Werewolf Queen

"Thanks Darla." I said and she left.

Darla was a petite woman with short black hair and eyes just as black. Her facial features told me American Indian but she had Asian with it. She was beautiful to me. She was shorter than me but that wasn't really saying much. I was constantly meeting people shorter or taller than me. I was average height at just 5'6".

I went back to the bedroom and sprawled across the top of the blankets. I was out in an instant.

Jack

I came across a smoking town and rolled down the window. I could smell snakes under the smoke. Underneath that I smelled a faint hint of wolf. A very angry wolf from the looks of it.

"Jade you've out done yourself." I said and continued driving.

About twenty minutes a large wolf came into my headlight range just waiting for me. I slowed down and he made the motion for me to follow him.

He ran but always stayed in my headlights. I saw lights of houses in the distance after going over a large hill. More wolves were on the side of the road and I wondered if they would attack. Jade seemed to trust them but after things I've been through I wasn't a very trusting person.

I pulled into the town and continued to follow the wolf to a parking lot. Very few cars were parked there but there were a couple of large vans and SUV's. I parked next to a red car the same make and model as the one I was driving.

I got out and a man with graying hair wearing just pants came up to me. He put out his hand and I shook it.

"You must be Jack." He said.

"Yes sir." I answered. I could feel his age and damn he was old. I was just a baby compared to him and I really thought I was old.

"Would you like to see Brent or Jade first?" He asked and it seemed like a trick question.

"Are they not together?"

"Brent is in the hospital house and Jade is sleeping in a community house." He answered.

"Jade first." I said and he smiled. It kind of gave me the creeps.

I followed him to a small house with no lights on. He motioned his hand towards the door and I opened it. He stayed outside.

I went to the room where Jade's scent was concentrated at. The moonlight came through the small window and hit her back. Her skin seemed to glow silver. It seemed the closer to the full moon we were the more she glowed. Sure we all did, it was a mark of what we were but she just amazed me.

I sat on the edge of the bed where she was sprawled and I leaned over and kissed the glowing skin.

"Jack." She said still sleeping. "Not now I'm too tired."

I had to fight the laugh. She thought I was here for sex. She probably didn't remember where she was.

"All right but if Brent gets some I'm going to be pissed."

"Brent can kiss my ass too." She said and rolled over.

"Yeah you're okay." I said and got up after laying a kiss on her shoulder.

I went back outside and closed the door softly behind me.

"Name's Jed." He said as he went up a small incline to a warehouse looking building.

"Thank you, for saving them." I said.

"I didn't have to save them actually. Jade had the place in flames by the time we noticed the smoke. Vampires were running everywhere. After all the stuff they've done to us I couldn't help but get that action. I've heard of berserkers but never seen one in my 800 years. She was on a rampage."

"Sounds like something she would do."

"No, you don't get it. She wasn't home. It was all beast. Even her eyes went wolf and I'd never seen that."

"Wow." I said as we walked into the building.

"There were at least 150 in that coven. There may be 30 left tops. She's something else." He said as we came up to Brent sleeping on a hospital bed on his stomach.

He smelled of medicine and blood. I hated the smell of morphine. It was acrid and made one smell funny for days. I bent down so he could see me if he woke up.

"Brent buddy, I'm here." I said.

He didn't stir. He was really out of it.

Jade

I woke to sunlight across my face. I moaned and rolled over. Why the hell was my curtains opened? I sat up and groaned. It hurt to put weight on my wrists. Then it all came flooding back. Even memories I didn't have. Clutching a head by the hair in my mouth, fire, screams, and red eyes the color of crimson. Blood so much damn blood. I could taste it.

I shuddered and ran to the bathroom and dry heaved until my head felt like it would split. I sat on the floor and brought my knees up and put my forehead on them and cried. I was ecstatic that Nikki was alive...somewhat. But she betrayed me. She led me into a trap. But why would she do that? Why lure me there just for blood when she could get it anywhere? So many questions that would stay unanswered.

I heard a TV in the next room and I went to the bedroom and saw a luggage bag sitting on the floor at the end of the bed. It was mine. Jack must've made it in. I opened it and grabbed a pair of jeans, underwear and a shirt. I felt like black today. Luckily that's what he packed mostly. Even the underwear was black and I knew I had many different colors in my drawers at home.

