I sunk down in the tub as Levi's voice boomed through the cabin.

Loud footsteps could be heard until they walked right next to the tub. I could feel his gaze, it wasn't on me, but it was on the empty carton.

I looked up at him apologetically and gave him the best puppy dog eyes that I could. "Sorry?"

A low growl rumbled through his chest.

I shivered a bit. The alpha in him was starting to show; my wolf was already shaken, on edge, even if the growl was playful it pushed her more on edge.

"Levi!" Derek hissed. He gave him a long hard look; silent communication that filled my belly with dread.

Levi let out a long tired sigh and pushed his hair back. He flickered his eyes to me then back to Derek. "Just pick some more up when you go to the store."

He left quietly and shut the door behind him. I felt like my heart was going a hundred miles a minute. "Does he know?" I whispered out.

"Yes," Derek sighed out. "But he wants to talk with you first." I bit my lip at the thought. It reminded me of the time my dad had to have a 'talk' with me when he caught me drinking Smirnoff's in our shed with friends of mine when I was in high school.

"Char," Elliot said softly. I looked over at his green eyes that seemed to soften as the looked at me. "Levi may be Levi, but he is a fair man in his own way. He cares for you. Just let him hear you out. He's not mad, but more worried about you."

I nodded and sank deep into the tub. Maybe if soaked long enough I would soak away all my problems.

Derek helped me dry off while Elliot cleaned up the ice cream for us. I wasn't in the mood for dinner so I decided to chop extra wood instead. It had grown to be like a therapy to me, a place where I could just let my mind go as I thought through my problems.

Log after log after log I split them and poured all my emotions into each swing.

I felt so torn, and so did my wolf. We both agreed that we genuinely liked Liam, outside of the bond, but we knew it wasn't right. He wasn't ours, not really, but he made things so easy. That's what made it hard. It was so easy being with him. He was everything that Marcus was not and I couldn't help but feel like drawn to him; a moth to a flame.

He made me want to open up, push myself harder, be a better version of what I was–and that's what scared me. Because he wasn't mine and I had to let him go. I had to open up, push myself harder, and be a better version of myself for me.

My wolf agreed, but thinking one thing and doing it is a whole other ball game. But my wolf calmed me; I had her, and I could always lean on her. I vowed to try harder, if not for me than for her.

I chopped and chopped and chopped some more until the stump I had set my logs on was starting to miss pieces as well. It was helping. As much as I loathed the chore, it had grown on me.

"If you keep swinging harder, you know it's not going to fix what you're trying to fix girly."

I sighed and turned to Levi who gave me a small smile. "I know," I replied in a breathy whisper.

"Come on girl, let's go for a walk."

I inwardly groaned a bit as my anxiety fluttered. Dear God this so much like what my dad would do. He would always give me a small smile and say, 'Come on baby girl, let's go for a drive.'

Dad wouldn't say anything at first. He would turn on the radio to his favorite station that played non-stop classic rock and drive us around the hills in our little small town.

Dad was patient and kind with me. He never once raised his voice to me or a hand, not once. We would usually find a good place to park and sit on the hood of the car. Those times were some of my most favorite times with my dad.

He would always say, 'baby girl, why don't you tell me why first?'

I loved that. I loved that Dad always gave me a chance to explain myself, hear my side of things. He always told me that he was on my team, and to be on my team I had to talk to him so he could help me as best he could.

When we went on a drive after he caught me smoking pot, we ended up by a lake at dusk. The colors dancing over the water was so gorgeous; reds, pinks, oranges all painted on the sky like watercolors that bled down on the lake.

After I finished telling him my side of things he just chuckled and looked at me through his glasses and said, 'Don't conform Charlie, you do that and eventually you won't know who you even are. People who want you to do that are not your friends, and besides angel, you're much too special to be like everyone else."

I wish to this day that I would have listened better to his words.

Levi and I walked silently through the trees. The forest was quiet this evening, all the little animals were bunkering down for the long night.

