Raurlin accepts a plate of food from Naomi who sits down beside him and gently sets her plate of steaming food down. She wasn't expecting to be so hungry and convinced Raurlin and Jackson to eat "normal people food" to see the wolves more at ease.

Jackson and Sarah sit directly across the table in front of Raurlin and Naomi. Naomi can see that Sarah is more relaxed. She is laughing at something Jackson has said and Jackson looks proud of himself.

"Look at those two," Raurlin says after he scoops a fork full of rice into his mouth.

"I know...something is definitely up. Are you enjoying the food?"

"It's amazing, doll. I'm glad you convinced me to get in on this."

The wolves are walking about all around them and it's loud but comforting. People are clambering into seats all around the table and digging into the food. Sandy sits at the end of the table and she examines the table then once she spots Naomi she waves and winks.

Naomi's trainer, Benedict, sits down beside her with a warm smile. Naomi was happy with her training, she felt so empowered running through the drills with the trainee wolves.

"Raur, this is my trainer, Benedict."

Raurlin looks past Naomi at the wolf training her. He bites down hard but reaches across the table and shakes his hand firmly.

"It's great to meet you Raurlin. You've got a strong lady here-"

"Yes I know, Ben. Is it okay if I call you Ben?" Raurlin turns back to his plate and continues eating. He can feel Naomi's embarrassment and wants to kick himself.

Mikain stands at the head of the table and raises a glass of wine. The table falls silent immediately and it sends chills down Raurlin's spine.

"My fellow wolves, my pack, I'm sure you've noticed we have some guests with us up here in the mountains." He motions to the four. "Raurlin, we welcome you home with your family and we want you to know that you are always welcome here amongst the wolves."

There's a "welcome home?" Shouted from the end of the table and Mikain grins and nods, his glass still in the air.

"Raurlin is the son of the one and only Maddox The Destroyer! He is part wolf! He is one of us! He is home!"

The wolves are silent for an excruciating moment and then there's cheering and banging of cutlery on the table. A wolf at the end of the table stands up and claps slowly, sarcastically.

"All hail the half wolf...Maddoxes son? Tell me Mik should we be calling him or you Alpha?"

He's dressed in dirty overalls and he reeks of cheap liquor. Naomi is about to kick the chair up from under him and before she can Raurlin has a hand tightly on her thigh. She looks at him with a frown and quickly realizes he is trying his best to stay calm.

The table falls silent and Mikain is battling back a partial shift. Jackson realizes the actions of this lone wolf are dangerously close to treason and that is both scary and confusing considering the wolves have an extreme lack of intolerance for any wolf that would question their Alpha.

Dezra stands up from beside Sarah with a look of disappointment on her face. "Brody" is all she says. The lone wolf stumbles away from the table and makes for the door. Dezra turns to Mikain "my deepest apologies, Mikain. I'll deal with this."

The silence remains until Dezra and Brody have left the kitchen altogether. Benedict stands up glass in hand and turns to Raurlin. His eyes glow a pale gold. "All hail the half-blood, son of Maddox!"

There's a low murmuring that slowly turns to fully fledged cheering and the wolves eyes all turn to a pale glow with Mikains gleaming the most intense, second to Raurlin whose eyes are a combination of ruby red and gold, the gold almost taking over the red completely.

                                                                                                         ❄

Sarah shuts the door and settles onto the bed beside Naomi. Jackson and Raurlin turn their chairs to face the girls.

"Ballsy move, having Mikain announce who you really are to his pack."

"It was Jax's idea," he says to Sarah.

"Is it safe to talk in here?" Naomi asks

"Yes when Dez and I soundproofed the room I made sure it was soundproofed both ways."

"Okay good. So what's the game plan Jax?"

"Well I figured by Mikain making a surprise announcement anyone feeling the way Brody clearly was feeling wouldn't have time to hide it and we would know who we would need to be on the lookout for."

"Although what's interesting is that Armon wasn't there."

Naomi frowns at Raurlin and asks "who's Armon?"

"The Alpha's right hand. Okay well good plan, Jax. I think from tomorrow I'll be training with the young wolves to undergo the awakening. It's scheduled for next Wednesday, the actual ceremony."

"Right and I'll be training with the trainee wolves. Sarah?"

"I'll be with Dez. Brody is her husband so I'll keep my eyes and ears open. What about you Jax?"

"Oh I'll be here and there. I think what's important is that we try to stay close to each other. Raur you and Naomi will likely be training close together. Sarah I got your back, always."

"Okay well I'm glad everyone is on the same page but Jax and Sarah I'm going to kick you both out now, I would love to shower and get to bed. I'm exhausted."

