Paws of Fire - A Wolfs Aura

Conan carefully looked down into the small, delicate face of a baby. He lifted his eyes in disbelief and darted them back and forth between his Beta Morrison and Alpha Draco. There had to be an explanation! In front of him layed the child of a human, but he could clearly feel the aura of a wolf. It was impossible! After all, it wasn’t just a human, it was also a baby. Conan had seen adult alphas whose wolf auras weren’t nearly as strong as this little creature’s. Morrison shrugged apologetically while Draco, Alpha of the Fire Crescent pack, addressed two older men. “And surely the woman had nothing with a werewolf?” Morrison asked for the third time. Francis, Draco’s Beta, shook his head. “She swears, we also arranged a blood test. The two are the biological parents of the little one!” He had been the first to see the little one after one of their pack’s wolves noticed the girl with her parents in the park. She had gone to visit some human friends there, but no one expected that when she desperately called Francis. He, too, had known immediately that something was different about the baby. Even real werewolves hadn’t a wolf aura until they came of age. This was the time when a werewolf first transformed and the wolf became an integral part of oneself. Most of the time they were over the age of eighteen. But here lay a creature that was only four months old. “Damn it,” Conan murmured barely audibly. In all his 25 years, he had never seen anything like it and it only made him angrier that Draco was no different at 45. He and Conan would not have been great friends, but neither were their packs enemies. The Fire Crescent Pack and the Blood Moon Pack have lived peacefully for decades, coexisting in the same city where their territories are adjoining each other. That didn’t change when Conan became the Alpha, replacing his father, Alpha Eric. Though he’d rather expand his territory, he would have to spare Draco and his people. He paced up and down excitedly. “A werewolf in the bloodline?” he asked. But here, too, Francis just shook his head. “We have found nothing.” “Even though, that doesn’t explain her aura! She’s a baby!” Draco interjected, and he was right. Any werewolf gene should not have made this possible! How could Conan overlook that? He wasn’t stupid and thought everything through twice before he even said it. Not out of fear, but out of superiority. Everyone should see that not only was he the handsome and strong alpha he is, but they also should all look up to him, fear his words! Something was clouding his mind, but he still couldn’t quite grasp what it was. One of the older men cleared his throat. He was blind, but he didn’t need eyes to see. He was a seer blessed with the mark of the moon goddess. “It’s very strange...” he began in an icy, calm voice, and once again placed his wrinkled hand on the little girl’s forehead. “I can not see anything.” Draco and Francis exchanged disgruntled looks. That wasn't good. If not even the gift of the goddess wanted to reveal what it all was about. “My goddess, Selene...“, the old man breathed, stunned himself and turned away. “Whatever it is, we must protect her,” Draco said confidently. It had already been on his mind when he first heard about the little one’s case. “Chandrya.“, came from another corner of the room. All six men looked questioningly at the woman from whose mouth the word had come. “Chandrya, that’s her name,” she added. Draco’s strained features softened, he heard the fear in her voice and saw the panic in her eyes. The baby’s mother took it all very badly and he could understand that only too well. He himself had no children anymore. His only son had died in infancy and his mate had not been by his side for years. For this woman - Miss Elouan, little Chana was her ordinary daughter. She slept through most nights, drank well, and needed her care and love. She couldn’t understand much of what the werewolves were telling her. “We have to protect little Chandrya at any cost!” Draco repeated, hoping that would calm the woman down a bit. And indeed, a very faint smile played around her features for a fraction of a second. “The Blood Moon Pack will take her in.” Conan blurted out without thinking. Immediately, Mrs. Elouan looked tense again. “Nobody will take her away from them!” Draco assured. Conan was about to reply defiantly when he made the mistake of looking down at Chandrya again. It was like everything around him blurred. His head began to spin and a chaos of feelings spread through him. Underneath, a strong attraction, like a strong bond, that would bind him to her. He had only felt that once... With his partner - his mate. His heartbeat and hers pounded in his ears. That couldn’t be possible! Werewolves had only one person who could be a mate and evoke feelings like that. Conan really hoped that it was just this