Who will I be when I wake up next to a stranger?

Emmaline was holding onto a creased piece of paper that had a hiking track printed on the crisp white sheet of paper, from an early age she had fallen in love with exploring nature as her mom had always been the adventurous type which Emmaline had received also. She pushed back some of her blonde hair that had fallen down from the ponytail she had thrown up quickly that morning, she didn't look like the type of girl who would want to go hiking but she was and she loved being out in the fresh air. She also had her sketching journal inside the backpack that was over her shoulders, she had always been in art and crafts which turned into having a talent of drawing. She adored finding somewhere to sit and sketching whatever was surrounding her, drawing nature combined two of her passions so she did it often. But she wanted to explore a new place so she found a track that looked like she could walk it and she was now setting off for it, excitement bubbled in her body as she took the first few steps on the dirt track. Her eyes were scanning the area constantly as she wanted to take everything in, she wanted to see as much as she could even though she would be back at any chance she had.

She folded the piece of paper and slid it back into the pocket of her pants, the track was somewhat easy to follow and every now and again there was a sign so Emmaline knew she was still going in the right direction. After about an hour of walking, Emmaline sat down on a fallen log and pulled her water bottle from her backpack so she could keep herself hydrated. She decided it was a nice spot to start a new drawing so she opened her journal to a fresh page and pulled out a few different pencils, the sunlight was beaming through the trees and hitting different areas on the ground. Emmaline always became absorbed in her work that she wouldn't notice much else around her, which is why her parents always told her to be careful when she went on hikes by herself.

---

Marlee had clocked out of her finished morning shift at a coffee shop that she worked out, she stepped into the staff only room where she quickly changed out of the uniform that she had to wear for work and placed everything neatly in her locker before she said goodbye to the other staff as she walked out the front door. She glanced along the busy street before her deep blue eyes landed on her boyfriend's car, Daniel drove an older car that he had fixed up with his dad's help. She however knew nothing about cars and she didn't even have her license yet, but she also couldn't afford to buy a car to learn in. Her single mother had a crappy car that they used but their money was tight so Marlee always used buses to get places, so when Daniel offered to take her placed then she never refused him. So she made her way over to where he was leaning against his car as he waited for her to finish work, "Hi" Marlee smiled as she leaned up on her toes to press a soft kiss to Daniel's cheek, she wasn't someone who liked public displays of affection and either was Daniel.

It was something that happened in private or at least around close friends or family, "So do you have any plans for the rest of the day?" She asked him as they had been dating for about a month now and Marlee was already falling for him, they actually met in coffee shop after a business man had accidently bumped into Marlee and then blamed her for spilling a drink on his suit. It was Daniel who came to her aid and told the man that he needed to apologize and leave, from there they talked and it was Daniel who gave Marlee his number in case she wanted to talk to him more. Which she did and things were wonderful, she had even met his friends the other week which she thought went well. Most of them welcomed her aside from one, Lily, she just didn't seem to like Marlee at all.

Lily was on the move.

She was running through the forest on her four paws, as wolves do. She enjoyed being in her wolf form more than she could ever like her human form; not that it wasn't beautiful, but she was more in touch with nature this way. She could see better, hear better, and smell better.

It was her sense of smell that was leading her now. A rabbit. She had caught it trying to snack on some plants near her den, and despite the fact that she didn't need/i] to eat like a wolf, it wouldn't stop her from doing so. Besides, it seemed as if there was some difference between the energy she had as a wolf versus the energy she had as a human. When she ate like a wolf in wolf form, she had more energy. It was likewise for her human form.

Lily followed the rabbit up the incline and over a small creek, where another smell caught her attention. Ugh, she thought. Human. Lily had almost never smelled a human this close to her den, except for her human family. There was her mother, Ava, who was a beautiful white wolf and the alpha of their pack. Lily adored Ava, she was the one person she could count on in times of need. Her father, James was a darker wolf, like Lily. She had many of her father's physical traits, including the dark hair and the deep brown eyes. James was the beta, but still demanded quite the amount of respect from his children.

Most of the other wolves left the den. They wanted to live lives as humans; get married, have families, live in boring suburban houses. Lily didn't understand that side. She was far more in touch with her animalistic side than any other piece of her. She had one sibling left, her brother Daniel. Not only were the two closest in age, but they were also the only two who actually enjoyed being wolves, except for their parents, of course. But even Daniel was beginning to turn on her. He was dating a human girl, by the name of Marlee. She smelled too much of strong odors, like sugar and chemicals. It burned Lily's nose being around her, more than human stink ever would. But no, this new smell she was smelling was not Marlee. It was a new person. One who smelled a bit more of nature, but still disgusting. However, she could not help herself from moving silently towards the smell, and stopping behind some trees at the edge of a clearing to get a good look.

Lily noticed a girl, a very pretty girl with blonde hair and blue eyes sitting and drawing something. She had never seen this girl before, or even anyone this far up into the woods. Lily sat down on her haunches, and decided to watch her for a while, giving up her meal to decide if there was a new threat to her home.



Daniel smiled when he saw Marlee leaving work. The girl almost never failed to bring him joy, and she always seemed happy to see him, as well. Daniel enjoyed bringing happiness to her life, and he could understand why most of his siblings left his family to start their own. He hoped Lily never heard him speak those words, or even knew he was thinking them. She was the baby of the family, and he watched a little piece of her fall away each time one of their siblings left the pack.

That was the hard part of being a wolf. Because they had the choice to change forms between human and wolf, they were given free right to go off and live their lives as humans, or stay with the pack and live out their lives as wolves, starting a family with other wolves. Lily, having just turned 20, hadn't seen much of the world yet. She had the opportunity, but she spent most of her time in her wolf body, protecting the den while their parents were away. They led normal lives with normal jobs about half the time, but they also did their duty to the pack. Daniel suspected that if their last children ever left, they would live out the rest of their years as humans.

