A/N: I'd like to give a shout out to my two first reviewers, Dizzydesichica57 and A.N.R! Thank you guys so much! Now on to Chapter 2!

Chapter Two

"So?" my best friend, Valerie, asked me the next day at the bakery we both worked at right in the heart of Baltimore Harbor. Our boss had left to run errands, and of course, we took that time to slack off and do nothing. We lounged in the employee's station, drinking Pepsi and eating the cookies I had just pulled from the oven. I shrugged as if to ask her, "So what?" and she sighed. "You're going through cookie after cookie and you don't even pig out that much. What's go on?"

I hesitated for a few seconds. Well, I had a lot going on. Ray had called me at least an extra fifteen times after I hung up on him. Angel still wasn't talking to me, because I didn't take her side at dinner, and I was still wondering about what was going on with the pack. Yes, I finally admitted to myself, I would love to go back to Pennsylvania and see the pack again, but there was always that fear of the dream that held me back. Of course, there was no way I could tell Valerie about my werewolf pack, so I took the easy way out. "It's Ray. I'm still mad at him. I mean, I know I shouldn't be, but it feels like he wants one thing now if you know what I mean."

"He's so not worth it," she said, rolling her eyes. "I told you that before you started dating him. He's such a loser, and besides, sex is so overrated." She scoffed the last part in a faux British accent, which automatically made me laugh.

Valerie had been my best friend since we moved to Maryland. On our very first day of school, I was being picked on because I was so short, and Angel was in another class. Valerie, though she was just as short as I was, ran to my defense and punched one of the girls in the mouth. Unfortunately, she had to sit out of recess for the next two weeks, the worst punishment ever for a second grader, but I sat with her to keep her company. Since that moment, we were nearly inseparable.

From the main part of the store came a tinkle of the bell attached to the door as a potential customer walked in. We both groaned. "You wanna get it or me?" Valerie asked me.

"Ugh, I'll get it." I rose from my comfortable stool and stretched. As I headed towards the store, I put the widest fake smile on my face. "Hi, welcome to Beau's Bakery where every bread, cake, and cookie Is Beau-tiful!"

"Selene?"

My fake smile disappeared as I stared into the caramel colored face of the boy standing in front of me. "Tristen?" As he gave me a small smile, a warm feeling I couldn't explain settled over me. He definitely wasn't the same scrawny boy anymore. Well, maybe just a little, but he had a bit of muscle on him. When we were seven, I was taller than him, but now he shot past me by at least a foot and a half. I'm not sure how long I stood there, just staring at him, but it must have been a while. After a minute of shocked silence, Tristen broke it…by busting out laughing. "You…look…ridiculous…" He snorted between the words.

I looked down at the down at my work uniform which consisting of the blinding colors of the neon green pants, lemon yellow shirt, and hot pink smock. I don't know where Beau got the idea for these clothes from. I really did look ridiculous, but still, he didn't have to say it. I reached over the counter and smacked him. "You haven't seen me in how many years and the first thing you comment on are my clothes?" I pouted.

"And I thought this would be awkward," he smirked, crossing his arms, but then a serious look appeared on his face, all playfulness aside. "Sel, I need to take to your father. Where is he?"

"At work," I replied, trying to figure out exactly why he was here. "He'll be off at four and it's only two o'clock. What's wrong?"

His grey eyes darted around the store, as if he felt something would rise up and suddenly attack him, and he turned back to me. "Can we go somewhere, like to your house or something? Where's Angel?"

"Um, I still have to work until like five and Angel's cheerleading at a football game," I told him. Yes, that was another difference between my sister and I. She had the gracefulness and the rhythm to be the cheerleader, and me, on the other hand…well, when I tried out, I cartwheeled into other auditionees and caused one girl to go to the hospital…yeah…oops.

"Isn't there someone else that can cover for you?" He asked me, almost impatiently.

"Ugh, fine," I sighed, and headed to the employee's lounge. "Um, Val?" She was immediately alert. I only called her Val when I wanted something. "I have to go. Can you cover for me?"

