Blood Moon Rising

Chapter 6

Kassidy looked on in wonderment as they approached. Every pack member, all 200 of them were now in wolf form sat in a line that spanned the entire perimeter of the silver lake.

'It's tradition after a wolf comes of age, to shift and run through the territory with the pack' Konrad explained as he set down the pile of clothes next to the trees.

Worry spread across Kassidy's face, she had only shifted once before and it hurt like hell. Karla sensed the concern rippling off her.

'I know it hurts the first time you shift, but it gets easier each time' she reassured her.

'But I don't know how to shift' Kassidy admitted.

Konrad lay a hand on her shoulder.

'Open your mind and let the pack guide you, that becomes easier over time too. '

He stepped forward and addressed the pack.

'Silver Lake, my children have only shifted once or twice, let's show them some support'

Kassidy took hold of Kade's hand as an influx of voices infultrated their mind link. Hundreds of them chanting in unison

'Shift, shift, shift, shift'

Her body tingled, she closed her eyes to brace herself for the onslaught of bones cracking. A fire rose from the pit of her stomach and burned from the inside out. Her body trembled with every break, it was painful but bareable. Her weight transferred across 4 legs and when she opened her eyes she saw a large silver wolf standing before her. Larger than any of the others by far. A sandy coloured smaller wolf stood by his side.

Oh my

Kassidy heard the voice of Karla in her mind.

Your eyes, they're purple.

Before they could discuss it further, Konrad took his place in the gap amongst the wolves. His words laced with authority.

Okay pack, get ready. Kade, Kassidy stay behind your mother. We're going to run a full lap of the perimeter. Graham, Marco be on guard for rogues. Let's go!

The wolves sprinted into the trees behind Kassidy, Karla followed after the last of the pack. Kade nudged Kassidy and they dashed after Karla as Konrad remained at the back of the pack.

If he's Alpha

Kassidy mind linked to Kade

Then why isn't he leading the pack?

Kade snorted

You really don't know anything about wolves do you sis? The Alpha protects the pack from the back while the elders keep the pace at the front so no-one gets left behind

The more Kassidy was learning about wolves, the less they felt like beastly creatures. She made a mental note to start reading up on her heritage as she raced on. She was mesmerised by the fluid movement of the wolves darting effortlessly between the trees. Amazed at how heightened her senses now were, she could hear things more clearly and from further away, she could see the tiniest of flickers and in what sometimes, appeared to be slow motion. The sun streamed down over them as they bolted through the forest. Kassidy was pushing her body further than she had ever pushed it before, it somehow felt exhilarating yet agonising at the same time.

Kade ran beside Kassidy the entire way, he felt so free as the wind whipped through his fur. Suddenly they were out of the forest and at the base of a steep hill.

Race you to the top Kade goaded. He sprinted forward and took the lead ahead of Karla as Kassidy fell further behind him. A menacing bark snapped from the back

Stay in formation Kade

With a whimper he fell back in line.

In no time they had reached the top and were descending the other side when the lake came back into view.

The elders came to a halt when they reached the lake and lay down panting. One after another they disappeared into the trees and emerged fully clothed in human form. They greeted and bowed down to Konrad, Karla, Kade and Kassidy.

'Alpha's, Luna'

Once everyone was back in human form, Kade received a dress down from Konrad.

'You never break formation in the pack, it is carefully structured with precision to keep everyone as safe as possible if rogues or other packs were to attack. Do you understand?'

Kade looked down at his feet

'Yes'

'Yes what?'

'Yes Alpha'

'Good, now let's get going, we have a lot of pack business to bring you up to speed with after we've had lunch'

They strolled briskly back towards the castle.

* * *

The atmosphere in the pack kitchen area was buzzing. Chatter filled the room as the pack gorged on man sized triple stacked sandwiches.

Kassidy noticed Lisa behind the counter and smiled.

'Miss Kassidy, nice to see you again. Can I get you something to eat?'

Kade jumped in before she could answer.

