Author: Alana Winters
Warnings: Yaoi, AU, OOC, supernatural [werewolves], dark, angst, TWT, etc.etc.etc.
Pairings: none so far, but don't worry... just look at the warnings ^_~
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimers: you know, there are only so many ways to write this... hmm, not mine!!!!
Feedback is welcome, in fact it is highly sought after, but please hold your flames to yourself.
*...* denotes internal thought
~ ~ ~ denotes break in scene
------ denotes flashbacks
Author's notes: okay, I absolutely love werewolf, vampire, zombie, mummy, etc.etc.etc. stories and I have always wanted to write a GW werewolf fic. I already have the vampire one underway, so here is the werewolf one. So, voila, another fic is born and... well, ^_^;; maybe someday I'll get around to actually finishing one... Oh yes, and much thanks to Bella D who has been emailing back and forth with me. She gave me some really interesting ideas that helped to shape this fic. Much thanks!! Oh, and I've played around with everyone's ages, but it's my fic so I can do that. ^_^
Moonlight, Sunlight, Midnight Prologue
"Thou knowest to-night and wilt know to-morrow
This mark of my shame, this seal of my sorrow."
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
PROLOGUE
They were coming.
They were coming for her.
No, they were coming for the precious burden she carried, deep beneath her heart.
And they were being led by the one who had betrayed that same heart.
The same man that she could still feel in her mind, faintly at the edges where she blurred and he began. She would always be able to feel him, lurking in the darkest shadows, penance for her sin of loving one different from she.
The young woman sobbed low in her throat as she continued to run through the streets of the town. Heading for the outskirts, she desperately raced to the temporary haven that the outlying woods would provide. Every sense of her young body was tuned in upon those that chased her, relentlessly driving her to the earth, hoping to wear her down. Trapped as she was in her human guise, there was little she could do to outrun her pursuers.
The most she could hope for was to reach the border of the trees, to lose herself in the familiar woods. Once in nature's embrace, she might be lucky enough to elude her tormentors long enough to invoke the Change. She needed only a handful of seconds to allow the full Change to overcome her weak human form, to shed the now hated disguise for her more comfortable four-legged one. However, the Change always left her vulnerable for that handful of seconds needed to complete the alteration. And at this moment, she could permit herself no such luxuries. If they managed to get close enough to her . . .
*They would find out... and they would take-*
As she drove her body onwards, she shook her head roughly to rid it of such pessimistic thoughts. She only needed to reach the woods and then she would be free. Free to once again run over the grounds of the forest, to revel in nature's embrace. The woods were the answer, for in them, her ancestors and family dwelled. She knew that they would welcome her back... they had to welcome her back.
Biting her lip to keep from sobbing her despair, she brought one hand to rest possessively over her heaving abdomen. Though no physical evidence betrayed her delicate condition, the girl was aware of the precious treasure she carried deep within. The tiny soul there flickered, gaining strength with each passing moment. This new life was the key. The key to the future of two worlds. It must survive no matter what the cost.
*No,* she thought, the answer dredged up from some hidden well of knowledge. *He must survive.*
Ignoring the determined shouts coming from behind her, the girl burst through the last edges of civilization, breaking free of the restrictive town. Her bare feet practically rejoiced as they left the punishing concrete stone of the streets and met the soft firmness of mother earth. She had only to cross the last field clearing before the looming edge of the woods would claim her in its cool security. The dark safety of the forest was so close she could practically taste it on her tongue.
As she passed over the grassy field and entered the boundary of the woods, she let instinct take over and felt the air crackle with the electricity of the Change. As limbs became legs, skin became fur, her mind howled with joy and freedom, barely registering the fading cries of dismay.
*We have made it, my child. We're safe!*
The woman jumped once into the air, still mostly human, only to land again having shed her mortal coil. Where once an attractive and supple female existed, now a fierce and lethal predator lurked. Lupine eyes, still an eerie human blue, gazed for a brief second towards the edge of the woods before turning to face the forest beyond.
Ending her pause, the tawny wolf broke into a loping run, maneuvering through the woods with ease born of bestial grace. As her mind turned itself over gratefully to the beast within, one last conscious thought seeped through.
*Mother... Father... I'm coming home.*
~~~~~~
[Later and elsewhere]
"She escaped?"
The hunters hung their heads in shame as they admitted to their employer that their prey had indeed eluded them, despite their best efforts. A thread of trepidation wove itself amongst their minds, for failure was not well tolerated in the ranks of the J's mercenaries.
In fact, their displeased employer was agitatedly pacing in front of them, his strides short and jerky. Whether or not his short, aborted movements came from the cane that hindered and aided his bulk, or from his rising temper, the hunters knew they were in for trouble. At the least, a verbal lashing and display of temperament. At the most...
Well, they didn't even want to contemplate what he would do to them at his worst.
