Night Shine

My Family, My Pack

Yennefer's POV

I'm exploring the small village like community on four paws. Everyone is very indulgent with me discovering my new ability to shift. It was explained to me by my Dad why so many wolves were here. They were counting on strength in numbers. I always knew Adan was my father. He visited as often as he could. He would tell me he would take me home when he had one to take me to. I also knew my mom died giving me life. My Aunt who raised me and my mom were twins. They were Identical and they were both empaths, except my mother's gift was with animals my aunt's with people. My Aunt stayed in her home town married and raised babies. My mother ran off to Alaska and advocated for wolves and other wildlife. I was told that's where she met my dad. I step up my pace till I come to the edge of the village. I sniff the air and listen. I reach out mentally to see if any animals are close by. I sense a coyote near. It is searching for food. Once it gets the scent of the packs it scoots. I check a different direction and find a more vicious animal. It's Damon he is down wind from the packs. He may be able to hide from the wolf guards, but he can't hide from me. He's frightening. All I sense is rage and lust behind a thin veneer of practiced fake emotions. I'm about to back off when I hear his mental laughter.

"Come sweetheart." Damon calls.

I've never thought of myself as a coward but his power to force me terrifies me. I turn tail and race swiftly back to Nikki's side. I tremble and rub against his leg.

"He's here. He called for me." I whimper. He rests his hand gently on my back.

"Where?" He asks.

"He's north of us downwind." I answer.

"Can you tell how many are with him?" He questions.

"Three are with him." I yip. I hear their mental communication. Several men shift to wolves. When Nikki goes to follow my father stops him.

"Stay and protect my daughters. If we catch him you'll get your chance at him."

"Ok Adan," I can tell Nikki doesn't like it but agrees and stays behind as they bound away into the trees.

I study my new family. Jason is like a rock. He keeps everyone steady. There is so many mixed emotions going on between Nicole, Courtney, and Nikki. As an empath it almost makes me dizzy. There is so much love here though. Courtney is so jealous. I understand. I was raised as human. Jason and Nicole don't understand it now that they are mates. She's just not wired the same. She understands loyalty but not the kind that holds the pack together. Nicole just needs the father of her babies to show her affection. Nikki loves Courtney and is growing to love Nicole. He's confused by it. Jason sees Nikki as a brother. He loves Nicole deeply. Courtney he has grown to love, but he respects Nikki's boundaries. Wow and now I get thrown into the mix. Nikki is gentle to those he loves and I like that. I nuzzle his leg, right now I know one thing. He is my protector and shield from a very real monster. Moving closer to Courtney I lay my head on her lap and send her soothing emotions.

I can feel the other wolves around me too. Some are jealous. Some are content with the situation. Others are just glad he is the one to take the proverbial bullet. They are not cowards. They would fight if they have to, die if they have to to protect family and pack. They just have never had to challenge the type of insanity like Damon's among their own kind before. Nikki has seen the broken in others and himself. He's faced it and overcame. The pack sees this affliction as caused by to much Inter breeding with humans. They figure sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. I sigh. I know I have an unfair advantage over my new found people. They are limited by close family association and pack allegiance. I'm not I can not only feel all their emotions. I can hear everyone's thoughts. It's funny Courtney thinks the wolves are promiscuous. The thought of straying outside their mate bond is not something that ever occurs to them. That's a human thing. One hundred years ago polygamy was unknown among the wolves. It was one male one female for life. But when human hunters came to a conclusion. If you kill the females, you kill the species. Then a disease hits the females. They had to evolve or die out. When they found that multiple males could claim a single female they went with it. It cut down on fights between males that sometime led to deaths. The war between hunters and the pack ended because the hunters way of extinguishing the wolves backfired. They just ended up facing enraged males that had no mates or cubs to live for. They were vicious and tore through the hunter ranks like they were paper mach'e taking bullets like it was nothing. So a treaty was signed that has held for over forty years. The Elders minds are full of info. Some of them are centenarians. My father, Ciel, and Jason fought in the last battle. It's hard to believe that Jason who is so gentle was one the berserkers. That's why he refuses to fight Damon or anyone. He fears that it would consume him again. I have seen pictures in his mind of his fellow berserkers. They are the werewolves of human nightmares. So full of pain and rage they can't make the full shift They are caught between human and wolf. Jason and a few others melted back into the packs and tried to forget. The rest either wandered off to die alone or became malcontents wanting to continue to fight.

"Oh God Damon's pack is full of them. They have nothing to loose and everything to gain. They want to finish the war with the human hunters even it means more wolf deaths." I whimper.