AJ woke up with a splitting headache, her mouth was dry as a desert and her eyes sore. She didn't even want to try opening them. The sound of a crackling fire snuck into her ears, had she fallen asleep in the living room again? No, this didn't feel like the couch. She was on a hard surface, she was lying curled up on a thick blanket but that didn't stop her from feeling the very hard floor underneath her. There was something heavy on top of her as well, weighing her down, another thick blanket. It was rough on her skin and a little itchy. Her skin? Her eyes burst open.

She was naked.

Coughing and spluttering, her sore limbs flailed about, pulling the blanket, that she then discovered to be a fur rug, around herself fully. Her headache was begging her to lie down on the floor again but she couldn't. In a panic she scouted around the small room she was in, she was in front of a little fireplace, behind her a rickety bed, with wobbly old legs, was shoved up against the wall, the blankets around her had obviously been taken from there. A large backpack was thrown in the corner next to the bed, filled with items she couldn't make out. Light shone in from the greasy windows, illuminating the dust particles that danced around the room, dancing around the table against the window, a couple of chairs. AJ got her breath caught in her throat when she saw who was sitting there with his back to her, his feet on the table, rocking on the chair while reading that same book from yesterday and sipping on a, judging by the smell, steaming mug of coffee.

"You're awake," he stated without turning, his voice gruff. "I was beginning to wonder about you." He didn't sound friendly. AJ decided he didn't look friendly either, same old big boots, same dirty worn pants, a faded flannel shirt with the elbows torn and the same damn hair that made him look like a scarecrow.

"Where am I?" she demanded, trying to sound brave but her voice breaking. Her throat complained as if she hadn't spoken for days.

"Take a wild guess." He gulped down the rest of the content in his mug.

AJ huffed and pulled the rug even closer around herself. She knew where she was, of course, but the question had been on the tip of her tongue and she couldn't stop it. Then she gasped. Her clothes, all of them were hanging from the ceiling above the fireplace. Including her underwear. She could feel the blush creeping up on her cheeks. Winnie the Pooh underwear, a matching set she had thought cute at the time, honey-yellow with Pooh's grinning face on them along with Piglett. She wanted to hide in the blankets. No one was supposed to see those! No one! Not even a madman in an old hunting hut. Especially a madman in a hunting hut, she corrected herself.

"Yes, interesting choice of- of-" the madman coughed out and motioned to her underwear with his mug. "They should be dry though."

"You undressed me!" AJ accused him, "You old pervert!"

"It was either that or you would have to lie on the floor shivering in your wet clothes probably catching pneumonia. Which would you have preferred?" he asked, "Besides, I believe what you want to say is 'Thank you for saving me'."

AJ opened her mouth to argue but realized he was right. "Thank you," she stuttered.

He finally turned to face her. She wanted to back into a corner when his eyes fell on her, but she couldn't move, not without dropping the fur rug and there was no way she was doing that. His eyes weren't like she remembered them, they weren't narrowed and angry, perhaps she had thought them insane at the time. They were clear, a deep, dark brown, surrounded by black lashes that almost made her jealous. But while not completely insane, they were definitely not friendly, showing annoyance and a strange curiosity at her presence. "What the hell were you thinking?" he spat, "Are you out of your damn mind?"

"W-what?"

"Running onto a frozen lake in the middle of the night? Who does that?" he continued, standing up. She could tell he was tall, a broad man, or maybe the bushy beard and the massive head of messy hair did it, but as soon as he stood it felt as though the whole hut was filled with him.

"I wouldn't have if you hadn't chased me," AJ hissed in return.

"I was trying to scare you away, which I wouldn't have done if you kids hadn't been here spying on me," he countered.

"Well, I'm sorry about that," she huffed out. She really was, she never wanted to spy on him, she didn't even want to come here in the first place. Why, oh why did she have this stupid idea that she needed to prove herself to Jared? "I really am, it was a dumb thing to do, I'm sorry."

"Here, drink." With a couple of steps, he was standing by her side. He handed her a mug that had been standing on top of the fireplace, warming up.

"What is this?" she asked but took it anyway.

"Chicken soup," he said as he walked back to the table, he didn't sit down, just stood staring out the window.

"You stole some of our chickens?" AJ spluttered out.

"Stole some of- what?" the man growled, "I'm not a thief."

