Wolves are territorial by nature, and dislike any other predators coming into their territory. Werewolves are no different I should know, I grew up with them. My name is Ariana, I’m the adopted daughter of Gwen and Liam Eichmann, leaders of the Mid-Western Pack. My parents are werewolves, and I’m a Kitsune, a Japanese fox spirit.

In the wild wolves will kill foxes, so growing up in Blue Valley, the only strictly werewolf and werewolf kin town in the whole of the U.S. was less then pleasant. No one’s child hood is easy, but at lest other kids don’t have to worry about the bullies eating them…

You might think being the alpha daughter would have made things easier, right? Wrong! My parents loved me, but they had a duty to the Pack. I was not Pack. I was other. My parents didn’t care if I was human, wolf or fox, but the Pack did, and they let me knew it every day of my life.

A human could live among them, as child or mate, but a fox never could. They wanted me gone, and on my eighteenth birthday, I complied with their request.

But now I was back… After four years on my own I was back in Blue Valley. The town was home to a little more then two hundred people, forty of which are werewolves, the rest of the population being wolf kin, the human descendents of wolves, as well as the human mates of the wolves. All of which are capable of producing werewolf children.

The town is overly small consisting of one, single story six room motel, one Grocers’ Market and gas station, one medical building that served as clinic, hospital, pharmacy, and morgue, for everyone in Blue Valley, human, werewolf, and animal. The town also has a video/book store, a church/school building the taught K through 12 graded, and a single diner called Marti’s the only place to eat out in Blue Valley.

I pull into Marti’s parking lot and climb out of my silver Lancer, zipping up my heavy winter jacket, I burrowed in deeper trying to ward off the frigid North Dakota mountain air, and looked up at the Blue Mountain from which the village took it’s name. The sun peaked from behind the clouds or a moment, and I closed my eyes feeling it’s light worming the skin of my cheeks.

The sound of crunching snow had me turning fast. Behind me I saw Marti’s eldest son Joe, a larger brown box in his arms. A man in the mid thirties, Joe was balding on top but he let what was left of his dark locks grow long past his shoulders, he kept it pulled back in a pony tail, he had a stubborn chin, and a hawk nose, his dark eyes sparkled under bushy brows as he took in the site of me.

A boyish grin spread across his wide mouth as he set down the box he was carrying.

“Ari!” he exclaimed walking over to embrace me. I returned his hug in kind.

“Joe, how are you?” I asked gently.

“Papa” called a young boy, coming around the corner. He looked no more then two, and I noted the strong physical resemblance between him and Maria Cortez, a girl I’d know well growing up, she was two years older then me.

Four years ago when I had left Blue Valley, I knew she and Joe had been dating. But who would have thought they would have had a kid together? Where they married?

I looked at Joe’s left hand rested on my shoulder and smiled at the gold band on his finger.

He released me and walked over to the boy, still smiling Joe picked up the boy and brought him over to me.

“Johnny, say hi to Ariana Eichmann, Gwen and Liam’s little girl.”

The boy, Johnny looked from his father to me and back again.

“Papa,” said the boy slowly “She’s not little.”

Joe’s laugh was earthy and rich “Ay, boy’o that’s she’s not, that’s she’s not indeed.” Said Joe gruffly balancing the boy on his hip.

I opened my mouth to respond, but stopped as I caught the boy’s sent. It was subtle, barely there, but unmistaken able.

The boy, Johnny was a werewolf. Joe’s father Marti was a werewolf, but his mother was human, and so was Joe, Maria was also human, and like Joe her father was also a werewolf, making Maria a carrier, any male child she and Joe had a fifty/fifty percent chance at being born a wolf, and any female children they had, would have just as much of a chance of being born a carrier like Maria.

Joe looked at me quizzically. Did they know what their son was? Unlikely, wolves can’t smell magic like I do. I just smiled at him, “Do you know where Ma and Da are?” I asked.

He pointed in the direction of Luna Park. “There’s a Meet today.” he said his eyes dark with concern.

I smiled at him reassuringly, “I know.” I said shrugging out of my jacket. “I was summand home for this Meet.”

Joe looked shocked at that.

“Do you mind if I leave my car?” I asked, unbuttoning my shirt.

He nodded once.

“I’ll be back for it after the Meet.” I said, kicking out of my shoes as I unclasp my braw.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Joe as I pulled down my jeans and underwear, “just be sure to stop by for a bit on the house of course.”

I smiled up at him as I striped off my sodden socks. “You’re dad s’not going to like that.”

He shrugged, “I take care of the Dinner now a days. Dad rarely comes in any more.”

I opened my car door and tossed in my discarded clothes.

“Alrighty, I’m off.” I said shivering in the cold. I take the mental side step to the left. I shake my silvered body, and sneeze as I feel the last tingle of magic beginning to fad. I look up at Joe and young Johnny. Joe gives me a court nod, as Johnny stairs at me wide eyed; I dip my long black muzzle at them, and tear off into the snow covered streets.

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I cover the distance in short order, making my way to Luna Park. Luna Park belongs to the wolves, it’s where younglings learn to hunt, it’s where the Pack Meets take place and where new wolves are introduced. It’s also where judgments are carried out and rouges brought before the Pack are put down.

