Introduction

Hi all, thanks for enjoying the story so far.

Sorry about the problems with the last chapter. I uploaded it and then realized I had goofed. I deleted the old one and I thought I had uploaded the correct one, but I hadn't !. It took me a while to realise. And I still haven't completely fixed the formatting on chapter one.

Not actually living in the USA, or ever having visited, I just guessed about the 24 hr builders. I sort of assumed that something like them must be available and if they were, then the Charmed Ones would probably have them on speed dial !

This chapter is setting up things for the next few chapters and it gives the chance for the Charmed ones to have a normal day as such.

Hoping that you enjoy.

Prue and Matt (wednesday morning)

Waking first, Matt sat up in bed and turned to carefully examine the still sleeping Prue who lay beside him. Reaching out gently, he pushed stray bits of hair to one side so he could examine her face. As she stirred, to roll slightly to her left, he smiled as her face came fully into the early morning light.

Even now he still couldn't believe the last 12 hours, the woman he loved deeply and with passion was so much more than he had realised. He now knew that his life would change so much more than he had ever expected or would it?. The future he had roughly planned with Prue at his side had involved marriage, children and all the usual 'normal' components of life.

That his wife to be Prue and her sisters were witches, practiced magic, fought evil beings, meant that a whole new world had opened up in front of him. One that he had so much to learn about.

As he reached over with his left hand to gently stroke her face, Prue woke and smiled up at him. Reaching up with her right hand, she pulled his head down so they could kiss.

Since it was still early in the morning, both Matt and Prue lay together, enjoying the chance to quietly talk and discuss the future. As Matt questioned Prue on what life would be like living with a witch and magic, he found to his surprise that it would be nothing like he expected.

Prue was not surprised that the first question Matt asked was why they didn't use their powers for good in the mortal world. The answer was that the mortal world had to solve its own problems. The magical world had enough of its own and only a small part of it interacted with the mortal world. That was the part the sisters dealt with.

Prue outlined the rules that governed the use of magic, in particular personal gain, it explained why the sisters finances were marginal at best. While the sisters had been gifted a great deal of power, the price for this power was a destiny that meant they often had to fight dangerous beings in the defence of others. Either innocents who had no knowledge of magic or good magical beings who did. Just as often, dangerous beings would also attack them, to seek revenge or to steal the sister's powers.

She described how they had discovered their magic when Phoebe first found the Book of Shadows and the confusion that had resulted as they tried to master their new powers. The circumstances behind Paige's return to the family and Cole's and Leo's role in their lives. What Matt found the most difficult, was Prue's explanation of the events leading up to, as Prue described it as the Battle in the Park.

The existence of such powerful evil magical beings such as the Source of All Evil and the Triad, all who had been present for hundred's, if not thousands of years. They had been living alongside and interfering with mortal lives, was difficult to believe. These were beings who had such power, why had they not taken over?.

Prue explained that good and evil had decided to maintain an uneasy balance, because if one side became too powerful then all would lose. In the past, when the balance had swung too far to one side, the side that gained had tended to destroy itself. Good would become over confident and complacent, and was often betrayed from within. Evil became self destructive as demons fought amongst themselves.

By mutual agreement, mortals were to be given the choice of which side they would follow and the chance to change if they were prepared to pay the price. Good and Evil would let mortals choose the path they wished to take and none would use magic to force that choice. Neither side fully honored this agreement, but only minor breaches were tolerated. Powerful neutral beings had been given the authority and ability to enforce this agreement.

Prue asked Matt to describe what he thought life would be like if the world found out about witches, magic and demons. As Matt described what he thought would happen, he realised that witches would become both hunted and idolised. As a result the role that the sisters had chosen would become impossible to fulfill. Finally he began to realise why the sisters were so determined to keep their existence as witches secret, the one thing that Prue demanded from him.

The one topic that Prue carefully avoided, was their role as the Charmed Ones compared to many of the other witches out there. And he was not aware of Paige's sensing ability, something Prue felt intense guilt about not trusting the secret with him. Not because Matt didn't need to know, but because she was too embarrassed to tell the truth about just how powerful they actually were. She was still uncertain if she could trust Matt to stay with her if he found out what they were actually capable of. She wanted him to gradually learn about her and the life they would have, to have time to adjust as she did not want to lose him.

