---Paige's POV---

Nick was oddly excited when we drove for school the next morning. I was feeling slightly suspicious; he was almost bouncing of his seat when we arrived. Finally I just blurted out, "What's going on?" Nick looked up in surprise before he slyly grinned at me. "Nothing?" he tried, unconvincingly.

I raised my eyebrow at him and his grin became a smirk. "Is that a smirk? Are you smirking at me?" I asked with a low growl in my voice. Nick quickly shook his head before he replied, "Am I smirking? - I'm not smirking. No smirking here milady." He said while he bit his lip.

Staring at him in disbelief, I couldn't help myself and laughed until the tears rolled down of my face while Nick parked the car and laughed with me. Eventually we stepped out of the car and walked to school together while a bounce sneaked into Nick's step when we neared the entrance.

"Seriously Nick, what-" I started to say but was interrupted when someone shouted "WOLFPILE!" and I was crushed on the ground, jumped by at least eight wolves while I kept laughing.

The pile wriggled around a bit and I was engulfed into a hug while the boys stood back up again. Jack was smiling like crazy while he held me. "We uh, kind of missed you?" he said before I was passed onto the next wolf.

They kept it going until I had passed every single wolf and then they put me on my feet. I grinned at them while I let out a huge breath. "Well, didn't see that coming." I joked while I glanced at Nick. "Any more surprises?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nu-uh." He said while he walked up to me. The whole group tensed when a slightly familiar voice spoke up.

"Well, isn't this kind of touching? A family reunion!" I turned around to look at Kale, who stared at me with a smirk on his face. He pushed himself off the lockers and took a few steps towards me, his hands casually in his pockets.

The guys started to crowd around me but I poked a few of them in the ribs, stating, "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." They looked at me with a torn expression, some even looked slightly amused or surprised before I took a step forwards.

Kale grinned at me, but it wasn't in a way that made you feel ok. It raised the hairs in my neck while a small shiver crawled down my spine. He glanced at my ribs before he smirked. "Feeling better now?" he sarcastically said.

I nodded, a smile spreading over my lips. "Yes, I am." I stretched to show that nothing was wrong with me, knowing it would irritate him before I shrugged "It was just a scratch."

He opened his mouth to say something but I beat him to it by saying, "Actually, I had something to say to you." I felt several stares of the wolves on my back but I ignored them. Kale seemed distracted for a moment before he said "Well? I'm all ears."

I smiled at him before I said, "I wanted to thank you."

A shocked silence filled the hallway while everyone, even Kale, stared at me like I went completely bonkers. "If you didn't send your friends to abduct me, who failed miserably by the way," I added, causing him to fluster with frustration, "I wouldn't be greeted by my boys right now."

Kale was grinding his teeth while the wolves roared into laughter. I winked at Kale "So thanks again!" I smirked before I looped my arms through Joshua and Nick's arm and walked with them to class. A loud, smashing sound caused me to glance over my shoulder, only to see that Kale had punched a hole into his locker.

"Somebody's pissed off." I sang and the boys laughed again. We stepped into the canteen, since we arrived way too early for class. Probably because the guys wanted to surprise me. We were chatting away, catching up the three weeks that I couldn't speak with them while Jacob walked in.

We were still in our conversation, so I didn't even notice him standing next to us while I gasped, "No, you didn't! Tyler that's s not nice –" I closed my mouth when I noticed the glares of the guys and sighed. "He's right behind me huh?" Nick, who sat across me, nodded slowly.

I just leaned back in my chair, hovering on two of its legs while my feet were resting on the table. "Yes?" I stretched the word in a bored way. I didn't want to talk to that jerk.

"I- uh, wanted to join you guys?" he said, only slightly hesitating in the beginning. His voice sounded so calm, casual even like he had asked one of his best friends to join in. I rolled my eyes when several disapproving growls filled the air. "Guys..." I shushed and the boys calmed down a little bit. "He can sit down." There was no silence this time; they started roaring immediately.

Rolling my eyes again, I slammed my chair down, causing them to look at me. "Jacob can sit down... because it is time for us to be going to class anyway." I finished my sentence. Several of the guys seemed slightly embarrassed with their outbursts but I ignored them and picked up my bag while they all stood up and waited for me.