I walked into the living room and Brent and Jack sat there with a box of videotapes on the coffee table. The box was labeled Jade's talent shows. I saw me at the age of 5 with my class choir dressed up like sunflowers.

"Oh god, no!" I said and blocked the TV.

"You make a cute sunflower." Brent said with a smile.

"So glad you're feeling better." I said angrily. "Who the hell gave you these?" I asked.

"Who else? Your dad wanted to give these to you, along with other things that I didn't have the heart to tell him not to." He said.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Your crib and mother's rocking chair."

I sat down. My dad wanted grandkids. He's wanted grandkids since I turned 18. How could I tell him I couldn't have them? I'd figure it out a different day.

I heard my mother's voice on the TV and I looked up. I was running up to them and my dad taped me with a red ribbon in my hand.

"Look mommy!" I said and showed her the ribbon with a big grin on my face.

"I see that baby! You did so well!" The tape cut off.

I tried to grab for the box but Jack was faster. He put a tape in on top that wasn't labeled. He put it in the DVD/VCR player. It was my last year of high school. Since it was so small we had a tri-county talent show. It was right before my mom had died. I could hear her clapping as they said mine and Nikki's and a couple of other friends' names. We had formed a small band for the show. I was humiliated as I looked at the guys. They watched with smirks on their face.

"Nice hair." Brent said.

I dyed my hair orange and black for school colors. I was a senior. I had school spirit. What of it?

"All right I'm going need your help here. You should all know this song. It's an old time favorite!" Nikki said to the crowd. Brandon who was on the drums played the beat to We Will Rock You. The crowd started the stomp-stomp-clap.

Nikki sang most of the song and I watched Jack's jaw dropped as I came in with the electric guitar solo at the end and went straight into We Are the Champions.

"Holy shit Jade." Brent said. "You didn't tell me you could play."

"You never asked." I said.

"How many songs did you play?" He asked.

"Four I believe." I said. "We played classics that the crowd knew while others hoped talents scouts came and played their own material. We never looked for fame we wanted to have fun." I said.

He watched as Nikki traded me places to the microphone and picked up a bass guitar. I played the intro to Barracuda and started singing and they both turned their heads at me. Our lineup had ended with Bad to the Bone. With a friend named Curtis sang and got cheers from a bunch of girls. He was the county heartthrob. I never saw him that way. I saw the preteen with pimples and greasy hair.

"And why do you not have a guitar?" Brent asked.

"Well-." Jack got up and went to the kitchen and brought out my old toxic green and black les paul guitar. He handed it to me and I stared at it with nostalgia for years that seemed such a long time ago but at the same time just yesterday.

"So is there anything country girls can't do?" Brent asked.

"I can't ice skate." I replied.

"Well in a state where it barely rains and snow happens once every ten years I wouldn't doubt that."

I ejected the tape and took the box. I'd have to hide them. Most people would burn them but it's the only way I can hear my mom's voice again. They meant too much to me.

I took them to the bedroom and shoved them under the bed along with the guitar. My dad wouldn't hear the end of this for a long time. I went back to the living room and sat down between my men on the couch.

"So how come you guys didn't wake me when you came in?" I asked.

"We tried." They both said at the same time.

A knock came to the front door and Jack got up to answer it. Jed and Darla were there with Styrofoam plates full of food. Jack moved and they came inside and set the food down.

"Thank you." I said.

"No problem. We have a pack meeting here in about an hour and we want you to be there since you are now honorary brothers and sister." Jed told us as they went back to the door. "We owe you for flushing out them damn blood suckers."

"You owe us nothing." I said.

He did a single nod and they closed the door behind them as they left. We dug in.

Jack

We wandered to the middle of the small village and I saw familiar faces from way back in the day. Some of them I fought with in wars, some I ran across on my journey to nowhere. They greeted us with smiles and handshakes. The unfamiliar ones seemed a little wary. I caught a glimpse of Derek holding a woman close. She had red hair that couldn't be natural and was tall and extremely skinny. She looked liked a boy with long hair and a dress. I liked my women with curves. Jade had curves. She had great curves. The better to hold on with...

