Val bit her lip to keep from crying out and moved slightly, to prevent the wood from slicing any more muscle. The tall wolf lowered his head and growled; a warning.

She tried to memorize his scent but she could barely smell it over the mud. A vicious growl ripped through the trees and the wolf's ears perked up. He pulled back his lips, showing his teeth toward the source, and ran in the opposite direction, taking a last look at Val as Zack's scent became stronger.

He stopped a few feet away, eyes frantically searching for the brown wolf while Damian followed close behind.

"I thought I told you to stay back," he snarled. Damian brushed it off, taking long strides and kneeling next to her, completely unbothered. Zack huffed and followed suit, mumbling something about teenagers under his breath.

"Are you okay?" Damian asked gently. His labored breathing wasn't settling, and his eyes were glued to the blood almost painfully.

"Do I look okay?" she snapped, "I have a freaking chopstick stuck in my leg!"

She loosened a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"Take her at docs', I'll meet you there," Zack ordered and Damian nodded.

"This is going to hurt." He smashed the end that connected to the tree and pulled out the one from her leg, flinching at her strangled cry. "We need to start the healing process," he added apologetically and Val nodded, wrapping her hands around his neck as he picked her up and zipped her away.

*****

"It will take a few days to heal." Derek — the pack doctor — said, while bandaging up her leg.

He looked too young to be a doctor, she noted, and took a whiff. He didn't smell like a wolf.

"Take it easy for the next couple of days. You'll probably be ready to stand on it correctly on Monday." He turned to Zack. "Someone should stay with her just in case, we don't know how the spell affected her." Val gave him a sideways glance. Did everyone know about that?

"Daphne's home, right?" Zack asked, rubbing tiredly at his eyes.

"She had to leave town to take care of a few documents at her old hospital for the transfer, but she'll be back in a couple of days. I'll be okay on my own, Zack, don't worry."

Ignoring her, he turned to Damian. "No," Damian growled, "if you want to babysit, fine, but don't you pin this on me!"

"Zack, I can—" He raised a finger.

"Don't test me, Damian." He groaned and fell back on his chair, tugging at his hair in agitation. Val wisely kept her mouth shut.

"You'll need these. Lay off that leg for now." Derek passed her the clutches, not even batting an eye at the heated conversation. Something told her it wasn't that uncommon between them. "Come back on Monday to check on it."

Damian sighed and got up. "Well come on then." He opened the door for her.

"Such a gentleman." He rolled his eyes.

*****

"Put me down damn it!" Val punched his back while Damian carried her on his shoulder.

Like a freaking sack of potatoes!

"Do you ever stop talking?" He snarled in annoyance, a hand rubbing at a spot behind his back. She hoped it would bruise.

"Do you ever stop being so annoying?" She glared at his back. He had somehow been able to balance her in a way to keep her leg from hurting and holding the clutches at his side at the same time. The guy annoyed the zits out of her but she had to admit, he had some skills. Or experience. She didn't know which bothered her the most.

Zack had called the others to his office when they saw Damian carrying her; something about needing to brief them on a situation, no doubt the one that'd skewered her leg like kebab meat. They probably hadn't finished yet.

They'd tried coming over at first... to see if she was okay. And she could still hear the growl that ripped through Zack, still see them bare their necks to him.

A Beta...

Their Beta that took on the role of an Alpha too much for too long.

She could still feel their lingering stares as she was carried away, the apology in Alex's eyes as they stayed put.

"Nope," Val growled lowly and he finally put her down. "I'm not in the mood for Zack's whining, so suck it up little wolf."

Val curled her lip back and slowly made it to the front door. "Ladies first." She made way for him.

"Thank you, honey," he replied with a terrible imitation of Britney's voice, patting his long eyelashes and pretty much bitch-slapping her with his 'long hair' on his way in.

Val shook her head, chuckling. At least he got the attitude right.

She closed the door and walk-limped to the couch where Damian laid at.

Her couch—

"Nice couch," he hummed. Val rolled her eyes, pushing his legs aside to sit.