He was snapped out of his daydreams when Marlee approached him, planting a kiss on his cheek. He was thankful the girl was not a big fan of public affection. Daniel wasn't raised believing that it was a normal thing, and he didn't understand why he would constantly see people kissing and hugging all the time when they were in public. The most affection his parents showed one another was when they were in wolf form, and would praise one another for a good hunt.

When Marlee asked him if he was free for the rest of the day, he screwed up his face and thought. "I think I'm free, did you have any plans in mind?" Daniel opened the door for her and closed it gently when she was in, rounded over to his side of the car, and started the engine once he was seated. He turned to her, excited to see if she had anything in mind for them for the day.

Daniel enjoyed hanging out with Marlee, but he knew that he couldn't tell her his family's secret. His parents only allowed his older siblings to tell their spouses after they met them and determined for themselves that they were good people who would keep the secret. The only reason they even allowed it was so that the spouses wouldn't call hospitals and big time news channels when their children spouted tails at the dinner table.

The lineage wasn't perfect. Because Daniel came directly from a long line of wolves, he was able to control when he switched bodies, and learned how to do it as soon as he could learn to hold his bladder. But for wolves who fornicate with humans, it's less able to be controlled. They have to work harder to keep themselves from changing in the beginning. 8 year old children would randomly pop ears when they got excited, or grow a tail to tuck between their legs when they were being reprimanded. Because of this, most children needed to be home schooled until they had perfected the art of hiding their heritage. The more humans that were mixed into the gene pool, the harder it became to control. This is where the whole "werewolf" myth came from. Eventually, the human hybrids would only have small traces of wolf in their blood, and that came down to the physical features. Things such as sharp canines, pointy ears, or rounded pupils. Some of them had better senses, such as better hearing, vision, or smell. But they were not able to shift bodies, or grow sharp claws.

Emmaline wasn't paying much attention to anything but her drawing, she constantly looked around where she was sitting for reference as she wanted her drawing to be a good one. She grabbed another pencil so she could start shading the trees and ground, she begun to hum quietly to herself while she worked. She even used her fingers to soften the outlines of a few leaves that she had captured falling down from the trees, she couldn't wait to show her parents this drawing as they were always so proud of her. Not that they weren't normally proud of her because they were, but they had always supported her in her love of art. Once she had finished shading she decided to do some more hiking as she was tired of sitting still, so she packed her belongings into her backpack and placed the straps over her shoulders. She was about to head off on the trail but she felt something, she wasn't sure what it was that she was feeling but she hadn't felt it before and she was certain of that. So she quickly looked around her, a frown forming on her face when her eyes landed on something. She couldn't see that well between the shrubs and large tree trunks, which made her curious so without her thinking about it her feet was already carrying her towards the person... or animal as Emmaline wasn't sure what she was seeing.

But she hadn't got that close when the animal turned and ran, Emmaline was positive that she had seen a tail and she didn't know what kind of animals lived in these parts and that should have scared her but it didn't. She ran to where the animal had been watching her and she looked around but she saw nothing, it had seemed to be fairly large and it moved quickly. It was on all fours so Emmaline racked her mind in coming up with animals that it could have been, she didn't think of many as her mind was running faster than it had done moments before. Sighing she decided to take a short walk around before she'd head back home, where she could put the finishing touches on her drawing. She thought she had been following the path but she wasn't, she was just walking deeper into the forest without a way of getting back as she got herself lost within a matter of minutes.

"Damn it," She murmured to herself as she tried to use her phone but she couldn't receive any reception, she huffed as she turned around so she could try and follow the way she had just come although it didn't work as she didn't remember what she was seeing. She pulled out her little map which wasn't any help, but she still wanted to check just in case she could work out a way back to the trail. She was looking at the paper when she accidently stepped into a rabbit hole that she hadn't seen, a small cry left her lips as she tripped forward and fell onto the dirt ground.

---

Marlee smiled as she climbed into Daniel's car and placed the seat belt across her body, she looked at Daniel when he sat beside her. "Maybe we could go on a nice drive or we could go for a walk," She suggested as she didn't have any plans in mind, "After that we could go back to my place and we could have something to eat" She looked at Daniel as she could very easily spend the whole day with him, but work always got in the way of that and he also had things that he needed to do during the day.

"How has your morning been?" She asked him once he pulled out of the parking spot and begun to drive through the street, there were some people at work who had actually warned her to stay away from Daniel because apparently he was bad news. But she hadn't seen what they were talking about, he was rough around the edges but he was a good guy and he hadn't hurt her yet and she was sure that he wouldn't.

"I thought that I could do something nice for Lily, I don't feel good knowing that she doesn't like me. I thought I had been really nice to her," She told him as she thought that maybe if she baked or cooked something that Lily liked, then it would make Lily not mind her as much. She wanted to get along with everything in Daniel's life, although she hadn't met his parents yet and she was glad because she'd be a nervous wreck when that happened. Relaxing into the car seat she rested her head on the head rest, she always had to wake up extra early when she had the morning shift.

Lily ran when she noticed the girl coming near her. She would not allow herself to be seen, on the off chance that this girl was born into a family of hunters or something. That was Lily's biggest fear about being a wolf. No one knew that they were living in the forest, but her mother told her that it was how her parents died. The wolf family was not small, either. They were twice as big as normal wolves, and smarter, too. They made for a good hunt, but when they lost the fight, they also made for a good trophy.

