---Will's POV---

Running through the woods was amazing and usually calmed my wolf down, pulling me back to the most basic emotions and sensations. It was an opportunity to experience the world in its most simple and beautiful form.

But right now, all I could think about as my paws hit the dirt over and over again was Carlos. There must've been a reason why his mate rejected him, especially if he was completely different to what he is now.

A yelp slipped from my lips as teeth nipped at my tail and yanked playfully before a pale gold wolf darted past, wagging her tail. I shook my head before I started to chase Kim through the rest of the wolves.

She let out a playful yip and growled as she bumped into Katherine. Yeah, she shifted too and was now a beautiful light grey wolf with darker tufts around her ears, muzzle and tip of her tail. The she-wolf was now grumbling and running after my mate while the others chuckled and watched them playing around.

Dad had sent us ahead with a small part of the pack to the territory of the new Alpha pair, Ryan and Lyra. I hadn't heard much of them but thanks to my uncle and one of his right hands, Malcolm, I was informed that Lyra was a former rogue and they would be rather protective, since they had a litter of yearling pups.

The thought of pups made me look back at Kim as she rolled around with Kath, growling and nipping before she scrambled back on her paws to follow the pack. We were too young to think about having kids, but...it wasn't too bad to think of the future, I suppose.

"We're closing in on pack-lands Alpha Will. They're awaiting our arrival." Malcolm said politely as he slowed down a bit, signaling the other wolves to do the same. I didn't like it but it was custom to let the Alpha pair travel in the front of the group.

Kim's tail was wagging a mile a minute as she took her place beside me, slowing down to a trot as we spotted a couple of black and brown wolves waiting at the edge of a forest. I had to slow down to avoid the rocky cliffs to our side before we shifted to greet the wolves.

"Greetings Alpha Will and welcome to Black Ridge territory." One of the men said as he spread his arms in a welcoming gesture, the gray wolf beside him snorting towards him before she rolled her eyes as he scowled down at her. "I'm not acting dramatic, its custom to greet the alpha-pair with respect Anna!" He hissed under his breath before the she-wolf shifted.

"Don't mind him, he's had a stick up his ass the moment Ryan promoted him to Gamma. I'm Anna, this dumbass here is my mate Eric and since I know you guys are in a hurry, we'll guide you to the packhouse instead of wasting air and precious time to ceremony and tradition." Anna said with a wink in our direction, leaving the elder wolves of my pack slightly baffled while Kim and Katherine both chuckled and wagged their tails.

Eric stared at his mate before he shook his head and shifted into his dark brown wolf, nudging the smaller gray one to get moving. I chuckled to myself and followed their example before running after them.

Their territory did earn its name by the countless of ridges, mountains, hills and cliffs that spanned a rather large side of the southern end of their home. There were plenty of animals and other wildlife in the forests and several plains spread out, a rather ideal place to settle as a pack.

Kim stayed close with me as we followed the darker wolves up to a rather large house, where Eric shifted back, grumbling to himself as his mate shook her head and beat him at the door, knocking first before she pushed the doors open and let us in.

"Not to be rude but I can't let everyone in; the Luna's pups are still in their wolf form and she'll respond instantly if they feel threatened. So it's best to keep it at four people, and that's pushing it." Anna explained politely as she eyed the group of twelve wolves around her.

After a short minute of discussing what was best, I agreed with the notion that we were safe on this territory and didn't need protection from the inside, so David and Kath were accompanying us inside.

I let my eyes wander across the room as I wrapped my arm around Kim's waist, smiling warmly as she leaned into my touch and adjusted her pace to my own. God, I loved her more and more every day. She was just so amazing.

Even now, being blind and on unknown territory, she trusted me to keep her safe while she stayed relaxed and by my side. I felt a burst of pride, especially when I heard some whispers from the wolves in the Blackridge pack, all of them noticing my mate and the bond that we shared before they uttered their surprise of her blindness.

Judging by the small smile that curled on Kim's lips, she heard them as well. I smiled and pecked her on her cheek as I wrapped my arm a bit tighter around her. Anna stopped halfway down the hallway and opened a door before ushering us inside.

As I took a seat and pulled Kim in my lap, I heard a few yips and exited barks coming from a few rooms down the hall, causing a smile to spread on my lips. Judging by the youthfulness of these voices and the stuttered howls in between, these were the pups Anna had told us about.

Suddenly a curse rang out, quickly followed by a sharp bark and then we all pulled our legs up on instinct, as the room was flooded with excited, playful puppies nipping at our pants.

The next few minutes were rather chaotic; as the yearling pups jumped around and tried to instigate us to play, they managed to bump against our chairs, the desk in the center and a bookcase, which led to people falling down on the floor and smothered in puppy kisses, small ornaments, pens and papers flying through the air and people crying out in surprise as they were invited rather actively to come and play.

