I've waited so long, I hope you know I'm strong

After living underneath the same roof as their parents for twenty two years, Finn and Grace were finally free. Sure, she'd miss waking up to chocolate chip pancakes and anecdotes about when her parents first met, but it wasn't as if it'd never happen again. The house that the girls has decided on was maybe a half hour away from their parents, and for such a reasonable price, they'd be dumb to pass it up. Finn, as of now, was following Grace in her own car so they wouldn't have to unpack and make another trip back to their parents house to get the other vehicle.

As soon as the house came into view, a grin spread across her face. When they were house hunting, Finn's thing was wanting a porch and seeing it again while knowing it was hers made her incredibly excited. It was a smaller two story house with a master bedroom upstairs and downstairs, a nice sized kitchen and family room, a spare bedroom, and enough room in the backyard to probably start a little garden. Their house wasn't much but it was theirs and that's all that mattered.

Finn pulled her car in the driveway next to Grace's and shut the engine off, grabbing her backpack from the passenger seat before getting out entirely. There weren't many other houses around, and the ones that were had a nice little distance between them so that they didn't feel too close to one another. She smiled at her sister as she closed the door, waiting for her to get out to speak.

"Can you believe this? It's still so surreal." The keys to their house were in her pocket and they were about to start moving in. "I'm glad we did this, Gracey."

---

Noah, having caught the new scent while still shifted, perked his ears up and looked out towards where it was coming from. The thick brush of the forest hid him well enough to be spotted so early in the day, but he had been constantly busy doing work for the college class he was assisting with. The professor wasn't ashamed to dump all of the students' assignments on him and told them he wanted them graded with thorough comments on each within five days. So, to say that Noah was literally itching in his skin was a major understatement.

He dropped his guard slightly when one of the younger wolves padded over, same concerned painted on her face. Noah nuzzled his nose into her fur for a moment before he trotted back to the spot where he had left his underwear and jeans. With a small pained whine, Noah shifted back to his human form and got dressed, not at all bothered by walking barefoot through the wilderness anymore. The young wolf, Julia, looked at him as he raked a hand through his hair, matted with dirt and stray pieces of grass left over from when he was rolling around.

"I'm gonna go find Dakota and we'll figure out who those people are." Noah reassured, scratching behind her ears for a moment before walking off in the direction of Dakota's house.

All of the pack lived within a reasonable distance from the forest and from each other, so Noah was at Dakota's door in no time. He rapped at the wood and watched patiently, hands slipping into his back pockets. As he continued scenting the air, he noticed hints of some sort of musky undertones underneath the sweet scents he was getting - something never associated with werewolves. The musky scent meant that they were anxious, which made sense if they were moving into a new house.

Dakota had slept in a bit longer than normal, he had always been a morning person but he had become exhausted as he was always busy with the pack and making sure their territory was safe and protected. But his job at the local mechanics garage had given him extra work to do on his shifts, which he didn't mind apart from getting so tired. But that was his life, he went from working at the garage to protecting the packs territory.

He had already cooked himself up a large breakfast as he did love food, he had always loved food but being a werewolf just let him eat more which he was completely fine with. He took a quick shower and had just pulled on clean clothes when he heard a knock on his front door, by the scent he knew it was Noah so he didn't waste any time in pulled the door open.

"What's up, Noah?" He asked but then he smelt it, two strange scents filled his senses as they traveled on a slight breeze. "There's strangers on our land," He said rather bluntly as a frown settled across his strong facial features, his green eyes stayed focused on Noah as they both knew what they needed to do now. They had to go make sure that these people weren't going to be threats to their pack.

He grabbed a pair of sneakers as he thought it would look better than going barefoot, for when they met the strangers. Even though he loved being barefoot, especially when he went for a run through the forest. He tied the laces of his sneakers before he headed out with Noah.

---

Grace had parked her car in the driveway but she sat there for a few seconds, she knew this was right. Moving out with her slightly younger twin sister, felt so right but she tended to be someone who worried about a lot of things. But the house was perfect for them and Grace knew that, so she climbed out of her car and looked over to where her sister was standing.

"I still can't believe this, we own a house. I'm excited and nervous, Finn." She smiled widely at her sister as she couldn't wait to decorate their house, they could only fit boxes and small items into their cars. So they hired a moving truck to bring larger items, such as their bedroom furniture and a couch that they had brought on sale. Grace had organized the truck to come around noon that day so the unpacking could start and their house would be turned into a home.

"Come on, let's get inside!" Grace smiled warmly as she moved over to her sister who had the keys on her, she linked her arm with Finn's so they could do this together.

They had already seen the house and decided who got which bedroom, but it felt differently because it was now their's. Grace exhaled as they walked up to the front porch steps before Finn unlocked their front door, "I don't even know where to start." She said honestly as they stepped into their house.

