It had already been a month since I left my pack. Since that time my life consisted of only running, eating and sleeping.

The sun was setting and I decided to stop for the night. I slowed down in the woods and began to look for a cave.

I didn't have to search for long, for I soon found one a few yards away. As the sun dipped below the horizon, I morphed into my human form and walked over to the cave and took a good look at it. A couple of bats shot out as soon as I stepped in, but apart from that it seemed satisfactory. Now all I had to look for was some firewood and a small stream.

I only had a vague idea of my current location. Somewhere close to the seashore. Judging by the salty tinge in the air, the sea could be around thirty to fifty miles from here.

Dragging a few branches scattered towards the entrance, I started a fire. As darkness fell, a chill settled in the air. I shivered, scooting closer to the fire. Unwrapping the last few slices of bread, I sat there, munching vigorously.

A low growl.

I stiffened. Every hair in my body rose as I rose. Shoulders tense, in the light of the fire, I scanned my surroundings.

Silence.

It couldn't be an animal. Wild animals were afraid of fire. So it had to be something else. Something more advanced, more intellectual.

"Rogues?" My wolf supplied.

No, I hadn't smelled any when I stepped into this territory. Rogues have a bitter aura around them, a projection of their innermost emotions.

Fists clenched, I braced myself for a surprise attack. I waited a beat, the sound of my own pulse harsh in my ears. I strained for the slightest movement. The crackle of wood as the flames consumed them, the rustle of leaves in the breeze, the hoot of an owl as it flew overhead.

But my heartbeats didn't slow.

Shifting into my wolf, I decided to leave as quickly as possible. Even trained, I was a lone wolf after all. Best not to start a war I can't win. Dousing the fire, I grabbed my backpack between my teeth and tried to blend in the shadows.

Unfortunately, white wolves aren't born to blend in. They stand out—loud and obvious. Sometimes, foolishly so.

I had just crossed a few yards when I heard a deafening roar. A ferocious brown wolf soared over my head and landed right in front of me.

The backpack slipped from my mouth.

Forced into a fight, I changed to defensive mode. However, the wolf in front of me made no attempt to attack. He didn't move a muscle, cocking his head as he eyed me suspiciously. I almost swore I saw his ear twitch.

I wasn't even breathing anymore.

Another growl sounded behind me. Instantly, I whirled around. This time, a grey wolf who stood crouched to attack. I felt a chill in my bones as I tried to maintain my composure.

Not for long, though.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw three more of them come up towards me.

I was surrounded. There was no way to escape.

"Don't be a coward, Ki." Zara cheered. "You got this. Fighting!"

"Easy for you to say." I muttered nervously, looking to and fro as they approached closer.

The wolves in front of me were looking at me in deep distrust, while the huge grey one looked ready to pounce on me. I growled at them and felt my hackles rise.

Then suddenly without a warning the grey one sprang. Sensing what he was about to do beforehand, I ducked. He landed behind me. Dust rose as he growled and turned around. This time, he landed above me, barring his sharp canines at me.

I pushed him off with all the strength I could muster. With a giant leap, I pounced on him and bit into his shoulder. My canines cut through skin and sunk into his muscle as a roar ripped from his throat. I tasted blood in my mouth as I finally let go and took a few steps back.

He staggered on his feet.

A rush of air had me slamming forward, flat on my face. I grunted as the weight of a wolf landed square on my back.

Craning my neck back, I snapped my teeth. Immediately, a retaliatory snap sounded, dangerously close to my ear. One of them tried to pin me to the ground, but but I dodged him with a backward kick.

A high pitched yelp.

I had hit my mark. Good.

Unfortunately, the little victory was short lived. The grey wolf was larger in size. Older too, judging by his experience in fighting. In single move, he rolled me over. A sharp stabbing pain exploded between my ribs. Something had pierced my side as I landed on my back. Black spots invaded my vision even as I tried to throw him off.

It was in vain.

All too soon, I felt his canines pierce into my neck, and as the last scream ripped out of me, I let the darkness envelop me whole.

"Great Heavens! What have you done to her?" A familiar voice reached my ears.

"She is a rogue, Alpha. I had no choice." A subdued voice spoke. For some odd reason it sounded distorted.

"Of course you had Dylan! Ever heard of White Wolves being Rogues?" The Alpha voice barked again.

I tried blink once. Twice. Strange. Shouldn't I be dead by now? What kdrama is this?

I could feel the other wolves around him quaking. The voice, on the other hand, kept ringing bells of familiarity. I wracked my brain to recall where I had heard him. Unfortunately, over thinking situations tended to give me headache instead of a solution.

I opened my eyes slowly. The Alpha guy was too busy yelling at his pack members to notice.

