Soooo, I'm back! Can't guarantee regular updates, but I'll try updating more regularly or more frequently. Anyway, thanks for waiting and reading, and voting, and commenting, I appreciate ❤️ Enjoy!

This very same evening was like a breath of fresh air. I suppose everyone around me did understand that it was way too much information for me to handle, or maybe Lena being the best friend one can wish for reported to Shirley about my disheveled state of mind and they decided to make me relax, or I just don't know. In truth, I was confused as hell and didn't want to process everything more than I did that morning while Lena patiently waited for me on the porch. The only thing I decided not to ignore was that my baby girl would be coming in two months. That was also what I told Shirley and Jonathan when Lena dropped me at home in the evening. Both older people gushed around the ultrasound picture as if it were their own grandson, proudly sticking it to the fridge and making comments on how that black and white silhouette of an alien was the cutest ever, which made me laugh happily for the first time in a while. That very evening Shirley prepared a celebratory dinner of spicy chicken with mashed potatoes and a lemon merengue cake, Jonathan called doc Evans to join us and we spent an amazing time together just talking about very unimportant things and also did some planning, since the baby's arrival was much sooner than I expected. We decided to hurry things up with my vet exams, since right about now the baby would start growing rapidly and soon I would be almost immobile, also I would have to stop working soon, the same reasoning applied. That's what lead us to Monday...

Monday. The day doc Evans created a miracle in my eyes. I don't know what kind of influence this sneaky old man had in the university, but somehow I found myself bright and early a town away sitting in an huge empty auditorium full of doubts and absolutely not ready to take my final qualification exam in order to get my diploma and become a certified vet. Doc Evans was sitting next to me looking absolutely bored, while one of my hands was rubbing my stomach and another one tapping the pencil impatiently on a wooden table in front of me.

"Would you calm down? It's not like your getting married to a stranger here, it's just a test", said an unimpressed doc.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit nervous. I mean, when would I have another chance to finally do it?", I replied a bit panicky.

"You'll do just fine. I taught you well. Just stop stressing".

And with that a strictly looking woman with salt'n'pepper hair stepped in and walked towards us. She was the same hight as me (which is almost one and a half heads shorter than doc Evans), dressed in a black pant suit with a scarlet red blouse, heals confidently clicking on the floor while approaching us, eyes trained on doc Evans, a playful smile gracing her full lips painted same red as her blouse, expressive light blue eyes full with wisdom.

"Adrian! Long time no see! What made you crawl out of your cave of a clinic and grace our humble facility with your presence? Are you finally admitting that teaching is your calling and joining me in this futile journey of educating young morons?" Her voice deep and low, tone playful, It looked like they were, I don't know, friends? Never imagined doc Evans first of all allowing someone to address him in that manner, and secondly, well, he was so cocky and condescending, that I would never imagine him being friends with someone. But it seemed that this woman is an exception and it spiked my interest to a new level. Hey, don't judge me, I live a boring life. In a town of werewolf's. Being a supernatural being. Carrying a supernatural child. Eh...

"Linda!", oh my, is that a smile I see? Doc Evans smiling, that's a first.

"Sugar, I have a whole town full of morons, why in the world would I want more of those?"

"Ah, well, the hope never dies..." with that they exchanged a proper friendly embrace. Another first. Maybe there is more to doc that I thought...

"And who is this young lady we have here?", with that the woman's attention turned my way and I clumsily stood up to greet her.

"Hi, I'm Emily.", I outstretched my hand to give her a shake. "I'm here to do the test."

"Ah, I see! Adrian's protege!" Her handshake was firm but welcoming, I decided I like her. She had a welcoming vibe about her and it did put me to ease with all this test thing. I didn't really know how to answer her tough so decided to stay quiet and let adults do all the talking.

"Well, no need to worry, you'll do just fine, I'm sure!", with that she turned back to doc Evans (and by the way, Adrian? Wow...) "Ok, I'll go get the papers and we will leave your young veterinarian genius to do her thing, and we'll grab a cup of tea and I'll tell you all about the miracles of young brains you are missing out here."