As I run across the open clearing that is the entrance to Luna Park I let out as series of sharp chirps to let my parents know that I have arrived. How ever this also alerts my presents to the rest of the Pack that is in attendance at this Meet.

I dash across the clearing slipping in and out of the shadowed places, that my silvery coat gives me the best camouflage. The first wolf to appear is a large russet brown with poisonous green eyes. I sample the air and catch his sent, I pull back the lips of my muzzle in a silent snarl.

I know this male, Landon, Landon Dzurenko, a vicious rogue. Landon was wanted by all five American Packs. He liked killing, especially humans. He was a danger to the whole of the werewolf community.

How the hell had he gotten here? Was he the reason for the Meet? If so then the reason for my summons become all too clear.

Landon owed me a debt, a debt that could only be paid in blood.

I’d met Landon ten years ago, at the yearly Alpha Meet. Once a year all five of the American Alpha, along with their mates, their Betas, Deltas, and their mates if they have them, meet at one of the Territories.

Each year a different Territories is chosen and that year, the year of my twelfth spring, the meet was to take place at Sheridan Hippisley, the Texan Alpha’s home just out side of Dell City, not far from Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

I had begged my parents to let me come with them; I had just wanted to see the world out side of Blue Valley. I was relentless in my pleas, I had begged and pleaded for weeks and finally after two months of this they had agreed.

Had the Alpha known that Landon was so close, the meet would have been postponed until he had been dealt with.

But no one had known, and I had paid the price.

In my nightmares I could still feel him on top of me, his teeth sinking into my shoulder as he moved inside of me. Smell of sweat mingled with the earthy musky smell that marked him as a werewolf to my sensitive nose.

The only thing that had saved me from most certain death that day was the fact that unlike werewolves my transformations where instantiations. One moment I’m a human girl running for her life the next I’m a streak of silver moving through the underbrush.

Landon’s fatal flaw was the fact that he enjoyed playing with his pray far too much. But that flaw is what saved my life. He had let me go thinking me nothing more then a normal human girl.

He had wanted to hunt me down, and take me down as he might a dear or some other pray animal. But the fact that he didn’t know who I was or more importantly what I was is what allowed me to make it back to Sheridan’s house.

I had remained in fox form for many weeks after that unwilling to give up the meager safety I felt in having sharper fangs and claws then I would have as a human.

Eventually I returned to human form and told my mother what had happened. I explained how the strange wolf, that Ethan the wolf escort that Sheridan had assigned to look after me, had called Landon, before the other wolf had tore out his throat with a partially transformed hand. I told her of the brutal rape I had suffered at Landon’s hands. There where a lot of tears between us that night.

A sharp howl pierced the air and Landon’s head shot up, revealing his throat to me. I launched my self at him like a shot. Aiming for his vulnerable throat. He moved at the last second catching me in the side, his muzzle bruised my ribs where he had hit me. But I jumped up once more.

I could hear the soft growls and yips of the other wolves, I could smell them, they where closing us in. If I couldn’t take him another wolf would, this was a tribunal. The Pack had gathered for Pack’s Justice. Landon was a dead man, he just didn’t know it yet.

A pail blond wolf with sapphire blue eyes inched forward on London’s left as a red violet eye she wolf approached his right side. The black furred, black eyed wolf behind London, howled signaling the Pack, the bland and red wolves flung them selves at Landon, tearing at him with fangs and claws. More wolves dashed out of the forests taking swipes at Landon, within minuets his pelt was a mass of bloodied patches.

Landon yowled in pain, as he tried to fend off one attacker as another slipped in behind him. As his strength began to wan, I chirped sharply. Calling off the attack. Any other time the Pack never would have listened, but my parents must have explained that this was to be my kill.

Landon watched me his baleful gaze never leaving mine. In that I realized then that he didn’t know who I was. For what ever reason he either didn’t remember my sent or he hadn’t picked it up yet.

I bared my fangs at him, and watched his sides heave with ragged breathing. I dashed between his spread forelegs, he tried to maneuver away from me, but before he had a chance to I sunk my teeth into the unprotected flesh of his belly.

Landon howled in pain and rage, twisted about trying to fling me away. I came away from him my muzzle bloodied, the taste of him in m y mouth. I watched gleefully as blood gushed from the wound I’d inflicted.

Landon lunged at me but I skipped away. He was quick, but I was quicker still.

I rushed him, jumping up and over his back; I landed on his right side. Flinging myself at his face I caught the corner of his right eye with a canine. When I turned back to look at him, the right side of Landon’s face was a mask of blood.

When he tried to open his eye something white bulged out and fell dangling from a mass of red strings. It took me a moment to realize that dangling mass was his eye. I took and rushed his now blind side, barring my fangs in his throat, ripping open an artery.

Blood pored into my open mouth, as Landon fell at my feet his life’s blood spilling onto the now red snow; I sat back on my hunches and let out a yattering screeching bark. Landon looked at me with disbelief in his single good eye.

Taking a mental side step to the right I retuned to human form and saw the look of recognition and shock in his poisonous green eye seconds before it begins to could and glaze with death.

The red, violet eyed, and black furred, black eyed flank me on either side. I bury the fingers of my right hand in my mother’s soft red rough, as I press my face into my father’s dark side.

My body shakes as I am racked by sobs. The tears flow hot and fresh down my face, as one by one the members of the Pack each through back their heads and howl.