When Lily was sure she had lost the girl, she looped back around so she was behind her. Careful to keep a better distance between them, she perked her ears up to listen to what was happening. The girl sounded lost, and she had tripped over something. Lily shook her head, and told herself she was going to get this girl out. She dashed back to the den to get the clothes she kept there, and stayed in wolf form until she was almost back to the girl. Luckily, she wasn't far, and was able to cover this distance between her den and the girl in a matter of minutes. Once she was close enough to see the girl laying on her stomach in the dirt, she shifted to her human form and slipped her clothes on.

She kept things simple when it came to wearing clothes. At the den she had grabbed a white cloth dress that came down to the top of her knees and fit her form quite nicely. She had not grabbed shoes, as she hated wearing them. They made an awfully loud noise, crunching over sticks and fallen leaves. She much preferred to be barefoot, as she was able to move silently, and not disturb the forest around her.

When she finally reached the girl, she was sure she hadn't seen her yet. It was confirmed when the girl practically jumped out of her skin when she began talking.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.



Daniel thought about Marlee's proposal to go for a drive or a walk. A walk sounded much nicer, but the only nice hiking trails around here were close to the den, and he was sure Lily was roaming the woods, likely looking for something to eat. He put the thought out of his mind. "What about a movie," he asked her. A movie was safe, they could get food there, and not have to worry about Lily finding them in the woods. He feared she would show up in her wolf form and scare the girl to death.

"Don't waste your time on Lily," he stated. "It's not that she isn't a good person, because she is. She's just been through a lot. She kind of expected things to go differently for me, and she's a bit disappointed that they didn't go her way. God, that makes her sound selfish. Lily's kind-hearted, when you get to know her. You just have to let her come to you."

Daniel saw the girl smile out of the corner of his eye and nod. He reached over and placed his hand on her knee, heading towards the small town's movie theater.

Once inside, he bought both of their tickets to some romantic comedy that was playing, and went up to get some popcorn and a soda. He figured after the movie, they could go get some pizza or Chinese food, but for now he wanted to take his mind off his family, Lily in particular. His parents were accepting of the fact that he was seeing a human girl, his 5 other siblings had gone off in search of human love, they didn't see any reason why he couldn't. They would always have Lily, and they knew that. But she just didn't accept it. Their oldest brother, Nathan had been the easiest to accept. Lily was even okay with him going. Even when Pamela wanted to leave, Lily had been okay with it. She knew she still had 4 other siblings to run around and play with. But watching Evelynn and Micah, the twins leave took a toll on her. She had clung to Daniel, begging him never to leave the pack. She was only 13 then, he was 15. He had made his promise to her, that he would never marry a human, and he would find a nice wolf to start his own pack with. Their children would be able to turn into humans, but they would have a more animal side to them, like Lily. They would not like being human as much. They would all likely start their own wolf packs somewhere down the line.

It's not like there weren't other wolf people around. There were 2 other packs living in their small town, but they were the enemies. Daniel's pack had tried to make friends with them, and arrange a sort of marriage for him and Lily, but they had refused. Daniel's great-great grandparents had been driven out of their original territory up in the mountains by hunters, and came to settle here. The other packs didn't like that so much.

Emmaline had laid on the ground for a little bit as pain lingered in her ankle, she was lucky that she didn't badly twist it or break the bone. She'd need to limp back the way she came but after that she'd just need to rest her ankle for a couple of days, she had moved her foot from the rabbit hole as she didn't want to hurt herself anymore. "This is just great," She whispered to herself as she knew she needed to watch out where she was walking more often, she hadn't been paying attention so she didn't hear anyone approaching her until a voice startled her.

She jumped as her head snapped up in the direction of where the voice came from, standing there in a nice dress was a girl. Who looked to be around the same age as what Emmaline was, her dark raven hair was slightly messy and resting over the girl's shoulders. Her eyes were dark brown and large, but Emmaline could see that she wasn't welcome in this part of the forest. "I was just hiking and I got lost, I thought I saw an animal so I tried to follow it and I got even more lost." She explained herself to the stranger as she pushed herself back onto her feet, she only put a small amount of pressure on her right ankle as she didn't want to make it worse.

She brushed the dirt from her clothes before she looked at the girl again, "I'm Emmaline." She smiled before she noticed the girl wasn't wearing any shoes, which she found strange as who would come into the forest without shoes on? Surely walking through the forest would hurt bare feet, at least that is what Emmaline thought because the trail she had followed wasn't smooth. There were little rocks and pebbles in the dirt that would probably hurt her feet if she wasn't wearing sneakers, not the best hiking shoes but Emmaline didn't like wearing much else on her feet. As she stood there, the girl still didn't look very happy to see her there. Which again Emmaline didn't understand as this was a forest and there weren't any private property signs around, so she was allowed to go hiking if she wanted to.

"I just need to find the trail again, I'm not going to harm the forest or anything." She spoke honestly as she really didn't know what this girl's deal was, but at the same time it was nice to see another girl who enjoyed being outside in nature. Not many were these days which made Emmaline disappointed because a lot of girls would prefer to go shopping or go to lunch with their girl friends, not many willingly wanted to get their hands dirty or see the beauty of nature or fill their lungs with fresh air that didn't hold any pollution in it.

---

"A movie would be great," Marlee smiled before she listened to what Daniel was telling her about his younger sister, she wanted to waste her time on Lily because she saw herself being happy with Daniel and right now she didn't see them breaking up. So she wanted Lily to like her, but if Daniel said it was better to let Lily come to her than that is what she'll do. "Alright, I'll let her be and see if she'll change her mind about me." She smiled feeling his large hand cover her knee, she actually loved watching movies either at the cinema or at home. It gave her a few hours where she didn't have to think about anything and she could relax, of course now that she had Daniel in her life it was all that much better in her opinion.