"Ah! Stop!" Kath laughed and giggled somewhere behind me as I was trying to push the two pups out of my face, huffing when one of them flopped down on my stomach so I couldn't get up. "Guh! Man, what do they feed these pups?" I managed to grunt before sitting up and grabbing the squirmy white yearling in my hands, tickling it without mercy.

The pup yipped and kicked with his legs before one of its siblings jumped against my shoulders and nipped at my ear. "Whoa, easy!" I said, a bit startled at the fierceness of the black and silver pup before the two ganged up on me. They weren't acting aggressive at all, just using their size and weight to try and push us around.

Just as the black pup wiggled his bum and pounced, he was scooped out of the air along with his white sibling. "When I tell you kids to stay with your mom and behave, you're supposed to listen to me!" A male voice spoke gruffly and getting an instant reaction from the other pups in the room.

They all jumped at the man, who simply laughed and shook his head when he held two squirming pups against his chest, leaning his head back to avoid their excited licking. "Lyra, can you come in here and help a hand please? Your kids are acting up again!"

"Oh, they're only mine when they're hungry or misbehaving huh Ryan?"

Ryan smiled sheepishly as a blonde woman with piercing blue eyes walked into the room and crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against them in warning. She cleared her throat loudly and smiled down at the pups as they all calmed down.

"Alright, if our guests don't object, you pups can stay here, if, "Lyra added as she spoke a bit louder to rise up over the bout of exited yips, "if, you guys behave and play quietly with each other." Ryan placed the two squirming pups on the floor and smiled when they each gave him a playful nip before they walked calmly through the room and sniffed at each of us to remember our scent.

"Well, that was...exciting." I remarked, reaching out to Kim as she laughed and nodded in agreement. My hand paused a few inches away from her arm when I spotted the little wolf in her lap which had curled up comfortably while she slowly petted the grey-brown fur.

Having kids doesn't sound too bad...but maybe later. I thought to myself and shook my head to clear it. Alpha Ryan smiled with a slightly surprised look in his eyes while his mate walked around Kim before she smiled warmly.

"I suppose my husband has neglected to introduce himself, or any of us. And I can see our guest haven't been offered a drink either." She said with a wry smile towards her mate as he rubbed a hand through his hair before excusing himself out of the room. "honestly Ryan, some host you are."

A moment later, he entered the room with a tray of refreshments and apologized for the pups and their behavior but we didn't mind. I caught the look of adoration in David's and Kath's eyes and I shared the image with Kim, who laughed soundlessly as she petted the small wolf.

"I think they're ready for a pup of their own." I whispered to her in my mind and smiled as she replied, "I hope so, these pups are already rather active and they're only a year old. Imagine if Kath can't handle her pups and asks us to babysit."

I nearly choked on my drink before laughing and kissing her forehead. Ryan and Lyra took a seat and threw an occasional glance at their pups when they yipped or barked too loudly.

"From what I understood after your father's call, you're searching for Carlos' mate because he's intent to go after your mate." Ryan said with a concerned glance towards Kim.

"Yeah, we learned that he was rejected by his mate but I don't understand why. I have a feeling that what Carlos did to me, "Kim said with a wave towards her eyes, "Has been done in a fit of madness. Personally, I think she holds the key to solve this mess."

Something flashed through Ryan's eyes, which made me sit straight as I pulled Kim closer to me. "You know something, don't you?" At my statement, he sighed tiredly and opened a drawer below his desk before he tossed a picture in my direction.

"As soon as your father explained the nature of his call, I tracked their family name through the system but came up empty handed. Turns out the girl you're looking for isn't exactly as human as we thought. She's a hybrid, half human and half wolf." He looked up as I stared down at the picture, a girl with long brown hair and a slight resemblance with Kim stared back.

There were several differences though; Kim's face was smaller with an innocent air to it while this girl had a more angular face and puffy cheeks. Kim was easily larger than this girl, who also seemed to be extremely thin and slender. She was nice to look at but not as good-looking as my mate.

"Why thank you." Kim whispered in my mind as she playfully pinched my thigh. I flinched slightly and grinned when she nudged me with her elbow. Seems like we needed to go find this girl and question her to find out why she rejected Carlos in the first place.

---Kim's POV---

I was still petting the pup and smiling whenever she playfully pawed or nipped at my fingers before I felt a presence beside me. "I'm actually surprised that Alice has taken such a liking to you. Normally she's the one to stick with her siblings and she never seeks out attention beside that of her family." Lyra said warmly.

The pup let out a small whimper before she crawled out of reach, while I pulled my hand back to lay it in my lap. "I'm sure she's gorgeous...I just wish I could see them but-" Will placed a hand on my cheek, rubbing soothing circles there as he replied, "You can shift love, I'm sure the Alpha pair doesn't mind if it makes you more comfortable."

