"So, can I go home now?" I ask Mum for the millionth time in an hour.

"No!" She growled, cracks finally starting to show in her otherwise very calm and unbothered demeanor.

"I'm a grown woman and I have rights. I'm just going to call a cab, this is ridiculous."

"Give me strength." Mum mumbles, sipping her tea as she turns another page in her book. "Your father will drag your ass back if you leave. You were just lucky I was the one to bring you home."

"I stayed for Thanksgiving. I have been to four hellish so called pack dinners. I have been sober for two nights this week. I have missed out on some of the best sales of the year and even managed to avoid any major arguments with Dad. It's been two weeks and there haven't even been any more deaths reported. What more do you want from me?" In a rather dramatic display I collapse on the bench in front of her.

I also choose to leave out the part where I managed to act completely normal around Aiden after having some ridiculous dreams I didn't even know I was capable of. Which considering any time I do see him all he has to say is 'we should talk' with a very serious look following it, I'm not sure how my deluded mind could take it in that direction. Then again it was the most exciting thing going on around here so thanks brain. Gwen has even started to avoid me so my reasons to stay were running out.

"Sorry spending time with your family is such a burden. You are a grown woman Sammy, so act like it!"

"Yeah well it's not like coming home is like going home is for most people. I'm surprised you're not all just as desperate to get rid of me as I am to leave."

She puts down her book and moves around the table, surprising me further by pulling me close in a hug. "I'm sorry you still feel that way. We love you, even your father though he may not make it obvious. Forget the pack darling, you know we don't care you're different. We never have."

I feel like I'm a child again in my mum's arms. She strokes my hair and kisses my forehead, warming up every part of your soul in that way only a mother can. I hug her back and just for a moment, believe her.

"Mum, if someone offered to try and fix me would you let them?" I ask, resting my head against the curve of her shoulder she stops stroking for just a second.

"What needs fixing Sammy? You are who you are. That was what ever the gods and fate intended for you." Could she sound any more like a mum right now. "I have loved you since the second I knew you existed, to me you will always be perfect just the way you are."

Brianna's offer had been haunting me. It was something I could have so easily dismissed no matter how I had wanted to. To be a shifter, to be like everyone else - finally, was a tempting offer.

"What do you think Dad would say?" I ask pulling out of her hold.

"Exactly what I just said." She smiles and I know she's trying to be reassuring, but her eyes look sad. "What brought this on?"

Well I'd already come this far. "Brianna said she could-"

"No. Don't even think for a moment about believing anything a witch says!" Mum snaps. "How dare she make you question yourself. If Nathan or Kate put her up to this I'll-"

"Just forget it. I wasn't taking it seriously anyway." Honestly, I hadn't even thought anyone could be behind her offer, but that made so much sense. "Honestly Mum, let it go."

She growls, looking more like the ferocious she wolf that lurks within her skin than I've seen in awhile. What made it kind of awesome was that it wasn't even directed at me for once.

"I'm glad you talked to me Sammy. You always keep yourself so, distant." She grabs me in another hug, this one more bear like and when she lets me go she wipes her eyes. "Just, don't do anything stupid okay?"

"Would I do that?" I try to joke only apparently she believes I would as she shakes her head.

"Honestly Sammy, sometimes I do wonder about you."

"What's she done now?" Jack asks, coming in from outside.

He's practically naked except for the towel around his waist and just for a second and not for the first time, I wonder what it would be like to change into a wolf. His stomach growls, and of course he goes straight to the fridge.

"Nothing Jack. Get out of there, I'll make you some sandwiches." Mum starts to fuss and he moves out her way. "Anyone else with you?"

"Luke will be in soon. He needed a longer run."

"I'll make him some too then. Sammy, you hungry?" She asks.

"No I'm good. I'll let thing one and thing two have my share." I leave before she can start on a new rant about how I'm too small, too thin and should eat more like my brothers.

Yet apparently I am perfect as I am?

________________

It's nearly midnight when I finish editing the article I had been sent through for work. Checking my emails I'm pretty sure if I ever do get home, Kitty won't be returning to my place as Kyle seems a little fond of his new companion. I won't miss cleaning up after his hairballs that's for sure.

