After deciding on their terms, Victoria stated she wanted to sit at the lake longer. Baekhyun stayed with her. It was silent between them as they stared out at the murky water of the lake. Although he could hear her thoughts, she didn’t feel uncomfortable or like he was intruding. She was still angry with him, and wasn’t sure if she trusted him, but she had to at least give him a fair chance to try. Victoria was sure she was giving him a fair chance before, but if he wanted a chance, she owed it to him. He had saved her life at least thrice now, the least she could do was give him a chance.

But this was the last chance, and they both knew it. If it didn’t work out from here, one would reject the other and they would have to move on with their near immortal lives. A small part of that scared her. She wasn’t a natural born wolf, so if she was rejected by him she would truly be alone. No family, no friends, part of her knew she gave him this chance because she didn’t know what to do without him. He was her only guide through this, and he was missing all of the major points as it was.

Are you ready to go? His voice entered her head again, and she jumped and growled at him. He laughed at her. Victoria enjoyed his laugh, she almost missed it. It was a common thing while they were in school, but now she only heard it in her head. She found herself wondering if his wolf form made him happier than being a human. Sometimes, He answered. Sometimes it’s just easier. Ironically, it’s easier to talk to you like this, when you can’t read my face.

Victoria stood and shook out her fur, which she enjoyed doing. It made her feel fluffy. I can’t ever read it anyway She replied as she turned and began walking back towards the pack. I don’t like that you can read my mind, but I can’t read yours.

Baekhyun chuckled again as he followed her. He nudged her with his nose. I’ll teach you how, I promise. But you’ve got to shift back first.

How do I do that? Victoria lifted her paw up and shook it, but it did not become her hand. Baekhyun walked around and began sniffing the trees.

Have to find clothes first He explained. Sniff around the base of trees until you smell something that smells like us. Victoria began doing as she was told, sniffing around the trees and looking for holes in the base of then. I should have known you were going to shift soon He continued. You shouldn’t have been able to hit me that hard.

Victoria giggled as she thought back to his broken nose. Maybe I was just really mad. He laughed with her, but denied her case. Victoria caught the scent of something and perked up. Oh! Over there!

Jogging through the trees, she heard Baekhyun prancing up behind her. No, Vic, that’s Andrew He said. He stepped in front of her, and she stopped as a large brown wolf stepped out of the trees and looked them over.

She watched as Baekhyun and, apparently Andrew, stared at each other for a moment. Staring hard at Andrew, she thought as hard as she could. Hi, Andrew! She shouted.

The large wolf turned his head towards her and nodded once. Hah, hi, Victoria. How was your first shift?

She continued to focus really hard, but she could feel the link fading. She turned back to Baekhyun, annoyed. Tell him I said that you . Baekhyun looked from her to Andrew again then back to her.

He said not to worry. You’ll get better at mindlinking with time. It’s easiest between mates since we are already connected. Baekhyun turned and spoke to his brother a minute more before Andrew nodded at Victoria again and sprinted off into the woods. He suggested practicing on mom or Chanyeol since you know them better. Normally, a wolf can naturally link to their family, but turned wolves usually don’t have too hard of a time connected to their mates family. He reached over and her face again, much to her distaste. Baekhyun chuckled again. Come on, Andrew told me where some clothes are.

Why are you me? She asked as she followed him through the trees. Baekhyun glanced over his shoulder at her, and she heard his laughing in her head.

Does it bother you? When Victoria didn’t answer, he explained. Well it’s mostly just fun, but I’m also trying to get my scent on you. You keep pushing me away though.

If she could roll her eyes, she would. Why do you want your scent on me?

Keeps away rogues Baekhyun stopped next to a tree and sniffed around it. Come here and smell this. Victoria trotted over to him and sniffed down by the dirt. She caught a scent that was slightly familiar. It reminded her of the log cabin. Whenever you want to shift back, you should try and find this first. It’s got spare clothes so you don’t have to go back to the pack . Also, strip before you shift and hide your clothes in the base of trees.

