I don't know what set me on edge more, Emeli's sudden switch in attitude or the fact that nothing strange had happened in a whole week.

I should have been relieved nothing else had chased me through the forest, but it may have had something to do with me not actually going into the forest since that night.

We'd decided not to say anything to the Alpha's, purely because my gut was telling me not too, and one thing my father had always taught me was that always listen to your gut, because it was normally always right about instinct.

That, and my wolf had subconisously told me not to, like she knew something I didn't, and that set me even more on edge as an uneventful, cloudy week had passed us by rather quickly.

Emeli's behaviour was the other thing that had not only me, but Max worried as well. She had always been a quieter, shyer person, with a sweet and caring side, but just two days ago we realised she hadn't been around as much.

Not alarming, because she had a mate now and if I had it my way, I'd be spending all my time with mine too. But whenever she came back to the pack house, she went straight to her room for a while, then came out with a false smile placed on her face and a fake layer of bravado, like she was trying to hide something.

Max had decided straight off the bat he hated James, even if we still hadn't officially met him, and I was more hesitant to agree.

"Maybe he got her pregnant or something, and he doesn't want kids." Max whispered as we walked out of our last class for the day. The students around us fled so fast, the corridors were almost empty by the time we'd reached the science block. I sent him a flat look and scoffed, shaking my head.

"They haven't even properly mated yet. Emeli wants to wait until she's graduated."

"Poor guy,"

"That's what I said." I murmured, then grabbed Max's arm to stop him from walking. "I have a bad feeling about this whole situation though, all because she's not really acting like herself."

Max nodded in agreement, "Me too. Maybe people change when they met their mates. Maybe that's all it is."

"But she doesn't have to change!" I said, and started to walk again. "If you found the one who was meant to be your mate, then shouldn't they just take you for who you are? What's the point of having someone practically made for you, then having to change for them?"

Max stared at me for a long moment before he sighed and dropped his head, and I knew he agreed with me again. We walked in silence for a little bit longer, both thinking to ourselves about our best friend. Kade flashed in my mind, and I shut the thoughts of him down instantly as we walked, knowing nothing good would come of thinking about him, so I saved myself the heartache and put him in the back of my mind for now. Or ever, considering he'd ignored me totally in this past week, just like he'd promised. Not even a glance.

Anyway. All my life, Emeli had been there for me and Max. Growing up, she'd been the sensible one, the responsible one, the one who deserved happiness the most, in my mind. And even if she tried to act like she was, I could see under the facade.

Sure, she lit up when James was around, but underneath that, there was a sort of wearines in her eyes that hadn't been there before, like she didn't trust herself, or him.

If anything, Emeli's mating needed to work out, because I didn't want her to go through what I was. It was easier for me, because people hadn't always been so accepting of me my whole life, but with Emeli, she had always been adored.

She loved loyally, so if James even so much as hurt her even a little, he'd have more then Emeli's mother and father to deal with.

We turned towards our locker hallway, and Max's footsteps faltered beside me, his face taking on a frown as he looked around, breathing in through his nose deeply.

I was just about to ask him what was wrong, when a brown haired dopplerganger of Violet walked in.

Except when her eyes looked up towards us, I realised it was her.

Violet's eyes connected with Max's for a long moment, and I swear there was something that flashed in them, before she set her eyes one me and smiled slightly.

"Who the hell are you?" Max growled slightly, his body tensing as he stepped forward, as if he was protecting me. I rolled my eyes at his actions and sighed, stepping up beside him.

"Max, uh...meet Violet. She's the one I was telling you about, the girl I met in the forest. Violet, meet Max. One of my best friends." I said a little awkwardly, and Max finally looked at me, frowning deeply.

"Isn't that rogue you talked about a blonde?"

"Was," Violet corrected behind him, and Max swivelled his eyes back to her.

"You're the rogue?"

For some reason, I was waiting for the Punk'd crew to leap out of the lockers or something with camera's with Ashton Kutcher yelling 'you just got punked!'.

