Chapter 14

"Young master, I have a message for you" Fritz said from the doorway of May's room. Mayhem rolled over with a groan, still tired since daylight was still burning bright outside. At least he knew he could stand some of it, but he was still prone to sleeping at this hour.

"Yes Fritz?" he said with a yawn.

"Miss Luna would like you to meet her in the gardens when the sun goes down" Fritz said with a smile "She says it's a surprise."

"What kind of surprise?" he said now at full attention.

"I'm under strict orders not to say" Fritz said with a bow and quickly shut the door. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes Mayhem laid back down and thought about what exactly was going to happen tonight. Had he maybe over stepped his boundaries last night somehow? He didn't know how that could possibly happen, but it was always an option. He didn't want to mess this up, what ever it was, with her. She was normal to him, which scared the hell out of him. All Mayhem's life he had everything planned out for him, which was strange. With Luna, he didn't know what to expect, that's probably why he liked her so much.

As he got up he picked out a solid black T-shirt and jeans to wear he thought about the question he had asked her last night. What if they were to have a normal night like humans? The thought made Mayhem smile without knowing and he quickly shook the idea away to think about later. If things went well tonight, then he could start thinking about it.

As he sat down and began to think more about his meeting with Luna. Meeting? Date? He didn't know what to call it, but he was ready like always for anything.

Mary was wandering the halls when she heard the faint crying. She had been on her way downstairs and passing the hall with beautiful statues, she had heard a faint whimpering, like a dog hurt or begging for attention. Not one to ignore such a thing, call it instinct or intuition, Mary began following the sound. She was dressed in sweat pants and a tank top, since today she had decided to take a personal day to just sulk. The depression from not being able to bear children was hitting her hard lately.

She had watched the little ones grow so fast, and now she wanted one more than ever. It had been okay at first when Nalla was born. Mary had been so happy for her friend and had helped out a lot, but then Iris was born, and Wahr and Mayhem. It had tolled on her to see everyone so pregnant and happy while she knew she could never have that.

As the whimpering grew louder Mary upped her steps and shook off the bad feelings. Rhage was a baby enough for her some days, two of them would only be a problem. She would be okay about not having a child.

Until she saw what the whimpering had been coming from.

Down on the floor a small boy that looked no more than two was barely dressed and looking around the hallway with big tears in his eyes. His feet were bare with dark skin, a lot like Rhages, and his sandy blonde hair was ruffled in waves that fell down to his ears. His big apricot eyes finally looked towards Mary and she nearly gasped at the resemblance to her hellren. If Rhage were two foot something and shirtless with a cute pudgy belly, he would look exactly like this little boy.

As the boy wiped tears away more came to follow going down his face. Mary's heart instantly melted and got on her knees facing the boy. He moved a little back, unsure of what she wanted, but it was obvious he was lost in the big mansion.

"Hi sweetheart" Mary said extending her hand "What's your name?"

The boy looked her up and down, trying to asses some kind of threat before wiping some more tears from his eyes. "Fao" he tried to say but his speech was a bit hushed.

"What was that?" Mary cooed at his "Fao?"

He nodded and tried to say the rest "Fao-Faolan"

"Wow what a awesome name" Mary said trying to seem friendly "Are you lost?" The boy nodded vigorously now.

"Well you just come with me and I'll get you back to your room" she said extending her arms. The boy was looking hesitant again but soon wandered into her arms his hands closed tightly against his chest. Mary picked up the boy with ease, for such a cute thing he weighed practically nothing. Suddenly a loud growl came not from Mary but from little Faolan.

"You hungry little man?" she said into his hair. He smelt like wood and dirt, as if he had been playing in it for weeks. Faolan nodded against her neck and Mary found herself smiling.

"Well let's head to my room, we'll get you some snacks and then find out where you are staying" she said. He had to be from the wolfen pack, those eyes were a dead give away. Surely Fritz would know where he was staying.

As they made their way into her room she set the boy down on the bed and realized his skin was so dark because it was covered in dirt.

"You need a bathe" she said looking at his tiny feet. As tiny Faolan looked at her he took in the room with a wide stare and then looked towards the bathroom with complete terror.

"Don't worry" she said taking his eyes back to hers "I promise I'll be real gentle and we will have some good snacks, but first you need to get cleaned up. Nobody likes a stinky boy" she said giving the boy a tickle. He giggled and rolled over away from her hand and nodded his approval. Mary went over to the phone and dialed down to the kitchen to bring up some snacks for her and the little boy. Then she went to work.

