As soon as Hunter woke, a burst of passion rushed through him when he watched Jacota sleeping. Quietly, the werewolf climbed out of bed and asked Jeronah, who stood in the corridor, if his parents were up. It was only 7:30 in the morning, but for as long as Hunter could remember, his parents have been early risers.

"Yes, they are in the kitchen from what I can hear," Jeronah smiled. Hunter could hear nothing but Jacota's slow breathing as he walked down the stairs until he heard his mother's laughter. The day was going to be hot as the morning sun had already heated up the tiles in the kitchen.

"Hey," Anthony greeted his son with a smile and the smell of bacon. "You're up early."

"Yeah." Hunter sat on the stool with a sigh. "I have something to ask."

Margo turned with knowing eyes. She examined him before leaning against the counter. Her hair fell from her ear, and Anthony stood behind her, running his fingers through it.

"You're going into heat," she said, "and you're worried about it."

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm worried. I just want to know how strong it will be. Is it different to usual? I haven't been through heat with a mate."

Anthony sat down, and his face turned serious. Hunter hated his thinking stare.

"I understand that you have only just marked Jacota, so I can imagine he's not used to having an intimate relationship with someone just yet." Anthony tapped his chin with thought. "This isn't going to be easy for you, or Jacota. I don't think he'll feel it yet because he has only just found his inner wolf, but I don't want him to feel pressured to satisfy your needs, and I'm sure you don't want that either."

"I don't, that's what I'm concerned about."

"You can control it, but just let Jacota know that you'll have to be a little more loving for a week."

"A little more loving? Are you kidding? It hasn't even started yet, and it feels so strong."

"You're just not used to going through heat with a mate, you'll get used to it throughout the years, and Jacota will eventually feel it too, which will be easier for both of you," Anthony reassured him. "The first one will be hard, but you have enough self-control to get through it." His voice had turned stern, and Hunter felt a little offended.

"Of course I have the self-control. I wouldn't put Jacota into such a horrible situation." Hunter crossed his arms and stared out of the window, watching magpies land on the grass and poke their beaks into the ground.

"I know you wouldn't Hunter; I'm just warning you about how tough it might be, okay?" Anthony asked and placed a bacon sandwich in front of him. "Eat because today we are finding you a pack."

Hunter spun in his chair, trying to hide his shock.

"What? I don't want a new pack yet."

"You are the son of an alpha who rules a city, you can't have no pack for any longer, it's not safe or good for your reputation."

Hunter stood and pushed his breakfast aside.

"I'm not ready for a pack," he said, slow and angry. Anthony stepped out of his son's way as Hunter slid the garden door open and disappeared into the garden.

"It's too soon," Margo sighed. "His mental scars still haven't healed."

Jacota rubbed his eyes and climbed out of bed. He had been listening to their conversation from the bedroom. His hearing had sharpened to the point where he could listen to anyone speak, no matter where they were in the house. Jacota could control it straight away, so he could choose when to switch it on and off.

He rushed to the window, just in time to watch Hunter turn into a wolf and start sprinting across the field.

"Be careful," he thought before Hunter switched off his mind-link. And then, Hunter was gone, engulfed by the trees. The relief Jacota felt from Hunter being able to run was worth the risk of him being out in the open alone.

The God then found himself walking down the corridor, and before he could turn back, he knocked on Sam's door with a thumping heart. Why was socialising so challenging?

A loud thud came from the other side of the wood before a tired looking beta wolf opened the door. Sam's hair was everywhere, and his eyes were half open.

"I smelt it was you, is everything okay?" he croaked.

"I-I think Hunter might need your company," Jacota said with a nervous smile. "You should talk to him about finding new pack members."

Sam nodded, understanding why Jacota would need him to talk to his alpha. "Okay, I'll see what I can do, let me just wake up properly," he chuckled.

* * * * *

Hunter stood on a cliff, a reasonable distance away from the edge. He stared at the horizon, listening to the sea crashing against the rocks and the seagulls screeching above.

His wolf sniffed the air, remembering the horrific scenes of his omega wolves pushing him off the edge. Hunter looked at the sky and bellowed a pained howl. The birds scattered, flying far away from his sorrow.

Hunter knew it was time to look for a new pack. They would have to spend a lot of time searching, and he trusted his parent's judgement, knowing his dad would put any potential pack members through hell before he believed that they were worth his trust.