Finn smiled at her sister, free hand reaching in her pocket to retrieve the keys to the house. As the walked up and the porch and neared the door, Finn let out a shaky laugh and put the key in the lock, turning it and pushing the door open to the house. Their house. Finn shrugged when Grace spoke, running a hand through the hair as she looked around the empty house. They had so much to do and so much to unpack. Finn had decided to bring everything for the kitchen and the majority of the stuff lying around in her bedroom - the rest was donated.

"Maybe we could start off slow? What did you bring with you again?" Finn asked as she walked over to the staircase, dropping her backpack down by it.

Starting off by organizing the kitchen would most likely be easiest, mainly because they already knew where everything had to go. Cutlery in a drawer, plates in a high cabinet, pots and pans in a low cabinet, and everything in between.

"Or we could just make a blanket nest and order Chinese." Finn offered simply, dropping down to sit on one of the steps with a little smirk. It wasn't because she didn't wanna begin decorating their house, but she already felt so drained from last minute packing in the morning and emotional goodbyes from their parents.

---

Noah nodded as soon as Dakota caught on to the scent, and he felt slightly embarrassed at the fact that now he'd have to confront the strangers while barefoot. If anything, he could always lie and say his shoes finally gave out on him.

"How should we talk to them without seeming strange?" Noah asked, not knowing how to really go about this. Normally, human scents came in went a couple times a month, but this one was different. He had seen the 'for sale' sign in the yard and now it was gone, so obviously these humans were here to stay.

Noah had absolutely nothing against humans. Really, he didn't, but having to hide who he was more than usual rubbed him the wrong way. If he wanted to pad around in his wolf form, then he'd have to do it strictly in the woods instead of down the street. He'd also have to adapt to the new scent mingling in with his pack's scent, so naturally, Noah would have to scent mark everyone so he wouldn't feel like he was going absolutely insane.

Dakota shrugged his shoulders as he shut the front door to his house, "I guess we should just go welcome them and see if they need any help." He suggested as that seemed to be the most normal thing they could do, he glanced at Noah as they began to walk through the forest in the direction that the scents were coming from.

"It'll be fine, man. Don't worry about it," He assured his beta and best friend, although he didn't want these people there. He wasn't going to scare them away because he wasn't a mean person, but he could act like a big dick at times. He couldn't do anything so he'd just have to deal with these strangers the best way he could, but he wanted to assure Noah in hopes that it would make him feel even slightly better. Although he wasn't sure if it had worked or not.

He gave Noah's back a light pat as they continued walking, it wasn't all that long before the house came into sight. The scents were getting much stronger now, Dakota noticed the two cars parked in the driveway so he walked along the path and onto the porch. He glanced at Noah as his knuckles tapped on the wooden front door, he stood there with his beta as they waited for someone to answer the door.

"Hi, I'm Dakota and this is Noah. We just wanted to welcome you to the neighbour and see if you needed any help," He spoke in a smooth tone so he didn't offend the brunette girl, who had answered the door.

---

Grace stood there as her dark eyes moved around their empty house as she came to terms that this was where she was going to be living, she looked over at her sister and smiled at her warmly. "I brought everything from my room, our bathroom and anything that Mom and Dad gave us." She told her sister as they had somethings in the lounge room, like books and movies but their parents had also given them somethings that a house needed.

"But I'd love to have some Chinese, I'll have my usual." She said as she heard someone knocking on their front door, "We have visitors, Finn!" Grace said in excitement as she quickly rushed over to the front door as she was the closest to it, she opened the door and saw two attractive men standing there.

She smiled at them both, "Thank you. I'm Grace and we'd love the help, but we were just about to order Chinese before starting to unpack." She told them both and although they were both handsome, she preferred the one with the dark curly hair. "Finn, come meet our visitors." She called over to her sister as it was only nice if these young men met them both, they didn't have to come over and offer their help but they did.

Finn raised an eyebrow slightly when there was a knock at the door, not knowing who it could be. They weren't expecting any visitors, and they had been clear about the date of their housewarming party in a couple of weeks. When Grace opened the door, Finn didn't even try to look and see who it was, but she stood up with a tight lipped smile and walked over to stand next to her sister. Her tight smile turned genuine as the curly haired man's eyes grew at the sight of the two of them. She couldn't help but take notice of his appearance - shirtless, barefoot, and messy hair. Finn wondered how the hell he ended up in such a state.

"I'm Finley," she said, glancing away from Noah to look at Dakota, preferring him to his friend, "But everyone calls me Finn. Please come in and excuse the emptiness that's our house."

Finn pulled her phone out of her pocket and began searching for a nearby Chinese restaurant, glancing at the menu to make sure they had what she and Grace wanted.

