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Written by happiest_in_shadows :: [Monday, 21 October 2013 03:06] Last updated by :: [Monday, 21 October 2013 03:07]

As Mira pulled into the drive way of her brother and sister in law she took a moment to look around for her niece. With no sign of the girl she looked behind her shoulder and back at the assault rifle she had waiting for her. A small box of bullets set next to her and several large towels as well as a first aid kit. Wanting to make sure she had brought everything that was required she checked inside the first aid kit to make sure she'd brought the needle nose pliers before hopping out of her jeep and gathering up the requirement items. The moment her boots touched down on the ground she felt the earth as if it was rolling beneath her. The ground remained still but a powerful spirit was stirring. “Good morning Creath I'm glad you're feeling energetic.”

 

The ground calmed down as the earth spirit recognized her. It was actually a relief for Mira to see or at least feel the earth spirit out and about again. An incident a few weeks past had left the spirit injured. It was a concern and an accomplishment for those who had done it. Creath had been a contractor with her pack since before Mira was born and the spirit had grown powerful in that time. Settling her belongings against her side Mira made her way up to the heavy and very solid looking door giving it three powerful wraps that insured everyone in the house knew that she was there. She could hear a flurry of light extremely rapid foot steps coming from the floor above and slow much calmer foot steps.

 

“We have a door bell you know. If you were a human you'd probably break your knuckles hitting the door like that.”

 

The lighter foot steps slowed as the calmer ones came closer to the door. Mira knew that Sasha had slowed down in order to avoid running past her mother. Yet from the sound of the two heart beats she knew the young girl was right behind her mother. The sound of a heavy bolt sliding and a lock turning greeted her ears just before the door opened up. “Good morning Kathy. Hey Sasha how are you doing today?”

 

“Hi aunt Mira! I'm doing fine.”

 

Nodding her head Mira turned her attention back towards Kathy as the woman had clearly noticed the fire arm. Kathy was a rather tall woman standing roughly one hundred eighty centimeters tall with a well conditioned build and deep raven black hair that she'd given to her daughter. In many situations Kathy could be frightening though during most of those situations she insisted being called Katherine. This wasn't a normal situation as at over two meters tall Mira positively dwarfed her sister in law. Her fiery red hair looking akin to a wolf's fur after a vigorous run through the forest. “I see you noticed the gun already. May I come in?”

 

Nodding her head Kathy moved a bit further inside allowing Mira to come the wrest of the way in. She was fairly certain this was going to be an unusual request as she noted the firearm and the first aid box. It wasn't the gun that actually caught her attention but the first aid box and the towels that she'd brought with her. “Okay Mira what is this about? You know that you're always welcome here but it looks like you're dropping off emergency supplies.”

 

Immediately Mira was made to chuckle as she shook her head. “Oh how I wish that was the case. I really really do. Kathy I need you to do me a favor. I need you to shoot me.” There was no sign of surprised on Kathy's face which was fitting for the wife of her brother. She had been cool and composed in every situation she'd ever seen the woman.

 

“You want mommy to shoot you! But that's going to hurt mommy is a really good shot!”

 

“Well fortunately I don't need her to just shoot me anywhere. As for why. I guess you want to know as well?” As she turned to Kathy the woman only offered her a quick nod bringing a sigh from Mira. “Okay I was on a bust a few days back well a bit over a week at this point. Anyway, some things went wrong and bullets were fired and one of them caught me in the stomach.”

 

Kathy wasn't surprised to hear that Mira had been involved in a fight. That wasn't anything knew to her. What was surprising was that Mira was actually concerned about being shot. “I am still loss as to why I should shoot you because you were shot. Typically bullets don't even slow you down even in your human form. You werewolves are very durable type. This little lady is already giving me head aches whenever we go visit the doctor.” As she spoke Kathy placed her hand on Sasha's head. The girl's response was to give an amused giggle and move even closer to her mother. It was a site even to Mira. Kathy was a tall woman and Sasha wasn't even ten years old but even compared to her mother she looked like a young teen. At least she did physically.

 

“As for that. The gun was a bit more powerful then what we typically encounter. I swear this thing would have torn through SWAT's body armor and kept right on going out the back. I took the bullet out and was working on healing up the wound whenever the medics arrived. There was a bit too much blood on my clothes for me to just hide what had happened. Fortunately they thought that a small caliber bullet had caught me. The chief chewed me out something awful for not wearing my vest. Anyway, now I have to go in for a checkup and.” As she spoke Mira used her free hand to lift her shirt revealing a solid abdominal wall and no bullet wound.

 

“If you go to the doctor and he sees that your wound has completely healed already they're going to know something is up. Even if they don't pursue the issue it is a danger.” For a moment Kathy looked towards then gun then back to Mira. “Isn't there anyone else that could shoot you? I really don't like harming family members.”

 

“David was suppose to take care of it for me. He called me a few hours ago though and told me that he won't be able to make it back in time to put the bullet in me. Kathy if I miss this checkup the chief is going to put me on medical leave without pay until I get it. Now I could do without the pay but I can't afford to be put on medical leave. Other then David you're the only person I trust to shoot me.”

 

“Yes. Yes that would cause some complications. Now are you saying the other members of the pack are bad shots?”

 

“Sis we're werewolves. Half of us consider using a gun as a sign of weakness and talk about it like it's something to be embarrassed by. A forth of us understand that it's a necessary tool and the other quarter is some odd mix that I can't really describe. At first the only reason I learned to use a hand gun was it was necessary for my position as a police officer. I can't exactly be seen going tooth and claw against a gunman while I'm out in the field after all.”

 

Reaching out Kathy lifted Mira's shirt revealing the spot that she had indicated before. Using her left hand she pressed her index finger firmly against the spot. “Right here?”

 

“A little bit dow.” Mira went silent as Kathy picked up a marker from a hall table kept next to the door and drew in a tiny dot to serve as a target. “Thanks sis.”

 

“Thank me after I get the bullet in you with only one shot. Now Mira I hope that this doesn't become a habit I don't like hurting those I love even if it's for their own good.” Kathy immediately shot Mira an icy glare upon hearing a chuckle from her. The larger woman continued to smile but at least she seemed to have her laughter under control now. “Okay Sasha Mommy and aunt Mira are going to go down in the basement and mommy is going to put a bullet into her.”

 

“Do you want to come and watch your aunt be shot kiddo!”

 

Sasha's response was to immediately look towards her mother. “Are you going to be alright mommy?”

 

“I'll be fine. I wouldn't normally do this but I trust in your aunt Mira's self control even while she's in pain.” It was clear to Kathy that Sasha was uncertain about the situation. She loved her aunt and Kathy had no doubt the young girl loved her a great deal. Yet she was more protective of her mother then her aunt and the notion that her aunt while in pain might injure her mother was likely worrying the young girl. This concerned Kathy. If Sasha was to see Mira as a threat to her mother she might end up transforming herself and there would be a serious problem on hand. Sasha was quite a rarity. Typically werewolves didn't manifest until well into their teens. Sasha had first transformed when she was three years old while showing strong signs of wolf's blood from birth. Her transformed state was also far more impressive then what most adult werewolves.

 

Instead of responding right away Sasha moved closer to her mother. As part of her training to insure she didn't lose control Sasha was no stranger to pain despite her young age. An injury like being stabbed or shot had been the trigger for many unintentional deaths to those around werewolves. The pain would trigger the transformation and spur the wolf to a rage so that they couldn't always recognize who their friends were. Sasha knew that Mira had underwent similar training and even more due to her advanced age and the fact that she worked as a police officer. If she were to go wolf and shred several of her fellow officers they could all be in serious danger. “I don't think I want to see aunt Mira being shot.”

 

Immediately Mira took on a defensive tone. “And why not! Are you too good to watch your own aunt being shot? I swear I would have loved to see my uncle be shot whenever I was your age. Then again he was very annoying.” Mira couldn't help but chuckle as she stepped closer to Sasha and gently patted the child on the head. “I know that it's tough kid. In this life though you're going to have to see your friends injured and make sure that you won't lose it whenever that happens or you may end up hurting your friends even more. I guess your daddy has already been putting you through those experiences.”

 

To this Sasha gave her head a nod though she didn't pull back from her aunt's attention. It wasn't the typical thing would teach a child. Yet due to Sasha's early transformation she had to learn a lot of things far sooner then what would be desired. She had already been taught to endure a great deal of pain without transforming and to control herself when transformed. She had also seen pain inflicted upon her own father in order to teach her restraint at the site of a family member being tortured. Before she could respond a loud meow reached her ears and all three women turned to look towards the source. A large well fed orange tabby cat laying on the sofa looking at them.

 

Lord Whiskers had been sleeping on his his recliner enjoying the early morning sun coming through his window. The constant chatter between the three women had drawn his attention and it had soon became clear that they weren't coming over to pet him. He had no choice but to call them over as he rolled over onto his back exposing his white belly and meowing quite loudly expecting it to be rubbed. He recognized the larger female as a member of the family that hadn't petted him in some time thus he focused most of his attention on her as he reached his paws up into the air.

 

“Oh? So you believe that I should pet you. Is that it?” Mira gave the cat a stern look even as she approached him. The large plump cat showed every sign of a pampered life style even as he gave her another meow twisting on his back in expectation of being petted. “I just want to make this clear. I'm only petting you because you're cute and I want to pet you. This has nothing to do with you telling me to pet you. Do you understand me?” Mira raised an eye brow as Lord Whiskers gave another meow. “No. I do not owe you for disturbing your wrest. You spoiled thing! Kathy do you have any concept of how rotten you've made this cat?”

 

“Oh when are you going to teach me to speak to animals! I want to speak with Lord Whiskers to!” As she spoke Sasha had already moved over to the large house cat and began to rub his tummy. Three long and happy meows issued forth from the cat as he twisted underneath Sasha's hand and tried to rub the top of his head against her hand receiving a good chin rubbing in response. “We can have all sorts of nice conversations.”

 

“Ah Sasha! Learning to speak with animals really means bringing yourself a lot closer to the wolf then I believe you're ready for. The wolf inside of you is already such a powerful one I really don't believe it's time for you to start learning those techniques. You might start seeing Lord Whiskers as more of a snack then someone to speak with.”

 

“Is that why you don't have any trouble eating steak even though you can talk with the cows?”

 

A slight chuckle escaped Mira and she gave Kathy a quick glance. It was fairly clear that her response wasn't going to be the most politically correct and she waited for Kathy to give her a nod before responding. “Kiddo I've eaten people. Being able to talk to me has absolutely nothing to do with my decision to eat someone or not especially whenever I go wolf. If I hadn't been worried about being caught I'd ripped the lunges out of the annoyance that shot me last week. You rotten thing!”

 

“What did he say?”

 

“He wants to know why I'm not petting him to! Okay come on Kathy let's head on down to the basement so you can put a bullet inside of me. You know you've spoiled that cat rotten.

 

“That is Sasha's doing and my husbands. I can't even put him on a diet thanks to those two.”

 

“He doesn't like the diet cat food though mommy!” As she spoke Sasha continued to pet the happily purring cat.

 

“Yes and it's very hard to teach him to like it whenever a certain little wolf keeps sharing her kills with him.”

 

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Kathy knew how to use a gun. That was why Mira had come to here in order to have this done. As she set on the stool with a towel underneath and behind her she was reminded of this as she watched Kathy examining the firearm. Her sister in law was never comfortable shooting a gun until she'd taken the time to inspect it. This might have offended Mira but Kathy had actually caught a few problems in the past. One of them being a shaky hammer that she had to get fixed. “It's quite a nice one isn't it? I actually recovered that beauty from a werewolf hunter that wanted to make sure his target stayed down with the first shot.”

 

As she spoke Kathy picked up one of the bullets and began to inspect it. “Were the bullets actually silver or did he rely on the firepower alone to take down a werewolf?”

 

“They weren't pure silver. They had a silver jacket over a lead core. I thought it seemed like a good money saver honestly. I couldn't be certain but he seemed rather surprised whenever I shot him first.” A soft giggle escaped Mira as her mind flashed back to the encounter. The hunter had somehow deduced that she was a werewolf or perhaps he was comfortable acting on instinct. Likely he had realized what she was whenever she was tracking someone or perhaps during a drug bust. Mira knew that she had a reputation amongst the criminal element for being able to sniff out narcotics. The sound of Kathy loading the gun brought a deep breath from her.

 

Currently Mira was setting with all her clothes removed. There was no need to get blood all over them after all. The large woman showed no sign of embarrassment at her nudity yet she retained a composed seating position. Except for her lack of clothing her position was very professional. “ So did you kill him with the gun?”

 

“No. After I got the first shot in he abandoned his weapon and tried to run. I pursued him and he tried to use a side arm and yes it had silver bullets. I believe my shooting him had him off his game though as I was able to close in and detain him. You should have seen the look on his face whenever I put a set of handcuffs on him.