Lyra agreed with that and urged me to shift while Ryan was busy calling orders to his pack, to search and retrieve Carlos' mate and her family for interrogation. After a few words of encouragement, I shifted and chuckled as playful pups nipping at my fur instantly swarmed me.

My wolf was playful as well and pushing me to go on and play with these pups, forgetting about our age and status in the pack and simply enjoy being a wolf. "I'll be right here Kim and it seems like Lyra is shifting as well to play with her pups. Why don't you join them?"

Will's reassurance and the reassuring hug he gave me was enough to sooth my nerves. As soon as Lyra shifted, she ran outside with two pups instantly on her tail, the other three were bouncing around me, dropping in play arch and taunting me to chase them, so I did.

I yelped when I was suddenly tackled, huffing when I saw the grey male wagging his tail as he stood over my form. "Aren't you a bit too big to pull of the boisterous pup act?" I mumbled, gaining a wolfy grin from Will's smug wolf before he nipped at my fur and nudged me to stand up again.

"Dad?"

All heads swiveled around at the shocked gasp, aiming at the young woman as she stood beside a balding adult, who shared the same facial structure with the girl. It was obvious that they were human, judging by the way their mouths were hanging wide open as they stared at the eight of us with shock and a hint of fear.

Well, the girl seemed curious enough, especially when a few of the pups took a hesitant yet curious step towards her. The man, however, pulled his expression into one of pain and anger as he placed himself in front of his daughter.

"What is the meaning of this? Why are we brought here on your lands, couldn't you leave us alone?" He snapped with accusation in his voice, stunning his daughter while Lyra growled softly and took a protective stance in front of her pups. The situation was running out of hand but thankfully, Ryan stepped out at that moment and stepped it.

"We're not looking for trouble sir, I apologize for disrupting your daily routine and pulling both you and your daughter out of your jobs but we have some questions that need answering. And I have a feeling you know more about my kind than your daughter."

"Daddy, what is he talking about?" The young woman asked, brushing her long brown hair out of her face as she glanced at her father. The man glanced at his daughter before looking away with something that looked an awful lot like guilt in his eyes. "Now's not the time Leah." He growled warningly but she shook her head and crossed her arms.

"It's never a good time for you! Just when are you going to come clean to me? When are you going to stop with the lies? We moved here because you said you wanted to start fresh in a place no-one knew us, yet these gentlemen addressed me with name and surname when they asked me to come here. What is going on dad!"

I was a bit stunned by the sudden outburst of the girl, Leah. The emotions were practically rolling off of her but I remembered Ryan saying that she was in fact a hybrid...didn't she know of her heritage? She kept staring at her father as he tried to sooth her but she snatched her shaking hand out of his hold before pointing at his face.

"You need to stop protecting me from everything in the world. I'm not a little girl anymore and I deserve to know why we were brought here." When he didn't say anything, Leah turned to Ryan with a silent question in her eyes.

Ryan motioned everyone inside before he cautiously asked, "We need to ask you a few questions on someone you might've known a few years ago. He's in trouble and we need your help to help him in return."

Lyra came back in the room after having placed her kids in bed for a nap. After offering the pair a drink, she sat down beside Ryan and cautiously asked, "Leah, we need to know what happened between you and Carlos."

It was shocking to see what one name could do to a person. As soon as Carlos was mentioned, what little life left in Leah's hazel eyes vaporized, filling them with tears while she inhaled deeply through her nose. She was trying to stay calm as she turned towards her father with an accusing glare.

"They want to know about Carlos dad. The boy that was going to ruin my life and would hurt me, a boy that now needs me. Isn't that ironic?" She spat, a sob catching in her throat before she buried her face in her hands and started to cry, in heart wrenching sobs that shook her small frame violently.

"Baby girl..." Her father started but she cut him off as she sobbed, "You told me to break it off with him. Y-you said that he was g-going to use me and toss me aside. That he was part of a cult and was going to h-hurt me."

The man sighed and tried to hug his daughter but she pushed him away, shaking her head as he whispered, "Everything I did, I did it to protect you, to protect us honey." She sobbed harder, making one of the wolves in the room reach out to softly rub over her back while Ryan, Lyra, David and Will were all glaring at her father.

"You never liked Carlos Dad! From the moment he told you that he was my boyfriend, you despised him! You didn't even gave me time to think things through, you just told me we were going to move across the country the day we were leaving and that I was never going to see him again."

I whimpered softly and pushed myself against Will's legs. It was clear that Leah still loved Carlos with all her heart and wasn't better off than him. From what she said, her father was the one we needed to talk to but for now, we needed to give Leah some time to recover from the shock and ask her the important question.

Was she willing to defy her father and go back to Carlos?