Wolf Changed

by KamyCat

Caity's life is pretty normal for a person with fae blood running in her veins; she has a good job, a nice boyfriend, a loving family. She is all too happy the terrifying Gray Lords of the fae have no interest in her particular magic. Yes life is good, until one dark night everything changes and she is thrust into the world of monsters and deviants.

I was always different. Sure on the outside I looked like an average person, blond, blue eyes, not too tall, not too short, not to thin, not too fat. In fact people told me I was pretty, if somewhat quiet, as if that was a fault. Being quiet allowed me to observe, and through observing I noticed things. I noticed that my grandmother, who was a spry old woman, was fae, even though she hid it well. Her magic was in plants and living things, she was not evil, she did not eat children, she wouldn't be found in a Grimm's fairy tale. She was a rarity among fae for benevolent fae tended to get themselves killed by more covetous fae. She kept herself hidden as best she could, for even though her magic was used only for living things, it was strong and potent. No one spoke of the beautiful gardens that surrounded her home, nor of the remarkable birds that lived there. No one commented on her ability to keep her five beloved mongrel dogs in good order. It was just the way Grandmother was. I suspected my mother knew about her mother's lineage, but she never mentioned it, not a peep, so neither did I. But there comes times in one's life when there is no more room for secrets.

When I was a child, I took no notice of the dog obeying my slightest look or command, nor the feral cat that would come and sit next to me for a pet. I delighted in the flowers that grew tall and plentiful in my small backyard, but I never knew that I was the reason for it. As I grew older I realized these occurrences were less coincidental, I began to sense the magic, to persuade it; some of Grandmother's magic had rubbed off on me. The fae had always been real, not just my Grandmother, but all things other. I could not remember a time when they were not. My mother and father talked of the time when the fae kept themselves hidden, before modern technology had forced them to come out into the open. I couldn't remember that time, being just a child, and having no understanding of such things.

When I turned sixteen the werewolves made their existence known. They were done hiding and so was I. I confronted Grandmother about her magic, about mine. She reluctantly admitted that I had some of her magic in my blood. I felt the cold clutches of fear as she warned me about all the things that go bump in the night. She made sure I understood that werewolves were dangerous and evil; they were trying hard to make themselves look like heroes, but they were not. And there were other things too: vampires that preyed on humans, witches that preyed on anything from kittens, other witches to fae like us, half-bloods like me. Resolutely she was unable to keep me from the truth; instead she taught me a little about her magic and I learned to tame a wild animal, to be friends to wild birds, to encourage nature. She reminded me to keep such magic hidden, at all costs.

I successfully navigated teenage hood and went to college after deciding to become a vet technician. I had first wanted to become a veterinarian, but somewhere along the way, wading through endless exams and papers, I got tired of it. I settled for vet technician, and that was okay. I was happy with my job. I still worked in the clinic, helping with operations and procedures. It was easy to pretend that I was just naturally good with animals and everyone always commented that animals seemed to love me. I don't think they always loved me, but I could use the magic in my blood to tame them, to calm them, even if they looked up at me with dark confusion, at least they would not hurt themselves in their fear. I moved out of my beloved parent's house into a little house shared with some friends. It was fun and reasonably tidy, unlike some shared accommodations of young people just starting on their own. There were only us three girls living there, my two roommates were still college students, and they were very serious with it, there was a lot of studying. Me, I was happy to have a cheap place to live and a job I enjoyed.

My boss, Dr Hartman, was a young veterinarian on this side of vet school. He was ambitious; he had opened his own clinic rather then operating with another vet. He was also handsome and charming when it suited him. I was furious with myself when I developed an infatuation similar to a school girl's crush on him right away. I told myself I was a professional, and yet his steady brown eyes and steady hands as he went about his duties as a vet undid me completely. I watched him console grieving families putting down a beloved dog that was hit by a car. I watched him assuring a little old lady that her cat would really be alright and that they would take best of care of little Tinkers. I think he knew my weakness and exploited it. In the end it didn't matter that he didn't love me, my life became too strange and there was no room for a handsome charming vet in my bed.

I have always been a bit paranoid, and since my Grandmother's little speech about the evil of the world, it only got worse. I didn't like walking alone in the dark, I kept a nightlight in my room like a scared little girl. I always kept alert when I did find myself in a situation I was not comfortable with. I took some self defense classes at the local marital arts academy. I was good at martial arts, being an athletic, agile person. I tried not to live in fear, that was wasteful energy, but being prepared was not. However in the events that changed my life those precautions did not help me.

I had worked late, helping Dr Hartman with a late night emergency. The clinic closed at seven, but the emergency had pushed us all until nine, and now it was nine thirty and full dark. It hadn't been a busy night, except the surgery, a dog was hit by a car, it happened often enough, and it was always heartbreaking. I was the last to leave, except for the Dr Hartman. I had lingered hoping to steal a few kisses, but Josh was busy with paperwork, and calling the worried owner about the operation. It had been more or less successful, the dog would lose a leg, but it would live. He promised to call me later so I had nodded and left. The staff parking was at the back of the building, beyond the parking lot was a high fence and beyond that was the railroad. It was not a nice place, even in the light of day. I never felt safe there at night. The darkness, lit by a single flickering street lamp, lack of people, and multiple dumpsters attracted vagrants. Homeless people wouldn't hurt me, but a drugged up junkie might. Or a vampire. Vampires, Grandmother had instructed me, did not like people to know about their existence, so I ever came across one she bade me to ignore it. Good advice in theory.

Now September on Vancouver Island in British Columbia is usually a lovely time of year, time for Indian summers, warm days and cool nights. However that was not always the case; that night was dark with heavy clouds hanging over the city like an oppressive tyrant. It was raining, not a light sprinkling, but a heavy downpour that made me wonder why I didn't carry an umbrella. I had my keys ready. My car, a BMW older then as I was waiting patiently, looking as ready as I was to get out of the weather. When one has an affinity with living things, it is easy to imagine inanimate things like cars as creatures. Hence the reason why I had named my car Baffy. But Baffy was a car, and it was as silent and inanimate as any other, which was why there was no warning call, no one to say: "Caity watch out!". That was why after I had unlocked my car, opened the door, I felt a huge silent force knock me over. I hit the asphalt hard and felt a stabbing pain in my chest, which was quickly extinguished by fear and adrenaline. There was something on top of me, something huge, an animal and it bit into my shoulder, dragging me into my car. I felt its teeth in my flesh with a raging pain unlike anything I had ever felt before. I could see it a little in the dark. My first thought was I had been attacked by a German Sheppard, it had fur similar in color, from the terrified glimpses I saw. But it couldn't be a German Sheppard, it was too big. It looked at me with round gold eyes that filled me with more fear than a dog ever could, I knew that this was no dog. I felt my magic flow into my fingers as I prepared to tame this beast, for if anyone could tame a werewolf I figure it would be me or perhaps my Grandmother. It grabbed me then and I felt like a rag doll as it shook me, I hit my head on something with a crack and everything went dark.

I thankfully don't remember anything else about that night. Sometimes ignorance is a blessing.

I woke, in my car. My head swam, I was dizzy, my skin itched and burned like a bad sunburn. I felt disorientated, like I had drunken too much tequila. I almost retched because of the smell that reached my nose. It smelt strange and potent. Like iron. I opened my eyes and saw it. Blood. I saw I was in the backseat of my car, but it was covered in blood. The pale seats with the neat black pinstripes were blotched with thick red and brown blood stains. I started to panic and heard a dog whining in my ear. I tried to turn to get out of the car but my body wouldn't work right, that was when I realized that my body was not my body. I looked down to see two long furry gray legs ending in wolf like paws with long sharp claws that dug into the seat upholstery. I was a wolf. I was a werewolf - I corrected myself, feeling an ice cold electric current of fear move down my spin and settle in the region of my stomach. Werewolves were evil, grandmother had said so, not heroic men who only turned into wolves during the full moon as they had been pretending to be for years now. They were evil creatures that could barely control the evil beasts inside them, evil beasts that were always trying to get out.

I fought to control my breathing, I wanted to run, the wolf wanted to run. The car had turned into a cage and I was scratching at the door, ripping big pieces of paneling, bloody upholstery flew everywhere.

Okay that isn't working

, I told myself. Werewolves are people that turn into wolves. I could turn into a person again, I could, I must. Change, I commanded myself. If I was a human I could open the door and everything would be fine. So I did. Suddenly everything hurt, it was so sudden and shocking I stopped, but I knew I needed to change, so I did. I lay on the wrecked back seat of my car with my eyes shut, feeling my body stretch and pop as it became me once more. It was painful but it faded to general discomfort, soon I was lying panting on my seat, naked, but human. My skin tingled.

My stomach growled when I sat up, I could still smell the blood and suddenly it smelled strangely appetizing. I shook my head and fumbled with the door latch, hurdling myself outside the car.

I was surrounded by forest. My car had taken me far from the vet parking lot. I was on a dirt logging road, who knew where. It looked deactivated; there were large potholes and fallen branches everywhere. I shivered in the cold wondering how my car had ever made it up here. That reminded me that it was not me who drove it, my attacker - my changer had. That terrifying wolf had attacked me, driven me out to the middle of no where and abandoned me. I shivered from more then just cold, not willing to muse over the previous night. I smelt something, something familiar, something that struck terror to my heart. He was still here. The one who attacked me. It was his scent I smelled. I scanned the tree line around me, but I could see nothing, hear nothing. There was bird singing with no trace of alarm, so perhaps it was a lingering scent. I smelled myself and realized that his scent was on me, on my skin. That was too disturbing to think about so I ignored it, relieved that he was not here in person. I don't know how I knew it was a man, I had just seen a wolf, but I knew just the same. Strange, I thought. Strange to have so much more awareness. I could hear everything, smell everything: the gas from my car, the gravel from the road, the spores of the forest ferns floating in the air. My senses quickly felt overwhelmed, but I could still smell the blood. I looked down at my hands and saw that my skin was covered in dry blood. I touched my hair and felt the crusty masses under my hands, my stomach roiled at the thought and I threw up in the gravel.

My blood. It was all my blood. I would surely be dead if I had not been changed. I had watched enough crime scene investigation mysteries to know how much blood a human could loose before exsanguination. I found no sign of injury on my body, but I guessed that whatever magic caused the change had also saved my life. Maybe that was why werewolves, the public ones, always looked so young. They were like the comic book character Wolverine, immortal, untouchable. I couldn't help but test my theory and took a sharp looking piece of plastic from my destroyed door panel and sliced it across my hand. I watched the blood pool up for a moment and then stop as a thin red film of skin covered the cut. That was handy, I thought morosely.

I inspected my car. Old Baffy was done for. It looked like a murder scene, which it would have been, I thought with another wave of nausea. The back seats were worse then the front, where by comparison, it looked as though someone had been merely stabbed instead of tied and quartered. On the front passenger seat was a plastic bag, clean of any blood, so I opened it with apprehension, but found a towel, clothes, my purse still with money and cards intact, and to my surprise, a small torch. There was a small tank of gas in the foot well. My attacker wanted me to burn the evidence. He thought I would willingly destroy any evidence of his wrong doing. It filled me with anger, I felt a growl in my throat and felt the sudden need to find the wolf who did this to me and rip him apart. It was such a strong feeling that I could feel my body splicing as the wolf wanted to come out, I felt my hands change, my back change. I shook my head and within moments I was human, or almost human, once more.

Logically my attacker was right. What was I going to do? Tell the police? The car had to be destroyed. People feared werewolves, what would happen if they knew I was one? They would lock my up, at least for a while until they knew if I was safe. Was I safe? Grandmother had made it sound as though werewolves were given to violent urges, I already experienced that, my wolf was all too eager to get out, it wanted to kill something, it was angry. I took a deep breath, the feeling went away quickly enough, I didn't think I would be too dangerous, so long as no one tried to kill me again.

I smelled water close by. I grabbed the towel and headed for the source. It was a small creek, just large enough for me to stand in up to my ankles and wash awkwardly. The water was clear until I soiled it, watching the red shed from my skin downstream. When I was done I was freezing cold. I took the torch and found my old clothes, ripped and bloodied. I stuffed a string made from my old vet tech uniform and stuffed it into the gas tank. I pulled it out and stuffed in the dry end. Then I carefully took the torch and lit the cloth, standing back as the flame spread. Then I lit the other burnable parts of the car I had doused in gas. I had no idea if it would work, I didn't think it would actually explode.

The car was engulfed in flames soon and I stood warming myself, still naked, bag of clothes in my hand. I wouldn't use them though, not yet, I changed into my wolf, it seemed like the smart thing to do. Then it took me no less then ten attempts to get the bag around my neck, I never fully appreciated having opposable thumbs. With a silent apology and goodbye to my faithful car I trotted off down the rugged road. I liked the feeling of the ground under my paws, soon I was dodging about the forest, never far from the road, chasing rabbits and squirrels as my stomach dictated.

It took me the rest of the day to get home. I came out of the forest and could see the farms stretching before me and I knew where I was. I changed again. This time it left me feeling weak and breathless, like when I didn't eat breakfast or lunch, but lived only on one cup of coffee, it wasn't good. I put on the clothes and ran my fingers through my shoulder length hair, I had no mirror, but I hoped I had gotten all the blood out, I couldn't smell it anymore at any rate. The clothes were bland and still had tags from a thrift shop, even without the tags I would have known their origin, they had that amalgamated smell of many households.

It wasn't raining, for which I was thankful, but the clouds were still thick. I walked to the nearest bus stop and sat down to wait. I checked my phone to see if I had reception, I did so I called my roommate with my cell.

"Caity?"

"Yeah it's me."

"Where have you been? We were worried."

"Someone stole my car. I went home with Josh." I explained hoping the cover story would pan out.

"I see. That sucks about your car. You loved that thing. Did you call the Police?"

"Yeah." I lied. "I'm on my way home now, should be about an hour."

"K. See you then. Megan's working tonight."

"Right. See you then." I hung up. The bus came with a waft of diesel fuel and I went home.

Home was an older house, which could have been beautiful if it had not been neglected and rented out to college students and aimless young adults for the last ten or so odd years. Young adults tend not to mow lawns or power wash siding, or weed, or do anything much, especially when they are bogged down with exams, partying or just learning how to be grown-up. We didn't own it, or perhaps we would have felt more responsibility for the slowly degrading siding and neglected roses. Well at least in the last two years since I had moved in the roses were happy, even now in September they were still blooming. The large maple tree had bright red leaves that were beginning to fall and litter the sidewalk. The bus stop was only a block away and I walked the rest of the way home with a grumbling stomach. I kept my eyes down, and felt a weighty emotion hunch my shoulders. I told myself I would not cry, I would go in, eat something, which would make me feel better, then I could go hide in my room, and figure out what to do next. I didn't think too much, just imagined what kind of food I would eat, I started salivating.

Sophie was looking chipper as she waltzed around the house texting at the same time. Her music was blaring and it sounded loud to my new ears. She saw me and did a double take.

"You look awful," She said but looked back to her phone.

"I think I may be getting sick, the flu or something." I told her.

"Josh was that rough on you, eh?" She said with a sly smile. She turned around and sat down on the couch, exchanging her phone for her lap top. Her comment infuriated me and I found myself walking over to her, a growl in my throat. I stopped myself, breathing hard, turned on my heels and headed for the kitchen. Not good. The wolf wanted to kill her, and eat her. My stomach was tight with hunger pains.

There was left over pizza in the fridge, I took the whole box up to my room and ate it all. Afterwards I felt a bit better, but still far from perfect. I went back to the kitchen and found some frozen chili in the freezer, I thawed it in the microwave and ate it too.

I felt even better after that. Better enough to realize I was wearing thrift store clothes bought by some lunatic werewolf with some sort of mission to destroy my life by changing me into a werewolf. Disturbed, I pulled them off of me, watching as they tore to pieces on the floor under my fingers. I jumped in the shower and cleaned myself until my nostrils burned with smell of my herbal soap. I dried and lay down on my bed staring up at the ancient stucco ceiling.

I was a werewolf.

I was a werewolf and I had no idea what that meant. I knew the basics: like I turned into a wolf, there was no doubt about that. Legend said that the wolf was tied to the moon, but I didn't know if that was the truth. Legend and truth were two separate equations. I didn't know any werewolves, I didn't think there were any that lived within miles of my town. Legend told that they were monsters, Grandmother told me they were monsters, but the media portrayed them as brave, if often stoic and closed off. No one really liked them, but at least they hadn't declared open war or declared themselves a separate nation like the fae had several years back.

What was I now? A monster? The thing that lurked inside me, I could feel it, restless, wild, struggling, it could be a monster. It had wanted to kill Sophie before, and only because it had been annoyed, because I had been annoyed. It liked the smell of blood. A lot. It felt better now, less restless, more sated, but still on the edge of chaos.

I realized I was crying, the kind of crying that starts as a few tears and soon I was sobbing into my sheets, hoping that Sophie would not hear me and come knocking as the kind hearted girl I knew her to be. What would I say? More lies? I couldn't tell them what had happened, I couldn't tell anyone. I thought briefly about contacting another werewolf, there was that handsome one that was in the news sometimes, but I couldn't remember his name. I could find it, no doubt, Google made information easy, but what then? Grandmother told me the werewolves put on a nice front for the humans, but underneath was a pool of blood and violence. There was real fear in her eyes when she talked of them, what would she think now that I was one of them?

I sobbed myself to sleep.

The next morning I felt better. A good cry can do that.

I ate five hot dogs for breakfast and then called the police to report my stolen car. I called my insurance company. I called my parents. My mom was home and was worried about my car, but asked if I was alright. She could tell my lie across the phone and told me I should come over for dinner after work. I agreed because my dad was cooking steaks, the wolf wanted steaks apparently. Talking to my mom reminded me that I had a shift to work that day, a short shift, it also reminded me that my mom was a bit crazy to memorize her daughter's work schedule.

Talking to my mom made me feel better as well, mom's are like that, so I dressed in my scrubs and felt almost normal. Almost.

I bummed a ride to work from Sophie. Her perfume made me want to gag, her driving made the wolf edgy. But I'm a nice person, I thanked her when we got there. She waved goodbye and sped off in her sparkling red Toyota.

The vet clinic was in a strip mall, although the building was separate, the parking lot was same. I walked around to the back where the staff parked, to through the back entrance. I got halfway there when I paused, hearing voices speak my name. It was Josh, the Vet and my boyfriend. I could hear him around the corner as if he was speaking right beside me, I could also hear the woman he was speaking with, although I had heard the voice before, I didn't know who it belonged too, one of my co-workers perhaps?

"Caity? No she doesn't know. Things aren't serious with us anyhow." Josh was saying. That was the first shock of my day. I had thought things were serious between Josh and I, I wouldn't have had sex with him if I thought differently. I felt a pang of anger in my chest as I reviewed our short relationship, Josh had said things that would make a girl think he was serious. He must have been leading me on.

A sound came out of my mouth that had no business coming from a human, it sounded entirely wolf and shocked me out of my reverie. I could still hear them, the woman, was saying some things made me positive that she was not only a whore, but she was sleeping with Josh, which made him a man whore. I was shaking with rage and I punched the wall, making a huge fist sized dent, concrete crumbled on the ground. Shock number two. I looked at my hand, it was red, but barely. I flexed it. Werewolves, it seemed, are really strong.

I took a deep calming breath and walked around the corner, Josh was there talking on his cell phone.

"Gotta go," He said. His charming smile was aimed at me.

"Bye Josh, think of me today." The woman on the other end said in a sultry voice before hanging up. I had heard the whole phone conversation from twenty feet away. Crazy.

"Morning Caity." Josh said swinging an arm over my shoulder. I brushed it off taking a deep breath.

"It's over Josh." I told him, my head high.

"What? Why? We were having so much fun." He added in a sensuous voice.

I cocked my head as if pondering that statement. "Not fun enough. It was mistake Josh, I should never have gone out with you." I couldn't admit that I heard the conversation, that would raise eyebrows.

He looked angry. I had said it to hurt him, but as soon as I said it, I knew it to be the truth. I didn't love him, he certainly didn't love me.

He shook his head, turning his eyes from me. "Are you sure Caity? Really? Remember the other night?" I couldn't believe his persistence. I did remember the other night, and now I wished I didn't.

I shook my head.

"Fine. Let's get to work." He said in a sharp voice, turning away from me to go inside the clinic.

It was a routine day. There was one dog that was on intravenous, it was really sick, its owners called every hour to see if it was getting better, it wasn't, but we were familiar with loss. There was the dog recovering from its run in with the car from the night before. It was still heavily sedated, and would be for a while longer yet. We also had a myriad of cats and dogs waiting to be spayed or neutered.

I looked at the schedule and went to sort out the cat that was next in line. A little white thing named Snowy. Creative. It spat at me as I tried to pick it out of the little kennel, it hissed and scratched. Most cats are difficult, but this one was a piece of feline nastiness. I took a deep breath and used my inherited fae-ness to calm the cat. It worked, at least enough. The cat stopped moving but I could see the fear in its eyes, it shook all over even if it didn't try to claw my skin to shreds.

Spaying is quick and soon it was back in its box, unconscious. The next cat was the same story. And the next. After the retinue of spays and neuters I checked on the dogs. We had a golden retriever in for a neuter, usually the breed was nothing but licks and tail wags, but this one was backed into its kennel barking at me, not the excited nervous bark, the full out warning bark I heard only reserved for raccoons, coyotes and occasional small dogs. I stared at it and the barking changed pitch and the dog went into hysterics. The other dogs had been alerted and were barking now too. It was a mess, I couldn't calm them with my magic, not all at once. I tried to summon my inner calm, that sometimes helped, but inside was a wolf that was looking at the dogs as if they would be something fun to chase, and possibly eat. That thought was unnerving and destroyed any inner calm I had been working on.

