Akela woke up in the softest bed she had ever slept in and stretched her body, greeting the sunlight streaming through the window. From the lounge area steamed soft voices before a door closed and silence settled. She quickly dressed, keen not to be holding the others up from moving on with their quest. 
A quick mindlink with Kira confirmed that her twin was still moving but slowly and only at night. She had curled up under a tree to sleep through the daylight when Akela reached out.

"Someone's cheerful..." Kira commented gruffly.

"Just rested... And happy that I'll see you again soon," Akela replied, cheerfully.

"Yeah... I just left a warm place to live and decent food to sleep on the ground like some lawless rogue," Kira grumbled.

"Just like when we were kids," Akela thought, resisting the urge to remind her that the warm place with good food also came with a forced mate who beat her up.

"At least back then we had mum and dad and we could light a fire..." Kira sighed. Akela felt her weariness.

"I promise. A soft, warm bed, delicious food, a safe pack, and the most wonderful fresh water lake to swim in followed by a nice hot shower," Akela promised and projected images from her memory of Ezekiel's territory towards her twin.

On the other end, Akela could feel the stunned silence.

"Or the mountain, if you prefer that," Akela thought, and gave her sister a glimpse of Gerry's pack territory, including the view from the duplex Abel had constructed.

"That's what you have to keep going for, Kira! Your future! Our future. Safely living in a pack! With people who care!" Akela sent, and received a doubtful huff back.

With a smile, Akela realised that Kira was the same as always. Gruff and grumpy when she was tired, doubtful and sarcastic when seeing something new, and full of mischief when she was rested.

"Go to sleep. I'll be closer to you by the time you wake," Akela linked and felt her sister settle.
She got dressed and was on her way out the door when the link flared up again.

"Where exactly are you? I mean..." Kira asked.

Akela chuckled quietly.

"The estuary pack," Akela replied.

A surprised silence waved through the connection.

"I know. Dad told us to avoid them, but after seeing the guys here, I kinda understand why..." Akela laughed and sent off a few memories of Solomon.

"Hot damn!" Kira replied.

"And he's looking for a Luna..." Akela chuckled, recalling all his flirting.

"Ok. He's hot, but... been there, done that. I kinda want to find my true mate and see if he'll still want me after everything..." Kira sighed.

"Oh... he does!" Akela grinned and shut the connection off, ignoring her twin's prods for more information.

Feeling her twin finally settle, Akela left the comfortable bedroom in search of breakfast. She got as far as the lounge, where a male figure was sat in the sofa with his wolf face rested in his hands, looking utterly defeated.

"Zion?" Akela asked softly.

He turned to look at her, his eyes full of moisture and his usual happy smile, reduced to a frown. 

"What's wrong?" Akela asked him hurrying over to where she could sit on the coffee table facing him. 

He gave a shivery sigh. Akela could feel him resisting telling her.

His nose scrunched and he shot her a look. She wasn't going to let him brush it off as he wanted, so she grabbed his hand that hung limply over his knee.

While she stroked his hand, he frowned again and looked away from her, as if he wanted to avoid seeing her reaction.

"Is this it? Is this all I'll ever see of the world?" He asked quietly, staring out of the window.

Akela lay a hand on his arm.

"I mean... I've been hidden all my life. Hidden from random hikers, hidden in the back of a car to and from Uncle Zeke's territory. Hidden when other Alphas have visited, in fear that they would think I was a demon," Zion muttered. 

Akela had never felt him so sad, but from what Diana had told her, she realised that this was something that had been on his mind a lot.

"Well... if people saw you, they would want to experiment on you, and lycans are generally superstitious. At least your family loves you. Everybody loves you," she said.

Zion looked up at her, his eyes searching hers for something that she still wasn't ready to give.

"Meh. Dr Dixon and Maddox already did all the tests. I'm just a weirdo, passive, halfie, lycan," he sighed once he realised Akela wasn't going to give him more than she could.

Her laughter was quiet but still felt comforting.

"You're not a weirdo, Zi. You're the original form, the true Lycan!" she chuckled.

The confusion on his face reminded her that she had never actually told him what she had told Diana and Hunter.