"Why? What's wrong? Did something happen?" And then she was skeptical. "Did Angel jump off the roof again, 'cause she thought she could float like Mary Poppins?"

"We were nine!" I yelled, defending my sister, though conveniently forgetting to mention I was the one who dared her.

"Don't tell me you're going to see Ray," she said, as I hung up my work smock, and hung it up on one of the hooks. "I swear, if you're going to see that asshole, I'm gonna-Hi!" She had followed me around the front of the store, and stopped her threat as she saw Tristen standing there. "Selene, who is he?" she asked me under her breath.

"Um, Tristen, this is my best friend, Valerie. Valerie, this is Tristen. He's from where I used to live. He came up for a visit," I lied clumsily, but Valerie didn't even notice. She watched as Tristen eyed her up and down, grinning, and she responded by wiggling her fingers at him. I raised an eyebrow, watching them flirt, and I nearly shuddered. It just seemed weird to me for some reason. I pushed Tristen out the door and turned to say goodbye to Valerie. "See ya, Val."

As I walked out the door, I clearly saw her mouth, Give him my number. I stuck my tongue out at her, and left the bakery.

I groaned when I stepped outside and the brisk October air hit me, and for another reason: Tristen was nowhere to be seen. "Tristen?" I called, and yelped as I felt myself being yanked into the alley and behind my job. I watched with sheer amazement as he Changed before my eyes. Though it must've been swift to him, it took forever to me because I was so entranced. Dark grey fur covered his being in a sporadic yet neat fashion. As he fell on four legs, his tailbone elongated and a tail formed from it. He's beautiful, I thought to myself, still fascinated.

Come on, Sel, it's your turn, he sounded in my head, and he looked up at me expectantly.

I looked around surreptitiously, making sure no one could see: a.) there was a wolf in the vicinity and b.) I was talking to said wolf in the vicinity. I bent down and put my face near his. "My birthday's not till next week, Tristen, and besides, you know how my dad feels about the wolf thing now."

Though he was in his wolf form, I could still feel a sense of disappointment in the air. Yeah, I know how your dad feels, but I didn't know you'd be so quick to give it up, he snarled.

I was surprised at the tone of his voice, but instead of rising to an argument, I sighed. "Look, just Change back and we'll drive to my house."

Again, he snarled, but out of annoyance and Changed back quickly. "Running would've been so much quicker," he said, almost longingly.

I ignored his words and led him to my BMW. "It may not be your own feet, but we'll get to my house in no time." Turning to him, I grinned, but as I saw the frustrated look on his face, I stopped smiling, and just unlocked the doors. "We should get to my house in ten minutes tops," I told him, dryly.

As we drove out of the harbor, an awkward silence enveloped us, and once again, he was the only one brave enough to break it, only speaking once we reached the driveway of my house. "You're not at all like I thought you'd be," he muttered, quietly.

That hurt. "W-what do you mean?"

"You drive instead of run, which you could still do in your human form. You go to a school full of humans who hunt our kind. You've accepted their ways and forgot ours," Tristen spat, irritated. "And let me guess: You probably have a…a boyfriend or something instead of choosing your mate like a normal were-"

"Don't say it!" I interrupted, and he looked at me in shock, but let me continue. "That's not what I am anymore. I'm a normal human being right now and I enjoy being normal. And by the way, yes, I have a boyfriend and his name is Ray. Besides, as the second daughter of the Alpha, I wouldn't have had much of a choice, would I?" I stared him down until he looked away, and then I added in a quiet voice, "Is that the reason why you and your mother came here?"

Tristen was silent. "If you came to take me back, I won't go," I said, slowly. "I'm happy here…and I have friends…"

"But…I love you…"As he said those words, he brushed my hair down on the side of my head until he reached my cheek, letting his hand linger. Almost as if something was pushing me, I inched closer to him, our lips nearly meeting…until the warning bells went off inside my head, screaming: What about Ray, your BOYFRIEND? I knew I couldn't let this continue, no matter how nice it felt.

