Compassion

Prologue (of sorts)

"You have to leave." Elijah stood with his arms crossed as Athena stood paralyzed in shock and horror at the sight of her packed bags.

"Elijah, what has happened?" She whispered, well aware that he would be able to hear her. "Look at me." When he continued to look away she grabbed his face bringing it to her. "Look at me." She snapped. "What is all of this?"

"You are to leave immediately." He said snatching his head back and pushing her lightly away. "You will never be Luna of this tribe Athena." He swore.

She searched his eyes for understanding, for jest, for anything and found nothing. "I will not go until you tell me this instant what is it that has you behaving this way."

He continued to stare her down when the door opened behind him. His stoic expression changed to that of a smirk when the sound of a new voice hit the air. "Eli darling, has she left ye--" She stopped. Athena watched in shock as Vivianne strolled into her home and placed her hands on Elijah's chest. "Oh you are still here?"

"She was just leaving." Elijah assured her leaning down to kiss Vivianne's awaiting lips. She felt tears prickling at her eyes but was determined not to show them. "I, Elijah Ocean, Future Alpha of the McBane, hereby deem you unworthy to be my mate."

Still confused and heartbroken she tried one more time. "Elijah you do not mean that." Her eyes flew to the dainty hands cupping his face as he and Vivianne shared another kiss. Her eyes slowly changed from blue to midnight blue. "Hands off." She growled. Vivianne went to step back but smirked when Elijah's hand stopped her from doing so. "Six whole years Elijah, you will let six years go?"

He looked dismissively at her but she could have sworn she saw something flicker. "You are still here? You items are now in the truck, you can keep that as long as you do not return. You were a waste Athena, a waste of time. Never Luna material."

"Fine force me to leave, but what about all of those in the clinic?!"

"Your position has already been refilled. Think not of those six years, it was a test. Since high school it has been one great test to see whether or not you were fit. Why do you think we've waited to mate? Because I have not wanted to. Not with you. Not ever. Our souls have not intertwined, and they will not. Look at you! Your hair in a boring pony tail, no makeup, pale clothing and drab skin. Just leave."

She bit her lip to hold the tears. "That is what you want?" He nodded, not looking up but instead playing with Vivianne's locks. She nodded and surprised them both by walking over to a mantel of their wedding picture and holding it to her chest. "This means nothing to you?" She glanced at the frame of the four years past. Two years out of high school and in love, they had a large ceremony as she had often seen the human culture do in favor of awaiting hers and Elijah's mating. Her eyes studied the smiling woman in the picture of twenty years old, who smiled up at her new 'husband' lovingly. She recalled attending the events of the tribe and their late night talks. As she stared up at him, he smiled at the camera and the happiness and love in his eyes shown in the picture were no where to be found at the present.

"Nothing." He affirmed.

She smashed the frame on the ground which caused the glass to break and splatter. Stepping on the debris, she picked up the pictures and dusted them off before walking to the door of their gothic mansion and opening it to the crowd containing their tribe. " I Athena Ocean accept." She saw something flicker in his eyes before the sound of mockery caught her attention instead. The McBane tribe had all began to cheer and yell at the forsaken physician and even a few children threw rocks and paper. Opening the paper, she saw Scarlet written all over them with the picture of what appeared to be her in the arms of a faceless man. She gasped at the image as Elijah's voice rang out. "The late nights at the clinics huh?" She ran through the parted crowd to the truck that waited, her head throbbing.

"Athena! Wait." Her mother and father appeared beside the truck. "Surely you couldn't have." Her mother whispered.

"Mother I did not. I swear to the Goddess. I would never."

"Honey," Her father spoke up. "Maybe if you stay with us for sometime and explain..."

"Father, no matter what I say, nothing will change their minds. My kind, my people have persecuted me without any trial or explanation on my part. Years I spent, delivering their children, casting their bones, aiding their loved ones, forgotten. For that I refuse to stay. I will find a home elsewhere, hopefully never to return." She let herself be hugged, and refused to break down until out of the sight of the stone throwers.

"I love you my dear. Stay strong. Please forgive us, we knew not of any of this. I fear we cannot do anything either." Her mother said as the tears rolled down her beautiful cheeks.

"I know mother. Please do not worry for me. I will find a home and be happy elsewhere."

"You plan to live with the humans?" Her father asked.

"Among them will be peace." She whispered as she was brought to his sturdy chest. "Here." He whispered pressing into her palm five thousand dollars. "I trust you will find work, so that should be enough to last until you do. I love you. We both do." Her sobbing mother nodded. "Please call once you're settled, we will make sure no one knows of your whereabouts."

"I love you father. I will be fine mother." She said drawing strength from her wolf in order to keep from crying. "I Love you both." She said as she got into the truck. Driving she looked back in her rear view mirror to see a tawny wolf following her. She pressed the accelerator to drive faster breathing a sigh of release once she crossed the McBane border. Glancing back once more she noticed the wolf stopped at the border, staring as she drove farther away.

***********

Werewolves. Half animal, half man. All powerful. Invincible. Jacob Black... Not in the least.

Wolves do not howl at the moon with great abandon, or clench their jaws in pain as the full moon snatches away their autonomy and thoughts. They do not battle the Edward Cullens for Bellas or prey on human flesh. They just... Live. The wolves that reside within the McBane tribe travel and thrive within their community without fear of being hunted or dehumanized by those who fail to understand them. Because their human souls are intertwined with that of an lupus, they have the ability to change into a wolf at will. Their wolf allows them to age slower than humans and heal faster. Not too much of an upgrade. One myth does hold true. Silver does a significant amount of damage to a werewolf. It does not automatically kill them, but instead administers a poison into the blood that paralyzes and eventually kills them if they do not receive proper treatment.

They do not meet their soul mates and surrender to the powerful lust that often causes two strangers to forget their morals and go at it for hours. The connection runs much deeper. Instead of a powerful kick in the gut upon stumbling across a random stranger, a werewolf selects its mate according to its soul. Werewolves make up one half of the soul and so even if there is initial attraction amongst the human portion, the wolf needs time to search the soul of its potential mate and connect from there. There have been decades of humans forcing themselves to love but the soul... the soul it knows its mate. The wolf serves not as a sassy pest that intervenes in the life of the human, but more like a conscience. It is always there, dependent on their morals, and can significantly impact the human's life if allowed to. In more primal settings, the wolf side of the soul can and does arise and take over. In any instance, a werewolf is the coexistence of both man and beast intertwined to make up one soul.

A/n
The story will begin in the present and hopefully that little tidbit gives information on how the wolves will work within my story. Thanks for reading and please comment any concerns or questions.