Lyra Khöller's Story

Aziel was looking a little more pressurised and frustrated by the way Lyra tried to dissuade him, but the determination on his face softened a little as he looked at a point behind Tabby, towards the door. Tabby slowly turned her head to look, and saw that guy - Lyra's father, the 'group leader' as she had come to assume - standing there looking very concerned. Not angry, not mortified...just concerned.

"OK..." Adrian said, pacing calmly to stand between Tabby and Kiyoshi on the one side, and Lyra and Aziel on the other, "...I think I can see what's happening here. Let's just take a minute to look this in the eye, and see if this is really what we want to be doing."

He gave Aziel a long stare - not judgemental or reprimanding, but just a delicate shake of his head. Adrian didn't know Aziel as well as he knew some of the other omegas, but he knew him better than the boy himself thought. Aziel was a loose canon (and not the only one in the group) but he wasn't totally unscrupulous, and he certainly didn't have the sort of contempt that would be necessary for him to disregar the instruction of an alpha.

Next, Adrian turned to Tabby and smiled sympathetically. Clearly, much was already out in the open. But perhaps nobody had given sufficient consideration for how the girl was going to take it. She might be able to accept it, sure enough, but it wasn't going to happen instantly.

"Tabby," he said softly, "I'm sure you've heard a lot of things from us which are strange. But I'm sure it's not the first time you've heard someone say something which seemed odd. It's only natural that when something knows or believes something to be true, they want to introduce others to that truth as well; especially if it has a special bearing on that other person. But there's one thing more true than anything else that I really want you to believe first."

He made a sideways glance to the others arounds them, and through the window to those in the kitchen, before continuing. "I want you to know and believe that here you are among friends, and nobody's going to do you any sort of harm. Isn't that right guys and girls?"

Lyra watched her father carefully as Aziel calm down. Her father had so much strength and control over their pack. There was nothing more Lyra wanted than to be just like him. Powerful, smart, alpha. What did he think of this situation in its own? Was he angry that Lyra chose to attend it as she did? Was there a better way should could have handled it? The burning question that made her throat run dry was the consideration if he would have had James solve this matter instead of herself. Surely if it had been James, Adrian would not have felt the need to intervene.

Lyra snapped her thoughts back to the present at Adrian's last words. Of course they were friends. That was the exact point Lyra had been trying to show Tabby since she first stumbled upon the town. Lyra knew how to handle this. It was disappointing that her father did not think this also. Had she all ready lost the race for alpha before it even began?

Lyra bit her lower lip and nodded to his words. No matter how she felt about this, bitterness would not help Tabby in this situation. Whether she became alpha or...... not...... the comfort of her pack members would always come first. It was as Lyra had heard many times. With the first cup of tea you were a stranger, the second you are an honored guest, and with the third cup of tea you are family. Lyra all ready felt protection towards this girl. And as Gavin's sister, Lyra would do all she could. "He's right, Tabby," Lyra said softly, her hand slipping from Aziel's shoulder. She swept closer to Adrian, Tabby, and Kiyoshi, smiling to the young wolf. Although Lyra's eyes were several shades lighter than Adrian's own, it was obvious that she was his daughter in this moment. They held the same compassion and self confidence that Adrian had. The willingness for others to calm down and loose their state of hysteria.

She smiled to Kiyoshi, not wanting him to feel forgotten. Now was not the time for her to thank him for his work in assisting Tabby, but Lyra knew he would understand. She would be nothing without him, that she had realized many years ago. "This is new to us also Tabby. You are unique in your own way and it is difficult for us to understand or even know how we should react. But we all have the best intentions, even if some of us are more straight forward," she said, shooting a glare towards Aziel, "or think that we need to protect the ones we love from the truth by leaving them behind. You yourself commented on the closeness of this house and whether you want to be or not, you are a part of it now. We will care and protect you the best we can. We are just unsure what the best way to do this would be. Maybe, instead of trying to force you into what we want you to be, you can tell us how we should go about this." Lyra looked to the young woman and smiled calmly. "To begin with, do you have any questions? I know Gavin tried talking to you earlier, but I understand that seeing him may not be the easiest thing right now."