I exited the car and leaned against it. "You don't know me anymore, Tristen."

"I know I'm meant for you."

I rolled my eyes as another car rolled into our driveway: my dad. Before my dad even got out of the car, Tristen knelt before him, showing him the respect deserved of all Alphas, even ex ones. My dad looked down at him, a puzzled expression on his face, and then seeing the annoyed look on my face, he knew who it was at once. "Tristen?" Instead of being annoyed like I thought he would be for Tristen to show up just a day after his mother, he smiled. "Look at you, not the little scrawny runt of the past now, are you?" He said, ruffling Tristen's hair, before he stood. "What brings you here just a day after your mother?"

Tristen's eyes took on that nervous look again and he nodded towards the house.

As we entered our house, Tristen wasted no time in saying, "Samuel is dead. He died last night."

My dad bowed his head. Samuel had been a close friend of my father's, and because he was older, was like a father figure to him. "Who has the Elder Council picked as the new Alpha?"

"No one yet, sir, but they want one of your children to be the Alpha," he said, and then anger sparked into his eyes. "There's more. We've heard that Kaine is around the parameter, and he wants Angel as his mate, as she would have been before he was exiled."

"Kaine?" I spoke up. "I thought he was exiled."

"He was, but he created his own pack of rogues."

I looked to my dad, who grew very pale, and he cursed under his breath. "When I had Arcturus killed, I hadn't seen his son as a threat. I acted stupidly." He regained his cool demeanor. "No, my children won't go back. I haven't even trained the girls in the Law or in battle, and Victor ran off seven years ago. I don't even know where he is. Why can't the pack fight against Kaine's?"

"Kaine's pack is much stronger than ours," Tristen told him, still angry at the mention of Kaine. "To go against his pack before we are trained enough would be suicide. If Angel and Selene come back with us, they will be taught in the ways of battle and the Law, and Angel will become Alpha, because she is older. Your family has been the Alpha family for generations. They have always led the pack, and the Council believes your children are the best for the job."

My father cracked a small grin. "Your mother told you to say this, didn't she?"

Tristen smiled slyly back. "Maybe," he shrugged.

Dad rose from the chair in which he had sat in and paced. Tristen and I watched him in silence. "I can't lose my girls like I lost their mother. They're all I have left now…I'm sorry, Tristen, but it's out of the question."

"But…"

"No buts, Tristen, now you're a strong young man. Why doesn't the Elder Council choose you to be the Alpha?"

"Because I agree with the Council. Angel or Selene should run the pack, not me," he said, defiantly. "We need them. I can teach them everything, and I swear to you, no one would touch a hair on their heads."

My father stood and saying nothing, left the room, heading upstairs to his office where he usually went to think. "He's going to say no," I told him, smirking, "so you might as well leave now."

"What's going to happen when you Change?" Tristen blurted, glaring at me with intense brown eyes. "The first Change could happen anytime, you know. It's not a controlled Change. You could be anywhere…school, the mall, your job. You'd expose us all and you'd have to die for it. The cops, scientists, or the International Council of Elders, whichever one comes first…"

There was a moment of complete silence between us as he let that sink in. His words were definitely true. A young werewolf had no control over their first Change, or during the full moon. That was the reason why werewolves began to make communities, so they could Change without worry of being seen by human eyes.

"I'll just stay home all next week," I scoffed, not willing to admit how right he was.

"What about during full moons?"

"I'll stay home too."

"What if you forget?"

"I'll never forget."

"When's the next full moon?"

"October…" My voice trailed off and I sighed. He did have a point.

"Exactly," he grinned, but as he looked into my eyes, his face became grim. "Please, come back with me, Selene. I'll protect you like I'm supposed to. You're my Mate, regardless of what you and your…boyfriend (He spat the word in disgust.) may think. I love you, Selene." He got closer and closer to me, and before I knew it, he was kissing me, and this time no warning bells went off. His kiss was unlike any of Ray's kisses, which were wet and sloppy, but Tristen's were soft and tender. I almost fell as my knees instantly went weak, but he caught me. Finally, he pulled away, and holding my hand, whispered into my ear, "Come back with me, Selene. Please."

