Adi

The warriors are exceptionally good at concealing themselves. But if you are one of them and you know where to look, you can easily catch the occasional glimpse. Some ladies who should be having their day off, are working today to see me off, and make sure the start of our journey is uneventful.

As we approach the border, I can hear voices. Someone is trying to enter the valley, and they are not being permitted access.

Two warriors, Eliza and Kim are talking to two young werewolves, a girl and a boy.

The girl looks to be about 16 years old; she is of medium height and athletic. It looks as though her hair tie broke and her thick, long, mousy coloured hair has fallen to her mid back. Even though it is untidy and dishevelled, her hair has a nice curl in the bottom. Her skin looks to have been too many days in the sun, but her plump lips and complexion are flushed with colour, as though she has not eaten and is exhausted. She has radiating moss green eyes.

The boy is tall and athletic with medium dark skin and flawless brown eyes. He is a handsome boy with strong features, he also looks about 16 years old.

It is unusual for werewolves this young to be on the road by themselves.

"Please, we are looking for someone to help us, we were told to come here, and..." The girl is talking but stops mid-sentence, she looks to the boy.

"...we're not really sure what we are looking for," he says.

Eliza answers "What you have found is the territory of the Valley of the Goddess, she may enter, but you may not, no men may enter the Valley."

The boy looked scared. He turned to the girl. "Maybe you should go without me Amelia, you need to eat, and we have no idea what we are doing," he says to the girl.

"I couldn't leave you; I know I don't know you well, but you have helped me and been kind to me, I can't just abandon you. What are the chances of us running into each other? Going through the same things? You need to eat too. I can't do it, I am not leaving you," the girl says, grabbing the boy by the arm and clinging tight, as though someone might try to pull him away from her.

We stand watching the two of them. I mind link with Eliza "These two are very odd werewolves," I tell her.

"I agree. I can't figure them out. They are overly dramatic and distressed for someone with barely a bruise on them." She links Kim in. "You know, I heard the girl complaining as they walked over, that she hasn't had cell phone reception for days."

I linked with Oli and Connie and told them what Eliza and Kim told me. "They might be dormant wolves." Connie links back to all of us. "That adds up actually," Eliza agrees. "Someone is going to have to explain that to me," Kim links. "A human that has a dormant wolf gene, I read about them, apparently it's not too uncommon," Connie explains.

"I am going to ask you straight," Eliza says to them "Are you two humans, who recently found out that you are werewolves?"

The two of them look at each other. They open their mouths and no words come out. They are completely taken aback. Slowly they both start nodding their heads.

"Well, that explains why they are so odd, like humans, I have never met a human before," says Kim.

"Do you know anything about werewolves?" Eliza asks them.

They both shake their heads. Then the girl says "Well, my nan told me that she met one once. She knew what was happening to me. She told me to follow my instincts and find a pack. She said I would need a pack."

"A pack is especially important for a werewolf. But, as I said we can only let women into the Valley, that is not negotiable. So, if you want to stay together, you are going to have to move on," Eliza tells them.

It is clear that the two of them are exhausted, confused and hungry.

"We are travelling to the Golden Moon pack; we should get there about this time tomorrow. We would be happy to take the two of you with us," Oli offers.

A relieved smile comes to their faces. "We would be so grateful for any help!" the boy says.

"Ok," Oli says, "My name is Oli, this is Adi and Connie, and we would be honoured to be your guides."

"Thank you so much. I'm Amelia and this is Lucas," Amelia says.

"I am guessing that neither of you have had your blood ceremonies and shifted yet?"I asked.

They looked at each other with complete confusion, then looked back to me like I was an alien, and shook their heads slowly.

"In that case, you are not going to like the menu, we are going to have to get you some food before you pass out," I say. I look at Eliza and Kim. "I know you all have food up there, how about a few bags of jerky and some fruit for these two?"

From the trees I hear a familiar voice "Only because it's you who's asking Adi!" I hear before several packets come flying out of the trees. I quickly catch each packet, which is met with cheers and clapping coming from the trees.

"Here you go, eat this," I say, handing Amelia and Lucas two bags each.

Connie's' POV

We started walking away from the border. I turned back to say goodbye to Eliza and Kim, but they were gone, nowhere to be seen. I am sure they can still see me, so I waved goodbye instead.

Amelia and Lucas were eating the food that the warriors gave them. Instantly they looked to have more colour in their faces.

"Are you all werewolves?" Amelia asked.

Lucas held her shoulder and shook his head at her, clearly worried that she had spoken out of line.

"Don't worry Lucas, we are open to any question, you have a lot to learn about your new lives. We will catch you up on as much as possible during our journey. And feel free to ask any questions you like along the way. And, yes Amelia, we are all werewolves," Oli said.

"My wolf keeps telling me I need a pack; she guided me to come out here and look for other wolves. But I don't really understand what's so important?" Amelia asked.

"Werewolves live in packs, so cannot live a whole and fulfilling life without the bonds of a pack. Some packs are made up of just a few families, but preferably, the larger the pack the better. A large pack increases your safety and security, it has more resources, like health care and schools. The largest and oldest packs usually own large businesses, like banks or mining companies, which support the entire pack, meaning its members don't have to work as hard and can dedicate more time to pack duties, like warrior training, or socialising. But most of all, in a large pack you have a better chance of finding your mate," I explained to them.

"Mate?" Amelia asks.

"Yes, the one werewolf that the Goddess has selected just for you, to improve your happiness and make you feel complete, your special person. And a werewolf can sense when their true mate is close, and when their eyes meet, they will know instantly that they belong to one another," Oli says.

"So, everyone gets a mate, and it's always a perfect love story?" Amelia asks.

"Not perfect, but it would be very unusual for anything to come between them," Adi says

"Unless..." Connie starts, and looks around at us before continuing, "Unless, they have leadership responsibilities, like an Alpha or a beta. Their relationships are not just for them. Alphas are paired with their mates for the greater good of the pack, not just for themselves, so if they are not strong enough, their whole pack could suffer," she explains.

"What exactly do an Alpha and Beta do, I mean, how does that work?" Lucas asked.

"So many things for you both to learn, I am happy you asked because it is a fundamental part of a wolf's life, their pack and their Alpha, the desire for your pack is what led you here after all." Oli explained. "Each pack has its own rules and politics. All packs have the same basic leadership structure, an Alpha that has absolute power over the pack, given through an inherited monarchy. In the human world that is like a king or queen. Then there's the Alpha's mate – the Luna, or if the Alpha is a woman their mate is the Alpha Consort, who usually looks after all the pack's social and emotional wellbeing. Then there is the Beta who looks after most of the pack's internal interests and politics, and a Gamma who oversees the pack's border safety."

"So, how would you know who the Alpha is?" Lucas asked.

"When you meet an Alpha, you will sense their aura. A good alpha will instantly make you feel safe and at ease. A not-so-good Alpha will have a strong dominance and give you a false sense of security or make you feel fearful," Oli answered.

Lucas and Amelia both looked at Adi, it was obvious that their wolves were sensing Adi's strong aura, it is hard not to. But nobody said anything.

We continued walking.