A little cautiously, I walked into work, not sure if Laura, our secretary knew about why I had been gone. Unless Curtis blabbed then I do not think she did. Edward was not big on revealing information no matter how big or small. Dressed in a yellow pantsuit with a white shirt beneath, Laura typed away on the computer, brushing back a strand of her red hair. As always, her blue eyes were narrowed in concentration. She was good at what she did, very good and I think that is why Edward hired her. Plus, she knew what we really were and did not snitch on us. She could be trusted with our secrets. The only thing that was kept from her was that I was a werewolf. Yeah, one of her bosses being a wolf, I'm sure that would go over well. Knowing the girl, she would probably have a heart attack.

Instead of sneaking up on her like I always do, I walked passed but she stopped. "Cara!" she said, happily, using my alias. I turned to face her bright, beautiful smile. "How was your little vacation?"

"Uh, fine," I stumbled, not sure what to say. Edward should have told me. "If you can call it that. Got some work done around the house, though."

She nodded. "Yes, Edward had said you would be out for awhile."

I shrugged. "Had some other business."

She smiled. "Oh, you have an eleven o'clock with a Bryant Markle," she informed, all business. "And you have some people who would like for you to return their calls about some jobs." She handed me a piece of paper with names and numbers.

"Thanks," I said, returning her smile. "Buzz me if someone does a walk-in." She nodded and went back to her work. I walked up the stairs to my office and walked in, shutting the door. I leaned back against it and smiled to myself. Things were back to the way they were supposed to be. Sighing, I sat down at my desk, rummaging through some paperwork that Edward had left for me. Of course. Leave me with the papers to do. All I really did when there was paperwork was sort them out and file them into separate folders. Edward had a lot more clients then me so that made him ten times more busy. He paid me extra to do his papers for him which did not bother me. It gave me something to do when all my work was finished. Stashing the papers in the second drawer of my desk, I sat back and looked around.

What an adventure, huh? Going to a psych ward, getting convinced my life was a lie, escaping then going back to rescue people only to have them capture me again and drug me up to fight a Chimera? Wow, does it take a lot out of you or what? I had returned home two days ago. Edward had given me until today off of work that way I could recharge my batteries and start kicking again. The drugs had fully wore off the night after I came back and I took that moment to run with my Pack. Edward had joined us. Now, I'm training him to control his beast. He is a quick study and will be just fine. Nikeeta had been frightened and pissed. Yes, I told her that Edward was going to make me shoot him. Boy, did he hear it! So did I, unfortunately. From both of them. I loved my niece. She had a fire to her that could make the biggest of men cower in a corner from her wrath if they rubbed her the wrong way.

I've made a new friend. Will has been a great addition to the Pack and so has Tim. We all talked and they had asked to join my Pack, that it was time they had a family to help them instead of fighting alone. They were tired of fighting by themselves and who could blame them? Will had told me he was sick of being rogue, of not having anyone there. I told him the Pack would always be there and would help in any way we could. I'll never forget the look on his face; one of pure joy and relief. Some thing tells me he has had a rough past and wanted a change in his future. I would be more than happy to oblige. Besides, some big change always starts with one good deed or that is what my mother always told me.

Since the night I fought Kevin and saw Ren at the cabin, I have not seen her since. Raine had visited my house yesterday, though, and when I had asked about her, he never told me anything. He was as mysterious as her and Edward which bugged me. Maybe I should start being that way? Pfft. I do not think I had the capacity or ability. I could try though. I was worried about Ren, too. She had said sometimes having a good heart was not a bad thing. But what about the other times? What really made her bitter? It was not just about her past or what happened with her parents, was it? I think it went deeper than that. It was a fight inside of herself, one she was constantly losing no matter how hard she fought to win the battle. The wars raging inside are the ones we often lose than most. I know from personal experience.

Oh, and another thing is that I finally repaid my dept to Luigi for that bar fight I had. After all this time, he makes me pay it back and last night no doubt. When I said Luigi was the king of cruel and unusual punishment, I was not kidding. Nina, the bartender at 'L'Oscurita, wanted the night off to go visit her family. Guess who got to take her place? Yes, I had to wear that shirt that only covered my breasts but thank God he did not make me wear the short skirt. He made me wear really short shorts instead. Oh, how I hate him. It had been torment. I had to be nice to people, smile and make conversation and he even made me flirt a little. Like I know the first thing about flirting! Come on, let's get serious here. Not to mention, it is hard to do all that when you are uncomfortable in what you are wearing. The thought made me shudder. I'm just glad it was over. That had been a nightmare and for those of you who know me, you know how true that statement is.

So, I'm back to my life with a few scars on my left leg to escort me. Go figure. That was nothing new. I always have at least one new scar to show off. I think I lost count of them all though. I would take roll later. Other than that, life was not different just altered I suppose you could say. New friends, new scrapes, new adventures and new victories. Like could not get any better than this, could it? Well, it could but until then, I would be grateful for what I had now which, if you look at it, it was a lot. I had the love of my son and Pack, a job that I loved doing and was good at, a house with a husky who welcomed me every time I walked through the door and every time I had the strength to get through it all. I leaned back in my chair and placed my feet up on the desk, crossing them at booted ankle. Yeah, life was back to normal. I smiled to myself as I twirled a pencil between my fingers.

Or as normal as it was going to get.

Title: Battle of Death

Summary: Arra Griffith believes she is getting to old now to juggle everything. Being a little over forty, most would agree. That is if they did not know she was a werewolf. But she has too much responsibility so it's time to knock down one. She is stepping down from her roll of Alpha of the Pack, leaving it in the hands of the next in line, her son, Damon. She trains him to become the Alpha, physically, mentally and emotionally. He is strong but has Arra been too protective of him? He has never really been in a real fight with another supernatural, only human kids. Everyone is about to find out when a werewolf challenges Damon for the Alpha spot. There is nothing Arra can do because that is the rule in the werewolf world; the first born becomes Alpha is they desire but if someone challenges them, they have no choice but to fight. The only problem is, this fight is a fight to the death. Can Arra watch her son fight until someone is dead? What if it is her son? Has she made the biggest mistake of her life? She is beginning to believe so.

Hope you enjoy it. It might take me a week or two to come up with a good prologue but watch out for it. Also, if there are any question, please, feel free to write me over fictionpress or e-mail at for reviews and happy hunting

!Shadow!