"A!" Amythest called excitedly as I made my way to sit across from her at the dining table. It had been over a day since my parents and siblings left to drive back to Utah and Emerald's daughter seemed to finally be warming up to me. She reminded me — almost painfully — of May.

The farewells had been emotional, with the most dramatic of them all coming from my sister. I said goodbye to May last, knowing it might end like that. The second I let go of August, she flung herself at me, securing her thin legs and arms around me in an attempt to stay with me as long as possible. I had to physically untangle her with my hands before I could crouch down and properly hug her goodbye. Seeing her cry over me was the most heartbreaking thing I had ever had to endure, and when I pictured it now, I nearly choked up again.

Pushing it down with a hard swallow, I acknowledged the four year old with as bright of a smile that I could muster. "Hey kid, you miss me?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed, standing on her chair with her hands on the table to lean herself forward. "Cook's making your favorite: waffles!"

I chuckled, surprised she remembered when I had mentioned it a few days back. Taking my seat, I folded my napkin across my lap. Across from me, Ames was tugged down by her waist to sit on her booster seat. River, sitting next to her, sternly reminded her she needed to stay sitting when we were at the table. She pouted, but didn't protest.

Within moments, several Omegas appeared with our plates, placing them in front of us. My mouth started watering the second the plate was in view and the steam could billow up to my face.

"You nervous?" Emerald asked me from the left of River. I could tell she was trying not to eye me when she started eating, but she failed miserably as her eyes darted to all my anxious habits.

I shrugged, "I guess a little."

She smiled knowingly, "it'll be great, you'll see." I finally took a bite of my waffle, my jittering nerves giving me less of an appetite but not enough to resist the smell of my favorite breakfast in front of me. "There are several packs that attend the university."

"I thought most wolves didn't pursue education farther than high school or a GED?"

River shrugged, not really looking at me while he was occupied offering a bite of cut-up waffle to his daughter. "It depends on the wolf, and sometimes even on the pack. The majority of wolves you meet will be studying to become pack doctors, but you'd be surprised how many just want to have a degree."

I think that was the most words he had spoken to me. I could never read him, and sometimes I almost felt I wasn't as welcome here as Emerald had been making me feel. But maybe he was just quiet, a trait not seen in many wolves with his status.

"Interesting." Was the only response I could think of to the information he had shared. I forced another forkful of food into my mouth, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach screaming for me to stop it. It was just anxiety about a first day in a new place, and it didn't help that I had taken off over a year after high school.

"Do you need a ride or anything?" Emerald asked.

"Or you could borrow one of the cars from the garage." Her mate offered.

I raised my eyebrows, not expecting to have this much trust here already from him to feel like he could let me drive one of his pack's vehicles.

Thinking about it for a moment, I decided not to take him up on that yet. "Thank you both, but I think I could walk. At least while it stays warm; it will give me time to think before I arrive." I supposed that could have sounded strange, but I wanted to mentally prepare before the inevitability of running into wolves I didn't know. And humans too.

The alpha pair glanced at each other; it was Emerald who spoke up. "It's definitely too far to walk, April." Her tone wasn't condescending, but actually motherly, like she was reminding me that we didn't exactly live in town.

I tried to reassure them, "I'll be okay, I promise. I know the way."

River chuckled, "the roads to the school are mostly highways. The gravel roads surrounding us only get you to the base of the mountain, but then the roads get far too busy for it to be a safe walk."

My lips pursed inwards at my attempt to keep from barking out a laugh at the thought he considered this to be "in the mountains". I knew that technically, we were in an Appalachian Mountain Territory, but without the snow capped peaks towering over anyone below, their points reaching the sky beyond the clouds. . . it just wasn't a mountain. These were fancy hills.

"If you're uncomfortable driving, I'm usually free and can drive you there and back, or have an omega help out." Emerald suggested, her voice told me she wasn't trying to be pushy, but it also firmly stated I wasn't walking.

"Thank you." I responded after swallowing my last bite of breakfast. "I'll keep that in mind, but I should be good driving myself." I met River's eye, "as long as you're certain I'm allowed to take a vehicle."

"Of course." His reply was instant, and the lack of hesitation helped me feel more comfortable with the idea.

My chair screeched back as I stood, "tell the cook 'thanks', I think I better head out."

