《Dragon's Worry》


 Chapter One

    As the day dawned a group of travelers left the small quiet town of Silverville. They were heading to a tournament to sell blacksmith goods and maybe join the mayhem of it all. They were leaving their families behind for the chance of gold and fame. The group was and wasn¡¯t happy about this.


    The only one truly happy about it was Latsol, because he and his wife were having a few problems. He had been in a game of cards the night before. The game was held within the town''s tavern. The tavern was built within a 5000 year old silver oak. The whole group had watched as she thrown him out that morning. Knowing one of them would most likely be putting him up while he wormed his way back into her heart and bed upon their return.


    As they rounded the first of many bends in the forest road Latsol said ¡°Hey Annoce, would you like to see what I won last night at the game?¡± Annoce looks at him before shaking his head ¡°Do I want to or do you mean you are going to show us and are just using that as an opening?¡± Chuckling the kender pulls out a dragon egg from one of his many pouches.


    They all stop walking and look at him. Swearing the dwarf looks from the egg to him and back a few times. Slowly David walks toward Latsol. He takes the egg from him and feels the scaly shell. Looking up at the kinder he says ¡°You won¡¯t be getting this back till we find out what type and how dangerous it might be.¡± Turning toward Sunny he says ¡°Get a helmet ready for this.¡±


    Sunny gets a helmet and a blanket from the back of the cart for her adopted father. As she walks over to David while Latsol whines ¡°Why can¡¯t I keep my dragon egg? I won it fair and square!¡± The whole group laughs so hard. She lines the helmet with the blanket before shaking her head and kneels down to offer the helmet to David. He puts the egg into the helmet. She covers the egg over and smiles softly feeling the heat radiating off of it. Taking the helmet back to the cart she hides it in the spot behind the driver''s feet.


    Annoce looks from David to Latsol and back. Sighing he says ¡°If we want to travel more than a mile or so today we should start moving along again.¡± He along with the two werewolves start moving along the trail. David climbs back onto the cart and starts the team of horses moving at a slow pace behind them. Sunny chuckles and shakes her head as she follows. Latsol brings up the rear bitching that it was his egg and he should be the one to decide what should be done with it, not the rest of the group. He slowly starts to sing.


    Why oh why am I never listened to.


    Blamed for things I never do.


    I wish for a time where those will heed me.


    Life would be so much better if I were listened to.


    The group tuned him out after the last line. Not wishing to give him attention. Not one of the group had noticed a stranger following them. Latsol hadn¡¯t so much as won the egg as pocketed it and left before the owner had noticed it was missing. Dan the ¡°owner¡± let his boss know the gold dragon egg was missing and that the short fellow who had tried to cheat he most likely had taken it.


    After much yelling and a whipping to his back Dan was sent to fetch Demon to find the egg and kill the thief. Demon found the group with the short fellow. He laughed so hard when he realised that the one who had taken the egg was a kender. Using his telepathy he contacted his boss Kain and let him know that little tidbit.


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    He followed the group through the forest over the trail staying a good distance behind not to be noticed. They moved off the trail to a good size campsite near dusk. After stopping they tied the horses and brushed them down. Sunny went to make dinner as everyone else set up the camp.


    Annoce was gone for an hour or so. Coming back with a buck already clean and ready for the fire. Sunny takes the buck and portions it before starting the meal. The smell of blood and the meat sizzling over the fire makes Jess and Zane very restless. Zane looks over at Jess and says, ¡°Want to go for a run after the meal is done?¡± She smiles saying, ¡°Yes, but we should take different paths tonight.¡± He looks at her funny and says ¡°Why, we always run together? It seems silly to change now.¡± ¡°Well I am about to start my heat and I don¡¯t want a mate yet. So we need to keep our distance in wolf form cause you would take me without a second thought.¡± She whispered in his ear. He shakes his head and chuckles. ¡°You are an Alpha and I am a Beta sweet one. If in any form you chose not to then we won¡¯t.¡± he said.


