Cassandra and I ended up watching several movies until it was way into the night. James returned home to us snuggled up in a blanket watching the Notebook. I wasn't a big fan of sappy love stories, but Cassandra insisted and well it was her home.

"You're welcome to stay here," James offered. I shook my head. I wouldn't stay in their home. I didn't want to feel like a mule.

"I'll sleep outside." I knew James wouldn't allow me to go out to the woods too close to the line. I would opt for sleeping in my wolf outside their cabin. I would still be in earshot yet not mooching.

"Savannah, that's not necessary," he tried to reason.

"I'll sleep outside," I said going to the front door. I pulled off the dress and shifted into my wolf. We woke the next morning when we sensed movement coming towards us. My wolf didn't appreciate being woken up and growled at James who stood in the doorway.

"David wants to see you," he said, and I growled again. Before breakfast? If David was trying to get me to stay, he was doing a terrible job at it. I got up and looked back at James. He quickly closed the door, so I could change. I shifted into my skin and pulled the dress over my head.

"Let's get this over with," I grumbled, and James stepped out of the house. We walked to back to the pack house and on the way, I could see wolves running about even this early in the morning. They were probably switching patrols. We even passed the training fields where Ryder was warming up his warriors. He looked over at us and rolled his eyes before going back to watching his wolves. Did he always have a stick up his ass?

The smell of bacon and eggs was coming from the kitchen in the pack house, and I was tempted to make Alpha David wait and fill up on breakfast. Wolves loved to eat and I was no exception.

"Keep moving, Savannah," James nudged. I growled but continued to walk to the alpha's office. James knocked, and David allowed us to enter.

"Can we hurry this up? I need food," I said as I waltzed in and plopped down in one of his nice leather chairs. "What's this about, David?" he growled at my use of name without the title, but I didn't care. Alpha wolves were all about power and they would do anything to show that power. Me saying his name without his title was bringing him down to my level. I didn't mean to disrespect him, but my wolf didn't see him as our leader. He wasn't the one we would put our life down for. I could see it in James' eyes and the way he keeps himself that he would do anything for his alpha. I wanted that with Kian, but it could never happen. Betas and alphas had to be matched right like mates.

"I've calmed down and I am ready to speak with you," David said. "I still think it would be wise for you to remain here while I call around. I'm not saying you have to stay here in Blackhound as a member. This is only temporary. I don't know what mess you're into, but I promise you that I do mean you any harm. I won't even ask who you're running from. I don't care. I just want to help you." I narrowed my eyes and looked over this alpha. He was pushy, too pushy. My beast and I didn't like it, but we did like Cassandra and James. We loved Cassandra's cooking more.

"I'll stay, but it's only temporary," I promised. I knew Blackhound wasn't for me. A smile broke out on David's face. It was too big for my liking. I could see how he and James made a good pair. It was decided that I would remain with James and Cassandra after much debate. David wanted me in the pack house, but there were too many young unmated wolves and my wolf wasn't in the mood to tear into that many behinds. Males would always be pig heads, but young males were far worse. Once everything was sorted, James and I rushed to the kitchens where Cassandra was working with the omegas to cook breakfast. Many other wolves were already there waiting for the delicious food.

I could feel curious eyes on me and my wolf peeked out to give them a show of her teeth. They tensed and quickly adverted their eyes. Cassandra's eyes lit up when she saw James and me at the tables.

"Are you staying," she asked. I nodded.

"For now," I told her. "David is going to call around to the other packs and hopefully I'll find my new home." The three of us ate breakfast together and James had to leave right after to attend to more paperwork. He groaned as he gave Cassandra a kiss and walked to his office.

"Looks like it's just us again," Cassandra said. "You never told me what you use to do for fun in your old pack? Did you have friends?" After breakfast, we moved outside and started to walk aimlessly.

"I used to have plenty of them back when I was younger. We used to always talk about the future and what we would do. I always knew I would be beta. I was groomed for it and my father talked about nothing else. He was beta and me being his oldest child would of course take after him. We used to pull pranks on my father and the alpha all the time. We would get chewed out every time, but it was always worth it."

"Why does it sound like this doesn't have a happy ending," Cassandra asked.

"I guess it doesn't. We grew apart as we got older. Things happened, and our views changed. Soon we were more like enemies than friends. I never had a female friend though," I said with a small smile pointed to Cassandra. It was true. It was always me and Kian. My brother used to trail behind us too, but that was all I knew. I was too hard for the other females. I wasn't a girly girl who worried about their future mate. I was more focused on training. I never bothered me not to have any female friends.

We passed Ryder who was barking orders at the warriors and I could see another group of females watching him with lust and desire in their eyes. It made me want to throw up. I gagged, and Cassandra laughed.

"Not a fan of Ryder Hank?" Cassandra asked with a raised brow and I turned to her with a "what do you think" look that caused her to laugh harder.

"Those females over there couldn't be any more obvious."

"This isn't anything new. All the unmated females are always all over him, but he never gives them the light of day."

"Still waiting for his mate, huh?"

"Yeah. He doesn't say it, but James and I can see it in his eyes. He's desperate to find her." I felt a little respect for him. Only a little. It was natural for a wolf to want their mate and wait for them. It was distasteful in my eyes for wolves to get in the way of that, but some do. Some don't wait for that one person who is made for us and will lay with anything that has a pulse. I've waited this long and wouldn't be giving it to anyone, but him.

That doesn't mean I haven't had my share of crushes. There were plenty males who caught my eye, but this was before I was a matured wolf. This was in my rebellious teenage days and my father worked extra hard to protect my neck.

