Grace and Dave sat in the cheap motel eating greasy, cold burgers and fries. Today was a wash. Everyone they approached about the missing people shut them down before they could get any information. She wasn’t even at the stage that she had anything she could verify.This was a horrible nightmare for Grace. If she didn’t get this story, it numbered her days at this job.Her boss hated women and if he could, he’d never work with any. Since he took his post, women were being replaced. One would retire early, another would have a baby and not return. Grace wasn’t a fool. She could see the writing on the wall.His tone and lack of respect convinced her of this. She only got the pathetic and waste of time assignments. Nothing she could highlight on a resume, and she couldn’t explain to a new employer why she wanted to leave her current position. “Charlie’s going to call soon.” Dave said as Grace tossed down her cold burger with its wilted lettuce and congealed fat. She c
“Janie, what are you thinking? Why are you sabotaging his ability to interact with Becky? I get it. You don’t want me. But he needs her.” “Not want you. That’s not why I left. You weren’t willing to listen to me and what I needed to do.” “You didn’t have to do anything.” “I had one chance. Either I take it or give up for all time on what I’ve always wanted to do. No, not wanted to do. I was called to do. You’re wolves. A wolf has to go to a veterinarian, not a physician. I met Becky there, and I got her back here. Look at your brother. He’s so fixated he can’t see straight and sees she’s got issues. She’s got a history and you have to get him to remember that when he’s interacting with her. Becky’s been betrayed in a really heinous way. People who should have loved and supported her betrayed her. She was a veritable prisoner. Becky wears the scars from that time. If that wasn’t bad enough, it was dragged out further in the courts, and they made her take the blame. They left her wi
Grace was driving back when she saw the Wolf’s Den was open for business. That was interesting, with the owner nowhere in sight. How could they open without him? She thought the business ran because he was always there. With her curiosity peaked, she found a parking space a few streets over and walked the rest of the way. At least, it was a nice evening. This was the difference between the city and the small town. People walked the streets alone and in groups here without fear of being attacked or robbed. She would have been afraid to do this in the city where she lived. The second thing she noticed was the sky. Here you could see the stars. There were so many more stars in the sky than she was used to seeing. It looked alive up there and not something some accidentally poked holes in. It had a depth and a feeling of time. Before she knew it, Grace stood outside the Wolf’s Den. An enormous man who glowered at her stopped at the door before her. “You going to
Bart was about to head back to where he was staying when his boss called him into his office. He hated to call him the chief, because he really wasn’t much more than a cop like everyone else in the station. “Yeah, what’s up, Bill?” Bart stood at the door to his boss’ office. The place smelt like a sour, old gym sock. He couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose at it. “You need to go first thing to get an update about how the rangers are doing with looking for those campers. This is getting ridiculous. People will stop camping if they don’t find out what’s happening to them. Take the other new guy with you and get him acquainted with the rangers.” Bill didn’t get it around here that Bart was sure of. No wonder they left him in the dark about who and what really lived in this area. Bart expected Bill would go off the deep end and start hurting the more unique residents of the area if he ever learned of them. “Sure, sure. I’ll make it in after lunch then. Ha
Becky stood in the bathroom again. Why did she always hide in the bathroom? Was this the only place she felt safe? What did that say about her to other people? Did others see her as a coward?The more Rob tried to explain what he believed was happening in town, the more she believed him. Some extra detail would crop up that would make something more plausible. The biggest detail she believed he couldn’t confirm, he did. He’d stripped out of his clothes with only one statement. “Hope the floor is strong enough, and don’t tell anyone. This breaks the rules we teach our pups not to do.” He later explained that everyone was taught not to shift indoors to save the floors and furniture from their claws. It was all so logical and mundane, but there was nothing mundane about the wolf that looked back at her with Rob’s eyes. She gave him the excuse that she needed to use the bathroom and give him time to return to… That wasn’t her crowning moment when she… back to hi
Jane Ann looked at everyone at the breakfast bar. “You’re buying this Becky?” “You’ve seen Jon shift?” “Yeah…” “Any reason I should think one or both is lying.” Jane Ann looked down at her food for a moment before saying quietly. “No. I guess not, but how do I explain this to my father?” “We’ll figure this out after this is over. Though I think he knew this probably would happen along the way. He’s not stupid.” “I’m never going to look him in the eye ever again.” It mortified Jane Ann. Becky chanced a look at Jon and oddly, he didn’t appear in any better state than Jane Ann. “Janie, hon, you’re father’s been expecting me to, and I quote him. Pin you down like he did your mother.” “Of course he does. The man’s too old-fashioned for his own good. The only reason he survived this long was because of my mother.” “It’s still not settled. Are you going to accept my solution? Or do we have more of a pro