"-To top it all, she is still a pup! You gave her quite a scare."

"Well, she is not as scared as she looks, Alpha. Gave me quite a bunch of bruises," replied a very frightened voice.

A few people chuckled. The Alpha only grumbled, although the previous heat in his voice had subsided a little. "That sounds like her alright. Kiara never backs down from a fight."

He knew me? Who on earth was he?

I groaned while trying to sit up.

Strange. I was in a white room. A unpleasant whiff of disinfectants wafted up my nose. The ground underneath seemed different. A steady beep of a monitor sounded somewhere near. I frowned. How was that possible? The last I remember is losing consciousness in the woods.

"Kiara, are you okay? Does it hurt?" I rolled my eyes at his concern. Oh dear, he sounded so much like Dad.

"Yeah, yeah I'm...." My words stopped halfway when I looked at his face. The colour drained from my face as I sat gaping at him. "Whoa, you!?!"

"What's wrong, Ki? Should I...?" He sounded even more tense now.

He couldn't be, no, he had left long ago, hadn't he? And yet, he stood here now.

"Oh my God! Is this really you? Am I dreaming? Someone pinch me!"

"Okay."

He looked baffled, but obeyed my wish nevertheless. "Ouch! I didn't mean that literally, jackass!" I flinched at the sting, scowling.

"Uh. . . you told me to. I'm sorry?"

I looked at his face, and it was hard not to forgive him by the way he's looking right now.

His forehead creased with worry. By the way my mood kept fluctuating, I could tell I was creeping him out.

"Are you sure she didn't hit her head, Dylan? Should we call the doctor again?" He asked turning his head to the side. "She's being awfully weird. Maybe Dr. Marcus should do a CNS examination—"

"Ashton!" I breathed, joy flooding every fibre of my being.

He turned towards me, unblinking like a stunned possum.

"Ashton, you idiot!" I cried flinging myself at him. "Oh my God, it's really you!"

"Ki, are you alright? You seem-"

I cut him off with another bone crushing hug.

"Of course I am, now quit worrying! Do you have any idea how much I missed you?"

I was nearly drowning him in my tears.

"I missed you too." A deep chuckle reverberated through his chest as he hugged me back.

I pulled away with a mock stern expression. "Good. Because, you have one hell of an explaining to do, young man." I said jabbing my finger in his broad chest.

"Fine, my lady." His lips twitched up into an amused smirk. "Your word is my command."

I laughed but stopped halfway when I felt a slight pain in the back. I winced. Ashton frowned, noticing it at once.

"But before the enquiry, I suggest my lady to take some rest." he added. "Or I'll be forced to call in the doctor and have you sedated."

It was next afternoon that I finally bid goodbye to the hospital. Ashton had driven the doctor and me crazy with his insistent worrying. Moreover, the pack members too seemed overly eager to be at my service. They insisted on treating me like a baby not out of his diapers. Max, one of the twins had even come up with a walking stick to help me, which made the pack roar with laughter.

I still blushed scarlet with embarrassment at the memory.

"So, Ki, what do you think?" He asked, showing me the room. In a less than a day, he had made arrangements to have one of the spare rooms in his pack house turned into one for me.

I took in the room in silent awe. The room painted sky blue. Sunlight filtered in through the window filling it with warmth. It was so much bigger than my previous room in the Dark Wolf Pack. It had a small desk and a wooden wardrobe. Hell, there was an attached bathroom. The single bed looked so soft and fluffy that I couldn't imagine myself sleeping on it without bouncing on it like a kid. He didn't have to do anything for me. I hadn't even told him why I escaped my old pack, yet with an unspoken understanding he'd gone out of his way to help me. There was no way, I could ever repay him for this.

"It's beautiful, Ash." I whispered, my voice cracked. "Thank you."

"What's wrong? Why are you crying, Kiara?" He sounded so genuinely concerned.

"I just—Don't mind me; these are happy tears. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed."

He only nodded. Over the thin fabric of my shirt, I could the warmth of his hand seeping into the small of my back.

He cleared his throat. "It's been awhile since we last saw each other. Come on, you haven't met Bella, have you? I promised her I would bring you." He attempted to change the subject. I knew he would poke me again later, though.

I smiled. Yes, I remembered Bella quite well. She was Ashton's older sister. She had married when we were still in school and had later gone to Europe for a degree along with her mate. She was the only person who could show Ash his place. She used to play with Arie and me when we were toddlers.

I followed Ashton to her room. He knocked once he reached there. To my immense surprise it was the same guy I had seen in the hospital who opened the door. At the sight of me, he gave me a hesitant smile.

"Dylan?" I asked unsurely.

