This was not turning out to be a great day. No, simply slating it as 'not a great day' was a little too light. It had begun in an entirely different manner. Katt was busy as hell at the shop, doing some great art and having a few laughs with her boss. She had even managed to make enough cash that she was going to cut out early to spend the night with Chris. That all changed as soon and she saw a letter, addressed to her, in the stack of mail sitting on the front counter. As soon as she opened that envelope and read the letter inside, her day took an entirely different turn.

Adelphus was gone. Poof. Fucking finito. The piece of shit master of the city was on the run, and his twisted sense of honor had led him to go protect her. Bullshit, the blood sucker could call wolves and had probably dragged him along to be cannon fodder if things got too hot on her. Whatever the case was, the city had no master and now no ulfric. The first thing she did was call the pack safe house. The first three times, she got no answer. The last time.. well, she didn't know it she could onsider it lucky or not. One of the submissives that lived there answered, frantic. The hate group that had tried for the house a few months back was at it again, and this time with no Adelphus to back them down.

With a few words to her boss, Katt was out the door, with a rage building insde of her that she couldn't ever remember feeling. She tried calling Chris, but there was no answer. She left him a voicemail, but in her anger, didn't really remember what she had said. The letter sat beside her on the passenger seat. It took everything in her not to take out her aggressions on that slip of paper, but she had a feeling that it would come in handy in some way or another. That son of a bitch was going to pay for leaving a mess like this behind and leaving the weaker of their pack with no one to protect them when they needed it.

The ride to the pack house went by in a blur, her anger making her motions come out of habit. Her eyes focused on the group of people packed onto the front lawn, complete with signs. Someone had put a stuffed wolf on a pike in the grass and was dousing it with lighter fluid as she pulled into the drive and slammed her car into park. Her beat growled within the confines of its human, baring its teeth at the sight. As she stepped out of her car, that same growl slipped from her, settling in her voice as she shouted at the group. "I'd suggest you leave now before the real trouble begins."

A voice from the crowd shouted back. "It's too late. The trouble began when God punished your kind with the disease that runs through your blood. Still, you paid no heed to His warnings. We are His hand, and we will give you the punishment you deserve."

Katt growled low in response, the smell of gun powder and lighter fluid tickled her nose. Someone flicked a lighter, setting the stuffed wolf aflame. All eyes were on her, including those of the subs hiding in the house, peeking from the windows. "We've done nothing to you. We're trying to live here. Your fear is what's driving you and you hide behind your supposed faith to give you some fake righteousness. Didn't your God tell you 'let he without sin cast the first stone'? I can guaranty that not a damn one of you is innocent here."

With each word, Katt had gotten closer to the group, angling herself to be between them and the front door. It was now her responsibility to protect the pack, and she was damn sure going to do just that. The group seemed to laugh at her, though their faces never cracked a smile. Another faceless voie from the crowd called out to her. "How dare you quote scripture to us?! Your dirty lips have no right to speak His word! You and your sinful friends will feel His wrath."

"Bring it on then, you bastards! You shout from the crowd like the cowards you are. I bet not a fucking one of you would stand here and say this shit to my face. You don't think I can smell the gunpowder?!? You don't even have the balls to touch me or any of my friends. I fucking dare you to move or get the fuck off of our property." Katt's voice was no more than the growl of her beast, low as she stared them down. There was at least fifteen of them, enough to make it difficult to take them all on at once. But, she would do what she had to to keep the others inside safe.

A collective shudder passed through the group in front of her, but the kept their resolve. Two burly men stepped forward, cracking their knuckles, with a sick smile on their face. Zealots, down to the core. A fist came at her from the right, and she ducked below it, bringing her own fist up in self defense to knock the man hard in the ribs. She heard the whoosh of air as it left his lungs, his body doubling over. The other man took that as his opportunity, sending his own fist low in an attempt to meet her chin. Growling still, Katt caught his hand and held tight to it, twisting the man's arm back until she heard a satisfying snap of bone.

The second man fell, and a third person stepped forward. This one was a woman, older and small, holding out a gun aimed directly at her head. The gun fired, echoing loud in the night. Katt had managed to dart out of the way, but not in enough time to let the bullet not connect with her body. It missed its original mark and hit her in the chest. She could smell the tang of silver as the blood began to pour from the wound. Silver may not affect her that much... but blood loss could.

It was a nice easy day at the office, until one phone call sent the entire department into a frenzy. Master of the City was missing and there had been a sudden spike in preternatural crimes. That was technically last night but Chris hasn’t left his office, still in the same light blue button down shirt and tie he wore yesterday. He needed to get out of there soon, with the daylight the crime had come to a halt and then suddenly it was like everything began behaving again. His office phone rang, it was the DA. “Last call” he murmured before picking up the receiver. Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz. Damn it, his cell began going off as soon as the greeting was out of his mouth.

“Yes sir, it seems we are in the all clear. No sir I do not think it will happen again. Yes sir” he said answering each one of his questions trying not to sound like he had a better place to be. But that was the problem; he did have a wonderful place to be, with Katt. They had both figured a day would be good together seeming that they both could skip work the rest of the afternoon. “Thank you sir, yes you have a good rest of your afternoon too.” Political bullshit, but he was good with it at least. His phone had the persistent buzzing saying he had a voicemail. He smiled as he saw the call missed was from Katt, probably making sure they both remembered their evening together. As he checked the message his smile soon faded into a snarl.

With a flash, he had his desk as clear and presentable as he dared leave it and shot out the door not even explaining himself as he ran down the stairs quicker than he had ever dared show in public, especially the office, before. The call was about 10 minutes ago, so that would put her at the pack house in the next few minutes even with bad traffic. Chris had at least a 10 minute drive to the house. “Damn it!” he shouted as the truck roared to life and his tires squealed as he peeled out of the parking lot, the smell of rubber drifting up to his nostrils. He grabbed the radar detector out of his glove box and turned it on. Working for the department, he tried to refrain from using the little contraption, but this was a case he didn’t give a shit.

If it was the same religion crazy group that had targeted the house before he was going to raise hell with them. Religious nuts were pretty high on his shit list, especially this group. They had come after the house and a few of the weaker members before Adelphus stepped in. Until then Katt’s words didn’t seem to hit him, but it felt like a sucker punch to the gut. Gone for good she had said. Pushing the limits of his truck’s engine he had made it to the pack house, weaving in and out of traffic, running a couple red lights and speeding like a bat out of hell, in record time.

Christopher jumped from his truck, his hand throwing it into park, taking the keys out of the ignition, and opening the door all in one motion. He heard the sound of a gun being fired and saw Katt fall to the ground. His wolf let out a howl furiously and Chris took off into the crowd, pushing people out of the way, not holding back any of his strength. He found the source of the gunpowder smell, a little old woman. If it had been any other day he would have thought ‘Oh a sweet old lady’ but not today. He grabbed her hand and her the bones break in the hand that held the gun. The gun fell to the ground and Chris shoved her back down, not giving a second thought to her. He saw Katt lying on the ground, smelt silver and he didn’t know whether he wanted to kill everyone in front of them or help Katt.

