I ignored the panic I felt at knowing that he was the Alpha of the pack that my former pack was enemies with. I was thankful at this moment that I didn't belong to Red Crescent, for Alpha Thane would surely behead me and send my head back to Alpha Wilson.

What's your power? I asked, not thinking he would tell me.

"Try to guess," He smirked, and his fingers motioned towards the bookshelf, and a book came flying into his hands, leaving a slight trace of white shimmering in the air.

Everything?

He laughed boisterously at that. "It's not that broad, darling."

Magic.

He looked pleased. "Correct, young one." Fear struck my heart when I realized how powerful this Alpha truly was. Magic was the most blessed gift from the Moon Goddess, and it was no surprise how Blue Moon is the strongest pack.

Are you going to kill me ?

Thane laughed. "I wouldn't do that. Your mate would kill me."

I raised an eyebrow. I find it hard to believe that anyone could kill you.

"Maybe your mate is stronger than I." He suggested, and I detected a glimmer of mischief in his eyes and smile.

Enough about my mate. I never want to go back to him again. Either give me a place in your pack as a Pack Warrior or kill me where I stand, for I would rather die than go back to him.

He looked concerned momentarily by what I wrote, but his face quickly turned amused. "That's no way to ask an Alpha to join their pack."

I shrugged. I won't beg.

"No, I can't imagine you would," He grinned widely at me, and I was surprised by how informal this Alpha was. "I'll let you know by tomorrow night what my decision is. Until then, you may stay in a guest room, as long as you don't kill my pack members and what not, Reaper." He winked knowingly.

Thane walked me to an empty guest room, and told me I was welcome to help myself to the shower and anything downstairs in the fridge if I got hungry. "You look like you need to eat more." He remarked, none too kindly.

I rolled my eyes. He sounded like Cain.

The mate bond pulled at my heart painfully at his name. Being so far away from him really was straining the bond, and making it tug at me ten times harder as a result.

Thane left me alone, and I couldn't believe my luck at stumbling across such a kind Alpha. I will say, something about him felt slightly off, as if he were hiding something, but I brushed it off, chalking it up to his large amount of power throwing me off.

I used the shower and laid in the bed, opting to not go down to the kitchen, on the off chance that I run into someone. The Pack House was eerily quiet, and it seemed like nobody but the Alpha frequented it. At Blood Lake, there were always people going in and out, and it felt more homely.

I needed to stop thinking of Blood Lake. Come tomorrow, I would be joining Blue Moon, and I would never see that place or that Alpha ever again.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Going to sleep proved a far more difficult task than I imagined. I suspected that being so far away from my mate was making my wolf restless. Being away from Cain made me restless as well. Every time I closed my eyes I saw his disappointed face, and the pain he felt when he had to give me the wolfsbane.

Oh well. My wolf and I would have to get used to it, because I wasn't going back anytime soon.

I stayed in the guest room for the whole day, knowing that if Thane wanted to see me, he knew where to find me. I did push ups and patiently waited for him to retrieve me to let me know of his decision.

Around 6pm, he knocked on my door. "Come down for dinner, we're having a guest and they'll be here soon. We don't want to be late." He spoke through the door, and went back downstairs.

I opened the door and followed him down the staircase, and saw that he had prepared a whole feast. I raised my eyebrows in question at him.

"I'm hungry," He shrugged.

Thane handed me the pad of paper and pen. Who's the guest? I asked.

"A family member," He visibly softened when speaking of the mysterious guest, and his eyes got a faraway look in them, as if he were recalling many memories.

I smiled sadly. I didn't have a family of my own, but I was glad Thane did. He seemed like a nice guy, and like he deserved it.

As if guessing my thoughts, he put his hand on my cheek. "Your mate is your family. He would never leave you." I was shocked by how perceptive he was at guessing my thoughts. Thane was quite a complicated guy, who I felt like I knew less and less the more time I spent with him.

We both sat down, waiting for his family member, when the front door came crashing down. Cain, Alpha of Blood Lake and my mate, was standing in the doorway, his eyes wildly searching the room until the settled on mine.

"Did you really have to break my door down, cousin?" Thane rolled his eyes, but asked in an apathetic tone.

"You took my mate," He hissed, stepping over the door pieces and stalking towards Thane. He grabbed Thane by the throat and slammed him against a nearby wall.

"Careful cousin," Thane still maintained his bored tone, despite the death grip my mate had on him. "You don't want to ruin family dinner."

Alpha Cain didn't say anything for a few moments, just looking him in the eye trying to detect deception. He snarled, letting his cousin go. Thane rolled his eyes and rubbed his throat. "Usually you bring a bottle of wine for the host, not crush their larynx."

Alpha Cain turned his murderous gaze on me, and stalked towards me. I took a step back, not liking to wild look in his eyes. It appeared his wolf already was in control, which was bad for me.

I kept walking backwards until I backed into a wall, and Alpha Cain continued closing in on me. It felt similar to how horror movie characters must feel when they break their ankle while running from the axe murderer.

I didn't bother running, not wanting to infuriate his wolf further. The unpredictability of his wolf scared me more than when Cain was in control.

He put his arms on the wall on both sides of me, caging me in. His eyes were completely black, and he looked feral.

I breathed shallowly, not wanting to make any sudden movements. I knew when it was a good time to pull a knife on Cain, and this moment just did not make the cut, no pun intended.

He burrowed his head into my hair, inhaling the scent deeply for a few moments.

"Are you done? As interesting as this is, I'm hungry," Thane disinterestedly called out from across the room.

