My palms were sweating as I joined my brother, Anna and Connor at the pack meeting. It took a lot to make me nervous, yet somehow the idea of possibly being rejected by my family's pack made me feel incredibly anxious.

As we sat in the packed meeting hall of the mansion, I could see the curious faces of the pack members, young and old. Some looked excited, others seemed unphased. There were a few though that appeared to be a bit unhappy about being there. My brother walked up on the podium and took his place at the speaker's desk. The room was full with hundreds of pack members but they all went quiet the moment he stood behind the microphone.

"Blackwood Pack, as you all know, 24 years ago this pack and my family were struck by a tragedy. We lost our beloved Alpha and Beta Moreau and I lost my parents and my sister. But the Goddess has been kind to me, as she has granted me my wish to find my sister, so it is my pleasure to present to you Aurelie -Riley- Moreau, daughter of Alpha Margot Moreau and Beta Matthew Moreau."

As the applause erupted in the room, I saw Lucien wave for me to get on stage, even though Anna was already pushing me towards the steps to get there. I quickly joined my brother and smiled widely as a thanks for their warm welcome.

"My sister is of Alpha blood, so you are to show her the respect an Alpha deserves. She is also an expert in security and protection, therefore she will support Beta Evans as Head of Security and Training for this pack." I looked at Lucien in shock as we hadn't talked about this and we had agreed that I might go back to London once we found the people behind our parents' murder. Yet, I couldn't help but be pleased by the fact that my brother trusted my skills and abilities, and he believed that I could protect the pack despite not being a wolf. "If anyone wishes to speak on the matter, do so now."

There was silence until a young man spoke up. "She is not a wolf though! How can she be responsible for protecting us when she doesn't have an animal?"

Lucien started to respond to him but I motioned for him to stop as I needed to handle this myself. "What's your name, lad?"

"Jamie, ma'am."

"Jamie, you are right- I don't have my wolf. In fact, I don't even know what it's like to have a wolf because mine was killed by the same people that went after my family. But let me tell you this- your wolf gives you strength, it is your weapon. But neither strength, nor weapons mean anything when you don't know how to use them. Protecting this pack is not a question of being the strongest or the bravest but it is about thinking strategically and being one step ahead of your enemies. Trust me, there is no one who knows this better than a woman who learnt to bring down enemies with only her human abilities." I finished my reply and stood there confident in what I had said and in my own abilities. I looked at Lucien, who was beaming with pride- I must have said something right then! I could see that Jamie was thinking through what I said and the realisation that I was right slowly hit him.

"It would be an honour to train under you, Aurelie Moreau." He said and lowered his head to show his respect. Next thing I know all of the pack members lowered their heads and the slow clap that started in one end of the room turned into a thunderous applause. In the row in front of me Anna was practically jumping with happiness in her own seat, while Connor gave me an approving nod. Maybe I really had Alpha blood in my after all.

After the meeting I continued to meet and greet various pack members, so I was ready to pass out by the time that Lucien and Anna suggested for us to go. Our rooms were in the Alpha wing of the mansion, which came equipped with its own living room, dining room, and kitchen amongst other things. Lucien and Connor excused themselves as they still had some pack business to go over but I didn't mind it as this gave Anna and me a perfect opportunity to bond.

I felt like I was sitting on a little cloud of heaven when I finally placed my butt on the extremely comfortable sofa chairs in the living room with a cup of hot chocolate for each of us. My zen didn't last for long though as I could feel the itch inside my head to just ask Anna the question that has been on my mind all day long.

"Anna, I am sorry for being this direct so early on in our relationship but I have to ask- are you pregnant?"

The poor girl nearly spilt her hot drink from the shock that my question has caused her.

"What? Riley, where is this coming from? Of course I am not."

"You can tell if you are, honestly. I promise I won't tell a soul."

"I trust you, dear, but it's not that. I am not pregnant. My cycle is a bit late but I had been so worried about Luc while he was down in London that the cause is very clear."She seemed convinced by her own words. Clearly if she was pregnant, she had no idea about it.

"Look, I get it- you don't know yet. But just think about it- you've been feeling tired and unwell lately, you've been moody and having cravings....."

"Oh my Goddess, you are right!", she gasped and put her hand on her mouth, as if not saying another word more would make it less likely. "Would you come to the doctor with me? I don't want to tell Luc yet, at least until I know for sure, but I don't want to go on my own and you are my family now."

I was genuinely ready to tear up at the trust that Anna had in me, despite only just having met me. She was such a pure soul that I knew she meant everything she said.

"Of course! It would be an honour. Plus, I just gained a brother and a sister that I didn't know anything about- I would love to be there for my niece or nephew from the beginning in order not to miss a thing this time!" We were just sitting there, hugging each other, and I knew deep down in my heart that no matter what happened in the weeks or months to come, I would be forever bound to the Blackwood pack, my new family and the tiny bundle of joy that could be on the way.