'We'd both like something please' he grinned from ear to ear.

He looked around the room and saw a guy eating a sandwich of meat filled doorstop bread.

'I want what he's eating' he pointed.

Kassidy's eyes followed his finger

'Oh yeah, I'll go for one of those too please'

Lisa smiled wide.

'Okay, two triple decker bacon, pastrami, salami and cheese sandwiches coming up'

'Can I get..' Kassidy began to say just as Kade interrupted at the same time resulting in them chiming in unison

'Mayo on mine please'

They looked at each other dumbfounded and all three of them burst out laughing.

'You two are like peas in a pod' Lisa joked. 'I'll put mayo on both, take a seat and I'll bring them over'

Kassidy gazed around and a young girl reading in the corner caught her eye. She strolled over dragging Kade in tow.

'Hi, are these seats taken?'

The young girl looked up from her book in surprise when she realised who was stood before her.

'err, yes, I mean no, please sit' she smiled politely but bashfully.

Warm caramel eyes were inset into her pale freckly face, framed with long wavy mousy brown hair.

'What's your name?'

Kade asked brightly.

She blushed crimson.

'Jenny'

Kassidy smiled softly, trying to put her at ease.

'Nice to meet you Jenny. I'm Kassidy and this is Kade. Can I let you in on a secret?'

Jenny nodded with a smile that wrinkled her nose up.

'I'm so nervous, this is all really new to me and I don't know who anyone is or how I'm meant to act'

Jenny giggled and visibly relaxed a little.

'Well if you need a friend, I'm always around.'

Kassidy's smile reached her eyes.

'Tell us a bit about yourself'

'Well, I'm Graham's daughter. I'm 16 and I like reading.'

'Oh yeah, Graham is Kon... Our Dad's Beta, right?' Kassidy replied awkwardly

'Yeah, Alpha Konrad is a good man, he's a kind Alpha.'

'So you live in the castle too?'

Kade pryed.

'Yes, my family and I reside on the 4th floor' she smiled.

'Cool, so what do people do for fun around here?' he asked as his eyes darted around the room, taking in his surroundings.

Two plates were set down gracefully in front of the twins.

'Thank you Lisa'

She bowed and scurried off.

'Eat up and I'll show you around if you like?' Jenny smiled.

'Yes please' Kade mustered through a mouthful of sandwich.

'Oh my god, this is incredible'

'So good' Kassidy agreed as she bit into the soft bread and through the meat centre.

Jenny watched on in astonishment as they both devoured their lunch in a matter of minutes.

Kade wiped the excess crumbs from around his mouth with a napkin before standing from the table expectantly.

'Shall we go?'

Kassidy and Jenny looked at each other and chuckled.

'I'll lead the way' Jenny smiled as she rose from her seat and started towards the door.

Kade and Kassidy followed her out and to the left into a wide corridor. She entered into the first door on the right which lead them into a large room filled with sofas, pool tables, dart boards and 3 huge wide screen TV's with different games consoles connected to them.

'This is the recreation room' Jenny advised. A group of burly lads crowded around one of the pool tables, shot a glance in our direction.

'Wahey, it's the Alpha Twins' one of them jeered. He stood atleast 6 feet tall, dirty blonde tousled hair and twinkling blue eyes that complimented his perfect pearly whites.

Jenny groaned

'Fancy a game?' he grinned, holding out a pool cue.

Kassidy stepped forward confidently, grabbing the cue. She decided that if she was to be the Alpha's daughter, she better start acting like it. She was actually pretty good at pool, her Foster dad Jerry had taught her how to play a few years back.

'You're on fella, but I hope you like losing' she winked.

'Ohhhhhh' the group of guys were taken back by her quick wit and sharp tongue.

'That's some fighting talk there Missy' he grinned. 'Matty, set us up'

A slightly shorter guy with auburn hair started filling the triangle with the yellow and red balls.

Jenny rolled her eyes and headed towards the nearest sofa.

