2. The storm before the calm.

'Mate.'

Emris' wolf alerted the second his mother walked into the living room with a girl who's beauty put the moon and stars to shame.

He watched her movements, the way her golden eyes darted across the room in awe of her surroundings.

'Mate..' Titan reminded in a low and excited growl, a hint of desperation in his voice.

*But wait. *

Emris paused. * Her smell..*

Her eyes met his, and he clenched his jaw.

*She's a Werewolf* . He growled internally.

"Who is she?"

Emris' deep voice provoked snarls from Lynn; the dark haired woman and Vincent; the blonde man standing next to him, and their eyes turned gold.

His question was all they needed to go into attack mode.

Faye flinched and her mind raced with a thousand thoughts.

*Are they going to kill me? Was it a bad idea to follow this woman in the end? *

She felt her hope for a different life start to dwindle as the harsh snarls from Lynn and Vincent filled the air.

"Enough." Nick's voice came out low, but loud enough to silence his little sister and his brother-in-law.

He walked towards his wife, then glimpsed at a terrified Faye.

"What is this?" He questioned, calm and gentle- more than willing to hear her side of the story.

"I'd prefer my question be answered first." Emris demanded, taking a few steps forward.

Gwen held her arm out; shielding Faye from Emris' looming build and steely gaze.

Nick stood between his wife and his son, covering Gwen and Faye from Emris' sight as he met Emris' steely gaze with a glare.

"Step back." Nick ordered.

They knew Emris well enough to prevent him from getting any closer.

The room's eerie silence was interrupted by Emris' low and amused scoff.

"She's a Werewolf, Dad." He pointed out with a slight grin. "How has she been here two minutes and we haven't ripped her head off?"

Faye's heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach as those words left his grinning lips.

"I'm not saying this as your father, Emris." Nick started. "But as your Alpha."

His eyes turned from blue to gold, and his short hair spiked up; pulling with it grey fur that grew on his neck and down to his back.

"Step.back." He ordered in a deep growl.

Emris' fists tightened, then he let out a scoff and retreated to a Sofa.

Gwen let out a low sigh of relief, then shit Nick a grateful nod when he looked back at her.

"Now listen." Nick announced, shifting back to normal.

"We'll listen to our Luna and avoid unnecessary actions. Are we clear on that?"

Lynn let out an unamused scoff and plopped down on the two person Couch next to Vincent.

They all took their seats, and all eyes followed Faye as Gwen led her to the farthest seat facing them.

Gwen scanned the displeased looks on their faces, then let out a sigh.

"I want to adopt Faye."

"WHAT?!" Lynn snapped, sitting up on her chair.

"Gwen, you * can't* be serious!" Vincent added, then turned to Nick who simply sat still without a word or an expression on his face.

Emris -like his father- sat still with a deadpan expression. He had his eyes on Faye, while she occasionally stole glances at him.

Then Emris leaned forward, leaning his elbows on his legs.

"Faye, is it?"

The room went silent, and Faye stiffened. Faye could tell that Emris was baiting her on. So, she looked at Gwen- clueless on what to do.

Gwen shot her a small and understanding smile, then turned to Emris.

"Yes." She answered. "Her name is-"

"What pack sent you?" Emris cut in, charging towards his point.

Faye locked eyes with him, biting down on her tongue and looking to Gwen once again.

"My mother's not your servant, dog." Emris growled. "Speak!"

His bark sent a shiver down Faye's spine, echoing in her mind like a chime. She hated loud sounds- especially from people.

It always seemed to take her back into that dark room filled with her blood, her screams for mercy and the unbearable torture from her so called Family.

"EMRIS!" Gwen yelled. "You're out of line!"

"Am I?! Emris snapped. "You're the one out of line here, Mom! You brought a Werewolf into our territory- into our home!"

Faye covered her ears, her memories coming in fragments, building up an ache in her head as she watched the man she felt strangely connected to fume in his loathing of her.

Emris tore his gaze away from Gwen and settled it on Faye once more, her silence only fueling his anger.

"I SAID SPEAK!" He roared, shooting to his feet.

*"TRANSFORM!"*

Emris' thunderous voice triggered a memory from her torture. And with the voice came the feeling of razor sharp claws slashing at her back, and her screams filling the air as her silver hair turned red from her own blood.

Her vision doubled, and the sounds around her muffled.

Then, everyone went silent once again. All of their attention settled on Faye- and their eyes widened.

Out of Faye's eyes, blood flowed like waterfalls, dropping on her white dress already stained from dust and weeks of having the same thing on.

Suddenly, it dawned on them that her beauty and identity had completely distracted them from the state that she was in.

She looked like she would break at any moment.

"Please.." Faye whispered, "It hurts."