"We'll start with warm-ups. Pair up and start stretching your muscles. I don't want any of you pulling a muscle under my care. I'm a very busy man." Jamison announced. I'm not the slightest surprised by his declaration. As he paced along the field, I noticed that there were Pack members of the Shadow Hunters loitering on the side lines, watching us with mixed responses.

I spotted Joel and Jane mingled in the loose crowd. They didn't stay long, because the beautiful child between them pointed eagerly towards the swings in the playground.

It had been a surprise when the guy named Emrys announced that we would be training under his watch and with the addition of our humble audience, it caused a ripple of unease to rise.

The presence of Alpha Slater was also a cause for the leaden silence that overtook our afternoon training. He silently stood beside Emrys, watching us all with his usual solemnity. He didn't even blink an eye when a blue bouncy ball smacked him hard in the chest with a sharp pang sound.

All eyes sought out the offender and I was surprised I recognized the little boy as Maxim. He looked embarrassed as he reluctantly dragged his feet across the field to retrieve his ball inches from the Alpha's boots.

He paused half-way and glanced over to his two brothers who were hiding behind a man who must've been their father. The other two musketeers were motioning wildly for him to fetch the ball quickly, whilst his dad watched on with an expectant look.

I hid a grin as little Maxim plucked up some confidence and swallowed a lungful of air. He inflated his chest with air and approached Alpha Slater who was waiting for him with the ball clutched between his palms.

When Maxim drew closer, I felt as if everyone was watching the scene unfold. Instead of remaining at his full height, Alpha Slater lowered himself into a crouch so he was on eye-level with the boy. We weren't close enough to hear what he whispered to the little boy but Maxim practically beamed up at the Alpha as he received his ball before bouncing back to his brothers who shared exuberant hi-fives.

I think I heard a few swoons among the gathered people. I was sure a quarter were from the men themselves.

However, the moment of awe was shattered when Alpha Slater resumed to his full height and struck us silent with his notorious, scary-as-hell-glare.

I quickly dropped onto my butt and began doing sit-ups, pretending like I'd been doing it the whole time. I didn't dare look up when I felt my neck prickle with awareness. I lost count half-way, because that prickle of awareness hadn't faded.

Fortunately, Emrys rounded us up into a line where he inspected us intently.

I realized the man enjoyed rubbing his red beard a lot as he blurted out questions to each of us like a journalist on a new trail for their next story. He also did a lot of mmm-ing and hmmm-ing. I wasn't sure what he was up to, especially when he started to go a little personal with the questions.

For example, when he halted in front of a stoic Kian, he asked him point-blank if he preferred his own sex.

Kian, the ever approachable, simply flipped him the bird.

Emrys took no offence, and actually laughed as he moved on down the line until he was standing in front of me.

I saw the recognition in his gaze when he saw me. He went back to rubbing his beard as he examined me, "Hmmm, what is your name girl?"

I arched a brow. I already knew he knew my name and he knew I knew that he knew who I was but it seemed like Mr Emrys was going to play dumb for appearances sake. As far as anyone knew, we just met today and not on the night I sank my metal stars into some demented wolf pouring foam out from between their set of teeth.

"Aella Spades."

"Sir." He finished.

"Excuse me?" I blinked.

"Sir. You refer to me as Sir." He smirked. Strangely, he didn't sound cocky but rather amused. He made a gesture with his hand. A sign to repeat what he just said.

"My name is Aella Spades...Sir." I emphasized the last part just to irk him off.

He wasn't irked off. He just laughed out loud, throwing his head back and letting the noise spread across the field.

He sounded like Santa or at least the actors who played the man in the movies I have watched when I was a kid.

When he stopped laughing, he wiped the corner of his eye and turned to Alpha Slater who hadn't shared his amusement. "You were right Alpha. She'll be a difficult one to handle. I can just see it." He proclaimed.

Now that caught my attention. I swung my attention to Alpha Slater who no longer looked intense but annoyed at the sudden revelation.

"Emrys." He said bluntly. One word and yet, it sounded like he had promised a serious death sentence.

"C'mon Alpha. Let me have my fun." He grinned. Extra wide.

Judging by the unrelenting look on Alpha Slater's face, Emrys was forced to stop.

"Nice to meet you officially...Aella Spades." He held out his hand. When I clasped his hand, I didn't think it was possible that his grin could stretch any further. I swear there was a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"Likewise." I couldn't help but return his grin.

All this took place under a pair of intense eyes that twitched when the hand-contact lasted longer than necessary.

***

"Are you sure you double-checked all the cameras on the first floor?"

"Yes. I checked all eight cameras, thrice." I replied patiently. I was thinking that I should have a reward for tolerating Jamison's presence.

He opened his mouth, but I cut him off, "And yes, they're all functioning properly. I checked."

All I got was one, petulant eyebrow raise.

1...2...3...4...5-

"Okay." He nodded.

After a report came in that the Alpha would be having a few special guests, we were immediately informed to secure the Pack House. There was no doubt these guests were important if Jamison had me checking all level one surveillance were functioning and in top-notch working order.

"Come." Jamison led me towards the Alpha's office. It was a room that was tucked in the corner with the door always shut and locked.

We stood outside the door in silence. Jamison made no move to knock on it either. I didn't question him, because he looked occupied although he visibly wasn't doing anything.

