Alex started to feel really at home in Lunar Ridge over the next few weeks. Pack members consistently came to introduce themselves to her with many more eager to speak to her about her training techniques and her background. There was a real shift in the community occurring and Alex couldn't believe that she was finally being accepted.

There was still some work to do on allowing women to actually join as warriors. So far, the number of women and girls being trained by Alex, Laura and the other trainers was growing everyday. Alex almost fell out of her chair in the middle of the pack hall one day at lunch time when Kit came to ask her if his mate Nora and their two young daughters could join in the sessions. Much to Kit's embarrassment, Alex hugged him tightly still holding her sandwich in one hand. Kit had been the biggest surprise in all of the madness of the last few weeks. He had joined in the training, working harder than anyone else. Aidan had even remarked how much fitter and stronger he had been looking of late. He would often volunteer to spar with Alex or to be the attacker when she was demonstrating certain manoeuvres or new tactics.

'It would be my absolute pleasure to have them in my classes Kit,' Alex said genuinely. Bring them along to whatever time suits and we'll work them in.′

Alongside the busy training schedule, Alex had been getting used to her own new strength and ability. She and Aidan had been running their wolves together every night, the beasts needing to be released on a more consistent basis to keep from coming forward at inopportune moment during the day. Both of their wolves had grown in size by at least half and could cover the perimeter of the pack lands in half the time they used to. They were no closer to any determination on how they had become Lycans but Alex was just happy to accept the good news and the incredible transformation of her and her mate. The Council had sent a representative to take blood samples from them and determine their ancestry to see if they could uncover anything further to explain the metamorphosis. They would get back to them with updates over the coming weeks.

Despite the consistent threat of an attack from Dax and his pack, the presence of two Lycans seemed to be giving both a sense of calm to the pack members while also motivating them to work as hard as they could in their various defence or warrior training sessions. Dax had been spotted a number of times in the last couple of weeks, at either ends of the country but seemed impossible to pin down. The task forces had been successful in locating and destroying some of the bunker type hide-outs similar to the one Alex had been so notoriously accommodated in, but there were still kidnaps and murders occurring nationwide that were being attributed to him and his pack. The Council of Werewolves had finally put a bounty on his head and the head of some of his senior pack members after pressure from the allied packs following the attacks on their Luna's and the evidence Alex had provided of his plans.

For now, Alex's main focus was upskilling the entire pack and making sure the people were as safe as possible. She was already identifying some superstars among her female trainees. Marcus' sisters, and even his mother, had a real advantage from the start having been trained by Marcus himself over the years. There was a real appetite amongst the women to be able to protect themselves and fight for their pack. Alex particularly enjoyed the sessions with the school children. The youngest were eager to copy everything their Luna did while the older ones asked lots of questions, wanting to show off their newly established skills as quickly as possible to their peers.

Laura was Alex's right hand. A new Nolan for her to strategise with and someone whom she trusted completely. She was energetic and fun to be around and was easy company. Her mate Dylan, also volunteered frequently to be a trainer for the female sessions. Aidan too, attended training as often as he could, and was particularly sweet to watch with the small children who were obsessed with their Alpha.

Next on Alex's radar was the evacuation plans for the pack should they come under attack. There was a tunnel system running underground. A small fortress was build over each entrance, manned all day everyday with warriors who kept a look out and, in the case of an attack, would stop any rogues from entering the tunnel system. It was expertly built and Alex was impressed by the tunnels themselves, the access to food and water plus the exit and entry points. She was, however, concerned about people knowing where their closest entrance was and how quickly they could get there once the announcement of an attack happened.

Over the course of 4 days, she conducted 2 separate evacuation procedures. The first was planned and the second was unannounced. Both were unmitigated disasters. The schools and hospital reacted pretty well but outside of that, people did not know where to go and if they did, they didn't move there fast enough. They were used to a peaceful life, never having been set upon or having to use these procedures in a real situation before.

Alex took the evacuation plans to the female trainees and asked for their input on how to make it better. The warriors knew where they had to go if there was a rogue attack but everyone else seemed to be unclear. They made considerations for where families might be at any time on any particular day; where children played at weekends and after school; where teenagers went to make out. They came up with as many scenarios as they possibly could and created a plan of action that could be easily remembered and followed, even for those who might panic at the sound of the alarm and the mind-link of 'rogues. Emergency response immediately'.

They painted letter and number sequences on trees and houses; a code in a different colour for people in that area to follow to the closest fortress. They taught the children about panic and how to control their fears and get to safety. They spent time with the elderly in the community to make sure they knew what to do and how to get to safety quickly. Alex even got a team to work on setting up some of the vacant houses in the centre of the town so she could move those who required assistance or those with small families into an area that was easily evacuated.

Alex could feel the confidence of the pack growing in her leadership all the time. They finally saw her perspective and understood that her primary focus had always been their safety. She was exhausted from the work and thankful that her Lycan body was making her more capable of keeping going while still retaining some energy for her mate every night. She had lost count of the number of times she had been naked under or on top of Aidan, but she still couldn't get enough of him. Their wolves too, were enjoying frequent carnal relations in the forest at night. In fact, Alex thought smiling and standing up from her desk, it's about time for a run with Aidan.