Nathan regained consciousness as he heard a furious growl. He opened his eyes to see a russet colored wolf rip off Anton's head. The wolf spit it out and stalked towards the vampires standing over Nathan. For a moment he felt fear until he saw the wolf's eyes, it was Paige. Paige had shifted she had the most beautiful wolf. He scrambled out of the way as she jumped at the vampires. They were too shocked to move. As she tore of the head of the one she was on the others seemed to gain awareness and began to run. She started to run after them but Nathan called out to her. He couldn't have her running angry through the city.

"Paige!" He didn't know her wolf's name yet. She turned back to him and saw him still laying on the ground. She bounded back down the alley and stopped in front of him. She put her head to his chest and let out a soft whine. Nathan reached up and stroked her fur.

"Hello beautiful girl." The wolf chirped at his voice. "I've been waiting for you." The wolf whined again as if to say 'Me too!'. "Can you shift back? I don't have Malcolm right now and I need to talk to Paige." Nathan tried to reach Malcolm but couldn't find him. It worried him and he couldn't but he needed to focus on Paige and her wolf right now.

"What the fuck?" Lennette and Thomas came running around the corner and stopped upon seeing Paige. Paige's wolf immediately started growling and turned to them, standing over Nathan in a protective stance.

Nathan reached up to her and stroked her fur again. "It's alright. It's just Lennette and Thomas. You remember Lennette right? And Thomas? We just met Thomas tonight. Remember?" The wolf kept eyeing the two but stopped growling.

"Is that Paige?" Lennette asked.

"It's her wolf. I don't know her name yet because Malcolm can't talk to her."

"Why not?" Thomas asked.

"My drink was dosed with wolfsbane."

"Shit!" Thomas took out his phone and made a call, he spoke quickly and quietly. Nathan didn't listen as he focused on keeping Paige's wolf calm.

"Okay," Thomas said as he hung up. "I've spoken to the president of the London unpacked. He's going to contact the council to send a clean up team and some medics for you both. She needs to shift back before they get here though."

"It's her first shift and she feels that she and her mate are threatened. I don't know if her wolf will let her." Nathan kept his hands on her, hoping that his touch would keep her calm.

"She has to or the will tranquilize her. There's no shifting in city limits unless your own your own property. You got to calm her down and get her to shift."

Nathan reached up and pulled the wolf's face to his. "Beautiful girl, you've got to give Paige back control. You need to shift back before the medics get here." She turned her face towards Thomas and Lennette as if you say 'What about them?'

"Lennette is your friend and Thomas is a good male. You felt this when we met him. They're not going to hurt us. Can you shift back?" The wolf turned her head back to Nathan and looked in his eyes. He felt like Paige was now looking out at him, asking what to do.

"It's okay, Paige. Just relax and let it happen. Your wolf knows what to do." She whined slightly, still unsure. "Mariquil. Mariquil. It's okay, you're safe. Mariquil." He kept whispering it to her as he stroked her fur. The wolf closed its eyes and let out a huff. In the blink of an eye, Paige was sitting before him.

"Nathan?" she asked. She sounded exhausted. First shifts were always taxing.

"It's okay, love. You're okay." He lifted his hand to her cheek.

"Your arm!" She cried. It had been broken in the fight.

"It's okay, I'm fine, it will heal."

"I'm so tired." She collapsed on his chest.

"I know, that was a lot. You did you good. I'm so proud of you." He stroked her hair and she fell asleep.

"Is she asleep?" Lennette asked.

"Yeah, first shifts are always exhausting." Nathan replied. "Uh, Lennette do you mind giving her your coat?" He gestured at Paige, she was naked after shifting back.

"Oh yeah." She handed her purse to Thomas, who had turned his back to them, knowing mated males can get possessive over who sees their mates body.

"She can have mine." He said as she started to shrug his off.

"Thanks, but I'd prefer it if my mate didn't smell like another male." Nathan said.

"I'll take it!" Lennette said as she handed Nathan her coat. "It's freezing out here. Practically summer and you still need a jacket. What type of backwards country is this?" As she spoke her Aussie accent came out even stronger than normal. They chuckled at her commentary on the weather.

The medics and clean up team arrived. Nathan and Paige were taken to the supernatural hospital, which Nathan marveled at. When he asked about it Thomas told Nathan that it's mostly used by werewolves and witches, and that it takes a lot of interspecies cooperation. It serves as regular care for unpacked wolves and treatment for wasting sickness.