He let out a bark and another howl at the group and all but a few had turn tail and run. There was the one who Katt apparently got a piece of and two other large men. Christopher couldn’t help himself, he laughed. “Think you can take on the big bad wolf?” he asked the group. Another bark left his mouth, a look of surprise on each of their faces. A snarling low growl was emanating from his throat. As soon as one came after him, he had moved enough to take him in the midsection, hearing a snap of a rib or two. A man with a bat hit him over the back before he turned to face him, his eyes had turned a golden yellow as he and his beast became one again. He needed to get to Katt and fast; he needed to finish them off. The bat snapped in half as it hit his back and the big bad man held up a cross. “Your god will not protect you now” he snarled betting the man didn’t even hear him. Chris tackled him to the ground and kicked his buddies feet out from underneath him. “Three down” he said huffing.

“Katt” he whispered as he ran over to her. He thought she had been shot in the head, but it was actually in the chest, he didn’t know if that was better or not. He smiled down at her, seeing she was still conscious. “Katt, its silver, I need you to change so you can heal at least the blood vessels. I need you to do that for me.” His tone was gentle but firm at the same time, it wasn’t a request, she had to do it to save her life, even lycanthropes only have so much blood and a lot of hers was one the concrete. She must have severed an artery with the bullet. A glance into the windows of the house showed him Katt had gotten there just in time; they didn’t break in and take one of the submissives down with their hate spewing bible quoting.

Pain, bright white and hot, burned through Katt's chest. It hurt to breathe and still she tried to sit up. Her body screamed at her, and she screamed right back, forcing herself to sit up. Her eyes locked with that of the woman who had shot her, a cold hatred locked in both of their eyes. Before the woman had the chance to fire a second time, Chris was there, his hand on the gun and the woman's hand. She heard the bones snap and watched as the pain moved over to glaze the old woman's eyes as she stumbled back onto the ground.

Chris' barking voice made her beast rise higher, foating just under the surface. Without thought, she echoed his howl, watching as most of the group turned to run as things went ugly. Her eyes went back to Chris just as a man approached witha bat. "Behind you," she barked, mvoing to stand as the bat connected with his back. The hit didn't seem to phase him, snarling as he attacked, knocking two more men to the ground.

Chris stood, running back and kneeling at her side. His smile was welcome, but she gave it only a small glance. There were still two more men watching, and she would not let her guard down again. She gave a small and sarcastic sounding laugh. "Fuck the silver. I'm resistant. I'm more worried about the blood. If I can shift, I can heal most of it. But, I'll still need a doc and pretty damn quick." Something was different in him. She could hear it in his voice and feel it on her skin. His beast was shifting, acting more alpha than submissive. Leave it to the gentleman to take charge when his lady was hurt.

Her eyes went back to Chris for a moment, but motion caught her from the corner of her eye. The two left had apparently decided to make their move. "Shit," she muttered, her eyes flashing to that of her beast as she called as hard as she could on that part of herself. She wanted to shift, to change her hands and rip into the zealots. But she couldn't for some reason. Instead, using Chris' shoulder for leverage, Katt heaved herself up from the ground, swinging her leg up and smacking it square into the chest of the man closest to her. Following the momentum, she dropped her leg and leaned forward, wrapping an arm around the man's neck and forcing his face into her knee before shoving him forward and into his friend. The one man left stumbled and Katt swung her elbow forward, hearing the man's nose break as his blood sprayed her arm. With the last of her strength, Katt kicked her leg out again, knocking the man backwards before finally falling back herself.

"I can't shift," she muttered, looking back at Chris, panting as she brought her eyes back to the scramble of people as the last of them left the property. Her eyes caught on the old woman's once more, watching as she stopped at the edge of the grass, holding her hand close to her chest. The fierce hatred was still there, tinged with fear of the unknown. And then they were gone. Yeah... today could have ended so much better.

Apollo pulled up on his motorbike to see Katt go down and Chris become violent. He growled inwardly and stopped the bike in a s screech of over-stressed metal and burning rubber. Beating on protesters wasn't going to net good publicity when the accursed press would show up. Of course, the press would also keep the nut-jobs from doing anything, and provide a good PR opportunity for the back.

The over-stressed and over-worked dingo placed his helmet and riding jacket on the bike and let his voice ring out, "Let this violence end. For did not The Lord say, 'you have been called to live in freedom - not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." But if instead of showing love among yourselves you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.' ?"

Slowly he made his way through the crowd and stood between them and the two wolves already present, a tacit sign for Christopher to tend to Katt and those within. He looked into the crowd, "I have heard you say that lycanthropy is the work of God, in some punishment. Should this be so, the endure it we must, for God is infinitely just, but he is also merciful. Do not be so eager to do the Lord's work. You would presume to know the Divine will? Did not Paul tell us that all are under the power of sin, that none have true understanding, and that none seek God? Now, would someone please extinguish the flaming effigey? Arson is a crime and do you really want the blood of those who may not escape such a fire on your hands?"

The news had come slowly, but surely to the female wolf. She had not received a letter, though it was a bit of a no-brainer when she had woken up to a crowd outside her window, and Adelphus wasn’t there to do anything about it. They were all ranting and raving, even staking a stuffed wolf outside and burning it. The smell had wafted through her window, and she had shut it. She had thought that maybe he had been somewhere, taking a break for a while, but this just put the icing on the cake.

Adelphus was gone, and he had left the pack to fend for themselves. The non-lycanthropes of the city had immediately found out and flocked to their home – their ‘safehouse’, though now the name sounded like a joke.

Kelsi could still hear their chants even after she had shut and locked both of her bedroom windows. Their voices raked at her ears, and she wanted to yell. She wanted to shout back scriptures at them, scriptures that contradicted their ways, scriptures that her mother had taught her so long ago.

She didn’t notice the sudden power of Katt, and then the oncoming power that is Chris. Instead, she dug farther under her floored mattress as she had ever dug before and pulled out a present that had been given to her by her father. When she had left home, he had given her a .22 rifle for her birthday – and for protection. She had been taught how to hold it and that was it. Walking with shaky legs down the stairs, she sat in a corner, near the staircase and in front of the front door with the rifle in hand, pointed up. She was scared, frightened, however you wanted to put it.

As she sat there, she continued to wonder why her ulfric would have left them like this. It scared her even more. Her hands on the gun shook and sweated. She put her head to the gun and eyed the door like it was the most dangerous thing in the world. She sighed, then started mumbling, “Jesus loves the little children . . . All the children of the world . . . Red and yellow, black and white . . . All are precious in His sight . . . Jesus loves the little children of the world . . . ” Her voice came out hoarse and barely vocal.

