The Animal in Us

[QUEENIE]

The Animal in Us

It was the beginning of summer and Cassie Nightingale found herself aboard a plane on her way to England. Her grandmother had sent her a letter, stating she was needed urgently and must come immediately. Cassie, in complete worry, boarded the first flight to England she could get tickets for. Looking around the cabin of the plane she noticed a small boy being scolded my his mother in Russian. Cassie laughed. The boy looked over her way, though his reaction wasn't what she was expecting. His eyes glowed golden, and he seemed to bow in her presence. Cassie smiled awkwardly and turned around. "That was odd." She thought to herself.

It took about eight hours to land at London Heathrow Airport. Cassie grabbed her carry-on-bag from the storage compartment, and exited the plane. Walking for three minutes into the baggage claim, she realized how nice the airport was. It was traditional looking. As she stood around the baggage claim, the boy that was on the plane with her strolled up and smiled up to her. "So you are the one to start the war?" He seemed to ask, but Cassie felt it was more of a statement, though she looked puzzled. "What?" But before the boy could answer, his mother grabbed his hand and apologized to Cassie for his rudeness, and than hurried away. Though not before she overheard her whisper "she must find out when it is time." Cassie looked at them strangely.
As she turned around, she slammed into a tall man with broad shoulders. Looking up she noticed her had short black hair and a tan. "Are you Cassie?" He questioned. Cassie nodded. "Than grab your bags, and let us go." Cassie complied and grabbed her things. Speed walking after the man, Cassie questioned him herself. "Who are you?" Cassie looked up at him. "Alec." Cassie smiled. "Okay, now why are you here." Alec smiled down at her. "Officially, your grandmother asked me to retrieve you." Cassie looked at him, curiously. "Unofficially?" He stopped looking at her. "Don't worry about, you'll find out in do time. Now come." Cassie remained silent and followed after him.

Arriving at her Grandmother's house, she noticed that it had changed plenty. There was a whole second floor, the garden had been redone to exceptional stature, there was a second door added to her garage, and the house was completely repainted in a navy blue with white trim. "Wow." Cassie spoke in awe. "Yeah, I helped her redo everything." Cassie looked over to Alec, as he pulled her bags out of the trunk of his Jeep. "So, your like some construction worker or something." Alec smiled and shook his head. "Or something." He commented and began to walked towards the divine looking front door. The glass itself, inside the door, was magnificent all together. There was a light design of two wolves one with golden eyes similar to the boys and one with a dark red almost purple eye. "That's amazing." She spoke as she pointed to the pieces. "Yeah, she bought them from a place in Germany." Cassie smiled as she thought of her grandmother always speaking about her worldly adventures.

Stepping into her grandmother's house she smiled at how luxurious the entryway was. "Agatha!" Alec called into the dimly lighted house. Within a minute or to, Cassie's grandmother appeared from a small doorway to their left. "Cassie! How lovely to see you. Please come in and make yourself at home." Cassie smiled at gave her grandmother a hug. "Thank you, and this is just so...so...wow." She said gesturing to the house. "Thank you, you really should tell that to Alec here, he did all of it." Cassie smiled at him, though before she could say anything her interrupted. "Actually I have to go, Agatha. See you later, Cassie." She smiled and waved at the man. "Okay, Alec. You will have to stop by again soon." Agatha smiled, than turned to Cassie. "Please come in."

◊◊◊

It had been about three days since, Cassie arrived in England. She was sitting in the local forest, just out her grandmother's back door, reading a book by William Faulkner, As I lay dying. Though as she reached page thirty, she heard a rustle coming from deep in the forest. "Whose there?" She called out in question.
​

 

[Memoria]

colour ref: 1b4f47

DAKOTA MASON SAWYER
"Dakota," said a small, tentative voice, waking Dakota from his sleep. "Dakota, sir? Dakota?"

Reluctantly, Dakota opened his eyes. He lay on the forest floor, cushioned by a thick, dry bed of fallen leaves and pine needles. The late morning sun, light and watery, filtered through the vast canopy of leaves and branches. Only small slices of the blue-gray England sky were visible. Dakota, in his human form, sat up. He usually slept in wolf form, or, if he was in his human body, in a tree. He disliked the feeling of vulnerability that sleeping on the ground as a human entailed. The only reason he had slept on the ground that night was because he had just returned from a long surveillance trip, and was simply too tired to climb a tree to sleep.

