Chapter 1

Mistrea pulled in to the drive way at the side of the house and parked the car. She’d been driving for two days and now all she wanted was a hot bath and a lie down. She took a moment to look at the house and the surrounding area, the house itself was made of wood and sandstone. It was strong and from what Mistrea had been told it was old, very old.

It had an upstairs level and a loft above it, there were two balconies one off the loft and another off one of the bedrooms both overlooking the lake that lay opposite the house. The house itself was somewhat isolated, situated at the end of a road sitting close to a forested area. Mistrea smiled, this was exactly what she wanted, what she needed.

All her life Mistrea had been told stories of this house, of this town and its people. She had no idea if she was doing the right thing by moving here, but what she did know, was she that she was drawn here. Peace and quiet was what she’d been craving for some time as well as open space. She hoped she’d soon be able to call this house and the town of Ransom home.

Mistrea already felt calmer than she had in a long time. She blew out a breath and moved back to the car, she needed to unpack and get organised. She needed to at least get somewhat settled before nightfall.

With this in mind Mistrea grabbed her hand bag off the seat beside her and headed for the front door of the old two story house that was to be her home. It didn’t take long for her to start moving things from the car to the house, but she hadn’t realised how heavy some of the boxes were.

Mistrea was struggling to pull a particularly heavy box of stationary closer so she could get a good grip on it and drag it out the back of her four-wheel-drive. She’d finally got a good hold when she fell backwards. She braced herself knowing she was about to hit the ground, but was surprised to find herself being scooped up into someone’s arms.

“Whoa!” she called out.

“It’s okay lady I’ve got you!”

The next think she knew Mistrea was back on her feet and looking up at a hunky young guy. Okay a hunky teenager. She also noted that there were two more hunks, one either side of him, “Thanks,” she said and offered him her hand.

He shook it, “I’m Kyle, this is Dylan and Reece,” he indicated the guys standing either side of him. “Would you like us to take the rest of this stuff inside for you?”

She smiled, “I’m Mistrea it’s nice to meet you all. Umm,” she thought for a moment, “I tell you what, if you guys put everything in the right rooms so it’s easier for me when I unpack and if you aren’t in a hurry to get home for dinner I’ll spring for pizza. That is if one of you knows an Italian restaurant or pizza place that delivers. What do you say?”

She jumped when she received a chorus of, “No problem!” and they grinned at her before taking charge and moving the boxes into the house.

“I wrote what room I want each box to go it but if you’re not sure just yell,” she called after them.

Mistrea was grateful that the house had come fully furnished and that it had a large office space in the loft. She watched as they moved everything inside and supervised Kyle as he placed all her office equipment in the loft. In less than forty minutes they’d brought everything in and done as she’d asked and place each box where she needed it to be.

 “Okay so who knows where we can get pizza?”

Dylan pulled out his mobile phone, “I got a number just tell me what to order?”

“Umm let’s see three growing boys, how about we get three pizzas and I’ll grab a piece off each of them? I’ll eat anything so long as it doesn’t have hairy fish on it okay. Oh and you might want to order some drinks too. I haven’t had a chance to do any grocery shopping yet.”

Dylan nodded and dialled ordering three large pizzas one peperoni, one ground beef, mushroom and onion and one super supreme he also did as she said and ordered drinks as well. He turned to her after he hung up. “It should be here in twenty minutes or so. Do you need a hand with anything else?”

“You could set up the television and DVD player and maybe the stereo system? I’m not too good with that kind of stuff. I usually have to get someone to come in and set it all up for me. The computer stuff I’m fine with but…”

Reece took charge of the television and DVD player and Dylan the stereo. Kyle looked over all the boxes until he found the ones marked DVD’s and CD’s in big bold letters. He opened the one marked DVD’S and started checking them out as he put them into a nearby shelf. He looked at her curiously when he pulled out a couple of Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVD’s.

“Don’t judge! I have the entire series and umm,” she could feel herself blush, “I’ve also got all of Angel as well.” He grinned and kept looking.

“Cool!” he said when he pulled out a copy of Terminator, “this is a classic, do you have all of them?”

It was Mistrea’s turn to raise a brow and all three boys stopped and grinned. Kyle waved it in front of her and she shook her head, “No blood and guts while we eat okay?” she saw the disappointment on their faces and almost caved. “You can borrow or watch it some other time,” she told them and they continued on with what they were doing.

By the time the pizzas arrived they had everything set up and Kyle had put on Terminator. Mistrea grabbed a plate from the kitchen and took a slice from each pizza before sitting on the couch.