Lyra stepped forward and, although it was slightly childish, she held out her hand in a motion of comfort in the chance Tabby needed it. "You can trust me."

Tabby stared at Lyra's hand as she pondered everything she'd heard. Care for and protect...being part of the house now...what did they know that she didn't? Excluding, apparently, something strange about her very nature. The whole 'being a werewolf' thing. Was she supposed to be staying here now? Wasn't it all as she had intended it to be; a failed weekend in Connorsford looking for a studio that didn't exist and then heading home with her tail between her legs to face the music from her mother?

"I...don't know how you need to go about anything." Tabby said uncertainly. "I didn't want anything major from you guys. I didn't come here on a journey of discovery. I just thought it was really nice that you guys invited me up here and got me out of a crappy situation. I...I do trust you. You've helped me a lot and I'm grateful. I don't want to tell you you guys are wrong about being werewolves but..."

She trailed off into silence. She didn't know what she was trying to say. Something about the whole business was starting to seem frightening plausible. Gaving last night, and Aziel just now. They hadn't just been flapping their gums. They'd obviously believed that it was within their power to prove their point.

Adrain nodded softly. "But you've got not reason to believe it yourself, right?" He said.

Tabby nodded meekly.

"Alright," said Adrian, "you came here with a man didn't you."

"Yeah, Lance."

"And who is he?"

"He's my uncle."

"Right, that's what you told my good lady. Now thing about us is that we can tell each other by scent, and as proof, I've got to tell you that we know Lance isn't your uncle."

"Wh..ho..." Tabby stammered in amazement, "How could you know that??"

"Wolves are wolves by blood relation only." Adrian said with a gentle smile, "We can identify you as a wolf. Lance isn't one. Therefore he can't be a relation of yours."

Tabby's eyes fell to the floor. There wasn't a single person who'd had any reason to doubt her story about Lance being her uncle. Adrian hadn't even met Lance, and Tai had only seen him for a minute. And yet they knew without doubt that she'd been lying about it.

"Wow." she gasped, standing up from her chair. "Uh...wow...OK." She turned to Lyra and took a deep breath. "So...can you really...you know...change?"

Lyra observed Adrian carefully, more interested in how he managed this situation than Tabby herself at the moment. Lyra knew that Adrian had not considered her as alpha yet. He never took the time to formally train her as he did for James. It was only in moments like this where Lyra could learn and prove that she was just as capable as her male counterpart. As a matter of fact, where was James? Frolicking about no doubt. It would be below him to actually show some effort for another human being once in awhile.

Lyra's golden eyes flickered to Tabby as Adrian subtly won his case in the argument. His tactics were far from what Aziel had been attempting to do. Even Lyra did not consider to bring in the falsely claimed relationship between Lance in Tabby to strengthen her argument. Brilliant.

Lyra smiled to Tabby as he girl returned to questioning her, her attention refocused to the situation at hand. Lyra bit on her bottom lip carefully to the question, questioning the best way to begin. The pressure was even tighter now that Adrian was watching. Potentially, this could make or break her future in the pack. Her pack.

"Yes," Lyra answered softly, her fingers floating in attempt to sooth the situation. "I can now." Her eyes drifted toward Kiyoshi as they shared a secret smile for a moment. Lyra blinked and refocused her attention. "Just like for humans, though, girls work differently than guys. Guys typically have their first when between eight or ten." Lyra waited patiently for the time connection to e made in Tabby's head before continuing. "That's when Gavin left, after his first shift. As the we age, the teenagers eventually move into the pack house like this one. Here we grow and learn together, forming bonds with our packmates despite true kinship. Due to these bonds, Gavin is as much my brother as he is yours."

