The Call of the Lycan

Chapter Eight

When I get home I immediately start to plan. I know this is the end for me at my pack. Jennifer wouldn't stop until I was dead or in jail. Inaya agreed with me. Even if she couldn't get me arrested she would kill me. Jennifer knew something was up with me despite the fact we had to be compelled by the alphas command to tell  truth. I pack a backpack with some clothes, food, & all of my savings. I sob for a while at the thought of not seeing my parents anymore but I wasn't going to risk involving them. I refused to be the downfall of my dads career as Beta. I would go to the city & start over there. Human hospitals always needed nurses too. I'd have to change my identity somehow too. When dusk fell I made sure I wasn't being followed. I headed for the packs border. Inaya whined nervously in my mind. 'We're going to be rogues' she said to me. 'We have no choice' I say back. 'Better a rogue than dead. Besides, we aren't becoming a wild rogue' I say to her. When we make it to the pack borders I find myself hesitating. The thought of my parents face was making this agony. I force myself to push them out of my mind. As soon as I stepped across the borders I would be severing ties with my pack. The wind picks up & leaves swirl all around me. My heart is racing. The feeling of finality is so surreal. I know I'm going to miss my parents terribly. I take a deep breathe & step across the boarder. I feel the mind link to my pack snap like a twig, stinging severely. 'Just like that, we're on our own' I say to Inaya. 'Lets go, before guards come to investigate' she says to me, urging me to hurry. Guards would be here soon as everyone in the pack would feel my mind link breaking from the pack. I pick up the pace & start jogging into the woods. Suddenly I realize I have no idea where I'm going. I had never left my pack before & didn't even know where a human town was. 'Just keep going!' Inaya urges me. I don't have a map or much supplies. I curse myself for not being a better planner.

  The next morning we wake up curdled up under a big pine tree. Inaya shifted last night at some point so we could cover more ground. We ran for hours, only stopping out of pure exhaustion. I had no idea how far we came or where we were. Inaya finds us fresh water & a small rabbit for breakfast. Just as we finish breakfast I get the familiar feeling we are being watched. I push it forward into Inayas mind. She ignores me & starts trotting off. Suddenly I know we are in huge trouble as 3 huge brown wolves are surrounding us. I whimper in fear. These wolves are so massive that I know they aren't Garious. They're snarling at us & baring their teeth while circling us. Would I be their breakfast? Inaya does what any logical wolf would do in this situation & bows to them showing she is submissive. She whines and shakes too. She's asking for mercy. I feel pissed because I thought we could have at least tried to run. These wolves would probably kill us anyways. "Please show mercy, We just left our pack & mean no harm" Inaya says in a mind link. I'm confused on how she mind linked them if we aren't in a pack with them. Maybe all rogues can mind link? One wolf who is the obvious leader of the three shifts & commands us to shift too. I cringe slightly at being naked in front of them but I do it anyways. He throws me a musty t-shirt that I quickly throw on. "Who are you & where do you come from?" Snarls the leader. "I'm Clara, from Oceans Howl pack! Please let me explain!" I say desperately. I know my words hold some meaning because the leaders eyes flash with recognition when I say my packs name. The leader nods to the other wolf behind me & I feel a solid object hit me the back of the head. I land on my back staring up at the trees. The world fades to black.