Dylan handed out drinks to everyone and Kyle hit the play button. He looked over at Mistrea, “It’s not totally blood and guts…”

She shook her head and laughed when she realised what he’d put on and they settled down to eat pizza and watch Arnie strut his futuristic robotic stuff. By the end of the movie Mistrea was more than ready to hit the sack and was surprised that the guys stood outside her front door waiting until they heard her lock the door. They called out good night and left her wondering at what they’d done.

She cleaned up the pizza boxes and empty soft drink cans then made her way to her room. There were three bedrooms the main was large and roomy with a glass wall and sliding door that led to a balcony with an on-suite bathroom. The other two rooms were a little smaller with a bathroom across the hall to share.

Mistrea took the main bedroom and barely got changed and into bed before she’d fallen asleep. She woke suddenly in the middle of the night and wondered at what had woken her when she heard the mournful sound of a wolf howl.

She couldn’t remember hearing a wolf before howl before and it surprised her at how its sound touched her heart. She got out of bed and stepped out onto the balcony drawn by another howl. It was a beautiful night, the sky was full of stars and Mistrea looked out across the water then towards the wooded area to her left.

Mistrea shuddered and she wasn’t at all sure it was from the cold. She took one last look around then went back to bed. When she woke the next morning she felt well rested and ready to take on the day.

She showered and dressed before heading downstairs. There was no food in the house and she desperately needed a coffee so she grabbed her bag and keys and headed out the door. It didn’t take long to get to town, she pulled into the parking lot exited the car and entered the shopping complex.

The complex was small compared to the ones Mistrea was used to, but she found a grocery shop that also stocked up on fruit and vegetables as well as meat. She smiled knowing she’d bought enough to keep the pantry stocked for a while.

Mistrea struggled to get the shopping trolley to her car and when she looked ahead saw Kyle with some man yelling at him. Shit! She pushed the trolley harder until she got within earshot of them.

“Kyle!” she called out, “there you are, give a lady a hand?” she left the trolley by her car and walked the remaining few steps to where they both stood.

“Miss…tree…” he said slowly wondering what the hell she was up too.

Mistrea could see the colour drain from Kyle’s face so she reached up patted his cheek and smiled. “Where are your friends?”

“They are at school where Kyle should be!” stated the man in an aggressive manner.

She raised a brow at him then turned to Kyle, “I’m sorry if I’m getting you into trouble,” she rolled her eyes so that only Kyle could see.

I thought you’d already finished school, you look old enough.  You and your friends were really helpful yesterday. Here,” she held out her keys to him and smiled giving him a slight nod to let him know it was alright.

He took the keys and she heard a loud growl almost, but not quite like a dog. She turned to the guy that had been yelling at Kyle and smiled before turning back to Kyle. “Go ahead Kyle and lock up afterwards I haven’t had coffee yet and me without coffee does not make for a happy person.”

 “Kyle!” said the man stopping the kid in his tracks.

Mistrea sighed then shook her head and the man moved his focus to her. She heard footsteps and hoped it was Kyle going to her car. Then she did something that put a surprised expression on the man’s face, she looked him square in the eye and gave him a fake smile.

“Do you speak to every kid like that, or do you just have it in for Kyle?”

He tensed somewhat surprised that this woman had the gall to speak to him in this manner. He opened his mouth to put her in her place but she cut him off. “You know humiliating a kid isn’t the best way to go. Didn’t your mother ever explain to you that you can catch more flies with honey? Besides at his age he needs someone to look up too, not someone who’s going to humiliate him in public.”

If looks could kill Mistrea was pretty sure she’d be dead, but that didn’t faze her, “Have you ever asked Kyle why he doesn’t want to be in school?” When he didn’t answer her hands went to her hips and she tried to sound as calm as she could, “I tell you what, why don’t I give it a try.”

Never in his entire life had anyone man or woman spoken to him like that, he was so surprised he just stood there unable to speak. He watched as she turned on her heel leaving him standing there with a stunned expression on his face.

Mistrea grabbed the arm of a somewhat stunned Kyle and all but dragged him along with her. She wasn’t sure if the man she was walking away from would follow or not, so kept walking increasing their pace as she did so. They didn’t stop until they entered the café a block away. They took a seat by the window and waited for someone to take their order.

Five minutes later she was sipping coffee and Kyle was sucking on the straw in his chocolate milkshake. She looked up at him and noted that he was a little agitated. “So who’s tall dark and agro?”

The shocked look on his face cracked her up, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Come on Kyle how would you describe him?”

He smiled, “Yeah you got it right there Mistrea.”

“So who is he?”

“His name is Zachary Hunt, he’s kind of like my uncle.” he shrugged.