Grace finally found the ranger’s station just inside the gates of the provincial park. Lots of signs all pointed to the building requesting that everyone register there first. At the front door, a sign hung saying that camp sites were not available until further notice. There also was another sign with the faces of the missing people. They numbered eight in as many months. Eight months was also when the pharmaceutical companies arrived here. They brought their staff and housed them. There was little to no interaction between the staff and the locals. Grace couldn’t find out anything about what they were working on, and much of it was secret governmental research. The odd thing about that is they didn’t specifically state. Which government they were working for?Grace found her instincts tingling with all the information she found that created more questions than answers.She had to step back as the door popped open like a great weight came into contact with it. Sure enou
Bart listened to the morning briefing of the rangers this morning. The rangers here were all wolf shifters from the Shadow Mists Pack. Even the ‘hunting and rescue dogs’ were shifters and rangers. He was one of the first to admire how the scheduling was done for the rangers in situations like this. Making sure the wolves appeared only in their ‘dog’ form while others stayed in their human form. Really, it was genius because you could have access to all the full predators’ abilities along with the intelligence of the shifters. Paul was out at the base camp where the search was being managed from. There, he’d get the most recent information directly from the previous shift and they’d compare notes later. The meeting was just breaking up with he heard an unknown voice out in the main office area, which they used as a visitor welcome centre. The rangers didn’t have any women currently on their staff. Out of curiosity, Bart followed Ben White out of the back meet
Becky stopped in at the new broadcasting centre in town to have lunch with Grace. Jane Ann was back in the pack, claiming she couldn’t get away because her twins didn’t let them sleep last night. She’d had two males in offspring. Becky still thought it was odd to say that, but they could be lynx, wolf, or human. It was anyone’s guess right now. No one would know for another seven to ten years. Grace sadly lost a pregnancy. The healers claimed it was because she was doing too much, and the stress was too much for her. They would continue trying to have pups once Grace’s schedule settled down and became more manageable. Becky and Rob were still trying after a few false positives. But today was the day they’d first gathered as the mate’s self-help group and explained everything to Grace. How did the pack take the news that their Beta’s mate wasn’t human but a lynx shifter? It was mixed, but nothing like the reaction of the elders who were remo
3 Months later- First Lycan Pack The seer entered the new territory and felt the rush of the past and present mingling there. Sadly, she may feel it. She wasn’t strong enough to see it. Thankfully, she couldn’t see it either. The headache she received to some time to get rid of. The land had a lot of traumas associated with it; the druids did their job and tried to wash it away. The issue was that only a god or time could purify a land fully, and no one had time like that to wait. She settled into the seat the pack provided for her as she waited for the time she’d be needed. Many spoke carefully with her, and it was all quite sombre and different from the last one she’d presided over. Someone pushed her right shoulder forward and when she looked behind her, there was no one there. Well, no one with a physical body. She’d told no one that she had a physical connection to the dream realm. She’d encountered no one with this curse? Ability? Whatever people
“Jon, wait. Uh, we need to talk. I want to know when we’re breaking the news to everyone. I mean, what’s one more scandal? One more controversial mating fact? I hate sitting here lying to everyone.” Jane Ann held onto Jon’s forearm and looking into his eyes. Her guilt and frustration were written all over her face. Only Jon knew their family’s secret, the reason they were one of the few families that kept the pack’s secrets over the years. Only the alpha’s knew about them, except no one told Rob directly and since Rob didn’t correct anyone about assuming Jane Ann’s species, she’d struggled with telling him. Jon though kept begging her not to say anything to him, because it was all too much at the time. Her big secret? Her mother and she were lynx shifters. One of the few shifters that didn’t have a pack or community. They lived usually in family groupings only. Jane Ann’s father followed her momma here and kept her secret and that of the pack this entire tim