When I went to brush by Jacob however, he grasped my arm tightly while he growled, "Where do you think you're going?" I calmly looked from his hand wrapped around my wrist to him while I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to my class but I don't see how that matters to you." I coldly replied. His fingers slightly tensed while he glanced at all of the boys who stood behind me. "I am your mate, I have every right to know." He blatantly stated.

That's it! Without any second thought, I slapped him across his cheek, right on the edge of my human strength. His face moved to the side on impact while the canteen was filled with silence. His hand let go of my wrist but I didn't notice it.

"How DARE you." I hissed at him while I took a step forward. Jacob's head snapped back up and he unconsciously stepped back when he saw the fury blazing in my eyes.

"We might be mates because of this connection but you sure as hell didn't acted like one! As far as I'm concerned, we're not mates, you'd be pushing it if you would even call us friends Jacob!" I spat out, the anger, frustration and hurt that had built up from the harsh treatment of the last weeks freely pouring out.

I poked him in the chest while stepped closer to him. He had a shocked look on his face, his hands slightly in the air, as if in surrender. "You can just take that Alpha-pride of yours and shove it. I'm not even going to ask any of the guys to stop speaking to you, because I would never do that."

I took a step back and looked him straight in the eye. "I will never be anything like you." I gritted through my teeth, hoping that the message came through before I grasped my bag from the ground where I had dropped it and walked away from Jacob.

When I was at the door, Adriana came through it and looked me up and down before her face scrunched up in disgust. I simply shoved her out of my way and into the door while I made my way over to my locker. I didn't have class for the next block so I ran outside to cool down after roughly shoving my belongings in the locker.

Nick's chuckle made me jump but he was looking quite concerned at me. "Need a run?" he said softly while he moved his head to the forest. I smiled at him. "You know me too well." I said, causing him to snort. "I'm barely able to skim across the surface." He replied before he ran in front of me. I quickly followed.

---Jacob's POV---

I was still standing in the same spot, shocked that a mate even dared to shout at her own mate like that. Paige was feisty, I had to give her that. My cheek was still glowing red and I could feel that it was bruised. Why did people always smack me across the cheek?

My heart felt heavy when I remembered her saying that in her eyes, we weren't mates. We weren't even friends. The sad part is, it's all true.

So painfully true.

"Wow!" Joshua breathed out while he stared at Paige's retreating back. "If she was one of us, she would've definitely gone wolf on you." He turned on me with an I-told-you-so look on his face.

Several of the others were staring with their mouths wide open. They were slowly coming to, smiles stretching over their faces while they looked at me with satisfied and amused grins stuck to their faces.

Jack smirked even wider. "Well, since you two aren't on a friendship base any time soon, it seems that she's free to date, don't you think?" he said with a suggestive smile on his face. Some of the pack quickly followed his stupid grin before I growled at them, taking a step forwards while I stared them in the eye.

If any of them would even dare to take MY mate out for a date... I didn't think I could be held responsible for the consequences.

All of us growled when Adrianna's high-pitched squeal ran through our heads. She walked towards me like nothing had happened and wanted to give me a kiss. I shoved her out of my way while I went to my classroom, growling under my breath.

Ok, so the plan to take it on casually backfired on me. But then again, it was stupid to pretend that nothing had happened. It had only angered her further. Looking back at it now, I was slightly amused that a tiny human like Paige was able to corner the Alpha's son.

Maybe those divine matchmakers didn't make a mistake. Paige did fit with me; I would always push people around because of my status. But she didn't seem a pushover. I growled at myself.

I really needed her back! I wanted her back. But it seemed that I needed to get on her good side first.

---Paige's POV---

I wasn't in the mood anymore to go back to class. We were both in wolf form while Nick was chasing me and I easily dodged him by laying down on the ground when he jumped for me. I chuckled at his surprised face before he landed a few steps in front of me.

Playfully growling at me, he raised his fur while he took a step towards me. I snorted loudly; he didn't think that I would just bow down for him because he was third in command right?