Her heart tightened at the mention of his name, but she sat quietly as they finished their drinks. When they were done they headed back to her car, “I think I’m going to need some help with the groceries once I get home?” she looked at him hopefully.

He grinned got in the passenger seat and waited for her. It didn’t take long for them to get to her new home and Kyle turned out to be a major help. “Why don’t you open the house up and I’ll bring in all this stuff?”

In no time at all the car was unpacked and the groceries stored. Her tummy grumbled and Kyle laughed, “Okay, so breakfast!” she said and opened the refrigerator to pull out bacon, eggs and all the fixings for a big breakfast.

“I hope you’re hungry because I’m starving!” Mistrea grinned when his face lit up and started organising the food.

They were halfway through their meal when Mistrea looked up at him, “So why don’t you want to go to school?”

He tensed up and she waited, when he remained silent she reached over and touched his hand. “It’s okay Kyle whatever it is you can trust me with it.”

Kyle lowered his head and thought about it for a minute. He sighed, “I’m okay with math and really good with sport, but I’m not so good with writing. I understand everything, it’s just I have trouble when I have to put things into my own words or write about it.” He glanced up at her and shrugged his shoulders.

“Have you considered getting some help, a tutor maybe?” he lowered his head again and she gave his hand a squeeze. “I could help; we can keep it between the two of us if you like. I swear I won’t tell anyone without your say so.”

She pulled her hand back and continued on with her meal leaving him to think on it and decide what he wanted to do. They finished eating and Mistrea did the dishes while Kyle took a look at her CD collection. He put on an old Smokie album and sat down to listen.

“You like Smokie too?”

“Yeah my dad used to play it all the time, it kinda grew on me if ya know what I mean?”

“Yeah I know,” she smiled to herself.

Several minutes later she came into the living room and sat opposite him; she got comfortable and closed her eyes so she could focus on the music. Mistrea had always loved listening to Smokie the music somehow helped mellow her out no matter how crappy a day she might have had.

“We’d have to talk to my mother,” Kyle said hoping he was doing the right thing.

“No problem. We can go see her now if you like?”

“When… I mean how often would we…” he sighed.

“How about we get together twice a week after school, maybe Tuesday’s and Thursdays, that’ll give you Friday free?”

“Okay but my mother will want to pay you for helping me. She’s a proud woman and won’t accept something for nothing.”

She thought on it for a minute or so then sat up and looked at him, “How about I help you and you help me?”

“Huh?”

“I have a really nice yard and garden front and back, how about you help me keep it that way as payment? You won’t have to work in the garden every day it’ll be more maintenance than anything else what do you say?”

Kyle nodded, “Sounds good Mistrea, but it’ll be up to my mom.”

“As it should be,” she got to her feet and grabbed her bag and keys, “no time like the present right?” she smiled and he got up, turned off the stereo and followed her out.

They’d barely opened the front door and Mistrea jumped back startled to see someone about to knock on her door. Kyle immediately pulled her behind him surprising the hell out of her. She peeked out from behind him to see the man had taken a couple of steps back looking a little startled himself.

“Miss Larkin I’m William Dermott the realtor. I apologise for not being available when you arrived to pick up the keys. I had hoped to show you the house myself and maybe introduce you around our little town.” He smiled at her ignoring Kyle.

Mistrea had to squeeze past Kyle because he didn’t want to let her go outside. As it was she only made it to his side before he put an arm around her and holding her firmly. She gave him a stern look then turned to the realtor.

“Hi Mr Dermott it’s nice to finally meet you. As you can see I found the house without any problems and Kyle here has been showing me around.”

He glanced at Kyle then back to her, “Of course, but I was also hoping to introduce you to some of our finer restaurants?”

She blinked! “Umm,” she began, “I don’t really eat out much Mr Dermott but thank you for the offer.” Mistrea looked up at Kyle and his hold on her tightened; she sighed and turned back to Dermott.

“As you can see Kyle and I were about to leave. Maybe we can have coffee sometime.” She smiled sweetly hoping the guy would leave.

Dermott was not pleased with the situation, he’d missed his first opportunity to make an impression on the young woman in front of him and now some dumb kid was getting in the way. He put a smile on his face, “Coffee would be nice I’ll look forward to it,” then he returned to his car and left.

Once the car was out of sight Kyle let go of Mistrea and she thumped him on the arm, “What the hell was that all about?”

“He’s not a good man Mistrea, be careful around him okay.” She nodded and they moved towards her car.

“Hang on a sec,” she said and ran back inside coming back a minute later holding a packet of chocolate chip cookies. “My mother taught me to never go visiting without bringing something for the table.”