"Do you guys want anything?" Finn asked nonchalantly, looking up from the online menu to meet both Noah and Dakota's eyes for a moment. "Also would either of you mind riding with me to get it? We're still pretty new to the area and I wanna navigate my way around without relying on my GPS."

---

Noah lifted a hand to wave slightly to wave at the girl, eyes widening when she appeared again. Twins. They were both equally beautiful, and he knew he'd never be able to tell the difference if Grace had darker and wavier hair like her Finn. Actually, he would. As soon as Finn appeared, he was able to tell their scents apart. While both were sweet, Grace's scent was fruity sweet while Finn's was floral. Either way, he wasn't complaining.

"I'll just have chicken lo mein," Noah said, "And I'll pay you back, Finn, thank you."

At her question, Noah glanced over at Dakota for a moment, knowing he was most likely gonna volunteer to ride up there with her. He knew his best friend too well, though he didn't comment on it.

"So what brings you to the area?" Noah asked the twins, not really caring who answered the question first.

Dakota had no been expecting to find twins, they did look very similar but had slight differences in looks but their scents were also different. Which would help him tell them apart, from just standing there he didn't sense there to be a threat from the twins which did put him at ease. "Thank you," He thanked the girls as he stepped into their empty house.

"It won't be empty for long, we'd still like to help." He told them as he figured it would be easier for him and Noah to do all the heavy lifting, then have the twins struggle. Not that the twins wouldn't be able to life heavy items, but it would be easier and much faster if he and Noah helped out.

"I'll have beef and black bean, thanks." He told Finn who had her phone in her hands, "I'll show you around." That wasn't a problem, it would also give him time to get a better feel for her so he'd know that neither of the twins would cause them any trouble.

His green eyes focused on Finn as she made the call to order them all some Chinese food, which sounded really good right about now.

---

Grace smiled as she really appreciated Noah and Dakota being there, she had struggled to get some boxes into her car so she wasn't looking forward to carrying the boxes inside. She could do it herself but it would just take her some time, she looked over at Noah and she had to make herself focus on his face. He was shirtless and Grace would admit it, this stranger was smoking hot.

"We though it was about time we moved out of our family home, this house was a really good price so we couldn't pass it up." She told Noah with a warm smile on her face, which let her dimples show in her cheeks.

"Have you lived here for a long time?" She asked him sweetly as it would be nice to have someone who could show her and Finn around, Grace hated getting lost anywhere.

Finn called up to the Chinese restaurant and began placing their order, pacing about slightly as she talked, a habit of hers that she was unable to break. She just couldn't stand still while talking on the phone - she didn't know why. Casually, Finn glanced over at Dakota, meeting his green eyes with a nervous smile. He was quite possibly one of the most attractive guys she'd ever had the pleasure of speaking to and speaking to him made her feel like she was back in high school all over again. Butterflies in her stomach, palms clamming up, and teeth chewing on her lower lip. Once she hung up, Finn opened up her backpack to grab her wallet before heading towards the door, looking towards Dakota.

"They said it'd take about fifteen minutes, should we just head out now?" Finn asked. She realized that as she and Grace drove out, there weren't many restaurants around, just a few little stores and diners that would get everyone by. It seemed like all of the major places were just outside of the town. Finn didn't mind it at all - she loved being able to get away from everyone and have a place to call her own.

She butted into Grace and Noah's conversation when he asked what brought them to the area, feeling like she needed to speak up too. "And it's got a porch!" She interjected, still very excited about the fact that she had her own porch that she'd be able to string lights and drink alcohol on.

---

Noah nodded thoughtfully when Grace answered her question, yet he was fighting back a smirk as he noticed her trying to keep her eyes focused on his face and not his body. Being a werewolf came with many perks - an extremely toned body happened to be one of them. He was constantly running, climbing, hunting, and pushing his body to limits he never knew existed, so in return, he and a lot of other members of his pack were rewarded for it.

"Well I hope you like it here, we're a very...tight knit community," Noah phrased, eyes darting over to Dakota as he did so with a half smile, chuckle falling from his lips at Finn's interjection, "And it's quite a nice porch. If you need furniture for it, you can stop by my parent's place around the corner. I just bought them a brand new set but they insisted that they like their old one. Consider it a house warming gift from the Collins family.

Dakota had already been looking over at Finn when she glanced at him, causing their eyes to lock and he usually never looked at someone this much. He tended to stick with his pack and the guys at the garage, he wasn't the best when it came to making friends because he honestly didn't want to make friends with people. He had been like that since he was a child, he didn't see himself changing anytime soon.

"We can, yeah." He told her as he stepped over to the front door and held it open for Finn, he glanced over at Noah and gave him a slight nod of his head when he heard Noah's comment about it being a tight knit community. He followed Finn outside and let her lead the way to which car was her's, "I'm not much of a porch fan. But this is a nice porch," He had never paid attention to porch's before but Finn seemed to love them.

