It's dark.

My face is pressed against the cold wooden floor.

In the near distance, I can hear the loud sound of paws pounding against the wooden floor from out in the hallway.

I cower under the bed, lying on my side, hugging my knees tight to my chest. Vicious snarls and the yelps of whimpering wolves erupt from all around and cloud my ears. My heart clenches nervously as the chaotic fighting persists.

Suddenly, the door crashes open and slams hard against my wall. A small stream of light filters into my room. I hold in a terrified scream, squeezing my legs closer to my body, if that is even possible. My eyes shut tightly.

Paws softly tread along the soft cream-colored carpet.

My heart thumps nervously in my chest, pounding up to my ears. I'm not alone anymore.

I peak my eyes open and quickly find the intruder. Four dark paws move toward my closet. I hear the faint sound of sniffing. It stays near my closet for a while, checking scents and prodding it's head around. It's looking for something... or someone. 

Then the wolf turns suddenly. It's snout lowers to the floor as it creeps toward the bed. It's nose leads it directly to what it wanted to find, me.

My heart races. I'm almost too petrified to move as it gets closer and closer. I gain the courage to inch myself backwards, to the other side of the bed, away from the creature.

The wolf gets as close as it can. It lowers its body to the ground. Finally at my level, the head pops under the bed.

My heart lunges in my chest, rapidly beating around as two beady eyes pierce into mine. I'm about to scream in fear, that's when two hands grab onto my sides and rip me from underneath the bed.

"No!" I shout and fling my head up.

I pant hard as my head throbs in pain. I can feel the damp sweat that has perspired on my forehead. I look around. Huh, I'm in my actual room, which is completely different than the one that was just in my dream -- well actually my nightmare.

I hear a ruckus of noise off in the distance but I ignore it. My headache quickly starts to fade away. I touch the beads of sweat that have collected on my forehead. I wipe my skin dry with one swipe.

Once my memories start recollecting, I notice something odd. The only pain I feel is my head pounding from that weird nightmare. What about my wounds from earlier?

I glance down at my hands which look perfectly normal. Not a blister to be seen. I peek over to my right to find that my arm is all bandaged. The white gauze is slightly bloody but all in all, I can move my arm and it barely hurts.

I hear someone laugh.

Huh? It sounds like it is coming from outside my door.

I toss my covers off and wiggle out from the bed. My feet touch the floor and I stretch my arms out and proceed to yawn. My muscles seem stiff and sore, I must have been asleep for a little while.

Heading over to the door, more noise fills my ears. There is giggling and and laughing. I hesitantly open my bedroom door.

Light filters in and my face scrunches up from the burst of light.

Once my eyes adjust, my jaw practically drops in surprise.

All heads turn to me. My whole squad, including the now healed Leo but not Damien, are all seated at a long table that has replaced my couch in my living room. My mom is placing a huge chicken in the middle of it, which is surrounded by a bunch of vegetables, potatoes and other side dishes.

Raymond rises from his chair, "Hey, the hero finally wakes up!"

"Hero?" I ask, stunned. My voice is a little groggy and my throat tender. I really must have been asleep for a while.

Everyone jumps from their seats.

Leo smiles, "Yes hero. You saved me from those hunter. Without you, I would be dead right now."

I blush a bit as Raymond approaches me with the rest of the squad following close behind him. He gives me a proud smile and he scoops me up and places me high on his shoulder's, like a father would to his child.

"You really saved the day out there, boss." Raymond says from bellow me.

"I wouldn't say that-" I start to say.

"Are you kidding? Leo told us all about your sick moves and how you managed to save him from their grasp!" Ruben says. His eyes filled with excitement. "It was like an action packed movie. You're the man."

I smile but roll my eyes. They are taking this way too far. "I'm no hero, I just did what was necessary to save my squad member. Anyone else would do the same."

Greyson snickers and says, "Some may have tried, but not many werewolves can hold a hunter's weapon, get shot with a hunter's bullet then proceed to run home on blistered hands and a wounded arm with two full grown guys on their back." he smiles at me with pride clear in his eyes.