 

“Oh! I heard about that from Anders. I suppose you hadn't done anything to reveal your true nature. You're a police officers, he had a weapon pointed at you but you were quicker on the draw then he was, you apprehended him. It was all very cop like. They mentioned in the news how strange it was that someone would be using such expensive bullets and there was some speculation about his sanity.” Now Kathy heard a truly healthy laugh from Mira as she nodded her head.

 

“I don't know if it's true but I believe Victoria might have paid him a visit with how he behaved during the trial. The way he accused the judge of being a monster. I was really surprised whenever he attacked the judge forcing the officers in the room to shoot him in order to stop the attack. Okay are we ready to do this?”

 

“I was just thinking that perhaps you should take some sedatives before we do this.”

 

“Sis I'm not only a werewolf but one of the leads of the crimson moon pack. I'll be fine without a sedative. Plus I have to drive to the doctor after this and can't afford to have my head fogged during the trip. Anything powerful enough to dampen the kind of pain I'm going to be enduring is also going to slow down my reaction time and I don't want to risk hitting someone that doesn't recover quite as well.”

 

Kathy gave her sister in law a wide grin before raising the gun and bracing it against her shoulder. “You have a good point. Well the second point is good. Okay we'll be inserting the bullet in three, two one.” As Kathy pulled the trigger she watched as Mira raised slightly in her seat and her eyes opened wide. Her lips parted revealing her teeth and Kathy could see them sharpening slightly as her body began to transform. Reflexively Kathy chambered another bullet while waiting for her sister in law to settle down.

 

“Ouch. This hurts a lot more without the rush of battle or the thrill of the hunt. I mean seriously ouch.” As she spoke Mira had already picked up the needle nose pliers and inserted them into herself in order to take out the bullet. She had to take a sharp breath as she inserted the pliers into the injury. She could feel her teeth trying to reshape themselves to grow longer just as her hair was. She willed these changes to stop and held back the rage that was awakening within her. A sharp chuckle escaped her even as she took hold of the bullet with the pliers. “Blasted wolf responds to so many stimulus with either fear, anger or hunger.”

 

There was some blood released from the wound the moment Mira pulled the bullet from within her body. Kathy had to push back her instinct to go help the injured woman as she nearly doubled over in her seat taking in deep breaths. There was no way she was going to offer Mira pain killers at this point. She was in enough pain that she might take them and then have to go through the ordeal again later on. Kathy made no move to put down the weapon either. This was important for maintaining control as she had learned from her experience with other werewolves. The best thing one could do to avoid being attacked by a werewolf even a friend was to appear as too risky to attack. While Mira was in pain fighting to restrain the wolf she needed to appear too strong to be prey.

 

“Father Wolf, Mother Luna and the holy one for goodness sakes this hurts!” As Mira removed the bullet from within her body she had doubled over in pain. Even when training she often had an opponent or a target to focus on. In this situation she was having to keep herself calm and avoid transforming. Even if she kept herself from attacking Kathy it would heal the wound more quickly and she couldn't allow that. This all served to make the pain even more intense. “Okay. Okay. Maybe I should have just had you shoot me with a small silver bullet. Then I wouldn't have to worry about the wound healing too quickly.”

 

“You wouldn't be saying that five hours from now.” As she spoke Kathy picked up one of the towels and the first aid kit. She finally set the rifle down and approached Mira who was by now setting up and taking in deep slow breathes. “I'm going to clean your wound and then I'll hep you wrap it. I take it that your examination is soon.”

 

“Yeah. Yeah very soon.” As Kathy began to work on cleaning up her wound Mira looked down at the smaller woman's head and then her hands. The skill with which she worked showed practice. She had no doubt that it was mostly due to Anders. She had learned how to treat a werewolves injuries. “Hey Kathy have you been alright? I know with the recent attack and okay. Shutting up on the subject.” Mira couldn't help but grin as Kathy gave her a rather annoyed look.

 

“You know I was taught how to hunt and kill werewolves and other beings right?”

 

“Yeah. I know. It's just whenever you're being motherly with Sasha and I just smell human I have trouble imaging you like that.”

 

“You do realize not being perceived as a threat is one of the key features of a good werewolf hunter right? What do you mean by just human though? I am wolf blooded after all.”

 

A sharp chuckle escaped Mira as she helped Kathy wrap the bandaged around her body. Her bleeding had already slowed to a trickle thanks to her natural healing rate. There was some pain whenever Kathy applied pressure to the wound but nothing unexpected. “Yes. Yes I remember that one. I was just thinking with Anders being at the hospital so much lately you might be worried after the attack but I was being silly.”

 

“True not that I would mind having him home more.” As she was pinning Mira's bandages in place Kathy remembered to make the bandages appear as if they'd been done for a human instead of someone that would be healed up by the end of the day and likely much sooner. “Have you ever used something to keep a wound open? Like maybe inserting a small copper pipe.”

 

“Oh no. Walking around with a wound like that while my body is trying to heal would not be a good idea. I don't want to think about how much energy I'd go through or what my body might do in order to close up that wound. Can you imagine if my body sealed around the pipe and it had to be pulled out later on? Now that would take pain to an entirely different level.” Picking up a few wet napkins Mira began the process of removing her blood as Kathy finished with the bandage. “Okay Sasha you can come on down.”

 

As she began down the steps Sasha found herself blushing a bit. She trusted her aunt but she just couldn't leave her mother alone in such a situation. Once they'd went down at the basement she'd opened the door leading to it slightly and had been listening very carefully. If there was any indication that her mother was in danger she had planned to transform and come aid her. As she came down the steps and the scent of Mira's blood hit her nose she felt the wolf stirring within her. A member of her pack had been harmed. Her entire body tensed up as she told the wolf this was a necessity and pushed forward. “Are you okay aunt Mira.”

 

“It stings quite a bit but yeah pulling the bullet out was the most painful part of the entire ordeal. You keep a close eye on your mother.”

 

Giving her head a slight nod Sasha came to stand beside her mother who gave her a grin. Mira's lack of clothing didn't even register with the young girl after her experiences as a werewolf. “Aunt Mira you didn't have to go see the doctor whenever you were injured in the field before did you?”

 

“No. I did not. Nathan was captain then though and understood that certain officers had unique concerns. After all Victoria put him there in order to watch out for her concerns. The new guy isn't quite as well educated or controlled so things change. I'm just glad Nathan cleaned up all the records before his departure so we didn't need to. Then again I'm sure everything looked very by the book whenever he was captain.”

 

“Why isn't Nathan captain anymore?”

 

Kathy, “Victoria is trying to have him move up the ladder. She's was rather upset whenever she lost much of her influence within the police department and hopes to use him to regain it. I believe all those arrest you and the others made helped a great deal with her plans in those regards. It sure made Nathan look more effective.”

 

“Well I saw how he handled the human officers. He really wasn't a bad captain I'd even say that he was a good one.” Mira showed no signs of a bullet wound as she stood up and walked over to her clothes other then the bandage around her waist. “I'll speak with Anders and see how the hunt goes for the spirit of sickness that's taken up residence within the hospital. I swear you'd think all the spirits of healing and wellness that they've been helping out would have been enough to keep any spirit of sickness out of the hospital.”

 

“Oh come now be fair. Every time a sick person comes into the hospital they have a chance to be carrying a spirit of sickness with them. Is it surprising that with so many patience one of them was particularly resilient or cunning?”

 

 

“It wasn't just the spirits though. Your husband my brother and two other members of the pack work there. Shame one of the slackers hasn't reached a position where they could just right my injury off but anyway. They should have been aware of such an invader.”

 

Hey my daddy isn't there all the time!”

 

“Well you have a good point kiddo. Okay I'll see you two around.”

 

Sasha watched her aunt getting dressed for a moment before taking in another breath. The scent of the blood was still influencing her and she walked over to her mother gently taking hold of her shirt. “Mommy I need to go hunting.”

 

Kathy didn't need to think much as to why Sasha would need to go hunting. She had seen a member of her pack injured and she smelt blood. Likely the wolf wanted to bring back some food for the wounded member of its pack. The scent of blood wouldn't be helping. “Okay. Let me get these towels in the wash and put on my hunting clothes then we'll go bring something back.”

 

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She was awake. Not just awake she was setting up in bed looking around her room. After a moment of contemplation Sasha glanced over at the alarm clock and saw that it was showing two thirty seven. She shouldn't have been awake for several hours. Yet as she lay herself back into her bed she knew that sleep wouldn't be coming soon. She saw a soft glint of light in the darkness and heard a light thump. A low murr reached her ears and someone who knew she was awake joined her in the bed. Sasha could easily feel the roughly fifteen kilogram house cat jump into the bed and soon felt his whiskers tickling her face before his head rubbed against it. A slight chuckle escaped the young girl as she reached up and began to gently pet Lord Whiskers.

 

She was awake. Sasha was awake Lord Whiskers knew it the moment she set up. The cat had been asleep himself but the sudden motion had been enough to wake him up to. Now that she was awake though he could get her to pet him and he wasted no time rushing over to Sasha's bed to be petted. She wasn't normally awake at this hour. Lord Whiskers for his part had spent a good deal of time sleeping next to Sasha but she had began to move around so he had climbed into the chair instead. He knew that she had only began to move whenever he heard other animals outside. At times she became restless whenever she heard other animals.

 

“Well what am I doing completely awake? Do you know Lord Whiskers?” A soft meow reached Sasha's ears. “You do? You do know? Well what could it.” A slight pain in Sasha's stomach made her go silent and a grin formed on her face. Taking in a calming breath Sasha pushed very lightly outward within her own body. Immediately she felt the influence as her hunger began to swell, a rush of energy surged through her being and yet a feeling of happiness came with it. She could still remember the horrible pain of her first transformation. Thankfully that was over. She felt her ears brushing against her hair as they lengthened and became increasingly pointed while at the same time her hair grew longer and thicker. Her jaw ached for a moment as her teeth extended outward and sharpened forcing the structure of her face to change ever so slightly.

 

The tips of Sasha's fingers were made to itch as were the tips of her toes as her nails extended into claws both increasing in length and thickness while changing in shape to be better suited for slashing. Her clothes felt tighter on her as her body expanded and her muscles toned. Reflectively she stretched her neck as her vocal cords shifted slightly. In the middle of this she heard a rather annoyed sounding meow and looked down to see Lord Whiskers staring at her. “Oh fine you grump. I can't even shift without you being annoyed.” A slight giggle escaped Sasha as she resumed petting her cat while listening carefully. She soon heard it and knew what woke her up. “Deer.”

 

Shifting in bed Sasha placed her feet on the ground. The increased height would make her as tall as her mom if not taller. It had been a while since they had measured her three fourths state. Still listening the deer moving around her home she knew what had happened. While she'd been sleeping she'd heard the animals invading her territory. Between the intrusion by prey and her hunger her instincts had kicked in and now she was fully awake and ready to hunt. Unfortunately she wasn't allowed to go hunting outside without at least one of her parents or another pack member. It was both for safety and in truth she preferred to hunt with something of a pack. Unfortunately Lord Whiskers wasn't able to keep up with her whenever she hunted outside.

 

Lord Whiskers waited for the petting to continue. As Sasha stood up though he realized she intended to leave instead of continuing to pet him. Immediately he gave a sharp meow of protest and was glad whenever she came to a sudden stop. Her claws and teeth did nothing to frighten the cat neither did the change in her scent. He had seen this so many times that he knew this was the same girl who was suppose to feed and pet him. They were all suppose to feed and pet him but he liked being fed and petted by her more then the others. She was also nice to cuddle with. As she walked over to him he continued to lightly meow.

 

“Are you seriously going to make me carry you? You can't just follow me out the door?” Despite her words Sasha couldn't help but giggle as she petted the demanding house cat. It wasn't like Lord Whiskers was always selfish. He showed his affection whenever he would rub up against her or purr happily. Sasha knew Mira was right about spoiling him but she couldn't resist picking the large house cat up. As she cuddled him against herself he purred and began to rub his head against her chest. “Okay Lord Whiskers lets go do something about this desire to hunt so I can get some more sleep.”

 

As she walked through the house Sasha knew that her mother and father were still asleep. She had once mentioned the hunting drive to her father. He'd assured her that it would be easier to control in later years. The fact that he was still asleep agreed with that but she wondered when those years would come. Walking past their bedroom and down the steps Sasha soon found herself in the kitchen opening up the fridge. Ever since her transformation Sasha had noticed a change in what she liked eating. Meats had been elevated even higher on the list but what could be even better then muscle tissue was organs. A sealed container caught her attention immediately and she took on the left over chicken livers.

 

Setting the container down she had one thing she had to address first and retrieved another container for Lord Whiskers. “Okay how about I eat the chicken liver and you enjoy some nice fresh rabbit?” The rabbit had been Sasha's kill from whenever Mira had came visiting her. It wasn't much but it had been enough to quiet the need to hunt. Fortunately tonight's need wasn't nearly as powerful as Mira's visit. The scent of blood really did a lot to stir her instincts up and make it hard to relax.

