Mia's POV

I followed Uncle Luca into a dark and mysterious forest...it was getting dark and I could hear creepy noises from all around. A heavy wind blew through tall green pine trees and I could feel my palms starting to sweat.

Uncle Luca had disappeared and I was all alone in this forest. I was beginning to get quite scared and a strong feeling of someone...or something was watching me.

"Hello?" My voice echoed.

Loud thuds filled the empty air behind me. I turned around immediately and watched as the bushes rustle quickly.

A gasp left my lips and I backed up slowly. In slow motion, a light-colored wolf emerged from the bushes as it crept towards me.

I gulped and let out a small squeal.

"B-back!"

He growled loudly and urged forward, stomping on broken branches.

He charges for me and I screamed on the top of my lungs hoping someone would be able to hear me.

I sprint away from the wolf and go deeper into the woods. My feet were hurting from as the hit the ground harshly.

I quickly stop when there was more rustling of leaves in front of me.

Oh no. My breath hitches in my throat and I don't know how to react at the beast that was in front of me. Its black, soulless eyes stared into mine with fury.

I was frozen with shock and covered my mouth to prevent any whimpers from leaving my dry lips. The black fur of the wolf glided across the side of my body as it growled in anger at the other one.

My feet slowly backed away and I closed my eyes to avoid watching the bloodshed. A loud whimper is heard. I opened my eyes with curiosity and screamed when the black wolf bit into the neck of the beige one.

My heart was speeding up and I could feel the blood rush to the tips of my fingers as they were thumping. The beige wolf ran toward me causing me to back up and trip over my own feet. It stood in a stance to protect me, letting loud barks leave is the snout.

The black wolf charged without another thought and rammed into the beige wolf. I shuffled away as far as I could and hit my back against a thin tree. The poor light-toned wolf howled at the sky and sprinted away from me, scurrying off in the dangerous woods.

I stopped breathing in shock and shivered in fear as the black wolf urged closer to me in slow motion. In a few moments, my brain wasn't getting enough oxygen. I started seeing black dots fill the air and my body thumped onto the ground.

There was a slight ringing in my ears and I was slowly blinking, trying to regain my vision. I saw some movement from the corner of my eye, it was a person.

"Jay! Come here!"

I felt the person pat my cheek trying to help me regain consciousness.

"I'm here love, you're alright Mia. You're safe with us."

Her voice was so sweet and smooth, it has a small nasal sound to it.

I closed my eyes and hoped that the stranger would help me instead of hurting me.

Diana's POV

"Jay, you have to carry her back to the Packhouse," I ordered.

My hands dug under her arms as I carried her onto Jay's back. I sat on him with legs on both sides as I kept a strong grip on Mia and his charcoal fur.

"Come on darling, we need to get her home soon!"

Jay sprinted without another thought and cut through the trees as he made it back.

I rubbed Mia's forehead and brushed the strands of hair off her pale face. I almost teared up looking at her.

She was a lot more grown since the last time I had seen her and it made my heartache.

Jay soon came to a halt which indicated we were already at the house. I quickly got off and slid Mia onto the ground.

Jay shifted into Luca and ran into the house to grab some shorts to wear. After a couple of minutes, Luca rushes toward me and knelt down next to me. I rested a hand on his forearm and watched intently as he patted her cheek.

"Mia, wake up."

I stared at her body and watched her shift around from the agitated actions that Luca had done.

"Luca, look she's waking up! Hold on,"

I grab her hand with mine and watch her blink a few times before adjusting to the blue skylight.

"Mia, sweetie, you are just fine, we are here."

She slowly sits up and gulps with fear until she realizes it's her aunt and uncle that sat in front of her. I hold her in a tight hug and plant a small kiss on her forehead. Luca wraps his arms around both of us and rests his chin on top of my head.

"I'm sorry! I really wanted to see where you lived a-and I followed Uncle Luca here!" Mia suddenly burst out.

I held her and my grasp became tighter! I stared at Luca and he seemed so disappointed.

"Here, stand up and come inside,"

Luca stood up first and helped me to my feet. We both help Mia as she wiped the dirt off of her pants. She rubbed her cheeks to get rid of tears that were falling out of her precious eyes.

"C-can someone please explain what is going on? I-I heard about Xavier! I heard about his body missing! What about those wolves? Why didn't they hurt me but hurt each other?"

I ignored her and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Sweetie let's go inside," I say in a calm manner.

Mia shoved my hand off and backed up quickly.

"No! I-I should've just stayed home,"

She let out another sob and cried freely among both Luca and I. My heart hurt to see her like this but all I could do was stay quiet. No words were said among the three of us for moments.

"Mia, listen to your aunt. We need to get inside because it is not safe out here. We will explain everything-"

"Luca!" I scold.