But just to add to my complicated mess of life problems, no one jumped out of anywhere. Knowing Max's hatred towards rogues, I gulped and waited to see how this would play out...

Violet looked a little taken aback at his slightly cold tone, before wincing and tilting her head, like she was trying to find a way to explain what she was.

"Well, not exactly...I'm more a wolf without a pack."

"So, you're a rogue."

She looked over to me, as if to say help with the situation, but I shrugged, a little confused with the whole situation.

"No, I-oh what the hell, just call me a rogue, whatever." Violet waved her hands a little, the action making Max growl and tense even more as his wolf rose to the surface and his icy blue eyes shone with a sudden intense hate towards Violet.

"Stop fucking talking right now." He said through clenched teeth, his fists clenching and unclenching in a repeated motion. I grabbed his arm, stopping him from getting any nearer to Violet, and pushing him back slightly so I could try and explain without him losing it.

"Well, that's no way to talk to a lady." Violet frowned, her purple eyes watching him with a calculated expression. I saw something else there, though, like a sense of appreciation, but it was just a fleeting emotion.

"You're not a lady. You're dirt." He spat. "All of you rogues are. You should all be dead, and judging by your stupidity of coming onto pack land, you want to be."

Violet glanced at me, tilting her head again. "Is he PMSing?"

Max growled, lunging forward, but I managed to push him back again. "Max! Stop being a male for a second and listen to me! Violet's not dangerous. And she's not a rogue, not really." Although she hasn't really explained what she is to me properly yet.

"I will soon, I promise." She said behind me, and I knew she had heard my thoughts.

"They're all dangerous, Katie. If you're not going to let me do something to her myself, I'm going to go and tell the Alpha. He has a nice, soggy cell just for you, Violet." Max sneered, directing it at the girl standing not three feet away from us.

I was starting to struggle with holding him back, because Max was about six feet tall and had bulked up on muscle considerably in recent years, so I grunted and tried to find the best way to explain to him why telling the Alpha was the wrong thing to do.

"Max, I need you to calm down and let me explain before you nut off. Violet is safe, trust me. I've met her more then once in the forest and do I look hurt at all? No. So calm down."

Max's nostrils were flaring, and his famous I-want-to-kill-you-right-now glare was firmly planted on Violet, but she didn't back down, and stared at him just as fiercly back.

I started to admire her more and more.

"We can't talk here, it's not safe." Violet said, directing her words at me as Max scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Of course, you just need to get us alone and somewhere secluded so you can kill us with your other little rogue buddies, right?"

"Yeah, you hit the nail on the head, Max." Violet said dryly, and I sighed, wondering for a water wolf, how Max could be so riled up sometimes. They were supposed to be a little more mellow then he was.

"Let's just go, okay?" I said, and Max turned on his heel and started stalking down the hallway, muttering that he'd be in the car.

Violet appeared next to me and we both watched in silence as he stalked angrily away, his shoulders tense and his body wired.

"That went well," Violet muttered. "Nice guy, isn't he?"

I cracked a half smile and started in the direction Max had just gone. There was a feeling in my gut that whatever Violet was doing at school was important, and something big was about to happen.

* *

"The park secluded enough? Or do you need an abandoned warehouse so no one will hear us screaming?" Max asked Violet with a cold edge to his voice as he stopped his car in front of the large packs entrance.

Violet's shoulders shrugged in the back seat, and she smirked slightly as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "You don't strike me as a screamer, dog."

"You can't use that insult when you're a mutt too." Max muttered, sending her a quick glare through the rearview mirror. Violet just smiled sweetly and got out of his car, walking towards the gates of the park. Just as I undid my seatbelt, Max grabbed my arm and looked at me seriously.

"You know how I feel about this. About her." He said softly, but the determination to hate her so fiercely filled the car.

"Not all wolves without packs are like your father and brothers killers," I said gently, as he sat for a moment in tense silence, before he sighed and undid his seat belt as well.

"I still don't like her."

"Really? Here I was thinking you were two steps away from putting a ring on her finger."

