A/N: Happy 2021, guys! Thanks to sticking with this long ass project of mine! I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am!
I hope you enjoy this chapter~ Remember to leave a review on what you thought about it when you finish reading!
Chapter 9: The Small Print in the Life of a Warg Royal
The conversation that came after that first introduction just made Warren feel incredibly disoriented for the next two days.
Hazel's mother had turned out to be this intense, striking woman. The first thing she had let them know was how impossible it was that Hazel's wolf had Imprinted on the young Super.
"Are you sure Crevan had her Imprint? This is something serious, baby." Astrid reached from across the table, and laced her fingers with her daughter, before crushing up her nose as she eyed Hazel's dyed blonde hair, "And, I don't understand why you had to dye your beautiful brown hair." But, the first question had been asked more times in the past hour than Warren had a chance to kiss Hazel that day.
According to Quinn and Astrid it was impossible that a Warg's 'genes' could be compatible with that of a Super's. That scenario was unheard of, never in the history of their kind had a Wolf chosen a Super to be their Beta. But, there they were; Warren and Hazel looked at each other as they sat together on the picnic bench. That's when they noticed that they were not just sitting side by side, that it wasn't just the skin of their arms that was touching; down to their hips, all the way to their thighs. Subconsciously, Warren had a hand on Hazel's thigh, and her small foot was rubbing up and down Warren's leg under the table. Instead of being sheepish with the physical touch in front of her mother, Crevan and Hazel were ecstatic.
The answer to Astrid's question began forming as she watched her daughter's eyes turn the glowing yellow of Crevan as they looked at Warren. Something in Astrid's chest, her own Wolf, recognized the interaction between the two very different teenagers. Astrid was even surprised when Warren smiled when her daughter's eyes changed.
Nevertheless, Hazel answered her mother without breaking eye contact with Warren, "We are sure, Mother."
Her voice… Warren could only describe it as two people talking at the same time, but it came from the same body. It really did something with the rush of blood to his nether regions.
Astrid's eyes were bouncing between her daughter, and the boy that obviously owned a motorcycle. But, there was an Imprintation.
Then, came the conversation that really pulled the rug from under him; Hazel's engagement.
"I don't understand, I think there's more to it." Quinn commented as he munched on a carrot.
Astrid pushed her blonde tresses away from her face, aggravated, "It's not a power move."
"And, no offense, Haze but most Packs wouldn't think of you as the best choice for a potential mate. Most people hate you." Quinn kept commenting around bites of carrots. But, it got him smacks and kicks from both her mother and sister.
"What if it's not a power move from your grandfather, but from the other pack." Warren grumbled from beside Hazel, his arm finally circling around her shoulder letting her lean more comfortably on his shoulder.
Hazel, her mother, and brother all looked at Warren as if he grew another head, before going back and looking at each other as if communicating mentally.
"You're smarter than you look, kid." Quinn grinned at Warren,
Even Hazel was looking surprised, her head was going a hundred miles an hour. It was a possibility, could it be a big one. "It explains the arranged marriage, I have no say whatsoever if the idea came from another Pack."
Astrid didn't break her stare from Warren, her green eyes intense, and just like her daughter her head was going a hundred miles. "What if… another pack suggested it…?The easiest way to jump the line is by marriage… Plus, my baby girl is a Halliwell… Sirius' dad wouldn't mind a bit of hybrid breeding, Crevan is a very powerful Wolf, nonetheless...But, if it's a power move why would Dad just let them make a move. We've been the leading pack for centuries, we have never bowed down to no other pack." Finally, she broke her intense staring at Warren, and looked around at her children. "He hasn't been the same since Mom died, and now he has Rasputin as an Elder…"
The last bit of her mother's mumbling made Hazel turn abruptly towards her, "What did you just say?"
