The walk from the small garden where she had taken refuge for the afternoon, towards the pack house and her intended destination was a long and tiresome struggle. She made a mental note to ask about what had happened to her crutches and whether or not they could be returned to her.

As she rounded around the corner of the first building, Grace saw that the pack had had the same idea of basking in the sun as her. A group of children played around a garden hose, their mothers watching with one eye as they sat on the grass, a long forgotten finished picnic by their sides. Most of them, when they realised it was her who was walking past, avoided her gaze altogether. Though the children openly smiled and waved.

Grace smiled and waved back, though continued to walk, not wanting to intrude on their afternoon.

"Grace!"

A shout from behind her startled her for a moment until she recognized the voice, turning around she greeted them with a smile.

"Afternoon, Jake."

The Beta jogged over to her, presenting his arm to her as she started to walk again. She took it, grateful of the support.

"How are you feeling? Any better?" He asked.

"Not really, sadly I don't have your superfast healing abilities. It will take me a little longer to recover." She replied, making her way to the pack house at a faster speed now she had his support.

"And what about Casey and Danielle? I made sure they wouldn't bother you anymore."

"I haven't seen them since, though they didn't bother me really." She replied honestly, not liking the thought of them being told to stay away from the places they enjoyed going and called home.

"Your too nice, Grace. Anyway, it was Alpha's orders so they shouldn't have disrespected you in the first place." Jake said in obvious distaste for them breaking the rules.

"Talking of the Alpha, I was wondering if I could maybe speak to him?" Grace asked, looking up at him hopefully.

"I can only ask." Jake replied, staring ahead. His eyes zoned out as though they travelled to another realm. As quickly as he had fallen silent, he spoke.

"The Alpha is free now if you want to go now?" He asked.

"That would be great, thank you."

Together they continued walking to the pack house, though her nerves were beginning to build at the thought of what his reactions might be towards her questions.

"You were talking to him just then?" Grace asked, wanting to distract herself, knowing talking about their ability of telepathy would do just that.

"I was. It's called mind link. Once a Werewolf joins a pack by taking the sacred oath of the Goddess they have the ability to connect with everyone else in it as well." Jake replied, with a grin on his face.

Grace knew no doubt that she was staring dumb struck up at him as her mind took in the incredible supernatural ability.

"That's so cool." She eventually said.

"It certainly is." Jake replied with a chuckle.

They walked slowly up the stairs to the house, Jake leading her through another series of corridors. This time though, she was told what was behind each door.

"This is the office wing. My office is behind that door there. I deal with anything the Alpha gives me to do, from organizing pack meetings and rituals to keeping a note of who is doing well in school. We always try to keep an eye out for those who have potential to grow outside of the pack, send them to university, that kind of thing." He said.

"That was the Lunas office, she deals with housing and making sure everything in the pack runs on time and smoothly. That's the accountant's office, and behind here is the meeting hall, though there is another set of doors that lead into it from outside so everyone can access it. Here we are."

He stopped at the end of the corridor, a large set of intricately carved double doors looming above her, touching the high ceiling.

Fit for an Alpha, Grace thought as Jake knocked on the door, though she was sure he did it for her benefit as mind linking with him would have been so much easier.

"Enter." Thomas called out, and Jake walked forward, opening the door for her before supporting her once more as she walked in.

The office was large, windows lining three walls, bookshelves built around them crammed with books and folders.

In the centre of the high ceiling hung an extravagant chandelier, clear crystals dripping down towards the floor, catching and refracting the light around the room as though fairies were dancing on the walls. Though for all she knew, they could be.

"It's overly extravagant, though we like to show off to visiting Alpha's and their packs." The Alpha said, catching her awed expression as she looked around.

"Come and have a seat." He pointed to a comfortable looking armchair on the other side of his desk- It was large, solid, and place in the middle of the floor.

"Thank you for your help Jake." She called over her shoulder as the Beta began to leave.

"My pleasure." He replied as he pulled the doors shut.

"How are you feeling Grace? Any better?" The question was something she had been used to all her life. She knew that the people asking it were just trying to show their concern for her, though it did grow repetitive after a while.