His clothes were tattered and she had the distinct need to patch them up as well as he handed them over to her. She filled the tub with nice warm water and even added bubbles to make it more welcoming. She found herself turning away as he stepped in but then scolded herself since he was only a child and she was just caring for him.

"Bub" he said pointing to the bubbles all around him.

"Yep, their called bubbles" she said taking some in her hand and blowing them out to him. He squealed with delight and splashed the water.

"Bubbs!" he exclaimed.

Mary scrubbed him clean, making sure there was no trace of grime or dirt on him and as she pulled him out the tub was a dishwater brown.

"Man you were stinky" she said as she wrapped a towel around him. Mary couldn't bring herself to put him back in the old shorts, so she found and extra robe and bundled him in it as she carried him to the bedroom where a plate of assorted snacks were. There was cheese crackers, apples, chips and dip and all kinds of things that little kids would eat.

Faolan hurriedly went over to the plate and began shoving things in his mouth. "Whoa! Slow down crazy, there's plenty here for you so just chew slowly so you won't choke" Mary said taking away several handfuls of food from him. The little bow bit into a apple slice and looked up for approval.

"Yep just like that" she said taking a bite of her own. After they had finished Faolan yawned deeply. He slowly got down from his chair and went over to Mary where she was seated. He climbed up into her lap and snuggled up against her chest before falling into a deep sleep. Mary felt tears prickle in her eyes as she held the little boy close to her.

It was almost too perfect, she had been wanting a child, and somehow one had just fallen into her life, or more likely crawled into it. He was wolfen, she knew that he could never fit in with Rhage's race, but God help her, she was going to stay like this, for however long it took.

Mayhem waited outside in the gardens where Fritz had told him to go. The summer air was thick with the smell of flowers and the moon was almost full. He suddenly wondered how wolfen decide when to change, or if they have to change according to the moon. So many questions he had, and hopefully they would be answered.

He heard the faint howling of the wolfen in the distance and felt himself tense up at the sound. Suddenly there was movement behind him and the young boy Lowell was standing behind him almost naked with just shorts on, his goldenrod eyes gleaming at him. Jesus, they weren't gleaming, they were actually glowing!

"Luna will meet you over by the far wall where it opens to the woods" he said his voice having a small growl to it.

"Okay, hey what's up with the eyes?" May found himself asking.

"It's a hunt night" Lowell said walking past him and slowly crouching down "Grandmother moon is telling us to change."

Ah, so there answered one question. Before Mayhem could ask another though Lowell was gone and a tan little wolf was standing there looking at him. But those goldenrod eyes were the same, so Lowell was still present.

"Whoa dude, you are little" May said again. The wolf growled at him and turned to walk away. May felt like kicking himself just then, male vampires never liked to be demeaned in any way, he was sure wolfen didn't appreciate it either.

"Hey Lowell!" Mayhem called trying to follow the small wolf "I didn't mean it man, just I thought you all got as big as Luna did, I didn't mean to offend you!" The wolf stopped and looked back at him before nodding his head and huffing that it was cool between them. As they reached the far gate of the wall that surrounded the mansion Lowell pressed the button that opened the doors and walked out into the woods. He looked back at May and somehow he knew he should stay to wait for Luna here.

May gave a wave goodbye before the tan wolf ran into the roods at full speed, probably excited to go out with the pack tonight. He could relate to that excitement when Wahr had asked him to go out to the clubs for his birthday.

May turned towards the wall and waited among the woods, hearing the chirping of the crickets and watching the fireflies dance around the grass like floating ballerinas. Suddenly the night grew silent, the crickets stopped chirping, the fireflies lay low towards the ground. Even the winds seemed to hush it's breeze through the branches of the trees.

As he looked around to see what had caused the quiet, there stood the massive white wolf. The wolf's fur glowed like the white of the moon and the massive paws seemed to envelope the fallen tree it stood upon. But the eyes were that of pure amber, deep and fiery, and Mayhem knew it was Luna in the creatures body.

"Hey" Mayhem said giving a small wave "Geeze I feel a bit over dressed since Lowell just showed up half naked."

The wolf bent her head low but laughter gleamed in those big eyes. The wolf hopped off the fallen tree and walked towards May sniffing the air as she went. She was huge, probably the size of a lion, or even a tiger. Compared to Lowell's size she was gigantic in the wolfen area. She came closer to him, her head inches away from his body. At full height she was a bit taller than him, which showed just how puny he was.