She let him buy their tickets and snacks without a fuss as she did usually try to make one, she wasn't the type of girl who expected their boyfriend to always buy things for her and she has saved up money from all the jobs she had through high school so she could still buy things for herself. But she still felt spoilt when Daniel did buy her something, she carried the box of popcorn in her hands as they showed the cinema staff their tickets before walking into the right cinema. Marlee looked around for a place to sit and noticed there was a good handful of people already there, so she picked two seats in the middle of the cinema and sat down. "I've heard this movie is good," She spoke quietly to Daniel as they made themselves comfy in the seats, she relaxed into her seat knowing that Daniel wasn't fond of romantic movies unlike Marlee who loved them. But she had heard that this movie was still funny so she hoped that Daniel would still enjoy the movie because she wouldn't feel good if he wasn't enjoying himself.

She rested the popcorn on her lap so they could share, she picked up some buttery popcorn and ate it. As the lights dimmed she leaned closer to Daniel as the room was filled with loud sounds and the previews begun to play on the large screen. Shortly after that the movie played and Marlee was instantly engrossed in the story line, she continued to share the popcorn and soda with him until the movie was finished. She stretched out her body as the credits scrolled along the screen and the lights came on again, she smiled as she looked at Daniel beside her. "Did you like it?" She asked him as she hoped he did somewhat, "Did you want to go get some pizza now?" She was in the mood for a good pizza now, she picked up her bag and carried their empty rubbish over to the bin before she entwined her fingers with Daniel's so they could walk out and head down the street to where a pizza restaurant was that they had been to before.

Lily narrowed her eyes at the hiker. "You followed a wild animal without knowing what it was, are you asking to be killed?" Her voice was icy and cold, but she didn't care if she was being rude. If the girl, Emmaline or whatever, found her den, they would have to relocate. Lily wasn't about to do that. She did not offer the girl her name, she did not offer her hand for her to shake it. As far as she was concerned, Emmaline was out to harm the forest, she didn't care about nature or the wildlife, and if she did, she should know better to stick to the trails and not follow random wild animals.

"What if it were a bear, or a wolf?" she asked, naming the two most dangerous predators in the woods. Lily knew that she herself was one of them, and she would not hesitate to kill a human that stumbled upon her home, or ruined her forest. "This place doesn't belong to you, you don't have the right to come stomping all over it." Her wild animal mode was kicked on, and she wouldn't be able to shut it off anytime soon, not now that she was so angry with the human for being in her territory. This is why she hated her siblings for falling for humans. Did they not understand that it was humans who killed their forest in the first place? Even her parents were fine with it, and they were directly affected by that. Humans were the only animal that had the capability to destroy things the way they did. Lily wouldn't stand for it.



Daniel smiled as the movie finished, his fingers slippery from the buttery popcorn and his throat cold from the soda. He nodded at Marlee's question, "the movie was fantastic. Very funny." He followed her down the ramp and outside, breathing in the fresh air and squeezing Marlee's small hand in his. "Pizza sounds awesome, but I have to get going after that," he said. It was a hunting day, and his parents would expect him at the den to help them hunt in a pack. They wouldn't mind so much if he wasn't back in time, but Lily would be furious with him for spending his time with the human, as she called Marlee. Daniel wanted her to give the girl a chance, but he knew there was no changing Lily's mind. He had watched her chase a human in her wolf form before. He had been drunk, and was pissing too close to the den. Lily had gone nuts, and chased the guy until he was practically back at the street. She came back to the den, head held high and proud. He wasn't sure what he would do if he brought Marlee back to her.

They had met once, and Lily had been very cold. His parents were kind and welcoming, as always, but Lily stormed off and disappeared; he had found her later that night back at the den, ripping apart a doe that she had managed to catch and drag back by herself. Lily was the most impressive hunter his family had seen. He wouldn't dare challenge her to a battle.

The couple arrived at the pizza place, their noses being filled with a deep aroma of sauces and cheese, Daniel's sharp nose picked up every single different ingredient without doubt. He even smelled a hint of lemon, he wondered what that was being used for. He shook his head, allowing himself to adjust to the pungent environment.

He lead Marlee over to a table and pulled the chair out for her, being the perfect gentlemen his parents had taught him to be. He grabbed a menu and looked it over, glancing up after a moment and asking Marlee what she was in the mood for.

Emmaline frowned as her eyes stayed focused on the rather rude girl that was telling her off for no good reason, "No. I wasn't asking to be killed, but I believe that I wouldn't have been attacked. I only wanted to see the animal, I'm not stupid. I know how dangerous wild animals can be, but only if they feel fear from someone and I wouldn't have bothered them." She defended herself as she really wasn't liking how this girl was speaking to her, "Then I would have seen the bear and wolf before I left. This isn't the first time I've been hiking," She continued to frown as this girl thought it was completely fine to attack someone that she knew nothing about, Emmaline wasn't going to back down easily and if this girl wasn't going to stop then neither was she.

"I never once said that I owned this forest, but it doesn't exactly belong to you either or have you brought the whole forest?" She fired back as her stubborn streak showed through, she was never normally like this but she would always defend herself when she needed to. She was always the happy bubbly girl that everyone got along with, but it seemed like this girl wasn't going to give her the time of day so why should Emmaline be nice when she was being attacked? "And I wasn't stomping, I know how to be careful in the forest. If you don't want me here, then why come over and speak to me? It's only keeping me around for longer," Emmaline looked at the girl that was standing before her.

---

Marlee nodded her head, "Alright." She was fine with Daniel needing to go after they had something to eat, he often did have other plans that he needed to go do. She smiled when he pulled the chair out for her before she sat down and looked over the menu, "I feel like a Meatlovers or maybe even a BBQ Meat, that might be nice." She looked over at Daniel as she could eat any pizza that was placed in front of her, and she knew that Daniel never tended to be picky with the food they went out to ate together.

