After a few days, my body seemed to heal up to where the wounds were almost like scabs. Derek told it was from my beast, my wolf. Apparently, they heal pretty fast, and since my blood was turning into that of the beast's, I would heal up quickly too. The bruises on my face and body even faded, you would hardly even know that Marcus ever laid a hand on me.

I looked in the mirror of the small bathroom next to my room. I was starting to look like myself again. I was starting to fill out, mostly because Derek looked after me like a mother hen and ensured that I had three large square meals a day. It was a good thing, my appetite was growing.

I hadn't really been out of my room, my legs were not quite there yet, but today I was stronger. It barely hurt to walk on, only ghosts of pain reminding me of what happened.

I walked out of the bathroom and followed the smell of bacon and coffee. My stomach rumbled almost as loud as one of Levi's growls.

Levi.

I hadn't seen him since that first night. He seemed to be evading me, which was increasingly annoying. I needed his help, and I would have it.

I almost didn't believe them, didn't want to believe them, until one morning I looked into the mirror to see my eyes glowing. I had awoken from a nightmare and was scared, so I went to the bathroom for a glass of water. Upon looking in the mirror I screamed. Gray eyes shining like the damn neon sign from Shirley's diner.

Derek was immediately at my side comforting me. After I calmed down a bit, he explained that it was natural, a defense mechanism. My beast wanted to protect me and was starting to push forward. That scared me more, I wasn't ready to meet her. If she decided we needed to shift now, I knew I would surely die.

The kitchen was small but cozy. Green cabinets and cedar countertops were bare with a few appliances. An old Mr. Coffee that looked like it had seen better days, a toaster that looked like it burned toast more than anything as smoke started to come out of it, and a small blender with a shiny new canister next to it that said 'Raw Protein.'

Ugh, he's one of those...

Derek quickly popped the burning toast out of the toaster and tossed them onto a plate before his kind eyes met mine. "Morning little one, care for some coffee?"

"Please," I replied politely.

He reached into one of the cabinets and pulled out a cup for me; plain white that now held a brown steaming liquid. "Cream or sugar?"

"Both," I answered firmly. My heart warmed at my answer; my answer. I thought of Shirley and her kindness, I would have to figure out a way to thank her later for what she did.

Derek stirred my cup then pushed it to me. I took a sip and let the hot liquid awaken my body.

Someone coughed and I quickly whipped around. Levi was reading a paper and drinking a cup of black coffee himself. His gray hair was pulled back and his eyes were trying to display a facade of being disinterested, but I could see a hint of curiosity behind them. He did say his beast wanted to protect me after all.

"Morning." I walked slowly over to the table and cautiously took a seat.

He watched me some more before looking back to his paper. "Nice to see you're not dead, yet."

I sighed and looked over at Derek, he did say that Levi could be a stubborn ass when he wanted to be. "No, clearly I am still here."

"How do you like your eggs, Char?" Derek called from the kitchen.

"Um, scrambled please," I answered quickly. I did know that much. I loved eggs, but only scrambled. Over easy was just gross to me, I hated how runny the eggs were.

"I never thanked you," I said while looking over at Levi. He was wearing a forest green flannel shirt today, worn looking, like it had seen the elements one too many times.

He was staring intently at his newspaper, not even flickering his eyes to me. "What for?"

"For um..." I stumbled on my words, "for saving my life that night. Thank you."

He looked back at me and studied me a bit. I felt like his expression was softening, but his gaze just turned back to his paper. He took a sip of his coffee, black as night, then turned to page to the sports section. "You're welcome Charlie."

I smiled a bit to myself. "My dad used to call me Charlie."

He looked over at me with a cocked brow. "Interesting name."

"He liked Top Gun. Ex-military, it was his favorite movies." I smiled again and took a drink from my own cup.

He breathed out a laugh, looking back at his paper. "Sounds like a good man."

"He was," I answered automatically before realizing what I just said.

