THE SECRET TUNNEL THAT LED TO...

By the end of the meeting, I needed another long shower.

For some reason, all the adults were acting like they actually thought this was going to work and this event would be worth sinking our resources into.

They seemed perfectly confident that Morning Light and Lorent would partner us wholeheartedly in this, and that the cost was no issue, the security would be a given, and we would be able to pull everything off in three months.

Meanwhile, I just felt overwhelmed. I imagined how everything would explode in our faces. Quite literally too if we don't get the rogues under control.

But the moment I got home, I realized that Lizzy was staying over. I could hear Savy and Lizzy and loud music playing from our bedroom.

Killion started locking up and picking up around the living room, "You alright, goddess?"

"I'm going for a run." I said.

Killion put down the random magazines and odds and ends onto the dining table, "May I come with you?"

I shook my head, "It's fine. You need rest."

{Mate is here!}

My heart leapt despite how heavy it was feeling at the moment.

There was a scream in the bedroom. Savy opened the door and looked relieved when she saw me, "Sam! It's your..."

Rebel stepped out of the room. He had his usual frown on his face, and tight leather pants and boots, although not much of anything else, so I noticed he had more of those disc shaped tattoos.

"Luna, your parents request you contact them when you are free." Killion told Bell. "Should I lend you a phone to call them? Also, Goddess was just about to go for a run. Would you care to join her?"

Rebel looked at me, his expression softened just a tiny bit, and then he nodded.

Savy and Lizzy came out of the bedroom. They held up their hands and smelled like quick drying manicures.

"When did you get home?" Savy asked.

"OMG. He just appeared in the bed dressed like a fight dog!" Lizzy said. She fanned herself with her hands, "That's too hot."

Rebel quickly retreated with Killion into the guy's room.

I sat down on the sofa to wait for Rebel. Tomorrow would be a school day! I got up again. I needed to pack my school bag! I got my stuff together and put the bag by the front door for tomorrow.

Lizzy and Savy watched me and chatted about their own future mates.

"I hope my mate is at least a little bit hot too." Lizzy said, "But not too hot. Just now I nearly had a heart attack."

Savy covered her mouth and laughed like a normal girl (without cackling).

"Was your mate hot?" Lizzy asked Savy.

Savy shook her head, "No, my mate was more the cute type."

"Maybe the Moon Goddess matches us according to our hotness level." Lizzy thought.

Savy shook her head and continued laughing normally, "In Sam's case, it might be the case of opposite attracts."

Lizzy nodded in agreement, "Yes, you're right. Sam is more of the cool type. It's like super hot guy X super cool girl."

And because Lizzy just said she thought I was super cool, I felt cheered up despite myself. Even though I knew it wasn't true.

I had meant to go for a solo run to shake off the bad mood I had brewed over the meeting earlier. But mate showed up, and Lizzy said I was cool. And now I just didn't feel as miserable as I had meant to feel.

I wanted to be alone to wallow in my self doubt and overwhelming responsibility, but I couldn't quite get into the mood anymore.

I didn't know what the future holds. I only knew what I had and who I was right now. I had my mate, even if only in dream form. I had my betas, my family, Savy and Lizzy...

And I was the Alpha that was going to protect everyone's happiness.

Rebel and Killion came out of the bedroom. Rebel had changed into a pair of jeans and a black long sleeved t-shirt. He looked even angrier than before.

Killion shrugged. He mindlinked me, "Luna just argued on the phone with his dad...as usual."

I acknowledged it with a small nod. Okay... I decided to ignore whatever I couldn't understand.

"Let's go." I headed for the door.

"Bring your key card and sneak yourself in." Savy instructed me, "Lizzy and I will tell mum and dad you are sleeping."

Killion smiled, "I'll be sleeping too. I'm to old to keep up with you young people."

I put the keycard in my pocket and we left the sound of laughter behind us.

Rebel and I walked without speaking for a while. The warriors changing shift bowed a little to us. So much for not being seen, but Rebel merely raised a hand in greeting and they smiled and continued on their way. Nope, nothing suspicious over here.

I went behind the nearest treeline and undressed. I expected Rebel to do the same but when my wolf stepped out, I found him standing guard. When I'm in my wolf form, he wasn't that much taller than I was or that much broader than I was. My wolf wagged.

Every moment with him near made my heart fill up a little more with happiness.

"Wait here." He told my wolf. He dared order me? He patted the side of my wolf in passing. Wolf wagged happily.

He went behind the same tree and came out in wolf form too.

But now that we were in wolf form, neither of us could speak to each other. I had wanted to ask him what he was arguing with his dad about, but then again, maybe somethings were better left unasked.

At any rate, when we neither of us talked, we didn't argue either.

My wolf wandered off, led by its usual sense of lucky direction. The night was calm, the stars were out, and the sky the color of my fur. The moon shone down on us.

I guess at the very worst case, if we blew the budget and bankrupt the pack over the future alpha ceremony, we could just all shift into wolves and hunt food and stay wolves till we earn enough to live like humans again.

