Austin was in shock. Jean? Reaver's daughter? His actual blood related child? Unbelievable! His eyes continued to dart from Jean to Reaver. He had always thought they looked similar, but never in his life would he ever have imaged Reaver having a child. But then there was another issue that Austin had to wrap his mind around. Jean is a balverine? That thought bothered him somewhat more than Jean and Reaver's true relationship.

Jean looked hard at Austin. "Silverpines was once a mining colony for humans. They did use silver nitrate to keep balverines out. But a white balverine named Connor took exception to the humans. Your uncle did kill Connor and kept the village safe. But the safety was short lived. Brittany and her pack came here and settled down in a permanent area, free from outsiders."

"Did the balverines kill the humans?" Austin was almost afraid of the answer.

Brittany spoke up. "We tried not to. We allowed them to run away and those who were stupid enough to stand and fight were dealt with. I cannot allow harm to fall upon my pack."

"Austin? I want to show you something. If you will allow me…" Jean reached out a hand. Austin stared at her. "I won't let you get hurt. I promise."

"And what good is a promise from a bloodthirsty balverine?" Page asked. Then she mumbled, "I fought your kind before. They show no mercy. Animals."

Jean ignored Page and looked into Austin's eyes. "You won't be harmed. I want you to meet Jason. Remember him?"

Austin thought about that for a second. Jason? Oh yes. The pink haired man who was overly interested in Reaver's third floor bedroom. The pleasure chamber… The thought made him shudder. "I remember him. What about Jason?"

"I want you to see him again. He's inside the cave." Jean pointed to a hole in the rocks. In the days of the Hero of Brightwall, the villagers of Silverpines would mine for gold, silver, and gems.

"He's in there? Why?"

"Jason needs to have time to settle down. He's still a bit too wild yet." Jean answered vaguely. She took Austin by the hand and led him away from the others. Now that Austin was away from the group he could get a good look at Silverpines. There were several cabins that dotted around the settlement. A small group of people walked by and lowered their heads to Jean. "Stop that!" She snarled.

"Why do they do that?" Austin asked.

She sighed. "Apparently a Hero who is bitten turns into a super balverine. In my case, I suppose you could call me the Queen of the Balverines. I'm not big into titles. That's why I try to make them stop bowing to me."

"Have there been any other Heroes that have been bitten?"

"No. There have been records of Heroes being torn limb from limb by balverines. Heroes being slashed by balverines. Heroes being eaten by balverines. But there are no records of Heroes being bitten and survived the attack. So I guess I'm the first of my kind."

"So what kind of balverine are you?"

Jean paused. "I think Brittany is going to explain that to you later on. She'll tell you all about balverines and the different kinds. Just know that I am different from all the others. Anyway, we made it to the cave."

Austin tried to look into the darkness. A low growl could be heard in the bowels of the cave. "Kinda dark, huh?"

She smiled, "I have matches. I'll light a torch when we get inside. Don't want to scare him, do we?" Once again, Jean took Austin's hand and led him into the cave.

There was a small sound. A sound of a match being struck and the crackle of a torch being lit. Austin's eyes adjusted to the dim light and he saw pillars of steel coming from the rock. A cage? What could be in a cage this large?

He got his answer. The light hit the resident of the cage and he turned. A massive roar escaped from his mouth. Austin gasped. The resident of the cave was a large balverine. But the fur was…pink? Pink fur? On a balverine? What the? Austin could not believe what he was seeing.

Jean saw Austin's confusion. "He's quite a bit different than the last time of saw him. That is Jason."

"What the hell happened to him?"

"I bit him. Do you remember when I told you that Reaver was tired of his toy?"

"Yes."

"Reaver wanted to be rid of Jason. I couldn't kill him. But I could bite him. Turn him into one of us. But I was hoping that he would be a blooded balverine. Unfortunately Jason is just a regular balverine." She looked at him sadly. "He'll never be able to become a human again."

"What?"

Jean walked over to the pink balverine, who was watching Jean with cautious eyes. "Regular balverines are the only variety that cannot revert to their human selves. Poor Jason." She scratched Jason under the chin. His leg jiggled a bit and his eyes closed. A line of drool came out of his mouth. "I hope that that pink dye wears off eventually. He can't hunt like this." Jean ran a hand through the rough pink fur.

"He can't hunt? He looks dangerous enough. Why not?" Austin was puzzled.

Jean sighed and looked up at Austin. "Oh, Jason is deadly now. But his fur cannot act as a camouflage against hunters. There are some idiots out there who would shoot a pink balverine and use his pelt as a rug. We use our coloration to act as a defense against hunters. You know the type. Thrill seekers with a death wish. They'd hunt a moose with a spitball shooter."