Levi looked back to me, a hint of sadness softening the lines around his lips that were usually formed into a tight line. "Sorry."

I shrugged. "It's alright, it was a long time ago."

Silence seemed to take up the space between us, thickening the air. I started to squirm a bit in my seat then resorted to drinking more coffee. Thankfully a plate of bacon, eggs, toast, and hash browns appeared in front of me from a cheerful Derek before the silence could get heavier.

He handed Levi a plate then sat down with a cup of coffee. I looked curiously at him. "Not hungry?"

"Not for that," he chuckled darkly.

I felt a shiver go down my spine and my cheeks flush with warmth. I had totally forgotten that he was a vampire, he didn't need to eat unless he wanted to I guess; he just needed blood. It was weird, though, for someone that was supposed to be undead, he seemed more alive to me than most humans I knew.

I took a few bites of my eggs and bacon. They were creamy and salty, deliciously filling my belly up. I took a bite of my toast and a sip of my coffee as my stomach growled some more. I didn't realize how hungry I actually was until I started eating.

"Thank you," I said after swallowing down a large bite.

Derek just chuckled and sipped his coffee; his eyes watching me with amusement. "Not a problem little one, I see your appetite is starting to grow."

I nodded. Derek said this would happen as my body started to change. I had to feed the beast, literally.

I continued eating with the men in a semi-comfortable silence. I couldn't help but steal glances at Levi who was soaking up the egg yolk from his sunny side up eggs with a piece of toast.

Gross...

I scrunched my nose and took a sip of my coffee.

He would eat his eggs that way...

I didn't know how to ask him, but I needed him. He wasn't going to be easy to work with, but right now he was my biggest bet on surviving.

"Levi?"

"Hm?" he grunted while taking another bite. His eyes were glued to the paper in front of him, not bothering to look up at Derek or me.

"Will you help me? Please? I don't want to die and it seems like you're my best bet." I sucked in a nervous breath as his eyes snapped to me.

He just rolled his eyes, then looked back at the paper. "No."

I squeezed my eyes shut then opened them and tried to muster more strength. "So that's it. You'll just let me die then?"

"Girl, you're going to die whether or not I do help you. It won't make a difference."

I felt something rumble in my chest. I looked over at Derek who was staring directly at his friend. "You don't know that. I am not a weak little girl, I won't die, I won't allow myself to."

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and looking at Derek and I with disapproval. "You will be begging me to kill you that night, believe me, it's not worth it."

"Yes, it is," I hissed, "I'm worth it. I'm not going to sit here and let some beast kill me. One almost did, I won't let another take my life from me."

Levi's eyes seemed to brew. He was not pleased with my answer or the conversation. He held my gaze, both of us stiff as boards, for what felt like an eternity.

"Levi," Derek interjected. "You don't know if she will. It's up to fate. Besides, your beast won't forgive you if you do."

"He'll get over it," Levi bit out.

Derek sat back in his chair and studied his friend. "So what would it hurt? I mean, if she's going to die, then she dies. It's one month. It's minimal compared to the span of our lives."

"And if she lives?" Levis asked, almost taunting his friend.

Derek looked back at me then to his brooding friend. "Well, that would be something wouldn't it?"

"Has a woman ever survived before?"

"Yes, two that I know of, but their wolves were weak. One was killed by rouges and the other was killed birthing her mate's pups."

"Pups? Mates?" I looked back at Levi who took another bite of his breakfast and washed it down with some coffee.

"Information that won't matter to you because you won't live through your first shift."

A growl erupted from my chest as I abruptly stood and slammed my fists on the table.

I was fuming. I had never felt such powerful anger before. It was like something was clawing at the back of my mind, prodding me on to tear into this stubborn man.

I wouldn't be called weak. Not again. He used to always tell me I was weak, alway after he beat me. It became a word that eventually ingrained itself into my mind, that is until now. No more. Not again.