The tone from the youngest in the table made every one exchange a look before everyone turned back to Hazel. Astrid's voice was calm, and collected; she could see how her daughter was tensing up, her breathing began to pick up, and her eyes gave away at how close Crevan was to the surface. So, as carefully as she could, Astrid began to explain, "Rasputin became an Elder about six months ago, baby.-"
"And, what's been happening in the Pack?" Hazel didn't let her mother finish whatever she was going to say, Hazel and Crevan were trying to fight for control right at that moment, the anger was making them growl at each other. The anger rushing inside of her, was making her skin a little too hot. Astrid had to let go of Hazel's hands in sudden surprise.
Astrid and Quinn watched Hazel try, and control everything inside her, her stomach was about to clench hard enough to make her throw up.
Warren was looking down worriedly at Hazel, unfazed by the heat Hazel's little body was pushing out. "Baby?"
But, Hazel's eyes were glued to her mother. In a growl, she demanded, "Tell me."
Astrid had to break eye contact with her youngest child, leaving her eldest to take the lead, "Farmon," Quinn began, now under the scrutiny of his sister's hostile gaze, "We're still not sure, but we think that he's sick. We've barely seen him, it's always Rasputin who addresses the Pack. I've barely seen Farmon." Quinn's jaw tensed, his own anger rousing up his Wolf. How could he be so stupid? In their Pack there has never been ill intent towards his Grandfather, the eldest of Astrid children hadn't thought that these kinds of things didn't happen. How naive.
"Why are you guys doing here? You can't just leave Farmon alone with Rasputin." The desperation in her voice took everyone aback. "It's not safe for him to be there by himself, Rasputin is probably saying whatever he wants, not what Farmon needs the Pack to hear…" Hazel's voice trailed off, her thoughts going too fast. "Who announced the arrangement?"
A cold silence passed through the picnic table. Astrid and Quinn opened their mouths without any words coming out, but it was Quinn who answered his sister. "It was Rasputin."
Astrid clarified, finding her voice, "He was the one to suggest it, Father was there, but… he was just nodding along…"
"After that, Rasputin told us Farmon had fallen ill." Quinn was looking intently at his sister, his own mind connecting certain dots. The first thing that made Quinn's Wolf get railed up was people messing with their family, with their Pack. "This is getting more dark the more I think about it."
"Why didn't we see this before? Why didn't I see it sooner? Why did I think everything was fine?" Astrid was now looking down at her own hands, tears welling up in her now glowing blue eyes. For so long there had been peace and tranquility in their Pack that she had ignored the red flags her daughter, on the other side of the world could see so easily.
Warren was slightly taken aback when suddenly Quinn's and Astrid's eyes turned pitch black. Hazel was quick to notice, and jumped to action hauling both out of the bench with surprising ease for such a small young woman. "Not here, not here! Run down to the creek!." And, she pushed them towards the edge of the forest that bordered her property.
"Were they about to… Shift?" Warren had run behind Hazel just in case she needed help, but his curiosity was getting the best of him. His eyes kept jumping from her to the edge of the treeline.
Hazel was panting, her mind reeling from the conversation that just went on, her own skin itching for the Shift. "Any time you see a Warg with their eyes black it means they'll Shift; their control is out of their hands, it's the Wolf now." Her own eyes going from glowing yellow to her own green, her pupils going from pinpoints to abnormally large.
"Hazel?" Warren whispered softly, his hand quick to cup her cheek, her skin was a bit too hot, she was shaking really hard. "Are you going to Turn?" Warren was looking around to make sure nobody was looking in her backyard, but there was enough foliage around the property to make it impossible for curious neighbors to take a peek. Good.
When he turned back towards Hazel, she had her eyes closed and was breathing slowly, trying to calm herself down. Warren petted her hair, taking her in; she was so tiny, but so strong and powerful. He wanted to be there for her, especially with all the craziness in her life. It felt like he was meant to be there for her, and he wanted to be there. "Baby, are you okay?"
With one last deep breath, Hazel opened her eyes and looked up at Warren, her heart feeling a lot lighter with Warren's hands on her soothing the need to Turn. It felt too good. In a small voice she answered, Crevan was a rush of euphoria at her Mate's touch. "I'm okay."
