Chapter 1

A soft wind blew through the trees, sending leaves dancing from the breeze. Dappled sunlight shone through the tree tops, giving a little light to the otherwise dark undergrowth. I smelt him before I saw him.

The Alpha.

He smelt strong, his blood hummed and burned with such strength that it had me feeling a little nervous. Would this Alpha be kind? Was he going to like me and the rest of my group?

He wandered through the trees, his eyes looking here and there as he stepped carefully, making sure he didn't disturb anything around him. He looked peaceful, almost too peaceful. It put my beast on edge.

We hated meeting new people. It was always nerve-wracking for us. We thought too much, we got overwhelmed and we always panicked whenever we had to speak.

"This guy doesn't look half bad. I think I could take him," Tyler whispered from next to me. I turned my head to him, cocking an eyebrow. Tyler winked playfully and made me roll my eyes.

"You're not an Alpha, Tyler. I don't think you'd get very far," I told him with a cheeky smirk. I heard chuckles from behind me and smiled even more as Tyler's cheeks flushed crimson red.

He was a cocky male. But he was a good wolf. He trained hard back home and when he heard about this supposed transfer program, he shot his hand up, volunteering to be one of the few to come to the Takiani pack.

"Hi there, new comers. Welcome to Takiani," the Alpha wolf that was in the trees just moments ago said. He greeted us with a warm and welcoming smile, gesturing for us to follow him. I held my breath as I stepped over the border and into the pack.

I felt myself lose all ties that I had with people back home. I felt their voices slip out my mind and away into nothing. I felt nothing the further I walked into this new pack.

I was nervous, I'll admit that. Being sent out my pack to another was incredibly difficult to comprehend. I remembered the few sleepless nights that I had days prior to this moment. I remembered how scared I felt and how angry I was that my father was sending me away for practically no reason.

Well, it wasn't for no reason. But a reason that could have been dealt with in a matter of moments.

"I'm Henry... Henry Benson. I'm sure you all already knew that, though," Henry introduced himself. I nodded slowly, despite the fact that I truly didn't know his name before he told me. 

My father hadn't given me much information. He told me I was being transferred to Takiani. He said it was to try to help me learn to socialise with other wolves. But I knew why he sent me away.

It was the incident that made him do it.

"So, since you're only supposed to be here for a month, you mightn't be too involved in most of our pack business. You'll train, do whatever you please and at the end of the time period, if those of you really want, you'll be allowed to transition into the pack, permanently," Henry explained to us. I shot Tyler a look, and found that he was already giving me the same one.

Would people in this group really think about transitioning into a new pack? With different people and a new Alpha? That sounded insane.

The only pack I had ever known was Terialta. I never thought that I'd be sent away from my home. I had never even imagined leaving. It was home, a safe place.

Of course, until the incident.

"Now, of course there will be a few others who will be curious about who you are. But just remain calm. No one here will lay harm to you... unless you give them a good reason to," Henry chuckled deeply, a few other small laughs followed. I wasn't laughing.

It wasn't funny. I feared what other wolves would think of me. Would they hate me? Would they like me? Who would be my friend?

"Will we be staying in cabins or in the pack house, Alpha?" One wolf questioned. He addressed Henry respectfully and it made my blood hum. I didn't like it. I wasn't used to having to do this with other Alphas.

Hell, I was the daughter of the Alpha of Terialta. People were respectful to me.

"We had to split most of you up. Some will be in cabins, sharing with other mentor wolves, and some will be in the pack house. Thankfully, there aren't a lot of you," Henry replied as we walked.

He lead us through the forest. Henry walked easily, following an invisible trail which seemed to enable him to walk without having to jump over bushes and other plants. Whereas, most people from our group had struggled to walk in a straight line without running into some sort of plant.

The closer we got to the pack, the more I could smell. I could smell the other wolves, some strong and others lesser. I could smell food, I could smell wood being burnt and even the strawberry shampoo someone was using in the shower.

My nose was overwhelmed. So many scents were hitting my nose all at once that it made me a little lightheaded. Henry seemed to notice my discomfort and he turned to look at me.

He gave me a look that somehow told me not to be worried. It calmed me, but only a little. My beast was on edge. We wanted to run and explore every inch of this new pack, and we wanted to meet everyone and make new friends.

But we also wanted to stand their with our tail between our legs.

We reached a clearing in the trees and shrub and I gaped in awe. Takiani was beautiful.

Most of the land was flat, covered in soft soil and healthy green grass. There were patches of flowers that surrounded the area, but nothing that interfered with the main part of the pack.

I focused on the hills and the cliffs that were covered numerous well-built cabins. They were huge, much larger than the ones that were back home. They stood tall on the cliffs and I felt bad for whoever had to climb the cliffs to get to the top.

Poor suckers.

Henry lead us out into the middle of the pack where we met with a group of officials. He introduced us to the Master of Arms, a tall and muscular man named Alfie. He shook my hand with a hint of fascination in his eyes. His grip was strong and I matched his strength with my own. I think I surprised him.

Henry then introduced us to Cameron, the main doctor of the pack. She was a tall, blonde female. She was littered in scars but she wore them with pride and her beast swirled when we shook hands.

Next, Henry introduced us to his son. His name was Anthony, and I didn't like him. He was cocky, too cocky. He was an attractive male, but he lowered in cuteness when he took my hand and kissed my knuckles.

I pulled my hand away and showed him my teeth, the sharp fangs that made him cower back. He snuck glances at my bare neck whilst Henry spoke.

I knew I would be stared at when I found out I was coming here. An unmated Alpha female wasn't common, and everyone wanted their teeth on a neck nowadays. My neck was still bare and I hated the way I was being looked at.

"Miss Grey, come with me. It's time for you to meet your roommate," Henry said, snapping me out my thoughts. I turned to him, adjusting my satchel.

I followed Henry to a smaller looking cabin towards the back of the pack. It wasn't secluded and shut off from the others, but it wasn't as open. Although, the cabin looked like it was in much better condition compared to the other ones.

Henry knocked in the door, waited a moment and then pushed the door open. He stepped inside and I followed after him. Henry shut the door behind me and then lead me to the kitchen, which smelt delicious.

"Henry, so good to see you," a voice greeted. When I looked up, a pair of dark brown eyes met mine. A man stood in the kitchen, wearing an apron with a print of a man with a stunningly good six pack on the front. I chuckled a little at it.

It was funny.

I took a sniff at the air around me. I realised that this man wasn't a werewolf. He was a vampire. Most werewolf packs have at least one vampire in the pack, an agreement created by the vampires and werewolves to keep piece between the two species.