Can you hear them? |Lagertha x Kosmik_Khoas|

There would be retribution to be paid, and it would be paid in blood. They had taken his blood and they would pay for it with their own. It was as simple as that.

"Yo Vince, seriously you need to settle down some, you're gonna wear a fucking hole in the floor with all that pacing." A strong female voice said to the brooding giant of a man who was pacing the concrete floor of the warehouse the group of people were in. Most sat or stood a fair distance back from the pacing man, their eyes following him as he stalked to a fro like a caged beast ready to murder anything that go to close to it.

Vince jerked his head to the source of the voice, his darkly tanned skin and long pitch black hair and strong features hinted at a Native American heritage. His normally dark brown, almost black eyes were a burning orange red akin to hot coals. His lips curled back into a snarl, a mouthful of inhumanly long, and sharp teeth bared at the woman. The five long thin scars on that ran across his left side of his face, from chin to ear across his cheek pinched the snarl deeper and a low, dangerous growl emanated from his chest and throat.

The monsterous look on his face, mixed with his naturally large size, standing at 6'7" tall, with a broad shoulders and a barreled chest made for a rather intimidating figure. The woman who spoke, a pretty thing with bright blue eyes and platinum blond hair styled in a pixie cut, with red stained lips shrugged and lifted her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Fine, forget I said anything." She said shaking her head.

Growling again Vince returned to his pacing, long powerful strides, back and forth, from one side of the room to the other. Stopping in front of a thick concrete pillar Vince let out a snarling growl and threw a massive fist into it. Two things happened. First the concrete beneath his fist cracked and slightly caved in with a spiderweb like pattern with a splatter of blood in the center. The second was Vince's hand was broken thoroughly, the skin of his knuckles was barely scraps and small pieces of bone stuck from the skin.

With another growl Vince returned to his pacing ignoring the mangled hand. As it swung by his side a soft grinding and popping came from it as the bone shifted back into place and mended together. The skin sealed closed in a matter of seconds. "Vince..." An uncertain voice called to him from behind. Whipping around Vince glared at the shorter man who spoke up. The man flinched and huddled in on himself, taking a very submissive posture. "I..I've found out where Angi was taken." As soon as the words were spoken Vince was across the room faster than most of the people watching could keep up with. The man was lifted from the ground by his collar and held eye level with Vince, who was growling viciously. "Where is she?" He asked though gritted teeth in a deadly growl.

It took the smaller man everything he had to not piss himself in terror. "Sh-she is at Kingley Mental Hospital." He stammered out visibly shaking. Dropping the man Vince turned away and in a booming voice that held an undefiable power in it he spoke to the eight people in the room. "Tonight we will be going to Kingley to retrieve Angi. The full moon is in only three nights and I am not going to let her face her first change scared and alone, locked in some cell like a fucking animal!" He roared his deep voice reverberating off the concrete walls.

Not bothering to actually take the tight plain white tee off Vince ripped it from his body while stepping out of his boots. Jerking his pants off he stood naked and let out a bestial roar full of pure rage. Quickly pain entered that roar as the sound of bones snapping and reshaping.

The others followed suit stripping naked and joining in the howl of rage and pain. Arms grew and legs buckled, in the wrong direction. Faces elongated and jaws snapped as they grew. Thick fur began to sprout from bare flesh. Vince was the first to fall forward catching himself on hands that were forming into clawed paws.

It was less than thirty nightmare inducing, stomach wrenching seconds before the grotesque sounds and sights stopped. The room was now filled with the bodies of nine wolves, Vince being the largest of them, his fur a deep black with a slightly lighter, dark gray patch that started between his eyes and ran down his back to almost dead center of his body. His shoulders were just over four feet from the ground, and he was at least eight feet long. A true monster of a wolf.

Throwing his head back he let out a haunting howl that was joined by the others of the pack. The long note held for nearly a full minute before the pack tore off form the warehouse and into the dimming light of late evening.

---

"LET ME OUT OF HERE GOD DAMMIT! LET ME OUT NOOOOOOW! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND I NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS FUCKING PLACE!" A tall, slender girl with deeply tanned skin and long black hair that was in a single braid that reached nearly to her ass shrieked at the heavy steel door. Her dark eyes were wide and wild as she paced around the room screaming profanities, threats, and just shrieks of unadulterated fury.

The shapeless hospital gown did well at hiding the gentle, sensual curves of her still developing body. She was pretty in a girlish way, that hinted at a beauty that she was going to grow into.

With a frustrated scream she charged the door again and hammered her fists into it over and over screaming about how she didn't have much time left before the full moon and her first change. That she needed to be out of here and with her brother before it happened. Hot angry tears streaming from her dark eyes. Angi hated each and every person in this place. If she changed in here alone, she would most likely loose herself to the beast inside and go on a killing rampage. She needed an experienced wolf there to help guide her through the first change, to keep her balanced and stop her from loosing her human mind to the beast mind completely and doing something she would most certainly regret.

Looking out of the small window in the door she watched as a pair of nurses half dragged a pretty girl with pretty red hair, that was cut into a very peculiar style into the room across from her. Her screaming stopped and glared at them, hate burning in her stare. When they came out with the girl most likely restrained, like she had been before she broke out of them. They looked at her. A devilish smile spread across Angi's lips and she mouthed four words to them finishing with running her soft pink tongue over her pearly white teeth. The words were. "You will all die."

Angi stopped screaming and just stalked about the room, occasionally shooting the camera in the corner of the room icy glares that could freeze molten steel. To her captors she appeared to be a caged animal ready to kill, if only they knew just how accurate their assessment was.

Three days prior Angi had been taken to the school counselor for her suddenly aggressive mood swings. The normally passive girl had started to snap at other students and teachers throughout the week, each day getting worse than the last. She refused to talk to the woman, just sitting across from her glaring daggers. Angi knew what was wrong and she knew she couldn't tell anyone about it without looking crazy. Vince and the other had warned her about it, as she got closer to her first change her inner beast would slowly grow more intense, causing her to become more aggressive

After nearly an hour of sitting in silence staring at the woman with a predatory glare she was dismissed from her office with an offer to come back and talk any time she felt the need.

It was in the cafeteria that the event that landed her in Kingley took place. Angi sat in the far corner of the massive room at a table by herself bothering no one and trying to keep herself calm. That's when a group of students came over to her and started to harass her.

They jeered and teased her, making snide remarks about her bitchy mood being caused by her finally having her first period and other mean spirited jabs that only high school kids were able to form. It didn't take long for Angi to snap.

Shooting up to her feet suddenly causing the chair under her to be tossed back from her she snatched the hard plastic food tray and shattered it across the skull of one of the boys taking him off his feet and sending him sliding across the floor in a heap.

Before any of them could react she planted her fist into a girls face shattering her nose in a explosion of blood, and got in three more hits before the girl could hit the floor. Leaving her face a swollen bloody mess. Whipping around she grabbed the back of the second girl's head and with unnatural power slammed her face into the table hard enough to break bone, cracking her eye socket and cheek bone before jerking her head back and flinging her limp body several feet by her hair.

Only seconds had passed and the last boy and girl finally reacted. The boy threw a punch at Angi while calling her bitch. Angi replied with catching his arm just above the wrist and bringing the ball of her other hand against his elbow in a open palm blow that caused his arm to bend painfully in the opposite direction it naturally should. Letting go of the ruined arm the boy feel to his knee screaming in pain and took a knee to the face cutting his screams off abruptly and sprawling him out unconscious on the floor.

The last girl, instead of being smart and running away while Angi had her back to her instead grabbed Angi's long braid and jerked her head back. Growling like an animal Angi reached behind her over her shoulder and caught hold of the girl's arm. Pulling off a makeshift Judo throw Angi flipped the girl over her shoulder slamming her painfully on her back on top of the solid cafeteria table knocking the breath from the girl with a heavy "Umfph!" Not giving the girl a moments rest Angi began to hammer her fists into the girls chest the sound of ribs snapping audible under her assault.

It took being tazed by two of the schools resource officers to finally subdue her enough to cuff her. She was arrested and put in Juvenile Detention where they determined that she needed to sent to Kingley for a psychiatric evaluation due to her sudden, brutal attack since her record was spotless and her mood swings had been recorded by the school counselor.