When he took another step I quickly grabbed hold of his muzzle and pushed him to the ground before I jumped over him, my tail held high. Nick stood up with an amused glint in his eyes before he perked up his ears and looked over my shoulders. I looked with him but didn't see anything.

I was surprised when Nick nudged me with his nose before he took a few steps ahead to where he was staring. He then looked over to me and moved his head in a way that said "Come on, follow me." I shrugged before I ran after him, slowly getting past him.

He was running to the pack house and by now, I could smell that Luke was standing outside. So I ran ahead, but not before I pushed Nick into the dirt while I let out a throaty chuckle.

Nick ran after me, clearly with revenge on his mind. I picked up speed and made a beeline towards the pack-house, weaving through the trees that marked the edge of the forest. Luke stared at me with a surprised smile on his face while I ran towards him.

I quickly stepped behind him, lowering my head so I could look at Nick while I was safely behind the Alpha. Nick's low growl amused me, along with the mud-stains on his fur. I wagged my tail while I showed him my wolfy grin, causing Nick to growl again.

"It seems we have a small problem on our hands." Luke said, causing me to step away from the cover he provided to look in his eyes. His lips were twitching, like he was holding back a grin before he answered my questioning look.

"You have to be allowed into the pack Paige. But..." he slightly trailed off. I sneezed when Nick brushed by me and slapped his tail in my face. I quickly nipped the end of his tail, receiving a puppy-like yelp from Nick before he quickly sat down. I wagged happily before I looked back up at Luke.

Right now, he was biting his lip to contain his laughter. Being in a silly mood, I cocked my head at him like a confused puppy, raising one of my paws slightly. That pushed him over the edge and he laughed loudly, causing Alexis and her mother to come out and take a look.

"Hey Nick!" Alexis shouted while she ran up to him and hugged his huge red brown wolf. She hesitantly turned towards me before she slightly cocked her head, a confused look on her face. I mimicked her movement, receiving a smile from her before she turned at Luke.

"Daddy, who is she? And why are you laughing so hard?" she added when Luke gasped for air to calm himself. Luke finally stood up from his hunched over position and smiled at his daughter.

"This Alexis, is a newcomer in the pack. For now, it's best if you don't know her name yet." He said while he shared a pointed look with his wife, who nodded before she looked at me. I respectfully lowered my head to her, what made her smile at me.

Alexis and her mother stepped to the side and sat down on a bench. Apparently Alexis was out of hearing range, because Luke finished his sentence from before. "You'll be a part of the pack, but they can contact you as well. Meaning that, if you are speaking to one of the pack, you can't think about your abilities."

I sharply nodded my head while I glanced back at his wife and daughter. Alexis was waving towards me, trying to get my attention. Luke's cough pulled me back to the conversation and I smirked slightly, letting him now I was sorry.

"As the Alpha, I hereby accept you, Paige, as a part of the pack." He said while I slightly felt his mind touching mine. Nick barked happily before he said "Nice to have you in the pack." I chuckled lightly before I said "Nice to be in the pack."

"Well then, now that that's over, I want to see your fighting abilities in wolf form. Nobody of the pack will recognize you in this shape and it seems that your sent slightly alters when you change shapes so..." he said before we heard a distant voice yelling at us.

"Who's that?"

"A new wolf?"

"Never seen her..."

I looked up and my heart started racing when I saw the triplets, Jack, Jacob and Adriana walking towards us. Why were they even here? They still had classes to go to, it didn't make any sense.

Nick's amused mental voice rang through my head. "It seems that we aren't the only ones skipping school for a day." I rolled my eyes at him in a sarcastic way. "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

He laughed loudly before he said, "You're welcome, Lieutenant Sarcasm." I just snorted at him while the others came to a halt a few steps away from me. They were all staring at me with a curious or wary expression. I just laid down on the ground, uninterested in them.

And Jacob was getting on my nerves with staring at me like that. Thankfully, Luke cleared his throat, causing the others to look at him. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?" he asked them while he stared at each one of them with a disapproving look.

They all looked at their shoes, mumbling something about 'nothing interesting today'. Luke sighed before he said "This is a new she-wolf, she will be joining the pack soon." I pricked my ears up and raised my head to look at the others.

