SPRING

Sansa couldn't stop shaking. She felt excited yet at the same time- petrified.

"Don't worry."

Warren slowly squeezed her shoulder in an effort to calm her down.

"What if it's him?"

A tight smile showed on Warrens's face.

"Then you will know. And you will forget all your fears."

Sansa tried to swallow, but her mouth seemed to dry.

She couldn't think straight.

She didn't want this. She didn't want to know.

What would it mean if it was him? What would she do? What would she tell-

She cut the name off from her mind before she could think it.

Both Warren and Sansa's head jerked up at the sound of them approaching. Sansa again tried to swallow. She wished now she had taken those herbs to calm her down. Warren had stopped her though, saying they might interfere with her scent.

She had done this before with Brock.

Had been led into a room with him coming in. She still could remember the look of disappointment in his eyes when he turned to his father and shook his head.

She could still remember the relief in her mind when he had walked away.

But this was different.

Jacob...

She actually liked Jacob.

At least, she thought he was nice. She realized he was nice to talk to, that he never treated her rudely or whispered things to his friends behind her back.

She knew whenever they did, he made them stop.

Knew that his eyes were always following her.

She tried to sneak into the woods so that he wouldn't know she went there almost daily. She didn't want him to join his friends in the way they talked about her.

But something about this now- in the moment- she was scared.

Something in the back of her mind screamed- not him.

Please.

Don't be him.

She could see how nice life would be with Jacob though.

She couldn't imagine what would make Jacob like her though. The pack already saw her as odd. The only reason the Alpha wanted his sons to be with her in the first place was because she herself was of Alpha blood.

That alone was reason enough to try and push towards a bond.

Sansa didn't know if bonds were predestined or if they could be made. She tried to research it but found little.

Now, hearing the sound of the door opening, she wished she had researched it more.

Jacob's face came into view.

She knew immediately what he felt as they looked into each other's eyes.

He turned to his father and shook his head.

Sansa almost wanted to laugh at the disappointment in Alpha Baxter's eyes. Her mind quickly sobered up though at the falling shoulders from Jacob.

"I'm sorry Sansa."

She started at his apology.

"No it's-,"

The Alpha quickly grabbed his son, dragging him closer.

"You're apologizing? For what?" He spat the words out in anger. "She should be the one apologizing. Obviously something is wrong with-,"

"Enough."

Warren had stepped forward in front of Sansa, blocking her from view.

"It's clear that none of your sons are good enough for Sansa. We'll be leaving-,"

The Alpha only laughed.

"When she turns seventeen and doesn't find a mate here, I want her gone."

Sansa felt a chill fall over her. Her vision blurred around, something becoming lost and detached inside.

"No-no please don't-"

The room eyed her curiously, shock coursing through at why this girl was so earnestly begging to stay within the pack.

Warren quickly grabbed Sansa's frantic figure, dragging her away.

"Alpha Lucas will be told about your words."

At that, the Alpha flinched, his face darkening in the shadows. A low growl could be heard in the room. It was only met by Warren's threat as he reacted to the tenseness that was entering the enclosed space.

Once outside, Sansa began to regain her bearings. She did not pull away from Warren, letting him drag her back to their home. When they arrived he quickly threw her inside, closing and locking the door behind them.

"Moon Goddess above...the bastard..." Warren paced the floor, low growls rising from him as he ran his hands through his hair desperately.

"Warren-,"

"Not a word Sansa. I'm still trying to figure out what even happened in there."

He turned to her then, bending down on the floor to be eye level.

"You need to tell me the truth. Why are you so desperate to stay in this pack? I know it's not because of me. Doctor Nox has already told me he's encouraged you multiple times to leave. And it's not like you to be scared of something...so what?"

Sansa looked away.

Warren evaluated her until the slow realization came over him.

"It's not...not that...do you still believe in that-,"

"He's real!"

"Sansa!"

She flinched back from his shouted word.

He regained his pacing, resuming his frantic mumbles.

"I have to tell Lucas...he won't be happy...you can't go there though...but maybe your mate is there...But I promised him I would make sure you didn't go there...but....argh..."

Warren bent back down, "listen Sansa, and listen carefully. I don't know what we are going to do, but things are going to be tense when you turn seventeen. I don't know if Alpha Baxter will let you stay or not. I'll try to make a few calls and see if you-,"

"No please Warren, I can't leave here I can't-," tears began to form in Sansa's eyes. Warren watched them, a sorrow filling into him.

"You really...you really don't want to leave whatever it is...whatever you see...."

"He's real. He's real."

Warren looked away, unable to look Sansa in the eye.

But he couldn't ignore the pain his words were causing her.

Slowly he moved forward, grabbing her head to pull it to him. She stilled as he kissed her forehead, pulling back with a sigh to wipe away the tears from her face.

"Don't cry kid. You're an ugly crier. I'll fix this, okay?"

Sansa watched him open the door and leave.

She only bent her head down and felt her sobs grow even more.

She didn't know what she was crying so hard for.

Only that she felt a deep crushing sense of relief from his words.