"The keys are all hanging in the garage, any of them are up for grabs." Emerald informed me softly, her eyes following me to the door.

"Thanks!" It didn't even cross my mind to ask for directions to the garage.

"Bye A!" Amethyst called after me. Yesterday, she had started calling me "A", sometimes "Ape" after discovering the r in my name was too difficult to pronounce on a regular basis. Emerald had informed me she was four, and Jade — the alphas' son — was six. Amethyst was quite a bit smaller than her brother, though, too exaggerating for a mere two year gap, and it made me ponder the possibility of her being a runt.

It wasn't common for an alpha to produce a runt. In fact, it was extremely rare. Their blood was stronger than that, as many packs thought runts to be a disability, a weakness. They were physically smaller in stature, and that carried over to their wolves. . . if they ended up shifting at all; many were stunted. I had heard of runts being born with physical and mental disabilities too, and while Amethyst seemed healthy enough, besides her size, things could show up later down the road. I figured that was why Emerald and River hadn't talked about the possibility of her being a runt. Scientifically, it shouldn't make sense: River was a born alpha, Emerald was the product of a born alpha and a Royal Wolf. That amount of power flowing through the DNA passed to a pup should prevent any possibility of a runt.

When my hand touched the dining room door to leave, I turned over my shoulder and waved a quick goodbye to the child, smiling at how happy she became from the simple act. I slipped through the door and darted up the stairs to grab my bag before making my way out the front door.

Too late, I realized the front courtyard wasn't going to get me anywhere. There was no way into the garage from the outside without the button to lift the large doors. I spun on my heel to start towards the front door again when a slight rattling to my left made me freeze. Turning, I watched as the brown doors lifted up slowly towards the siding of the house before they folded into the spacious room and settled against the ceiling.

Searching, my eyes finally landed on River. He stood on the step by the door I assumed led into the house from the garage. He dropped his fingers from the button on the wall and smirked at me, his amusement clear as glass. I frowned, forcing down the embarrassment as I stomped my way towards him.

"Shut up." I muttered as I grabbed a set of keys off the first hook, not letting myself meet his eyes.

He barked out a laugh, a true laugh; the kind of laugh you wouldn't be able to keep in even if you tried. A smile cracked my lips without my permission. It was the first time I had seen a true emotion from him, and after how much he had talked at breakfast, I was beginning to think his true self was what I was starting to see poke through the past day or so. He wasn't sure of me, what to think of my presence here, his natural alpha instincts were to be on guard for the sake of his family and his pack. Maybe if I didn't get to see how he really was as a person, I could ask Emerald how they met and what he was like. He seemed like a cool alpha, if he opened up to me ever.

Headlights lit up the courtyard and a click sounded from inside one of the vehicles as I pressed down on the button in my hand. While I knew Emerald had told me any of the cars were up for grabs, I would feel incredibly uncomfortable driving something way too nice and expensive looking. I sent a silent prayer of thanks to the Moon Goddess when the car the key I held belonged too turned out to be the least nice of the cars to choose from.

I glanced back at the alpha as I climbed behind the wheel, noting that while his smirk hadn't disappeared, he was watching me closely with unblinking hazel eyes. I could tell that if I came home that night with a single scratch on this vehicle, he would know, and I would be dead before I even hit the stairs. Note taken.

Starting the engine, I took a moment to adjust my seat placement and mirrors. I was tall, taller than most girls I knew, but still shorter than the majority of werewolf men. From the feel of the car, I could easily assume a man drove this last, and so I had to adjust a couple settings to be comfortable.

I turned to meet River's eye again. Lifting my hand to my forehead, I gave him a mock salute before pulling out of the garage. I didn't want to stick around to see his reaction to my "goodbye".

The drive was short, and fairly easy. I learned how to drive in the Rocky Mountains, in the deadass middle of winter. I was fairly certain anything was easier than that. Still, while it was short and simple, I begrudgingly admitted to myself that Emerald had been right; it was much too far for an easy walk. Probably would've taken me over an hour, even if I shifted.

Because shifting didn't ruin my outfit, I could travel that way much easier than a wolf could. But, it would be very strange to see a silver fox running down the side of the road towards town, so I would have to stay in the trees, which would take longer. Besides, if I were going to convince any wolves I met that I was human, I needed to play the part.