Each had their heads hung down, as if they were disobedient children facing the wrath of their parents. As the silence and tension in the ready room steadily grew thicker, they fought against their instincts to flinch with all their discipline. Finally, the stocky man in front of them came to an abrupt halt and began his verbal raving.
"How could you FOOLS let her escape?! Do you have any idea how important she was to me and my research?! I have waited years to find a changeling and once I did, you MORONS let her slip through your fingers!!"
As the man ranted at his poor employees, spittle flew from his lips to fleck upon the hapless hunters. With each uttered word, his agitation and fury grew, destroying whatever vestiges or illusions of mental control he had. He was becoming seriously close to clouting one of the cowering men over the head with his staff, in fact the metal apparatus had already been lifted threateningly when a calm and detached voice interceded.
"It doesn't matter if she did manage to escape, J. She won't go far."
His attention and fury switched from his hapless hunters to the speaker with lightning speed. His thin lips curled into a sneer, he addressed the newcomer. "Lowe. I should have known. If only I hadn't listened to you and caged her from the very beginning, none of this would have happened!"
The new target of the man's fury calmly continued to make his way into the more illuminated areas of the ready room, his slightly craggy features made more prominent in the poor light. With one raised eyebrow, Odin Lowe gave Dr. J a condescending look.
Sneering, he said coldly, "And she would have only managed to escape from whatever cage you placed her in. No, this situation is much better. Allow her to return to her Pack. In doing so, you will succeed in lulling her into a false sense of security."
J snorted and shot back with, "False sense? Ha! You know, as well as I do, that we would never be able to get within 10 miles of the Pack's hunting grounds and home, even if we knew where to start looking. And I know for a fact that she never told you where her Pack dwells."
Odin merely shrugged his broad shoulders and leaned his hip against the edge of the mahogany conference table. "It doesn't matter. Eventually she will have to reemerge into the human world for that is the way of the Pack, according to her own words."
"Even though she mentioned something about an Edict of Separation?"
"Somehow I don't think that will stop her from venturing out again. It didn't stop her the first time. And when she does return, she will most likely have the child with her."
J's eyebrows arched with surprise and shock over his artificial optical units as Odin's last words crossed his hearing. "You're sure she is with child?"
"You mean you don't know?"
Odin's sarcastic shock did not go unheeded by Dr. J, but he chose to ignore it. For the time being.
"She managed to elude us before I could pin her down to take any tests. In fact, I would have even doubted that she was a loupe garou if I hadn't witnessed her amazing strength and speed first hand. Are you certain she is carrying?"
Odin nodded once, short and curt. "I would bet my life on it. Why else would she return home to the Pack that once exiled her? She wouldn't risk that taboo unless she needed protection for something, or someone, else. And the Pack would only accept her back on that condition."
J cocked his head to one side as he mulled this thought in his head before voicing his next question. "And just how are we supposed to get close enough to the Pack to snatch the child away? One werewolf would be hard enough, the entire Pack would be impossible."
Odin smiled, a sinister grin that stretched from ear to ear. "You leave that to me. Before she lost her faith in me, precious Isadora told me many secrets. I plan to fully exploit them to achieve our means."
"And it doesn't bother you that this child will be of your blood? Your heir, so to speak?"
An impassive shrug accompanied the next cold-hearted statement. "A necessary sacrifice. If you are successful in your research, we shall both profit from the end results. And I will no longer have a need for an heir."
"Very well. But what am I to do for the next few years? We must effectively disappear from this area to lull them out."
"I would suggest finding and building a complex that will be secure enough to contain the child. We don't know how strong the child will be, even at a young age. You will also have to make it remote enough to conceal it from prying eyes, both human and inhuman."
"Well then, I think I may have just the place in mind. Tell me Odin, have you ever heard of the La Grange colonies? Specifically, Colony L1?"
~~~~~~
[Palais-home of the Pack]
High-spirited yips and yowls drifted up from the courtyard below into the paneless window of the Council Tower. The precious voices of the Pack's young were carefree in their hour of play, free time that was well spent in developing bonds of brotherhood and family between the newest generation, the hope for the future.
Gregori stood at the window, the summer breeze passing through the window ruffed the ends of his blunt haircut. His powerful arms were folded, his spine rigid, and his stance disciplined. The snowy whiteness of his shirt contrasted strongly with his dark tanned skin, weathered by days spent in the bright sun.
His emerald tinted gaze, sharp and observant, was watching the various scenes in the courtyard. The young children playfully pouncing and rolling in the exuberance allotted to the young was a rejuvenating scene and one that was far too seldom in occurrence. It was a scene that both thrilled and terrified.
Gregori pulled his gaze away from the window and turned to face the circular table set in the middle of the large chamber. He stealthily made his way to his own carved seat, sitting down with barely a whisper of sound. Having procured his place, he slowly passed his gaze over the other assembled Council members.
