"In other news, the old, abandoned mining town, near Elevation Mountain, called Coloma burned down as of yesterday afternoon," the news presenter read, "The ten teenagers that disappeared from that area late last June are suspected of arson, though they still haven't been found. Missing person reports have been—"

"Turn that crap off," Jade spat.

I flicked it off, avoiding her stare.

It was evening, and we were in Ryder's ranch, sitting in the lounge, staring at the TV. Thankfully, it hadn't been too hard to break into.

They suspect us.

"We have to sort that out somehow." Jason folded his arms.

"It'll sort out by itself," Storm observed blankly, inspecting her fingernails.

"So, we just gonna lounge around here all day, or are we actually gonna do something?" Jade rolled her eyes.

"Maybe we'll do something when you lot decide we're gonna talk about what actually happened. We're not missing four people out of our pack because they're just hiding around the corner!" I exclaimed, finally getting it off my chest.

Goddamn it.

"Fine." Jason sighed. "You're right, we should talk about it. The more we wait, the more painful it'll get."

"I don't think it gets more painful than this." Ryder shifted and fixed his gaze on the floor's wood panelling.

"Okay, well we still have to talk," I insisted, "C'mon guys. We're a pack, we're supposed to talk to each other. What happened?"

"Ryan... betrayed us," Storm spat out like the words tasted sour in her mouth. "He betrayed us, and they killed him anyway. His 'powers' were some sort of hoax. God knows how long those bastards had been planning this..."

Okay, now we're getting somewhere.

"Why the hell did the hunters do all of this?" I frowned. "I mean, why didn't they kill all of us whilst we were sleeping if they knew where we were?"

"It was all part of some elaborate scheme," Jason began explaining, "The hunters decided that they needed to take matters into their own hands — the sort of matters that God alone should control." He shook his head. "They decided that no matter how many supernaturals they killed, there would always be more out there..."

"They're trying to commit genocide." Jade stood up and started pacing the room, "Fucking genocide."

"They're trying to make a cure — a cure for each type of supernatural being." Jason continued, "They captured our pack because of how diverse we were — are; we're not just werewolves." He swallowed. "Sienna, Ryan, Hayden... They were all test subjects. Failed test subjects. The 'cure' killed them in a number of hours, though not until the hunters had run several tests on them..."

I looked down; now I knew.

"Zack?" I asked, looking at Abi.

She shook her head. "Alive; they didn't take him. We don't know where he is."

"I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry for all of you," I said, but somehow, my words came out awkward and unemotional.

"We know. Thank you for coming for us." Jason put his hand on my shoulder. "But there's something else. These hunters... They were organised, and logical, they were like scientists, and doctors — they knew what they were doing. It's crazy how organised they were. They were like a... a—"

"Like an agency?" I offered, feeling dread rush over my body.

"Exactly like an agency," he replied.

"Shit." I stood up, raking my hands through my hair. "There was an agency that was supposed to be looking for you, and protecting me from the hunters at the same time," I explained, "Crap, maybe they needed an Omega to test. Maybe that's why they left me behind..."

"You became an Omega?" Ryder sat up a little.

"They told me that all of you were as good as dead." I nodded. "I've got a fricking tattoo to prove it."

"You have an Omega tattoo?" Jade frowned.

"Yeah, on the back of my neck." I turned away from them and pulled my t-shirt off so they could see the Omega tattoo.

Suddenly, I felt Jade's cool fingers tracing it, sending hot shivers through my body. Of course she can still do that to me after all this time.

"It's kinda faded," she told me, her breath tickling the back of my neck. I turned to face her, and her eyes scanned down my body.

"Okay, intimate moment over." Ryder rolled his eyes. "I'm not in the mood to watch you two get it on in the middle of the living room in front of all of us."

I laughed at him and pulled my t-shirt back on.

"So, it's fading — does that mean you're not an Omega anymore?" Jade asked, placing her hand lightly on my arm.

"I was never an Omega." I realised, smiling. "C'mon you guys — group hug!"

I pulled all of them to their feet as they complained.

"You're so sappy, Theo," Abi moaned in annoyance.

"I don't care," I told her and I wrapped my arms around them. "We're a pack again, guys."

"We were never not a pack," Jason told us. "We've always been together."

And we stayed there for a couple more minutes, stood in a circle, arms around each other.

This is home.

"Okay, sappy moment over," Storm announced, "Plus, I'm starving."

