by Lynn Veevers
Eugene had his attention diverted from Eric when a little hand poked him in the side. Looking down, he saw Morgan staring up at him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were a Lycan. I thought you were a Gnáth. Eugene, your Pure Form is pretty, you shouldn’t hide it,” Morgan said shyly.
Eugene started to tell her otherwise but stopped when Dahlia clucked her tongue. She just stood there and shook her head no. So, he returned his gaze back down to Morgan.
“It’s OK, Valarie.” He offered her a smile and she laughed.
“I’m Morgan, you silly fox.”
She ran back in the house with her siblings to play video games, Eric right on their tails.
“I’m going to take Eugene out so I can help him become accustomed to switching between forms,” Samantha said to Cara.
Cara gave a small smile and said, “OK.”
Clearly, she was a little upset. Samantha picked up on it then went over and hugged Cara.
“I just got the greatest gift, the most awesome person, I could ever ask for when it comes to sister material, because that is what you are now.”
Cara laughed and said, “Yeah, I guess you are right.”
Eugene had taken off his thin jacket and was taking off his shirt.
“I’m sorry. I know it is the end of November, but I am burning up!”
Kaya didn’t know why she was taken by surprise, but when he turned his back to her, she saw the pack mark on his shoulder. As she stood there looking at the mark, she wondered why Kenneth had needed his father’s blessing, even why Cole had needed a blessing, but Samantha had not. So Kaya pulled Kenneth aside and asked him just that.
“Samantha is female. Females do not need permission to mate. However, males do. This is still my father’s pack and he is still the alpha male. If we take a mate before we break off from our home pack to form our own, we need permission. Males start new packs, not females. Females will mate into a male’s pack, but males can choose to stay with their father’s pack or start their own. As of right now, I am still in my father’s pack. This is my home pack until such a time as we start our own. Eugene was still a Gnáth when he accepted Samantha and was then changed to a Natural Lycan; so essentially, he was born into this pack. If Samantha had chosen Eric instead, one of two things would have happened—she would either go with him to wherever his home pack is or he’d opt to take a temporary position as a member of this pack until such a time as they decide to start their own,” Kenneth explained.
Kaya shrugged and said, “Hmm, well that’s different.” A confused look spread across her face when another thought came to mind. “But what about the bonding then? How come our bonding involved making love, but theirs didn’t? Then there was Senka’s bonding that Eric told us about that was simply a kiss. So what is it that truly constitutes a pair being bonded?” Kaya wanted to know.
“There are a couple factors. One thing is the mutual accepting of each other. How the bonding is completed depends on each couple. For us, the giving of our innocence to each other sealed our bond because that was a common ground we shared, something that no one else could have. For Samantha and Eugene, it was the mutual need to be wanted unconditionally flaws and all. For Senka and Miguel, I guess it was just knowing that they had reached a point where they were willing to defy both their packs to be together. But above all, there has to be love and the conscious choice that you are choosing each other. It takes two, and each couple’s bonding experience is different, just like falling in love is different for each couple. What it comes down to acceptance of whatever that common ground you share is that makes your bonding one that will last,” Kenneth explained.
Kenneth, Kaya, and even Cara decided to all accompany Eugene and Samantha to the far side of the grazing pastures so Eugene could become comfortable with the different transitions of his Lycan form. Kenneth and Samantha both assumed Pure Form. Kaya took on the Pure Form of the white wolf from the night before. She heard Kenneth’s voice in her head.
“I think you may have finally settled on what your favored appearance for Pure Form is.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. This particular color variety and size seemed to come naturally for me,” Kaya told him.
“What about Cara? She can’t keep up with us,” Eugene said, standing by his sister.
Apparently, her getting a ride on one of the pack members had not crossed his mind. Kenneth went to step forward and Kaya growled at him. He stopped and shrunk back. To her way of thinking, she’d better be the only female he ever let ride him unless it was a family member!
Kaya walked to where Cara stood and laid down in front of her. She just stood there and stared, so Kaya assumed she wasn’t getting the memo. Kaya nudged her in the belly with her nose.
