"She's awake, Alpha." Doc stepped swiftly to the side, his head lowered.

Her breath quickening once again, Hannah leaned forward in a futile attempt to peer beyond the stout doorframe. She needn't have bothered. The man that entered the room with such confidence almost took her breath away entirely.

At a guess she'd have put him in his twenties. His jet black hair swept across his forehead giving him a handsome but brooding appearance, and he was big. Six and a half feet at least, with broad shoulders and a powerful presence that filled the room so thoroughly, it shrank around him.

As he walked by, the doctor leaned towards him and muttered into his ear. The man he'd called Alpha frowned slightly and nodded, but made no further comment. When his brown eyes fell upon hers, she couldn't help but notice flecks of gold, that shimmered under the light from the window. They were strangely mesmerising, and she struggled to tear her gaze away.

Jenni flashed him a small smile before backing away as far as she could into the corner of the room, her head also lowered in what Hannah assumed must be a gesture of either respect or subservience.

Just as she thought the room couldn't get any smaller, he was followed in by another larger-than-life man, slightly smaller than the first but with equally large shoulders and blond hair that trailed down to his chest.

Before Doc could close the door properly, a third stranger demanded entry, shoving the door with one bony shoulder. A woman, incredibly old with iron-grey hair pulled up into a tight bun, and brandishing a long cane that looked as though it was used more often as a weapon than a walking aid.

She glared pointedly at Doc, looking him up and down as though daring him to tell her she couldn't come in. He sighed and stepped aside, letting her sweep past him and settle herself on the chair in the corner.

They all turned to stare at her.

The panic that had been gnawing at the back of her mind suddenly got worse.

The one Doc had called Alpha looked at her steadily for a moment, his eyes searching her face, checking her over. She stared back at him trying not to react, aware that all three of them were watching her right now. Analysing, judging, deciding what to do with her.

"My name is Blake," he told her.

She continued to stare at him, saying nothing.

"We have no intention of harming you," he told her. "You have nothing to fear."

Her eyes narrowed and her mouth tightened into a thin line. I don't believe you.

"You don't believe me." He shrugged, mimicking her own reaction. "I wouldn't either in your position." He leaned against the wall, eyes never leaving hers.

She looked at him closely, trying to ignore the death stare the elderly woman in the corner was giving her. There was no hint of deception in his brown eyes. Somewhere, deep within her, she felt an insistent tug that argued with her distrust, insisting she could trust him. But, she didn't know him. He could say anything he liked, and she wouldn't know whether or not it were true. The thought reminded her just how vulnerable she was, and her whole body stiffened.

"Why should I believe anything you say?" she asked quietly.

He lifted his shoulders: "Why would I lie to you?"

She frowned, her eyes full of suspicion. "To get what you want, I guess?"

"And what do I want?" He looked mildly amused.

"I - don't know yet."

Can I trust him? As she stared into his eyes, he returned her gaze steadily. His confidence disturbed her. Either he was certain that she would trust him enough to talk to him, or he believed he could trick her into thinking so. She wondered bleakly for a moment if she had always been this suspicious of people. It seemed an exhausting way to look at the world. The silence stretched on.

"You're Scottish," the blond behemoth near the window stated with a grin. "I like the Scottish. Always up for a good brawl."

She stared at him, not sure whether to be amused or alarmed. Then she realised his flippant comment had succeeded in breaking some of the tension in the room.

Doc visibly relaxed, his shoulders losing some of their tension. Jenni had unsuccessfully smothered a laugh, her eyes sparkling with mirth, and her questioner ceased staring at her long enough to glance at his friend, one eyebrow raised.

"This is Alex," the one called Blake offered by way of explanation.

She nodded at the grinning man, and received a wink in return.

"Your name is Hannah, is that right?" Blake asked, a furrow in his brow.

"I - don't know."

He looked quickly over at Doc, who shrugged. "She remembers the name, and we have to call her something until her memory returns."

The woman in the corner snorted softly in disbelief but declined to comment.

Blake glanced at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "How did you come to be in the forest this morning?" he asked Hannah.

"I don't know, I woke up there."

He frowned - two orbs of liquid chocolate, studying her intently. "Where did you wake up yesterday morning?"

Her chest began to feel tight. "I don't remember."

"Nonsense," muttered the old woman.

Hannah felt her lips twist into an involuntary grimace. She didn't know who the old woman was, but considering how Blake's eyes flicked towards her when ever she spoke - always seeming to consider her words carefully - Hannah had to assume she had influence within the group. And she didn't seem to trust Hannah one bit.

Once more, the concern in Blake's eyes deepened, and he scratched his nose with one finger, thinking it through. "Were you alone in the forest?" he asked, switching direction.

"I - think so."

"What were you running from?"

"I don't remember running," she mumbled, frightened now. Is that how I got my injuries? Did I fall? Was I attacked? Her heart began to speed up again and her head ached alarmingly.

The pain must have shown on her face because Jenni took a concerned step towards her, but Blake waved her back, an intent look in his eyes.

"Were you running from the rogues?"

"Was I... what?" Rogue. She had heard that word before. Where had she heard that word before?