child’s aura that was going to confuse each of them. Or was he completely insane now? This is a child! A damn kid! He cursed in his thoughts, but he couldn’t deny the affection that he and especially his wolf Tovar felt towards her. He too found himself staring at little Chandrya a moment too long. Draco cleared his throat, but Conan had a hard time turning away from her. Anyone else wouldn’t have noticed, but Draco did. He could see clearly that something was wrong. Tense, Conan took a few steps away from the cradle and headed straight for Draco. “What’s your plan?” he demanded to know. Draco was momentarily confused by Conan’s brisk manner again. “All of this isn’t a question of ownership, which pack she belongs to. Whether it’s the Fire Crescent or the Blood Moon pack. She’s a child who needs her parents and the protection of all of us. Other packs could use her and her aura . We should leave her hidden in the human world.” Protecting Chandrya... Conan thought about it for a moment. That was something he couldn’t do. He felt different in her presence, almost weak, and the fact that he could barely think straight didn’t make it any better. What if the moon goddess wanted to give him a second chance with her? Back then he screwed everything up. He had brought so much suffering to Cyne - his soulmate. Taken the life she could have had. Maybe this girl was actually his new mate, even if that wasn’t possible. Maybe she was what the moon goddess offered him to get rid of all his mistakes and crimes. Inwardly he laughed mockingly at it. How is this all supposed to work? He was 25 and she was 4 months old. When she turned 18 he was 44. What did a young 18 year old want with a 44 year old man like him? Except that he wasn’t even sure if she would feel the same. Or if the two would get along. Conan wasn’t a hopeless romantic guy who believed in eternal love and happiness, especially after everything that had happened. She was probably a trick or even a punishment for him. Designed to weaken and overthrow him. He pulled himself out of his thoughts with great effort when Morrison spoke up. “We understand that you of the Fire Crescent pack were the ones who noticed this first, and that you therefore have some claim to a decision. But the issue here is much bigger than we think. While we still don’t know exactly what’s going on with her, I find it an incomprehensible decision to just leave the child here. She could also be a danger to us - your pack and ours, we don’t know.” He was right about that. Everyone in the room knew that, even if it wasn’t what anyone wanted to hear. “Someone has to stay here and guard her until we know more! We need more tests, more observations! Until we know what is going on and can make final decisions,” Francis stated. Mrs. Elouan sobbed and took refuge in her husband’s arms. “You’re talking about our child!” he scolded them all, also having to hold back tears. “You invade our lives and presume to make decisions about our life, our only daughter!” He closed his arms tighter around his wife. Part of Draco’s heart broke in two. He had understood their pain so well, this was beyond unfair. “Mr. and Mrs. Elouan, I beg your pardon. But please, do not consider us enemies. What we are doing here is not only in our own interest, but also in that of little Chandrya. We do not want either, that something happens to her, just like you do.“, as always, he sounded level-headed and empathetic. “We appreciate your efforts, Mr. Sterling,” Mrs. Elouan sobbed as she broke away from her husband’s embrace. “You see it all through the eyes of a father, but that only counts for you...” Anger rose in Conan. How disrespectful of these puny people to accuse him of such a thing! He had her wellbeing in mind as well. Francis and Morrison also felt offended, but they managed their feelings well. Conan crossed his arms as if he could contain the wolf inside him. He would have liked to come out and tear their throats apart! Then he could have simply taken the little one with him into his pack. No, you can’t think like that... he tried to remember. A fight with the humans was the last thing they needed. Few people knew of them, though they made less of a secret of what they were. Oftentimes, people in the vicinity of wolf packs had not particularly reacted well to them. But most werewolves didn’t care. They had the same right to live here as everyone else! Another heated discussion followed. Still talking about what would be best now. In the end, it was agreed to keep a wolf guard around Chandrya at all times, to watch her and continue to find out what was going on with her. They would meet here again in a few weeks and see what to do. Draco had tried to pull Conan aside to ask what was going on. He hadn’t missed his wolf’s near eruption either. But Conan said nothing. He didn’t want to and couldn’t talk about all of that.