Tears streamed down Adeline's cheeks. Red, hot, angry tears, streaked down her face before falling and disappearing in the cement. Her face was bloodied and bruised, but nothing could beat the pain in her heart. Adeline had tried so hard to never attack a pack member again, but this time, this time she had not only attacked one, but she had attacked her mother. She had never wanted to die so badly. Adeline wanted to go to Hell so that she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone ever again. Adeline couldn't be trusted, not ever again.

"Oh, Adeline." She heard her mother coo. Adeline didn't lift her head, she kept it lowered in shame and submission. Her whole weight was hanging by her arms, but she still don't move. She couldn't move, she didn't have the energy, the will, the fight.

Adeline was so tired these days, so exhausted. She was tired physically and mentally, but she was also tired spiritually. She was tired of living. Why is my life like this? Adeline wondered for umpteenth time. Why the hell is my life like this?! What did I ever do to you?! Who she was mentally shouting at, she didn't know. Maybe it was directed at the Beast, or maybe at the Moon Goddess, perhaps even at her parents. Adeline blamed everyone.

What had she ever done to deserve this fate?

"Eat." Her mother demanded, pressing the spoon to Adeline's lips. Lifting her lip in a snarl, she turned her head to the side, refusing to open her mouth.

"You will eat this young lady, right now." Alexandra's voice was stern, but it was also tight. The Luna was fighting her rising temper.

"No."

"Excuse me? What did you just say?" Alexandra's voice was a mixture of shock and fury. Adeline had never straight up disrespected her, and the Luna was more than ready to put the girl in her place.

"I said . . . No. No, I am not gonna eat." Adeline's voice was quiet, but everyone in the small room heard just fine.

Alexandra was silent for a moment, probably trying to deciding on whether or not she should slap her daughter. Adeline could feel her mother's eyes on her and the waves of fury, but Alexandra shocked everyone.

"Clint," she addressed the Gamma of the Pack, who was leaning against the wall. He stood up straighter as Alexandra continued to glare at her daughter. "Get the one ounce vial of Wolfsbane and a feeding tube."

Baring his neck in submission, the Gamma made his way over to the large row of cabinets that stored all of the herbs and sedatives. The wolf was the size of a mountain, and was just as silent as one. Clint made everyone around him nervous with his eerie amber eyes, emotionless face, and dominant aura. Clint had the dominance and maturity to be Beta, but he insisted that he was fine being Gamma. The Alpha pair strangely didn't pressure him once he refused the title as Beta, but they still liked him. He was a deadly predator and great warrior after all.

Adeline bared her teeth in aggression as Clint walked around her, the scent of poison tickling her nose.

"Hold still." Clint's deep voice whispered, but Adeline didn't listen to him. Thrashing wildly as snarls poured from her lips, Adeline could feel the Beast rising. The monster was determined to win and to watch the world fall.

The chains shackled to her wrists were tearing into the flesh, but she refused to stop writhing and squirming. Adeline didn't want to eat, she didn't want to get better. Either starvation kills me, or my wolf, Adeline thought darkly. They can chain me up all they want. I will die, eventually, then I won't be able to hurt anyone ever again.

"You will not win and the world will fall! My maker will rise and take her rightful place as deity! YOU ALL WILL BURN!" The Beast howled through Adeline's mouth. Just as Adeline's mouth opened again, Clint plunged the needle deep into her arm.

????

Sasha White smirked at her rather put out mate. They had been sitting in the same position for the pasted six hours, and he was starting to get as cranky as a cat in water. Desmond was a naturally patient, calm wolf, but the endless jokes and channel changes had that effect on a person . . . or wolf; it really didn't matter to Sasha. Whatever floats your boat, she would say often to anyone who took offense to her, I-don't-care-what-you-think, attitude.

"For the loving grace of the moon!" Desmond growled, slapping Sasha's hand away from the button that would change the music channel. "Stop changing the channel, woman! I like this song, and the past three hundred you changed."

"But this music sucks!" Sasha exclaimed, throwing her arms out in front of her, as if to trying to prove a point. "I keep suggesting better stations but you keep rejecting them! They need love too!"

Desmond let out a snort as his fists gripped the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles turning white.

"My music doesn't suck." He growled, "If anything-"

"How about we stop here?" A warrior suggested as the van passed a run down gas station. Sasha turned away from her mate to look out of the window; the gas station was the very definition of run-down. There was just one lonely gas pump that she doubted still worked, the cement was cracked and overrun by escaping weeds, and the little building was boarded up.

