Knowing what those men did to his mate from the scene was bad, but hearing her describe what happened was more than Donald could take. He leaped up with a furious growl and shifted, ripping the shorts and shirt as he turned into his tan and grey wolf. He looked at Silvia, then turned away and ran for the hills.
Silvia had screamed as she turned to run, but Abigail held on to her until she calmed down. Kelly came over as well, and in a minute they had her sitting at the table again. "What the hell was that?"
Calvin was about to answer when a howl echoed through the canyon. They all looked up, it was a howl filled with rage and sorrow and Silvia knew that it was Donald. "It's not you, he wasn't mad at you. Donald, he's head of our security, and even though you were attacked on the road it was on our Pack territory, and he takes that personally." He reached across and placed his hand over hers. "It's also because of what those men did. You see, Donald is fifty years old and he still dreams of his mate. He tries to hide it, but he can't hide the longing he feels to find that woman, to have a family, to have ones to love and protect. He gave up the search when he thought he was too old to find her, and he considers every female and child to be under his protection. It's one reason he is so dedicated to his job, but this... this pushed him over the edge." He closed his eyes for a moment. "He sends his apologies, he will return shortly."
"Can you tell us what happened after Marcus and Josi came to your rescue?" Kelly was still sitting next to her, encouraging and comforting her.
"We continued on to Salmon after he treated me," she started. Once she had them in town, she and Abigail together brought them up to date on what had happened in the Salmon Pack. An apologetic Donald had returned during the story, his Alpha had linked them in so he was up to date on what had happened while he was running off his anger. He had fresh clothes on and with a few other Pack members had brought plates of lunch over for the group. They ate as they talked.
You could see the shock and anger on the Alpha's faces as they heard about what Richard had ordered, it was nothing less than mass murder in their eyes. "And the Pack is going along with this?"
Abigail nodded. "We barely made it out of there in the morning, Rachel had to break her Pack bond so she is on her own with Marcus at the clinic. The warriors were already gathering for the attack when we left. We stopped to pick up Josi, but she wouldn't leave until she found out if Reggie would be able to challenge his father. Rachel decided to stay with Marcus, he stayed with the people at the clinic who are being turned. We agreed to wait at the north end of town; Rachel said that if an attack came, it meant Reggie lost and couldn't stop it. She told us to head for you. We heard gunshots and howls so we got the hell out of there."
"We had to protect our children," Silvia added. "We all know about werewolves now, and Autumn was bitten. If he was willing to kill them to keep the secret, we knew he wouldn't hesitate with us."
Calvin put his head in his hands, he couldn't believe things had gotten that bad that fast. "This changes everything. Donald, we must protect our southern border, we can't allow their warriors to come closer. We're too vulnerable right now with all the humans going through the change."
"I'll take care of it, Alpha. We'll get more eyes on the road and the mountains, and I've got a few ideas to slow them down if they come."
The table was quiet for a moment, when one of the servers came over. "Alpha, now that the meal is over you have the changing ceremony scheduled." She took the plates as the Alpha couple looked at each other. They got up and held hands.
Calvin looked at the ladies and smiled. "Two of Josi's friends have made the decision to become werewolves. Would you like to join us for the ceremony? It's over there by the river."
The two looked at each other then nodded. "We'll just get our children first, if that's all right."
Beta Candice handed them two room keys. "We've given you adjoining rooms in the motel, and your suitcases have already been moved in to them. If you want, we can put the kids to bed and have someone watch them."
Abigail shook her head. "No, it would be good for Autumn to see this. If she is going to be a werewolf, she needs to start learning about it." Silvia quickly agreed, and they walked over to the playground area where the kids were. Baby Michelle was in the lap of an older woman, who handed the rambunctious girl up to her Mom. Silvia pulled her blouse aside and let her latch on when she started pawing at them.
The two families followed everyone down towards the river where a platform had been set up. Almost all Pack members were there except the ones tending to the humans who were undergoing the change and were in the middle of their fevers. Alpha Calvin took the stage, pulling Kelly up with him, and faced his Pack.
"In the midst of tragedy we can find hope and new life if we choose to look for it," he said. "Tonight, we are honored to have that. We are gathered to celebrate the transformation of two young ladies who have come to us in crisis, but are choosing to become one of us in all ways. Cheyenne, Willow, please join us here."
The two girls were helped on the stage as the Pack cheered and howled for them. The Alphas stood behind them, each with a hand on their shoulder as he continued. "The solar event has changed a lot for us, including causing us to reveal our true nature to the humans. These two have lived with us, talked with us and have decided of their own free will that they want the bite that will make them Werewolves, that will make them our Pack. This is not a decision to be taken lightly, and so we have discussed it and allowed them to choose freely. I have accepted their request as I believe they will make fine additions to our Pack, and to our species."
He stepped back and shifted into his large wolf.
They turned the girls around and Kelly held Cheyenne's hands. "Do you, Cheyenne, accept the bite that will transform you permanently in a werewolf, of your own free will and desire?"
"I do, Alphas." With that, Calvin came forward and grasped her left forearm in his teeth. His eyes looked up at her one last time and she nodded, so he bit down just hard enough to break her dark skin. Her hand clenched Kelly's in pain, but as quickly as he bit he released her. His long tongue cleaned the blood from the punctures and in moments it was stopped. Kelly gave her a hug, then moved on to Willow.
When both were done, Kelly turned them around and raised their injured arms to the Pack. Calvin stepped forward and let out a powerful howl; most of the Pack members tossed their clothes aside and shifted, and the next howl they all joined them. When it stopped, the echoes off the canyon walls continued until the night was silent again.
The silence didn't last. There was a scream from the grass above, then the sound of bones popping. They sounded like rifle shots, but every wolf knew what it was. The first change was always slow and painful as the body reformed and adjusted, and Britney was screaming her agony as her forearm bent and twisted unnaturally. The Pack as one moved to surround and encourage their newest wolf as she endured it.
She was lying on the ground, clad only in a large T-shirt that belonged to her mate Eric. He was by her side, whispering in her ear, when another scream came forward, this time from Bethany. She reached for her twin's hand as her arm bent and bones moved and changed, with Derek by her side.
