The Arwain Chronicles Book I

Chapter Eight

The Arwain Chronicles: Missing...

He turned the steering wheel of the car, causing it to leave the highway and move into the forest trail. From there he'd also have to deviate to another more hidden road. That road would lead them to the pack compound after about fifteen different turns.

"Hey!" Carol's voice broke the silence the four of them had driven in since the school parking lot. "Keep your hands to yourself," Victor cast a glance at the rear view mirror to Carol, who was now looking at Greg reproachfully.

"I mean it Greg," the beta went on at Greg's persistence. "Keep your hands to yourself or else..."

"Or else what," Greg replied, a cocky smile on his face.

The half-heartedness in Carol's tone was clear to be heard by all in the car. While she rebuffed Greg's attention out of her loyalty to his sister, everyone in the car knew perfectly well that Carol was in truth attracted to Greg. The scent of her arousal that was slowly starting to fill the car didn't serve to aid her plight either.

"Or else I'll rip your throat out right now," Elly spoke up sending a murderous glare to Greg through the rear view mirror.

Victor turned to survey his sister who was now seated in the front passenger seat. The more the week had progressed, the more on edge she'd become, ready to snap at anything that even breathed in a way she didn't like. Victor knew perfectly well her bad mood had a lot had to do with the fact that Dan had gone missing from school for the whole of the past week.

He'd seen from the very first day right in the parking lot that the guy had gotten Elly's attention, but he hadn't anticipated it to have been to the levels that the following days had proven it to be. When Dan had not shown up the next day, Elly had been disappointed but had done a good job of hiding it. Had he not been her brother he probably would have missed it.

The disappointment had been much harder for his sister to hide the following day. When on the third day with Dan still absent form school, Elly's mood took a dive. It became possibly fouler than Victor had ever seen it, and that really said something. Unlucky for the pair of them, it was also on this day that Elly picked up on the fact that Jodie and Luke were following them.

Victor dreaded to think what would have happened to the pair of them if he hadn't been there to talk sense into his sister. He'd expected as much from his father. Victor had known perfectly well that it wasn't that their father had bought their story. He'd only been distracted by his fatherly protective instincts at learning that there was a guy after his daughter. Putting two and two together had been quite easy for Victor. He was sure Elly too would have realized it much sooner had she not been so preoccupied with Dan's absence. He'd picked up on the fact that they were being followed and watched on the very first day. Him by Luke and Elly by Jodie.

"What is it to you?" Greg posed in his ever cocky tone of voice. He wore a smirk as he looked into Elly's eyes through the rear-view mirror. "Are you jealous?" he asked.

A snigger escaped his sister. "Keep dreaming," she shot at him.

"She wants me and you all know it," Greg said his eyes moving to Carol. Judging by the scent that was getting even more saturated within the car, the beta was getting even more turned on by Greg's cocky attitude.

"Who said you're the one I want? In case you've yet to notice it Greg, you're not the only guy in this car," Carol spoke up.

A small smile graced Victor's face at the blatant lie. He turned the car and left the forest trail and started into the more hidden roads that would lead to the pack compound. A snigger followed by Greg's mocking laughter filled the car. "Do you actually expect me to believe that Vicky here has you as wet as you are?" he asked derisively.

Elly fully turned in her seat to face Greg, Victor didn't have to look at her to know that her eyes had turned crimson in colour. "Stop the car Victor," she said in a voice that bore deadly calm.

"No," Victor replied calmly, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Whether you stop the car or not I will attack in the next three seconds Victor, your choice," Elly informed.

A patient sigh escaped Victor. The one thing he didn't miss about being an alpha was the Jupiter sized egos that all alphas seemed to possess. Even the slightest insult or attack on their egos and they completely lost it. Greg had been calling him Vicky since they were teens. At first yes, it had bothered him but eventually over the years he'd gotten used to it.

"No, I won't stop and you won't attack him either," Victor said firmly though calmly.

"Why do you let him get away with calling you that?" Elly asked angrily. "I could put an end to it, right here right now," she said in the tone her voice usually took when she was ready for a fight.

"In case you've missed it Sis," Victor said, momentarily turning to his sister with a smile. "It's now two centuries since he started calling me that," he informed her. "You'd think he'd have come up with something better than that by now," Victor murmured the last part though he knew perfectly well that they could all hear him. In spite of her foul mood, Elly actually laughed at this. "But don't worry Greg," Victor said looking up at him through the rearview mirror. "No pressure," He said in a feigned comforting tone.

"So grumpy," Carol started up using the name she'd labelled Elly with for remaining in a foul mood for so long. "Can we hang out later or will you still be in your fun mood?" she posed, the sarcasm clear in her voice as she said 'fun mood'.

"I told you to stop calling me that," Elly eyed her friend murderously through the rearview mirror.

"Calling you what," Carol shot back immediately, feigning innocence. One who'd not known Carol as long as they had would have sworn that she genuinely had no clue what Elly was talking about owing to her tone.

"That," Elly replied.

"That what?" Carol pushed.

"Grumpy," Elly said through gritted teeth.

"Are you?" Carol immediately posed.

"Am I what?" Elly asked.

"Grumpy?" Carol asked.

"I..."

Victor only barely managed to choke back his laughter as Elly paused mid answer. She once again shot Carol a murderous look as she realized the bind Carol had just so cleverly put her in. She couldn't say no she wasn't grumpy when it was so obvious that she indeed was. Admitting that she was grumpy on the other hand, would also mean conceding that the nickname was well deserved. "I'll be busy later," Elly said at last with a huff before looking away from her friend.

"Doing what, having a stare contest with your bedroom wall?" Carol asked, her disappointment evident to all of them.

"Right now, that sounds a lot more interesting than spending the evening being called grumpy," Elly replied.

Victor honked the car's horn alerting the betas at the compound gate to open up. A few seconds later the gates to the compound swung open.

"Suit yourself then," Carol said resignedly sitting back in her seat.

"We'll hang out Carol, just not today. My mood will most likely get in the way of whatever fun we would have otherwise had," Elly spoke up a bit guiltily, turning in her seat to look at her friend.

Though a disappointed one, Carol afforded her friend a smile. "It's okay. But I don't give a damn what kind of mood you're in, tomorrow you and I are going to have some girl time," Carol said firmly.

Elly smiled back at her friend. "Deal," she said just as Victor pulled up at their house and they got out of the car.

*********************************

Her eyes drifted closed her jaws clenching tightly at the sound of the knock on her bedroom door. Carol had been right, she wasn't doing anything of consequence. But then again, over the past week she'd lost interest in doing a lot of things. Meeting and interacting with other people being among the top items on that list. All she wanted was to be left alone.

"If that's you Greg then believe me I will not hesitate to rip your throat out. If it's you Carol I will only hesitate for about a second or two before I also rip out your throat. To anyone else proceed with utmost caution," Elly called out letting her eyes open once again as she turned to face the door.

The knob turned and the door opened only a fraction before Victor slipped his head in. "Do older brothers get special regard?" he asked, smiling at her.

In spite of herself, she found herself smiling back at him. "Maybe," she answered as Victor walked into the room.

"How are you?" Victor asked.

"I'm Fine Vic," she automatically replied.

"Are you really?" her brother asked looking at her in very much the same way he always did when he knew she wasn't telling the truth.

A sigh escaped her as her gaze turned to look out the window, "I don't know," she at last answered after a moment of silence.

"He really got to you, didn't he?" Victor more of said it than asked.

"That's just it Vic," Elly said, all her frustration suddenly leaking into her voice. "Apart from names we've barely shared two words in conversation with the guy." She said turning to her brother once again. "Why the hell am I falling apart over his absence," she asked the plea in her eyes for some kind of explanation clear to be seen by her brother.

For a long while nothing was said as Victor regarded her. A sigh at last escaped him before he spoke up. "You're forgetting something Elly," he said.

"And what would that be?" Elly posed a bit puzzled by the reply.

"You're not fully human," Victor answered simply.

"And what does that have to do with anything?" Elly asked not getting how her being a werewolf was relevant in any way.

"You are of dual nature sis," Victor went on. "In as much as there is Elliana the human within you, there is also Elliana the werewolf," he explained as he came to sit on the side of her bed. "And while for the human part of you there is a long and complicated process for this kind of things, for the other part it's pretty much straight forward. When your wolf sees something it likes or wants it doesn't need reasons why it likes or wants it, it just does" Victor said shrugging with a smile at her. "Which is what I highly suspect is the cause of all your problems," he offered.

