"All right, Logan, let's make this quick. You already know my name so let's talk about the details. This is the Den, the center of lycanthropic political power. I grew up here. So did my parents. While you were inducted into this life, I was born to it. My parents mated as wolves and I was born under the light of the full moon. Those of us that have never been only human call ourselves Alphas. We were never bitten and we never knew life without the touch of the moon on our skin. We lead the Pack and make most of the decisions regarding werewolf affairs.

If you're an Alpha you don't really get any special powers or anything, it's just a way that makes us different from the rest of the werewolves. I know what you're thinking, why would we get to make the decisions simply because we were born this way? Well, we've literally got a lifetime of experience being werewolves whereas most of the folks that we select are brought in later. That's not to say that some members of the Senate aren't Omegas, that's you, by the way, but you have to earn the position just like anything else. God, I sound like my father.

He's all about upholding the werewolf traditions and so on, but I never really got into that. He says maybe one day I'll see what he's talking about but he's always flashing me these looks of his that says he's watching me. I know he doesn't approve of how I dress or behave or pretty much anything, but I'm the best damn retrieval specialist he's got and he knows it. I know how to handle the weres and the humans and I always get the job done. I suspect if I wasn't so good at my job he'd have me chained to the wall until I learned to be a good girl, but bad girls have more fun anyway.

He sent me after you because you did the one thing they tell us not to do. Draw attention. Thanks to your little stunt the humans are potentially aware of what we are and what we do. Now so far it's limited to whatever that little group was you ran afoul of back there. He's hoping we can keep it that way but let's face it, girl, you're on probation. He's sending agents to figure out who they are and what they're all about but until we know, I'm supposed to keep an eye on you.

I don't really care so much as long as you're not a pain in the tail but he did seem pretty damn serious about it. Like when I got this scar on my arm, and no, you can't hear the story. All you need to know is he was right for once and I screwed up. Anyway, let's move on. I think you and I are going to get along great, like salt and pepper. Stick with me, and I'll show you how a werewolf has a good time.

For the time being you and I are partners. I don't know what you know and what Kameron didn't tell you, but being a werewolf comes with some perks, not the least of which is our aging slows down by half. Bet you couldn't guess my age. By the way, don't. It's just never as fun when you know the answer. Anyway, most of this stuff would have been spelled out in the pamphlet, but you didn't get inducted in the usual way so the pamphlet probably wouldn't help you."

Logan flattened her ears. "There's a pamphlet? Why didn't I get a pamphlet???"

"There's a website too. You even get a keyring."

"Damn it."

Art by