Danica stared at the brick wall in front of her as if it was some foreign object she had never seen before.
"This is the place?" She had already asked the same question three times.
Mason had insisted this was where they were supposed to be for their meeting and he hadn't made a mistake. She was having a hard time believing that this was their destination, after all it was nothing more than a brick wall.
"Tell me again how a wall is the location of a meeting?" Danica asked furrowing her brows. It was already fifteen to twelve and they didn't have time for Mason to play jokes.
"Just wait." Mason who was ill at ease beside her responded.
Opposite of Mason, Danica was a ball of nerves. The closer to the time of their meeting the more nervous she became. By this point she had developed the strong urge to turn and run.
"Calm down." Mason's soothing voice was accompanied by his warm hand wrapping aro
Hearing of the creatures that created the Elders counsel was nothing compared to actually seeing them. Sitting right in front of Danica were mythological beings that up until five days ago weren't supposed to even exist in her world.The harpie Rebecca had taken her seat already between a man with a youthful face and long blonde hair and a man with short dark hair with a blindfold wrapped around his eyes-or rather eye. Beside the blindfolded man sat a little fellow with a long nose and large ears whose skin held a greenish hue, he opened his mouth to yawn showing sharp little teeth.As Danica continued down the line her eyes fell on a woman with a rather large hat over her head and sunglasses. Despite not being able to properly see the woman's eyes Danica knew that she was studying her curiously. At the end of the line was a man with long brown hair and goatee.Smiling the man at the end stood and strode forward pulling Mason into a hug l
Danica could feel her oxygen quickly depleting as Rebecca tightened her hold on her neck. For the woman to look so delicate she had a massive amount of strength.Below them chaos had ensued as Mason shifted into his wolf form and was growling and snapping. The Elders that had remained impassive until now were yelling at one another trying to figure out what to do to correct the situation."This is what happens when you show insubordinate behavior little pup." Rebecca sneered leaning in close to Danica's face.So Rebecca wasn't doing this because of the claim that she had rogue blood, she was only using that as reason for her behavior. This was all a show of who was the dominate being.Feeling her conciousness slipping Danica heard the other conciousness become more aware. She could physically feel the anger at being looked down upon growing within it."You think you will catch me off guard a second time?" Rebecca
A bowl with a strange swirling liquid sat on a wooden table in front of Danica. The liquid would apparently determine whether or not her blood held the line of the rogues in it. At least that was what the Elder standing in front of her had said.As Arlo had explained to her, they would need to make a small incision in the palm of her hand and allow her blood to intermingle with the liquid. If it remained clear and unchanging then that meant her blood was clear. However, if it turned black that meant she had rogue blood.The thought of inflicting pain upon herself scared Danica, but she had no room for argument.Looking to Mason who had returned to his human form for comfort Danica held out her hand to Arlo who had a dagger at the ready.Searing pain shot through Danica's palm as the cool blade sliced her skin allowing her blood to flow freely into the bowl below.Everyone watched intently as her blood turned into a red cyclo
Danica looked around at the training ground before her. Young men and women ran drills and locked in hand to hand combat as what she assumed were higher ups watched from the sidelines. Occasionally they would step forward and give some instruction before stepping back and watching once more.After their meeting with the elders Mason had insisted that Danica move into the barracks and begin training with his packs new recruits. He was especially insistent on it due to the fact Danica was currently unable to change. That meant that for the time being she needed to be able to defend herself in human form if another rogue attempted attacking.Initially Danica was against it, but in the end she gave in. It wasn't due to the fact she agreed that she needed to be able to defend herself, rather it was because she didn't trust herself being under the same roof as Martha.She kept finding herself wondering what would happen if she suddenly went cra
Danica puffed as a fist slammed against her stomach causing her to double over gasping for air."AGAIN!" Chris roared from his place on the sidelines.It had been a week since Danica had arrived at the training grounds and her life had become an endless cycle of sleep, train, bath, eat, and repeat.Despite her being new to hand to hand combat they still insisted on putting her up against seasoned fighters, making her training that much more difficult.Now she faced off with Chris' mate Bella. Bella was one of the strongest female warriors that Mason's pack had, and Chris had insisted that she was the best candidate for Danica's training."DON'T GIVE HER ANY OPENINGS!" Chris continued to bellow as Danica lifted her arms to protect her face from any incoming punches.After the first few days of learning Danica was starting to become acquainted with Bella's fighting style. She could for the most part tell what she was about to