He walked over to the passenger side seat of the car that she was heading to, he climbed into the car so he could give her directions to where the Chinese restaurant was. It wasn't far away and it wouldn't them fifteen minutes to get there, but he thought Finn may want to also have a little look around as she drove. "Go to the right," He told her as he placed the seat belt across his body.

---

Grace smiled as she looked at her sister, Finn knew that they needed this house just because there was a porch. She didn't mind because she loved their house as well, "Well I can't wait to meet other people." She looked at Noah, he had to know what he was doing to her. She wasn't complaining that he wasn't wearing a shirt, he had an amazing body and she wouldn't mind seeing it every single day.

Not that she'd ever admit that to anyone, she'd tell Finn but that was it. "Do you mind helping me bring in the boxes in my car? We have a moving truck coming in a little while, with bigger furniture." She told him and once he nodded his head, she took him outside to her car. She opened the boot which was completely filled with boxes, she had so many clothes, shoes and beauty products.

She was a huge girly girl and loved all things girly, "These boxes can be put into the living room. And these boxes can be put into my room," She told him as she pointed out the different boxes, she had decided to give Finn the bedroom on the second floor. Both rooms had the same outlay and the bathrooms were the same also, but she preferred the first floor. She took a heavy box into her arms and carried it from her car to the living room.

Finn nodded and thanked Dakota softly when he held the door open for her, smile widening when he commented on the porch. "I knew it was a nice one!" She said excitedly as she got into her car, tossing her backpack into the backseat casually. Finn started the car up and turned the music down, color rising on her cheeks at the rock music coming from the speakers. People usually didn't peg Finn as someone who listened to that sort of music, but hey, it was the music she listened to all the time in high school, and with the big move she and Grace made, it comforted her quite a lot.

After buckling her seat belt and backing out of the driveway, Finn listened to Dakota's directions and headed right, singing along softly to the music. She looked over at Dakota sheepishly when she remembered he was still sitting right there as she sang.

"So I'm assuming you're not a big Blink-182 fan, right? Otherwise I think I would've heard you singing along by now," Finn joked, tapping her fingers on the wheel in time with the song.

Despite her sister being more in touch with her girlier side, Finn was almost the polar opposite, yet still partook in things such as shopping and hoarding shoes. But, Finn also liked doing things that seemed like they were strictly 'for guys only' like riding her motorcycle (which was still being transported over from their parents' place) and swearing like a sailor. She'd get to know Dakota more before letting him see how she really was. Hell, Finn might even take him for a ride on her bike one day.

---

Noah smiled at Grace. "Everyone around here would be glad to meet you, they're all great people. Maybe we could gather everyone up and through a small party to welcome you into the neighborhood, like something in the park so the kids can play and whatnot."

There was something about Grace wanting to meet the rest of the pack that made Noah's wolf excited, like he was proud to show off his family and brag about how amazing they all were. Of course they'd be anxious about humans moving in, but once they'd see how nonthreatening the twins were, all would be well. Plus, sometimes the younger kids needed to have time to run around while still human, even though their wolves wanted to shift, it helped either way.

Noah nodded when Grace asked for help, following her out to her car and lifting a great deal of boxes with ease. He didn't want to carry too many - it'd seem too extraordinary if he were to do so. He set some of the designated boxes down in the living room before turning to put the rest in his arms in her rooms.

"Jeez, what d'ya got in these? Bricks?" He joked, setting them down on her floor with an incredulous laugh. "They seemed to heavy to just be clothes, unless I'm mistaken."

Dakota's brow lifted when he heard Blink 182 come out of the speakers of her car, "Actually I am a fan. But trust me, you wouldn't want to hear him sing. I'd make you go deaf," He told her with a small smile gracing his lips, he usually couldn't stand being around people that he didn't know. But there was something about Finn, she seemed different and he hadn't expected her to listen to rock music.

But it was the music that he loved, so he liked that Finn was a fan as well. "What else are you hiding?" He chuckled softly knowing that she would probably surprise him with a lot, they hardly knew each other and for some reason Dakota wanted to know everything about her.

He never felt like this before so it was strange to him, he wasn't used to having these emotions running through his body. He didn't hate having these emotions, but he had no idea what he was going to do with them.

"So tell me about yourself, do you have a job?" He asked not knowing if she'd now have to travel to her job, but if she didn't have one then he was sure he could figure something out. His parents owned the local diner and they were friends with pretty much everyone in the small town, his father had been the beta to Noah's dad who had been the alpha of the pack.

---

Grace's dark eyes lit up when Noah mentioned having a little welcoming party for her and Finn, that would be a great way for the twins to meet people. Grace could be a little shy, especially when she was meeting new people without having Finn there with her.