He looked to the side, where the small voice had come from. Jesse, his Beta, his second in command, sat beside him. The sunlight brought out tiny traces of golden-blonde in his black hair. Although Jesse was nineteen, he looked very young, no older than fifteen. He squatted on the balls of his feet, like he always did, poised to spring and run away at the slightest sign on danger. It had taken Dakota a year to train the flight instinct out of his Beta. Dakota had saved Jesse when he had found the younger wolf wandering around the forest. Jesse was extremely kind and gentle; the opposite of Dakota.

"What's up, Jesse?" asked Dakota. Usually hostile, antisocial and distant, Dakota was only close, affectionate and kind to his pack.

"You asked me to wake you up before noon," Jesse reminded him. "We have to go hunting, remember?"

Dakota looked around at his pack. The guys, Liam and Quentin, were fast asleep, snoring thunderstorms in their wolf forms. Dakota's third in command, a Hispanic beauty named Cali, was starting a campfire in the remains of last night's one. The other girls, Isabelle and Yvonne, were climbing down from the trees they had slept in.

"Okay," said Dakota. He stood up, and raised his voice slightly, in order to speak to the entire pack. "Alright, we're going hunting. Who hunted last night, on the surveillance trip?"

Jesse, Quentin and Yvonne raised their hands.

"Okay, you guys stay here. Cali, Isabelle, Liam and me will go hunting now. Jess, you're in charge while I'm gone."

Jesse nodded solemnly. Dakota shimmered down into his wolf form. His wolf coat was a steely gray. Cali, Isabelle and Liam all shifted in the space of two seconds. Cali's coat was chocolate brown, Isabelle's was snowy white and Liam's, a coal black.

Dakota lead the small group through the forest. They ran with incredible speed, faster than any normal wolf could hope for. They weaved through the thick trees.

There was an old house on the edge of the forest; Dakota usually bypassed it, as he had no interest in harming humans. He inhaled deeply through his nose; the pleasant scents of aged house wood, musty carpet and the humans who lived there filled him. He also caught the scent of a new human, one he had never registered at the house before. She smelled pleasant, like roses, or vanilla, he wasn't sure. Dakota didn't remember many scents from his human life.

Along with the female human's pretty scent, he also caught the aroma of something less pleasant; other werewolves. Each wolf, vampire or human had their own distinct, unique scent. These wolves, he knew. They came from a rival pack, a pack with no Alpha.

Dakota caught sight of them through the trees. He knew they saw him too. Dakota could have howled, and had the rest of his pack on his flanks in two minutes. He could have fought the other pack. He wanted to fight them. They had crossed his pack too many times.

But he saw the new, foreign human female. She was beautiful; golden blonde hair, tanned skin and pretty eyes with thick lashes. She looked delicate. She wouldn't be able to handle seeing wild animals fight.

And a strange feeling stirred in Dakota. A feeling he had never felt before.

He signaled to Isabelle, Liam and Cali with a sharp turn of his head. He led the others away from the rival pack, away from the conflict he so desperately desired.

Away from her.​

 

[QUEENIE]

Cassie Nightingale

As the cool-damp air touch her skin, she looked up to the man who emerged from the tall moss covered pine trees. "Ben." She spoke softly at his presence. Cassie had meet Ben three days prior, when she arrived. In fact she had meet all of what was soon to be her pack, Ben, Justine, Kayla, Alec, Isle, and Luka. The little encounter between the pack and her had brought her much knowledge, most she would had loved to live without.

She had received knowledge of her ancestors that night, in a induction ritual she had believed to be a prank until she blacked-out and began to see visions. The images in her mind, opened up a gate way to her heritage, which was rudely taken away from her by her parents. "Your parents reject their heritage and rejected yours for you." He grandmother had informed her. Learning that she, not only belonged to a wolf pack, but she was the next Alpha of one, made Cassie's head spin. Though that wasn't the immensely confusing part. She was to start a war. She had no clue how to participate in a war, let alone start one.