"When did you come over from Scotland?" he continued relentlessly.

"I - I don't remember ever being in Scotland." She must have lived there though. Been born there, maybe?

"Where are your family?"

"I- I- don't know!" Her voice wobbled and she let out a small sob, the questions too much for her to cope with. Sharp pains were pulsing through her skull, her fear overwhelming her. She wanted to answer his questions. She was dependant on these people; if she upset them too much, she could be thrown out to fend for herself.

Why can't I remember?

Blake sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry, Hannah. I was hoping the questions would jog your memory if I didn't give you too much time to think about them. But, I shouldn't have pushed so hard." His apology sounded sincere but she could see the stress knotting his brow and tensing his shoulders.

He wants answers as much as I do, she realised. The knot of distrust inside her untangled slightly. Perhaps he was someone she could trust?

A gentle cough drew their attention to the corner of the room. "Alpha, if I may? I'd like to try something." Doc stepped forward.

Blake raised an eyebrow quizzically and stepped back a little, allowing Doc to take the lead.

The doctor smiled at her reassuringly. "Hannah, I need you to close your eyes for me, ok?"

She felt hesitant, but obliged.

"You said you woke up in the forest this morning?"

She nodded.

"Wonderful. Think back to that moment. Think of how it smelt. What you could hear. What the ground felt like under your feet. The sensation of a breeze on your skin." He paused a moment. "Now, tell me what you remember?"

She opened her eyes. "I remember trees," she started, taking a deep breath. "The smell of damp earth and rain."

Doc nodded in encouragement.

"I was lying on the ground surrounded by leaves. It was comfortable there. I didn't want to get up." She could almost taste the rich soil and woody textures that had surrounded her.

"But you did," Doc reminded her.

"Yes, I was... cold." And damp. The remnants of rain chilling her skin.

"I walked for a while - I can't remember where." Everything around her blurred into a lush green with only the first hints of autumn showing on the leaves. "Everything looked sort of... hazy. I thought I was dreaming. I found a trail - not man-made but like the tracks a deer would make as it moves through the forest. I followed it."

The aunt shifted in her seat; the creak of her chair overly loud in the quiet of the room.

Hannah closed her eyes, blocking her out, willing the memories to come back to her. "And I saw wolves -"

"Wolves?" interrupted Blake sharply.

"Yes, wolves. Three of them. Like a dream. Standing right in front of me with golden eyes." She smiled gently, completely caught up in the dream-like memory. "One of them was black like coal, bigger than the other two, and it was staring straight at me. It had eyes that looked straight into my soul. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I remember nothing after that," she concluded.

There was a heavy silence following her words as each of them chewed over her words.

Both Alex and Doc looked faintly amused. The old woman still wore a sceptical look on her face, though she seemed to be examining Hannah more intently than before, and the look Jenni gave her was hard to read. Blake's stare was intense and he seemed to be struggling with himself. Eventually he exchanged a look with Alex and they nodded to each other.

"No point in delaying it," Alex said, his eyes twinkling.

"Do you still believe you were dreaming when you saw the wolves?" Blake asked, looking at her with an unfathomable expression.

She thought about it a moment. "No. Dreams aren't supposed to have pain. This memory... hurt." She grimaced at her own sparse explanation, but he nodded in understanding.

"Hannah," he began, and she had the sense he was projecting all his powers of persuasiveness into his next words. "I need you to stay calm and listen to me carefully. The wolves you saw today were werewolves. Men capable of shifting into wolves at will... and back again."

Okay. She nodded serenely, not really taking him seriously and waiting for the punchline.

He tried again. "We -" his gesture took in the whole room, " - are werewolves. We found you in the forest and brought you to my pack house." He studied her carefully just as he had after every question, searching for any signs of recognition or deception. But she continued to nod quietly with mild disbelief, a small smile on her face.

Werewolves. Of course, why not?

His aunt snorted. "You're going to have to show her. If she knows, she knows and it won't make any difference. If she doesn't, it's the only way you'll get her to believe it."

Blake looked over at Alex, hoping for a volunteer.

Alex looked around at the others all watching him expectantly, Hannah included, and shrugged. "Why not?" He began to take off his sweatshirt, flexing his muscles, then reached down to unbutton his cargo shorts.

Hannah's eyes widened. "What are you doing? What is he -"

With a series of sickening cracks that made her teeth ache, the blond behemoth that had stood in front of her a moment ago rose up again with fur and teeth and bright, shining gold eyes.

Like a baffled child, Hannah shook her head and blinked rapidly as though to clear her vision. Unfortunately, nothing changed. A large grey wolf still stood at the bottom of the bed looking at her, its head tilted quizzically to one side.

She copied the gesture unconsciously, one hand half covering her mouth. She should be terrified.

Fear was so prevalent within her right now that it practically seeped out of her pores. A continuous terror that she would never remember who she really was. That the mystery of what had happened to her, would be too terrible to contemplate. That, if she stared into the eyes of the man in front of her any longer, she'd lose what remained of herself forever... and not care.

But she wasn't afraid of the wolf. Alex, she corrected herself. She wasn't afraid of Alex.

