PS: the alpha at top

They approached cautiously, one by one. A pack of six, like Cam said, all of them silver and blond, larger than the average wolf.

They fanned out to surround me; two came in from my left while the rest stretched around the back of me to my right. Two stood a few meters in front of me, and I immediately recognised the alpha.

Being alpha was only a matter of stance, and this one had a lot of bulk to its height. The male stretched to achieve more height, his neck raised high above mine in a display of dominance as he snarled at me. I was only glad to return the favour.

Shit.

My brother was in full panic mode, though sensible enough not to make any sound aloud. He was frozen on the branch, crouched low between the leaves. I was relieved to note that they hadn't discovered him yet; the circle of wolves didn't include his tree. They should've picked up his scent, but probably chose to focus on the more obvious threat.

Good.

I decided to be on the offensive, taking a step forward as my scruff bristled. The other wolves started closing in on my bold move, but the alpha gave a sharp growl and they hesitated. He stalked forward to stand directly in front of me, his ears pinned back and his teeth on full display. My reaction mirrored his.

He took a step forward and I growled in warning. His nose twitched as he took in my scent, magically altered by my transformation. To them, I smelled like a foreign animal, even though I was a wolf like them.

He tried to get closer to make sure he understood my scent but I snapped my teeth at him. It was dangerous to let him get too close. Curiosity was dangerous to my kind and the way his tail lifted as he took another cautious sniff rose my hackles even more.

The vampires definitely wanted us alive, and it was possible that the wolves were a little side-tracked by my scent. That was if they even worked for the vampires. I doubted that vampires would hire such a big pack, but I wasn't a vampire whizz in any case. Maybe they knew about my talent and thought eight wolves would ensure my capture - who knew what my sister could've told them? Maybe it was a normal pack.

Whatever the case may be, we were trapped and Cam was in danger. That was all that mattered and if there was a chance to get information from them then it was worth a chance.

What are they doing? Cam asked tentatively when he watched the werewolves stalk closer, ready to attack at the drop of a hat. They probably didn't feel comfortable about their leader's curiosity either.

Asking for a new asshole, I growled out.

And then I moved. The alpha gave a surprised huff when I feinted to the right and snapped my teeth at his ear in warning. He shied away and retaliated quickly by biting my front leg. I yelped with pain but used the opportunity to fasten my teeth around his neck, not letting go until another wolf bit me in the shoulder.

I let go to take care of the new threat; a female, half my size. I pounced on her, going directly for her throat. I heard many howls as wolves decided to join in on the fight.

Everything was a blur; I didn't remember everything I did. A haze of bloodlust fell over my vision and my blood quickened in my veins. It had been a long time since I was in a fight. It was exhilarating. The adrenaline was addicting. The boredom that always seemed to follow a peaceful life washed away to leave my senses thrumming, my muscles tingling with excitement.

It seemed like each time I injured a wolf, another took its place. At some point, I encountered the alpha again, but being in the squeeze of bodies made it too difficult for him to manoeuvre with his bulk. It was to my advantage since the wolves couldn't attack me at the same time. As it was, it remained a flurry of biting and scratching between three wolves and me, which I quickly dispatched before the next three came in.

I was like a snake; my lean body was fast and flexible, and the wolves struggled against each other to take a bite out of me. My hardened skin protected me from most of the damage, and my magically altered muscles had the stamina of a horse. But a wolf's bite was stronger and more lethal than a vampire's. My whole body ached with bite marks; blood glistened dully on my dark fur.

At some point, I crushed a female wolf's front leg between my jaws, and in the same minute, I severely injured a male by nearly tearing his throat out. Rage pounded in my blood, and more and more wolves retreated when their injuries became fatal.

It was only when exhaustion began to toll on my body when the alpha finally had my throat in a deadlock, his jaws seconds away from tearing my throat out.

"Don't," someone screamed, "Please! Don't kill her!"

I growled when I realised it was my brother. The wolf above me paused, and in my position, I saw my brother clamber down the tree. Halfway down he fell, but didn't injure himself as he landed on his feet, thank goodness.

Cam, I barked sharply, Turn your fucking ass around and run!

"No," he said. He looked at the silver wolf above me. "Please, don't kill my sister. She's done nothing to you!"

Blood was pooling beneath me, and my throat hurt when the alpha flexed his jaw. Involuntarily, I let out a whimper.