Once he nodded his head in agreement, Marlee went to order them a pizza to share and paid for it before Daniel could. She felt like he had paid for enough that day, she smiled as she looked back at Daniel as they waited for their pizza to be cooked.

"Did you need any help after this?" She asked like she always did, he did tell her that he didn't need any help but she still liked asking just in case he might want some help or company with whatever he did. He never told her what plans he had but Marlee also never asked, she didn't really think it was any of her business and if he wanted her to know then he would tell her.

Lily was completely taken aback by this stranger. "Yes, actually," she spat at the blonde. "This is my forest, considering I live here, and considering I take care of all the crap that dumb kids ruin. The hiking trails are for humans, the forest is for animals and other wildlife. Stick to your own stuff!" Lily huffed. She hadn't been this angry since Daniel told her about Marlee. Lily pointed behind her. "Stick to the left and you're back on the trails. Don't let me catch you in here again."

She spun around and headed back towards the trees, making sure she was completely out of sight before she removed her dress and shifted back into her wolf form. She was shaking her head the whole way back to the den, and decided she couldn't just sit still and wait; she had to do something. A faint growl in her stomach reminded her that she was hungry, but she decided to ignore the feeling and she made her way back to the trails, to ensure that the human girl was making her way out of the forest.



Daniel smiled at Marlee's pizza suggestion. She was a girl who knew how to eat, and he loved that. However, his human appetite could never compare to his wolf one. He could eat an entire moose in one sitting if he were given the chance, but of course that would be selfish, and the whole point of being a wolf is to be selfless, and learn to live with your pack, your family. They did things for each other, and helped each other wherever they needed it. They were a great family, except most people wouldn't see it in human form.

As humans, his parents never made contact. They seemed cold and distant, just because it wasn't the body they were used to. His sister appeared to be a brat, and they had 5 estranged siblings. It wasn't quite the thing you would put on a family Christmas card, but he liked the fact that Marlee accepted his family for what they were. Well, what she thought she knew they were. He couldn't tell her the wolf thing. It was a big thing, something you only tell when you're serious about marrying the person. Daniel and Marlee had only been together for a few months now, he definitely wasn't thinking about marriage, but he didn't like hiding things from her. He brushed the thought out of his mind.

"Thanks for offering to help, but it's a family thing. You know how crazy we can get sometimes," he answered vaguely.

Emmaline was shocked and confused when the girl told her that the forest was her's and that she lived there, was the girl actually telling the truth or was she just saying that? She wasn't sure which one it was but she wasn't given any time to ask, but she doubted that this girl would even give her a correct answer so Emmaline would have just wasted her breath. She opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't because the girl walked away from her, shutting her mouth Emmaline spun around and started walking off in the direction that she had been pointed into. She did find the track once again but her mind was filled with the girl, she wanted to know more about what the girl meant when she said that she lived in the forest.

Why would anyone want to live in the forest, it wasn't a common place for people to live and she hadn't seen a house out there. She didn't even know that people could live in a forest, she wanted to go explore more off the trail and try to find the girl or find her house. But she didn't want to get her head bitten off like she already had, she'd just have to come back another day as she wasn't going to let this go. This rude girl had only captured her curiosity and Emmaline wasn't going to back down any time soon, but for now she took her time in walking along the trail as she knew she wouldn't get into trouble again with the girl if she stuck to the trail for now.

---

Marlee smiled at him, "I know but I don't mind crazy families. My offer will always be there," She told him sweetly as she liked Daniel's family, she hadn't met his siblings apart from Lily but his parents were lovely that one time she met them. She hadn't meant to met his parents so quickly but it happened and she was still fine with it, she just wanted to be more prepared so she could impress them a little better. Not that it would have helped, Daniel had told her about hos his sister could be but she still wasn't prepared for how Lily actually was. "Did you have any plans for tomorrow? I have the day off, maybe we could go on a date?" She asked looking at him as her stomach growled a little as she was still hungry, the buttery popcorn didn't do much for her and she could smell delicious pizzas being cooked and it was making her mouth water.

She just loved spending time with Daniel, she had dated a few boys but none of them made her feel like she was now with Daniel in her life. They hadn't been together for long but she was falling for him more every day, she didn't want to tell him that as she didn't want to scare him away. Even though she didn't think he was that kind of guy, she just didn't want to risk it.

Lily stuck to the shadows and raced through, careful to stay far enough behind Emmaline as to not pique the girl's interest, but enough so she could still smell her. She dashed through the trees and bushes, hearing animals skitter all around her. Yet as quickly as she moved, Lily made no sound. She was a ghost in these parts, nothing saw her unless she wanted to be seen. Except the girl.

It was probably just Lily's own carelessness, but she was never careless when she was in her wolf form. And Emmaline had seen her laying in the forest. Not completely, but enough to know that she wasn't alone. She couldn't shake that from her head, how had she managed to let that happen? This time, Lily would let Emmaline see her, so that way she knew exactly what she was dealing with in the forest.

When they reached the end of the path, Lily sat on her haunches and watched the girl walk away. She was in broad daylight, very hard to miss. Sitting down, she was over 7 feet tall. She was twice the size of a normal wolf, and then some. And she was considered the smallest in her family. Her eldest brother stood at 10 feet even, and he was the largest. Lily stared the girl down, and felt a sort of satisfaction at seeing the fear in the blonde girl's eyes.

Now you know what lurks in the forest, and now you know that if I find you again, I'm going to bite your head off.



Daniel smiled. "Thank you, I appreciate that." He reached over for Marlee's hand and gently kissed it. That's when their pizza arrived. Daniel was something next to starving, as he often was in his human form. There was just something more filling about catching and eating your own prey. If given the chance, Daniel was likely to eat this whole pizza and then some. But he paced himself, taking a slice at a time and enjoying the flavor in each chew.