Alpha Cain withdrew himself from my hair, and looked me in the eyes. He seemed less frenzied, and like he reigned in his wolf somewhat, but not completely.

I unlocked my eyes from his gaze, feeling shame at being caught again, and oddly enough, I felt guilty for making him so frantic. The mate bond reverberated with happiness at us being so close in proximity, and I briefly wondered why I left.

He grabbed my jaw, forcing me to make eye contact with him. "Don't leave me again." Oh yeah, that's why I left. Dumb, domineering Alpha. I nodded, partially to pacify him and partially because I didn't think the mate bond would allow me to. I was enslaved by the bond now. Leaving and then coming back made it stronger than anything in the world. I wasn't even sure if I could block out my emotions from him anymore.

He picked me up and cradled me in his arms, more tightly than Thane had the day before. Alpha Cain sat in one of the dining room chairs, and when I struggled to get out of his grasp, and held on tighter to me.

Little mate, he spoke through our mindlink, not wanting Thane to hear, If you don't stay in my lap, my wolf will come out and kill every wolf within a 3 mile radius.

I looked into his onyx eyes and knew he spoke the truth.

So, I stopped struggling and sighed heavily. I looked over at Thane, who was watching the exchange in amusement, as if it were his favorite reality show.

I glared at him for ratting me out to Alpha Cain.

"Don't give me that look, Sarah," He said my pseudonym mockingly. "He's family. I could smell his scent on you the moment I saw you in the woods."

"Thank you, Thane." Alpha Cain nodded at him. "I apologize for how I entered. My wolf was crazed."

Thane waved his hand dismissively. "No harm, no foul. Except for the door of course." He looked over at what remained of the door. "I can see why you're so desperate to get your mate back. She sure is... something."

Cain looked down at me in adoration. His eyes softened as he looked at me, and it tugged on my heartstrings. "She's everything to me now."

"Enough of this mushy love stuff. It's almost making me wish I had a mate of my own," Thane grumbled and reached for the bread rolls.

Cain served himself food on his plate, and speared a piece of steak with his fork. He put the fork right by my mouth, which remained closed.

Open, he commanded via mindlink. The bond was too strong for me to resist his order, and I obliged as he fed me the steak. His eyes warmed at the act of feeding me, and I wondered why it was so important to him.

"Oh, the Blood Laws. Fickle, aren't they, Ares?" Thane smirked at me as he ate a piece of his own steak.

Alpha Cain growled at him in warning. It was interesting that around me in private, he talked a lot, but he was a man of few words around others. Maybe we have more in common than I thought.

Apparently not only was carrying me a part of the Blood Laws, but so was feeding me in the presence of others. Fickle indeed.

We continued to eat in silence for a few moments, until Thane spoke to Alpha Cain about various different pack phenomenons. I was uninterested until I heard the name Red Crescent.

Alpha Cain was telling him about how Red Crescent wanted a meeting with him to try to get his alliance so they could attack Blue Moon. "They didn't know I was your cousin," Thane mused. He seemed rather unconcerned for someone on the brink of war with the third most powerful pack.

"I went to scope out their land and pack numbers. They are bigger than I remember. Going was actually how I met Ares. She was their Gamma." Cain smiled down at me. A genuine, proud smile. I wondered why he was so insistent on keeping me cooped up all day if he was so impressed by my Gamma skills.

Thane appeared shocked. "The Red Crescent Gamma was the first female Gamma. She took power at age 13." Alpha Cain looked surprised by the age, but quickly shook it off.

"What can I say, my mate is quite impressive. Rather violent, as I'm sure you've witnessed firsthand." Alpha Cain knowingly smiled at me, tweaking my nose.

Thane laughed. "She tried taking off my head with a flail, and then kicked in my leg and broke my jaw. I've never seen a Gamma that powerful. Why is she?"

Alpha Cain cleared his throat. "I'm unsure. I had her lineage looked into, but from the names of her parents that Alpha Wilson provided, her family has a long history of being Gammas. There's no real reason why she should be so strong."

I was surprised to hear Cain's admission. I didn't realize he was looking into my history.

"Interesting indeed. Perhaps when you claimed her, you shared some of your power with her." Thane suggested, immersed in the conversation as if this affected him directly.

"Perhaps," Alpha Cain was pensive. "But she was strong before I met her. Perhaps the Moon Goddess has taken a liking to her." I rolled my eyes. If anything, the Moon Goddess probably hated me. I followed no rituals, and have killed many.

I stirred in Cain's lap, beginning to get tired. He had continued to give me bites of food until I refused. He looked like he wanted to press the matter, but ultimately dropped it, probably not wanting me to make a huge commotion in front of his cousin.

"Your mate appears to be exhausted. You may stay here the night if you wish," Thane offered.

"Thank you, cousin, but we will be heading back to Blood Lake tonight. The pack has been restless without their Luna." Thane nodded his head in understanding at Cain's words, although I didn't quite understand.

Cain and Thane stood, Cain not releasing his hold on me, and I imagined he wouldn't be for a long while.

"Goodbye, Cain. Goodbye, Ares. You both are welcome to come by anytime." Thane smiled warmly at us, and I felt saddened by leaving. Even though Thane had given me back to Alpha Cain, there was something about him that was incredibly likable.

Alpha Cain nodded at him, as I said, a man of few words. "I owe you." He said, and I knew he was referring to Thane returning me to him.

Thane smiled. "Take care of her, cousin. Though I have a feeling she can do most of it on her own."

With those words, Cain stepped through the empty doorframe and into the night. I could feel his optimism through the bond.