STAY OUT OF TROUBLE

"Oh please, like if that shaking leaf could lead people." Damon scoffs. "He'd force us all to read and never go outside."

"I wouldn't m-make you r-read, I k-know you're m-mentally c-challenged." Peter counters and I had to slap my hand over my mouth to quiet the laughter that broke through.

Dad didn't even try to hold it, a loud roar like series of chuckling filling the space supposedly meant for quiet.

"Burn!" Dad cheers, lifting Peter into a tight hug he let himself sink into. "Have I ever told you how much I love you kid?"

"Whatever." Damon grumbles under his breath before going back to the shelf we'd been previously working on.

"Can I head out early?" I ask looking to dad who was still hugging Peter tightly. "I want to spend more time out there."

"Tell your father first. Make sure the men on patrol know you're leaving and to stay near to your area." He says seriously while cradling Peter's head. "Take Caspar and don't wander too far."

"Kill that beast." Damon prompts causing dad to frown deeply.

"Don't go close to it."

"I won't." I promise making Damon's smile fall.

"You guys are no fun." He mumbles but I ignore him.

"Stay out of trouble." I say rubbing his head playfully before giving Po and Peter quick hugs and leaving.

It wasn't hard to find dad. Following his scent, I found him at Amelia's house which luckily for me, was close to the boarder. I told Caspar through our link that we'd be heading out again, so he was probably already waiting.

I knock and wait. I didn't mind saying hi to Uncle Beckett and Emitt. The door swung open, though no hand was placed on the knob. I smile widely when my eyes land on the magical source.

"Jacob!" I cheer lifting up the little boy as I step into the house. He giggles in my hold as I throw him up a couple times before tucking him in my arms and tickling his weak spots.

"Feli!" He laughs loudly as he squirms in my hold. When he starts getting so excited we're levitating, I stop and my feet land back on the strong wooden floor.

Jacob was a warlock who was adopted by Emitt and Beckett when there was an unfortunate case in the supernatural world.

His coven had killed many werewolves in offering to him to boost his power and his strength in this world.

Yeah, it was pretty f*cked up.

When the coven was slaughtered and all that remained was the baby, a trial was put in session. A lot of people demanded he be 'put down' before he could grow to his full potential of 'evil'.

Uncle Emitt decided he wasn't evil and kept him as his own. And though the Supernatural Board demanded close supervision, with one of their own living in our pack, Jacob was a happy kid.

He didn't know of his past and hopefully he never would. He just knew he was in a home with people who loved him and that's all that mattered.

"He gets so excited whenever you're around." A voice says and I lift my head to see Uncle Emitt walking over to me with a weak smile. "It's good to see you Feli."

"You too." I say truthfully as I bend down to give him a hug, careful of Jacob still in my hands.

"Why do you keep getting taller?" He questions once we pull apart. "It's bad enough my own daughter is taller than me."

"I like you small." Uncle Beckett says as he comes to meet us. "Damn kid, you've really grown up."

"Thanks, I think." I say with a chuckle as Jacob pulls at my collar for me to pay attention to him. "Jacob here has gotten even bigger than me."

"I'm a man." Jacob says puffing out his chest and I laugh as Emitt pulls him from my hands and sets him on his hip.

"You're my little man." He says nuzzling his neck with his nose, making Jacob laugh.

"You're here for Julian I'm assuming." Beckett says as we follow after his mate and their child. I nod and he leads the way. "You look good Feli." He says shortly and I look up to him in surprise. "I'm glad you're growing up nicely."

"Thanks. You look happy too." I say flashing back momentarily to a time when he wasn't. He gives me a small smile, probably thinking the same.

"I am." He says as we draw closer to the living room. "But I never said you were happy." He says turning the corner before I could question him further.

"Feli?" Dad says with a questioning look, a half eaten cinnamon stick in his hand.

I shake my head a little to dust off Beckett's words before I smile at him.

"Hey, I'm going back to the woods now." I say nonchalantly hoping it wouldn't set him off.

"Remember the safety rules." He says sternly as he stands to meet me.

"Yes dad."

"Pack a bag with water and food in case of an emergency." He continues.

"Yeah, okay."

"Stay close enough to the boarder that the patrolling can reach you by link." He insists and I nod even though I knew I wouldn't.

"Dad, okay I got it. Can I go now?" I beg, already inching my way out of the room.

"Feli, I just don't want you to get hurt." He says stopping me in my tracks. "You don't know how difficult it is to let you go out there alone. Especially when I know what lives there."

"I know dad." I say gently. "I'll be safe and I'll keep an eye out always."

"Good." He breathes out smiling back at me a little. "Now go, and get back here as soon as you can."

"Okay." I say giving him a quick hug. "It was great seeing you all, I'm happy to be back in the pack."

"It was great seeing you too Feli." Emitt replies fondly as he snuggles into his mate on the couch.