Lyra bit her lip, judging how stressed Tabby was before continuing. "You and I, as females, are different. Your race has been concealed from you because it takes a very important event before a female can shift. Like wolves, we mate for life. And so, we need out mates to help us through the first shift." Lyra offered Tabby a smile and slipped beside Kiyoshi, her hand entwining with his as she leaned carefully into him. "I discovered that my mate is Kiyoshi. It is impossible to say who it will be, or even why. It's just a feeling you have suddenly. And now, I will be able to join the males of the pack for tomorrow's full moon as I shift for the first time. This is why it is so important you understand what you are. If you found your mate without realizing it, your genetic material would cause you to shift. It is a horrible process to be in alone, but now... You won't have to. You have us, if you want." Lyra offered her a smile, not knowing what to expect from the bewildered girl.

"Your old town was like this, that is why the kids in the house were so close together. In this human filled world, it is our secret that keeps us bounded. I know you need to take this all in, but I did not think having Aziel shift in front of you would solve anything. We do not want to scare you."

There was a rational part in Tabby's mind that was imploring her to close her ears and stop listening to what Lyra was saying. But it was becoming more difficult by the second to write off all these people as lying or crazy. Lyra didn't sound like she was making this up as she went along. And when she said about males first shifting at the ages of eight to ten, she was immediately reminded of what Gavin had told her the night before. The two accounts lined up. It made sense of the fact that Gavin was even alive.


Once Lyra was finished Tabby glanced towards Aziel, who was scowling but remaining silent nonetheless; no doubt humbled by the presence of Adrian who was quite obviously respected and obeyed in this 'family'. Eventually she looked down and shook her head, a gentle laugh escaping her lips.

"You know ever since Gavin left," she said, "at least once a month I've had nightmares about a pack of wolves. I always imagined it was the wolves I'd been told had killed Gavin and dad, imagining that they'd come for me too. I'm terrified of wolves!"

She took a deep breath and looked at Adrian. He was smiling at Lyra and leaning back against a wall. Tabby turned to Lyra also and gave her a good-humoured smile. "So...I guess as long as I stay single I'm pretty safe huh? Works for me."

---

In the kitchen Calvin watched, his hand still on Gavin's shoulder restraining him from going outside. He couldn't hear everything that was being said, particularly between Tabby and Lyra. But he could see what he needed to see. He how Lyra got involved in the situation, and acted like a leader. He saw how Adrian looked at her with approval. However, he also saw how Lyra knitted herself to Kiyoshi in her demonstration of the way things are. All the while, James was absent. It was a shame. The potential conflict that would transpire from his presence would have been quite useful.

Then came some words which Calvin did hear; about the full moon tomorrow night. His gut twitched. He'd not considered it being so soon. It didn't leave him very much time to move everything into place. He needed to get Lyra on her own, and he needed to do it soon. Which meant somehow removing Mr Chopstick...if only for ten minutes.

Lyra smiled warmly to Tabby, grateful that the girl had not shut down and actually listened to what she had to say. The fact that Tabby was now making jokes about the subject, even if to only lighten her own mood, made everything better. It meant she understood and was beginning to accept. It wouldn't happen in a day, but neither did Rome. Lyra was just grateful that the first step had been made. It was progress, at least.

She squeezed Kiyoshi's hand in response, thankful to have his support. It was more powerful than anything else she had known. Her eyes drifted to Adrian for a fleeting moment, curious if he would intervene. To her surprise, he did not. If anything, he seemed to approve of the situation as he simply stood watching and waiting for everything to take its course. Perhaps, everything would be okay after all.

"I don't think that's how you should look at it," Lyra chuckled, returning her attention to Tabby. "I suppose staying single would suppress the change forever, but. . . That would be so disappointing," she sighed, eyes flickering to Kiyoshi, thinking of him as she spoke. "Everyone is scared for their first shift. I'm terrified to be honest. But when you know that you're going through it with someone you love and trust, it suddenly does seem so bad anymore."