Heading downstairs everyone else is asleep so I technically have the house to myself. Everyone else will be up just before dawn, probably go for a nice family wolf run in the national park down the road and I'll miss all that fun while sleeping in until noon as I always do. I'm not a morning person, and it takes me ages to get sleep anyway which is why I'm normally the most productive now.

I sort out a load of laundry, find something to eat which proves Mums nagging that I live on coffee is wrong and head outside. It's cold, but I like that too. We're definitely looking as though it'll be a white christmas and doing up the buttons to my jacket, I decide to go for a little night walk - not really sneaking out since I don't care if they know I've gone this time. A couple of streets down and I instantly regret my choice.

Aiden is near. I don't know how I know exactly, but he is. He may as well be in front of me as his presence sets me on edge. Instead of being calm and collected, i'm instead feeling my face burn as all I can think about is everything I shouldn't be thinking about. I've gone for guys that are a bad idea before, but they were just normal guys who had some big flaws. Like still living with their much too involved mothers at thirty, or have a bad relationship with their equally involved drug dealer. Hell, sometimes they are the dealers and then there was even that one shifter I found who wasn't a wolf; apparently leopard shifters are a thing too.

Aiden? Well he is in a league of his own.

Besides, it could be completely one sided. I'm not exactly getting any, 'i've had some wicked hot sex dreams about you Sam' vibes from him. For a brief second I think about the mate crap shifters all live by but the tiny flaw in that plan is I'm not a shifter. From what people say it's also not supposed to work this way. I am getting way too ahead of myself. He's hot. It's lust and a year long drought on my behalf. Maybe I should have just taken Kyle up his offer on his birthday, but he was out of bounds on the case of not wanting to have to move after an awkward morning after situation.

"So are you the big bad wolf I've heard about?" I ask, internally kicking myself as I couldn't not have said that in a more flirty tone.

For once, Aiden isn't Mr Serious as he approaches. Hands in his pockets, he just casually comes up like it's the most normal thing in the world to be walking around in the freezing cold after midnight. His mouth curves slightly in what i think could be his version of a smile and I work out what's going on with us, well me. I've mentally marked him on the don't go there list, so of course I'm going to want him. It's not because of his shining personality or that he's tall and built like a Mr March in the fireman calendar or because I've never known a man to have truly kissable looking lips and eyes I kind of want to just stare into...

"I'm much worse. I bite." Was that a joke? "Why am I not be surprised to find you walking around, alone, at this time of night?"

"If you wanted to see me you could have just called." I shrug. "You know instead of creeping around my neighbourhood hoping for this."

"I don't think you would answer if I did." He stood up taller then, crossing his arms and becoming all, him like, again. "But I was actually out here checking out something for Brianna."

Of course he was. "Right. So you two are like, what, together?"

Now he smirked and as his eyes met mine, I really didn't want him to say yes.

"Strictly business. She helped me once, her coven too so I am simply repaying the favour by helping them when and however I can. At the moment it is, what did you say the other night? Playing Fido for the witch."

Witches helped him once? That is interesting.

"How did she help you?" I ask too eagerly, falling for his trap. What now, Brianna was going to appear and magically turn me into a wolf and I'd be wanting to repay the favour too by helping her form her runt wolf army?

"I didn't think you wanted to know. Everytime I tried to talk to you, you made it clear you didn't want to."

Well he wasn't completely wrong. I didn't want to talk. Somehow the space between us had shrunk almost to the point where I had no choice other than looking up at him if I didn't want to be staring at his chest. That was actually a mistake, my second as the first was staying put to talk to this guy.

"Go home Samara." He orders and turns to leave.

"I want to talk now."

"Of course you do." Aiden sighs. "Tomorrow. Meet me at Charlie's at ten."

"To talk?"

"What else would we do?" He smiles this time and I literally feel weak at the knees as he turns and within a few seconds he's gone.

"Oh I could think of a few things." I mutter and in an act of defiance I take the long way home - just incase he was still watching.