I blinked stupidly at him before what he had said finally processed in my brain.

"What!?" I shrieked as I forced my eyes to leave his lips and meet his burning gaze. No way! Did he think that just because I happen to whimper before, I somehow had come to accept all of this? No…just no! I brought my hands up and pushed against his chest firmly.

"Let go of me now...! Fuck, I said let go!" I was gritting my teeth and I bet my eyes were easily showing my anger now. My wounds made themselves known when I tried to struggle my way out of Alex hold and I hissed at the feeling.

"Stop it! I mean it Ash you’re hurting yourself…! Dammit!" Alex growled at me when I didn’t listen and before I knew it I was hanging over his right shoulder.

"Put me down you idiot! It hurts more when you do it like that!" I screamed at him in anger and tried to hit him over his back so he would let me go.

Yeah, that totally did it… (Note the sarcasm)

"Good heavens! You give me no choice Ash!" Alex snapped back and started walking out of the kitchen with me still draped over his shoulder. I hissed and clawed at his back in an attempt to get him to let go but he just growled more and continued on his way towards the stairs leading to the other floors.

Anton and Adam had followed us out from the kitchen in silence and they now walked behind Alex and me up the stairs. Their eyes were a little darker but their faces didn’t reveal anything that could indicate what Alex planned on doing with me.

I tried everything. I clawed, bit, kicked and cursed at him but nothing got him to let go of his hold on me and his steps didn’t even falter. It wasn’t long until we reached the third floor and Alex stopped outside the room I had been brought to earlier, but I was exhausted.

Anton opened the door for us and Alex swept in and walked the five steps and carelessly dropped me at the foot of the same black bed I had been forced upon earlier. I groaned when my bare back connected with the comforter but I immediately edged backwards until I bumped my head in the iron bars at the top of the damn bed. I tried to glare the best I could at the three little devils (okay maybe not so little…but anyway) that now stood at the foot of the bed staring down at me.

When none of them had made any move or even tried to say anything for a very long time I finally decided to speak up.

"Well? Care to tell me what the hell I’m doing back here?" I gestured at the bed and the room I was by now slightly familiar with. Alex growled (as usual) at what I guess was my lack of respect but Anton simply sighed and pulled a hand through his hair. He gave me a searching look before he finally spoke up.

"I think it’s time we talk Ash and I…I mean we would prefer if you could hear us out and stop being difficult…ahh…no, hell if you could like stop being…well…you for a moment that would be great?" He gave me a somewhat pleading look and I scoffed and pondered his request for a second. I wasn’t so fond of being told that I was difficult, even though that’s exactly what I am.

"Fine." I finally sighed and let my body relax a little against the iron bars. I kept my eyes on them though and could easily make out their relieved expressions when they heard me agree. Suddenly Alex gave me an eye roll before he mounted the bed and began to make his way towards me. I contemplated if I should move before he reached me but his eyes made me stay put.

"Behave." He simply said as he settled down beside me (not very far away but not all to close either). I huffed but didn’t protest when Adam took a seat on my other side and Anton sat down in front of us in the middle of the bed.

I knew that their positions effectively cut of any possible escape routes (as intended). They also managed to make me completely surrounded by their suffocating presence. Their scent lingered in the air around me like a thick blanket and I could feel my mind fog a little when I inhaled the intoxicating aroma. It smelled wonderful and I couldn’t help but close my eyes and just enjoy the feeling it gave me for a while. It smelled so natural and…well…right.

I felt safe.

The scent made my body hum in anticipation and my thoughts settled down and gave me a feeling of peace.

What was it we were here to do anyway?

I had a hard time remembering and I furrowed my eyebrows and tried to shake of the feeling that I was supposed to do something, except just lie here and enjoy the moment. I forced my eyes opened with a little difficulty and saw how the three brothers were staring intensely at me. I blinked at them and slowly Alex lips formed a smirk that only grew wider when I tilted my head a little in confusion.

"What?" I asked finally and even I could hear that my voice sounded sleepy and content. Anton and Adam smiled in amusement and Alex chuckled a little before he answered:

"Well seems like someone is enjoying our presence a little too eagerly don’t you think?" He winked at me and I could feel myself blushing under their heated stares. I forced myself to sit up more and I shook my head slightly to get rid of the stupid feelings.

"Whatever." I huffed tiredly before I shrank back against the iron bars again.

"You wanted to talk, did you not?" I suddenly remembered and Adam shrugged a little before he decided to answer me.

"Well yeah, we think it’s best if we at least speak about what you saw in the forest earlier and also about your life from here on. Don’t you agree? I’m sure you have a few questions yourself right?" He smiled a little at me and shrugged his shoulders in a careless manner. Well now that he mentioned it I was a little curious. Well…no I was actually more than “a little curious”.

"Hm…yeah…I don’t even really know where to start." I said thoughtfully and Anton laughed at what I guess was my troubled expression. He held his hands up in a soothing gesture when I leveled a slight glare at him but he kept laughing a little while longer anyway.

"Very funny…well I suppose I wonder how you can be…you know…wolves and all?" I realized that it sounded vague but Adam shrugged and simply said:

"Genetics I guess. There have always been werewolves in our family and I guess it’s simply there in our bloodline."

I nodded in understanding but couldn’t help but ask:

"How many werewolves are there?"

They seemed to think for a while before Anton voiced his thoughts and answered:

"Who knows really, but we know there are at least five so called “big” packs here in this country. To earn the title “big” you must have at least 50 pack members."

I did a mental calculation and realized that that was equivalent to a minimum of around 250 werewolves! Wow, it was kind of impressive… in a scary kind of way. I wonder if I had run into a werewolf before, because who knew, it could be anyone! I was brought out of my thoughts by Adam who had begun to enumerate the names of the five “big” packs in our country.

"There’s the New Moon pack, the Crescent Moon pack, the Full Moon pack, the Half Moon pack and of course our pack: the Fair Moon pack. We know of a few slightly smaller packs too but they’re not of so much importance since they don’t pose a threat to us." He finished and I let the information sink in while the others stayed silent.

"Then how many members are there in your pack?" I finally asked curiously. After all I had only met Kevin, Vincent, Amber and the three brothers in front of me. There couldn’t be so much as 50 wolves here…right?

"Well we are the biggest pack…" Anton started carefully and I rolled my eyes as he hesitated. Did he think I couldn’t handle the truth or what? I nodded impatiently and Alex decided to end it by simply telling me himself.

"…and we have exactly 176 pack members." He finished Anton’s sentence and I could feel my jaw drop.

"What?! There are 176 wolves running around and killing god knows what here?!" I couldn’t believe my own ears and I had automatically tensed and straightened my back so I was no longer lying down. Alex gave me an irritated glance and let his hand reach out and simply pushed me down against the pillows again.

"Calm down and don’t go all “Mr. Hyde” on us. Yes, there are 176 werewolves running around in our neighborhood but before you get your panties in a twist you have to understand that they are normal people just like you and I and not some killer monsters like you seem to think." He smirked at my sour face and I shook my head franticly.

"No, not like “you and me” because you’re one of them too so actually it’s just me and Kate who are “normal people” as you so delicately put it." I gestured wildly with my hands in front of me but when I nearly hit Adam in the face he gently took a hold of them and started playing absentmindedly with my fingers.

I found myself not able to pull them back and Adam kept touching me softly. “What the hell is wrong with you Ash?” I thought as I stared at our entwined fingers. I face palmed myself mentally and groaned before I flopped back further against the soft pillows in resign.

These…I don’t even know…feelings just got worse and worse.