"You have a treatment for wasting sickness?" Nathan asked in disbelief. Nathan knew to many wolves that had been lost to that disease, including his own mother.

"It's in the early stages but it's been promising. At the very least it lessens the effects of it and improves quality of life. My sister runs the research."

"If I had someone who needed treatment, would she be willing to help?"

"Someone close to you?"

"My gamma's mate."

"I'll talk to her."

Nathan was checked out by doctors and was told that the amount of wolfsbane he ingested shouldn't kill his wolf entirely, just make him weaker for a few days. His arm would heal as a humans would until his wolf reawakened to help. Paige slept for thirty-six hours. Nathan stayed with her the entire time. The doctors at the hospital had spoken with Doctor Lawrence and decided that it was best if she stayed in the hospital. Normally, a wolf would sleep off their first shift at home, but since Paige was so late and the manner of her first shift was cloaked in violence they wanted to play it safe.

While Paige was asleep, Nathan made calls. First to Allen and his mate. He told them of the potential treatment for wasting sickness. Allen started crying on the phone. Nathan knew his mates illness was hard on him. It's basically like waiting for someone to die. He also spoke with Thomas's sister and put her in touch with Dr. Lawrence.

Nathan spoke to the supernatural council in London and explained what happened. They said that since Paige was defending her mate and that Anton was laying claim to something he didn't have a right to she wouldn't face any charges for killing Anton and the other vampire. Apparently the other vampires that had attacked them had been told by Anton that she wanted to be with him and was being held captive by Nathan. He spoke to Paige's advisor and confirmed that she would still be able to do her defense on Friday.

He had taken up a seat on the couch in her room to try and get some rest of his own when he heard her croak his name. He was by her side as soon as she spoke.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Um," She tried to speak again but coughed. He got her some water. She looked around as she drank. After finishing it she looked back at him. "We've got to stop meeting like this." She joked and Nathan let out a surprised laugh, his tension leaking away at her words.

"What day is it?"

"It's Wednesday. Of this week." He added when she started to ask again. "Don't worry. the doctors say you should be fine by Friday. You'll probably be able to leave today actually, they just wanted to keep you because of the circumstances around your shift."

"Oh my gods! I shifted!" She looked at him with a mixture of shock and joy. He chuckled at the look on her face. He loved seeing that joy on her face.

"You did. You and your wolf saved me."

"You saw my wolf?"

"I did. She is beautiful. Has she told you her name?"

"How do I talk to her?"

"It's different for everyone. I think about it like when you have an imaginary argument in you head, except the other person doesn't follow the script."

"Okay." Paige scrunched up her face in concentration. It was the cutest thing Nathan had ever seen. Her eyebrows pushed together forming a little ridge between them. Nathan wanted to lift up his hand and smooth it out. Paige's face morphed into one of surprise.

"Her name's Odette," she said softly, a look of awe filling her face. "Nathan I have a wolf. I actually have a wolf." Tears started streaming down her face. He gathered her into a hug. There was no way for him to understand everything she was going through. He always knew he was going to have a wolf. It was a given for him. But not knowing if you would get one and then being an outcast because you didn't. So much so, that you run away for ten years to avoid it, only to come home and have someone to tell you that you really do have one. He couldn't imagine it. It must be completely overwhelming so he just held her.

Once she stopped crying he asked her, "Uh, Paige? Can you ask Odette something for me?"

Paige looked at him questioningly, but before he could say what he wanted she said, "Odette says that Malcom's still there. He's just sleeping and doesn't want to talk to you." She chuckled and Nathan's shoulders sagged in relief. It was one thing for the doctors to tell him he'll be fine, it was another thing to hear it from someone who can sense and talk to him. "How does she know that?" Paige asked.

"Mated wolves can talk to each other without their human counterparts. For chosen mates it requires marking but fated mates can do it from the get go. She should be able to tell you that we really are mates too."

Paige smiled at him, it was one of those ones where he thought his heart would stop. "She did. She also said there is no way we're not claiming our pack so any plans for future travel will have to wait until we retire."

"Like I said, as long as I'm with you. I don't care where we are. I will follow you to the moon if I have to. Malcolm and I are just happy to be with you."

He leaned down and gently kissed her lips, meaning every single one of his words.