    Sunny chuckles as she sees Jess blush. She finishes preparing the meal and yells, ¡°Meal time.¡± After everyone is severed she sits near Annoce. David watches as they talk softly to one another. He knows there is something between them but not sure how much. The talk around the fire was of the tournament. They had all heard the legendary warrior barbarian Whoopes was in the lists. Sunny knew she would have to avoid whatever Whoopes was in to please David. Sighing she finishes eating and cleans up the remainder of the meal. Sending the kender to wash the pots and plates. She cooks the rest of the meat and sorts it into sections.


    Jess and Zane leave the group heading over the steam deeper into the forest. They find two small clearings to change forms in. Once they are finished. They stretch their muscles grinning at the feel and smells all around them. They take off in a flat out run. Zane falls back a bit before taking off. He runs down a winding path with her trying to keep up. He rounds a bend seeing a way to double back without Jess realising it. He does so as she trips over a tree root. She stands up shaking herself off before sniffing. Following the trail she moves slowly. Now behind her he grins slowly following her waiting for the right time.


    As the trail in front of her widens she notices his scent is gone. She sniffs trying to find it but it''s not there. Seeing his opening he jumps and pins her to the ground. Her scent gives away that she is in heat driving him nuts with want. The wolf in him takes over as she fights to buck him off of her. They roll over a few times before ending with him still on top of her. Panting hard from the attempts she feels his length on her back. She whimpers softly, wanting but not wanting at the same time.


    He has her right where he needs her to be. Growling he pulls back lining up with her sex before he thrusts forward deep into her. He pants once he is buried. Moving slowly at first he thrusts in and out of her. Moving faster as she arches up wanting him deeper. She howls out as she climaxes hard around him. Feeling this his knot starts to form. He pounds into her wanting his release as well as wanting to tie with her. Feeling her climax again he buries his knot into her, locking them together. She howls out giving him access to her neck. As he spills his seed deep inside of her as he bites her neck marking her as his mate. Panting he lays atop of her for a long time. As the night wore on they slept tied together.


    In another part of the forest Demon hears the noises they had been making. He followed the sounds to the clearing near the lake. Staying within the trees he sees the two wolves at the end of their mating. Sniffing the air he realises that they were not normal wolves but are werewolves. Shaking his head he slowly walks toward where the group is camped. Making sure not to make a sound on the way. Checking on them he sees that they had set watches to ensure that the goods were not stolen during the night. He curses under his breath. He decides to climb a tree not too far away to think and catch a few hours of sleep.


    As the sun rises Jess and Zane wake up in a tangle of limbs. He is hard and still deep inside her. Growling he rolls her on her back. He thrusts in and out of her kissing her hard. She growls and whimpers. Licking his way down to her breasts he licks, nips and sucks on them. Making her climaxes around him so hard he thrust once more into her as he followed her over the edge. She marks him as he spills inside of her to finish the mating process.


    Panting hard she blushes and once they are untangled she hurries back to the edge of camp. He catches up with her and grins softly. He takes her hand and leads her in. Sunny is cooking food to break the groups fast. She waves and calls out ¡°There is water to wash up with in your tent. Don¡¯t take too long, the meal is almost ready.¡± Jess just nods and goes into the tent. Zane chuckles and says ¡°Thanks Sunny we will be ready before you''re done.¡±

 Chapter 2

    Sunny calls out, ¡°Annoce could you please round up Latsol and make sure everyone is up?¡± He smiles softly at her and nods. He lets a whistle out to let the dwarf know it''s time to get up. David grumbles but starts to move. Seeing this Annoce heads in the direction that the kender was last seen.


    Latsol was out wandering looking for a small piece of treasure that might be only found by a kender. He was only a mile or so out from the camp. He had followed a winding trail. Smiling, he sees a glint of something right under an old pine tree. Moving forward he makes sure to look around for people. There wasn¡¯t anyone around. He gets to the base of the tree and kneels down. Slowly moving the dirt away he finds a gold ring with a ruby the size of a cat''s eye on top of it. He cleans it off and smiles. ¡°Well maybe you can help me win back my wife from her sour mood.¡± He put the prize in one of his many pouches on his belt. Little did he or the group know that the ring was a very powerful magical item. It was made by a very forgetful wizard who had no clue it was missing.


