpha stepped in front of the younger wolf. “At this point we don’t know what happened. Ethan was found unconscious and we brought him here.”

Rafe and Mary rushed in a few minutes later followed shortly by Casey and Trevor.

The alpha moved over to speak privately with his beta. “Dan, head back out there and take charge of this personally. Report in if anything unusual is found. When I sent the trackers out, I gave them orders to detain anyone they found. My son was there and involved. Treat him like you would any other suspect. No special treatment.”

The sheriff nodded and was quickly out the door.

Trevor and Casey flanked Aiden as the doctor walked up to him in the waiting room.

Doctor MacRae turned to Aiden and began to explain. “Physically he’s fine. All we can do at the moment is wait ’til he wakes up and see if he can tell us anything. Go sit with him.”

Aiden was shown to the room and walked inside. His mate seemed so small in the hospital bed. Not caring who was around, he laid down behind Ethan, wrapped his strong arms around him, and pulled the boy close. Both Casey and Trevor stepped just outside the door and took up a guard position that was more symbolic than anything.

******

About an hour later the alpha got a call from the Sheriff,

“Alpha, the trackers followed two trails that both led back to your house. They’re holding all five there for now and I’ve got two deputies going to join them. The tracker at the bridge says the scent trails put all five there at the same time as the boy. There’s enough blood and hair at the scene and on the trail to indicate minor injuries, but the strange thing is all five wolves seemed to receive some type of injury.”

“Have them all transported to the jail on suspicion of attacking someone and disobeying an order from their alpha. Notify their families they’re being arrested. You and I will interview them after Ethan wakes up. Send one of your deputies here so we can get a statement from him when he can talk and thank you, Dan.” The alpha pushed his phone back into his pocket.

The doctor checked the monitors periodically and they continued to indicate all was fine. The alpha, Ian, Rafe, and Deputy Bob Montgomery were talking quietly when Ethan shot up in bed with a scream. Doctor MacRae rushed over to the bed while Aiden held him tight trying to reassure him he was safe. Checking his vitals, he was still in good shape with just his heart racing.

“Ethan, you’re safe.” Both Aiden and the doctor told him as his panic began to ease.

Deputy Montgomery, the alpha, and Rafe walked over once Ethan had calmed down.

Ethan looked around trying to figure out where he was while Aiden cradled him in his arms.

The alpha got the boy’s attention. “Ethan, you were found unconscious on the bridge. Do you remember at all what happened?”

He took a deep breath as he collected his thoughts. “I was walking to Aiden’s and got as far as the bridge. Two wolves blocked my path when I hit the middle. When I looked in the other direction, there were three more behind me growling. I got pissed and said a few things about the five to one odds. They charged at me, I punched one in the nose and I think I heard it break. I don’t remember anything after that, other than them running away.”

A few minutes later, the three older lycan left to head to the jail to interview the five prisoners. Mary, Casey, and Trevor stayed with the couple, while the doctor finished and released his patient. Mary drove them home while Casey and Trevor went over to the academy to pick up Aiden’s Jeep before Trevor headed back to his own place. Zack, Ryan, and Jack came running up as soon as they entered the door asking if Ethan was okay.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

Mary went into the kitchen to make stew for dinner while Ethan sat in Aiden’s lap, letting himself be held. He felt a little better after eating and though he would not admit it, liked her mothering him.

******

Down at the jail, Dan took the alpha aside. “John, are you sure you want to be a part of these interviews? I mean if your son’s involved again…” He let the comment drop off not wanting to say more.

“I’ll be part of four interviews. Michael’s I won’t be in the room at least to start with.”

Dan nodded as they entered the interrogation room.

Rafe walked into the room with his hand on the first teen to be interviewed. The enforcer pressed firmly on the boy’s shoulders until he took a seat.

“Connor. You were brought in for taking part in an attack on Ethan Scott. Before you try to deny it, we have physical evidence that puts you at the scene,” the sheriff stated flatly.

“We never laid a paw on him, honest.” The boy pleaded.

“Perhaps if you tell us what happened, this mess can be resolved.” Dan eased his tone to see if that might speed things along.

“We were swimming under the bridge and taking turns jumping, when Chris picked up his scent approaching. It was supposed to be a prank to scare the human.” His own scent shifted when he said the last part.

“Just scare him?” Dan questioned. “Why this particular human? You’ve grown up being around them, gone to school with them, and having them in the community. I’m sure you’re even friends with a few. Why do you guys keep going after him?”

Connor glanced at the alpha before looking back at the sheriff. “No other human’s trying to be turned and become mates with one of our stronger wolves.”

“So you don’t like the idea of true mates joining since one of them’s a human?” The alpha growled out.

The sheriff gulped at the tone his friend was using, not sure if he’d strike out at the suspect. “We know you were injured on the bridge since we found your blood there. Care to tell us how that happened?”

“I don’t know. There was a loud sound like glass breaking and a cloud of something came up from under the bridge hitting all of us hard. It stung so we ran to get away from whatever it was.”

