Noelle paced back and forth in the basement as the rest of the pack gathered for the meeting. Her talk with her father had calmed her down some, but that hadn’t helped her to come up with a solid plan of action before the meeting. Now, she was nervous about how the pack might react to her.

She had done her best to prepare the place for the meeting by covering up all the equipment. She’d also spent time pushing everything to the side of the room. She didn’t want any reminders of Edmund. And, because once the pack heard what he had done to her, Gabriel and Megan, who knew how they might respond.

Gabriel was sitting in the front of the room in his usual seat —the seat for the beta. He twitched his legs nervously and Noelle almost went over to him to try to calm him down. If he wanted the pack’s respect, he was going to need to emulate strength and demand obedience from them. And he was definitely not going to get that if he was sitting there chewing at his nails.

Just as Noelle started to walk to him, Megan appeared from the crowd and made her way toward him. Noelle watched as he looked up at her and smiled, his entire body visibly relaxing. Megan leaned in toward him and chastely kissed him. As she pulled away, Noelle felt like she saw a new Gabriel before her. He looked assured and calm; he even seemed to pull himself up taller which gave him a more-superior air.

Gabriel stood up in front of the pack and held his hand up to them. They all quieted down immediately. Noelle smiled to herself, impressed by the change that had overcome Gabriel. The one that only she had noticed.

Gabriel looked over at her and she gave a small wink to him. “We have held pack meetings in the past to discuss changes and concerns. Lately, it has seemed as though all our pack meetings have dealt with some type of tragedy, and we tried to uplift things here by holding the ritual to find the new alpha female. But even that ended in some type of ordeal which we now need to discuss, in order to come up with a plan. As you all know, Declan announced that I am the new alpha of this pack. However, he did not disclose to you why he was making such a change. I call on Romi to share with us her discoveries from the night of the ritual.”

Romi stood up from the pack members and made her way to the front of the room. Noelle noticed that she carried herself as though she was in charge —her face was full of determination and Noelle already knew that she would not hand over the position of alpha female without a fight.

Romi spoke, “As the ritual was coming to its end, Declan announced that Gabriel would be the new leader of the pack. I have heard rumors going around that he made this decision because he no longer wanted to be the alpha, and I can wholeheartedly dismiss those thoughts. Declan had no intention of relinquishing his position as alpha to this pack, rather he was forced into that decision by an unforeseen circumstance.” Romi paused as she surveyed the faces of the pack before her. Everyone was staring at her, engrossed in her recollection, and waiting to hear the real reason why Declan had left. “That night, as we were to commence with the traditional hunting that follows the ritual, Declan found that he was no longer able to transform into his wolf form.”

The room grew still. It was evident that no one knew of this except for Romi. Even Gabriel stared at her as though she’d just told them that the world was expected to end; in five minutes. The silence stretched on. No one knew what to say or how to respond.

Romi finally continued. She said, “I did not have the chance to speak with him further on the subject before he announced that Gabriel would be the new leader, and before he left the woods. I know we are all concerned about him and we want to ensure that he is safe. I do want to let everyone know that I am doing everything in my power to track him down. We will not leave him behind!”

And with this final declaration, the pack members erupted into a roar of questions. Romi tried to quiet everyone down, but it was clear that her sense of bravado was beginning to thin out.

Noelle looked at the woman, and for a moment, she actually enjoyed watching her flounder around under the harsh scrutiny of the pack. They all wanted someone to blame and she had offered herself up on a silver platter.

Noelle shook herself out of her daze and stood from her chair. “Everyone, please quiet down,” she said sternly, but it didn’t quite reach above the noise of the pack. “I said, be quiet!” The pack all turned to face Noelle, stunned.

She brushed the front of her shirt, looking for anything to do for the moment, besides facing them. When she looked up again, every eye in the pack was turned toward her. Noelle found her father sitting in the crowd and she grew a little braver at the sight of his reassuring smile.

“I know that we all are worried,” Noelle said. “But Romi does not have all of the answers to your questions. She told us what she knew about that night, and that is all we can expect from her at this time. Thank you, Romi.” As Noelle said this, Romi flashed her a grateful smile before returning to her seat. “As much as Declan’s decision has affected us, we have other concerns to discuss.”

“I’m sorry,” one woman with fiery red hair yelled out as she stood from her chair, “but who the hell are you to say ‘us’ and ‘we,’ as if this is any of your problem at all.”