"Jamison." The Alpha's voice called out a few seconds later. His voice was muffled but Jamison opened the door and quietly strode inside.

The first thing I noticed was how heavily scented it was. Pine and ice. His scent was everywhere with an underlying fragrance of whiskey and leather.

The next thing I noticed was the large bookshelves against the walls filled with what seemed like a never-ending supply of books. There were a lot of historical texts, all chunky and ancient looking, I wouldn't be surprised if they were decades older than me. There were even a few about the Elders of our world, and also the Moon Goddess.

In total, he had three towering bookshelves. One for each wall except for behind his giant burnished desk. A floor-to-ceiling glass window occupied that side. However, it seemed like the bottom of his desk was a bookshelf in itself, lined with five rows of shelves that were also filled to the brim.

He had no useless figurines on his desk, nor any loose things except for a sleek smartphone that had no cracks upon the glass.

There were no chairs to lounge in, nor a coffee table. Heck, the man had no photo frames either except for a dull painting of a solar eclipse pinned to the right book shelf.

If the set-out of his library told me anything, it was that he didn't welcome guests into his office for entertainment. It was unwelcoming for visitors. So by removing anything that would let anyone linger, he did an efficient job by making guests leave quickly without him actually stating it.

"All surveillance have been checked." Jamison started.

"And the guestrooms?"

"All ready for use."

As they continued their conversation, my eyes caught hold of a thin book wedged between two fat spines. I quietly slipped it out and scanned the cover- Peter Pan.

Peter Pan?

The edges of the book were worn out and the pages stained with what looked like coffee marks. One could see it was a well-loved book, or at least, well-read. The heading of Peter Pan was faint and the spine of the book needed some mending.

I discreetly opened to a random page and saw a passage underlined repeatedly with black straight lines-

"And what do you think you're doing Recruit?" Alpha Slater's voice made me almost drop the book. His attention dropped to the book in my hands but his expression didn't change.

I think it was the only reason I dared to say, "I think this book has been misplaced."

"It hasn't." He replied calmly, "It's mine."

"Yours?" I spluttered. Even Jamison looked intrigued as he examined the children's' book with interest over my shoulder.

"Yes."

"You have a thing for Peter Pan?" I found my voice sounded incredulous even to my own ears.

He did one of those slow blinks, that said that he thought I was stupid. "No."

I was sure I looked confused.

"Tinkerbell."

The confession was resolute, with no embarrassment in his tone. I shared a glance with Jamison. He too was surprised by this sudden revelation. Who would've thought Alpha Slater liked a delicate thing like Tinkerbell of all things.

If anything, he seemed like a Captain Hook fan.

"Now return my book."

I quickly slipped it back into its slot, still gobsmacked that he even confessed to liking Tinkerbell of all things. Maybe he was joking, but when I caught his eye, he was still frowning. He looked as if he were daring me to call him out on his little confession. Though tempted, I kept my mouth shut.

"Our visitors today will not be viewed by the public. Keep everyone else who is not permitted to enter the Pack House out and only allow Enforcers inside. The Recruits may have entry but only two at a time."

"Anything else Alpha?"

"Yes. No one speaks to the visitors aside from me."

"Of course." Jamison nodded.

"You can leave. However, I need to speak to the Recruit."

Jamison didn't ask why and simply left without a backward glance.

Sigh. He could have pretended to be hesitant leaving me with his Alpha.

"Uh hey." I greeted, wondering why he needed to speak with me without Jamison in the room.

Alpha Slater lounged back into his chair and leaned back with his fingers clasped together in that sophisticated way men in suits did. He wasn't donned in one but it felt like he was.

"The Full Moon is coming up." He began.

I had no reply for this, so he continued, peering at me from over his knuckles. "The attacks usually occur during this time for some reason."

I didn't know this. Usually, the Full Moon event meant that somewhere out there, a mating bond would be made. It was the only time the Moon Goddess weaved two strings of life together. People said it was the time the Moon Goddess saw to her creation and blessed them with the birth of a mated pair.

I wasn't entirely sure about this information.

Nor did I like the idea of me being one the lucky ones, as people in the Pack always gushed about.

Sure, I believed in the soulmate thing. It being a lasting connection? Yeah, not so much.

Good evidence of that was Ma and Alpha Bennett.

I wasn't bitter or anything. Just cautious. I've seen happily mated couples. It wasn't difficult to spot them. It was like they had a certain glow to them. I couldn't exactly explain it but you knew when someone was mated by the Moon Goddess.

Apparently I was dwelling too much on the thought because I wasn't aware the room had transitioned into a heavy silence.

"You have a short attention span." He said pointedly.

Why did I always end up castigated by this man?

"Sorry."

And why was I always apologizing to him?

He sighed and turned his attention to the books piled high on his monster shelves. "There is a duty I want you to do."

I straightened my spine in surprise. He was asking me for something?

"During the Full Moon, I want you with me when I go hunting. Just you and I. Jamison will remain here, along with the other Elite Syndicate Enforcers. I want to see how well your senses are and if you can detect them as you say."

"But you don't know for sure?"

"That is why you'll be with me. We'll be targets. I want to measure how far in distance you can detect those changelings."

"And if I don't?"

"Many more deaths."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"I'll do it."

"Good."