"How dare you? Who do you think you are! You don't get to sentence me to death you stubborn asshole! I may be a lot of things, but I am not a quitter, and I am not weak, and I will not die. Now you can either help me, or sit idly by, but believe me when I say that after I turn, you will be the fist person that I tear into."

I was huffing out angry breaths. A cold hand was on my shoulder, Derek. I snapped my head back at him, daring him to stop me from having my way.

"Little one, easy, you have to control it."

I let out a hot breath while my heart was beating like a war drum in my chest. I have never been a violent person, nor have I ever condoned such behavior. However in this moment, in this moment my fury wanted to lash out at the man who was trying to take my life from me.

"Look at me," Levi's voice was firm and full of authority as he called to me from my side.

I snapped my head to look at his. He cocked his head and eyed me curiously before looking back at Derek. "You really don't think she'll die?"

"No, I don't," he answered simply before settling back down in his seat.

He gnawed at his cheek a bit before letting out a long sigh. "It won't be easy you know."

"I know," I replied quietly. I had no doubt this would probably be the hardest thing I had ever done.

He looked at his shoes then back at me. "Fine, but you will do exactly as you are told, do you understand?"

I blinked back tears and nodded my head. I had a chance. A chance at a new life, at hope. All I had to do was fight, live, and survive the full moon.

Levi sat down and took a long sip of his coffee before picking his paper back up. "Now sit down girl and finish your breakfast, your going to need it."

I smiled as I settled back in my chair. Derek winked playfully at me before picking up a section of the paper and reading it himself. I picked up a chunk of bacon and bit off half of it. God, I forgot how much I loved this. In that moment I made a vow to always have bacon with my breakfast.

Levi seemed to still be brooding and I was kind of worried about what he had in store, but I didn't care. I had his help, his word, and for now, that would be good enough.

After breakfast we walked around to the side of the house where there was a large pile of logs. Levi said he was going to go easy on me today since my leg was still healing. Although I don't think his definition and my definition of easy were anywhere near the same.

Derek had lent me some clothes, jogging pants and an oversized long sleeve blue t-shirt. He promised he would run to the store today and pick up some things for me as well as look through my wrecked truck, Ted, for any of my belongings.

There was a stump of wood in the ground and an ax dug shallowly into it. The warm sun was casting rays over the area. It wasn't hot, it probably would never get hot out here, but in direct sunlight, it would probably be comfortably toasty.

Levi picked up a plastic chair and moved it around so it was facing the stump before sitting in it. I looked curiously at him then back at the pile of wood. "What is this?"

"This," Levi started while pulling out a can of coke and popping it open, "is what you'll be doing since we can't have you running around on that leg right now."

"Which is?"

"Chopping wood, what does it look like girly?"

I sighed and looked over at the pile then back at Levi who was watching me with an amused smirk. "I've never done this before. I don't even know how."

"Fair enough," he answered calmly. Almost too calm for comfort.

He stood up casually and strode over to the pile. Picking up a round log, he walked back to the stump and placed the log on it facing upwards. "You set it like this on the stump. You want a piece that's about this size. Anything smaller you toss, anything bigger you double cut, got it?"

I nodded again. I didn't see how the hell this was supposed to help me, but I didn't want to fall out of his good graces so I kept my mouth shut.

He looked back at the stump and pulled the ax easily out of it. With ease, he swung it around, like he had done it a hundred times–probably because he had, and sliced the log like it was butter.

It didn't look too bad...

"Aim for the middle and it will split for ya." He laid the ax against the stump then settled back into his chair and took a long sip of his coke.

"So that's it? I am splitting logs all day?"

"Yup," he replied while popping the 'p.'

I sighed and nodded again. I guess I didn't have much choice. I didn't really see how this would help, but I needed his help in any way I could take it; so I bit my tongue and I strode over to the big pile and looked around a bit until I found a log that looked around the size of the one Levi had chopped. It was heavier than I expected, but not hard to carry over to the stump.