"I'm hungry."

"And that's my problem because...?"

She huffed, then smirked haughtily at the opportunity that literally lay in front of her. She carefully snaked her hands under his legs and pushed him over, face first.

Damian bristled and quickly got up, ready to lunge. Val raised her injured leg, making him stop dead in his tracks. A little smile played on her lips as a murderous one came in answer.

"Just a few days... Remember that, little wolf." He gave her a fangy smile that she knew most would run away from. Far, far away.

But she kept going, drawling: "The only 'little' thing here is—" He sliced her a murderous glare, "—the pizza we're about to order. Because I'm hungry, and you're buying." She smiled broadly.

He huffed. "Make it six, the others are coming over." He tossed her the phone and walked into the kitchen.

Val placed the order and sunk deeper into the couch.

Lifting her leg with shaky fingers, she began to trace her fingers over the bandaged wound, flinching or hissing every now and then. It was a surprise that the wound didn't have her howling in pain on the cushioned surface; surely the werewolf in her was helping.

She lowered her leg and eyed the glass of water on the table a couple feet away. She licked at her dry lips and used her hand to get up, limping carefully so that she didn't put pressure on her injured one, but lost her balance and fell backward.

She opened her eyes when she felt two hands around her waist. "Thanks," she muttered, a little begrudgingly.

"What for?" He almost purred and pushed her back on the couch. Val let out a sharp hiss, followed by a growl as she watched him drink the water with a cheeky grin.

"Jerk," she mumbled and fell back, pouting.

Damian smirked and walked back into the kitchen. "If you're thirsty, add that to your order. I'm buying anyway."

She heard him open the fridge, then a hissing sound like dragging an object on ice. They had nothing in the freezer except—

"Damiaaan!" she yelled, stumbling on her feet as she struggled to get up, "don't you touch my ice cream!"

*****

The next two days went by with Val and Damian constantly fighting each other. That's until their friends came — then they'd fight some more.

She would mostly wake up to him sleeping on the couch, or playing with her video games — not a surprise since there was no bed yet in the guest room, and Daphne's room was off-limits if he wished to keep the important parts of his body intact — but there were times she was actually pleasantly surprised.

She'd woken up, the previous day, to the smell of pancakes and bacon; saw him in the kitchen with an apron on and a ladle in his hand. It didn't matter if it was morning or night; he'd grumbled that a full stomach at least kept her quiet for longer. His 'happy blobs', as he'd called them, were surprisingly really good, maybe even better than Daphne's. Not something she'd admit to, of course.

Val reached her hand and turned off the buzzing mess that was her alarm clock. She lazily shifted on the bed and let out a deep, tired sigh. Something smelled good, and all she wanted was to nuzzle her nose in the pillow and fall back to sleep.

It was Monday, a.k.a. first day back to school, a.k.a. probably the first day back to practice if Derek cleared her for it. Her leg didn't hurt anymore, and as much as she loved 'trying' to beat Damian's ass, she was too tired to get up.

Val begrudgingly opened her eyes, and they focused on a sleeping, drooling Damian. "Ughhh!" she more growled than screamed, and fell off the bed, bracing for a pain that never came. Actually, she felt really good.

"Damian!" She threw her pillow at his face.

He groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "What's that for?" He asked in a deep, husky voice, watching the pillow through blurry eyes.

"You were supposed to be sleeping on the couch!"

"First of all — un-glow your eyes." He waved a lazy hand. "Second — It's more comfortable here," he said very matter-of-factly, cracking an eye open.

"No shit Sherlock."

"I don't get why you're so worked up, I barely even touched you — though you must be very disappointed." He smirked sleepily and laughed when she narrowed her eyes. "I kept waking up sore after sleeping on that couch." With a sloppy hand, he stacked her pillow on top of his and sunk his face into it. "Nice shampoo," he mumbled, voice muffled by the fabric.

