(Layton)

It seemed as though she had been prepared for awhile to get away from this place. What little she hadn’t already packed into a bulging backpack, I helped her pack into a couple of pillowcases. I had asked her why no one had come looking for her; her response was that she was usually ordered around a lot but the pack like to keep their pet hidden away during events. With her backpack over my shoulder, and her carrying the pillowcases, we eventually left her room together. She left the key in the lock and shut the door. I politely let her lead the way, sticking so close behind her I was close to tripping her up a few times. At the bottom of the last set of steps, I spotted Drew, he seemed to be alone; I had hoped he’d found his mate just as I had.
As he bounded over in his slightly goofy way, Kida stepped into my side; I casually slipped my arm around her waist. “Layton! What time do you call this? Oh... hello,” he said stopping a few steps from us as he saw Kida.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s still morning, don’t complain.” I cleared my throat. “Kida, this is Drew, my best friend. Drew, this is Kida, my mate.”
He cut me off slightly. “Oh, finally! Ahem... Nice to meet you, Kida. I’m Lay’s second.” He held out his hand which Kida took as they shared formalities.
“Kida! What are you doing?!” some male voice shouted across the entrance hall. All three of us turned our heads to see a dark blond, slightly muscular man, around my own age, storm his way over to us. He looked pissed off. As he came within ten feet of us, Drew stepped in front of Kida and me, grumbling harshly. “Excuse me, get out of my way,” he ordered.
Subtly, I pushed Kida behind me and reached out to touch Drew on the shoulder; he took a step to the side so I could confront the approaching male. “Can we help you?” It took quite a bit of control not to snarl at him as Drew had done.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” His brown eyes narrowed. “Kida, you were ordered to keep to the west wing. What are you doing down here?”
“I...” Kida began, meekly.
“She’s with me,” I interjected quickly.
The blonde male stared sharply at me, looking up and down my frame with clear disdain at my confronting him on Kida’s behalf. “And just who are you exactly?”
I permitted myself a smirk. “I...”
“He is Layton, son of Alphas Jasper and Liana, of the Sablefur pack. He doesn’t have to answer to the likes of you,” Drew proclaimed, throwing his own Beta weight behind his words.
The air grew thick with tension. Two more wolves joined their packmate, another male and one female. “She belongs to Wintercrown.”
Now it was my turn. With a deep breath, I raised my chest and summoned my Alpha voice. “Kida is my mate, she belongs to no one and I accept her as my future Luna. Touch her and I warn you, you will regret it, Epsilon.” One advantage of having Alpha blood, I could sense the rank of any wolf nearby. Most of the wolves in the entryway were mid-ranking subordinates and they were all looking our way.
Shrugging the backpack onto my shoulder again, I took Kida by the hand, kissed it then carefully led her to the front double doors but making it appear we were walking in step together. Anyone that stood in our way as we headed to the front doors soon moved to one side or other. I could feel Kida was nervous next to me as I whispered to Drew. “Please tell me you’re parked close by.”
He nodded and whispered back. “Yeh, follow me.”
Indeed, the front of the mansion was also a wide, gravel driveway. Our feet crunched on the small pebbles as we paced to his car. I gently led Kida round to the passenger side. “Do you want to sit in the front or back?” I asked as Drew got into the driver side; the engine soon roared into life beside us.
Kida looked sideways to the mansion and then up at me. “Can we sit together?”
My lips smiled autonomously. “Of course.” Having put her bags in the passenger footwell, I slipped into the back of the car. “When you’re ready, pal,” I said to Drew as he looked in his rear view mirror at me.

*****
(Kida)

As we left the Wintercrown mansion behind, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief wash over my thoughts. I was so glad to get away from there, in a better way than attempting to run away on my own. I had another shock this morning. When Drew challenged the Epsilon guard, in the entrance hall, he stated Layton’s full rank out loud for all to hear. I had to hold back from gasping, it hadn’t even crossed my mind Layton might be of Alpha lineage. By seeing his wolf, I had a feeling he was of high rank, perhaps even an Eta warrior or Kappa hunter by how aggressively he fought Ryan over me. To find out he was Alpha-born shook me. How could I be the destined mate of a future Alpha?
A gentle tap on my elbow. “Hmmm, Kida?”
I pulled my gaze and thoughts away from the rolling hills outside and back into the car. “Sorry, what?” I blurted out without thinking.
He brushed his hand down my arm and onto my hand. “I asked what’s on your mind?” I glanced at Drew, Layton noticed. “Don’t mind Drew, he’s good at keeping secrets.” He jerked his knee into the back of the Drew’s seat. “Aren’t you?”
“Ow! Yep, my lips are sealed. Pretend I’m not here, miss.”
I smiled, leaned back in my seat and told Layton what I had just been thinking about. His brows furrowed subtly. His thumb brushing back and forth over the back of my hand; it felt calming. “You don’t ever have to endure that place again. And as for my rank...” He took a shallow breath and huffed. “There’s not much I can do about that I’m afraid.”
“I know. I was just... taken by surprise.”
All three of us sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the drive. Drew didn’t interrogate me and Layton couldn’t take his hand from mine. I did wander what was on his mind too but I decided to ask him in private. Drew and he did seem like the closest of friends, despite the rank difference, but I had barely begun to trust Layton; I didn’t have the capacity to trust anyone else yet.