After having a quiet breakfast, Prue said her goodbyes, several times as neither wanted the other to leave. Finally she called for Leo, who orbed her back to the Manor. When Prue finally returned, she had to face her curious sisters, the personal problems of being the oldest sister, having a photographer's job, and those that being a Charmed One generated.

Matt sat quietly in his kitchen as he finished a large cup of tea as he also pondered what had happened over the last 24 hours. He could not believe how his life had suddenly changed as successfully proposing to Prue had been his sole ambition for some time and he had not dared to think much past it.

Now he was going to marry a witch, a powerful good witch who apparently fought demons on a daily basis, well weekly?. What would he say to his parents as given what they did for a living, telling them Prue was a witch was going to complicate matters. And what about their children, could they even have children?. Thinking back to what Prue had described of her childhood, he had to assume that they would also be magical, with powers of their own. That was going to make life interesting.

With a deep breath he wondered how he was going to tell his parents, something that now worried him. How they would react to his engagement was highly predictable and he did not want a repeat of the situation that had cost him a valuable friendship and almost caused him to break with his parents.

Now that Prue had left, he realised that there were still so many more questions he wanted to ask, so much more he needed to know. While he could wait to ask Prue or even her sisters, Leo or Cole, the last thing he wanted to do was to start their relationship with a never ending stream of questions.

His job as a reporter provided a possible solution, the two witches he had interviewed over six months before and who had mentioned the Charmed Ones, could be one source of information and they could point him toward others. Searching back through his notes, he found the names and addresses of the two witches he had interviewed.

He was suppose to finish researching his current assignment on the Golden Gate park attack but since he now knew the truth about what had happened, he found it difficult to report what he knew was incorrect. That he could not report the truth also caused difficulties as he had promised Prue that he would keep their secret.

In an effort to achieve something, he tried to make contact with the two witches he had interviewed before. However each time he ran into a brick wall as no one would help him, people hung up on him, turned away or just plain ignored him. By the end of the day he was frustrated and unhappy, something was going on and he couldn't find out what it was. His instincts told him that it had something to do with the Charmed Ones as he had used the name several times and each time, he had got a reaction.

As he returned to his apartment, late and tired, with little accomplished, his mood was not improved by the message from Prue on his answer phone, apologising for not having dinner with him due to a family emergency. Right he said to himself, tomorrow I get some answers, if not from those witches, then from the sisters.

The Manor (Wednesday morning)

Prue's return to the Manor, just in time to watch Phoebe and Cole finish washing the breakfast dishes, prompted a variety of comments from almost everyone else. Since the Wolfen had gone to ground and the sisters were not yet aware of the massacre of the hunters, it became a day to catch up on non magical activities.

Prue grabbed her photographical gear and headed off to a photo shoot, that she had already delayed once and would lose if she did it again. Piper left for P3 to catch up on the paperwork, something she commented to Leo, was only just preferable to dealing with the Wolfen. Paige had already left as she now had to face an irate boss who wanted to know what had happened to the Narsay woman and her children.

At least Darryl would help here as he had promised Paige that he would ring and advise Mr Cowan that he had tracked Narsay to a bus terminal and it was apparent that she had left town. While not common, it had happened enough in the past to be acceptable. Paige's story of spending the day trying to calm the woman down and convince her to accept help before losing her in a park had not gone down well.

Cole and Leo were to spend the day, carefully checking various sources, something that drew a complete blank. Several other people where out there asking questions and the entire community had closed shop as a result. Since these definitely included police and news reporters as well as several demons, it was not surprising. Which left Phoebe the unenviable job of house cleaning and monitoring the builders efforts to fix the damage caused by the Wolfen.

After a long day, no one felt especially enthusiastic and an especially tired Prue, decided to stay at the Manor rather than face another barrage of questions from Matt. Calling him and pleading another family emergency, she accepted the guilt that came with the lie. But at least it gave her a quiet evening and a good nights sleep.

The Triad

Plans were not going as they had expected and this concerned them.

The Wolfen were attracting far too much attention, especially from the Charmed Ones. That this attention could result in the Wolfen's destruction before the Triad would gain any benefit from their presence, would be a waste. So the witches would have to be distracted.

