Chapter Five

Just as they knew of the other creatures that the humans had long forgotten, the powerful Dragons that remained behind their protective shield, the stunning winged unicorns descendants of the mighty Pegasus, the Elves, Faeries, Witches and Warlocks who lived by the ancient codes of magic. All had once shared their lives with the Homo-Sapien race and believed they lived peacefully and helped their neighbours when needed. It was the humans who developed their strong beliefs in a higher Deity rejecting the world of magic and myth and turning against them viewing them as their greatest enemy.  

They had simply stopped believing as they evolved and developed finding they no longer needed magic when science overtook the old ways and truth became greater than fiction. Humans could fly like birds, only higher and further, they had flown into Space, and they could swim like the fish only deeper and faster as they plundered the bounty of the seas. On land they bred at such a rapid rate they soon overtook indigenous populations and the Creator brought those remaining behind the veil that separated their world from all the other realms. The Goddess ordered her Species to become the protectors of the land, it was the duty of all Shifters to use their special abilities for the good of the planet and that included hiding away from the human population. They quickly became the stuff of all human nightmares, film-makers portrayed them as monsters and to keep the humans away from their Packs they used that fear to their advantage. As human technology advanced they finally reached out into Space, unaware their young planet had been watched for centuries by those who coveted its vast resources. Those watching saw the way the human technology raced to catch up with their own, in one century, a mere blink of an eye in the universal scheme of things, the little human parasites had gone from using the horse and cart to landing on the moon. Parameters had to be set, and a time limit introduced, simply put when human technology advanced to a certain point, when it could be used to destroy those vast resources, a meeting of the Intergalactic Council would be called.

Those pesky humans could not be trusted not to destroy their pretty little planet by constantly fighting with each other and that would not be allowed under any circumstance.

Alexis was the Snow Wolf Pack Alpha and he was utterly gorgeous, all six feet five inches of him, not an ounce was wasted, with his long ash blonde hair and ice blue eyes, toned muscled body, slender hips, powerful long legs and a devastating smile that made him every female's fantasy male. Needless to say, he had no trouble finding willing females to keep him warm during the endless winter nights that were the bane of his Pack life. Here in his snow-covered territory, the winters were long and harsh, a time to reflect on their effectiveness over the previous year, to do any repairs to their buildings and machinery and to catch up on friendships and study. The days were so short, by the time of the Winter Equinox they lasted a mere four hours, and as the Mating Moon occurred during this time the females in his Pack were kept busy organising the huge Ball that they always held to celebrate the many matings that occurred during this time. It was good for the Pack that by the end of the month almost all those females who had mated would be carrying cubs.      

He was, however, unmated, whoever his fated mate was he had not found her yet and he was in no rush to do so he was having far too much fun to settle down.                                                                                  ‘That part of his life was in his future he was not ready to settle down yet.’                                                   He had thought but this sexy young Alpha male was about to discover how little about fated mates he actually knew.

‘Good morning Alpha, you have a meeting later this morning. Would you like a coffee?’

Martha was his un-appointed secretary, she was an older she-wolf who had been widowed when another Wolf Pack had foolishly tried to overthrow the Snow Wolves. She was lonely as she had no cubs and had taken it upon herself to look after Alexis. He smiled now and nodded at the coffee before going into his office his parents had been killed in the same attempted coup as Martha’s husband, it had failed miserably because they had underestimated him. At just sixteen he had rallied his Warriors and driven the Rogue Pack off his land killing most of them in the process, including their Alpha. The Rogue Alpha had been so cocky and sure of himself believing that a young boy would be no match for his strength but Alexis was a blue-eyed pure-blood, descended from the original Siblings. He was stronger, quicker and possessed the kind of power the Rogue could only dream of. He had ripped his throat out with barely a struggle but unfortunately, the Rogues Warriors had taken his Father by surprise and by the time he realised what was happening his Mother was dead. His Beta, [Martha's husband Billy] had been mortally wounded and the Alpha himself was surrounded by blood fuelled murdering Rogues. They had all felt their Alpha bond break when his Father had been brutally killed but they had also felt a new bond forming with Alexis who had quickly stepped up and took his rightful place as the Alpha of the Pack. When he discovered his parents had been murdered Alexis had gone berserk not only killing the Rogue Leader but more than a dozen others in his angry rage and the need for revenge.

It was only when Martha had pulled him into her arms and held him tightly that he howled his pain and stopped the endless killing and that had been eight years ago Martha had been looking after him ever since. She had moved into the Pack House to cook and clean for him almost immediately and it had not taken her long to become indispensable. She was his ‘Mother’ now and while he concentrated on running the Pack she took it upon herself to look after his home. He looked up as she came in with his coffee and a thick bacon sandwich,

‘Oh Goddess Martha that smells so good!’