The end result of her attack was as such, the first student suffered a sever concussion and minor lacerations to his face. The second had a broken nose, and sever facial bruising all the way to the bone with a minor concussion. Third suffered a major concussion, a cracked cheekbone and jaw, and was blinded in one eye, with the possibility of permanent brain damage. The forth had a shattered elbow, broken nose, and some sever bruising. The last had several contusions across her back, chest and torso, six ribs broken in a total of nine places with several other small fractures throughout and a broken sternum.

Hearing the nurses come down the hall with the food cart Angi moved to the door and looked out of it, a wolfish grin on her lips as she watched the nurses move to the other rooms.

One came to her door and gave her an attempted stern look, but Angi could see that she was afraid on the girl, and more importantly she could smell the sour stench of fear on her. "Angi I need to to step away from the door and wait on the other side of the room please." She said patiently. Angi just tilted her head slightly to the side her lips spreading into a wider grin, her dark eyes staring unblinkingly at the woman. She saw the way the nurses throat bobbed as she swallowed hard. This woman was clearly terrified of the fifteen year old child on the other side of the door.

"Angi, if you don't step back we are going to have to do something none of will like." Again Angi said nothing and just stared into the woman's eyes like she was looking into her very soul. After a tense moment Angi thrust her head forward moving and snapped her teeth together in a biting motion, the click of her jaw snapping shut able to be heard by the woman, who jumped back and let out a started cry. "Open this door you filthy fucking pig." Angi growled. "Let me out of here before I have to kill everyone here."

The nurse reached to her side pulling up a small walkie talkie. "Angi please don't make me call in to get help restraining you." Angi snorted. "Yeah because that worked so fucking well last time." She said holding her hands up for the Nurse to see.

Her first day here Angi was under heavy sedation and was strapped to the bed for her safety. They should have kept her sedated. When she came to she was pissed. It only took her a few minutes of screaming threats that she was going to kill them all if they didn't release her and some struggling before Angi tore the leather straps from the hard plastic of the anchored bed. The poor nurse that entered her room to try and calm her had managed to get into the door and close it behind her, it locking automatically behind her. Angi didn't take well to the idea of being sedated again and had broken the woman's wrist and injected her with the sedative intended for her.

After that several of the male nurses were brought over to the female wing and it took four grown men to restrain her long enough to get the unconscious nurse to safety, and get a needle into Angi. The effect of the sedative lasted less than half the time is should have and since they had refused to allow any more employees to enter the girls room.

"You're not going to call anyone pig. You are going to make idle threats like the others, and then you are going to slip my tray of drugged food through the slot in the door like all my other meals, where I will refuse to eat them like I have all the other meals, and you will walk away from my door breathing a sigh of relief that you survived an encounter with the dangerous devil child with your body intact. Probably to go take a shower to try and wash away the stink of fear that is covering your body while weeping silently." Angi spoke in a level tone, that held absolutely no emotion.

Stepping closer to the door she tapped the glass with a single fingernail, creating a solid clicking sound. "Little pig little pig let me out." She said in a song like tone that was dripping with unspoken promise of bodily harm.

Angi stood in front of her door not moving a muscle staring out of the small window at the door across from hers, the design of the hall had the doors slightly off center from each other so the patients couldn't look into each others room from across the hall. Angi had been standing like that for hours, breathing steadily, watching, waiting. The approaching full moon had her inner beast waiting just below the surface, raising her already exceptional senses to greater heights.

What the camera in the room couldn't see was the soft flaring of her nostrils as she scented the air. A very faint scent, vaguely familiar to her tickled her nose underneath the smells of rotting flesh, sulfur, and fear. All of them were coming from the room across from hers. A low growl rolled from deep inside Angi's chest, not loud enough to be heard over the speakers that monitored the room with the camera. Something foul was in that room with the girl and it was frightening her badly. Angi couldn't blame her, the scent of it alone put her on edge, causing the small hairs on the nape of her neck to rise.

---

Vince and the pack stopped their running just inside of the treeline that was a hundred yards from the back of the hospital. Their run here took hours to complete and several of the younger wolves were panting lightly from the exertion, not Vince. His burning eyes were locked on the building before him. Inside was his little sister, the last of his family. Lifting his nose to the air he sniffed for a moment, a flood of information rushing in. He could smell a family of rabbits twenty yards to the south, several squirrels in the trees above, a birds nest with eggs straight overhead.

The scent that he picked up from the wind came from the direction of the hospital was a pungent mix of madness, fear, chemicals, exhaust and humans. He was to far out to catch Angi's scent. Turning to catch the eyes of his pack he looked them in their eyes, an unspoken connection they all shared which acted like a very limited telepathy, told the pack to follow him silently.

Jerking his head back towards the hospital and took off into a full sprint. The hunt was underway. It was less than four seconds before the small distance was covered and Vince hurled his massive wolf shoulder at the metal door, smashing all four hundred plus pounds into it. The sturdy locks held fast, the hinges however did not. With a cacophonous clattering of steel on tile the door bounced across the floor.

As soon as Vince was in the hall he threw his head back and let out a thunderous howl that echoed through the halls and filled the entire hospital with it's haunted cry. The rest of the pack had followed in behind him and joined in his howl. Their echoing war call declaring the beginning of the end.

Vince exploded forward in a rush of movement, sharp claws digging gouges in the tiles under paw. The scents inside were all muddled together and some were just to overpowering, so a complete search was needed, as well as a culling of those foolish enough to hold a werewolf prisoner.

Everyone in the hospital could hear the howls, and security was alerted by not only the sound but the alarm that was set off by the door being broken in. Several security guards came running to see what was happening. The first that rounded the corner to the hall the pack was charging down barely had time to register what he was seeing before two heavy paws hammered into his chest, the razor sharp claws rending uniform and flesh like it was nothing. A set of powerful jaws snapped shut around his head crushing the skull like an overripe grape before he could even yell.

Vince continued to charge on. Half of the pack broke off down the intersection ending the security guard who was now screaming in horror, cutting his screams short in a gurgled death cry.

As the nine wolves rampaged through the halls, killing everything that came in their path Vince caught scent of something that made his hackles raise. It was the fetid stench of demons. Letting loose a warning howl as he charge on wards warning the others of the new development.

Every time Vince came across a set of locked doors he simply broke through them. He had finally caught scent of Angi and the closer he got to her, the strong the stench of demons grew. He was on a single minded path to get to Angi, he left it to his pack to take out everything that breathed in this place, and from the smell of blood and sounds of screams and breaking doors he knew they were doing their part.

---

Angi smiled when she heard the howls, it wasn't a pleasant expression of her pretty face either. For the first time in hours she moved. Turning slowly she smiled up at the camera, a murderous glint in her dark eyes. "I told you that you would all die." She said to the camera, not knowing or caring if anyone was still monitoring her. Her pack was here, and they were out for blood. She knew this because she knew her older brother. He wouldn't take kindly to her being taken away without his knowledge or consent. You just don't mess with one of the pack after all.

A crash echoed through the hall coming from the very end. Angi watched as several nurses both male and female, and a security guard came running down the hall towards the sound. Their screams of terror quickly filled the room along with the sounds of blood splattering, flesh ripping, and bone breaking. A few of them went racing away in a panicked manner past Angi's door back in the direction they had came from when the familiar black and dark grey fur of a massive wolf went rushing past her window in chase.

In front of the door to the strange smelling room across from hers Vince caught up with his prey. A spray of crimson blood splattered against the door covering most it and part of the window. With the cutting off of the last scream the hall fell unnaturally quite for a moment.

The silence was broken by the rhythmic click of claws on cement as the massive wolf made it's way to Angi's door. Smiling affectionately at the beast Angi pressed a hand to the glass. "Hello big brother." She said softly.

---

Vince followed the scent of his sister with a single minded determination. Burting through the door to the hall she was one his red orange eyes moved over the hall as his nostrils twitched taking in the scent of the room, Angi was here, and so was the demon he smelled, as wall as something else that was familiar but different at the same time.

The sudden appearance of humans snatched his attention away from the last scent and with a snarl loud as a truck engine he met them, terrible teeth and claws powered by supernatural muscle and superior weight tore through the humans with ease.

He chased down the few that fled him taking them out with brutal finality. Body parts were ripped from bodies and flung in random directions, blood sprayed from wounds painting the white walls red with the splatter. Once the last human was eviscerated by his razor sharp claws Vince walked back to Angi's door. The window was above his head but he could see her inside smiling at him.