The other vet techs were coming to see what the commotion was about, even the front desk girl.

"What's gotten into them?" Delores asked.

"Looks like they are scared." Some one noted.

"What happened Caity?"

I shrugged, unable to talk for a moment. Then I walked away to take my break, living the others to try and calm the dogs down, there was no way I could.

It had been me. I was the reason the animals were worked up. They were terrified of me. They sensed the presence of a predator. My stomach turned over and I felt sick. I ran to the bathroom and made it to the toilet, where I threw up my hot dog breakfast. I washed the sick from my face and mouth with cold water and took deep breaths. I looked up into the mirror and saw two yellow eyes staring back at me. They were my eyes, but they were eerie and foreign, yet somehow beautiful. As my breathing slowed I watched my eyes change back to dark blue. I wished I knew more about werewolves.

I told Delores that I was feeling sick, I had to go home. I called my mom and she came to pick me up. I didn't bother telling Josh.

"You alright?" Mom asked shooting me a worried look.

"No. I need something to eat."

"Sure, we'll have a cup of tea when we get home." She still looked worried.

"No, I need something now. There's a drive through." I all but pulled the steering wheel out of her hand. I ordered a hamburger and fries, a salad and ice cream for dessert. My mom looked at me with a strange face.

"Are you pregnant?" She asked as we drove back onto the main drive. I was already eating the hamburger, the wolf inside of me had apparently never eaten in her life.

"No!" I exclaimed, thankful that that was the truth. I thought of how stupid I had been with Josh; I was never sleeping with another man unless he loved me truly first. "Josh and I broke up."

"Honey..." My mother sympathized. She had liked Josh, even if she only met him once, and briefly. He was a vet, it earned him big points. My mom loved animals as much as I did.

I shook my head, my mouth was full, I swallowed hastily, not the best manners, but I didn't care.

"No Mom, he was a rat bastard. He was cheating on me." I told her once my mouth was mostly empty. That remark got a deserving curse from my mild tongued mother. It sounded odd coming from her, but I could appreciate it none the less. I ate my food the rest of the way to my childhood home, my mother had questions, but she was always good at giving me space.

My parents lived on a large plot of land outside the city. My mother, like my grandmother, loved plants and animals, even if she didn't inherit any fae blood. It was September, so her garden was showing its end of the summer age like any other, but in June it was filled with roses peaking out of every bed. She and my dad had an assortment of cats, mostly strays that had wandered by to become essential parts of their home. They had a dog, a German breed that my mother adored. As we drove up the familiar sound of my mom's car on the gravel drive brought the dog out tail wagging.

I stepped out of the car wondering what would happen and felt my spirits sink when Abby, the dog, growled and looked anxious. Later I laughed to think that the poor animal was torn between eagerness to see her friend and fear of some unknown threat, which was how I smelled.

"Abby, what's wrong? It's Caity, don't you recognize her?" My mom said patting her anxious hound. Abby kept herself between me and my mom, obviously protecting my mom.

I sighed.

"Mom I need to talk to you about something." I couldn't do it. I couldn't keep this a secret from my parents, I would go crazy if I had to deal with this all alone.

My mom nodded and followed me inside. Abby kept her distance, still growling. Mom told Abby to stay outside, the result was her frantic scratching, unable to protect her master from the monster within. She started barking and I had to use some magic to keep her quiet so I could have a conversation with my mother.

I sat my mom down on the couch. Her face looked suddenly so much older, with her wrinkles stark against the worry on her face.

"Mom, don't look so worried. It's not that bad, I don't think." I told her sitting down too. "I told you my car was stolen, well that's not exactly the whole story." I told her about being attacked, waking up to find myself in my car as a wolf. I left out the details, she didn't need to know how much blood there had been in my car, nor that the wolf had enjoyed the smell. She listened, at first with outright horror, but then she looked at me almost in disbelief.

"I'm a werewolf mom." I repeated because she looked stunned.

She blinked. "Really?"

I nodded.

"Really? I can't believe it." She said again.

I rolled my eyes. "Believe it."

"What does this mean?" She asked in a whisper. Sometimes my mother gave me wonderful advice, she was a guiding light in my life, but sometimes she didn't have any more answers than I did.

"I don't know." I admitted feeling despair creep over me again. "I can't go back to work, look at Abby, all the animals are terrified of me." I was crying again.

"Shhshh. We'll think of something. Grandmother might know what to do. Should I call her?" It was a subtle hint that perhaps Grandmother was more then she appeared.

I shook my head. "You know what she says about werewolves."

My mom nodded, she knew Mama well too.

"You don't look like a monster." My mom noted. "Don't worry about your job, you can have some of your inheritance early, it might keep you going until you figure out what to do next."

"Thanks." Her desire to help, her love was the soft spot place in my heart that lessened the ache of worry and strangeness in my gut.

"Dad will be home soon. I'm going to get dinner going." She kissed my forehead and left me to myself.

I snoozed on the couch. I woke when I heard my dad's footsteps on the gravel outside and Abby's frantic greeting. He opened the door and saw me sitting there looking sorry for myself.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I'm a werewolf." I blurted out. Sometimes it's hard to be delicate. His brows rose, he was wondering what I was up about, I wasn't usually the joking, teasing type.

"Vee, what is wrong with our daughter?" My dad called to Mom. Mom came out of the kitchen, looked between me and Dad.

"He didn't believe me." I told her with a shrug.

"A werewolf?" Dad repeated. My mom, who was not a tease, we had that in common, nodded, bringing my dad's full attention back to me.

I nodded. Mom knew me well, so she told the story to Dad, knowing that it would be hard for me to retell it again. My father was sitting by the end of the tale, his face white with rage and concern.

After a few moments of silence he addressed me in a tight voice. "I have a friend at work, a young guy, he was talking about his cousin, who is obsessed with werewolves, maybe he knows something. I don't like the idea of calling a werewolf, but I feel the need to be informed. The internet is hardly reliable, though I'm not sure this guy is either. You don't look like a monster to me." He used the same words as Mom, they had been together a long time.

"I can control the wolf." I stated, somehow I knew that was important.

"Good." He drawled, picking up his phone. He called his friend at work and got the name. Arrad Navil, the man's name was, and he was a bit of a crazy pants if Dad's friend was correct, he didn't have many kind words for his cousin. I heard the whole phone conversation easily. I could also still hear Abby whining from the porch door.

"I'll look him up." I assured my father, typing the number in my phone address book under 'crazy werewolf guy'. It would be interesting to know what a self proclaimed expert on werewolves would have to say. It was all I had. I would go see him tomorrow if I could.

I ate supper with my parents and then they drove me home. They gave me a check for a large amount of money to help me buy a new car. My parents did not spoil me or my siblings, I had received some money for college, but that was it, until now. In a crisis they could always be depended on, I was a lucky girl to have such great parents.

The next morning I called the werewolf guy. He sounded lethargic, like mornings were not his friend, but once I asked him about werewolves he brightened. I asked him if I could come by at noon, I promised to bring lunch, he gave me his address. I wouldn't have ever done something like that before, go to a strange man's house, an allegedly crazy man at that, all alone. But I was a werewolf now, I felt like I could handle one eccentric man. My fist could crumble concrete, I could take one recluse obsessive man.

I took the bus to the used car dealer that Sophie had recommended; she had three brothers who were into cars, she had asked them and they told her this place was reliable. I decided on a Volkswagen Golf, a newer one, diesel, good fuel economy. I stared the salesman down and he lowered the price by a thousand dollars. The wolf inside me was well pleased with his acquiescence. It took an hour to get paperwork and insurance papers done. The insurance lady assured me I would get notified if they found my stolen car, I was sure that it was an empty promise, stolen cars don't often get found. I was pretty sure my old Baffy was an unrecognizable hulk of burnt metal.

The new car, I admitted reluctantly, was easy and fun to drive. But since it fouled Baffy's memory, I tried not to enjoy it too much.

The werewolf guy was in the city. It took a half hour to get there, and find parking. There was a pizza place down the road so I bought a large and hoped this guy liked ham and pineapple - who didn't?

His apartment was the opposite of what I expected. It was clean, and newish, with modern landscaping and pruned hedges. I had expected a grungy basement suite, with bikes tied to the doors and newspapers littering the sidewalk. It was nice to have a stereotype broken every once and awhile.

I buzzed his number.

"Whosit?"

"Caity. I called this morning. I brought pizza."

"Okay, come on up."

The door buzzed open and I climbed three flights of stairs to find his apartment.

Arrad opened the door. He was clean shaven, a little heavy set, his skin was dark, as his ethic name had suggested, he had glossy black hair and deep set eyes. I couldn't tell his nationality by looking at him, not that it mattered.

"Come in," He said looking me over. I noticed his lingering eye contact, which he broke first, letting me step inside as he held the door open. The wolf within was letting me know that it was uneasy having a stranger at my back, in the narrow hallway that was the entrance to his apartment. I turned and handed him the pizza box, which he took away into the kitchen, it relived the awkward tension my wolf had been feeling.

"So you want to know about werewolves?" He asked me.

"yes I do.'"

"Why?" He asked with narrowed eyes, opening the pizza box on the table.

"A friend of mine was recently turned into a werewolf." I told him.

His eyes lit up in surprise, and delight.

"Really? How did it happen? Was he initiated?"

"Initiated?" I asked.

"Yeah, they hold a trial to decide if someone is ready to become a werewolf."

"I don't know how it happened." I told him.

"So why don't you ask him about being a werewolf?" He asked.

"I didn't say it was a man." I told him slyly, the feminist in me riling.

"Doesn't matter. Women rarely become wolves, they rarely live through the change."

I let it go, mostly out of surprise. "Fine. I am not allowed to talk to him, he can't control his wolf yet." I hoped that made sense, lies were never my strong point. Most fae couldn't even lie at all, maybe that is why mine always sounded so unbelievable. He didn't seem to notice.

Arrad nodded sagely. "Yes it is hard to control the wolf at first. What do you want to know?"

"First how is it you know so much, are you a wolf?" Somehow I knew he wasn't, he smelled of human, electronics, cheap aftershave and coffee. Not that I had met many wolves to compare scents; I thought it was prudent to ask.

"Not yet. But someday." He replied eagerly. "I know so much that they have to change me, I know too many of their secrets."

"You plan to blackmail them into changing you?" I asked, thinking that was a dumb idea. He shrugged. "Tell me what you know."

He rubbed his hands eagerly.

"Well wolves live mostly in packs, each pack has an alpha, which controls the members of the packs. There are no packs around here, your friend must be in Washinton, or Montana. I heard rumors that there is a pack on the mainland, but if there is, they haven't come out yet." I nodded as if that made sense. "There are also lone wolves, that live outside the pack structure, but that's not smart, they tend to get in fights and die."

"Fights?"

"Werewolves have short tempers, they are also a dominant driven creature. The males fight for dominance and the females take their place from their mates. The most dominant wolf is the alpha, the others fight for dominance to establish the hierarchy of the pack."

"Mates?" I asked.

"Yeah," He shrugged. "A female attaches herself to a male, if she doesn't she is the lowest pack member." I didn't like the sound of that. "Depending on the alpha, it could be a rough life." He said looking at me. Was he trying to intimidate me? I just stared at him and he dropped his eyes, picking up another piece of pizza.

"What do you mean? Rape? Subjugation?"

He nodded, not looking at me. I really didn't like the sound of that.

"So how do you become a werewolf?"

"Your body has to be on the brink of death to allow the change to happen. So you get attacked, if you live, you rise a werewolf."

"Is there truth to the full moon legend?"

He nodded. "Oh yes, the wolf is called by the moon, without a strong dominant around, a wolf could wreak havoc."

This was just getting better and better.

"If a person doesn't learn how to control their wolf, they are destroyed." Arrad told me sadly. "That is something the wolves do not want made public."

"Why are you telling me all this?" I asked him.

"Most of it is on the internet, or in legend. Most people just don't believe it, they buy the story the wolves have put forth."

"They also bought the story the fae told them, we know that wasn't quite correct now don't we. How do you know your information is correct?"

Arrad looked sheepish. "I went traveling last year, to Washinton, I met some people, they knew some people."

"Is it true that you can kill a wolf with a silver bullet?"

Arrad nodded. "Yes, silver is bad for wolves. Real bad. That is why the wolves walk a fine line, they don't want humans to know the truth, or else every house will have a gun loaded with silver bullets. But decapitation works well too, their bodies heal fast, but sometimes not fast enough."

"Are they really that dangerous? I haven't heard of any crazy attacks."

Arrad laughed uneasily. "No they are very dangerous. They are monsters. People go missing all the time, don't you wonder where they go?"

That was a chilling thought, just last week there were new missing person posters up around town for a young man that never came back home. Out of character the posters claimed.

"So why do you want to be one?"

Arrad's eyes lit up with wonder, like a little child wishing he could go to the moon. "To live forever? To be stronger then anything? To change into a wolf?" He shook his head in awe. "This life is nothing, penance, I want more. I want power." He said it meekly enough; I wondered if he would make a dominant wolf, somehow I doubted it. His attitude was unnerving, not that his sole ambition was to be wolf, but more that he was so unhappy with his life now.

"Tell me more about the different kinds of wolves."

"There are dominant wolves, submissive wolves and omega wolves, which are the rarest kind. Dominants fight, for well, dominance, rising to become alpha, to control the pack. They are the leaders, the protectors. Submissive wolves are wolves who have no desire to fight other wolves, they are the lowest of the pack, but also cherished because they are easier to be around. Submissive are protected. Omegas are different because they have a calming effect on all wolves, they do not have to follow an alpha's command, they are part of the pack, and yet not part. A person who can not control their wolf will never have a problem around an omega. And there are lone wolves, one who live outside any pack, alone."

"An omega sounds like the wolf to be." I remarked.

"They are rare, for no sane wolf would ever attack a person who is an omega. You see who you are before the change, affects what kind of wolf you will be. Only a person who is loving, nurturing, and makes people feel at ease will be an omega. Only a person who is strong willed and capable will become dominant."

I was pretty sure I was not an omega, I was not nurturing, even though I worked with animals. People didn't open up to me, instead they felt awkward because I was too quiet or too weird.

"What else is there to know?" I asked him.

He sidled closer to me. "There is something else, but it is a big secret, you must tell no one."

I nodded, miming zipping my mouth shut, it was cheesy, but what's done is done.

"There is an alpha of alphas, he rules all the north American wolves. " He said in a hushed voice, as if afraid of being overheard. "I don't know what they do across the big pond, but here he is known as the Marrok. Powerful enough to control every wolf on this continent. He pulls the strings, he decides the rules they live by."

"Where is he?" I asked.

Arrad shook his head. "I have no idea."

I was thinking it all over, mulling it over, trying to guess how it might apply to me.

"So how did your friend become a wolf?" He asked me. I was surprised it took him that long to ask.

"I don't know, he didn't tell me. He was my boyfriend you see, all of a sudden he disappears, leaving me a random note. Next thing I know he calls me and tells me he is a werewolf and that he can't see me anymore." I was getting good at making up stories.

"What will you do?" He asked.

"I don't know. I love him." I pretended to be upset. "But thank you, that information was helpful, insightful. Maybe I can move on now, because how could I ever be in a relationship with a monster?"

I stood up, taking another piece of pizza with me. The box was almost empty, I had eaten my fair share; who knew wolves were so voracious? Arrad probably.

"Thank you Arrad, and good luck to you." I told him shaking his hand. He nodded.

"If you ever want to talk wolves again, give me a shout."

I nodded and then left.

I was distracted all the way home. It had been a full moon the night I had been attacked. Perhaps it had been a random wolf, a lone wolf overcome by the moon, I had just been a hapless victim. But that didn't seem quite right to me. There were the extra clothes, the fact that the strange wolf must have changed back and driven my car away, that took control and forethought I assumed. At least I didn't have to worry about the full moon for another month. I would figure out a plan by then.

I wished for answers, but there was no where else to get them. Arrad had been helpful, I had to trust his information was somewhat correct, it was all I had to go on. It seemed on par with what Grandmother had told me. I knew that whatever I did I could not seek out an alpha, I wasn't about to put myself at the bottom of a pack, to be passed around like a wench in a medieval war camp.

No one else was home, just me, so I parked right in front of the house. I almost tripped on the concrete steps, I was so deep in my thoughts. I unlocked the door and walked inside.

"Grandmother?" I smelled her right away. She always smelled faintly of roses, good dirt, and sunshine. With my new nose the smell was powerful, filling me with happiness as childhood memories fringed my mind along with the scent.

"Caity! Thank goodness." She was in the living room. She looked worried, she gripped my arm as she came up to me.

"You have little time love, they are coming for you." She spoke quickly, did I hear an accent in her voice? I had never heard that before, it sounded European. She pushed something into my hands, a suitcase. "You must run." The chill in her voice gave me goose prickles.

"Why? From who?" She was steering me out the door.

"I know what happened to you, it makes me so angry." She turned to me, and suddenly she looked young and power. Her eyes were strangely illuminated, they had been dark blue like mine now they were bright green like new grass. I knew the fae had glamour, but I had assumed that my Grandmother, being a lesser fae, didn't use it. I should know better then to assume. "He is coming for you. I don't know why, but I do know that he is evil, he will do evil things to you."

"Who?" I asked again.

"I will not speak his name. Evil gets power if you speak of it, if you think of it." She had told me that before, the day I found out that she was more than just my grandmother.

"Where do I go?"

"Anywhere, just keep moving. I will try to stop him, you must keep moving until I tell you otherwise. Alright?" She looked me sternly in the eye. Usually she was shorter than I, but not today. "In the suitcase is money, lots of it, it will get you by."

We were outside, Grandmother was hustling me into my car. She even buckled me in. I was still stunned, to stunned to ask questions, but I must have managed something because she answered them.

"I will tell your parents, don't worry." She gave me a strange cell phone, exchanging it for mine. "Yours will be traceable, take this one. Call to let us now you are safe, every day."

I nodded. She kissed my forehead.

"Go child, they are coming!" She said looking down the street. There was nothing there, but I felt the power behind her warning and turned the ignition. As I drove away I didn't see Grandmother in the mirror, she was gone.

Run she said. Run where? The only thing I could think of was the mainland. It seemed far away, with the wide open country before me I could go anywhere. Ontario maybe. To New Found Land. There was so much country I could go anywhere. Toronto; my sister lived there. No I couldn't go to her, whatever was following me that had brought such fear to my Grandmother, I must keep it away from those I loved.

It was a twenty minute drive to the ferry that would take me across the Georgia Strait. By tonight I could be in Vancouver. Vancouver was a huge city, I hadn't been there since I was a child, but it would be a good place to get lost in for a while. I could plan something from there, call Grandmother again, ask her what exactly was going on.

She must have been talking about the wolf, the one who changed me. Somehow she learned that he was after me, for whatever reason I couldn't imagine. I was thankful for her warning, I had no desire to be bound to an evil wolf. Grandmother had also said 'they', I remembered; more then one wolf? I almost ran a red light in my occupied mind state; I turned my attention to driving.

There was a wait for the ferry, about half an hour, there were already cars lined up waiting to go. I paid with my credit card and drove my car into the allotted position to wait. It had stopped raining and the sun was making a brief appearance so people were getting out of their cars to stretch their legs as they waited. I opened the suitcase to find that it was filled with bills. Twenties and one hundred dollars, I closed it quickly. Having a suitcase of cash was never suspicious, right? I opened it and pulled out two hundred and put it in my wallet. I locked the suitcase.

I looked around me wondering if I should get out too, stretch my legs. I scanned the area and saw a little cafe that was serving coffee and snacks. I was about to get out of my car and head that way when I saw a man beside the cafe, he was reading a magazine, sitting at one of the little tables. He was in a long black wool coat, well tailored. He had sunglasses and a gray scarf around his neck, the fashionable kind that only some men can pull off. His features were hard to make out but there was something about him that made a growl come to my throat. As I watched him I noticed that he wasn't really reading his magazine, he was looking at me. I could feel his gaze like the eye of Tolkien's Sauron. I sank deeper into my car. He flipped a page of his magazine and then stood up, folding it neatly under his arm.

I grabbed my suitcase and slunk out of the car. I ran, crouched between the cars, hoping that he hadn't seen my exit. I kept moving, away from the ferry line. On the other track, waiting for the ferry traffic coming in was a line of yellow cabs. I hopped in one, startling the driver.

"Back to Victoria." I told him. "Quickly please." I added as I watched the man in the black coat. He was almost at my car. He would see any moment that I was not there.

The cab driver nodded and we drove away.

Once back on the highway I sighed in relief. That had been too close. I couldn't be sure if that man had been the werewolf that was after me, he had looked entirely too respectable. But I had sensed danger from him and he had undoubtedly been looking for me. If I could have smelled him, I would have known, but I wasn't about to let him get that close.

"I need to get a flight to Vancouver, where do they leave, from the harbor?" I asked the cab driver.

"Yes you can take a float plane to Vancouver harbor. You should be able to get one today yet." I hoped he was right.