The room around remained silent as Ash busied himself poking at the serpent mark on her hip. It had already been an hour since he began his inspection and he still hadn't said a word.Growing uneasy Danica locked eyes with Mason who was looking down at her. As she opened her mouth to speak he simply shook his head placing a finger against his lips to indicate she needed to remain silent.Nodding Danica closed her eyes and tried to focus on something other than the anxiety that was bubbling within her threatening to come rushing out."I think..." Ash said suddenly sitting up and smiling from ear to ear. "I should be able to easily unravel this curse.""You think?" Mason asked a deadly tone to his voice. "I don't want an I THINK I want an I KNOW.""Calm down Mason." Danica urged grabbing his hand."What if he messes up? Nigel told us the consequences." Mason asked looking alarmed. "You could become a vegetab
A fist came flying straight at Danica's face and her defenses were completely down. It stopped an inch away from her nose before being drawn back entirely."You're not even trying." Bella complained as Danica continued to zone out. "What has gotten into you?"It had been a few days since her visit with the shaman and his apprentice, despite the time that passed she just couldn't bring herself to focus on anything."Sorry, let's go again." Danica said out of habit as she did a poor job of trying to put up her defenses.Tsking Bella turned and stormed off leaving Danica all alone on the training grounds. From the sidelines she could see Chris eyeing her in annoyance. Feeling out of sorts she dragged herself over to him preparing herself for the onslaught of insults that were most definetely about to come her way."Lay it on me." She huffed as she arrived in front of him. "I know I deserve it."Chris didn't speak a
Danica wasn't quite sure just how long she sat on that bench watching as the sun disappeared and the moon appeared, time ceased to exist as she let her depressing thoughts completely consume her.As she continued to feel sorry for herself she also promised herself that this would be the last time. Chris was right, she needed to get herself straight otherwise she wouldn't get anywhere. If she needed to find the sorcerer that cast her curse to break it, then she needed to know how to fight.Finding a new conviction Danica headed back to her dorm to sleep, determined to wake up the following morning ready to become a better her."You're doing great!" Chris called as Danica managed to pin Bella to the ground winning her first match ever against her. "I don't know what has changed but keep it up!"Huffing Danica helped Bella to her feet. "Good match." She said smiling and placing a hand on Bella's shoulder."Seems you
"Any news?" Danica asked Bella as she hovered around fixing her hair. "How many times do I have to say it? Mason will let you know if they find the harpies and trolls." Bella huffed slamming down a blush brush. "Now, could you please be still so I can finish your makeup." "Yes ma am." Danica replied snapping her mouth shut. A month passed by in a blur, no matter how much Mason's scouts searched they just couldn't seem to find Marie or her army. It was an odd occurence, because anytime they would get a trail it would vanish as quickly as it appeared, leaving everyone at square one once more. Though they had recruited the help of sorcerer's to see if they could possibly find the harpies with their abilities, even they came up empty handed. It was almost as if they had disappeared from existence entirely. After two weeks of this is was almost as if the war was nothing more than a bad dream, aside from the casualties that b
"Acting tough now are we?" Marie laughed taking Danica in. "Do you really think I'm scared of you?""You should be." Danica growled as she felt something within her begin to stir. "I still owe you for my parents, a life for a life sounds fair."Tilting her head back Marie let out a loud laugh, "Come then little wolf, show me what you can do."Lunging forward Marie held out her clawed hands ready to grab Danica, but Danica was faster, moving out of the way before turning and grabbing Marie by her wing. Heaving she yanked and threw Marie to the side causing the harpie to stumble.Not giving her a chance to regroup Danica pounced tackling Marie to the ground. Shrieks escaped the harpie queen as she fought for Dominance against Danica."Get off me!" Marie growled as she clawed at Danica's face. "How dare you a puny wolf think that you are any match for me!""Seems like this puny little wolf is the one in control rig
"Let's go." Danica ordered beginning to move forward only to be stopped by Mason. "What?" She demanded meeting his gaze."You can't possibly think that I'm going to let you step anywhere near any of that fighting." Mason hissed."Why not?" Danica demanded trying to break free of his grip. "You can't possibly think I'm just going to sit here and wait for who knows what!""Yes, that's exactly what I expect you to do." Mason responded seriously. "You are pregnant now, your priority is keeping our child safe."Mason's words felt like a slap to Danica. Even though she really wanted to be beside him fighting, he was right, she was pregnant now and her top priority was to protect the life that was growing within her. No matter how she wanted to try to deny his logic, she simply couldn't."What am I to do if they breach the dorms?" Danica sighed conceeding to Mason's point. "Should I not fight back then as well?"