The crowd parted a little and Jed motioned for us to join him on stage. I noticed a lot of male eyes on Jade. She noticed them to and walked rather stiffly up the stairs to the podium. Darla had us stand in a row next to Jed as he announced who we were and then something that startled me.

"I believe Jade is the new Queen of Wolves." He said.

"I've never heard of such a thing." One woman shouted.

"You're twelve years into your life, of course you wouldn't Samantha." Darla said.

"So what makes her so special?" It was Jessie that came up.

Jed seemed taken aback by her speaking out.

"Who says she's a Queen? It could be any wolf, why her?"

"So says our goddess. I have seen her wolf, she wears a crown." Jed said.

"I saw it too." A woman said coming up. "It disappeared though when she came to herself."

"I'd never seen the crown but then again I'd never seen a berserker either and they claimed she was one. I'd heard stories of coats changing when the beast takes over completely. One way they could be as white as snow and in berserker mode they could turn black as obsidian. I just thought those were legends. Then again most legends were based on facts."

I heard Jade growl at Jessie and I took her hand. She stopped but gripped my fingers tight enough it actually hurt. I squeezed back and she eased up. I looked at the crowd of at least 60. It was a large pack and they seemed to stay hidden well.

"Do you doubt me bitch?" The woman asked Jessie.

Bitch wasn't an insult usually to a wolf. It just meant they were calling her a female with no status. I think this one was meant to be an insult. I respected the strange woman. She had curly brown hair and when she glanced at me I saw honey colored eyes. My heart seemed to stop in my chest. Her skin was olive in color and she held an accent I couldn't place. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

Jade let go of my hand and I stepped forward, just a small step but Jade noticed. I was torn then. Jade was mine but I had to share her with her true mate. I wanted to protect her and I loved her but I still felt empty. I was jealous that Brent had found a mate. Their intimacies damn near drove me insane a few times. They thought they were being discreet but a wolf can hear better than a human. It's harder to have privacy.

I looked at Jade and her eyes confused me. She looked heartbroken yet happy. She understood.

"Ah," Jed said. "I can feel the bond forming already. Greet Kira as your new mate." He told Jack.

"Kira." I said softly. It was a beautiful name. Again I was torn.

"If you don't go to her I'll push you off this stage." Jade whispered. Jed chuckled.

I went down the stairs and I walked up to her. I moved a lock of her hair from her eyes to behind her ear. She put a hand on the back of my neck and brought me to her lips.

It was like the Earth had stopped moving. I smelled the forest in the middle of fall with crisp leaves on the ground. A chimney burning somewhere near. She smelled of home.

Brent

I watched as my brother was led off by the woman. The look on his face was just dumbstruck. It was different for every wolf. I felt nothing but lust for Jade that grew to love. Jade took my hand and I glanced at her. She was looking the other way.

"Now back to business. Brent, Jade, and Jack are now pack for helping us eliminate Valentine's coven."

"They're gone?" One man asked.

"Not completely but we now outnumber them 2 to 1."

The crowd cheered. It was one thing I was not expecting. I glanced over at Derek who seemed to be seething. Jessie made her way to the very back of the crowd where the weakest wolves were. Derek stayed near center. In the wolf world the most powerful were always in front. Always on the front line protecting the weak. That's how we were. Unfortunately for me that meant always being on the front line. But fortunately I almost always had my brother beside me. Where was Jade on the power pole? Damn near the top. Her age put her at the bottom but her power was Alpha. So she would be in the center of the crowd.

The meeting went on without ever mentioning us again but here and there. He hoped that we would stay now that Jack has found his mate and that we were brothers and sister even if we decided to leave.

We walked off stage and I noticed that Derek was doing everything in his power to catch my attention to the attention that he was giving the woman in his arms. I just continued walking and paid him no mind. The woman didn't matter to me. It was the woman that held my hand.

After the meeting there was a lunch. Jack and Kira didn't show up. I knew what they were doing. I noticed Jade was stiff the entire time but she also couldn't stand large crowds where she knew no one. Back home was different. She grew up around the people.

