Hammers in the Shadows

Part One: Shadows And Ice - Chapter Two

His eyes narrowed slightly as he considered what I asked him. The information I had on him wasn't quite complete since our own digital records at Blackwater were far from complete and most of the information that was available on the Were-Net was fairly general in nature, probably owing to the sensitive nature of the information and how much the Turning had affected the young wolf. The information I did have pointed to the fact that he'd been turned while in his early teens and compared to me he'd been little more than a cub at the time while I'd been a full-grown adult. "That is very true.  My change was vastly different than yours." He said finally and his body language and the scents in the air told me that it was still a sensitive topic for him. "For me it was the loss of my parents, Olivia being hurt and waking up to find this out.  To an extent waking as a wolf was less of a blow.  My world had already been destroyed so what was one more detail?  I had my problems with what had been done to me.  The why of what had been done caused me more problems than what had been done."  He kept his voice level and reasonable though it was obvious it was bringing back memories.

"I guess that much we do have in common, after all both of use were turned by creatures who were more than a little crazy, in one way or another. I saw the report of the death of that wolf back in '18 and what it took to take him down." I shivered slightly, Mikel may have been somewhat crazy, but I'd still managed to get through to him so that I could take him down. "I also read that his death knocked you for a loop for a bit. I imagine you read the old report of what happened to my Rogue?" I finished before taking a sip of my coffee while I sat back in my seat and considered the wolf in front of me. I could tell that he was playing his cards very close to his chest indeed.

"I read the parts Adam opened to me.  Since it was in the past it wasn't something I needed a great deal of information on.  No, that isn't the right way of putting it, I needed to know aspects of it but not the personal details.  If I needed them, say, another rogue might be nearby I would be given full access.  When it comes to pack security I will know everything.  Personal information not as much."  He stood and refilled his cup of coffee, "It did.  Well it didn't help getting nailed by a quarterstaff when the link was broken.  It took me some time to recover from that."

He gave me a questioning look, "I do know one of your sons was force changed by you to save him.  Talk to Beth in medical and she can tell you about when I was forced to change her.  It might help.  When I turned her I fully expected to be killed for what I had done."  He told me with his voice still showing little in the way of emotional involvement and I couldn't help but admire this young wolf. He'd been through hell and yet he still managed to maintain an even keel.

I nodded, "when I was forced to turn Shawn, it was one of the more painful decisions I had to make, I'd already been made aware of the rules on force changes, but that didn't make it any easier. In my eyes, he was an innocent child, and thanks in part to Mikel." I found myself closing my eyes, not to curse at him, but instead to keep the painful memory from rising too close to the surface, "He was injured in a manner that would have caused his death... I couldn't leave him... then again you know when you look into the eyes of your own cubs don't you?" I threw that one out because I could very faintly smell the fact that he was a father.

"I didn't even think when I dove over the cliff to save Beth.  By the time I managed to get her to safety she was almost dead.  I didn't think when I bit her.  It was only after I had done it I reacted.  My wolf put me to sleep until Beth was able to talk to me.  It wasn't a good time."  He gave me a slight grin, "One of my junior wolf's damn near jerked me out of bed and yelled at me."  I had to smile at that and recalled my own time when my cubs had jerked me up short in an attempt to keep me sane and a member of Blackwater Pride.

I nodded, "My mate was exhausted, the fight cost both of us a lot of our energy but I had Were shifted." I smiled at that memory, gaining my Were-form and a son, were the only good things that happened that night. "As for being a bit crazy... I had a few times were I almost went that direction... my daughter saved me both times, though the closest call came when my father asked me for help to turn." That hadn't been my proudest moment, but I knew that it was something that I would have to live with. "She reminded me that she was counting on me, so was Sergey, and so was my mate."