A russet colored wolf looked up as I broke through the trees and underbrush of my territory. The wolf grinned a wolfish grin, as I trotted to the creek bed.

My pack flocked out behind me, with Kate at my side, while Faith and Abbey came out of hiding. They moved towards my other pack mates and sat down, watching the Alpha and Beta.

The other wolf's pack was flocked behind their Alpha, mimicking mine. The Beta, which looked like me, was at his side.

*May the moon guide your path, Alpha Jaz,* a male voice entered my mind.

*And yours,* I said, nodding my head to him. *How is the hunt?*

It wasn't a thing curious for me to be asking this question. It was tradition to start pack meetings with this gesture. It was passed down to us from generations and generations of wolves, who had made up our laws.

*Not as good as yours, Jazzy, but we do have some meat,* he said, his blue eyes sparkling with humor.

I rolled my eyes at his use of my nickname, which he had given me a long time ago. *It's Jaz or Jasmine, Blake,* I said, looking at the male through narrowed eyes. *Not Jazzy, and definitely not Miney.*

The male wolf, Blake, grinned at me lazily. His eyes again sparkled while he looked over me, pride filling them. *But you'll be mine, after the ceremony,* he said calmly.

The ceremony, joining of the two packs, was coming soon. My birthday was on the same day as the ceremony that joined both packs. Happy Birthday to me. Whoopee.

Both mine and Blake's pack will be joined together, with me and him as the Alpha couple. Both the males and females had to listen to both of us, even though they've had either a male or female Alpha for ten years.

I frowned, not liking the thought of being owned by a male. I had worked hard for my position, even though I was the oldest child in my pack. I've trained harder than any other female so that the male wolves wouldn't look down upon me, as if I was a toy for an Alpha Male.

*The Soare Pack has not had a Male Alpha, Blake,* I said, baring my teeth at the lofty Alpha. *And never think you can own me, because you can't. We are to work together. That is it.*

His Beta moved forward and in front of his Alpha. He growled a small warning, not liking that I had threatened his Alpha. and growled a small warning at me. His hackles were raised, and his ears were back, flat against his head.

Kate moved from my side and in front of me, protecting me from the Beta. Her gray eyes were narrowed, and her hackles were raised while she growled at the male. The growl had power in it, making me smirk.

Blake's Beta, my younger brother, James, stopped growling and looked at Kate in amusement. Kate was a tiny wolf and built for speed. However, she was growling at a burly wolf, who had more muscle and was much taller than her small form.

Blake sent his laughter to me, James, and Kate. *My, I didn't know that the Soare Pack had some fighting women, Miney,* Blake said, as Kate stopped growling.

Something was said to James, because he moved away from the front of Blake to his side, so that Blake could look at Kate. He stood from his sitting position and padded closer to my territory. This made me stand, with my ears laid back and bared teeth in annoyance.

Blake looked at me, his blue eyes shining with laughter before he looked back at my Beta.*I see why she chose you as her Beta and not one of my sisters, even though,* he paused and looked at me. *I chose your brother as mine.*

Kate bowed her head in modesty, before she made her way to my side. *Thank you for the compliment, Alpha Blake. However, it's just the urge to protect my Alpha that made me move like that,* she replied, softly.

*And a modest wolf,* Blake said, nodding his head as if he approved my choice of a Beta Female.

I rolled my eyes at them, before I looked over Blake's land. The land was almost free of trees, except for a few scrawny looking... sticks. There were mostly rocks strewn out the place, some larger than my head, even in wolf form.

Some places have been marked off by fences, because the places were very, very slick and steep. A wolf, or a human, could hurt themselves, if they were not careful around there.

I hid a shudder because seeing those fences made me think of being caged, and a wolf should never be caged. We were born to run free and with people that we cared about. We were a family.

"I know," Blake said. "It always makes me feel like that I am caged."

I turned to look at him and instead of a wolf, I saw a male around his teens. I studied his features, the angular design of his face, the high cheekbones, and a small dainty nose. His blonde hair was that Justin Bieber style, before he had cut it, and believe me, it looked better on Blake than it did on him. He stood at 6'2, not that much taller than my 5'8 form.

I stopped my gaze and looked his deep, rich, and memorizing blue eyes. His eyes always seemed to sparkle with pride and sometimes, there was a hint of mischief in them.

Pride filled my body as I gazed upon this male wolf. He was my Alpha and my other half. He was my soon to be mate, and my partner. We were both going to work together and protect our pack.

Blake grinned while I growled, feeling myself get lost into looking at him. "Don't worry, Miney. I get lost into looking at myself, since I'm that good looking," he said, his eyes glinting teasingly.

I barked in protest before I shifted into human form. I smirked and batted my eyelids together. "Oh don't tell me that you don't get lost looking at me," I said, sarcastically, flicking my head so that my braid would go behind me and almost touched my butt.

Blake smiled at me warmly, showing his pearly white teeth. "I do," he said. "I do get lost looking at you, because you are attractive.

James shifted his into human form and looked at me. His black hair was falling into his green eyes. His hair was in that Emo style, and that was why it fell into his eyes.

"Boy, if Mom sees your hair in your face, then she's going to cut it herself," I said, half jokingly.

James grimaced, and his face turned dark, not liking the thought of Mom. "She doesn't care about me," he said rather coldly. "All she cares about is you and this stupid-"

Both Blake and I glared at him to shut up and not to speak out of term. We both knew what he was getting out. The "stupid thing" was going to put both packs together. It was a big time in the wolf community for both females and males to be together. That meant more Wolves could be born.

James bowed his head and whined in sorry. He knew better than to say it, however, he was going to say it.

"This ceremony is more important than the other's," I reminded him. "Not only is the Soare and the Taloo Pack are joining, but the Alpha children of both the Speranță and Bucurie Pack are also joining together," I said, my voice hard.

"Speaking of which, I need to talk to you, Miney," Blake said. He glanced at his pack and then at mine. "Alone."

I bit back a protest and nodded my head, knowing that I was going to compromise with him. "Alright," I said.

Blake nodded his head and looked at James. "Please take our pack back to the pack house. Make sure that no one stays here while both of us are talking. Stay in the pack house until I get back."

James nodded his head and shifted into wolf form. He looked at his pack and left, followed by the male pack.

I looked at Kate. "The same," I said. "You are in charge."

Kate nodded her head and looked at me silently. There was a frown on her face, and she knew that I would know what it meant.

"I'll be fine," I said to her. "Remember, I kicked my father's butt once."

Kate nodded again and shifted into wolf form. She looked at my pack of wolves and Faith moved in front, followed by the others.

She glanced at Blake and warning passed through her eyes. She glanced at me and nodded her head, before she turned around and followed my pack back to the pack house. Her tail was up a little, signaling that she was in charge.

The wolf part of me wanted to follow them and lead my pack safely back to the house. However, I knew that I couldn't follow them because Blake wanted to talk to me.

I turned to Blake again, after they had disappeared from view, with a small feeling of aloneness in my heart.

Alone, that was what I felt, even though I was next to my soon to be mate.