She strode to the kitchen and proceeded to make some sort of sandwiches. Abi, Jason and Jade went as well. I flopped back onto the couch, finally at peace.

Ryder flopped down next to me, and my peace was broken. Except not really; Ryder was like a younger brother to me. The surname that he chose from the stars was Altair — one of the main stars in the Aquila constellation, that's how close we were.

Sure, we fought a ton as well — but what brothers don't?

"You and Jade looked like you were about to get it on," Ryder told me.

"Yeah, you said already," I told him back.

"God, it's been so long since I've had sex." He sighed.

"TMI, Ryder, TMI." I laughed, before becoming serious. "When did Hayden die?"

"Couple of months after they captured us," he replied; pain evident in his voice, face, body posture, and scent. Pain just flooded from him.

"Hey." I nudged him. "You'll be okay."

"I am okay. Hayden will always be with me, I know that — I just have to stop thinking about her otherwise it's too much... But I am okay," he insisted and then asked, "How long has it been since you got laid, then?"

I rolled my eyes but humoured him. "Too long."

"Go on, how long?" He pressed.

"How long since I've been laid?" I sighed. "Probably last year."

"So, you've never tried to since then? I swear British chicks are pretty hot..." He mused.

If I rolled my eyes anymore, they'd disappear around the back of my head. "Yeah, I went out with one for a while. She was pretty hot."

"Name? Hair colour? Eye colour? Nice boobs? Nice ass?" He interrogated.

"You sound like a gossip-deprived teenage girl." I laughed at him.

"Just a sex-deprived teenage guy," he replied, "I need some details, Theo."

"Details about what and who's sex-deprived?" Jade interrupted and sat down in between me and Ryder.

"Ryder's just being a horny little bitch." I laughed as I teased him light-heartedly.

"Yeah whatever, Theo; this conversation isn't over." He stood up to leave, "And speaking of being horny, you two have fun." He eyed.

"Dick!" I threw a pillow at him and successfully hit him on the back of the head.

"Can I look at your wrist?" Jade asked, already taking my wrist in her hand.

The cross was still over our pack's symbol, and I reckoned that it would never go; we'd never all be together again — what with three of us dead and one of us missing.

"You got that cross as well?" I asked her.

In response, she pulled up her long-sleeved top and showed me that our tattoos were exactly the same. "It's the same on all of us," she explained.

"Jade... I've been meaning to ask you something," I began and continued when she nodded for me to do so, "Do you know any relatives of yours called... Victoria?"

Even the memory of the psychopathic, cannibalistic Alpha made my blood run cold.

"Victoria what? No last name?" She frowned, and I shook my head. "Hmm, did you meet her in the UK or something?"

"Yeah, something like that," I admitted.

"I know that I have a family over in the UK, and they're all born werewolves like my mom and dad were — does that help at all?" She lightly traced the tattoo on my wrist with her fingernail.

"Yeah, she was — is a born werewolf as well." I furrowed my eyebrows slightly. "I may have used her as bait to lure the hunters away from the town where I was, so I could get away from the UK and come here to find you. But she was a total bitch, she kinda deserved it."

"I don't care." Jade shrugged. "I've never met her in my life and don't plan on."

"Phew." I grinned. "But it's kinda creepy because she looked so much like you."

"You didn't do anything with her, pretending it was me, did you?" She dropped my wrist and bit her lip.

"Hell no!" I exclaimed, probably a little too fast. "I mean, I didn't because one: she was a bitch, and two: I'd never do something with somebody pretending it was someone else — that's just wrong."

Except maybe Fern; my body had obviously wanted to be with her, instead of with Fern, so I'd said her name, not Fern's.

I looked away from Jade.

"It's a full moon in a couple of nights," I stated, changing the subject.

"I know. You worried?" Jade asked.

"Only about what you, Ryder and Jason will be like after all that time locked up," I admitted, "And maybe myself a little as well."

"We'll be okay." She wrapped herself around my arm, hugging it to her. "You're here now."

She tilted her face up towards me and for a millisecond, I thought that she was going to kiss me.

But then Storm sat down on the other side of me, intruding.

"So," She took a mouthful of sandwich, "Your friend in the fire became something a little more than just a friend, didn't she?"

Jade uncurled herself from me and stood up off the couch. "You met someone in the UK." It was a statement, not a question, so I didn't answer her.

I turned to Storm instead, "Yeah... She did."

Ryder reappeared in the doorway; arms crossed. "Ooh, finally. This should be good."