"That would be great, I hope everyone likes us." She stated as she always wanted people to like her and her sister, Finn wasn't all that bothered if people liked her and she could be more social than Grace.

It would also mean that Grace could cook food for the party, one of her passions was cooking and baking. Just being in the kitchen in general made her happy, she was glad when she saw the kitchen in the house. It wasn't huge but it wasn't tiny either, there was plenty of room and the appliances were brand new.

She couldn't stop from smiling when she heard Noah's comment, "No. I just have a lot of clothes," She told him as she wasn't high maintenance, she just loved shopping and loved having clothes. "If the boxes are too heavy for you, then little ol' me can carry them in." She smiled as she looked at him, giving him an sweet look so he would continue to help her carry in the heavy boxes.

Finn laughed, glancing over at Dakota with a fond look on her face. "Aw come on, I bet you're not that bad," she said lightly, nodding her head along to the music and doing her best attempt at dancing in her seat at a red light. She was a pretty guarded person, yet she didn't really care what others thought of her because she knew they didn't really know who she was, but around Dakota, she felt like she could be as silly as she wanted without having to put up some tough front like she normally did with strangers. "I remember when I was in high school, this dude at talent show went up to sing this song and completely ruined it. Everyone gave him shit the next day for it. I bet you're better than poor Jimmy Wells."

At his question, Finn smirked at him and shrugged. "I've got a motorcycle," she replied casually, "And a half sleeve of tattoos." As of now, Finn's flannel was keeping it covered, otherwise it'd be easier to tell Finn and Grace apart from each other, the other difference just being their hair. Finn casually slipped off the flannel on her right arm, revealing some of the colorful ink before pulling it back up. "What about you? Got something you're hiding?"

She was really beginning to like Dakota, especially because he was such a chill person. If the rest of the people living in the area were like him, Finn would have no problem adjusting to life around here.

"Grace and I used to work as waitresses at a restaurant back home but we quit so we could move here. We haven't started looking for any new jobs yet but we need to. We have the house basically paid off but we still have utilities to pay for, plus an internet bill once we get that in."

---

Noah scoffed when Grace said she hoped everyone would like them. "Everyone will love you," he reassured with a huge grin, knowing how the pack was. They were always wary of humans but if they were friends of Noah's or Dakota's, then everything was smooth sailing. He rolled his eyes playfully at her sweet looking expression, already feeling so comfortable with this girl. He wasn't sure were these feelings were coming from, but he wasn't fighting it at all.

"And how could I ever say no to that face?" Noah asked, "Fine, I'll go get more bricks and hope my back doesn't give out." He murmured, walking out of the room to go retrieve more boxes to put in the house.

There was something about Grace that made his stomach feel tight and his wolf relaxed. Maybe it was her scent doing something to him, yet he couldn't be absolutely positive. He was looking forward to having her live in the neighborhood, especially if it meant being able to talk and joke around and have a good time just like they were right now. If he could keep that smile on her face, he'd carry as many boxes as she needed. Noah grabbed another load of boxes and carried them inside, grateful that they all belonged in Grace's room so he could pretend to be hurt. He dropped them down and placed a hand on his lower back, an expression of mock pain on his face.

"Oh my old back, I can't carry on much longer. But how could I ever say no to that face!"

Dakota shook his head, "You wouldn't want to hear me sing. If this Jimmy Wells was horrible, imagine me having a hundred times worse." He was being dramatic but he really didn't have any talent when it came to music or singing, although he was completely fine with that. If he did start to sing in front of Finn than he would just embarrass himself, something that he didn't want to do when he was around someone so beautiful. He didn't want Finn to give him shit about being tone deaf, however it would give him an excuse to spend more time with Finn and Dakota found himself wanting to be around Finn more.

He had thought he was shocked when he heard the type of music that she loved, but when she heard that she rode a motorbike and saw her colorful tattoos. He was even more shocked but something settled deep inside him, he couldn't put his finger on it but he felt like he was meant to at least know Finn. His wolf had relaxed which only happened when he was with his family or his pack, he'd need to ask his father and the elders about why he was feeling this way.

"You are a bag full of surprises, aren't you." He grinned as she seemed to be a lot more edgy than her sister, something he had always found attractive in the opposite gender. "I have many hidden secrets, you'll have to wait to see if I show them to you." He grinned as he hoped that would keep her wanting to learn new things about him, which meant she'd have to continue seeing him.

He told her to turn right again when they came to a round about, "If you like I could talk to my parents. They own that diner, right there." He pointed to the left when they drove past the diner, he had worked there when he was younger but it was never for him. "You can park anywhere along here," He told her as they were now on the main street where the bulk of shops and restaurants were.

