After Natalia, Matei and Emilia were done school for the day, Natalia was a staple at the Covaci house for dinner as usual, since they were making a bunch of different types of meat, as a monthly treat for their family and the pack.

"Thanks, this is amazing." Natalia mumbled through a mouthful of food and she was swallowing the food on her plate as they chuckled as usual, at the amount of food that the tall, very slender girl was able to pack into her stomach.

"Mom, can Nat stay over tonight? We have a big-ish humanities project due already and we are partnered for it so, can she stay?" Matei asked and his mother sighed.

"All right. But lights out at midnight, you two know the drill. I will also set up the spare mattress as well for you, Natalia." Mrs. Covaci allowed it and Natalia was smiling brightly, as Mrs. Covaci rang up Mrs. Julius, Natalia's foster mother to confirm that it was all right with them.

Judging by the look on Mrs. Covaci's face, it was a little too all right with a pair of foster parents and Natalia was grinning, as she helped clear up after the delightful and meat-only dinner.

"We don't really have a project due already, do we?" Natalia tapped out onto Matei's arm, as they walked up the stairs.

"Of course not," he tapped back and Natalia raised her eyebrows at him in a silent way of asking for elaboration on the words. "You shouldn't have to be made to suffer, because of your stupid foster parents, so I made up an excuse for you to stay over." He tapped out and she smiled.

"Thank you."

The silent language that they had made up last year, consisted mostly of taps and light flicks, with a slap or two that was made to be for a certain word. Matei nodded slightly and she tossed her backpack onto the floor next to the air mattress, and Matei's ended up on the desk, right next to his laptop computer.

"You ever think about what it would have been like, for you to be adopted or fostered by wolfblood parents and not human ones?" Matei asked as she sat on the windowsill and she nodded a little bit.

"Of course I have. A home where I wouldn't have to hide my true nature at every turn? A home where I could be in a cellar, and not have to escape out of my bedroom window every full moon in order to shift? Every day, I think about it Covaci. But, there just is not anything I can possibly do about it anymore." Natalia scoffed at the word "anymore" and she shook her head as she stared out of the window. "Not as if, I could ever do anything about it in the first place." She muttered under her breath and Matei sighed, and he joined her by the window.

"What if my parents found a wolfblood family to adopt you? Here in the big city, I mean, just so that you didn't have to leave." Matei asked and she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

A gentle smack on his arm was the answer and he looked at her, as she repeated the question with another smack that translated to... "Are you serious?" He laughed quietly at her silent words.

"Of course I am serious. My dad knows tons of people with all sorts of connections that can help you with all of this. Do you want my dad to look at it?" Matei asked and it looked like she was about to start crying, and he was opening his arms and she leaned into the hug. "I'll talk to my dad, all right? It might take some time... but we will see if we can get you out of that house without conflict. Do you think that you could get yourself kicked out of the house in some way?" Matei asked and at the words, she grinned and she tapped out a single word on his forearm which made him smile like he had just won a million bucks.

"Absolutely."

After Matei had talked to his dad about it and Mr. Covaci had agreed to do what he could to help, Matei went back upstairs to his room to see that Natalia had taken up residence on his bed and that she was soundly asleep with headphones over her ears.

Matei chuckled softly at the sight of her and he looked at the air mattress on the floor, as he moved the blankets over her and he froze immediately in place as Natalia mumbled something in her sleep, before she rolled over to go back to sleep.

Matei chuckled softly and he shook his head at her, as he grabbed some of his extra blankets and a pillow, before he lay down on the mattress and he was struggling to go to sleep.

Matei cursed and he went on his laptop to try and keep his mind busy as he couldn't get to sleep. He turned his head around about an hour later to see and hear that Natalia was both tossing and turning, as she struggled to separate dreams from reality.

"Nat." Matei said as he stood up and Natalia was suddenly howling, as her eyes shot open and she was howling as her veins crept up to her face and her eyes glowed golden yellow, as the eyes of all wolfbloods did, when they were about to shift.

Matei dove to shut the window, as Natalia had shifted and was snarling at him in a confused state, as she was unable to identify who it was.

Her feral side had come out once again, mostly coming from her many abusive foster parents as she was looking for ways to escape the area and she was pacing around the room as a wolf.

She snarled and lunged for the door, intending to break it down, but Matei got in the way and he growled quietly at her, as he crouched down and she'd back up, snarling at him savagely and he hadn't been expecting a submissive response to it either.

Matei crouched in front of the doorway and his veins crawled all over him, appearing on his face as his eyes glowed and he stood as a wolf in front of her, as she growled savagely and she snapped her fangs together at him.

Matei prowled around the room, his room and his territory and his fangs were bared clearly at her, as the two wolfbloods faced off and it might just be a battle for territory.

Natalia jumped at him and Matei reared, slashing at her head and she was sent into the wall with a loud thud and she whimpered suddenly, as if she had just woken up.

Natalia was whimpering as she looked around her in shock at the mess that Matei's room was now, as a result and she whimpered in apology, as she got up onto four paws and she bowed her head in a clear form of submission.

Matei walked over and his forehead was against hers, as Natalia had tears falling from her face, as she sat back on her haunches. When she had been able to return to human form, she was cowering against the wall and Matei could smell the shame on her.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered as she was trembling and Matei sighed and he walked over to her, as he sat down next to her and he moved both of his arms around her, as she leaned into the hug and she was shaking.

"It isn't your fault. You know that right?" Matei murmured and she was nodding slightly, as she leaned her head into his shoulder in an attempt to calm down, as she was sobbing and he worked to keep her from wolfing out again. "I'm always going to be right here, I promise you." He tapped out on her arm and she was laughing quietly as she moved her arms around him to return the hug.

"Thank you." She tapped out as they stayed like that for a long time, until the sun rose.