Be it because the almost overpowering smell of blood that filled the entire place, the distraction of finding his kin, or just plain carelessness Vince didn't notice the ruddy wolf that was smaller than him, but larger than any natural wolf come barreling down the hall crashing into him with a snarl.

The blow sent Vince to the ground and sliding through a pool of blood, a set of jaws snapping at him. Snarling and growling loudly Vince snapped back at the new wolf. This one was not one of his own.

The sound of two giant wolves fighting in the hall was nearly deafening. Low growls that sounded like thunder, snarls that made the skin crawl, and the sounds of two massive bodes crashing about in a fight to the death.

The two wolves moved down the hall, the screams of patients mixing into the clamor of their fight. Vince managed to get his jaws firmly around his assailants hind leg. Jerking his head he pulled the wolf from his flank. Setting his legs and tightening his jaw Vince began to whip his head back and forth, flailing the wolf around like a rag. The snarls of the ruddy wolf quickly became whines and yelps of pain as its body was tossed about, getting slammed into the floor, walls and door to Ling's room.

The sounds of bones being snapped were audible over Vince's snarling and the other wolf's yelping. It took a lot to kill a werewolf considering their speed of healing was tremendous, but this one was taking damage much faster than it could heal, as well as all the trauma to its head was making it grow weak.

The door to Ling's room didn't stand up to many of the devastating blows that were hammered against it and it was knocked inwards exposing the girl to the uncensored carnage that was taking place right outside her doorway.

Vince noticed the door bust open and used the corner of the door frame to beat the wolf in his jaws against. It didn't take many hits before the shattered body of the ruddy wolf stopped making any sounds. Dropping the dead, broken body from his mouth Vince turned his massive head to the girl in the room and staked towards her. She must have been frozen in fear because she didn't move as he closed in on her. It wasn't until he pressed a paw nearly the size of a dinner plate against her chest did she start to scream. Pushing her to the floor pinning her, his claws sunk into her chest bringing her screaming to new heights.

Baring down on her chest a cracking sound came from under his massive paw and the girls screaming choked off into a rasping fight for breath as he crushed her frail body under his power. He ended the girls suffering when his jaws snapped around her neck. Vince swallowed the bloody chuck of flesh and took several more. A set back to the werewolves healing power and strength was it burned a colossal amount of calories that were burned to create the needed energy.

More howls filled the hospital, and they were not those of his pack. Apparently Vince and his pack had entered someone else's territory and they followed them here. Growling in anger Vince started to change once again. The sound of shifting and growing bone and muscle filled the room he was in, clearly audible through the vent into Mixie's room.

Vince let out a roar so loud that the windows shook. Raising to his hind legs he stood in the beast-man form that only the strongest of Alphas could manage to achieve. Stepping out of the room, having to crouch to get though the door frame he rose to his his full height of nearly ten feet and let out another challenging roar of anger.

Two more wolves entered the hall and Vince's burning eyes fell on them. Reaching to his side he sunk his claws easily into the steel door of Mixie's room and plucked from from the hinges like tissue paper, and flinging it down the hall towards the two. The moment he tore off the door the demon stench grew almost impossibly strong. Turning his head to look in the room he spotted the girl inside and the two demons that were glaring at him.

The two wolves managed to dodge, letting the heavy steel door slam itself into the wall behind them and charged. In Vince's moment of distraction they leapt at him crashing into his nearly half 700 pound body driving him a step back, but still leaving him in sight of the girl and demons.

They tried to move out of his reach to attack again but Vince caught one by the tail and lifted it into the air slamming it into the ceiling shattering the tiles overhead before slamming it back down to the floor. Reaching out with his other clawed hand her grabbed the wolf just above its shoulders then adjusted his grip on the tail to the lower back just above its hips. Lifting the massive grey wolf up and letting out a fierce growl Vince tore the thing in two, flinging the twin halves to either side of him and tossing them behind him. The spray of blood and viscera flying into the open doorway at the girl inside.

Vince whipped his head away from the girl's room to the wolves that entered the end of the hall, his fur dripping with blood, a dangerous growl rumbling from deep in his chest. There were ten in total, and only four of them changed.

Keeping still his burning eyes flicked between the two demons and the pack of wolves. This was starting to get out of hand. Though there was something in the girl's scent that the other parties wanted. Something that made Vince himself want her.

Sharp eyes focused on the woman, Yasmine, who kept making demands of him. He didn't like the woman, and the fact that she was getting undressed to change angered him further. He could close the distance between them in less than a second and have her and several of the other unchanged wolves eliminated well before they could begin to shift.

That would leave him open to attack from the demons if they had wanted to attack. Growling viciously at the undressing woman he bared his fangs at her. He couldn't speak in this form, just as he couldn't as a wolf, and there was no way he would be giving up the advantage he had over them right now.

Reaching out through the pack link he projected a sending, a sort of psychic message that was made up of scents, images, emotions, and intent rather than words.

The sending had the image of the pack in front of him, along with their scents, and his location. It also contained the images and scents of Angi, Mixie and the Demons and what he wanted done.

Snarling at the last man to enter the room Vince let out a warning growl, his intention clear to those across the hall. Move and he would attack.

Taking a half step, which for a creature his size was about three normal steps for a person reached out with a long muscled arm never removing his gaze from the other pack. His claws easily sunk into the steel door and with a jerk it was ripped from the wall. Angi walked calmly from the room and looked up at the massive beast in front of her. "Hello big brother." She said turning her dark eyes to the others.

"You were correct, my brother and pack came to retrieve me. He has made it very clear to me to warn you. If any of you move, or attempt to shift he will be on you faster than you could react and many, if not most of you will be killed. He doesn't want to start a war with you. He is just here to take me home. Please stand down." Her voice was soft, and high, but held a confidence that spoke of her being a natural born were and an Alpha herself. Despite not having changed before, she was still part of the pack and shared their link.

Walking around to Vince's other side she looked at the two demons square in their faces. With the same confidence she had addressing a rival pack she tilted her head slightly at them watching them as they stood guard of Mixie. Leaning slightly to the side she peeked into the room past them and gave the frightened girl a small wave.

Everything was about to fall into place. The pack would be coming in for an ambush from behind in just a few seconds under the cover of the potent stench of blood. Vince would charge the demons and Angi would grab the girl and they would run.

Time seemed to slow down and stretch out for Vince as he gathered his focus. With blinding speed he hurled the door into the mass of bodies not aiming for the shifted wolves or the two woman, The whistle of the door as it cut through the air acted like a war horn.

The door hit one of the leather clad men in the back crushing him into the wall in such a way that even with supernatural healing he wouldn't be coming back from the blow.

In the same moment Vince's pack burst through the door and began to attack the rival pack. Teeth and claws meeting non-shifted flesh. Their aim was to cripple and confuse, not slaughter then get out.

A large, solid white wolf drove itself hard into the back of Yasmine and bite down on her shoulder, sharp teeth piercing skin and breaking bone, Lifting the woman the wolf shook her a few times and tossed her with aside into the the wall, and bolted forward towards Vince. A dark brown wolf with grey in his fur pounced on Mama driving her to the ground hard but not bothering to add to the attack, joining the white wolf in her sprint to Vince.

Two more attempted to copy the stick and move tactic while the last four stood their ground fighting the shifted wolves in a vicious display of fangs, snarls, claws and growls.

The moment Vince had let go of the door he spun around and with a roar launched himself at the pair of demons blocking the door. He kicked off the ground so hard that the concrete below his feet cracked. Angi dropped to a kneel as her brother flew over her smashing into the bodies of the demons. Gripping them tightly, his claws digging into their stinking flesh he barreled forwards roaring at them as he cleared the room and used their bodies as battering rams to smash through the wall on the far side of the room.

Angi was hot on his tail running into the room and scanning it quickly. Spotting the frightened and clearly confused girl in the corner. Dashing to her Angi grabbed Mixie's arms and hauled her to her feet. "Lets go Mixie, that's your name right?" She asked looking the golden eyed girl dead in her face, a willy smile spreading on her full lips. "You're pretty cute." She said quickly and with strength mismatching her lithe body Angi threw Mixie over her shoulder and at the waist and started to run.

In front of her Vince was still roaring at the demons who were clawing and striking at his arms, tearing at the skin as he continued to use them to break through walls. He knew demons were made of tougher stuff than concrete and this was little more than an irritation to them, but his grip and claws were stronger than concrete, strong enough to hurt them to a certain extent.

