The room was quiet, everyone deep in thought. So many questions were running through my mind.
Answers, i defiantly needed answers. I cleared my throat and stood up making everyone look at me.
I sighed looking around the room. "I don't know about anyone else but there seems to be a lot of questions here" I spoke confidently.
"What kind of questions?" Mum asked. I sighed again.
"This could take a while" I turned to the shifters "Would you four be willing to answer everything" They all nodded. "Everything we can" D spoke.
I tried to think what i wanted to know. "What did you mean by 'give Luthen back?" I asked Lily.
Luthen answered that "When our emotions get to much for us our shifter side will take over, forgetting who we really are. What you saw was nothing but the shifters pet that i truly am. I was no longer Luthen her mate but a bloodthirsty creature ready to kill"
So he could be dangerous to us "Do not worry" He continued "It only happens when Lily is in danger, and i am still able to control it. If it happens again you and your people are safe"
I nodded. "What is Shadowplant?" D spoke this time "It looks like your nettles only an inky black just like our skin. It is usually destroyed when found. To us it is poisonous, if ingested it literally is like you drinking acid. It will melt us from the inside"
"I wonder why it affects weres differently" I thought out loud.
"We don't know, but it does not affect the pets. We can touch it or drink it. It has no affect on us" Luther offered.
I guess that's something we will never know. "How come after last night i've healed from wounds that should take days to heal?" This was one of the questions i had already been thinking about.
"I think i can answer that" Lily said standing up, everyone turned their attention to her.
"Have you found out what the shifters have gained from you?" She asked. Ali and Duncan looked confused. "You mean hearing each other and feeling their emotions" I stated. All eyes turned to me "I found out this morning by accident" I shrugged.
"Yes well" Lily continued. "Did you feel yourself feeling braver, stronger. As if you were weaker before you met D?" I nodded at this "Yes ever since the Banes moon i felt braver, i would speak up more. Before i was weak pathetic, not fit for my place in the pack. But now i feel like i can, i feel that nothing can stop me" I answered honestly. Lily nodded.
"Shifters are stronger and faster to heal then us. When we mate/couple we give them our mates bond and a link that will work with the pack. It's as if they were one of us, as if they were a pack member.
In return we gain some of their strengths, we feel stronger in our minds, we become stronger in our bodies. We even heal faster"
"Of course" D exclaimed "I told you about my mother" He turned to me "She was a low rank, but after coupling with my father she became stronger. Not as strong as a warrior, but stronger than a normal low rank. Her main strength was speed" Lily nodded.
"Usually in both our species only the dominant marks their partner, but in our case we both mark each other, that way we get the benefit of both. Shifters can communicate with us through the mind link. I know for a fact now that Lord Devilyn has coupled with Justin that he can mind link with you Alpha Venton" We were all shocked at that. "In fact because they have sworn them selves to you so can the other coupled shifters"
Wow info overload. "Well" Ali spoke up. "I guess that's alot to take in" Lily smiled and turned to me. "Anything else?" I frowned for a minute. "The picture you put in my head" I turned to D.
"That" He said looking embarrassed "Is like your link only instead of words it's pictures. We males are designed for fighting and producing strong children. When our females are prime we can smell it. And our own minds begin to think of reproducing. We send that to our Amares it drives them wild, they can think of nothing else until they lay with us. It also works the same way for them, if their males are not with them when they become prime they will send images to the male." He gave a soft chuckle "Trust me it does not take long for them to see each other"
"But that image you showed me?" I asked frowning Lily gave a small squeal. "Oh let me answer that please" She seemed excited. D nodded and she turned to Mark and Claire. "I want you to send your Amares the image of themselves as they were last night" She told them. "Just imagine they can see through your eyes. See what you see" They looked at her sceptically but did it anyway. No one spoke for a minute. "WHAT THE HELL" Duncan jumped as Ali gave a squeak. "That's what you looked like last night" Lily told them. I shivered knowing exactly what they saw. "That shift gave you the strength to couple with your shifter" We relaxed "But that image will help you with something else" We all frowned. Lily smiled and closed her eyes. The sound of popping bones made us jump and a low growl reverberated around the room. Lily now stood there, but not in human or wolf form. Her knees had twisted until they were facing backwards like an animals, her feet were like long slim paws. Behind her i could see her tail moving slightly, her body had widened and become more muscular. Her face was more wolf like but the muzzle was short. Her wolf ears poked out from her hair, her hands were now claws and she was covered in dark blonde fur. Luthen came up and wrapped his arms around her. "Like Justin we found out by accident" He continued for her. "We began to experiment with what we could do now that we were one. The coupling made you strong enough to handle us during that time. It also became permenant. You can still shift, but like this you can also fight like us" Then he turned and whispered something in her ear and Lily returned to her human self. "Forgive me" She spoke "I couldn't help but show of a little" She smiled.