It tore her up. Not physically, but mentally. It seemed that, with Adelphus gone now, everything was going haywire.

Things seemed to be spiraling and quick like. Katt had been stubborn enough to grit her teeth through the pain and stand up, something Chris didn’t think was the smartest thing, but she would do it anyways. The squeal of tires and Apollo hit his nose as the motorbike’s engine died. His glance back into the house revealed Kelsi had come down stairs with a gun, he shook his head and grit his teeth, at least she would be safe in there. There were a few more people gathering, but not the 15 or so from earlier, maybe 8, he hoped.

Katt went after the two men hiding in the bushes that Chris was too distracted to notice and he cursed himself under his breath. Before he knew it though, Katt was using him as a bit of a stage prop, the weight of the female was on him as quickly as it was off. Katt could handle herself, but she was pushing with the remaining strength she needed to shift. The two men didn’t stand a chance against her as long as she was standing up right. With the last bit of energy and strength she had, she knocked them all down and Chris was there to catch her as she fell. Apollo began preaching to the choir it seemed. “Another bible thumper, Gods above are you kidding me?” he muttered. At least it gave him time to take care of Katt.

He moved with Katt, semi dragging her to the door and got her inside. “Kelsi, get off your ass and stop singing. I need you to call a doctor - Adelphus had a number on the fridge for someone we could trust.” He usually would at least include please, but it was different tonight, like the old lady. “What do you mean you can’t shift?” he whispered to Katt “You need to” he gritted his teeth in frustration. “You will die if you don’t Katt!” his voice raised enough that he got looks from the few wolves hidden on the first floor.

His wolf grew closer to the surface finding his mate. The thought struck him as if it was a 2x4. He placed her on the couch in the living room, “Get some towels too Kelsi” he said not so harshly this time but enough emotion behind the words. His wolf was pushing up and up to get close to Katt, to lick her wounds and help her heal. He placed his hand on hers and that was enough of a connection for the wolf. He swam over to her, the human might have been clueless, but together the wolf would show him how to heal her. “This isn’t going to be easy” he whispered not even realizing he had said it. His wolf was gentle at first padding over to hers and nuzzling her, showing her he was there for her. “I’m sorry” left his lips as they went from tenderness and kindness to the wolf to aggressively pulling her out of the human. He was calling her beast and it was taking every ounce of concentration he had, he was focused on seeing the black fur and yellow eyes of her wolf becoming physically there.

Things got a little hazy as Katt dropped for the last time. She was vaguely aware of Chris holding her, and the fact that Apollo was suddenly there spouting bible verses. But, everything else was kind of cloudy. The next thing she knew, she was being pulled into the house, with Chris' voice pressing in on her ears. "I know, Chris. I.. I can't." She must have lost a lot more blood than she thought, and in hindsight, getting up to pummel those two goon probably wasn't the best idea. But she had to help protect the pack.

Her body began to feel heavy, sinking down into the couch as she was set down onto it. She could hear her heart thump wildly in her chest, trying to pump the remaining of her blood through her body to keep her alive. That was when she felt Chris' wolf slip past her skin and slide effortlessly into her body. The warmth of it brought a staggered sigh from her, her own wolf lifiting its head tiredly. Chris' words hit her and she managed a small nod, though she didn't truly understand just what was going on.

Chris' wolf was gentle, nuzzling hers. Her wolf did as much as she could, lifting her head to nuzzle back as Katt's vision began to go black. She was passing out. This was definitely not good. Suddenly, everything changed. The tocuh of Chris' wolf became more insistant, aggresively pulling at her beast and forcibly pulling her closer to the surface. Katt's eyes snapped open as a ragged cry escaped her lips. Arching her back, her ragged cry became a howl as her eyes shifted to that of her beast. Suddenly, it felt as if her body exploded, sending clear liquid and pieces of her clothes flying off into the air. In that instant, her body flipped, landing on the floor on four furred feet before slipping down to floor, panting.

Immediately, Katt tried to move her head to see the wound, but her wolf form wouldn't allow her too. She was still weak, her heart racing faster than before, but the sight of a blunted silver bullet on the floor told her one thing. It was out of her and the wound was at least partially closed.

The sheer effort hit Christopher hard, trying to pull someone’s beast out of them took a toll on him, but he managed a weak smile at the female wolf standing in front of him. He was panting, his own wolf pulled back into his own body, he found himself half lying on the ground not remembering falling backwards. The wolf was lurking under his skin, wanting to come out himself after bringing Katt into hers. Chris’ eyes had turned yellow again, his wolf lurking right behind them, but he had a tight rein and would not let himself change.

He picked up the silver bullet and smiled. “One down…” he said walking over to Katt being very gentle to see if he could find the wound and figure out if it was still bleeding. He ran his hand through her dark fur feeling a warm wet spot near her shoulder just as he would have on the human. “We are going to get this fixed up Katt” he spoke to her softly. The bleeding had slowed, which was great since she had bled out a lot. “Kelsi!” he bellowed not even asking if she got a hold of anyone, she should know what he was asking.

He heard a crash outside and his attention then turned to protecting the safehouse. Apparently Bible thumper #1 and #2 had come back for more. He began growling low and deep in his throat pissed that someone was once again threatening his family. “Keep an eye on her” he said in general to the room before opening the door once again. Apollo was still outside and Chris came beside him. The crowd had thinned out, maybe Apollo knocked some sense into them with his bible spewing or they got bored and left. There were 2 men who looked like the whole entire house was an abomination. “Can I help you gentlemen?” he offered. Politeness before ass kicking, his mom taught him something, he wasn’t a barbarian.

Apollo looked over at Christopher as he came out. While he was sure he could take two humans, even numbers never hurt anything, and the two human boneheads in question hadn't taken the hint. He smiled at Chris but directed his comments thickly with implied threat at the humans, "Actually, I believe these two gentlemen were just lthanking the nice werewolf for keeping them from doing anything stupid. Weren't you gentlemen?"

The words had been polite, but the tone was not. It dripped with the menance that implied that yes was the only correct answer. To reinforce the point the dingo moved close to Chris and centered his power, preparing to shift for a last ditch effort to scare the dimwitted humans off. Seriously, two humans against two werewolves would hardly be a fair match, unless there was significantly more than met the eye about the two men.

It had only been a few days, but when she hadn't heard from Adelphus, something had pulled at the strong werewolf, telling her that something was very, very wrong. It wasn't simply that, she could feel it, her beast picked up on a tension that something wasn't right and that she was needed somewhere. Despite the fact that she still hadn't had the opportunity to meet the rest of the pack, Jaqui took no time in deciding that perhaps it was time to simply return to the pack house and make herself known properly. She'd only met the Ulfric the once and he'd said he was going to contact her, the fact that he hadn't weighed on her in a wasy that she was uncomfortable with.