---

Grace smiled when Noah assured her that everyone would love her, she hoped that he was right because if the local people did love her than it would make her feel so much better. "Thank you and you'll be fine, I'm sure." She smiled at him as she never made friends this quickly, she usually never felt comfortable with anyone this shortly. But she liked Noah and it felt like they had always known each other, when in reality they had only just met.

She continued to help him carry the boxes but she was just taking one at a time, that was all she could carry and even that was beginning to tire her out. Although she had been rushing around all morning with last minute packing and getting her and Finn's cars packed up, was also tough.

She had followed Noah into her room and set her box down on the floor, she chuckled softly as he pretended to have hurt his back. "Aww poor little thing, why don't you have a rest." She looked at him as she stepped closer to him and placed her hand on his back, "I knew that I had pushed you too far." She teased him but quickly realised how close she was standing to him, she also had her hand on his bare back and his skin was so warm.

She stepped back as a pink tinted blush was forming across her cheeks, "Sorry..." She murmured quietly as she walked back out to her car, she shut up her car and walked back inside so she could wait for her sister to bring the Chinese food home.

Finn could only roll her eyes at Dakota because she knew no one was worse than Jimmy Wells. The kid was a train wreck. It wasn't like Finn was much better than him either, her voice was pretty average sounding - nothing too spectacular but not exactly bad.

Her eyes lit up when Dakota said he had secrets too, anxious to know what they were. Her bottom lip jutted out in a pout at the thought of having to wait to learn them, yet she didn't mind having to spend time with him in order to find out what the secrets were.

"Well maybe I'll take you out sometime on my bike," Finn murmured, "And hopefully that'll coax something out of you, huh?" She made the correct turn when told, eyebrows raising at the roundabout she had to go through. It was her first time ever being in one, so when she dropped her speed more than normal, Finn told herself that she'd get the hang of it eventually.

She glanced over to the left at the sight of the diner, smiling a little at how cute and quaint it looked. The last restaurant that she and Grace had worked at was very popular with the locals, and while that was great for business and tips, it meant that almost every night was a busy night. Some days they wouldn't leave until hours after they were supposed to close, so Finn was left drinking cups of coffee at two in the morning finishing essays for her classes at the community college. It was barely a step up from being literal hell.

"I'd love that Dakota, thank you." Finn said genuinely, hoping that Grace would like to work there as well. When she spotted the Chinese restaurant, Finn pulled up to it and parked, checking the time on the dashboard to see if the food was ready yet.

---

Noah put on his best sad expression when Grace's hand rested on his back. He couldn't help but chuckle as her face flushed pink after she realized what she had done, but he didn't mind. For some reason, being with this girl felt as easy as breathing, and that was usually never his case for humans. Noah had to talk to his elders about this and hope that whatever he was feeling was normal for werewolves.

He left her room and plopped himself down on the floor in the middle of the living room, legs stretched on in front of him and arms keeping him propped up as he watched her entire the house again.

"You know, it's alright to touch me. I don't bite...much." Noah sent a playful wink in her direction before patting the area next to him. "Come sit with me, tell me a bit about yourself while we wait."

Dakota saw the pout that had formed on Finn's lips, he couldn't help but find that adorable. "That would be pretty cool, and if you ever need any work done on your bike or your car. Then you're sitting next to the best mechanic in town," He told her just in case anything did go wrong with her car or bike, or even if she just wanted a service on either of her vehicles.

"We'll see what you get out of me," He grinned as he did tend to be a closed off person, but for some reason he wouldn't mind telling Finn all about himself and his wolf side. "You don't have to thank me, I haven't gotten you the job yet." But he was certain that his parents would hire both the twins, they'd love the twins and it would help everyone out. A waiter had left the diner not that long enough as the guy was moving away, so his parents could use to hire someone else.

He leaned over to also check the time, they still had sometime to wait. "Their usually pretty good, we could go inside to wait if you like." He suggested to Finn as he didn't really mind what they did.

---

Grace looked at Noah who was now sitting on the floor in the living room, "I know that. But I thought you might not like it, if you have a girlfriend." She mentioned and tried to make it seem like she wasn't interested in his answer, of course she wanted to know if he had a girlfriend or not. She was certain that someone so handsome would already be taken, but she wanted to ask anyways.

She walked over to him and sat down on the floor beside him, "There isn't really anything to tell you. I'm older than Finn by five minutes, I can be shy so I never really had much friends growing up. I love being in the kitchen, which I get from my Mom." She shrugged her shoulders a little as she hated talking about herself, she always thought she was boring compared to Finn.

Finn had tattoos and rode a motorbike, she was way more interesting and exciting. She knew that Finn always tried to take Grace out of her comfort zone, she loved her sister for that.