I went to ask one more thing but Luthen gasped making me forget. He turned to Carol, "did you bring other shifters with you?" He asked her. "Hell i forgot" She said her eyes opened wide. All of us left the office and followed her out front.
We were not expecting the scene in front of us. Our entire pack stood in front of the house looking outwards. When we got past them we saw a lot of people, shifters and weres. "It's what took me so long" Carol explained. Have you any idea how many groups there are out there or how many have found their Amares amongst weres?" My dad turned to the pack "Return to your homes for now" He ordered them "Chris i want you to stay" Everyone left and we turned to our guests. "Do you know why you are here?" My father asked. One woman stepped forward she was a short woman with short dark brown hair, her clothing was a deer skin dress, i took in her scent Shifter unmated.
"The warrior told us a war was coming" She spoke up "that this would be the final war. We are the ones that disagree with the shifters way so we have come. But that is all she said, she told us that everything else would be told to us here" D looked at Carol "What?" She asked "Do you think if i told them who called they would follow?" D smiled "you are getting to good at manipulation Caroletta" This made Carols smile wider. 'I wonder what Claires full name is' My wolf whispered and i frowned. That was something else that would need explaining.
D turned to the crowd. "We have found things out about the High Lord that makes him a bigger threat to all species. He has finally gone to far, in his mind we are no longer shifters but traitors to our kind. You know our punishment for this, you also know that some of us like me have found our Amares amongst the weres, imagine what the repercussions for that would be" A few snarls hisses and other noises were made at that comment. "The time has come for the final war and we have asked you to come here to join us. To fight not only for the way of life that we all want but also for the weres, our Amares and for the peace that we have been asking for" Shifters began moving forward, some held their mates behind them.
A man who was thin and tall with long light blonde hair and blue eyes stepped forward. And how are we going to win this war?" He asked "Even with lords if the High Lords themselves decide to fight then none of us will survive" D smiled at us. "If that is true, if the High Lord himself decides to fight against us then we can still win" "How?" The man demanded. D just pulled me next to him. "This wolf is my Amare, his father is the Alpha of the strongest pack. I am his for a reason" With that he let me go and began to shift. Gasps echoed through the woods when he finished shifting, his wings unfurling. His deep clicky voice rang out. "The fates have put us together" He spoke slowly "Both High Lords will fight, but we will not fight together"
All the shifters looked around, those who had them looked at their mates. Slowly one by one they shifted. They got down on their knees, hands on the ground and raised their heads.
Their voices rang out into the night as they spoke as one. "I pledge my body and life to you our High Lord. My loyalty and servitude, to do with as you wish" The second they finished an immense pain erupted in my head causing my to collapse. I whimpered as the pain grew until with a sudden burst it ended. I looked around to find my dad also on the ground and Everyone looking at us. "What was that?" I asked no one in particular. "So many have entered our service at once" D explained as my Amare and my life offered to your father you both are connected to them as i am. Technically they have joined the pack" He finished shifting back to his human. Only he looked bigger, his clothes seemed tight on him now. Then i noticed his pale face. "Are you ok?" I asked him. He looked at me his eyes wide open. "So many shifters." He whispered. "So many have pledged themselves to me, my father with feel the loss"
"What does that mean?" My dad asked. D looked at us both. "We've just declared war on my father"