Elly paused with a measure of shock showing in her features, she hadn't at any point paused to consider what her wolf felt about all this. It hadn't even occurred to her that her wolf might have any kind of interest in Dan. But now that she looked inward at the animal she could see it clearly. "It's her," she murmured looking up at her brother her surprise also present in her voice. "My wolf wants Dan," she added more explanatorily.

"There you are," Victor said his smile widening. "It's just like when dad first met mom," he added.

Elly smiled as the story their parents had told them a good number of times once again replayed in her head. Their parents first saw each other in one of the alpha council meetings that alphas countrywide had to attend once every year. His father had been there to represent his pack and her mother only came after being forced by her father to join him in attending the meeting that year.

They'd barely spent a few moments in each other's presence in that meeting. In fact the only time they were even less than three feet of each other during that time was when their mother's father had introduced them. After that they'd both gone their separate ways and after the meeting back to their packs. But for some reason, both of them found themselves unable to get the other out of their minds. The longer they were apart the harder it became for the both of them to do anything meaningful. After a fortnight their father crossed the country in a single run just to see their mother. Back then there were no such things as cars let alone planes.

Elly had always thought it to be a really romantic story. Never had she thought that they actually meant it literarily when they said they couldn't focus on or get anything done in the time after seeing each other for the first time. "Do you really believe that it's that serious?" Elly asked as it suddenly dawned on her what it would mean if the same thing was going on here.

"I don't know," Victor answered. "You should probably talk to either Dad or Mom about it," he advised.

A bit of annoyance crept into Elly's expression. "They are having us followed over the first guy I liked. I don't even wanna try and imagine what they would do if they found out that he could very well potentially be my mate," Elly said.

Elly had been furious when she found out that they were being followed and watched. Had victor not been there to stop her, Jodie would have left with a lot more than a few claw marks and a hell of a scare. It was only the fact that victor had been there to inform her that it was their father who'd most likely given Jodie the order to do so that had calmed her enough to let the poor beta go.

"Well I highly suggest you talk to someone about it, clamming up isn't doing you a whole lot of good," Victor offered rising to his feet. "And get ready, we run in ten minutes," he said starting out the door.

A groan escaped Elly "Can't you just go without me?" she whined though she knew perfectly well he couldn't.

"I would but right now there is a rule that says no one leaves the compound on their own. The only other person who can keep up with me apart from you is a retarded douche bag," Victor said with a smile as he closed the door behind him.....

"So how was school today?" Their father asked as they all sat at the dinner table.

"I don't know, why don't you ask Jodie?" Elly answered. Her answer was followed by a span of silence as her father levelled a hard stare at her. Elly held his gaze for only a few seconds before she finally let her eyes drop to the plate before her. "Sorry," she grudgingly offered.

A sigh escaped their father. "I owe neither of you any explanations as to how I run my pack or whom I delegate to do what. Jodie and Luke are only there to keep me informed of whatever it is I might need to know since it seems neither of you are inclined to do the same," he said.

Elly said nothing, on some level she knew that their father was only doing all this because he cared for them. This however didn't change the fact that she hated the fact that she was being followed around. "Tell Jodie and Luke to stop following us around and I'll tell you everything you need to know," she finally said.

"Can you give me your word on that?" his father asked calmly.

Elly once again remained silent. From very early on, both their parents had taught them never to take their word lightly. If you can't keep it, then don't give it! This is what they'd been taught since childhood. But now with Dan involved in the equation, Elly wasn't sure she would be able to live up to that expectation. "No," she truthfully answered at last. "But there is nothing to report anyway. For some reason Dan's not been in school since the first day," she reported. "But then I guess you knew that already," she added when she noted no surprise on the faces of her parents.

"How are you holding up?" their mother spoke up.

From the way she posed the question, Elly knew she was asking how she was dealing with his absence. "I'm okay mom, why do you ask?" she said in reply.

"You haven't seemed like yourself of late," her mother replied. "Are you sure you're okay? Is there anything I can do?"

Elly's jaws clenched guiltily as she heard the genuine concern in her mother's voice. All this while she'd only been concerned with herself and how she felt. She'd not once paused to think of others around her. She'd become a lousy friend to Carol and now she was making her mother worried. She smiled at her mom best as she could. "Don't worry mom, I'm okay. Just some girl stuff" she said.

"I'm here for you, you know that right?" her mother offered.

This time Elly's smile was genuine "I know....."

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The car slowly pulled to a stop before the dilapidated house. "There is nothing here," Twenty two said turning to look questioningly at the girl. "Are you sure we are at the right place?" she asked.

"It's here," Two immediately replied with conviction in her voice. "I am one hundred percent positive," she added her head turning from side to side as she tried to locate the source of the magic she could sense within the vicinity.

"Are you sure there isn't a cloaking spell or obscuring spell that's throwing you off?" Twenty two questioned.

"I'm a tracker, you know perfectly well that those spells don't work on me," Two said not bothering to look at Twenty two as she kept on searching.

"If the one we are looking for is even half as powerful as you say he is, then it might be a possibility," Twenty two said her head also turning to see if she could find anything to aid them.

"No, it's not," Two replied simply as she opened the left back door and got out onto the road walking straight for the crooked looking house.

"Where are you going? Get back in the car," Twenty two called out to her in a sharp hiss. If the girl was right and this was the place where the one they were tracking was, then there was no way of knowing whether he had guards or sentries around the place. If they were spotted then they would lose the element of surprise. Not to mention they would be easy targets.

Her jaws clenched tightly as she too opened the door to the driver's side of the car and went after the girl who'd ignored her and kept on moving towards the rundown house. "I thought I told to get back in the..."

"It's here," The girl said cutting her off mid-sentence. She was now standing on the pavement looking on at the house ahead.

"Here where?" Twenty two questioned through gritted teeth, her patience fast fading.

Two remained silent, her eyes fixed on the lawn before her. There was strong magic somewhere within the vicinity before her, of that she had no doubt. Pin pointing it however, was proving to be a bit harder than she'd anticipated. Something that she'd never encountered before. Her eyes remained fixed unseeingly on the lawn before her as she spread out her senses. She was trying to find any magical traps that might have been set to catch any trespassers. There were none. She took a step forward.

Two's head rose in confusion as she looked around then back at the pavement from which she'd just stepped from. She took a step backwards to the pavement. Her face contorted further as she once again looked forward at the dilapidated house. Once again she took a cautious step forward and looked forward at the dilapidated house. She turned to look at the pavement, her confusion deepening as she moved to step onto it once again.

"What is it?" Twenty two questioned, regarding her critically.

"You're right," Two said grudgingly with a sigh.

"Right about what?" Twenty two asked.

"There must be an obscuring spell hiding him," Two said, her eyes not leaving the lawn before her.

"Why? What did you pick up?" Twenty two posed.

Two sighed, her eyes finally leaving the lawn and turned back to Twenty two. "While I am standing on the pavement, my senses tell me the source of the magic I'm tracking is ahead of me," she explained. "But soon as I step forward onto the lawn, my senses say that the source is behind me," Two explained. Her voice clearly relayed both her confusion and her annoyance at being bested by the one they were tracking.

Twenty two regarded Two for a second before turning to regard the house herself. Her eyes drifted closed as she too spread out her senses seeking out what she suspected to be the reason the younger girl couldn't find the source of the magic they were tracking. Her lips formed a tight straight line as she pressed them hard against each other once she found it. "There's no obscuring spell," she said opening her eyes to regard the house once again.

"If he was here I would have found him," Two said her voice firm with conviction.

"He's here," Twenty two declared. "Just not in this realm," she added before Two could say anything to the contrary.

Two turned back towards the house now regarding the air before her as if she expected to see the other realm. "Then how come I can sense them?" She posed in confusion. "I can only track the magic within the same world as I am. I couldn't sense the magical signatures within this world when we were on the other side of that alley. And soon as we crossed over to this side I stopped picking up the magical signatures from the other side," Two explained. "If he was in another world I wouldn't have been able to sense their magic," she said.

"Except they are not in another world," Twenty two said regarding the air before her. Unlike Two, she could pick up the magical signature of the door to the other realm. She was analyzing its magic and trying to decipher and sort through the hundreds of protective spells that had been put on it.

"I thought you just said they are in another realm?" Two stated.

"They are," Twenty two answered. "Just not in another world," she finished.

"What do you mean?" Two questioned turning back to her.

"There are two kinds of realms," Twenty two replied. "Whole worlds and pocket realms," she stated.

"Pocket realms?" Two repeated arching a brow at her.

"A world within a world," Twenty two said explanatorily. "Like a pocket in a coat. Whole worlds are like the coat itself, they are where the majority of beings, whether magical or otherwise exist. Pocket realms are more hidden and a lot smaller in size. Some being as small as a closet, the largest I've so far seen was the size of a town. The one we are looking for is in one such realm," Twenty two said.