Finn's eyes lit up at the mention of Dakota being a mechanic. "Oh that's so cool! I've always wanted to learn how to work on cars and shit. I was gonna take a mechanics class at my high school but once the teacher found out I was a girl, he had me switched into home economics. Sexist bastard. Anyways, thanks for the offer, I'll be sure to blow up your phone whenever the littlest thing goes wrong with either my car or my bike."

"Well, I'm still thanking you for the opportunity, dork." Finn mumbled, pushing his shoulder a little, attitude definitely playful and bordering on flirtatious. She hoped that she and Grace would get the job, what with their experience in the food industry already and proximity to the diner. And hey, if they didn't, she could always keep looking around for a while. The twins had enough money saved up for them to not work for at least a few weeks, but they needed to find something before they really settled down.

Finn shrugged, not really caring on if they went inside or stayed in the car. "We can stay in for a minute so I can at least try and pry something out of you. Maybe you've got a tattoo as well? But it's something that would be embarrassing like a kitten or a heart with an arrow through it."

---

Noah knew what Grace was doing - trying to figure out if he had a girlfriend. He used to have one, a girl he had met while working at the college a few years ago, but as soon as he had told her about who he really was, she freaked out. Of course she promised not to tell anyone, but she told him that dating a dog just wasn't for her. That devastated him. Not the fact that she couldn't accept him for who he was. No, he could deal with that. Noah just couldn't believe she had the audacity to call him a dog. It threw him off of dating ever since, yet as he looked at Grace, he couldn't see any traces of cruelty at all. She was way different from that girl.

"Well, lucky for you, I don't have a girlfriend," he replied nonchalantly, "I guess I walk around half naked too much for people's liking." Noah shrugged before offering her a grin.

He listened to her as she talked about herself, loving hearing these small little details about her. They would talk a lot more about themselves one day - he'd just have to settle with starting slow. "Is Finn the outgoing one of you two?" He asked, "And do you prefer baking or preparing actual meals?"

Dakota may not like many people, but he still believed that everyone should have the same opportunities and really if a woman wanted to be a mechanic than she should be allowed to be. He hated people who were sexist or racist, everyone should live their lives in anyway that they wanted.

"You should come to the garage sometime, I could show you some thing." He grinned as he continued to sit in her car, he chuckled softly when she nudged him. "Then I'll take that thank you, I'm sure you and Grace will be hired within a few days." He told her knowing that both twins would get a job quickly in the town, he shook his head lightly when she decided to stay in her car for a little while longer.

He looked at her and hadn't even noticed how playful and slightly flirty his green eyes had gotten, "You think I have an embarrassing tattoo, huh? Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't." He grinned at her even though he did have a heart tattoo, it was small and had been the first one he ever got so it looked horrible. But he wouldn't show her that any time soon, "But I think you'll like this one." He shifted in the seat so his back was facing her more.

He lifted his shirt so she could see his left side as he had a large dragon tattoo along his left side, the head of the dragon was over his shoulder blade and it looked amazing. It was colorful and was the largest tattoo he had, he had other smaller ones on his arms and a few on his chest.

---

Grace smiled softly to herself when she learnt that Noah indeed didn't have a girlfriend, she was also single as the last boyfriend she had cheated on her with someone she considered a good friend. She didn't date much because she had been heart broken from the last break up, "I'm sure many people like that you walk around half naked. But don't you get cold?" She asked as she looked at him.

He really was handsome and Grace would love to spend more time with him, get to know him as well as she knew Finn. "She is, always has been the outgoing one." It didn't bother Grace, it was just how Finn was. "I love both but if I could bake all day long then I would be. I've always wanted to open up a little cafe," She wasn't sure if that dream would ever happen, it wouldn't be happening anytime soon that was for sure.

"I took a business course after I finished high school as well, but I doubt I'd ever use it." She told him as she knew it would be hard and would take so much hard work, she also needed money to start it all up which she didn't have right now.

Finn returned his smile, loving that there were definite plans to meet again sometime. Spending time with Dakota was proving to be fun so far. The last time she had gotten somewhat close to a guy was in high school. He left to go play college baseball and left Finn with nothing but empty promises of returning to be with her when it was all said and done. The last she heard he was engaged to a leggy blonde he met during his freshman year who cheered him all on the time.

"Well I'll definitely stop in then. It'd be useful to know how to change my own fucking tire, right?" Finn claimed, smile still in place, "I'll make sure to let her know. She's gonna be thrilled."

The longer Finn watched Dakota, the more she noticed how flirty he was becoming. It wasn't necessarily how he spoke or anything, but his body language and eyes sent a very clear signal. She was just glad that he was reciprocating the feelings.

"Oh will I?" Finn asked, though her breath caught in her throat at the gorgeous dragon on Dakota's back. Without thinking, Finn placed her fingers on the dragon, lightly running them down the lines of it. "It's beautiful." She said softly, fingers still caressing his skin before pulling them away altogether.