 

Now Lord Whiskers had quieted down. Even as Sasha set him down he didn't meow. Food would be coming. Instead he found himself brushing against her legs. He heard a soft chuckle from Sasha and knew she was happy. Yet the large feline continued both to encourage Sasha to grant him his food more quickly and to show that he was grateful for being fed. Especially as this was an off hour feeding involving fresh meat.

 

Sasha couldn't help but giggle as Lord Whiskers brushed against her leg. His fur was nice and soft but that wasn't what tickled. Every once in a while she'd feel his unusually long whiskers run against her leg tickling her. Even whenever Mira had brought him to her as a kitten his whiskers had been unusually long thus the reason for his name.”Are you trying to knock me over?” Sasha had to be careful as she walked back to the fridge due to Lord Whiskers assault on her legs. This caution was more to avoid stepping on him then to avoid falling over. She had been careful in measuring out his food. She needed to give him enough that he wouldn't pester her while eating.

 

Lord Whiskers didn't notice whenever Sasha took a bite of her liver first. If he had been asked about it the event never happened. Yet this was important for Sasha. By eating first even a small bit she confirmed her status. It helped calm the more bestial part of her nature.”Okay here is your food to.” Sasha gave the top of the counter a few pats and the rubbing against her leg quickly stopped. A soft thump was heard moments later as Lord Whiskers leaped onto the counter top. It was a site Sasha doubted she'd ever grow tired of as she stood amazed that such a pudgy cat could jump so high. As Lord Whiskers settled down and began to eat his rabbit she refocused on her liver.

 

When she'd slide the bit of meat into her mouth and chew Sasha could feel the urge to hunting fading away along with her hunger. She doubted it would fade entirely. She could still hear the deer outside. It was on her territory. Yet the deer wasn't a predator. This thought and her slowly filling stomach was helping her to relax. If she was going to get back to sleep she'd need to calm her instincts as much as possible. “Hey Lord Whiskers can you believe that there is a deer outside mocking us?” Sasha gently ran the top of her hand against Lord Whiskers head and he responded by affectionately rubbing his head against her hand before returning to his food.

 

It wasn't unheard of for animals to come around their home. They lived in the forest after all. They didn't stay often though both for mystic reasons and the simple reason that the area smelled of wolves. As she considered this Sasha picked her plate up and walked towards the window. She slipped another peace of meat into her mouth as she looked out. “Do you believe there is any chance that we're being spied on? Maybe someone is watching us through the deer or perhaps they are the deer! I mean. I've never seen it happen but mommy told me about a few creatures that can turn into animals or some of them can. What if we're being spied on?”

 

Even as she considered the possible dangers there was a calmness to Sasha. She could still remember when she was simply wolf blooded like her mother. She could just barely remember. The stories about monsters and ghost would frighten her. Unlike most children though she was told these were real and saw evidence to prove it. Typically werewolves didn't do this. They kept their children in the dark until they either turned or they never told them. That was if the werewolf parent stayed with them. She had also learned most werewolves tended to watch their still human children from afar if at all. The wolf part of their nature made it hard if not impossible for them to live among humans until their child transformed if they ever did.

 

Then her blood had stirred and she'd awoken as she truly was. She had awoken far earlier then anyone in the pack had ever done or could confirm happening before. Suddenly things had become far less frightening then herself. She couldn't remember it thankfully but apparently Kathy had been forced to lock her in the living room whenever the transformation had began. Her father had apparently came home and along with Mira had detained her until she could regain her mind. Her training had began and there had been an emotional shift. Many of the things that had once frightened her had began to anger her instead.

 

The scratching on the window, the odd sound in the house, the thump outside that might have frightened a little girl angered the wolf. Something might be on its territory in its den and it wanted them gone. Sasha had to also understand that she was the wolf just as much as she was the little girl. The little girl wasn't hiding behind the feelings of the wolf these were her feelings. On some level this had horrified her especially whenever she felt other things. Kathy her mother wasn't just a mother anymore. For a time she had seemed soft and weak as the power of her being ran through Sasha. Part of her felt out of place as if she should be the one telling Kathy what to do as the weaker member of the pack. It wasn't her father that handled this but Kathy herself.

 

Sasha could still remember how sad her mother looked when she'd challenged her authority. She also remembered how much the beating she'd received at her mother's hands had hurt. Kathy hadn't actually been unarmed but she had made use of a few weapons. Sasha couldn't be certain how many as for a time she lost herself in the fog of her anger. The notion that this weaker female had challenged her was infuriating. After the lesson though Sasha had felt far calmer around her mother. It was strange. Kathy had beaten the day lights out of her and yet Sasha felt calmer and relaxed around her. Kathy had made it clear that she was the stronger and Sasha's instincts were able to accept that.

 

The fact that Kathy brought home food, even if she didn't hunt it, also helped with the issues. For a while Sasha had worried that she might attack her mother one day. That she would see some sign of weakness in her and have to challenge her again. Her father Anders and aunt Mira had fixed that. Kathy had already began to train Sasha in self defense but with her transformation her father had taken the training over and their training was a martial art meant for werewolves. It was meant to toughen the mind and the body to maintain control and it made full use of a werewolves remarkable healing abilities. If she had been a human child Sasha knew she'd be dead but it was a necessity. Now she was certain that she could resist the urge to challenge her mother. She had been tamed that much at least.

 

It was that training that also kept her from running outside to chase off the intruding deer or to eat it. The sound of her claws moving across an empty plate was what drew Sasha's attention from the window. She'd been eating the entire time and not thinking about it. Unfortunately while the food had quieted her screaming instincts they weren't entirely at wrest. “Lord Whiskers how do you do it? How do you calm the savage killing instincts that rage within you?” A slight chuckle came from Sasha as she lay her head down on the table noting that the large cat had already finished his rabbit and was now grooming himself. His only response to her question was to give her a lick on the forehead. “Hm I don't believe that's going to help me. Okay I'm going down to the basement to work out some energy. Do you want to come?”

 

Lord Whiskers knew that he was being talked to. The affectionate tone in Sasha's voice let him know she was saying nice things about him. He couldn't understand a word of it but he knew that the mumbles were praise. As Sasha began to walk away he quickly leaped off the counter and began to follow her. After eating he was more interested in sleeping some more but he didn't want to do that without Sasha in the room. If she wasn't going to bed he'd just find somewhere soft in the room to lay down and sleep. Despite not understanding her words he had a good idea of what she was doing as she opened the basement door. A soft murr came from him as he sped up letting Sasha know he was coming up behind her.

 

Sasha held the door open up long enough for Lord Whiskers to squeeze past her and go down the steps. She'd need to keep the door closed in order to avoid waking up her parents. Before shutting the door Sasha turned the lights on at the top of the steps and took a deep breath. She was glad that Anders had helped Kathy clean up Mira's blood. While her mother kept the house in good condition she didn't have a werewolf's nose. Her father had been the one to remove the last scents of blood. Given that Sasha was having to fight back a powerful hunting instinct still the last thing she needed to smell was the blood of a pack member or prey.

 

Lord Whiskers didn't wait for Sasha to come down the steps. Instead he quickly made his way down smelling the air as he went. His destination was clear in his mind as he saw the soft area the others tended to lay while lifting large objects above themselves. He wasn't certain why they did this but he wasted no time hopping onto the device. The cushion used on it was quite comfortable and he settled in almost immediately clearly marking this spot as his. Now with his spot claimed he gave another meow so that he could begin settling in. He gave another meow when Sasha didn't come down the steps quickly enough and a slight appreciative meow whenever she began to rub him behind the ears.

 

“Are you going to do some bench pressing Lord Whiskers? I think you should warm up first at your scratching post but it's your call.” Sasha gave a chuckle as she walked towards the north western corner of the room. A roughly humanoid dummy was suspended their on a heavy rope. The dummy itself was completely wooden. The goal wasn't to truly simulate the experience of striking or cutting into the human form but given a roughly humanoid shape. “Okay I just need to work out a little aggression then I'll be good to sleep.” As she spoke Sasha was more telling herself this in hopes that it would make it true. She could feel the instinct had been weakened by her eating but she knew it wouldn't let her sleep peacefully now.

 

The sound of Sasha's claws meeting with and cutting into the wood of the human shaped figure perked Lord Whiskers up. As he watched her he saw chips of wood being torn away from the figure as Sasha attacked it. He gave murr as he jumped down from his cushion and quickly made his way over to one of his scratching post. The bit of wood and rope showed clear signs of regular use as a massive chunk of it had been worn away by his claws. Now he more leaped on the post then anything else and quickly dug his claws into the wood cutting away tiny bits of it as he did so. The sound of his rapid scratching quickly joined with the sound of Sasha's claws hacking into her own wooden figure.

 

Despite her own efforts Sasha heard it whenever Lord Whiskers began to attack his scratching post. The sound made it impossible to resist looking back at her furry friend. “So you decided to join me huh? Okay Lord Whiskers let's go for it. Really get those claws in the wood.” For a moment Sasha tensed her body and moved away from the wooden figure. This time whenever she attacked she added the power of her legs into the blow using her entire body to add to the destructive force. The combination of the martial strike, sharp claws and the strength of her partly transformed body was quite significant as her claws cut deeply into the figure.

 

The sound of Sasha's increased efforts actually pushed Lord Whiskers to work all the harder. The fact that the feeling of his claws cutting through the wood felt really good didn't hurt matters either. As Sasha continued to cut away at her wooden victim and he scratched away at his the large house cat began to purr happily. The basement filling with the sound of wood being hacked to bits, the quickening breathing of a young werewolf and the purring of one large house cat.

 

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Anders couldn't help but look at his right arm. They had finally dealt with the spirit of sickness that had invaded the hospital but it had managed to get one nasty hit on him. In most cases a werewolf would recover from even severe injuries in a matter of days if not hours. This attack had some harsh magic involved though and his arm was taking time to heal. Kathy had cleaned and bandaged the wound for him which helped. He was kind of glad she had so much experience minding injuries though he hated to think how she got that experience. His attention turned to Kathy who was currently preparing the three of them breakfast. “Are you sure you don't want to go hunting with the pack this weekend?”

 

“I'm sure. That is a werewolf affair after all. How have you been feeling lately? I know that the pack hasn't had much of a chance to get together.” One thing Kathy had learned while hunting werewolves is they became anxious the longer they were away from their pack. As much as humans were social animals werewolves were even more so. They needed to be with the pack. This need could be softened by forming into smaller groups of pack members. Anders and a few others worked at the hospital, Mira had a few pack members with her on the police force as did other groups of the pack. They avoided jobs which would separate them from their pack mates completely.

 

“You're a member of the pack to you know. As for me. I'm looking forward to getting together with the others. Besides the deep freezer is beginning to look a little empty and I have to assume the others are in the same condition. You know it'd help even more if you'd actually be there after all it needs to be the entire pack.” As he spoke Anders stood up and made his way over to Kathy placing his hands on her shoulder. “Please come to the pack get together please please.”

 

At two hundred thirteen centimeters tall Anders made even Kathy look short. As she listened to his pleading tone though she didn't feel it in the least as she chuckle. “Careful you're going to make me burn the eggs.” As her husband let up Kathy straitened up once again and gave the rapidly cooking eggs a quick flip. “I'll tell you what. I'll come with you to the pack get together and stay for the talks. Then while you're all off hunting I'll play den mother while you all go do your hunting. The last time I tried to keep up with the wrest of you I was about ran ragged.” While Kathy was proud of her stamina she just didn't have the stamina to match a werewolf especially whenever they hunted in wolf form.

 

“That can't be any fun. You just end up setting back at the camp.” Anders was glad that Kathy was willing to come to the gathering even if she didn't want to join in on the hunt. While he complained though he also marveled at how lucky he was. It was rare for a werewolf and human relationship to last. The site of their lover in the monstrous gauru form and the lunacy that could come with it would end most relationships. If the werewolf was to lose control of itself the human could easily end up dead. Kathy was wolf blooded though and no stranger to the dangers of the hidden world of the werewolf. The fact that she was far from easy prey also did a lot to keep the hunting or dominance instincts in check. If things had been different she may very well have been one of the worse dangers a werewolf might encounter. A wolf blooded human with a sniper rifle loaded with silver bullets could be a horrifying thing to a were.

 

“I'm sure I can bring something to entertain myself. Now a little room please.” As Kathy shoveled the eggs onto their plates she put a tiny amount on Lord Whiskers's plate. If he didn't get any she knew the cat would set their watching and begging Sasha until she gave him some. As her thoughts turned to her daughter she noted the young girl coming up from the basement with Lord Whiskers leading the way. “Good morning you two! I take it that you were getting some early exercising in.”

 

Sasha's entire body locked up as she turned to look at her parents. She'd already shifted from her dalu form to hishu or full human form while coming up the steps. “Morning!” As if to confirm what her mother had said Sasha first looked to her father and then to Kathy before looking out the window. “Oh come on!”

 

It was impossible for Anders not to chuckle as he noted the surprise on his daughter's face. “I guess something woke you up early and you lost track of time.”
 

“Yes. I went to bed hungrier then I thought and then I heard some deer outside. Even after eating I just need to work out a little to release some energy.” The thought of going to school tired wasn't one that Sasha found pleasant. It could be tough enough wrestling with her instincts when well wrested.

