A couple of days later Neema sat in a library with Jana and Caillum, she was trying to help Caillum with his reading and Jana with the alphabet. Being in the underground villages meant that resources for learning were few and beyond. In all honesty most people did not even bother to learn, there was no actual need. Neema's mother had been one of the only people who could actually read and she he had encouraged her whole family to learn to read, even their stubborn father.

Neema had tried to continue in her mother's footsteps but being the single parent to two children in a place that just about had enough food to keep them alive, was difficult. She was ashamed that she had become lapse in their teaching but she would make amends now.

Her mother had said that reading was the key to humanity. Neema had asked her once, when she was little what she meant by that and her mother had told her that if they could read, they could learn the past and never repeat it again. To this day Neema still did not understand what her mother had meant, it was a known fact to humans that the wolves had forced humans to live this life of hardship and strife.

The tales told the end of the old world as the annihilation of the human race. The end had begun when the werewolves could no longer hide among their pack any more because the male and females were struggling to procreate together. Their population had started to decline and so they had sought out the humans who they viewed as lesser beings. In their desperation to procreate they attempted enslave the human race but humans were a proud species and had instead waged a war. How the war took place and where it took place no one knew all they knew was that the wolves had won and the humans had been left to suffer.

Neema was not naïve she doubted that humans had truthfully recounted the events that took place especially as it had occurred nearly a millennium ago and hardly any humans could read or write. Still, she doubted that the true version was much different from the fanciful tales of human perseverance that they had been taught.

Her train of thought was interrupted by an impatient Caillum, he wanted to get through a book called 'Winnie the Pooh' which was extremely old looking. When he had first found it, it was covered in dust but after a good wipe down it went everywhere with him. She had read the book to them every night this week until she encouraged him to try and read it.

He was about 5 pages in and stuck on a word. It was a bizarre word and to be honest she had never seen it before, maybe it was the name of a character.

"Use your phonics Caillum, sound out the letters" she encouraged as she stroked at the slight scar on his cheek. She did not want to give him the word right away lest he get lazy but she knew that she would struggle with the word.

His eyebrows drew together as he focused on the letter on the page.

"Eh - eh - yaa - Oh - rrr - eh, umm Eeeyaa- ohrre. Eeeyooreh" he asked quizzically, not sure if it was correct.

"Well done Caillum its Eeyore, see you can do it." She congratulated.

His smile at getting it correct was such a rare one, she was glad he was slowly reverting back to himself, the young boy he was when he had been under their parent's care. She only hoped he continued to improve.

Their celebratory moment was abruptly interrupted by the banging of the door against a wall.

The broad shoulders of Khan were the first thing she saw, then she took in his permanent scowl. He looked like he was ready to do battle and gods forbid it was Neema he was fighting, her body couldn't take another round she had just about recovered from her first beatings and had only started to get decent nights sleep now. She did not have the energy for him.

Lightly tucking a reluctant Caillum behind her, she stood up to even the field the werewolf. Khan was much taller than Neema's 5'6 height but if he was going to strike her she would be at a better advantage to fight back. Well better than if she was to remain sitting.

"Neema, you and your siblings are to meet my future pack tonight" he muttered out.

His hand scratching at the back of his neck in what seemed to be nervousness, it appeared that both brothers had the same tells when it came to their feelings. Though she was not sure why Khan would be nervous at all, he was not the one who nearly had to face a pack full of wild wolves with two children in tow.

Before she could even think to reply he stomped back out the room, the door swinging on its hinges at his leave.

//--//

Standing in the last place she had seen Victus and the same Hall she been dragged from, Neema felt her nerves skyrocketing. It was bad enough that she had to return but to also bring her vulnerable siblings was something she relished, she was forced to trust the words of Khan and his actions had proved how precarious that was.

She didn't know what the wolves had planned but she was very suspicious. Khan's behaviour when he came to find them was bizarre. He seemed bashful and maybe remorseful, which was ridiculous because he was an emotionless devil.