And so she took a taxi to the pack house, the window down to allow for fresh air, and the moment the scent of blood, specifically pack blood, hit her nose she ordered the driver to pull over. She quickly paid him and then jogged the rest of the way toward the large mansion in her 3/4 jeans and singet. Her ebony hair trailed behind her as she moved like a shadowed blur toward what she knew to be a dangerous situation.

It was evident just how much so as she arrived, keeping hidden for a moment to assess the situation before she crept completely silently behind the two humans who were confronting what appeared to be a couple of pack members who looked almost ready to shift but would be able to see her approaching calmly. Her eyes flashed amber as the scent of blood grew stronger, both wolf and human, but made no noise until she was only inches from the human men, and spoke quietly caushing them to jump, spinning their attention to her, "I think you should leave... now." It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what the situation had been. The pack house had come under attack by fanatics who thought lycanthropes were all evil.

With one trained on her now while the other decided to keep an eye on the male canines, she released the hold on her own beast's power, the air beginning to prickle with the calm anger almost that of a mother who'd come across her own being picked on. Spreading the nurturing energy out, she attempted to soothe the edginess that came with conflict in those involved. With tension unleashed one wrong move could cause an even worse situation, so that had to be nipped in the bud. She caught the gaze of the human who was watching her and held it almost hypnotically. "No one else is going to be hurt today."

Kelsi was in a daze, even when Chris had come over to her and snapped at her for singing. She had no time to come up with something to snap back at him, as then he had told her to call the doctor. She then stood quickly, laying her only protection beside the staircase, and was in the kitchen not a minute afterward. She had an idea of whom it was, as Katt had been the first out there, and the first one to fight. It took her only a few seconds to find the number that she needed on the refrigerator, and then she was at the phone. She picked up the cordless and dialed the number.

She walked back into the entranceway with the cordless wedged in between her shoulder and her ear, with the phone number crumpled in her sweating hands. She could see Christopher from there, settling Katt down onto the couch. He turned to her then and told her to get some towels. His voice seemed to be less snappish than before. Nodding quietly, Kelsi ran up the stairs, two by two. It was then that someone actually picked up the phone. Breathing a bit harsh, she explained the situation, being reassured that someone would be over.

Kelsi was quick in her work, pulling three large towels out of the linen closet in the hallway. In her persistence and speed, she knocked down a couple more, but ignored them. Kelsi then shoved the phone into her pocket and raced downstairs with the towels in hand. When she entered the living room, clear goo was everywhere, and Katt was laying on the couch in her wolf form. Kelsi sighed and jogged in. She leaned over, helping Chris up, then handing the towels to the werewolf.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, looking into Chris’s eyes. “We have someone. I didn’t get the name. I merely told the first person that picked up,” she said, though Chris then turned to the door. Two more men were coming back, and he took off in an instant. The female presumed that he had gone out to help Apollo get rid of the last of them, and then it would be over, she told herself. Kelsi nodded at his comment, then turned to Katt. “Hey . . . ” she said softly, walking a bit closer. Her arms still wrapped around herself, Kelsi sat down in a chair nearest to the wolf form beside her. “You’re going to be all right . . . ” she whispered.

If it would have been a different situation, Chris would have gave a pat on the back to Apollo who drove everyone off but a scattered couple with his bible preaching. Personally, Chris thought he just bored them to death, but that was his personal feelings. Though it was a different situation and so he could only stare down the two men who still seemed on the fence of whether they were actually going to leave or not. He was sure they were both thinking the same thing - Two on Two, we could take 'em. Riiiight...

His gaze was still settled in the general direction of the humans, but he was looking past them trying to identify the new scent of a female wolf. She smelt like pack, but that didn't take his guard off just yet. She came into view running toward the house stopping behind the humans without a sound. Again if it had been a different situation he would have laughed at how high the men jumped, but alas. The tables had turned now, 3 vs 2...of course 3 being wolves just made it that more tilted to the bigger numbers.

He felt the energy radiate from the female wolf that had joined them, purposefully not holding it back to give the humans more of a reason to leave. It wasn’t tinged with anger like his own because his pack and his home would come under attack; no it seemed to calm the steel edge of his nerves. The humans stood looking between him, Apollo, and the female. The one who was furthest from them gave a snort and said “Come on Terry these things aren’t worth our breath.” Bad boy #1 and Terry walked away and Chris couldn’t help the laugh he let out after they were out of ear shot. “Humans” he shook his head and offered a hand to the female wolf. “Christopher” he introduced himself. “Did Kelsi call you?” he asked thinking she may be the one who could help Katt. After she introduced herself he turned and went back inside to check on Katt. Hopefully she would be ok, at least she shifted.

Dazed...

Wavering in and out of sleep for a little over a few minutes as the noises had finally reached her ears. The sounds of shouts, chants, and screams came from nearby. And still lingering on the edge of sleep, Angel just simply wrote it off as her own dreams. It was perhaps the worst thing about sleeping is that if you were really sleepy and you sudden woke up from a dream, it would still feel as though you were dreaming if for no other reason then the fact that he hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before. Or in Angel's case it had been the morning before. Having managed to return to the safe house a bit too early that morning, she'd managed to make it all the way to her bed before crashing - lucky enough that she feel on top of the bed before doing so -

Now, having gotten a little less then three hours of sleep, Angel awoke to find she'd managed to somehow pull the covers all the way around herself, in tangling herself in it's nest. She lay there for a moment, nestled within the covers, still in the patch of warmth that she'd been laying in for over hours now. It was just too comfortable. She wasn't ready tog et up just yet...It was too soon...Too early for her to be getting up. She was rather surprised, and glad that for the first time no one had disturbed her sleep by randomly walking in to see if she were still alive. This had been something she'd be thankful for at a later date.

As the sleep slowly lifted from the wolf, Angel couldn't help but allow her chocolate coated eyes to flutter open, momentarily shielding herself from the brightness of the sun as it slipped through the cracks in her blinds, just enough that it danced down to the floor and across her bed spread. It was just enough that it was shining in her eyes and was starting to irritate her. Letting the softest sigh escape her lips, Angel pulled back the covers of the bed and finally convinced herself to fully awake to see what the commotion was all about.

The fact that for the past few minutes, if not longer, screams, chants, and other such noises had reached her ears and the fact that she was fully awake now told her she hadn't been dreaming it at all. Whatever it was that was happening was really actually happening and not just some dream that she had imagined. Whatever the problem was, it was coming from directly outside of the safe house. Though, whatever the problem was, Angel was a bit confused about it. She didn’t know what was going on, and probably wouldn't find out unless she'd left the comforts of her own room.