There were only a handful of adults in the room and each held important positions in the Pack, positions that had been held for generations upon generations. Those assembled were the best and elite of the Pack, each trustworthy and loyal to their last drop of blood. The only seats around the table that remained empty were those two reserved for the leader of the Pack and his or her chosen mate.
The last leader, Gavin Maxwell, had perished a month ago in an accident that had occurred when he had been hunting. He, along with two assistants, had been crushed underneath an avalanche of rocks that had been jarred loose by a random tremor in the earth. He had died almost instantly and all the Pack had known of his passing within a handful of moments. His mate, Elena Maxwell, had expired soon after, the separation shock and grief claiming her life. As it so often happened amongst their kind, death took the mated couple within moments of each other.
Gavin and Elena had ruled over the Pack for more than 500 years before death claimed them, their rule long and peaceful. They had left a decent lineage to follow them, strong able-bodied werewolves, each special in their own way. However, according to the laws of the Pack, followed since time began, the youngest of the royal offspring would be the one to inherit the position, to hopefully retain the position as long as possible. But since little Duo was no more than four years in age, the council would rule in his stead until he reached the age of majority and proved himself to the rest of the Pack.
Yet even now, being a cub of no more than four years of age, Duo was already proving himself an exceptional wolfling. He had endeared himself to his older brothers and sisters, melting the hearts of even the most skeptical criticizers. He defended what was his with his wits and speed, though intermixed with a natural sense of charm and humor.
While most cubs learned to control their ability to shift forms by age three or four, Duo had mastered it by his second birthday. Just a few months ago, shortly after he had turned four, Duo had received the thunderous approval of the Pack and had been named Champion of the Hunt when he had brought home his first killed deer. But added to it had been the trophies of three older hunters of the Pack, three careless werewolves who had not been fast or clever enough to protect their game.
Precocious and charming to a fault, Duo was the bright hope of the Pack; a new leader wise enough to dispel the Edict of Separation imposed by his deceased sire and lead the Pack back to its glorious position within and above the world of humans. For almost 500 years the Pack had been forced to remain apart from the humans; Gavin had not even permitted them to mingle in social events with them. All those who had disagreed with the Edict and had directly disobeyed it to walk amongst the humans had been exiled from the protection and haven of the Pack.
Several of their numbers had been exiled in the duration of the Edict, but the council hoped to begin to bring those exiled back into the fold of the Pack. Although others, like the patriarch of the Bloom family, had been cast out of the Pack for other reasons, times were becoming desperate for the survival of the Pack. So desperate, that bygones needed to be set aside and wrongs forgiven. All werewolves needed to band together to ensure the survival of their kind.
Although werewolves lived long lives, indeed the life of a human was but a brief breeze in the whirlwind of a werewolf's life, they did not live forever and freak accidents could claim their lives. From everything like a freak avalanche, which claimed the life of their last leader, to a chance human hunter managing to kill them in their lupine forms, members of the Pack died and needed to be replaced by young, strong offspring.
Since their confinement to the Palais and its vast hunting grounds, something terrible had struck the members of the Pack. Already few in number, the Pack being no more than a few hundred in the first place, their numbers had suffered even more as births became rarer and rarer among the mated pairs. Even the royal couple had felt the effects, their own lineage shortened beyond what it naturally should have been, but Gavin had stoutly denied that anything was wrong and the problem had only grown more severe.
As it was, only a handful of cubs had been born in the last century.
Duo, the hope for the future of the Pack, the youngest of all the cubs.
Trowa, the only remaining member of the exiled Bloom family, having been an infant and innocent of his father's crime. His mother had chosen to stay alongside her mate, as well as his older sister. Trowa had been left in the care of the Pack, never knowing if he would ever see his family again, and forced to deal with the shame of his father's actions. Since the Bloom name had been struck from the records, he had taken the last name of Barton, adopted by an aging minister of the council.
Quatre, the golden haired child of the Winner clan, one of the oldest families in the Pack. He had 29 older sisters, all born over the last 1000 years, but he was the only son of the deceased Winner patriarch. His father had died alongside his monarch in the same avalanche and Quatre's mother had died with the loss of her mate. The terrible avalanche had struck a devastating blow to the Pack and the Winners were missed terribly. Quatre was the closest to Duo in age in this century's litter, being of only eight years himself.
Wufei, a young werewolf found in the wild. Abandoned by his family members on the hunting grounds of the Palais, he had obviously been sired by a pair of werewolves in exile. He had been embraced heartily by the rest of the Pack and at 15, he was the oldest of the current litter. Although on the brink of being an adult, Wufei was still considered a cub in the eyes of the Pack and as such the responsibility of watched the younger children often fell onto his shoulders.