 

“Do you believe you can go to school today?” Kathy wasn't a werewolf but she was wolf blooded. She had some idea of how difficult it could be to control the blood especially at a young age. For Sasha it was even worse though. Given the danger Sasha could pose to those around her Kathy had no intention of sending her to school if she wasn't feeling up to it.

 

There was no immediate response from Sasha as she took in a deep breath. The smell of her mother's cooking and all the exercise she'd put in had awakened her hunger. Right now that hunger was overriding any exhaustion she might be feeling. She could get an idea of how tired she was though. “Yeah I want to go still. I can keep myself under control.” Even as she spoke Sasha knew that wouldn't be the end of the conversation. If she told her mother no she wouldn't have to go to school. If she told her yes Kathy would still want to examine her to make sure that it was safe.

 

“Well first come over here and eat your breakfast. Once we have some eggs and oatmeal inside of you we'll see if you're ready for school or not.” As she spoke Kathy slipped some of the spare eggs and oatmeal she'd made onto Sasha's plate. One great way to see how tired a werewolf actually was was to feed it a big meal. If Sasha could eat her entire breakfast and not stumble over her own feet she'd likely be alright for school. Anders seemed to pick up on her intention as he took the heaviest of the plates and presented it to his daughter who had already set down and proceeded to place a large glass of milk before her.

 

The additional food didn't even register in Sasha's mind though she didn't start eating. Instead she looked towards her father and then her mother. Despite her fatigue Sasha gave a chuckle whenever she heard Lord Whiskers meow at her mother. Despite being fed during the night the large cat was eager for his breakfast. “Hey mom what are you planning on doing today?”

 

“Well after I drop you off at school if you're going that is. I'm going to come home and look through the packs finances and see how our investments are going. There is a home that should be coming up for sell soon right within the edge of the pack's territory and I'm hoping we have the funds to purchase it.” Werewolves weren't stupid creatures. They had the same intelligence as any human and a connection to nature that few if any human could match. Unfortunately that connection also brought with it certain instincts and levels of emotions. This tended to hinder them in tense or intense financial negotiations. It was hard to talk business whenever someone is hard lining you and your instincts are screaming to rip their throat out. For that reason Kathy was the one trusted to handle the pack's money as she was less likely to make a foolish move in a moment of rage.

 

Sasha waited until her mother had set her plate down and seated herself before continuing. She knew that their was more to her mother's work then that. As the pack's territory expanded they didn't desire just to own it as werewolves but rather to own the land in the legal sense to. Each pack member contributed some of their earnings and talents to efforts to expand that territory. They even worked together to start businesses to help. The problem came about whenever someone tried to take that land from them in order to build upon it. Often it was just a financial offer but some tried to take the land through legal actions or by shifting public opinion against them. A werewolves first instinct to such an attack was to hunt down the offender and rip them apart but that was a desire they had to repress. “What about them trying to expand the suburbs? Wasn't everyone worried that they were going to try to take some of our territory?”

 

Instead of responding Kathy took a quick bite of her eggs which effectively prompted everyone to begin eating. This wouldn't be a problem later in Sasha's life. Once she had more self control but for now pack structure especially in the home was very important. She had enough issues whenever she was at school. “There was some speculation but the project doesn't even have the finances and I don't know if the need is great enough to bring about legal action. Burns logging has been a bigger pain in the tail then any expansion plan. I swear I'm surprised we haven't caught them trying to sneak onto the pack's land to start logging.”

 

Anders shifted slightly in his seat as he pushed down the desire to act. He wouldn't need to kill the loggers or even frighten them. He was on good terms with a few spirits of iron and steel and could either invoke a contract to have them rust the equipment and even new a few gifts himself that would be detrimental to the machines. With his current responsibilities it would be difficult to sustain such efforts himself so contracting with the spirits would likely be the best way to go. “What have they been doing exactly?”

 

“Some of their workers were caught in the forest apparently inspecting it for the best path for a logging road and looking the trees over. Apparently they refuse to listen whenever I say we handle our own selective logging operations and I get the feeling they've been talking with some of our buyers as well. They might be trying to negotiate a better deal so they won't buy from us anymore to apply some pressure.” Kathy chose not to mention that the loss of that additional income would hinder the packs efforts to expand and maintain their territory. Buying new land and keeping others away from it did cost money after all. At times she grew fearful that the pack would over expand and having to yield some of it. Fortunately land was a very sound investment and she intended to get back far more then the pack had put into it should someone try to take the property.

 

The pack had to battle humans, spirits and other werewolves all trying to take their territory away. As she thought of this Sasha began to chew her food a bit more aggressively. Her fatigue had vanished and instead a tiny flame of anger had began to grow. It wasn't just the land though. Often the pack had to deal with people trying to sneak onto their land to hunt. Unfortunately killing every intruder would bring unwanted attention and such extreme actions were best reserved for more extreme situations. Sasha had been out with a few of the pack members whenever they'd come upon some humans setting up a meth lab. None of them had survived. The attention such operations could bring and the damage to the environment was worth the risk of ripping them to shreds to the pack. “So what are you going to do about them?”

 

“Do you mean the ones that were caught on the pack's property or the ones that seem to be trying to undercut us?”

 

“Both.”

 

Kathy gave her daughter a large grin.”Well naturally I'm going to let them undercut us. You see Sasha this is why you always need to hold something back. Now we still have to maintain the woods but we don't have to sell the lumber right away. We can put it in storage and wait until Burns is tired at selling at a loss. Now on the topic of burning. Anders. The north western slope is in bad need of a controlled burn. Have you managed to negotiate with Ivera yet?”

 

When would he have time to really speak with Ivera? The spirit of sickness at the hospital had hindered a lot of Anders's plans. It was possible for him to ask another member of the pack to handle the negotiations but he was the one best suited to such tasks. “I haven't spoken to her about her confines for this particular burn. I'll make sure to get it done tonight and have a few of the others join me in the event she isn't feeling reasonable.” Ivera was far from the only spirit of fire within the forest but she was one of the most powerful ones and the north western slope of the forest was her domain. By setting up an agreement with her it would be much easier to control the spread of the fire.

 

“You want to go speak with Ivera after a full shift at the hospital?” Kathy didn't try to hide the concern in her voice. Anders was a powerful werewolf. He also planned to bring some more of the pack with him but Kathy worried about him. She didn't like him speaking with powerful spirits whenever he wasn't at his best.

 

“I need to speak with her as soon as possible. I'm sure you remember the last time an unplanned burn was started and how difficult managing her was. I truly believed that we were going to have to destroy her so that another spirit or spirits could fill the gap. If it hadn't been for father and their promise I'm fairly certain we would have.” Ivera in general was reasonable. However, she could go out of control very quickly and become nearly impossible to reason with just like any fire. A wild fire would easily bring out her wild side while a controlled burn tended to keep her far more manageable.

 

“Can I come daddy?” Sasha knew the answer whenever both of her parents looked at her and gave a large grin. “I know. No confronting a jaggling yet.”

 

Anders still smiled at his daughter as he reached across the table and put his hand on hers. “Don't worry you'll be ready to join us soon enough. You transformed quite a bit sooner then normal though. Your mother would have normally had a lot more time to teach you basic skills.”

 

To this Sasha gave her head a nod. Typically someone that had been a werewolf for as long as she had would have been allowed to join them to negotiate with a lesser jaggling. Yet she was still very young. Even now no werewolf had transformed at her current age and she had undergone her first shift years ago. Her pack had actually worked to keep this a secret. They didn't want other packs or the spirits themselves knowing about such a strange happening. Strange happenings tended to bring attention and the pack had more then a few enemies that would rather kill her then risk her becoming some great threat. “I know.”

 

Nodding his head Anders finally stood up. “Okay I need to be leaving. Remember I'm going to be late unless Ivera is very cooperative.” Despite the pack having a history of negotiating with Ivera and even other beneficial relationships Anders knew she didn't like the restrictions they put on her. Part of him wanted to believe that her disposition towards them was becoming increasingly positive but trusting his life, the life of the pack or the well being of their territory to such thoughts wasn't going to happen. Before Anders could move away from his table a loud meow drew his attention and he found himself looking down at Lord Whiskers.

 

Was he going to leave without petting him? Lord Whiskers had been busy eating so he didn't mind not being petted at first. However, before anyone left the house they were suppose to pet him. They were also suppose to pet him upon their arrival as well. Unless he didn't want petted of course then they were suppose to leave him be.

 

It felt odd. Anders knew that Lord Whiskers wasn't the only being looking at him now. Sasha was too and Kathy likely had a wide grin on her face. A slight sigh escaped him as he bent down and began to rub the cat's head. “Now you stay out of trouble and Sasha make sure you don't forget to wear your stone of mercy.” Anders continued to pet Lord Whiskers for a few moments until the large cat finally began to purr and then returned his attention to his food.

 

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Two bits of amber wrested against Sasha's neck and wrist. The crystals were more then just decoration. They had been imbued with a spirit of calm that could hold the fury of a werewolf for a time. Sasha was required to wear two whenever she went to school and if one of them should yield at any time she was to call home immediately or if that wasn't an option leave the school grounds even if she had to force the issue. Despite how much trouble it would cause and how awkward it would be to explain how a ten year old girl set an instructor down it wouldn't be nearly as bad as explaining a werewolves rampage or the deaths. There had been a time whenever she didn't believe the amber was needed and especially not two but then her necklace had shattered due to a particular annoyance.

 

The fact that she had destroyed several stones of mercy since that day had convinced Sasha that they were indeed needed. This morning was off to a nice start as she noted Lila and Henry spending a few of the last minutes before class waiting outside the old brick building. “Hey you two.”

 

It always surprised Lila how easily Sasha could clear a path. There had of course been a few outburst of temper and they were stories but Lila had only seen Sasha get angry a few times. Fred one of their school's football players who was now a senior had thought to push back Sasha and her once. The next thing Lila knew Sasha had the sports start pinned to the wall and she could have sworn that Sasha was actually holding him off the ground. It had been shocking to the point Fred had been unable to do more then whimper for some reason. Of course such stories tended to grow in the retelling and suddenly it turned into Sasha threw him against the wall. This wasn't the only such incident either but despite that the fear some of the other students seemed to have of Sasha seemed ill fitting to Lila. “Good morning. Are you ready to suffer?”

 

While Sasha had been able to retain her composure at home now she openly yawned. “No. Not really but what can you do?” Sasha tended to have trouble with the little annoyances at school and had believed several times she would be removed from classes. The teachers telling her what to do wasn't easy for her to take and the little challenges from the other students aggravated things even more. Officially she was on medication for anger management problems but in truth there was no natural medicine that would influence a werewolf for more then a few minutes. The pack had used its influence a few times and Kathy had apparently made some deals with Victoria to help her out. At times even Sasha thought about home schooling but if she didn't learn to deal with people here she knew she'd be in big trouble later.

 

Henry, “It's not that bad. At least we don't have any test today.”

 

Lila, “That's what you think. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a pop quiz just waiting for us especially in computers.”

 

“Oh that class drives me crazy. I can't stand it whenever someone looks over my shoulder like that. Now what is so funny?” Sasha folded her arms across her chest as she noticed Lila and Henry chuckling. She had a feeling what they were going to say.

 

Lila, “We know! I swear I could hear you growling the last time Mister Bird did that to you. You do realize that he actually quickens his pace whenever he's standing behind you? I believe every teacher does.”

 

Sasha couldn't help but laugh a bit at this. At the same time she was a little worried. Humans other then the wolf blooded were never perfectly at ease around a werewolf. It was in how the werewolf moved, how they looked around and how they responded just a little differently then a human. It was in their instincts and a thousand little subtle clues. As the werewolf became more powerful and heard their instincts more readily it became worse. This wasn't a problem that couldn't be overcome though. Her father had developed the social skills needed to mask such behavior. Trust and familiarity could help as well. “Well I don't like having someone looking over my shoulder.”

 

Lila, “Neither do I but I can't make a teacher move more quickly by growling at him.”

 

“Well can you blame him? I'm clearly terrifying.” As she spoke Sasha turned around to face both of her friends. Sasha towered over both of them. She had heard her parents talking about whether her height was due to her early awakening as a werewolf or a side affect of it as her still growing body responded to the werewolf's increased stamina and healing abilities. She was easily mistaken for a teenager and had even gone through a very annoying event with a substitute teacher taking her to the front office thinking it was some kind of joke. She had managed to repress her anger but she really wanted to hurt him. When one considered her predatory nature and her conditioned body due to her mother and father's training despite her age Sasha was frightening.

 

Henry had known Sasha before she had began to grow so quickly. They had been in the same preschool class. He had trouble recognizing her when in second grade she'd suddenly shot up in size. Now it was easy to recognize her. She was the one that was nearly as tall as or as tall as the teacher. He had actually found her a bit imposing but old friendships could do a lot. In response to Sasha's comment he gave a slight snort. “ Oh Please. Mister Hemry. Now he's scary.”