AJ felt bad, she hadn't believed the rumors of him being a murderer but that wasn't the only rumor floating around. Thief, criminal, robber, kidnapper, thug, even something as ridiculous as an assassin she had heard. But by looking at him he could never be an assassin, he was much too big and made too much noise when he moved. Not that there was such a thing as assassin anyway. He did look like he could manage to steal a couple of chickens though. "Sorry," she mumbled, "It's just, the rumors and all. So what kind of soup is this then?"

"The kind you just add water to. Now shut up and drink." He shook his head and started mumbling to himself, "Rumors, of course."

She did drink. It wasn't bad. It wasn't good either. Just standard chicken flavored soup, but it went down easily and it helped her sore throat feel somewhat normal again. She managed to drink half of it before the silence became too much for her, the crackling fire the only thing her ears could focus on. "So, why are you here?" she asked.

"I need a place to stay until the weather gets warmer," he explained, still with his back to her. "I got tired of sleeping in a cold car at night."

"But on our territory?" she asked.

He then turned to her. "Your territory? I didn't realize this hut was on anyone's territory."

"It is," she said and nodded at him, sipping on her mug she continued, "You've entered the territory of the Northcreek pack, the largest pack in the state, didn't you know?"

"I didn't," he mumbled and turned back to his window watching.

And then the silence returned. AJ sat still, watching the fire with the empty mug in her hands. The thought that she should get dressed suddenly dawned on her. Why was she just sitting there naked? With a strange man around! But she found she just couldn't move, she sat there under the fur rug, feeling the warmth from the small fireplace on her naked shoulders and it felt good, it was comfortable for some reason. She snorted at herself. Almost drowning must have made her head go funny. "Thanks again for saving me," she said, this time without stuttering or her voice breaking.

"What's your name?" he asked, once again turning towards her, his hands clasped behind his back.

"AJ."

"Those are initials, that's not a name," he pointed out, rolling his eyes under his long tangled hair.

"Alina Johanne Winter," she coughed out.

"Alina Johanne Winter?" he repeated, "That's quite a mouthful, girl."

AJ nodded. "That's why most people call me AJ. Our pack's roots can be traced all the way back to the German settlers in the area, my dad says it's important to remember where we come from. He named me after my great-great-grandmother," she explained proudly. Her father had always stressed the importance of family, you knew your pack, you knew where you came from, roots were important to the wolf. Know who you were, who you came from, Alpha Winter would say, Then you'll know who you are. She never really understood but respected it none the less. "What's your name?"

"Dylan," he replied.

"Just Dylan?"

"Just Dylan."

AJ chewed on the inside of her lip. This old man wasn't exactly opening up to her much. Not that she expected him to. She had no idea why she even tried starting a conversation. She returned to gazing around the room. Her clothes did look dry, she would give him that much, and she hadn't been harmed other than the icy water she had swallowed and her sore limbs from the cold. The dust particles flew around her hand as she gently swung her arm out to catch one. Oh no, it was light out. It was morning. It was morning and she wasn't home. "What time is it?" she demanded, packing the blanket around her shoulders and further around her body as she stood up on unsteady legs. "I can't be here, it's morning, I have to go home, my parents are going to ground me so hard!"

"I could hardly take you home since I don't know where you live," Dylan reasoned with a shrug. "It's early, only around six-thirty."

"Oh no, my dad will be up," AJ whined and slapped her hand over her face, "He's going to kill me. I have to get dressed," she stated and yanked her underwear down from the ceiling, he had fastened them there with old wooden pegs that landed all around her. "Turn around!" she ordered when Dylan simply stood watching her with a grin hidden by his beard.

He then winked playfully at her. "I've already seen you naked, why not let me enjoy the show?" he said with a hollow, hoarse laugh.

"Oh, you are despicable," AJ spat at him, "You're just a horrible old pervert!"

"You keep saying that, I'm only twenty-six," he mumbled, and shrugged as he actually did turn around to give her some privacy.

"Twentysix?" AJ scoffed at him, scrunching up her nose at the thought. "But you look so-"

"Yes, old, I got it," he replied in a laugh that made AJ's annoyance flare up.

"Well, then you're just a horrible pervert, aren't you?" AJ hissed and pulled on her underwear.

"Relax," Dylan groaned, attempting to run his hand through his hair but the tangled mess stopped him. "I have absolutely no interest in young girls with cartoon characters on their underwear."