I felt anxious the whole drive, I saw a flash of yellow reflected in the window and put my sunglasses on. I could only hope that he hadn't seen me get into a cab, maybe he would think I had gone to the washroom. Somehow I doubted it, he would follow my scent to where the cabs had been lined up. I wouldn't have much time. Even half an hour would be an asset. I was sure he would also guess that I would try and get a flight to Vancouver. But where else could I go?

I was back in the city. It was frustrating. I looked behind me as I got out of the cab, but I couldn't see any sign of the strange man. Nothing looked out of place, there was no warnings from my wolf. My wolf. I admitted to myself that I was already warming to the idea of being a werewolf.

There was a little building on the dock that had a sign that read "Float Charters". There was a float plane tied up, a good sign. the hood was open, exposing the engine, a man as bent over hard at work. Not such a good sign.

I went in the floating house and saw a young woman sitting at the desk reading a bodice ripper. She looked up at me through heavily eyes rimmed with heavy make-up.

"I need to get a plane to Vancouver." I told her. She narrowed her eyes at me for a moment, then changed her attitude and put her book down.

"When?" She asked me.

"Now. Right now." I added.

"It'll cost ya."

I bit my tongue from saying something smart, instead I just asked how much.

"$600"

"Fine."

"Dad!" The girl yelled out the door. "How soon can you be up?"

"Five minutes." He replied.

I gave the girl the money. She said nothing about the cash, but counted it and put it in the cash box. She kept her eyes down through our transaction. I was still wearing my sunglasses, afraid that my wolf eyes were still peeking out.

"Follow me." She told me after we had squared away, there had been some paperwork to sign. She opened the hatch to the plane and guided me to me seat. There were six seats, including the pilot and co-pilot. I had never been in such a small air plane, it made me nervous. Also it rocked in the slight waves of the ocean, making me feel more uneasy.

The man had said five minutes, but ten ticked by and I was feeling extremely agitated. I watched the dock for any sign of the strange man, surly he would be here at any minute.

"Can we go?" I asked poking my head out.

"Yes lass." The man climbed into the pilot's seat, his daughter taking the co-pilots. He put on his head phones as she instructed me on the basics of the flight, seat safety etc. I put my suitcase in the hold and felt the whole plane vibrate as the engine revved up. Relief swept over me as the plane taxied away from the dock, leaving dark deep water between me and the land. Take off was rougher on water then it was on a run away, which should be no surprise, but we were up quickly and I watched with pleasure as we turned around and flew back over the city. I scanned the ant like people below me for any sign of my pursuer, but I couldn't tell from so high up.

The plane gained altitude and the pilot leveled it off for the flight. It was turning out to be a nice afternoon, the ocean below us sparkled. I could see the coast line, the many islands decorating the Georgia Strait.

"Are there any other seaplanes for hire in Victoria?" I asked them once they had taken their headphones off.

"Not today, it's the off season." The girl told me.

"You don't look like a tourist." The pilot remarked.

"I need to get to Vancouver, I am being followed by my ex. I don't want him to follow me."

I wasn't sure if they bought my story, but I didn't think it mattered.

"Why didn't you go to the police?" The girl asked, looking concerned.

"My ex boyfriend is an RCMP officer, it would have been messy."

"Ah." She said.

"Do you know a good place to stay in Vancouver that is not too expensive?" I asked them.

"There is the Best Western, or the Empire Landmark Hotel, they are decent and not too expensive." They told me. I would go to neither of them, but if that man asked them about me, they would tell him what recommendations they would give me.

I watched the ocean slip by and soon the mainland was in sight. It had been a shorter flight then I expected, I felt relieved that we were coming to land in the Vancouver harbor next to Stanley Park. I could see the Canada place with is white flag shaped architecture across the water and tall distinct buildings of downtown.

I thanked them and hurried onwards with my suitcase in hand. I didn't take a cab or a bus, I walked. It wasn't raining and downtown was so close. Plus there were people walking everywhere so it didn't feel out of place. I checked the phone Grandmother had given me, it was only three o clock, lots of time to put my plan into place.

I walked into the city, I had been given a map by the pilot's daughter of downtown, it included hotels, tourist activities and shopping. I headed to a shopping centre and spent the next two hours getting some clothes. Grandmother had given me nothing but money and I couldn't wear the same clothes forever. Plus I needed some nice clothes for my plan.

I bought some I liked, and some outfits that were identical to what the manikin wore. I bought some fancy shoes and paid for it all with Grandmother's cash. I changed in the shopping center washroom into one of the outfits. I looked in the mirror and thought that I looked okay. I found a hair salon and spent another hour there getting blond highlights in my hair, I also got them to cut off my long locks into a short edgy style that suited me much better; it couldn't be more different. I was genuinely pleased with the result and wondered why I hadn't done my hair like that years ago.

I felt beautiful as I walked downtown towards the Fairmont Hotel. It was a beautiful building, I couldn't be sure of its actual age, but it looked old and graceful amongst the new contemporary high rises that made up most of the downtown core. The foyer was marble, chandeliers hanging down gracefully. The concierge was dressed in a pressed suite and smiled at me as I walked and up to the check-in desk.

"I need a room."

"Of course madam, do you have a reservation?" The lady asked sweetly.

"I don't." I replied piteously.

"That's alright." She typed in something on the keyboard behind the desk beyond my vision. "We have several suites available, one on the north side facing the mountains?"

"That would be lovely."

"How long will you be staying with us?"

"Three days."

"Of course. Could I ask you for your ID?"

I smiled and handed her my driver's license.

"Thank you Ms Herriot." She said. "I just need to copy this for security purposes, is that alright?"

"Of course."

She went away for a moment, presumably to copy my id, then she came back and handed it back with another smile.

"So here are your room keys." She said handing me the little folder with the key cards tucked neatly inside. "Just take the central elevator up to the fifth floor and keep going right. The pool is open until 11 and the bar is open until midnight. If there is anything you need, just call, or come and ask." She had such a warm genuine smile that I was left in no doubt that Fairmont was good at recruiting their employees.

"Thank you." I replied heading up to my room.

I unpacked my purchases and organized them. I had also bought a duffel bag to carry them all in. My stomach was growling by the time I was done. I headed down stairs to eat. The restaurant was expensive, but I was really hungry, I didn't have time to walk around looking elsewhere. It was expensive, but it was also excellent. I felt awkward dining alone, I never went out to a nice sit down dinner on my own. It seemed I was not alone here, there were business men, eating alone, looking at a newspaper, or talking on their phones. To them it was no doubt just another meal.

I tried to think of my next plan, soon the man who was after me would come to Vancouver and be on the look out. Surely it would be hard for him to find me, it was a big city after all. I was hoping that he wouldn't think to look for me here, in the most expensive hotel in downtown, surely he would expect me to find somewhere cheap and accommodating, or perhaps expect me to leave town altogether. I hoped. But still I needed a plan.

I wandered around the city until after sun down, I felt restless. I didn't know Vancouver well, only having been here as a child for a brief vacation. I wandered down out of the city and came to part of the city that I had only heard of. It was the derelict district filled with prostitutes, addicts and homeless people. They lined the street, with their meager belongings packed into shopping carts or old baby strollers. I stepped around them, breathing in the smell of unwashed bodies, of drugs, of sex, but mostly I smelled despair and disease. It was strange and my heart broke for them, but the wolf sensed their weakness and wanted to end their suffering. They looked at me and either looked through me, or met my gaze with impatient expressions that turned fearful or confused. On the outside I looked like a tourist, one man came close to me, too close. He was just asking for change, but something in my expression, my uneasy wolf no doubt, stopped him and he backed away with an apology, his arms up in submission.

That caught the attention of a man walking towards me, he was tall, maybe in his forties. He gaze flickered over me for a moment, then dismissed me. I studied him, trying to figure out what made my hackles rise. His hair was well groomed and sprinkled with gray, he was still handsome with it. He wore a long coat, the collar up around his chin. His lips were upturned with a slight smile that was almost mocking. I thought he might be looking for a hooker, or perhaps he was a pimp. But no, there was something different about him. I passed him, with barely a hand between us, I smelled him, he smelled like no human I had ever met. I saw a flash of red in his eyes as we passed, for he turned to look at me for another moment, his eyes catching mine. Vampire. He could be nothing else. He gave me a regretful shrug and turned away. I shivered.

I kept him in my peripherals as I walked the other way, I crossed the street to put more distance between us. I didn't know much about vampires, Grandmother had told me that they were real but kept their existence a secret at all costs. They were not fae, so she herself did not know their secrets, only that they were evil.

I hurried back to the hotel, the smell of the vampire in my nose, the state of the homeless in my mind. The vampire had been hungry, I had sensed it. Was it going to feed upon the less fortunate? I didn't know but it made me feel scared and angry. People disappear every day, Arrad's words rang in my ears.

I checked twice to make sure I locked the dead bolt on my hotel door. I felt alone that night. In a strange city, with no friends, and some mad wolf chasing me, vampires walking the streets. Even my body was strange to me as the wolf within made its presence known constantly. I went out onto the small patio that looked out into the city. I could see the moon, a sliver just above the tall buildings, its pale light was hard to discern amongst the city lights, but I could sense it. My wolf could sense it. It called to me and I felt it, I felt my wolf stir, clawing its way to the light. I felt my body urging to change, tingling, almost painful with it. But I said no. Not yet. The wolf calmed.

That night I dreamt of being a wolf. I ran through the darkness of the forest, I could smell dirt, and moss. I could smell the moisture in the air, I could taste the rabbit that had recently grazed upon the supple grass. I reveled in the freedom of moving through the forest at such speed, bounding over logs, under brush. I heard a wolf howl, a long lonely sound, calling for something, someone, I realized it was me. Then I woke up.

I was the hotel bed, human. The sun was streaming in the open window and I could hear the city waking up five stories below me. I looked at the clock. It was only eight, I had never been a late sleeper.

I showered and dressed. I took the elevator to the main floor and asked the concierge where a good place for breakfast was. He told me there was a cafe just around the corner with excellent coffee and pastries. I thanked him and went to find it.

A bought a werewolf sized breakfast to go and went to a little park to eat in the sun. It was almost empty, most people were walking, on their way to work. It was getting late in the year for tourists, so I had the lovely small plot of landscaping to myself.

I thought of my dream the night before and decided I needed to get out of the city. I would get a car, and drive east, there was so much country that way, it would be hard to be found. I picked up the phone and called my Grandmother. I told her that I was alright, she insisted I not tell her where I was, so I didn't. Hearing her voice made me feel strangely home sick. I hung up after assuring her I would call later.

Next I called the vet clinic to speak with Josh. I told him that I had to quit, I was moving to the mainland. He wasn't happy about not having any notice. I found it hard to care. I called my roommate and told her I was taking a trip, I told her about Josh, that I just needed some space. Sophie jabbered for some time and agreed it would be good for me, she would tell Megan no doubt. I hung up, feeling like I had tied up those loose ends. Then I smelled him. Panic came over me.

The wolf that attacked me was close. I could smell him on the breeze. I looked behind me to see him standing not five feet from me. He was looking at me, his hands in his pockets, a smile on his face. He was clean shaven, he looked to be in his early twenties. His hair was dark brown, glossy in the sun, falling across his face in attractive waves. His eyes were gray. His clothes looked expensive, right down to his designer shoes.

I ran. I didn't get far, only five steps and he grabbed my arm and my escape ground to a stop. He turned me, forcing me to look at him, his eyes were yellow now, he pressed his face close to mine and inhaled.

"Caity. How lovely you have become." He told me in a silky voice. His eyes narrowed slightly and I felt a wave of something powerful wash over me, pulling my attention to him like a puppeteer pulling the strings. My wolf cowered, but I would not. I looked him in the eye, his smile disappeared to be replaced by an expression that terrified me. It was wild, feral, cruel. I felt the wave again and this time I couldn't stop it, I lowered my eyes, my knees gave way as I sank down, submitting.

"That's better." His eyes were fading to gray once more. He relaxed his grip on me slightly, pulling me up so that his face rested a hair's breath from my neck. I could feel his breath upon my vulnerable skin. "Ah Caity. Such fun we are going to have." He whispered, letting his lips brush my skin. "Shh." He sounded concerned. "Don't worry Caity, I am not a rapist. You want me, don't you feel it?" I wanted to run away, I wanted to kick and scream, but something within me fought that instinct, I felt another wave of power from him. He was right, my wolf was purring at his proximity, part of me wanted him, part of me was begging to please him, begging to please the dominant wolf before me.

"Stop. Please." I whispered, getting it out despite the other feelings that rose up in me, lust being primarily one.

He laughed softly, not a nice sounding laugh. He did step back though.

"You wait here, don't leave this spot." He said in a calm, but commanding voice, I felt the power from his command wash against me like a wave, leaving me rooted where I stood. "I am going to get my car, then we can go home." He told me. He gave me a kiss first though, a lingering kiss that left me breathless and furious. Then he went away, down the street. He didn't even look behind him to see if I was still waiting. Was he an idiot? What did he think, that I would just stay here? That his words and my lonely wolf would be enough to ensure my obedience? I waited until he was out of sight and then I shook the power of his command from me and ran the other direction.

I ran to the hotel, grabbed my suitcase and duffel bag. I left some cash with the keycards in the room, I had no time to check out. I was walking fast through the hotel lobby, I turned into a corridor that led to the conference rooms, there was an exit there that would lead me into the alley behind the hotel.

"Wait!" Came an unfamiliar voice from behind me. I pivoted to see a man standing there in the corridor, I didn't recognize him, nor did he look like hotel staff. He didn't look friendly and I wasn't in a trusting mood so I ran, pushing my way through the exit. I heard his foot steps behind me, he was running too, chasing me. I dropped my duffel bag, it was not heavy, but it was awkward to carry while running for what was probably my life. I clung to the suitcase because I didn't want to lose Grandmother's money, I could get nowhere without it.

I ran down the alley way, pumping my legs as fast as I could, but I could hear him getting close behind me and panic threatened to halt my breathing. My breathing did stop for a minute when I was thrown to the ground, the asphalt crushing my chest, knocking the air out of me. He was on my back, holding my hands, like a police man taking down a fugitive. I could feel his breath on my neck, he smelled like forest and wild things; another wolf.

"Don't you know it is a very bad idea to run from a predator?" He growled into my ear. His breathing was ragged and I knew it was not from exertion, he was fighting for control of his wolf. I didn't say anything, but I could breath again, my chest hurt, but it was getting better fast. After another moment he pulled me up roughly, spinning me around to face him. I met his eyes defiantly.

He was tall, taller then the other wolf had been. He had brown hair so dark it was close to black, cut ruthlessly short. He had fair skin, dotted with subtle freckles. His face had a rough beard that looked rugged and handsome on his strong featured face, it was several shades lighter than the rest of his hair, with flecks of red. Yellow wolf eyes bored down at me, his mouth was a thin angry line. His arm was tight on mine. He growled at me, his face distorting, looking less human and more monster. I growled back, tensing, ready to fight back. I was strong now that I was a werewolf, but he was stronger. I couldn't even struggle against him as his hands came up and slammed me against the concrete wall. I heard something pop and my shoulder was lanced with pain. I whined, allowing some wolf instinct to take over, I turned my head, exposing my neck to him. I hated to be weak, but it seemed the smarter choice, I was out gunned.

"You are a stupid girl," He told me quietly, his face was close to mine in the same manner as the other wolf. He took a deep breath and backed off, letting me go, just enough so I could breathe easier, but not out of reach. His eyes, when I stole a brief glance, were dark green now, almost brown.

"Tell me why you smell like fae, wolf, and terror." He commanded.

I met his eyes again, but lowered them when I saw him tense again.

"Why should I tell you?" I countered.

"Because you are in my territory. Where is your mate?" He said after taking a deep breath.

"My mate?"

"Yes, you smell of male werewolf. Where is he?"

I didn't want to answer his questions, but it was beginning to dawn on me that he was not in league with the other wolf.

"I don't know. And he is not my mate."

His expression narrowed and softened. "You were running from him?"

I nodded.

He accepted that with a curt nod, he took my arm, not exactly kindly, and guided me back the way we had come. He picked up my duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Come." He told me as I stood there watching him. I hadn't moved as he obviously had expected me too.

He cocked his head in annoyance. "Come on! Man, I have never met or heard of such a stubborn dominant female, where did you come from?" It was a rhetorical question; I wouldn't have answered it either way. I felt a wave of power come over me, it must be a werewolf trick, the other wolf had tried it too. It had worked a little then, until I figured out how to dissolve it, it didn't work now. He looked pissed, he glowered at me and I dropped me eyes.

"Let me go." I told him.

"I can't." He said in an exasperated voice. "You are in my territory, a female, alone, pursued against your will. I can smell your fear and anxiety. My wolf would never let me leave you, the need to protect is too strong." His eyes were yellow again. "I will pick you up and carry you through the hotel if I must, but I would rather not cause such a scene. I am not sure pack magic would work to cover that one up. " I didn't know anything about pack magic, but wasn't about to admit it. I followed him, albeit reluctantly.

We walked out through the main hotel, he kept an eye on me, kept me close in case I chose to run again. We were exposed, I looked around for any sign of my other attacker, but couldn't see him, or smell him.

"Ah Mr. Black. One moment." The valet announced. We waited for a moment, the man beside me tapping his foot impatiently. A silver vintage Porsche drove up with a purr and stopped in front of us. The valet got out, trying not to enjoy his job too much and opened the door for me as the strange wolf took the driver's seat. I stuffed my things in the back. My wolf didn't like getting into such a small enclosed space with a strange wolf; I had to admit that I was scared.

I buckled myself in as the car was driven onto the street, pulling out onto a one way.

"My name is Dallas, Dallas Black. I am the alpha of the South Coast Pack." He told me. I opened my mouth to say something but he stopped me with a wave of his hand.

"Don't talk. I need to get out of the city. I hate driving in downtown." I could see his tense seat in the chair, his eyes flickered with yellow. I kept my mouth shut.

He wove his way through the crowded streets of Vancouver, avoiding pedestrians was as hard as avoiding cars. He had to step hard on the breaks to avoid hitting a man on a bike that had suddenly decided to cross the street in the middle of the block. He cursed, then apologized for his rude language. I could understand his unease. It was stop and go traffic for about half an hour until he turned with a sigh onto the freeway and revved the Porsche up.

I wondered where we were going, as we were obviously heading out of the city. Traffic eased and I looked over at him, wondering if it was safe to ask him a question.

"What's your name?" He asked before I could think of what to say.

"Caity."

"Caity what?"

"Caity Herriot."

"Where do you come from Caity Herriot?"

"The Island."

"There are no wolf packs on the island." He told me.

"I am not part of a wolf pack."

He was studying me, pursing his lips slightly in thought.

"How long have you been a wolf?"

"Three years." I lied, annoyed with his demanding attitude.

He gave me a derisive laugh. "You are a stupid girl."

Anger rose within me and I glared at him. "That's the second time you have said that, it's not a nice thing to say." I growled at him.

"You know you can't lie to a wolf." He told me.

Great, I thought, looking out the window. I was feeling overwhelmed, I felt like I was going to cry, it was a stupid reaction, but I couldn't help it. How was I supposed to know you can't lie to a wolf? I didn't know anything about being a wolf anything I had learned was from some uber obsessed IT guy whose sole ambition in life was to be a wolf. I didn't know what I didn't know; it was hardly fair.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Three days!" I spat at him. "I've been a wolf for three days. I don't know anything about being a wolf. I was changed, told by my grandmother that if I didn't run away, something very bad was going to happen to me. She gave me a suitcase of money and told me to go. I left my job, my boyfriend, who was an ass anyway, my home, my friends, my family. I was also told that under no circumstances was I to go to another wolf." I was crying at the end, and hating myself for it. I was weak and I couldn't help it.

"Three days?" He pulled the car over on the side of the highway, a place reserved for accident victims and broken down cars. He assessed me gravely from across the car. "You have very good control of the wolf. I have never met such a young pup who had such control."

It was an odd compliment, if it was even that, but it made me feel better. I rubbed my eyes. He looked away, as if understanding my need to hide my weakness.

"Tell me how you changed."

"Do you ever ask nicely or do you always command?" I snapped at him.

He surprised me with a small smile, it was mostly just the corner of his lip that moved up, I guess it could have been a snarl. "I'm an alpha. Tell me."

I told him what happened, the whole doleful tale up until the point where he chased me into the hotel alley.

"You don't know what the wolf's name was?" I shook my head. "Can you describe him again?" So I did. Right down to his expensive looking shoes.

"I don't know him, I would recognize his scent which is on you." He mused after thinking it over. "I will call the Marrok later, he will want to know." He didn't sound happy about it.

"The Marrok?"

He grinned, wolfishly, dangerously. "The alpha of alphas." It seemed that everything my grandmother worried about was happening. I didn't honestly know which wolf was better: the one that attacked me, or this one sitting across from me. This one seemed more dangerous, more tenacious, but the other one terrified me more.

"Last question." Dallas said turning back to me. "Why do you smell of fae?"

"I am fae; a half blood, or quarter blood, I get it from my grandmother." I replied, watching his face go expressionless in surprise. What he thought of that I had no idea.

