I didn't have a carefree childhood. My mother loved me, but she also wanted me to be perfect.

She had her reason to raise me like that, but whatever that be, when a child chases after perfection they end up losing their childhood.

The only times I've ever felt alive are when I'm with my friends: I forget the family pressure, the misfortune of being paired with a werewolf, and just about anything else.

But that bliss doesn't stay long: sooner or later loneliness catches me.

However, for better or worse, I hadn't felt lonely ever since I came to Red Peak. I'd been sad; I'd been jealous; I'd been angry. But never lonely.

Knowing he was right next door felt great. Hearing his voice, seeing his face, no matter how far away from, made me feel like everything is alright in my life.

During my younger years, when the pressure was turning into numbness I wanted to run away, so I could start feeling again, so I could start living again.

And the only place I ever thought of running to was into his arms. I thought of going to his pack, finding him, and asking him to run away with me.

We would go somewhere far away. I would start a new life with him. I would experience new things through him. I would see the world in a new way because of him.

But I never left my house. Probably because I was too scared, but could also be because I didn't trust he would run away with me if I asked him to. That he wouldn't leave his pack for anything or anyone, especially me.

Now I know for sure that's true. That's why I'm packing. Ready to leave him and Red Peak once and for all.

Just when I was going to ask Jenny if she had finished her packing, Sabrina runs in saying, "The rogues are here. The cursed ones, this time. Our men are fighting them off in a perimeter farther from our border!"

I press my lips tight, looking at Sabrina. She couldn't have picked a worse time. "Are you sure?" I ask her. "Remember what happened last time when you came here saying something similar?"

Sabrina nods quickly. "I'm sure. Leon, Jack, and everyone is out there! It's happening."

Nara touches my shoulder. "Let's go."

We drive to the border and see that it's empty.

"My brother and his men are fighting them off pretty far from the border. They didn't want any rogues even touching our land," Sabrina says.

"We're not going to see any rogues here?" I ask her.

She shakes her head.

"Alright, then," I tell her, "You get off here and inform your brother and Jack we are on our way to inspect one of the rogues. If they'd caught one that's great, but if not, ask them at least not to kill them all off."

She nods. My friends and I cross the border and keep driving.

After about twenty minutes, we hear them. It's a gut-wrenching, stomach-turning sound. The growls, whimpers, slashes, impacts, howls... everything reaches our ears disconcertingly.

I stop the car. We get off and carefully walk towards the battleground. We hide behind a large fallen tree.

As I look over the trunk and see the blood and spilled insides of the rogues, I want to throw up. I quickly slide back down and so does Jenny. Nara, however, continues to watch. I want to pull her down, too, but at least one of us should keep an eye out there.

A large grey wolf comes into view from the side of the fallen trunk. For a second, I panic, then I realize that's Jack.

"You need to let a rogue slip through so we could catch it," I say to the wolf.

The wolf leaves.

In about a minute, Nara taps my shoulder. I look back out there and indeed see a rogue coming our way.

The spell to stun it is ready in my mind. I just need it to come closer so we wouldn't have to go far away from our shelter to take a look at it.

Once the rogue is close enough, it spots us and takes up a stance ready to jump on us. My friends and I back away from the tree, ready for it, too.

But when it jumps, two large wolves grab it by its hind legs, pinning it to the ground. The rogue tries to claw its way out, but it's not going anywhere.

We climb over the tree to go to it. Once near enough, I extend my hand to touch the rogue's face but retrieve it back when its mouth almost catches my hand.

"I need to touch it. I can't do it like this. You guys have to let it go," I say to the two wolves restraining the rogue.

One of the wolves lets go of the rogue and the other adjusts his position so that he's holding back the rogue by himself.

The free wolf comes near the rogue's face and bites shut its muzzle.

The gory action freezes me in fear.

Nara pushes me slightly. Breathing out, I go near the rogue and touch its face.

I make it faint immediately. "You guys can let it go. We got this."

The wolves do as I say and return to their pack-mates and join the fight.

I open one of the eyelids of the rogue to take a closer look. The eye is pitch dark with a hint of white. It's under a curse.

I then smear away blood from one of its wounds with my fingers.

Jenny quickly opens her bag and takes out a round deerskin and places it on the ground in front of me.

I draw the name-revealer symbol onto the piece of skin with the blood. Nara and Jenny pour salt and fenugreek around it.

I cast the spell.

The blood burns, leaving behind black powder. The powders move to write a name: .

My blood turns cold. I look at Nara and Jenny to check if I'm not the only one seeing that name – their shocked faces confirm it.

How could it be him?

I hear the crunch of dry leaves. Instantly, I smudge away the name so no one can read it, and turn around to see the fiercest looking wolf I've ever seen. Its pitch dark fur is as intimidating as its sheer size.

I silently pray Leon didn't see that name.

I look beyond him and realize the fight is over. The ground is scattered with mauled and torn bodies of the rogues. The pack wolves have started moving towards the border, spotting little to no injuries.

Leon joins his men in going back, and I breathe out in relief.

Nara, Jenny, and I silently walk back to our car, too scared and too worried to say anything.

Once we reach the border, we see that all the men have transformed back into their human forms. They've been brought clothes by their friends and family who've joined them at the border.

We get out of the car and make way to where Leon and Jack are. Leon sees me and starts walking towards me. I nervously back away a little since he looks angry, but before I know it, he reaches me, grabs my hand, and drags me away from others.

I glance at Nara and Jenny and they helplessly stand there.

Once we're at a liberal distance from everyone else, he lets go of my hand.

"We brought you here to help us, not hide things from us," he says.

"What do you mean?" I ask him, knowing full well what he means. But against all hopes, I'm hoping he didn't see that.

"I saw the name," he says. "Who is Philip? Why didn't you want me to know that name?"

My body reacts before my mind could. Tears stream down my eyes as my lips tremble. "H-He... He is my brother."

I hang my head down, crying and covering my mouth with my hand, not wanting to cry out loud.

Leon immediately hugs me and I cave in to his warmth by hugging him back. I cry in his arms, letting years of sadness and loneliness out. His arms stay tight around me.

Once my crying recedes, I try to move away from him. His arms are still around me but his grip loosens, giving me enough space to back away – just enough for him to reach my lips.

My anger towards him doesn't surface but the desire to feel good does. I kiss him back as he skillfully moves me against a tree.

Our fervent kisses cause us to breathe hard. His lips slide to my chest as his hand explores my thigh. Suddenly, he picks me up and I'm held in place by the tree behind me, my arms around his neck and his waist between my legs.

As he pushes against me, I forget about everything else in this world. It's just me and him, and our urges.

But when I feel sharp teeth against the skin of my neck, reality jolts me up like a splash of cold water.

"Stop," I say and try to push him away, but he's far off from letting me go, and I feel too weak to use my powers against him.

"Leon, please," I whisper, calling my mate by his name for the first time. Whether it was that gesture or the pleading in my voice, he stops but doesn't let me go yet.

As he rests his head over my shoulder, he says, "You're driving me crazy." He nudges into my neck. "I'm scared. I'm scared of who I'm turning into because of you."

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