"We are going to test her today, to see what she's made of-" Luke was interrupted when the guys smiled and yelled, "We want a go at her!" One glare of Luke had them back in line. "Please?" Tyler added.

"What do you think Paige? Do you think you can take them?" Luke's calm voice sounded in my head. Even his mental voice was full of his position, the raw power of an Alpha. I rolled my eyes while I stood up. Overacting, I stretched all of my limbs before I bowed down with a long yawn.

I trotted towards the center of the yard and turned around, waiting for someone to come for me. I perked my ears up as Alexis was trying a dance with her mother before she ran towards the radio and turned it back on the beginning of the song.

Smirking at the guys in front of me before I winked at Nick. He shook his head in an amused way. "Paige, focus on the fight. You can't-"

I just ignored him and mentally started singing to the song of Jason Derulo that was playing.

Jack came forwards as his wolf and lunged at me, but I quickly moved to the beat of the music and dodged his moves.

Jack's wolf growled ferociously at me before he leapt again. I clamped my jaws around his exposed neck and pushed him on the ground before letting him go and sat back in the middle while my tail kept waving to the beat. Nick's mental laugh rolled through me, because, ironically, the text of the song fitted almost perfectly.

"And this girl in my lap, passing out, she's a blonde
The last thing on my mind is goin' home"

"Jack's a girl huh?" I teased Nick, going after the fact that Jack is a blond, as the song stated at that moment, and he placed himself on the floor while he wagged in amusement. Next up was Joshua, who wasted no time and bolted towards me.

I literally jumped over Joshua while singing from the top of my lungs, or rather the top of my mind. Play fighting like this was fun!

I grinned at Joshua when he missed me and teasingly walked around him before he lunged at me, frustration clear on his snout. He growled at me while I stepped on the beat.

Pushing Joshua on the ground , I flashed him a quick grin before I jumped off. Even Luke was laughing with us, but then again, he could hear that I was singing. With nobody to fight, I just danced a little, well, as much as a wolf could dance.

"Hey! She's just dancing on the music!" Jack shouted out, surprise and slight amusement coming through. The others watched me in shock and I decided to tease them, moving my hips on the lyrics.

"She's mocking us!" Adrianna growled before she changed into wolf form and came after me. Adrianna clawed at me but I bit her paw and jumped back before she could react.

Adriana kept lunging at me while I sang, snapping her jaws too close for comfort so I ran her over, pushing her down on her back and I growled aggressively while I stood over her. I raised my tail like an Alpha, a bit petty but showing off that I won the fight against her as well.

Luke laughed but he failed at faking a cough when everyone looked at him. I huffed. Is this the best that his pack had? Alexis was still dancing while she looked at me and she waved at me to come over. So I complied and hurried over before standing next to her and copying her moves.

The rest of the song, I spend with dancing side by side with Alexis, whose eyes where glistening with joy and amusement. She started giggling at the chorus, where we both moved our hips. We even bumped our hips together while we grinned at each other.

We finally finished, standing in front of each other and breathing heavily. Well, Alex was breathing heavily, I was just getting warmed up.

She surprised me by jumping at me, clinging around my throat. I laughed while I let myself fall with her, weakly struggling against her hold before I rolled on my back and surrendered.

Alexis laughed victoriously; punching her little fists in the air while shouting "I'm the strongest of the pack!" she even pointed towards our little crowd and smirked at those who lost the fights with me.

"Beat that, I totally owned the new-wolf." She said before she jumped up and down excitedly. I huffed at her and she jumped on my back, latching onto the fur of my neck. I shook my fur, causing her to roll back off and I growled playfully at her while she laid there, laughing on the floor.

"Fine, we are both the strongest wolves, deal?" she asked amused. I cocked my head to the side, acting like I was thinking about it before I nodded. She squealed again before trying to grab me.

I quickly ran towards Nick, standing behind him while I nodded at Alexis. "A little help?" I begged playfully.

He looked back at Alexis, who was currently stalking us before he shook his head. Nah, you deal with it." I snorted at him before I dodged Alexis again and ran towards Luke. Some brother you are." I commented.