"I'm not mad at you girl, nor am I disappointed." I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders at his words. It was funny. I was more worried about disappointing Levi than anything else. He walked towards a tree that seemed to be standing on its own. It looked tall, proud, too good to stand with the other trees. He sat down in the soft grass then motioned for me to do as well. "I am actually pretty proud of you."

I felt my breath hitch as I sat. I was certainly not expecting that. "What?"

Levi mused a bit before letting out a breathy laugh. "You're something else girl. Do you know how hard it is for our kind to stop something like that once it's started, especially two alpha wolves?" I shook my head. I didn't know, there was so much that I still didn't know. "As weres, we are driven more by our beasts than other species of supernaturals, vampires are probably second, but we are the closest thing to a beast on two legs that you will get.

"You have to remember how animals, especially wolves, interact in the wild. They are driven by urges that humans will never experience, like the urge to hunt, to find a pack, to prove their dominance, and the urge to mate. It's not a bad thing, it's a natural thing for us that you can't get away from.

"When we get worked up in certain situations, and we are being driven by these urges, by our wolves, it is hard if not impossible to stop, especially for higher ranking wolves."

"Why's that?"

"Well, higher ranking wolves have stronger beasts, meaning stronger animalistic tendencies than other wolves. For example, if two omegas got in a fight, then it wouldn't be hard to break them up, but let's say that two alpha wolves got in a fight. You would not be breaking them up, you would be cleaning up a body. Now, why do you think that is?" I bit my lip as I thought for a while. My wolf stirred at the notion, at the thought of being challenged. "What's your wolf telling you girly?"

I sighed. "Well, she doesn't like the idea of being challenged. If she was then she definitely would make sure that whatever it was would know its place by the time she was done with it."

"Good, so what does that tell you?"

"I guess in that situation its the same. With two males trying to prove their dominance, their beasts are probably in more of control of that situation. I guess it also would matter more, right? Like if the two omegas fought and one lost, I mean, that doesn't really affect a pack. I mean, they will have some beef between them, but that's it. If one of the alpha's lost, it could affect the entire pack, their reputation, and so on."

"Bingo girl. That's spot on. There's more at stake to lose if you're an alpha wolf. You don't go around challenging an alpha wolf as you please, that shit is serious and has serious ramifications."

I nodded. "Noted."

"So let's apply it to mating. Lemme tell ya right now girl, if Liam was a full-fledged alpha male grown into himself, you would not have come back here without being properly mated. There's no way he would of let you push him away like that."

"Hold on, how do you know I pushed him away?" I asked him with a raised brow.

"I talked to Lander," he replied very matter of factly.

"Ah, I hope he's not in too much trouble, I feel bad enough about it already."

"Don't beat yourself up, it's not worth it. You stopped something that is hard to stop, especially between two alpha wolves. You both may not have fully grown into yourselves yet, but still, there's alpha blood running through your veins and beasts. It probably took a lot of self-control over yourself and your beast to walk away like you did, you should give yourself more credit for that."

I sighed and nodded. I didn't feel proud of myself, though. I felt dirty, guilty. I felt bad for hurting my wolf and for hurting Liam. I should have had better control over her from the start.

"I feel like you didn't bring me out here just to tell me that?"

Levi chuckled and shook his head. "Like I said girl, I ain't mad at you. I guess you could say I'm worried. I didn't think the bond between the two of you was that strong. I don't want you to get hurt Charlie girl."

I let out a sharp breath and nodded. "I feel like I deserve it though, I hurt Liam and my beast. I should have done better."

A low rumble followed the end of my words. "Girl, I never want to hear you talk that way again. You don't deserve to be miserable, alright? You did the best you could, you are a damn werewolf driven by animalistic instincts that are hard to control, hell, even I have a hard time controlling my beast sometimes.

"Be nicer to yourself girl and don't punish yourself, that is no way to live. If I ever hear you say anything like that again, then I will be disappointed. You're better than that."