Focusing back onto Ben, she smiled for a moment. "What is it?" She asked him, a harsh tone filled her voice. "Ouch. Sounds like your not happy to see me, love." Ben grinned devilishly. Cassie rolled her eyes. "Stop taking my time, and please tell me what you want." Cassie glared at him. She would have actually enjoyed Ben's company if her wasn't so arrogant. Just as he was about to answer her, or come back with a snarky comment, Justine emerged from the house and walked their way. Justine was only two inches shorter than Cassie, and had thick brown hair that just passed her shoulders. She was breathtaking. Within the few days of Cassie's inhabiting England, they had become friends. "Stop harassing her, Ben." Looking over to Cassie, she smiled. "It's time." She replied slyly, and walked out into a small clearing next to the house. Cassie groaning as she followed behind the girl.

As the trio entered the clearing, Cassie remembered the pain from the last session. It wasn't the easiest or nicest thing retrieving your your ability to shift again. Looking up to the sky, Cassie hoped there would be storm clouds, that would mean her session would be canceled until after the storm cleared. There was nothing. "Today, you really need to focus." Justine spoke, shocking Cassie back into reality. Cassie nodded in agreement. Ben went and sat on a fallen tree, kicking back and waiting to see if Cassie would actually shift today. He was interested in seeing what he coat looked like, hell all of them were interested. It was said, that certain coats brought certain powers or luck to the pack. Hopefully Cassie would be blessed with the coat of a Red wolf, gray wolf or the rarest among shifters the white wolf.

Cassie sat on the ground, channeling some stupid chi thing that Justine insisted on her focusing on. "Can we just skip this today, it hasn't worked for me." Cassie spoke for a moment. "If that is what you wish, though I don't advise it." Justine looked at her, no expression on her face. Cassie smiled and stood. "Okay well you need to focus on the environment you are in, focus on being apart of it. One." Justine mentioned as Cassie stood.

Cassie wasn't one for the whole 'being apart of nature,' but it meant so much to these guys that she try, she couldn't walk away with out really trying. Cassie focused on being one with nature, but nothing was happening except for a mosquito biting her neck. Again she tried, and this time she was able to feel the bones start to shift, she scream, but than they went back into place. "It's hopeless. Each day we come out here, and all I do is get half way and than stop." Justine looked at her with disappointment. "That is because you are scared of your shift. Each time you scream, your body protects itself by rejecting the shift." Justine glared at Cassie, making her feel uncomfortable. "Maybe you should scared the shit out of her!" Ben yelled from the side lines. "No, I can do it." Justine looked over to Ben and than back to Cassie. "You can possibly be agreeing with him, Justine." Cassie looked at her, wide eyed. "No, it is smart though. I mean you won't let yourself shift, so what if you had to shift. Ben come here." Ben looked surprised at Justine. "Wow, for once you listen to me." Ben detached from the trunk of the tree, and made his way over to the two girls. "Now see, Ben here isn't the nicest looking wolf. And he doesn't act that way either. So if you don't shift, he will kill you, Cassie." Cassie gulped.

Ben backed away to the opposite side of the clearing as Cassie. Letting his body shift, Ben's bones began to break down and his coat appeared. His coat resembled that of a Eastern timber wolf. Cassie's knees started to shake at the sight of Ben's intimidating form. He started to bound towards her. She shrieked. Running out of the way as Ben pounced over her, Cassie felt her heart racing in fear. "Shift!" Justine called from the trunk of the large tree. Cassie was trying, but nothing. It was like it shift was frozen in fear, but she wasn't. Running and dodging Ben, Cassie felt a small claw at her leg. She was now bleeding, slightly. "Shift!" Justine called again. "I can't!" She yelled in reply. "Than die!" Justine yelled bluntly. Cassie's emotions were a mess, she wanted to shut down and cry, she wanted to fight and live, she wanted to run and hide, but she didn't know if any were possible right now. "Just fight for your life!" She thought to herself. Without realizing it, Cassie's feet had stopped moving, and she was now facing Ben's wolf form head-on. "Just let nature take it's course, and that means we have to shift." She thought to herself.

Noticing that Cassie now faced him, and wasn't running. The corner's of Ben's mouth turned up in a evil grin. His wolf form was prepared to kill her. Taking off, he bounded towards her; after reaching her, he leaped into the air and descended down towards her. Missing, Ben looked puzzled. Looking back, he noticed another wolf was there, a White wolf. Cassie had shifted. Moments later she howled and Ben, uncontrollably, shifted back into his human form. Justine bringing over his coat and a pair of shorts one of the young ones brought her. Ben dressed as the two stared at Cassie. Many of the clans people, including the pack itself, emerged from the trees. They had found their Alpha.