 

Sasha, “Ah no way! I'm much more frightening. He's just creepy.” As Sasha spoke she couldn't help but turn her head towards the stairs. The lower levels of the school were reserved for school supplies and lacking in any classrooms. A soft click reached her ears though and the sudden appearance of a shadow brought a low growl from somewhere within her. The fact that Henry gave a sudden step back brought her attention back to him though and a slightly forced chuckle from her. “Sorry.”

 

It surprised Henry how he responded to Sasha growling and suddenly he found himself blushing. “Have your parents taken you to a dentist to have your teeth looked at?”

 

Sasha's immediate response was to stick her tongue out at Henry. “My teeth are just fine.” Even as she turned to resume her walk towards class Sasha couldn't help but look back over her shoulder. She was almost certain she'd seen someone or something there.

 

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For most students setting quietly and listening to things they hadn't learned the value of yet was boring. For a werewolf with the need to hunt and roam it was worse. For a rahu, a werewolf blessed by the full moon, it was even worse. Kathy had realized that there was a chance her daughter would transform from the very beginning. She had taught her discipline from very early age. It was a tough balancing act between allowing Sasha to be a child and teaching her the discipline she would need and even now the young girl didn't know the full implications or her mother's struggle. At the moment though it was just about the only thing keeping the young girl inside her seat.

 

Samantha always felt odd whenever she looked to the back of her class. Due to Sasha's abnormal height and size the young girl had been required to set in the back of the room. She also required the teachers to bring in a desk that was entirely miss matched when compared to the other students. That wasn't the main issue though. Samantha actually had trouble meeting Sasha's gaze though the young girl had been quite well behaved for her. Whenever she moved towards the back of the room there was this urge to hurry up. Normally this would have meant the other students in the back would have been even more poorly behaved then normal. Yet this year's students remained very quiet and observant. She wasn't sure that she was the one they were observing though. “Now would anyone care to come to the board and solve the problem?”

 

Sasha raised her hand almost immediately. The limb tended to move without her even thinking about it whenever it came time to try something in gym. It still didn't require much thought for her to act in class. It was in her nature to take the lead and she had no fear of any of the other kids making fun of her. Yet Samantha didn't immediately indicate for her to stand up but seemed to take a moment to look around the room. She was looking for another student. Sasha knew that.

 

After a moment of waiting Samantha took in a deep breath. “Okay Sasha please come to the board.” It was still nearly impossible to imagine Sasha as a ten year old whenever she stood up. It wasn't just her height though. As Samantha looked at the young girl she knew Sasha's legs and arms were more toned then hers. If she actually had been required to restrain the student Samantha wasn't even certain she could. Deep in the back of her mind some part of her kept saying that she would end up laying on the floor. Silence seemed to roll throughout the room as Sasha walked among them A few students who had been with Sasha for several years continued to move or whisper amongst themselves but not many.

 

As Sasha took the chalk from Samantha part of her noticed how thin the teacher's arms appeared. How soft they looked. When the two hands overlapped it became painfully clear how much more developed Sasha's was despite her young age. This stirred Sasha's instincts and she took a moment to breath and steady her mind before approaching the board. Being trained in martial arts didn't teach one to do math and her life and nature could get in the way of her school work but the intense discipline that her mother had taught her did help Sasha. It also helped that once Sasha was focused on a goal she could be as persistent as any wolf. Sasha immediately recognized the problem and quickly wrote down the answer.

 

It was a relief whenever Sasha was right on some levels. Samantha didn't know if she wanted to guide the student through the same steps she'd done other students. “Very good Sasha! You may return to your seat.”

 

That was it. Sasha knew that Samantha would typically ask the students where they learned that and who might have helped them. She would have them talk about their work for a bit. She never did that with her. No teacher ever did that with her. If she was wrong the teacher would quietly correct the mistake. If she was right she was given brief praise and returned to her seat. At least it sped the classes along. As Sasha returned to her seat she noted Henry looking at her.

 

“How did you know that?” After years of being in the same class as Sasha Henry had learned she had very good ears. In all the time that he had whispered to her no teacher had ever heard him speaking. The only problem came whenever she responded. His ears weren't as good. Despite that it was rare that the teachers said anything to Sasha.

 

“It was on yesterday's homework.”

 

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Currently Lord Whiskers lay on the frame of the living room window. The exceptionally thick walls of the house insured that he had plenty of room to do so. The morning sun was in the sky making sure that the light came through the window and on him first. His ears perked up and he raised up slightly as he looked out into the yard and noted the animal that had came by the previous night. The deer was now standing in the middle of his yard and he lay his ears back and stood up while arching his back. Realizing that the deer hadn't yet noticed him Lord Whiskers gave a sharp hiss and smacked the glass hard. His paw made a satisfying thump as far as he was concerned but on the opposite side the extremely thick layered glass made it nearly impossible to hear. His annoyance that the deer was still in his yard quickly built and resulted in him smacking the glass two more times warning the animal to leave his yard. Had the front door been open he would have already been going after the intruder.

 

The deer's attention finally turned to Lord Whiskers and now he raised himself up as much as he could make himself appear as large as possible. In order to further frighten the animal he quickly pressed himself up against the glass trying to get closer to show off how big of a cat he was. His eyes locked onto the deer's for a moment as he gave another hiss. The intruders head jerked in the direction of the drive way and the animal seemed to be watching as a vehicle pulled up. Immediately Lord Whiskers concern increased as he recognized the same thing that took Kathy and Sasha away at times. He knew Sasha wouldn't be returning yet but wasn't comfortable with an intruder in his domain while Kathy was there.

 

As she pulled up the drive way Kathy didn't bother opening the garage but turned her attention to the deer standing in the yard. Anders had carefully marked the yard using methods both mystic and natural to keep other animals out. Natural animals could come into the yard but it was rare. What deer walked into the middle of an area saturated in the scent of a wolf? It was enough of a reason that she'd already taken out her H&K Mk .23 as she looked at the animal. She knew on some levels it seemed paranoid but after seeing wolves shift into humans, creatures born from the shadows themselves and several other horrors it was a healthy level of paranoia. After a moment of consideration Kathy slammed the horn of her truck and was relieved whenever the animal bolted towards the wood. She still watched it carefully. She knew Creath would protect her hear but she didn't like to rely on the spirit.

 

The garage to the house was kept both secure and clean so that once opened it was easy to see everything inside. Especially with Anders vehicle being gone. As she pulled into the garage Kathy caught a quick glimpse of Lord Whiskers in the window and couldn't help but chuckle. If he had been eighty kilograms larger he might have been frightening. It was fairly clear that he was upset over that deer being in the yard. Kathy herself was feeling a bit worried about it.

 

Lord Whiskers continued to watch the yard to see if the intruder would return. He could hear Kathy inside the garage and heard the door leading from the garage to the kitchen open. On food gathering days he would often go in there to insure that Kathy had brought him home his food as well. This time he waited and continued to look out the window until he heard Kathy entering the living room. As soon as he heard her foot steps on the living room floor Lord Whiskers gave a sharp meow and turned to face her. He needed to make sure she understood how annoyed he was that an intruder had been on his lawn.

 

“So you did notice that deer in the yard. Yes. Yes I know he was intruding.” Kathy had by now holstered her weapon and walked over to the rather loudly meowing cat. It was impossible for her to keep from laughing as she began to pet him while looking out the window. “Yes I saw you trying to chase him out of the lawn. What? Did you want to eat him? Don't you think that's a little harsh for just coming into your lawn? No? I don't believe you want to eat him for intruding in your lawn I think you want to eat him because you're a glutton.” Once again Kathy gave a slight laugh as Lord Whiskers began to alternate between purring and meowing as she looked out the window.

 

Lord Whiskers was glad that Kathy was home especially as she'd helped chase away the intruder. However, he really wanted to make sure she understood how upset he was that there had been an intruder at all. The fact that the intruder had gotten away without giving him anything in compensation didn't help matters. He could tolerate them bringing intruders into his domain so long as they showed him appropriate respect but that deer hadn't even began to show him appropriate respect or offered tribute. He was quite angry especially as this was the second time the deer had committed such a crime. He needed to make it clear to Kathy that something had to be done about the situation. Her soft tone and gentle petting was helping to sooth his anger though so the deer was seeming less important.

 

“Don't worry. I'll talk to Anders about it when he gets home and see if he wants to take Sasha to hunt the deer down. Then you'll get to eat some of him. Any deer dumb enough to to come into a wolf's den shouldn't be allowed to contribute to the gene pool anyway.” With Lord Whiskers calming down Kathy finally moved away from the window. The sound of a soft thump behind her told her that Lord Whiskers intended to follow her. When Sasha was away Lord Whiskers tended to make due with either her or Anders. Rather then just walking to her office though Kathy quickly turned around and took another look out the window silently telling herself she'd be getting the Mossberg 590 if she saw the deer.

 

Lord Whiskers gave a slight meow whenever Kathy turned around but didn't look at him. She continued to look out the window for a moment more before she glanced down at him and even bent down to pat his head. Being patted wasn't his preference but he was content with it as he followed Kathy into her office. He would give her a few moments to set down at her keyboard and then he would settle on the desk next to her. His prediction proved to be quite true as Kathy settled in and flicked on her computer. He heard the machine starting up and waited until her seat was situated before he hopped up on the desk. He liked to set close enough that he could see what was happening on the screen and remind her to pet him from time to time. At times this meant blocking the screen so that she knew her attention was suppose to be focused on him.

 

Every member of the pack contributed to the well being of the pack. This didn't mean that all of them had jobs though. At least not the type of job that some would understand. It wasn't the type of job that payed a regular pay check. Those that did though each contributed a portion of their checks and even those who had less reliable but still worth while sources of income contributed as well. It was Kathy's responsibility to help the pack manage that income. In some circles this would have meant acquiring more money and at times it did here as well. Far more often then acquiring money though she was expected to use it to secure their territory and even expand it. The goal was in part to acquire as much land as possible so that whenever the time did come that they lost some of it they still had plenty.

 

Naturally just buying the land didn't make it the packs. It made it a lot easier for them to claim it though. When you owned the land you didn't have to explain as much whenever you destroyed a home on it, went hunting, what you were doing on it and several other little issues. Officially they were an investment llc dedicated to the securing of land and leasing it for logging rights or resell at some other date. They also tended to start certain businesses including using some of the property to set up private water fishing or hunting grounds for those willing to pay.

 

“Hm what do you think Lord Whiskers. Should we build a few additional cabins for those who want to spend some time in the wilderness?” Kathy received a meow but she wasn't certain if it was a yes or a no. Whatever it was it earned Lord Whiskers a scratch behind the ears as she continued to read through her messages. She also found herself taking some time to look at a detailed list of inventory, sells and memberships that were about to be expire or had recently expired. There were only so many slots available for hunting or fishing and quite often a slipped membership was more due to a slipped mind. Based on how long they had been a regular Kathy liked to contact the former member and discover whether or not they meant to let the membership expire before selling the spot to someone else.

 

It took some time but Lord Whiskers finally settled down to the clicking and occasional petting from Kathy. She would be here for several hours looking at the screen if he didn't distract her from time to time. So he was rather surprised whenever he was awoken from his light nap by a strange ringing and immediately looked to Kathy to see what it was. She had some device against her head and he could hear Sasha's voice coming over the device. He had learned long ago that didn't mean Sasha was in the room. He did wonder how she put her voice in that tiny box and set up looking at Kathy intently suddenly feeling very distressed as he noted the worry in Sasha's voice.

 

Sasha, “Mom there is something at the school! I think it's a spinner I'm chasing it now.”

 

Everything about her computer was pushed from her mind as Kathy immediately stood up. “You're what! Sasha hold on I'm calling your father and I'm on my way.”

 

“It has another kid!”

 

“Shit! Where are you?” Kathy wasn't waiting for an answer but was already dashing towards the master bedroom and her weapons closet. As much as she would have loved to dash strait out the door and into her vehicle a human with no equipment would be more of a liability in such a situation.

 

“There is a tunnel in the basement of the school it was hidden by some webbing. I ripped it open so it can be found easily now I've got to go mom.”

 

There wasn't time for Kathy to respond as Sasha hung up. Even if Sasha was a werewolf she was still just a child and Kathy was worried. At least she could be glad that she was used to multi tasking as she dialed Mira's emergency phone number. Mira had once answered such a call during an actual gun fight so Kathy wasn't surprised whenever she pick up immediately.

 

Mira, “What's the emergency?”

 

“There is a spinner at Sasha's school it grabbed one of the kids and drug them into the basement. Sasha is after it right now and she's already cut through the webbing concealing its hide out in the basement.” Kathy heard it whenever Mira turned on her car's sirens and had no doubt she was already en-rout to the school. At least she didn't have anyone shooting at her this time it seemed.

 

“Gabe and I are on our way there now is there anything else you can tell me?”

 

“No. I'll be there as soon as I can be.”

 

“Bring some cleaner and a medical kit.”