"Well, I should think not," she mumbled, clasping her bra at her front and twisting it around to pull the straps over her shoulders. She tried not taking offense at him calling her a little girl. She definitely didn't want him to take an interest in her at all. But he had still seen her naked, that was more than any other male specimen had. Well, besides her father. Should she be offended that he didn't find her attractive? She shook the thought out of her head, she shouldn't care. He was just a weirdo anyway, a lone wolf that obviously wasn't civilized enough to be in a pack. She pulled down her pants and noticed her jacket was still a bit damp, that couldn't be helped. She sniffed the clothes in her arms. They reeked of rancid water, she would have to wash them when she got home without her mother knowing. How was she even supposed to get into the house without her parents finding out she had been gone all night?

Dylan pulled her out of her train of thought. "Is someone here for you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" But before he could answer she heard the wheels of a car come driving up to the hut. She bounced over to the window, standing beside Dylan, forgetting all about the bundle of her clothes in her arms and the fact that she was only dressed in her underwear. Her first thought went to Lily, perhaps she had come back for her, but Lily didn't even know she was here. No one did. "Oh shit," she mumbled as she recognized the car. Her father's red SUV. "It's my dad," she coughed out.

"Your dad?" Dylan watched as the car came to a stop next to his beat-up wreck of a car. The man stepping out was no ordinary wolf. He was powerful, stood tall as if he owned the land. He could feel the Alpha exuding off him, strongly. "You've got to be kidding me," he breathed, "You're the Alpha's daughter?"

"Does it matter what my father is?" AJ yelled as silently as she could.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no. You can't be here, dressed like this, you have to leave," Dylan grabbed the rest of her clothes from the ceiling and pushed them at her. "I can't have any more problems with Alphas. Do you realize what this looks like?"

"What do you want me to do? He's going to be at the door any second," AJ shrieked, "I can't get out." She clasped her hand to her forehead. She didn't see a way out, the clothes in her arms forgotten for a second time as she hopped from one foot to the other in a panic. Her father approached the door, a heavy knock announced his arrival.

Dylan groaned loudly. "For fuck's sake," he mumbled and grabbed AJ's arms. "Hide," he demanded and pushed her to the floor by the bed. "Under. Now." She had no choice in the matter, there was nowhere else to go. She crawled under the bed and pulled her clothes with her, the blankets from the floor in front of the fireplace he kicked in after her, covering her up as much as he could. Hopefully, it would be enough.

The door opened and Alpha Winter stepped inside, closing the door after him. Dylan stood by the bed, afraid to move too far away. She was clutching the clothes that reeked of lake and he had covered her in his blankets, his rugs, had he had the time he would have thrown his own clothes under there as well. Her father being an Alpha, he was afraid her scent would still seep through all the layers of diversion.

But if the Alpha wolf felt her presence, he didn't let it show. "I am Alpha Winter, but I suspect you know that," he stated, arms crossed over his chest.

"I do," Dylan confessed, "The name's Dylan."

Even under the bed, AJ felt the tension between them as the silence set in. Both men staring intensely at each other, waiting for the other to break. AJ swallowed, hoping it wouldn't be heard against the crackling fire. It felt like minutes had passed but it was probably only a brief moment before Dylan lowered his gaze with a whimper, so soft it was barely audible, but it was there. The show of respect any Alpha deserved.

Henry exhaled with a content sigh and loosened his stance. "I understand you've taken up residence here?" he asked sitting down at the table.

"Only temporarily," Dylan said sitting down on the bed.

AJ felt the pressure of his weight and the wooden bars pressed down on her side. She wanted to jump out of there so badly, the underside of the bed was no cleaner than the rest of the cabin, filth that hadn't been cleaned out in years was caked in the corners down there and the smell gave her tears in her eyes. Once she got out of there she would run home and jump into the shower, then scrub the last twelve hours off of her.

"I'm moving on once the weather grows milder," Dylan continued, "I was not aware that this was part of your territory, Alpha Winter. Had I known I would have sought your permission first, of course."

"I'm glad to hear that," Henry scraped his fingers along the stubble on his chin. "I'd like to think of us as a hospitable pack, but strangers sneaking around during the night does raise its fair share of suspicion. I don't know if you're aware of the rumors?"

"I'm very much aware," Dylan quickly stated, then shook his head and added in a grumble, "I've been informed that there are rumors, I mean." AJ was sure she could hear the dig directed at her in his choice of words.

"I don't want any trouble," Henry continued, "I will not allow an outsider to cause havoc in my pack."

"You won't have any trouble with me. That is the last thing I'm interested in. I'm not here on a secret agenda, I just needed a place to stay for the remainder of winter." Dylan was pleading with him now, AJ could hear it in his voice. She understood completely, her father could be very intimidating.

Henry tapped his fingers on the table, contemplating the situation. AJ knew the drumming very well, she heard it often. "You understand that I would be going against the Elder Council's wishes here. They see you as a threat to our ways, they want you off our land as fast as possible."