The Source had yet to learn of the Wolfen's presence in the city, as so far they had not become generally known to either the public or the demon community. The spell the Triad had cast to cloud the Wolfen's presence from demonic senses had worked perfectly. However they had not anticipated the Charmed Ones rapid and lethal involvement.

But a distraction was readily available and there would be additional benefits. A coven of aggressive witches, apparently inspired by the Charmed Ones successes, had attacked demons who had been operating in their neighborhood. This could not be tolerated and a message must be sent.

The coven had been watched now for almost a week and its members identified. It had only eleven members, ranging in age from the young to the elderly. What made this coven different was that it did wield some real power. It was able to defend itself as a group and its potions had been responsible for the four demons they had vanquished.

However they were vulnerable as individuals and chosen demons that owed their allegiance to the Triad would be used to deal with them. Making sure that the Charmed Ones would become involved would be easy and this would distract them from the Wolfen. And it would boost the Triad's status as they dealt with the witches, something the Source was apparently not interested in doing.

Two demons were sent to attack and kill two of the witches, one who was a senior member and the other, the youngest. Both witches were killed in their homes without mercy, stabbed and their magic stolen. Their families left to wonder what had happened and why.

Knowing that the Elders would immediately contact the Charmed Ones who would then come to the Coven's aid, they ordered another attack on two more of the coven to force the Elders hand. When the sisters interfered, they would be forced to concentrate on defending the coven and stop their search for the Wolfen. And if any of the Charmed Ones could be killed then the Triads rise to the ultimate power would be unstoppable.

Finally it was time to up the pressure on the Source by making sure that the Wolfen's presence would become known and in such a way that he would have no choice but to act. Carefully placed demons leaked the deaths by animals to the news media and within hours, lurid stories ranging from packs of wild wolves, feral dogs, trained killers, werewolves, mutant animals and even two articles that mentioned the Wolfen by name, were circulating around the city.

An incautious and poorly worded denial, hastily put out by the mayor's office, only served to inflame the situation. As night fell, vigilante groups started to appear and random killings of dogs and in four cases, their owners became more and more common. The investigating team's worst fears started to become reality as panic started to spread through the city.

The Wolfen

Lying on her side in her wolfen form as she enjoyed the chance to fully relax for the first time in several months, Firstfang began to consider the future. Enough of the midday sun shone through the old and dusty glass to gently warm her as she lay stretched out on a sofa. Their new lair was almost perfect, an unoccupied old hostel that was too old to renovate but old enough to have history. Dry and warm with no electricity but the water was still connected.

This made it almost perfect for the Wolfen who found the narrow corridors and many small rooms ideal for their lifestyle. As much water as they needed and the lack of electricity was not a problem given their ability to see in the very low light. The cramped and sometimes partially blocked corridors made it easily defensible as the fast moving and flexible wolfen had no difficulty in negotiating their way around. The younger Wolfen in particular, enjoyed the chance to stretch their legs in games of hunt and chase.

Located near to railway tracks as well as several main roads, it gave quick and easy access to several hunting areas. This was an ideal place to rest, recover and raise their young. With luck and assuming they weren't forced to move, the next few months could see more pups added to their family. And if this new lair's success continued, both Watcher and Sprinter would attract mates, further expanding the size of the pack she led.

Both Watcher and Starbright had almost fully recovered and while Sprinter was still very ill, she was making a slow but steady recovery. Life was good and after the initial set backs, Firstfang was beginning to reap the rewards of her perilous decision to leave the cold, wet and prey starved old hunting ground to risk it all by moving into what had been forbidden territory. If her pack succeeded as well as she expected then other packs would follow and her name would spread over time and distance.

Even if the demons or witches found them, attacking them here would be perilous given the cramped surroundings. At least four escape routes had already been located and scouted, with two other potential lairs available.

Rubbing her head along the coarse fabric of the sofa, bought gentle waves of pleasure to her and she relaxed fully by rolling almost completely onto her back. Without opening her eyes, she lay still as Striker's scent washed over her as he slowly approached her. Gently nibbling along her back with his teeth, she shivered as the sensation became increasingly exciting.

Recognising her bodies response to Striker's foreplay, Firstfang realised that she was now fertile for the first time in four years. With a moan of pleasure she allowed Striker to continue. The next few hours would bring much pleasure to them both and with luck, children.