Jed gave us a tour of the village which he called a town. I didn't think it was large enough for a town. But the only thing it was lacking was a post office. There were houses, a diner, a clothing store, a medical unit; it even had a recreational park. There was a downtown area with different shops of different sorts. One was an ice cream parlor, a shoe shop, even something close to a grocery store.

Jed explained that they did use money but it was mostly favors. If one came in and didn't have money and needed a pair of shoes or something they would be able to get it and then work for it. They wouldn't let anyone starve of course. Everyone had a job to do.

"So Brent, what is your specialty?" He asked.

"I'm a jack of all trades. I know everything but master at nothing."

"Is anyone truly a master of anything? As soon as we learn something it always changes and we have to learn more. We are re-doing roofs this year and need some more help. We are also building some new houses for any new wolves that come in. Some of these houses would be easier to demolish than remodel."

"Then I'm your man." He said.

"And Jade?" He asked

"I owned a restaurant." She answered.

"Well Darla does need another waitress. The last one has left to be with her mother until she passes. Poor girl isn't taking it well."

"When can I start?" She asked.

"If you need to go back and get your things you can start when you get back. Of course if you want to come back."

Jade looked at me with longing eyes like she was asking for permission. She wanted to stay. She wanted to learn so much about being a wolf and our ways.

"There is a larger house open right now if you want it. Well the only thing bigger is the bathroom. It's got a full bathtub instead of just a shower also a walk in closet. But other than that it's the same size." Jed told us.

"We'll stay." I said.

She smiled and it reached her eyes.

Jade talked Jed into letting us borrow his Harley to go back to Lone Wolf. I don't know what she was planning but bringing all of the stuff back was out of the question.

She said a tearful goodbye to her dad and Daniel before we went to the house. She told Daniel to keep it for her and to continue drawing rent from her account so we could come back if needed.

She had me take her to Altus after we packed all of our clothes and a few sentimental things of hers. To no surprise at all we went to a car dealership and she bought a truck. I figured it was what she had planned.

She tossed me the keys. "Happy Birthday." She said.

"And how do you know when my birthday is?" I asked.

"Lucky guess?" She said.

"You're off by a month." I told her. "January 28th." The truck was a silver F1-50 crew cab. I got in and she got on the bike. I wondered if she knew how to drive one. But she was out of the lot like a pro. The girl had more secrets than she was telling.

I followed her back to the house and packed the truck. The furniture would be staying behind. I made a silent promise to get her new stuff. The furniture that the pack had was stuff you would find in a motel room. But when you had a pack that big and not a lot of money you had to get what you could afford.

Jade and I had talked about giving the pack some money to help them. I had agreed of course. The more help the better. She also sent another small donation to the hospital from where the surgeons that saved her came from. I matched it.

We visited Brian's grave for a few minutes before we headed out. She followed me out of town. I could feel the sadness radiating off of her.

Jade

The road back seemed so much longer than it had taken to get there. Maybe it was because I was tired. Maybe it was because my ass had gone numb. Maybe it was because I didn't know if I would ever go back. I think it was because I had time to think. It was the realization that I had grown up in a few months. My childhood was gone and I was headed for a new life. I no longer had the girls I called sisters. One was a sworn enemy of werewolves and the other hated me because she wasn't as strong as I was. She hadn't chosen this life. She was forced into it or she would have died. I didn't know if I would ever see my dad again. If I did it would probably be on his death bed or his funeral or he would be at mine.

It was dark when we returned. Jed was waiting for us in the parking lot. He whistled at the truck. Brent got out and they shook hands. I went over to them a pulled a check out of my pocket and handed it to Jed.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Well I figured it would help with anything the people needed." I answered.

He looked at it and seemed a little dumbstruck. It was the look that a deer gave you when your headlights hit them. Brent also handed him a check.

"You take those with nothing, we're not one of those and we will help when you need it."

"I appreciate this. It will get all the material that we need. I don't mean to be nosy but I'm going to be, how the hell did you get so much money Jade?" He asked.

"My mom had a large life insurance policy and I got half. And then when my restaurant burned down I happened to play it smart and insure it for a big amount. Sure it was the largest chunk of what I managed to make but it sure did pay off. If Jessie has looked in her bank account she'll notice she got a third of it." I answered.