Dallas the alpha werewolf was quiet for the rest of the drive. It seemed that he lived a long ways out of Vancouver, we had been driving for an hour, and he was driving fast. How he avoided a fine I didn't know. According to the signs I had seen we were in a town called Mission. We crossed the river over a large bridge into the small town, set back against the mountains. There was a wood mill, a shopping center, and houses rising up on the hill beyond. We turned off the highway and zigzagged through the suburban dwellings. The houses gave way to trees and we took a winding road up into the steep forested hills. Finally Dallas turned onto a gravel drive that lead through tall cedars, after passing over a bridge spanning a good sized creek, and up another little hill we emerged from the trees to a well landscaped yard where a finely crafted modern home nestled into the forest. I don't know what I had been expecting, but I was surprised. It was so clean and neat and trendy.

"You can stay here for a while until we decide what to do with you." He told me pulling into the garage. The garage had three bays, one was taken up by the Porsche, one had a river boat, and the other was storage for a variety of small mechanical things. There was also a large professional sized took box, and what looked like an air compressor. Like the yard, it was orderly, neat, a place for everything and everything in its place. I wasn't sure this was going to work.

The house was much the same way. Neat, perfectly clean. It had one wall of windows, letting in lots of light, casting warmth through the house and adding light to the magnificent wood beams and posts that were the skeleton of the building. The view out the windows was mostly tall swags of the cedars, dipping gracefully in the breeze. There was a small opening in the trees where the view broke through; I could see to the south east, where hills rose, a strange building stood out amongst them, gray, stark, it reminded me of a church.

"That's the Westminster Abby, a seminary." He told me catching my gaze.

I nodded, not sure what to say. I looked around the house, wondering where to put my bags. It looked like a house out of a designer magazine spread, I didn't want to mar the house's perfection. The kitchen was modern, with a rustic feel, a complete paradox, but it worked. Dallas was opening the industrial sized fridge and pulled out something red, he tossed it to me. I didn't catch it, instead I leapt out of the way and the raw steak fell onto the floor with a splat.

"You were supposed to catch that." He said taking a bite of the steak, raw. I nearly choked on my own revulsion. Then it dawned on me.

"You wanted me to eat that?" I demanded. He looked at me blankly for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Oh right, new wolf." He said, still laughing. He busied himself and found a plate and a fork handing me both.

I dropped my bags, took the plate, and picked up the steak, feeling angry about the whole affair. I didn't eat raw meat, that was disgusting. He had a large kitchen, it was well equipped, how difficult was it to cook the meat first? Honestly. He was watching me as I bent down, something about his expression, he looked too pleased to see me down on my knees, I quickly stood up and stalked past him, standing as tall as I could. I sensed rather then heard his growl as I passed him in the closer quarters of the kitchen. My wolf wanted to growl back but I said no, not now, he had already proved he could beat us.

"You are going to be trouble." Dallas sighed sipping from his glass of water, he poured one for me.

I said nothing, cooked the steak, at least enough to keep my human half appeased, the wolf had been slavering over the meat on the floor, but I wouldn't admit it.

"I am going to call some of my wolves in. I also need to call the Marrok. So I need you to be on your best behavior. What do you know of being a wolf?" He asked.

"Not very much." I admitted again. "And what I do know I learned from some wolf crazy human super nerd."

"Arrad?"

"You know him?"

"We keep tabs on him."

"Are you going to change him?"

Dallas shrugged in reply. "Being a female puts you at the bottom of the pack unless you are mated to one of the wolves." Dallas explained.

"I was hoping he was wrong about that."

"But you are not in a pack-" I brightened. "So that means it is worse. They will try to dominate you, mate with you, push you around. My wolves are mostly well behaved. However if they were left alone with you, I don't know what would happen. You seem very dominant, or just ignorant, I can't tell which yet. So don't get yourself into any fights. Lower your eyes when they make contact, that will appease their wolf enough. I will do the rest."

"The rest?" I repeated dumbly.

"Make sure they don't bother you. In a pack everyone must obey the alpha."

"Oh right."

He closed his eyes for a moment and obtained a complete stillness, it lasted only about three seconds, but it was eerie. I could feel something emanating from him, like a weak, invisible tractor beam. I felt myself physically pulled towards him. I stopped myself after taking a step towards him. It was unsettling. I looked away from him when he opened his eyes, I didn't like feeling so out of control.

"Is that what it is like being in a pack? Always at the alpha's command? Pulled along like a puppet?" I asked him with no little derision.

Surprisingly the look he gave me was very - human; tired, burdened. "Some alphas are worse then others. You can imagine how that power can be abused. I try my best to let my wolves live normal lives. And after all we all must report to the Marrok. His word is law, and he enforces it ruthlessly." He told me with no emotion what so ever, but his eyes flashed yellow for an instant. "Speaking of which, I have to call him."

"About me?"

"Yes, about you."

I went and sat down on the couch. I admitted I quailed at the thought of being brought to the attention of the most powerful werewolf, ever, if I could believe what Dallas was saying.

"Dallas." The voice said on the other side of Dallas' shiny phone.

"Bran." Dallas' voice was non-descript, but his eyes were yellow.

"Whatsup?" The Marrok sounded relaxed, young, I thought.

"I have a newly changed wolf here, I found her wandering around Vancouver."

"She? Damage?"

"None." There was silence for a moment.

"How long?"

"Three days."

There was another silence.

"She is part fae." Dallas said, looking at me. Something about his expression looked pleased, he liked having the Marrok off his game. "She was being pursued by a lone wolf who had changed her in Victoria. She described him to me, I smelled him on her, but I don't know him."

"Strange. Can I talk to her?"

Dallas was all wolf, his body taught. He reluctantly gave the phone to me.

"What's your name?"

"Caity Herriot."

"You okay?" He sounded genuinely concerned.

"Yes."

"What kind of fae are you?"

"I get it from my grandmother, we grow things. Plants, but also we are good with animals. I can tame them."

"Ahh. That is why you have good control. Can you control other wolves?" He asked, his voice light with curiosity.

"I don't think so, I tried, when I was attacked. It didn't make a difference."

"Apparently not. Tell about your attacker."

So I did. I told him everything.

The Marrok named Bran laughed.

"He left you because he assumed that you would be under his control, him being the dominant. But he wasn't. It is rare to have a female so dominant. Dallas you have your hands full. Or do you want to send her here? Montana?" He added for my benefit.

"That is up to Caity." Dallas said.

It had better be, I thought, riling.

"Calm down. Dallas is one of my better alphas." I hadn't uttered a word; I didn't know emotions could be transferred over the phone.

"I would like to stay here. My family is on the Island. I don't want to leave." I told the Marrok, suddenly my heart was in my throat.

"Of course. Dallas, find the wolf, if you need help I'll send Charles and Anna, but you should be able to handle one lone wolf."

"Yeah."

"You can always change your mind Caity, and come to Montana. Dallas is a good choice too, his pack is a good option."

"Do I have to join a pack?" I asked him.

"Yes." This time it was an order and I felt it go through me even though the speaker was miles and days away. It hit me like a brick and I knew it to be true. I fought it, my wolf squirmed, making my body quiver with the change. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I calmed down.

"You have to join a pack Caity, it's too dangerous otherwise." The Marrok said again. Then he was gone. Just gone.

I gave the phone back to Dallas, who had removed his hand. I heard gravel under tires. Someone was here.

"Remember, no picking fights, lower your eyes." Dallas ordered. His command had some of the same power Bran's had, but I felt I could ignore it, Bran's I couldn't.

The wolf who came in was tall, brawny, with dark nut brown skin and long black thick hair tied in a leather band, loose it would reach the small of his back. He was First Nation, I didn't know the bands well enough to place him. He turned his piercing brown-black eyes on me as soon as he came in. He lingered there, looming over me, I didn't lower my eyes, I knew if I did I could be his. I didn't want that, I wouldn't let any of these wolves have me.

"John." Dallas barked, making us both look at him, breaking the tension. "This is Caity, who clearly can not listen to good advice." He added in a snarl at me. John shook his head and continued to come in. He was carrying no less then five bags of chips and a box of beer. He looked ready for a good time, when he turned back to me his expression was jovial, no longer dominating. He came and sat on the couch a person's width from me. I couldn't help it, I moved farther back into the corner of the couch, ready to spring.

"She's a feisty one. Where did you find her?" John asked.

"Vancouver."

"I'm John Raven. You smell like a garden in June, magic and new wolf." He had a question in his deep liquid brown eyes.

"I'm part fae." I told him. I jerked my attention to the door as there were more cars pulling into the driveway.

"John is my second." Dallas said opening a bottle of beer. That meant he was next in line in dominance, I guessed. "I only called in you, Lars and Sean. The rest will have to wait until we figure out what to do with Caity."

"Smart. That'll be Lars." John noted, his head cocked to hear the car driving down the driveway.

The next wolf to come in was tall, blond, living up to his Scandinavian name. He too focused in on me immediately. I lowered my gaze this time, but it was not sincere and Lars sensed it apparently, because he growled.

"Stop." Dallas told him in a steely voice. "Let it go."

Sean was the last to come, and he didn't come alone. All three wolves stood as he came in, all eyes on his friend. Sean had ruddy features, a short compact man with a friendly smile that died as he looked away from the three wolves all but snarling at him. His friend did the same.

"You were supposed to come alone Sean. I don't want Garth here. Not for this."

Garth looked up first, his eyes trying to connect with Dallas', but he couldn't. Instead he looked at me, and gave me a feral smile. Dallas growled at him and took a step forward. Garth and Sean were both cowering under their alphas powerful gaze. I found it somewhat satisfying; I didn't like the look in Garth's eyes, not at all.

"Sorry Dallas, I didn't know. Garth and I were at the movies together, I assumed it wouldn't be a problem."

"Sit down. Both of you."

They hurried into the living room and sat down on the floor, making them the lowest in the room. Dallas, I noticed, did not sit, he stood, towering above us as his status as alpha seemed to dictate.

"This is Caity. She is a new wolf from Victoria. She was changed three days ago by a lone wolf who is trying to acquire her. She managed to get away from him, where I found her in Vancouver. I was going to offer her a position in the pack, if you agree."

"Agree." They all said quickly, which surprised me; surely they would be more circumspect concerning a new pack member. I looked at them one by one, feeling them sidle and squirm, uncomfortable with my scrutiny, not just uncomfortable, they were angry. They wanted to leap from their seats and demand my submission, I could feel it. But behind the aggression was eagerness, and excitement. I looked at Dallas, he was the only reason they didn't attack me right now. It was this or Montana. Two crummy options.

"Caity?" Dallas turned to me.

I couldn't say anything for a moment. Panic rose within me, it made my wolf growl, it made me want to rip out all of their throats, then I could run free. They couldn't chase me if they were dead. They couldn't have me if they were dead. No, they hadn't done anything deserving death, I told the wolf.

They were all watching me. John and Dallas looked poised, ready to pounce, but they saw I was back in control and relaxed, slightly. John raised an approving eyebrow at me.

"I don't want to go to Montana." I told him as my answer. Dallas nodded, he understood. Then he shocked me by biting his own arm, he tore a chunk from his forearm with his bare teeth, there was blood, I could smell it. He turned to me with an amused smile, my expression must have showed my disgust. The steak was nothing compared to this.

"Eat it." He told me. I didn't want to, so he shoved in my mouth, as gently as forcing one to eat another's flesh could be. It wasn't as terrible as I thought, it wasn't a big piece of flesh, as I had feared. I swallowed it, letting my wolf take over, letting her enjoy the taste of fresh blood.

"Caity, you are pack, here, now, under my protection, until you die or find another." He was saying as I was concentrating on the conflicting feelings of disgust and delight. Then I felt it. It came over me like a wave. Pack magic. I felt warm, I felt connected, comforted. I looked up at Dallas and wanted to curl up at his feet and purr. I felt their minds, lightly, touching my consciousness. I felt their excitement, their welcome. There were some who were hesitant, some where confused, the wolves that were not there, I guessed. I also felt some feelings that bothered me. Lust. I felt it from Garth and Lars. I felt it reflected in my own wolf, it made me uneasy.

"Caity." Dallas was talking to me. I looked up at him. "Come here." He commanded. I did, he was my alpha and just then I couldn't stop myself. I stood before him, looking up into his eyes, which didn't meet mine. Waiting. It terrified me. His absolute control over me. I shook my head. No. I wouldn't allow this. I stepped back from him, breaking the spell, he caught my arm.

"No one is to touch Caity. You know what I mean." He commanded his pack. "Only if she is willing, and not just her wolf. OK?"

"Right boss." They all said. Dallas turned to me. "Come, bring your bags." I did as I was told, following him like a puppy. He led me down a well lit hall and up a flight of stairs. I sensed something from him, something that made the human part of me panic, but it made the wolf part excited. Dallas led me to a bedroom. Its large windows faced the garden, it was decorated in teals, orange and white; bold modern colors and furnishings. He closed the door behind us. When he turned his eyes one me, they were flecked with wolf yellow. I stood in the middle of the room, part of me wanted to flee, to back into the corner, part of me wanted to wrap myself around him and absorb his dominance and power. So naturally I didn't move at all.

"I'm sorry." Dallas said closing his eyes, when he opened them after a moment, they were green, human. He rubbed his arm absently where he had torn his own flesh, already there was only a pink scar marring his fair skin. "An unmated female suddenly part of the pack stirs up all sorts of wolf instincts." Was he blushing? "There is a bathroom there," He said changing the subject. "Towels, bathroom stuff. You will need to stay here for a while, at least until full moon, so I can watch over you. After you have proven that you are in control and safe to the general public you can decide what you want to do and where you want to settle.

"The rest of the pack will arrive within the next hour and a bit, some have to come all the way from Richmond." I wasn't sure how far that was, but I nodded. "They will want to meet you. And don't worry, the whole pack thing," He tapped the side of his head. "Will settle down as well. You will always have some connection to me and the others, but it won't be so overwhelming."

"How many are there in the pack?"

"Twenty-two. You are the only woman. Our last female left when she found a mate in another pack." Dallas told me.

"You can change packs?"

Dallas smiled, a tired smile. "Yes, if you don't like us, you can request to go to a different pack."

That made me feel a bit better. I was not as trapped as I thought.

"I would suggest you find yourself a mate." Dallas went on. "Some of the unmarried wolves will try to get you into their bed, they can't force you because I ordered them to behave, and they have to obey, but that doesn't mean they won't try to convince you, your wolf isn't exactly against the idea either." I was blushing hard, not looking at him. He could sense it then, my wolf's desire for companionship. If he could sense it, the others could too.

"Don't fight your wolf's nature." He went on, his expression serious. "You probably do not know this, and there is no easy way to put it. Female wolves can not have children. They can't carry a baby because when the moon calls, they must answer it. The change does not allow a fetus to grow. " He said it kindly, and I nodded, not sure how I felt about it. Somewhere deep inside me part of me was upset, but it was hard to acknowledge, having children of my own wasn't something I had thought of much before.

He was still talking so I gave him back my attention.

"The average life span for a wolf is 10 years. For an immortal creature, that is not a long time. Wolves die from dominance fights, or because the human half can't get along with the wolf half. A person becomes unstable and unable to control their wolf. Then there is violence and they have to be destroyed." He said this in an expressionless voice which sent chills down my spine. "The Marrok will not allow a wolf like that to live."

I nodded, pretty sure I understood.

"Good." Then he was gone.

I showered, a long shower. I thought about not having children, and although it was sad, it wasn't enough to make me weep and feel sorry for myself. Lots of people couldn't have babies, people who were married and wanted desperately to have a child. I had never felt overwhelmingly maternal, I never played with dolls as a girl, I had critters, not babies. Maybe being a wolf suited me more then being a mother.

I changed into something nice, my last clean outfit. I would need more clothes; I still had grandmother's money, perhaps Dallas would take me shopping. I didn't relish the idea, but it didn't sound as if he wanted me running around on my own, and frankly, I didn't want to chance coming across that other wolf again.

I could hear the other wolves from downstairs on the other side of the house, I couldn't make out words, but the tone of the conversation was happy and relaxed. Drinking beer and snacking no doubt from the supplies John had brought with him. I heard several more cars pulled up in the driveway. I tried not to feel anxious about meeting so many new people - so many werewolves. If I had thought a week ago about the chance of being surrounded by terrifying paranormal monsters, not to mention being one, I would have bought a lottery ticket; winning millions was more likely then my current situation. I tried not to panic. Through the pack bond I could sense the other pack members, I found it mostly comforting, they were warming to the idea of having a new member. If I could feel that, I was sure they would be able to sense my nervousness. I wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.

John greeted me as I came down the stairs. The wolves looked up at me, some were smiling, others just looked interested. I smelled a room full of wolves, chips, beer and something else that made the human part of me hungry. Someone was cooking in the kitchen, it smelled delicious. I could also smell humans, some of the faces that looked up at me were human, they were mostly women. Next to John stood a woman of middle years, she was fine boned, with bright blue eyes framed with laugh lines and a wide gracious smile. She smelled like John and rosewood.

"Caity this is my wife, Clara." John said introducing her. Clara turned her smile one me and I shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you," And it was. Some people you can tell right away they are good people, John and Clara were like that.

"What do you think of the house?" She asked.

"It's beautiful." I replied in admiration.

"John designed it." She told me with pride. "One of his best."

"You're an architect?" I asked turning to John, feeling more at ease talking about something more normal. John nodded.

"Clara did the interior design."

"I love it." I told her approvingly.

"Dallas can't design anything, sure he has good taste, but he can't put it together himself." Clara said teasing the alpha who was no where to be seen.

"Come I'll show you around, introduce you." John suggested. I liked John. I liked that he was married and my wolf had no interest in him. There was another wolf/human couple, they were the ones creating such tantalizing creations in the kitchen, making my stomach growl. I was introduced to werewolf and Chef Greg and his wife, also a chef. They always cooked when the pack got together. I was relived that there wouldn't be raw meat on the menu. Greg was submissive, so he was the happiest wolf of the pack. He had no need to be wary of being dominated, he smiled and made jokes, teased. I had met men like him before, always the popular one.

"Dallas can't cook either," Clara went on. "Unfortunately those are his only two faults. Cooking and decorating. "

"I know it is hard to imagine I have any." Dallas drawled coming up behind me. I didn't like that. It made me growl. "Calm down." He said rolling his eyes. He pulled some wine glasses out of the cupboard, handing one to the woman beside him. I hadn't noticed her before. She was human, very pretty, tall, leggy, tanned, athletic. She wore a short dress and tall heels, making her even taller, just shy of Dallas in height. Taller then me, I didn't like it. Dallas poured her some wine. She accepted it with long aristocratic fingers finished with immaculate long painted nails; I wondered what she did for a living with that impractical manicure.

"This is Abby." Dallas said introducing her.

Abby is the name of my mother's dog, I thought in a cynical voice. But all I said was "I didn't know you were married."

The woman laughed lightly. "We are not married. We're just friends." They didn't look like just friends, she had one arm around his waist, her thumb tucked into the waist of his jeans.

"Oh." I said lamely. I didn't like her, I couldn't help it. I approve of judging people on first impressions, I was always eager to give them a chance to prove themselves, but for whatever reason I felt only animosity towards her, and I couldn't tell if it was wolfish or just Caity. Thankfully if I was projecting anything, they ignored me. Dallas took Abby with him outside onto the generous patio. I tried not to watch them go.

Soon all of the pack had arrived, some with their significant others. We ate a delicious meal and I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of violence involved in a werewolf meet-and-greet party. Perhaps Grandmother had been wrong. This seemed like some sort of family gathering. Sure there were some wolves that didn't get along, there was one almost fight, but Dallas barely even had to intervene, one look from him cooled the two wolves instantly. No one was drunk because apparently werewolf metabolism is too fast, they would have to down a whole bottle of 18% vodka in a minute to get good and drunk, Lars told me that. And even then the werewolf body healed so fast it only lasted for fifteen minutes. Not worth the effort, he assured me. I kept my eyes down like Dallas had ordered. I didn't start any fights. It was hard, one of the hardest things I have ever done. My wolf hated it, she resented me for it, which I didn't think was a healthy development.

I grew tired before the others did, having had a crazy couple of days, besides I found fighting my wolf instincts were exhausting. Hadn't Dallas just told me not to fight my instincts? I looked around for him and saw him outside on the patio, cast in almost darkness standing against the evening forest. The beautiful woman was at his hip and he was smiling, they talked with animation. I wondered if Abby knew he was a werewolf, I wondered if she would stay the night. I found myself thinking about it entirely too much, what ever the alpha did for fun was his business. I retired to my room after saying goodnight to my new pack. Dallas must have had extra sound proofing done in his house, because even with my new acute hearing, I could barely hear the others from across the house. I snuggled under the teal blankets that Clara had picked out and felt pretty good. Content. I could sense the other wolves, I could feel their emotions, their prejudices, their concerns, but mostly I felt their desire to protect me, and that was what lulled me to sleep.

The next morning I woke hungry. The house was quiet. I could hear birds singing outside. Many birds, I lay listening to them for some time before I had to pee bad enough to get up. I tried to remember what day it was. Saturday. Then I panicked because I had forgotten to call Grandmother the day before. She would be worried sick. I snatched my phone from the side table and dialed her number.

"Caitrin?" Her voice was thick.

"Mama, I am so sorry."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. Yes I am." She sighed in relief. "I forgot to call you." Then I had to listen to her rant to me about how worried she had been. I felt terrible.

"Where are you?" She asked when she was finished.

"In a town called Mission." I then proceeded to tell her about what happened the day before. She listened gravely.

"I don't like it Caity. I don't like that you are in a pack, that you belong to the alpha."

"Mama, I had no choice. It was better then the other wolf, Dallas seems okay. I think he will protect me."

Grandmother didn't sound so sure.

