Claws and code

Little sentence and Big consequence

'I know what you are.' Five words. A small sentence. A big truth. Their whole existence at risk with five small words. They looked between Sasha and me. They were shaking their heads. No.

Sasha and I nodded. Yes. Such a small word and they suddenly understood why I had told them every darkness and secret of my short existence. The silence dragged on for minutes that felt like years before Gus spoke up. 'Guess you're spending the holidays with us.'

Without fear or humour, I asked. 'Do I need to put my affairs in order?'

Sasha and her mother gasped at my question. Louis frowned and Gus chuckled. 'No, child. I think we can work something out with the Alpha.'

And that's how I ended up at the pack house without prior notice to the pack. There was an almighty ruckus when people spotted me getting out of the car with the Benedict family. Daniel stalked out before we made it to the porch.

'What is the meaning of this?' He demanded, his eyes an eerie bright blue, a vein pulsing in his neck, muscles tense.

'She knows, Alpha.'

His stare turned to Sasha and he took two steps forward. David came running from the forest with three other men, Mark amongst them. They looked pale when they saw me and turned to Sasha too. I stepped in front of her and held my bag out to 'Uncle' Daniel. The Alpha.

He broke his glare at Sasha to look at the bag in question and I grinned at him. 'In this bag is my laptop. On the laptop I have a file that contains every single thing I learned about you guys before I cornered Sasha. Don't blame her. Though to be honest, I thought criminal empire, not mythological, shape shifting beings.'

'Benedicts. Take the girl to my office. David, come with me.'

We waited in the office for six minutes and forty-two seconds. Six minutes and forty-two seconds with Sasha, her brother and her parents. It wasn't long.

Not a single word between us.

It felt like forever.

Daniel came in with his son David. Behind them four more men followed, one of them was Mark. If I had felt threatened by him when I met him, that was nothing to seeing him with the other three men. They were all way bigger than me. One of the men had muscles on his muscles, he was downright huge. He walked right up to me and looked down from his tremendous height.
He stared at me for a while and it seemed like everyone held their breath, though it was probably just me. I stood my ground, refused to give in to the feeling that I should at least get into position to defend myself. I kept his stare. He blinked and looked over his shoulder at Mark. 'Son, I know you and the others told me she was smallish but to know that this tiny thing beat you up, that is downright scary.'

'She fights mean, Dad... and she's damned fast, never stops moving. David said she's smallish, I told you she's tiny.'

He turned back to me and smiled down at me. 'Hello Cloe, I'm Arthur, Daniel's Beta and Mark's dad. If you could be so kind to beat up my son while you are here, I would thoroughly enjoy seeing that.'

'Knowing what he is, I'm sure he pulls his punches. Him and Louis both. But I can beat David up for your entertainment, he barely manages to land a punch at the best of times.' I winked at David and grinned at the boulder of a man before me. He burst out laughing, loudly and walked over to the Alpha, Daniel. 'I say we make her pack. She'll fit right in.'

I had to show them my file and tell everything I told the Benedict family. It was hard the first time I laid my life out for the Benedict family and it wasn't any easier to tell it all again. It was worse actually. I knew one big secret that they all had in common but all these people now knew all my secrets. So many people now knew things that even Dominique didn't know. And Dominique was the only person still in my life that I had known since I was little.

Daniel made everyone leave, other than David, and kept me in the office with them. They explained more about the pack hierarchy and watched as I digitally destroyed the file I had on them. It didn't matter anymore. He was going to induct me into the pack that night. It didn't understand the whole explanation but what it came down to was that I would be magically tied to the Alpha and thereby the pack. In return for my silence and maybe an occasional job in the future he would take care of me, make sure I was protected and pay all my bills. I silently agreed to disagree with that part, I would pay my own way.

That night there was a blood moon. Lucky me, it was a magically charged day to be inducted to the pack. Daniel Dirigeant, the Alpha of Blue Mountain Pack called me up to stand in front of all the pack members that were old enough to change and didn't have kids to care for. There were a lot of people. Strangers. Lycans. I was battling a lot of different emotions but settled on thankful. Thankful that they had decided to induct me instead of hunting me down and killing me.

David had explained that exchanging blood wouldn't turn me. Only a bite from a mate could do that to a human. Not even the Alphas could turn a human unless they were true mates.

In front of the whole pack Daniel handed me a wicked blade. He gave me the handle and held the blade. It showed that the Alpha trusted me not to stab him in the heart. He opened his hand and I had to cut his palm. He pushed up against the razor sharp blade when I pushed down and I gasped at the large cut, he winked and held out his other hand. I gingerly grabbed the blade and handed him the handle, then I opened my hand for him to cut. It showed that I trusted him too. He cut me, the knife was so sharp I barely felt it when it happened. It was a small cut compared to his. Then he grabbed my hand with his bleeding hand and joined our blood.

David had assured me there would be no disease, he'd even laughed when I asked.

'Do you join the Blue Mountain Pack of your own free will?'

'Yes, Alpha.' I replied, addressing Daniel as Alpha, just like I'd been told to.

'Pack is family. Pack is love and protection... Pack is sacred... We care for each other. We will care for you with everything we have and everything we are. Will you accept us as your pack?'

'Yes, Alpha. I accept the pack as my family. I will care for and protect the pack with everything I have and everything that I am.'

'As Alpha of this pack, I am head of this family. I will take care of you as I care for our whole family, I will keep you protected and in return my word is law. Do you accept me as your Alpha?

'Yes, I accept you as my Alpha.'

'Welcome to the family, Cloe Smith.'

The moment he released my hand I felt a rush of warmth starting at the place where he'd cut me. I watched in awe as the skin knitted closed before my eyes but it didn't stop there. The warmth spread up my arm and steadily suffused my whole body. The moment it reached my head it was like a whole room was opened inside of me. A room filled with people who were all talking as one. But I didn't just hear them... I felt them. I felt their awe at a small human who had joined their pack. Their fear that I would hurt the pack some way. And finally, I felt a slow roll of confusion that seemed to grow as I tried to find someone worth listening to, complaining to myself that it was so loud.