Luckily still dressed in the clothes she'd worn the previous night, Angel opened her bedroom door, stepping out onto the landing just in time to find Kelsi running down the stairs two at a time with a few towels in her hands. Well that couldn't have been a good sign...

Shaking the thoughts off, and almost afraid that her brain would be too focused on analyzing every detail, Angel vowed that for the time being she would play things by ear and not try to work things out. Doing so would least to a mess of trouble and would possibly worry her more then if she would just find out what was happening by going downstairs and looking around. Hopefully thoughts he would be able to find more out by talking to the others - if time allowed for such a task -

Unlike Kelsi, Angel didn't dare rush down the steps, if for the fact that she was still tired to the point that to rush down the stairs would run the risk of actually falling down the stairs. The last thing she needed to do was make a fool of herself so early - or late in the day - instead, Angel took as much time as she dared - which wasn't too long - to walk down the flight of stairs and make it into the living room.

Even from here, her analytical part of her brain seemed to take effect and she could only but stand there for a moment, examining everything. Something bad had happened in the time that it took her to fully wake up and realize something was wrong. For one thing, Katt - who Angel had only seen from around the safe house - was now in her wolf form - a white substance surrounding the ouch where Angel could only guess she'd transformed on - Kelsi seemed to be sitting nearby, her arms hugging herself as though this would protect her from whatever lay outside. Taking just a few more seconds to examine the room, there was only one thing that Angel could think to do.

Walking across the room, Angel knelt down on the other side of Kelsi and wrapped her arms around her friend, as though this would help comfort her.

She waited for a few moments before speaking a loud, "What happened?" her voice was soft, gentle, as though afraid anything would upset the room around her and it's inhabitants.

Katt was disoriented. Giving her head a shake, she whimpered softly as the movement pulled at her shoulder, making the skin over her wound pull tight. Falling back on her rear haunches, she began to pant, the sheer shock of being suddenly in wolf form and sitting up taking its toll. Chris moved forward, smiling a bit down at her. Her lips curled up ever so slightly, offering a wolfish grin to him. As he moved loser, his hand moving to her fur, Katt tilted her head forward, nuzzling Chris' arm ever so slightly. She couldn't talk, so this was the closest thing she could do in that moment to say thank you. She loved him and he had just saved her life. He would understand that one small gesture.

Chris' hand brushed over the wound, making her whimper again. The bullet may be out, but the wound wasn't fully closed. She'd probably have to be sewn up. Letting her body sink back down onto the sofa, she tried to relax. Chris was right, she would be ok now. Before she could look up again, Chris was gone, after the source of the sounds outside. Apparently, the zealots hadn't learned their lesson. She heard Kelsi's voice, small and soft in her dazed fear. The doc was on the way. Kelsi moved closer, taking the chair beside her and absent mindedly saying her own mforting words to her. Katt replied with a small howl, letting her eyes catch that of Kelsi's for the briefest of moments before letting her head fall back down.

Katts ears stayed perked up, listening to the words outside. Even if she was hurt, she was still Freki, damnit, and it was her job to take care of them all now. Angel entered, setting herself on her knees next to Kelsi and wrapping her arms around her to help offer comfort. Her head was still fuzzy, but she was getting better... slowly. That doc better get there soon.

Jaqui was glad that her calming energy was at least having an effect on the tension in the air. Her aura prickled against the humans who now realised that the odds were even worse in their favour than before and decided on a retreat. Just went to show that sometimes zealots could be smart, though she had a feeling it wasn't the last the pack would see of them, it said so in their eyes as they walked past her. One almost looked like he was going to push past the female wolf, but changed his mind as he felt the intense heat radiating from her.

The female mimicked Christopher's head shake and turned her gaze to him as he approached and introduced himself. "Jaqueline... but you can call me Jaqui." Her voice was strong and soothing at the same time, and as she cast her senses around the area, she couldn't find any sign of Adelphus nearby, having memorised his scent when she'd met him only a few days earlier.

The question of whether she'd received a call only received another head shake, black waves falling about her, "I didn't get a call from anyone. That's part of my reason for being here. Has something happened to Adelphus?" Her gaze held a slight worry in it, not wanting to think that something bad had happened to him after having received such a warm welcome from the Ulfric not long ago. The scent of blood was still in the air and she picked up her resolve to do what had to be done first, like seeing to any possible injured. "If there's any injured I can help, I'm a healer."

As the two humans walked away Christopher kept his eyes trained on them so they weren't caught off guard by one of them suddenly changing their mind. They played it smart and just left huffing and puffing to themselves. They would be back, but not tonight, they didn't have the element of surprise they needed to take out a wolf. They left and Chris relaxed his tense muscles as Jaqui introduced herself. "Nice to meet you Jaqui."

His heart sunk when she said she didn't receive a call, he didn't know how much longer Katt could go with a bullet wound still bleeding even after the shift. Then he had to break the news to another pack member about Adelphus. "He is gone" he said voice low, "Katt knows more about it but she is...she's inside hurt." His gaze had drifted back to the door but it snapped back to the female wolf when she said she was a healer. "Then I believe the gods are shining down on me tonight, come inside please, there is someone who needs a bit of help."

Christopher walked to the door, opening it for Jaqui and Apollo to go in before he, wanting to protect the pack as much as possible. As they walked in Chris explained what had happened to Jaqui locking the door behind them and taking one last glance out the window, all was quiet. "Katt was shot, silver bullet but she said she was immune, but I think it got something vital, she lost a lot of blood. Then she couldn't shift, but I uh, er, I called her beast and forced the shift to at least start the healing process." He thought over his words and figured that was everything so he walked over to Katt and placed a worried hand on her.

She had thanked him even though he knew it was a painful experience to have your beast forced out of you, but the nuzzle on his arm before he walked out the door had settled his nerves enough to stand by Apollo and face the last humans threatening his pack. Chris turned to Kelsi and the new wolf he had seen maybe once, both huddled on the couch offering eachother support, he gave her a smile thanking her for the help she gave gathering towels and the phone call. Now all he could do was stand back and allow Jaqui room to work on Katt. Chris knew she would be alright, even so a lump formed in his throat and worry creased his brows as he watched the newcomer begin to exam Katt.

"A pleasure to meet you as well, but it would have been nicer under better cirsumstances," Jaqui sighed lightly, carefully keeping an eye on the humans until they were out of view. "Some people..." She muttered under her breath, then turned back to the other canines, studying them carefully and committing their scent to memory. It seemed they must have been waiting for someone else as she felt Chris' mood sink even further and then noted a slight hesitation before he answered her question about the Ulfric.