"Lead the way.", he answered with a charming smile which made his face all light up. There must be some kind of story there, I'm sure of it, but knowing doc Evans, he'll never tell, so better to just let it go.

Soon enough I was left on my own with a stack of papers containing my faith.

* * *

The agonizing hours later I was finally done. My brain was sweating, mu bladder screaming for a release, my hopes down and my mood even lower. I did answer all the questions, but in my state of mind there was no way of telling if all the answers were correct. I managed to put my pencil dow in just about a couple of seconds before doc and Lisa entered the auditorium.

"Ah, I see you're done?", her attention on me. I gave her a tired smile and just nodded.

"Well, than I suppose Adrian should take you to lunch while a check everything, I say meet you back here in an hour or so?"

It was doc who answered her, not me, seeing I was exhausted, hungry and in dire need of a toilet.

"Yep, got to feed that monster she's carrying, or Shirley will hunt me down and cut my fingers off if she finds out I left Emily without food for more than two hours...", aaaaand the grumpy old man is back. Lisa just laughed while collecting my papers, and doc Evans helped me out of the auditorium to guide me to the cafeteria.

"Don't worry, I bet my left eye that you passed.", he said while taking a bite of his massive burger.

"Ehm, I don't want to be responsible for any part of your anatomy, no offense", I said with a horrified expression on my face. Doc just barked out a laugh while we ate out lunch. When we were done with our food we still had half an hour left, so we moved to a coffee shop on campus to have a hot drink. Doc had an Americano, and I went with a hot chocolate with extra whipped cream on top.

"So," doc started. "It is time to introduce you to the pack. Nathan thought about a bonfire on Wednesday night, we could gather everyone for a BBQ and do it in an informal setting, what do you think?"

I almost choked on my hot chocolate right there. "Is it really necessary?"

"Well off course!" Doc Evans said in a no nonsense tone. "You are a part of the pack now, and either way, most of the wolfs already know about you, except for the healer part, it would be polite to introduce you properly. And also, Nathan can't just ignore the fact that a human is residing in the pack, it would be inconsiderate towards everyone, and being an Alpha means that the pack members come first, ignoring your presence can undermine his authority by showing the people that their sense of comfort is not as important as a mere human girl."

I lowered my eyes to the table, I never thought about me being there from Nathan's point of view, how egoistic of me. When did I become so self centered?

"I guess you're right, I'm sorry, I never meant to undermine anyone's authority..."

"No worries, girlie, you are new to this world, it's absolutely normal to not know how things work here."

"Yeah, I guess."

A moment of silence settled between us, we continued sipping our drinks deep in our own thoughts. One thing bugged me though, so I figured I could voice my concerns to the doc.

"If we are not telling anyone about me being a healer, what will be the reason for me to stay in the pack?"

"Ah, that..." doc Evan's eyes suddenly were full with mischief.

"You see, girlie, we are going to tell everyone, that Shirley's wolf felt bound to you. There is this thing in our world, where our wolf can get attached to someone as if to his own child, to feel the need to protect and care for someone, when one actually isn't his kin. It will not be lying, because mine, Shirley's, Jonathan's and Hannah's wolfs do feel that. Usually it's just one wolf binding with another, but you being a healer means that eventually the whole pack will adopt the same bond with you, you just need to interact with everyone. In time we will also tell everyone who you really are, but not straight away. We need to let everyone get used to you and create said bond."

"I see. But why are we keeping it a secret? I don't get it."

"Well, you see, healers are supposed to be extinct, you are proving decades of beliefs being wrong. You can't just drop a bomb like that and expect everyone to believe it right away. First let them connect with you, that will be the proof that you indeed are a healer, because usually were's do not connect to humans."

It seemed logical, but still one thing bugged me.

"Doc, but won't anyone suspect anything?"

"Did you miss the part when I said that I have a town full of morons? The subject is too deep for anyone to remember everything they learned in middle school, no one will be able to connect all the dots."

We shared a laugh, because let's face it, I like dark humor, and doc Evans was a king in it. But still I had this nagging feeling that it just can't go that smoothly. By the serious glint in doc's eyes, he wasn't as sure of it himself, but for my sake he pretended to be. In the end what options did I have? I found myself a new family, I just needed to trust them.