Warren couldn't help but smile down at her, this 'Imprinting' made him feel… like he could do anything for her, he had never felt like that. But, it wasn't just the pull of the Imprinting, he was genuinely curious of Hazel Halliwell and he was going to find out. "What happened?"
Hazel had to frown, "We realized things back at my Farmon's place are more serious than we knew. I honestly think people are trying to...usurp the line."
It was Warren's turn to frown, "But, isn't your family a straight line to deities? How can people usurp the line? How can they usurp a bloodline of Demigods?"
Hazel crunched up her nose, racking her brains trying to explain it, "Divinity wears off after time, babe, lots of Mortal blood diluted the Divinity but Wargs will always walk in this Realm." Something in her voice made something in him just… appear. Never before had Warren Peace felt such strong curiosity towards something. But, Hazel was something else completely. He was more than intrigued, there was so much from her world he wanted to know. With a roll of her eyes, the young Hybrid continued, "There's ways, I mean, certain Alpha males are constantly trying to be Top Dog. Supposedly, there's been attempts before to get our family out. But, this time… I think it's a possibility."
"I'm here, if you need anything." He had never said that to anybody, seriously. "So, can I see?"
Hazel looked up from where she had her face buried, her brow now frowned in confusion. "What do you mean? See me naked? It hasn't been that long since you took my clothes off." She teased, pressing her body more suggestively against him.
Warren threw his head back, and laughed loudly, his arms still around Hazel. He swung her around, which got her giggling uncontrollably. As he set her down, and pecked her forehead, he explained, "It's not that, you little perv," He tried to get his head away from her suggestion, and the way her body molded to his. "Can I see your mom and Quinn… changed?" It was weird trying to phrase it, but it's not everyday actual werewolves are running in your girlfriend's backyard.
Hazel was taken aback, her face opened up in surprise, "Really?"
Warren smiled down at her before pecking her on the forehead, "Of course, I'm really curious. It's not everyday your girlfriend's mom and brother turn furry. The curiosity is killing me."
Hazel looked like a child who had been giving her favorite candy, she was even hoping in the same spot, giddy, "By now, the first rush is passing, so they're tiring themselves out. Can you keep up?" She said this all in one breath as she tied her hair up in a messy ponytail. "They must've picked up some speed, so catching up might be hard for you."
Warren was getting excited, pulling his own hair up in a bun, "Then, let's catch up to them."
Hazel was getting cocky, "We have to track them, can you track?" She was hiding the fact that she'll probably be able to smell them out once they hit the tree line.
But, surprisingly Warren answered, "Yep, I took some classes on extreme survival and rescue. I think I can keep up."
Hazel was very turned on, she had to turn around abruptly and start walking towards the treeline because Warren had shed his shirt, and his sculpted torso was bare for all of her backyard to see. The sight of him with no clothing in his upper body made her insides turn to goo. She could feel Creva pacing hungrily.
'Mate.' Hazel couldn't explain why or how a word made her feel safe and so grounded.
She was waiting for him a little past the edge, doing some quick warm up for the run ahead. Warren couldn't help but swallow his sudden dry throat, and try to rearrange a certain appendage that decided to get hard just because. The hormonal teenager had to repeat quickly, 'dead baby puppies' over and over as he approached Hazel.
Hearing his uncomfortable shuffling behind her, the young woman turned, stretching her hamstrings, a teasing smile on her face, "You okay there, buddy?"
Warren cleared his throat a bit, his pants feeling a little too tight for his liking, but with a cheeky grin he answered, "Of course, little lady, why wouldn't I be?"
Hazel giggled, looking pointedly at the growing bulge in Warren's jeans. "Someone seems to be pretty excited."
Warren couldn't keep the cheeky smile off his face when he finally got his hair tied back, "Come on, let's catch up." He reached over for her hand and tugged her deeper into the forest. Hazel observed him as he took the lead in the tracking, little for him to know that she could still smell them out; their scent pretty fresh amongst the greenery and the critters.
