CHAPTER 4

She was feeling an emotion that she was quite familiar with: anger. She was furious. She was aware that not everyone liked who she was, but why did she feel responsible for the kids nearby? She was the deputy Alpha, not a wild woman.

Her gray wolf is running alongside the border, its strong paws thumping on the earth as it weaves in and out of trees. As soon as she stepped out of the orphanage, her wolf half gained control, overcoming her human side. It was alright with her. Lana was aware that her wolf was intelligent and that she was a more skilled fighter than most males. Nothing frightened her, possibly not even her mother if she discovered Lana had ruined another dress while shifting. Her wolf suddenly stops, her snout is pushed to the woodland floor, and she begins to sniff.

Why the hell are you doing that? Lana inquires, to which she receives a snarl. Lovely. Even her wolf is unwilling to interact with her. Her wolf growls and moves steadily forward, growling, "There's someone else here. "Her wolf eagerly follows the scent, padding discreetly and gently, narrowing her eyes at something in the distance, and maintaining her slow gait.

Even though Lana can't tell the fragrance from the forest apart, she assumes that's what her wolf is good for. In the distance, something is moving. She can make out a tail or something, but it is staying low. Hence, a rabbit or squirrels are ruled out because of their extreme size. Her wolf has stopped paying attention to her and is now focused on seeking and attacking this creature, regardless of whether she is in danger. She won't allow that to happen when she has the power to prevent it from hurting someone else.

She assumes that her wolf has a slightly more skewed moral compass than she does. Her wolf, though, rarely takes complete control. Most of the time, Lana controls what they do, if not entirely. To Lana's dismay, her wolf decides to spring when it is around two meters away from the other wolf.

Her wolf, Sonya, jumps onto the other wolf's back and begins viciously biting and clawing at him.

What Sonya did not expect, but Lana did, is that this wolf is quite large and begins to buck off Sonya.

As Sonya buckles down and wraps her rear legs around the other wolf's midriff, Lana watches this from a distance, rolling her eyes in her head.

The other wolf stops and throws itself back into a tree, its white coat rustling in the light breeze. Lana is left sitting naked and in considerable discomfort against a tree after Sonya, as was to be predicted, takes the brunt of the blow and abruptly shifts.

The second wolf shifts back after letting out a breath that sounds like a snort. When Lana suddenly remembers where she is, she quickly hides, ducking behind a tree and hating the day she was ever born. She is not at all reserved or humble. She simply has no idea what the hell is on the other side of that tree, and she has no intention of trying to figure out a way to get away from it.

When she tries to change, her wolf doesn't cooperate, perhaps causing her to take the agony out on herself. Lana curses her as well, allowing her rage to spill over into their relationship.

On the other side of the tree, a throat clearing is followed by a chuckle. "Miss, when do you think you'll be coming out?"

"You did assault me first," a man with a deep voice chuckled, and Lana frowns, clenching her teeth, but first she takes a few long breaths to calm herself.

She replies, peering up into the trees, checking for any clothes bags, "If you go, I'll come out."

To locate the male, she spots one and peers around the tree. While appearing to do the same, he is facing the other direction. With the knowledge that it will be a little more difficult without her wolf's backing, Lana grits her teeth as she prepares to run and jump for the bag. Lana starts counting backward from three and launches herself at the bag, grabbing it off the branches it is perched on, only to land next to a very tall, very nude man. She growls, "Fuck sake," staring at him with no trace of fear in her eyes.

He grins and looks at her from top to bottom while saying, "Fuck sake indeed." Her dentist would kill her if she damaged the teeth he spent so much time repairing during her previous fight, so she clenches her jaw once again to avoid grinding her teeth. While holding the bag in her hands and rapidly putting some distance between herself and the man, Lana starts to walk away.

She glances back as he clears his throat to find him red-faced and scratching his neck. How is the perspective improved from behind? She can hear him muttering. She takes it as a small compliment and walks with a little more swing as she opens the bag and dons a t-shirt.

She is forced to include the shorts inside because this bag appears to be intended for younger teenagers. She genuinely doesn't want to intentionally flash anyone; that guy was a mistake. To identify the man, she raises an eyebrow when she hears footsteps behind her. Because he is so amazingly hot and she would remember his face, she is certain that she has never seen him before.

She elbows him away as he throws an arm around her shoulders and accelerates her pace to get away from him. Do you believe you could show me the location of the Alpha house, Cupcake? He asks with a smile on his face, and she restrains herself from rolling her eyes as she slips her feet into the water shoes in the bag. She had asked the border patrol to pick up her boots from earlier on their rounds because she had just begun to break them in, and even Sonya had the decency to allow her to take them off before shifting.

"Sure, I suppose that's on my way," she moans, slamming the nearly empty bag into his chest and quickening her pace once more. So, what brought you here? During her fast walk of five minutes, she makes a query.

This male still hasn't given off a pack scent to her, even though she knows he's not one of hers. I'm going to meet with the alpha. He says nonchalantly, "Or, more exactly, the old Alpha." Lana furrows her brow to mentally connect York to the statement. Although she schedules every meeting, she did not schedule this one. Which is your name? Knowing his face, she asks. She growls, "Put some damn clothes on," as she abruptly discovers he's still nude.

"Hey, honey, I'm Roman, and I'd like to pose a question, too," he smirks, not attempting to be condescending or anything, which surprises her, "do I affect you?" Are you requesting that I dress for this reason? She flies away from him while mildly disgustedly glancing at him.

She reacts simply, eyeing him out of the corner of her eye as he steps into the last pair of shorts. "If you were the last man on the planet, I wouldn't sleep with you," she asserts.

They are shorts for a teenage girl, which is unfortunate for him. A tall, powerful man would not fit in this garment.

Who made any comments regarding sleeping? Lana can't even look him in the eyes without smiling when he winks because the shorts are too much for her. The last few minutes of the walk are spent in solitude, with Lana periodically bursting into fits of laughter, forcing him to stop and repair his shorts. She turns to face him and smiles broadly. "You could trade shorts with me, I have to see the leader of this pack," he complains.

I think he'll love you like this," she added before jumping up the road to her father and brother, who were both visibly shocked to see her. York is so startled that he fails to spot Roman following her. "How are you today?" York says softly, making sure his sister is still alive and, at the very least, physically sound.

Richard looks behind her, his eyes taking in Roman as Lana speaks to him with her eyes. He then stops talking and turns to look at her suspiciously. Still appearing very perplexed, he manages to say, "Alpha Lancaster."

Richard calls out to his daughter, "Honey," bringing her close to him. Alpha Lancaster In response to Lana's snort, Roman mockingly asks, "Honey?"

"Oh. So they've met," York chuckles before disappearing into the house to speak with his mother, leaving Richard to deal with the alpha and the daughter.