Like he instructed, I placed it upright before I reached for the ax. The ax. That sucker was much heavier than it looked. I gripped it between my hands, trying to model what he did and looked for a good point to strike.

I didn't even dent the log, well, I knocked it over; and Levi almost fell over out of his chair from laughing so much.

I let out a frustrated breath and put the log back upright. I swung again, this time, a little harder, and landed the head of my ax only about two inches deep into the wood.

"You keep at that, I'll be right back," Levi called to me while he walked back around the cabin.

I closed my eyes and let the sun coat my skin.

You're not with Marcus, anything beats that. This is one hundred times better than that...

I had to step on the log and use my weight to pull the axe out of it. I place it again, swung the axe, and again it didn't split. It looked like I barely made a dent.

Let walked back with a red cooler in hand, setting it next to his chair before settling back down. "I see you haven't made much progress."

I shot him a scowl before placing the log upright once again. I took a deep breath and squeezed the handle of the ax between my fingers that I knew would be raw before this was over. I swung again, and again all I got was an un-spilt log and more laughing from Levi.

"You afraid of that log, girl?"

I bit back the anger that wanted to lash out at him. "No, it's just a log."

"You sure about that Charlie girl?"

I looked back at him. He was eyeing me with curious amusement. I sighed and looked back at my log, my penance.

I wasn't afraid of it, it was just a damn log. A silly, stupid, ridiculous log.

I picked it up and placed it upright. I had more fuel to my swing, it was almost like there was fury coursing through my arms. My ax met the wood, yet it did not split.

"What the hell?" I hissed.

"Just a log girl, ain't nothing to it."

I ignored him. It was probably best so I didn't do anything stupid. I picked the log up and placed it on the stump. I looked at it for a hot moment, trying to visualize myself chopping it because, well, that's what Tiger Woods said he did, right? Visualized the shot? I mean, if that worked in golf, then the theory could be applied here?

I swung the ax around and met the wood, that once again did not split.

More laughter erupted from me. I felt something scratch at the back of my mind while anger started to slowly heat inside me.

"This is better than a damn movie," he said amongst his laughter.

Whatever it was at the back of my brain, well it was not happy about that comment. I felt the anger start to boil inside of me. It felt like fireworks, like electricity, like the new blazes of a fire that were excitedly starting to burn. White hot fire.

I set the log down again on the stump then picked up the ax. I looked over to Levi who has now scooted to the edge of the chair, watching me intently.

I swung again, harder, letting the anger power my swing, and let the ax meet the wood. It split the piece of wood only partially.

Dammit.

"Go get another one, start again."

I set the ax down and marched over to the pile. Choosing a log should be easy, it's just a damn log. Yet I looked at the pile and found myself overwhelmed.

"It's just a log girl, not a shopping mall," Levi teased.

I groaned inwardly and grabbed a piece close to me. He was smiling, like he knew something–a secret of some sort, at me as I walked back. He took another long sip of his coke and wiped the small brown drops left over on his lips off.

I set the log on top of the stump, then picked up the ax. Again.

"Alright little miss, let's see if you can make more than a dent. Although, I won't complain if you don't, this is by far the most entertaining thing I've seen in a while."

A felt a growl rumble in my chest, a low growl, shocking me at how natural it felt.

What the hell is wrong with me?! Since when did I just start growling at people?!

He leaned back in his chair again and looked at me with amusement like he was about to watch his favorite sitcom on TV.

I huffed and squeezed the ax between my palms, anger coursing down to my fingers.

Anger.

A feeling I had suppressed for too long.

Anger was running through me and I was in no mood to stop it. I wouldn't stop it. It was so enticing, like a drug. I felt like I was humming with it. Like it was the only thing that could sate my body.

I pulled the ax back and swung. I swung hard and fast and with the fury that I had pent up for so long.

The log split.

That damn thing split.

I stood there shocked for a second. Staring at the two pieces that had previously been one.