Never before had Hazel Halliwell felt every atom in her sing with just his hand wrapped around her smaller one, with the sun filtering through the tree leaves, the birds singing… She had tried to think it was just hormones, because even her soul sang whenever they got most of their clothes off, whenever their bare torsos touched and she could feel his heartbeat against her breast, the frantic muscle meeting each time it slammed against their ribcage. But, now with just the simple fact of him gently pulling her after him and pointing out the broken branches. She couldn't stop smiling when he found a paw print, psyching out at it's size. Hazel had to wonder how often he would beam like that, begrudgingly, she had to wonder how often Suzy made him beam like that. And, that was another conversation she wanted to avoid.
She was pushing the thought to the back of her mind, about to tell a silly thing to Warren when she picked up the growling some yards away. When she stopped in her tracks, and Warren looked back at her, the look on her face made his own guard go back up.
"What's up, baby?"
Any other time, the way the question was asked would've made her insides melt instantly, but in that instant all of her senses were on edge. "There's something else in the forest." Was her whispered response.
Warren didn't waste time and made sure his body was in front of Hazel's, who still peeked out from behind him, her eyes trying to search through the dense foliage. "Do you know what it is?"
Her heart was pounding way too hard, she could smell her brother and her mom… and another Warg. And, just like that, her heart dropped. "It's another Warg…" Then, the wind changed directions, and the breeze came straight at them; this time, Hazel felt like she was going to puke. "Oh my god, it's him."
Warren turned to Hazel, his mind working quick, "We have to hide you, he can't find you." The word 'scent' was quick to pop into Warren's head; they had to hide her scent, if wolves had a too good sense of smell, so deduction told the young pyrokinetic that Wargs had an even better nose. "We have to make sure the wind doesn't carry your scent. Do they need help?"
Hazel's eyes were frantically trying to break through all of the vegetation, trying to manifest X-Ray vision so she could see her mom and Quinn. What was happening? The strong gust of wind was making the trees rock back and forth, shaking the leaves loose. "They need a distraction… I need you to walk straight ahead, I think they're past that line of bushes. The minute he smells you he'll leave. Number one rule of Wargs is avoid humans in your wolf form at all cost. Please?"
Warren looked between Hazel and said tree line, his brow frowned, not liking at all her suggestion, "I can't leave you here by yourself, Haze. You're crazy? What if he runs off this way? Not gonna happen." And, the thought of something happening to Hazel made him feel as if the air had been sucked out of his lungs. He would fight Magical creatures for this young woman he barely knew without a second thought, and that...might be a problem. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"I have a feeling something's wrong, Warren." She pleaded with him, clinging to his hand, her eyes darting back and forth between the line of bushes and Warren. "I can fend for myself if that happens, I just need to scare him away. Something doesn't feel right."
"Let's blaze the place." Warren blurted out, his head working overtime trying to come up with different outcomes. "We can set fire to this part, between the two of us we can control it."
Hazel looked at him as if he grew another head, "Are you crazy? I can barely separate my emotions from my powers and you want to jump straight to Fire Forest Control? I haven't taken that class, Warren. Please, it's the quickest way."
Warren's protective side wouldn't let him leave tiny little Hazel in the middle of the clearing by herself. What to do? What to do?
That's when a big howl broke through the forest, freezing them in their places. Looking back at each other, Warren was quick to ask, "What was that?"
"It was my mom," Hazel whispered the answer at him, "She's calling for me." She hadn't finished the sentence, and her eyes had already changed to their glowing yellow.
'Something's wrong, kid.' Crevan was pacing, her presence more present as she began her ascend to the surface.
"Is it safe to go?" Warren squeezed her hands, worry squeezing his chest. Her glowing eyes turned towards him, locking him in his place. He still felt unnerved by the glow of her eyes that were staring him down, he noticed his heart was beating a little too fast.