He was loving the time he was spending with Marlee, they were some of the greatest days of his life. But there was this gnawing sensation in his stomach constantly. Was she going to find out? What if she found out on her own and I never got the chance to tell her? What if Lily sabotages it? Can I even be mad if she did? I did make a promise to her that I wouldn't get involved with a human. If only she knew what it was like.... Daniel was constantly fighting with his own thoughts on the matter.

He mulled Marlee's question over. "I don't know," he answered. "I'll check with mom and dad tonight, make sure they didn't have anything planned. If they didn't, I'm all yours," he finished with a wink. Daniel went in for a second slice of pizza.

[Sorry my replies have been shorter, I've been very frazzled lately, this new company I was hired for keeps blowing me off and won't let me start so I think I need a new job already.]

Emmaline again was minding her own business as she was making it back along the hiking trail, she was in her own little world that she hadn't noticed the large wolf that was clearly watching her. Until she looked around for a reason she didn't know, which caused her eyes to land on the animal and she froze. Her heart was racing in her chest and she couldn't think about anything, her eyes had widened as she stared at the giant wolf that was right there. Her body turned to flight and she begun to run along the trail as she wanted to get away from this wolf, she didn't know what to think about what she saw. She had no idea that wolves were even in the forest, she was certain that was the animal she had followed earlier which she knew was stupid now. But a part of her wanted to turn back and see this wolf again, she was even more curious now then she had been before.

But she was still incredibly scared of the wolf, she hadn't known that wolves even grew that large. The size didn't seem natural to her, but she also didn't know much about wolves. It wasn't long before she reached her parked car, she leaned against the metal and rested her hand over her chest in hopes of calming herself down. Which didn't help in the slightest, now her mind was racing with so much thoughts that she couldn't focus on just one. Glancing back at the forest she wondered if the wolf had followed her this far, she couldn't see anything through the trees this time but that didn't matter. The wolf could be anywhere right now.

---

Marlee smiled when Daniel kissed her hand, she thanked the boy that had brought their pizza over to them before she took a slice and started to eat it. "Okay," She looked at him and blushed when he sent a wink to her, "If you are busy then we can go on a date another day." She told him as she knew that he could get busy with family stuff, she had no idea what they did so often but it wasn't her business so she never asked about the plans that Daniel had. She smiled as she continued to eat the pizza and enjoyed every bite, they didn't even have to go on a date. Marlee just loved spending time with Daniel, they could be doing nothing at all and she would still love it because she was with her boyfriend and that is all she needed.

She moved onto her second piece of pizza and moved her foot over to touch Daniel's leg under the table, they did share little touches like this every now and again. Marlee wasn't someone who liked PDA but she still wanted to touch him, even if it was a kiss on the cheek or hand, a hug or holding hands. She was fine with that but she wasn't going to be making out with Daniel unless they were somewhere private on their own.

(No, that's completely fine. Ugh! That sucks so much, it makes no sense at all. If you need to wait then all they have to do is tell you that, I'm sorry.)

Lily was satisfied that Emmaline had seen her, and she turned back to the forest to continue foraging for lunch. But noticing the way the sun was touching the trees, she knew it was getting late, and her parents and brother would be back at the den soon to hunt. It was a Thursday, which meant it was a hunting day for the pack. Lily probably could have brought back an elk on her own, but she enjoyed the pack experience, of running alongside her mother, or ripping apart a deer with her brother, it was all about bonding. Lily was a huge fan of pack time.

She made her way back to the den, unable to get over the smell of human that seemed to hug the trees. It made her stomach turn, it was a horrible smell. She continued to huff air out of her nose, trying to get the burning smell out of her nostrils. Even when she reached her den, there was still an intense smell seared into her brain. She shook her head and took off at a gallop to the river behind the den. She would have to wash the smell off of her. It was Emmaline's fault, for standing too close to her. When she reached the river, she bounded into it, allowing herself to sink to the bottom for a moment.

Lily came to the surface and slowly paddled against the current. When she was sure that she couldn't smell any human on her anymore, she wallowed in the mud to cover her own scent. Lily shook off, and headed back to the den.



Daniel nodded. "I'm definitely free on Saturday night if you want to make plans now," he suggested. Saturday night was his night to stay at the house. Luckily, that meant he could lock it and go wherever he pleased for the night, and he didn't have to return to the den until Sunday night at 8. If things with him and Marlee continued to go well, at the end of the month, he was going to request nightly duty at the house. He knew it would upset Lily, but she would get over it when she realized he wasn't leaving the pack. Even if Daniel and Marlee were serious, he knew Marlee was kind enough to not stop him from being a member of his family, even if that family had four paws and a lot of fur. He just had to find out how serious they were before he told her.

Daniel felt Marlee's foot bump his leg, and he grinned. She made him happy, and he hoped that his sister would understand that one day. Maybe he would try talking to her tonight, if she were willing to listen. For now, he just wanted to enjoy his time with Marlee. He didn't want to think about his family, or his responsibilities, he just wanted to appreciate the things he had right in front of him.

[Thanks for understanding! I finally got through my orientation, and I walked my first dog today! He was such a sweetheart, he's a goldendoodle named Milo and he made a big mess in the kitchen but other than that, he's a perfect little angel!]

Maria had arrived back at the den from her human job, only to find it empty. She knew her youngest child would be somewhere close by, her husband also wouldn't be much longer but she wasn't certain about her youngest son. He had said something about going to see his human girlfriend, Marlee, so hopefully he was keeping track of time and wouldn't be late to the family hunt as Lily wouldn't be waiting for anyone. She smiled when she saw her beautiful daughter walk into the den already in her wolf form, but Maria was quick to notice the damp fur. "What happened this time, darling?" She asked in a motherly tone of voice, she could instantly tell that something had happened to Lily, she saw it in her eyes that something was annoying her. Maria hoped that it didn't involve any humans, the weather was warm now so there would be more humans hiking along the trails.