    Annoce followed the trail of footprints from the kender along the winding trail to the lake with a small waterfall. Missing the fact that Latsol had turned right heading a bit away from the lake. He cursed the whole time since leaving camp. Having reached the lake he realised that the kender was looking for treasure to hopefully win his wife back when they returned. Though the view of the forest was breathtaking with the songbirds singing. He knew finding the little fellow was important. Also knowing what Latsol could get up to or in, Annoce yells ¡°Latsol it is time to break our fast before we move on. We haven¡¯t the time for your games this morning.¡±


    Hearing the elf yelling, the kender sighed. Knowing his time was done. He retraces his footprints to the split in the path and sees which way the elf had gone. He quickly finds Annoce. He moves forward slowly and without a sound. Moving around some fallen branches he gets just out of arm reach of the elf before screaming. The unexpected Annoce jumps very un elf-like and lands in the lake. He had been thinking of Sunny. Wondering if he asked for her hand would she have him, and if David would allow it.


    Swearing at Latsol he climbs out of the lake. Before the kender could run away Annoce grabs him by the collar of his tunic and throws him into the lake with a big splash. ¡°We need to hurry back before we will leave your ass.¡± Annoce says before turning and storming back for camp.


    Latsol scurries out of the lake. Running to catch up to him. They walk into the camp wet, having dried a bit on the walk back. Sunny tries hard not to laugh but fails miserably. ¡°What happened to you two? Fall in the lake or something?¡± chuckles David. Sunny goes to fetch a couple of drying clothes. After handing one to the kender she helps Annoce dry off most of the water. Once both are dry and changed they eat some of the deer meat and bread. Sunny cleans up the cooking supplies and the camp fire is put out.


    Once everything is put away and the fire is completely out the group starts to travel down the trail hoping to make it halfway to their destination that day. Leaving the forest behind around midday. David watches Annoce and Sunny as the day moved forward and many miles had been walked. They walked toward the town of SnowVeil. Seeing the town was less than two miles from them. They all laughed because they were at the halfway point. Talking they decided to stay the night there and see who else was heading to the competition. Maybe see if they wanted to travel the rest of the way with their group.


    As the sun set as they made their way down the town main street toward the stables. Once there they paid to have the cart watched and the horses taken care of for the night. They headed for one of the many inns that the stable boy said had rooms available. Once inside the Flaming Dragon they secured three rooms.


    Demon had followed them at a distance throughout the day. Seeing the town they walked into made him smile. His boss and the other ones were waiting for him there. Laughing softly he heads for the boss¡¯s house at the other end of town. Once inside the house they sat down to dinner to think up a plan to retrieve the egg and to kill the kender as well as the others if they interfere. There was a knock on the door from the Flaming Dragon owner. Letting them know of a group who met the desecration had checked in and was staying the night at his inn. They thank him with a small pouch of gold. Once he was gone they sat back down and smiled. They know every in and out of that inn as well as the stable where the cart was sure to be.


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    Back at the inn Annoce and David have a serious talk about Sunny. ¡°David what are you looking for in a suitor for Sunny?¡± he asks. David looks at him and chuckles. ¡°The main item is someone who will allow her to be herself as well as provide for her. But also someone who makes her happy.¡± Looking at Annoce ¡°Why you asking son? You thinking about asking for her hand?¡± Looking David in the eye he sighs and nods his head. ¡°I do not know if she will have me or not. I am asking for your consent to ask her sir.¡± Laughing so hard David almost fell out of his chair. ¡°I maybe her adopted father son but in the end it is up to her who she chooses to be her husband. I will say that you do have a very good chance at it. If the way she watches you says anything.¡±


    Sunny walks over seeing the two of them looking very guilty. She knows without a doubt that they were talking about her. She asked the barmaid to bring two red wines and a mug of ale over to the corner table just out of the fire light. ¡°So boys what have you two been chatting about?¡± she says calmly before sitting next to Annoce. David clears his throat as Annoce looks away. She chuckles softly.