I feel my wolf do a happy dance and I blush even more. Wow, all this attention is so weird. I feel so embarrassed. Yet my wolf is so happy. She is proud of her strength and honestly, so am I. Being able to save Leo was worth all those years of hard work.

They praise me for a little while longer. Eventually Raymond puts me down and everyone gives me individual hugs, still showering me with giddiness and thankful praise. They disperse back to their seats. I feel my heart calm down a bit. That was a little too much excitement after just waking up.

"Oh Lucia I'm so glad you're awake now!" My mom says as she comes around the table to greet me with a hug. She delays the hug for a while, prolonging it. I can feel how worried she was. Eventually she sighs and partially releases me, sliding her hands to my shoulders. She gives them a gentle squeeze and stares at me for a moment. Then she smiles and in a quiet voice says, "I made this amazing meal with Rina, so let's all enjoy it together."

She pulls back from our embrace and leads me to an empty chair that's in between Derek and Rina. I sit down. Pulling my chair in while Mom goes back to serving people.

"Hey Lucia," Rina says from next to me.

I turn and smile at her. She gave me lots of praise a couple of minutes ago as well but she seemed somewhat different than her usual self. More distant, reserved.

"Hey Rina. Thanks for taking care of Leo's wounds."

She quickly cuts in, "Oh no please don't thank me! Thank you." She takes a deep breath after her quick flow of words and slows her speech, "Seriously, I'm so thankful for you. If you didn't save Leo then no one would have. Damien wasn't allowing any of them to go out and search for you."

I give her a strange look, "Wait what do you mean by that?" I ask.

She looks grim as she answers, "He gave an order with his Alpha tone. No one was allowed to leave to go search. Greyson was the only one that was able to fight back. He still tried to save you guys. Too bad Damien caught him before he could get far and sent him down to the Left Wing Dungeon. It took three of the strongest men in the pack to get him to cooperate with Damien's wishes." She says and pops a small piece of broccoli in her mouth.

"So that's how he got down there," I state and she nods, "But why would Damien do something like that? Also, how was his Alpha tone that strong? He is only Serg's son."

"Well I over heard the Alpha talking one day in the dungeon, and since Damien is doing so well with the squad, Alpha Serg wants to make Damien the Alpha soon."

"Are you kidding?" I ask flabbergasted, "That's the Alpha's reasoning?"

She nervously nods her head and watches my reaction. I frown and squeeze my fork roughly in my hand. "That's ridiculous. I run the squad, not him. Damien is just a coward who makes everyone else do his work!" I growl quietly and aggressively cut up the chicken that's on my plate. "So basically, Damien is just going to keep getting more and more powerful for a false reason?" I ask.

She nods sympathetically and swallows her food real fast, "in theory, yes."

I grunt frustratedly, "The minute he becomes Alpha is the minute I leave this pack."

----------

While eating dinner, I found out a few interesting facts. For one, Damien appears to be in a position that is about to gain him a shit load of power. Also, Mom says I'm stuck in the suite until my arm heals all the way. My body is exhausted so it may take a few days. Turns out the bullet shot into my upper right arm, right near my shoulder. The silver bullet stayed in and was inhibiting my healing abilities. Mom pulled it out but it will take a while to heal because of my body's shock due to the hunters weapon being imbedded in my arm. Another thing I learned is that my suite just became the popular dinner spot for my squad.

As it turns out, I was asleep for a few days. During that time, my squad took the liberty of staying in my suite to wait for me. Yes, they stayed here the entire two days. This resulted in them lounging around long enough to need meals. My mom decided that she could help with that by making food, and now everyone is hooked on her cooking. I don't blame them. She is one of the best cooks in the pack.

Honestly, in the past few years, I haven't seen Mom's smile radiate as much as it is now. If she loves having everyone around, then who am I to take away that happiness? Plus, I enjoy the company of my squad. Well all except Damien that is. So squad dinner will officially be in my place every so often.