Finally Vince broke through a wall that lead outside. Flinging the male looking demon tens of yards away with a mighty throw Vince grabbed the other with both hands now and began to crush it with a visible show of effort. It didn't take long for the sound of cracking bones to sound in the air. As the demon kick and screamed, promising all manner of death, pain, mutilation, and desecration and fornication f and with his dead body Vince spread his massive jaws wide and with an effort crushed the demons skull into bloody pulp in his jaw.

Dropping the body he spat and hacked up the foul blood that filled his mouth. Demon's tasted worse than they smelt, which was saying something. While he was handling them, Angi, carrying Mixie had cleared a fair bit of ground, the white and graying brown wolves closing in on them.

Dropping to all fours Vince easily closed the distance. A sending flashed through the wolfs and Angi, never stopping her running dropped Mixie to the ground roughly, then grabbed the fur of the white wolf and pulled herself onto it's back. Vince scooped Mixie up in a massive clawed hand that wrapped almost halfway around the girls waist and pulled her against his chest holding her tightly.

The five of them sped up to full running speed, Vince faster than the rest despite using only three of his limbs to run. He reached out and sent a sending to his pack inside, they were far enough ahead now for them to pull out if they could, and an apology to those that were slain and who could still possibly be slain.

A pained, sorrowful howl erupted from his maw as he ran into the night, mourning his lost family, and the potential loss of more of them.

Vince and the remainder of the pack he brought with him ran tirelessly through the night. Vince carrying Mixie's unconscious body cradled against his massive form. Angi, now naked having stripped from the vomit covered hospital gown, riding atop the white wolf.

"Sasha, if I get to heavy just let me know, Atsidi can carry me some." Angi said stretching herself out across the back of the wold, the feel of her soft fur caressing Angi's bare skin. Sasha sniffed dismissively at the comment and instead picked up her pace a little earning a small smile for the dark skinned girl on her back.

After a few hours they came to a river and stopped. Rising to his hind legs Vince looked at the girl he had been carrying the entire time and stared at her. He could smell the werewolf in her, but it was different. It smelled off somehow, like it was incomplete. A sending from Sasha came into his head, it was an inquiry of what they were going to do.

Responding with a sending of his own. They were to enter the river and swim up river a ways before crossing to the other side and then they were to head to the reservation.

Wading into the water Vince kept Mixie above the surface, while Sasha, Atsidi, and Angi swam ahead at his order. Once the river was two deep for even Vince to walk in he awkwardly held Mixie tightly over his shoulder so her head wouldn't go under as he swam against the currents.

They moved nearly a half mile up river before crossing to the other side and resuming their run. It was another few hours before they came to an old barbed wired fence that stretched out for miles in either direction. Easily bounding over it the six entered the protected grounds of the Navajo reservation. It was another twenty minutes of running before they came to a small smattering of houses.

Going to a dust covered light green house Vince carried Mixie onto the porch and with a massive clawed hand knocked on the door. A few moments of waiting, and the door opened revealing a tall man with a head full of thick black hair that almost didn't match the deeply etched wrinkles in the man's sun hardened, aged face. Hard staring eyes locked onto the massive beast standing in front of him and he man snorted, turned his head slightly to the side and spit past Vince.

Turning his eyes to the others he looked at both wolves, and the naked girl riding atop one and grunted before speaking in Navajo, his tone angry. Vince and Angi both flinched at the man's hard words. Atsidi lowered his ears and tucked his tail between his legs dropping into a submissive position at the onslaught. Sasha, who didn't understand a word herself felt the mood and she too dropped her head and tucked her tail.

As the old man tore into the wolves he actually reached out and boxed Vince on his ear then spit between his feet. Vince growled and was rewarded with a fist to his snout and more angry words.

After nearly five minutes of the verbal abuse the old man pointed to Mixie and Vince handed her to the man, then began his change to human. Sasha and Atsidi changed back as well.

Once human the man just stood silently glaring at the group of naked people standing on his porch. "Come inside." He said his words still hard but most of the anger out of them, as he turned and carried Mixie inside. Vince and the others followed.

Inside the house was simply furnished, but the walls held a great many curiosities. Hides, skulls, paintings, and a slew of historical items of cultural significance. Laying Mixie on the large, plush leather couch the old man turned to Vince and the others. Locking eyes with Vince the man sighed heavily. Tears were flowing freely down his face, but not a single sob was heard. "Tell me what happened boy." The old man said.

Vince nodded and with tears still freely flowing he spoke without a single quiver in his voice and gave the events of the night. Once he finished the old man just nodded and placed a gnarled hand on Vince's shoulder. "It is always hard to loose family, but you did what any of us would do to save one of our own. I am proud of you." "Thank you Sani. So you don't mind if we hide out here for a while, as well as the rest of my pack?"

Sani shook his head and chuffed at Vince. "No I don't mind you big dumb idiot, you declared a war with that pack and you have no idea how strong they are. The tribe is family just as the pack is family, even though most of your pack are outsiders to us they are welcome to our protection, as long as they can follow the rules and not start trouble with the other packs that live here. The rest of us get along, we will have no issues taking out any of yours that attempt to disrupt our peace."

Vince just nodded and turned to Sasha. "I need you to go gather the rest of the pack and bring them back. Atsidi go with her." The two nodded and turned to leave.

"Sani, can I use your bathroom. That girl threw up all over me several times and even though I swam in the river I still feel disgusting." Angi asked while already walking towards the old man's bathroom. "Yes Angi, you may, there are towels closet before you get to the bathroom." He said watching her leave the room.

Once she was gone and the sound of running water reached his ears Sani turned back to Vince. "So boy, why did you grab her like that?" He asked tilting his head towards Mixie. "You can smell her better than I can you old bear. She has the scent of a were but different than any other i've ever came across." Sani just nodded at Vince's words. It was true, he could smell it on her, she was one of them, but not at the same time. "So what are you doing to do? Attempt to change her completely?"

Vince looked down at the pretty girl laying on the couch and just shrugged. "I am not sure yet. Something just told me that she was special somehow, and it was strong enough for me to let four of MY pack die to get her away. The others offered us peace and freedom to leave without bloodshed, but it didn't fell right."

Stepping to the girl Vince loomed over her, still standing stark naked, as he looked down at her. Just what was it that pulled at his human and beast mind so hard to do something so dangerous to have her?

Vince stepped slightly to the side when Mixie woke up to vomit. He instantly took notice to blood in it, and how thin it was. The girl hadn't been eating correctly. A deep frown crossed his face at that thought. When she looked up at him and flinched away with her hands drawn up he let out a sigh. "Put your hands down. If I was going to hurt you I would have done it back at the hospital." He said glancing down at himself when she asked who he was and why he was naked. He had forgotten that he wasn't wearing clothing.

"My name is Vince, and I am naked because clothes don't fit on a changed werewolf." He answered calmly kneeling so he was closer to eye level with her. His dark hues searching her face. His nostrils flared ever so slightly as he studied her. "You are in a safe place, no longer in that prison of a hospital." He said with a curling of his lip in anger. "She isn't here, I don't know where she is so that would be a negative on speaking with her.

Angi came out of the hall wearing a towel around her body and smiled at Mixie who was finally awake. "Hey there, welcome back to the land of the living." She said crossing the living room, her smile melting into a look of concern at the pale, sweating girl on the couch, and the blood flecked vomit on the floor. "No I am not to feed you to my brother, no matter how tasty you look." She said walking up to Vince and putting a hand on his head like he was a dog. "She doesn't look good Vince, or smell so well either."

Vince didn't protest the hand on his head but did shoot Angi a growl. "Yeah she is sick. Sani, can you get her some detox tea and something to put on her stomach. She needs to get the drugs out of her system and food in it." He called to the old man who was already busying himself in the kitchen. "I'll let you bark out orders tonight pup, only because you are correct, don't get used to it." Sani's rough voice came back from the kitchen. "Angi, go draw her a bath. Use some of the medical herbs in it." Angi nodded and ruffled Vince's hair. "Got it bro." She said before darting off.

With Sani and Angi working Vince reached out put his hand on her face. "You're running a fever." With an audible sniff an a wrinkle of his nose he withdrew he hand. "And whatever it was they were stuffing you full of your starting to withdraw from." He all but growled the word they. It was clear he didn't care for the doctors at the now ruined hospital.