Hunter sat and whimpered sadly. His pack members were supposed to be by his side for life. He had known them since they were kids and he did trust them with his life, and they stabbed him in the back as soon as he left it bare.

"If I ever run into any of those omegas, I will kill them in front of their families." Hunter smelt Sam's scent before he heard his voice. The wolf turned to see Sam's black wolf sitting calmly behind him. Hunter was impressed by how he managed to sneak up on him, but it was a reminder that he should stop leaving himself so vulnerable.

"How did you find me?" he thought.

"Jacota told me, and I partly followed your scent."

"But we're miles away from home."

"From the day you chose me to be your beta wolf, I trained myself to know your scent like it was my own."

That is the kind of loyalty Hunter is looking for in a pack member.

"Why are you here?" Hunter thought.

"Well, if you'll let me alpha, I want to talk about finding other pack members. And no, your parents didn't put me up to this, Jacota did." Sam shuffled closer and shared the view of the horizon. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but wolves would've heard your howl from miles away. It doesn't take a werewolf to know it was full of misery."

"This place is full of bad memories for us both. I thought by coming back I'd feel closure, but it just makes me miss the times we came here when we were a new pack. Dad said it was too far away but we'd sneak up here anyway and stay for hours until the sun touched the water." Hunter thought.

"Here is where you really learned how to be an alpha. You practised your commands, and we would practice obeying them and building our bond as a pack."

"Yeah, and we'd come when a storm hit so the water would splash up the cliff and soak the slowest wolf, which was usually Brad." Hunter heard Sam chuckling in the back of his mind. "How did it get like this?"

"Whether it was now or later on in our lives, the omegas would have betrayed you. I'm thankful that it happened sooner rather than later. Being with Jacota has brought out a different side to you, a perceptive side that you never showed before, and I think the Omegas would have learned to hate it. They liked it when you messed with the rival pack, but it wasn't doing your reputation any favours." Sam lowered his head when he realised he was voicing too much of his opinion.

"You're right; I'm just finding it hard to accept what happened. I keep thinking what if, what if the omegas didn't do that to me, and what if they were still a part of my pack. But they were never truly loyal, not like you."

Sam's ears pricked up and he panted with pride.

"Anyway," Hunter continued, "what are your thoughts on new pack members?"

"I think it's a good idea. The sooner you move on, the better. I don't doubt that the omegas will be checking in on you now and again. I'm sure you'll want them to know that you're doing better without them?" Sam said. "And I want you to do better without them."

Hunter's wolf nodded before closing his eyes and feeling the wind through his fur.

"Then let's show them that I'm not weak. The omegas haven't won, they'll never break me."

"That's the Hunter I know," Sam cheered and nudged Hunter's face with his nose. "I'll race you home!"

Hunter turned and nipped at Sam's ear before sprinting down the hill and towards the trees, feeling much happier.

* * * * *

It took Sam and Hunter twenty minutes to arrive home. They collapsed in a heap on the patio, gasping for air under the hot summer's sun. Anthony put down two bowls of icy cold water and watched his son and his beta wolf lap it up like it was their first drink in days.

"Glad to see you got back safe," he said and waited for them to turn into their human forms.

"I just needed to run," Hunter breathed and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Where's Jay?"

"Behind you."

Hunter turned to see his mate watching from a bench next to the rose bush. He cocked his head and smiled. "I must have run straight past him." Hunter took a step forwards, but Jacota's scent hit him hard, and he felt a little weak at the knees. Turning to his dad, Hunter asked, "Have you talked to him about heat?"

"No, but I told Scott about it, and he talked to him. You don't have to worry, Jacota knows how hard it'll be, and he is the one who will feel your emotions." Anthony nudged his son in the direction of Jacota before pulling Sam inside.

"I forgot about heat," Sam mumbled and headed through the house and up the stairs, wishing for a cold shower. When he reached the corridor, William was stood outside of his room with a hand ready to knock on his door.

"Hey," Sam smiled, approaching him carefully, knowing his scent would be everything he has ever wanted.

"Oh hi, I was just about to knock."

"I went for a run with Hunter, Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Um, I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out or whatever," William asked.

"We can; I just need to shower first," Sam said and opened his bedroom door.

"I'll be downstairs then."

"Cool." Sam entered his room and shut the door behind him, cringing from the awkward atmosphere around them. He hoped it wouldn't always be like that, but as long as he has an unbearable crush on a human who doesn't feel the same, he couldn't imagine their friendship ever being normal.