At this time, everyone is already packed up and gone. Well, everyone besides Mom, Rina and myself that is.

I drag a wet cloth across the table, wiping away the spilt food and residue that was left behind from the meal. Rina is helping Mom with the dishes. Rina dries while Mom washes.

Luckily for us, there were no leftovers. That's one less thing we have to deal with.

"Mrs. Erikson?" Rina asks shyly.

"Oh Rina, please just call me Carolyn. But what is it dear?" My mom asks and hands Rina another plate. They seem to only have one left.

I swipe my rag from the table after going around it one more time and march over to the sink area. I can't help the curiosity that is running through my brain, wondering what Rina wants to say.

"Well, I really need some advice..." Rina admits timidly as she dries the plate.

"Ahh," Mom says and shuts the sink off, "I know what this is about."

"You do?"

"Of course, you need help with love."

My jaw drops. No way! Rina is about to ask my Mom questions about love? Isn't that why I'm here? I feel like that's something best friends should talk about. But wait. Are we even best friends? She is my only girlfriend so she must be, right?

Well either way, I'm no help with love. Unlike my mom, I've never fallen in love. I'm also very inexperienced. Well I guess if you include my last encounter with Greyson, than I'm slightly experienced. Maybe this conversation will help me out a bit too.

"Is it that obvious?" Rina asks, then she turns to me worriedly, "Lucia don't get me wrong, I think you could give good advice on this subject but I think it would be good for both of us to hear something from someone who has already experienced love."

I smile, "Don't worry Rina, I'm not mad. I actually agree with you for once. Maybe it would be good to hear about this girly stuff."

I see Mom's eyes light up, "My Lucia is finally blossoming into a woman!" She jumps to my side, embracing me.

"Oww!" I say, overly exagerating the bearable pain I feel in my right arm from what's left of my wound, "Ma, watch it!"

She quickly releases me and claps her hands over her mouth, "I am so sorry! Are you okay?"

I laugh, "Yes I'm fine. I was kidding. Well, kind of, it still hurts a little."

She sighs in relief and slides her hand down to her heart, "I'm so glad."

"So should we talk about this somewhere that's a little more comfortable?" I ask.

I see Rina nod. I can practically touch the giddiness flowing off of her. Clearly she is excited to talk about love. Judging by the butterflies in my stomach, I would say I'm pretty excited too. Not that I would ever in a million years admit that.

"To Lucia's room!" Mom says excitedly and skips down to my door.

"Why my room?" I ask slightly annoyed as she opens my door.

"Because it is the cleanest room in the house right now since you couldn't mess it up while you were asleep." She answers simply.

Well I guess that's true. I'm typically a messy person but she must have cleaned while I was knocked out. I follow my Mom and Rina. When I get to my room, Rina is sliding onto the bed and my mom is sitting in a chair that's in front of my desk.

I join Rina on my bed.

"Do you have any questions in particular?" Mom asks our guest.

I grab a pillow and hug it to my body. I turn to Rina who seems to be pondering the question. Either she has a lot of other questions or she hasn't put her thoughts together to form any just yet.

"Um," She rests her fingers on her chin, "I guess I would like to know how you can tell when a person loves you back."

Mom smiles, "Well that one is easy. He will put your feelings before his own. He will also watch the little things you do and remember how you act and react to things. He will also try his best to be with you a lot. Oh and most importantly, he will get super jealous and possessive of you."

Rina cocks her head to the side, "But how can I tell if he is jealous?"

"Well I guess you have to wiggle it out of him with a test."

"A test?" I cut in, "Leave it to you to come up with the weirdest ways to figure love out."

Mom turns to me, "Trust me Lucia, this is not weird! Most my friends tested their mates like this after they were mated."

"Why after?" Rina asks.

"Well most of my friends were forced to marry people they didn't love. As you know, it is the boy's choice. That's why you need to make sure you find someone soon and get them to fall for you. If not, some random guy who thinks you are cute could convince the Alpha to let you two mate."