"Mama, I'm a wolf now. I have no choice." I told her.

"Poor Caity." She said sadly. I felt a little indignant. It wasn't that bad, was it?

"I'll call you tomorrow Grandmother. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon though. Tell Mom and Dad where I am, maybe you can come visit."

"I just hope he can take care of you, bye Caity. Be careful."

"Bye."

I showered. By the time I was clean and dressed, and in the kitchen my stomach was growling. The house looked cleaned up, but there were no wolves about, at least that I could sense through my new pack bonds. Except for Dallas, somehow I knew he was close by, sleeping probably. I rummaged through the fridge and was delighted to find all sorts of good things there. I wasn't a big breakfast kind of person, but I was starving. So I fried bacon and eggs, putting some hash browns in the oven. There was orange juice in the fridge, so I drank that waiting for my tea to boil.

I was startled when Abby came around the corner of the hall into the open living space. She flashed me a smile that was not sincere, my hackles came up but I hid it well. She was a human, so if she noticed she would put it down to bitchyness.

"Oh right, Dallas said something about you staying here for a bit. So what are you, his cousin?" She asked me, I looked at her dumbly. Did she not know that he was a werewolf, that most of the people from the night before had been wolves? She smelled of wine, sex and Dallas. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and nothing else. I wanted to rip her throat out. Instead I poured myself some tea.

"Can I have some?" She asked pointing to the breakfast.

"I am Dallas' cousin, from the island." I told her, it was a terrible lie because it was mostly sarcasm, however, she seemed to believe it. "Help yourself." I added, trying to feel solicitous. Dallas had after all opened his house to me, let me eat his food, the least I could do was be nice to his lover friend.

"How long have you known Dallas?" I asked her.

"Not long, a couple of months. We met through the Mission Search and Rescue, I'm a volunteer."

I nodded as if that made sense, which it didn't. I had no idea how Dallas was connected with Search and Rescue, in fact I had no idea what he did for a living, he could be drug dealer for all I knew. I doubted it, somehow he seemed to prim and proper for that. But he did have his own floozy, I thought staring down Abby. She wasn't meeting my eyes, suddenly she looked uncomfortable, nervous, she began fidgeting.

"Good morning Caity." Dallas said coming up behind me. I spun around with lightening speed. His voice had been grating with displeasure. No doubt because I was close to pummeling his girlfriend. He wore a pair of sweat pants and a tank top that didn't quite hide the smooth lines of his muscles underneath. I looked away and took a sip of my tea, trying to look chastened.

"You sure can make a mess." He told me inspecting the state of his kitchen.

"At least I can cook." I countered. I slipped off the stool where I had been sitting and stalked away taking my breakfast outside into the morning sunshine. I felt his eyes on the back of me, my wolf didn't like it.

Dallas came out a little while later with a heaping plate for himself, Abby was no where to be seen.

"In the shower." He responded to my questioning gaze.

"Abby is the name of my mom's dog." I muttered, sipping my second cup of tea.

"You don't like her?"

"She doesn't know you are a werewolf?" I asked without answering his question. His eyes narrowed, he hadn't missed the defiant tilt to my head.

"No she doesn't. Not that she would care. I care, however. Not many people know I am a werewolf, I would like to keep it that way."

"She said you met through Search and Rescue?" I wasn't sure why I cared, but the questions came out anyway.

"Yes. I am the Mission Search and Rescue Chief. I do that part time, and I do landscaping the other part time."

"Really?" I asked, intrigued. "I am good at growing things."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then dug into his breakfast.

"She's a floozy." I told him quietly, unable to keep my opinions to myself like a nice person.

"She has her uses." He replied.

"That's not nice." I snapped at him, angry that he would use a woman that way.

"She's entertaining, but not the kind of woman I would fall in love with, she doesn't love me either. She keeps my wolf happy, and that is in the best interests of everyone. Don't look at me like that, it's not one sided. She uses me too you know; I give as good as I get."

"I don't want to know." I snapped back at him feeling a blush rise to my cheeks. I changed the subject. "I need to go shopping; I need more clothes. I left home with the clothes on my back, I did some shopping in Vancouver, but I only have two pairs of underwear." I told him.

He looked annoyed.

"I can go by myself," I started.

"No you can't. If I had left you alone with Abby in the kitchen, you would have wiped the counters clean with her, what was with that?" He asked.

I shrugged unapologetically. "So will you take me?"

Dallas really looked pained and conflicted, but he nodded. "Besides if that other wolf is still looking for you, I don't want to chance him finding you alone."

Abby took a long time to shower; she came out looking like a runway model. I tried not to notice her. While she said her goodbyes to Dallas I wandered around his yard, inspecting his landscaping. It was neat and tidy, but not as creative as I was used too. Although he did utilize lots of ferns and hostas for his shady yard, it was a nice effect against the forest.

"Ready?" Dallas said hailing me from the patio. He was across the yard but I heard him easily. I could hear Abby's car as it bumped its way down the drive, making me wonder how often she stayed at Dallas'. I hoped it wasn't often because I really didn't like her. Strange, I didn't often meet people I disliked without good reason. She seemed nice enough on the outside. Maybe that was it, she wasn't genuine.

"Yes." I came over with a bounce and a run; I had already filled my purse with cash. We took his Porsche again; he told me he didn't want to disengage his landscape trailer from his truck. I inquired and told him I hadn't seen a truck, he told me it was in the other building I had previously not noticed. It was part barn, part garage, part guest house.

"Who misses a whole building?" He asked in a scathing tone.

"Me apparently." I said unapologetically.

We drove into the adjacent city, it was bigger then little Mission, with more shopping centers. It was across the river. The Fraser River was wide where it met Mission's wharves. There were tug boats and log booms, barges and smaller river boats like the one Dallas stored in his house garage. The waters were calm and he looked at them wistfully as we passed over the bridge.

"Silky smooth; I should be out fishing." He muttered.

He told me about sturgeon fishing, and the time he saw a fifteen foot monster breach the river not ten yards from his boat. I didn't believe him, which made his wolf eyes peek out.

We went to a big shopping center, it was new he told me, and it did have every store I liked to shop in. But it was huge with acres of underground parking. My human self would have hated it, so naturally my wolf self hated it too. I promised it would be quick.

Three hours later I had a new wardrobe. Dallas had proved to be patient beyond measure. After he took me for lunch at a nice restaurant after reminding me that a hungry wolf is always a danger. I complained when he paid for the whole meal, it wasn't like it was a date. He silenced me with a look.

"Dallas?" I asked him as we drove back.

"Hmm?"

"How old are you?" It was a question that had been swirling around in my mind all morning.

He looked at me with his steady green eyes. "How old are you?" He countered.

"Twenty-six."

"I am four hundred."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Liar."

He grinned, his eyes crinkled, yet he looked younger, mischievous, like a little boy. I found myself grinning back. "Good, your learning."

"Yeah, but how old are you?"

"Older then you are."

"Stop it! Why don't you just answer the question?"

He was clearly enjoying my annoyance because he didn't answer me.

"Fine. How old were you when you were changed?"

He sighed. "You are bossy and obnoxious." He told me, more amused then indignant.

I persisted, if he was going to call me names I was going to live up to them.

"How old are you?" I asked again.

"I don't know, don't keep track anymore."

"What year were you born?"

"1970."

I smiled in triumph, it was close enough. That would make him, forty-five, oldish, but not for an immortal. He was younger then my parents.

"How long have you been a werewolf?"

"Twenty-seven years." He told me.

He had been eighteen when he was changed, barely a man.

"How were you changed?" I asked next.

He let out an aggravated drawn out sigh. "My father is a werewolf alpha obsessed with his children becoming werewolves; he changed me. I have three half-brothers who are also wolves, all less dominant than I." He wasn't boasting, he was stating a fact. "The eldest is one-hundred. My father is four hundred years old."

I narrowed my eyes at him, but as far as I could tell it was the truth, as strange as it sounded. He talked with little emotion, which I thought meant that his history bothered him more then he cared to let on.

"Your father changed you, knowing that you might die?" I asked.

He nodded.

"You wanted to be a wolf?"

He gave a shrug. "I didn't want to get old, to get sick; I wanted to be strong and powerful like he promised. My father made it sound desirable to be a wolf, especially an alpha wolf. When I was young he taught me and my brothers to fight, to be the strongest." Something in his voice spoke of betrayal.

"You don't like being a wolf?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

I rolled my eyes. "How else am I going to learn about being a werewolf?"

"I like being a wolf." He turned a feral smile at me. "I like being an alpha."

"Lie." I shot back at him.

"Fine. I like being an alpha most of the time." Dallas growled at me. Then he sighed again. "My brother, my full brother, became a wolf the same time I did. He was only seventeen, he was not that dominant, but he wasn't submissive either. I became my father's second, but there was something amiss with Lawrence. He felt terrible that he could not live up to our father's expectations. My father is not a patient man; he rules with an iron fist, his pack is small, but loyal. Laurie and I chafed and wanted out. I approached Bran and he suggested that I go west, to Canada. There was a pack there that had just lost its alpha to a plane crash (the plane crashed in water and werewolves can't swim, they just sink), he wanted me to take over. I was honored and took Laurie with me. Time went by and my brother didn't get better outside my father's control. He couldn't control his wolf, it got worse until one full moon hunt he attacked a human. Laurie felt terrible, his wolf had shut him out, taken over." His voice was strained, I could hear the self-loathing and guilt that rode him just bellow the surface. "The Marrok's rules are absolute" He went on. "A wolf that can not be controlled must be destroyed. He sent his wolf killer out to deal with Lawrence-"

"His wolf killer?" I asked.

"Yes, his own son, a werewolf, is his assassin." Dallas growled. "Charles came, Laurie had called the Marrok himself, he couldn't live with what he had done. But it wasn't Charles' responsibility, it was mine. I was his alpha, not Charles."

"You killed your own brother?"

Dallas nodded, but his face was carved from stone.

I looked away from him, out the window, pondering the tale he told me; a learning tale. He wouldn't have told me otherwise, I assumed, it had been a deeply personal story, I could see the anguish it caused him still. His brother's woes told me that I needed to know my wolf, control her, but respect her at the same time, we were one. I had heard the pain in his voice, a pain I couldn't imagine. He was not some insensitive monster as my Grandmother had told me; he was man, with a heart, fragile like any other.

"It was not your fault." The words came out, from where I didn't know. "You are not God, you are not omnipotent."

"It was a little child, Caity, a boy five years old out camping with his father. His blood is on my hands as much as Laurie's. Its my duty to control my wolves." His voice was rough with emotion, my heart broke for him.

"You are part human, part wolf. You are not God." I repeated in a sure voice.

"How does a fae girl speak of God?" He asked me, with slightly less self detestation and more amusement.

"Who do you think made us?" I asked him pointedly.

His brows rose in surprise. "You are religious?"

I laughed then. "I didn't say that. But I do believe in things greater than us, greater then werewolves, fae and other things. Things that make coincidence an impossibility."

He shook his head in disbelief, or bewilderment, I couldn't tell which.

Sunday morning I was perturbed and surprised to walk into the kitchen to see Abby sitting at the large dining table. I hadn't known she had come around, it must have been late. Dallas and I had spent the evening playing video games; I had kicked his butt. I had spent many a night engaged in such activities with my brother, but Dallas owned the system so his wolves could have fun; he wasn't enough of a nerd, he assured me, to play as much as they did. It had still been fun. He had seemed restless when I went to bed at the late hour of ten' o'clock; I liked my full nights sleep. I had left him starring out at the night darkened forest. Evidently he had been bored.

Abby sat with her legs crossed, wearing another one of Dallas' t-shirts, reading the local paper, drinking coffee. The smell of it filled the room and made me want a latte. I made one in Dallas fancy latte espresso machine, trying to ignore her.

"Dallas hates coffee." Abby noted without looking up. Was she bragging because she knew him better then me? There was something about her attitude towards me that made me think she was claiming him as her own, they weren't even in a real relationship. Maybe she didn't believe the cousin story after all. "He hates the smell of it."

I found myself smiling adversely; serves him right that his house smelled like the stuff. I wondered why he had such a fancy machine if he didn't like coffee, probably for his wolves, and floozies.

"Dallas told me you two had fun shopping yesterday," She told me, finally looking up at me, it was only for a moment, there must have been something in my face because her fearful eyes dropped back to her paper. "He never goes shopping with me." She murmured. And why would he? I wanted to ask. He only went with me because he had no choice, his duty as alpha was to protect me, and protect people from me. If he had fun shopping that was a surprise to me. "He's in the shower." She informed me. "He got a call from the RCMP, there is a missing hiker on Rue Mountain, we are going up to look for her." I knew Dallas was in the shower, I could smell his shampoo wafting down the hall. It was spicy and sweet, I liked it. The 'we' she referred to must have meant the Search and Rescue team.

I made myself breakfast, cereal this time, sipping my latte, trying to ignore Abby. She did like wise until Dallas came in, he regarded me with a guarded expression, repeating the information Abby had said about the missing hiker.

"You should come too, we could use as many searchers as possible." He told me. I knew that it was only phrased that way for Abby's benefit, if she hadn't been in the room he would have said "you have to come." I nodded, not against a hike in the mountains. Abby looked displeased but said nothing, leaving to change.

I didn't look at Dallas, who wasn't looking at me either. I knew that he sensed that I was upset about his lover being over again, but I had nothing to say about it, neither did he.

He ate quickly, throwing a bunch of things into a back pack, snacks, water bottles, first aid kit. Abby reappeared dressed like she was going to the trendiest gym in town. I couldn't really complain, for her outfit and mine were not all that different. I liked to be in style, sue me.

Dallas was on his phone for the rest of the time it took to get in the other truck parked in the extra garage, a red and white affair which had Search and Rescue printed in large letters. We hopped in, me sitting in the back, Abby claimed ownership by sitting in the front; I didn't want her at my back anyway.

We drove for about half an hour, Dallas was on his phone for most of the time organizing the search until he lost reception. At the trail head there was a RCMP car and at least five other vehicles. Most were the S&R team, but there was also the brother of the missing woman and her father. They looked worried and upset, understandably.

"She was due for a family breakfast this morning," The missing girl's father was saying. "When she didn't show up we called the police. Her friends talked to her yesterday morning, so she must have left after that. The Police found her car here, she must have gone hiking yesterday. She often hiked this mountain, she shouldn't have gotten lost. " The police man was nodding affirmation.

Dallas organized his troops and went over the action plan. There was a helicopter flying over head that he was in radio contact with. Cell phones were no good, poor reception. He split his people into six teams; Abby was in another team with the police man and Father. I was thankful for that. Dallas and I were to go by ourselves. Being werewolves, we could use our innate senses that the others didn't have, but that meant Dallas didn't want any other people in our group. Dallas expected us to find her first, I don't know how I knew it, but there it was. The other groups disbanded in different directions up the trail, apparently there were many trails that led off the trail head; no one knew which one she had taken.

Dallas and I went into the depths of the forest, soon we were alone. We could hear the others in the distance, but only due to our keen werewolf senses. The forest was fairly open, with low shrubs and ferns. If something had happened to her, it would be hard to spot a fallen body in amongst the undergrowth. I quavered at the thought. Hopefully she had just gotten lost. Hopefully a little hypothermia would be the worst of her problems.

I could hear a creek and soon we overcame it, I paused to admire the clear water falling in little pools surrounded by green moss and ferns. I couldn't help myself, the plants called to the fae part within me. Dallas told me to pay attention and I didn't think he was referring to the plants.

Dallas and I both had looked in her car before coming up the trail, getting a fairly accurate scent on her. Dallas seemed to smell it coming up the trail, but I couldn't be sure, I was too new at using my nose.

The morning wore on and soon the Indian summer sun was beating down, trying to penetrate through the heavy canopy of evergreen and deciduous trees of the temperate rain forest. It shone down in beams, lighting up the moss, pulling moths and other insects into its plumes.

"Do you need a break?" Dallas asked me after a while. I shook me head.

We continued on until Dallas paused, like a hound in the hunt. "Do you smell that?" He asked.

I took a deep breath. I smelled trees, sap, dirt, moss, damp, and there, just a trace, werewolf.

"I smell Lars." I told him.

He nodded. "And blood."

I took another breath and this time I smelled that too, faintly the hint of iron was in the air, and the girl.

I had an awful feeling in my gut as we hiked on in silence. The scent led us off the trail someway into the underbrush. We came over a steep hill and the smells were overwhelming. Blood, fear, werewolf, the missing girl, and the acrid repugnant smell of death.

I covered my mouth when I saw her, silencing the abhorrent scream that had been on my lips. Dallas stood stoically beside me. The girl who had been missing lay among the ferns; we could see her pale skin outlined against the vibrant green of the living forest. She was dead. There was blood everywhere; it congealed on her skin, in the deep raging wounds that covered her body. Her face was pushed down into the dirt, her short blond hair full of blood, gore and dirt. Her clothes were ripped, her underwear and pants had been torn from her body and lay not far away on the moss. She had been raped. I could smell it. I could smell her fear, her anger, but mostly her pain and terror. It looked like she had been attacked by a tiger; long four stroked claw marks scared her body. Only something about them was wrong, they were made from human hands, not hands with claws. I couldn't look away.

"Lars." Dallas said in a quiet voice. "I smell him on her."

I knew Lars, a little, surely he wouldn't do this? He had seemed nice; I was good at spotting a bad apple.

"There is something amiss about this." Dallas murmured. "We can't let them find her." Dallas told me in a tight voice. "We can't let this be seen, it would be clear that it was done by a werewolf. The Marrok has strict orders." His tone was bleak and dark. His shoulders were tight. I wanted to ease his pain somehow, for it was clear that the guilt from this evil act was resting on his shoulders.

"We need to call a witch." He told me, pulling his phone from his pocket, hoping for at least one bar of reception. I shivered. Grandmother had told me about witches, at least evil witches. White witches were rare and nothing to be concerned about. Any other kind of witch however was a different matter. They were evil and scrupulous; dark creatures that preyed on anything that would make them stronger. They could also make a body, an entire crime scene disappear with a touch of their magic, for a price. Well I was magic too.

I knelt in the moss, part that was not moist with the girl's lifeblood. I put my hands upon the ground and let my inherited magic flow through me. I had never attempted it before, not on such a large scale, but I had seen my grandmother do it, just once. Of course she had been growing pumpkins and potatoes for thanksgiving dinner; I was trying to cover up a poor girl's broken body to hide the evils of my kind. My kind; I was ready to protect them as they protected me. However my tears for the dead girl and her family fell onto the moss between my hands. I could sense Dallas turn to stare at me, as the magic became tangible. The moss grew, the ferns grew, little saplings from forgotten seeds grew up in a blink of en eye, they lifted the body to them, cradling it like a lover, their roots covered her like a blanket. Within five minutes there was nothing but forest where the girl had been. Five new trees grew upon her bones, countless ferns and shrubs, and underneath new thick moss.

I stood wearily, feeling faint. Dallas caught me before I fell, I felt his arms hold me up, my mind was hazy, then everything went dark.

I woke up in a strange room. It was like a jail cell, actually on second thought it was a big cage, but there was a big comfortable looking bed that would be at home in any one's well furnished guest bedrooms. I was in the middle of it, curled up with my tail over my nose. I lay still, observing, not sure why I was in a cage. I didn't remember changing. I could sense Dallas close by, so there was no need to panic. I yawned, feeling tired still, even though I had just been sleeping. I couldn't remember how I got here, to this cage room, where it was. I remembered being on the mountain with Dallas, finding the girl. Remembering her made me feel ill. I did recall using my magic to cover up any trace of her to protect the werewolves. Then I had passed out. I must have exhausted myself using every once of my abilities. They say you learn something new everyday, well I had learned that it was hard working growing plants from magic.

I hadn't been coherent coming down off the mountain, but there were shreds of images in my mind. Dallas stopping my fall, Dallas' hands on my shoulders. His eyes burning into mine, concern, annoyance, anger, all were clearly visible in his green eyes that were flecked with yellow. I remembered feeling upset that I had displeased him which made no sense, I had helped him. I don't remember what he said, but I could feel myself lean against him, his strong firm, hard body, I remember kissing him. Must have been a dream, I thought with my face burning, do wolves blush? I had never kissed a man like that; it must have been a dream, and besides why would I kiss Dallas? Sure he was nice, handsome, okay he was downright sexy. But he was an alpha, he had too much control over me, he was too bossy. It was probably just my female wolf attracted to him. His ears must have been burning because I sensed his close proximity, he opened the door to the room which held my cage.

He closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, looking at me. Just looking. I had a hard time not squirming under his penetrating gaze. I rolled on my back, exposing my stomach to him in complete submission, tongue out, hoping he would stop looking at me like that.

"Change." My alpha demanded.

I obeyed even though I didn't want to. I had done something to make him really mad, being a wolf was easier, as I human somehow I would have to explain something I myself didn't understand. I growled at him, barred my teeth at him. He growled right back and using some of his magical alpha powers called the change out of me anyhow. It hurt. Ten minutes later I lay gasping on the bed, naked. I sat up, even though my skin was burning, even though movement made it worse. I glared at him, for an instant not concerned with my nudity.

"That was rude." I told him.

He cocked his head at me. I lowered my eyes. Damn it, he was too strong.

"Glad to know that you are with me again Caity." He said in a steely voice.

"What do you mean?"

He unlocked the cage and let me out. I walked out, haughtily, I admit. I was furious with him for forcing his alpha powers on me. I wasn't going to simper and pout and beg for clothes, wrapped awkwardly in a bed sheet as I was.

