Elizabeth felt his lips on hers again, and for the third time, her mind jolted. It was like it was trying to remind her of something. A feeling, a sense she just couldn't escape.The first time she'd felt it was the first time he'd kissed her. Then again the first morning she woke up alone, after sleeping in the same bed as him. And now. As she felt his lips against hers, she felt her mind and soul warring within her. Trying to get her to remember.But remember what? Who was James to her? Why had she been dreaming of him since before she'd met him? Why had he felt so familiar to her?James pressed against her, and Elizabeth felt the tree trunk against her back, as James' torso pressed against her chest, trapping her between himself and the tree. He wrapped his arms around her entirely, pulling her as close against him as he could.Elizabeth felt his desperation and his need as he clung to her. And her first instinct was to respond. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him

The Sycamore Pack was slowly but surely recoveringThe herd animals had slowly come out of wherever they'd hidden away. And it had been challenging for the wolves not to hunt them, but they had restrained. They had become expert fisherman in the past month, so they had no need to hunt, other than instinct.The houses were almost completely done, and the Sycamore Pack was well on their way to recovery.And by the time Elizabeth realized it, they've been in the Sycamore pack for over a full moon.And just as they were readying to leave, the meaning of Selene's month-long moon sleep, presented itself to them."Alpha, Healer," Ayla greeted, coming up to them. "My Alpha has requested both of your presence in his Hall at once. It is a matter of urgency."James nodded, "Will you make sure Kenneth is there?"In the month that they have been here, a mate bond had blossomed between Kenneth and Ayla. Everyone involved knew what that meant for one of the two, and what it meant for one of th

Elizabeth had stayed curled up against him for most of the drive, and they'd been speaking, some.James had told her that he would be in meeting after meeting today, but Elizabeth wouldn't exactly be free herself. There were about fifty packs that would be present for the meeting. A representative sent from each pack; some were Alpha's, and some were Betas. No one ever sent their third in common. But there would be healers present, too.Even if they had been in the Moirai pack when the news came, James would have brought Elizabeth with him to the Council.Elizabeth had been to a Council meeting before, having the last part of her healer training here. But she hadn't been part of a pack, then, only under tutelage of a Healer. There were some things that were exclusive to Packs, and even more so to allied wolves.James told her the names of the allied packs, and some distinguishing features so that she would be able to tell them apart. It wasn't a perfect distinguishing, since differ

The next morning was more rounds of meetings, both Alpha meetings for James and Healer meetings for Elizabeth.But that wasn't strictly everything they had to do. There were also more wolves than healers and Alphas present. Most of the Alphas, unlike James, had come with a guard, some even with an entourage.And Elizabeth moved among them, at mealtimes, and in their free moments, where wolves simply lounged around together, talking.Elizabeth had been in lectures all morning, and she had been looking forward to simply lounging around. Decadent delicacies weighed heavily on the dining tables, and more than once Elizabeth had wondered who sprung for all of this.She sat around a table with a few of the wolves. The Lunas ordinarily kept together, but they seemed to keep company with the healers often enough. Elizabeth knew that was standard, and neither of the two groups were being snobbish or exclusive.The Healers and the Lunas were the most responsible for the safety of the pack,

Elizabeth woke up in her own bed in her cottage. And for a moment, her mind was empty, blank entirely. And she was sure it's simply another morning waking up at home.But then the past few years flood back to her all at once, and she remembers. She'd been attacked. Wolves had taken over her territory. How had she gotten back here?Elizabeth pushed herself up in bed, her head pounding as she did so. She turned to her nightstand, hoping to find water.Instead, she found James resting his head on her bed.She frowned for a second, not understanding. And then remembered. The howl through the forest as she fell to the ground, the wolves circling above her.James. She had never heard him like that before. He must have been in wolf form.It was easy to guess what had happened to the five wolves. James was an Alpha. They would either be dead, or long gone by now. Either way, Elizabeth would never see them ever again.She placed a hand on James head, carding her hand through his hair.S