    ¡°If you are going to discuss me please do so in front of me. It is very unkind of you to do so behind my back.¡± she says as the drinks arrive at their table. David pays for the drinks. ¡°Well I think I am heading to bed and taking that damn kender with me.¡± He looks at Annoce and winks, ¡°You two need some time together and a bit of privacy for that.¡± Looking at both of them she raises an eyebrow and shakes her head wondering what happened and why all of a sudden why he would allowing this.


    Annoce looks at him raising an eyebrow as if to say you want me to ask her now. Chuckling the dwarf goes and finds the kender to take him by the ear to bed before he causes too much trouble for them. Sunny looks at Annoce and smiles softly. ¡°So what were you two chatting about over here?¡± she says softly.


    ¡°We were discussing what David thought you needed in a husband.¡± He says offhandedly. He does not look her in the eye while saying this. He looks around the commune room instead. Noticing three men who look like they were up to nothing that could be good. She chuckles at him softly pulling his attention back to her fully. ¡°And why were you two talking about that? Not as if you were thinking of taking and making me yours.¡± she says softly. It was almost not heard because of the noise in the room. He blushes a bit as she speaks this.


    Annoce looks at her and smiles before standing up and taking her hand. Pulling her to her feet softly he whispers in her ear, ¡°I think we need to go to our room and discuss this by ourselves.¡± She looks at him in surprise but nods to let him know she was willing to do this. He leads her up to the room of the three he had picked. Seeing Jess and Zane he stops and lets them know of the men he saw. They agreed to go watch them and see if anything came of it.


    Once inside the room he locks the door behind them. Looking at her he smiles softly. Walking to right in front of her he bent down a bit so he could kiss her slowly at first. She wraps her arms around his neck and leans into him as they deepen the kiss. Moaning softly they end it and stare at one another. Smiling he heads to his bag and pulls out a cloth covered ring. She is watching him wondering what he needed to get from his bag not seeing what he had pulled out.


    He looks a bit worried as he walks back to her. She looks at  his hands as he comes right in front of her. He kneels then and unwraps the white gold ring with a gorgeous blue sapphire on top. Looking into her eyes smiling he asks, ¡°Will you be mine for the rest of our lives, and have my children?¡± She tears up and nods her head. He grins from ear to ear as he puts the ring on her finger.


    There was a knocking at the door which made them both jump and turn. He walks to the door, opening a crack to see who is there. Seeing Jess he opens the door and glares at her. ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°Well aren¡¯t you nice after asking for a favour. I came to tell you one of the stable boys came into the inn and let us know the wagon was gone through. Zane and I are going to see if anything is missing but we wanted you to know so that Sunny is watched because we don¡¯t know who did it.¡± She snaps at him before heading to the stables. Zane shakes his head and grins at them before turning to follow her.


    Sunny looks shocked. Annoce swears thinking he knows who did it. Walking over to her he wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her forehead. ¡°If they are after the egg they won''t find it in the wagon. David and I brought it to the inn with us. It''s safe.¡± She looks relieved to hear that and sighs leaning into him. ¡°Shall we lay down and sleep or do you have something else in mind?¡± she says softly into his neck feeling his erection pressed into her belly.


    He groans feeling her lips against his skin. ¡°Well I was going to say we should sleep but I think that can wait a bit don¡¯t you.¡± She chuckles and kisses him deeply, not wanting to think about the wagon. As they moved to the bed he removed her tunic and skirt leaving her in only her undergarments before removing his as well. They lay on the straw mattress. She blows out the candle next to the bed. They feel and kiss one another''s body. Smiling into the dark he makes his way down her body to between her legs. He starts slowly kissing her thighs as he moves up to her center. She groans out softly not wanting to be heard by anyone. She bites her bottom lip as he kisses her center and does things she wasn¡¯t sure of with that mouth of his.


    Once he is done toying with her he slides up her body before reclaiming her mouth. He slips into her till he feels her maidenhead. Looking her in the eyes ¡°This first time is going to hurt for a few moments. I promise you that it will fade and not hurt after this.¡± As he says this he thrusts to the hilt and she gasps at the pain. He kisses her softly and waits for her to become used to his size. She starts to move under him letting him know she needs him to move. He smiles softly and takes most of the night to love her slowly.