Looking at her sweat drenched dress he frowned. It smelled of that wretched place, and the fear sweat that it had soaked up. Pulling his hand from her face he knitted his eyebrows together in concentration and a moment later A black claw grew from the tip of his index finger. Grabbing the front of her dress with the unaltered hand he ran the claw through the fabric, rending it with ease. Peeling the ruined fabric from her body ignoring any and all protests from her as he stripped her down, leaving her in just her panties. His eyes never left her face, like her being more naked than not didn't affect him in the least.

Once she was out of her dress Vince slid his arms under her thighs and around the small of her back and lifted her from the couch as though she was weightless. "You're sick, I need you to settle down." He said locking eyes with the small woman in his powerful arms. His voice stern and commanding but not harsh, the voice of a man who is a leader and used to having what he said obeyed. He held her tight against his broad muscled chest to keep her from fighting her way out of his grasp.

Carrying her down the hall towards the sound of flowing water he entered the bathroom with her. Angi wasn't in there but the tub was filling with lightly steaming water. The slightly foggy water in the tub gave off a soothing aroma of a mix of flowers and menthol, along with the smell of salt.

Easing Mixie into the warmth of the water Vince knelt down beside the tub and eased his arms from under her. Before drawing them out of the tub though he hooked his fingers under her panties and with a quick tug cut through the fabric. Pulling them out from the tub he tossed them into the trash. "Relax and don't get out of the tub." He said standing and walking out of the room.

A minute later he came back in wearing a pair of to tight shorts and carrying a towel and fresh washcloth, and a cup. Taking his spot back at the side of the tub he eased the cup into the water and poured it over her head slowly. "What's your name?" He asked already knowing it from the others yelling it, but he wanted her to give it to him. "And how long were you in that hell hole for?" His voice was deep, and had taken on a calming steady tone.

He poured more of the scented water over her head before grabbing a bottle of shampoo and squeezing some into his hand. Working it into a light lather between his large palms he began to work it into her long tresses, careful not to tangle her hair anymore than it already was. "You saw some pretty horrible things, I would like to apologize for that. I lost my head in my anger after they took Angi, she is my little sister, and my only surviving blood relative." As he spoke his strong fingers gently massaged her scalp. "My thoughtlessness cost me the lives of several of my pack, who are my family, it was foolish of me."

Curling a finger under her chin he tilted Mixie's head back and started to rinse the shampoo from her hair. "In that foolishness I most likely caused a war by taking you." He sat the cup aside and grabbed the wash cloth and a bar of homemade soap that smelled of jasmine and honey. Working the soap in the rag he gathered Mixie's long hair and put it over her shoulder and started to wash her back with the tender care of a lover. "There is something about you Mixie, a scent that is like us, but not. It's hard to explain but it has me and my inner beast curious as to what you are." His hands moved from her back to her shoulders and down her arms. "I mean, you had the attention of two demons and they were not ripping you to pieces or trying to rend you soul from your body. They were interested in you, so were those other wolves, and in the excitement and confusion of the moment I just grabbed you and went."

His hands, and the soapy rag moved under the water to her stomach. He gently washed his way up to her chest and without a moment of hesitation or a hint of sexuality he ran the cloth under her breasts, then over and in between them. His eyes never once leaving her face, his look one of deep curiosity and searching. "Just who are you Mixie?" He asked as he brought the rag up to wash her neck.

Vince was patient with her when she refused to give him her name, or tell him how long she was in the hospital. He allowed her to cuss him and struggle against him. But it was when she struck him that his temper flared. With her back to him he laced his fingers of his right hand into her wet hair and tightened them into a fist gripping her hair firmly and pulling her head back so far that her back was forced against the wall of the tub, causing her to ache over it, shoving her bare breasts skyward.

His normally dark eyes glowed with the color of burning coals, and his lips were drawn back in a snarl, his teeth all ending in gleaming white points. "I will tolerate you acting like a petulant child but you will not strike me bitch!" He growled at her. Keeping her arched over the tub wall he finally let his eyes leave her face to roam over her body. A low rumbling growl emanated from deep in his chest, but it was much different from the angry sound he made earlier, it was primal and almost lusty.

Lowering his face to her outstretched neck stopping with less than half an inch between their skin he breathed in her sent. The mix of fear, anger, confusion, along with her natural scent was slightly intoxicating to him. He could hear her pulse hammering below her skin the sound setting off a primal urge deep in his mind. Acting on animal instinct more than human thought Vince snaked his tongue, much longer and thicker than any humans, from between his lips and ran the tip from her shoulder, slowly up the side of her next along the main vein feeling her pulse against his hot tongue up to her ear. When he removed his tongue from her skin he took in a hissing breath through his clenched teeth and let it out with a slight shudder.

His left hand moved into the water and claw tipped fingers brushed lightly against the edge of the patch of soft red hair between her legs. Agonizingly slow, he drew his claws up her arched body with enough pressure to leave a trail of five thin red lines that didn't break the skin up her stomach to her chest were he spread his fingers, two on each breast and his thumb sliding between the valley of her breast to her neck where he wrapped his fingers, each feeling like a steel cable, around her delicate throat. The points of his claws biting lightly into the soft flesh of her neck, drawing pinpricks of blood from her.

Lowering his face back to her skin he drew his sharp teeth lightly over the smooth flesh of her shoulder before sinking his teeth into her trapezius. Her warm blood flowed over his teeth and into his mouth, causing him to growl deeply, the action causing a vibration to course through his teeth and into Mixie's shoulder. Removing his teeth from her flesh but keeping his lips wrapped around the wound his tongue lapped up her sweet blood. His saliva served a dual purpose, first it introduced his werewolf virus into her system, and secondly it caused a rapid healing of the wounds he inflicted on her.

With her head still pulled backed so she could only stare at the ceiling Vince lifted his face from her shoulder and looked down into her golden eyes. "You will be MINE." He said growling out the last word just before he crushed his lips against hers, forcing his still long, wolfen tongue into her mouth, the slightly metallic taste of her own blood still on his tongue as he dominated her tongue with his in a deep, fierce kiss. As he kissed her he pushed his will against hers, similar to how he would use a sending for his pack, but different at the same time. He imprinted his will against her psyche, creating a spiritual sign of sorts that let anything supernatural know that he had claim to her.

---

Sani walked to the bathroom with a cup of tea just in time to see Vince jerk Mixie's head back. Closing his eyes and shaking his head he turned without a sound and walked back down the hall. "Angi, help me out in the kitchen." He said as he passed the girl who was making her way towards the bathroom. "Ok, I'm just going to check on Vince and Mixie." She said. "I just did, they are currently discussing something important. It will be best to leave them be for the moment." Angi cocked a dark eyebrow at the old man and shrugged. "Fine." She joined Sani in the kitchen helping him prepare a meal for them all. Telling Sani the story of her stay at the hospital and rescue as they prepped and cooked.

---

High above the ground an large owl circled in the air, it's large shining eyes seeing everything below easily in the darkness. It spotted the pack of wolves that were gathered just outside of the borders of the reservation, looking towards the houses. They were larger than any wolves found in this area, and the owl knew instantly what they were. With a silent flapping of it's large wings it made it's way to Sani's house. Landing on the railing of the porch the large bird stretched out its wings and rotated it's head a full 270˚ to the right, then back around to the left before recentering it's face. A taloned foot drew up to it's chest and gripped at its feather and pulled. A sickening squelching sound followed by a wet sort of pop came from the bird and suddenly a dark skinned man with heavy dark circles under his eyes was standing on the porch holding a feathered owl pelt. His face looked like it was carved from rich dark wood, full of deep wrinkles and sharp lines.

Knocking on the door he waited for a moment before the door was opened by Sani. Sani looked at the man with a hard frown on his face. The man quickly began talking to Sani in Navajo, telling him of the pack of werewolves just outside of the reservation. Cursing Sani gave them man instructions to go out and wake the pack leaders and have them gather their packs, as well as the other witches and skin-walkers and be ready for an attack. The man nodded and threw the owl pelt back over his body, with the same squelching and wet pop he was back as a great owl, flying off into the night to deliver Sani's message to the others.

Vince could feel her struggling somewhere in the back of his mind, but the beast was more in control than the man by this point. Breaking the kiss he looked down in to her Golden eyes with his orange-red ones his breathing slightly heavier than normal. Letting go of her neck he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out in a long sigh from his mouth. "You are one of mine now." He said in a soft tone. "In two nights you will experience your first change, I will be there to help guide you through it. Over the next few hours you will feel changes in your body as the virus does its work on you. Your senses will increase dramatically. You will also feel the pack link in a few minutes, it's kind of hard to explain how it feels, it is a mental connection to all those in the pack. You will also feel my dominance over the pack, and you as the Alpha." Releasing her hair and standing he reached into the tub and scooped her out of it, holding her wet, naked body against his bare chest.

