Take Back My Mate

Outcast Family

Sheik's P.O.V.

Shade wanted to stay out and watch the moon rise, however they both knew that their pack needed them. So, reluctantly, they made their way back, but did so at their own pace. The shadows danced on the trees, as the sun had started its descent. The calmness here, the peace and quiet. Honestly, she would feel more at home out in a tent than at the grand resort that they were staying at.

The building soon came into view though, as the forest started to dissipate around her. With an annoyed humph she ran around to the tower that her pack would be staying in. Most of it looked the same from the outside, but she had made enough triops here that she located her tower without much difficulty. Entering through the back door by the elevator, she was greeted by her Beta who had clothes in hand for her. Otherwise, no one seemed to have really taken any notice of her.

Without a word, they stepped onto the elevator together. Delo pressed the top floor button before turning his back to his Alpha. As soon as they started moving upwards, Sheik transformed back into a human and dressed herself with the clothes he had provided. "Anything of note happen while I was gone?"

He shrugged, "Not really, but not going to lie Alpha. Your howl had me and the others worried, though I was able to calm them for the time being." Shifting his weight from one leg to the other, it was obvious he didn't know how to address her about this. "So...… what exactly is going on?"

"I connected with my mate." She said, in a matter of factual way, though she knew that he would sense the emotions behind it.

"Well that's.... great! I mean, a mate! What is wrong with that?"

"What is wrong? Hm, could be that I had to watch her get married to the son of a murderer against her will and doesn't even know who I am." She stepped up to stand next to him, anger radiating out of her.

"Oh, well...……" He looked a bit flustered, "that explains some things."

"What exactly do you mean by that?!" She turned to look at him, however he avoided her, gave out of respect.

DING

They had reached their floor, so they stepped out, and headed to the suit. "Well, its just that you never exactly had any interest in a guy and...…. you have always been so against becoming a Luna and insisted on being Alpha..."

"And? It is not my fault that any guy that has tried to date me couldn't deal with the fact that I could kick their ass." Stepping onto the balcony, they took in the scene of the full forest before them. "I refuse to submit to anyone who doesn't deserve that kind of respect."

"Face it, it's because your personality is too domineering." He teased her and got a 'gentle' punch in the arm for it. "OW"

"See, that's what I mean!" Running her hand through her short, black hair, pushing the bangs out of her face, she realized she couldn't stop thinking of Luanna. "I have to do something."

"Didn't know you were the type to start a war over romance." He leaned forward, onto the railing, "though, the mate connection is nothing to take lightly." He looked at his closest friend and couldn't help but chuckle. "We will get you Luna for you, don't worry."

"I know we will, and we will take down those power-hungry mutts while we do it." Sheik had an evil grin on her face, and Shade growled in agreement.

Later that night

The outfit that Sheik picked for the event was simple, but she took more time than normal picking it out. Wearing black dress pants that flared out at the bottom, with a simple eggshell white sleeveless blouse with a frilly v-cut neckline. She had on her normal opal necklace that glowed with a red light tonight. Her outfit showed off the tattoo on her left arm. It was her family's crest, a combination of a whole bunch of different pack symbols representing the ones that had fallen to different almost genocides. Those 'survivors' were the founding members of Sanguis.Why do I care so much? I never spend this much time worrying about my appearance. Looking at herself in the mirror, she messed with her hair once more, unhappy about how it stuck up in one part where it should smooth down.

You want to look good for our mate, however just transform and one look at me and she won't be able to say no. Shade sounded so cocky. No offence to you, since I have no idea what other humans find attractive.

Gee thanks, I can almost count on you. Sarcastically she thought back. She could sense the moon had started rising, so she stepped out to the balcony again to watch it start its climb. "I know you don't have the same connection to the moon but could you be a little more respectful?" Her Beta had fallen asleep on the chair out here, probably soaking up the last rays of the sun. He was sprawled out in a very uncaring manner.

"I was only taking a cat nap," Yawing, he began to stretch himself out. "Besides, not everyone can be like you mutts who worship the giant rock in the sky."

"No better than your fascination with a flaming ball of gas, you damn cat." They were best friends, and were constantly teasing each other like that, so nothing was new. However, there were still plenty of others who did not accept the fact that her pack took in not only werewolves. Most things others thought were 'acceptable', she could care less about and honestly gave her more reason to have a panther as her right-hand man. "Do you think we will be able to gather enough power together in a years' time to overthrow him and save her.....that is if she wants to be with me."