He gave me a stare and a short nod.

"We will explain everything only if you go inside." Luca finishes.

Hayden and Jade were going to kill me for allowing this to happen. I watched Luca put a hand out for Mia to grab, which she obliged to right away.

Luca held her hand the whole walk to the Packhouse. I watched as she leaned her head on his shoulder and heard small sniffles from Mia. I followed them closely with a hand over my heart in awe.

Mia's POV

Uncle Luca let go of my hand and opened the door. As soon as we walked in, the reeking smell of alcohol filled my senses. I coughed a tiny bit and covered my nose with my sleeve.

"Luca, tell Blake to go drink outside,"

He gave Aunt Diana a kiss before walking into the kitchen with heavy thuds. Aunt Diana walked past me and sat down on a couch before patting the seat next to her.

"Come sit down!"

I slowly walked to her and felt the cushion beneath my sink. I fiddled with my fingers and waited patiently for Uncle Luca to come back. Soon enough, he did.

He took a seat on the wooden coffee table in front of me.

"I am sensing you want an explanation?"

"Yes, please! I just watched two wolves fighting and passed out! Unless I am going crazy...what if this is all a dream? Yeah, yes this is all that it is! Aunt Diana, pinch me!"

"What? No!"

"Quiet!" Uncle Luca yelled.

I flinched at his voice and watched Aunt Diana shake her head at him.

"Listen, Mia, your uncle and I are a part of this group-"

"So like a cult?" I cut her off.

"A pack! We are part of a pack! Mia, your Uncle and I are in charge of a pack," she says.

"Pack? Like a wolf pack?"

Uncle Luca nodded and held a hand out for me.

"I know it sounds crazy. I am going to tell you everything, from beginning to end. I promise it is all true." Aunt Diana said.

I slowly nodded for her to continue the story.

She soon let it all out, from beginning to end just like she promised. She talked about Xavier and him risking his life for her. It all sounded so familiar.

My eyes widened when I remembered Dad's story about the princess with prince L and prince X.

They were the couple I always dreamt of being.

They were my childhood.

I just stared at them in shock.

"Luca, can you please shift? I want her to formally meet Jay," Aunt Diana whispered.

Uncle Luca agreed without hesitation and walked into a dark hallway next to the stairs.

"Mia, don't be scared. I promise you that he will do anything but hurt you."

"Who?"

Aunt Diana's eyes wandered to the right of me and I slowly followed my gaze with hers. I let out a bloody murder scream and back away into Aunt Diana's arms.

"Mia! Don't worry he won't hurt you!"

I cover my mouth and stare into his soulless eyes, watching him tilt his head to the side in confusion.

"He won't hurt me?"

"He won't hurt you. Mia, meet your Uncle Luca,"

I raise an eyebrow and look at her with a look of stupidity.

"What?"

"This is your Uncle Luca in his wolf form, Jay. Sweetheart, your uncle is a werewolf. A werewolf king at that!"

"What?" I ask again.

*****

It has been about 2 hours and I was sitting in a small guest bedroom upstairs in the large house. There were many pictures of all my Aunts and Uncles hanging on the wall. I stood up from the bed I was plopped on and went to a photo that caught my attention.

Aunt Diana's white wedding dress. I looked at everyone and saw a small baby in the arms of...Mom? She looked so young and happy. Dad was laughing with his eyes closed. Uncle Luca was kissing Aunt Diana's cheek as she held onto his bicep. Uncle Alex and Uncle Aiden were making bunny ears behind each other and Uncle Daniel was playing with his hair.

I saw two people I have never seen in my life before standing next to everyone holding hands. To the left of Uncle Luca stood two other people who I have also never seen.

"Cute photo huh?" I heard from behind me.

I flinched harshly and felt myself get a minor heart attack. I turned around and saw Uncle Luca walking toward me.

It was the first time he talked to me after his....wolf form.

"Yeah, It is beautiful. Everyone looks so happy,"

"Ha, everyone was."

I pointed to the first couple on the left of Uncle Luca. The man fit a similar description of Xavier so I had decided to ask.

"Is that Xavier?"

Uncle Luca shook his head and cleared his throat.

"No, he died months before our wedding. My brother killed him the night your aunt became a member of this pack."

"Your brother killed him? You have a brother?"

They had missed that part when telling me their story.

"Please, do tell," I add.

"Well, my brother is actually supposed to have my job as Alpha King. Which means the King of all the other Packs including this one. He had actually tricked me into murdering my parents and left me alone here. I had to take his position. Then, years later, he showed up again and wanted to kill Diana and me to gain power,"

"We had to start a war with him and kill him before he could do any more damage."

I stare with widened eyes.

"Y-you killed him?"