Victoria sat on the ground next to him and listened carefully as he spoke, trying to retain the information. Baekhyun had apparently decided he would start teaching right away. She wasn’t sure if there was that much to cover, or he just found a good place to start. With his paw, he dug under the tree and pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

Alright this is the hard part. Just stay still, alright? He didn't wait for her to respond before he began rubbing his body against hers. Victoria stayed quiet as her wolf yipped in her chest, but if she could, she knew she would be blushing. Once he was finished, he her face again, and she pulled away growling at him. Oh hush. Before her eye, his bones broke away and his body snapped into place. The cherry hair receded back into his skin until he was standing in front of her, but human.

“Easy, see?” he reached out and ran a hand through her fur, holding her face in his hands. “Let’s find you some clothes and then I’ll teach you how.” Reaching down, he grabbed the shorts and pulled then on with the t-shirt. “Come on,” he waved to her and began walking into the woods again.

Can you still hear me? Victoria followed him, and when he didn’t answer, he nudged his back with her nose.

Baekhyun stopped and faced her again, his hand immediately going to her head. “Well of course I can,” he smiled at her. “But I’m looking for something so shush.”

You need silence to smell? She , and he glared at her.

“Well you do it if you’re so smart. I don’t really care if you’re or not,” he crossed his arms over his chest.

Victoria sat on the ground and barked at him. Yeah out here you don’t. You’d throw a fit if I walked into the pack like that.

He scoffed at her. “You think so?”

Well if you don’t, let’s just go find that gamma and shift back in front of him. Baekhyun bit the inside of his cheek and narrowed his eyes at her. Victoria nudged him with her nose again. Admit it would bother you and I’ll drop it.

Rolling his eyes, he turned away and went back to looking for clothes. “Let’s just find some clothes first. We can decide who gets more jealous first.”

I don’t get jealous Victoria stuck her nose in the air and trotted along behind him, sniffing occsionally for the smell of clothes. That’s just you.

“Oh, sure,” he laughed. “You sure don’t get jealous. You threw just through a huge fit.”

Victoria growled at him and pushed on his back with her head. I am not jealous. I’m territorial. He laughed at her again, and she growled and pushed him over. He rolled over and glared at her, but Victoria had already climbed over him. I don’t like people touching what’s mine.

Reaching up, Baekhyun pushed her snout away and pushed himself up. “Yeah, okay,” he grinned. Sitting back, Victoria his face making him laugh more. “Alright, do you want to be a wolf forever now? Let’s change you back.”

Only if you agree not to see Jessica anymore. Victoria stared at him as Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

“I have no interest in her, Victoria. I don’t want her,” he stated, wiping the slobber from his face. Victoria sat still, and realizing she wasn’t going to budge on the matter, he shook her head. “She lives at the pack, Victoria. I can’t just not see her anymore, but you’ll be with me all the time now. So when we do, I’ll ignore her. I promise.”

Satisfied with that answer, Victoria stood up again and began sniffing for the clothes again. Baekhyun rolled his eyes and got up to help her search. Walking past her, Baekhyun ran his hand across her fur as he spotted one of the trees. “Come here,” he called to her, but she was already following behind him. Crouching down, he pulled the sun dress out from under the tree.

Victoria growled at it, and he shook his head. “Just till we get home, I promise. Sit down.” she did as she was told the same time as him. With the sun dress in his lap, he began instructing her. “You remember when you took control from your wolf before? It will be kind of like that. This time, I want you to picture who you look in your head and try to force that image onto your body.”

How do I force it out? She asked, and he shook his head.

“Don’t talk, just try.” Baekhyun leaned his elbows against his knees as he watched her. Victoria did as she was told, closing her eyes and picturing how she looked in her head. She knew what she looked like, that was easy, but forcing the image on her body? She didn’t understand what he wanted from her. So instead she started smaller, she pictured her hands changing from paws into hands, claws to nails. Slowly she pictured her arms changing, then her torso and head. When she reached her head, she felt her wrists snap. It hurt, but not like before.

Victoria continued visualizing her body changing step by step, fighting through the pain and keeping the image. The last thing she wanted was to turn into some hybrid. “You’re doing great,” Baekhyun encouraged her. He watched as her body began to slowly shift back. Her paws slowly broke and morphed into hands and feet as her snout receded back into the face her was custom to seeing, though to was twisted in pain. It didn’t take her long to complete the transformation, even though it was a slow process at first.

