Emma Pov

　　- A Month and a Half Later -

　　"Put the paint cans over there in the corner, Amelia," I ask the young she-wolf walking a few steps ahead, carrying two cans of white paint.

　　Amelia was the first to join my new wolf pack a week after I settled here on the plains. After losing her parents to a severe illness, her old pack deemed her weak and useless, casting her out from the only home she knew. Amelia wandered in her wolf form, unsure of what to do or where to go after being thrown out.

　　"I still think we should have gone with ruby red," Amelia comments, setting the paint cans near the entrance of the house. I laugh at her remark.

　　The fifteen-year-old has been obsessed with the color red for weeks, and I find it amusing. She even considered dyeing her beautiful light brown wavy hair red. Maybe it would suit her, with her bronze, full face. Amelia has a radiant presence, even after all she has been through. Her body is full and curvy, showcasing a natural beauty; her bronzed skin always seems to glow under the sun, reflecting the vitality and energy of her youth. At first, she was shy and scared, taking a few days to reveal her human face. But I didn't rush her.

　　"Yes, but white will be softer, especially here. We need some softness. We can paint some of the rooms red later, okay?" I reply calmly and understandingly.

　　Being the Alpha of the Stonehaven Pack has been a challenge, but the peace and tranquility I have here, away from everything and everyone, have been a blessing.

　　"There are only six werewolves here; I doubt everyone will agree on the color," Kylian responds, placing three thick, heavy tarps next to the paint cans to spread on the floor. "For example, I don't agree at all!" he adds with his dry humor.

　　Kylian is a year older than Amelia, and I can smell his pheromones regarding her from afar, though she can't see that his teasing is a sign of interest.

　　"Just like you and Matthew," Accalia points out inside me, bringing memories of the early days in the Night Howlers Pack to my mind. The teasing between me and Alpha Matthew Anderson. I shake my head to dismiss those memories.

　　"We left for a reason, Accalia. He wants a kingdom, and that brings death, fear, and war. I don't want that for my life," I state seriously.

　　"I'd agree if it was with your blood on the walls after I punched you," Amelia responds sharply, her deep brown eyes narrowing at Kylian, which only makes him smile in return.

　　"Okay, you two, we bought white paint, and white paint will be for the living room. Now let's start because I don't want to waste these early hours of the day," I declare, pushing them further into the house. "Brunno, Jordan! Bring the ladders, please!" I shout to the two older werewolves still in the pickup truck.

　　Amelia and Kylian grab the first tarp and stretch it in the empty room.

　　With my little savings, I could hire a wizard engineer to build the house in less than two weeks, but he only did the basic spell for the amount I could pay. When Kylian arrived, he was the second to join us, calling the house the "skeleton house" because it only had room divisions, windows, and worn-out doors.

　　I look at the empty room and feel proud that we're finally painting, after installing the wiring and sanding all the wooden floors. Slowly, the house, the first home for my pack, is coming to life and gaining personality.

　　"Alpha Emma, what time does Faylen need us to pick her up?" Brunno asks as he sets up the ladder near the left wall where the boys placed the tarp for painting.

　　I rub my eyes, trying to remember the time, then grab my phone to check Faylen's message. "Around lunchtime, about eleven in the morning," I inform with a smile.

　　Brunno nods, and like Amelia and Kylian, he starts arranging the brushes and paint for the living room.

　　I watch my small pack forming with a warm heart. Brunno and Jordan were the last to join us. Twin brothers who fled from another state after the alpha of their former pack took Jordan's fiancée, forcing the young woman to marry him. The twins were marked for death if they returned.

　　"Alpha Emma, can I talk to you for a second?" Jordan asks in a quieter voice behind me. I turn to see the werewolf, much taller and stronger than me. His black eyes are fascinating to me.

　　"Of course, what's up?" I ask curiously, walking outside the house to give us some privacy.

　　Jordan and Brunno may be twins, but Jordan is more muscular than Brunno. His arms are bigger than my head, and I do not doubt that if I asked, Jordan could carry me, Faylen, and Amelia with one arm without even sweating. Despite his large, almost bear-like size, Jordan is the calmest and most serene in the pack, even the shyest. So his request to talk to me makes me very curious.

　　"You've been very kind in welcoming me and my brother into your pack. From what you've told us and what I've observed, we all seem to be refugees in some way," Jordan says softly, like a breeze, his voice delightful to hear.

　　I nod. I never really stopped to think about it, but Jordan was right. I left my pack, Amelia was expelled like the twins, Kylian's pack was decimated by a rival pack, leaving only him. Faylen, the oldest of us all, also fled after being abused and mistreated by the alpha of her former pack.

　　"I believe the Moon Goddess wanted us to find each other," I comment thoughtfully. "We've all had paths filled with pain, loss, and sacrifice. But here, in the Stonehaven Pack, I want it to be a pack of new beginnings. A place where we can truly leave our pasts behind," I declare with enthusiasm.