Sarah rolls her eyes at Naomi and rolls off the bed and holds a hand out to Jackson. Jackson simply chuckles and takes Sarah's hand and the two walk out, shutting the door behind them. Raurlin walks to the bed and flops down beside Naomi. He turns the TV on.

"I'm going to have a quick shower, Raur. Don't want my show without me!"

"Have a good shower, doll."

Naomi stands up and walks to the bathroom. She closes the door behind her and turns the shower on, waiting for the water to warm up. She kicks her shoes off and pulls her pants off then gasps.

From the bed Raurlin can smell the faint linger of blood and suddenly Naomi's heart is racing. "Naomi? You okay in there?" There's silence. Raurlin knocks at the door and Naomi responds quickly "don't come in!"

Raurlin flings the door open and Naomi is sitting on the edge of the bath examining her inner thigh. She looks up at Raurlin and quickly covers the thigh. Raurlin walks to her and squats in front of her.

"What's going on, Naomi?"

"Nothing. I told you not to come in. Can I have some privacy?"

"Show me." Raurlin gently eases Naomi's hands off her thigh and there it is, a large scratch on the inner of her thigh from where Raurlin had clasped her at the dinner table.

"Oh, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."His voice is pained.

"I know Raur. I'm okay, I promise I'll just clean this up when I'm out of the shower."

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do, Raur."

Raurlin lifts a hand and from his index finger produces a large claw that he uses to dig a small hole into his thumb. He presses his thumb into a treacle of blood. He holds the thumb to Naomi's lips.

Naomi is hesitant but she allows Raurlin to slip the thumb just between her lips and give it a squeeze. His blood drops into her tongue and it's surprisingly sweet.

"My blood will heal you. I'm sorry again my love."

"It's okay, Raur. We're all high strung being here." Naomi leans forward and gently kisses Raurlin. "Come on, let me shower quickly. Hey, can you get us snacks for the show?"

"Of course. I'll be right back. Shout if you need me."

Next door Sarah is washing her face in the bathroom sink. Jackson walks to the bathroom and he sits down on the edge of the bathtub.

"Are you enjoying the show?"

"You know I love to watch you washing your face, witch."

"Don't get too comfortable, vampire. I'm learning some new tricks."

Jackson chuckles then falls silent for a moment. "Uh, Sarah? I hope you don't mind me saying this but I feel like since we've got here you're a lot more comfortable being...around me."

Sarah sighs and she closes the faucets and pulls the plug out. She turns to Jackson with water dripping off her face. She leans against the sink and crosses her arms.

"I don't know what to say, Jax. Out of everyone here I feel the safest when I'm with you. I know that Raurlin will keep me safe but he'll protect Naomi before he protects me, but I know that you would protect me before you protect yourself."

Jackson nods slowly and states plainly "I like you too."

Sarah rolls her eyes then smiles. "Okay fine, I like you. We just need to take things slow. Let's figure us out when we get home, okay?"

Jackson stands up and pulls Sarah into a hug. He kisses the top of her head. "We can take things slow. We just need to make it out of wolfland in one piece. Then we can figure us out but I think we're on the same page."

"I think this is a good thing, Jax. I don't want to keep fighting how I feel. But for now we need to be present for Raurlin. I know tonight was too easy. We need to be prepared for anything at all times."

"Yes but tonight all you need to be prepared to do is choose a movie for us to watch. Oh can you come to the room for a second?"

"Yes, sure." Sarah follows Jackson into their room and he opens his cupboard and produces a leather bound notebook. He hands it to Sarah. "I bought this for you before we left. I thought it would be great if you could use it to sort of document your time here. Maybe start your own witchcraft legacy."

Sarah throws her arms around Jackson and she hugs him tightly. Jackson chuckles and hugs her back equally as tight.

                                                                                                          ❄

Raurlin pauses at the bottom of the stairs as he hears a creak at his and Naomi's bedroom door. He jogs up the stairs tray in hand. Armon is turning to the stairs. He seems surprised to see Raurlin then smiles at him.

"Armon, hi, missed you at dinner."

"Yes, sorry about that. The room you're in used to be mine. I was still setting up my cottage."

"I hope I haven't inconvenienced you at all."

"No of course not, I was just looking for my charger. I knocked. I thought maybe you were busy but here you are," Armon chuckles.

"Yes, I just went to the kitchen. I didn't see a charger anywhere but I'll have a look and let you know."

Raurlin watches and Armon trots downstairs and walks out the front door. He waits a few moments before walking into his and Naomi's room.