"I'll have you know, that couch is the most comfortable place in—" She reigned in her anger, and the sure insults that were begging to be let out, and sighed, "Just get up. We've got to get ready for school."

"Five more minutes, mom." But he opened his eyes immediately after, and seemed a little surprised at himself.

"Funny." She shook her head and pulled at the covers. "And for the love of God, put a shirt on."

*****

Val played with the emerald-green gem in her hands as the bathroom curtain screeched. Damian was done with his shower.

She rubbed her thumb over its markings, almost shining under her touch.

Daphne had told her to take it off the day after she found out the truth about what she was. Said it was used as a vessel for the binding spell put on her and that it would only hinder her progress now, but—

All she could think about was that it was her mother's necklace.

She had been wearing it for as long as she could remember, and her neck felt bare without it. She didn't want to lose that comfortable weight; that anchor that kept her grounded whenever her mind started drifting to places she hated falling in.

A part of her was forever bonded with that necklace, leaving an empty hole where it should have been.

"Ready." Val quickly put the necklace back in the drawer and nodded to Damian.

"About time, we're going to be late." He rolled his eyes and followed her down.

"Take these." He held up the clutches.

"My leg's fine now, I don't need them." Her voice came out tighter than she wanted it to.

"I don't care. You'll be parading around with these until doc confirms it with Zack—" Val shushed him when a small cracking sounded from the kitchen. They both froze on the spot. Val sniffed the air, cursing for not paying more attention to her surroundings.

"Shit," she hissed. She didn't tell Daphne about what happened. Val knew well enough that she'd drop everything to come back; she didn't want to worry her. She wondered how they hadn't even heard her before then.

Her head snapped behind her, at Damian picking one of the clutches up from the ground, an innocent smile carved onto his lips. Idiot, she cursed.

"Val?" She groaned inwardly.

"Morning, Daph!" She wore her best smile and walked into the kitchen.

"Leaving for school?" Daphne turned to the counter. Val motioned for Damian to get out.

"Yep, school." She laughed anxiously. "Great place to be at right now, so..." She slowly started to turn around.

"Want a ride? Or are you going with that pretty boy you're so miserably trying to hide?" They both froze. Damian poked his head in first; then his body slowly followed.

"Oh, relax," she chuckled. "Zack called me this morning to tell me you hurt your leg and that a friend of yours was watching after you. I'm glad you're okay now, but we'll need to talk about you hiding this from me later." She turned to Damian. "I'm Daphne."

"Damian," he cleared his throat. "Black."

"Well, Damian," she cleared her throat mockingly, "Black. It's nice to meet you. And thank you for helping Val." She smiled.

Damian gave a small smile and looked sideways at her, pleading for an out.

She tried not to let the smug satisfaction show on her face, or the amusement at the awkwardness of meeting Daphne, as she drawled: "Mom jokes are her specialty, you get used to it after a while."

Daphne simply shrugged, her lips quirking at the sides, as she poured a glass of milk.

"We should probably go," Damian finally said with an awkward smile as Daphne studied him from the corner of her eyes. His throat bobbed under the look Val had so many times received over training. She smiled a bit. "We're running late," he added.

"You're sure you don't want a ride? Or at least breakfast. I found these really good pancakes in the fridge. They look a little weird though." Val laughed.

"It's a miracle she left any. She's a hungry one, this one." Damian smirked.

"Food is one of her many obsessions." Daphne chuckled. "Ask her about the couch." Damian raised a questioning brow. Val started to push him out before Daphne could reveal anything else that could be used against her in the near future.

"We'll be okay. See you later."

Damian closed the front door and smirked. "Called me pretty-boy — and — she liked my pancakes. I think I might just trade you for her."

Val snorted. "If you can survive her, I'll be ecstatic to be seeing your face less."

He chuckled and passed her the clutches. "Take these."

"I said my leg's fine—"

"It's either that or the piggyback ride. I don't compromise." His arms started to circle around her.

She huffed and positioned the wooden sticks under her armpits. "Move."

*****

"Did you rest it?" Derek asked and Val nodded as she watched him unwrap the bandages.