Something that never bothered her because none of the trails past close to the den, her husband had made sure of that when they first made the den there in the forest. But it was something that constantly annoyed Lily, in fact all humans and everything about them irritated the young wolf. She stood there waiting to hear what had gone on while she wasn't at home, she trusted all her children completely but she was still worried about Lily and humans. She never wanted any accidents to happen just because Lily couldn't stand humans, she only put up with the humans that her siblings married. Maria knew that she couldn't change who her children loved, so she didn't try and she excepted that while Lily refused to. She was stubborn just like her father, it was a trait that seemed to run through their family.

---

A wide smile formed on Marlee's face when she heard that Daniel was free on Saturday night, "Yeah. My Mom will be working a night shift, so we could stay in at my place? I could cook us dinner and we could watch some movies or play some board games," She suggested as she wasn't into going out usually, the small town did have some bars and pubs but that wasn't Marlee's scene. She never really felt comfortable in those places at night time and she wasn't a big fan of alcohol so she didn't have much to do there, she also didn't know how to play pool and couldn't get any darts to stick on the board. She took another slice of pizza knowing this would be her last so she sat back a little, letting Daniel finish off the rest of the delicious pizza.

"Or we could even go to a bar, you can teach me how to play pool." She smiled at him as they didn't have a lot to do in the town, but they always found something fun to do with their time. One thing that Marlee did enjoy was cooking, she had only baked little treats for Daniel and his family before but she hadn't cooked a nice dinner for him. So hopefully if he liked the sound of that, they could have a nice night together this weekend.

Lily returned to the den to find her mother, Maria waiting for her, already in her wolf form for the hunt that was taking place tonight.

"There was a human, I saw her when I was out looking for lunch and I watched her, to make sure she wasn't out to harm the forest. She thought she saw me and she followed me, and it was terrible. What if she found the den? What if she was a hunter and was out to get us?" Lily had so many concerns regarding the humans, and her mother was never one to judge her and call her foolish. She loved that. She leaned into her mother's pure white fur and sighed. "I hate them, I hate them all," she whimpered.

Too many times hunters had destroyed Lily's life. Sometimes it even directly involved her. It wasn't far. Lily didn't ask to be hunted. She didn't think it was fair that she had to hide because there were people out there who would pay thousands, maybe even millions of dollars for "the world's largest wolf pelt". It made her sick to think about.



Daniel smiled at the lovely girl sitting across from him. "Dinner and a movie at your place sounds fantastic," he said, still holding her small hand in his very large one. He noticed his watch, and realized the time. His father would be back at the den soon. They would only wait a few minutes for him, and he was still in trouble with Lily for missing the last hunt. He stood, walking over to Marlee to move her chair.

"It's been lovely, my darling, but I have to get going. Lily's going to kill me if I'm late." Daniel was glad that Marlee didn't know how true his words might be. He may be larger than Lily, but she was faster. He didn't want to risk a fight. He didn't think she would hurt him too bad, but that didn't mean she wouldn't think about it. Daniel shook his head and pecked Marlee on the forehead. "C'mon. I'll give you a ride home."

They got to Daniel's car, and he headed for Marlee's neighborhood. Luckily, it was on the way to his house, and from there it was a short run to the den. He held her hand while they drove, the windows rolled down and soft rock playing from the radio, for all the town to hear.

When they reached Marlee's house, Daniel got out of the car and opened the door for her, pulling her in for a tight embrace. When they broke apart, Daniel stared into Marlee's eyes. "Sleep well, okay? I'll text you later." He leaned down, and softly pressed his lips to hers.

Maria listened patiently to what her daughter was telling her, "I'm sure not every human is out to harm our forest." She assured Lily warmly even though it probably wouldn't help how the young wolf thought about humans, she'd never try to change how Lily thought about anything because she loved all her children but Lily was different and Maria loved that so much about her. She placed her head against Lily's and nudged her affectionately, in an attempt to smooth down some of Lily's soft fur. "You were protecting the den, did you scare the human away again? You know we shouldn't show our wolf forms to many humans, it might bring them back if they are curious about us." She told her youngest child in a calming voice, she never liked seeing any of her children getting angry or upset.

She never liked that idea of Lily being at the den herself, even though she'd be able to defend herself if anything did happen. She still hated the thought of Lily being here alone if hunters or even normal humans found the den, but she also knew that Lily loved being at the den by her self. It had been something that Maria had enjoyed as well when she was a younger wolf, she loved to stretch out in her wolf form inside the den and just lay there.

"Your father and I won't let anything happen to you or Daniel or our den," Maria promised her daughter as her nose nuzzled into the top of Lily's head, she listened to the familiar footsteps of her husband who was also already in his wolf form so now they just had to wait for Daniel to join them.

---

Marlee smiled when Daniel agreed to having a dinner and movie night with her, she'd need to sort out what movies she had at home so they would have a few to chose from. "Great," She smiled as she wiped her fingers onto a napkin as she finished eating, she nodded when Daniel said he needed to leave which she was fine with as she was looking forward to just relaxing at home after a busy day at work. "I'm sure Lily won't, and if she tries then I'll stop her." She told him as she held onto his large warm hand and followed him outside to where his car was parked, she couldn't stop smiling when he opened the door for her again.

If you looked at Daniel then you wouldn't have guessed he was this much of a gentlemen, he looked like a typical bad boy but he really wasn't. She could feel that there was so much more to Daniel that she didn't know yet, she wanted to know everything about him but she just had to take her time and take things slow with him. But she was constantly learning more about him every time their around each other, once they reached her house she climbed out of his car and hugged him tightly.