Becky couldn’t believe how quickly the pack pulled off the preparations for the mating ceremonies. Two for the price of one. It seemed this was offending the case where there would be a spree of matings at the same time. She’d been given several reasons for this, but it all came down to people finding the one that fate made perfect for them. The wolf shifters don’t believe that people complete each other. Rather that they complement each other. No one is lesser in a pairing. Where one goes, the other will surely follow. The drive for family and community or pack was a driving force for the wolf shifters Becky was somehow now intertwined with. Rogues were an exception to the rule she found out, and it often harmed them mentally and eventually they would see physically it. That’s why the Ruling Council and Rob were so keen on convincing the young rogues and their pups to settle for the pack life. They didn’t show the signed of the mental of physical decay yet;
Everyone in the First Lycan Pack territory was trying their best to adjust to the changes. Even Bart found he had difficulty adjusting to the new routines. Half his problem, he found, was that he needed to write the routines so he could refer to them again and again. The week went by far too fast. Bart learned quickly that the rules and routines he introduced were a strong suggestion. Those rules and routines right now needed to be written in wet cement rather than be set in stone. Grace’s day was insanely busy with her forced to travel between the packs for her job with the Ruling Council. Once the rest of the pack was here, they’d find people to train for the jobs she’d need help with, and then they’d move everything over to their territory. Rob right now was being nice to them and more than generous to let them use the space they were using. Today, the plan to bring the rest of the pack here was in full swing. There was an excitement in
The seer sat last, and she smiled nervously between her guests. “Now, let me guess. You’re here because you want your lives to go on as the Moon Goddess planned them, but you’re encountering obstacles. Am I right?” She looked expectantly at Rob and Becky as if they had the answer she sought. They looked among themselves to see who would be the first to say anything, but the seer carried on as if there wasn’t an awkward silence. Her friendly voice prattled on as she tried to entertain her guests. “Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything mystical or magical that gave me that information. My phone and messages have been lighting up like a Christmas tree mid season with calls from many people who are angry one way or the other. Heck, one elder called me to find out if I, a seer, could put a curse on you, like I was a mage, druid, or witch. When I told him I couldn’t and wouldn’t he threatened to harm me. You really must get those old wolves under control, Alpha Northgate.”
The next day, Rob took his brother and their mates to see the local seer. She wouldn’t accept membership within his pack, but she didn’t have to. All she needed to do was provide guidance when some came looking for it. They well paid the seer for that. They hoped she wouldn’t respond like the Council of Elders had. If she did, they’d have to delay the mating ceremony until he would repopulate the Council of Elders with a better representation of the pack. This wasn’t something Rod discussed with anyone else. It was a silent worry that nagged on his mind as they travelled the distance to get to the Seer’s small home, which she’d built in a quiet corner of the county district. “How are we going to approach this one? A little more information would go down more nicely this time, because what you did yesterday, Rob, was a shocking revelation, and it doesn’t look good when the people backing you up have to pick up their jaws off the floor. We should k
“Okay, now I have a list of all your names here, and packages with the information you’ll need to know to settle in here. These packages contain everything from what room you’ll have here for now to the house that will be yours. Contact numbers are pre-programmed into the phone inside each package, so when you get your package, don’t drop it. Yes, your new position is within the package, along with a list of your duties. There are several maps, so you can get around here on your own. Your phones have an app that, if you get close to one of the current borders, it will beep. No one is coming to get you if this happens. But if you’re lost, please call. I’ve seen the land out there and it’s a mess. The humans messed with the terrain extensively. So try going for a run in pairs or small groups until you are familiar with the location. Or at least tell someone you’re going and about when you’ll be back. One of the lynx stone masons found a rather steep hillside one evening and wen
Becky and Rob were both pleasantly surprised by the response his speech received from the pack. Rob learned quickly that he’d been wrong. His pack was with him, and not the Council of Elders. He couldn’t believe the support he received with people volunteering to help set up the mating ceremonies for both couples. “Yes, I’ll let everyone know when we have a planning meeting, and we can make all the decisions then.” Rob assured them over and over until he had to stop the crowd forming. “I’d like to thank everyone who’s offering or offered to help right now. I’ll set up a meeting for everyone who’s interested in offering their services or volunteering. We’ll take a few hours and decide, organize who’s doing what. Just set things up so we don’t miss anything, or have too many people doing one thing. We’ll make this a success.” A murmur of approval went through the small crowd of people, and they talked among themselves. “Look, I’ll put a clipboard out tonight in the pac