◊◊◊

"I can't believe it, out of everything a white wolf. In our pack!" Grams spoke with much pride. "It's unheard of in England packs. In fact there is only one other on the earth right now." Grams hugged her and messed her hair up. They were in the middle of packing up some hot dogs and drinks to take to a bonfire they were having a little ways into the woods. They were celebrating the homecoming of an Alpha. "This means great luck for the pack, Cassie. Oh, you'll make such a great Alpha, just like your grandfather had." Grams voice cracked for a moment.

After the two made their way to the bonfire, they saw that Ben and the rest of the pack was there. The fire already built. "Wow, all this for me?" Cassie spoke looking at how happy everyone was looking at her. "I mean, hi." Cassie laughed. She was one of the youngest in the pack. Well that is until the boy she saw at the airport, joins in a year or two. She learned a wolf must be fifteen to join the pack. Looking around she started to feel at home, though something was missing in her heart.
​

 

[Memoria]

DAKOTA MASON SAWYER
Dakota had commandeered the small group back to their camp. He had snatched his shorts and shirt from where he had left them, then, with a full belly, joined the rest of the pack in throwing pebbles at birds in the trees surrounding them.

Constantly, the blonde female human from the old house reappeared into his brain. Her golden colouring, the way she seemed so innocent, the concentration she paid to the book in her hands. Dakota had never felt this way about anyone, not in his human life or his wolf one. The only feelings he felt were affection for his pack, hatred for the rivals and annoyed tolerance for humans. Dakota had no name for the feeling he harboured for the girl.

"Dakota," said Isabelle. "Do you smell that?"

Dakota inhaled deeply. Even in human form, werewolves had sharpened senses. The scents of the forest filled his nostrils, along with something else, something foreign and dangerous.

"Fire," breathed Dakota.

Immediately, the pack was on alert. An instinct to flee, an instinct old as wolves, filled them at the scent of the fire. "Do we run?" said Quentin sharply.

"I can smell gasoline," said Liam. "It's man-made."

"So?" snapped Quentin. "Humans are stupid. They could set the damn forest on fire."

"Shut up," Dakota commanded. "I can smell other werewolves with them."

The boys immediately shut up. The pack was silent, staring at their leader with rapt attention. They recognised the tone in Dakota's voice; control, reassurance and authority. Nobody dared to argue with the Alpha.

"The wolves from the other pack?" asked Yvonne breathlessly. Everyone knew which pack she meant; there was only one other pack living in this forest.

"Yes," said Dakota. "They started it."

"They're probably having a party," said Cali.

Dakota smirked, his mischievous side kicking in. "Well, why don't we have some fun and crash it?"

His pack nodded, smiles spreading across their faces. They rarely had fun like this.

Dakota took off running, his pack following closely behind him. They ran in the formation they used when travelling in wolf form; Dakota running point, with Jesse on his right, Cali on his left, Quentin and Isabelle tailing Jesse and Liam and Yvonne behind Cali. Dakota followed the scent of the fire, mixed with the aroma of the wolves, and something masked in with their scents. The fact that he could not distinguished the mystery scent enraged him. He would definitely uncover it when he got to the party.

"Be ready to shift," said Dakota as they neared the clearing. "Our presence may cause a fight."

Dakota burst into the clearing, landing squarely in the center of the open space, beside the tall, roaring fire. His pack stood behind him, bright eyes livened with excitement. Good, Dakota thought. They rarely got to enjoy themselves.

"Having a little party, are we?" said Dakota tauntingly, allowing his eyes to shift lazily between each member of the other pack. "What's the occasion?"

That was when he picked up the mystery scent again. Registering the familiar aroma in his mind, he whirled around to face the source of it. Through the flickering flames, he caught sight of her, the golden beauty from earlier today. He locked eyes with her, registering the shock on her face.

Dakota stepped around the fire, in order to get a better look at her. "You," he whispered, so quietly a human wouldn't have heard it. But he was surrounded by wolves; they definitely would have heard him. He kept the gaze between himself and the blonde girl, afraid that she would disappear if he looked away.​

 

[QUEENIE]

Cassie Nightingale
The party was not even 20 minutes old, when the rival pack showed. Cassie could feel the packs anger level rising at the sight of the new comers. Cassie was curious as to who they were. Ben growled. "Leave. This has nothing to do with the likes of you." Ben stepped closer to Cassie, than Justine and soon the rest of the pack drew closer to her. Cassie looked at them and than back to the guy starring at her. "Um, am I missing something?" She questioned Ben and the rest off her pack. Though as a breeze came, she smelled them, smelled him.