"I will, I'll talk to you later." Marlee smiled as she kissed his lips tenderly before they broke apart, "Have fun with your family." She told him and walked over to the front door, she unlocked the door and waved as Daniel drove away. Shutting the door she locked it again and let out a sigh of happiness, she went into her bedroom kicking her shoes off as her mind was again filled with Daniel.

[I am SO sorry it took me so long to get back to you! I was incredibly sick, but I'm doing much better now so my replies will be much more regular now.]

Lily took deep breaths to calm herself. She was being a bit ridiculous, she presumed. There are humans in the world, and she needed to deal with that. In fact, without humans, Lily wouldn't exist the way she did, though she didn't think she would necessarily mind just being a wolf. But her mother was right; there was nothing she could do about them being in her forest. They could move again, she supposed, but that would mean completely picking their lives up and going somewhere else. Her father had to do it before, she could never ask him to leave his home again. Her parents had jobs, they had a home, and even though Lily didn't like it, Daniel had Marlee. She was the only one who didn't care about leaving anything behind. Sure, she could leave the den and leave her family free to stay there and keep the den safe the way they did, but Lily didn't want to just leave her family behind. No, she would stay put and deal with the humans, even if it meant chasing that pesky girl away every single day just to keep her den safe, Lily would do it. She leaned into her mother, and felt her muscles relaxing. A nice hunt would make her feel much better.

Just on time, her father showed up. Michael was probably the largest wolf in the history of their species, towering in at nearly ten feet tall. He was pitch black, with icy blue eyes that could pierce right through the heart of anyone who looked into them. He normally held himself in a tall, regal manner, but upon seeing his youngest daughter and wife, he broke out into a grin, huge pink tongue lolling out of his mouth. Lily bounded over to him and lowered half of her body, keeping her tail high in the air, a playful greeting. Her father took the greeting, and pounced on her, rolling across the forest floor, yipping and howling. It sounded better than any laughter Lily could ever imagine. She couldn't wait to have this of her own one day; a family of wolves just running around and pouncing and playing and being happy. Lily knew that the idea of having this with a human was just impossible. The wolves were her family, and she felt more at home being with them than she ever would being with a person.



After leaving Marlee's neighborhood, Daniel beelined directly for his house. He was going to be late, he hoped his family wouldn't leave without him. He liked the hunts, they were good exercise and a great bonding experience. He pulled the car into the driveway sloppily, and ran to the backyard, ripping his clothes off along the way. At the edge of the woods, he burst into his wolf form, a huge, shaggy brown coat covering his entire body. Already his vision improved. His ears were picking up every single sound within a 10 mile radius. He could smell his family's familiar scent, meaning they hadn't left without him. Good, he thought, loping towards the den. He came skidding to a halt when he saw his father and Lily rolling on the ground. He smiled, and trotted up to his mother, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Sorry I'm late," he announced. Lily glared at him. He looked away, knowing the conversation they were going to have later. His father came up and affectionately bit him on the ear. "How's Marlee?" he asked. His father was curious about his life, and he had taken quite an interest in his girlfriend. He thought she was an absolute pleasure. Daniel grinned. "She's great." He wanted to say more, but he didn't want to upset his little sister anymore. He bumped her with his shoulder and looked deep into her eyes. They were the darkest brown he had ever seen, almost black, but you could see flecks of gold deeply embedded in them. He heard Lily huff and look up at him. He grinned at her, and she shook her head.

"Let's hunt!" she proclaimed. Daniel nodded, and watched Lily take off running. He galloped behind her, coming up on the left, flanking her. His father was on her right, and his mother was directly behind him. Daniel had never felt more connected to the earth than he did during these moments.

(No, that's fine. I hope you continue to feel better, I hate getting sick.)

Maria huffed slightly as she watched her daughter and husband roll around, she wasn't strict about her family getting dirty but she had a rule that there was to be no dirt brought into the den. Meaning if either her youngest children or her husband became dirty on any hunt, they would need to bath before even thinking about entering the den. "Careful Michael, you're encouraging her." She tried to keep the smile from her face but she couldn't, she loved watching her family play with each other as she used to do it all the time with her siblings. She smiled fondly when Daniel arrived, "It's not a problem." She told him as she didn't mind if he was ever late, she knew that if he was late then he was spending time with Marlee to that was adorable to Maria. She loved all the people her children decided to marry because they were happy and that is all she wanted for her family, she could see Marlee fitting in very well the the family apart from Lily but that was to be expected.

Maria wanted to ask more about how Marlee was, much like her husband but their daughter didn't give them any chance. Soon they were running through the forest, gracefully moving around any trees or brushes that got in their way. This was their time to be free and be who they were born to be, Maria shortly got lost in her thoughts as she ran beside her small family. "There," She spoke quietly when a deer came into view from the corner of her eye, the deer was fully grown and was sipping from the lake that ran through the entire forest. "Children, it's time." She told them as she didn't feel like capturing the deer this time around, she'd much rather stay back with Michael and just watch their children hunt. She would always press her body into Michael's which was extremely affectionate for them and most wolves, it was something her married children would never experience as it wasn't as strong with a human.

"He's getting closer to her, darling. I can see him worrying about telling her," Michael whispered to his beautiful wife, he had been keeping an eye on his son since he told them about the human girl he had begun to date. "I know, it's going to hurt Lily more than anyone knows." Maria whispered in return as it would break Lily's heart when Daniel decided that Marlee meant the world to him, "It will but we'll be there for her. She's strong like you are, my darling." Michael pressed the tip of his nose against the soft fur of Maria's cheek, "Don't be a pig, Lily." He called out once his children had chased the deer and taken it down, if they let Lily eat the entire deer on her own then she would be more than happy to.

(I don't really know what to do with Marlee being on her own)

[If you want, we can just skip ahead!]