Upon waking, Mary burrowed herself further into the warm, comfortable quilted sheets. After a restful sleep, she felt rejuvenated and well-rested but still; she fought the thought of waking up.

One more minute.

One more minute of peaceful rest before she wakes.

Seconds ticked by inside her head but sleep had already left her. It was already too late, and she knew she needed to get up.

Sighing, her eyes flew open to bright light. She squinted and rubbed the remainders of sleep from her eyes. Glancing out the window to her right, she noticed that the glowing light stretched across the blue skies. By the shadows on the trees, it looks about midday.

"So soon," Mary groaned. She was extremely tired from yesterday.

Stretching her limbs revealed how tired she was. Her muscles throbbed. Mary turned her head to the side and caught a whiff of her body scent. The smell on her body was repulsing. She needed a shower immediately.

Crawling out of bed, she walked out of her bedroom and across the hall to the bathroom. Mary took a long warm shower until her muscles stopped aching. Once done, she grabbed the towel hanging on a towel bar. She dried herself quickly before wrapping it around her midsection.

After dressing in a long-oversized t-shirt and some baggy grey lounge pants, Mary walked out into the living room. Pulling back the maroon curtains on the living room window, she looked outside. She remembered what Ryker said last night. He'll swing by in the morning. But it was midday already. Had she missed his visit?

Turning away from the window, she walked to the kitchen and began making herself some blueberry banana pancakes and scrambled eggs. Noticing that they stocked her kitchen with fresh ingredients and enough dry ingredients, she was quite thankful by the time she ate her breakfast.

After eating, she cleaned her dishes properly. One of her pet peeves was a dirty kitchen. Cooking was her passion and cooking excellent dishes need to start with a clean kitchen.

While washing her dishes though, she saw movement outside her sink window. Looking up, she noticed Abraham walking towards her cabin with one enforcer that traveled with them. His name was Gray.

Gray looked to be around Abraham and Ryker's age. He was a little slimmer in muscular form than the two brothers, but he was just as handsome as the two. The only minor flaw in him was the deep scar on his cheek, but the startling blue-greyish eyes took attention away from his scar. Gray's hair was long, but she noticed he liked to tie it up into a messy bun. Usually, males with long hair should look feminine in all kinds of ways. However, the word 'feminine' wasn't a word Mary would describe Gray.

The two didn't seem to notice her in the window yet, but it looks like they were heading her way. Mary finished washing the rest of her dishes before drying her hands on the hand towel.

Two sharp knocks sounded at her front door.

Mary opened the door and greeted with smiles. They both also looked like they slept well.

"Hello," she greeted them.

"Good afternoon, Mary," Gary replied and then took a sniff. His eyes lighting up at the smell of pancakes and scrambled eggs.

Mary glanced inside her home, even though she knew why Gary was looking inside her home already. With a wide grin, she opened her door wider.

"Come inside. I just cooked breakfast and lucky for you two, I cooked more than I can eat," she offered.

"Nah, we're good. We just ate Leona's lunch," Gary weakly protested.

"B-but, I mean, it would be rude of us to say no to you," Abraham added quickly.

They were looking at each other eagerly and agreeing. Mary fought back a smile, closed the door behind them, and walked to the kitchen. She quickly made them a plate and set it in front of them. One thing about a cook or chef, they love sharing their food and seeing the look of satisfaction cross their customer's faces.

"So, what are you two doing here?" she asked while leaning against the counter with her arms crossed.

Gary took a large bite out of his pancake before stuffing his face with the scrambled eggs. She added a bit more pancakes to his dish. Mary remembered that he quite liked her pancakes when she made them at Alpha Solomon's house.

"Ryker is busy with pack matters and asked us to give you the grand tour around the territory," Abraham replied.

Should she feel disheartened? A little deflated at her not getting to see him? Her affection for the Alpha was becoming a problem. As an independent female, she should know better than to fall for someone like him. He was beyond her reach.

Yet, the brief twinge of pain in her chest apparent and throbbing.

"But he may stop by later to see you," Gary blurted when he saw the flash of disappointment appear on her face.

Her quick crestfallen facial reaction irritated her. She let down her guard and they were able to catch that little emotion from her.

"It's fine." She tried to brush it off and turned away from the two males. Walking to the fridge, she pulled out the orange juice she had freshly squeezed earlier. Pouring each male a cup of the juice, she walked back to them and place the cups in front of them.

"So, where will you be taking me?" She changed the subject.

"I figured you'll like to check out our little town. Get a few things that you may need to make this place a little more like home," Abraham answered her.

They finished their food, and the three walked outside. Mary turned around to lock the door behind her before turning to look at the two.

"Is it far from here?" she asked.

"The town is several miles east from here," Gary responded.

"Are we running or are we walking?" Mary couldn't resist asking.

Both males wore smirks on their faces. Knowing full well that Mary would not run at all. Not any time soon anyway.