The wolf stilled, and slowly released my neck. He stayed above me, using his weight to keep me pinned to the ground. He looked at one of the injured wolves nearby, seeming to have a silent communication with him. The smaller wolf stood up slowly, favouring his shoulder as he limped towards us.

When he reached my side, he assumed a guarding stance, probably to make sure I didn't escape from beneath the alpha, and above me I felt a ripple. In most perspectives, werewolves were a lot like me. As I watched the alpha change back into his human form, I knew that this was what I looked like when I changed. The only difference was that werewolves had their own magic, and had enough of it to change forms quickly and painlessly.

It only took about two minutes, but it felt like an eternity. The alpha's limbs elongated and thickened, his fur shedding itself in the process. His skin lightened and received more pores, becoming smooth and tan and soft. His muzzle retreated back into his skull, the snout narrowing to form a human nose. Round eyes grew slanted, grey irises swirling into a mixed colour of hazel framed by voluminous lashes. Muscles shifted under his skin and his dense bones turned and framed the distinct form of a human man.

His long dark hair brushed and curled around his neck. Faint stubble grew from his chin and sharp jawline, lips softening into thin, pink firmness.

In my perspective, he didn't do anything for me. He wasn't my type, and I didn't go for wolves. He wasn't beautiful but had such a raw masculinity about him that would make any normal woman quiver in a pool of lust.

Not me.

He shook his head as if to clear it, blinking his hazel eyes to focus properly on me.

I wasn't stupid; while he'd changed, I'd had apt opportunity to dispatch the other wolf and hightail it out of there. But I wasn't a fool. My brother stood at a distance, but he was surrounded by wolves. They were injured, but from here I could see them healing, and they could still easily overpower Cam. He was unhappy, I sensed that from his thoughts, but to others, he seemed calm enough.

I was proud of him and sent a wave of love to him. His face hardened.

"Shift."

I sighed and looked up at the alpha above me. As if. I didn't have the power to go through the pain of a change again; I flat out refused to.

"She can't," Cam blurted and I growled. He ignored my warning. "She doesn't have enough... energy."

The alpha's eyes didn't leave mine, and I knew he was cautious and wouldn't underestimate me again. He looked thoughtful. "Any wolf with that much strength can manage a measly shift. It's easier to shift back into human form."

Hah! That's what he thought. Strange, though, that he actually still assumed I was a werewolf like them.

"If you let me touch her, then I can help her through the process. Just... please, don't hurt her."

I snorted. I was already hurt. Which made changing forms even more impossible. The alpha inhaled with a sigh and growled.

"What were you doing in our territory?"

Cam stuttered, his eyes rounding as he looked at me for help.

A normal pack after all. It's okay, I told him. I don't think they'll hurt you if you cooperate. Just tell him we were passing through.

Cam repeated my words. "We didn't mean you any harm."

The alpha's face darkened and a low rumble started in his chest. I tensed, ready to defend my brother with my life if the wolf decided to attack.

"She attacked us unprovoked. If you really meant us no harm, then this would've gone differently and my cousin wouldn't be half-dead right now."

Oops. I couldn't say that I was sorry, though. At the time I'd thought they were going to take us to the vampires, which was the irony of it all. The vampires were intent on catching us, even when we were tracking them in the first place.

Cam didn't know what to say, and he looked hopeless.

Cam.... For once, I didn't know what to say. I'd attacked first, there was no doubt about that; at the moment, I didn't know why I was still alive. Now that I knew this was a regular pack, I was certain they wouldn't hurt my brother, even if they killed me for attacking them on their territory. He looked too human, and he sure as hell didn't smell like a werewolf. Plus, he hadn't actually done anything to the pack – that was all on me.

Another course they could take was to take us in and hold us prisoner. I wasn't an expert on werewolf politics, and I kept reverting back to them killing me for revenge. I couldn't fathom why they would want to keep me captive, except if they had the same idea about us as I'd originally had about them. Werewolves and vampires weren't necessarily natural enemies, but I'd heard in a local bar that the truce they shared was strung tight with tension, almost to the point of snapping into a fight. There had been quite a few scuffles between the two creatures lately, too. So, they could take us in and torture us for information, though that seemed too extreme and unrealistic if they still thought I was one of them.

There was always the slim possibility that they would let us go, hopefully unharmed. Or maybe I would spontaneously come up with an escape plan and save our asses for the day.

I liked the last one.

"What are you?" the alpha asked my brother, and I could feel the rage in his system. He was holding me tightly around the neck with his left hand, pushing my face into the ground while the other held my front legs in an unbreakable grip. Someone else must have shifted back, too, because another set of hands gripped my lower body and legs. It would be difficult to dislodge them.