Looking over to the boy, Cassie realized who he was. She remembered her grams telling her about the rival clan that lived within the woods. His name was Dakota, their Alpha. "So, your the Alpha?" Cassie kept quite about her gifts, feeling that even though there both hold the same rank he was far superior than her.

But as the time went on, they did not leave and Ben became furious. Stepping closer to the Alpha he pushed at the man's shoulders. "Are you deaf, I mean I knew you guys were vermin, but I thought you could at least hear. Guess that just goes to show never expect much from nothing." Ben grinned at the rival pack. For some reason, now that they had a Alpha all their own he felt as if it would be easier to fight them.

Justine pulled at Ben's jacket. "Ben, stop it. You're going to upset Cassie. Besides this is to be a celebration not an execution." She hissed the last words as she looked at some of the girls from the rival pack.

Cassie wondered if any of them had a grudge against the person instead of what the pack had done in the past. All she knew was that they had done something to upset the old Alphas, and well their rivalry existed since than.

Alec moved out from the tree at the site of his girlfriend getting worked up over their presence here. "Maybe it be best if you all move along. We don't need any trouble on the night we become a whole pack again." He spoke as he motioned to Cassie to back away from Dakota. Cassie complied and walked back to Alec. Looking down at the young Alpha, he mentally noted to her, "Watch out for them, we don't need you getting hurt right now." Cassie nodded and looked back, still confused.

Ben growled. "Leave before I rip your head off, mate." Ben's voice was fairly low and well it slightly intimidated Cassie a little. Ben stepped closer to Dakota.

​

 

[Memoria]

DAKOTA MASON SAWYER
Dakota's pack, standing behind him, growled deeply when a tall male from the other pack -- Ben, he had heard someone say -- stepped towards Dakota threateningly. Leave it, guys, Dakota thought to the rest of his pack. He felt the pack physically calm down, though they continued to growl.

Dakota, in a moment of rebellious defiance, stepped closer to Ben. Though the other male towered over Dakota, he lacked the air of power and authority Dakota emitted. An Alpha's power ruled over any other werewolf's.

"I think I have the right to meet the new Alpha of your pack," he said, raising his voice just loud enough so everyone in the clearing could hear him. "I mean, this one might not be so much of an utter fucking asshole like your last one, who killed off my family and left me alone." Dakota smirked defiantly. "Remember that? I think you were there. You killed my family."

Dakota stepped around Ben, strongly resisting the urge to elbow him in the ribs. He signaled to his pack, wordlessly commanding them to stay where they were. Aware of the many pairs of eyes training on him, he walked right up to the golden girl. He tried to ignore the fluttery feelings in his stomach as he stepped in front of her. He was about a head taller than her. Up close, he could see the pretty, unique colour of her eyes.

He managed to cover the shy, butterfly feelings he held by acting nonchalant and sarcastic, like he usually was.

"Yes, I'm the Alpha," he said. "My name's Dakota." He held his hand out. "I'm sorry about crashing your party." Lie. "I hope we can work together, unlike the last Alpha -- he killed off my entire pack, did you know that? My family. All dead. I was alone, till I found these guys." Dakota gestured to his pack. ​

 

[QUEENIE]

Cassie Nightingale
Cassie stared at the Alpha. If it wasn't for the fact he just basically called her grandfather a murderer, she would have been okay with him. "How dare you! First of all do not, and I repeat do not come in here acting like...like and asshole and start calling MY grandfather a murderer and than act like things are okay. Quickest way to my shit list, got it." Cassie stepped closer to him, at this point she pressed down her attraction for the lad, and went off of pure anger towards him at the moment. "Yes, I am sorry your family died, but let it go. Turn a leaf, do something. Don't bring the sad sob story here. I've been through shit myself, but you don't see me introducing myself and talking shit about you or family." Cassie was slightly crossing her boundaries, but right now he struck a nerve. The only two people in her family that treated her like family was her grandfather and her grandmother. And no one had the right to bash their name, especially in death.