Kyle shook his head at her as they got into the car and was soon giving her directions. It wasn’t long before they pulled up in front of his home, “Okay?”

He nodded, “Yeah but you should know that my mother is really good at seeing a lie. If she asks you something just be straight with her okay.”

“No problem Kyle.”

She reached out and gave his arm a squeeze then got out of the car and followed him to the front door. Kyle opened the door and called out to his mother.

“Mom I brought someone home to meet you!”

They came through the kitchen door and Mistrea saw a women resembling Kyle making tea. She smiled at her and Kyle moved aside so she could move further into the room. “Mom this is Mistrea. Mistrea this is my mom.”

Kyle’s mother smiled at Mistrea and held out her hand, “It’s nice to meet you Mistrea please call me Mae.”

“Hi Mae it’s nice to meet you too. I only arrived yesterday and haven’t had time to do any baking yet. This was pretty much all I had to bring with me, I hope it’s okay?”

She held up the packet of biscuits for her to see then handed them to Kyle, “Would you please get a plate to put these on?”

He did so without a word and Mae beckoned Mistrea to a seat at the kitchen table. Mae organised the tea and poured for everyone. She looked curiously at them both then Kyle spoke up. “Mom Mistrea and I were talking about school and I told her I was no good with some of it. She offered to tutor me.”

Mae turned to Mistrea and waited for her to speak. Mistrea put down her cup, “I sort of ran into Kyle while I was out shopping this morning and he was kind enough to give me a hand with my groceries. We got talking and he explained why he doesn’t like going to school.

Like Kyle said, I offered to tutor him in exchange for him doing some yard work for me. Kyle said it would be up to you so here we are.” She smiled hoping the woman would allow her to help him.

“Why would you want to help my son?”

“He seems like a good kid and I’d like to…” she saw the look on Mae’s face and sighed. “He hates reading! I’m a writer and he hates to read and thinks he can’t write.” She shrugged, “I told him that had to change.”

Mistrea saw the corner of Mae’s mouth quirk up and noted that she was considering what had been said. She figured what the hell and continued. “I’ve also been asked to teach a writing class at the local high school and if you agree to let me tutor Kyle, I’ll expect him to join the class as well.”

“What do you get out of this?”

“Mom…” began Kyle but a look from her shut him up.

“Like I said I’m a writer and the thought that Kyle or anyone else for that matter hates to read and believes they can’t write, well… it’s wrong. Besides, like I said he’s a good kid and the bonus for me is that my yard stays tidy and if I need any heavy lifting done he’ll be around to ask.”

Mae smiled and nodded, “That would have to be the most honest answer I’ve ever gotten from anyone.” She sipped at her tea and ate one of the biscuits then looked at her son. “You trust her?” he nodded. “All right then. What did you have in mind?”

They both grinned and Kyle indicated that Mistrea should do the talking. “I was thinking twice a week after school, maybe Tuesdays and Thursdays. My class is the last before the end of the day Thursday so he can come home with me afterwards for a session then head home. He can do the yard and help with the garden on the weekends when it’s needed, if that’s okay with you?”

“It’s okay with me.” She smiled, “Your right Kyle’s a good boy, he just needs someone to show him he’s more than he believes he is.” She sipped her tea again then asked, “You really bake?”

Mistrea grinned, “Yes I love to cook when I have time and if inspiration strikes out I end up cooking more than I can possibly eat myself.” She laughed, “I’m thinking with Kyle and his two friends around that won’t be an issue.”

Mae laughed and all the tension left the room. “Where are you staying Mistrea?”

“Mistrea moved into the old Kendrick place.” Kyle said, “Dylan, Reece and I helped her move in yesterday afternoon.”

Mae looked at Mistrea hard as if trying to see through to her soul. It made her feel uncomfortable and she did her best not to squirm or show she was nervous in any way. Mistrea had a feeling this woman could probably read her like a book and her book had too many secrets to be read by anyone but herself for the time being.

They chatted about everyday things for a while as they sipped tea and ate biscuits. When she rose to leave Mae gave her a hug and told her to visit again soon.

She was almost at the front door when Mae called after her. “We’re having a community get together on Sunday, we all bring something to share. You’re more than welcome to come along. Everyone should be there by twelve, twelve thirty. Maybe you can utilize your baking skills.”

“Maybe,” Mistrea smiled then gave Kyle a nod before she climbed into her car and drove off.

Mistrea smiled happily as she pulled out of the driveway. She felt good knowing she’d be able to help Kyle. As she drove down the road she saw a truck headed her way, her stomach did a nervous flip flop and when she came level with the truck she wasn’t in the least surprised to see Kyle’s uncle. She smiled sweetly, gave him a nod then turned her eyes back to the road.

