The Normal Life
By Didi

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.

Acknowledgement: For everyone that's read this story so far. Thank you for sticking with it.

Rating: R for restricted under 17.
~~~~~~~~~~
-Sophia's POV-

The woods smelled like violence, new but familiar. Dad is nervous cause I'm here and Luke's enjoying it. Me... I'm a little disturbed by the fact that while I don't personally know what the hell I should do in this new skin of mine but my body seem to know exact what is expected. It's almost like I'm living outside of myself and watching someone else take control. Freaky.

Another thing that's freaky about tonight: my dad. Talk about the big bad wolf.

Am I impressed?

Hell, yeah!

You know you always think that your parents are such dorks, so out of touch with your time and totally not cool. Well, all of that still applies to Dad where his human side is concerned, I mean those flannels have just got to go, but like this... full of life and energy and barely suppress power that you can almost see, it's like having the George Clooney of the wolves as your dad.

And his followers... talk about a tight knit group. Waiting from the dark, I can see that even after everything I've heard about my dad's followers, it was nothing compared to what I see now. They were of all sizes, all colors of life, all the different factions that you usually see in town. The rich, the poor, the young, the old, the saints, the devils, the troublemakers. Yet here they were, united behind my father... it kind of humbled me to know that he had that kind of power, almost makes me look at him different.

*You all right?* Luke's nose nudged me gently. He's been doing that a lot all night. Maybe he was getting use to this new scent of mine.

*My dad... do you think that... He's strong enough to...* I turned to look at Luke. *He can win, right?*

*Yes,* he answered without hesitation. Whether it was because he believed it or he was just making me feel better, I wasn't sure. But if he was lying to me... I can only be thankful for it.

I looked around, watched two of the bigger wolves circle my father, conferring with him. I couldn't hear what they were talking about; they didn't want to share. Whatever it was, I knew that my dad probably didn't want me knowing too much. Some part of him must still want to keep me innocent. Forget the fact that I have tasted blood in my throat.

*We're moving,* Jamie commented as she came up beside us. *Looks like the Alpha is going to dish out some real pain tonight.*

I wondered with wolves shiver with fear cause I'm pretty sure I did. *Do you think that... that he'd have to kill?*

*Honey, Creed's left him no choice now. Survival of the fittest withstanding, he challenged the Alpha position. Your father's either got to back down as Alpha or kill him. That's the way of things, our way.* Her eyes watched mine for a moment, her knowingness making me nervous. *It's just the way it's always been.*

*But your father was trying to change that with the democratic way of things,* Frederick offered, his muzzle rubbing gently against his wife's. He seemed to be seeking comfort in her warmth and she was more than willing to offer it to him. The ugly wound at his side was healing but still painful. *We had hoped.... But things are what they are.*

*That'll change after tonight,* Jamie said, her long wet tongue licking the moisture from her husband's nose. *I can feel it in the hair.*

*Really?* Luke said dryly. *All I can feel is cold, blood and pain.*

*Don't knock woman's sixth sense, kid,* Frederick replied, rubbing his hose against his wife's. *They've been known to save the pack more than once.* His eyes shifted toward him for a moment, as if seeing more than what I am. A part of me wanted to turn, hide from those knowing eyes, but I knew better. Matthew Donner's little girl does not turn tail, especially if she's a white.

Then the stir in the air cause everyone to pause, including my father. His nose lifted into the hair, tasting what's there. Everyone else followed suit.

It was sweet, almost toothache worthy in it's purity of sweetness. It was soft, like down comforter in the middle of winter. It was... it was like nothing I imagine the others had ever experienced... and they said so.

*What the hell is that?*

*Certainly not Creed, that's for sure.*

*Someone want to...*

*Alpha, should we lead a section to...*

*Perhaps Blackstone has some...*

*Can you feel that?* Luke asked at a soft whisper at the back of my mind. *Can you taste it?*

I nodded my muzzle, confusion in my eyes as I turned to him. *Luke, what is it?*

That look of deathly calmness in his tawny eyes startled me. I've seen Luke exhibit many emotions, probably more than people thought he had, but I've never seen this one on him. He was awed. Whatever it was had him humbled by its powers that tugged at each of us. I could almost see him bowing his head in show of loyalty and submission. Lucas Cates looked like he's finally met his match.

And it scares the hell out of me.
~~~~~~~~~~
-Luke's POV-

Sophia's eyes looked for answers in mine, but I didn't have the answers to give her. Nothing to give her assurance that everything will be all right. How can I when I'm not sure of that myself.

Everything was wrong here. Nothing was what it should be. Nothing is what I expect it to be.

*Luke, what is it?* those soft eyes asked me.

*Power,* was the only word I knew to describe it. Immeasurable power that thicken the air and made it hard to breathe. You can feel it drift over the back of your fur, rustling the tips until a shiver runs down your spine. You can almost hear the shift, feel it in the air as you stand there and taste the night. *Sophia, I think I'm going to agree with the sheriff now. You should get out of here.*

Ever been burned by someone's gaze? Well, I can officially say that I have. It was so painful that I had to wince.

God, I love her. She never ceases to amaze me.

*If you think even for a second that I'm just going to...*

*I don't think for a second that you're a coward, Sophia. I'm just saying that I'd feel a whole lot better if you weren't here when whatever it is gets here. I think we have our hands full and I don't need to be watching over you as well.*

*I'm not helpless, as I have proven not once but twice tonight.* Her eyes sharpened dangerously. *I'm not going anywhere,* there was a finality in her tone that I would have probably sighed to if I wasn't wolf.

*Then do me a huge favor.*

*What?* suspicion thick in her voice.