 

The moment Mira had hung up Kathy was calling Anders. She hated to use his number. He hadn't mentioned any early morning surgeries but she didn't know what he was doing exactly at the moment. A quick response was encouraging and she spoke before he could. “Anders Sasha spotted a spinner at the school and Mira and Gabe are on there way to check it out now. I'm going to be joining them as soon as I can. I'm going to be using a presence mask to make sure I get in the front door.” Unlike Mira and Gabe Kathy wasn't a police officer. If she was to show up dressed for spirit hunting she knew it would cause problems in a school especially if they wanted to search her. They had considered this long ago a solution had been provided.

 

“She went after it herself?”

 

“She believes it has another child. I'll contact you soon and let you know what happens.”

 

“Don't you believe I should be there?”

 

Kathy desperately wanted to be by Sasha's side now and she knew Anders did as well. However, if they all came rushing into the school and running away from their jobs right now it would draw too much attention. “Anders do you believe that you could make it in time? Mira and Gabe are already on their way there we have to put some trust in them.”

 

There was a slight pause and she heard Anders take in a deep breath on the other side of the line. “If I don't hear something in an hour I'm calling the rest of the pack.”

 

“Just remember this is a school and I love you.”

 

“I love you to.”

 

Kathy didn't feel upset whenever Anders hung up. He knew that she had to get ready. She also had to remember that she was going into a school as well and she had to be prepared for that. Already she understood why Mira had said to bring some cleaning agent. Mira and Gabe likely intended on resolving the situation before she did. They just wanted to be prepared to clean up the type of mess three werewolves could leave behind.

 

While Kathy had been preparing Lord Whiskers had followed her into her bedroom and climbed onto the corner of the bed. He knew that she was going to be leaving soon. She only began to put on her current clothing whenever she had to go somewhere quickly. The focused expression on her face and her tensed body told him that this wasn't the time for petting. Rather then lay down he continued to set up watching to see if there was someway that he could help. At least he wanted to show that he was concerned. Whenever Sasha sounded like that on the strange box and then Kathy left quickly he knew something bad had happened from past experience. Despite his efforts to stay quiet he couldn't help but give a concerned meow.

 

***********************************************************************************

Her shoes had been ruined. Her expanding body and claws had taken care of that. However, Sasha needed the extra speed that came with dalu form and the extra strength in preparation for a coming battle. She had been warned of the spiders or spinners and even hunted some of them with the pack. They were trappers and ambush predators. One had apparently found some underground passages that brought it to the school's basement. That couldn't be the only access point though. At least she doubted it was. It was quite likely the spider had came in through another entrance and if she didn't catch up to it the spinner might escape. As her legs carried her along Sasha had no doubt the spirit knew she was coming as she noted the webbing lining the tunnel likely an early warning system.

 

It was only a few minutes after her call had ended whenever Sasha could hear the sound of the spider's legs on the stone. Her mind flashed back to what her father had taught her. The spinners were simple minded spirits who stayed in the darkness due to instinct rather then comprehension. Yet despite their simplicity they could lay traps. It was this thought and a slight glinting in front of her that caused Sasha to lash out with her claws quickly cutting through the web that lay in her path. A few minutes after the web had fallen to the ground at her feet she could swear that she could smell something coming from ahead of her.

 

April tried to scream but she couldn't. The thing that had grabbed her had wrapped her in some strange thread keeping her from even struggling. Fear tore through the young girl's body and her tears flowed freely. Some how the creature was holding her aloft yet whenever she looked down all she saw was a massive spider's thorax. The truth made her desire to scream even more intense but all she could do with the thread wrapped around her mouth was cry and struggle uselessly against the thread. Her mind turned towards her parents and she desperately tried to call out to them even through the thread hoping that on some level they would hear her. The creature had sped up now. Where it was taking her she didn't know but the tunnel was growing wider as they moved. A harsh scraping sound seemed to come from behind them.

 

There they are! Shot through Sasha's mind as she lay eyes on the creature. She saw April draped over the creature's body and she instantly pushed some essence into her body. Immediately the essence stirred her spirit and her legs awoken fully pushing off the ground and easily sending her the final twenty one feet to drive her claws deeply into the creature's back. A feral growl issued forth from deep within Sasha the moment she felt her claws meet with the creature's back while it released a shriek of pain. The speed with which the spinner spun around was far faster then Sasha remembered then being and she was barely able to bring her arms up in time to block the creature's talon.

 

There had been a rush of movement. What seemed to be a blur and then she'd been falling. As April struck the ground pain and relief flooded her mind. Yet the relief was short lived as she wondered what had made the strange creature drop her. Her movement was limited but as she jerked about what she saw surprised her. What stood down the path was a large spider like creature with an upper body that leaned towards a humans. Six eyes covered the creature's head while it's jaw split and opened into an impossibly wide mouth. The creature didn't have hands as she had thought but instead talons while it's massive lower body was that of a spider's. Between her and the monster was an almost human figure. A quick glance and its feet and hands showed those weren't the delicate nails of a human but rather strong claws. The figures clothing was drawn tight against her body and April couldn't see her face yet she couldn't help the fear rising up within her at the site of the one that was perhaps her savior.

 

Should she free April? It wouldn't take long for Sasha to cut through the thread holding her. If she did free her she would likely end up running for help and that could bring unwanted attention. As things were Sasha knew she couldn't let April go either. The stories of a panicked child may be dismissed but if those stories began to add up there could be trouble. It was something her mother had taught her. It was those little stories that revealed her father's pack to Kathy. That had worked out but that wasn't usually the case. “Hold on April I'll help you in a moment.” There wasn't much room to dodge in the tunnel but that wasn't a serious problem for Sasha. The spider would favor using its agility far more then she did after all. Sasha's entire body burst into movement as she pushed her muscles.

 

The voice wasn't like one she had heard before. While April had heard Sasha before the changes to her body and her fear filled mind made it impossible for her to recognize even her voice. The words sounded like they were trying to comfort her but then her defender moved forward with a speed that didn't seem human. The site of the monstrous spider creature still made Sasha seem a rescuer and April felt like her heart tried to leap from her chest whenever she saw Sasha's hand meet with the creature. Those were claws upon her hand. The movement was too fast for April to notice but she did see Sasha rush forward and then a moment later her hand was fully extended dripping with the creature's blood while a massive gash appeared on its arm and upper body while it screamed in pain.

 

It was too dangerous to take on her war form. Sasha wasn't even certain how well she could fit into the tunnel if she went gauru. She was also fearful of what she would do as in such a form it became harder to control herself. Plus due to the changes in her body and muscle structure she couldn't use the martial techniques in such a state. Techniques that made it possible for Sasha to avoid the majority of the spiders attack despite the confined space. She still felt it as the spiders claws cut into her left arm even as she shifted to the side. A feral growl came from her mouth as she desired to further her transformation and sink her teeth into the creature. Instead she brought her foot up in a powerful kick.

 

A werewolves foot wasn't like a humans. Were humans had fragile toenails werewolves had powerful claws. At least in dalu form and anything more wolf like. Sasha had learned to make use of this so her kick was somewhat different then that of a humans. The goal was to get more of her toe into the attack then a human would have desired. She had far less fear of breaking her toes then a human did and she wanted to make full use of the claws upon them. The spider spirits toughened hide offered it some protection but its larger body made it even harder for the creature to dodge. Rather then responding with an arm though the spider quickly lunged forward in response to the kick before Sasha could regain her balance and opened its mouth wide.

 

Sasha felt the creature's teeth sink into her upper arm just a few centimeters away from her neck. Her mouth opened to scream but instead of a scream a soul shaking roar escaped from her. Pain and rage flashed through Sasha's mind and one of the stones of mercy upon her wrist burned white hot as it contained her rage. Her legs pushed forward fueled by her rage and as she moved forward the spider was sent flying backwards as she drove as much of her strength and weight into her attack as she could. She could have almost sworn that she felt her hand reaching out the other side of the spider spirit.

 

As the two creatures fought April could see the blood. The blood seemed to offer more proof that they had been wounded then the actual injuries. At least it did whenever it came to her protector. April had just caught site of Sasha's wounded arm and she could swear the injury looked less sever then it had only moments earlier. Even as she looked on though April began to struggle within the threads. Whatever these creatures were she knew neither of them were human and she desperately wanted to get free. While they fought she began to rub the webbing against the walls hoping to find something that might cut into it.

 

The spinner screeched in pain as the young werewolves claws cut deeply into it. It needed to escape to move further into its web. It would have to leave its food behind if it was to do that. Grasping the threads that it used to line and light the tunnels the spinner quickly pulled them inward trying to ensnare Sasha within them. The speed with which the young werewolf moved was astounding. When it looked like it may catch her leg or grasp an arm it only brushed against them. Some of the threads stuck but they didn't ensnare. Then there was another simple problem. The spinner watched in horror as Sasha once again moved to attack. Her movements were slowed but no where near halted as her clothing was torn. The creature had failed to consider that unlike flesh or limbs clothing could be easily removed or torn especially whenever it was already damaged.

 

***********************************************************************************

There was no point in trying to be quiet about her entry into the building. Mira was prepared for this and had already augmented her presence. Two uniformed police officers walking into a school with a clear destination in mind and an air authority backed by a super natural gift drew a lot of attention but fear as well. None were willing to question them about their doings and everyone that might have moved out of their way instead. The fact that they kept a respectful distance helped a lot as Mira glanced over her shoulder at Gabe. “Whenever we reach the seen be sure to put up some tape.”

 

Gabe gave a quick nod. He wasn't born one of Mira's pack but he had been taken in by them after his first change or perhaps before that and he was grateful for it. They required certain rituals to be learned and helped arrange the learning of certain gifts. He didn't know how other packs handled this but it tended to insure that at least someone in any grouping of the pack had a few useful gifts. In his case putting up the tape meant putting up a barrier that would turn back most humans. “What about backup? The tape might slow her down.”

 

Mira gave a slight chuckle even as they began to move down the steps towards the basement. She could sense the fear. It was even stronger then Sasha's rage which was surprising. A werewolf who learned its territory had been threatened was hardly left in a benevolent mind set. “Don't worry about her. She has the proper authorization.” Mira caught site of the spinners tunnel and new the magic that was hiding it from human eyes was weakening. She was relieved that it hadn't weakened entirely despite Sasha ripping it apart as she chased the spinner through it. If they worked quickly this would be a tunnel under the school that someone had found and used to sneak in. That was far better then a tunnel that someone or something had dug. Neither option was particularly to Mira's liking but they couldn't cover it up entirely.

 

Gabe by now had taken out some of the yellow police tape. This wasn't the ordinary tape that police officers used. He had imbued it with essence already. Not that it would be anything more then police tape in human hands. In his hands though it could become a barrier that most humans would find impossible to pass through or at least very hard. He could even use it to make something nearly impossible for a human to notice. “Mira do you believe Sasha is okay?”

 

“Yeah. Now that we're here I'm certain she'll be fine. I just hope the other kid is alright.” Mira had killed more then a few spinners in her time and she knew how well trained Sasha was. She had no doubt that the young girl could handle a spinner despite her age. The bigger issue was how much of a mess Sasha would have left behind.

 

***********************************************************************************

“It's okay April.” Why did she have to eat the spinner? Well that was easy to answer. Sasha had used up a bit of essence fighting the spinner and the easiest way to regain it was to consume its flesh. Between Sasha's own cuts and the fight though Sasha had been left a bloody mess by the encounter. The spinners blood would fade as the last of its remaining power faded as well but the simple truth was she was a mess. This wasn't helping her comfort April who was effectively shaking in fear now.

 

“Please untie me. I won't run. I. I promise!”

 

Sasha knew that wasn't the truth. She had been ready to cover up April's mouth again whenever she'd began screaming after the thread was removed. Sasha had managed to silence her but it wasn't done by using means she did liked to use. April was already terrified and Sasha had to resort to using a gift meant to induce compliance and fear in others to make her quiet down. “You'll be untied soon April. I'm not going to hurt you and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you either. You just need to stay here with me until help arrives.”

 

“Why?” After the question left her mouth April could fear tears forming again. She had meant why did she have to wait. Yet there were so many other whys she wanted to know. Why had the creature taken her? Why had Sasha eaten it? Even know she could remember the blood that had covered Sasha's mouth. The fact that it had vanished as if it had never been there leaving only Sasha's blood hadn't helped anything. Why wasn't she able to scream anymore? She wanted to scream. She wanted to call for help but her voice just wouldn't cooperate.

 

After a moment of consideration Sasha moved closer to April and set down next to her. She gently lifted the girl and lay her down against her legs. Sasha had returned to hishu form and she hoped that this would help to comfort April. Werewolves weren't suited to this task though as she had been told before. Their very nature put humans on edge. Her father had to practice long and hard to overcome these issues while she was still learning to make sure she didn't rip someone open in a moment of anger. “April I know it's hard to feel helpless and alone. I'm not going to hurt you though and the reason I need you to stay here is so we can help you.”

 

“We?” The word seemed far more fearful then it should have. Who was this we April was talking about. Fortunately for April Sasha didn't give her time to speculate.