"Gone?" How gone? As in left town gone, or the worse kind? She could only guess that it was the former or else she was reasonably certain that the moods would be even worse by comparison. It begged the next questions of where and why, but she withheld for the moment. It was enough to have to let the news sink in that he wasn't there. Strangely she felt a little hurt since they'd got off to such a wonderful start during the first meeting, but decided to put a lid on any feelings she had in regard to it and concentrate on the matters at hand. Chris mentioned there was an injured wolf, she would need to see her straight away.

Jaqui nodded when Chris asked that she come inside, "How hurt is she?" Her quiet demeanor had changed, slowly becoming slightly matriarchial, like a mother who suddenly heard that one of hers were in trouble. She waited for Apollo to enter before she did, and continued to remain alert of the surroundings until she stepped inside and began to make her way toward the injured, listening to Chris explain the situation.

"Immune to silver..." Jaqui wasn't really impressed, she'd heard the claim before and yet still seen others suffer from it. She had shifted completely to 'mother hen' mode by the time she reached the wolf and knelt down beside her. "You did the right thing, as long as there isn't still a fragment of the bullet still inside her."

Leaning down, to inspect the wound, it seemed to be healing but very slowly, not to mention it looked like she'd lost quite a lot of blood. She spoke softly and soothingly to Katt, "I'm Jaqui. I'm just going to have a look at you honey, so you'll have to bare with me, okay?" She stroked a gentle hand over the female wolf's fur, to touch over the wound, then unleashed her beast completely, a wave of strong nurturing energy filling the room to set those around her at ease while her wolf inspected the other one tenderly with great care. First she worked on helping the pain, like an anaethetic, it should numb the area slightly. She was glad not to sense any leftover silver inside her. The motherly silver wolf then metaphysically licked at the spot where her fingers rested over the wound, using a healing energy to attempt to heal the worst of the damage and at least stop the bleeding. Her free hand, meanwhile, stroked the injured female soothingly as she concentrated.

Once she knew the worst was healed and that the other female would be able to recover easily, she would pull back her own beast slightly, though keeping the warm calm aura spread around her in the hopes that it would help everyone recover from the shock of the attack.

Katt tensed as a new scent made its way to her nose. A light growl escaped her as she watched a female enter, her eyes following the movements as the female moved towards her. Chris and Apollo were with her. Was this the person they had called for? Did the doc send her? Katt lifted up on her rear haunches as the woman approached, and knelt down next to her. Her eyes stayed on the woman, not entirely trusting her, even as the woman leaned over to inspect the wound. The woman's voice was soft as she spoke, saying her name and what her intentions were. Katt was still on edge, but let Jacqui do her work.

Katt felt a hand on her fur and then the energy of Jacqui's beast move out and towards her, bringing with it a sense of calm and peace. She didn't like this. Not at all. She wanted to pull back. She was Freki, damnit! She didn't want to give in and let someone else take care of her. Even with the calming energy moving over her, Katt was still tense with the urge to run. Fighting her urge, Katt stayed still, allowing Jacqui to help her.

After what felt like an eternity, the Jacqui pulled away, taking her wolf back within herself. The pain was mostly gone, leaving only a strange sort of ache in her chest. Turning her head to Jacqui, she gave her a wolfish nod. Even though it had put her in a strange sort of defensive state, Katt understood that the woman was only trying to help, and had done a damn good job of it as well. She wanted to shift back, to talk to everyone and take charge, to make sure that they were all ok. She moved slowly, tentatively pulling at her beast to see if she could shift this time. Taking her time with it, she concentrated, leaning back against the sofa and willing her body to change. She felt it coming, slow and sure, her padded feet elongating and the fur shrinking back into herself. Before she knew it, she lay panting on the sofa as he beast receded back into the depths of her.

Immediately, Katt's hand went to the wound on her chest, marveling at the fact that it was damn near gone. Only a patch of roughened and scarred skin lay where the gaping hole had been. She felt the ache again, and knew she was still healing. But, damn. That woman was good. Katt looked back at her, offering another nod of her head and said a soft thank you before letting her eyes travel back across the other wolves in the room. "Is everyone OK?" she asked, pulling herself to her feet.

Apollo's head swam. The blows here were coming just a little too fast, and he was completely lost as to what was going on. He'd been concerned when he hadn't gotten an answer when he'd called Adelphus to ask him what he wanted for an early dinner, though, speaking of which, the i8 pizzas were still strapped to his bike. Deciding to answer Katt, he mumbled, "Actually, physically, I'm fine. I don't think the Westminster baptists will be asking me to come to services anytime soon. Now will someone tell me what the hell is going on here? I come here expecting to have piizza with the Ulfric, which we can still eat since they're strapped down outside by the way, and I find Focus on the Familly usurping me by putting flaming wolves in the yard."

He looked around and suddenly realizeed that he didn't feel Adelphus' presence, nor had he appeared to handle the crisis. The house still felt serene and calm, but it was suddenly without warm presence, the kind of desolate beauty of a seaside cliff or the Canadian tundra. Whispering he sat down on the couch, "He's gone again isn't he? This seems to be a recurring theme for him."

Kelsi was silent, and even in the chaos that was going on around her, it seemed to be too quiet. She couldn’t understand why Adelphus, their Ulfric and her friend, would leave them without a single notice. She herself was seemingly calm, though all her wolf wanted to do was cry out for help, someone – something – that could and would help them. That someone could only be Katt, though. With her great abilities and skills, she was completely fit for the title of Freki that she was given. Kelsi shouldn’t have been scared, but she was, and she didn’t know the complete reason why.

Soon, though, Kelsi was granted the companionship of her friend, Angel. She held Kelsi in a comforting embrace, though Kelsi wanted to pull away. Her mind was swimming with questions once more, which had not happened in a while. She was afraid that she would break, and she couldn’t have that happen with all of this going on. The pack was worrying about Adelphus, and Kelsi didn’t want or need to add any more worry to that.

Not a few minutes after that, Kelsi could hear a third voice outside. She knew of Chris and Apollo being out there, but the third person she only knew to be female. The wolf turned to the door, and soon the three of them walked in. The woman that she had heard before had a calming aura to her, like Kelsi’s mother did to herself and her little brother. Her tense body relaxed then, and she bared a smile that refused to follow to her eyes. Chris was ushering the woman in, with Apollo coming in from behind. Chris was explaining to her what had happened to Katt.

The woman walked over to their Freki, kneeling down beside the slowly-healing wolf. Kelsi smiled as Jaqui introduced herself and started to inspect the wound. She had a nice voice, and a calming demeanor that Kelsi couldn’t get over. With Jaqui there, it seemed as if everything was going to be all right, though Kelsi didn’t know whether to believe that fact or not. As she continued to look at the wound, Kelsi turned to Apollo, giving him a fleeting glance before turning to the other wolves. They all seemed to be thinking the exact same thing.