Looking down at her he frowned. "You're still running a fever and the change will only make it worse before the virus kills off any sickness inside you." Turning to leave the bathroom he grabbed the towel as he left. Walking out into the hall he carried Mixie away from the living room and deeper into the house. Nudging open a door with his hip he carried Mixie into a spare room and with a little effort laid the towel out and sat her on it. "You're going to feel weak for a while, I advise not trying to walk, you will probably fall. Dry yourself, I'll be back." He said reaching out to her cheek and brushing away a strand of red hair from her pale skin.

Going into Sani's room he grabbed a thick flannel button down shirt and carried it with him to the kitchen. Sani wasn't in the kitchen but Angi was. "The tea is ready for her. What was all that noise about?" She asked cocking an eyebrow at him. "She isn't happy with me at the moment. Everything is alright though. Is the stew ready?" He asked. "Yeah, let me get her a bowl." Angi ladled a healthy portion of the fresh venison stew into a bowl and put a spoon in with it. "Thanks sis." Vince said tossing the shirt over his shoulder and grabbing the mug and bowl, leaving Angi to return to Mixie.

The moment before he entered the room he felt Mixie before he saw her. The link had connected them. It wouldn't be long before the others started to feel her connected to them as well. Walking in he looked at the pretty girl on the bed and crossed to the bedside table. "Drink this, and eat. You will feel better. By now you should start feeling some of your senses sharpening, smell will be the first, and one of the strongest. You are safe here. Nothing bad will happen to you. Get some rest Mixie." He said, sending a powerful wave of reassurance, and desire to protect her through the link. She would be able to tell he was completely sincere in his feelings.

Walking out of the room he made it into the living room when he was met with a solid crack to the side of his head. The sound of splintering wood filled the room as Vince stumbled to the side and went down to one knee, Angi standing over him holding the wooden handle of a cutting board. "What in the actual FUCK Vince!?" She asked in a growl. Vince shook his head and turned to glare at his sister his eyes burning coals again. His glare was met with a fist to the center of his face. Angi let out a hiss and shook her fist at the impact of the blow. "Seriously? Infecting her after kidnapping her? We could have let her go back to stop this pack from attacking us, now she is one of us and can't do that. More people will die you dog brained moron!" She growled.

Vince slowly rose to his feet a deep growl rumbling threateningly in his chest. He towered nearly a foot and a half over Angi, who just glared up at him. He nose crinkled and her eyes widened. "You didn't..." She said in a terse whisper. "For fucks sake Vince tell me you didn't." She lurched forward and went to kick him between the legs. Vince shot his arm out and his massive hand caught Angi's head. Lifting her from the ground to eye level he snarled at her. "STOP IT!" He yelled causing Angi to flinch. Dropping her to the floor he loomed over her. "You may be a born Alpha, but I am the Alpha of this pack Angi. You don't have to like my choices but you will respect me and you will not get away with hitting be just because you are mad. Now settle your ass down unless you want to challenge me for the right to run this pack?" He asked his voice taking on a dark, dangerous tone. Angi was glaring at him but once he offered her to challenge him she dropped her face to the floor and curled her legs under her body, taking a submissive posture. "I..I'm sorry Vince." She said timidly.

---

Sani walked towards the border of the reservation. Sani opened his senses and breathed in the night air. He could sense trouble on the horizon. Glancing up to the sky he could see it beginning to lighten with the first hints of predawn. As he walked the scent of a wolf filled his nostrils. Turning he made his way to the oncoming wolf. It was alone, and that struck him as curious.

It didn't take long before he could see the wolf running towards him. "Stop there and change into you human form please." Sani called out his voice strong, and confident. "I will give you ten seconds before I treat you as a threat and end you." Sani readied himself to shift into his bear form, which was an impressive sight, fifteen feet tall, nearly a fifteen hundred pounds of muscle, claws and teeth.

"Tell me Mister Wolf, why are you here by your lonesome? You came without your pack for a reason, tell me, and we can hopefully come to an understanding that doesn't involve bloodshed, which is something I would greatly prefer."

Vince smelt the wolf outside with Sani. Snapping his head to the door he growled and without a word to Angi who was still on the floor at his feet he stormed off and nearly took the front door of it's hinges when he threw it open. His muscles rippled under his dark sun kissed skin as he ran across the empty expanse to Sani. Arriving he snarled at Garai and and started to shift.

Sani shifted his weight and with the soft sound of dust being shifted underfoot he had moved effortlessly sliding himself to Vince's side. His arms were suddenly three times as large as they were before, clawed and covered in a thick brown fur. The massive paws they ended in both hammered into Vince's chest sending him straight to the ground even though he was head and shoulders taller, and had at least sixty pounds on the older man. With another fluid movement Sani was standing over Vince, a leg on either side of the younger, larger man's rib cage. A massive clawed fist slammed into the ground beside Vince's head causing him to flinch. "You will remain calm boy. Grown folk are talking right now, I do not have the time nor patience for your reckless behavior child. So either behave and listen or go back inside with your sister." He said dark eyes boring into Vince's like an auger.

Vince swallowed hard and nodded. He had forgotten just how strong Sani was, and how fast the man could shift. It was incredible the speed he could change and the degree's he could control the change, Sani was by far one of the most skilled shifters Vince had ever encountered. Stepping away from Vince, Sani turned back to Garai clenching his once again human fists, his knuckles cracking with the action. "Okay boy. Lets for the sake of argument I believe you, because I do. I can smell if you are lying to me, that your pack master is lying and plans on killing the girl, does she not realize that she will be sacrificing her pack to do so, herself included?" He asked. A myriad of scents came to them trio as the wind shifted slightly. It was a mix of several animals, humans and something else that smelt...wrong, unnatural.

A pack of seven abnormally large Coyotes came trotting towards them, their golden and amber eyes glowing in the dim light of predawn. As they drew closer the let out low threatening growls. Sani raised his hand and they ceased growling, but kept their long fangs bared. From slightly to the east of where the coyotes came pack of ten wolves came standing by Vince who had returned to his feet after Sani stepped away from him. A short stocky man, clearly of Mexican descent soon joined them a toothy, dangerous grin on his face. Two werebears followed behind. Three Navajo women wearing ragged cloth skirts that were little more than a piece of cloth tied in a knot at their hip and no top joined as well. Last to join the group were a group of ten, a mix of six slightly misshapen animals that smelled wrong, a fox, two wolves, a mountain lion, an overly large owl and an eagle, with four men that smelled just as wrong as the animals they accompanied. They smelt tainted with death, like corpses, ashes, blood and dark power. Each and everyone of them wore a talisman crafted from teeth, claws, feathers, and pieces of obsidian. The eldest of the wrong smelling men stepped up silently to Sani and held out a similar talisman on an overly large leather cord, something that wouldn't snap when Sani shifted. Sani accepted and put the necklace over his head and rested it against his chest.

Turning his attention back to Garai Sani looked him over and sighed heavily. "If you pack attacks, my tribe will protect our lands. If what you say is true, then let it be known to everyone here. This man is a friend to our people. He came to us against his Leaders orders and warned me of what may come. He isn't to be harmed unless he chooses to take action against us." Sani's words were loud and rang clear in the steadily brightening sky which was now the deepest shades of purple, with a thin line of dark red resting on the horizon. The gathering of people and weres all nodded in agreement.

Stepping to Garai, Sani extended his hand to the man. "The girl you wish to see and protect is safe with us. Join us and after this is all settled I will allow you see and speak with her. Or don't join us but stay out of the fight, either way I will hold to word you will be able to speak with her."

Vince bristled at the agreement, Sani was his chief and the decision was his to make, but Vince didn't have to like it. Just as he was about to open his mouth to offer protest he stopped. He felt a deep terror coursing though his imprint link with Mixie. His head jerked so fast to Sani's house his neck popped at the strain. "All of you are to follow Sani and do as he says." He said distractedly to his pack. "I'm needed elsewhere." He said walking away from the gathering without saying another word. Sani glanced at him for a moment understanding dawning on him faster than the rest. Vince had imprinted on the girl inside and she needed him for something, and that was now more important than anything else for Vince.