"You feel that girl?" I looked back at Levi who eyes were holding my own in their own firm gaze. "You feel that, coursing through your veins? Clawing at the back of your mind?"

I sighed and closed my eyes. I did feel it.

It was almost like a drug, the feeling of this anger that I had let run free. I didn't feel anything clawing at my mind, more like it was licking its lips as it fed off the emotion that seemed to please it.

I opened my eyes and looked back at him. He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head again, letting the silence settle between us.

"Don't be afraid of it, it's a part of you now. You have to learn to embrace and control it , use it when you need it but don't let it have the upper hand on you. Understand?"

I nodded at him. This thing was too intoxicating to be safe.

"Good, now, do it again."

I almost laughed at the order but knew that he was serious. We were going to be out here all day chopping these damn logs.

The day waned on and I had split was seemed like hundreds of logs. At first, I set into a rhythm, my muscles seemed to remember the motions and my arms moved on auto-pilot as time went on.

It was like a twisted therapy. I chopped out of anger, out of frustration, out of my pissed of emotions aimed towards my own life.

For a few logs I pretended that it was Marcus' head, and that gave me more pleasure than a gift on Christmas morning.

But as the day waned on, my body started to tire. I felt my arms start to burn, it had been a long time since my muscles had worked so hard in their life. The only reason I probably had lasted this long was this beast growing inside me. Derek said I would naturally start to grow stronger, a perk of turning into a large dog.

I continued chopping over and over and over again until I felt like my arms would break. The next time I swung, I failed. I hit the wood but the log did not split it.

I sucked in a breath and stared down at it. Perplexed.

"Funny isn't it," Levi started while popping open yet another can of coke, "doesn't matter how hard you swing, it doesn't help you endure."

"What?" I asked through a strained breath. I was dripping with sweat and already regretted agreeing to wear this outfit that consisted of long sleeves.

"If you hit that log harder girl, it won't split. It won't ever split. You're getting stronger, but you can't always rely on your strength to carry you."

I let out another breath and looked over at Levi who was resting his head against his palm. "So what the hell do I do then?"

He smirked and took a long sip of his coke. "You rely on what you know and on that beast inside of you."

I almost wanted to laugh, the thought was still crazy to me. A beast. I was becoming a beast. Just the thought reminded me of watching 'Beauty and The Beast,' when I was a child.

"Again then?" I asked with a voice leaked with a challenge.

He raised his coke can to me and nodded. "Again Charlie."

So I unleashed it. I let the thing licking its lips in anticipation drive my movements, and somehow I found my hidden strength.

Chopping and chopping and chopping. Letting my mind wander away. Away from here.

My arms burned, but I began to like the burn. My legs ached, especially my bad leg, but something in me told me to ignore it. To keep going.

So I did.

"Charlie," Levi called to me, startling me from my deep thoughts.

I wiped the sweat off my brow and turned to him. Derek was standing next to him smiling at me, almost like a proud parent. "Ya?"

He stood and picked up the small red cooler. "Time to eat girl, you're done for the day."

I dropped the ax next to the stump and followed. I had done. Overcome myself.

If I could do this, then maybe I could live, survive, and endure my first shift.

———————————————

Derek had been able to retrieve most of my things from the truck, but the truck–Ted, was done. Poor Ted. Derek also took the liberties on stocking up on things for me; everything from socks to tampons, this man missed nothing.

I showered quickly after Levi lectured me about using 'all of his damn hot water,' and washed away the sweat from the day, evidence of my hard labor.

The kitchen was swirling with smells of garlic and tomatoes while an old record player was playing Meryl Haggard. I smiled inwardly. This was the closest thing I had to actual friends in a long time.

It wasn't my home, but it was starting to feel like it.

"Ah, here, for you little one," Derek handed me a fat glass of red wine. Clinking his cup with mine, we both took sips of the red liquid.