“What, you want me to ride you?”
Kaya let out a sigh, the kind a dog does when you stop petting them, then they nudge your hand and you firmly tell them no.
“OK, OK!” Cara said and climbed on Kaya’s back.
Kaya yipped at Eugene and right before he turned to his Pure Form, he gestured toward his sister and said, “Hold on tight.”
Kaya stood up and watched as Samantha and Kenneth cleared the patio railing with ease. She took off toward the edge, cleared the rail, and heard Cara screaming the whole way down. Kaya looked up to see Eugene peering over the edge with his front paws propped up on the railing. She had to laugh inside because she knew what he was thinking. Not so long ago, the same thoughts had crossed her mind. Unfortunately for him, he did not have the option of turning into another animal. Kaya told him in her wolf’s voice, “Come on Eugene, get on with it! I promise the first time is the hardest.”
He backed away from the railing and she heard indistinctive talking, but she knew he was talking to Cole. She recognized his voice. A few seconds later, she saw Eugene and Cole jump over the rail simultaneously. Kaya had to scramble to get out of their way. She barely had enough time to move, and when she did, Cara fell off her. Kaya went to where she’d fallen and nudged Cara’s face with her nose.
“Kaya, I am fine. Please stop doing that, your nose is cold…and wet. I love you, sister, but it feels gross!” she said as she lay there sprawled out and staring into the night sky.
She got up and Eugene came to lie beside her. She climbed onto her brother and the four of them headed toward the back pastures. Samantha and the rest of them helped Eugene get comfortable with shifting between Human and Pure Form. A couple hours had passed and Eugene had mastered the shifts.
Cara stood in the middle of this Lycan pack and asked a question that put a worried face on everyone there but her and Eugene. “What about the Hybrid Form. Kaya told me of it briefly, so why has he not practiced that?” Cara asked in that innocent voice of hers.
“It’s too dangerous to try with you around, Cara. He is just a tenderfoot and would have next to no control over the impulses that form incites, especially when there is a real likelihood his appearance in that form will provoke fear in you,” Kenneth said.
“He’s my brother. He would never hurt me!” She scoffed.
“If they are this worried, Cara, there must be a good reason why. It can wait,” Eugene said in his levelheaded way.
She nodded and went to sit back down by the trunk of the huge maple tree that dominated the pasture. Cole shushed everyone and returned back to Pure Form. His ears stood on end and moved this way and that. Kaya stood next to Cara, and she had been in Human Form for quite some time now, as had Kenneth. Cole had definitely picked up something. He didn’t move a muscle and resembled a statue.
Cole returned to Human Form and faced Kenneth. “Kenny, get Cara and Kaya out of here now, and tell the others we have incoming. I picked up five distinct sets of footfalls in a running pattern. ETA is less than ten.”
Kaya didn’t wait for him to tell her anything, but morphed into Pure Form. She circled around behind Cara, tossed her up in the air with her snout, and positioned herself so that Cara landed on her back
. Cara grabbed two fistfuls of Kaya’s fur and Kaya took off running.
She barked back at Kenneth, “Stay and help.” She then sent him a mental message saying, “I need Samantha back at the house with me and the cubs. I’ll send Owen, Dahlia, and Eric to help you, Cole, and Eugene as soon as I reach them.”
Seconds later, Samantha caught up to Kaya and they ran in tandem across the tall, straw-like autumn grass.
She yipped at Kaya. “Kaya, Eugene should be here with you, not me. He has no training whatsoever in self-defense as a Lycan, especially against an Afflicted, which are more than likely what is heading this way. I just found my mate, Kaya. I am not ready to lose him just yet!”
“OK. As soon as we get back and the others are on their way, I will tell Kenneth to send Eugene back to the house, OK?”
Samantha changed back into Human Form as they climbed the stairs. She opened the front door and ran into the house, yelling for her dad frantically.
Cara climbed off and Kaya resumed Human Form just in time to see Owen and Dahlia come running out of the kitchen.