“Because it is her problem,” Gabriel said in such an authoritative tone. So much so, that the woman simply nodded and resumed her seat. “Now, for those of you who may not know who this is, her name is Noelle. These people,” Gabriel said, pointing at Garett and Abigail, and the rest of the family, “are her family. So, we will listen to what she has to say.”

“As I was saying,” Noelle continued, “we have other concerns to discuss. The night of the ritual, Declan’s inability to transform was not the only thing that happened. Gabriel, Megan and I were being held prisoners by Edmund —or Dr. Stone, as you may know him. It was during this time that we learned a few truths about that family.”

Noelle could tell that she was not explaining things correctly and she was beginning to get flustered. She had always hated speaking in front of large crowds, and this time, there was so much pressure put on her that she felt like she might explode.

“Noelle,” her father called out, “why don’t you start from the beginning?”

Noelle nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat surreptitiously. “Right, from the beginning then…”

Noelle went on to definitively explain how she had met Edmund. She then shared with the pack members, the truth about his role as a hunter, and about his connection with his family who forced him to capture Noelle. Noelle paused here, looking over at Gabriel. He nodded at her, urging her to continue her story.

“My ancestor is known to us as the original huntress and her name was Noelise. However, through my captivity, I came to find that she was not a hunter at all; quite the opposite actually. She had relations with a man who was a wolf, and became pregnant by him and giving birth to the original hybrid wolf.”

The pack began mumbling to one another like overzealous children did at school. Many of them had heard stories of hybrids before, but no one had actually met one. In fact, they were more creatures of myth than anything.

“It has been said that only the female ancestor of Annabelle is able to transform into the wolf… and this initial transformation always takes place during a ritual to find the alpha female.” Noelle looked up at her father as she spoke; she’d left this part of the conversation out when she’d spoken with him earlier. Now, she could tell by his expression that he already understood what she was saying. “On the night of your ritual, as Gabriel, Megan and I were escaping, I transformed into my wolf form.”

“That’s not possible,” the redhead whispered.

“What does this mean?” whispered another.

“Does that mean she’s the alpha female?” someone else asked.

“I know that you all have a lot of questions about this, and believe me, so do I. I am going to do my best to see what information I might be able to find out, but please, I don’t want any of you to treat me any differently than before.”

“I’m sorry.” The redhead stood up again from her seat. “I hate to be the Debbie Downer at this overly-peppy meeting, but what the hell is going on here? First, you tell us that our alpha —or ex alpha, I guess. Well, that he can’t turn into a wolf anymore. Then you tell us that the guy who is supposed to be working on a cure for silver is actually a psychopath, from some weirdo hunter family. And now, you’re informing us all that you are some hybrid wolf. One that came into being because of the exact ritual we were performing that night? Does anyone else have a problem with this?”

Other pack members began grumbling under their breath and Noelle saw that many of them were throwing her dirty looks, as if she’d crashed a party that she was never invited to.

Gabriel stood up from his place. “I know this all overwhelming for us,” he said. “But what she has said is true. I saw her transform right in front of me, as did Megan. She truly is a hybrid wolf and I believe that makes her the alpha female of our pack.”

Noelle winced at his last words. She hadn’t wanted to broach that subject with them until she’d at least gained some favor from the pack. As of right now, most of them knew her as the huntress who had killed Cassidy, or as the woman who’d been trying to have her family changed back into hunters.

“Are you serious?” Romi called out from her place. “So, she descended from some ancient wolf or whatever, she didn’t even partake in the ritual. You don’t get to just waltz right in here and take over someone else’s place.”

“Actually, Romi; she does get to. You and Declan were unable to start the traditional hunt, so in truth, the ritual was not finished. So, therefore, you never really were the alpha female of this pack. Which means two things can happen. Either you accept her as your alpha female or you leave the pack.”

Noelle looked at Gabriel, surprised by the harshness of his voice. He had not even discussed this with her. In truth, she wasn’t even sure this was a role that she wanted to fulfill. Noelle looked at Romi and her eyes burned into Noelle. If looks could kill, Noelle thought to herself.

“So, does anyone have any other questions?” Gabriel asked.

The pack mumbled that they didn’t have anything, and Gabriel called an end to the meeting. As the members started filing out of the basement, Noelle walked up to Gabriel.

“What the hell was that, Gabriel?” she hissed. “You never said anything to me about becoming the alpha female of the pack.”

He nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry, I should have told you. But it wasn’t up to me, exactly. I was reading through an old book that Declan had, and it mentioned hybrids. Anyway, it says it right in there. If there is ever a situation where a hybrid wolf is revealed, she will automatically assume the role of alpha female in the pack.”