Don't tell him, I warned Cam. It also made me realise that there might be another reason they would take us, and it was a reason I wanted to leave out of the equation. If the wolves knew what we were, they would find it a nice advantage over the vampires to have two such talented creatures in their arsenal. We smelled different, however, and it was apparent the wolves didn't know what we were.

Cam must have reached a similar conclusion because he kept his mouth shut. A hand gripped his hair from behind and pulled, making him wince. Almost half of the wolves had changed into human form.

I growled menacingly, anger sprouting its fiery wings in my chest. The alpha pressed his fist further into my throat, cutting off the sound and making me cough.

"Answer me." The alpha's voice was deep and deadly, making some of the other wolves cower. "If you don't, I'll make her suffer."

Don't you dare! I snarled out when Cam opened his mouth to speak. I swear if you tell them I'm going to tear you up myself.

Under other circumstances, Cam would've laughed at me, but presently he looked frightened as if he really believed me.

Good.

The alpha cut off my air. I started thrashing, but his large hand choking my throat was relentless. Strange whimper-growls came from my mouth, and I couldn't imagine what I looked like.

Even as I began to feel dizzy and panicky, I kept chanting, Don't tell, to Cam, almost screaming the thoughts at him. His face stood out as he restrained himself. He bit his lip and looked away, clenching his jaw and fists. I pitied him that he should see me like this, but I couldn't let him expose himself. He would be used at every turn once he was.

Just when I was starting to lose consciousness, the alpha let up on the pressure and I could wheeze in a painful breath. And then he did it again.

I had to tell you, I almost told my brother to utter the truth, but I kept reminding myself that it wasn't my life I was protecting; it was his. I was so proud of my brother, because even when the alpha choked me for a third time – this time I blacked out for a few seconds – he remained silent.

Sensing that there was no progress, the alpha let me take my first real breath of air. He looked disgusted, glaring down at me as if it was my fault my brother wouldn't talk (he didn't have to know the truth).

"It seems this is going to take a while to make you talk," the alpha said coldly. He looked away from me and over his shoulder, gesturing towards a pack member who was more or less completely healed.

He looked back down at me. "Now, you're not going to fight any, because if you do you'll regret it. I'm sure your brother is much more susceptible to pain than you are."

I followed his gaze in time to see a small woman wrap her arm around my brother's neck. He squawked with shock but held still when she tightened her grip. She was blond, small-boned, and blue-eyed.

"If you give any sign of trouble," the alpha said ominously, "she'll break his neck in one second flat. Do you understand me?"

I gave him a nasty growl, which he took as my assent. The alpha took a hold of my scruff, his grip painful, while his other hand held my front legs together. The other male pack member did the same with my lower legs, and together they hefted me up to carry me. It was awkward as they tried to manoeuvre me through the forest, but they managed. My poor brother was in a very unpleasant position, as he had to bend backwards with the small female's arm around his throat.

I hope you have a brilliant plan up your sleeve, he said severely, though I could tell he was utterly shaken. I, too, wasn't uninvolved with such negative emotions.

The following hour was agony. My neck muscles were strained, and the skin the alpha gripped felt like it was tearing off, even though with wolves it shouldn't. But I hadn't been a puppy when I was born, so a she-wolf had never dragged me around in her jaws before. It wasn't the reason why it hurt so much, though.

Being what I am, I never truly managed to turn completely into a form that wasn't my own. Like seeing colour in canine form, I had many attributes missing and that distinguished me from the real thing. When I changed into an animal, I never managed to succeed in being as naturally graceful as them. When turning into a foreign form, it was easy even for a human to see I was fake. Early on, when I started protecting my fellow siblings, I practiced in specific forms, like the wolf with its strong scenting abilities and brute strength, or the sharp-eyed hawk, and even a horse (my brother complained a lot when his feet hurt).

Now I wished I'd changed into my equine form; with the agility to jump high and sprint with high speeds for short periods, we could've escaped, even if I got nasty bites in the process. A horse's hooves could be very deadly to a wolf's skull.

Poor Cam. The whole hike he was bent over backwards with the firm, unyielding grip the little blond female had on his throat; his tall form was unfortunate at the moment. He didn't hesitate to moan in my head about it.

The sun was setting, but the humidity didn't lift. To my very sore throat, it was inconvenient. Swallowing hurt, but like a reflex I kept doing it lest I choke on my own spit and misery. A little dramatic, but there was blood in my mouth.