“Where are the cubs?” Samantha asked as she moved the couch to expose the hidden door that led down into the corridors and rooms below the house.
“They went to bed hours ago, what’s going on, Samantha?” Dahlia said, a mother’s worry in her voice as she exchanged a confused look with Eric.
“We have incoming from the direction of the back pasture with the huge maple tree. Cole, Kenneth, and Eugene are there. Cole said he picked up five sets of distinct foot falls running. They will be here in less than six minutes. Please send Eugene back when you get there. He has zero training for this,” Samantha said, clearly worried.
“Kaya, you come with us and let Samantha take care of the cubs. She is more than capable. We need numbers. You can retain your Pure Form for the duration of this fight,” Owen said.
One look at Samantha told Kaya she agreed.
“Get going now, all of you. We are running out of time,” Samantha said, and then swiftly went to get the cubs out of bed and to safety.
Rather than going out the front door, Owen ran through the house to the back patio. One by one, they turned to their Pure Forms with Kaya close behind. Eric and Kaya changed at the same time and it was like looking into a mirror.
Really? she thought to herself and the four of them stampeded across the ground, eating up the distance with urgency. Cole’s howl reached them, carrying a note of surprised distress. Owen picked up his pace, a father’s need to protect his child, kicking him into overdrive.
They could see the commotion ahead in the distance. As they got closer, Kaya realized something was not right. Eugene and Kenneth stood to one side of the tree. On the other side sat four wolves, watching the same thing Eugene and Kenneth were. Cole lay unmoving on the ground, a beast of a bear standing over him, raised tall on its hind legs and roaring victoriously.
The bear sniffed the air and slowly turned around and, for a moment, looked in their direction as Owen continued running toward them. The bear came back down on all fours and she could hear its growl from where she was. The growl escalated into a roar and the four wolves stood and started baying in return.
Kenneth and Eugene resumed Pure Form right as the bear charged Owen. They were in hot pursuit. Kaya panicked. All she could think of was Samantha and the cubs; she had to get back to them. She had to make sure they were safely tucked away. Kaya turned tail and ran as fast as her paws would carry her. She was clipping along when Kaya heard the sound of quick paws catching up to her but she didn’t dare look back and kept running as fast as she could.
Before she knew what was going on, someone tackled her and sent her rolling through the grass like a tumbleweed during the dry season. The tumbling came to a stop and Kaya was effectively pinned by a panting, drooling Kenneth. She glared at him, question in her eyes, when the huge bear came into view behind Kenneth and peered down at her. She told Kenneth in her head, “Behind you!” The bear took a paw in retreat, then curiosity won out. He peered down again and moved closer. Realization dawned and she knew Kenneth knew the bear was there, but was not the least bit concerned.
Kaya’s heart still pounded in her chest. Within a few moments, she was surrounded by Eric and the rest of the Lycans present, all looking at her with vivid curiosity. By now, she was practically screaming in her head at Kenneth. “I can’t believe you Kenneth, you knew, and what, just thought it was funny to leave me in the dark! You are such a jerk!” She heard him chuckle in return. Her temper spiked and Kenneth went flying off her as she assumed the form of a polar bear.
Everyone took a full paw back, and by now Kaya had caught on to who “everyone” was. Kenneth had thought it funny to keep her guessing and assuming the worst. That was a mistake because now, NOW, she was beyond mad, she was Homicidal...metaphorically speaking. She was going to kill him.
She assumed her preferred Pure Form again, only slightly bigger, and charged Kenneth, growling with intent. She was still irate and her mate was about to get the brunt of her fury as she screamed at him telepathically.“You could have told me that this visiting group was not a threat, but Owen’s brother, Art, and his pack!”
She saw Cole out of the corner of her eye come walking up and sit on his haunches next to the other spectators. Kaya closed in on Kenneth and hit him broadside. The impact of her hit had them both flying through the air, then hitting the ground. They went sliding with impressive force, ripping up grass as they did. Kaya recovered first and had Kenneth pinned before he could react. They were both growling and he started bucking from below, which threw her off balance, freeing himself. They circled each other, teeth bared, growling and snapping at each other.