Ben stepped stepped towards Cassie. "I wouldn't advise angering her, mate. She isn't all flowery as even I thought she was." Ben warned him, as he felt her anger creep over him. The whole pack felt her anger. It was less than seven months ago, her grandfather passed.

Cassie took a step back. She would have apologized, but a leader never apologizes in the face of the enemy. Still glaring at him, Cassie felt her grandmother's hand reach to her shoulder. "Cassie, please calm down. I know your grandfather is a tough subject, but Dakota's family is a tough subject. So please be kind, and put your anger away...now apologize to the lad." Grandmother spoke softly and used soothing techniques to calm Cassie, which in return calmed the pack.

Cassie looked over to Dakota. "I will apologize when I feel he deserves it. For now, I will make nice." She had no intention on hurting his pack at any given point in time. Though she felt as if he wanted to hurt them for the old packs mistakes.

​

 

[Memoria]

DAKOTA MASON SAWYER
Dakota appreciated it when the girl's grandmother -- Cassie's grandmother -- defended Dakota slightly. Dakota seriously considered backing down, apologising to Cassie and her pack.

Oh, no you're not, thought Quentin.

Dakota, you cannot back down from this, thought Liam. The pack slipped into mental communication, something they only did in times of panic or confusion.

You never back down, thought Yvonne.

Guys, shut the fuck up, thought Cali. Dakota's the Alpha, he can do whatever he wants.

Leave him alone, agreed Jesse.

Dakota had already decided what he was going to do. He couldn't explain it, but he wanted Cassie to like him. He wanted to make her happy, to destroy anything in the world that upset her. He wanted to be something that made her happy.

"You're right," Dakota said to Cassie. "I had no right to come in and talk like this to you. I'm sorry."

Oh no, you did not just do that.

Dakota, my man, you have officially been dubbed as weak.

Jesse, take the others back to the camp, Dakota thought angrily. Make sure they don't talk to me for a bit. Boys, you're really annoying.

Jesse complied. He gestured to the others and took off into the trees. The others followed him. Dakota turned back to Cassie.

"Maybe we should talk," he whispered into her ear -- just low enough that only those right next to her would hear. "I don't want to start a war, like the previous Alphas had done. I don't want anyone else to die. Can we fix this? Please?"​

 

[QUEENIE]

Cassie Nightingale
Looking up to him, and the facial expressions of his pack, Cassie could tell many of them were upset with the fact that he backed down. She knew he wouldn't have in any normal circumstance. "Fine." Cassie spoke and looked to her grandmother. "You may use the house." Cassie nodded and motioned Dakota to follow her.

"Are you kidding me?" Ben yelled at Grandmother. "How are you gonna to allow hi-" Ben was cut of by the look Cassie gave him. He immediately shut up and kept his opinion to himself.

Justine laughed at him. "She is for sure a true Alpha, if she could you to shut up." She slapped Ben, on the back. Walking over to Alec she smiled up at him. "Can you feel our new found energy with her here, we are whole again." Justine smiled up at him. Alec squeezed her tightly and kissed her forehead.

♦♦♦

"Please come in." Cassie opened up the vintage Italian door, that led to the kitchen. The brick walls on the inside of the house, we beautiful and made Cassie think of the visit her grandfather had taken with her. "I am deeply sorry, if I offended you earlier. I know you must miss your family." Cassie pressed down the need to protect herself and her grandfather. "So what would you like to discuss, Dakota." She smiled lightly, as she brought him into the living room. ​

 

[Memoria]

DAKOTA MASON SAWYER
Dakota followed Cassie through her grandmother's beautiful house. It had been months since the last time he had stepped inside an actual building. When Cassie lead him into the living room, Dakota awkwardly leaned against the doorframe, unsure what to do. He feared he might make the sofa dirty if he sat on it.

"I'm sorry I offended you," said Dakota. "I just want to talk. I don't want our packs to fight. I don't want anyone else to die." Dakota swallowed back the tears reminding him of his father. "It's funny -- usually I'm all for fighting, but I don't want to fight you." Dakota locked eyes with Cassie again. "I don't want to fight you, and I have no idea why. Ask my pack, they'll all tell you I love fighting people. I am a violent person. But I don't want to fight you." Dakota realised he was blabbering. He dragged his fingers over his face. What the hell is happening to me?