"So it wasn't a spell that was throwing me off?" Two asked, the pleasure in her voice that she'd been right all along barely hidden.

"I just said that," Twenty two said with stiff patience.

Two suddenly turned to her, the smile she'd had on suddenly fading. "Wait, please tell me we are not crossing over again," she said looking warily at her.

Twenty two's jaw clenched as she reached the last of the protective spells put on the doorway to the other realm. "Even without the fact that it would be idiotic to try and attack him on his own turf, we wouldn't be able to get in if we wanted to," Twenty two said turning away from the doorway and starting back for the car.

"Not that I am complaining," Two said falling into step beside her. "But why wouldn't we be able to?" She asked.

"There are over a hundred layers of protective spells guarding the doorway, and whoever set half of them is one sadistic son of a bitch," Twenty two answered. "And even if we somehow got past the spells, the door has a live key," she added.

"Meaning?" Two posed.

"It's bound to someone, most likely the one we are looking for. You'd need to have him with you physically or be linked to him to be able to open the doorway," Twenty two explained as she got back into the car and pushed the key into the ignition.

"So what do we do now?" Two asked as she settled the backseat of the car.

"Now, we keep a look out and wait," Twenty two said starting the car and driving off.

*********************************

Chloe rose to a sitting position on her bed stifling the yawn that was coming on as she stretched herself. She was now in her night gear which comprised of black panties and a matching tank top. Pushing the covers to the side, she moved over the other side and stepped into her slip-ons. She ditched the tank for a black push up bra. Her generous cleavage however, hardly needed the added support. She thought of putting something else on to cover herself a bit more but at the thought of Dan a conspiratorial grin etched itself onto her face. She walked out of the room as she was.

She didn't have to walk far to get to his room, she'd moved her room much closer to his the day before. Her bedroom was now next to the master bedroom, his bedroom. As silently as she possibly could, she pushed the doors to the master bedroom open and walked in. Chloe couldn't help the slight pang of jealousy that hit her as she looked on at the five forms lying on the bed before her.

Dan lay on his back with his arms circling both Ember and Athena who slept closest to him. Their heads were on his wide chest slowly rising and falling with Dan's steady breathing. Chloe bit down on her lip as she remembered what his chest had felt like beneath her fingers. The twin weretigers slept on either side of Ember and Athena. Initially, Chloe had found it almost impossible to differentiate between one and the other. But after a few days with them the difference between them became more apparent. Kirra was the one who always had a smile on her face and always had something nice or kind to say. Karra on the other hand, was cold and detached, choosing to keep silent most of the time.

Kirra now slept on the right side, the side Ember was on. She was spooning into the phoenix in a tight cuddle. Even now as she slept, her lips were curved upwards in the light smile that seemed to be ever present on her face. Karra slept on the left with Athena, and while she seemed to have placed herself as close to Dan as she could possibly get, she wasn't cuddling into Athena as her twin was Ember.

Though Dan had more than once before told her that she was now one of them, she couldn't help but feel like she was intruding on something private. Even though they were only sleeping, there was something very intimate about the scene before her that she couldn't help but feel left out of. Moving as softly as she could to the foot of the bed, she murmured the spell beneath her breath. She smiled as she watched it take effect.

His face contorted involuntarily as he felt the touch of the ghost fingers on his face. He turned his head to the side and sunk back into the oblivion of sleep. Another light touch produced much of the same reaction. The third, she made a bit more ticklish causing him to wrinkle his nose and flex his cheek muscles as he tried to get rid of the sensations which made his lips move from side to side. A chuckle involuntarily escaped her. How the hell could even this very innocent motion make him look so damn cute?

*********************************

Dan's eyes fluttered open at the sound of what he recognized as Chloe's laughter. "Morning," he called out a bit groggily as he smiled up at her.

"Wood morning to you too," Chloe replied a sly grin crossing her face as her eyes teasingly dropped to the very prominent tent his morning erection was making on the bed covers. "Dreaming of anyone in particular?" Chloe posed teasingly.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Dan returned equally as teasingly. "All I can say is my dreams don't do any justice to the real thing," he added, allowing his eyes to roam unashamedly over Chloe's exquisite feminine form.

"Pervert," Chloe said with a smile as she rolled her eyes at him. Dan didn't miss the light pink that was slowly creeping onto Chloe's cheeks.

"So what's up?" Dan posed regarding her with a smile.

"Well, apart from that tent you've pitched there," Chloe began teasingly. "We are going to school, the final exams start today,"

Dan's eyes closed as he grimaced. "I'd totally forgotten about that," he confessed.

"Yeah well I've been through five different schools, this being the sixth and not to mention home schooling, just trying to get through high school, I sure as hell aren't missing the end of it," Chloe informed him.

"Believe it when I say that in my own way, I know exactly what you mean," Dan said in reply.

"Well get moving then," Chloe said with a smile as she turned and started out of the room. "Staring at my ass isn't part of getting ready," she said over her shoulder without looking back at him.

"Says who?" Dan called out to her as he kept on mutinously staring at her ass till it was out of sight.

"You know, I could just go to the school get into a few minds and get you straight A's in all your subjects," Ember spoke up in a serenely calm voice once Chloe was gone.

Dan smiled down at her as she raised her head and let her chin rest on his chest as she looked on at him. "You could," he said. "But it just wouldn't feel right to me," he finished. "Thank you though," he offered smiling down at her. Dan's brows drew nearer to each other as he regarded Ember with closer scrutiny. "Your eyes," he said his smile slowly widening.

"What about them?" Ember questioned arching an eyebrow at him at the unexpected comment.

"They are.... I don't know.... brighter I guess," Dan offered finding himself mystified by her two amber coloured irises.

"Thank you," Ember said a smile crossing her face.

************************************

Once again, the nagging feeling she'd been ignoring for the whole of the past week clawed at the back of her mind even harder than before. A sigh escaped her as she finally relented. Pulling on her black tank top she fed energy to the ghost of her sister. It was almost comical the way her ten year old looking sister materialized from thin air before her with hands on her waist and eyes narrowed at her.

"You've been ignoring me," Her sister accused.

"Really, what gave you that impression," Chloe said feigning innocence as she turned away from her sister. Even with the way her sister was regarding her Chloe could read mischief in her eyes. She knew perfectly well that she was in for a world of teasing.

"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that I've been calling to you the whole of the past week," Her sister answered her.

"Well I had to," Chloe said turning to her sister. "With all that's been going on you weren't exactly at the fore front of my mind. Plus I'm only just getting to know Dan and the others. I couldn't exactly go like, hi I'm Chloe and this is the ghost of my twin sister who died eight years ago," Chloe said.

"Your new boyfriend sleeps with a pair of were tigers, a demon and a phoenix. How hard would a ghost be to understand?" Her sister's ghost asked, rolling her eyes as she floated over to the bed.

"He's... not... my....boyfriend," Chloe said trying to sound as nonchalant as possible as she hopped around trying to pull on the tight black denim jeans that she'd chosen as part of her outfit for the day.

"Oh really?" Her sister posed tilting her head at her, a wicked grin crossing her expression. "So you are not the one I saw quite literally drooling over him as you 'massaged' him?" Her sister asked gesturing quotes in the air as she said the word massage.

It took all of Chloe's willpower and self-control to keep from going completely red before the ghost that looked every bit the same as she did when she was ten years old. "Are you trying to get yourself pushed to the next plane?" Chloe threatened though they both knew that she wouldn't.

"Chloe and Dan, sitting on a tree, K.I.S..."

"Seriously?" Chloe cut off her sister's loud singing in a sharp hiss. "Have you not grown a day since you died?" she shot at her sister.

"Well, now that you mention it, I do look kind of young for my age, don't I?" Her sister's ghost said, smiling as she floated up from the bed moving closer to her. Her head turning from side to side as if she was wary of unwanted ears overhearing what she wanted to say. "Wanna know my secret, " She posed in a stage whisper leaning closer to her.

"You're going to tell me even if I say no, aren't you?" Chloe offered in reply.

"Death," Her sister's ghost declared her eyes widening dramatically her arms sweeping before her in a rainbow arch. "Works practically like the fountain of youth!" she added smiling her sister.

"I can see it did nothing to improve your jokes," Chloe said dryly in a flat tone.

"You can't improve perfect sis," Her sister's ghost said. "My jokes are classics" she added.

Chloe looked up at the ceiling shaking her head. "Why do I even bother?" She posed to the air.