"I am doing ok, thank you Sir." She replied, hiding her pain as she has always done.

"I am glad. Please, just call me Thomas, there is no need for formalities between us." He took a seat in his chair on the other side of the table.

"What can I help you with today?" He asked.

Grace could tell that he made a great leader. He was friendly, open and kind. Though she had no doubt that he could be intimidating and rather scary when he wanted to be. He was much taller than her, in fact much taller than anyone she had seen before- bar Brandon and Jake.

"Firstly, I was wondering what happened to my crutches? They would help me walk around much easier, and I wouldn't have to lean on anyone for support." She asked.

"I don't remember Brandon bringing any crutches with him when he arrived with you, though they should be easily come by. I'll have someone pick up a pair for you as soon as possible." He replied, writing himself a memo on a notepad opened in front of him.

"Thank you. It will help a lot." Grace said, trying to think of a way to broach the subject of Brandon brining her here without sounding too intrusive.

"That is no problem at all. Anything you can think of that will make your life easier, please let me know. Anything else?" Thomas said, setting down his pen waiting for her to continue.

"Well. I guess I was wondering. I mean, I tried talking to him about it already, but." She stuttered, before taking a deep breath and deciding that she may as well ask him what was playing on her mind.

"I talked to Brandon. He said that he brought me here because he didn't trust the human hospital around the corner to treat me right. I really don't understand. I know he used to be a rogue, I also know that rogues aren't in a habit of joining packs, especially for someone they don't even know. Can you tell me what's going on? I am quite happy to go home and go back to the hospital that I always go to."

They started at each other for a frozen moment before Thomas sighed dejectedly and leaned back into his chair.

"Grace, as much as I wish you to know what is going on and why Brandon decided to bring you here, it is not my story to tell. As for returning home, there will be paperwork I need you to read though and sign. You must understand that I will keep this pack safe at any cost, and anything you say to other humans about this place could put us in danger." He paused to look out of a side window, Grace couldn't tell whether he was mind linking someone or just lost in his thoughts.

"I know you are confused and looking for answers." He continued after a moments pause. "Stay for a few more days, perhaps then he will tell you what you wish to know. If however, you are truly unhappy here and wish to return home, then there is nothing I can do to stop you."

Grace nodded in reply. She had hoped that she would at least get some answers, though understood why he wouldn't tell her. It didn't stop her from feeling purposefully left out of whatever was going on here. Werewolves just didn't come out of hiding to save random people in the street.

The door to the office slammed open, Grace whirled around, her heart beginning to pump faster with adrenaline from the shock.

Brandon. He was stood panting in the door way as though he had just ran a mile and come straight here. And he was the last person she wanted to see at that moment.

"You're not leaving." He said, marching towards her, staring down at her, the anger pulsating from him tangible as he loomed over her.

"I don't know why you seem to think you have a say in the matter." She snapped back coolly, standing slowly from her chair, matching his glare with one of her own.

"Thank you for seeing me Thomas, I know you must be busy." Grace said sweetly to the Alpha, who was looking completely unfazed by the situation in front of him. Rounding back to Brandon, she jabbed a finger into his chest, sending him back a few steps away from her.

"As for you. I don't know why you think you can say what I can and can't do. If I want to leave, then I'm leaving. It's not as though I have any reason to stay, especially as all of my questions go unanswered."

Instead of dignifying her with a reply she wanted to hear, he stayed silent. Continuing to glare at her as though she had committed some heinous crime against him.

Rolling her eyes, she walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Her heart was still racing, sending her head fuzzy and light as she began to walk. Though she did not want to remain near that man for a moment longer, she knew she had no choice but to sit down and catch her breath.

Lowering herself into a bench stretched along the hall that ended next to the door obviously meant for people waiting to see the Alpha, she sighed. Looking over to the door, she could hear a muffled shouting match.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she edged along the bench until she could rest her ear on the crack between the door and the wall.

Maybe finally she would get her answers.

-----

This brings the total up to 11,000 words! I've done it! I am now setting myself some more targets to reach, the next one being 20,000 words.

Thank you to everyone who is reading, voting and commenting! I'm curious, what would you think if it became common knowledge that Werewolves actually existed among us?