I just gave up in the end and rolled over, allowing Alexis to jump on top of me, while I looked at the others who were rolling on the floor in laughter. I huffed again, deliberately turning my head away from the others and looked at the Alpha-pair.

Luke and his wife, I thought that Jack had addressed her with Isabella, were standing next to each other, Luke's arm draped over her shoulder while Isabella wrapped her arm around his waist. They both looked at us with a loving shine in their eyes and Isabella kept shooting glances between Jacob and I.

I rolled my eyes before I gently spoke to her "I might be your son's mate but I won't be until he acts like he really wants one." She looked surprised that I spoke to her before she nodded discreetly. "I know, it's just sad to realize that both of you should be happy right now."

Looking at her daughter, I joked, "If you can convince her that I'm not a trampoline, I'll be happy." Isabella snorted before she laughed, telling her daughter to get of me. I stretched my legs when she got off and looked around in surprise. It was already late in the evening.

Luke looked at Nick while he said "I want you to take the new she-wolf across the boundaries of our pack." He nodded sharply while I walked forwards. Luke wanted to give me some time alone, before the others would start asking questions. We both darted off, and for the first in a while, I truly felt happy.

---Jacob's POV---

I was still slightly confused that father would let a new wolf join us without telling his betas or me but then again, he was the Alpha. He probably knew best. I could already tell that the new wolf was a handful; she won the fights without breaking into a sweat, just teasing everyone. Adriana was still grumbling under her breath, occasionally letting out the words "Bitch!" and "I'll show her!" before she finally stomped of. What the hell was I thinking, going out with someone like her?

"Jacob?" someone said at the height from my knees. I looked down at Alexis and smiled at her. She was rubbing in her eyes while she yawned, obviously tired out from playing with the newcomer. "Can you put me in bed?" she mumbled while she held her arms up.

"Sure thing Alex." I said softly while I picked her up and cradled her against my chest. My sis would always get to me, even when I was ticked off. That's why I ran of when I found out that Paige was my mate; I didn't want to scare Alexis away from me.

I placed her in her bed, pulling the sheets up to her face before I turned around and wanted to step out of the room when I heard her mumble something.

"What?" I whispered, confused. I didn't hear her right, did I?

She sighed while she rolled on her side. "I like Paige." She muttered, half asleep.

Wait, what? She hasn't met Paige yet. What was she talking about? I shook my head confused before I walked back downstairs.

Mom was standing next to the slide-door, looking at the guys sparing in the yard. She sighed before she turned around. "What's wrong hun?" she said, wiping away the frown on my face.

I pulled my head back in my neck before I looked back down and rubbed my neck. "Alex just said that she likes Paige, but they haven't met yet." I muttered. My mom looked shocked for a moment before she recovered, saying that she didn't know where that came from.

Groaning loudly, I just walked back outside and sparred with the others, trying to get my mind of Paige. Mom and dad joined us, looking from the sidelines and shouting at us. After a few hours of sparing and laughing, we all agreed to stop for today and go back home.

I was tired, nearly exhausted when I walked in the house, my limbs feeling sore. I gave my mom a kiss on her cheek while muttering "I'm going to sleep, don't wake me until tomorrow night." She laughed loudly at my comment, playfully pushing me away.

Slowly walking up the stairs, I felt slightly uneasy, almost if my wolf was feeling sick. I tried to push away the sensation, writing it off as an aftermath of the encounter with Paige at school but I couldn't relax completely.

That's why I decided on the last minute to check on Alexis before I dropped down on my bed. I could calm down by just looking at her. But when I opened the door to her room, my heart froze.

No! This can't be!

I raced down the stairs, not worried that I could wake up other pack members while I called at my parents from the top of my lungs.

"MOM! DAD!" I barreled through the door, leaving it unhinged before I skidded to a stop, leaving my parents looking at me with shock in their eyes. Jack and his father were sitting in the lounge, curiosity and shock written on their faces.

"Jacob, what the HELL-" father started but he stopped when he saw my pale face.

"They took Alexis." I said before I lowered myself against the wall. "The hunters have her."