Chapter 36: Book 2. Oops, My Baby Daddy's a Werewolf - Prologue.

It was a warm summer's day as Eloise sat on the bench in the local play park watching her little brother play in the sandpit. Carson was four, thirteen years younger than herself, but after the accident he was all she had left. His chubby little child's fingers would often cling to her during the night, and it was hard, being responsible for him at only seventeen, yet trying to keep them both alive while avoiding local packs. Being a rogue was so much more enjoyable when her parents were still around.

They were part of a rogue family, nomadic, and moving from one place to the next, never staying in the same place for more than a month. Eloise loved it, all the sights she had seen and shared with her family, the people they met, the different terrains they ran in, it was everything. Most packs didn't bother with the small incursions that occasionally happened on their territory, once it was assessed by a ranking pack member that they weren't a threat, they were left alone. But, occasionally there was one pack who did take offence, on those occasionsthey left immediately, never looking back.

Six months ago they were fleeing from such a pack when the worst happened, Eloise and Carson had ran ahead, they were waiting on the other side of the highway, in a neutral territory when their parents came in to view. Her Mom's grey wolf, was running next to her Dad's brindle one, the pack's alpha sharp on their heels just waiting till he was close enough to attack.

If they stopped or even slowed down, he would have killed them.

Instead, they ran right onto the highway, without looking it was their only choice. But, it was right into the path of a sixteen wheeler truck.

The Alpha had looked Eloise in the eye, smirking as her world fell apart.

Now, Eloise had to do what was best for her baby brother, and that meant giving up the nomadic life she loved, that meant joining a pack. A pack meant having a home, and more importantly her brother having more people to protect him.

That's why she was here, just outside of the Gray pack waiting to meet the Alpha's son, waiting to find out if they would find a home here.

Eloise's palms were sweaty, she was nervous; unsurprisingly. But, for Carson she had to try, and the Gray pack was lead by a family, with family values at its core. That was what she and her brother needed. She just hoped their reputation wasn't too good to be true.

It was only another ten minute wait before she felt his presence. Alpha blood was unmistakable, that oppressive aura that instantly made her shiver.

"You're early, have you been waiting long?" Came the strangely soft voice, not matching her expectations at all.

Eloise turned to see a boy about her age and forced herself to smile through her nerves.

"Not at all, Carson loves the play park. It's nice to see him getting to just be a kid for once." She replied honestly.

"My Mom told me what happened. How are you holding up?" He asked her, genuinely interested.

Eloise paused, she was expecting him to be superior not kind. It threw her off completely and for the first time in almost six months she found herself wobbling. Carson being her main concern, she had never allowed herself time to grieve and with one question she had been completely disarmed. How she longed to curl up in a ball and cry, a desire she had been suppress with every fibre of her being. Yet, even now she couldn't, so instead she took a few minutes of silence and pulled herself together.

"Sorry," she sniffed, dabbing at the newly formed tears in her eyes. "It's been tough."

"Shit," the boy swore, "I didn't mean to upset you. Look, my name is Sebastian, most people call me Bast. You're Eloise, right?" He asked, desperate not to trigger the girl again.

Sebastian didn't know how he would handle things of she broke down altogether.

But, Eloise only nodded in response.

"So, I'm supposed to grill you on your intentions," he stated, sitting on the empty spot of the bench beside her. "But, I'm guessing you're looking for help with your brother, right?" Bast asked.

Eloise sighed, "Yes and no." Her eyes drifted over to Carson as he continued digging his hole and chatting with the other little boy beside him. "I won't give him up, but I also recognise he will be left wanting should I raise him alone as a rogue. He already lost his parents, what if something happened to me? I need to know he would have the support of a good pack behind him. People to see him through, especially when he shifts. I couldn't bare the thought of him doing that alone, never mind the danger if a human seen."

Bast nodded, understanding completely.

"I guess it's time I showed you your new home then." He stated, before adding, "If you will introduce me first?" He asked nodding towards Carson.

"What?" Eloise asked in shock, it all seemed too easy. "Are you for real? That's it?"

"Yes, we aren't about to leave you both to fend for yourselves now. That's not how a pack works." Sebastian explained. "It really is that simple, your both kids without anyone, and while you can fend for yourself, he can't. So, you should join us, plus the whole human care system just isn't a risk any of us can afford to take. The council would string us up for one if we turned you away."

The tears fell freely at that point, because Eloise couldn't believe she had done it. She had actually gone and found a safe place for her baby brother and her. Maybe even a home.

Within three hours, Sebastian was showing them around the pack house, it was a communal house, used for anyone in the pack who needed it. Eloise had sworn her fealty to his father, and she and Carson were welcomed whole heartedly into the pack, giving her a feeling of fullness she had never before experienced. There was a rotation of she wolves, desperate to take care of her and her brother, and before she had made it past the porch, it was decided that Carson would be cared for whenever she needed to study; because she was now enrolled in school as well.

It was all so fast, and part of her felt like she shouldn't be able to breathe, but she could. Every inhale brought the scent of home to her senses. It was strange, and if it weren't for how Carson was thriving under the attention she would have questioned it further, maybe even been disconcerted, but instead she chose to accept that she had made the right decision for her brother.

In the years that followed, Eloise grew to love her new home, especially her new best friend, Bast. From that first day he had taken her under his wing and helped her to adjust. Eloise looked to tease him that it was only because he felt guilty about making her cry when they first met. He even halted his Grams when she tried to suggest that Carson was officially adopted by a childless couple in the pack.

Eloise was considered a young adult and thus not someone in need of parents in the same way. But, the family in question were looking to destroy what was left of her family to make their own; and while there were benefits, she herself would no longer be financially responsible for her brother, the pit fall was he would be taken away from her entirely.

The idea was shelved until a year later when another couple came to Eloise directly, Marilyn and Omar Iqbal. But they didn't just want Carson, they wanted Eloise to be part of their family as well, to ensure Carson always knew where he came from and to give her people to lean on as she prepared to go to culinary school. Then, after a time of getting to know each other, Eloise moved in with them as well as Carson, she thought she would finally be content, finally be happy.

Then Bast broke the news his older brother was coming home from college and her whole world changed.

So much so, Eloise had to make the decision to walk away from her family and her baby brother for good.