He had long dark hair that curled at the nape of his neck and was currently tied behind by an elastic. His eyes were obsidian and expression almost perpetually solemn.

"Dylan." Ashton explained. "He's my close friend, and one of the few people I can trust with my life." Sensing the slight awkwardness, he casted him a smirk. "I know he comes off as a little aggressive and broody, but it's all a facade. He's about as dangerous as a teddy bear once you befriend him."

Dylan scowled. "Ignore him." He extended his hand to me. "I'm his Beta."

I shook his hand. But what was he doing in Bella's room?

Ashton's eyes twinkled as if reading my mind. "And also my brother in law."

Oh. That explains it.

Pink colours Dylan's cheeks as we stepped into the room. I heard a giggle followed by laughter.

I looked around in search of Bella, when the door to the washroom suddenly opened and a small bundle came hurtling at me.

Air whooshed out of my lungs as I went careening into the floor. A groan escaped me as the bundle tumbled right on top of me.

Giggles filled the room.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that!"

I looked up at a pair of wide bambi eyes blinking at me. Up close, they looked seemed brown with little black striations in them. Her pigtails brushed against my nose as she scrambled up and dusted the dirt of her knees. Sighing, as I got up too.

"Hello!" She chirped. "What's your name?"

"Kiara," I replied. I was liking her more and more by the minute. "What's yours?"

"I'm Nora. That's my Dad and my Mom's umm. . . well, she's still in the washroom." Her eyes twinkled as she looked at the washroom door and I knew right then she had been up to something.

As if on cue, the door opened by an extremely drenched Bella. It took us a minute to take in her whole appearance, and when we finally did, Ashton, Nora and I burst into peals of laughter.

Dylan coughed, his cheeks turning pinker.

"Hardy har har!" She harrumphed, squeezing out the water from her hair. Her clothes were dripping wet and almost see through at this point, if not for the big towel over covering her chest. "Laugh harder, why don't you?"

Dylan was smiling. Actually smiling. He looked so different from his usual grave self. "Don't be mad. You still look pretty, darling."

Bella sniffed, not entirely convinced. Walking towards her, he took another towel and began to dry her hair. Bella settled down on the bed, leaning her head back as she let her husband continue.

"Thanks." I saw her lips move, the words meant for Dylan alone.

"How did you manage that, Nora? I failed every time I tried." Dylan said, his gaze shifting to Nora who had currently taken to keep Ashton busy with her antics.

"It requires constant vigilance and practice Daddy." she lectured importantly. "I wouldn't expect everyone to understand the genius brain behind this."

Bella huffed in annoyance, muttering a plethora of inaudible curse words. Dylan tutted her gently. Ashton, on the other hand, had doubled up with laughter once more at something Nora whispered into his ear. He wiped away the tears of mirth and looked at his little niece.

"Tell us what you did, sweetie." Ashton insisted, grabbing his phone, "Wait a second, I gotta take a picture. Hold that face, Bells! This expression of yours might just be the next meme that breaks the Internet."

Bells did anything but smile. With the agility of a jaguar, she sprung onto her brother just when the camera went off. Down went both the siblings, rolling over each other and trying to snatch the phone from each other. Nora was egging them on, while Dylan was torn between stopping his wife from killing her brother or just leaving it be.

I, on the other hand, settled myself in one of the chairs, waiting for an imaginary waiter to arrive with popcorn and fries.

"I'll delete it! Okay, I'll delete it! Just tell me what exactly happened and I swear I'll tell no one!" Ashton threw his head back and guffawed with laughter while Bella attempted to yank the hair out of his skull.

I chuckled. Isn't she the mother of a five year old?

"It was purely accidental." Bella lied flushing with embarrassment.

"That's exactly what you said after I had to fish you out of the pond last summer." Dylan said not believing her for a second. I figured it was some kind of inside joke because they all ended cackling like hyenas again.

"This kid! I don't who she gets it from." Bella huffed as went in search for a pair of dry clothes to change into. "I swear I was an angel compared to her."

"You sure about that?" I smirked, folding my arms over my chest.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Her head whirled towards my direction.

It was then that I realised she hadn't noticed me in all the commotion. Her eyes widened and her face pulled up into a delighted surprise. She squealed, bounding over to me to engulf me into a bear hug.

Too late, I realised what was about to happen.

"Kiara! It's been ages!!"

"Wait, Bella, I just took a bath. I really don't think-"

Sadly, it was too late by then. . .

In one giant swoop, she lost her balance at the foot of the bed, right as she managed to pull me to a giant hug. Down we went, tumbling into the furniture. As I fell over the umpteenth time this week, all I could do was silently bemoan my luck at the sight of my 'now wet' clothes too.