 Chapter 3

    In the morning David wakes hearing Latsol snoring loudly. Chuckling he gets dressed and kicks Latsol¡¯s foot to wake him. ¡°What do you do that for? I was having a good dream.¡± Latsol whines softly. ¡°We need to eat and get moving if we plan to make it to that tournament at all,¡± growls David. Groaning and moaning the kender gets dressed glaring at him. ¡°I am going to see what happened last night. Don¡¯t get into any mischief while I¡¯m gone you hear.¡±


    He finds Sunny and Annoce sitting together eating. Their heads were together and they were talking softly. He raises an eyebrow at that, wondering what had happened while he slept. He walks across the room to them and clears his throat. ¡°Morning you two. Did you hear anything other than what the boy told Zane?¡± ¡°Not yet. We were breaking fast then headed down to see if all is good or bad.¡± Annoce sighed. ¡°Then I guess we can all head down together. I wonder what the hell they were after.¡± signing David sits down.


    They finish eating and head for the stables where they find Zane in wolf form glaring at the houses not far from them. Jess is sitting on the wagon eating a strip of dried deer meat. She looks up and nods as they get closer. ¡°He wants to follow the scent that is all over the wagon. Everything is still here. They didn¡¯t find what they wanted.¡± David nods to his bag. ¡°I am not surprised they didn¡¯t. So now we know what they want. Should we find who they are or not?¡±


    Sunny thinks for a bit and says ¡°Well the tournament isn¡¯t till four days from now. We have the time to find out and handle this before needing to be there. I say we go find them and handle this so we do not have to handle this during.¡± Annoce looks at her and thinks for a moment ¡°We shall but you need to stay behind me during this. Understood?¡± She nods her head and sighs. Jess looks between the two of them and says ¡°Shall we go or just talk about this all day?¡±


    They all fall in line behind Zane to follow him to the house where Demon and the group are sound asleep after having stayed up all night to go through the wagon. Slowly they walk around the house to make sure there aren¡¯t guards or people close by to see what they are about to do. Having made sure they let the kender have a go at the lock on the door. It being child''s play he has the door unlocked and open in but a few moments.


    ¡°If they really wanted to keep everything they really should have better locks. Maybe I will tell them about my locksmith,¡± says Latsol. David shakes his head and puts a figure to his lips before slipping into the house. The rest follow on silent feet so as not to be heard. The lower level of the house is clean but empty of people.


    They head slowly and cautiously up the stairs to the next floor. They see four rooms. Annoce can hear heartbeats coming from each room. There are six different ones. Annoce holds up six figures to let the group know without speaking how many they will either face or tie-up. He nods to the middle room and the one to it''s left as having more than one heartbeat. David looks at Jess and nods to the last one Annoce nodded to. She winks back.


    Latsol is looking at the first door on his right and smiles before winking at David who just shakes his head. Annoce is looking at the middle door then looks at him and nods as he puts a hand on Sunny''s shoulder. David faces the last door.


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    They all slowly open the doors they had chosen. Looking in to see if there are any traps or if the occupants are awake. All but Demon¡¯s boss are fast asleep. The man has no clue that his door has opened because he is betwixt the legs of Starry. She was taken from her farm to be his bedfellow.


    Upon seeing the door open she looks at it and sees two elves. Knowing they aren''t of his group she grabs a hold of the candlestick and bashes him on the back of the head. Knocking him out and then pushes him off of her. Pulling her skirt back into place she looks at the two astonished elves¡¯ faces and smiles. She says ¡°What can I do for you two today?¡±


    They eye her wearily wondering what the hell they were going to do now. ¡°Why did you help us?¡± Sunny asked. Starry simple smiles before getting off the bed. She looks Sunny in the eye and says ¡°Cause that ass just took me and killed every person I knew to have a fuck toy.¡± The group had come to see what was taking these two so long. They had heard what was just said and looked between themselves.