Soon Jaqui pulled back from Katt, and not soon after that, Katt changed her form back into that or her normal state. She looked tired, yet determined to lead the pack back to the safety that they had once been at. She asked if everyone was okay, and Kelsi turned her head to look at Apollo as he spoke, smiling at the comment about the Baptists. “I think pizza would be good for everyone . . . and Adelphus . . . I think . . . ” Kelsi trailed off, the shade of reluctance finally hitting her eyes as she looked to Katt for answers.

With an intent gaze, Chris' eyes never left Jaqui and Katt, making sure Katt was being well taken care of. He felt the soothing energy emanating from Jaqui and took a deep breath - he had to trust her. It seemed like eternity he was watching her take care of Katt - something he cursed himself for not being able to do. As Jaqui backed away, Katt shifted back and the rest of the muscles he had tensed relaxed, seeing her able to shift without help.

He walked up and sat beside Katt on the couch, his arm touching hers calming him almost back to normal. Almost, Adelphus was gone still and the pack needed to know. He looked up to Apollo and his eyes widened. Again - all sympathy for the other wolf he may have had vanished instantly, he had done to this others. Kelsi didn't have the heart to say what everyone already knew. "Yeah Katt no one else is hurt. I think you got here just in time before they got in the house."

With a heavy sigh he looked over at Katt and gave a weak smile. "Adelphus is gone, Katt knows more..." he trailed off giving the floor over to Katt to let her give the details on the desertion. There was a boiling anger that he was fighting to control - how could their King just up and leave?! What the hell went through his mind...

Katt sat the on the couch, running a tired hand through her hair. When the shit hit the fan, it came in loads. Absentmindedly, her hand moved away from her hair to run over the new scar on her chest. It could have been someone else, someone weaker in the pack had she not gotten here when she did, and they probably wouldn't have made it. The though made her bristle, her hand clenching into a fist over the scar. Apollo spoke, and Katt lifted her head, letting her fist settle in her lap. She gave him a nod. "Yeah, he's gone again." Her eyes drifted over to Kelsi, watching the nervous fear settle in the young woman's eyes. Reaching over and unclenching her own fist, Katt gave Kelsi's hand a comforting squeeze, holding her gaze for a moment before letting go and sitting back once more.

Chris moved in, sitting down next to her, his arm brushing against hers. Letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, she looked at him. There were so many things she wanted to say, but now was not the time.With another sigh, Katt's eyes moved over the rest of those in the room.

"Yes, Adelphus is gone. He sent me a letter, some bullshit about the Master of the City on the run and needing protection. So, instead of protecting the pack, the family that meant so much to him, he left. And he's not coming back." The last words left her with a small growl, her anger getting the best of her in that moment. Calming herself again, she turned to look at Jacqui. "Thank you for helping me. I... just thank you. I am sorry that you had to come here now, and see all of this."

Katt's eyes went back down to her lap, her hands clasping together as she let out a heavy sigh. "I am Freki. I will take care of us. Know that everyone, right now. We will need a new Ulfric. You know the laws as well as I do. If there is no one here who will challenge for the position, I will take care of us."

Chris watched Katt intently, she had scared the hell out of him, but he couldn't say he wouldn't have done the same for the pack. Adelphus did make one right decision, and that was his Freki. She deserved it and now that he was gone...he let his mind wander to that of a teenage boy laughing and thinking "Sweet my girlfriend can be the Ulfric!" but that wasn't a great idea considering the somber mood. Chris listened as Katt explained how she came to know Adelphus left and felt his own anger rising up as she spoke.

He took a deep breath calming the boiling energy that began to come up along with his anger. Anger was not an emotion he felt very often and he had to quickly rein it in. He set his jaw as Katt asserted that she would take care of them. There was a silence after she spoke, Chris’ voice firm and assertive broke the silence. “I am putting my name in the running for Ulfric.” He was not looking at anyone directly, he was seeing all the faces of the Pack in his head right now. Kelsi who looked nervous and unsure of what would happen, Apollo sternly standing next to him facing the crazy humans, Jaqui healing the one person that mattered most in his life, Katt so strong and able to take care of them all, the many faces around him in the Pack. He knew what he had said out loud, that anyone in that house could also challenge and it would be a fight, but he knew in his heart he should be there taking care of the Pack as it should have been the entire time. He would not run off with a blood sucking bitch because she needed protection. His place was here and he was taking it.

Apollo looked at Christopher and Katt. He would fight to protect his home and his life, but he had no wish to face either of them, both because he couldn't win, and also because he didn't wish to fight them. He placed a hand on Kelsi's shoulder before standing and turning to face the two Alpha wolves and bowed in the best show of submission he had.

"Forgive me, my experience as lukoi hasn't really ever covered this, but I have to say it anyway. You are our Ulfric and our Lupa now. I don't think there is one here who could challenge either of you truly."

He stood back up fully and smiled at Jaqueline unable to remain completely serious being, after all, a mid-20 sumthing furballl, "I'm afraid I haven't yet met you, but I offer you this. The court house of Miami has a saying carved over it's door, 'salus populi est supreme lex' or 'let the welfare of the people be the supreme law' in English. As our freki and her err, I want to say moderately unattractive man but am afraid the moment really isn't appropriate, have cared for us, so have you healed that which is ours, thank you."

He sat back down on the couch, "Wow... I think that's the msot I've spoken in this house at once, ever. Anyway, I think I could some that all up to, Katt and Chris, figure it out and no blood on the carpets and I won't complain, not that they're my carpets really anyway but hey."

True, he truly was more hurt than he sounded, Adelphus had left again, but Apollo wasn't the same person he was then either. He wasn't a tool and toy of a mafia and adult entertainment mogul any more and he'd grown up a lot since then. Of course, it probably helped that they hadn't been left to the mercy of a psychotic vampire who fashioned herself a goddess either, though he figured mentioning that wouldn't be diplomatic at this point. "We'll be OK without him. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that kids do grow up."

A quick turn of the lips came to Kelsi was a hand was put on hers – Katt’s. It made her feel a bit better, though her heart sunk as the pack started to converse about a new Ulfric. Adelphus had been the one to take her in and to make her feel at home. She knew that she shouldn’t be, but she was feeling like replacing him would be bad for everyone. Though, she was a submissive, and one of the lowers in the pack, so she had no right to say such a thing. And so, she merely looked down at her hands subconsciously, telling herself that it would be all right.

Kelsi’s head went up immediately as Chris announced his name being put in for consideration for Ulfric. He would make a great Ulfric, and would probably end up being it if no one else raised their voice on it. In a way, Christopher reminded her of Adelphus; strong, willing, and kind. Sighing, Kelsi thought of taking Adelphus out of her laptop for good. From here on, it was unlikely that he would be considered pack anymore, and it made the girl uneasy.

