It began as somewhat of a border patrol for Samuel. The grass was still dewy, this much was obvious from the way the he walked through it, a slight bare of his teeth with each careful placement of his paws, and it dampened his paws with each step. He grimaced at the cold, despising wet feet most of all. At some point, he caught a scent. Still fresh, still warm; a recently killed elk. And a nearby wolfess, as well. One that was definitely not from his own pack. Dipping his head down close to the ground, he followed it. He found the two, hunter and hunted, not far from where he had previously been and well inside his pack's territory. And of course, being the alpha, you'd expect- and so did she- he'd attack. But nope. He didn't.
Rather, he offered to take it and cook it for her. That meant also bringing her back to his den. She was wary at first, of course, but she gave in.
The unlikeliest of things happened. She told him of her home up north, of her cruel father- who would no doubt be looking for her. Of her poor mother and many, many sisters... the brothers Gavin, her father, always killed. How Gavin believed he was invincible. He would be the most powerful alpha of all time. He saw women as little more than tools. Samuel swore he would protect her. He, too, came from the north. However, he had left when he was barely even ten years old. When the southern pack's alpha died, Samuel's new pack nominated him for alpha. And so it began. He offered her a home. He offered her himself later on. The pack Elder, Elizabeth, whacked him in the head with a cane several times during the traditional presenting of the ancestor's feathers to his new mate.. Jordan's mother Brynn found her, having left Gavin's pack, with all of her daughters and her infant son. They, too, were offered a home with Samuel and Jordan's pack.
One night, Jordan suspected she was pregnant, and while Samuel slept, discussed matters with Brynn. They argued. Brynn did not believe her daughter was ready to be a mother. Nobody truly is, in Jordan's defense, and Jordan went on a night walk. Only to end up kidnapped by scouts from her cruel father's pack, and dragged off.
For three months Samuel was an absolute wreck. He would hardly eat or sleep. Three months of hell. Until one day, he caught that all-too familiar scent once again. And, with trustworthy beta and best friend Holland at his side, the depressed alpha took off to save his mate. He killed the scouts, and Jordan revealed to him that she was pregnant. Upon returning home to the den, the hateful pet calico cat Tabby was found to be snuggling right up to a hulking woman named Thomas- an old friend of Jordan's. A tigerblood. No wolfblood knew such beings existed, being told in fairytales and the like. Little did they know, Tabby was really Olivia: the supposedly dead sister of Holland. A catblood. (The catblood gene is a recessive gene when mixed with wolfblood heritage) And she shifted, revealing herself to Samuel and Thomas and Jordan. It was determined she would have a part to play in the pack meeting the next day. During a pack meeting at the massive pack lodge where most of the pack lived, a warrior of the pack, Trey, argued against Thomas's and Olivia's rights to stay in the pack. Before things could get violent right then and there, Samuel stepped in and declared that a duel would take place the next morning at sunrise.
The rules?
It would be a fight to the death.
No weapons.
You must stay shifted.
You could use your surroundings.
Olivia took off with Thomas to help Thomas practice, and to confess her love for Thomas that had taken hold of her so strongly and quickly. And that, my dear readers, is where we shall begin.