“Now now, children, there are no reasons to resort to violence!” Cole said with a chuckle.
They both spun around and snapped at him. He took a few paws back.
“Well, I guess they want to fight!”
Kaya refocused her attention on Kenneth, who was still looking at Cole, and decided that was her opening. She launched herself toward him and a second later, they were a rolling, nipping, snapping, growling ball of white and black fur, spinning around on the ground with blurred speed. The commotion came to an abrupt halt when Kenneth caught hold of Kaya’s neck scruff in his jaws. He used his weight to pin her to the ground. She could hear his growling in her ear and his voice in her head. He was dominant and she knew it.
“Kays, calm down. I didn’t realize you were going to panic like this. I was not trying to scare you. I thought you’d figure it out sooner.”
“Yes, my dear, we are not the enemy, but family. Art was just having a wee bit of fun with Cole. As you can see, Cole is none the worse for wear,” a distinctly female Irish accent said in her head.
Kaya stopped struggling and whimpered as she searched the wolven faces for the source of the voice. Whichever one of Kenneth’s family it was clearly had a telepathic trait. Her eyes stopped searching when they came to rest on a misty grey wolf sitting next to the enormous black bear who she knew must be Uncle Art. She was a stately wolf who exuded matriarchal authority. Her voice sounded like a queen’s in Kaya’s head, and she had Kaya’s undivided attention.
Kenneth must have been told to get off Kaya because he suddenly started whimpering and sat next to her. After watching his aunt assume Human Form Kaya couldn’t help but goggle at her. She wasn’t just beautiful; she was absolutely stunning with fair skin and riotous, deep, dark red curls that fell just past her shoulder blades in a thick, shiny mass. Her lips and cheeks had the slightest tint of primrose pink and her eyes were uniquely beautiful, with the left one being seafoam green and the right a vivid amber that almost passed for red. She was voluptuous without being chubby. There was a beautiful lilt to the woman’s voice when it had been in Kaya’s head. Now that she was talking aloud to Kenneth, Kaya heard the same was true outside her head too. “Kenneth, is that anyway to treat a lady, especially your mate?” she said to him crossly.
He had resumed his Human Form and was standing there, hands behind his back, head down, toeing the dirt with his boot. He reminded Kaya of an eight-year-old who just got caught red-handed stealing candy. He started to answer her in a barely audible voice.
“Kenneth Matthew O’Connell, stand up straight and speak where I can hear you when you talk to me!”
That snapped him right into shape. “I’m sorry, Aunt Grace, and no, that is no way to treat my woman.” He then faced Kaya apologetically. “I’m sorry, Kays. I should not have returned your aggression. I understand why you were so upset.”
“It’s OK, I guess I deserved it,” Kaya said feeling childish over her actions.
“Yes, indeed you did, but that is no excuse for either of you to act in such an uncivilized manner. You are a mated pair, not young children. This is not the welcome I expect from my extended pack when we come to visit,” Grace said.
She showed them her back, clearly finished talking to them, and addressed her cubs. “Teacht ar mo pháistí.”
Kaya looked puzzled.
“It’s Irish, Aunt Grace is telling them to change and come along,” Kenneth explained.
The three wolves, who resembled there mother’s Pure Form right down to the color, did as their mother asked. There were two boys and one girl. The girl looked to be about twelve, had platinum blond hair, and ice-blue eyes much like Owen, Samantha, and Art but had the same thick build her mother did. Of the boys, the oldest had sandy blond hair and amber eyes that matched his mother’s right eye. He was also thick-framed and tall; he easily stood six foot two or three. He looked to be about eighteen or nineteen. The younger of the two boys was pretty much a carbon copy of his brother, only he was shorter, probably five foot ten or so, had amber-colored eyes, and was closer to fifteen. The three followed their mother in silence and Kenneth, Kaya, Cole, and Eugene all fell in with them as they walked along. The girl had a genuinely happy smile for Kenneth, which he returned in like fashion.