However, the two males were happy to see that Mary was catching onto their living style and didn't mention cars as an option. They do not have any vehicles up here. The nearest place for vehicles was down the mountain where they had packed their vehicle last night. It kept the air up here clean, and growing crops was a lot easier with less pollution.

"Walking," Gary replied, still smiling at her.

They walked for several miles east down a cleared path. Meanwhile, talking animatedly between each other and admiring nature.

"I got to say. These trees are as tall as its inhabitants. Over on Alpha Solomon's land, we rarely see trees as these trees around us." Mary gestured to the overgrown and over a hundred year old tree.

"We are lucky to live up here," Abraham agreed with a nod.

"Tell me about your pack members," she said.

"What do you want to know?" Gary was the first to respond.

"What are they like? Last night, your Alpha told me a little bit, but the bit that he told me makes me nervous," she chuckled nervously, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She didn't even bother changing and realized she should have because she was going to meet new people, but it was a little too late.

"They are normal looking pack members," Gary said.

Mary burst out laughing. "Well, I sure hope so!"

"I've imagined you have done research on our pack?" Abraham asked a little more seriously than Gary's response.

Mary nodded her head. She searched about the two brothers and found a lot of information, but nothing too detailed about their lives.

"Then you should already know that my brother wasn't born Alpha blood. They granted him the title after he gained many pack members. These pack members are estranged werewolves who had no other place to go. Many of them were abandoned and left for dead," Abraham continued.

She recalled reading something like that. It caused huge controversy among werewolf politics because many of these werewolves were ones that have committed crimes and were out of packs to live on their own. Yet, Ryker brought them all together and form a powerful pack.

Finally, they arrived at the first clearing. Mary could see many small shops and buildings. It was a small little town. Both Gary and Abraham walked her through the town first before they began shopping. Of course, Ryker made sure that Abraham carried some cash on him if Mary wanted something. Although she accepted the money, she promised to pay them back.

When they were done shopping for some necessities she needed, they were exhausted and hungry. On their way to grab some food, though, they notice a local farmer's market. Mary couldn't resist, she needed to see the place. How Mary saw it, the more she knew, the more she can do without help.

Many pack members stopped to stare, but nobody walked up to them to greet her. Many of them were just observing her from afar.

Mary halted at one canopy tent. An elderly pack member stood behind a large table filled with vegetables. Mary moved closer to examine the products. The first thing she noticed was that they were vibrant in colors.

"Wow, these are beautiful." She picked up a red bell pepper to examine.

"Thank you, ma'am," the elderly male replied with a kind smile.

Mary smiled back at him. Gary and Abraham stood nearby but paid no attention to the exchange. Her eyes caught sight of some rich green color asparagus. Picking up a batch, she looked it over.

"These asparagus are not too thin and not too thick. They are perfect for grilling," Mary murmured to herself, but the elderly male replied anyway to her comment.

"Definitely good for grilling. My mate loves to grill and bake them," he said with a grin. Mary noticed he was missing a tooth or two and found him very adorable. "You seem like a female who knows her ingredients well. What's your name?"

"Mary. I am new here," she replied. But that fact was obvious already to everyone here. Nobody is a stranger in this pack.

"My name is Luis. My wife's name is Doris. We own a farm just north of the Alpha's home," Luis replied.

"Well, Luis, I love your vegetables. If you live close to the Alpha's home, I may just swing by your place instead of the market to shop for my groceries. You know, anything to minimize my walk time."

Luis chortled at Mary's response because he knew that the mountain terrain wasn't a simple walk in the park. Plus, he was happy that Mary loved his vegetables enough to go to his farm. To win a customer's satisfaction was the greatest thing ever, even if it's a stranger.

"My mate and I would love for you to swing by," he said.

Mary bought most of his vegetables. It made Luis so happy that he handed her some of his farmed eggs for free.

"No, I can't," she declined.

"C'mon take it. It's fine. Take it as a new home gift from me," Luis argued.

She smiled gently at the elderly male. "Thank you."

After paying, the trio continued onto the original destination. Stopping at a local bar, they ordered their food.

While eating though, the three got into a huge debate about humans' daily activities that they bet until they were all buzzed from the tonic drinks. By the end of the night, the three were regretting staying too long and drinking too much.

Even in a buzzed state, though, they were all able to stumble their way back home. It took a little longer because Mary insisted they took the wrong turn, but eventually they made it back to her house....in the night...far later than they expected to return.

"See! I told you we needed to take a right," Mary argued.

"You said right, but we took a left," Abraham shot back.

"Sh, don't tell her. We were supposed to keep it a secret," Gary said before laughing.

Mary made a face. She was trying to think back to the time where they decided, but the memory seemed to have disappeared.

"I was sure we took a left..." she mumbled while walking towards the cabin.

The three walked to the cabin until they noticed that something was blocking the doorway.

All three of them looked up together and came face to face with Ryker, who remained quiet throughout their exchange. He didn't look angry, nor did he look impressed with how they all looked.