The winter cold bit at my paws with each step I took through the snow. It brought a warped grimace on my face, due to being in wolf form.

Odd, that I felt uncomfortable in the snow while half a year ago, I ignored the minor discomfort, as my stomach tended to hurt far more than the biting cold that bit at my paw pads.

The wind howled past, pulling at the thick blanket of snow covering the frozen ground. Branches cracked in the distance, instinctively forcing my ears to swivel to the sound before I disregarded the sound.

Already I could sense the pack's border in the distance, pulsing strongly. In my past, I would never had calmly walked towards pack territories in clear view.

Usually I snuck in, trying to find my quarry before the patrols caught a whiff of my scent and commenced the chase.

Now, I had to actually take a deep breath as I sat a fair distance away of the border, trying to settle my nerves before raising my muzzle to the air in an enchanting howl.

Several howls and barks sounded, wolves on high alert and birds exploding out of the snow covered canopy.

My ears perked when I heard cracking and snapping of branches and leaves underneath thundering paws. Strained huffing and growls resounded as snow creaked before the border patrol arrived, growling lowly.

One of them ran back to the forest, changing and dressing up before reappearing with a scowl. I suspected the only reason why he even bothered to shift in this cold weather was due to the scent of Drake's pack that clung to my fur.

"You here for that rogue problem?" The man barked, making me fight back the urge to sneer and growl at him. I nodded slowly, huffing when he grumbled to himself before making a motion to come on in and darted off to shift back.

Acts as if he's going to freeze to death. Try and bathe yourself in a frozen stream, pup.

Ignoring the low growls and disapproving huffs of the pack, I trotted over the border, barely shivering as it pulsed sharply and undoubtedly alerted the Alphas of my arrival.

But still, Drake had reassured me that he had informed the pack, much like that wolf had suggested. The only reason why he didn't come along with me was because I had protested vehemently.

And pointed out that there was no way a young, underaged rogue being neglected and abused by her supposed family, would trust anyone that had connections to a powerful Alpha like Drake himself.

The Alpha had begrudgingly agreed but made a point of preparing everything to the last little detail, making sure that no harm would come to the rogue pup or myself.

A huff of amusement escaped my wolf, breaking through the usual sober thoughts. Even though Drake had been the one to ask me for this mission, the look on his face when I had left made me wonder if he truly had wanted me to accept it.

"Well, here we are. Pack house is this way, the Alpha is waiting for you." The man grumbled once more, ripping me out of my thoughts as he went through a door, barely holding it open for me to slip out of the cold.

I shook off as soon as I was inside, huffing as my guide grumbled to himself, only stilling when a door opened further down the hallway. A woman popped her head out and spotted us, eyes flicking between the pair of us before scowling at the man.

"Do you still have a stick up your ass, Andrew? Do I need to go tell Rose that you can sleep on the porch tonight?" She demanded angrily. Andrew gulped at the mentioning of Rose, scowling at his feet.

"Please leave Rose out of this..."

The woman huffed and crossed her arms. "Oh, so you want to act like an ass even though your mate has asked you to tone it down, even warned you that she would make you sleep outside the next time you misbehaved?"

He shuffled his weight and kicked with his feet, deciding to stay quiet before the woman huffed once more and shook her head. "I'm not the one who's going to explain this to Rose. You are."

She motioned to me to follow and Andrew let out a relieved huff, seconds before a throat was cleared behind us. "O-oo-oh... Hi honey.." Andrew stuttered sheepishly and I had to bite my cheek to prevent my wolf from huffing our amusement.

"The name's Molly." The woman spoke as she guided me through the packhouse, moving out of the way when a large group of teens were heaving a heavy looking bench outside. "Heard you're here for the rogue pup? Skittish little thing, afraid of her own shadow. I don't like how the pack is handling it but I prefer to keep a roof over my head."

I huffed, understanding where she came from but it wasn't as if this was the only pack in the vicinity where she could find shelter. Then again, pack wolves were stuck-up and stubborn little things.

"Unfortunately, the Alpha had been called to the edge of the territory, most likely an entourage of another pack that arrived shortly before you did. No doubt Andrew knew and just wanted you to sit down and stay wherever he left you until the Alpha returned."

Holding open a door, she waited for me to enter the room before following me, flicking on the lights as she did. Opening one of the drawers, she pulled out some shorts before placing them on the table and averting her gaze.

Well, guess I'll have to shift...

I was unwilling to do so but, I also knew I couldn't just run around as a wolf the entire time, especially not around the kid. As soon as I had cleared my throat after I had dressed, Molly turned around, eyes flashing over my scars for a brief moment before heading to the desk.

She searched through the papers, muttering about untidy and chaotic Alphas messing up her system before she managed to pluck a map and a few papers out from the mess.

"So...packhouse is here and the little girl's house is right about... here." She pointed at the map and I frowned. The property was barely within territory, in fact, it was so far out that they'd have to actually cross their driveway before they were even considered to be in pack territory.

There was no way a little girl would dare to cross the pack borders to get some food from the local stores. Even if she did, it would alert the border patrols and their loud arrival would most likely scare her straight back over the edge.

"Oh, when you do go over there, I have somehow managed to prepare too much food for my breakfast. Silly me. I have no idea how I'm going to finish it all, so might as well let you take it." Molly winked slightly and glanced at the pictures on the files.

Her eyes lingered on the picture of the male, a picture that oddly carried some of her resemblance. She nodded and winked once more before whispering slightly.

"Mum has already been shoved out of the pack for defending my little niece. I wouldn't be so surprised that, by the time you have managed to sway the little pup and take her safely to your pack, I suddenly manage to find some new residence."

I huffed in slight amusement, understanding completely now. Molly was the little rogue's aunt and, even if she didn't agree with the pack, she had only stayed within the territory to keep an eye out for her little niece.

"Welp, you know what to do. All you need is her trust in you and guide her safely back to your pack's turf. Oh and, just be warned, if she doesn't see you as a father figure, she'll most likely latch onto you as an Uncle. So, welcome to the family, I guess?" Molly smirked before wiggling her fingers in a teasing greeting and left the room, leaving me behind stunned and slack jawed, wondering what the hell was going on.