---

Entering the house Vince looked past Angi who shot up to her feet from the couch. "What's gong on?" She asked but was ignored as Vince went straight down the hall to the guest room Mixie was in. Huffing and giving Vince the bird she plopped back down onto the couch and crossed her arms, returning her attention to the television. "Stupid dog brained moronic idiot." She swore under her breath.

Vince stepped into the room and walked to the bed. Standing over Mixie he reached down and stroked her hair. "Don't fret precious I'm here." He said pouring reassurance though the imprint and pack link. Lifting the blanket he slid into the bed beside her and pulled her much smaller body to his holding her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Lowering his face he pressed his lips to the top of her head, burying his face in her fiery locks. Her scent filled his head as he breathed in slowly, steadily pouring comfort, reassurance, a sense of protection and a budding love into her to fight away whatever nightmares that were tormenting her.

Vince laid awake holding the girl in his arms as she flailed about, her fear and panic hammering against his psyche as she ran through her nightmare. A low, almost inaudible growl rose to his throat as her panic rose to new heights. His imprint on her compelled him to protect her, filling his core with the absolute desire to rescue from whatever nightmare was tormenting her.

When she grasped his arm hard enough to draw blood he tensed for a moment. He felt useless at the moment. He could always wake her to free her from the nightmare but she needed to rest. Feeling unpleasant about not being able to help Mixie he did the only thing he could do. Hold her in his arms and continue to fill their link with reassurance and the promise of protection.

When she woke Vince let go of her as she pushed away his arms. If he had wanted he could have held her in place regardless of how much she struggled. When she got out of the bed and collapsed to the floor he slid out of the bed himself and walked to her. "Yes there is someone here." He said smiling as she admitted she smelled the new person. Moving to her side as she pulled herself up using the door frame he wrapped an arm around her supporting her.

"He is outside and coming this way. He is looking for you Mixie. Let's go meet him and see what he wants." He said helping her walk down the hall to the living room.

In the living room Angi turned to glare at both Vince and Mixie. Her upper lip twitched, fighting her to curl into a snarl. She was able to keep from snarling but the growl that sounded was beyond her control. Vince stopped, still supporting Mixie and returned Angi's glare and snapped at her. "ENOUGH!" Angi flinched and lowered her eyes to his chest, not daring to look him in the face. "It's been eight years since Ajei died. It is my right to imprint again if I want to Angi. This girl needs protection and there is something special about her that calls out to me. I chose to imprint on her so I can both protect her to the absolute best of my power, and to discover why my soul yearns to be connected to her." He said in terse clipped words.

Angi flinched again at the mention of the name and let her head fall, her chin resting against her chest. "I know she is gone. Just like mom and dad. But still...." She sniffed fighting back tears. "I don't think you can replace her with that girl. You don't even know her." Angi said lifting her face, tears welling up and spilling over from her eyes. "It's not fair that you can just go and imprint on someone else and forget about her." Vince sighed and lead Mixie to the couch helping her sit. "I will never for Ajei, and Mixie." He turned to face the pretty redhead. "You are not a replacement I wanted to imprint with you and you alone. That isn't a choice one makes easily."

Looking between both girls on the couch he addressed them both. "If I was just looking for a replacement for Ajei to get over the pain of my lose do I would have just imprinted on the first available female and been done with the pain. I stayed away from that for eight years Angi. Does that sound like I am just doing this for my own health?" Angi looked up at him, then to Mixie and shook her head. "Good, no wipe away those tears, our guest is almost here."

Vince took a seat between to two girls, sitting slightly closer to Mixie, his large hand resting on lightly on her thigh. A slight twinge of melancholy seeping into their shared link, mixing in with the warmth of the truth of his words about wanting to protect her.

---

Sani listened and nodded as Garai spoke, and a shadow of a smile played at the corner of his lips. "I cannot take you into my pack child, I am a bear, you are a wolf. If you were to join a pack it would have to Vince's and that is his choice. Nor can I take you into my Tribe as you are not one of my kin folk." There were several nods from the crowd behind Sani. "I can however offer you sanctuary on my lands as I have those who have joined my extended family, as long as you agree to carry your weight around here." He said getting nods from those that had not nodded to his previous statement.

Looking past Garai towards the direction he came from he let out a heavy sigh. "Yes, let us go. You are holding up your end of our bargain so far, I will do the same. You may see the girl, and attempt to speak with her. If she doesn't want to talk with you I will not allow you to press her. She has been through much in the last few hours."

"Everyone, spread out and keep watch for any signs of attack. Signal if something happens." A unanimous nod from the group told Sani they all understood and everyone broke away from the group to begin a watch.

Leading Garai to his house Sani opened to door and let the man in. Vince's eyes shot to the door and the moment he spotted Garai his eyes flared and a deep growl rolled from his chest. A flood of anger, distrust, and a burning desire to protect her washed over Mixie through the bond.

Sani expected the reaction. "Vince, you will do nothing in my home unless you are provoked. Understood." The last word was a statement, not a question. He was telling the growling wolf how things were going to be, not asking him.

Closing the door he looked to Garai. "You will not take a step closer, you can speak to her from here. Try and move and I will end you faster than Vince can. Understood." Again he spoke with the soft commanding tone of a leader.

Vince kept his dark eyes locked on Garai as soon as he entered the room, his body going rigid. He didn't say anything, not even to respond to Sani. He didn't trust his mouth to behave. This was for Mixie, not him, so he would sit silently and wait. As they spoke Vince was assaulted by the torrent of emotions Mixie felt. Unconsciously he cupped her thigh just above her knee and gave it a gentle, assuring squeeze. He knew this was painful, confusing, and hellaciously frightening. He could feel her doubting her sanity and the terror of realizing that her nightmares were real. The slew of negative emotions caused a near physical pain in his chest.

As they spoke, Garai answering her questions to the best of his abilities Vince found himself liking the man more an more. He wanted the same thing that Vince did. Mixie's safety and happiness. With out realizing it Vince began to lightly caress Mixie's thigh, feeding sincere understanding, confidence to confront the truth, and the knowledge that she was no longer alone in the world, that she had him now, until she either broke the bond, or he drew his last breath. He fed her his desire to protect her from everything that could hurt her in any way.

He wanted to reach out to her and wipe away her tears but restrained himself for the moment. Not in front of the others. He wouldn't make her fell like a weak child in front of the others. He knew though their bond she was stronger than that and it would only serve to piss her off. When Garai suggested she slept Vince nodded. Taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly he spoke. "Thank you Garai." Those three words were filled with sincerity, not only on his behalf but for Mixie as well. "I will speak more with you later, I am sure there are some things that the two of us need to discuss." He said standing and looking down at Mixie.

She looked so fragile at the moment, like a porcelain doll that could break under the lightest of pressures. It had most certainly been a trying day for the girl. Without speaking aloud he told her though the bond that he was taking her to bed. Lifting her from the couch with ease he cradled her in his arms with the tenderness of a long time lover. He made sure that the bottom of the shirt was caught behind her knees so she would not flash anyone. She was still new to the lifestyle and he knew nudity was something that she would have to grow accustomed to.

Carrying her back to the room he kept her in his arms and he sat on the edge of the bed, holding her slightly curled against his chest. "Everything will be alright. I won't let it be any other way." He said lowering his face to plant a tender kiss on her forehead. Swinging his legs onto the bed he laid down with her still in his arms, held to his bare chest and began to stroke her back, staring at the ceiling not speaking, just feeling her though the bond and doing everything he could to comfort her back through it.

---

Angi looked at Sani and Garai, back and forth a few times before letting out a heavy, loud sigh. "I am confused as fuck." She said reaching up to rub her temples. "Sani I am going to steal your bed for a while. I am exhausted, pissed off, upset and confused. I need to sleep." She said looking to the old man who nodded with a soft smile. "Thank you." She replied and went off to lay down. Stopping before she entered the hallway she turned and glanced over her shoulder. "Your pack, or ex pack. They are going to attack aren't they?" She asked, then shrugged. "You know what. I rather not hear the answer I already know. Sani, please be careful. I don't want to loose anymore people care about, and Garai, if you betray our trust, I swear to the Gods I will hunt you to the ends of the world and do things to you that that will give the Devil nightmares, and once I die, I will hunt you again in the afterlife." She said her voice frozen steel to match the glare she shot him. Turning away she went down the hall and climbed into Sani's bed, falling asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

Sani looked to Garai. "She is serious to." He said with a solemn tone. Stepping forward he clapped his hand on Garai's bare shoulder. "Let's get you some food, then we will go back out. I don't care to be in here with the threat against my people waiting on the outside." He said leading Garai to the kitchen and fixing him a bowl of the venison stew. "If what you said was true boy. About Mixie and her abilities, Vince is in for one hell of a ride isn't he? Especially since he has imprinted on the girl." He asked fixing himself a bowl of stew. If he was going into battle, which always held the potential of death, he wasn't going to do it with an empty stomach.