After what felt like forever, the constant, deadly silence was broken by a sigh of relief. One of the female wolves, I guessed, spotting a large cabin as we cleared the trees. We stepped into a small clearing ringed densely with trees. Nature sounds were everywhere as the stars brought upon us her nightly song. I felt a bit of my strength return as I spotted a glimpse of the rising moon through a small gap in the ceiling of branches and leaves. It disappeared just as quickly as her light was blocked by the trees once again. I glanced at my brother and saw mild disappointment.

How I hated forests.

They weren't careful when they carried me into the wood cabin and I got a painful clip to the head at the doorway. I thought I heard the wolf holding my legs mumble an apology, but I couldn't be sure.

A wolf's eyesight wasn't its strongest sense, so in the light of the house, I got my first real look at all the now-human pack. Most of them were men, all buff and wolfy, with two women, all looking fierce and weary. The blond was still merciless with my poor Cam, and when he groaned at the tension in his neck she only tightened her arm. A strong urge to take my brother in my arms and comfort him engulfed me and I whimpered in apology at him.

He gave me a brief, longing smile before the small woman shoved him forward, arm still in place around his neck, and started leading him away from me. I thrashed, snarling in outrage. I could feel his panic, but still, he tried to reassure me.

Sister, I'm fine. They won't hurt me unless you calm down. I can take care of myself.

No, you can't, I didn't hesitate to say, but I calmed down some, still growling softly in my throat. He didn't say anything to contradict me, and I would've teased him about it under normal circumstances.

When he disappeared through a hallway, my carriers started in the opposite direction, going through a different, longer hallway, manoeuvring down a set of stairs. They paused briefly at a door at the end of it, unlocking several deadbolts and pushing through.

I expected the basement to be dark and dank, the way you saw in movies, but it looked shockingly stark and clean. Empty. Miserable.

I was faced with a large room of cages. The walls were a blinding white, the floor covered with black linoleum. The cages were symmetrical, tall enough to stand in as an average-height human, with enough space to include a cot and pace around comfortingly. No toilet.

There were six cages, and two were occupied. The last cage on the right contained a very large male werewolf. He had blond hair and, as he turned his head to us, he fixed crystal clear water eyes on me. They were quite intense, the second I got to observe them.

As they carried me to the first cage on the right, I thought about how happy I was that Cam wasn't being put in a cage. I could only guess that they were locking him in a room.

It would be a lie to say they deposited me gently into my prison. Granted, the one holding my hind legs tried to settle my backside slowly to the ground, but the alpha fairly threw me in. The wind whistled painfully from my lungs, and for a moment I simply couldn't breathe.

In that time, they locked the cage and turned to leave, a stormy expression on the alpha's face while my other carrier looked nervous and worried. He kept glancing at me, and I noticed he was but a boy in his teens, with red hair, green eyes and the most adorable freckles and dimples even when he wasn't smiling.

"Alpha," the boy said softly, anxiously. He raised his hands into the air, and I could clearly see my blood on them. When the alpha glared at him silently, the boy shivered and said in a small voice, "I don't think she's healing properly."

"Clearly," I jumped at the deep voice. "You roughed her up pretty good."

The caged werewolf. He had quite a pleasant, gallant voice.

"Shut it," the alpha growled, not looking surprised at the unwanted commentary. I could feel all their eyes, including my fellow prisoner, on me, but I feigned passing out in the hopes that they would reveal something useful.

Since I couldn't talk to ask questions.

"No," the pleasant stranger's voice deepened. "She needs medical attention."

I heard a frustrated sound. My guess was that this prisoner had been here a while, and he was clearly pleasant company to the alpha. "She'll heal soon enough."

The prisoner made a rude noise. "You're not that cruel, Gunter." Now he just sounded mocking.

"You want another beating?" Silence.

Interesting.

"I told you the truth."

My curiosity about this stranger was now officially piqued.

The alpha grunted. "Come, Tom. Mum's waiting."

When they left, I couldn't hold back my snort. I opened my eyes, my gaze immediately drawn to the werewolf. His blond hair glinted in the overhead fluorescent lights, his stark eyes flashing as he stared intently at me. I held his gaze, still lying on my side where they'd thrown me. My breathing was still irregular, and I was stiff everywhere. The bites over my body were minimal, but the wolves who managed to get a good hold of me had bitten deep. I could tell my wounds oozed blood and other bodily fluids.

It would take a lot of effort to change back into my real form now.