Lyra smiled, squeezing Kiyoshi's hand. No, it really wouldn't be so bad. Not with him there. It wasn't like someone would purposely try to manipulate the situation to put her in harms ways. "If you want that though, I'm not going to stop you, Tabby. But when you find who your mate is, you might end up changing your mind." Lyra laughed and winked, her golden eyes playful. "You know? Gavin just found his mate yesterday. It's Jac. She'll work on keeping him in line for you. Hey, did you ever get in contact with Lance by the way? You are still wearing the same clothes as yesterday so I guess he never got around to dropping off your stuff. You could borrow something if you want."

Tabby felt her skin practically crawl as Lyra remained on the subject of 'mates'. It sounded incredibly primitive, yet at the same time she was providing a visual example in the way of herself and Kiyoshi. And they certainly seemed happy enough. Like they'd been a couple for years. It hadn't seemed quite the same with Gavin and that 'Jac' girl the previous night, but...well, Tabby was already realising that Gavin was a rather full-on personality and that could have something to do with it.

Besides, she could see everyone around her was more relaxed now that she'd put her defences down - except perhaps Aziel who was still looking rather defeated - and it seemed like it was as well to let it go. Especially as the subject of Lance came up and she realised she'd been about to call him.

"Oh boy, yeah." she muttered, "I was just gonna call him, he never did show. He probably met some people somewhere, got talked into something stupid."

She smiled awkwardly, slightly apologetic that she'd lied to everyone about him being her uncle. That said, it wasn't as though the truth was any weirder than anything she'd had to get her head around since walking into the house! She picked up the phone which she had dropped near her chair, and without looking started dialing. The tactic worked; thinking about it less helped her memory recover Lance's cell number, and she put the handset to her ear.

---

Jason smoothed down his clothes and snorted in contempt, hoping that it would disguise the discomfort in his back which he always felt after shifting. It was a demeaning reminder that he would never again be fit for combat. Butchering an unarmed human was one thing...

"Calvin." he corrected, "Yeah he must be about your age, I dunno you kids all look the same to me."

Ash made her excuses to go and take a bath, and Jason huffed and spat on the ground. Even back in human form there was still the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

"Sure thing," he said, "for now you can..."

He was interrupted by a frenetic, tinny musical tone emanating from the deceased human's jacket pocket. Jason pursed his mouth and stared at the corpse for a moment, wondering what to do. After a few moments of indecision he quickly retried the cell phone and looked at the display. The name which appeared there made him panic.

"It's her." he said, "The girl we came for."

He pressed the button to answer the call, but then immediately flipped it over, prized the back off and removed the battery, slipping it into his pocket and the phone into another pocket. It might come in useful later, but for now he would prefer Tabitha to simply think that he friend's phone had run out of charge whilst answering the call.

"Well," he went on, "for now you can take your pretty self off to do whatever you feel like. After a good morning's work why don't you head into town and treat yourself to something nice? I'm gonna go to the camp and tell Winter that the plan is back on track."

---

"God damn it's tight!" Nico cursed, as the four boys wriggle their way down the narrow passageway. Normally he would have the confidence to suppose that they would have turned back if the crevice didn't get wider up ahead, but unfortunately he knew that Q-Ball was in the lead, so there was no confidence at all that common sense would prevail.

"I dunno," Drake sneered, "I've had tighter."

"Sure you have hot-shot." Craig grizzled, looking back contemptuously. "Keep telling yourself that stud."

"Let the baby have his bottle." Nico chuckled, "He can say what he wants when there's probably no female within a mile to say to the contrary."

Nico and Craig laughed between themselves. Up ahead the sound of running water rose up again, confirming that they were heading towards an underwater spring. Unfortunately, it was also getting gradually darker. Nico found himself wanting to suggest shifting, but at this stage the ability to communicate orally probably outweighed the size and agility advantage of being in wolf form.

"You see anything Q?" Nico called forward.