"I'm sorry, I'm blabbering," said Dakota. He laughed weakly. "I haven't talked to anyone but my pack for a year -- maybe I'm crazy." Lie. "But, no. I don't want to fight you. Ever." Why did I say that? Good one, Dakota. ​

 

[QUEENIE]

Cassie Nightingale
Cassie smiled at how cute he sounded. She drifted away into thoughts about him, until his voice slammed back into her ear, waking her up to reality. "Oh, it's fine. To be completely honest, it's kinda fun to hear that someone like you blabbers. I mean I feel this immense amount of pressure not to screw up and well it gets annoying. Sometimes I just want to run and be free..." Cassie stopped herself.

It had only been a few days here, but each day brought new memories from previous Alpha's. Some memories were from a time that the United States and England were at war with each other. Other memories were from her grandfather. Having their memories fill her brain made her want to escape into the unknown and be free, be herself again. With all this Alpha business, every time she sat down someone needed her help with something or it was training sessions. She hated it.​

 

[Memoria]

DAKOTA MASON SAWYER
"Huh, yeah, we have to be really strong all the time," said Dakota. He didn't vent his frustration, his overwhelming sense of authority, to anyone. He didn't have anyone to vent it to. Now, with another Alpha, he might be able to let himself loose a little.

He immediately noticed as Cassie zoned out; a glazed expression crossed her face. "Hey, are you okay?" he said, stepping forward and taking hold of her elbow. "What's wrong? Is it something I said? I'm sorry, if it was. Do you want me to get your grandmother?"​

 

[QUEENIE]

Cassie Nightingale
Shaking her head, Cassie clued back into reality at the sound of Dakota's voice. "Oh, I'm fine." She looked up at him. "I just get these visions of past Alphas, I kinda relive their lives." Cassie averted his gaze, by looking back down to the floor.

Cassie smiled and gestured her hand to a seat adjacent to her. "Please sit." She looked at him with a weird feeling in the her stomach. It was almost like just having him here made her feel at ease.​

 

[Memoria]

DAKOTA MASON SAWYER
Dakota sat, slowly lowering himself down onto the sofa. He was now a mere three inches away from Cassie. He could have touched her if he wanted. He did want to.

"You get visions?" he asked incredulously. "Of the past Alphas' lives? Why doesn't that happen to me?" He thought about it. "Probably because I was there for a good part of Stefan's werewolf life. Stefan's my predecessor."

Dakota flexed his fingers, loosening the rigid muscles. In Cassie's presence, he felt incredibly nervous. He had no explanation for this. What the actual fuck is going on?​

 

[QUEENIE]

Cassie Nightingale
Cassie rubbed her head with her palm. "They come and go, I mean I get them at the most random of moments." She said as she noted that not every Alpha received visions. "I figured it was an Alpha thing, but I guess not." Looking around, questions popped up in her head, like why was this happening? Chiming back into the conversation she nodded at his comment of his predecessor.

"Hey while we are on the subject of weird things. Do you know any other White wolf Alphas? Grams says its rare, but that is only based off of our packs knowledge." Cassie was curious to learn anything she could from anyone she could. Looking at Dakota, she wondered if her rarity was true, and what it meant truly.​

 

[Memoria]

DAKOTA MASON SAWYER
"White wolf Alphas?" asked Dakota. "No, I don't know of any other white wolf Alphas -- one of my pack members, Isabelle, her coat is white." He laughed a little. "She was the last to join our pack. The boys -- Quentin and Jesse and Liam -- had a joke that we should fight it out for the role of the Alpha." He sat back, slightly more relaxed that he and Cassie -- Cassie, Cassie, Cassie --- seemed to be sharing a joke. "I don't know what it means. Apparently all the coat colours are supposed to reflect on our personalities. White means pure. I'm a steel gray colour, which apparently means I'm protective." He guessed that part was true -- he was very protective of his pack. "But that's all tribal, spiritual kind of stuff. My pack and I don't really care about it." Dakota looked up at Cassie, and smiled. "Besides, after you've been rolling around in the mud for a week, we all look brown anyway. Relax, I'm kidding."​

 

[QUEENIE]

Cassie Nightingale
Cassie began to laugh. "So you have jokes, now?" Though her laughter was short lived, as the other members of her pack entered the house, mumbling words and glaring the pairs way. "Ben's not a bad guy were you really get to know him, his just really loyal and protective." She said as she looked Ben's way, though he rolled his eyes and spoke with her mentally.

