“I don’t want either of you near this Hebbs character until after I’ve spoken to him. I don’t trust him. If he tries to speak with you or arrange a meeting, you can meet in the bar and nowhere else. I don’t want him taking you to some private place where you could disappear from.” Rob said as they ate their meal in the corner of the shop. “I still believe you’re overreacting to all of this.” Becky insisted as she finished her meal. She sat back with her coffee and watched Rob speak. “Shh... Leanne isn’t in the know, if you know what I mean, Becky. So keep your voice down. She likes to talk, and we don’t want others to put the pieces together.” Jane Ann said in a hushed tone to Becky as she hid her mouth from Leanne with her sandwich. “True enough, also try not to answer this reporter’s questions if they approach you. We don’t know if they really are from a real media outlet, independent reporter, or something less savoury. If they ask you anything,
“Well ladies, why don’t we go to the clinic, and you can get on with the day?” Jon followed the women from the diner and down the street. “Should I still send my schedule to the officer? Since Rob is no longer missing.” “Since you aren’t supposed to know, I’d recommend you do so just in case they try to pin something else on you. A couple disappeared while camping around the same time.” “Great, just great.” Becky didn’t want to mess up anything and draw attention to herself. If the officer researched her past, the inquiries could force her to abandon everything to start again, because Ivan or her parents could get notified about it and where the inquiries came from. They’d track her down from those inquiries. Becky was sure her parents would try everything in their power just to keep Ivan happy, even if it meant bribing officials to find her. She didn’t believe that it would matter to them. It was illegal to do. Jane Ann went on ahead to op
Paul walked into the Wolf’s Den. This was a place owned by his Alpha, and he knew every inch like the back of his hand. He’d gone to school a few years ago to become a police officer and return here. This would grant his pack inside knowledge of the criminal underbelly of the area, with no one asking questions. A cop asking about a case wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. He watched Bart Hobbs settle into a booth and prepare for an interview with Rob. They’d spent the morning with Bart, showing Paul around. They couldn’t really talk about their unique similarity, as there’d been too many humans within earshot. “Bart, we need to talk before Rob gets here.” “I should have known you were on a first-name basis with him.” Bart sat down at a booth table and looked dryly at Paul. “Of course, I know him, and that’s what I need to talk to you about. I need to know what you’re doing here, and what you are trying to achieve.” “Simply put? They sent
“May I help you?” Jon stood there imposingly between Becky and Jane Ann. Becky put her hand out to stop Jane Ann from interrupting Jon confronting the two strangers. The man was not a danger to Jon. Wolf shifter or not, Jon stood head and shoulders taller than him. His blonde hair was wispy and looked like he was losing it early. It also looked like he was long overdue for more than a trim. The woman must have been a good six inches taller than the man and she moved with a dancer’s grace. Effortlessly smooth and Becky instantly wanted to dislike her. “I’m looking for Doctor Rebecca Allen.” “Do you have an appointment?” “No.” “Your name and purpose with the doctor?” Jon could see this red-haired woman didn’t know who she was looking for. “You work here, I presume? Anyway, my name is Grace Levins. I am reporting for Channel Seven.” “What does that have to do with Doctor Allen?” “I wanted t
Jon returned to the Wolf’s Den with the two women. He still struggled to get over the fact that both he, and Rob, would find themselves destined to mate with humans. This would be difficult in the best of circumstances, but with all the complications. He wasn’t sure if bringing them into the pack would be a benefit or harmful to their safety. The reporter seemed to act odd when she left the clinic, and her companion didn’t say a word the whole time. That gave Jon a bad feeling about them. He hoped it was just her situation of needing to create a story where there was little to none. The news was big business now and to get any traction in the general media, there must be drama and conflict. It didn’t matter whether that drama was real or fake. “How did it go?” Rob approached once he had the ladies settled into the apartment above them. “Quiet mostly, except for one incident. What about your meeting with this Hobbs?” Jon grimaced, expecting Rob to re
Rob went up to the apartment to see how it was going for the two women. Gods, this was not how he wanted this to go, and he knew this would be a hard conversation. How did you bring up a divorce and the fact of her divorce from the son of a known shifter enemy? How did he explain shifters weren’t the monster in this situation? Should he confront her about it? Or let her bring it up? Did he mention her ex-father-in-law and the damage he’s done? Would she run if she found out about it instead? The pictures of the damage Ivan did to her were in the file along with information that a security video existed of him doing the damage. It must be his money that kept him from getting out of jail. That was the only way Rob could see this happening. Money could buy good lawyers. He entered to find only his bag in the entrance. That was a good sign. “Hey how’s it going up here?” “Fine. I guess. Are you sure this is necessary?” Becky appeared in the door
“It’s done, and it’s nature. We aren’t human. You can’t judge us on a human scale. If they want to treat us like we are beneath them. Then we’ll remind them of where they came from. Men like Ivan think they are better, but they aren’t. They are the lowlifes of this world. The veritable monsters, and you can’t forget that. They don’t deserve your pity or forgiveness. I won’t stand by and let him harm you, or anyone else, for that matter. His father is no different. They’re harming and probably killing people, as we speak in the name of science. Science that fuels war. You’re safe here and we’ll keep it that way. We also won’t let this continue.” Rob was frustrated. This problem hit him more deeply than he’d expected. But her reaction scared him. She needed help and protection. Yet she was pulling away from it. He couldn’t understand why. “Rob, you’ve absolutely terrified her. She’s had a hard enough time as it is. Please stop. Just stop. Hasn’t she been through enoug
They fell into an awkward silence once the Jon and Jane Ann left the room. “So, you think you can stop these people, but you’re struggling with financing, just living from day-to-day. While they have the bank account of Midas backing them with people paid to do their bidding no matter how dirty, underhanded, or criminal those actions are.” “We may have a dry spell here for money, but we are far from isolated here. Wolf shifters are one of the strongest groups of shifters in the world. We may live independently in small packs by choice, but we have a well-organized ruling body. This ruling body accepts this pack, and we fall under their protection. I’ll just state that our ruling body has been a thorn in Hectric’s side for a long time. They still don’t understand the extent of the resources or funds we can tap if it’s truly a need.” “Wait. You’re saying that you can fight them on their level?” “I’m saying we have been for as long as they’ve been pull
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