"And what are we making?" I asked while standing on my toes to look over the counter and peer at what Derek was brewing.

He smiled at me and opened the lid of hot steaming spaghetti sauce. My stomach rumbled on cue and Derek chuckled at me.

"How did you learn to cook like this, since you know?"

"Since I feast on the delicious veins of humans?" he answered while flashing me a wicked grin of fangs.

I felt some of the color drain from my face as I struggled with an answer. He just laughed then walked over to a small bread basket, covered with a red and white checkered cloth, and carried it over to me. "One thing you should know is that we vamps can eat. It doesn't do anything for us at all. It's like empty calories, but we can still eat and enjoy the taste. A reminder of our humanity that we once gave up."

He reached into the basket and handed me a slice of bread. It had what looked like butter and cheese melted on top, but after I bit into it I had to hold my hand over my mouth to keep a moan from spilling out. It was insanely delicious. Garlic, butter, basil, and sharp parmesan all swirling together.

I swallowed then helped myself to another. "Do you miss it?"

He pondered for a bit, his hand mindlessly stirring the sauce with a large wooden spoon. "Yes and no."

"Spaghetti night?" Levi's gruff voice broke up our conversation.

"Yup, I just let Charlotte try some of my garlic bread, which I think has officially convinced her that I am the best cook that she shall ever know."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "Obviously." It was true; one bite of this bread was enough to make me sign a testimony stating the fact in my own blood.

Levi just shook his head then pulled out a few plates from the cabinet and started to set them around the table. "Charlie, get that silverware and napkins and bring it over here."

I obeyed. If I was going to stay here, I wasn't just going to take advantage of their hospitality.

I started laying the silverware around the table and paper towels. Silently tending to my task while Levi fetched the salad and bread.

"Alright, it's ready. Little one, grab your plate and come here," Derek called from the kitchen.

He plated me up a very generous helping of spaghetti and my mind told me it was too much, but my stomach grumbled otherwise.

Derek carried the wine over and topped off all our glass before we dug into the meal. It was so damn good. Probably one of the best meals I had ever had. Better than sex good. "Holy shit Derek, this is amazing!"

He chuckled while swallowing down a bite of his own. "Thank you, my dear. Eat up, you need it."

"Damn right, we gotta get more meat on those scrawny bones of yours," Levi added.

I would of probably have been offended by his comment before. Marcus always like me super lean, dainty is what he would call me. But now it almost filled me with hope, it was a sign that he cared. Cared about my well-being, my future. Well, at least that's how it felt.

I continued to eat. Eating and eating as the hunger urged me on until my plate was clean. Then Derek plated me a second helping and I started again, practically shocking myself at my own appetite.

"So there's a lot you're going to have to learn about our world girl," Levi said gruffly while wiping his mouth.

I looked over at him and nodded. "I would assume so. It's not like I was raised to be an expert in 'mythical creatures that are not even supposed to exist.'"

Derek chuckled while Levi just rolled his eyes.

Levi took a large bite out of his bread and chased it down with some wine. "So here's what we'll do. Every day we'll work on the physical things that you'll need to live and at meals we'll work on making sure you don't sound like a moron when you're walking around our kind."

I rolled my eyes and nodded. "Sounds like a plan then."

"First things first then, you need to know about basic werewolf shit. Let's just call this segment 'werewolf one-oh-one,'" Levi said with fake quotations before taking another large sip of his wine. He poured himself some more, almost to the brim.

"Careful with that," I teased.

He shook his head and took another sip. "Takes more than a bottle to get us drunk girl, best you remember that."

"So," I sighed while pushing my plate out of the way. I couldn't put any more food in my belly, even if I wanted to. I was so bloated already it was almost painful. "What's on the agenda for 'werewolf one-oh-one?'"

Levi sighed while Derek picked up our plates and took them to the sink. "Well, by now you know that you've got a beast inside you."

I nodded. "It feels like a scratching."