Zachary saw the car coming his way and wondered who it was, the car wasn’t familiar and when he came level with it he couldn’t help but let out a low growl, especially when she smiled at him like it was an everyday event for her to be driving in his territory.

That woman! What the hell was she doing here? Kyle!

He made a b-line for Kyle’s place wanting answers. He didn’t have to knock on the door, Mae was sitting on the front porch looking like she was expecting him.

“Mae,” he spoke as calmly as he could manage.

“Alpha, what brings you here today?”

“Is Kyle home I need to speak to him?”

“Kyle!” she called and he came out of the house to stand beside his mother.

“Now what is it you want to know Zachary?”

Zac sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Mae could be a force to be reckoned with and he was in no mood for it today so he sucked up his agro and smiled at her. “I was just wondering about the woman I saw leaving our territory a few minutes ago. I saw her earlier with Kyle and…”

“She’s seems like a nice enough young woman to me,” began Mae. “She actually took the time to sit down and talked to my son about school and why he doesn’t like attending. She listened to him and asked him what he wanted to do.”

Mae paused letting what she’d said sink in before she continued, “She was nice and polite, showed respect to me and my home. She’s also offered to help Kyle with his studies. What’s more she didn’t have a need to humiliate him in public. As far as I’m concerned she’s welcome in my home any time she wishes to visit.”

“She told you I humiliated him in public!” he growled and looked at Kyle who lowered his head.

Mae laughed and it wasn’t a happy sound. “No Zac she didn’t have to. Several others in the community thought it their duty to inform me. Now if there’s nothing more, I have things to do.” She got up and gave Zac a respectful nod of the head then retreated inside calling Kyle in as well.

                                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mistrea set about organising her office when she got home; she wanted to have it ready before she started working again. She looked around the loft and liked what she saw; the entire wall facing the front of the house was glass with a door leading out to a balcony that overlooked the water. She knew in the summer months she’d utilise this area a great deal, especially if she needed a break from writing.

Mistrea potted around the house getting to know the place and making it feel more like home. She forgot to cook dinner so made a sandwich and a cup of soup. She wasn’t tired so went back to her office and booted up her laptop.

She’d arranged to have the landline and internet access ready for connection well before the move so once she’d set things up she was able to check her email account. She went through each email and either responded or deleted as was necessary. She opened up one from Claire her publicist and smiled at what she read.

“Hey Mistrea, hope all is well and you’re settling into your country bumpkin existence. When do you start teaching? I miss you already. Let me know how you’re going with the new book.

Claire”

Mistrea responded letting her friend know she was fine, she was all moved in, would start teaching on Thursday and that she had even made a couple of friends. That done Mistrea opened a new word document and focused on the page.

Words came slowly but that was okay, it was always like that at first. Mistrea knew once the idea of a story was planted the words would come in a steady flow. She loved when that happened but it could also be difficult to stop writing at times because she didn’t want to lose the thread of thought… the flow of words. The trouble was if she didn’t stop she’d keep going until she was exhausted and had been known to fall asleep over her keyboard.

Mistrea did a brainstorm of ideas for a new book and saved it in a new folder entitled ‘New Story’. She was looking forward to the peace and quiet of where she now lived so she’d have more time to devote to her writing. The only reason she agreed to do a class at the local high school was because her publicist insisted she needed to have a means of establishing herself within the community.

Mistrea shutdown her laptop and walked to the balcony stepping out and taking in the view of the sky. The air was cool and clean but she couldn’t help but feel she wasn’t alone. It was as if someone was watching her and while it should have scared the bejesus out of her, she felt safe. She took one last deep breath of fresh air and went back inside. It was time for bed she had a lot to do the next day.

                                                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zac rested quietly in the shelter of a stand of trees across from Mistrea’s house; he’d been there for well over an hour watching her. The woman infuriated him and that he was drawn to her just plain pissed him off. He’d found his mate a long time ago, but she’d been had her taken from him before they were old enough to do anything about it. He didn’t want someone to replace what he should have had, even if he was drawn to her.

He’d decided to go for a run, let his wolf out and let off some steam. He hadn’t realised he’d wandered towards her home and when he did he sat hunched in the trees growling at himself and his lack of control.

He watched as she moved around the loft then sat at her desk to work. When she finally turned off the light indicating that she was going to bed he got to his feet and finally took the run he had intended taking.

He ran for a good hour through the forest adjacent where he was, forest that belonged to both his Pack and the woman. He was exhausted by the time he got back to the Pack house heading straight to his bedroom where he stripped and showered before falling into bed.