This is a pretty short chapter and it's unedited! You've been warned!

I didn't want to post it before reaching a good word count, but I figured dropping a 2000 words chapter is better than nothing, so here you go!

Enjoy.

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"How's my favorite she-wolf?"

Lillian looked up at Benjamin. The blond alpha was running down the slight hill towards them, his steps light and his eyes full of mischief. He looked her up and down and grinned. Noah growled under his breath.

They were in Benjamin's pack. The Council session that would judge the case between alpha Albert and Lillian would be held here. Lillian, Noah, the twins and a few warriors ran the way to Benjamin's pack in their fur. His territory neighbored Noah's, and the run was a good stretch of their legs. The twins ran some of the way on their own, and when they got tired they shifted to their skin and rode on Noah and one of the warriors' back.

They reached Benjamin's territory around noon. The area was more hilly compared to home, and the weather had a colder bite to it.

"Does that line even work, Benjamin?" Lillian asked.

"Hey, I'm not hitting on you."

"Aha, I see."

"Believe me, you would've known if I was," he said with a wink. He was mostly doing it to get a reaction out of Noah. Which he often did not. But Noah was grumpy from the upcoming meeting and thus more irritable.

Lillian tugged on her sweater. They had packed their clothes in a saddle-like bag that fit over their wolves' back. When she first saw Noah with the backpack on his back, she laughed out loud. She couldn't help it. The sight was comic.

"Where are we staying?" Lillian asked as Ezra and Elijah finally managed to get into their shorts and stood next to her.

"I got a cabin ready for you four." Benjamin said, stabbing a thumb over his shoulder. They were in the middle of the woods, the trees covering every inch of the rolling hills around them, but Lillian's ears picked up the sound of voices and crashing water. Noah had said Benjamin had a waterfall in his pack village. It must be nearby. The smell of wolves, smoke and cooking food tickled her nose. Her stomach growled a little. She looked around. No one seemed to notice.

"Thank you," Noah said. He looked back at the warriors, no doubt linking with them. They would run back home. Without Lillian and the twins, the run back much faster. There was no need for them to say, according to Noah. Benjamin was a trusted ally, being in his pack, they were as protected as they would be in theirs.

"Alpha Benjamin, are you the one who turned my mom?" Ezra asked.

Benjamin raised his brows. "Yep. Who told you?"

"Everyone knows!" Elijah said. "Does that make you her dad?"

Lillian wrinkled her nose. Benjamin made a face. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way, kid. What makes you say that?"

The twins shrugged as one. Lillian shook her head. She had no idea what was running through their toddler brains.

Benjamin walked beside them up the hill. "The wolves in the committee are already here, and more wolves will be coming to witness the trial later."

"How does that work, anyway?" Lillian asked, keeping her eyes on the twins as they skipped ahead of them.

Noah threw an arm over her shoulders. "The national wolf council appoints a committee of wolves to deal with small matters like these."

"It's not a small matter for me," Lillian grumbled. Noah gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"He means matters that don't touch the welfare of the werewolf race as a whole," Benjamin said.

"So who's in this committee?" Lillian asked. "Do you know them?"

"I know most of them," Noah said. "Some are old wolves with good heads over their shoulders. Others..."

"Others are stuck up assholes," Benjamin added. "But don't worry. There's only one way this would end. No wolf will take away pups from their mother unless they were stupid or they had a death wish. The council just needs to observe all formalities and stuff."

"At least we're close to home," Lillian said.

Benjamin growled low. "I always draw the lucky straw in this crap. There's no way I'm hosting any more shit for the next ten years."

Lillian chuckled. The twins had reached the top of the steep hill and stopped.

"Wow! Mom! They have a waterfall!" Ezra called over his shoulder.

"Dad! Can we go swimming in there?" Elijah asked.

The smell of fresh water sharpened. The three adults reached the top of the hill and stood. Lillian breathed out a sound of awe.

The hills around them seemed to cocoon a stretch of flatter land that hosted the pack village. Wooden cabins similar to theirs littered the land, tucked under trees, some were built on the side of the hills. In the distance, water crashed in a short waterfall, pooling into a small lake that branched off several streams. Pack wolves were running around in their skin and fur. Pups were playing by the water, and Lillian spotted a few adults jumping from the waterfall's cliff down to the water.

"You should see this in winter, kids," Benjamin said, "when the waterfall is all frozen."

"Does it freeze like that?" Ezra asked with wide eyes, pointing at the waterfall.

"Yep. You should get your dad to bring you down here sometime in the winter."

"We'll do that," Noah said, looking at the twins with a small smile. Lillian leaned her head against his chest. It was wonderful how being called the twins' dad never ceased to warm his heart. She could always feel the bond between them almost melt in affection.

They started down the hill. The twins squealed as they little weights propelled them down, their feet doing their best to keep up. Lillian had to bite down on her tongue to keep from calling them back. They were wolves, a little tumble and fall would do them no harm. Her racing heart didn't agree.

"They're fine," Noah said through the bond.

"I know."

She was getting more used to letting the twins be wolves. Having a wolf herself, she became more conscious of their limits.