    ¡°Well,¡± Dave said, ¡°We should take her with us after we find out what the hell these folks were doing with dragon eggs. We found the one from the card game the little shit was at and he is tied up.¡± Starry looks at David having not seen a dwarf before. She thinks for a moment and says, ¡°well if you want answers then you may want to tie this ass up. He is the boss and will be the best informed on the going on of this group of thieves.¡± He smiles at her and nods to Lastol to do it.


    Lastol grumps a bit before getting down to it. Not happy to have to tie up this foul-smelling half-naked man. After all is said and done the group had every one of them tied and gagged. Now was the time for the most boring part of it all waiting for one of them to wake.


    It took most of the day for the boss to wake up. He was spitting mad when this happened. When he tried to stand he realized he could not move. Looking down he saw that his legs and arms were tied together like a pig for the spit.


    They waited till he was done swearing to say hello. The group watched as he tried to free himself. ¡°Are you done yet?¡± Sunny asked. ¡°If so I have a few things I wish for you to answer for me.¡± He just looked at her and laughed before saying, ¡°If you think I am answering anything for a knife-eared bitch you got another thing coming.¡± Annoce kicked him in the ribs for that comment and Zack growled at him.


    David grabbed the man''s hair and yanked up so he was looking into his eyes. ¡°If you think I will let you speak like that to my child you have another thing coming. Now you will either answer the questions or I will start taking piece by piece of your flesh till you do answer.¡± The boss looks at him as if he is joking. ¡°Oh, really and how do you think you will be doing that? My men will tear you apart when they get here.¡±


    David looked at him and laughed. ¡°Are you saying the ones who were asleep in the other rooms? They have been tied up already. You are not going anywhere. Now Sunny dear, what did you want to ask him?¡±


    ¡°What were you doing with a dragon egg? Why were you using it to bet in a poker game? Why did you go through our wagon?¡± She asked and waited for answers. Boss just looked at her and said nothing. David waited about ten minutes before asking Sunny if there were any other questions she had. Sunny said ¡°No, I don''t think so. Why do you ask?¡± David looks at Annoce and nods at him. Annoce took Sunny''s hand and led her out of the room. The others followed them out knowing David wanted privacy for what he was about to do.


    As the door closes he opens a bag that he had brought with him. He slowly pulls out the tools he will need. He looks at the man tied up and offers for him to talk before he starts. The boss spits at him and laughs saying ¡°You won¡¯t get shit from me dwarf!¡± ¡°If that is what you think then you have no clue on what I can do. I was trained to make people, elves, things, and wargs talk.¡± David slowly unsheathes a dagger made from mithril. With a sad smile he sets to work slowly cutting the skin from the man like he is skinning an animal''s hide from its body. Slowly over the hours the boss starts to talk, answering all the questions that were put to him.


    When he was done the sun had just started to show. He came out of the room to clean all the blood and other fluids from himself and his blades. They all gathered together back at the stables to decide what to do and if they were leaving that morning or in the evening. They come to the conclusion that they will leave immediately and put distance between themselves and the town. So not to have the town knights arrest them for what had happened in that house.

 CHapter 4

    As they started on the road they found out that there was one more with them then when they had arrived at town. "So are you going to stay with us for the rest of the way?" David asks Starry. She looks at him and smiles before saying "I think I will stay till we get to the outskirts of Torrieton. Is that fine with you?"


    They say it is fine. She had helped them get to the boss. As the road goes on. They make small talk about the weather and other things to make time pass. As the group makes it to a campsite about a day¡¯s ride from that town. They set up the site and make preparations for the night and choose who will take the shifts for the watch. Dinner was made and eaten. Then Annoce took first watch. Sunny with him.


    Once the others were asleep. Sunny asked him ¡°What kind of wedding would you like?¡± He looks at her and smiles before saying, "I would love to see you in a beautiful dress and have all our friends in the middle of our town."


    "That sounds wonderful. Should we plan to hold it a week or two after we are done and have returned?" She asks. "I would enjoy that my dear." Annoce nods and smiles at her before kissing her lips softly. They smile softly and chat about the wedding plans as the night goes on. As it nears the end of their watch a small noise catches Annoces attention. He motions for Sunny to go to David in case he is needed.