"Your observation skills are just sad, Mr. Detective." Sasha grunted. "The only way we'll stop there is to dump a body; but I will never tell you if I do that, because you'll be the one I'll be dumping!"

When Desmond placed a reassuring hand on her thigh, trying to smooth back his mate's ruffled feathers, Sasha ripped her leg from his hold, and practically snarled at him.

"Sasha," Desmond warned.

"Don't 'Sasha' me." She growled, folding her arms across her chest as her stomach rumbled. "I'm hungry, bored, and bleeding through my vagina like a freshly butchered hog. It's not my fault that I want to strangle you and everyone else in this damn van! I'm surrounded by idiots!"

"We're almost to the Pack House, love." Desmond said gently, but Sasha could hear the tension in his voice. Desmond might be an unusually calm and organized wolf, but being two-thousand miles away from their home pack could make any wolf tense.

Slumping in her seat just as her uterus chose that time to stab itself, Sasha let out a loud groan. Even though she had only been married to her mate for a little over a year, she was ready for children. After having a monthly bleed for the last fifteen years of her life, nine months of no bloody panties, early morning surprises and killer cramps were sounding pretty nice.

Sasha turned her head towards Desmond when his phone let out a series of rings. Someone was calling.

"Hello?" Desmond's deep voice addressed to the caller calmly, but his green eyes were anything but calm.

The person on the phone said something, but since Sasha was only human, she couldn't hear what had been said.

"No," Desmond snapped. "My mate needs food and rest first. She cannot see when her body is fatigued."

When Desmond said see, Sasha groaned inwardly. For Oracles, seeing meant a lot more than just the sight in her eyes, but it referred to the visions she saw when she touched someone's forehead. Sometimes when she touched someone, the vision came willingly, but more often than not, she'd have to push her power into the person's mind to extract the vision herself. Not only was extracting a vision tiresome, but it was painful; for her and the person with the stubborn vision. Sometimes, being an Oracle could really suck.

"I understand that, Alpha Manson." Desmond exclaimed in his annoyingly calm voice. Sasha hated when he used that voice on her, but she especially hated it when he used it on others. She loved Desmond to pieces, and was very humbled that he only showed her his true self, but that didn't stop her from wanting to strangle him some days. Her mate was a very private man, and around others, his emotions and face would harden into stone. Sasha remembered a time, not to long ago, that he was that way around her too. She was more than happy that those days were gone.

"Sasha will rest for a few hours, then, before the fall of dusk, she will visit your daughter." Sasha heard some muffled growls on the phone and chuckled. Desmond's green eyes sliced away from the road and glared at Sasha. That only made her grin widen.

"Yes," Desmond nodded. "We shall arrive in about thirty minutes." Pulling the phone from his ear, Desmond tossed it into the cup holder besides him.

"We're almost to the Pack House?" Sasha asked with a raised eyebrow.

Desmond shot her an annoyed glare as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

"We'll be there in thirty minutes, like I just said." Desmond said in his annoyingly calm voice of his; but that didn't fool Sasha, tension was evident in his voice and posture. Sasha knew that her mate wasn't annoyed with her, but with the fact that they were so far from their pack. As the Delta of the West Pack, Desmond had the weight of pack responsibilities on his shoulders. Sasha's mate was very work-oriented, and put his work before himself most of the time, but don't let that fool you. Desmond would, and has fought for Sasha countless times. She was always his first priority.

The van dropped into silence as greenery zoomed past. Everyone seemed to sink into their thoughts as they got closer to the feral wolf Sasha was supposed to see. Sasha had heard a little about the girl, and from what she had heard, she could gather this much . . . Adeline was a mess. A part of Sasha wanted to tell her mate to turn the van around and head back to California, but another part shut her mouth. 'This girl is special', Sasha's subconscious told her, 'Much will change, and for it to be good, Adeline must be fixed'. What will change, Sasha wasn't sure, but her twenty-three years of life had taught her to trust her gut and mind.

"Do we turn here, Finnian?" Desmond asked, pressing on the brake pedal to slow the van to a crawl.

Sasha turned in her seat to look at the wolf in the back of the car. Finnian Vogel was the Beta of the Western Pack, and a very young one at that, but the young wolf had proved his worth time and time again.

"Yes, then make a right after a few miles." Finnian winked at Sasha, causing her cheeks to warm. Finn was a very handsome wolf, especially with his dark hair and eyes, and devil may care attitude. If Sasha didn't know and love her mate, then she would've seen Finnian as more than just a potential friend; but Sasha was a taken and happy woman. Finnian was nice and handsome, but just like any other man, Sasha acknowledged his looks, and moved on. The only one who captured her eyes and attention was the very wolf glaring at her.