"I keep asking myself the same question," Her sister said smiling. Chloe walked over to the vanity drawer and pulled out her hair brush which she started running through her hair.

"You really like him, don't you?"

Chloe's hands paused in their motion. It was one of those rare moments when her sister was serious about anything. She turned her gaze towards the reflection of her sister in the mirror as she hovered behind her just above her left shoulder.

"I don't know Lily," Chloe admitted with a sigh calling her sister by her real name. "I mean, I've only known him for less than two weeks. How can I be completely sure that I can trust him? Shouldn't it take longer for someone to like a person this way?" This was one of the even more rare moments where Chloe was willing to look at her twin sister as the older one between them.

Lily's ghost smiled at her in the comforting way that only she could somehow manage. "You've been on your own so long that you've forgotten how to trust and rely on others," Lily's ghost said.

"Yes and the sky is blue, any more obvious things you want to point out?" Chloe said dryly.

"I'll always be smarter than you, but let's not digress," Lily said smiling at her sister. "All that I'm saying is that, you don't have to figure it all out in one day. Just take it one step at a time, figure out each thing individually as it comes," Lily went on. "One thing that I've come to learn is that with time, everything eventually does become clearer," she added.

"Any more wise words sensei?" Chloe posed teasingly as she smiled at her sister genuinely appreciating the advice she'd given.

"Water running down the mountain side, cleanses it of all impurities," her sister answered in a sagely voice.

"Now what's that supposed to mean?" Chloe posed arching an eyebrow at her sister.

"Haven't got a clue," Lily answered simply, her voice resuming its normal tone. "I read it in a fortune cookie once," she added explanatorily.

Chloe's hands dropped from her hair as she regarded the ghost behind her with a clearly unimpressed expression. "Really?" she posed dryly.

The smile that crossed Lily's face told her that her sister was done being serious. "Don't worry sis," Lily's ghost said. "If this guy hurts you, I know kung fu, karate, ju jitsu, and about twenty three other dangerous words we can throw at him," she offered....

******************************

Dan stepped out of the shower which was conjoined to his room and walked into his room. Though he'd now been with his guardians for a couple of weeks, the smoky lust filled gazes that they sent him had him fighting with every bit of will power he had to keep from giving in to his own lust. The twins were eyeing him from the bed with a predatory gleam in their eyes. Athena who lay in their middle, was biting down on her lower lip in a way that made Dan want to groan, as she eyed him. The look in her eye leaving very little to the imagination as to what was going on in her mind. Ember was standing by the window looking out over the front compound. She was the only one who was in any way being subtle in the way she was eyeing him, a small smile on her face.

Dan had over the past few days come to appreciate the mornings. They were the only times his guardians were truly the same as they had been before he'd told them. His jaws clenched once again as he remembered the silence that had followed his revelation that one of them would be his killer. His guardians had looked to him, in all their eyes the disbelief clear to be seen by all seated at the table. When it became apparent that he wasn't trying to pull one over them, they'd turned to one another as if it was the first time ever that they were seeing each other. In all their eyes both suspicion of each other and dread of being the guilty party in equal measure.

"Who," Athena had been the first to finally break the silence. Her tone had still been as icy as when she'd learnt that one of the members of Dan's following would betray him. Only this time, the fear of being the one he was talking about was also present within it.

"Let me guess," Karra had begun before he could say anything in reply. "It doesn't say who," she more of said than asked.

A half smile had tipped the side of Dan's lips as he turned to her. "No, it doesn't," he'd confirmed. "Look guys," Dan had gone on to say. "This changes nothing..."

"How can it not," Ember had finally spoke up cutting him off as she turning to regard him. Dan could still remember the rage and fear that had been in her eyes in equal measure. "You're now sharing a meal with your killer to be," Dan's jaws had clenched his jaws at the fear he could hear in Ember's voice. Dan could tell that the possibility that she might be the one to kill him was tearing at her. Just as much as the rage at the thought of one of the other guardians would be the one to kill him. "Tell me Dan, how can the fact that one of us will kill you not change everything?" she'd posed.

Dan had already begun regretting ever saying anything about the predictions. Like he had with so many facts that he didn't like or agree with before this, Dan had perfected the art of accepting and making peace with the facts. If it was one of his own guardians that would finally kill him and there was nothing he could to change this, then it defied logic to keep obsessing over it. His guardians however, clearly didn't share the same sentiment. "You are all still my guardians and to me that is all that matters to me," he'd said.

"And maybe that is exactly what gets you killed," Athena had said in reply.

A controlled sigh had left Dan as he regarded his guardians. They'd all been then looking at him waiting for him to give them some kind of reassurance or help them figure out what to do next. It was however quite painfully clear that nothing he said would comfort them. "I want you all to ignore what I just said," he'd finally said, his jaw set as he regarded them. "I want no more mention of the predictions past what has already been said," he'd added firmly. "We are all to continue as we had been before I ever said anything, and that is an order." he'd said seeing this as the only way to stop his guardians from compounding their worries with 'what ifs.'

"How can you..."

"That is an order," Dan had repeated firmly cutting off Ember who'd been looking at him incredulously. Dan had clearly seen in their eyes that they all objected to this though none of them said anything. Ember had silently risen from the table and excused herself before bursting into flames and vanishing from the dining hall. Athena and the twins had left shortly afterwards. "Well, that went well," Dan had finally said more to himself than anyone else as his eyes turned to Chloe and Claire who'd gone silent since he made the last of the predictions known to them.

While they couldn't say anything about what he'd told them as a result of his order, his guardians had not dismissed it altogether. The next day's training sessions gave him a clear idea of just how much it had affected his guardians. It also became painfully clear to him just how easy his guardians had been taking it on him. The twins had taken his regular exercise several notches higher. They were relentless bordering on being down right sadistic, pushing him to his limits and beyond. Athena's training sessions had become similar to him going to her for a regular beating every day. And Ember... well, if Athena was a sadistic drill sergeant then Ember was a ruthless cold hearted dictator.

Dan had seen right through it all from the beginning. They were all training him on how to beat them if it turned out that they were the one to kill him. Dan saw the dread in their eyes every time either Kirra or Karra chased him down and caught up with him or out maneuvered him in stealth, agility or evading pursuit. He could feel Athena's rage every time she knocked him down and noticed how Ember's lips formed a tight straight line every time she won the magic duels she'd been subjecting him to.

Their worry was slowly rising the clearer it became to both him and them, just how easy it would be for any one of them to kill him. And though training had become his own personal form of hell, Dan pushed himself every bit as hard as they were. He knew perfectly well that until he was able to beat them they wouldn't be okay.

It wasn't all bad for him however. When they no longer held themselves back for his sake Dan came to see the true beauty and art in both combat and magic and all that it entailed from them. Kirra and Karra had the ability to move together in such a coordinated way that Dan at times could have sworn that they were operating from the same mind. Athena could move and fight with such grace and fluid precision that it was like watching an exotic dancer... except this dancer was kicking his ass six ways to Sunday.

What Kirra had meant by saying that 'Ember is just Ember' had fully come to dawn on Dan as he trained with her in the days to follow. The phoenix was nothing short of a force of nature. The complexity of some of the spells she cast with such ease made Dan's head ache. She'd stopped teaching him the basics seeing as he'd mastered about all there was to know on the basics and average level magic. What Ember had said about him wishing they had stuck to the basics once they'd gotten to the more complex and advance magic, had proven itself to be true. It was fast becoming clear to Dan that having a lot of magical energy within him wasn't all that was required to make him a great wizard, not even close.

Ember possessed an Iron clad will and mental discipline of a kind that Dan doubted he would ever achieve. Even with the fact that Ember had repeatedly told him that he could surpass her with enough focus and training. The current spell that Dan was learning was one that sapped all of the caster's strength even before the whole incantation was uttered. If done correctly it could induce a powerful illusion to whoever it was meant for. The breaking of the spell would require either an exceedingly strong mind or the initial caster themselves to lift it. Only with true focus and mental discipline could one cast the whole spell and while Dan kept passing out from lack of strength after muttering the first seven words of it, Ember could speak the whole verse and cast the full spell without so much as a flinch.........

Once again Dan found his brows drawing together as he regarded the phoenix. "Something's different about you," he said scrutinizing Ember more closely.

His comment caused the other guardians to turn their gazes to Ember, and she herself to turn her gaze to him. "My eyes," she offered an eyebrow arched and her lips tilted in a half puzzled half genuinely curious smile.

"No," Dan said moving closer to the phoenix. Something had changed about her, of that he was absolutely sure. What it was however, was what Dan just simply couldn't put his finger on.

"I don't see any difference," Kirra spoke up in a puzzled tone.