I nodded. He was right. Throwing myself a pity party and dancing in it was weak. I wasn't weak, I was strong. I let myself dance and dance in that pity party when I was with Marcus, I wasn't going to taint my new life by doing it again.

"Okay, I promise."

His silver eyes twinkled a bit. "That's my girl. Now let's talk about what we are going to do to prevent that from happening again."

I groaned a bit and Levi just laughed. "You sound like my father."

"I feel like it," he replied casually. I snapped my eyes to his curiously. He was hiding something, I could see it behind his eyes as he looked at me. He sighed and scratched at his head. "Remember that first day you were here? That day you woke up and I told you my beast was drawn to you?"

"The day you almost shot me?"

He chuckled darkly and I rolled my eyes. "Yes, that day." I nodded and folded my legs Indian style while he picked at the grass a little. "I told you that we felt a bond, remember that?"

I nodded. I couldn't forget it. I felt it too; my wolf and I couldn't pin point it, but it was there. "Yes, I still feel it."

"I know, me too." He sighed as his eyes started to show a hint of sadness. "I never really told you all of it. But I guess now's a good time as ever."

I cocked my brow at him and my wolf raised her ears in the back of my mind. "Go on then..."

Levi's eyes looked at me like he was looking at a ghost. I pained my heart. It pained my wolf. "Let me preface it with this, I only think this is part of the reason that I feel a bond towards you, although it is a real dominant part.

"That day I had you spar with me, remember the first time?" I nodded. I couldn't forget that even if I wanted to. "I pushed you and pushed you and pushed you. It surprised me how much I pushed you. I didn't know why at first either, but I couldn't sleep all that night because I was up thinking about it.

"I couldn't stop thinking about it. I always felt like I had to push you harder, I still do. Making sure you lived through your shift became almost an obsession for my beast. It drove me crazy, I couldn't figure out why.

"Then you started to shift. You started to get the fever and as Derek laid you on those blankets I knew what it was. I knew because of the fear that took hold of me, dammit I was so scared that night."

"Why?" I asked quietly.

Levi snapped his silver eyes to mine and gave me a half smile. "Because girly, my beast sees you as his own, as his pup, and I do too."

My wolf yipped in the back of my mind. It was like a blanket of love was wrapped around us; mending the holes in my heart that my parents had left. Nothing could take their place, but Levi certainly could mend them.

It was like a thought that I always knew, yet it seemed brand new to me. My wolf yipped and yipped. Her heart was happy and so was mine.

"That night you shifted it was like watching my kids shift for the first time. I was scared out of my damn mind. I had to watch you go through something like that, not able to do shit." He sighed and smiled to himself. "Once you shifted for the first time, my beast looked at your's and it was instant, you were his pup. Drove me damn crazy at first, but it seems that I too see you that way Charlie girl," he said while looking over at the tall tree. He looked back at me as the subtle smile on his face brought out the wrinkles around his mouth.

"So you're saying I'm stuck with you?"

He let out a warm chuckle and shrugged. "Lucky you." I laughed sofly at his words, but really they pulled at my heart. I was lucky. Incredibly lucky. "You're one of mine girl, and since you're one of mine, I have a responsibility to protect you, even from yourself. Now girl, I know you're strong, and I doubt that what happened between you and Liam will happen again, your wolf feels overly cautious about the whole thing anyways, I can sense it from her a mile away."

"She does," I added. She was on edge. She wanted to wrap up my neck in thick blankets so no male would dare try to take what's not truly his.

"But on the hunt, there will be a good number of unmated males. The hunt for us is kind of like a rite of passage, a sign that you're not just a pup anymore. Besides Lander and Liam, Claire–Lander's mate will be coming, as will a few pack warriors who have been on the hunt before–they will be helping us out if we need it, and a handful of unmated males around Liam's age. The hunts always been open to males and females of our pack, and Lander said that he thinks the boys are ready, he also assured me over and over that they will behave around you, but I don't trust those little shits as far as I can throw them. Young unmated males are a damned pain in my ass."