"So I''m guessing this is the big surprise?" he said holding out his hand. Wolf Luna sniffed at it before walking around behind him. "What the?" he began but didn't finish before she swept up under him. Mayhem was straddling Luna's back instantly, his hands digging into the wolf's shoulder blades and his knees pulling together against her chest.

"Whoa" he said almost out of breath. Even riding the wolf he could feel the power under the snow colored fur. Luna gave a snort to hold on and leaped forward into the woods. The wind whipped past Mayhem, his ears hearing the whistle of the breeze and the sting on the tip of his nose. The tree's passed by in whooshes and the stars seemed to dance as he looked up into the sky. What it must feel like to do this every full moon he couldn't imagine, but he'd give anything to be able to.

As he looked to the side again he saw wolves all around running fast just as Luna was. He thought he could recognize a few, the smaller one obviously Lowell again, but the furs were almost identical, a mix of brown, tan, and black. Luna was the only white wolf, he suddenly figured out.

They passed beautiful landscapes Mayhem had never even known were around the mansion. A beautiful crystal lake was behind the mountain where Mayhem knew the Tomb was located, but even beyond that the woods became even deeper. The trip seemed to last only minutes, but when you travel via wolfen, everything seems to go fast.

Suddenly Luna slowed down and let the pack get ahead of her, no doubt letting them hunt for the deer they so preciously needed. She began heading towards a different path that suddenly cleared out into a field with soft wheat swaying in the wind. Up towards the end though were massive rocks that looked more than a thousand years old at least. Four huge rocks, bigger than a bulldozer sat at the bottom with three stacking on top like the beginning of a triangle. Then two more were on top of the three, the only thing missing was the top one to complete the triangle.

"What is this place?" Mayhem said getting off of Luna. The white wolf just stared at the rocks, a deep sadness over taking those amber eyes. May turned back to the rocks and began taking a closer look at them. Strange markings covered the rocks with crude indention's.

"This is where they buried the ten Great Wolfs" Luna suddenly spoke up, now naked and human looking. Mayhem quickly looked away, embarrassed once again at her boldness.

"Great Wolf?" he asked looking at the rocks a little harder than he would have liked.

"Yes. Listen hand over your shirt so you can at least look at me" she said behind him. Mayhem did as he was told and when she was decent decided to look back at her.

"So what does it mean to be a Great Wolf?" he said.

"They are our ancestors. When Grandmother Moon was given a gift to create a being for the Earth, she made the Ten Great Wolves, all born from her tears. All were male, and all went around the world to protect Grandfather Sky's children. Here they lay now, all dead, except for one" she said looking up to the top of the great monolith.

"And who is he?" Mayhem asked looking at Luna's sad eyes.

"Jericho the Just" she said in a whisper "My father."

Mayhem just stared up at the top as she did. It was a big deal to her, to let someone in on her past. He could tell that just from the way she had avoided his questions about the scars on her back, or the way she never mentioned anything about herself.

"Where is he?" Mayhem asked trying to keep the conversation going.

"I don't know" Luna said looking down "Last time I saw him I.." she said grabbing the top of her shoulder "I'm the last one if he dies. Most of the packs are descendants of the Great Wolfs, but none had a pure born heir. I was the only one born with Great Wolf blood still running deep in my veins. If he dies, I'll be the only one the wolfen can turn to, and not just my pack, but all the packs in the world."

"That's a big responsibility" he said turning fully towards her "Does that scare you?"

"More than anything" she said quietly just in case someone was listening.

"You and I have so much in common then" he said shaking his head "The thought of ruling my people terrifies me, more than anything I would rather be out fighting my enemy than being king. My father had the same issue I guess, but at least he got the chance to fight, I never will."

"You mean you are not trained to fight?" she said.

"Nope, princes aren't allowed. It's an exclusive club I'll never be part of" May said shrugging his shoulders as if he had accepted the fact.

"And you want to learn don't you?" Luna said.

"Yes" May said.

"Well then my prince" Luna said puffing out her chest "If the vampires won't train you their way, I guess you'll be trained the wolfen way."

"You can't be serious?" May said.

"Why not? Your the prince, you can do anything" she said her eyes getting that mischievous look.

Mayhem smiled at her once more, feeling his heart sway with something he wasn't quite sure of.

"Well then wolf" he said "Let's start tonight."