 

“I called the police before I came after you. Once they're here they'll know what to do about all of this.” It wasn't a complete lie. She had called the police. They just happened to be members of her pack. Once Mira and her mother was here they would know what needs to be done. Sasha knew they wouldn't kill April. She actually had a very good idea of what they would do.

 

“Then they'll take me home to my mommy?” April hoped the answer would be yes. She didn't know if she should trust Sasha or anything she said but she hoped it was the truth. Once the police were here they could set her free and take her home. Sasha had saved her from the spider creature but April was still desperate to know why she wouldn't untie her.

 

“I believe they're going to take you to the hospital first.”

 

“But I'm not hurt.”

 

“You are April. You can't feel it but you are and that's why I can't untie you.”

 

She was hurt? The notion seemed insane to April. Had the spider thing poisoned her? Her teacher had told her about bugs that would bite you but you couldn't feel the injury. Yet she couldn't remember being bitten all she could remember was being grabbed. “I want my mommy!”

 

“I know. I want mine to.”

***********************************************************************************

Mira could tell that April was alive and part of her wanted to jump for joy upon seeing that. She had been worried that while fighting the spinner Sasha would lose control of herself. Mira didn't know if the young girl was one of Sasha's friends or not but being covered in the blood of a class mate wouldn't be pleasant either way. For a moment Mira glanced at Sasha and felt a welling up of insight within her. She heard the spirits and then she knew the young girl's name. “April, Sasha I'm glad that you're both alright.” As she spoke Mira moved towards the young girls and retrieved her field knife from her pocket. “What happened to your assailant?”

 

“I chased him off officer. I don't believe he was expecting someone to come up from behind him.” Don't talk about werewolf business unless you knew that it was safe. Sasha had learned that long ago. She didn't need to tell Mira that she had fought and eaten a spinner after ripping it apart. That was plainly obvious. She was relieved whenever she watched Mira beginning to cut the threads away from April.

 

“No she didn't! She ate him. It was some kind of spider thing and she just ate him. It was a monster.” April had been shocked by Sasha's response. As grateful as she was to be rescued and to see the police she couldn't believe Sasha was lying about what had happened. She needed to tell them the truth. They needed to know there was a monster under the school and Sasha might be one of them. She was rather surprised whenever Mira placed a finger over her lips It didn't even cover her mouth and yet she felt like it had been locked shut.

 

This could be a problem. It was clear before she'd even found her that April had seen far more then they would have liked. They had known that would likely be the case from the very beginning. Unfortunately Mira wasn't suited to handle the current situation. The sound of Gabe approaching from behind was something of a relief. “Have you secured the entrance?”

 

“Yes. The yellow tape is up.”

 

“Good. Okay April you have gone through a traumatic event. I need you to set down and relax.” As the words left her mouth a bit of magic left with them. The affects on April was fairly clear as the young girl's eyes seemed to gloss over. She was still self aware but the magic did a lot to calm her. It was a gift that had been invaluable to her in the past and one she hoped Gabe could receive in time. They still needed to find a spirit willing to give him such a gift and meet its price. It was a good first step but Mira was going to need Kathy's help if she was going to resolve this situation. She just hoped that she wouldn't be far behind.

 

Reaching out Kathy placed her hand on Sasha's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. The young girl looked up with a slight jump. The look of recognition on her daughter's face was quite a welcome sign. The presence mask she'd taken made it possible for her to slip into the school unnoticed. However, she then needed to revealed herself to someone in order to disrupt the magic affect. The best way to do this was to do something obvious like take hold of someone. Given what Sasha had just been through Kathy had been worried she might still be in fight mode.

 

It was a relief to see Kathy. “Hello sis. Did you make it past the tape alright?”

 

“I wish you could make exceptions. I had to brute force through that and honestly it took a bit out of me. By the way. Nice work on the tape Gabe. If I didn't have a very good reason to come this way I wouldn't have. So you must be Sasha's friend.” As she spoke Kathy relaxed her voice. April wasn't the first person she'd met who had a rough run in with a spirit. She had learned to adjust the tone of her voice to help her relax. One thing became rather clear right away though as she noticed the look on her face. “I see that Mira already had a few words with you.”

 

“I couldn't just let her set around shaking. Please tell me you brought the cleaning supplies sis.” Mira didn't really worry about that. She could see the small backpack Kathy had brought with her as well as the weapons. Even if they had cleared it out first Kathy never showed up at a spirit layer or something similar unarmed. It was one of the things Mira loved about her sister in law and respected her for as well. She knew the dangers that were hidden in the darkness.

 

Kathy gave her head a nod and set the pack down. Opening it up she quickly brought out a small packet containing some bacteria and moss. While she couldn't perform it she knew these things were vital for accelerating the decay or organic material. She had learned this as a hunter. Whenever you saw such items neatly prepared it was likely a werewolf was covering up its tracks. In this case the web would simply have to go and perhaps other things as well. “Here you go and I have something for you and your friend Sasha.” As she spoke Kathy brought out a whiskey flask and gave it a slight shake.

 

April, “What is it?”

 

“It's something that's going to help us get you to the hospital safely.”

 

Mira, “April.”

 

Giving her head a slight nod Kathy looked into April's eyes. “April I'm certain you're a smart girl so you know the thing that grabbed you. Well that wasn't normal. Now we need to get you some special treatment otherwise there could be some very bad things happen to you. I promise we're not going to harm you and the contents of this flask aren't going to harm you. They're more like medicine.” As she spoke Kathy handed the flask to Sasha who took in a deep breath. In the mean time Kathy picked up her backpack and put it back on. “Did you get everything you're going to need from it?”

 

“Yeah Sis.” Kathy was moving fast but that was to be expected. The sooner they got this situation resolved the less likely something would go horribly wrong. She did feel some sympathy for Sasha though. Mira had been forced to make use of the presence mask before and in truth she hated the stuff. It wasn't the taste but rather the after affect that tended to weigh down on people. The fact that Kathy could make such liberal use of it spoke well of her.

 

April didn't feel like arguing and the lady sure was nice. The police were standing right there with them so surely they wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. The young girl was still under Mira's influence and would remain that way for quite some time. She was a little surprised whenever the flask seemed to materialized back in Kathy's hand as if by magic.

 

Sasha felt like she was falling through the world. She was alone and cold and the world was empty. Her pack was gone there was no one else. She was with her pack. Sasha had to tell herself that and will the loneliness to leave her body before it could take hold. Werewolves were pack creatures even more so then humans. That made using the potion even harder. While the potion made you invisible to the perception of others it also carried with it a horrible feeling of isolation. It was the type of isolation that she imagined would come from someone invisible to the entire world. She could still see her mother though soon she wouldn't be able to.

 

“Sasha I parked in the school's parking lot. Be sure to move your cup.” Kathy couldn't see Sasha now that was under the influence of the presence mask. Now she needed to make sure that she didn't lose track of April when she drunk it. “Okay April you and I are going to hold hands and then I'm going to take you to the hospital. After that we're going to call your mommy and daddy and let them know you're alright and where they can pick you up. I just need you to drink this for me.” As she held the flask up to April's mouth Kathy made sure she had a good grip on the girl's hand. If she was to lose track of her after she drank it would be very difficult to find her before the potion wore off.

 

You weren't suppose to take things from strangers. Yet they were two police officers there and the lady had said it was medicine. The elixir was in April's mouth before she could think too much about it. The entire world seemed to grow cold and fall away. Yet there was the warmth of the lady's hand. Kathy. That was what they had called her and she was still smiling at her. April took hold of Kathy's hand using both of her own now. Kathy could feel her and would stay with her.

 

Kathy could still feel April. The fact that she had maintained physical contact with her had helped a great deal. Now as long as April didn't do anything to reveal herself to someone everything would be alright. “I'll let you know how things go Mira.” As Kathy sipped the flask she was a bit disheartened by how little there was left. This wasn't something that the pack could make which meant she was going to have to buy more. Fortunately she was on good terms with the merchant and was certain they would be able to work out an agreeable deal and perhaps a discount for wise use.

 

After Kathy vanished Mira waited a moment and then turned her attention to Gabe. “That is some scarey stuff isn't it?”

 

“I swear. One of them could be right behind you and you wouldn't even notice it. Can't you see through magic like that though?”

 

Mira gave a slight sigh and shook her head. “I normally can but not the stuff Kathy is using. I have to be really certain that something is going on and and push myself. We tried it once a while back and I knew Kathy would be in the room with me. It still took me several tries and paying careful attention to my surroundings to see her. Okay let's get to work. Gabe I want you to go and look the wrest of the tunnel over. It's going to get dark soon so have your light ready. In the mean time I'm going to get to work on removing these threads.”

 

Nodding his head Gabe began to wonder further down the tunnel. “Hey what do I do if I encounter another spinner?”

 

“Kill it.”

 

***********************************************************************************

Kathy had no trouble walking out of the school. The presence mask had insured that leaving was as easy as entering. People didn't just fail to recognize that she was there. They still instinctively moved out of the way. Her only real concern was April who's hand she continued to hold throughout their journey. The presence mask would only hold for fifteen minutes or so but a scared child running away while under the influence of a presence mask for even ten minutes could be a very horrific thing. She was able to confirm that Sasha was already in the car by looking at the cup holder. Kathy always left a cup in the left cup holder. It had been moved to the right which meant Sasha was there. In any other situation it would mean someone had messed with her drink and she wasn't going to touch it.

 

The lady was there. She was there she could feel her hand. Kathy's hand was the only thing that told April she was there. If she was to let go she knew she'd be alone. All alone in the world. Except perhaps they were more monsters like the one that had grabbed her out there. These thoughts insured that April held tightly onto Kathy's hand for the entire trip. Even though she saw people in the school she couldn't help but feel they couldn't see her. They weren't a part of her world. The side affects of the presence mask on the young girl was terrifying to her. Yet Kathy's hand was there and she was holding her hand and she'd said that she'd take her somewhere safe. When April had been helped into the vehicle she had been horrified when Kathy's hand had left her. Then she felt Kathy take hold of her hand again whenever the engine started.

 

That was hard. Kathy knew in her intellectual mind that April was there. She had buckled her up and shut the door far too quickly for the young girl to leave. Yet reaching out to take the young girl's hand had taken tremendous willpower. As she took hold of the girl's hand again though there was a rush of awareness. Kathy could see April now. The presence mask hadn't worn off but Kathy had managed to overcome it. If she hadn't known exactly where the young girl was she knew she wouldn't be able to do so. It was a relief whenever Kathy's head jerked in her direction and she seemed to have recognition on her face though Kathy wasn't certain the young girl could see her. She could feel the comfort. The easiest way for Kathy to break the presence mask would be to hit April. The instinctive reaction and survival instinct would break the magic. The young girl had been through enough suffering for one life time though and April wasn't willing to add to it.

 

As the vehicle began to move Sasha had to tell herself that someone was in the drivers seat. Anders had told her in the past that an owl spirit might grant her a gift to see through such magic if she could convince one to do so. She had lost interest in doing so after a while. Now that she was experiencing the power of the presence mask again and imagined it in the hands of an enemy she wanted to find an owl spirit as soon as possible. She knew it wasn't as easy as that. Spirits tended to exact a heavy price for a gift. Even those that had dealt with the pack for long time periods and had a good history didn't simply hand out gifts as if one had stepped into a super store. There was talks, negotiations and a price. There was always a price.

 

Thirteen minutes of silence. It didn't seem like a terribly long time. Yet there was a rush and the world seemed to fill with new color more vibrant and beautiful then it had been in what seemed like ages. As Sasha felt the presence mask expire she took in a deep breath and remembered that April had drank from the flask after her. Just a few seconds later the young girl seemed to burst into existence and Sasha placed a hand upon her shoulder making her jump. Fortunately her seat belt kept her in place and Sasha gave her a wide smile trying to appear friendly. Unfortunately the young girl didn't always remember how feral her smile tended to look to humans. “Don't worry we're going to be at the hospital soon.”

 

“That's right.” Kathy was grateful whenever the presence mask expired. Reaching into her pocket she took out her cell phone and speed dialed Anders's emergency number. She needed to let him know Sasha was alright and he didn't need to call in the pack. She also needed to remind him that he needed to contact Ivera. She knew that he would want to come home and make sure his little girl was alright. He would have to trust her word on that though.”Hello Anders. Sasha is fine we're on our way to the hospital on green road. Yes the student that was abducted is alright but she needs to see a doctor. Do you want to speak with Sasha? Okay hold on a moment.” Before speaking Kathy held her phone towards the back seat. “Sasha daddy wants to speak with you.”

 

April watched as Sasha took the phone then turned her attention towards Kathy. While the presence mask had only required fifteen minutes to end she was still under the influence of Mira's gift. That was helping her stay calm and compliant even though she didn't realize it. “Will I be able to contact my parents soon?”