Okay no, I didn't really think it would come to that. A life without warm beds and baths... Omo. Noooo....

We were at our burnt-down home now. The smell was much improved now. They were starting work tomorrow, and already there were large packages of cement and bricks and stuff waiting on wooden pellets and wrapped in what looked like thick layers of cling foil.

I sniffed the packages and stepped into the house. Rebel made a whining warning sound but I gave him my wolfiest grin.

He reluctantly followed me in. Poor guy. Inside the floor was really creaky. I wondered if it were my wolf ears or wolf weight that caused it.

Something gave way and the living room floor gave way. I guess it was our weight.

My wolf landed on my feet okay. Mate wolf followed suit, landing neatly next to me.

Where were we? Except for the broken charred planks that used to be the living room floor, we were in a perfectly nice room. The basement!

The basement at our home was our storage room. It's got lots of boxes lined in shelves all around the sides of the room.

I sniffed around and smelt mostly dust and mildew... Mate wolf looked around. I wondered what he made of this discovery. And then I noticed something I had never known about our home.

One of the heavy metal shelves had be roughly shoved back and behind it, was a metal door. I go over to sniff and smell out a very faint whiff of Dad and Beta Lucas... They had been here as recently as today.

Now, how to work the door? I sniffed around it. Mate shifted and walked over to help with the latch. I looked away so as not to see mate naked. Why?

I don't know, it was by instinct.

Anyway, mate worked the latch and the door swung open. Behind the door was a dark passage, that was cold and although I had expected to smell something musky, I smelled instead something fresh and damp and wet. My wolf went in. I heard mate shifting back and following.

I would never had thought my dad to be the kind who kept secrets. Maybe Dad was secretly Batman and Beta Lucas was Alfred... Or Robin. My wolf made a chuffing sound.

The cave... no tunnel. It turned out to be exactly that, a tunnel, with dirt and stone all around and I realized it was a long passage just the right size for a large wolf to run through.

I picked up the pace. The tunnel ran under the woods. I could tell by the roots that protruded from the walls. It was a rather long tunnel. We ran for quite a while before the tunnel ground started sloping upwards, the air smelled less muddy too, and there was water. My wolf popped up in a stone cave. There were crates hidden behind the rocks with clothes and weapons. Shot guns and a rifle. Ammunition. A large flip knife.

Another crate smelled like Beta Lucas stuff.

More crates smelling like supplies of canned foods and was that medicine? And plastic... I guess ziplock bags.

The funny thing was that everything was in ziplock bags.

I looked at the individually ziplocked items and then at the mouth of the cave where there was a waterfall.

Leaving the stuff untouched, I headed to the waterfall. Mate was already sniffing around it. I pushed my head through, feeling my fur get heavy from the water. Then I struggled over the rocks and got out the other side.

We were in a small pool... The trees were evergreens. It was almost like the scene in a prophetic dream, plus the moon was shining full and bright.

Where on earth were we?

Mate came up on a rock and shook himself out. My wolf watched appreciatively at his long fur and muscular structure. We sniffed around a bit, there was grass! I hadn't seen grass in months! But the smells in the air were strangely foreign and then I heard it, a soft chime like a crystal bell.

Mate pounced on me, knocking me down just as something flew past my ears, slicing off the tuff of fur at the tips.

We backed towards the pool again.

Mate crept forward but the little crystal hanging from the tree made no movement. Then I remembered how Killion said he could walk through it. Could it be that the crystal traps did not trouble white wolves?

Whatever it was, the crystal trap made it clear. We were in warlock lands.

What was my Dad and Beta Lucas doing?

{Rouges are near}

Thank Goddess for wolfie's early detection radar. I turned tail for the pool and returned to the cave. Shaking myself dry of the water on the other side, I realized how the water was not icy, and the inside of the cave was much colder than it was outside. Was it not winter in the warlock lands?

I pondered this as I waited for mate to follow. He did, but he looked reluctant.

We should head back.

I ran back through the tunnel. It was pretty fun, I could run very quickly. Wolf express tunnel. Question was, why did it lead into the warlock lands?

Very suspicious, Dad.

As I ran back, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Wait, that's not right! Why was there a light?

I propelled myself quicker forward.

{Approaching Alpha}

{Approaching Beta}

Opps. I think we were about to get caught red handed. Oh wait, or was it Dad and Beta Lucas who were the ones getting caught?

The game's up Dad. I now knew you, while not exactly Batman, you were definitely hiding something.

"Sam!" Dad and Beta Lucas looked like they had been expecting us. They stood on the side for my wolf to come through.

"Mate here too." I mindlinked, so that they didn't step forward too soon and get bulldozed by mate who I could feel running close behind me.

Mate followed through and stopped gracefully in the enclosed basement space.

Dad and Beta Lucas looked at our wolves. And we looked at them. Then Dad said, "Sam, can you keep a secret?"