*****
(Layton)

We pulled up outside my home. Unlike the ancient packs, ours owned and occupied its own estate – for want of a better word. The very end of the road, ending in a small roundabout were the largest houses, the largest one being my own home that I shared with my father and mother. My sister, being mated and not next in line, was free to choose where she lived. She still had a room in our house and she did sometimes spend time staying over for some old familiarity. If Kida felt uncomfortable sharing a room with me immediately then I could always offer her the spare room next to mine. As the car came to a halt, my back straightened and I glanced to Kida sat next to me... then an idea. I turned to Drew who had turned in his seat to look at me, I gave him a flash of my thinking face; his grin dropped to a frown.
“Oh, no. I know that look.” He puffed and rolled his eyes. “What do you want to do?” he asked out of habit.
“Would you go inside and ask my parents politely to disappear for ten minutes?” I gave him a cheeky grin.
He shook his head and folded his arms. “Absolutely not. You are kidding right?” A pause, a smirk and another huff. “You’re not joking...” His thumb tapped on the steering wheel whilst he thought. “Ummm... uh, why do you do this? Give me five minutes ok?”
I nodded then gave him time to get out and dash inside before getting out myself and grabbing Kida’s belongings from the passenger seat. There were slams of car doors and I looked up to see Kida stood next to the Capri, looking at the houses. “It’s not like your large mansion. We’re a bit more... modern.”
She walked around to me and slipped her hand in mine. “Why did you send Drew in first?”
“Well... I... ummm.” Maybe I should have asked her first, then again I was protecting her. How did she make me forget my words so easily? I had never been so stuttered around a girl before, not even high-ranking ones. “I just didn’t think you’d want to meet my parents straight away. Drew has gone in to make sure they’re out of the way.”
Just as I mentioned his name, Drew came pacing back down the driveway, panting slightly. “Done and dusted but don’t ever, ever ask me to tell the boss what to do again. He was not happy at my... I mean, your request.” He almost bolted past us to get into his car and sped off, almost like he couldn’t get away quick enough.
“Ah... hmmm.” I gently nudged Kida’s arm to walk with me. “Come on, before father changes his mind.”

*****
(Kida)

Layton seemed a little different suddenly. I noticed how he seemed to stiffen as we approached his home. It made me wary. Stepping out if Drew’s car, I gad looked at the houses nearby; they were marvellous and had a kind of grandeur and splendour about them. After Drew had sped off, Layton guided me beside him towards his own front door.
To say I was nervous was an understatement, I was petrified. Not only was I with someone I barely knew, I had left my home to come here and everything I had known. The prospect of meeting his parents was just as overwhelming. Thoughts kept spiralling round my head. Would they like me? Would they care that I am human? Would they allow me to stay once they found out? If they rejected me, where could I go? And on, and on, and on...
Another minute passed, though it felt like ten. We were stepping through the front door and into a entryway, smaller than that at Wintercrown Mansion but still a sizeable hallway nonetheless. I looked up at the tall ceiling and then around the space. Layton politely gave me a moment before gently tugging on my arm.
“Hmm?” I looked at him.
“Best not linger, Kida,” he softly whispered to me. We soon headed up the stairs and he led me to his room, or rooms as I was about to discover. “So, this is my room...” He corrected himself, with a little chuckle. “I mean... our room. That’s if you want to share with me.” There was a slight cautiousness in his tone, I could only assume he was being delicate knowing where I had come from.
Stepping over to some shelves, I spotted a beautiful little pewter silver statue of a wolf amongst some of the books and other items.
“Or, if you want your own space for now, until you get used to things, you can have my spare room.” There was a small creaking sound. Thinking it was the floorboards, I looked over my shoulder to see he had sat on the edge of his double bed.
Part of me wanted to be close to him, knowing he would keep me safe. The other side of me thought it best to take things slow and ease myself into this new life, hoping he would understand. “You have a spare room?” I asked meekly.
Nodding his head, he held out his hand to me; I stepped over and took it, standing right in front of him so our legs touched. “It’s right next door so you wouldn’t be too far if ever you needed me.” With his other hand, he reached up and held it to my cheek, brushing his thumb along my lower eye socket. Our eyes met and we both smiled; I was beginning to feel comfortable around him. “Would you like a shower?”