Pressing the thought to the back of her mind, Kelsi turned to look at all of the people in the room. Every one of them seemed to be either sad about all of this happening, or angry that Adelphus had left them, the more being the latter. Kelsi, though, was feeling something a bit different. Kelsi was worried – about what would happen to the pack after this, about Adelphus’s safety, about the people against lycanthropes. It all scared her, but she knew that she couldn’t possibly just give up. The pack needed her, whether it was for towel runs or phone calls.

Kelsi jumped slightly as Apollo’s hand was placed on her shoulder. When regained her composure, Kelsi looked up at the male dingo. She couldn’t smile anymore. Too many things were racing through her mind; thoughts, questions, facts. A headache was coming on, and she was not in the mood for it. Her wolf was laying down, paws over her head.

After Kelsi finally looked away from Apollo, he took that chance to sit down on the couch beside the chair that Kelsi was in. Kelsi wrapped her arms around herself for a second, and then pulled one of her arms up to her head. Her fingers placed on her hair, and her palm covered one eye as she studied both Katt and Chris.

Jaqui simply smiled as Katt shifted back and thanked her, she wasn't going to push herself any further on the other woman since she'd picked up the obvious hesitation and slight discomfort in the way her calming aura affected her. She cast a small smile to the young wolf also on the couch, glad that she'd been able to sooth a few at least. Such a mess, and the Ulfric nowhere to be found, what on earth was he thinking? The mention of food pulled the woman's stomach tight, healing always drained her slightly, and healing wounds made by silver moreso. She'd need something to eat some time soon, but business first. She was also interested to learn what had become of Adelphus.

The alpha female's eyes narrowed when finally someone mentioned exactly why their Ulfric wasn't there, and though her aura remained a fount of calm, her blue eyes now burned small flames. He abandoned the pack for a vampire? One who was on the run no less, which meant she'd obviously pissed someone off. Jaqui felt like a complete moron for a moment, having believed Adelphus' little speech about how important the pack was and that it was a family to him. You didn't run out on family, it just wasn't the way things were run.

The wolfess shook her head lightly with a smile that still didn't quite make it all the way to her blazing eyes. "Think nothing of it, hon. I'm glad I came here when I did. You could say I have a sixth sense when it comes to pack being in danger. Came from being born a witch I think." She chuckled lightly, but then her voice tightened slightly, "I'm just glad to see there are some who don't run from a fight." Her gaze shifted around between the wolves, though resting on the alphas mostly. It was their responsibilty to look after the submissive members, and they knew it.

At the final mention that there as need for a new Ulfric, Jaqui could only agree, and if Chris hadn't put up his hand for the position she certainly would have. Her own strength had already been proven, not to mention loyalty toward the pack considering this was her first time meeting the rest of them. But she agreed after having seen Chris' actions around the men outside and the pack itself, that he would be a strong leader. And as it seemed that Katt was his mate, they would have a strong Lupa as well. Though, if anything were to happen like it did today, they would require back up. She smiled at Apollo and his amusing words to her, and nodded, "There's also a saying where I grew up: 'Family look out for one another, kill for one another, heal one another'."

Turning her gaze to Chris and Katt then, she smiled before bowing her head just slightly, "I agree you would make a strong combination for Ulfric and Lupa. And since the position of Freki would now seem open, I intend to take that position. In order to support you while also being able to assist in caring for the pack. I've already demonstrated that I'm worthy of it, I hope." Whilst it was more a statement than a request, her voice had remained soft but steady. Unless someone stronger than her challenged the position, then she would take it. It also meant there was someone else to take care of the pack should anything happen to them, though she personally hoped it didn't.

The uneasiness that continued to vibrate from the submissive wolf next to Katt called to Jaqui and she moved to her and crouched down in front of her with a smile. It was clear there were many things running through the girl's mind, and the matriarchal wolf placed a gentle hand on her knee, allowing her warm aura to wrap around her comfortingly, "Don't worry. Sometimes a little chaos helps create a stronger structure."

Katt watched as a myriad of emotions passed behind Kelsi's eyes in no more than an instant. The girl was conflicted, and damn it all if Katt didn't understand just exactly how she felt. Katt herself was angry, hurt, and even concerned for Adelphus well being. It was kind of difficult to be angry at someone, and worried about them at the same time. But, Katt was feeling that all the same. If he had left for any other reason, somehow, Katt felt like she could have forgiven Adelphus. But not liek this, and not when his leaving had left the weaker ones in so much danger. If she hadn't gotten there when she did...

A few small words seemed to knock Katt right back into the room, away from her train of thought. Chris had put himself into the running for Ulfric. Blinking, she looked over at him. She wasn't surprised, not in the least. She was happier than she could even put into words. After what had happened today, she knew he would be there to protect all of them. And so would she. A smile settled on her lips as she nodded, looking Chris in the eyes. Before she could shout out her resounding yes, both Apollo and Jaqui voiced their opions, even putting in their voice that she should be lupa.

Looking back at Chris, Katt gave him a smile. "Well, it seems that we are all in agreement here. Chris, I now name you Ulfric of Puteulanus Luna, and if you are willing, I would be happy to be your Lupa." Katt reached over, taking Chris' hand and giving it a squeeze. Looking back at Jaqui, she gave the female wolf a smiling nod. "Yes, Jaqui, I think you have proved yourself more than worthy of the position of Freki. Unless someone would like to challenge you for the position, I believe it is yours."

There were so many emotions running through the room right now but he had to push away the hurt he felt by being betrayed to focusing on the good things in front of him, the Pack and Katt. He rolled his eyes at the little stab Apollo took at his appearance but smirked at it too. It was how he was and he was entitled to his opinion.

Chris was grinning from ear to ear at how everyone assumed so quickly Katt would be his Lupa, of course she would, but it still made him a big pile of mush for her. Jaqui was a great healer and she too thought he would make a good Ulfric, he prayed that he would not let them down and thought with a stab of anger that he didn't have to live up to much to surpass the man he was replacing. "Thank you Jaqui for helping my mate out." He could have said Katt, but part of him wanted to say it for a fact out loud.

He turned to Katt and was sure the goofy grin was there, but he toned it down a little. "Nothing would make me happier than to have you by my side." His wolf rose to his fingertips crossing over to find her's. When he found her he nuzzled her. Chris pulled him back, feeling this was needed to be done when they were alone, the first joining of their beasts should be a private intimate matter and he would make sure of that.

He nodded with Katt about Jaqui becoming their Freki, she had proved herself just as Katt said. "Agreed Jaqui, as long as you are unchallenged it is yours." Chris turned his attention to all the wolves now facing them as their Ulfric. "I will serve you and never desert you. I will not run instead I will stand by your side and protect the family that I know. I swear this to you all." With that he let out a howl and smiled down at Katt giving her a kiss finally - it was what he wanted to do all night.