*Kill me now so I don't have a heart attack worrying about you?*

She butted me hard on the side. *Not funny.*

*Ouch... okay, you know what? That hurt.* Especially sense the wound at my side has yet to completely heal.

*Serves you right,* Sophia tossed her head and looked toward her father, who was trotting over to us.

Jaime grinned with delight. *You tell him girl. Don't let him walk all over you.*

*You are so not helping,* I managed to get out before Donner made his presence known.

*Ruby tells me that she's on her way,* he looks at Sophia, almost like he was marveling at how incredible she was. I know the feeling well. *Sophia, as your father, I have to ask again.*

You know, I can almost see her giving him that grime smile. *And as your daughter, I would have to answer the same once more.* She moved forward, resting her head against his side for a moment, urging him to understand. *I know that you don't like it and I'm sorry about that, but you cannot protect me forever.*

*No, I can't,* he replied sadly. *But it doesn't mean that I don't want to try as long as I live,* you can almost see him letting go just a little more with the understanding that his daughter isn't the small little girl she was just that morning. *Do me a favor.*

*If it's the same favor Luke just asked me...*

I wonder if I'm blushing.

*I don't want to know about it,* Donner interrupted quickly, probably not wanting to know too much about his kid's sex life. *I want you to stay behind me, always. We got that?*

*Dad...* The whining was unusual. Sophia almost never whine. Or maybe it's just with her father that she does that and... What am I saying? I want her to agree with him, that way we can sandwich her between the two of us.

*Sophia, I'm still you're father and you're still under eighteen. You 'will' do as you are told.* That had a tone that was ominous.

*Fine,* came the short reply. Did she just pout?

Donner turned, his head lifted just as the next wave of thick power hit us all.

Whoa.... It was like jumping into a warm pool of water, where movement was slow and everything just felt so incredible vivid. The fog around us seemed to have thickened, whirling slower as the rush of energy seem to crackle the air and both relaxed and alerted us at the same time. It was rather disconcerting... nothing seemed quite real anymore.

*Luke?*

Definitely unexpected. *Ruby?*

*We're coming,* her voice was soft, almost haunting. One of the qualities about my sister was that she was so... eternal in both beauty and quality.

Something wasn't right. Ruby loved Kanin to the point of insanity, for going against the clan was definitely a mark of a madwoman if ever there was one. Something's happened, even if nothing in my sister's voice gave away her emotions. She wouldn't have left our good detective's side unless...

*Ruby? What's going on with Kanin?*

There was silence in the air for a moment as I wait for her answer. It came almost reluctantly. *You'll see.*

*Still alive?* I asked, already knowing the answer since Ruby didn't burst into tears or nothing. But then again, I've never seen my sister cry before.

*Oh very much so,* came my mother's dry reply.

There was definitely something up now. *What's going on?*

*Good question,* Donner interrupted, eyes deadly sharp on my face but definitely not seeing me. *Someone want to...* Whatever it was he was about to ask was cut off by teeth and fur.

*DAD!!!* Sophia lunged forward but was cut off when three more bodies collided with a flash of blinding pain.

*Get off of him!* I can hear Jamie yelled in from somewhere over my left shoulder. I really wasn't paying much attention to her at the moment. My attention was one something a little closer to my heart. Scarlet trails of life essence oozed from between white fur in massive amounts, making me see red, in both sense of the word. Her howl of agony was lost to me as I charged, teeth sinking deep into muscles.

No fear.
No mercy.
No conscience.

Only one thought: no way in hell you touch my woman and get away from it.

Simple as that.

*Luke, stop! You're killing him!*

Sophia's voice came through the thick darkness to jar me awake. One then did I realize that I had ripped out Jacob's throat and not even realized it. All there had been was the need to get him away from Sophia. Nothing more. *You all right?*

Her eyes watched me, full of disbelief. *Is he dead?*

I glance back at the rumpled body on the ground. *Yes.* I have no regrets.

She said nothing, probably didn't know what to say for the first time in her life. But she doesn't look at me. It will take some getting use to, for her anyways. I knew I did the right thing even if she's not ready to accept it. The sound of grappling bodies across the clearing caught both our attention at the same time. It was hard not to considering the importance of it.

The Alpha and the Challenger.

This was going to be a fight of a....

It was like getting hit with a wave of power, energy and light all at once. A streak of black that seemed to appear out of thin air, once part of the night now part of us.

No one was more surprised by the new player than Creed and Donner.

The black landed on top of the two struggling wolves; one brown, one gray, both bad to the bones for their own reasons. Forcing the two to part, the black took a stand between the two, watching for any sudden movement.

Blacks were rare. And the last time I checked, there wasn't a complete black in our pack. So where did....

The black turned sideways, positioning his body to face Tyler Creed but never turning his back completely to Donner. He growled low in his throat, taking a protective position over our newly elected Alpha. The stand was unmistakable. Just as Ruby's appearance to stand by the black was unmistakable.

My sister sure knows how to make an entrance and get attention. She turned her pale body toward the Alpha, bowed her head in show of respect and turned to rested her side against her mate's, a united front. *With your permission, Alpha. My husband would like to settle a score with Mr. Creed.*

Color me shocked. Kanin, a full black. Well, not quite. There was that little white diamond on his forehead that distracts from... wait, a diamond. Center of the forehead. On a black. That was familiar. Too familiar... Mr. Blackstone said something about it once in history class. What was it....

Unfortunately for me, now was not the time to be contemplating it. There was still the standoff at hand. And a trembling Sophia at my side.

Donner's eyes were steady, though I think he was probably reeling like the rest of us. *Permission granted.*

It truly was a fight of a lifetime.
~~~~~~~~~~
TBC.... Obviously.