"Can you please refrain from thinking of other males?" Desmond growled through their mind link.

Sasha shrugged, "Can you please refrain from snooping through my thoughts? We've been over this, D, if you don't like what I think, then you shouldn't chime in."

The response Desmond shoot back made Sasha blush in embarrassment, but it also sent a wave of excitement over her.

"We can do that instead of-" Sasha halted as her current bodily status entered her mind again. "You mother trucker!"

Her response caused the corners of Desmond's mouth to turn upwards as his deep laugh filled her mind. Sasha loved her mate's laugh, it made her want to purr like a satisfied cat, but unfortunately that usually didn't last long. Most of the time, she wanted to either kiss him senseless or stab him with a spoon.

The sound of a throat being cleared drew her from her thoughts.

"When the van stops, I want all warriors out first, then Desmond and myself. Sasha, you get out once we give the all clear." Finnian ordered, his deep voice thickening in dominance. "Understood?"

Everyone in the van nodded, then bared their necks in submission and respect.

Once again, the van fell into silence as the trees began to fade away and farm fields took their place. Unlike the Western Pack, who relied on the rich humans who knew about their existence, the Southern Pack was self-reliant. They grew and raised the food they ate, traded with smaller packs for everyday items, and even built furniture to sell to the local humans. Sasha was impressed at the pack's independence, but then again, being that independent could also be a curse.

After driving for another five minutes, the van slowed before stopping altogether. Leaning forward in her seat, Sasha's golden eyes were met with a large, brick building sitting at least two-hundred feet away.

"D, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Sasha muttered as the door opened and a couple walked out, followed by half a dozen warriors.

Desmond picked her hand up and gave it a reassuring squeeze, but his eyes never left the wolves gathering outside. Sasha could feel his anxiety, his tension. Her mate was ready to defend her at a moment's notice, and he would hold nothing back. Leaning over to her, Desmond placed a firm, possessive kiss to her lips before pulling back.

"Stay in here, please." The Delta's eyes were warm, vulnerable even. Tucking some rebellious curls behind her ear, Desmond looked deep into her eyes, trying to tell her silently about his uneasiness. Sasha didn't need to search for it, their bond was wide open.

When her mate cupped her cheek, Sasha's head pressed into the palm of his hand more firmly. It was a reassurance. She would stay in the car, but if trouble arises, she would be out just as fast as a bucking bull from a holding pen.

Sasha watched as Desmond slammed shut the van door and made his way over to the Alpha Pair. Her mate's posture was one of confidence, and it made her proud to see him so self-assured.

The first to shake Dillon's hand was Finnian. The Beta was a good height above the Alpha, but he still bared his neck. Once the men had clasped hands and exchanged some words, Finnian turned to Alexandra. To Sasha's surprise, Finnian didn't shake her hand or hug her; he simply bent at the waist and bared his neck. The move was no surprise to Alexandra because she just gave him a small smile and nodded her head once. Apparently, the Southern Pack shared the same rule. No touching females that weren't your mates.

Once her mate and the warriors that had accompanied her, introduced themselves, she heard her mate's voice in her mind.

"You can step out, but immediately stand at my side." Desmond's deep voice was a little calmer now, but the apprehension was still evident.

"Finally." Sasha mumbled as she opened the door and stepped out into the heat of August.

Walking up besides her mate, Sasha linked her fingers through his and smiled up at him. In the bright sun of late summer, Desmond's brown hair glowed with natural red highlights. She had always been jealous of his flawless pale skin, dazzling green eyes, and reddish brown hair. He was like the national baseball league's best player, and she felt like the little league player standing besides him. She felt ridiculous sometimes.

"Oh stop that," Desmond growled through the mate bond. "I love every part of you. I love your curly black hair, and your gold eyes. I love your tiny, but curvy form. I love your skin, it reminds me of the purest italian chocolate. Your perfect, and beautiful. I wouldn't have you any other way"

Sasha couldn't respond to that. She physically and mentally could not counter what he had just said.

"Sasha," A feminine voice said. Turning her attention from her smug mate, Sasha gave the Luna a sweet smile.

"I am so glad that you have made it. We have rooms set up already, and plenty of food to go around." Stretching out her hand in a truce, Alexandra looked into the Oracle's bright eyes.

Sasha clasped the she-wolf's hand in alliance.