I felt my wolf stir a bit. "So what do I do? What do we do?"

Levi pulled out a small knife that made me jump a little. "We are going to swap a little blood girly."

My wolf was pacing. "Uh, why?"

"Well first, so I can bind you to the pack. You don't have to connect to the pack link if you don't want to, but if something happens to you and I am not there to protect you, one of the older males will be obligated to step in; and any offense to a pack member, especially a male trying to take a female that's not his, is against pack laws which means as the alpha I can punish them how I see fit."

I shuddered. I was more afraid now for these poor males than I was myself. "I thought binding me to the pack would automatically mean I connected to the link."

"It's like a radio girl. The technical answer is yes, but like a radio you can shut it off. You can choose not to let anyone in, although on the hunt you will have let the others in so we can communicate."

"So, I am joining your pack? I thought I wasn't ready for that? I mean, I don't know Levi."

Levi sighed and gave me a long look. "First off girly, like I said, you don't have pick up the link. You can shut it off. Secondly, it's not like I am going to ship your tiny ass to the pack house." He scratched at his scruff while he twirled the knife in his hand. His face turned more serious, wrinkles that framed the concerned painted on his face. "You have to understand girl, packs look after their own. It's another way to protect you. If you are 'technically' connected to the pack, then you are under the blanket of pack laws that can protect you, and not just on the hunt girly."

I nodded as I chewed on the notion. I could see where he was coming from. My heart was swelling with warmth, it had been so long since someone cared for me in this way, the way my father used to.

I could see it. He was scared. He was scared of something happening to me. He was scared of feeling helpless again.

I understood.

I understood that fear and that pain.

Sometimes to overcome it we have to step outside of our comfort zones. While I wasn't too keen on this whole 'pack' idea, my wolf seemed to calm me. She agreed with Levi, it would be smart to have pack laws protecting us in the future. No male would go without serious ramifications if they dared harmed a pack female; I shuddered inwardly as I thought about what Levi would do in such an instance.

I had to take a leap of faith. I couldn't operate out of fear, I may be scared, but I had to trust Levi. "Ok," I sighed out. "What's the other reason? I feel like there's another reason."

Levi chuckled and started to take the knife and slice it in the palm of his hand, drawing a decent amount of blood. "Well,  girl the other reason is when we do this, my wolf and I are going to claim you officially as our pup. You'll feel a bond, and you better accept it or I'll have your ass." I rolled my eyes as he handed me the knife, then he took his free hand and made a cup under his cut hand to catch the blood.

"What will it do?" I asked and eyed the knife warily.

"Well, you'll smell like me, like one of my pups. It will be a scent that tells other wolves, especially males, who will be skinning their ass if they try anything stupid. Believe me, it will protect you girl. Anyone would have to have a death wish to start shit with an alpha's pup without good reason."

"You can do that?" Levi nodded as he looked down in the knife in my hand.

"Think of it like an adoption. Sometimes things happen to a pup's parents. They get sick and die, they get killed, etcetera. Usually, a mated pair will step up to take the pup in and adopt them, the binding with blood give them true rights as a parent and a claim over the pup. It's our way of legally making that pup ours."

My heart was racing; excitement, anticipation, and a warm affection seemed to fill my bones at his words. The moment he said it, I practically fell into tears. The feeling of such unconditional love was foreign, yet so welcome in my life.

"Ok," I breathed out.

My heart was racing as I sliced the knife in my palm. I was skeptical still, but my wolf was thrilled. The more I thought about it, the more I knew it was the right thing to do. Levi had become a surrogate father to me, to my beast. If I was going to let anyone get close to me in my life, trust anyone in my life, it was him. We were both broken and beat up individuals, but we had each other.

The skin broke as a trail of blood followed the blade. I hissed out and finally stopped when I felt like I had cut enough. I handed then knife back to Levi then looked at him curiously as the blood began to pool.