"You expended yourself so much that your wolf took over. Do you know how dangerous that is?" He snarled at me. "I barely got you down the mountain and into my truck. I had to deal with the other Searchers, so I left you there. When I came back you were a wolf. Only a wolf. I thought you were gone, Caity, do you understand?" I realized that his face was pale, not with anger, but with concern. "Don't ever do that again. A rogue wolf, that is a werewolf with no human left, is a wolf that must be destroyed, remember?"

"Is that why I was in a cage?"

"Yes Caity. I was hoping you would come back to us."

"Did I hurt anyone?"

"No. I have enough control over you for that. But barely." He admitted in a tired voice. "You are not a normal wolf Caity, I don't know if I could do it again. You have been in the cage since last night; you have slept most of the day." He looked as exhausted as I had felt. I realized that it must be taxing for an alpha to control a difficult wolf. I felt instantly guilty; I didn't want to hurt him.

"I'm sorry." I told him sincerely.

He shook his head. "It's fine. At least the mess is cleaned up."

I nodded, thinking of the father and brother who would be out looking for months, always wondering, always missing a piece of their heart for their beloved.

"I know it's not fair." He said echoing my mind set.

"Some of the others will be here soon, we can't find Lars." He explained as he led me up a flight of stairs that emerged just down the hall from his bedroom. I didn't know his house had a basement.

I hardly heard him, my mind was tired. It was still reeling over the day before. The torn body of the poor woman, her short blond hair caked with mud, her body ravaged by teeth and hands of a human werewolf. She had been raped first, before she had been savaged. I shivered. There had been so much blood. It reminded me (could it only be five days?) of my own experience with a werewolf. My feet wobbled and my head was swimming, I fell onto the hardwood, it was cold against my bare skin. My breathing came fast, so fast I could barely breathe, I was panicking.

"Caity?" Dallas came to kneel beside me, holding my arm.

"It could have been me. That was what happened to me. There was so much blood Dallas, my car was covered in it, my blood. Just like her, only..." My speech was garbled but he seemed to understand.

"Only you are a wolf now," He finished for me. "Were you raped?" He asked in a small voice.

I looked up into his yellow eyes, shaking my head, not in answer to his question, but because suddenly it made sense, horrible bone chilling sense.

"The girl was me. A message for me. She was blond, just like me, attacked just like I was. It was him. He did this. He did it to tell you, to tell me, that he has claimed me. He wants me back. He somehow framed Lars..."

"Did he rape you?" He asked again, as if that was all that mattered.

I shook my head. "I don't know, I don't remember." I felt sick. I was glad I had no memory of that night.

"He has Lars, I would bet my life on it." I told him with a certainty that came from my gut.

Dallas eyes were vivid yellow; I could sense that the change was close with him. I tried to look small and demure, I was already sitting on the floor, he was looming over me, hopefully it was enough to appease his wolf; I imagined that if an alpha lost control it would get ugly, quick. We heard the gravel stirring in the driveway and Dallas' attention shifted. He stood up slowly, pulling me up with him.

"Go get dressed." He told me. I bounded up the stairs under his command. I heard voices down below as I pulled on fresh clothes. It was John and Garth. They sounded grave. I dressed quickly and went down to join them.

Dallas was explaining my theory to them as I came into the living room. John and Garth were slumped slightly, their heads cocked sideways, their throats exposed, there was a tension in the room that was palpable. I listened as they talked, having nothing to add.

"Why Caity?" John asked looking at me for a moment, then back to the floor. I liked John, so my wolf didn't mind the assessment. "Clearly there is something about her that we are missing, the reason why she was changed, the reason why this strange wolf wants her so badly."

"How would he take Lars? Lars is big, strong, and dominant, a good fighter." Garth asked.

Dallas shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that I can't find him, I can't sense him. He isn't dead, that we would all feel. It's unnerving. But it might mean he is innocent of this crime."

"It is unnerving." Garth echoed looking at me.

"Stop it." Dallas said, it took me a moment to realize that he was talking to me, because I was staring Garth down, he didn't look down as John had. Garth didn't like me. Well he would like to have sex with me, that was obvious, but he didn't like me, he didn't like my will to dominate him. I turned to Dallas with difficulty, allowing Garth the small win, for now.

"What do we do?" John asked.

"I don't like it, but I think we must wait. If this wolf wants Caity, and if he has Lars, I imagine he will want to trade." Dallas deducted with a frustrated growl. It was the conclusion I had come to as well. I felt the knot in my stomach tightened, it had developed when Grandmother came to me in a panic, it had softened when Dallas made me pack, now I felt unsure once more. "I have no doubt that he will contact me." Dallas was saying. "We will see what happens. In the meantime, wolves stick together, no one goes alone. That goes for your mates as well." Dallas said turning to John. "I don't think he is strong enough to take more then one of us at a time. I don't like this." Dallas said again, looking out the window. He was stone tense, his knuckles white against his clenched fists.

"We should just give her to him." Garth muttered. John shot him a disbelieving look, but Garth was looking at me. I growled at him, not that I disagreed with him, I wasn't going to let Lars give his life for me. But Garth was not in the position to call shots; my wolf wanted him put in his place, now.

I leaped across the living room at Garth, feeling satisfaction with his neck beneath my fingers. If he had been human, or caught off guard, he would have gone down. But he wasn't off guard, and he was strong, he pulled my arm, dislodging me, spinning me so that I would be on the bottom as he pushed me down. He fell heavy on top of me, I felt his breath on my neck, I smelled the lust, lust for my blood, my body and my submission. I would give him nothing. I was not as strong but I was agile. I wrenched free of his grasp and kneed him in the groin, which hurts a werewolf like it does a human, although the effect isn't as long lasting. I scrambled back up to my feet ready for him. He came at me again, this time he did not land a blow on me, I ducked and swerved, caught him in the leg with my heel. He howled in pain and stalked me with the ferocity of a rabid dog. I was beginning to wonder how I was going to win this, he was so much bigger then me, I didn't have time to change to wolf, that would have given me claws and long sharp teeth. I ducked again from his blow as he pounced, but I didn't get far enough, he caught me in one hand and threw me across the room. I landed with a heavy thud and a crash into something. It hurt, but I was up again, blood dripping from my nose. I felt a burning pain all over my torso; I couldn't inspect myself for damage because I had a raging wolf man coming at me.

"Enough." Dallas' voice rang through the living room, up to the high ceilings and back again, piercing our skulls. I saw the other two wolves go to their knees as the alpha power swept through the room. I felt the urge to submit to Dallas, but I chose not to. I stood defiant and bloody before him. He walked over to me, slowly, deliberately. The other two wolves couldn't face him, but I could. It was hard, I wanted to lie down at his feet, roll onto my back and expose my soft undersides. But I wouldn't, I was his wolf, but I would not grovel at his feet. A whine escaped my throat. He was close to me now, he was a tall man, I had to tilt my neck to look him in the eyes. He sighed, an aggravated sound that was almost a growl. Then he cupped my head in his hand and pulled my head further so I could no longer look him in the eye. It wasn't gently done, but it wasn't rough either. He leaned down and nipped my neck, hard enough to make my eyes tear. The skin of the neck is sensitive. I didn't dare move, Dallas didn't either.

"Go." Dallas was talking to the other two wolves. They left. I didn't know where they went, but they were gone when I broke from Dallas' hold and looked around. His living room was a mess, the table in the corner was broken, the cactus which had resided on top of it in a pretty ornate pot and been broken when I landed on it. I looked down at my stomach to see tens if not hundreds of tiny spines sticking out of my skin, each one burning me with its toxins. I had blood on my face, it had dripped down my nose onto my shirt, I touched my nose, it wasn't bleeding any longer. Then I looked at Dallas. He was really mad.

"You told me not to ignore my wolf." I told him, it was almost an apology.

"Yeah, but you have to find a balance." He said in a surprisingly calm voice as he rubbed his forehead. "What am I going to do with you?" He asked.

"You know what you have to do with me, you have to trade me for Lars."

"It was a rhetorical question." He growled at me.

I busied myself trying to pick out the spines from my skin; I had gotten one so far. I was not thrilled to learn they had somehow managed to make their way down past my waist line into my pants, I could feel them working their way into my skin. The one I had pulled out had a barb which had been stuck into my skin, who knew cacti were so vindictive?

"Let me help you." Dallas said, "Maybe they will wash out, sometimes cold water will make the skin contract and help ease them out." Sounded logical.

He dragged me to his bedroom and all but shoved me into his shower, which was huge. Two or three people could have fit in it. It was enclosed by a glass wall. I peeled my shirt off carefully, trying to make sure it didn't catch on the spines; some were a good half inch long. Dallas had already seen me naked, werewolves were not very concerned with nudity, I had already learned that, from Lars actually. All the changing, it was just easier if everyone got over themselves, he had told me. It seemed to be true because Dallas' expression didn't even change when I took my pants and underwear off. Any other man would show some kind of reaction if a girl undressed in front of him right? I tried not to think about that.

I hissed as my underwear caught on a hidden spine. Dallas was beside me in an instant and ripped the offending piece of clothing off, not exactly a hard task for any man. He turned on the shower and made me stand under the cold water that was supposed to help release the barbs. I growled as I plucked at them, the water didn't seem to help. In the end I turned it off and stood shivering while Dallas manipulated the tweezers and yanked the spines out as hard as he could. I yelped, it hurt. Some even bled a little, only for an instant because my body healed so quickly.

"I think that is all of them." He told me after about half an hour of torment. He was inspecting me, looking for any smaller ones that might have been left behind. He hadn't touched me at all, except with the tweezers, but now he was running a finger over my stomach, up my ribs. He was kneeling, I was standing, his head came to my belly button. He stood up slowly, his hand still touching me, just below my rib. Then he ran it up the center of my breast bone, then along the plump line of my breast. I shivered in delight, closing my eyes. His touch was like gold, smooth, warm. It woke something in me that I had thought best left hidden, but he had opened the gates with his touch, with the hot breath on my neck, I wasn't going to let it slip away. I closed the gap between us and slid my hand up his back, under his t-shirt, against his smooth warm skin. I pulled his shirt, just a little tug really, but it ripped.

"Oops." I said. He smirked at me, looking into my eyes, reading me, looking for something.

"I didn't like that shirt anyway." He told me satisfied with whatever he must have seen there, lifting me up against him, against his hard body. I clung to him, our lips touched, pressed together with carnal subtly, our bodies rocking together with the same urgency. Jeans don't do well with when a werewolf is concerned, I apologized but he muttered something about werewolves constantly restocking wardrobes. He pushed me against the wall as he slid himself inside me, I might have protested the rough treatment, but I wanted him so badly. I felt a rush of honey and fire within me as I clung to him. He slowed and I thought perhaps that he had spent himself, but I was wrong, he gently carried me to the bed and lay me down; I smiled at him and pushed him onto his back. His yellow wolf eyes shone out briefly and I smiled, liking his discomfort.

"I don't like being on the bottom." He said into my ear in a thick whisper. I bit his neck.

"Yes you do." I told him, smiling, sitting on top of him. He learned that I was right.

I lay beside him all night. I would have gone, for my body was satisfied and I was tired. His bed smelled a little bit like Abby, which made me furious. I kept it to myself though because Dallas slept with his arm curled around me. I had never slept with a man like that, so vulnerable, with him touching me, needing me. It was strange. But then I had never experienced sex like that before either, Dallas was a generous and thorough lover, still my body tingled with it. I hoped it had not been a mistake. I thought of my past relationships, the frailty of them. Those men could not compare to Dallas I decided, pushing them from my mind.

I slept finally, listening to the silence of the night, to Dallas' soft breath at my back.

When I woke he was gone. Just gone. I didn't sense him close by; he was not in the house. It was barely past dawn, the birds still singing with gusto. I left his bed reluctantly, passing by his ripped jeans and shirt which he hadn't bothered to clean up. Some neat freak he was; hypocrite.

My own clothes were hardly better. I retrieved new ones from my room and showered reluctantly. I liked the smell of him on me, it made me smile. I sighed, wondering what happened now. Was I his new floozy? His mate? His what? I wasn't sure I wanted to be his anything; I was averse to belonging to anyone. He could be my whore, I thought with a smile. Then I remembered that I was trading myself to a crazy wolf for Lars. It was a sobering thought, but sometimes life was like that; hard. The right path was never the easiest.

I was hungry. I made breakfast and waited for Dallas. I made enough for Dallas too, because I was nice like that, although he would most likely have to eat it cold. It shouldn't bother him, at least it wasn't raw. Hell, he didn't even care if it was raw, he would probably eat whatever I made.

My phone rang while I was cooking. I knew it must be Grandmother; she was the only one who had the number.

"Hi Mama." I answered surprisingly cheerful for a girl who was about to martyr herself.

"Caity." She sounded agitated.

"What's up?"

"Caity, I just got back from visiting some old friends." She told me. When she meant old friends I was pretty sure she meant other fae. "I was doing some reconnaissance, trying to find out why you have been targeted. Turns out an old friend of mine," Her tone told me that 'friend' was an euphemism. "Has hired that wolf to change you, he plans to bring you Underhill."

I blinked hard. "What? You mean the fae wanted me to be a werewolf?" I hadn't met many people like my Grandmother, I had only been to Underhill once, she tried as hard as she could to keep other fae away from me. It had failed, evidently.

"There is going to be a war, love, a war between fae and humans, we know this. Maybe not tomorrow or next year, but someday. The Gray Lords are looking for some way to entice the werewolves to join their side. It could be a turning point for them; however the Marrok has been difficult to deal with." Her voice was filled with displeasure. "There is a man who was once a Gray Lord, now that Underhill is growing in power again he is seeking it, he wants to be as he used to be, powerful, feared. I know him, I know that he hates being weak, and he has an affinity for evil creatures, werewolves, vampires. He knows you are my granddaughter, that you have my magical blood and abilities. You can tame beasts-"

"Not werewolves!" That would have made my new life easier..." I can't make them do what I want."

"You can tame your own though; didn't you say you had excellent control over it? That you can even suppress it?"

"Yeah I guess so." I said thinking about how I seemed to have the ability to face the more dominant wolves, including Dallas.

"Well the only reason that female wolves can't reproduce is because they have to change, but if you don't change then you could have a baby, you could give birth to werewolves, by suppressing your wolf every full moon." She told me.

I choked on my own saliva; it took a moment to calm the coughing fit that came over me.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine." I lied. "Why on earth would that be a benefit to the fae?"

"Just think, with you, they would have their own army of werewolves, their own pack to challenge the Marrok."

"That would take decades."

"Not in Underhill, besides the fae see time differently."

"Why wouldn't they just change more people?"

"That is too obvious, too messy. The Marrok would never allow it, apparently." Grandmother told me.

"So they want me in Underhill, where they will breed me like a purebred bitch to make werewolf babies so they can take over the Marrok." I remunerated.

"Yes that is what it sounds like." Grandmother sounded furious. I knew her; she had a temper I wouldn't want to cross. "I don't want to say this, but you need to stay with those wolves, only they can protect you. I hope."

"Who is behind this? Which Gray Lord?" I asked, wondering what I was up against.

"I can't speak of him." Grandmother told me unhappily.

"Grandmother, he has one of Dallas' wolves."

"So?"

I ground my teeth in frustration. Grandmother would happily sacrifice the whole pack for my safety, but I could not. Not ever. I didn't deserve that, and what kind of life was that, built upon the lives of others?

"I can't let them do that Grandmother. Tell me who it is, please?"

She gave a reluctant sigh. "There was a time, many, many years ago, when I was captured, taken as a wife to another fae. He kept me prisoner for half of every year, only letting me go for spring and summer. You will know this story; in this story my name was Persephone."

Persephone. I knew that story, my blood went cold.

"Do not speak his name!" She said suddenly, the name had been on my lips.

"How did you get away from him?"

"When humans destroyed the entrances to Underhill, he lost me, for he was trapped there. Since Underhill has again been found and strengthened, he has never tried to get me back, not yet, perhaps he was bidding his time, perhaps he was waiting for you to be born. A daughter of mine, with my gifts, my beauty. I never gave him a child you see, us pure bloods do not reproduce easily."

I shivered thinking of my life in the clutches of his evil hands. I felt sick; my stomach was threatening to heave up my breakfast. How was I going to tell Dallas?

"Caity?"

"I have to go Grandmother." I told her.

"Caity? Caity!" She said frantically. I hung up, taking a deep shuddering breath.

I looked through the tall windows. The line of trees were bowing in the wind, the cedar branches creating a sea of green waves. It was beautiful; I could look at those trees for the rest of my life and be happy. As if on cue, as I watched out of the trees came a wolf. It was huge, larger than any timber wolf, roughly the size of a Siberian tiger, it was dark gray flecked with sliver. It walked with the same easy graze that a tiger possessed, the same yellow eyes focused with the confidence of an apex predator. Beautiful. I realized I had not seen another wolf other then the dark terrifying glimpses of the one that attacked me. That had not been like this, this one was calm, collected. He regarded me with yellow eyes before sinking into the green lawn, as if to take a rest. Then he started changing, I watched, half horrified, half intrigued as wolf merged and flesh tore, mingling with human parts as the wolf became Dallas. Fur became skin; teeth became lips on a finely shaped mouth. Claws became long deft fingers. It takes a while for a wolf to change, it took Dallas fifteen minutes, and even when he was finished he lay on the grass, naked, waiting for the last of the pain to fade away. He stood and walked towards me as if nothing had happened. I watched him hungrily, thinking he was even more beautiful as a man then wolf. I liked the lines of his muscles, the dark hair that covered his body in just the right places.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he opened the door the glass door. Of course he would know. I saw behind him out of the woods came John, just as naked, just as unabashed. I turned around to let the two men dress, more for my own comfort then theirs. When I turned back to face them, they were decent once more.

"I can suppress my wolf." I told Dallas.

"What do you mean?"

"My Grandmother's magic that I have in my blood, allows me to suppress my wolf."

Dallas nodded as if that made sense, but they still weren't following me, and why should they? My voice was tight and almost squeaky as I tried to decide what to tell them and what to leave out. I wanted to protect them, if I told them everything, it would put them in danger.

"I know where Lars is." I told them.

"Where? I couldn't sleep, so we were out looking for any trace of him." Dallas told me.

"You won't find him, he is in Underhill."

"Fairy land?" John asked.

I nodded.

Dallas looked ready to spit fire. "Underhill? What do you know?"

"Any news from the wolf?" I asked him instead of answering the question. He nodded slowly.

"He sent me a text message of all things, wants us to trade, in an hour. You for Lars." Dallas said it like it wasn't an option, which was wrong. Of course it was, Lars was part of the pack, had been for who knows how long. Me, I had been part of the pack for two days, I was expendable. I straightened with the thought. I was ready for my fate, as ready as anyone could be.

Dallas shook his head. "I can't do it Caity. I can't let him have you." He words were an inhuman growl.

"Dallas, you have no choice." I told him. It didn't matter; he would have to lock me up in the cage to keep me here. I would go; I would get Lars out of there. Dallas roared at me, his eyes were yellow, his teeth looked more wolf than human. "Do you know how to get to Underhill?" I asked him in a steely voice.

"DO you?"

I nodded, not sure if I did, but I had a pretty good idea. Magic was in my blood after all. I had been to Underhill once when the Gray Lords started amassing fae that were powerful enough to be an asset if it came to the war Grandmother thought was on the horizon. Grandmother brought me before one of the Gray Lords, she had no choice. The fae had regarded me with strange eyes for an instant, then shook her head in dismissal. I was rated as a powerless half breed, and was thankful for it. I went back home with a warning of silence.

Dallas decided that I was telling the truth, his face changed from angry raging wolf to white with fear. His hands were tight on my shoulders, he shook me.

"You can not go. I forbid it."

I didn't say anything, I could feel the wolf within obeying, but I could suppress her, I could go and he knew it, which is why he still looked like he was in a fearful rage.

"So the fae want you because you can suppress your wolf?" John mused, watching me with interest. "Why would that interest them?" He looked from Dallas to me, but hardly seeing us at all, his dark brown eyes were thoughtful.

I bit my lip. If I told them, what would they say? What would Dallas think, whom I shared his bed the night before, what would he think if I told him that it was possible for me to conceive and carry a werewolf child? He still held me in one hand, his fingers tight on my arm, unwilling to let me go.

"There is something else, what is it?" Dallas asked me in a civilized voice that did not match his volatile expression. I didn't say anything which made his eyes glow golden; I was fearful that he was going to lose control. John too saw it, felt it, he dipped his head, his eyes on the floor, his posture submissive.

"Caity tell him for God's sake." John said in a voice that was trying to be calm. Dallas roared at his second and John fell to the floor. I too felt it, my knees gave out and I knelt, my eyes down. If I had been a wolf, my tail would be so far between my legs it would be tickling my nose.

"Because I can suppress my wolf means that I can, in theory, keep away the change during a full moon, for even as long as say ten months." I explained to my alpha reluctantly, not daring to look at Dallas. I didn't need to see him to feel his power, to feel his unrest, to sense that something was wrong. His control was slipping, in an alpha that is bad, scary bad, even I, the newest wolf, could make that connection. I seemed to have this terrible effect on him; this was the second time in two days, what was wrong with me?

John was starting to change, he couldn't help it. I could feel my body start to tingle and burn with the feeling of change too.