    Annoce goes to see what the noise was. He takes to the trees in case there is something or someone wrong. As he gets closer to where the noise was he sees three figures waiting behind trees just out of sight. Annoce makes an owl hooting sound to let Sunny know to wake the others.


    Upon hearing this noise she covers the dwarfs mouth and nose, waking him silently. Starry looks out of her tent seeing that Sunny is waking David and she ducks back to get ready. David looks up to see who has disturbed his sleep. Seeing Sunny he nods and she removes her hand and moves one figure to her lips. He nods again and wakes the damn kender silently as she moves to wake the werewolves up.


    Once they are all awake they get ready to move on how many attackers there are. Sunny does an owl hoot to let Annoce know they are awake and ready. He lets out three hoots to let them know the number that they will be facing. Starry lets them know in a whisper that not all of the bosses'' men or things were at the house where they had found him.


    Knowing that they could be facing werewolves or dragon-shifters or even dark elves they headed toward Annoce as quietly as possible. Once Sunny spots him in the trees she heads up into them as well. The others stop behind the trees just before the clearing. Sunny sees the three that Annoce points out. Nodding she signs for David to throw a rock. He does so Sunny has her bow out and at the ready. Annoce has a dagger drawn out and at the ready. She lets the arrow fly and it hits the farthest target from them.


    The other two targets jump out and start to look around to see where the arrow had come from. When one of them walks under the tree Annoce is in he jumps down putting the dagger into his target''s throat. Silencing him before he could make a sound. Jess and Zack take the last one down with teeth and claws. They left him alive to get information out of him.


    Once they had deposed the other bodies and tied him up they headed back to the campsite. They drop him down by the fire. Before they sit by watching him as he slowly comes around. Growling he comes back to consciousness. Jess gets in his face at that noise. Growling at each other they stare down waiting for the other to look away. Showing which one of them is weaker. The tied up one looks away first knowing that he is facing an alpha. ¡°Why the hell are you with this weird ass group if you¡¯re an alpha?¡± he asked Jess. She laughs and smiles before Zack wraps his arms around her glaring at that male.


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    ¡°What is your name pup and why are you here?¡± Zack asks. The male just looks at them before sighing. ¡°I am here because I was asked by a gold dragoness to find her egg. It was stolen from her by a demon.¡± The group looks at one another before David asks. ¡°What colour is the egg and how many were taken?¡±


    He shrugs his shoulders as best he can. ¡°The colour is a black with sparkles of silver all over it. That is the one she is truly wanting back. I think she said there were about four hundred and fifty eggs stolen in total from the group. The dragons have started to group together because of the eggs being taken. My pack has always had an understanding with the dragons. We help them out when asked to.¡±


    Jess thinks for a minute before saying, ¡°Most packs do not have understanding with dragons. It only happens when a werewolf and dragon become mates. I take it that either your alpha or beta are mated to a dragon?¡± the wolf nods his head yes at that. ¡°We do not go around saying it because then the pack becomes a target for others. As for my name it is Angor. Can you please untie me? I give you my word that I Angor of Whitesnow pack will not attack unless I am in threat of being killed with a silver dagger.¡± he says this, eyeing the dwarf.


    Laughing David undoes the kenders handy work. Jess is watching him stretch out his kinks. ¡°Did you say Whitesnow? They are known for being able to sneak up on anyone. Why did Annoce hear you?¡±


    Angor flinches at the comment and sighs. ¡°The elders sent pups in training for this with me. But they had to go back to the pack and I joined one of the other groups searching. This group had two dragon shifters in it. Annoce more than likely heard one of those two. I am in shock that your group was able to take them down that easily.¡± Sunny shakes her head. ¡°I have been training for 50 years to take down anything that threatens me.¡± Angor looks at her in shock. ¡°Elf or half elf? No human lives that long. Not even the bitten live more than 100 years. You don¡¯t look old enough to be that old.¡± Annoce glares at him. David just laughs and shakes his head.