He scooted closer to me then gave me a serious look, he wasn't joking around now. "Now girl, you'll feel it. You need to accept it. Your wolf will know what to do. You're my pup girly, and this right here is a way of making sure no dumb ass male or really any idiot tries to hurt what's mine."

I felt my heart swell. So many feelings were churning about me, but I didn't care. It felt so right, so natural. I wanted to do this. I knew if I really wanted to reject it, I could and while Levi would fight me on it, he would eventually let me have my way. But I didn't want to fight him. My wolf nodded to me, she and I were both in agreement; he was our leader, our alpha, and a father to us.

I trusted him.

I truly trusted him and the thought drew baby tears to my eyes. It had been so long since I had been around someone worthy of my trust.

Levi nodded to me then took my bloody palm in his. It was like a lightning bolt running through me. He whispered some words as he clenched my palm, but I didn't hear them. I felt so many things. I felt his alpha blood running through my veins like small fireworks whizzing into the sky, I felt love and pride blanket me, and I felt a bond reach out to me delicately.

I took it.

My wolf and I grasped onto it as Levi said something else and squeezed my hand hard. I saw so many colors as my veins seemed to be alive with this bond; it poured through me and wrapped itself around my heart in a compassionate hug.

I felt my alpha blood start to dance in me. I felt my wolf howl in joy. I felt more connected to her and a pull towards a pack that instead of scaring me, it made me feel safe, a family of my own.

I felt the pack link. It was like a strong rope hanging in my brain for me to grab, but I wasn't ready to grab that yet, not quite yet. It was there for me when I needed it, within my grasp, but it was still my choice to let it in.

But most of all I felt him. I felt his love, loyalty, and desire to protect me wash over my skin. His blood pouring through me life a wildfire; giving me life and energizing my veins. When my wolf opened her eyes and saw his beast gaze at her from behind his eyes, she recognized him in a different light, as a father to her.

I sucked in a sharp breath as the realization hit me and tendrils of the bond started to simmer down. Levi released my hand as I tried to regain my composure.

He gave me a half smile before licking his wound clean. I did the same and watched as the skin started to quickly heal itself.

"You ok girl?" I nodded, still a little breathless. Levi chuckled and stood up, then reached a hand down for me to join him. "Come on Charlie girl, let's go for a run."

My wolf yipped and howled out in the back of my mind. We were happy. We were at peace. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't scared. I wasn't scared because I knew that now it was not just me in my corner, I would always have Levi–and he would always have me.

We ran and ran and ran until I was beat tired. Levi said it was the bond still working its way through me, it was going to tire me out. I didn't chop any wood that evening, but I did start packing for the bear hunt. We would leave in a few days and Levi wanted to start organizing things that we needed to take with us.

We had everything, well mostly everything, laid in piled around the living room when we decided to turn in. Levi said that we still needed to pick up a few things at the store.

I went to bed early that night. Levi said that I should expect another ass beating tomorrow, which only made me giggle. I was starting to enjoy these spars of ours.

It was late when I heard it, the small pebbled hitting my window. I blinked my eyes open quickly then crawled to the window; my wolf was on alert and already pacing in my mind.

I peaked up and let out the breath I was holding when I saw who it was, Liam.

"Can I talk to you?"

I sighed and let out a nod. We did need to talk and put some things to rest.

"I'll meet you on the porch."

I walked to the living room and Levi was already up and walking to the front door. I gulped down the tiny flames of anxiety as he stepped onto the porch. He eyed Liam up and down then looked back to me and nodded.

I stepped out into the warm summer night air. Liam looked nervous. His hands were in the pockets of his sweatpants.

He let out a nervous breath and smiled. "Hi."

I let out a breathy laugh. "Hi."

He walked to the steps and gestured for me to sit. I sat across from him and leaned on the railing. He looked tired; like his mind was going a hundred miles a minute without relent.

"I'm sorry about earlier Char, I didn't mean for that to happen. The bond just... it's just more than I thought and–"

"Liam," I interjected and gave him a half smile. "It's ok. It's not all your fault."