 

That was a tough question. They couldn't have April's parents actually coming to the hospital. At least they couldn't have it without the proper guidance. “I'm sure the police will contact your family and let them know you were taken to the hospital. You'll be back with them before you know it.” Kathy knew that this could end up taking some time. Likely Mira would tell the school that Sasha and April had gone missing down the tunnel or something along those lines. This meant Kathy couldn't let herself be pulled over by any police. She didn't want to be found with a kidnapping victim. The fact that Sasha's clothes were a mess from her fight didn't help things even if her wounds had healed. Fortunately they did have something of a head start. Mira wasn't stupid and would give her as much time as possible to get April to safety for treatment.

 

Once again Mira's influence made it easy for April to believe what Kathy said. The sedative nature of the gift was quite useful. “Do you believe they'll be worried about me?”

 

Kathy wasn't certain how long the gift's influence would last. She was grateful that it was still holding but she did fear how April would respond when it wore off. Sasha was there to help out if need be and Kathy discretely turned on the child safety locks. “I'm sure they will be and even more relieved whenever your back home with them safely.”

 

Sasha waited a few moments until April and Kathy were settled down before leaning forward again. “Here is the phone mommy. Hey April I've been to this hospital before. The doctor there is real nice. Every time I go there she gives me a sucker but it isn't like the ones at other doctor's office. They're actually home made.”

 

“She makes her own suckers?”

 

“Yeah and they have really neat ones to! The last time I was there she gave me one called blackberry.”

 

“Eh!”

 

Sasha actually recoiled a bit at April's response. “You don't like blackberries?”

 

“No.”

 

“Ah but you have to try one of them if she has any. It's really good.”

 

Here she was driving a young girl who had been attacked by a spinner and her werewolf daughter to meet a monster that was over three hundred years old while they were talking about suckers. The thought was almost enough to make Kathy laugh but she forced it back as she dialed another number. The phone was only allowed to ring twice before being answered. “Hello Victoria this is Kathy we're on our way to the hospital and I need you to be ready for a emergency patient. You'll be ready? Well that is true. Okay we'll be there soon.” As she hung up the phone Kathy couldn't help but grin. If Victoria trusted you all you needed to do was drop the word emergency and she was ready to help unless she was already dealing with an emergency. Kathy had no desire whatsoever to find out what would happen if Victoria decided you had exaggerated the situation.

 

Sasha, “That was quick.”

 

“Yes it was.”

***********************************************************************************

The path leading to Green Road Hospital seemed well chosen. It wasn't that the road was green but heavy vegetation covered both sides of the road leading to the hospital which was well outside of the city. As April looked up at the structure the building looked as if it was maintained but not used. The walls were extremely thick looking from the outside while the windows appeared very narrow. It was by no means the mostly glass structure that April was used to thinking of whenever someone mentioned hospital looking more like a prison then anything else to April. “Miss Kathy what kind of hospital is this?”

 

“It looks strange doesn't it? This hospital was built in the fifties. The cold war was underway and people were still worried about world war three so they built the hospital in order to stand up to bombings. It is very well built.” Kathy doubted that April was going to remember anything that she told her at this point. Likely Victoria would leave the young girl believing that she had been taken to a hospital inside the city rather then one far out in the country. While Kathy wasn't certain if it was due to magic or careful alterations to records they were very few things that mentioned Green Road Hospital. There was an article in one news paper from several decades back that had somehow slipped through Victoria's notice that referenced it but even then the information was very limited.

 

It was clear to Sasha that April was becoming scared. Mira's influence was wearing off. She knew there was little that could go wrong at this point even if April did begin to panic but she didn't want that to happen either. Leaning forward she placed a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder. “Don't worry. That just means you're going to be even safer here.”

 

“But. That thing. You said I need a doctor but.” April actually felt a good bit calmer whenever Kathy took hold of her hand. It was strange. She didn't really know the woman but right now out in the middle of nowhere she was eager for any comfort she could find.

 

“April you're safe it's like we said. We need to take you to a doctor after your encounter with that monster. I know you have questions but soon you're going to be back with your family and safe.”

 

“Do you promise?”

 

“I promise I'll do everything within my power to see you home safely.” By now they had reached the large building and Kathy had pulled around to the back. One of the delivery doors opened up as she came around. The inside was well lit revealing that it was empty for the most part. Kathy knew Victoria would be close by though no where near any open doors or windows. It was still a relief as she pulled onto the gray concrete and heard the automated doors shutting. She was also grateful Victoria had sense enough to leave the lights on she didn't want the young girl panicking in the dark.

 

April remained in her seat as Sasha and Kathy climbed out of the vehicle. She'd never came into a hospital this way before. Fear was beginning to swell up in the young girl whenever she noticed a door leading into the hospital opening up. Part of her expected to see a dark hallway but instead she saw a well lit hall with a young woman standing in it. Soft brown hair framed a porcelain skinned face with two bright sapphire eyes looking towards the vehicle and a soft smile on it. April felt something swelling up in her chest as if she was going to burst and tears formed in her eyes. All the fear she'd experienced from being carried by the spinner and the long ride without knowing what was going to happen to her despite the promises of protection burst out and she didn't know she had opened the door until her feet were on the ground and she was running towards the woman.

 

While Victoria wasn't certain of what was going on she could see the fear, relief and hope all pouring out from the young girl. She knew how to handle the situation even if she didn't know exactly what had happened she soon would. Lowering herself to one knee Victoria outstretched her arms towards the young girl and took her into her embrace as she burst into tears and pressed her face hard into her shoulder. “There. There. April you're safe here.” Victoria had quickly plucked the young girl's name from her mind. Rather then letting her go Victoria placed her left arm under her and right behind her then with ease that didn't seem fitting to her frame stood up.

 

Kathy knew that Victoria was using a discipline to change her presence. She knew that but she couldn't help the way she felt. The fact that Kathy already trusted Victoria made it even easier for the magic to influence her and that worried Kathy a bit. As much as she felt the influence though Kathy was amazed by how much it had touched April. Yet she had to wonder did she feel amazed because of the discipline or were the feelings truly her own? This was one of the problems that came with meeting Victoria. You had to wonder if what you were feeling were truly your emotions. “This is the emergency I called about.”

 

“She has been through a lot hasn't she? Come let's take her to one of the examination rooms. You can explain what happened. Oh! Oh my! You poor child.” Victoria leaned her head against April's for a moment as she glimpsed more of the young girl's memories. She could see the spinner's arms reaching out and taking hold of the young girl from within the darkness. She had been lured too close to the creature's trap by some strange light. April didn't know what this light was but Victoria did. “I understand the emergency now. I'm glad that you brought her to me. Yes let the pain out April. You'll feel better soon I assure you.”

 

“How? How do you know my name?” As she spoke April leaned back a bit and looked at Victoria. A glinting light caught her attention and she glanced down for a moment. A beautiful silver cross adorned her neck glinting beautifully in the light. It took her a moment to realize that in her rush she hadn't really looked at the woman. Her clothing was similar to what she'd seen in hospitals before but a bit different. Her coat had extra pockets and for some reason looked thicker then normal. She didn't get to look around much more as she felt a hand on her chin guiding her face back to Victoria's and she looked into her eyes. She felt safe and tired.

 

“I know your name because you told me what it was.” It wasn't a lie. Granted the words hadn't left April's lips but it had been easy to find in April's mind.

 

“I did?”

 

“Yes you did. Now let's find you an examination room and make you comfortable then I'll see to your treatment.”

 

Once again someone was telling her that she was going to be treated. Yet April didn't know what was wrong with her. She didn't want to ask about that though. Instead she found herself leaning forward and placing her head against the woman's chest. She felt so safe in her arms and her scent was slightly familiar to the young girl. It was a scent that reminded her of home. She always noticed it whenever she would go with her parents for a long vacation and notice how the place they stayed in smelt different then home. The scent wasn't quite like home but it brought similar emotions with it. “Okay.”

 

Kathy didn't expect Victoria to use any of the above ground examination rooms. She hadn't been surprised when Victoria had taken them down several stairs but she had been surprised whenever there was a window in the examination room. Immediately she had worried for Victoria's safety but then looked to see nothing was wrong with her. It took Kathy a moment to realize it wasn't a window but simply a light that had been set up to appear like a window. Currently Sasha and her were watching Victoria working her magic on April.

 

Just because one could read hear someone's thoughts or memories didn't mean they could alter them. Just because they could alter memories didn't mean they could hear them. Victoria was capable of doing both and that allowed her to work with a far greater level of precision. Currently she set across from April who was setting on the examination table. Their eyes were locked together while Victoria reached out to the young girl's mind with her own. “April what you felt whenever the strange man grabbed you was a rough, dirty and poorly kept shirt. His harsh movements scratched your skin. As he took hold of you there was a small flashlight dangling from his wrist on a rope. He had used that to draw you over to him.”

 

Sasha had been told how this works. Simply blanking someone's memories and leaving their mind to fill in the blank was very dangerous. The false memories could easily be disrupted and the real ones would come flooding back. Covering it up with a story was a better method and the more the person believed the story the more likely it was to hold up. Victoria was reading April's memories and at the same time she was changing them into something less horrific. As horrible as it was to be grabbed by a strange man and drug into a tunnel that was better then being grabbed by a spinner. Yet watching Victoria work made Sasha worry. She knew that humans tended to be more vulnerable to mystic influences then werewolves. Had Victoria ever replaced some of her mother's memories with a realistic story? It didn't seem possible. Victoria had always been fair and honest with the pack but would they even remember it if she had ever been dishonest?

 

Victoria took in a deep breath. Not that she breathed but she needed a moment to steady herself before continuing. She hated doing this kind of work during the day time. She could feel the beast trying to sleep deep within her and in doing so it was dragging her down as well. Periodically she had to pull against the slumbering creature to force it to stir and stay awake so that she could as well. Yet no mater how hard she pulled on or punched the beast she was never at her best during the day light hours. Fortunately she wasn't trying to influence the mind of a trained monster hunter. It helped a great deal that the young girl's mind was eager to have the nightmare softened. Victoria was saddened that she couldn't truly purge the nightmare but that wouldn't do. Instead she would turn the nightmare into a learning experience and something that the young girl could draw strength from.

 

***********************************************************************************

“Now you're going to enjoy your lollipop then you're going to lay down and take a nice nap. You've had a very rough day.” As she spoke Victoria helped April to lay back. It wasn't as if the young girl had been so dazed by the experience that she was unable to control herself but Victoria couldn't help herself. After searching through the young girl's memories she wanted to make sure that she was comfortable.

 

“Thank you Doctor Anelease.” As she rested her head against the pillow April lifted the lollipop to her mouth. The taste of the lollipop was truly beyond anything she could imagine. The results of a recipe that had been developed by a being who had centuries to experiment and Victoria's order to enjoy the lollipop. There was no room to protest for the young girl or fear. She felt safe here despite what she'd been through. The doctor had been so nice to her that it was impossible for her to be scared.

 

Kathy and Sasha waited just outside the room for Victoria to exit. As Victoria shut the door behind herself they both felt as if a fog had been removed from their eyes. Victoria's skin while still vibrant seemed to become less so and suddenly both of them were aware of how her eyes seemed to be somewhat droopy as if she was fighting her sleep. This feeling seemed to be confirmed as Victoria stretched her arms above her head and yawned. Yet the yawn revealed something else as a set of long fangs were revealed within Victoria's mouth. It was Kathy who spoke. “So that will do it?”

 

“That has taken care of her memory yes. Oh my! How I wish that this could have waited until sun down. She'll be transferred to The Guiding Hand children's hospital tonight and I'll have some of the records made up to agree with the story I gave her.”

 

Kathy, “Won't you need to influence some of the worker's memories?”

 

To this Victoria shook her head no while stretching again. “I have some assistants that work there. They can give confirming stories. This will likely frighten some people especially the existence of the tunnel. I am rather angry that something like this could happen in my territory. There will likely be a need to find someone to pin this on. Well. I know of a great many deserving and suitable people for such a roll. When I can think more clearly I'll make my decision as to who it should be and let you know. It will then be up to your pack to place appropriate blame.” The fog of day light still influencing her Victoria couldn't help but rub her forehead. She didn't want to pick who she was going to sacrifice until she knew who was really best for the roll.

 

While she listened to her Sasha couldn't help but notice Victoria's left hand. “Miss Victoria did you know you're fiddling with your necklace?”

 

“Hm? Oh!” Looking down at her hand Victoria didn't release the cross around her neck but lifted it slightly. “I must truly feel comfortable around you two if I'm indulging in nervous habits.”

 

Sasha, “That or you have no fear of us at all.” Sasha was actually quite surprised whenever she felt Victoria's right hand on her forehead and saw her left holding a lollipop in front of it. Was that another illusion or did she truly move that fast.

 

“Child don't let such negativity take place in your heart. Your body may not be ageless but you have far too much life ahead of you to let such emotions begin eating away at you.”

 

Kathy really did like Victoria and smiled whenever Sasha took the lollipop. Her daughter was smiling as well. “Okay Victoria crisis averted now let's get down to the ugly part. What do we owe you for the work you did on April? I also need to buy another bottle of the wyrm's fog.”

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