"Ah. I see." Austin gazed back at Jason. The pink balverine roared again and wrapped his massive hands around the bars of the cage. "I see why you lock him up. He's wild."

"No. Not really. It's a shame you don't understand our language. He's upset with his hair. That's all. He wants out so he can fix it."

Austin almost burst out laughing. A balverine that's concerned with his hairstyle? Seriously? He shook his head and walked to Jean. "I think I've seen enough. Let's get out of here." This time Austin grabbed Jean's hand and pulled her outside. The dim light of the forest made him squint as he emerged from the cave.

Jean smiled, "Now you understand. I think Brittany wants us to go to her. She'll be explaining the difference between the breeds of balverines. It won't take long. Come on." She took off at a trot toward the group. Austin followed.

"Ah. There you are," Brittany said without turning around. "You're just in time. I was about to explain to our newcomers the balverine ways and the difference between us. My dear friend, Reaver, will help explain as well."

"Oh joy," Reaver muttered under his breath.

Brittany ignored Reaver and began by turning to a lovely woman standing nearby. "Clarissa? Could you bring our friend, Jason, out? I'm sure he's ready to see the light."

"You're bringing out Jason?" Jean's mouth dropped open slightly.

"Yes. He's the best example of a regular balverine. Well, with the exception of his fur color…" Brittany chuckled slightly. Then Clarissa returned, followed by a pink balverine.

Cody nearly fell over with laughter. "Pink?! A pink balverine?! Now I've seen everything. What's his name? Fifi? Hey, let's give him a poodle hairstyle!"

Jean shot Cody a dirty look. "Be nice. Jason is sensitive about his looks. Although it seems that he likes the idea of a poodle style cut…" Her voice trailed off. Jason's tail was wagging furiously, almost as if agreeing with Cody's idea.

Brittany shook her head. "Okay, time to get on track. Now, Jason is a normal regular balverine. Traditionally normal balverines have dark brown fur. We will ignore the fact that Jason does not have normal fur. Now, notice the squashed muzzle. Most balverines have short noses and razor sharp teeth. And the fur is somewhat sparse. There are several bare patches where skin is revealed. And the tail is somewhat short and nearly furless. There is another thing to note. Regular balverines cannot return to their human form. So unlike Jean, Clarissa, and I, Jason will never be human again." Brittany scratched above the patch on her right side of her face.

She glanced at Clarissa and asked, "Now, please, my dear, could you reveal to us your true form?"

Clarissa flipped her brown hair back and batted her green eyes. "Of course," her voice was like honey—soft and sweet. She walked forward and a red light shot up around her. The lovely girl had transformed into a brick red balverine, equipped with long claws and razor sharp fangs. Her voice also transformed into the typical balverine howl.

"Clarissa is a blooded balverine, as you can tell from her fur color. Bloodeds are stronger and have more authority than regulars. In fact, if I wasn't around, Clarissa would act as the leader of the pack. Unfortunately there is no telling whether or not an individual will become a blooded or regular balverine. I hate to say it but I think it is merely a matter of luck." Brittany pointed at Clarissa's muzzle. "Now, like Jason, a blooded has a short muzzle and a similar fur density. The primary difference is the color of the fur and the leadership roles." Brittany paused and looked at Reaver, who was standing off to the side with his arms folded across his chest. "Reaver dear, could you do the honors of explaining the white balverine?"

He sighed, "I suppose I could." Brittany nodded and her body was covered by a strange red light, just like with Clarissa. Then the light cleared and a massive white balverine stood where Brittany once was. Reaver approached her. "Okay. Listen carefully because I am not repeating this. The white balverine is the alpha of the pack. Obviously they are called white balverines due to the white fur. They have long claws, which you want to avoid. Generally they are scarred up because of all the battles they've been in. Like with the other two types, the white balverine has a short muzzle, short fur, and a near hairless tail. Not attractive. No offense." Reaver smiled at Brittany. "As you have noticed, Brittany has one eye. If you had been listening to my story, you would know why. However, most white balverines have both eyes. And if you think she's terrifying…Jean?"

Jean nodded and grinned. Austin thought that her grin slowly grew for fearsome. Unlike the first three balverine models, she allowed herself to change without the flash. Her face slowly began to elongate and her ears began to creep on top of her head. Her eyes turned more predatory and long black fur began to sprout from her body. Her fingers, now more like claws, tore her clothes from her body, which was also covered in long, thick black fur. A sleek black tail shot out from her rump. The transformation was complete. The black balverine turned to face the group and raised her head high. A wailing howl came from her long wolf-like mouth. Brittany, Clarissa, Jason, and the other residents of Silverpines joined her.

"So this is the Balverine Queen…" Austin whispered.