Once it was finished, she collapsed onto the dirt and Baekhyun was quick to scoop her up into his arms. Her limbs still hurt from breaking and reshaping, but it wasn’t as bad as the first time. Baekhyun hid her against his chest while he tried to pull the sun dress over her without hurting the new exposed bullet wound. She was coming too as Baekhyun pulled the dress over her head and began pulling her arms through. Victoria felt light headed, but lifted her arms to help him as much as she could.

He smiled down at her. “You did really well,” he said. “It’ll get easier the more you do it, and it will hurt less.” Victoria nodded slowly while he pulled the dress down over her rear and lifted her into his arms as he stood. The two shifts had taken all of her energy from her, so she didn’t bother fighting him. He held her bridal style, careful to make sure her dress did not ride up. The last thing he wanted was to be yelled at if she found found.

His wolf pranced around in his chest, happy their mates shift wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but mostly happy it was over. After Victoria stormed off, Baekhyun began to think his mother was right. If he wanted her, which he very much did, he would have to help her adjust. He had always wanted something simple with his mate, but looking down at the girl falling asleep in his arms, he knew he didn’t want anyone else. Baekhyun held her close to his chest and her head rolled to lean against him. His wolf yipped when he looked down at her. Although Baekhyun wasn’t ready to say he loved her, his wolf surely was. He couldn’t help himself in his wolf form. His wolf was so happy to see his mate fo the first time, all he could do was her face and nuzzle against her. Baekhyun tried to refrain from doing it too often, but his wolf insisted, and was thrilled when she returned his .

As he walked into the village, Baekhyun made a beeline to his house. Although he wouldn’t admit it, chasing her down and remaining in his wolf form that long still wore him out. He could easily go plenty more, but looking down at his sleepy mate made him want to curl up in a warm bed as well. People moved out of his way as he passed, nodding to him or grinning at the sight. It wasn’t uncommon for mates to disappear for hours at a time and come back with the male carry her or at the very least in different clothes. Mates often went for runs together, and the males tended to have more stamina than the females who would tire quickly.

Baekhyun carefully kicked the bottom of the door to his house and hoped someone was home to answer it. It was barely noon, so he assumed at least his mother would be if no one else. Sure enough, his mother opened the door, and upon seeing them opened the door widely. “What happened?” she whispered watching to see if Victoria stirred.

She didn’t. “She shifted,” Baekhyun whispered back, carrying the girl through the living room and into the kitchen. Chanyeol sat at the counter, chopping watch looked like bell peppers from Baekhyun’s quick glance. “She’s fine, just tired. Hey,” Baekhyun nudged his brother with his shoulder and opened his mouth. Chanyeol rolled his eyes, but stuck a piece of a red pepper into his mouth. Baekhyun nodded in thanks and continued his journey to his room.

He held her closer as he climbed up the narrow steps, careful not to hit her head on the wall. When he reached his room, he tried to open the doorknob but it clearly wasn’t happening. Chan, come get this door for me he mindlinked his brother and took a step back from the door. He heard his brother hop up the steps. Chanyeol made it to the top and approached his brother, laughing softly and shaking his head as he opened the door. “Thanks,” Baekhyun whispered as he stepped inside and brought her over to the bed.

Chanyeol leaned against the doorframe and watched as his brother lay his mate in bed. Baekhyun pulled the blanket over her before he turned back and left the room with Chanyeol following behind him. The two headed back down to the kitchen where Chanyeol went back to helping their mother cook. Julia raised her eyebrow at her son as he took a water from the fridge.

“So she’s shifted?” she smiled as she dried the glass in her hands. Baekhyun slid into the seat next to his brother and nodded. “How did that go?”

“Better than I expected,” he admitted. Setting down the water, he smiled and shook his head. “I didn’t get to her until after. Thought she was a rogue at first, but she mindlinked with me to yell at me.”

Laughing softly, Chanyeol continued to cut up the bell peppers. “Yeah, I bet she did yell at you. I told you Jessica would be a problem.”

