The girls' Pack

"Sure," I looked at the girls, and saying some excuses, left their company and went with him. He squeezed my wrist and led me far away from the crowd, to the foothill, where we stopped. I felt my heart beating fast, and it wasn't noticed by him.

"Sorry, if I scared you," he said, then let go of my wrist and hid his hands in his pockets, "I'm unofficially here… However, all of them know who I am."

"I would not believe if they wouldn't know the Beta of their Pack," I smiled, and looked at the crowd, "So, what is the reason you took me for a talk far away from them? Are you here because Aiden asked you, or you're here under his back?"

"I would never do anything behind his back," William took a protective pose, and crossed hands on his chest, "I'm here to… look after you. Aiden didn't want you to know it, but I'm sure you need to be informed to not misunderstand my actions."

His gray eyes fixed on mine, then he cleared his throat.

"As a Beta of the Pack, the second man in charge, my duty is to keep an eye on my Alpha's mate, especially if she's unmarked." He explained as if seeing my bewilderment. However, his words made me calm down and relax. I suddenly felt there was someone in this world except Aiden to have my back.

"Listen, I'm happy you're here. Just…" I looked at a girl with pink hair and blue hair tips, Chipa, Aiden's sister, running in our direction, probably to steal me from William, then looked back at him, "Just… If you want, we can pretend I know nothing about it."

"No need, I can…" Before he could finish, Chipa reached us and grabbed my arm.

"Sorry, but we need to steal her back," she led me back to the crowd of girls, without letting William finish his words. So, when we got back, I could finally greet Kiri and all the other girls, whom Chipa eagerly introduced me. They started chatting about everything, but mostly their talks were about boys. My mind was wandering somewhere far away from here, and it was very hard for me to catch their talks. And, it became only worse when the sun got down, and the chill evening wind started caressing my bare arms and legs.

Sally and Ruy, who got me here, haven't warned me about taking some warm clothes, so while all the girls get dressed in their jackets and even jeans, I was left in my short summer dress. I hugged my shoulders in an attempt to warm myself up when I felt something very warm touch my shoulders. I turned my head aside to see William standing not far away from me, while some black jacket appeared on my shoulders. Furthermore, I made a few steps back and reached him.

"Thanks."

"It's not mine. Aiden forgot in my car some time ago," he said, and I only smiled.

"I know it's his. I can feel his smell." A musky odor coming from the jacket with a mixture of a very strong cologne hit my nose when the jacket just touched my skin. It wasn't hard to guess the owner of the jacket by just the smell.

We remained standing in an entire silence until William wasn't called by a group of men, asking to give them some help with starting a bonfire to warm us, girls, up. So, when William left me, I got back to the girls and squeezed between Kiri and Ifa, and just in time.

Karolina, a tall girl, who was even taller than me, was telling some jokes about her first date with a boy. I couldn't concentrate on her speech again, as my mind was flying around, so I kept my eyes again on her appearance.

She was very impressive, due to her athletic and muscled body. She had thick black hair of shoulder-length, dark brown eyes, and a well-trained body. Karolina was dressed in dark yellow jeans, black and yellow sneakers, and a black T-shirt with a leather jacket put on her when the weather became chill.

Suddenly, I felt her looking at me and when I looked back, her eyes lit up with some unknown energy. The tips of her lips twitched into a smile.

"So, the werewolf Princess, we all want to hear more about you. What can you tell us?" there was something in her voice, that I could explain as a challenge, but it only made me more confident.

"What do you want to hear?" I asked when my phone vibrated. I took my phone out, then looked at the screen.

{We found out the hut is safe. We're going to your father's hut tomorrow morning!}

I looked around, searching for William, completely forgetting about the girls waiting for me to start talking. The thought of finally going to the place where I was raised and learning something new, or remembering the past, hit me like a truck. I couldn't hide my sudden happiness and didn't even care when girls near me noticed my sudden change of mood.

"Seems like our Princess got some big news?" I heard Karolina's voice and turned my head in her direction when I haven't found William to share news from Aiden.

"Aiden and his sniffers found my father's hut in the forbidden forest. We're going to investigate it soon!" I haven't told them Aiden and I are going there tomorrow. I don't know why I did that, I just felt hiding something from them isn't that bad. They seem to be good girls, but I still don't know if I can trust them.

"Your father's hut?" Ifa asked, as if giving me a hint, I need to tell them who my father was, even if they know it. I felt some steps coming closer behind my back, and crossed my hands over my chest, taking a more confident pose than I had before. Again, I don't know why. It was just like an instinct.

"James Black, the Alpha of the Black Forest Pack, is Letty's father," William said behind my back, and all the girls turned their heads in his direction. All, except me. I remained in the same pose, looking at Karolina. There's something in her that makes me feel more confident than I felt before meeting her.

"And who's your father?" I asked her, looking straight into her eyes. Karolina looked at me, then smiled friendly.

"Orion Whitehead, Gamma leader of the Yellow Stone Pack," she said to me, then turned to some girls, whispering something. I turned at William.

"Yellow Stone Pack?" I whispered, giving him a hint, I know nothing about other Packs, their names, and ranks in Werewolves Packs' hierarchy. He leaned closer to me, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered back.

"Her father is the oldest Gamma in history. Yellow Stone Pack is the fifth-strongest Pack now. Her father is fifty-six years old, and he's still in the Gamma position." William explained, then straightened up, but remained standing near me.

"Karolina should be the next Gamma in charge, but she's not ready to take the position, as she said. So, her father is still the Gamma," the girl near me whispered, and I turned my head in her direction, to look who it was.

The girl who said that was not so tall, approximately the same height as Chipa. She was a thin girl with long silk dark black hair and chestnut eyes color. She was dressed in a V-neck warm gray blouse, black jeans, black sneakers, and a gray leather jacket. Her hair was taken into a ponytail.

"Sylphrena, or just Syl," she reminded me of her name, then looked at William, "I'm new here, but I've heard a lot about everyone."

"William White, the Beta of the Moonflower Pack," he introduced himself, and they shook hands, when in the end William, as a true gentleman, kissed the top of her hand, "I see Chipa's girls' pack is increasing in numbers…"

"That's true," the girl near me giggled, then turned back to Karolina, who was telling another joke, "She's behaving all the time like giving you a challenge, but that's what makes her memorable."

"Wise thought," I said when we heard someone calling us again to join the bonfire. So, we all slowly migrated there, the boys turned on the music, gave all of us bottles of beer and the party finally started. All of us had fun, especially me, learning something new about the people around us. I felt more and more engaged in the werewolves' world, which made me happier and happier.

"So, how exactly did you find all those girls? They seem to be from different Packs, and how do all of them live here, on the territory of Aiden's Pack?" I asked Chipa when she, and I were left sitting near the bonfire. We also had William, Sylphrena, and Ifa near us.

"They are all guests here. Some girls like Sylphrena decided to join Aiden's pack, seeking a better life. Some girls, like Karolina, are just looking for some time out from their duties. Aiden helped me five years ago, so he eagerly helped the girls and let them all stay. He even organized a small settlement for us where we can all be together, and work for the good of the Pack we are all living in. You should visit our settlement," Chipa took a sip of beer, and looked at my amused facial expression, "Some of us are working in the city, as Ifa, Sally, Ruy, Amy, Kiri, and some others. The rest are working in a garden and exporting products to the other Packs. The half of the money goes for Pack needs, the half is ours. That was Aiden's idea."

Suddenly, we heard a few loud werewolf roars on the hill over us, and then a female scream. We all looked around to find out the source of the noise.