Of course she will want to be with us! Shade growled annoyed, however there was still doubt.

"Honestly? Even if we as a pack aren't enough, I believe the amount of enemies they make, we will have enough power that way if we need it."

"Who would want to side with us though, if they don't think we are strong enough." It was an honest enough question, why send countless wolves out to die, and end up losing anyway.

"At the rate they are destroying packs, and not just werewolf packs, we will grow easily. " An evil grin spread across his face. "Imagine how those mutts will react to being beaten by a cat." Looking at her, he continued, "I am determined to use his thrown as a scratching post."

She laughed at this, "How do you know he even has a throne?"

"I think he is determined to become king of this region, honestly." Looking out, they saw the forest nightlife starting to wake up and stir, giving it a new life. "How gaudy do you think it looks? Might just be worthy of a litter box, depending." Yawning again, his canines seemed to pop out, making him look more like a cat.

"WELL, I guess we should go grace 'his Majesty' with our presence." She snorted disdainfully at the thought.

They headed to one of the conference rooms first though, so they could meet with their pack members before they went down to the event together. As they entered the room, most everyone was already there. Some faces were new, and seemed to be from other packs but were mates to someone in the room. The presence of the two powerful beings entering the room grabbed everyone's attention though, and an unsure silence fell on the room.

"I see some new wolves among us." Sheik couldn't stand the silence but understood why they did it. "We welcome you into the family, if this is what you choose, though I ask anyone who is not sure if they want to stay in this pack to leave their room. Otherwise, please step forward and introduce yourselves." The unknown wolves looked at their mates with uncertainty before stepping forward to present themselves. They bowed respectfully before her and the smell of fear started pouring out of them. "As you know, I am the Alpha Sheik, and this is Beta Delco." She sized them up, two females and three males. Different in appearance and size, probably hailing from different backgrounds. Two appeared to be siblings though, twins at that. "We are not tyrants, and honestly will not demand much from you besides pull your own weight. HOWEVER, one thing I want to make perfectly clear. You WILL respect your new packmates, or I will take it as a personal challenge to my throne and you will have to deal with me." Some looked unsettled by this, while the others looked relieved. More than likely because they were subjects of unfair treatment themselves. "Now if you are determined still to join our merry band of outcasts, hold out your hands for our blooding ceremony. Otherwise, there is the door and you can use it." They didn't budge, surprisingly. "Good, I like to see dedication. Place your hands out like you are pushing a wall." They did, so she got up and pricked the ends of their fingertips with her claws. She then did the same with hers, and Delco did the same. She placed her fingertips on the first in line, and recited a spell a witch once taught her. "As our blood becomes one, so too does our family." She felt as if some of her essence left her body through her fingertips, and into theirs, causing them to stiffen. The young man's eyes grew wide in shock. This was a normal reaction. "With this blood bond we share our joys and sorrows." His eyes started to glow a red color, and she knew hers were as well at this point. "Our triumphs and tragedies will make us stronger together." She felt his essence start to enter into her body. She felt his heart beating a mile a minute. "From this moment onward, we will share our tribe's mind link and banish those we previously shared. Only our mates will be held in higher regard." His heartbeat finally returned to its normal pace, and the red glow disappeared from their eyes. The shock of what just happened, however, did not. Now Delco stepped up to him and did the same thing, to finalize the spell. She stepped over to the next werewolf in line and did it with them. Slowly, she and Delco performed this ritual in turn with each one of them, and as they did they could feel their mind's link with the packs, and even their scent changed as they became blood brothers and sisters with the pack's leaders. Unorthodox, at least by werewolf standards, however nothing about the Sanguis pack was exactly orthodox to the others.

"What kind of magic is this?" One of the females spoke up. It was the twin, and her brother looked equally confused. "We were the last of our pack and could only link with each other and our mates and yet....." Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at her new pack and then Alpha. "I can actually sense ALL of you and it feels...…" Tears were now rolling down her face. "I feel home." She sobbed. "I have a pack again." Her mate rushed forward and held her in his arms as the reality of it all seemed to hit her like a wall of bricks. Surprisingly, her mate wasn't a werewolf of the group, it was actually Delco's younger brother. She couldn't help but wonder what their children would end up being, but didn't dwell on it for long.