Some of the wolves stopped and stared as they weaved through the pack village. The twins came back and stuck to Noah and Lillian's sides. They're big blue eyes taking everything in, and their wolves close to the surface, processing all the new scents.

"See that cabin there?" Benjamin pointed to a cabin close to the waterfalls. "That's where you're staying."

"And the council?" Lillian asked.

Benjamin snorted. "No way I'm having those wolves in my pack village. There are a few buildings close to the border, that's where I put them for now, and that's where the meeting will take place."

"Benny!" A young woman called from one of the cabin's porches. She ran down the steps and jogged up to them.

Her dark blond hair was cut into a feathery pixie cut that grazed the soft line of her jaw. Bright green eyes narrowed on Lillian, before she smiled widely and looked at Noah. She waved shyly, pink dusting her cheekbones. "Hey, Noah!"

I raised my brows. Benjamin groaned. "He's mated now, for goodness sake. Get over it and don't be rude."

The blond girl threw her brother a glare. She was young, barely into her twenties. Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked at Lillian with barely concealed hostility. Well, then.

"Welcome to the pack," she said.

"Thank you," Lillian said, wrapping her arm around Noah's waist. Lillian's wolf wasn't a fan of the way the girl was ogling her mate. And Lillian wasn't, either. If there was one thing Lillian learned in her time with immortals, it was that the mating bond was considered sacred.

But Lillian wasn't threatened. She could see the girl was too young. Noah had probably been her first adult crush, so she wouldn't be a fan of Lillian.

Benjamin shook his head. "Lillian, this is my sister, Brielle."

"Nice to meet you," Lillian said, putting one hand on Ezra's head next to her. "This is Ezra, and that one is Elijah."

Elijah was jumping on his toes next to Noah, his eager eyes on the waterfall in the distance.

Brielle looked at the twins. Her scowl cracked, her lips twitching up at the sight of the two pups.

"Do you want to go see the waterfall?" Brielle asked.

Elijah and Ezra swung their gaze to Brielle.

"Can we?"

"We can?"

Brielle nodded and glanced at Lillian. Her green eyes narrowed a little, but lost some of the earlier hostility. "I can look after them?"

"She's good with pups," Noah said through the link.

"Alright," Lillian smiled. "Thank you. If they give you any trouble, let me know."

Brielle gave her hands to the twins, who took them readily, and they rushed toward the waterfall.

"Sorry about her," Benjamin said. "She's had a crush on Noah for the longest time. Asshole."

"What did I do?" Noah asked.

"Nothing," Benjamin grumbled. "I'm just glad you're mated and out of the market. About half the females in my pack have a crush on you. Now they can finally move on."

Noah looked at Benjamin like he was crazy. Lillian chuckled. She knew he never thought himself handsome because of his scars. But he was handsome in spite of them. And he was all hers now.

Lillian leaned into his side and followed Benjamin to their cabin. She shook off the weight of the looks and the whispers. They were only curious about her. Noah squeezed her shoulder.

The place was a small one story cabin tucked in the bottom of a hill. It almost looked like part of it with the way the grass grew over its roof and vines climbed its sides.

Benjamin left them to themselves. Noah put the backpack on the couch and went to check the two rooms. The small kitchen opened to living room, comprised of a brown couch and a wooden coffee table over a colorful rug, and small dining table with a checkered red cloth draped on it. Lillian checked the fridge and the white painted cabinets. There were essentials like coffee, tea, eggs, milk and butter. And meat in the freezer, of course. Meat was an essential for wolves.

Lillian heard Noah come out of the rooms. She found a pan in the third cupboard she opened and took it out.

"Eggs?" She asked, moving to the fridge.

"Yes," he said, going to the fridge. "I got it."

He pulled out eggs and butter and set them on the counter. While Lillian worked on the eggs, Noah stood behind her. He wrapped his arms around her middle and leaned his head close to hers.

"Nervous?" He asked, his breath fluttering the hair next to her ear.

"Yes, but not as much as I thought I'd be actually," Lillian said. "You?"

"No," Noah said. "If things go unexpectedly, I'll get to kill Albert, and that's not so bad."

Lillian chuckled. "You're just looking for an excuse to end him at this point."

"I am," he said, and moved to work on coffee.

Lillian finished the scrambled eggs, and the two of them wolfed them down in minutes. The light streaming in through the window dimmed as gray clouds claimed the sky. Lillian leaned back in her chair and sipped on the coffee.

"Benjamin just linked. Lunch will be served in an hour," Noah said, putting down his mug.

Lillian downed the last of her coffee and stretched her arms up with a groan. Noah followed the movement with hungry eyes that made her blush.

"One hour. We could go explore?" Lillian said.

Noah smiled at her, his amber eyes darkened. "I can think of better things we can do in one hour."

Blood rushed through Lillian body. She narrowed her eyes at him, then a grin broke through. "What do you have in mind."

Noah grinned back and stood up. she squealed when he picked her up, threw her over his shoulder, and walked to the bedroom.

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Thanks for reading!

Much love <3

M.B.