“I promised Victoria I wouldn’t see her anymore,” Baekhyun shrugged. “We made a deal. I’ve got three months to convince her to stay with me. If I can’t, I’ll tell her about rejection.”

Julia frowned as she took a seat with her sons. “Are you sure about that? If she knows about it-”

“You said it yourself. It’s not fair for her to be in the dark,” he cut her off. Baekhyun avoid their sorrowful stares and took interest in his water bottle on the counter. He began picking at the label as he spoke. “I can’t force her to stay forever. She would just be miserable.”

The three were silent a moment, each thinking about the out come if she chose to leave. His mother spoke first. “Then how will you convince her to stay?”

Baekhyun shrugged his shoulders. “I told her I would teach her about this life, all of it. It’s all I could think of on the spot. Maybe she will just like me anyway.”

Victoria’s rest was short lived. The fielded nightmare haunted her with the image of Baekhyun’s wolf ripping her apart. She tossed and turned for an hour or so before she had enough. A nightmare filled sleep was hardly a restful one. Rubbing her face with her hands, she sat up groggy in the bed, kicking away the blanket that clung to the sweat coating her skin. Hugging her arms around herself, her fingers brushed against the still fresh bullet wound. It was still sore, incredibly sore, but the bleeding had stopped, and she could see it scabbed over.  She lightly the wound a moment. The doctor hadn’t stitched it closed, but the wound was pulling itself together all the same.

Swinging her legs out of the bed, Victoria looked over the sun dress she still wore. On the dresser, Julia had set out Victoria’s clean underwear. Her legs shook slightly as she approached the dresser, and she wrote it off as aftermath of her shift. Pulling open one of Baekhyun’s drawers, she took out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to borrow. Normally she would have felt uncomfortable just taking someone’s clothes without asking, but she did not feel like searching for him in order to do so. With a fresh bundle of clothes, she headed towards the bathroom for a shower.

Dirt had clumped together beneath her fingernails and in her hair. It began to mix with her sweat and left an overall filthy feeling on her skin. Victoria hated feeling dirty; she hated sweat and grime. Reese used to , saying she was addicted to showering. She didn’t disagree. Without waiting for the water to heat up, Victoria slipped into the shower and began scrubbing at her skin. She borrowed the fruity shampoo she could only assume was Amber’s and scrubbed her head. After being so sore the last few days, it felt nice to scrub her body down the way she was used to. She scrubbed until her skin turned pink, until she felt nearly human again, and then scrubbed some more.

Once her skin felt raw, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping her hair up in one towel and her body in another. Approaching the counter, she dug around for the toothbrush she had claimed her own. Her cycle of scrubbing continued on her teeth. Finally feeling clean, Victoria dried herself and pulled Baekhyun’s clothes over her body. The salty scent hit her in a wave and her wolf purred in her chest. Just like her, her wolf was tired. The shift took a lot out of her, but Victoria still felt her heavy in her chest.

Feeling refreshed, although tired, Victoria dropped the towels and dress in the bin and left the bathroom. She combed her fingers through her hair as she headed down to the kitchen. Guilt rose in her chest when she saw Julia and Chanyeol cooking at the counter. Baekhyun was there too, but she was still somewhat angry with him. Julia smiled at her as she entered the kitchen.

“Someone looks better,” she grinned, and Victoria couldn’t help but smiled back at her.

“Yeah,” she slid into the seat next to Chanyeol. “I wanted to apologize for yelling at you this morning. I didn’t-”

“It’s fine, Vic,” Chanyeol nudged her with his shoulder. “Amber does it like once a week. We’re used to it.”

Victoria squirmed in her seat. “Okay, but still-”

“Don’t worry about it, dear,” Julia turned to her with a ot in her hands and held it out to Chanyeol. The boy tossed some of the meat her was cutting into the pot. “We know you were just mad at Baekhyun, and you had every right to be.”

“I’m right here,” Baekhyun frowned next to her.

Julia turned back to the stove. “I know, pup.”

Smiling awkwardly, she was glad they were upset with her. Victoria peeked around Julia to catch the time on the stove. It was barely two o’clock, and she was ready to jump right back into bed.