He was a despicable being who had no heart, no morals and was lacking just about everything a decent being had. He was a cruel and vicious monster and she was, much to her regret, stuck with him.

Standing by the door she waited for the rest of the pack to enter, Sahina had escorted her and her siblings down the hall and had even helped Neema pick out and outfit, though they both decided nothing red and nothing that showed her chest. So Neema stood beside Khan in a cobalt blue dress that had a cut beneath her breasts and sat off her shoulders. The dress gathered at her waist and flowed at around her waist, stopping just above her knees. Jana wore a floral dress and Caillum wore deep blue jeans and a white shirt.

They looked calm and collected but that was not how Neema felt, not in the slightest.

The hall began filling up with a countless amount of wolves, males and females alike. Some human but mostly wolves. Khan's new pack was fearsome. Their male bodies towered over her like foreboding statues, faces stoic with little emotion. Most of their skin had scars littered across it or were harsh with deeply imbedded frown lines and the females fared no better. Sure they were pretty and came in all sizes, skin colours and hair colours but their eyes remained cold and unwelcoming as if she had chosen to be here. As if she was unworthy to be with Khan. Not that she wanted to be with him in the first place.

Straightening her posture and tilting her head up Neema showed them no fear, if she could be in the same room as her abusive mate without jumping out the window then these wolves were nothing to her and she would let them know it. Not in so many words but in the way she carried herself. They did not have to like her but respect her, they would.

Khan was the last to enter the room, his leather clad body standing out from the rest of the jumpsuit wearers. His hair was tied back in the tight bun he often wore, his face fierce with determination caused his scar to furrow deeply. Stopping by Neema and a sleepy Jana in her arms he leant towards her body.

She quickly ducked back when he tried to place a kiss on her skin, the move was not noticeable by many but for Khan it was a sign of rejection. She could not help her bodies reaction, though she had been around him everyday of the week Khan had never made an effort to touch her. That he would try and kiss her now, in front of everyone, was just something that Neema would not stand for, but Khan had different ideas.

Clasping her neck in his hand he pulled her face towards him, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled her intoxicating scent.

"Don't flinch away. It gets me mad and you don't like me mad" he rumbled out.

His voice held no derision or anger yet the warning was clear, she was walking on a tightrope when it came to his emotions. Nodding her head in understanding Neema forced her body to relax towards him as he leant over her and placed a soft kiss along her cheek, lingering longer than he should, then she wanted. She despised the air he breathed, the toxic air he deposited into her lungs.

He stared at her for a bit before he turned towards the crowd of his eager pack members. His kind action a contradiction to his thinly veiled threat, a threat only she heard.

To his pack he was a strong alpha, one that was stoic and prone to anger but a fair alpha. Neema had only ever witnessed one side of Khan and had seen small glimpses of the alpha he was around his pack. He accepted her family into his life as if they were a part of his pack that always belonged but Neema was treated differently. He was cold and unfeeling towards her, which was fine as she did not crave his love, respect or caring but it confused her. He gave her family more care then he did her, the woman who would carry his child and give him his heir. He acted as if he had another mate waiting for him in the wings and he was merely waiting for Neema to announce her pregnancy before he introduced her.

The wolves were mingling in the middle of the hall, the long table that normally sat in the middle had been pushed to one side of the room allowing khans new members to talk and fight. A few of the fights looked a bit serious with the males splitting blood from their friends but Neema understood what they were doing. They were preening in front of their mates and the females of the pack. Though wolves could no longer mate with each other did not mean they would not have sex. This fight was a fight of their instincts. The males were showing their strength so they could win their partners, showing that they were alpha males.