"The Inuit lycans believe that the original lycan was a man with a wolfs head and tail, sometimes paws on his hind legs or his whole hind quarter was a wolf," she explained.

Zion wiggled his bare feet on the wood floor and looked at them before looking up at her. Akela loved that spark of hope in his eyes.

"And on Shetland, there is a legend of å man with a wolf's headwho would leave freshly caught fish outside poor families homes so they could feed their children," Akela told him and saw him stare, then nod in understanding.

"That's why you didn't freak out when we first met?" he asked quietly.

Akela nodded.

"So... why do the rest of you shift? If I'm the original form, I mean?" he asked.

Akela smiled at the way he was reaching for an explanation as to why he was different.

"Well. Legend has it that one stormy night, one lycan - that is one like you - nearly froze to death and he shifted fully to wolf form, and the warm fur saved his life," Akela smiled.

"So all I need to do is go outside, naked, in winter?" Zion asked the start of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Akela shook her head with a soft smile.

"I wouldn't risk you freezing to death," she said

He sighed and nodded. At least Akela had an explanation for why he looked the way he did.

"So, until something huge and life-changing happens, I'm stuck like this and have to hide, so I don't frighten people," he muttered.

Akela studied him, looking for a way to lighten his mind.

"I don't know, Zion. Maybe there is some way we can travel," she said.

Zion gave her a weak smile.

"We... can not travel as long as I look like this." He said softly, watching the sudden blush bloom across her cheeks when she realised the implications of who the "we" might entail.

"I wish I could at least be a wolf. I could have travelled as a dog," he shrugged, not pushing the definition of the word we any further.

Secretly, the idea of him and Akela becoming a "we" in that context had caused him many sleepless nights and even more cold showers.
Their eyes met, and Zion felt his mind overflow with everything he wished he could promise her. Not just the physical, which had his mind conjuring up unwanted interpretations, but just the idea of doing stuff together. Just the two of them. Travelling, exploring, just going out shopping, or even on a date. It was all out of his reach because of the way he looked.

Akela's smile spread across her face.

"So.. we'll go hiking. Make that a thing. Tents, hammocks, sleeping under the stars..." She said.

He lifted an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure human cities freak Kira out..." Akela mumbled.

Zion laughed without humour.

"I'm starting to resent your sister!" he grinned.

Akela's eyes widened in shock before she gave his shoulder a rough push.

"Kira is awesome! And she's going to need some serious support! So you keep shit like that tied down!" she commanded.

He had to admit to himself that her loyalty was something he admired. Not once would she let anyone speak negatively about people she loved.

"I don't want to argue with you. Not now. Not ever. But you really should go get some breakfast," he said with an apologetic smile.

Akela swallowed her annoyance with him. He had only said what he felt. And her stomach did feel hungry.

"Have you had any?" she asked.

Zion shook his head.

"Uncle Zeke said he'd bring me some," he said quietly.

She nodded and left the guest quarters only to run into Ezekiel with a tray full of Zion's favourites in the corridor.

From the look on his face, she knew he had been waiting for her to finish her conversation with Zion.

"He's upset, huh?" Ezekiel asked.

"Yeah. I think travelling brought his dreams of seeing the world to the surface," Akela sighed.

Ezekiel nodded and looked like he was about to ask Akela something before he let it drop and smiled.

"Well... We need to get going at some point," he grinned and pushed the door open, indicating AKela in the direction of the food.

She walked along the corridor, following the scent of bacon towards a large kitchen with a home style dining nook. Nestled into the corner of the bench, surrounded by what looked like it may well be every female in the estuary pack, sat Abel. His charmer smile flashed around the room as women were finger feeding him and urging him to taste one morsel after another. And judging from the self-satisfied groans of pleasure emitting from him, he loved every second.

Akela registered several hands inside his t-shirt while he was being fed. She felt her eyebrows draw together and a spike of possessive jealousy shoot through her and into the bond. 

"Having fun, Abel?" she asked, forcing her voice into a cold tone that had him sitting up from his reclined position in a fraction of a second. The surrounding girls drew back, some staring at Akela with disdain, whereas others were still trying to paw Abel and get his attention. With a quick shake, he brushed them off.