The females who were practically undressing Ryder with their eyes amused me. They amused me so much that I wanted to mess with them.

"Come on," I said to Cassandra as I walked over to Ryder and his warriors.

"Is that all you got?" he shouted to one of the wolves sparring before he looked over his shoulder at us. He scowled and turned around to face us.

"What is she doing here?" he asked Cassandra and I rolled my eyes at his childish.

"I've agreed to stay a little longer, so it looks like you're stuck with this rogue on your land," I taunted, placing my hand on his bicep. I could hear the growls from the group of females. They saw me as a threat, stepping in and touching what they thought was theirs. I couldn't help but laugh at the thought. He wasn't theirs. He simply wasn't a piece of meat. Ryder growled and shook my hand off.

"That doesn't explain what you're doing here." I shrugged my shoulders as I turned to the sparring wolves in front of us.

"Cassandra and I were just passing by," I said and then a thought came to mind. "We were just talking and trying to figure out what we should do to pass the time." I could feel Ryder's stare on the back of my head. I turned around and smirked. "Spar with me." He was taken back by my request before he crossed his arms over his chest and returned to his annoyed demeanor.

"You aren't pack," he stated simply.

"I don't care about that," I said. "I won't go running to your alpha if you beat me although I doubt you will." He growled lowly at me.

"I'm not sparring with you. I am a delta and you are a rogue."

"Are you too scared to take on this rogue?"

"I'm not going to fall into your bait," he said, pushing me aside. I grabbed his wrist and he looked down at me as if my touch burned. The wolves around us stopped what they were doing to stare. "You don't know what you're asking for," he growled.

"I know what I'm going up against. Right now, I'm looking at a shaking pup." He growled and threw the first punch. I was expecting him to lose it like that and I dodged his attack.

"You will shift when I say," Cassandra called, and Ryder threw another punch. I ducked and kicked him in one knee. He fell on one knee and growled in annoyance. He got up quickly and came at me again. He threw another fist and moved out of the way to throw my own. He managed to hit me a few times and I did the same to him. He hit me in the gut and I hit him the jaw. I tasted blood on my tongue and I smiled proudly when I saw him spit his blood into the dirt. I smiled mischievously while he only glared. This was more serious to him than it was to me. I enjoyed how angry he was. I pushed his buttons real good.

"Is that all you got, pussy cat?" I asked, and he swung at me. I moved around him and kicked him in the back of the leg. He buckled, and I went to stomp him, but he rolled out of the way of my foot. He rolled back to his feet.

"Shift!" Cassandra called from the sidelines. We both shifted into our fur. My wolf was excited to be let out. She wanted his blood. She was sick of tasting her own. We growled as we lunged into the air. We jumped over him, confusing him and we used that confusion to run under him, taking a quick bite out of him. He growled in annoyance and swiped his claws at me. Thick goo got mixed in my fur, but it didn't bother us. I let my beast forward. It was her turn to have fun. She ran around him, trying to confuse him. He stomped the dirt in rage. He growled at us, snapping his jaw at us. His teeth didn't scare us. We jumped on his back, grabbing a mouthful of fur on the way and we ripped it from him as he shook us off. We spit out the chunk of flesh we managed to catch. It tasted divine to her.

We had to be careful the longer this went on. He would learn and catch on. I was fast, but I was still a beta. I was no tracker who was meant to run for days without getting tired. He ran forward, going for our side. He got a bite, but my wolf didn't let that slow her down. She went for his behind, taking a bite of it. He growled while our eyes were filled amusement. The crowd didn't know what to think. I could see that they wanted to laugh. I would too. Tearing into behinds was what I was good at it. I got it from my father.

He charged at us in fury. He was too blinded by anger to think too clearly. We ran under him and then jumped on his back, taking his neck into ours. He growled, and we sunk out teeth into it. He lost, and he would have to stretch his neck to admit defeat. I wouldn't let him go just because he was going to die. If he would rather die than submit, then it was his own damn fault. It was weak to do so. I felt him attempt to stretch out his neck in submission and I let him go. I shifted into my skin and I could actually see where he got me.

"You are a beta wolf," he grumbled after he shifted back to his skin.

"Did you ever doubt it?"

"No," he said honestly.

"What the hell is going on here?" James demanded as he and David walked up. The wolves around broke up to give them space. "You two look like shit," he said and the wolves around us snickered.

"Alright, the show is over!" David barked, and the crowd dispersed. I didn't miss the nasty looks the females gave me either. "Ryder, what were you thinking? She isn't pack."

"I'm the one who baited him," I said. "I'm not that petty to whine to you. Plus, I knew he would lose." Ryder growled

"I think Ryder was overdue for a beating anyway," James said with an approving smile while David sighed.

"I leave you for only a minute and this is what you go do." I shrugged my shoulders. I didn't see anything wrong with a random ass beating. It was a fun way to pass the time. It was easy for a wolf to shake off injuries because we healed quicker than humans.

Ryder was a good fight and probably would have been a hell of a one if he didn't let his anger get the best of him. He was still a lesser rank than me. Nothing would change that fact. His blood wasn't mine.

Ryder picked himself up and shifted into his wolf, going on a run to cool off. If he couldn't handle getting beaten by a girl then he had a long way to go. I threw my dress back on and linked arms with Cassandra.

"Shall we continue that walk?" I asked.

"Of course," she said with an amused smile. She blew a kiss to James and we left them shaking their heads.