"Yeah, yeah." Q-Ball chattered, "Looks like it opens up a little bit, maybe inclines upwa-ARGH!"

There was a squeal and a splosh, and the other three boys fell to their knees laughing as it became apparent that Q-Ball had fallen straight into a rock pool.

"Nice navigating dipshit." Craig chorlted.

"What's that?" Q-Ball spluttered.

"I said...nice navigating shit-for-brains."

"No," Q-Ball said, shushing the others. "I can hear voices...further up ahead...."

---

Tabby sighed resignantly and placed the phone back down on the table.

"Sounds like he's out of battery, wherever he is." she said with a weak smile and a shrug.

"Not a problem." Adrian spoke up after remaining quiet against the wall allowing Lyra and the other to deal with the situation. "I've got an idea. Mr Dean - aka Jeff - was telling me there's a fete on in the square down in town. It's a human shindig, so you know the score. But it could be fun, the weather's right for it, and it's in the middle of town so if Lance is down there we may well run into him."

He looked over at Lyra, taking a moment to give her a warm smile of approval as he took in, for the first time, the sight of her and Kiyoshi together. It wasn't difficult to see an alpha-pair in the making...but he had to refrain from the temptation to presume how things would work out. He still dearly wished the decision didn't ultimately rest on his shoulders.

"Besides," he went on, "it's a big night tomorrow. Best make sure that we're all stocked up for the celebration. So waddya'll say - penny-stalls and bouncy castles in the sun sound like a day out?"

---

Calvin snorted to himself. Scared of wolves is she? Well good luck with that. Maybe when 'it' happened it would be as well to leave Gavin behind to look after his car-crash of a sister. Especially now that his crazy mother had shown up and muddied the waters even more. He'd hoped he might be able to win over a few others - Gavin would have been a good candidate, Aziel too - but really the only person he needed to talk to an persuade was Lyra. Lyra was everything. And she was the most urgent too. Every second she spent getting comfortable around Kiyoshi was gonna make it harder for her to see the light when the time came.

"You hear that Gav?" he said, "I think the boss said there's a fete in town. Maybe there's be the opportunity to throw things at other things...maybe even shoot stuff with airguns if we're lucky. And if it's lame we can always bail and find something else to do."

Lyra frowned as Tabby's call did not connect, but she did not allow the inconvenience to dampen her mood. Traveling for so, it was not unreasonable that Lance could have just forgotten to charge his phone. Although, it did worry Lyra for some reason. If something were to happen to Lance, he would not be able to call for help. That's a strange thought, Lyra scolded herself with a shake of her head. It was Connorsford. Nothing ever happened here.... Even if the sudden appearance of Tabby under a false presumption still tingled Lyra's hairs, it did not mean either of them were in danger. Besides, for the few moments Lyra had met Lance, he seemed to be one that allowed mediocre tasks to slip his mind easily. Part of Lyra was impressed that the two had even made it here.

Lyra's golden eyes flickered toward Adrian, smiling to his suggestion. For a moment, she caught his gaze. Warmth spread through her body to see the pleasure brushed across his face. He approved.

Lyra grinned and looked up to Kiyoshi, wondering if he saw the same look that she had. She squeezed against him, a feeling that everything would be okay settling across her. "A fete sounds fun. A few people missed Ray's birthday last night, so it would be good to have everyone together for once. As we get older, it seems almost impossible for the pack to be in one place, even if we do live in the same house!" Lyra laughed to her comment, although a pang of sorrow ran through its center. Eventually, everyone would move out of the pack house. Even she would, unless she was named Adrian's successor before she was old enough to move. But then again, Kiyoshi was all ready twenty. Had he started looking for apartments? Lyra shivered, the only sign that the happy front held a deeper secret. That was something to discuss later and without an audience.