It took two seconds for his face to flash between guilty and scared before it landed on a smug smirk.

"Wanna join?" he asked, resulting in a look from Akela that would have terrified Zion out of his mind.

"Like hell I do!" she growled and calmly walked over to where the food was set out. Returning with a cup of coffee and a few rashers of bacon, she sat down and faced the man across from her with a steely gaze.

"We are on a journey to bring your mate home, Abel!" she snarled.

Abel's eyes flashed with a protest which was shut down by a furious look from Akela. The word mate had most of the surrounding women staring at Abel in surprise before they got up and left.

"She's been through enough! And she deserves better!" Akela nearly growled.

Abel's eyebrows rose as he was trying to find words.

"I hope to the Goddess she belongs with Zion because I'm looking forward to rejecting your sorry ass!" she snapped.

Abel made a motion that had the rest of the lingering girls leaving the table. Slowly the room emptied, leaving only Abel and Akela staring at each other, neither giving an inch or backing down.

"It was just a bit of fun!" Abel said, his anger simmering just under the surface.

Akela smirked darkly back.

"Just fun? It might have been for you. Just think what this kind of crap means for me? Huh? How much is this bond worth if you're not going to take it seriously?" she asked and heard a snarl emit form Abel's throat.

"Hypocrite!" he growled.

Akela raised an eyebrow, challenging him to continue.

"Oh, Solomon, the handsome heir charming, you are so funny!" Abel said on a mocking high-pitched, girlie voice while his eyebrows fluttered and his hand touched his chest theatrically as if he was a princess ready to swoon.

Akela rolled her eyes.

"You don't think that hurt?" Abel asked.

She gave him another deadpan look, taking her time to chew a bite of bacon before answering, not once letting go of his gaze.

"How come you feel all threatened, and Zion doesn't?" she asked.

Abel frowned and fixed her with a strong determination.

"Maybe that's because he's Kira's and you're mine? Maybe he's not as afraid of losing you as I am?" Abel challenged.

Akela burst into derisive laughter.

"And this! This is how you show your devotion to me? Or was this a way of showing Solomon that you can get all the women you want?" Akela asked, her eyes narrowing and her hand indicating where the girls had been sitting moments before.

Abel's face fell and he looked down on his hands.

"Get your head out of your ass, Abel! This is not a pissing contest!" Akela said with a sigh.

Slowly Abel's eyes lifted until he was facing her again. Clearly withheld laughter was threatening to burst through, so she gave him a pointed look to get it over with.

"Pissing contest?" he asked.

She wasn't sure if it was the expression or the meaning behind it he found amusing, but his throaty chuckle before he dug into the remaining food washed most of Akela's irritation away.

"Just... behave? Okay? And trust me?" she huffed.

Abel grinned, with a fork full of scrambled egg halfway to his mouth.

"Oh, I trust you. I just don't trust Solomon," he shrugged.

Akela lifted an eyebrow which had his grin widening into that movie star brightness Akela found so hard to resist. She puffed out another exasperated sigh before looking at him again. His mouth was having trouble chewing while closed because of the grin trying to break through, and his eyes were gleaming with amusement.

"Glad to see you have recovered the ability to feed yourself..." She muttered.

His grin maxed out yet again as he held his fork out, handle towards her.

"I bet you'd be better at it," he smirked.

Akela grabbed the fork, yanking it towards herself before loading it with egg.

"Like this?" she said and shot a dollop of the food across the table, making it land square on his forehead.

He lifted a finger to stroke it off while giving her a smart little pout.

"Not bad for a girl who didn't know how to use cutlery until she was told how a few months ago!" he teased and was only saved from having a handful of food smeared on his face by Sam's appearance in the door.

The Delta Prime looked at the two of them and their budding food fight and shook his head.

"Not sure I want to ask... but Zeke wants to go," He informed and watched Akela drop the food from her hand onto her plate, ready to get going. Abel nodded and grabbed their plates. As he passed Akela on his way to the dishwasher, she stroked a greasy finger down his nose.

"You missed a bit!" she grinned and sauntered, straight-backed and grinning out of the kitchen towards the nearest bathroom to wash her hands.