'We might as well take a seat' she sighed 'He'll want to play best of 3'

Kade looked at Jenny quizzically.

'That guy she's about to play is Jax, my older brother'

His eyes opened wide in surprise.

'Oh'

She sighed for a second time.

'I know, we look nothing alike' she said in a tone laced with sarcasm, as if this was a common dialogue for her. 'He has our mother's good looks and charm whereas I'm rather plain like my father'

Kade eyed Jax, he was chalking the end of his pool cue. He turned back to look at Jenny.

'I don't think you're plain' he corrected.

She smiled bashfully. They both sat there in an awkward silence, watching the game of pool. Kassidy broke sending the balls rolling in all directions, potting a yellow.

'Damn girl, you weren't bluffing' Jax joked.

'Guess I'm yellows' Kassidy grinned as she lined up for her second shot. The white ball clicked against the yellow as it connected, gliding it smoothly into the middle pocket. Jax raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed.

'I think you've met your match Jax' one of the guys snorted. He was the tallest of the group, but the thinnest, he was muscly but he was lean compared to the others. His dark curls matched the colour of his dark eyes.

'Look like it' he laughs.

Kassidy stepped back to assess the layout of her pool balls. She walked around to the other side of the table and leant over it to line up her shot. The tall guy with the curls leaned back to oggle her backside.

Kade cleared his throat to make his presence known, just as Kassidy took the shot and missed while the guy straightened up, crimson faced.

'What the hell Kade?' Kassidy shrieked.

'I was just letting our friend here know that you're off limits'

Both Kassidy and Jax turn to look at him just as Matty slapped him up the back of the head

'Jeez Billy, she's not for you'.

Jenny snickered.

'Alright, my turn' Jax enthused as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his fingers. He made quick work of potting 3 balls in a row before narrowly missing a 4th.

Kassidy potted a further 4.

'What's the prize for winning?' she goaded.

'No prize, there is a forfeit for the loser though' the last of the guys volunteered. He was tall, medium build with long brown hair and Hazel eyes.

'Oh is there now?' Kassidy's grin spread wide.

She lined up and potted another ball, leaving her with only 1 yellow remaining.

'What's the forfeit?' her eyes danced with excitement.

The guys looked between each other and then over to Kade who smirked at their request for approval.

'She has her own mind, if she wants to risk it, that's up to her'

'What do you think, big man?'

Kassidy asked Jax playfully.

'Oh I'm up for the forfeit sweetheart, the question is, are you?'

She lined up her shot at the last yellow.

'What is the forfeit?' Kade whispered to Jenny.

Kassidy potted her final yellow.

'The loser has to go skinny dipping in the lake'

Kade's eyes and mouth opened wide

'I'm in' Kassidy giggled before Kade had a chance to stop her.

He sighed.

'Does she have a chance of winning or has he been going easy on her?' Kade continued to whisper to Jenny.

'He's kinda the best in the pack at pool' Jenny whispered back.

Kade mind linked Kassidy before she could line up her shot at the black.

I do hope you can swim dear sister

Her head snapped in his direction wondering why he was using the mind link and not just talking out loud. He answered her questioning gaze.

The forfeit, you've just agreed to skinny dip in the lake if you lose

Kassidy gulped, she had been so consumed with winning that she hadn't really considered what the forfeit might be. Now she was flustered slightly, the pressure was on. She lined up her shot at the black, took a deep breath and hit the cue against the white. The ball connected with the black and it rolled effortlessly into the top left pocket. The group erupted in applause as Kassidy grinned wide and bowed. The room fell silent when they heard the sound of another ball entering the pocket, her celebration was short lived as it dawned on Kassidy exactly what had just happened. Laughter rumbled through Jax as everyone caught up to what had happened. Kade studied the table in confusion, Jenny answered his unspoken question.

'The white followed the black into the pocket, Jax wins'

Kade's face of disbelief matched that of Kassidy's.

'I'll see you at the lake, Princess. 8pm, don't be late' Jax winked before sauntering over to setup again 'Who's next?'