"This isn't some TV sitcom," I said pointedly. "But yes, Storm. She did. And now she's in Svalbard learning how to control something that could kill her."

I stood up and pushed past Ryder, leaving all of them with their mouths hanging open.

"You okay, man?" Jason asked as I stormed past him.

"Just... working through some stuff." Avoiding looking at him, I blinked back tears (shut up).

"I'm here if you wanna talk," he told me.

"Jason, I killed someone." I broke down instantly, tears streaming down my face (shut up, shut up, shut up!) "Whilst I was in the UK, I had to kill someone to temporarily join another pack so that I could protect myself and the friends I made over there. I know I shouldn't have done it; I know that there's always a choice, I just couldn't — I was too lost, I couldn't find myself."

Jason embraced me. "Theo, you have to let go of it, you have to. It's been challenging for all of us whilst we were apart." He let go of me and stepped back. "Sienna was the first that died," he told me, face screwing up in anguish as he spoke about his lover, his partner, his Luna. "She was... protecting me from them. And they tested the cure on her, even though there was no chance of her surviving it."

"Jason... I'm so, so sorry," I said, and it felt genuine this time.

He waved his hand dismissively. "My point is: we can't blame ourselves for what happened to those around us, all of us were lost. Like what happened with Ember, she would've had to go to Svalbard, regardless of whether you showed up or not."

My eyes widened. "How do you know her name?"

"Storm." He shrugged. "I know pretty much everything that happened to you over there."

"Everything?" I echoed, eyes widening even more.

"Well," he chuckled slightly, "Storm left out some more of the... intimate parts — she knew when to watch you and when not to."

"Oh, thank God." I laughed nervously, wiping my drying tears.

"So, how come you don't say her name anymore?" He leaned against the wall.

"Since I told her I loved her, and she just told me that I know how to complicate things," I blurted out all of a sudden. Jason had that effect on me; even though he didn't control me, I always felt I could tell him anything.

"Maybe you shouldn't have told her that at the airport?" He suggested. "Storm told me."

I sighed. "I'll probably never see her again now I've found all of you."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." He raised an eyebrow and walked off.

"Hey! You don't get to say cryptic things then walk off like that!" I called after him, annoyed, "That's Storm's thing!"

He just laughed and continued walking.

We spent a couple of days in exactly the same way that we'd spent our first day at the ranch — doing absolutely nothing. The only difference was that the full moon was on our third night in the ranch, so we were all a little more on edge.

Before I knew it, the sun was setting.

I stepped out onto the deck to watch the sunset.

"Hey," Jade said softly as she came to stand next to me and sighed, "I forgot how beautiful Montanan sunsets are."

"I didn't, I never did." I smiled as I watched the golden light dance on her skin. "I also never forgot how beautiful you are."

Her hair was up in a bun, so I saw the tips of her ears turn red – she was blushing.

I wrapped my arms around her back and placed my hands on the wooden railing. "That tattoo behind your ear is still so cute." I noticed the four-leaf clover.

"You can see my other tattoo anytime you want as well." She flirted; I knew that her other tattoo covered the entirety of her upper back.

"I can see some of it already," I told her, tracing my fingers along the floral pattern on the back of her neck.

She turned to face me. "You can see the rest of it when you want..." Her fingers trailed down my chest. "You can see more as well." She bit her lip.

I tried, I honestly tried. But all I could think about was her. About Ember.

"Maybe another time." I turned down her offer and backed away from her.

"You two ready?" Ryder stuck his head out of the door. "We're gonna head a bit further away from town."

"How?" I frowned, glad for once that Ryder had interrupted us.

"There's an old pickup in the garage," he explained. "And Abi and Storm are gonna stay here."

"C'mon then." Jade shoved past me. "Let's just get this over."

Ryder thumbed over his shoulder towards her as she strode off, a frown crumpling his features. "What's with her?"

"Long story." I sighed and followed him through to the garage.

"Isn't it always?" He grinned.

Jason and Jade were already in the truck, leaving me and Ryder to sit in the pickup bed; it was only a two-seater cab. The truck was a 1988 GMC Sierra, with a rusted burgundy red body but fairly new tires.

Jason drove. He took the interstate for a little while before turning off to the left to take the fire trails up into the forest. The moon was well up in the sky now, and all of us were fighting its pull until we were safely away from other people.

"Remember," Jason said as he parked the truck in a clearing off the road, "Don't kill anyone, no matter how hard it is."