"You may return to your mates, and welcome to the family." Sheik smiled sincerely. She planned on talking with them all one on one when she got the chance. From the looks of it, several of the non-wolf members found mates. This made her happy and she saw it as further proof that separation from the others made no sense. "Tonight will be a strange night, and we will be around a lot of different werewolves from all the different packs. However, do not worry, you are under the protection of the council, who are the most powerful werewolves. "I am not sure if they will make an appearance or not though. I will warn you, because of how powerful they are, their presence is very overpowering. They will not harm you, but stick close to each other regardless." She looked over at the fawn in her group, knowing the presence of so many werewolves would already overwhelm her. Fiava, though, didn't seem too bothered. She was busy being held by her new mate, the male twin. She was happy because, since Fiava was connected with a deer instead of any predatory creature, she was on edge most of the time.

Not sure who the strangest couple here is, Shade mused.

Together the group made their way down to the courtyard. Split between the two elevators and some who choose to take the stairs or just wait for the elevator to come back up. Once they were all together in the lobby of their tower, they went out into the night air and the sound of the different packs. There they split up, some choosing to look at the various stalls that were allowed to be set up to show off what each tribe had to offer, others went to the fighting pit where different wolves were sparring to demonstrate their skill. Sheik would visit both, but she decided to check at their booth first. Since they had such a hodgepodge of different members in their pack, their booth reflected it as well. I was run by the Grootslang twins. They were connected to snakes, so most wolves, by instinct, wouldn't bother them too much. At least none in their right minds would pick a fight with them. Since they just got there themselves, she would help set up. The booth itself was small, and not too special, but that was fine. Soon it was decorated with many different items, from exotic smelling soaps and candles to delicately made jewelry as well as detailed wood statues carved into many different shapes. Klein and Kleur sat together, talking in their native tongue as different wolves started to take interest in all the foreign things. Some were also watching the foreign beauties giggling together.

Afterwards, she made her way over to the fighting pit where she saw someone trying to pick a fight with her Beta.

"Its funny though, how you feel threatened by this 'little kitty' though." Delco didn't seem too bothered by it, since, for him, this always happened when they had to interact with other packs. "Go find someone else's ass to sniff you damn mutt, even if I was allowed to fight with you I wouldn't waste the energy on a flea-bitten mutt like you anyway."

"What was that you?"

"You heard him, go wipe your ass on some cheap carpet!" Juro, his younger brother, seemed to step out of the shadows with his new mate under his arm. Confusion ran across the werewolf's face at this scene.

"I had wondered where you had gone, only to find you turned me down to hook up with a feline." The Moon-Blade Wolf looked pissed.

Putting himself between his mate and this unknown threat, Juro sized him up. "You want to spar so badly, how about I kick your ass? See how cocky you are then." Without warning, he pulled off his shirt and jumped out of his pants, transforming into a beautiful golden panther. A normal human could easily fit onto the back of this giant beast, and he flexed his claws in eagerness as the man in front of him did similar and transformed into a mud-colored wolf. They jumped down into the pit, and sensing the two powerful animals, everyone else got out of their way. The rules were, though, they would fight until one pinned the other but they could not do any lasting damage to each other, and no killing.

The wolf was the first to move, trying to tackle the panther. Juro easily dodged out of the way and pounced onto the back of the larger canine. Where wolves have brute strength and size, the cats make up for it in agility and flexibility. Grabbing onto the back of his neck, Juro used momentum and flipped him into the air and then flung him into the wall of the pit. This poor mutt bit off more then he could chew, since he had obviously no experience fighting a werecat. Standing up, he growled annoyed and approached more cautiously now. They circled each other, growling like wild beasts. This time, the panther made a move first. He faked a lunge at the wolf's hind quarters, causing the wolf to bite out in the direction he thought he was going. Instead, he rolled in the air, causing him to line up perfectly with the wolf's neck again, knocking him onto his side. The Panther stood over the muddy wolf with his jaws around his opponent's throat once again, growling in a threatening way. He had won, and the wolf ran off ashamed.

Juro jumped up and ran up to his mate before happily rubbing against her and purring loudly. Sheik and Delco shared a look and knew what the other was thinking. They will think twice before picking a fight with a werecat again. Shade laughed, and they all felt pride for their packmate.

Suddenly a strange, imposing feeling washed over them, and instinctively they all looked up. Sheik didn't fail to catch Juro and let out a defensive growl as his mate let out a whimper. It was the alpha of Moon-Blades wanting everyone's attention. She reached out to the Sanguis family.

Everyone okay? Mostly she got back emotions of startled, uncertainty. Meet me at our table towards the back. And that's when she caught a whiff of it. The sweet smell of her mate was almost overwhelming to her senses, but she didn't have any choice. She had to push it back and focus on getting through that night.