Many of the wolves had already been aquatinted but there were some new members, new mates and wolves from other packs. Most were from khan's fighting regiment that he was given to train when he reached his prime at around 100. Though alpha wolves were born, they had genetics that saw them to be more dominant, not all alpha wolves needed up leading a pack. In fact, a number of alphas lived within another Alphas pack it was either because they had failed the alpha trails or because they had refused to participate. Khan had succeeded in training his platoon of Beta and sentinel wolves and had earned his title alpha. However most new alphas pack was not normally so large, however because Khan was soon to be the new Regional alpha wolves were clambering to be a part of his pack.

Khan was in the final stages of organising a tournament that would see the top 10 best fighters an automatic place into his pack, that was how eager wolves were to join Khans pack but all Neema wanted to do was leave. It was impossible tough, her siblings loved Khan and they loved their new home, she could not take both from them and so she was stuck by his side.

When a dominant wolf from a family line of Alpha's reached their prime, they were given a bunch of beta and sentinel wolves to train, if they succeeded in producing a strong group then they would acquire the official title of Alpha. Among the Brethren Being an Alpha went beyond birth right and genetics. An Alpha had to show that they were the top dog, capable of killing and letting live, the Alpha's trial was one that tested a wolfs character as well as brute strength and genetics.

An alpha wolf had to be able to kill when needed but to let life be as well, the best Alpha's were cunning and strong, their strength a beacon to lesser wolves. The trial was gruesome and transpired over a long period of time but when they were finished, an Alpha was made or a dominant wolf was broken. There could be no in between.

In the hall the majority of Khans pack were clustered together in small cohorts or were fighting jovially, too engaged with each other to approach the Alpha, though a small number of males seemed determined to stand before Khan. Their aura spoke of strong wolves but they bared their necks and lowered their shoulders in respect to her mate.

A man with dark brown eyes and a horrendous scar across his cheek was the first to speak.

"Alpha, we were wondering when will the next hunt be scheduled. It has been over a week and our wolves begin to grow restless."

As he spoke he made sure his eyes were placed firmly onto the ground to make sure he did not insult his Alpha, though by questioning Khan he already had. Neema could see Khan's shoulders rolling as if he was preparing for a fight, his hands clenching in annoyance and his jaw tightening.

"There is no opportune time to go out hunting, we have more than enough humans who have not been situated many of whom have not dissolved their marriages or participated in the mate trials" his voice was steady as he spoke facts but it was obvious that he was not pleased that he had been questioned, doubted.

An Alpha had to be trusted to do his job and if they did not trust him then there was no reason to be a part of his pack.

"I do not wish to insult you by asking Alpha, it is just hard for a wolf of my age to watch younger wolves have mates when I have yet to find mine."

Khan understood how the male felt, when he had reached the age of 150 and had still not met Neema he had become so impatient. His wolf had demanded that find his mate and so Khan had begun to hunt humans in an abundance. He was a wolf on a mission and in the the mean time he had plundered over 50 human villages, all in his bid to find this slip of a woman beside him. It had taken him nearly another 100 years to find his mate and in that time he had forced himself to remain busy. Khan understood that they felt restless but there was too much to do before they moved compounds.

"I understand, but there is still much to do. Perhaps if you help me organise the mating trials we can organise a hunt next week."

His tone was dismissal as he nodded to them one last time and turned his back to face Neema. The wolves slinked off and left Neema with her mate and a head full of questions.

"What are the mate trials." She murmured her voice inquisitive as she stared Khan down for an answer, his lip tilted into his infamous smirk as he leant towards her face, his breath mingling with hers.

"It is when you humans think you have married for life and us wolves show you how wrong you are. We take back our mates and we kill our competition."

The mate trials were more than just that, they were an opportunity for humans to fight for the right to keep their wives and husbands and the right for wolves to kill the person who dared to touch their mate. The fight was fair in rules but never fair in competition, the humans were ill prepared to fight and many opted out of the trials.

There had only been a select few who had ever won one the trials and one of them had been a female who had ripped the she-wolves throat out with her bare teeth.

The wolf had choked on her tongue before she had bled to death.