"I don't know, Tristen," I said, quietly, "Why don't you stay here with me? There's no danger or anything here. We wouldn't have to worry about Kaine or a pack." I noticed that after his kiss all thoughts of Ray totally fled my mind.

He dropped my hand and stared at me with such heartbreak that it was almost as if I rejected him. "I'd never abandon the pack, and I can't believe you'd ask me to. You really have changed."

Before I could say anything, the door burst open and Angel danced into the room. "We won the game, by the…" Her keys dropped to the floor as her eyes alighted on Tristen and she didn't bother picking them up. "Tristen? What are you doing here? Your mom was just here yesterday. What's going on?"

"Samuel died. The pack needs an Alpha," he said, shortly, and slowly he got up and knelt before her, showing her the respect of an Alpha. "The Elder Council wants you to be Alpha." Angel looked down at him and then to me, asking me silently if this was some kind of joke. I shook my head, slowly. Finally, it registered in her brain, and she smiled widely.

"I acc-"

"Angel, you will not accept!" My father yelled, descending the stairs, looking angrier than I had ever seen him before, a definite change from how he had been when we were seven. "Tristen, you may stay until tomorrow morning, but after that, you will leave, and I don't want to hear from you again! Do I make myself clear, young man?"

Slowly, Tristen stood, and didn't meet my Dad's eyes as he mumbled, "Yes, sir."

"I want to be the Alpha, Dad!"

"You do NOT know what that entitles, Angelique. Making sure your pack doesn't go hungry, making sure everyone is healthy, keeping the Law, leading your pack into battle when you are threatened. There are many things that can go wrong. You can starve, you can be killed in battle, or humans can happen upon the village," Dad said through gritted teeth. "No child of mine will go through that. Not if I have a say."

Angel glared at him and ran upstairs, stomping all the while.

She didn't come down for dinner at all, and neither did Dad. So guess who was left alone at the dinner table? Yeah, me and Tristen…wonderful. We sat at opposite ends of the table, avoiding the eyes of one another. "You felt something when we kissed, didn't you?" Tristen spoke up.

"Maybe," I said, twirling my fork absently.

He opened his mouth, but decided against saying whatever it was. "So, what's so important about life here among the humans?"

"I'm normal. I have a job, a boyfriend-"

"You weren't thinking of that boyfriend when you kissed me…"

I fought the urge to smack him. "You caught me by surprise."

"Right. That one's right up there with, 'I tripped and fell on your lips," he said, sarcastically. "Remember the first time we kissed?"

"We were only five," I couldn't help but laugh, "and Angel dared me."

"You said you'd be my mate."

"Again, we were five,"

He reached a hand across the table, and again, held my own. "If you ever lose this loser human, at least think about becoming my mate?"

I slid my hand out of his. "I'd still want to be normal."

Little did I know that within hours normal would be a distant memory.

That night, I had the dream again. No matter how hard I tried to stop the Change in my dream, I couldn't. Again, I chased the humanoid figure until I pounced As I gnawed on the figure, I was finally able to take a closer look at the person. When I realized who it was, I reeled back in complete horror. The figure I had killed was my sister.

I woke up immediately, coated in sweat and panting. I looked over at my clock. It was four in the morning. Trying not to think of the horrific image still haunting me, I got out of bed and looked out of the window...and noticed our BMW wasn't in the driveway. At first, I thought nothing of it really. Angel constantly snuck out to meet some boy and wouldn't get back until nearly six in the morning.

Thirty seconds later something clicked. I flew out of my room and into Angel's. Her room was messy as always, but on top of her wardrobe was a piece of paper, neatly folded with my name on it. I snatched it up and read it quickly.

Selene,

Going to be Alpha. Have fun being boring. BTW, Tristen's hotter than Ray. Go out with him.

-Angel.

She was going to be in so much trouble when Dad found out.