Dan stepped to Ember's side to scrutinize her further. Despite her obvious curiosity and slight amusement at his inquiry, Ember remained still allowing Dan to analyze her side profile. Dan's hand rose to it as he finally spotted it. Dan picked a lock of Ember's hair and brought it into her field of view so she could see it too. "The flame colour in your hair," he said. "It's now about three inches from the ends" he pointed out. "It wasn't like that last night, was it?"

Dan felt it immediately. It was like several doors being slammed shut at the same time. Except that it wasn't doors, all of his guardians, even Athena, suddenly put up tight locks around their emotions. Dan looked around at his guardians confused at being suddenly locked out from their emotions. All their eyes were riveted on the lock of hair in Dan's hand.

"What?" he asked. "What's wrong?" he pushed concern and worry quickly filling his voice.

Ember's lips widened in a smile. For some reason the more they did so, the less Dan saw that same smile in her eyes. "Nothing," she offered calmly. "Nothing's wrong," She added turning to look up at him with that same smile.

"Then why have you all locked me out from your emotions?" Dan questioned not at all believing the reassurance. "Something's wrong, tell me what it is," Dan said, turning fully to Ember.

"It's nothing you can do anything about Dan," Ember said cupping his face in her hands. "Telling you will only cause you unnecessary worry," she went on. "So please, don't ask me to," Ember requested.

"Not knowing will only drive me mad with worry," Dan said in reply his voice already thickly laced with that worry.

Ember regarded him for a while before she at last sighed. "Tell you what. You go to school and get through your exams for today. I'll tell you everything when you come back," Ember said. "Please Dan, do it for me," she added when Dan opened his mouth to protest.

Dan didn't want to wait till after school to find out what it was that was wrong with her. But the plea in Ember's voice caused his jaws to clench hard as he found himself unable to force her to tell him. "Okay," he said the tone of his voice betraying that it was everything but okay. "But you're telling me first thing the moment I get back from school," Dan said firmly.

"I promise," Ember said this time with a genuine smile... a genuinely sad smile.

Drying all the wetness from the shower he'd just had with magic and summoning his clothes, Dan cast one last long look at Ember before he turned and walked out of the room.....

******************************

Athena rose from the bed and walked over to where the phoenix had remained standing stock still even after Dan had left the room. Her eyes fell to her hair once again. "It's started hasn't it?" she more said it than asked.

Ember who'd been staring blankly into the air before her, turned to look down at her hair. Raising her hand to it, she held out a lock before her eyes. "Not it," she said with a sigh that shook a bit. "They," she clarified. "All five of them." It was taking all of Ember's resolve will power and self-control to keep the pure absolute liquid terror that they all knew was now slowly diffusing through her every fiber, from showing.

Athena's eyes widened as she regarded her. "Is that even possible?" By then, both Kirra and Karra had come to stand on either side of Athena looking at Ember. Concern was evident in their eyes.

Ember remained silent her eyes turning back to her hair. Though the rest of them couldn't see it, with her sharp eyesight she could see the gradual progression of the flame colour in her hair towards its roots. "I don't think I'll make it back from this one," Ember said more to herself than anyone else in particular.

"You know," Athena spoke up her voice becoming hard but not cold. "I could end it right now. Spare you a long and agonizing death," she offered. "I'll make it quick," she added more softly.

Ember looked up at the demon and smiled. "You'll never stop wanting to kill me, will you?" she said with a slight chuckle.

And for the first time in the sixty seven thousand years that she'd known the demon, Ember saw a genuine smile cross her face. Not an I-will-kill-you smile or one that spoke of hidden ill intention but a truly genuine smile. The kind one would see on a close friend. "Probably not," Athena answered.

Ember clearly heard the sadness that the demon was probably doing all she could to try and hide. "Well I'm sorry, but I can't let you kill me. If I do, Dan will kill you when he gets back from school," she said. "And with what lies ahead of him, he can't afford to lose two of his guardians," she went on. "And besides," she added her lips tipping upwards in a small wry smile. "I made a promise to him, and I always keep my promises."

"How long do you have?" Karra spoke up for the first time.

"Tonight," Ember answered. "Tomorrow if I am being optimistic.....

******************************

"What's wrong?" Chloe asked from the passenger seat of the car as Dan drove out past the castle gates and turned the car into the road to start the drive to school.

"I don't know," Dan answered with a sigh.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Chloe asked the concern in her voice clear to Dan.

"Something is wrong with Ember and she refuses to tell me what it is until after school," he explained his lips pressing hard together in a tight straight line.

"Can't you just order her to tell you?" Chloe posed with slight confusion.

"I could," Dan conceded. "But I won't," Dan added.

Dan could feel Chloe's eyes on him as she regarded him critically as he drove. "You really care about her, don't you?" she more of stated than asked.

"I care about all of them more than I would have ever thought possible had I never met them," Dan silently answered. The silence that followed his answer caused Dan to cast a glance at Chloe. She was seated staring blankly through the windscreen of the car. Something about her betraying an internal turmoil, as if she wasn't sure about something. "I care about you too Chloe," he said truthfully. "You know that right?" he asked turning once again to regard the necromancer who'd turned to regard him in turn.

A small smile crossed her face. "I know," she answered. "It's just that I've been on my own for so long that I keep getting scared that my mind is playing some kind of fucked up trick on me. That I'll eventually wake up and this would have all been just a dream," she confessed, a bit of the fear showing in her voice.

"Then I'll just have to keep telling it to you until you believe it," Dan said smiling reassuringly at her. "While it might not have been that much of a happy welcome to the following and you may not have had that much of a choice in the matter, I am glad you're here Chloe," Dan said genuinely.

Chloe's smile widened. "So am I," she confessed. Dan did not miss the uncertainty that crossed Chloe's face once she'd said this. "Uh Dan," she called out that same uncertainty in her voice. "There's someone I'd like you to meet," she said.

Dan's brows rose in curiosity "Okay,.. Who?" he asked.

"First off, promise me you're not going to panic," Chloe requested.

"Why would I panic?" Dan posed his brows drawing together in slight confusion.

"Cause she's a ghost," Chloe answered, the uncertainty in her voice going up a few notches.

Dan's brows rose more out of surprise than anything else, "Oh, uh... okay then, I promise I won't panic," Dan said. Chloe eyed him for a while as if she wasn't sure she was doing the right thing. "I promise Chloe, I won't panic," he repeated firmly in a more sure tone.

A sigh was heard from Chloe's side. "Okay," she murmured before going silent. Dan cast a glance to her to find her with her eyes closed and a look of concentration on her face.

Dan was a bit surprised but forced himself to remain calm as something, or more accurately someone, started to materialize from thin air between them. By his estimation the girl was no more than ten years old. Except for the fact that she was a bit translucent, she looked nothing like the shiny silver or blue wraiths that ghosts were depicted as on TV or the many books he'd read. In fact, except for her being a bit translucent there was nothing that would have differentiated the ghost from a real ten year old girl... except for the fact that that her torso was now sticking out from the gear box.

"Dan," Chloe spoke up. "This is...."

"Lily, the friendly ghost," the ghost cut off Chloe. "I've always wanted to say that," the ghost, Lily as she'd introduced herself, went on in a not so silent whisper as she leaned towards Chloe.

An exasperated sigh escaped Chloe at the ghost's words. "Please forgive my sister, she has the tendency to make retarded jokes," Chloe said through gritted teeth.

Dan's brows rose. "Your sister," he repeated. "The one who..."

"Died," Lily once again cut in. "Why yes, the very same one," she went on to say a little too exuberantly. "Or do you have other sisters I don't know about?" she turned and asked Chloe with mock suspicion.

Dan heard Chloe sigh before she not so silently muttered, "I wish."

"Hi, I'm Dan," Dan found himself awkwardly introducing himself when the ghost turned back to him. In spite of himself, Dan could already tell that he would like the ghost.

"I know," Lily answered simply. "I've been haunting the castle where you've been holding my little sister, for the past one week" she added.

"Your twin sister you mean," Chloe interjected.

"Sorry," the ghost said to her sister then turned back to Dan. "My little twin sister," she corrected. Dan found himself laughing not having to look at Chloe to know that she was probably staring daggers at her sister's ghost. "I have to say," lily started up once again. "As far as first boyfriends go, my sister has outdone herself,"

"LILY!!" Chloe called out, her eyes widening and cheeks reddening.