"Do not tell this loser anything about me, Cassie. I am not being friends with the likes of him any time soon." Cassie frowned at Ben.

Looking back to Dakota, she spoke softly. "So lets get to the real matter at hand. Are you proposing some kind of truce with my pack? By the look of it, your pack wasn't at all for it." She didn't mind the idea of semi-peace between the packs, in fact she would have preferred it. Though that being said, the packs had to agree with the truce completely, for if one was to make a move that broke the truce it could result in anarchy for both of the packs. ​

 

[Memoria]

DAKOTA MASON SAWYER
Dakota nodded, standing up. "Yeah, pretty much," he said. He leaned against the doorframe again. "I don't want any fighting. I also don't give a shit whether my pack want a truce. I'm the Alpha. They'll deal with it."

Dakota smirked at Ben. "Don't worry. She hasn't told me anything about you." There's much more interesting subjects.

"Anyway, you'd better get back to your party," said Dakota. "The party I so rudely crashed." Dakota knew his desire to stay was written all over his face. With permanent marker. Red permanent marker. Please say I can stay. Please. Please. Please.​

 

[QUEENIE]

Cassie Nightingale
Cassie stood and walked passed him. "Yeah, I should probably get going." She smiled and patted him on the shoulder. Turning the corner she left the room, though within a minute she returned and peaked her head around the corner. "Would you like to come to this get together or what ever they want to call this." She smiled up at him.

◊◊◊

Looking over to the ridiculously flirtatious Cassie, Ben almost barfed. "She can't be serious Agatha, can she?" He spoke with absolute discuss on his face and in his voice. It wasn't like he hated the guy directly...no it was the fact he hated Dakota, and every single one of those mutts in his pack.

Ben had been apart of the original pack, the one where Cassie's grandfather had been the Alpha. Ben was only twenty-six, and had been apart of the pack for ten years. Cassie's grandfather, Eddie, wasn't one to back down from his enemies, let alone play nice. To him and enemy was always a enemy. Ben believed no matter how much Dakota talked peace, he was just planning on hurting and killing Cassie than the pack.

Agatha began to put away some of the food from the party. "Oh shh, Ben, Cassie is grown and your new superior what she says goes. Trust me if Cassie feels a situation is dangerous she wouldn't be as nice as she is now." Agatha noted and continued to place things like, deer meat and other things into the fridge.

Agatha was a elder within the pack, someone they sought out for advice and guidance. She had given up her ability to shift in order to obtain a deeper understanding of her species, allowing her to tap into there 'gifts' in order to perform spiritual surgery when they fell ill. Most of the time she did not need to do this, so she played the role of a grandmother to everyone both in the pack and out. She was the oldest out of the entire pack, including relatives of the pack.

Ben rolled his eyes and focused back on his intense glare at Dakota and Cassie. Justine caressed his cheek in a motherly way. "Someone is a little jealous that Cassie is giving her time and attention to another, especially him." She joked with him.

Ben quickly swatted her hand away. "No I am not! She just doesn't need him in her life."

Justine laughed. "So what I hear is: she doesn't need him, but she needs you?" Justine patted him on the shoulder. "There is no chance, Cassie isn't into guys like you Ben." She teased him.

Ben frowned at her. "For the last time, I have no interest in Cassie. More the safety off this pack. Our new leader doesn't need to go invite the enemy to home base." Ben picked up an apple, from a bowl, and bite into it. He had no sexual attraction to Cassie, at least he didn't think so.

Agatha moved close to her and snitch the bowl of apples out from behind him. "These apples are going into a pie, Benjamin, now stop eating them." She scolded him and placed them on the opposite counter of where Ben stood.

◊◊◊

Cassie smiled up at him. "So what's it gonna be? You gonna leave the house, or come hang out with me. We don't have to go into the kitchen with the rest of them." Cassie laughed a little as she realized taking Dakota into the kitchen would only cause drama, especially with Ben.​

 

[Memoria]

DAKOTA MASON SAWYER
"I would most definitely prefer to hang out with you," said Dakota immediately. He wondered if his desperation and interest in the girl was obvious in his tone.

Dakota followed Cassie. "I don't think that Ben guy likes me," he said. "No, I know he doesn't like me. He hates me." He realised something. Something he truly hated. "You know, he probably likes you," he said through gritted teeth.

That was when Dakota realised that he liked her.​