---

Ash remained mute to Jason's display, her hazel eyes criticizing as he removed the battery from the phone and slipped it into his pocket. It would be just like him to take a trophy, even if the phone probably had some practical use behind it. "I think I have some pocket change around, so maybe I will take up your offer," she said, eyes wandering the forest. "There's a few tasks I wanted to catch up on. And there must be something to do in this pathetic town on a Saturday night. Maybe I can get into a movie or something." Ash shrugged, turning to walk down the path. "Cya Jassy. And you might want some Advil for that back problem of yours," she smirked with amusement.

Ash walked quietly towards the town, enjoying the time to think away from the boys. She did not care what Jason did with the body, but Ash was careful. Slipping off her shoes, she walked in the river to hide her scent from any snooping noses.

Calvin flicked his head to look at Sid...he thought he'd detected a slightly outdoorsy smell, even for a house full of werewolves! Would Sid be a good candidate for the grand plan? No, probably not...too loyal to the 'ways' of the pack. And even Gavin seemed to be finding his feet in the official channels more since he'd found his mate.

He was about to answer Sid when Kathy chimed in with her tuppence on the matter. His lips curled into a grin and he shrugged.

"Hey why not," he said, "if you need the boys around to champerone you whilst your throwing bean-bags at coconuts then I'd be honoured."

He laughed a mean laugh and slapped Gavin on the back. "Sounds like we have our heading for the day. We need to catch up about last night anyhows, right?"

---

"That's always the way." Adrian smiled, "Everyone under one room, but rarely in the same room."

His smile faltered for a moment as he recalled how that hadn't really been the way when he was rounger. It always seemed like everyone had been under each other's feet back then. Him, Jeff, Emmy, Lux....Bobby.....

He took a deep breath in at the memory of his deceased friend. The only person who hadn't lived to see how the Khöller pack had prevailed after the last incident. It reminded him also of Lux...perhaps today would be a good day to invite her out too if she felt up to it?

"Well," he said, forcing the smile once again and walking towards the house again, "no time like the present eh? Everyone get booted up and I'll see you at the car."

---

Tabby stared at her phone discontentedly, wondering what Lance was actually up to. The guy wasn't the single most reliable entity on earth, but to totally disappear leaving her stranded at some strange house (however friendly the inhabitants had turned out to be) just seemed irresponsible even for him. Still, Adrian's suggestion seemed to have some merit. Connorsford evidently wasn't the biggest of towns, and if there was going to be any sort of performance element to the fete, there was a strong chance Lance would be drawn to it.

"Alright I like the sound of that." she said with a smile, and turned to Lyra, "I think these clothes will survive one more day, but thanks for the offer...and if we don't find Lance today I might well have to take you up on that."

She put her hand to her chin thoughtfully as something else occured to her, "He probably wouldn't have had any reason to move the car. If it's still where it was yesterday I reckon my stuff is probably still there."

Lyra nodded thoughtfully to Tabby, considering the idea of the car being where it was last. "That sounds good. One the way back from the Fete we can always stop by to see if there car is still there. For all we know, Lance might not have had the energy to make it into a hotel last night and just crashed in the car again. But Dad's right, I wouldn't be surprised if we bump into Lance at the Fete. I know what he looks like so I'll watch for him." Lyra offered Tabby a reassuring grin.

She looked up to Kiyoshi and gave him one last squeeze of affection, unsure what we thought of taking the afternoon off from training... again. "This will be fun, and we can train again after we go out. Or even on the beach while we are out. Don't worry everything will be fine tomorrow, okay, Kiyoshi-san?" she asked. She wanted to give him a kiss of reassurance, but was still timid to display such affect in front of her father. After all, they had not even discussed the matter of her mating yet. Instead, Lyra settled on wrapping her arm around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder for a moment. Lyra understood how fearful Kiyoshi was of the following night and knew she had to stay strong for the both of them.

Slipping from his grasp, Lyra turned toward the rest of the group and lifted her hand in a wave of farewell. "I'm going to change into something nicer before we head out," Lyra informed them as she headed out the kitchen and towards her room.