"The most powerful wizard in existence," Lily went on unperturbed. "Lives in a castle, drives a nice car and not too hard on the eyes either,"

"Okay, goodbye," Chloe said firmly moments before her sister vanished from sight. Dan found himself chuckling as he regarded Chloe who was looking everywhere else but at him. "I'm really sorry about that," she said. "My twin," Chloe went on putting emphasis on the last word that told Dan that she wasn't addressing him alone. "Can be a retarded pain in the ass sometimes,"

Dan chuckled. "Well I must say, I kind of like her," he said in reply.

"You do?" Chloe asked the surprise in both her voice and expression quite evident.

"I do," Dan conceded with a smile.

"So you don't think I'm totally weird for keeping my dead twin sister's ghost with me for the past eight years?" Chloe asked a bit of uncertainty creeping into her voice.

"Not at all," Dan replied. "I don't see anything wrong at all with holding on to the ones we care about. I think most of us would do the same thing if we had the power to," he went on to say.

A small smile crossed Chloe's expression as she regarded him. "Thank you," she said softly.

"What for?" Dan asked.

"For not calling me a complete weirdo," Chloe answered with a smile.

"Now what kind of first boyfriend would I be if I did that?" Dan asked teasingly, causing the pink that had started to fade from Chloe's lips to creep back on.

"Shut up," she said turning away from him unable to keep the smile from her face.

***************************************

"I can't sense even the slightest bit of magic from him," Twenty two said as she sat in the driver's seat of the car which was now parked beside the road just before the entrance to the school's parking lot.

"He's the one," Two said with absolute conviction for what must have been the tenth time in the drive from the dilapidated house, as they followed the car.

In spite of the fact that she too couldn't sense any magic coming from the guy, her tracking senses were unwavering on the fact that he was the source of the magic she was tracking.

Twenty two cast an unsure glance to the girl in the backseat then turned back to the guy as he got out of the car. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the other occupant of his car. Picking a pair of binoculars from the dashboard she brought them to her eyes to make sure she was seeing right. "Well, if you're wrong, this trip will not have been a total waste," she said.

*********************************

"Hey grumpus," Carol called out from the back seat of the car as they pulled into the school's parking lot.

"Before you say anything Carol, I should let you know that you are one more joke away from getting your head ripped off." Elly interjected before her friend could say anything more.

"All I was going to say is, isn't that Dan's car?" Carol said raising her hands in mock surrender.

Elly's head turned so fast that any faster and she was sure it would have snapped. She immediately recognized it, the black Lamborghini Veneno (she'd looked up the car type on the net) parked in the same spot as it had been the first time she'd seen it. Her mouth sudden felt drier than usual as something else occurred to her, what was she going to say to him? The most they'd ever exchanged was their names. I mean, did he even remember that she existed?

"What's wrong Elly? I thought you'd be happy to see him?"

Carol's question brought a bit of composure back to Elly. "And why would I care whether Dan is in school or not?" She posed trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Come on Elly," Carol answered in a tone that told Elly she wasn't buying her ruse. "I've known you since we were both in cribs. Do you really think I would miss it when you got your first crush on a guy?" Carol posed with an arched eyebrow. "Especially considering the hell you gave me for my first crush," Carol added, a conspiratorial smile crossing her expression.

Elly smiled remembering the first time it had become clear to her that Carol had a crush on Greg and how much she teased her about it. "I guess not," she conceded regarding Chloe in the rear-view mirror with a slight smile.

"I don't even know why you are bothering with a weakling like him," Greg spoke up his dislike for her liking of Dan very apparent in his voice.

"You mean the weakling that took you down without breaking a sweat?" Elly posed sarcasm dripping off her voice as she jumped to Dan's defense.

"Pure luck," Greg answered through clenched jaws.

Elly did not bother to try and bite back the scoff that escaped her at Greg words. "Must have been really strong luck to keep you down while he smeared all that spit on your face," she said in reply looking at Greg through the rear-view mirror.

The growl that started to emanate from Greg's as his eyes turned crimson did not concern Elly even in the least. She only became slightly concerned when she saw a smile slowly start to cross Greg's expression. His gaze had turned from the rear-view mirror and was now looking past her causing Elly to turn in the direction of his gaze. "Seems like your crush has other interests in mind," he said.

Elly had been so preoccupied with trying to figure out what she would say to Dan that she'd failed to notice that Dan had still been in the car when she was looking at it. In spite of how acutely aware she was of the irrationality of the feeling, Elly couldn't help the acid like jealousy that ate away at her insides as she looked on at them. Chloe, as she'd introduced herself, had exited from the car together with Dan, the both of them laughing about something unknown to her. Elly was barely aware of the fact that her eyes had turned crimson as she growled possessively, her eyes fixed on the Dan...

*********************************

"So I guess I'll see you later then," Dan said smiling at Chloe as they reached his locker.

"See you later," Chloe said in reply returning the smile as she turned to walk away.

Dan couldn't have stopped himself if he'd tried to. His hand swung forward and spanked Chloe's ass then grabbed it for good measure as she took her first step from him. Chloe turned to him her eyes wide at his daring, a smile she was trying to fight off tugging at the sides of her lips. "I need that ass to sit for the coming paper," she mock scolded.

"Can I have it after," Dan posed without hesitation a roguish smile on his face.

Chloe's eyes widened the smile she'd been fighting off, finally winning the battle. "Maybe," she offered teasingly in reply as she turned and started walking away from him, an added sway to her hips for his benefit. Dan smiled as he turned back towards his locker once Chloe's ass was out of sight.

A startled gasp escaped him, reflexively taking a step backwards as he turned to find Elly leaning against the locker next to his. "You trying to scare me to death?" He posed regarding her.

"What's your animal?" Elly posed ignoring her question.

"My animal?" Dan repeated his confusion apparent in both his voice and expression. Elly simply regarded him as if he was supposed to know what she meant. "Uuh, what do you mean?" Dan inquired when it became apparent that Elly wasn't going to say anything further.

A sigh escaped Elly as she let her eyes drift closed. Dan's eyes widened in surprise as she once again opened her eyes to reveal her now crimson eyes. His head turned from side to side confirming what the werewolf had probably already made sure of. There was no one else in the hallway with them. Except for Carol who was trying and failing miserably to look like she was not eavesdropping on them. "I'm a werewolf, an alpha werewolf," Dan didn't miss the slight pride in her voice as she informed him of her alpha status. "What's your animal?" She once again posed.

A brow arched on Dan's face, " Uuh, I'm not a were," he answered.

The way her jaw clenched Dan could tell that something about what he'd just said pissed her off. "I'm not blind Dan, we all saw you at the table when you faced off with Greg," she said.

"Oh," Dan said, his brows rising high as it finally dawned on him what she was going on about. "Uuh, that's kind of complicated," he answered as it also dawned on him how hard it would be to explain it to her.

"How can what your animal is be complicated?" Elly posed.

Dan regarded the werewolf for a few seconds while debating within himself whether he could trust her or not. He had no reason not to, but still he had no reason to trust her. A sigh escaped him at last, she'd been forthcoming about her being a werewolf. The least he could do was return the favour. "I'm not a were," he repeated. "I'm just magically bound to a pair of them," he added further as explanation.

From the way she was regarding him Dan could tell that Elly was trying to decipher whether he was lying to her or not. "So what you are saying is that you're..."

"Human? Yes, one hundred percent," Dan confirmed. The confusion that slowly settled into Elly's features was clear to see. "Why did you want to know?" Dan found himself asking her.

"What are they?" Elly questioned once again ignoring his question.

"What are what?" Dan posed once again not getting what she was talking about.

"The weres you are bound to, what kind of weres are they?" Elly clarified.

"Weretigers," Dan answered as he locked his locker and turned fully to her. "Is there any particular reason you wanted to know all this?" He posed.

*********************************

She was confused. Dan wasn't lying, that much she was sure of. Her gut and the fact that his heartbeat had remained steady throughout their conversation, agreed on this fact. But if he wasn't a were then why did her wolf still want him, even with this knowledge.

She could feel it within her, on alert and curious about.... how it would feel to touch Dan's bare skin. Elly's gaze turned to the side staring at nothing in particular. Her brows drawing nearer to each other as she analyzed her wolf's desires. As if we haven't already managed to come off as complete weirdos, she reprimanded it. Her words however did nothing to quell the wolf's desire. "No reason," she finally answered turning away from him. "Just curious," she added.

A sigh escaped her as she paused a step away from him and turned back to him. "Hold out your hand," she said. "Please," she added when he seemed to hesitate his brows rising high on his face.

After a short awkward pause Dan finally held out his hand to her. She reached out and touched it, running the tips of her fingers from his wrist to the tips of his fingers.

Elly had not prepared for how much the simple touch would affect her. Her wolf surged to the surface and before she could control herself her hand grabbed Dan's outstretched one at the wrist, her other hand circling his neck and pinning him hard against his locker.