“Do you have that book?” Noelle asked. Gabriel nodded and told her that it was back in his room. Noelle went to follow him up the stairs but she was stopped by her father.

“Noelle?” he said. She could tell by his tone that he was not altogether pleased about finding out the news from her. Especially since it had been along with everyone else.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.” Noelle sighed. “I wasn’t sure what to say or how to say it. It was such a shock to me and I can’t even imagine how you must be feeling about it.”

Her father looked at her and then he looked at her mother. They exchanged a strange expression and then looked back at Noelle.

“We should talk,” Abigail said to her daughter.

Noelle looked at them, but they were not giving anything away in their expressions. This was definitely not how she expected them to react, but then again, when had anything turned out the way that she had expected?

She left the basement, following closely behind her parents. She had even more questions now than when she’d walked in there earlier. Why wasn’t Declan able to turn into a wolf anymore? What did this mean, that she was the new alpha female? How would the pack treat her now that they knew she was a hybrid?

Noelle could feel a familiar pressure building up in her brain. She walked further up the stairs, and the questions revolving around in her mind were beginning to make her feel sick.

“Noelle?” her father called to her. “Are you alright?”

Noelle just stood there staring at her father. It was as though he was in a tunnel and everything around him was black. His voice sounded strangely far away, and Noelle wanted to laugh and cry all at once. Before she could respond in either manner, she let the blackness engulf her completely.

When she awoke later, she was laying on an unfamiliar bed. “Dad?” she croaked. Noelle could feel her heart start racing as she thought about the possibility. It was possible now, that somehow Edmund had found her, and managed to capture her again.

“I’m here, sweetheart,” her dad called from the side of the bed. He looked at her, a concerned expression on his face.

“I feel so tired,” Noelle complained.

“Noelle, we need to talk to you about some things. Now I know that you don’t feel well, but it’s important that you listen to what we have to say. Can you do that?” Noelle nodded weakly.

Abigail walked into the room holding a large manila envelope. She sat on the edge of the bed and handed Noelle the envelope. Noelle struggled to sit up in bed. She reached for the envelope and emptied the contents onto her lap. She reached for an official looking letter first. It read:

Dear WHO Families,

It has come to our attention that the existence of the hybrid werewolf has reemerged in our world. While it was initially believed that we had extinguished this kind, we have reason to believe that our knowledge of this, is no longer the case.

With this in mind, we must all remain vigilant so that we might be able to identify the creature, and be rid of it forever. Any family able to identify and capture the beast and turn it over to the council alive will be awarded a sum of $1,000,000.00 We hope that this will be motivation enough to spur some action on your part.

Additionally, if it is found that any family has identified the creature but does not turn it over to the council, that family will be punished to the full extent of our laws.

We hope this letter finds you well,

The Council

Noelle looked up at her mother and father and tried to judge what they were thinking.

“What does this mean?” Noelle asked, finally. “And what the hell is WHO?”

“WHO stands for the Werewolf Hunters Organization, Noelle. And this means you’re in serious trouble,” Abigail said.

“Are you going to turn me over to this council?”

“Oh, Noelle, you say the strangest things sometimes.” Her father laughed. “We are not going to turn you over to anyone. But Edmund knows about you and so do his parents, which means that the council probably already knows as well.”

“Ugh!” Noelle groaned, throwing her head against the pillow. “This week just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?”

“We need to have a plan prepared,” Abigail said officially. “We should probably discuss moving you away from here.”

“Moving?” Noelle asked.

“Well, of course. If they know what you are, it won’t be long before they show up here looking for you.”

“They must know about us as well,” Garett said thoughtfully. “I don’t know if dear old Edmund kept our transformation to himself.”

Noelle looked at her father, and she knew that he would rather stay and fight than run away. That would be true, especially if it was just about his welfare. But when it came to the rest of his family, he would want to be sure that any actions taken would be for everyone’s benefit. That was what made him so heroic at the end of the day.

“We should stay,” Noelle said. “Besides, I’m the alpha now, so I guess I have to be here.”

Abigail looked over at Garett as he considered Noelle’s statement thoughtfully. He nodded finally, in a definitive agreement, and with a firm stance to show his adherence to the matter.

“Okay.” Abigail sighed. “Well, you should rest up. It’s clear that you are exhausted.”

“Noelle, one more thing… I think I know why Declan was unable to transform,” her father said. But Noelle was already drifting further off into sleep, and she didn’t hear the rest of what her father told her.

“Transformation is not always easy.”