"The theory is that I would suppress my wolf long enough to give birth to a werewolf." I explained further when he didn't come to any such conclusion on his own. "This fae wants me to create a pack of for his own use so he can challenge the Marrok." I felt Dallas slip back into himself, a little. I risked stealing a look at him, his eyes were closed, his fist clenched, he was trying very hard to be in control. The atmosphere relaxed a degree, which isn't saying much, but John returned to his human self and lay panting on the floor, partly from relief, partly from pain of changing again so soon.

"I have never seen you lose control Dallas. Never." Was all John said. It wasn't a reprimand, he would never do that in front of his alpha, it was a fact.

Dallas turned his back on us, a sign that he was back in control, his wolf would never allow him such a vulnerable move, even if we were his pack. He leaned against the counter.

"They want to breed you like a purebred bitch." I was mistaken, he was still fighting for control, his voice sounded wrong. The fact that he used the same words as me might have amused me, but right then, amusement was for people not terrified of being torn up by a berserker wolf. "And you are willing to go to them? Knowing that?"

"I will not have Lars die because of me." I told him defiantly. "That girl is already dead, her family will morn her soon enough, but they will never have her body, never have closure. I can't have any more lives on my hands." I said, my voice shaking.

"Are you sure about this?" John asked. "It would take decades-"

"Yes it would take decades," I interrupted his train of thought. "But Underhill does not observe the same laws of time that our world does, there are ways." Grandmother had been clear about that, she would know.

"We should tell Bran." John said.

Dallas nodded reluctantly, although at the mention of the name of the Marrok he winced as if he smelled something utterly distasteful. Dallas did not like the Marrok, that had been clear when they had spoken on the phone earlier.

"What can Bran do? Can he get into Underhill?" I asked, almost sarcastically. I wasn't sure of the leader of werewolves had such powers, but I doubted it. "Only I can save him, Dallas." I said again. "My Grandmother has a good idea of where Lars will be, in Underhill. She might be able to help us get in." I told Dallas reluctantly. I didn't want him to come, I didn't want him to risk any hurt on my behalf. However his ice cold stare and folded arms were telling me he wasn't backing down.

"How does she know where he is?" Dallas asked.

"She was once the wife of the fae who is responsible for the whole werewolf breeding program." I said it in a light manner, but the thought made me shiver with fear.

"Who is it?"

"You can't speak his name, it draws his attention."

Dallas' left eyebrow perked up. "It's not Voldemort by any chance?"

"You like Harry Potter?" I asked astounded, I hadn't thought he was the wizard fan type.

"No, Abby likes it, she made me watch it with her." He told, eyes flashing at me. He was trying to bait me. My hackles rose at her name spoken from his lips, I hated her. I wanted to rip her throat out; I wanted to claim Dallas as mine. Mine. I couldn't bear the thought that she and I shared the same taste in books.

Dallas was smiling at me, not an amused smile, a vengeful smile; I wanted to wipe it off his face. I took a step towards him. John cleared his throat, loudly.

"We were planning on how to rescue Lars." He drawled in a slightly amused voice.

"You will stay here, John, I need you to watch the pack, in case something happens to me." Dallas told John, who nodded. "Also call Bran and tell him what's going on."

"Do you have any books on Greek Mythology?" I asked Dallas. He shook his head. "Where's your computer?"

We sat down at his computer, which was in the office down the hall, another room I hadn't noticed. I looked up Gods and Goddesses.

"This is my Grandmother," I told him pointing to Persephone. He kept reading and I felt his body tense when he read the part about how Hades kidnapped Persephone and made her his wife, his Queen of the Underworld. I wasn't sure how much of the legend was real, how much was zealot exaggeration. There wasn't a lot of information about Hades, bits for stories here and there, not anything specific.

"Is he one of the Gray Lords?" Dallas asked.

I shook my head. "Not any more. Grandmother said that his power has weakened over the centuries, which is how she escaped. She thinks this new scheme of his is to impress the Gray Lords and gain their favor."

"And you are sure that this rogue wolf is working for him?"

I shrugged. "Grandmother thought so."

"Call your grandmother." He said handing me the phone. I did. It rang and rang, but finally she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Mama, its Caity. I need to get into Underhill."

"Caity no!" Came her horrified voice.

I explained. "If we can get in, and get Lars out, there is a chance I can escape as well. Then Dallas can stop this rogue wolf, he will kill him, then I will be safe. But first we need to get Lars out."

There was silence as Grandmother considered our plan. We waited, there was a knock on the door, Dallas growled at the interruption, so John went to answer it.

"Mama?" I said into the phone, something must have happened because she had cut out. I started to dial the number again when John called my name. The phone was portable so I carried it with me into the living room to see what John wanted. Grandmother was there, standing next to the First Nations werewolf, looking like a terrified antelope in a den of sleeping lions. I ran to her and hugged her closely. I could feel the pulse of magic in her, whatever means she had used to skip through space to get here from her home on the island, it had left a lingering magical cloak about her. "Mama."

She hugged me back tightly, then she put me at arms length and examined me. Then she straightened her shoulders, shrugging off her fear, and looked at the other two werewolves in the room. I noticed she did not meet their eyes, but neither was her position submissive. I knew my Grandmother; she was a formidable power when she wanted to be.

"So you are the alpha who will keep my granddaughter safe?" She asked of Dallas. Dallas looked like he was trying hard to be contrite, which was as likely as he was to pull out a pair of tap shoes and dance to west side story.

I looked at my alpha; he still looked off, like he was fighting his wolf.

"Eat. Dallas, you haven't eaten since you changed back. I made breakfast." I added in a voice that I was ashamed to say sounded embarrassed.

He looked at the heaping plate of cold food, at me, then sat down on the closest stool. "You are bossy and obnoxious." He grumbled to me. The tension in the room relaxed another notch; John went over to the fridge to rummage.

"You're welcome." I snarled back at him. "And you told me that yesterday."

"It's as true today as it was yesterday." He said with just a hint of fondness in his voice, looking up at me. His expression made me catch my breath, my pulse rising slightly. I had a feeling he could sense it because he had a slight half smile on his lips. His expression was a brief ray of sunshine in the black clouds that was his moody wolf. His face darkened quickly enough, hopefully food would help.

I turned back to Grandmother, she was watching with a tight expression at John eating a cold raw steak from the fridge.

"Mama. Can you help us get into Underhill? We only have one hour." I asked her.

She nodded. "I need to go outside; it will take a couple minutes to start from scratch."

I went with her, with a last look to make sure Dallas was still eating. He was, John handed him a steak; apparently eggs and hash browns didn't quiet cut it as a predator's breakfast.

Grandmother turned in a circle around Dallas lawn, gauging the position of the sun. She looked at the dirt, digging into it with her finger. Then she took something out of her pocket, she showed it to me with a faint maternal smile. It was an acorn, but not a typical acorn; it was elongated, pointed, like a gnome hat, not a real fae gnome, but the ceramic garden variety. I knew its species well; it came from the giant holly oak in my grandmother's yard. Her tree was rare, not native to Canada, nor to even North America. There were no others of its size that I had ever seen. The holly oak was from Eastern Europe.

She put the acorn under a tender pile of soil. I could feel her magic, the mother of my own, calling the seed forth, calling the tree to life. A shoot came out, it grew, it coiled up towards the sun. The magic kept pulsing, growing with the tree, encompassing the yard. The lawn grew into tall grass where my grandmother stood. I watched as the tree towered over our heads, it grew and grew. It was so wide in the trunk I could not fit my arms around it if I dared to interrupt its magic. It kept growing until after fifteen minutes my grandmother sighed and relaxed. The tree gave one last stretch out in all directions and stilled. It was huge; it would take two, perhaps three people linking arms to fit around its trunk. It was gnarled and twisted, fissured and distorted with age. It could have four hundred years old if it was a day. But Grandmother was not finished. She walked up to the tree and blew upon its bark. A faint outline appeared; it was round, like a Hobbit door. There was no knob, no lever.

"Are you ready?" She asked turning to me. I nodded. For a moment I considered going alone, without Dallas. It would keep him safe, but would John and the others be safe if he lost control? What happened then? I didn't want to think about what would happen if the whole pack lost control. There would be bodies; what good I was trying to achieve would be for nothing. Plus I found that I was terrified, I didn't know if I could do it alone.

"Ready." Said a voice at my elbow. Dallas gave me a look that could curdle milk; I wondered if he could read my mind. He looked unsurprised that there was now a gigantic oak tree in the middle of his well manicured lawn.

"Here, Caity. This doorway will open into Underhill, but to get to the Underland, where he is, you must have this." She put a necklace over my head; it nestled between my collar bones. I looked at it; it was elaborate, lacelike but covered in tiny gems. It was beautiful, the kind of necklace one wore to a grand ball, or perhaps the Oscars. "It is the necklace of the Queen of Underland; it will guide you to his palace." She said with a shiver. I wondered how over the years she still had such a thing, she feared her ex-husband, I could feel it when she spoke of him. It looked like a fae artifact of some ability; I wondered why the Gray Lords had let her keep it. I would have to ask, sometime, like when I gave it back after this was over. I could hope, right?

I had done this before, gone to Underhill, through the holly oak in my Grandmother's garden. This tree looked solid, but I knew in that circle I could step through, just like at my Grandmother's, just like the first time I was in Underhill. My leg went first; I felt the tremor of magic. I knew it would take me because I was magic, but it didn't like the wolf part, it stung a little and I smelled burnt fur. I reached out for Dallas.

"Here take my hand, or it may not let you in." I told him. He did, holding my hand firmly, rubbing his thumb on my wrist, just a little. My wolf liked that, touching him was reassuring, calming.

We stepped through. Or stepped out, it was hard to tell. We were in the woods, not Dallas' woods, there was no Grandmother, no John watching with mute astonishment. These woods were silent and completely different. The trees were different, somehow denser, and more alive. There was no other sign of life. There was a path ahead, dark in the forest.

"I can smell magic." Dallas said in a hushed voice. "It makes me want to sneeze." He was still holding my hand, I squeezed it, he squeezed back.

"Right." I said looking around. Last time I had gone down the path with my Grandmother and met a black crow the size of a golden retriever. It had been blind, but it had still seen me. It had sent chills down my neck, and now I hoped that I would not see it again. This time I was going to meet a different monster of magic.

The necklace I wore pulsed red in the dim light. I put my hand upon it and thought of Underland, a place I had never been, but that didn't matter to magic, it was the intent. We almost tripped over the huge hole in the ground that was gaping before us, it appeared silently and sudden. It was large, about twenty feet across, and deep, dark.

"I sense him." Dallas said, whispering.

"Lars?"

He nodded. That was good. We were on the right trail; my instincts had proved correct.

There was a stairway that edged along the side of the pit, it circled down and down, at least I assumed it did, even with my wolfish eyes I couldn't see that far.

It took us fifteen long minutes to reach the bottom; nothing but a faint light greeted us. I expected torches of hot red flame or a great three headed dog guarding the entrance, but there was nothing, the only sign of life were the round iridescent mushrooms that cast a glow their faint light on the walls of the pit. Faintly we could see a corridor like tunnel. We followed it, for it was the only way to go. As we went the mushrooms became more numerous, the walls were suffused with blue and green light. It reflected off the walls, which were rock, granite if I was correct, glinting off the flecks of mica like little mirrors. It was almost pretty.

It was not long before the corridor gave way to a great cavern. We stood on the edge looking across, for it was huge, not so much a cavern as a whole dark land under the rock: Underland. Before us lay a river, flowing with blue iridescence, I decided it was not so much a river as a mote, for it coiled like a giant pulsating snake around a dark fortress that dominated the landscape before us, its tall spires reaching to brush the top of the cavern. The fortress was built of the same rock of the cavern; the architecture reminded me of a termite mound. There were only a handful of windows that could be seen, outlined with dim light. Someone was home. I thought darkly of Grandmother in this dreary land, tied to an evil King she did not love.

"Come on, Lars is in there, I can feel that he is hurt." Dallas said to me. I followed him, there was no bridge, but there was a boat, a long slender vessel like a gondola of Venice. I stepped aboard with a resolute feeling in my gut, my necklace pulsed, the boat groaned to life with magic. Dallas hopped aboard quickly, not wanting to be left behind. The boat set across the river on its own accord, rocking in the current, but not turning from its coarse. I looked into the vibrant water and wished I hadn't. There were dead things there. Not human things, but fae: a grotesque face of a giant, a tiny brownie face, a woman almost human looking, but with horns upon her brow. They were certainly dead; they looked up to the surface with eyes black as tar. They swarmed the boat like eager dolphins at a marine park. The river Styx, I thought grimly, remembering the tales of mythology. I recoiled and bumped into Dallas, his arm came around my shoulder possessively, but he said nothing. I leaned against him and looked ahead at the tall dead looking Palace.

The gondola bumped into the dock which was a black piece of rock that rose up out of the eerie river. It wasn't enough of an impact to unsettle us, but I jumped out quickly, relieved to get out of the boat. The wharf was crumbling in places and we had to jump over a gap to reach the shore. Once on firmer ground we looked up as one to the towering Palace.

"It looks so dead. Desolate." I noted in a whisper. "Grandmother said his power was greatly weakened, that might explain his derelict residence." Like an old man no longer able to care for his home and yard, I thought.

There were places were a garden might have grown, there were twigs, a leaf here or there, but mostly dead. I wondered what could grow in a place so dark, lit only by the strange light from a dead fae river and those trippy mushrooms. The entrance way loomed above us, there were two watch towers, but they were empty, one looked like it had crumbled over a century ago. The portcullis was raised, crooked. We walked forward like wolves, silent, observant. On the hunt.

Inside the palace there was more destruction or decay, it was hard to tell which had ravaged the dark palace. The walls were falling down, lying in piles in places. It was dark inside, however we were unfazed; wolf night vision is good, even in human form.

"This way." Dallas whispered, leading down a side passage. I could feel Lars too, but faintly, I was happy to trust the alpha's instincts.

"He is in pain." Dallas told me again, his voice quiet but thick with rage. I nodded, I had thought so too, but pack bonds were new to me, I hadn't been sure. The necklace my grandmother once wore had gone faint; its glow was pale pink now. I put my hand upon it and felt another presence, darker, filled with magic. It made me shiver.

"What is it?" Dallas asked.

"I think he knows we are here."

Dallas bristled, but there was no choice but to carry on and hope that I was wrong.

I felt like we must be in the depths of the dark palace, at its heart. The walls were still dotted here and there with the same strange iridescent mushrooms, or other mushroom like plants. I had never seen anything like them in the real world. The corridor grew wider, opening up into a large cavern. Above us I could see many slit shaped windows cut into the curving roof, it reminded me of a cathedral. In the center was a pool of blue that filled the cathedral like room with its bright blue light. The water was still, like a mirror. The strange pool held my attention for only an instant, because beyond it was a man who drew the attention of both me and my alpha. He sat upon a throne of sorts; it looked like it had once been tall, with jagged points, gothic like, but now it was crumbling, like the rest of the palace. Beside him was a dog. No not a dog I realized as it rose slowly to its haunches to turn its golden eyes upon us. A wolf.

Dallas tensed. The man was dressed in a Greek toga the color of blood, his hair was black and silver, his face could have been handsome if it didn't look also cruel, and bored. He noticed the wolf at his feet had come to attention and followed its gaze to where we stood. His eyes narrowed for an instant, then he stood.

He was taller then any human I had ever met, he stood at least a foot if not two above Dallas, who was not a short man. The werewolf at his side looked like a mid size dog next to him. Lars' wolf was light gray, with brown feet, he whined to Dallas. The King of the Underworld didn't like that, he pulled the chain that was fixed to Lars' neck, he pulled it hard, making Lars lie down, his stomach up in submission. I had seen dogs do that, I had seen dog owners correct their pets with a hard pull. This was like that but more cruel; it was obvious that it hurt Lars. Dallas beside me growled a challenge, his body taught with rage. I could smell blood and I was pretty sure didn't belong to the fae.

"Who dares disturb me?" Hades said. His cadence was hard to follow; it was like he had forgotten how to use inflection when speaking.

"Give me back my wolf." Dallas told him.

"Your wolf?" The King said haughtily. "He is mine for a little longer. Ah, but I see you have brought my prize." Then he was beside me, just like that, a cloud of red smoky magic billowing around him. His hand was on my jaw, turning my face, inspecting me. "You look so much like your grandmother who once enticed me from my Underland by her beauty. You have the same beauty, but you are more human, I don't have to let you go. I do miss her you know, but you will have to do. Your magic is weak; you will not be able to escape me as she did. And yet your body is strong because you are one of them." He gestured to the other wolves.

I was surprised at Dallas' control, he stood and watched the King, his eyes golden, but he didn't move. His rage was tangible; I could feel it in my own gut, but he was a patient predator.

"Here." Another gesture from the King and the chains holding Lars dissolved. Lars came slowly to his feet and crawled on his belly towards Dallas, he was hurt, he could barely move.

"But where is my other wolf?" Hades asked.

"Here my lord." And there he was, the werewolf that had changed me. He sauntered into the room full of confidence. He wore a sharp suit of pale grey, his neatly pressed shirt was a crisp purple. He looked right off the pages of a men's style magazine. His wavy brown hair was nicely styled and everything about him spoke of wealth and privilege. His eyes were sharp and they looked at me greedily. He ignored Dallas.

"Who are you?" Dallas asked in a cutting voice. His voice held power, more power then I had yet felt in this forgotten kingdom. The strange wolf jerked towards it, then he narrowed his eyes, his teeth barred.

"Rowan Cerris." He said in a calm voice. "I see you are returning my wolf."

"She is not yours. You aren't even dominant enough to hold her, you proved that in Vancouver." Dallas told him with a sneer. He looked at the other wolf easily, Rowan held his gaze, but I could distinct a slight quaver in his eyes, nervousness, he was not the dominant wolf in the room.

He covered it quickly enough with a derisive laugh. "A mistake I will not make again. You see my King here gave me this," He held up a round medallion, it looked to be made of silver, but that was impossible, a werewolf could not hold silver, not without being burned. In the center of the medallion was a jewel like those in my necklace, glowing pale pink. "This is how I got Lars." He walked over to me where I still stood beside the red king. He slipped it over my neck where it settled with an icy burn next to the necklace of my grandmother. I stole a look at Dallas, he looked perched on a knife edge. He watched the strange wolf with a hungry look mixed with the rage I knew was right below the surface. I wondered how Rowan dared to get so close. I felt afraid of Dallas for the first time, if he went berserk, what would stop him from hurting me? My wolf purred in reassurance; no that was wrong, Dallas would never hurt me. Still I wondered why he didn't move. I was between the red lord and Rowan, I couldn't move without a fight, a fight I had little chance of winning.

I looked back at Rowan. He took the medallion and placed it upon my chest, right above of my heart. "You see, it controls the wolf, or anyone that is wearing it, human, fae, werewolf." Rowan looked well pleased with himself. I could feel the magic from the medallion pour into me, I stole a look at Dallas and the magic dissipated, it felt diluted. I could feel my wolf come out, she was trying to protect me, she wanted to change, but I didn't want to, not yet, so we were held there, on the brink. I could feel her straining to get above me, she wanted out, she needed out. I soothed and told her we would do it together. She agreed, together was best. Together we looked at Rowan, we could smell his dominant maleness, we remembered that once that had made us excited, once my wolf had wanted to lie with him and be his. Right now, however, we wanted to wipe the smirk of his face with a fist full of claws.

"The medallion isn't working on her." Hades said in a tight voice. Rowan looked at his Lord with shock, unease, and sprinkling of fear. "Not that it matters, I can control her." And he proved that by grabbing my arm in his, the medallion fell to the ground with a clang. I felt the cold hand on my arm, instinctively I pulled away, but it was like fighting a stone, I couldn't move.

I heard a snarl that grew into a roar that was part wolf howl as Dallas roared a challenge to Rowan and Hades. He had had enough. The sound was deafening, like a lion, a sound so low it was absorbed through the skin and into muscle, rattling bone and sinew. The human part of me, still in control, shrunk from the sound of it, it awakened some primeval terror within me. Then my wolf rose up and I could feel her want to answer the call with her own challenge to these men who thought they could control us. Rowan stepped up to the challenge, his own snarl penetrating the dark underworld, his face became distorted with it, he looked less pretty and more like the predator that had first attacked me.

The King in red had a grin on his face as he pulled me back to watch the two dominant wolves fight. I had no choice but to move with him, away from Dallas, where I had no chance to protect him. Hades held me tight, but I tried, I squirmed, kicked, anything to try to get to Dallas. Hades grabbed my other arm, in his grasp I might have been a rag doll I was so weak. Lars was snarling too, echoing Dallas' challenge, but he was limping badly, hardly able to contain his own weight. I could see now that his light fur was caked with dried blood, there was a patch upon his neck where the chain cut into his fur where it was crimson. I could smell the silver on him. Dallas snarled at his wolf, telling him without human words that he should stay out of this fight. Lars obeyed, because one always obeys the alpha, but he didn't look happy about it. He crouched low, his ears flat, ready to pounce if given the release to do so, but his leg was shaking badly. I couldn't spare any pity for Lars; it was Dallas who held my attention. In this fight I would have placed my bets upon Dallas, he was more dominant and Rowan knew it. Dallas looked upon his opponent with death in his yellow eyes. His stature, I noticed for the first time, was that of a fighter; he was straight, tall and collected. I remembered that Dallas' father had taught him to fight; to be the best, the strongest.

