He held my eyes as he pulled his shirt off. I may have snuck a peak while his head was covered with his shirt, and can I just say that it's a wonder I was able to keep standing. Moving slowly, as if wanting to make sure I was sure, he headed further down the clearing.

"Are you always this slow," I joked, causing the guys to crack up laughing. He gave me a sly look, before stepping back then sprinting forward. If there was something majestic in how Thomas changed, Levi's experience was so much different. It was as if power exploded out of him in that moment, just to be drawn right back in. When he landed, it was as if the whole forest stopped breathing. It was beyond words.

In his place stood a wolf that towered over Thomas, the same dark, dark brown colour as his hair. It was almost an ethereal experience, and I was lost for words.

I shared a glance with Estelle, who could obviously read the amazement on my face. "It's pretty impressive," she chuckled.

I took a few steps forward to where Levi was, circling the massive animal. He lowered his head, and nudged me slightly. I laughed in surprise, staring at the eyes that looked so much like Levi's but so different. It was surreal.

That was when I reached my limit. I shook my head and stepped back, sitting on the bank. "Wow. Okay."

Thomas and Levi ran off into the forest, and returned a minute later, pulling clothes on.

They stayed a reasonable distance away, giving me time to process.

"I still don't understand what this has to do with me," I finally said.

Levi looked down, taking a deep breath. "I think we should have a talk."

Estelle stood up. "This is better being done between the two of you, but I can stay if you want?"

I shook my head. "It's okay."

She smiled at me, took a deep breath and headed towards the guys, who were walking to the other end of the clearing, giving us space.

Levi sat at the bottom of the small bank, which meant I was a few inches taller than him which made me feel good for some reason.

"There's a lot to explain. Ask as many questions as you need. It's going to be hard to hear, but try not to freak out."

I rolled my eyes. "I just watched you turn into a wolf. I'm going to be okay." He smiled, but didn't look so sure.

"In every pack there's a leader, an alpha. It's passed on through birthright, and I became the alpha when my father died."

"That's why you're bigger than Thomas? Some kind of power thing?"

He smiled. "Sort of, yeah. The alpha is the most powerful, anything I say that's an order basically has to be followed. Not that I'd use that for anything bad. It's just good to keep everyone safe."

Levi so would be in charge. Typical.

"Everyone of our kind has what we call a mate," he continued, his voice getting serious again. "Someone whose soul fits with our own, a soul mate of such. Your destiny. Once you find them, it's like you're complete."

I swallowed, unable to meet his eye. "When I first saw you across the parking lot at school, it was like every instinct in my body blinded me. You are my mate."

My eyes snapped up to his, and my mouth dropped. Here I was thinking he was having a psychotic breakdown, but instead he was what, going crazy over me?!

He kept going, wanting to get it all out. "Mates are always between our own kind, with a few very rare exceptions. So rare that there's only about 5 documented. So I had no idea how to handle it, what to do, how it would affect you. In a normal case, mates make contact immediately. In our case, I didn't want to scare you off, so I stayed away. But that made it so much worse - as a human you felt things twice as bad as me, and as the mate of an alpha, they were even more strong. It explains everything - why you got so sick, why your body goes into overdrive, why you felt my pain while you were at school the other day, why no one except me can touch the scar on your wrist without hurting you."

I shook my head slowly. This was almost too much. Levi was my soulmate?! I couldn't even begin to comprehend that.

"There's one more thing. As the mate of an alpha, you become a luna, once the process is completed. Luna is the female equivalent, you lead with me."

There it was. The cherry on top. Not only do werewolves exist, but I was destined to be with one and lead an entire pack of them.

"How many," I whispered, my head spinning.

"In the pack? About 400."

400 people. 400 werewolves. Too much. I wanted to laugh and cry and scream and run away. Instead I just sat there, staring at Levi like an idiot. Then I got upset and angry again. It just hit me. Hard.

"You made me look like an idiot time and time again, in front of your people. These people I'm supposed to lead?! How am I supposed to earn any respect after being kept in the dark like an incapable child? I've been the butt of a stupid, dangerous joke for the past few months and that hurts."

I just exploded. I couldn't see straight, angry tears were blurring my vision. I realised that I wasn't so much angry, as hurt.

"I've been so sick, I've passed out more times than I can count, and been in agonising pain... I walked, in my sleep, to the middle of the forest! I've been going out of my mind in fear and confusion over what's happening to my body and you're telling me that you knew, you all knew all along, and decided to just not tell me, and let whatever happens to me, happen?!"

I got to my feet, breathing heavily. "Did you ever even stop and think how I must be feeling? Do you even care?" I screamed, tears running down my cheeks.

Levi was silent, his face pale and twisted in pain. He stepped forward, but I moved away. "No. I don't want this. I have to go."

"Danielle, please-" His voice broke, but I was already running in the other direction. Deja vu hit me hard as yet again, I was stumbling, lost, through the forest.

I felt raw inside, like somebody had scraped my heart with sandpaper. Unable to run anymore, I dropped to the ground and lay there, squeezing my eyes tight and trying to escape the pain and embarrassment that was suffocating me. Exhausted and overwhelmed, when the darkness overtook, I went without a fight.