Baekhyun set down the measuring cup and cream he had and turned back to her. “You want to go out for some clothes?” Walking around the counter, he stood behind her and pulled her hair back from her shoulders. The t-shirt was loose on her, and his mark peeked out from the collar. “I’m more than happy with you wearing mine, but there’s a few things I wanted to get you too.”

As much as she enjoyed him playing with her hair, she pulled it away from him. She was not letting him off that easy. “Do you know where my wallet is?” she asked. “I had it that first day in the woods.”

He nodded and began heading up to the stairs. She followed him, her hands now holding her long hair over the mark. Victoria knew he liked it on display and wanted to hide it to spite him. “It’s with your ipod in our room.” Following him into the room, he went to the night stand and pulled open the drawer. Pulling out her wallet and ipod he untangled the headphones. “I think it’s dead though,” he said. He handed it to her, and Victoria frowned down at it.

The poor thing had been practically bent in half. The glass as nearly all gone, and the motherboard was broken and poking out the sides. “Yeah, I would think so.” She tossed it into his trash can without much of a care. The wallet was the important part. She had never been one for the giant girly wallets, no matter how many her mother bought her. She kept anything important in an old one of Reese’s. She had always complimented it, so when he bought a new one he gave it to her. It was made of old and worn black leather with his initials stitched in the bottom corner. RCR, Richard Crowley Roldevitch. Victoria assumed his middle name as fake.

Opening up the old thing, she pulled out the black credit card her parents had given her. She assumed they canceled it, but it was always worth a shot. Even if it was cancelled, Victoria pulled out the cash remaining in it. Counting it out quickly as Baekhyun watched her, she had seventy-six dollars on her. Victoria grinned at him and stuffed the wallet into her pocket. “Where are we going?”

“There’s a strip mall about an hour out of town,” he told her. Turning away, he grabbed a few things from his night stand and put them in his pockets. “Put your shoes on and we’ll go.”

After both of them were ready, they headed out of the house. Baekhyun led her back into the pack house and held the door open for her. A frown mad it’s way to her face at being back here again. Gently holding her by the arm, Baekhyun led her through the house. A familiar bob of blonde hair bounce up to them, but when she went to grab onto him, he stepped away.

“Where’s Kris?” he asked her.

Jessica frowned at him, her eyes darting over him, then to Victoria who glared at her. Jessica crossed her arms over her chest and pouted at Baekhyun. “I’ll tell you after-”

“No thanks,” he cut her off and marched past her. The girl glared at him, and Victoria eyed him over, but said nothing.

Part of her felt like he was just putting on a front, but chose to ignore it. He avoided her, just like she asked him to. She couldn’t argue with that. “Why are we looking for Kris?”

“They keep all the keys,” he explained and led them up the stairs. “Well they don’t personally, but I need permission to take a car. We don’t have that many, and we have to pay the humans for gas. We walk or run most places.”

He led her to a set of double doors at the end of a long hallway. He knocked on them once before someone called from the inside. “Come in.” Baekhyun pushed open one of the doors and pulled Victoria in with them. Kris and Tanner sat behind a large desk with paperwork spread across it and a computer sitting on the right side. Two desks sat on either side facing the large one and Andrew and Carmen sat at each of them, Andrew to the right of the large one.

Tanner smiled at them as they entered, while Kris looked bored. “What?” Tanner nudged him with his elbow, and Kris cleared his throat. “I mean, what can I help you with?”

Baekhyun grinned at him and approached the desk, pulling Victoria along behind him. Andrew smiled and nodded at them, and Carmen did the same. Victoria did a double take at Carmen. His lip was scabbed over and a large bruise took over his right cheek. She wanted to ask what happened, but recalled the night before. Baekhyun happened. Looking over the gamma now, she almost didn’t believe it. Carmen was an easy four inches taller than Baekhyun and a good deal wider. He had muscles she couldn’t even imagine on Baekhyun. Can you stop staring at other men please?

Her eyes shot to Baekhyun who looked down at her, clearly annoyed. Glancing back to Carmen, he flexed his chest and winked at her. She turned away quickly. “Can I borrow a car? Victoria needs some clothes, and her parents aren’t letting her in the house.”