By the time I made it to bed, I was knackered from all the socialising and the emotions.I placed my head on the fluffy pillow and I was out. I dreamt of the beautiful Scottish landscape, imaging myself running through the forests and flying over the hills. Everywhere I looked though, I could see a pair of blue and a pair of yellow eyes following me around, stalking me from the shadows. I felt the need to go and find out who or what was there. Yet, as I neared both sets of eyes, I heard growls and suddenly I found myself awake in my bed again with the sun shining brightly inside the room.

My mind still felt a bit dazed and confused from the whole dream, so I decided to go for an early morning run. The forest leading up to the nearest hill was perfect for some alone jogging time. The music was blasting through my headphones as I was making my way between the threes and I couldn't help but admire how peaceful and relaxing this felt. Definitely nothing like my jogs in London. For a second I imagined that my wolf was here with me- would she have been proud? Did the shifter animals even have emotions?

As I ran, I saw a ball of fur straight ahead of me. It must have been an animal, although it looked pretty big for one, even as it lay all curled up under a tree. I removed my headphones and I heard it whimpering. The closer I got I realised that in front of me lay a beautiful black wolf and that it was injured. I didn't even think if it was safe to get close to it as I ran to get to it faster. I kneeled down and it looked at me with fear in its eyes. It flinched as I reached forward to check where it was injured. It took me no time to see that the issue was its front left paw which must have gotten caught in a trap. Whoever did this to the poor thing must have meant to cause some serious damage. I stroked the wolf's head and ran my hand along its back to reassure it that everything would be fine. But as I did that, a realisation hit me- this was no ordinary wolf. There were no wolves in the wild in the UK- that's why the shifters lived here, to be free to run in their animal forms without getting detected.

"You are a shifter, aren't you?" I spoke to the beautiful creature in front of me. The fear in its eyes was growing. Christ, Riley- you really are stupid! Of course she would be scared of me, humans were not meant to know of their existence after all. This wolf's human must be worried that I am with whoever caused it harm.

"Hey, it's okay. I am with the Blackwood pack. You are safe with me, I promise. I won't let anyone hurt you!"

My words must have sounded genuine because next I heard the cracking of bones and the wolf in my lap turned into a beautiful and very naked young woman! Duh, Riley- obviously they don't have clothes on when they shift! Her left hand was still injured even in her human form. She pushed herself off the ground and turned around to me.

"Who are you? And how do you know about our kind?" the mysterious beauty asked. In many ways she reminded me of Anna as she had the same fragility and gentleness about her. She was young though- can't have been more than twenty years old.

"I told you. I am with the Blackwood pack. I'm related to Alpha Moreau." I wanted to reassure her but I didn't know her well enough to fully reveal my identity.

"But that's impossible- you are human!"

"Yeah, impossible is my word of the day lately but hey, apparently more things are possible than I thought. And the human part is a long story for another day. My name is Riley- what's yours?" I could feel that she was warming up to me but she didn't quite trust me yet. What she did next surprised me though- she placed her hand on my cheek and looked into my eyes, as if she was trying to reach the depths of my soul.

She blinked,coming out of her daze. "I trust you, Riley. You might not have a wolf any longer but there are enough traces of it in you for me to know that you are good."

"How did you-"

"I'm an Omega and Omegas can sense the emotions of other wolves. I sense that there is enough good in you, even without your wolf. My name is Natalia by the way. Natalia Macalister." She smiled weakly at me, as she was clearly exhausted.

"As in Alpha Macalister?"

"Yes, that would be my dad."

"What happened, Natalia? Who did this to you?"

"I am not sure. I went out for a run, just like you; but I ran into a trap. As soon as I did, I heard that someone was coming, so I put all my strength into freeing myself and I ran as fast I could. Once I was sure that no one was following me, I collapsed here. My injury will heal- I am a shifter after all- but I need time and rest for that to happen. I was too exhausted to make it back to the pack though and I am worried that whoever was coming for me is still out there." She was frightened and I could hear her voice break as she spoke. Wolf or not, she was still young and innocent! Poor thing, she must have been scared out of her mind.

"Hey, Natalia- don't worry! I am here and I am not going to let anything happen to you! Let me take you back to the Blackwood pack- we can call your pack from there and I can make sure that the doctor checks out your injury in the meantime."

She looked at me with such gratitude in her eyes that I felt like I had lifted mountains for her. "Thank you!"

As we walked back, I couldn't stop thinking about what she had told me. Why would there be traps around here? Shifters wouldn't use them and humans didn't know that there were wild animals like wolves and bears around here. No, whoever put them knew exactly what they were trying to catch and that only meant one thing- Lucien was right, someone was going after shifters and they were making a move on our grounds.