Rina's jaw drops open. Did she really not know this? This is something I have known for a while but still don't have to worry about. All the guys consider me to be just one of the boys.

"So how can I test the whole jealously thing?" She asks nervously.

Mom smirks, "Well first you're going to need to create a situation where another boy is flirting with you."

I scrunch my face up, "What? But aren't we- I mean isn't she trying to get the guy to like her, not think she is into someone else?"

"Yes, that's why the boy will be flirting with her. She won't flirt back, but she needs to respond to the other guy. If it grasps the person you like's attention and he gets upset, then he is jealous."

Rina takes this information in and so do I.

Jealousy, huh? Well I will never be able to test that theory out. No one ever crushes on me. Therefore, no one will ever flirt with me. Honestly I don't even know if Greyson likes me. Sure, we have made out twice but what does that really mean? I know I feel sparks with him but that sure as hell doesn't mean he feels them too. Maybe he just wants a friend to make out with?

Ugh, this is so infuriating! I don't know what he is thinking or feeling. Should I really let myself fall for a guy who is most likely just using me as a toy? I know how rogues are, so what would make him any different than the rest of them? Sure he stopped our makeout session when I asked him to which is odd, but in reality, he is just a rogue.

Oh crap! I forgot I'm listening to their conversation! I'm missing it.

"-hate it when you don't reciprocate. Guys are very sexual beings so you can't let them get bored with you. This means you will have to give him pleasure to keep him interested." Mom says and my jaw drops open.

"Woah woah woah," I shout, "What the hell are you talking about right now?"

Mom laughs, "You zoned out, didn't you?"

I grunt and roll my eyes, "So what if I did. I'm still curious as to what you are trying to teach my best friend here."

Rina turns to me with happiness shinning in her eyes, "I'm your best friend?" Oh, I just said that didn't I... Well it's too late to wait and find out if she feels the same.

"Of course." I answer her honestly. She is the only friend that I have made on my own. Everyone else was destined to be a part of the squad before I became friends with them.

"You're mine too!" She reciprocates.

A loud cough interrupts us. We turn and I see mom looking at us. She starts laughing.

"What is it...?" I ask annoyed.

"You guys are just too cute!"

I roll my eyes, she just can't get enough of my embarrassing moments, can she?

"Back to the subject at hand, please." I beg her, flopping down onto my back on the bed so that I'm staring at the ceiling.

"Sure sure," Mom says disappointedly, "Rina was curious about what happens after making out."

"Oh..." Wow, I guess Rina is just as innocent as I am, "So how did you respond?"

"Well, to put it simply," She tucks her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear and clears her throat, "There will be touching in areas that will give you pleasure."

My face flares red and I turn to dig my face into my comforter. My voice come out muffled as I complain, "Eww Mom."

She laughs, "Oh Lucia get over it. It's a part of life. If I don't tell you about it, how will you ever learn?"

Rina decides to chime in, "She has a point Lucia..." I look up at her timid face, "I mean, I never had a mom to tell me these kinds of things. It's not like we have a class about it in this pack so how else will we learn?"

I sigh, "I know but it's so awkward Rina. She is my Mom and the grossest part is how she knows this information..."

I hear a grunt from the other side of the room, "Don't talk as if I'm not here. Also, if I hadn't done those 'gross'" she makes quotas with her fingers, "things with your father then you wouldn't be here."

"Eww Mom, stop bringing it up!" I drop my head back down onto the bed in disgust.

Rina laughs, "Lucia will get over it Carolyn. Please continue?" She asks nicely.

I can hear the happiness bouncing off my mom. She is loving all this attention, but what she likes even more is talking about love. Why? Because it brings her back to the past. This way she gets to reminisce on the good old days with the Beta.

"Well let me tell you what to do since neither of you have ever seen a man's peni-"

"Mom language!" I complain.

She rolls her eyes and continues to lecture us on human anatomy and what exactly we have to do in order to 'pleasure' our significant other...