Jade threw him a dirty look. "I make no promises."

We got out of the pickup and ran into the woods a little more.

"God," Ryder exclaimed, "I almost forgot how good full moons felt."

He let out a long, plaintive howl into the night air.

I shook my head at him, grinning and howled as well.

"For Sienna and Hayden." Jade declared and howled as well.

Jason was the last to howl, and after he did, it was like all of us started transitioning at once.

My body trembled as I transitioned. My jaw, gums and nails ached as my teeth and nails sharpened. My clothes were torn off my body.

But this time, something was different — it didn't hurt so much, not nearly as much as full moons had been before I found my pack.

My pack are making things better.

And despite the full moon, I felt (mostly) in control. Tears (shut up) of joy glimmered in my eyes, as I realised that I had my anchor back again; I had my pack back again.

"You're it." Ryder knocked me, knocking me out of my thoughts, acting like the total puppy he was.

Jade, Jason and Ryder all ran off as I began chasing them.

Being a wolf is truly... indescribable. There's no way to even start describing or explaining it. You're animal and human. A perfect mix. Dangerous, for sure, yet equally as exhilarating.

But at least we were playing tag — avoiding losing total control.

I barrelled into Jason, tagging my Alpha, whose red eyes glowed at me as he began to chase me. Within a few seconds, Jason tagged Jade, and then she was after me.

"Gottcha." She collided with me, knocking me over.

Then she caught a scent — we all did. It was a human scent, a scent of a warm-fleshed being, blood flowing in their veins — stop it.

"Jade, Ryder, no!" Jason and I both scrambled after them as they began following the scent.

We both knew what would happen if we didn't get to Jade and Ryder in time, so we sped up. They'd tear that person, or people, up without a second thought. We had to get them to snap out of it.

"Jade! Ryder!" I paused running to howl to them and Jason did the same.

The thing is with your Alpha's howl, is that it can be used to control you, the same way that Victoria semi-controlled me back on the shores of Lake Oldoy all those moons ago...

Jade and Ryder presently appeared from behind a tree, both whimpering slightly.

"We're so sorry, Jason." They both nudged him, and he forgave them both by pressing his forehead against each of theirs in turn.

We'd avoided danger — that time at least.

We spent the rest of the night hunting small prey like rabbits and the occasional fox — staying well away from humans, all of us knowing too well what would happen if things got out of hand like that again.

When the moon finally disappeared and the sun began its ascent in the sky, we made our way back to the pickup truck, where Jason had packed spare clothes for all of us.

Jade took her clothes and re-dressed behind a tree, eyeing us warily like we were about to take her prey from her. Jason, Ryder and I got dressed closer to the truck, not looking at each other, or talking to each other for that matter.

"Jason," Ryder began when we had dressed again, "Jason, I'm so sorry for what happened with those people last night."

"Me too," Jade added, stepping towards us while still pulling her top over her body.

"It's okay, guys." Jason nodded. "It was tough on all of us, but we made it."

"We should head home," I said, realising how weird it was to say 'home'.

"Yup." Jade nodded and jumped into the truck bed.

Less than an hour later, we were back home at the ranch. Abi and Storm had made us pancakes for breakfast, knowing how hungry we get after a full moon.

"You two are incredible," Ryder told them as he greedily shoved pancake into his mouth.

Abi raised an eyebrow. "Good to know what gets us compliments, isn't it, Storm?"

Storm didn't say anything for a minute, as she stared upwards, eyebrows furrowed.

"What is it, Storm?" Jason got to his feet, knowing as the rest of us did that she was Seeing something.

She snapped out of it, looking at me. "You should check your phone." She told me, before turning on her heel and walking out of the room.

I frowned but did as she said. I grabbed my phone and unlocked it. There were no new notifications... until ting!

1 New Message from Ember

On seeing her name, I stood up from the table and walked out onto the deck to get some privacy. My heart actually leapt when I saw her name — how pathetic.

EMBER:

Hey, Theo. I know we haven't talked in a while. I really hope that you've found your pack by now, if not – don't give up hope, you will find them, I promise. Uncle Rob's been teaching me a lot, and I have proper control now. I need to talk to you, it's really, really important, so text me back as soon as you get this. I have something to tell you that I can't explain over text, but please reply. And Theo, I really miss you x

With one text, that girl has my heart again.

And there she was, making things complicated again — and she said I'm the one who complicates things...