The alpha sat quietly other than his low growl, so the sheriff continued. “Anything else you care to tell us about the incident?”

“He was taunting Michael, like he was trying to get Michael to attack him.”

“Care to elaborate on what he was saying?”

“He called him the pack’s bitch,” his eyes rapidly shifted between the sheriff and alpha, “that would stand by while others did the work for him. He said Michael wasn’t man enough to come after him by himself since he’d already lost a challenge to him.” Connor was almost in tears now.

The alpha finally spoke. “Did my son put the rest of you up to this?”

Connor lowered his head. “Yes, Alpha.”

“What was your role suppose to be? What exactly did my son want you to do to that boy?”

“Kevin and I were supposed to keep him from getting across the bridge. He said… He said we were going to rough him up and we’d all have to take a turn at him since… since he’s a… a fag.” Connor was ashamed admitting the last part.

Picking up the scent of the alpha’s anger, the sheriff took over the questioning again. “That sounds like you were going to do a hell of a lot more than just scare him. Did you think anything you were doing was at all wrong?”

“Yes, sir. From what Tyler was saying about him, he doesn’t seem that bad. We’ve even tried to point that out to Michael, but he won’t listen.”

“Why did you go along with my son on this, knowing it was wrong? I gave orders that Ethan was under my protection and not to be touched.” The alpha’s voice had dropped to a low threatening growl.

Connor finally broke down. “Because it was your son that gave the order to do this, Alpha. He makes us do whatever he wants. He’s heir to the family that’s been alphas of this pack for generations, since its very founding. I was ordered by the person that’s expected to be my next alpha. This is my home and I have nowhere else to go. How could I say no? If I defy him now, then when he becomes alpha he’ll exile me. Or don’t deny him and risk my current alpha exiling me. No matter what, I lose. Most of all because he said any of us that didn’t do what he wanted, we’d suffer the same fate as the human.” Connor was in tears, afraid of what was going to happen to him now and in the future.

The alpha nodded for Rafe to have the boy returned to his cell.

When they were alone John sighed. “I’ve tried to be a good and loving father. I’ve tried to instill a sense of honor and duty to the pack in my son. I know Jackie and I have spoiled him at times since he’s our only child, but we’ve been firm with him whenever needed. I’ve tried to treat him like any other pup in the pack while encouraging him to become a leader. What did I do wrong with him? How have I allowed his actions to go so unnoticed? Is my blindness to what my son was becoming a sign I’m no longer fit to lead?”

“John, you are my alpha and my friend. You’re one of the most loving fathers I’ve known. This isn’t something you or Jackie caused or could have even prevented. We don’t even know why Michael’s doing this yet, not that his reason matters. Given your command to the pack when you introduced Ethan, this could all go very badly unless you intervene on your son’s behalf. As far as your ability to lead, there’s no one who could challenge you, nor anyone with your integrity and ability to lead. The fact you can still question your leadership at times shows you are a true and honorable leader.”

“Dan, would you handle the rest of the interrogations? Given my son’s level of involvement, and what Connor said at the end, I need to take a step back from the rest of the investigation. Grill my son as hard as you see fit, regardless of him being my son. And go after his friend Chris just as hard since he was at the last attack as well. Also, talk to Tyler about the attack he took part in. Use anything Connor said to provoke my son or Chris into becoming angry to see if they slip up. Give me your report when you’re done with a recommendation from you and the pack council. Regardless of it being my son, nothing is off limits. Do we understand each other?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

******

When the alpha got home he was greeted by his mate. “How bad is it, John?”

He sat down hard in a chair and looked up at her. “It’s about as bad as it could be short of him killing the boy. He deliberately defied an order from me and used his position as our son to blackmail at least some of his friends to go along.”

Jackie sat down in his lap and put her arms around him kissing him on the cheek. “I’ll support you in anything that needs to be done to handle this. I’m your mate and his mother first and I love him unconditionally, but as your wife I have to consider the well-being and future of the pack.”

“How did I get so lucky to have you as my true mate? Dan’s handling the rest of the investigation and will present his report to me with a recommendation from the council when he’s done.”

“Did the boy get hurt bad?”

“That’s the thing; he didn’t get hurt at all, thankfully. They planned to beat and rape him. Damn it, our son was going to rape someone and forced his friends to participate.” John rubbed his temples. “This attack pretty much confirmed for me what I already suspected about Ethan. Though I still have no actual evidence. He was able to defend himself against five adult wolves though it left him unconscious. He may think he’s just a human, but it seems he is much more.”

“We talked about this before. You know I’m asking this only because you need it asked before others come to you with the same question. Could whatever Ethan is be dangerous to the pack?”

“No. Absolutely not. He has only acted in his own defense, though none of us have any idea what it is he actually did. I don’t think he has a clue what he really is or that he’s anything but an average human. Being Aiden’s mate, I know he is destined to become a wolf, so that alone to me says he would never harm the pack and could become its greatest defender. Thank you though, for playing devil’s advocate when I need it.”

“You’ve already decided what needs to be done, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have.”