Rowan was a coward and sometimes that counts for something. In an instant of quick werewolf reflexes he pulled a small glock from inside his jacket and fired a single shot aiming for Dallas' head. I screamed his name, but Dallas was quick enough without my warning, he moved and the bullet missed him. He was a hair's breath from Rowan when a second bullet let loose and hit him in square in the chest. He went down with a sickening thud. His chest was blossoming with red blood, he didn't move. I screamed something, I don't know what. I could feel the pain rip through the pack; the alpha was hurt, not dead yet, but mortally wounded. Through our bond I could sense the poison, the silver bullet in his body. Mine. His t-shirt once gray was dark with saturated blood. I renewed my struggles against the hold Hades had me in, I almost got free, desperation is a fierce additive. He can't die, he is mine, the voice in my head was crouched over Dallas shivering, protecting him, looking at Rowan with his teeth barred. He would have charged Rowan, I was sure, if he hadn't been crippled by his own wounds. Werewolves heal fast, but I suspected that the chain around his neck was silver too. Dallas gave no sign of life, no breath, his eyes were closed, his body limp. If he held onto this world it was only through the thin bonds of pack. MINE. Something in me screamed over and over.

I had never felt such anger, such violence building within me, such pain. A snarl was not enough, nor a growl or barred teeth. I turned to Rowan in silence. My Mate. He will die because of this wolf. I leaped at Rowan, my hands turned to claws, my mouth was filled with deadly canines, the red lord could not hold me, for my arms became wolf legs and slipped from his grasp in a second, the space between one panicked breath and the next. I landed on Rowan like tiger would take a deer. My paws on either side of his torso, not ripping but holding tight so my teeth could sink into the softness that was his throat, my hind paws digging into his legs as I toppled him. He died quickly, but it was not enough. I tore at his body, shaking it until the little pieces left the taste of iron in my mouth. My wolf loved it; it filled her with grim satisfaction. It filled me too, but not enough. Never enough.

When I regained enough composure, some minutes later, I looked around me. Pieces. There were only pieces of him left; a hand here, a leg there. His torso and head were a pile of ground meet. I should have been horrified; I should have wept to know that I had done such a thing. I could not, my heart was ice. I turned and saw Lars standing naked over Dallas, who was still alive. I could feel it. I could feel him in my head, crying out for me. Lars had managed to change back to human, but his neck was still raw from the silver chain, he also had a round red scar on his chest from the cursed medallion. He looked terrible, his face was gaunt, his eyes lined with pain. His throat was a mess, he couldn't speak, but he could point.

The King of the dead stood watching us with a livid expression.

"You, get this body out of here," He said kicking Lars, who grunted in pain. He was talking about Dallas, he thought he was dead. "Don't even think about coming back for her. She is mine." Wrong. A faint voice that was not mine whispered in my head. I tried to run, I was a wolf still, I could out run this red lord, and I wouldn't leave Dallas, couldn't leave him. The red lord was beside me in an instant with another red poof. He slapped the chain upon my neck, I felt it burn and a whine escaped me. I turned to lash out at him, but Hades was out of the reach of my sharp teeth with another one of his red clouds, he was holding the end of the chain, a look of triumph in his eyes. He laughed, the audacity. I growled at him.

"You are mine now. I regret the chain, I do." He said. Liar. He liked me chained up, it excited him. He liked controlling things.

Lars looked at me with yellow eyes; then he looked at his alpha, dying at his feet. Lars, who was tall and strong even for a wolf, picked up his alpha carefully, the way he would pick up a child. It was hard and he almost dropped Dallas, his brow pinched in pain, his arms were shaking. He turned to me, his eyes filled with words he wanted to say. I shook my head, making a desperate yipping noise that I hoped he would understand. He nodded and turned away from me. I felt a conflicting relief wash over me. He might be able to save Dallas but another part of me panicked, watching him carry Dallas away from me. I pulled at the end of my chain, but Hades yanked hard and I fell to my feet, my neck was on fire, I smelled burnt flesh and fur.

I watched in surprise as Lars walked to the pool. He stood upon the rim, with one last look at me as he readjusted his precious cargo, he jumped in and was gone. I ran to the edge of the pool and looked in, the chain pulled to its limit, it hurt, but I didn't care. There was nothing but water, not a ripple disturbed its strange glowing surface, its depths were unfathomable. The water filled with red trickles, I pulled my hands back from the water and looked at them, they were covered with blood and other unmentionable things. I was in my human form again; I hadn't even felt the change, my body hurt from too many other things to notice the pain of changing.

"It's alright." A soothing voice said in my ear. He was beside me, too close, my wolf wanted to rip the soft skin of his throat. He must have sensed it because he took a step back. "I will find another wolf for you. Rowan was weak, obviously." He shrugged. "In the meantime, you and I can enjoy each other's company. I have been lonely." He was sitting in his throne once more, regarding me as I watched the water, wondering if it would work if I jumped in. Somehow I doubted it, magic was all about intent, and this was his magic, not mine. And he had no intentions of letting me leave. At least the chain was gone; it had dropped when I changed back to human. I became aware of my nudity, naked, clothed only in the blood of my defeated enemy. It made me aware once more of why Hades wanted me here, what he wanted out of me. Anger quickly replaced fear. Let him try.

My body was filled with hate and heartache, my chest felt as though it was physically being crushed. I couldn't feel Dallas anymore, my wolf was going frantic, I didn't know if I could suppress her, didn't know if I wanted to. I didn't know if he was dead, or if his leaving Underhill left the void.

"But I forget my manners. Come, dear one. A bath, some food." He said gracefully coming to his feet, leading me out of the throne room. I followed warily, what else was I to do? I didn't want to linger naked, vulnerable in his throne room. Food was out of the question. Wasn't that what trapped my grandmother here in the first place? She ate the food of the dead. It was a story, but I would not chance it. I would die before I would be trapped here on such a misdemeanor. I had to take a deep breath before I could walk. Hades kept his distance from me I noticed.

He led me to a room that was contrastingly different from the rest of his kingdom; it made me stop in my tracks. It was a room, painted like a meadow in spring time, blue skies for the ceiling, dotted with perfect clouds, trees, birds with feathers of every hue, flowers of every color and description. The bed was white linen; it would be like sleeping in the clouds. The room had the warmth of sunshine, and I knew now that this was the beautiful prison built for my grandmother when she was the stolen Queen of the underworld. A beautiful prison, but still a prison.

"Through here is the bathing room, you can wash the dead wolf from your body." Hades said with distaste. I followed his gesture to a room adjacent. The bath was shaped out of rock, ferns lining the walls, real ones, or at least good magical illusions. The water pouring out of the small waterfall on the wall filled the room with steam. It smelt like lavender.

"There are clothes in the chest over there." Hades pointed. "Once I would have had twelve serving maidens to attend to your every whim, but my power is not what it was." He said with a sad shake of his head. "No matter, soon enough, with my own pack of werewolves, we will have power again. They will not slight me then, not when I have the perfect weapon. Together we will challenge the Marrok and hold all the wolves in North America. The humans will be our prey once again, or die." Hades' ended his soliloquy with a small smile. Then he left, there was nothing but red smoke that disappeared just a little slower then he had.

I tried the single door that led out of the bedroom but of course it was locked. It was a prison, it was stupid to think it wouldn't be locked, but covering ones bases was essential. My hands itched, so I jumped into the hot water and scrubbed off the blood, watching it disappear as the water cleansed itself. When I was done, I was shaking, shaking from hunger, exhaustion and the sick feeling of loss in my gut. I closed my eyes and all I saw was Dallas, lying limp in Lars' arms as they disappeared into another realm. Mine.

My mate. I knew that now. I hadn't realized it before, hadn't understood it before, but I knew now I would do anything, anything to get to him. I was like a fox in a leg trap, chewing through his own leg to get away. If that would have worked, I would have tried. I did not want to believe that Dallas was already dead. But he had been shot by a silver bullet, deadly for a werewolf. It hadn't gone through, it had become lodged somewhere in the region of his heart, it was poisoning him, I had felt it. Logically I knew he must be dead, my wolf knew it too. My throat was tight, my chest was tight, but I could not cry, the pain was too enduring for that kind of release. I killed his killer, which was good. Hades would die too at our hand, someday, sometime, he would become complacent, and I would kill him. He would not break me, I would break him. I promised myself, my wolf purred in agreement.

My hands were shaking as I pulled a dress out of the closet. Of course it was a dress; it was white with pale yellow flowers on it. Frilly, pretty, but entirely too girly for me. It was a style that I could not place in the history of fashion that I knew. I put it on because it was better then being naked around a man that smelled like lust and power. There was food on the table; I wouldn't eat it, even though my stomach growled at the thought. Dallas had told me a wolf needed to eat after changing; the more one changed, the more food one needed, preferably red meat. I had changed, and changed quickly. I thought how strange that had been; Dallas had told me that wolves took a long time to change, always. I had changed in an instant, I wondered if it had something to do with my faeness, or if it had been out of desperation to avenge my mate. I keened at the unfairness of it, I had him for one night, and I hadn't even known what I had. I had thought it had just been sex, just one night. I had been wrong. I had been stupid. It had been so much more, I had felt it then but not recognized it. Being with him had been the best night of my life, we laughed, loved, teased. Tears slipped my control despite myself. I would not be weak, not here. Something gave me the feeling that Hades would enjoy watching me cry, watching my pain.

My prison was be-spelled to be like the day. Sometime as I lay curled around myself, eyes shut to keep the grief at bay, it had darkened, the walls went from blue to the gray of twilight. Song birds were replaced by owls and bats, flowers closed their petals, stars peeked out behind the trees. But it was an illusion; dusk had its own smell. I had been a wolf a short time, but even as a human I had enjoyed the scents of nature. I knew that at dusk there was the smell of dirt and moisture as dew came out of the air and settled on the ground. I knew the smell as the temperatures dropped and plants released their pollen or spores the smell of insects going about their night time business. This room had none of it, it smelled stale, like an unused closet, with a hint of strange magic.

I opened my eyes, I was strange to see easily in the darkness, now that I was a werewolf. I could hear well too, and I heard a sound beyond the door that was locked. It sounded like footsteps, several pairs, had Hades found a new wolf already? I was tired, from lack of food, from grief, from anger. I didn't care. I sat up on the bed, cross legged, straight backed to face my jailor, I wouldn't cower.

The door opened without the sound of any mechanical lock, magic was all in intent I reminded myself. Hades held a lantern that cast blue light into the whole room, no it wasn't a lantern, it was just light, hanging from his hand like a yoyo. It grew until I could see him easily and the man who stood behind him. This man was not as tall as the red lord, but he was menacing in his own right. He had long pale hair, plaited in places, flowing free in others. It reminded me of the elves from Peter Jackson's Tolkien. His face, however, held no comparison; there was no softness to it, no prettiness, sure it was handsome, but it was rough, hard lines, a hard mouth, displeasure in his pale eyes. His body too was built differently; it was strong, wide shoulders, heavily muscled. He wore a roughened leather cuirass, a wide belt with a short brutal sword at his hip. He looked at me with an unreadable expression, he looked at Hades, Hades' mouth was set in a grim line as he looked at neither of us, Hades looked... defeated. My wolf perked up.

"Come leibling." The silver man said in a German sounding voice, he held out a hand. I didn't move, he gave an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes, impatient, this one was. "I won't hurt you, fae can not lie, you know that. I am here to take you home."

His words were truth, he was right, fae can't lie, they can skirt the truth better then anything, but his plain speech was the truth. I stood warily still, my body weak. I hopped off the bed landing lightly, if a little shaky, on my feet. I snarled at Hades as I passed him, a warning. The silver man tried to put his hand on my shoulder, it was meant kindly, I could sense his compassion, strange in a fae, but I snarled at him too.

He clucked his tongue at me. "I am here to help you wolf." He growled.

"I am not ungrateful." I told him coolly.

He nodded and led me away from my prison. Hades followed behind us, a shadow.

The throne room of the red lord was dimmer then before. Rowan's body was gone, there was no blood and I couldn't smell it. The pool that was the crown jewel of the room was dark and empty. There was no water, there was just a deep dark hole, an empty well. I doubted I would be jumping through there to get home. Home, I still had trouble believing this strange fae that his words were true.

As if he read my mind, he explained.

"Hades here went above his superiors with his werewolf plan." He told me. "Upsetting the Marrok is not a good idea, and he has done just that." He glowered at Hades, who looked like a submissive wolf. "Months of careful negotiations are ruined because of his plan. Restoring you to the Marrok is the smallest step we can make to repair the damage." A grim satisfaction settled inside me, but I wanted to punish him myself. I wanted to see if a fae lord bleeds as well a rogue werewolf.

"Calm wolf. We will deal with him." I knew an order when I heard one. I looked sharply up at the silver man. He rolled his eyes. "Think I would no better from dealing with your kind." He muttered to himself. "Please calm down wolf, I am here to help you." Dominant wolves don't like being ordered around, I remembered, the growl in my throat stopped. It took me a moment to find my human voice.

"I just want to go home." I told him. He nodded, his eyes looking sad.

"I knew your grandmother, just a little, we never got along well, her being all plants, me being metal and ore. But I respect her, she endured a lot that she didn't deserve."

"Who are you?"

"The Dark Smith of Dronthiem." He told me. I didn't know who that was, it didn't ring any bells. I told him so and he shrugged. "You can call me Zee, short for Siebold."

We were outside the dark palace, the cave was dark, the river, formally full of glowing souls was dark, empty, dry and barren like a desert at night. The fae called Zee had his own light, not unlike the one Hades had carried. We stood in its small circle of light as he fumbled in his pocket, he took out a stone, jagged and roughly hewn. It shone in the light like a chunk of mica or raw silver. I put my hand on it like he instructed. It didn't burn, so I didn't think it was silver. He looked into my eyes, gave me a tight nod, and then something happened. Magic swirled around me, penetrating my skin like dust in a dust storm, it tickled and scratched but it didn't really hurt. I had to close my eyes against it and when I opened them again I was standing out side a giant familiar tree, late afternoon sunlight blinding me for an instant. I spun around to see that which I already knew: I was out of Underhill. I was outside the tree my grandmother had grown in Dallas' front lawn. I was home. Zee was standing there, admiring the tree. I could feel the pack, I could feel them reach out to me, welcoming, comforting. I reached out and I could feel him.

I ran into the house, all but breaking down the front door in my hurry. I scanned the living space, John was there, sitting at the couch, reading a newspaper, he looked up at me, he was grinning. There was another man standing at the window looking out, he turned to see me, his brown eyes filled with something, amusement? I could smell the wolf on him, but I was distracted from the strange wolf, John was okay with him, so my wolf told me not to bother. I didn't care because something fluttered alive within me, it grew and filled me with warmth like spring sunshine. It made me feel as though I had wings. I ran down the hall to his bedroom. He was there, lying on the bed, eyes closed in a deep sleep, but very much alive. I paused there, taking in the sight of him. Dallas was alive, he was real. He lay covered from the waist down by blankets, he had a bandage wrapped around his chest and his shoulders like a lopsided cross. It was dark in the center with blood, his body was still healing. I felt someone's breath at my back and turned with a snarl, who dared to get near my mate when he was still injured?

Zee rolled his eyes at me, he was a couple steps behind me, his hands in his jean pockets. He looked different, he had his glamour on, his hair was short and graying, thinning on top. He looked like any middle aged man, his eyes were crinkled because he was grinning at me. "I pulled the silver from him, Bran told me it was the least I could do for him, for you. He will live."

"He should be up and about soon." The strange wolf was there with us, looking at my mate sleeping. He would hate it, I knew, I could see him twitch in his sleep, sensing us watching him. I wanted to curl up beside him, but something stayed me, something made me suddenly unsure. I had chosen him, but had he chosen me? I pushed the thought from my mind and regarded the strange wolf beside me. He looked perhaps in his late teens, I thought I had met all of the South Coast Pack. I had trouble sensing anything from him, I couldn't tell how dominant he was. But I was a new wolf, what did I know? I was staring at him, he stared back and suddenly I felt his power and looked away, I tried to meet his eyes again and couldn't. He smiled at me. "I'm Bran."

"The Marrok." I said, feeling a little light headed.

"You need to eat something. Come." The Marrok told me. "He will keep, you can ask him your questions when he wakes." I took another lingering look at Dallas, he was breathing, he was going to be okay. I let the words wash over me. How had Bran, the Marrok, known the question in my head? I shrugged it off, the alpha of alphas would need to have good instincts. I realized I obeyed him with out question. My wolf didn't mind. I looked around for Zee, not to thank him, one doesn't thank the fae, but he was gone, his debt paid.

The Marrok fed me, first raw red meat, which I had been so distasteful to me before was like ice cream now. It was a little hard to chew with human teeth, but it went down smooth. Then he cooked me pancakes which he fed to John too. He told me how John had called him, then Lars showed up with Dallas almost dead. He then called Zee and demanded that he come help Dallas. He himself, not having the teleporting abilities like some of the fae, flew over that morning to make sure nothing happened to Dallas. Weakened alphas could get taken out by other ambitious pack members. Bran hadn't thought it would be a problem, because both John, Sean and Lars, Dallas' most dominant wolves, were loyal, but you never know, he told me.

"Dallas is a good alpha, I wouldn't want to have to replace him." Bran said, also for John's benefit, because Dallas' second was looking defensive.

"He doesn't like you." I told Bran. Bran sighed heavily.

"To do my job, keep my wolves safe, sometimes hard decisions have to be made. Dallas hasn't always liked my decisions." He looked regretful about it. "Tell me about what happened to you." He asked then.

I did, I told him the whole story from the beginning. He listened, nodding here and there as if it was old news. I told him everything, I wouldn't lie to him, he was the alpha, and besides that I sensed something in him, a desire to protect, compassion, a trustworthy wolf. He had saved Dallas by summoning Zee.

"You should keep your secrets to yourself." He told me when I finished the tale. "If you can have a baby it would create anger and resentment from many other female wolves, and make you a target from male wolves who want werewolf children. It gets hard to watch your children die from old age when you can not." He told me with a sad unguarded look. The expression was gone in an instant, I may have imagined it. "It is a dangerous game to play, suppressing your wolf, but it seems you are an exception. Lars said you can also shift instantaneously, I have never heard of a wolf doing that, and I have known a lot of wolves."

"How many fae werewolves have you known?" I asked him.

"A couple." He said with another blank look that could be telling, or not.

I settled back in my chair, feeling better. My stomach was full and if I was a cat I would seek out a warm sunny place to sleep. But my mate was stirring, I could feel it. I turned and watched him walk out of the hallway, looking like he had been hit by a train. He was wearing only boxers, his skin was pale, but better then it had been only half an hour before. His bandage was gone, a fresh red star shaped scar and a mass of bruises were the only indications of his near death. He looked at me with yellow eyes that quickly went to green. My pulse quickened, but I was frozen where I sat, prey caught in a predator's gaze, my wolf stirred and a whine escaped my lips.

"Caity." He breathed, suddenly he was beside me, below me, pulling me into his arms, his head on my chest. I wrapped myself around him, as tightly as I could, feeling his skin against mine. I was still wearing the dratted frilly dress, it tangled around my legs, I heard it rip as I wrapped my legs around his torso. "Are you okay?" He asked in a whisper. I nodded, unable to trust my voice.

"Thank you Bran." Dallas said, remembering his manners, releasing me enough to see his alpha. Bran dipped his head slightly, not breaking eye contact. Dallas did that first, but he didn't seem to care.

"Everything seems to be in order here, I'll be off then." Bran said in an airy voice that sounded too juvenile for the wolf I had just been talking too. "If you have any more trouble with this one, just let me know, you can always send her to Montana." Bran said teasing Dallas. I growled at him, just a little. "Good things alphas like a little trouble now and then. I'll be expecting a wedding invitation in the mail." With a wave of his hand he was out the door. We heard tires on the gravel driveway as he drove away.

"Well I will be off too, you are looking better with every second Dallas." John said, standing up, folding his newspaper, he had a cheeky look. Dallas gave him his thanks too. John nodded, relief a primary emotion in his eyes. Then he too was gone. Alone we turned to one another, still entangled.

"You should eat something." I told him.

"Oh? Still trying to boss me around?"

I rolled my eyes. "It'll help you heal. Don't try to act like you're better, I can feel your pain." I told him in a slightly wondrous voice.

"I have heard mate bonds are interesting things." Dallas told me.

Then he growled. At me. He also bit my neck as he did so, not hard, just enough to send tingles of excitement through my body down to my toe tips. He lifted me up again, I could feel his strong arms, his smooth skin. I breathed in the smell of him, it made me heady.

"I can think of something else that would be good for me, if you are interested in my well being." He told me, his eyes positively mischievous.

I couldn't argue, I could smell my own eagerness mingled with his, our lust, our love, tangled together as our bodies were. Dallas had to detangle himself from me, just enough to carry me to his bedroom. I squirmed out of his arms and ran to the bed where I ripped off the sheets that smelled of his blood, his pain, his anger and faintly of that woman, what had her name been? He laughed, he knew exactly what I was doing, mate bond or not. He helped me stuff the sheets into the garbage. Then he regarded me with a hungry look that had nothing to do with food and everything to do with the fact that I was his and he was mine. He stood close enough to touch but instead he took the front of my stupid frilly dress in his hands and ripped it from me as repayment. Werewolves are strong and fabric just has no chance. Besides I had destroyed his perfectly good 300 thread count designer sheets, it was only fair.