My head is pouding like crazy. I groan & try to open my eyes. My fingers slide up to the tender spot on the back of my head finding a solid goose egg. I'm in a dark, small room laying on the floor on a pile of hay. I can see the door has a small window bars over it. Perfect- I'm in jail. Inaya is pacing in my mind. 'It's about time you woke up! I've been waiting!' She snaps at me. 'Would you calm down! My head is killing me!' I snap back. Inaya huffs in annoyance at me. 'Do you know where we are?' I ask her. 'We're in a huge pack, and we didn't get taken by rogues- I know that much' she says. I groan again & try to sit up while pulling hay out of my hair. 'Of course this would happen to us, we couldn't just make it to a human town & start over' I think bitterly. I hear footsteps coming down the hall towards us. I freeze in fear. The door to my jail cell creaks as it swings open. A large older man steps in & shuts the door behind him. He's six & a half feet tall, quite muscular, with salt & pepper hair. I realize he's the man from the clearing that seemed to be in charge. "Hello Clara" he says in an even tone standing by the door.  He looks unfazed by my dishevelled appearance. "I'm Beta Steve. I have good news for you & bad news. I looked into your background found out some interesting details about you" he says briskly. I cringe. 'Great. Wanted for murder in your old pack' mumbles Inaya. I decide not to say anything & just let him talk. I raise an eyebrow at him to indicate this. "You ran from your pack after being accused of murdering the alphas cousin by the alphas daughter?" He asks me. I nod hesitantly. "Did you do it?" He asks me curiously. I shake my head no. "Well thats good enough for me! We take lots of society's outcasts here! It's a new fresh start at life for some of the most ... misunderstood wolves around!" He says in a chipper tone. His face doesn't convince me. "However, the bad news- we know you are from Oceans Howl pack & unfortunately they are our enemies. They stole something of ours...recently. We're gonna need it back so you will have to help with that if you wanna join this pack" he says in the same chipper tone as if its no big deal. 'What choice do we have?' Inaya asks me miserably. 'We can't make it as a rogue out there. These people say we have a new chance at pack life, maybe this can be a good opportunity for us to really start over as a wolf' Inaya says. I sign knowing Inaya is right. "And if i say no to joining?" I ask in a defiant tone. "Sacred law of the wolves means we will have to return you to your pack" Beta Steeve responds, his eyes narrowing at me. I think of the accusations I would have to face & gulp. "How am I supposed to help you? What did they steal?" I ask lamely, dubious they stole anything. "I can't even survive in the wild for day, I doubt I'll be much help with anything. I don't know anything about Alpha Tylers business. My own father is barley in his inner circle." I try to look as pathetic as possible so he lowers his expectations. I can't imagine helping another pack hurt my old pack even though I really only cared about my parents. "That will be discussed in time. We know you will be ... useful when the time is right. We did find out you were a nurse practitioner though. We've been needing one to work at our pack hospital! So in the meantime- The job is yours if you want it" Beta Steve says hopefully. I stare at his salt & pepper hair wondering if this is a good idea. I feel like I should trust him for some crazy reason. He seems like a good guy. Inaya makes me feel like it is. "Ok, I won't commit to anything long term for now though" I say while extending my hand to shake on the deal . "Excellent. You made the right choice. Our pack is growing again & its gonna be the most powerful pack this world has ever seen. You can follow me to your new living accommodations" he says happily.  'That was easy' I say to Inaya surprised. 'The moon goddess makes easy what she blesses' Inaya responds as we walk out of the jail. "Oh- one more tiny detail. The pack leadership is holding preliminary interviews with wolves that want to join. Your meeting is in 30 minutes" beta Steven says. My eyes widen and I clap a hand over my mouth. "I look awful! Can't I get cleaned up at least! The alpha will think I'm a hobo!" I protest. Beta Steve leads me up a staircase and points me towards a bathroom. "I'll find you something to wear, someone must have something around here, but don't be long. You've got a 25 minutes" he mutters. I step into the bathroom and begin to pick hay from my hair as fast as I can. Theres a comb under the sink I use to rake through my hair, grimacing at the tangled. I jump in the shower and wash myself vigorously, scrubbing so hard my skin is red and tingling when I'm done. At least I don't smell offensive. I still look horrid but there's nothing else to be done. Beta Steve knocks on the bathroom door & hands me a brown dress. Its two sizes to big & horridly frumpy but at least it smells clean. I comb my hair again and quickly wrap it in a tidy bun. I pause for a final look in the mirror & despair. I look like a something out of a nightmare. "Let's go!" Bets Steve barks impatiently. I rush out of the bathroom and follow hi to the meeting.

We enter what looks like a ballroom & I'm grateful for a long line of wolves who look no better than me. I blend in here. Perfect. Each interview only takes a minute or two. A stunning blonde Wolfe with red lipstick is going around with a clipboard taking our names & history down. Inaya snarls in my head at the girl, Instantly disliking her. 'Chill, we don't know anyone here to act like that' I chide her. Then I smell it- Or him, I should say. This blonde woman smells like my mate. It's not super strong though, perhaps like they shared a hug or something. My knees weaken and I feel nauseas. Suddenly it makes sense. Of course he is here- in leadership. In a pack of Lycans. How could I be such an idiot? I feel like I might throw up. The blonde wolf approches me. "Name & age?" she asks in a bored tone. "I'm Clara, 26" I choke out. His smell is so divine, but smelling it on her made me feel sick. "Who are you?" I ask her dreading her answer. "I'm Lilly." She says it with a smug look on her face like I should know. "Nice to meet you" I rasp. She moves onto the wolf behind me. My throat is burning & my eyes are watering. What the hell is wrong with me? It doesn't matter anyways. My mate isn't for me. The moon goddess messed up that one, not me. Lilly moves on to the next person and I realize I'm closer to the front of the line than I thought. His smell overwhelms my nose and I inhale it blissfully. It almost makes me feel like euphoric, like I've done drugs or something. I refuse to look in his direction as Inya goes wild with excitement. "Next!" Calls a bored voice.
I step in front of my mate.