**********************************

Dan reacted on instinct before his mind had even processed what had happened. Replicating her move he turned his hand in her grip and grabbed hold of her hand as his other hand also grabbed her by the neck turning the both of them and slamming her hard into the locker next to his. His now crimson eyes directing a burning gaze into her similarly crimson eyes.

It finally all made sense to him, or more accurately the more primal side of him. She liked him. Dan was not sure how the more primal side of him had come to this conclusion given her questions. But her pinning him to his locker put it all in perspective. She, or at least her wolf judging by the look in her eyes, was testing him, trying to see how strong he was.

A smile tilted the side of his lips. "Satisfied?" He posed.

He could feel the lust that flowed from her even as she pushed him off her. "You're going to have to do a lot better than that to impress me," she said in spite of the fact that they could both very clearly pick up the scent of her arousal in the air.

Dan took a step back fighting the part of him that wanted to pin her back on the locker and make her submit. "I would, but I'm afraid I'd break you," Dan said instead, smiling as the words had the desired effect.

Elly's eyes narrowed at his challenging her strength. "You wanna put your money where your mouth is?" Elly posed, her head tilting to the side regarding him in a way that told Dan she fully intended to prove him wrong.

"I would love to," he offered "But I'm getting late for my first paper," he added turning away from her and walking off.....

*********************************

Pushing the door open, Claire walked into the girls' bathroom to find Chloe at the sinks before the mirror with an eye pencil in hand. It was now lunch period. "Hi," she said smiling as she joined her before the mirror.

"Hi," Chloe returned with a smile back at her.

"Getting ready to tease Dan?" Claire posed smiling teasingly at her.

The other girl blushed lightly as she bit down lightly at her lower lip. "Nothing wrong with a bit of fun," she said in reply. "And making things a bit.... Hard, for him while I'm at it," she added with a sly smile as they both laughed at the double entendre.

"You really like him don't you?" Claire asked, looking at Chloe's reflection in the mirror.

"That's the second time I've been asked that today," Chloe said, her expression turning thoughtful. "All I can say at this point is that it's too early for me to truly tell," she answered. "What I can tell however," she went on after a while. "Is that you, miss hunter Claire," she said pointing at her with the pencil in her hand. "Like Dan," she declared.

"What? You're crazy," Claire returned not so convincingly. The fact that she was now the one who was turning pink making her denial all the more obvious.

"I don't blame you," Chloe said turning back to the mirror to appraise herself. "I mean Dan is cute.... Until he takes his shirt off, then he becomes sexy as sin," she added, causing them both to laugh.

"So you've got no problem sharing him?" Claire questioned in an unspoken admission that she too liked him.

"Ember, Athena and the twins probably give him extra workouts in the bedroom," Chloe stated plainly. "At this point sharing him is a given," she said with a half-smile. "Besides, I like you," Chloe admitted.

Claire smiled at the necromancer. "Thank you," she said. "I like you too," she offered. "Ready to make Dan squirm?" She posed, smiling conspiratorially at Chloe.

**********************************

Dan watched as both Chloe and Claire walked over to the table, trying his best and failing miserably at not ogling their curvaceous bodies. "You can roll your tongue off the floor now," Claire teased as they settled into the table sitting opposite to him.

Dan smiled at her, "how were your papers?" He asked.

"Apparently, Mrs. Aniston is a sadist," Chloe complained, causing Dan to laugh. Though nothing that she'd tested had been too hard for Dan, he too had noted the fact that the paper was a bit complex. "The rest were a breeze," Chloe added with a shrug.

"None of mine were all that hard but I wouldn't exactly call me them a breeze."

"Uuh, why is she looking at you like that?" Chloe suddenly asked.

Dan's head turned in the direction of Chloe's gaze to find Elly watching him from the same table she'd been seated at the first day. Dan smiled as he regarded her, the challenge he'd made as to whether she could handle and match up to him judging by the look in her eyes, was still at the fore of her mind. Winking at her, Dan turned back to the two he was seated with. "I kinda might have challenged her," he admitted causing Claire's brows to rise.

"You do realize that she's an alpha, right?" Claire posed.

"She told me," Dan answered simply.

"Told you?" Chloe repeated.

"Yep, right after you left," he explained.

"Word of advice," Claire said. "You may be powerful Dan but never underestimate a female alpha. I know a good number of very skilled hunters who made the same mistake. None of them are around to tell the tale," Claire informed them, causing Dan to turn another glance at Elly.

The side of his lips tilted in a half smile. "Something tells me that she's not inclined to hurt me," Dan said, smiling in a way that had both Chloe and Claire arching their brows at him after a shared glance.

"Are you implying what I think you're implying?" Claire posed, smile tugging at the side of her lips.

"Depends. What do you think I'm implying?" Dan posed with a cocky smile.

"Wow! How do you plan on keeping up?" Chloe asked.

"Keeping up?" Dan repeated inquiringly.

"Ember, Athena, the twins and now miss alpha werewolf over there. You sure you won't break that thing down there," Chloe teased.

Dan could feel his cheeks turning pink as he understood what Chloe meant. "Uuh," he began awkwardly. "I wouldn't worry about it breaking from overuse," he said the colour on his face deepening.

"Come on Dan, guardians were made to serve their master's every desire. You really expect us to believe that all you've ever done with them is sleep?" Claire asked, tilting her head at him in a way that made it clear that she didn't believe him.

After a while of awkward silence with Dan looking at them like a deer caught in headlights, he simply shrugged and turned back down to his tray.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Chloe at last asked.

Dan looked up at them nodding once.

"They did tell you that they would do anything you asked of them, didn't they?" Claire asked now with more surprise than anything else, as she finally started to believe him.

"They did," Dan answered simply.

"That's it, isn't it?" Chloe spoke up, regarding him critically as the understanding dawned on her. "You haven't slept with any of them because they would have to do it if you asked them to," Chloe more said than asked.

Dan sighed. "I know it's kind of dumb but... I wanted the first time I was with someone to be because they wanted to be with me too. Not because they were magically bound to do so," he said, seeing no point in denying the fact that he was still a virgin.

In spite of the slight surprise on their faces a smile was on both girls' expressions. "That you do not want to take advantage of the bond your guardians have to you to make them sleep with you?" Claire posed. "Dumb isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe it," she went on to say.

"She's right Dan. That's real decent of you, not many would do the same in your place," Chloe agreed.

"Than..." Dan's words were cut short by the doors of the cafeteria flying open. Someone came sailing through them before landing hard on the floor and sliding a few feet on the tiled cafeteria floor.

It wasn't until he picked himself up off the floor that Dan recognized Jim. "Is that all you got," he shouted. To most in the cafeteria Jim didn't sound scared at all. But even without the acrid odour of fear coming off him, Dan clearly recognized what the others couldn't. Jim had adopted the voice he usually used to hide that he was afraid of something. His head turned to the doors once again as they swung open.

Dan was barely aware of how hard his jaws clenched when Greg walked in through the doors with a cocky smile on his face as he regarded Jim. "Trust me, I'm just getting warmed up," he said. A malevolent gleam in his eyes as he drew his hand back ready to make another punch.

Dan rose from his table with every intention of tearing Greg to bits and leaving him as nothing more than a mess on the floor. It wasn't until Claire pushed him back by his chest, that he became aware of the fact that the hunter had risen from her seat and was now positioned between him and the fight that was going on behind her. 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' Came Claire's sharp mental question.

'That's my human brother behind you getting beaten up by an alpha werewolf,' even in his mental voice, Dan's pure liquid rage was clearly discernible. He directed a death glare at the hunter for stopping him.

Claire however stood her ground. 'Wrong, that is not your brother Dan,' Claire shot back at him mentally, her voice as hard as steel. 'You're new in town and just moved out here recently. You know no one except the few friends you've made since you got here,' Claire repeated his cover story.

'If I was your enemy Dan I would be very interested to know why one who is supposed to be a stranger reacts so strongly to someone he shouldn't know being beaten up,' Claire said her voice only becoming harder with each mental word. 'You need to learn to think like your enemies would Dan. Expose any weakness and believe me they will prey on it like blood thirsty sharks. If you intervene in this fight then chances are you will only be saving Jim now and putting him in even bigger danger,'

"Out of my way," Dan ground out through gritted teeth.

'What was the point of wiping your memory from your family if you were going to just hand them over to your enemies on a silver platter?' Claire asked mentally, still standing her ground.