"You going to be okay?" Mason asked wrapping his arms around Danica."Yeah, I'll be okay." Danica responded leaning against him.After returning home Mason decided to run a nice hot bath for the both of them, his way of trying to help Danica feel the slightest bit better about the news they had recieved.Stripping had been slightly awkward for Danica due to Mason's blanching when he saw the scars that now permanently littered her back from Marie, but once she had submerged her body she couldn't help but admit that the bath was helping."Do you think this little one will be born into a peaceful world?" Danica asked closing her eyes.Mason who had slid a hand to rest on Danica's stomach let out a long sigh, "I hope so.""You don't have confidence in beating them?" Danica asked eyes widening. "I thought that was what all the preperations were for.""When it comes to war you never know what will happen." Mason pointed out pulling Da
Two weeks passed in a blink. After the night of Danica's rescue, Mason began to gather all reinforcements across the entire continent, preparing for an outright attack on the trolls and the harpies. Arlo, who remained neutral, had decided to stay out of the entire thing along with his elven brethren, a fact that surprised Danica greatly given his strong aversion to her.Nigel and Ash busied themselves collecting the sorcerer clans from the darklands that were willing to help the werewolves with the war as well, though their numbers were few they would still be a major asset when the time came.For the entire two weeks signs of army building was detected by scouts that Mason hid within the darklands, from what was being reported it wouldn't be much longer before Marie and Talon waged their attacks and this time Mason was well prepared.The room Danica and Mason shared had been converted into a mini headquarters where Mason held meetings and planned at
"I'm going to be a mom?" Danica asked not sure if she had heard the doctor correctly. "What do you mean I'm going to be a mom?"The air around Danica had grown thin and she was having a very hard time breathing. After everything that had happened in the past two days, she wasn't sure she could even handle anymore surprises. Not to mention, there was about to be a war, how could she possibly have gotten herself pregnant?"Exactly as I said Luna." Dr. Gerald chirped oblivious to the fact Danica wasn't happy about his news. "You're about a month along already."Turning her gaze to Mason Danica tried to make sense of what was going on. Unlike her Mason was smiling from ear to ear as he met Danica's eyes."We're going to be parents!" Mason exclaimed laughing. "Are you sure Dr. Gerald?""Yep, pretty positive the hormone levels don't lie." Dr. Gerald confirmed passing his clipboard over to Mason. "Congratulations
"Any brilliant ideas?" Danica asked while looking over her shoulder at the harpies that were quickly gaining on them.'Just a little further.' Mason responded picking up speed. 'There is a portal ahead and reinforcements waiting.'"What about the ones that were in the harpie palace?" Danica asked as fear clutched her heart. "You've got a lot of explaining to do when we get back."'Sure.' Mason chuckled."Now's not the time to be laughing."From behind Danica could hear the harpies and trolls gaining on them. It seemed that if they didn't reach the portal soon they would be recaptured."They're gaining on us!" Danica shrieked while ducking as a harpie swooped down towards her from above.As the harpie attempted to right herself something unseen slammed into her sending her flying to the ground. Hissing and shrieking the harpie tried to break free from whatever had hold of it.From the wounds that we
Danica bolted as quickly as her injured leg would allow her down the brightly lit hallway looking here and there for a room to sneak into in an attempt to throw Marie. She had managed to lock her in the stairwell, giving herself some time to make some distance, but the door wouldn't hold the furious harpie queen much longer.Turning to look behind her Danica didn't expect a strong set of hands to grab and yank her into a dark room before wrapping around her mouth to stop a scream that tried to escape."It's me." Mason's voice whispered in Danica's ear sending a wave of comfort through her.Turning slightly Danica looked into his warm green eyes as all her fear and worry immediately washed away."About time." Danica sighed pulling Mason's hand away from her mouth. "I was beginning to believe you wouldn't be able to find me.""Nothing in this world would stop me from finding you." Mason insisted with a small smile.Feeling her hear
'Danica...' the soft voice drifted into Danica's mind as she hovered between awake and unconcious. 'Please....' The wolfs bane that ran through her veins kept Danica from truly being able to be aware. She could only guess that Marie was worried if she was fully alert she would try to contact Mason through the mindlink and give away what was going on. 'Please respond.' The voice seemed to be growing desperate. 'Where are you?' Trying to collect all her strength Danica did her best to connect with whoever the voice belonged to. In her delirious state she wasn't fully able to place a finger on who was calling out to her, but she had a feeling it was Mason. 'I don't know.' Danica's voice came out in barely a whisper as she fought to stay aware long enough to communicate. 'Some underground holding cell.' 'Did you see the scenery when they brought you there?' Mason demanded as Danica felt his anger beginn