Dorothy, wild hellion born of two council members. Brash and daring, she often pushed the rules and laws of the Pack as far as she could. If trouble arose amongst the younger members of the Pack, Dorothy could usually be found in the thick of it.
Relena, the youngest of the Peacecraft siblings, she was often the only one who could quell some of Dorothy's wilder urges. The polar opposite of the other blonde, Relena was quiet and shy, demure and gentle. She was always found with Dorothy, the silent shadow in the background. However, Relena had a spine of steel, a hidden source of strength that surprised those not expecting it.
Though not the only cublings born into the Pack in the past 100 years, these six were the only ones who survived the curse of the Scourge. A terrible disease that stole cubs from their mother's wombs and condemned them to a slow and painful death. Sometimes, and the reason why was a mystery still, cubs were born with severe malformations. Cubs of werewolves, delivered by their mothers in wolf form, were born in their own lupine form, which was usually abandoned shortly after weaning. It was only regained after their first Change, which usually occurred sometime between their third and fifth years of life.
However, children born with malformations often were a monstrous combination of both human and lupine appendages, and fated to die, no matter what. Depending upon the severity of their deformation, the unlucky child could live to be as old as a month in age, but suffering unimaginable pain as their systems shut down, one by one. Of course, no mother could be as cruel as to watch her child suffer a slow death, so usually the mother would grant her child a swift and merciful death shortly after birth.
The last child born with the curse of the Scourge had been Duo's own twin brother, Solo. The older of the two to be born first, Solo had emerged deformed and dying. The Pack had been terrified that both children would be born cursed, but Duo had been born healthy and whole. However, with the death of their ruling couple, the Pack was now faced with several decisions about their uncertain future.
Which was one reason why the council was meeting.
They were to discuss the issue about welcoming those in exile back into the Pack, hopefully to introduce new bloodlines into the waning gene pool of the Pack. The council wasn't stupid. They knew that the outcasts must be breeding, somehow surviving in the outside world. They had been doing so for eons themselves, before the Edict had been enforced upon them. Hopefully, the infusion of new blood and cubs would strengthen the Pack and renew life.
Gregori cleared his throat, bringing the attention of his fellow councilors upon him. His handsome face, barely aged past a human year of 30, was set into a solemn expression, conveying the seriousness of their meeting. The others, out of respect, quieted and prepared to listen to him.
Alexander and Sachiko Yuy, the two resident artists sat on his left. Out of all of the gathered, these two had the most to gain from the result of their discussion today. Their only surviving daughter had been exiled for daring to consort with humans. Where she was today, nobody knew, for she had disappeared from the face of the earth.
Sally Po, the Pack's head doctor, the second youngest of all the council members was next to the couple.
Milliardo Peacecraft, the eldest Peacecraft sibling and an excellent fighter, he had been trained to protect the new leader of the Pack.
Keaton and Ilse were the last two members of the council, and often were the hardest to convince of anything. They had been Gavin Maxwell's staunchest supporters of the Edict of Separation and their rebellious faces indicated they would not be agreeable to lifting off the sentences of exile on those they saw as traitors to the Pack.
Gregori took a breath and launched into the subject.
"We all know why we're here. We have to face the fact that the pack is dying."
Milliardo snorted under his breath and muttered, "Dying even as we continue to live on. How ironic."
Sachiko sent Milliardo a swift look and gently said, "Gregori is right. We are dying. Too few cubs are being born, and half of the ones who are born are plagued with the curse."
Gregori looked to Sachiko's left . "Sally?"
The young doctor shook her head and said, "No, we're no closer to determining why."
"There you have it. We are left with two options. Lift the edict and return the exiled werewolves back to the fold, or die out. I can't say that I look forward to the second of the options."
Keaton shook his head and said gruffly, "How can you even consider such a thing as lifting the Edict? Who knows what misfortune re-entering the world of humans may have on the Pack! They'll only grow afraid of us and slaughter us again! We're safer here!"
Alexander glared at Keaton, his Yuy blue eyes sharp and fierce. "No, we're not safe. Even on this mountain, we can still die. Gavin's death should prove that.
Keaton looked down at the table, his mouth still set in a frown. His mate, Ilse, gently laid her hand on his arm even as she looked at Gregori. "Whatever your decision is, we will abide and support it."
Sally, Sachiko, Milliardo, and Alexander all nodded their agreement. Gregori closed his eyes in a moment of reflection before he opened them again. He was about to speak when a young, frantic messenger rushed into the chamber. "What is the meaning of this?!"
The young werewolf quickly bowed in respect before he blurted out, "Sir, there's a commotion in the courtyard!"
The adults half rose from their seats as they smelled the young man's panic.
"What's going on down there?!" Gregori half roared.
"Sir, it's the exiled Isadora Yuy. She's returned and she's begging sanctuary."
TBC...
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