Dan's jaws clenched even harder as the logic of Claire's argument warred with the ire that was burning hot within him. The sound of breaking bone as Greg's punch connected with the side of Jim's ribs in Dan's now overly sensitive ears felt and sounded like a log being broken. All rationality left Dan in that second, in the next one he'd pushed Claire to the side and by the third, he was on top Greg pummeling him into the floor. His knuckles repeatedly connecting with the werewolf's face.

'Mr. O'Brien! "Mrs. Aniston's sharp voice barely registered in his mind as he continued to rain a barrage of blows down of the now bloody face below him.

Dan's body suddenly tensed, his muscles clenching hard as he felt the pin pricks from the tazer gun belonging to schools guard lodged themselves into his left shoulder....

**********************************

"What happened?" The rage in Rick's voice was in no way veiled.

Elly opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out. Even she wasn't sure what had just happened. One of the other pack members in school must have called the compound to tell them what had happened. Her parents, Rick and Loraine had arrived in school less than ten minutes later.

Loraine was now seated on the bed beside her unconscious son. She had said nothing, her hand slowly stroking his hair. Like her own mother, Elly knew that the second in command's mate was most dangerous when she went silent. Her own mother was standing beside her with one hand on Loraine's shoulder, she too saying nothing.

"Repeat to me exactly what happened," her father's seemed to be the only one with any measure of control of the rage she could see burning in his eyes.

The question hadn't been directed at her but to her brother. Victor was now standing beside the head of the bed looking down at Greg. The same confusion Elly felt evident in his eyes. "We were having lunch in the cafeteria when suddenly the doors flew open and some guy I've seen on the football team..."

"His name's Jim," Elly cut in remembering how the guy had been trying to flirt with her earlier in the day.

"Yeah, Jim," Victor said. "He comes flying through the doors, Greg steps in through the doors after him," Victor went on.

"Greg attacked a human?" Their father asked his voice betraying nothing. They all knew that though it wouldn't be addressed immediately Greg would have to answer for this.

"Yes," Victor answered. "When he walked through the doors, Dan seemed to lose it," Elly's head turned to Victor. She had been too preoccupied with what Greg was doing and how she could stop him to notice anything else that might have happened. It was a skill that they'd been taught by their father. No matter how much a situation escalated, never forget to keep a calm head and consider everything. Don't ever be caught blind by anything. A skill that Victor seemed to have mastered.

"He rose from his seat ready to attack Greg," Victor went on. "Ironically, it was the hunter that got in his way first. I'm not yet sure how, but the two of them seemed to be communicating somehow. Whatever she was saying seemed to be getting through to Dan but then Greg broke two of Jim's ribs, judging by the sound of it," Victor said. "And now he's here," victor said, his head turning away from Greg for the first time and looking to his father.

"Who's this Jim to Dan?" Their father went on to ask.

"Far as I know, nothing," Victor answered. "I've never seen them exchange so much as a word," he answered. "But the way he reacted..." Victor began, turning to consider Greg once again, his tone betraying that he wasn't sure about something.

"What about it?" Their father asked.

Victor was quiet for a while as if considering his words. "It's how I would react if someone attacked Elly...."

**********************************

"So," the principal, a slim black man who was balding prematurely, began. Dan sat opposite to him staring unseeingly at the plaque that read Principal Reagan McAlister. "O'Brien, joins the school less than two weeks ago, misses more than a week of school, and now beats a fellow student's face into a bloody mess," he said the last sentence raising his head from the file he'd been reading from. "Tell me Mr. O'Brien, do you think that because you're new to the school you merit special treatment? Or that because you've got less than two weeks more to go you don't have to adhere to school rules?" He asked in a voice that was deceptively calm.

Dan remained silent having nothing more to say. Instead he focused all his energies into keeping his guardians from sensing the rage that was still very present within him. "You have nothing to say in your defense?" The principal posed. Silence met his words. A tired sigh escaped the principal, a sigh that told Dan that he'd dealt with many like him before. "You're expelled Mr. O'Brien," he declared without preamble as he threw his file to the bin beside his desk and turned back to the other papers on his desk. "Empty your locker and leave the school in the next twenty minutes," he instructed.

Dan was about to rise from the chair and exit the office when the door flew open and his mother walked in with the principal's secretary on her tail. "Mrs. Jonathan, you cannot..."

"If I were you I would seriously not want to be within arm's reach of me right now," her mother turned a deathly glare to the secretary, the words leaving her through gritted teeth.

"It's okay Maggie," the principal said to his secretary. "We were done here anyway, please sit down Mrs. Jonathan,"

"No, I will not sit down until you explain to me why my son is on a hospital bed with two broken ribs?" Dan's mom a whisker short of screamed at the principal.

Seeing his mom as distressed as she was only making it harder for Dan to rein in his rage. Everything within him wanted to reach out and comfort her but he couldn't. The fact that she'd barely noticed his presence in the room did hurt, but given the circumstances, he understood why.

"I am meant to understand that he was involved in a fight," the principal replied.

"What kind of school is this...." his mother went on as Dan rose to exit the office. If he stayed in the office much longer, his rage would once again win out over rationality.

Dan walked out of the principal's office past the secretary's desk and into the hallway to find both Chloe and Claire waiting for him.

"What happened?" Chloe was first to speak.

Dan's brows slowly rose on his face as it finally dawned on him what had just happened. "I've been expelled," he said with a sigh.

Before anything more could be said Dan's head turned to them as he heard their footsteps. It was Elly and her brother Victor on either side of four other adults that he didn't recognize. Dan however needed no telling to know that they were all werewolves or to know which one of them was the alpha. The eyes of two of them, a man and woman who Dan deduced to be Greg's parents, were now molten amber with their gazes fixed singly on him.

"In ten words or less," the alpha spoke up as they came to a stop before him. "Give me a good reason why we should not tear you limb from limb right now," he asked a slight growl coming onto his voice.

Even without him turning Dan heard both Chloe and Claire move to his side readying themselves for however this conversation might end. Dan's eyes remained fixed on the alpha, his jaws clenching harder as the sound of his now hysterical mother reached the hallway.

Dan took a step forward so that he was now standing toe to toe with the alpha looking him straight in the eye as his hands rose to the back of his neck. "Dan don't," Claire spoke up her voice hard, her eyes never leaving the werewolves.

"In ten words or less," Dan spoke up ignoring Claire and detaching Ember's chain from around his neck. "You're welcome to try," he half said half growled his eyes turning crimson as the immensity of his power engulfed the hallway and whole school. Even with all the rage he was feeling, it took all of the mental discipline that Dan had learnt from Ember to keep his magic from spreading much further than that.

All eyes in the hallway except Claire's and the Alpha's, widened as the true measure of Dan's powers became known to them. There was deathly silence within the hallway as Dan waited for the werewolves to make a mistake. "This is not over," the alpha finally spoke up after long tense seconds. Taking a step back. "Let's go," he ordered before turning and starting off. The others followed without question.

Dan turned back to Chloe and Claire as he pulled the chain back on. "I can't even find words to describe how stupid what you just did was," Claire spoke up looking at him with a disapproving gaze.

"I wouldn't care even if you did," Dan answered simply and truthfully before turning to Chloe. "Here," he said handing the keys to the car to her.

"What about..."

"I'll be walking home. If I drive I'll get there before all this rage has faded a good bit," he said. "I don't want my guardians seeing me like this," he added explanatorily.

"Need company?," Claire asked with concern seeing that it was pointless to try and make Dan see just how big of an error he'd just made at the moment.

"I'll be okay," Dan offered in reply. "I just need some time," he added before he turned and started off......

********************************

"Help! Someone please, help me!" Dan turned in a sprint towards the alley in which the screams were coming from. He'd decided to take a detour through town just to make his walk longer. The anger within him had refused to abate as quickly as he'd hoped it would.

"What's wrong with her?" Dan asked as he reached the fourteen year old girl by his estimate. She was holding another older girl in her hands as she shook convulsively with froth coming out from her mouth.

"She's epileptic. She gets these seizures that come without warning," the girl explained frantic urgency in her voice. "This one's bad, they usually pass within two or three minutes but she's been like this for the past ten minutes. I've done every kind of first aid I know," the girl said sounding close to tears.

"Move aside," Dan said dropping down to his knees. "We need to get her to hospital," Dan putting his hands beneath the convulsing girl ready to lift her off the ground.

Dan heard and felt it as cold metal snapped shut around his neck. His head whipped around in shock to the girl who was now on her feet. He'd turned just in time to see the lead pipe swing forward a second before it made contact with the side of his head and everything went black...

************************************

Ember's head rose up suddenly as she looked to the rest. The others had also frozen in their motions as they too felt it. Something had broken their bond to Dan.....