Vince held her loosely in his arms a pain winding around him like a thorn covered vine. The feeling of her tears falling to his chest, a soft warmth that quickly cooled into a spot of liquid grief on his chest. He swallowed and thought for a second when she questioned him about her mother. "If she did know, there is a chance that she only wanted to protect you from what she thought was a monster...I don't know for certain though Mixie. I wish I had the answer for you." He answered her as honestly as he could.

"What happened to her?" Those words hit Vince like a freight train out of nowhere. His chest tightened painfully, his throat snapped shut and all the moisture in his mouth vanished. Hearing Mixie speak that name made Vince's stomach twist, and her question of if she was the girl he wanted to be with forever made it feel as though the world fell out from underneath him. Ajei's beautiful dark face came to his mind, the soft smile she always wore, and her eyes, they were a rare for her people, a pale green that popped in her dark face. Her silken hair dark as raven wings flowing in cascades over her shoulders, framing her face. As he thought about it the link was flooded with a tempest of emotions. Love, pain, loss, betrayal, rage, sorrow, regret, and passion.

Forcing a breath into his chest Vince licked his lips and swallowed hard. He opened his mouth to speak, stopped, closed his mouth and took another breath before attempting to start again. "Yes." He said in a strained whisper. Clearing his throat softly he tried once again to speak, and this time more than a half strangled word. "Ajei and I were lovers. We grew up here together on the reservation. We were part of the same pack, my parents pack. She and I spent everyday together, growing up side by side, and growing closer to each other everyday. One day, a year or so before my first change we were at the river together and she told me she loved me, I told her I loved her to which was true, we were the best of friends and I loved her as any of the tribe love one another, then she made me look her in the eyes and she told me that she LOVED me." Vince paused to take in a deep shuddering breath.

"The weight she put into that word floored me, and when I recovered from the shock I knew without a doubt that I was in love with her too, I had just been to naive to realize it. I told her I loved her and truly meant it when I said it. We made love on the river bank and stayed in each others arms until well after moon rise." Vince closed his eyes hot tears running down his cheeks. He gave Mixie an unconscious squeeze in his arms. A warmth spilled into the bond, but there was a cool undercurrent of sadness at the memory of his lost love.

"The morning after my first change I imprinted on her, I was sixteen, she fifteen. We spent the next five years hopelessly in love. We spent every moment we could with one another, we had plans to have a family together, and even though I am a born Alpha, I was going to stay a part of the pack that brought us together. To raise our children on the land we feel in love on." His voice caught in his throat and he had to clear it again and take several deep breaths before he could manage to speak again.

"You will find out soon enough my Tribe is very odd. We of the Tribe are all full blooded Navajo, but not all of us are Werewolves. Sani is a Werebear, as were his Son and Son's wife. My and Ajei's families were wolves, as were a few others of the tribe, there is a pack of Werecoyotes, and Werecougars. Sani is Chief of the Tribe and kept the peace between the different packs, which normally would never be able to coexist, but our ties as family kept us all together. Sani also started to take in other weres that were not of the Tribe, first those that were part of the Tribe member's packs that were not of our blood, then later lone or outcast weres that were cast from their packs."

"I was twenty one when it happened. My Father's brother, a jealous man who knew that if I had chosen to stay with the pack I would take it over when my Father was no longer able to run it. He and several others that were loyal to him attacked us one day. They had coated their claws and some even their teeth in silver dust and wolfsbane, a deadly mixture to weres. It was a suicide attack. They wanted us all dead. In that fight our pack was the focus of the attack. Angi and I lost our parents that day. They were the first to fall. Nearly half our pack was killed before we knew what was going on. That was the day I found out I could take the beast-man form.... I found out to late though. Ajei and I fought with the rest, I made Angi run away to get help. My Father's brother was in the beast-man form and came after us." Vince stopped and shuddered, a sharp pang of betrayal and pain lancing through the bond.

"He tossed me aside like a rag doll when I attacked. Ajei used that moment to latch onto his throat....He tore her in half...." A soft sob escaped Vince. "Seeing my mate killed in such away. By a family member no less broke something in me. Then the pain of losing the bond... It drove in into a rage. The next thing I knew I was in the beast-man form. He managed to score my face with his poisoned claws, which is why I have these scars, before I tore him to pieces. I lost myself in my rage and didn't spare a single one of the traitors. They had taken on and created more weres without our knowledge and planned to take out all of us. We lost nearly a quarter of our entire Tribe that day. I stepped up to take the position of pack leader and I haven't forgiven myself for my inability to protect those that needed me, to protect the woman I loved."

Blinking tears from his eyes Vince lifted his head to look down at the pretty fair skinned girl in his arms, with her red hair cut in it's peculiar style of being short of the left side and long on the top and right. It fit her though, somehow adding to her natural beauty. "When I fist smelled you in that room, trapped in there with those demons, I could smell your fear, your despair. The years of pain and it just set me off in a way I have never felt before. There was a girl on the other side of a door that needed to be protected from some of the worst nightmares imaginable, the kind that only the sleep of death could hope to end. I couldn't accept that. That is why I chose to take you, and ultimately imprint on you. That desire to save you from all that fear I smelled on you. I couldn't and still can't stand it, even more so now that we are bound. I just saw it as the best way to protect you. The imprint, it works in a way that is like a compulsion for the imprinter. You needed to be saved from your living nightmare, and the best way I could think to do that was become your protector in a way that I couldn't walk away from you."

---

"She is serious Garai, eight years ago her uncle betrayed his pack and our entire tribe, killed her parents and many of the people she called family when she was only seven. Betray us and I will will make sure that you cannot escape her justice." He said in all seriousness. Sani shook his head at Garai's thanks. "I am more an animal than a man by this point in my life. I do not kill indiscriminately. When something enters my territory I will examine it, find out if it is a threat, and then decided what action to take. You gave me no reason to attack you yet."

Sani ate and listened to Garai's explanation of Mixie's ability in silence. Not even blinking at the younger man's outburst he continued to silently eat. He finished his food before Garai found his calm enough to talk again. "Vince is young yes. But the child is a man in his own right. In that attack I mentioned that took Angi and his parents Vince lost his mate. He knows all to well the weight of having an imprint on someone, and the pain of having it torn away from him violently. He failed in protecting is most loved person, his family, his pack, and his tribe. Or at least he feels that way. If there is anyone that would lay down his life to protect someone in need it would be that boy, and now he has narrowed that ferocious focus to protect a single girl. She is lucky if you ask me." Sani said with a grin and pointed to the unfinished food in front of Garai. "Finish eating boy."

"I don't know if she has or not, and that is none of my concern." Smiling when Garai started to eat again he spoke with sage like grace and shook his head. "You are wrong. By being there you gave your power to your lover, even if you felt you could do nothing to help, the fact that you stood by his side through all the nightmares, supported him in the face of his fears brought on by unnatural means that neither of you could change gave him strength to face them. You may not have been able to alter anything, but you were not powerless Garai, and neither will those children be."

Sani snorted loudly and broke into a deep laughter that cause his entire body to shake. Leaning back in the chair with his head thrown back he filled the room with his mirthful laugh. Gripping his stomach in one hand he leaned forward and slapped at the table shaking his head, actual tears rolling down his aged wrinkled face. "You assume wrong boy. I am the Tribe Chief, the elder, but I reign over no one here, we are all free men and women. He respects me as the Chief, and as a grandfather figure, but he is his own man, and leader of his own pack. The others have the same respect for me as their Chief and a man that looks after them all as his family."

Sani looked to the covered window and nodded. It was early dawn now. The first light of the sun breaking the horizon. "I will allow it, but know this, if I for a second think you will betray me and mine I will end you both, and hunt your former pack to extinction." Sani said in warning. "And do not think I cannot manage something like that. You're people are not the only ones that have knowledge of curses, and my people have some very nasty ones."