"We'll probably have to..." He stopped talking and turned to her; surprised — but smiling. "I guess there's nothing else I can do for you." Val ducked her head and stared at her now fully healed leg. Two small, barely noticeable white lines were the only trace of there ever being a wound. "Those might disappear soon,"

"Tell him that." She nodded to Zack, who was huffing and grumbling something at Damian.

"She's good," Derek said a little louder. Zack whirled.

He looked relieved at first, then a wild gleam had her shaking her head. "Is she good to train?"

"I don't know." He cocked a brow at her, humor dancing in his eyes. "Is she?"

Val nodded with a small smile. "I'll manage."

"Try not pushing her too much today though," Derek leveled a knowing look at Zack, then turned back. "Come see me if it bothers you any further, though I doubt it will." She jumped down from the hospital bed and handed him the clutches with a 'will do'.

"You didn't need to use these, you know."

"Oh, I knew." She narrowed her eyes at Damian, who shrugged.

"Alright, enough chit-chat, go to your classes. We got shit to do later." Zack grinned broadly and Val's mouth twisted in mischief. She knew what was coming.

"Come on, little wolf." Damian held the door for her.

She groaned as she passed him. "Stop calling me that!"

*****

"What's for first period?" Val asked, walking down the hallway.

"What's so hard with solving one, simple equation?" A muffled growl sounded from the classroom.

"Feinman." They groaned and sighed in defeat, as Damian knocked twice before opening the door.

"Ah, Black. I was wondering when you'd do us the honor."

"We were at docs'," Damian said slowly, "do you want me to go fetch a signed paper or...?" he added sarcastically, and the teacher snapped his head to Val. Small tendrils of gold lit up his eyes before he leashed his wolf. Werewolf, she realized, surprised to have missed any previous signs. The others said a temper was usually a good indication, if she knew so herself.

"Very well, come in." They made their way to their desks.

"Finally," Alex groaned. "It was starting to get boring without you here."

"Aww, Alex. Your words warm my dark, cold heart." Damian pouted and Alex rolled her eyes, checking on her phone for a few seconds before snapping her head back up.

"Check your phones," she whispered.

Val looked at her questioningly but did it anyway. She carefully pulled it out so she didn't get caught, and saw the message in their group chat.

'Saturday night we're going out. No objections — Val.' Val kept from groaning out loud as she watched her friends answer.

'I'm in.' Erik replied first.

'Me toooo.' Sam.

'Yeah, sure.' She rolled her eyes at Damian.

Ian sent a thumbs up and Val felt two persistent eyes on her.

'Fine,' She sent the message and turned to Alex. A satisfied grin played on her lips as she mouthed, 'good'.

"Donovan!" Mr. Feinmans' voice startled her. "A girl with your mathematical potential should pay more attention in class rather than play with her phone." Val suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at his disapproving tone and nodded.

*****

"Move it, Robin! My grandma could go faster than that!" Zack bellowed and the blonde growled, pushing her feet harder and passing a few wolves in front of her.

"Good, now pair up." Val followed Damian closer to Zack and they turned to face each other. "Go."

Damian lunged himself at her, but she side-stepped him, turning quickly around and landing a blow to his ribs. He hissed and grabbed her wrist before she could pull away. He twisted it behind her back before kicking at her legs and throwing her on the floor, face down.

"Don't think I forgot about the couch, little wolf," he whispered in her ear.

Val growled and turned on her back, ignoring the pain from her hand and throwing him off of her in the process. She got up first and kneed him hard in the gut, earning a groan, and a hiss. "Don't think I have," she retorted with a sly smile.

Damian popped up and started dusting off his clothes with a devious smile. "Looks like quality time with Zack's been paying off."

Val smirked. She got better; she was getting better. She was picking stuff up fast, but she wasn't pleased with herself yet. She knew she could do better — would.

If only to wipe that smirk off his face.