“Clearly,” Kris nodded to her arm, and Victoria hugged her shoulder. She had thought Kris was intimidating in school, but it was completely different know that she knew who he was. He admitted an aura from him that made Victoria want to hide from him. She settled for standing behind Baekhyun and only peeking over his shoulder. Without realizing it, she had grabbed his hand for comfort, and he squeezed it gently. Kris opened a drawer in the desk and tossed a set of keys to Baekhyun. He stood up and walked around the desk as he pulled something from his back pocket and handed it to Baekhyun. “Dad will cover it,” he said, “She’s part of the pact now, after all. Make sure she gets a phone, and if you get food out there bring me some too.”

Baekhyun mock saluted him and clicked his tongue. “Aye aye, captain,” he slipped the card into his back pocket with the keys. Kris returned to his desk, and Victoria turned to leave. Baekhyun spoke up again. “Oh, and can you tell Jessica to off? She’s pissing Victoria off.”

Kris glanced at Victoria, who still hid behind Baekhyun and, to her surprise, nodded. “Yeah, I’ll tell her to leave you two alone.” Baekhyun thanked him again and turned to leave. VIctoria happily pulled him along, the power seeming from Kris making her uncomfortable. “Hey, Victoria,” Kris called. Victoria stopped dead and faced him, her nerves rising higher than before. “If she keeps bothering you, just tell me. She has a tendency to get aggressive and feels entitled. I’m giving you permission to fight back.”

“Th-thank you,” she mumbled.

Kris nodded to them again, and Baekhyun led them from the room with a grin. “Why so nervous?” he laughed at her. Victoria clung to his arm and looked down at her shoes. She didn’t have an answer for him. Something about Kris made her feel weak suddenly, and she didn’t know what. Baekhyun looked down at her and smiled. “It’s not you,” he laughed and lifted her chin with his fingers forcing her to look at him. “It’s your wolf. Kris is next in line for alpha, so he has an effect on your wolf, makes her submissive. If you were a normal wolf, dad and Carmen would have the same effect, but you have beta blood like me. You wolf sees them as equal or higher, but not like the alpha.”

Victoria nodded, pulling away from him. He held onto her hand and led them from the pack house. “So your wolf is scared of him too?”

“Well no,” he said. “I’ve grown up with him, so my wolf just seems him as our friend. Kris can force me to submit if he wants to, but he trusts me. He knows I will follow him without that. But your wolf is new, so he didn’t want to chance your disobedience. He made her submit so she wouldn’t get a big head.”

“She does not have a big head,” Victoria frowned and defended her wolf, but he just laughed.

He lead them out of the village and towards a large shed next to a dirt road. “Yes, she does,” he laughed. “She punched me in the face and barks at me. Most female wolf are submissive to their mates, you are not.”

Baekhyun released her hand as they approached the building. One side was lined with garage doors, and upon approaching, Victoria realized how big the building was. It was built from concrete and designed like a car park. Baekhyun opened a small door next to the large garage doors and waved her over to him. Two cars and a few SUVs were parked on the bottom floor, and a ramp led up to the next one. Baekhyun grabbed a hanging switch and flipped it on and the garage door next to the opened up.

Pulling the keys from his pocket, he pressed a button and one of the SUVs beeped. Baekhyun walked over to the car and climbed into the drivers side; Victoria sat next to him. He quickly turned the car on and pulled it out of the garage, stopping a moment to close it behind him before he got back into the vehicle and took off down a winding dirt road.

Victoria leaned her head against the wind as he drove looking out the window into the forest. They drove down the dirt road for about ten minutes before Baekhyun stopped the car in front of a yellow barackade chained to a post. As Baekhyun stepped out and went to unlock it, a man stepped out from the trees and exchanged a few words with him before disappearing into the trees again. As Baekhyun climbed back into the car, Victoria turned to him. “Who was that?”

“Patrol,” he said simply. “Just asking how late we’d be out so he knows to inform the next shift.” she watched through the rearview mirror as they passed. Then man came out the forest again and locked the gate behind them. After leaving the gate, they pulled out onto a small side street, and them the main road. She watched the people on the street as they passed. Some were students walking home from schools and some adults heading home. All humans without a clue wolves lurked in the trees.