The third man seemed to be a little smarter than the others. He immediately mind-linked the alpha and communicated with him. He turned to ask her a little more respectfully. "Ma'am, your name is...?"

"Danielle Ward." She replied. The man sucked in his breath, recognising the name. He had some authority in the pack and he immediately made way for her to go. He asked her to follow him. He seemed scared of her, at the same time awed by her. They had all heard stories of her — legends of her prowess. But he underestimated the power she held over his alpha. They weren't even half-way through when he came rushing towards her.

He grabbed her in his arms and hugged her tightly. "Goddess, Dani! I was worried sick! We all were! We didn't know where you were and we couldn't even track you because of your powers! And—"

"Calm down, Sean." She muttered, uncomfortable with the display of concern. She began fidgeting, worming herself out of his clasp. He let go of her. But the other wolf — who must have been a beta or a gamma — was flabbergasted. His jaw had dropped all the way to the ground. He couldn't believe that his alpha, who had never touched a she-wolf, in fact, hated touching a she-wolf other than his mate, would hug a she-wolf alpha like that. Of his own initiative.

"Close your mouth, Cole," Sean warned, frowning at his beta. He was then all smiles when he turned to Danielle. "I'll have to inform all the others, they have to know you're safe."

Danielle was already shaking her head. "No, I'm already feeling guilty, Sean, I shouldn't have come here at all." She stopped her footsteps and said, wide-eyed. She was now realising the full repercussions of her actions. She was putting Sean and the Amethyst Pack in danger.

Sean's brows knitted together. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"You heard what happened, right?"

Sean hesitated. "You... you killed your step-uncle...?"

She nodded. "That means that that man's pack is going to be after me. That pack is my stepmother's maternal pack. My stepmother is going to persuade my father to capture me and bring me to justice or whatever."

Sean wrinkled forehead cleared. He was able to understand what she was trying to say. But he feigned ignorance. "So?"

Danielle kicked a stone frustratedly. It hit a nearby wall and crumbled into pieces. She swung around to Sean and hissed, "Don't you get it? If I'm found to be here, both the packs are going to be after your pack. I don't want to cause a war!"

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She bit her lip and gnawed on it for a few seconds. "I think I should leave." She turned around getting ready to shift.

"No, no, no, no, no, no! No way are you going to run again!" Sean physically stopped her. "How long have you been running? Don't you think it's time to stop?"

Danielle struggled against his hold. "Not at the expense of everyone else." She said through gritted teeth.

"That's why," He replied patiently. "That's why I'll call the rest, so we have back up, just in case."

She stopped struggling. Sighing, she turned towards the mansion and trudged on. He quickly followed her. Poor Cole was already forgotten. He decided to make himself scarce and ran back to the pack house.

Minutes later, they made themselves comfortable in the alpha's office. Sean quickly picked up his phone and messaged the other four alphas. "That's done," he said, grinning at her. She managed a weak smile in response.

"You should try to worry less about everyone else and more about yourself, Dani." He said bluntly. "Maybe then you wouldn't get into such a predicament. Now, tell me, what exactly happened?"

Danielle looked at him through the corner of her eyes. She didn't really want to answer that question. But she owed him that much after the shelter he had given her. And the fact that he was a concerned friend. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. "I was in my office, taking care of my affairs. There was a rogue problem in the north-east that I would have had to handle. I had my hands full. But as the hours went by, suddenly my wolf became anxious. She began fretting and telling me to get out and find someone. I followed her directions and reached the spot." Here, she opened her eyes.

"And then?" Sean asked curiously.

"Who would have thought that that man was... taking advantage of his own niece. She was crying silently because her mouth was taped. He had torn down her clothes and was pawing at her like... like a beast." Danielle's voice became lower and lower. It was a sign that she was becoming angrier. "I saw red, Sean, I obviously couldn't remain silent. A haze washed over me and before I knew it, he was dead."

Only the sounds of the clock ticking could be heard. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. Sean didn't know what to say. She had been noble. She had been sticking to wolf values of protecting their own. She had rid the world of one disgusting paedophilic pervert. But why, in the end, was she suffering? Why did she have to fight those battles which shouldn't have been hers to fight? Sean didn't know that his wolf was getting agitated and angry. He also didn't know that this agitation was felt by his mate.

She quickly climbed down the stairs and walked towards the office. Strangely enough, before she could calm him down, Danielle had only to place her hand on his arm and he quickly settled down. That was the sight his mate was welcomed with when she opened the door to the office. She just froze, unable to move. It was not as if they were doing anything objectionable, but even touching wasn't something that Sean ever did.

"Grace," Sean smiled slightly. "Come in. Let me introduce you to one of my best friends, Danielle Ward."