Lucius

10

Lucius wants to see just what Midnight can do so they run faster than he's ever taken Faline. He's pleased that she is able to easily keep up with him. 

They are deep into the wolf territory when Midnight is tackled by another wolf. One of the pack. Lucius stops short and prepares to deal with the wolf when he sees Midnight handling him just fine.

Lucius is less fine when he hears her yelp as the male wolf bites and pulls on her hind leg leaving a deep cut bleeding heavily.

Midnight turns on the male wolf and attacks him viciously.

"Let me take you to the clinic, little one." Lucius tells her and Midnight docilely lets Lucius pick her up. The other wolf is in bad shape as well and can't even stand up. Lucius thins his lips down in anger.

"I should leave you here, but if you don't bite me, I'll take you back to be taken care of." The male wolf whines and Lucius takes that as his agreement.

Lucius picks the wolf up by the scruff of his neck and drags him uncaringly behind as he heads back to the pack house.

Once they come with in sight of others he drops the wolf and orders him to be taken care of. He takes Midnight into the infirmary and gently sets her on the table.

Shortly after that the doctor comes in. "That's a pretty deep bite and cut, it will need stitches.

Faline changes with these words. "No, I won't get stitches."

Faline had knocked her covering off when she changed and Lucius is minded just how much she has changed. He still sees her as a little girl, but she's not a little girl any more.

"Faline, that wound is deep-"

"I won't get stitches." Some of the torture she'd gone through involved needles, she's terrified of them.

"Then take my blood." Lucius says after biting his wrist.

The doctor watches in fascination as her wound closes on its own without even a scar. "Very well, you're all set to go. Faline, your wolf is beautiful."

Faline smiles at him, "Thank you doctor."

Lia comes in holding clothes, pants and a sports bra. Lucius leaves so that she can get dressed.

After she's dressed she goes out to Lucius. "Midnight Starlight, likes her name. She likes Star best though she'll accept all shortened versions as well." Faline tells Lucius who holds her to him.

"She's just as beautiful as you, Faline." Indeed the beauty promised in the child has proven itself in the adult.

"Lucius, she said to tell you, she held back on presenting as long as she could because she likes you and knew how much you were dreading it. She knows that you don't want to see me grow up and leave." Faline can't look at Lucius for the next part.

"She's says that because she held back for so long that my heat will come soon. Far sooner than most do. She said that today is my actual eighteenth birthday and that's why she couldn't hold back any more."

Lucius gives a pained smile, "Well, at least we now know that. She's been holding back, is that possible?" Lucius hadn't thought that was even possible.

"She says it is, but most wolves wouldn't even consider it. But then again most wolves aren't raised by a vampire either." Faline smirks at Lucius.

Lucius loses his amused smile, "Does she know when you'll go into heat?"

Faline shakes her head, "She suspects within the month."

Lucius starts swearing inside himself for sometime, just holding Faline. He's losing her and he can't stand it.

"When was Midnight supposed to present?" Lucius asks softly. Just how much more time did that wolf give him?

"She said four years ago." Faline says and if Lucius hadn't been holding her she would have fallen. That means that she's of alpha blood. Only they present so young.

"Well, that certainly explains a lot of things." Lucius says an amused twinkle in his eyes. He too is aware of what such an early presenting means.

"With that information we can find out who your parents were, Faline," the alpha had come up to them silently and had caught some of their conversation.

"Thank you Steven. Even if she doesn't want it now, it would be good for her to know later." Over the years the alpha had learned a healthy respect for Lucius and they've formed a tenuous friendship.

"Why did you find it necessary to beat up Quinlin?" Alpha Steven asks.

"Lucius and I were running, me in my wolf form, when Quinlin attacked me for no reason. I was just defending myself until he tried to hamstring me. Idiot is still to stupid to know where the hamstring is. Instead he bit my lower leg and intentionally pulled down making a gash. I should have stitches right now if Lucius hadn't shared his blood with me."

"Lia said that she let the whole pack know about Faline's wolf form. This was a completely unprovoked attack on my ward. He's an adult now and needs to face the consequences of his actions." Lucius demands.

"I agree. As such Faline will be facing Quinlin. You will choose the form and test, Faline." Alpha Steve says before going and talking to Quinlin.

Faline is both pleased and not. This is her punishment to deal to the offender.

"What form are you going to take?" Lucius asks her interested. As Faline there isn't anything that she can't best that fool in. As Midnight, that still has to be determined.

"I think I'll let him choose. I don't want him to think that I intentionally chose something he can't do." The snarkiness is definitely there and Lucius has to hold back a chuckle. His money is on his ward, no matter the test or form.

"To make it fair, Lucius would you give him your blood. I wouldn't want him to say that I cheated because he can barely move." There is definitely a satisfied purr in her voice. Midnight had taken down that impertinent male easily, although she's never fought in her wolf form before.

"I will if that is what you would like. But he's not likely to accept it. It might contaminate him if he does."

Faline snorts her disapproval, "More fool he, then. His loss, my gain." The two walk out to the arena where the challenge will be held. Already the pack is gathering. Lucius can hear the many appreciative words at Faline's looks. He holds back his snarl at this. She has a beautiful body and it's not something she should be ashamed about.

Then he hears a comment, "I hope she chooses me to help her when she gets her heat." Lucius about loses it and has the boy by his neck and up in the air.

"None of you are worthy of her. You've spent the last ten years making sure that she knows that she's not a part of this pack, not truly. Do you really think that she would choose any of you to comfort her? Even if she did none of you have shown yourselves to be worthy of her to me." With that Lucius lets the boy drop and he scrabbles on his hands to lose himself in the crowd.

"Peace, Lucius. We'll deal with that issues when it comes," Faline goes to him and touches his arm to calm him.

"They aren't worthy of you, Faline." Lucius tells her.

"I know. I would never accept being treated the same way as they treat their mates. The females in this pack are only slightly better than the slaves were in the pack I ran away from. They have no respect or care from those that should love them more than anything."

The males that hear this are both angered and pained by the truth she speaks. The females are silently cheering her on. They've been cheering for her ever since she first showed up all the kids in the pack. She now is the best fighter in the pack, bar none. If she wanted she could fight Alpha Steven and take over. They all know it. Steven dreads it. But it's never going to happen, because Faline doesn't want to leave Lucius any more than Lucius wants her to leave.