"Let's just go and listen to what she has to say so we can get rid of her quicker." He replied, and I scowled and hit him on the head, before getting out of the car. Violet had already gone through the gates, and was sitting cross legged on the grass, how she always sat.

I took my usual place next to her and Max hesitantly sat in front of us both, watching warily. Violet glanced at us both for a second, before she grinned at me and shook her head. "Just ask already."

"Why is your hair brown?" I spilled, and she reached up to play with a lock of it, before dropping her head and shrugging.

"It's more inconspicious brunette. I don't stand out as much, and I needed the disguise."

Made sense, I suppose.

"So, would you mind explaining who the fuck you are?" Max asked, and I glared at him.

Be nice, I warned through our mind link, and he just rolled his eyes and refocused them back on Violet. She didn't seem offended, however, and just grinned slightly, before starting to speak.

"I'm a spirit wolf, if you didn't already guess from my eye colour. My pack was attacked a few years ago, so I've been living this way for a while now. As to why I'm at school..." Violet paused, glancing over at me before sighing and running a hand through her hair. I didn't miss the way Max tracked the movement.

"Okay, theres no way to say this gently. Katie, there are people here who are trying to find you. To kill you."

My mind froze for a few seconds, and I started to laugh.

She stared flatly back, so I shut up, getting the sinking feeling she was dead serious.

"Are you serious?" Max said, his forehead creased with a frown. Violet looked over at him, shaking her head slightly.

"Would I really tell Katie people want to kill her just for shits and giggles?"

"Well would you?"

"No, you idiot-"

"Ah, guys," I interrupted, holding up a hand. "Not to be an attention seeker or anything, but can we please get back to the point of me being hunted, maybe?"

Ther bickering stopped immediately and Violet continued to talk.

"Normally I wouldn't have even come to school, I would have just waited until you came into the forest again but you made it clear last week that you weren't going in there again alone, and they started to act faster then I anticipated so I needed to get to you quickly."

"So...you're enrolled in school now?" I asked, frowning. She nodded quickly, before continuing.

"Hence the hair. Anyway-"

"Who are they?" Max interrupted, and Violet groaned, glaring at him again.

"Are you going to interrupt me constantly?"

Max grumbled something under his breath, but shut up, so Violet sighed and started again. "Remember my warnings, Katie? That your actions will affect everyone from now on? And the woman in your dreams?"

"You know about her?"

"Yeah, I've seen her too. My point is that you are in danger, and I need you to figure out what you are pretty soon so we can act on it and help protect you."

Too many questions were swirling in my head at that moment to fully comprehend her words. "Why can't you tell me what I am? You sound like you know anyway."

I glanced at Max, who looked even more confused then me as Violet replied. "I have a good idea, but it's not how it's supposed to work. Each wolf has to figure out on their own what bloodline they belong to, so I wouldn't be able to help anyway. I'm here to give you a push in the right direction."

"So...push me." I said rather dumbly, and Violet smiled, shaking her head.

"It's not quite that easy."

"I'm not normal though, am I?" I said, finally voicing my thoughts out loud. After a long time of just thinking them, the words felt foreign on my tongue, and I realised that in confirming that, it was confirming I was a bit of a freak. "I dont't belong to any bloodlines, so what does that make me?"

"I wouldn't say you don't belong to any, but to all of them in a small way." Violet said, and I frowned at her words.

"Is this more of your riddle talk?" I asked, but she just sent me a wanton smile and started to talk again.

"Because of what you are, others are getting antsy. The legend of the Ether's goes that they all died out, but with you...they're not so sure anymore."

"You don't think..." Max said slowly, his eyes widening with disbelief. "No way, that bloodlines long gone!"

"What bloodline?" I asked, my pulse jumping in anticipation as Max and Violet stared at each other for a long moment before Max shook his head and laughed slightly.

"I bet you wished you'd stayed awake in those stories of our ancestors now, huh?" Max smirked, and I ignored his remark because my wolf had stilled in me too, as if sensing something was about to unravel.