Damian found a window and he took it. He swung and his fist met her ribs, forcing the oxygen out of her lungs. Val doubled over with a groan; he kneed her hard on the chin.

She didn't fall; but when she went to kick at his head and he caught it her lips twitched. She used the chance to hoist herself up, and, wrapping her thighs around his head, leaned back, taking him down with her. That was one of the last moves Zack taught her before she'd hurt her leg.

Damian picked himself up and growled; Val mirrored him. He slowly started to make circles around her, stalking her, studying her. Val narrowed her eyes and waited for him to make the first move. He did.

He marched from her side, hoping to blindside her, but Val caught his fist right before it connected with her jaw. She sent one back — which he also caught — and they went blow for blow. Restless, unflinching, unrelenting.

Each waiting for the other to give up; each making that same mistake.

A muffled cry echoed through the building's walls and Val instinctively turned her head to the source where a short, skinny girl was wiping roughly at her eyes while Britney seemed to be getting ready to charge at her again.

"That's enough, she's out," Zack called, disapproval heavy in his voice.

Val remembered one of their talks after training. She'd confronted him about it, why he was being so hard on them sometimes. All times. She understood the necessity of being able to defend the pack — and themselves — from any future threats, so she didn't push on the practice. It just always seemed like he had something scratching at his mind.

It's not about being hard on you, It's about helping you overcome the boundaries you've put on yourselves and push that boundary a little further each time. I want you to be strong, to be able to stand your ground proudly in this pack and never give up — be unbreakable. You all have great potential — I just hate to see it go to waste.

His words were soft, but she'd seen that mask rippling, cracking just enough for that tinge of sadness to break out. She could almost smell it — the pain, the sorrow that rippled off his usual front.

A punch came out of the blue, startling her, and she lifted her arms to protect herself but it was too late. Damian's fist crashed down to her left cheekbone, making her stumble back, disoriented.

Damian didn't stop there. He sent another blow just below her ribs and she let out a sharp hiss, wincing at the bruise he knew was there.

Val sent another fist at him — which he easily avoided — and he landed a quick barrage of powerful jabs at the exact same spot, causing her to trip and fall on her belly.

He quickly locked her hands behind her back and strangled the back of her neck. She started thrashing around as an annoyed rumble vibrated over her chest. "You cheated."

"The next opponent you're going to face won't wait for you to finish daydreaming either, little wolf, it isn't fair but it is what it is. Keep your head in the game or it's game over." He hoisted himself up and dusted off his clothes as he watched her do the same.

"You need to work on your facial expressions as well." Val lifted her head and stared at him questionably. He sighed. "You showed weakness. When you took the blow at your side and winced, that was an open invitation for me to repeat the action, strike at the same spot. When fighting with someone, brute strength's not always going to cut it, you need strategy." She blinked.

"You need to be calm when you fight, serene. Your opponent will always try to read your emotions to predict your next move and you can't have that in a real fight. Distance yourself from them, bury them in the back of your mind and be cold, you might just stand a chance against me then." He finished with a grin and Val scoffed, the retort dying on her lips as Zack bellowed:

"You're done for the day. Out."

"Here we go," she mumbled under her breath and waved her friends goodbye.

*****

Val closed her front door with a small clunk and walked to the kitchen. Zack had kept her 'till nightfall to catch up with her training, and her muscles whined with each step.

Her mind wasn't exactly in the game though.

Something was churning in her belly, scratching relentlessly at her mind as a question begged to be let out.

She entered the kitchen and sunk to the chair by the small table. Daphne hummed the lyrics of a song as she set a plate of macaroni and cheese in front of her.

She played with her food for a while. Her stomach growled as she moved it from one side of the plate to the other.

Daphne took the seat on the opposite side and stared, hands folded across her chest. "Spill."

Val dropped the fork with a small clunk. Her heart thundered. It was a touchy subject, she knew that. She saw the way Daphne's eyes glazed over and the way they drowned in the same sorrow she was now asking her to share. It was selfish of her, wasn't it?

"Well?"

"I want to know about my parents."