"He already knows I'm here, Warren." Her eyes turned pleading towards him, "I can't leave my family alone."
The only thing that was left to him to say was, "Is there anything I can do?"
Hazel beamed up at Warren, gently pushing some stray hairs behind his right ear, "I promise I'm going to be okay." as she stood on her tiptoes she kissed Warren deeply and when she pulled away, she said, "But, now you can see Crevan sooner than you thought."
Pushing away from Warren, her skin already tingling with the anticipation of the Change. Warren's hands broke out in sweat as he watched Hazel walk twelve feet away. Now, his heart was slamming against his ribs, his adrenalin shooting through him as his eyes stayed on Hazel who began undressing between the trees.
What came next… was awful. Warren had expected it to be that zappy movie his mom had made him see 'Blood&Chocolate', where the werewolves transformation was something pretty and magical, but what the teenage boy had started to witness was far from that. He first noticed the blood dripping from her hand, Warren started taking a step forward obviously confused until he noticed the black claws slowly protruding from her small hands; there was still one of her nails sticking at the tip of her black ones by the fresh coating of blood.
Hazel had heard his step, instinct made her turn her head at the noise. When their eyes made contact, Warren felt another surge of adrenaline spread through his system and his fight or flight instinct started to kick in. But, he couldn't look away from the carnage that followed.
All of her bones were breaking and remending in seconds. Her flesh felt itchy and suffocating, instinctively she began clawing and racking at her tan skin. The more she clawed away, in between all the blood and carnage Warren could spot… fur? Next came the falling out of her blonde tresses, her ears began to change and morph with the rest of her delicate face. Warren's stomach was churning and twisting, he was sure he was going to puke all of his insides but he couldn't take his eyes away from the gruesome scene.
It happened in less than two minutes, but it might have been hours in Warren's head. The Change was a brutal thing to watch, Hazel had shed her human skin as if her Wolf had bursted from the inside. It was a little too big for a normal sized wolf; at his 6'2'', the Warg stood a good foot shorter in all fours.
'It's Crevan.'
The voice inside of his head made him almost jump out of his skin, he looked around frantically before turning to what he had thought was still Hazel. Sure, being aware of the Supernatural was one thing, but actually seeing it, and experiencing it is completely something different. Definitely scary.
The giant Warg made a sound that he swore was a chuckle before dashing off into the expected direction of her family. So many things were going through his head, he was feeling so many things in a rush. But, something was very certain in Warren's head; he needed to find out more, he felt his curiosity taking control, and making his body dash behind Haz- Crevan.
xxx
Crevan was savoring everything; the way her paws pushed against the fresh soil so she could practically fly in between the trees. There were no birds singing, and that was due to the Change, all that release of energy made animals go awry. The whole forest could feel that something ancient was running in between its greenery.
Hazel was aware of the feeling of the solid against their paws, the wind rushing into their ears, the expanded heart that beated for the two. Crevan was fully aware of the colors and the smells, her sharp nose picking up their mother's and brother's scent. Hazel began to get more anxious when they recognized Sirius' wolf's scent.
The Wolf pushed herself harder until finally she jumped through the bushes, skidding to a stop next to her brother. Both of them growling from deep in their chest, and when both Hazel and Crevan took in the scene before them.
'What the fuck?' Hazel's voice resonated in the joint space of their mind. Their stomach churned at the sight across from them.
'He came out of nowhere.' Quinn's voice broke through their Pack. 'He stabbed her when I stepped forward.'
'That's a silver knife, Quinn.'
Sirius had a knife against their mother's throat, blood was pulling from a steaming wound on her right pant leg. The steam was a clear indicator that silver had touched her mother's blood. It all depends on how deep the wound was to know how much of the blood had reacted to the blade; to see how much poison was coursing through her mother.
Hazel and Crevan were about to burst in flames with how much rage was suddenly building up in their core, never had Hazel felt so much anger at once. It felt almost deadly.
And, the cocky smile on Sirius' chiseled face made sure girl and wolf would aim to his throat.