"You know the story about the Ether wolves, Katie." Max scolded, before starting to talk. "The Ethers were known as the creators of the other bloodlines, the oldest and most powerful wolves in existence. For years, the bloodline wolves all got along in harmony, before some of the younger wolves started to get jealous because the Ether were superior to them all. So they created a war, turning the other bloodlines against the Ether's until they were being hunted and killed because of their blood and the jealousy the others had felt."

Suddenly, my insides went cold and I stared up at him blankly. "How did the story end, Max?"

"During the final battle, the bloodlines forced the Ether's into the sea and waited until each one drowned."

And suddenly, it all made sense.

Why I was afraid of the sea, why the waves and the salty water scared me without any particular reason. Why my wolf had hidden the bloodline away, because she didn't know what it meant. Why I had felt like I had never really fit anywhere.

Why, I could stand up to Kade, a future Alpha, without fear or cowering away.

"Holy shit," I muttered, staring blankly out over the park. "I can't be an Ether."

Violet smiled again, like she knew something I didn't, and I suddenly realised she did.

"I am?" I whispered, the information suddenly overwhelming me. Feeling light headed, I shook my head slowly and tried to comprehend the information, but it just circled relentlessly around in my head until I groaned and focused back on Max and Violet.

"It's why you got chased the other night, there's people out there, looking for you, because they believe you are of Ether descent. And if that's true...then we need to keep you safe at all costs."

"How would others know?" Max asked, speaking up again.

"There are powerful wolves out there, and some of them have the job of searching for the Ether descent, and getting rid of it before it can spread. They don't want a repeated war of our ancestors, because we lost so many wolves in those wars. It took a century just to get the numbers back to a solid number. They can't afford to let any more wars happen again."

"It's not like I'm going to try and take over the world or anything. I haven't even graduated!" I exclaimed, feeling like I was treading in very deep, dark water all of a sudden.

"Why do I have the bloodline when no one else in my family does?"

"It must have skipped the generations and chosen you." Violet explained. "Ether descent chooses it's inheriters. You must have something special."

I just...what was happening? I'd discovered my bloodline. It felt right, and it fit, and for some reason, I was a little terrified of it.

I almost wished to have just stayed as the little unknown wolf girl.

"So where from from here?" Max asked, and I stood slowly as the other two did. Violet started to walk back to the car and we followed, both still curious and overwhelmed at the same time.

"First, we need to find out for sure if she is an Ether, but I'm almost certain she is. Then we need to discuss the one thing that can truly protect her."

"Which is?" Max asked as Violet slipped into the backseat the same time Max and I got in the front.

"Her mate."

I paled, and Max blanched, as we both yellled, "What?"

"A wolf's mate is the only being that can keep one truly safe. It's not just them being overprotective, it's an actual gift. A mates love is the one thing people can't hurt. It'll help you stay safe." Violet explained, and I laughed without humour.

"Well you haven't met Kade. Trust me when I say that if I need his love to stay alive, then I'm already dead."

The car was silent for a while as Max started to drive us away from the park when Violet spoke softly from the back. "You're going to need him, Katie. Whether you like it or not, you're going to need Kade."

"You sound like you're speaking of your own experience, Violet." Max smirked in the rearview mirror at her, although their was a coldness in his stare. "Have you had your own little mate problems?"

Violet smiled back at him, but her eyes turned cold and distant the minute he spoke that sentence. "I don't have a mate. I never got made one."

Max scoffed, "Whatever, everyone has one."

"Not with my gift." Violet said quietly. "In having the ability to sense other peoples mates, I don't have my own. Cruelly ironic, isn't it?"

I was only half listening to their conversation as we drove. My gut was telling me something was going to happen soon, but I was fighting with the idea of needing Kade. No way was I telling him any of this, not when he's made it clear he doesn't want me.

I'd manage on my own, even if it meant running.

Because from this moment on, I was determined to not have to rely on someone like Kade ever.

* * * *

Enjoy! So Violet and Max met, and she's not exactly his favourite person at the moment...and Katie knows who she is! The stories going to pick up a lot more now, so stay tuned :)

Random fact 2: One car out of every 230 made was stolen last year.