"It always starts like that," Levi mused. He toyed with his glass for a bit before flickering his eyes to me. "That beast is a part of you now, whether you want it to be or not. It's a part of you, yet it's own being, and you have to always have a good grip on it."

"What happens if I don't?"

"You go rogue."

"What's a rogue?"

Levi's jaw clenched. He let out a labored breath and took a long swig of wine. "It's a were that's more wolf than human, unable to control its primal urges. Usually, they are they ones kicked out of their packs for offenses or they run off on their on because they can't control themselves. It's like something breaks in them when they are cut off from their family, from their pack. Their wolf gets sick, almost rabid, and becomes a danger to itself and those around it."

I shuddered. "So how do I control it?"

"You'll learn. You got some of that today. But you shouldn't fear it. It's part of you now, so you have to trust it. Your instincts will be driven by it, and you should listen to them; nine times out of ten they're right."

I let out a breath as Derek came back and sat down with us, taking a drink of the wine he had neglected. "So you said that rogues were kicked out of packs? What's a pack?"

Levi's lips formed into a small smile. "A pack is like a community of weres. It's like a city of its own. Governed by a hierarchy of wolves that ensure everyone's safety."

"A hierarchy?" I looked curiously at him and took another sip of the red liquid that was filling me with courage and washing away any anxiety lingering in my bones.

Levi sighed and scratched at his scruff. "In a pack, you have something similar to what you would see in a city. You have the Alpha and his female, they rule the pack and govern together much like a mayor would a city."

I nodded and soaked it in. Sounded simple enough. "So they are the boss and boss-lady, got it."

Levi chuckled and pinched the space between his brows. "Yup, what they say goes." He took another drink of wine and sat back into his chair looking at me curiously while I drank in the information. "Next, is the beta and the beta female. They are the second in command, like a vice president. There are other betas, but they are lower betas and under the first beta's control. The next layer is the gammas. They are what would be like the upper middle class. Many of them make up the warriors or the 'military' portion of the pack. Below them are omegas, everyday wolves like everyday people. They serve most of the other jobs for the pack kind of like you would see in a town."

Derek had gotten up and fetched a plate of chocolates. He said that they were 'truffles' that he had made and wanted us to try them. My belly was full yet it still rumbled. I reached for one and happily bit into the chocolate, almost moaning at the taste. Both Derek and Levi chuckled, laughing at my reaction that almost mirrored their's after they took a bite.

"So, how do you get to be those positions? Can you change?"

Levi licked his fingers then reached for another. "You are born into them. Runs in bloodlines. Alphas usually produce alphas and so on. Sometimes lesser wolves will produce greater wolves, gammas producing a beta and so on. But Alphas are really the only ones that are immune from that. If someone wanted to move up, it would depend on the rules of the pack they are in. Some can get stronger and move up, depends on the pack. Some packs require testing, like trials but more physical. If you mate with a wolf of a higher standing, you usually are able to move up as well, at least in most packs that's how it works. But, if you want to be the alpha of the pack, you have the challenge the current alpha and beat him."

"Sounds medieval," I muttered through bites of chocolate.

Levi scoffed. "More like animalistic, we are wolves after all."

I nodded and licked the remainder of the sweet brown substance off my fingers. "So, what kind of wolf are you?"

"What's that?" Levi looked over at me quickly.

"Are you a beta or gamma or alpha? I mean, you have to belong somewhere, you're not one of these crazed rogues that you've described."

Levi's eyes stormed with icy cold rage as a low growl rumbled in his chest. "I think this conversation is over."

"Wha–" Derek's hand stopped me from finishing my sentence as Levi stormed out of the room.

He sighed and took another long drink of wine. "Sorry little one."

"What's his deal? I don't understand?"

Derek sighed and gave me a small smile. "It's his story to tell. He'll come around eventually." He stood and reached his hand out for mine. "Come, let's do the dishes and get you to bed, you've got a long day tomorrow."