"He's a wolf," she said slowly. "Huh."

"You know about wolves," Blake said. It was a statement, not a question.

"It's as calm as I've seen her since she woke up," Doc commented. "Quite an impressive level of self control when faced with a wolf as large as Alex, I must say. I think you might be right. She has some knowledge of werewolves." The calm he'd been so impressed with didn't last long.

"I - I don't know what I know," she stammered. She could hear the panic reasserting itself in her voice as she began to think it through, making her accent thicker and more pronounced. "I feel a - a strange familiarity, I suppose, but no picture or detail. I mean, werewolves?"

It's like a fact I've read in a book but never experienced, and yet, here it is, right in front of me. Large as life.

"He's a werewolf!" she repeated.

Blake moved to head off her encroaching panic attack before it really took root. "It might be difficult to get your head around but believe me, it makes life a lot easier knowing that you are already familiar with the concept of werewolves..." She could hear an edge frustration in his voice. Every step forward with her must feel like a struggle. "It might even help us find out who you are."

She stilled and looked at him hopefully. "How?"

"Humans who know about our world live together in communities near the borders of the different territories. Some even live within our borders. They're limited in number which narrows our search, and any inquiries we make about a missing Scottish girl should turn up something sooner rather than later."

The grey wolf shot her a grin, gathered up his clothes in his mouth and padded over to the door so he could shift back. As Jenni opened it for him, he winked at her and she blushed furiously.

Hannah mulled things over seriously for a moment. Then something occurred to her. "You can all turn into wolves?" she asked looking directly at Blake.

"Yes."

"And... you're the one that found me in the forest?"

A glint in his eye suggested he knew where this was going. "Yes."

"Oh." Oh, no! She blushed a furious red as she realised that the wolf she'd been describing so dreamily had been standing in front of her all the time. Despite her embarrassment, she couldn't stop her eyes drifting across his broad shoulders as she pictured the wolf turning into the man and he smirked, following her train of thought.

The woman in the corner cleared her throat loudly, breaking the moment between them. She had a disapproving look on her face as she watched their interactions.

Blake winced. "Hannah, this is my Aunt Sarah," he said calmly.

Hannah opened her mouth in an 'o' of understanding, finally realising why she was there. "Hello," she said quietly.

Aunt Sarah ignored her; staring at her nephew with eyes that looked strangely glazed. Blake winced again.

Confused, Hannah looked over at Jenni hoping for some support, but the small nurse had busied herself at one of the counters, and seemed to be determinedly avoiding eye contact with any of them, a tension written all over her face.

Now what?

When Alex returned to the room a few minutes later, the men spoke quietly together before Doc approached the bed to talk to her again.

She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and the pain in her head increased their efforts to block out all rational thought.

"What is that for?" She stared at the needle in his hand, fear raising the pitch of her voice.

"We need to take another blood sample, Hannah," he explained softly. "We think it may help us to understand some of the things happening to you... and maybe answer some questions about the rogues we've been seeing recently."

"I told you, I don't know anything about any rogues," she cried in desperation. "Please, I can't stand needles!" She scuttled back across the bed, pressing her shoulder blades as far into the headboard as she could manage and practically hissed at them. "Don't come near me with that thing!"

Doc frowned and backed away again, turning to the others for suggestions.

"So, what now?" Alex asked quietly. "I doubt she's going to volunteer any time soon."

Aunt Sarah snorted softly from her chair in the corner. Her expression said it all. Asking prisoners for permission... what next?

"We could wait," Doc suggested hopefully. "Until she's stronger. She's obviously afraid of needles and we've only just started to gain her trust..."

"No." Blake interrupted with a shake of his head. "It has to be done now. I'm sorry, but we can't afford to wait days for her to become more comfortable around us. The safety of the pack must come first." He looked at Hannah, registering the level of her anxiety: "I'm sorry."

Confusion flickered across her face.

Doc took a deep breath and walked over to Jenni, reaching for something on the table. The nurse stopped him, directing his hand elsewhere. "Use the midazolam," she advised softly. "She could do with the rest."

He nodded and turned back to Hannah who had been watching them intently with fear in her eyes.

Use the what? Glancing down at his hands again, her eyes widened and she shot Blake a look of betrayal. "You said I had nothing to fear here!"

"You don't," he told her gently, as they both approached the bed.

She looked at the needle as though it were a wild animal. "No, no, no please..." she begged, as panic flared, her hands raised to fend him off.

"I'm sorry," Blake repeated. "But we need some answers, and this may be the only way to get them right now." He nodded to Doc and slipped around behind her wrapping his arms around hers, pinning them to her side.

She hissed at him then and fought wildly against his arms, her eyes never leaving the needle in Doc's hand. Her fingernails scraped futilely at his skin, desperate to get away; the pounding in her head reaching a crescendo so violent she thought it might actually break a hole in her skull.

Doc sighed regretfully, shooting his determined Alpha a look of disapproval, before taking hold of her arm and injecting the fast-acting sedative.

She was trembling violently, and a small sob escaped her when the needle pierced her skin, but the look in her eyes as she glared at them all spoke volumes.

I hate you, it clearly said.