"And you," I say squatting down to meet Jacob's height. "I'll take you out one day and we can play with all this magic inside of you." I say squeezing his sides gently and he laughs, nodding viscously in agreement.

I bid them all a last goodbye before leaving the house, letting out a breath of exhaustion as I make my way to Caspar.

I'd been exploring beyond our pack for about two weeks now and every time was better than the last.

I knew the little land I'd explored like the back of my hand now, and had little to no problem getting around.

And not once did I see track marks of the 'beast', or smell the scent of a rogue. There was no trail of dead animals; no dark eyes that followed me.

Nothing.

It was as though the thing didn't even exist and in all honesty, I was beginning to believe it didn't. Maybe it was just folklore, created to scare children away. Maybe, it was real, but not as big and bad as it was described to be.

But if it wasn't real, then why did my dads return home so many times covered in scratches and bites with their own blood splashed over them.

Why did everyone who ever went after it and survived, describe its attack in the same way, with the exact same order of events occurring each time.

Firstly, they were separated from their hunting party.

Then once they had wandered to far away to be heard by anyone, they'd feel it's eyes.

Feel it trailing them, feel it studying them, feel it stalking it's prey. But not once would they see it themselves.

And then it'd attack.

Moving faster than light, being bigger and stronger than an alpha.

When you finally looked into its eyes, seeing the monster that would haunt you until your dying breath, in that moment, you knew you were going to die …

… or so they say.

What took you so long? - Caspar questions as I approach him, my prepacked bag held between his teeth.

Got caught up by the parental. Sorry - I say taking the bag from him with a grateful smile. I rub him a little before we begin walking.

Warning you of the big bad wolf? - Caspar teases and I shove him a little with my knee.

We drop the conversation when we're far enough from the park. We didn't really talk much when we were out here, just focused on the things around us. Or at least I did. Maybe Caspar was just happy being out of the pack for once. Goddess knows he hated the way people jolted away from him.

"What the …" I whisper to myself when my eyes catch sight of blooming flowers. I turn in their direction, curious why there seemed to be so many clustered in one area.

I head towards it, Caspar following with a sound of annoyance. He didn't share my love for flowers but that was okay. Because whenever he saw a fish in a pond or even an aquarium and wanted to watch it for hours on end, I stood silently beside him.

As we drew closer, my lungs found themselves filling with air at the sight before me. A tree stood tall with large, buttress roots that wrapped themselves around it. They piped up and down through the earth as it claimed the space around it as its own.

But that wasn't what had me circling it with wide eyes. It was the abundance of this unusual pink flower that spiraled up the length of the tree.

I'd never seen a tree that had flowers surrounding its trunk, from the bottom all the way to the top. The flowers were small, fragile and gorgeous. When I'd circled it for what must've been the sixth time, I pulled out my phone and took as many pictures as my storage would allow me to.

"Goddess Caspar, have you ever seen something so beautiful?" I say when I'd satisfied my needs.

Can't say I have - He replies boredly. Now let's head back, we've wandered too far.

"There's a yellow one!" I exclaim when my eyes catch sight of an identical tree not too far from this one. But this time the flowers were yellow instead of pink.

Feli - Caspar warns as I rush towards it.

"I'll be quick." I say absentmindedly.

But by the time I reached the tree, I was already in a world of my own as I stared up at the beauty.

Okay, that's enough. Let's go - Caspar says looking around the space.

"Okay, okay." I say turning back to face him. "Lead the way Grinch."

I love Christmas so that statement was invalid - He retorts. I follow behind him while looking around the space I'd run into blindly.

I take pictures of what I can, wandering a little off course whenever I could without Caspar noticing before running back to meet him.

We weren't too far from the land we were familiar with when I caught sight of a colony of bunnies. I stilled in my spot as the little family bounced around, eating the plants nearby peacefully.

I look to Caspar who was trailing forward before turning towards them. I move silently for Peter's sake, getting as close as I could before taking out my phone and taking more photos. Zooming in close for a better view of the baby ones.

When I had enough to last Peter a lifetime, I headed back to where Caspar was, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Caspar." I call out but no sound came in response. "Caspar, come on."

I look around aimlessly, my heart beginning to pick up speed as I took a few steps forward.

"Caspar!"

Firstly, you're separated from your group.

Caspar - I call through our link desperately.

Feli! Where are you?! - He answers immediately and I audibly let out my fear as my back slouches with relief.

I guess I went off farther than I thought - I say apologetically.

I'll come find you - He insists.

No, let's meet at the pack border. It'll be faster - I say starting my journey.

Be quick - He says giving in.

I tighten my hold on my backpack, pushing my phone deeper into my pocket. Walking back the way I believe we came, I say a small prayer of thanks to Goddess.

Almost like a laser directed on my back, I could feel the presence of eyes trailing me. Glancing back, I smile when I catch sight of one of the baby bunnies behind me. I give it a small wave as if it'd understand before getting back to walking.

But what I didn't realise, was that the cute little bunny wasn't the owner of the eyes I felt on me.