He nodded and let out another breath. "I can't help how I feel around you. I hate it. I hate this bond. I hate knowing that someday you'll find your true mate, I wish you were mine, Char."

I sighed and looked at my toes. I felt shaken by his words. My wolf was sad. She liked Liam, well, more than liked him. He was a good wolf, he would make a fine mate. But he wasn't ours, not truly, and we were not his.

I shook my head and looked back at him. He was sad. He was sad because we both knew the reality of the situation, and that reality sucks. "One day you'll find your's Liam. It just wasn't meant to be. I hate it too, it's not fair to either of us, but it is what it is."

"I offered to go to another pack for a while, so you could settle in, but my father said no."

I felt my wolf let out a sad whine. "You're needed here and you know that. You have a good heart Liam, you'll make a good alpha one day."

He rolled his eyes and gave me a playful smile. "That's if Levi doesn't kill me first." I laughed to myself and nodded. Liam looked at me for the longest while before letting out a breathy laugh. "You smell like him now, it's strange. You smell like you, but now he's on you too."

"He 'adopted' me today," I muttered out.

Liam chuckled softly. "I know, my dad and I felt it. Some of our pack members felt him binding you to the pack. I'm glad."

"He said it was so no 'dumbs unmated males would mess with what's his.'"

Liam rolled his eyes and gave me a knowing look. "While that may be part of the reason, I think we both know it's more than that." I sighed and looked at him curiously. He shook his head and rolled his eyes, much like Levi does, at me. "Charlotte, my uncle hasn't been the same since his family died. I don't think my dad and I thought we would ever get him back. It hurt all of us, loosing them. I was close to Lucas, he was like my older brother.

"He hasn't been the same until you showed up. I don't know why it was fated to be, but I am glad. It's like my uncle is back, my dad feels like he has his brother back." Liam laughed some more and looked at his toes before looking at me. "He's still a stubborn ass, but he's close to being who he was before. You're not just his adopted pup, you are his pup. There's not much Levi wouldn't do for you."

I smiled as my wolf swelled with pride. She was proud of us, proud of the one that claimed us as his. "So I guess that makes us cousins?"

Liam rolled his eyes again and groaned. "I guess, which is probably a good thing. I can't have a mate that's my own damn cousin."

I laughed too and nodded as the butterflies swirled in my stomach. "Yes, that would be a little weird."

"I do care about you Char, genuinely, not because of the bond."

I smiled sadly. "Me too."

His silver eyes swirled with a mix of emotions. "Friends?"

The words pained me. Thinking of Liam as just a friend felt impossible, but we had to try. "Friends." I nodded.

He let out a long sigh and gave me a half smile. "We may be friends, but know if any of those males come near your neck that I will kill them myself."

I laughed a little but his face was serious. Liam was an alpha blooded male, after all, he was not one to be challenged. "Well, you'll have to get in line behind Levi. Besides, who says that I can't handle them on my own?"

"Charlotte, you don't under–"

"I put you well on your ass before, did I not?" My wolf let out a low rumble. She was strong, we were strong, and we were not about to let some foolish male get the best of us. "Believe me, those males will wish it was you or Levi they have to deal with if they try anything by the time I am done with them."

Liam gave me a long knowing look and nodded. He stood slowly and looked out into the forest. "I have to go. Dad's calling me."

I nodded and stood up too. I wanted to hug him, to let him wrap me in his arms, but I knew better. I wasn't about to make the same mistakes twice.

I walked up the stairs then looked back at him. He looked torn. I felt torn. "Night Liam." He nodded then turned and disappeared into the safety of the forest.

A weight felt like it was lifted off my shoulders as I walked back to my room. I was still conflicted, but I knew I had done the right thing, and that filled me with a little peace.

The bond was still buzzing in me as I closed my eyes again. It was the first time in a long time that I felt content with my life, happy. My wolf purred at the thought, she couldn't be more pleased with us.

That night I closed my eyes and fell into a peaceful slumber. A slumber on my own.

A slumber without nightmares.