"I understand," Dylan said in a curt nod.

"But I also know the trouble you have had with the Darktimber pack, and I believe it to be unjustified. Your punishment was uncalled for."

"How do you know-?" Dylan asked, scratching his beard, moving around on the bed in discomfort.

"I knew your father, it was a damn shame what happened." Henry stood, taking a few steps up and down the small confinements of the hut. "I have many friends in the Darktimber pack. Many who, like myself, believe your punishment was undeserved. But, I cannot interfere in business not in my pack. I can, however, extend a helping hand. You say you will be gone by summer, I will accept that. I can make the Council accept that."

"I appreciate that, Alpha," Dylan breathed, relief evident in his voice, "Thank you."

Henry walked to the door, with his hand on the knob he turned to face Dylan a last time. "There's a convenience store in town, it has the basics, nothing much. But don't feel like you have to take the long drive into the city should you need supplies of any kind."

"Thank you, Alpha." Dylan stood, lowering his gaze at the Alpha, a final sign of respect before Henry walked out, closed the door after him and got into his car. Dylan watched him leave from his place by the window, chewing on his lip. AJ didn't dare crawl out until she heard the SUV disappear in the forest.

Dylan whipped around facing her. "Of course, you're the Alpha's daughter." He shook his head with a short desperate laugh. "Of course you are. I can't stay out of trouble for a week, just a fucking week, that's all I ask."

AJ knew he wasn't talking to her and decided not to answer, instead she pulled on her pants and asked, "Why were you shunned?"

"It's none of your business. Right, you have got to leave, out!" he sneered at her and pointed to the door.

She hadn't expected an answer from him, he didn't seem the type to talk to people about his past, about anything really. He didn't seem talkative at all. Her father had made her curious though, she could always ask him, but then she'd have to admit to being here. She would never do that. AJ pulled her shirt over her head and scoffed at him. "I'm leaving!" she yelled, "Why the hell would I want to stay here in this dump? With this marvelous company?" Sitting down on the bed she pulled on her socks. "It stinks in here anyway."

"It doesn't stink," Dylan said in a sigh, sneering down at her as he walked back and forth in the small space, only stopping to poke the fire occasionally.

"It stinks so bad," AJ corrected him, tying her boots. "Why don't you air this place out or something? And clean perhaps, if you're staying for a while, you need to clean. You'll get a disease in here, I swear."

"What do you care?" Dylan crouched down in front of her, only inches from her face. His brown eyes stabbing into her wide open green ones, his upper lip curled into a sneer making her lean away from him, the back of her head bumped against the wall behind her. "Perhaps I am already sick. Now, Alina Johanne Winter, if I ask you to stop spreading rumors about me, will you listen?"

"It wasn't me, I-"

"I don't care, just keep your trap shut, alright?" Dylan growled and stood up again, looking down his nose at her, he added, "I just want to be left alone. I think you owe me that much."

"Trust me, I'm not in a hurry to get back here," AJ sneered and pushed herself off the bed, stomping to the door she tore it open, the hinges complaining wildly at the action. "You horrendous man, I'll be happy if I never see you again."

"And you can trust me when I say I have seen way, way too much of you," Dylan hissed through gritted teeth, letting his gaze travel down the length of her body and back up again, ending with a sly wink. She was fully clothed and he made her feel naked with just one look. "Especially that little beauty mark of yours, the one on your-"

"Yes, thank you!" AJ huffed out in anger, she was sure her cheeks were turning tomato red. She couldn't show him she was embarrassed, she just couldn't. "You- you- you-" she stuttered without having any idea how to form the insult she was desperate to fling at him. "You!" she finished lamely and marched out the door.

She stormed through the trodden down snow, in the direction of the town. Pushing past trees and stepping over fallen trunks. She couldn't believe the nerve of that guy, of that horrible and despicable man. What was his problem? She had apologized for the stupid juvenile stunt last night, and she had meant it. Why did he have to be so mean? Couldn't he tell she was embarrassed enough, why did he have to rub it in? Against her better judgment, she looked back over her shoulder. He was standing in the door opening, watching her leave. Looking as wild as ever, with tangled hair and clothes that really should be thrown out. He narrowed his eyes at her, an expression she couldn't read on his face. Was he smiling? She couldn't tell, that disgusting beard covered half his face. She didn't care anyway, she decided. She snorted in his direction before whipping around and hurried along the way.

Horrible man! Horrible, horrible, disgusting man!