---

Noah shook his head. "Nah, I tend to run pretty hot." He'd explain that later with him being a werewolf in all, but for now, this vague explanation was just enough.

"She kinda seemed like she had the 'I give no shits' attitude, it's kinda cool," he stated, smiling at her answer, "My mom used to bake with me a lot when I was younger. I loved making all sorts of cakes and pies and cookies for everyone here. Now I'm too old so she stopped helping."

He cocked his head to the side slightly as an idea popped into his head. If she had known he was a werewolf, his action could've been explained as looking like a confused puppy.

"You know, Dakota's parents own a diner here. Maybe you could do some baking there, they've been serving the same dessert items for years. You'd be awesome at going in and showing them what's new and good now."

Dakota chuckled softly as he looked at Finn and raised a brow at her, "Who said that I'd teach you anything like that? That will just stop me from swooping in and saving you every time that you need me," He looked at her as a rather cheeky grin formed across his eyes, he never flirted with anyone but he was sitting there flirting with Finn. He had no idea if he was even flirting right or if he was good at it.

"I'll glad she'll be happy, I know you'll be happy as well. But I will warn you now, I visit there a lot with my friends. So you'll be seeing me often," He told her just so she'd know, he didn't want to suddenly always turn up when she had a shift. He always went there for meals with the pack, at least it would be a great way for his pack to meet the twins but Finn mainly.

A shiver ran down Dakota's spine when her fingers moved along his bare skin, "It's my favourite one." He murmured quietly as he was just focusing on how wonderful her fingers felt against his skin, he tried not to think about how it would feel to have her lips pressed to his. To have his large hands rest on her the curse of her waist and hips, he had to shake that thought from his mind as they had just met and he was already having those types of thoughts.

But then she pulled her finger away, so he pushed his t-shirt back down and turned to face Finn. "Everyone has a favourite tattoo, what's yours?" He asked her as he did want to see the tattooed that graced her skin.

---

Noah was very hot, however Grace didn't dare actually say that out aloud. She nodded her head, "She's always been like that. Something I've always been jealous of," She admitted to him as she admired her little sister so much, they were different in so many ways and yet they still couldn't live apart. She smiled as she listened to Noah's voice, "Your Mom sounds amazing." She looked at him and focused on the strong features that his face had.

"Maybe you could bake a cake for me sometime, see if you've still got it." She chuckled softly even though she was being serious, she loved everything about desserts and ate sweet treats often. "I have the biggest sweet tooth, my Dad has one too and loved when I baked with my Mom." She smiled fondly at the memory, Finn was never interested in being in the kitchen so she always waited to eat with their Dad.

Grace looked at Noah before shaking her head, "Oh no. I couldn't do that, I don't want to be a burden or seem like I'm intruding." She told him as she wasn't that type of person.

Finn only laughed softly, not really caring if a bunch of guys came into the restaurant being rowdy or whatnot, as long as Dakota was present, she'd be just fine. Plus, it'd give her a chance to jump in on jokes with some of the locals so she'd fit in a bit better. Though it wasn't entirely too hard for Finn to make friends, she was still anxious to make friends with the people she'd be seeing almost every single day.

"I can see why," she replied, fighting the urge to run her fingers across the ink again, "You're skin's so warm." Finn observed, longing to feel the warmth once more. It made her think about hugging herself close to his body, hands resting on his chest as she let herself become engulfed by his heat. With a quick blink, Finn came back to reality and dropped her thoughts.

Finn shrugged her flannel off once more to expose her half sleeve, pointing to an anchor with a daisy attached to the bottom of it. "This one's my favorite," she said, "It was my first one. My mom had wanted me to get a flower tattoo instead of an anchor, so I gave her what she wanted and drew it as one tattoo. She was pissed."

---

"I don't think you should be jealous of her outgoingness...is that a word? Outgoingness?" Noah chuckled a bit and waved his hand. "Well, what I'm trying to get at is that you're both great, and I think the fact that you're a little shy is cute." He told her honestly, deciding to throw caution to the wind and say what he really felt. It's not like he was admitting how she made him feel entirely or anything, but it still had his cheeks color up a bit.

Noah shrugged at her suggestion, sticking his tongue out playfully at her. "Of course I've still got it," he bragged, "I'll make the best red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting you've ever had in your entire life. That's a promise." It was also the only cake he could make without having to follow a recipe word for word, but no one had to know that little fact. Everyone he'd baked for loved the desserts regardless, so it's not like he was that bad at baking without having recipes memorized.

"Oh no, you wouldn't be a burden at all!" Noah reassured, "I'm pretty sure one of the staff there just quit anyway and they're looking for help. They'll most likely hire both you and Finn, I'll talk to Dakota about it later."