    ¡°I am a half elf and will live for more than ten thousand years. I am in your terms still a pup.¡± Sunny says. Jess laughs at that comment. ¡°You are no more a pup than I am. Sunny, you keep this group together and not at one another''s throats.¡± ¡°And how do you know about the egg I seek? I would like to be able to hand it back to her.¡± Angor says. They look at one another before David pulls the blanket covered egg from his bag. Slowly he unwraps it.


    Angor watches and smiles seeing the unwrapped egg is the one he was looking for. Sighing softly, ¡°Thank the gods you have it. What do you want for me to take it back to her? I know finding or even getting one is a feat in itself.¡± Latsol grumps and whines saying that it is his egg and why should he have to give up what he had won. Angor watches as Sunny smacks the back of the little fellows head hard and she growls out, ¡°Do you think that your wife would want one of your children to be used in a fucking poker game? Think with your fucking head and not with the part that makes you want to keep everything shiny you find. Damn fucking kender.¡± Hearing the word kender Angor tenses up.


    David sees this and chuckles, ¡°Do not worry when we found out he had the egg we took it and have kept it safe and sound.¡± Angor nods and sighs. ¡°what does he mean he won it? Are the eggs being used as a bet in games?¡± David nods and says ¡°We found out about that little detail yesterday. There is a group of thieves using the eggs to bet in poker games and a few other things are right out selling them to wizards. The leader of that group is dead and lets say he is without his skin before he died.¡± Sunny pales but does not say anything.


    Angor nods and is trying to calm down having received this news. He knew the news would upset the dragons. ¡°I am going to let my alpha know what you have said and let him know that you are friends and not the ones doing this. As well as that you have taken care of part of the group doing this.¡± He takes a few minutes to let Alpha Efren know what has happened by mindlink. He let Angor know that he and the Beta and Delta were coming to him.


    Angor turns to the group and lets them know of the group from his pack coming and tells them that they will be here in half an hour. Sunny nods and looks at Annoce ¡°Please go hunt and bring back two deer. This way we have enough food to feed them. We know how much they can eat and still be hungry.¡± Annoce nods and kisses her before heading out to hunt. Sunny gets the fire up and going to be ready to cook.


    Sunny sighs and shakes her head, putting the pot of water on to boil. She looks at the sky and knows that they will be moving again in a few hours. As the time goes by Annoce comes back with both deer cleaned for cooking. He sets them down on a table David had set up for butchering. He gets to work cutting the deer up and making it easier for Sunny to cook. When the food is halfway cooked alpha Efren, his beta Nicoles, and Delta Ram show up. Ram sees the egg and smiles softly. That tells Jess who the one mated to the dragon is. Ram goes to the egg and cuddles it to his chest. Jess clears her throat. Making the three newcomers look at her. Alpha Efren growls softly. Jess Growls back louder and glares at him.

 Chapter 5

    He stops and really looks at her. ¡°You¡¯re a fucking alpha. What the fuck are you doing this close to my pack?¡± Sunny holds her hand up so Jess does not snap at him saying ¡°We are on our way to the tournament. We did not know that we were close to your pack lands. We are not here to cause trouble. Nor have we done anything to warrant you growling at us right after you show up.¡± He glares at Sunny and says to Jess ¡°You let this knife ear talk for you.¡± As he finishes the sentence he is put into the tree across from the fire. He tries to move and finds that he is pinned by Jess whose eyes have gone pitch black with alpha rage. She says ¡°If you want to leave here alive you will apologise to her for that comment. Then you will keep you fucking mouth shut or I will do that for you. Do you understand me?¡± The beta and delta went to move only to find that they were being held in place. The beta by Zack who was pulling the arms hard behind his back and the delta was held by Annoce who had a silver dagger to the throat.


    The alpha held his hand up to let them know to stay where they are and not to fight. Angor didn¡¯t move but had David¡¯s hand on his shoulder holding him in place. Efren looks at him and says ¡°What the fuck did you get me into?¡± Angor sighs and says ¡°I warned you to play nice. That there is an alpha and a beta here. I also told you how they took out the two dragon shifters, but you did not listen. How is this any of my fault? I gave you the warnings and told you not to come if you would not keep a head on your shoulders. Luna Summer would not be happy to see how you are acting. So leave me out of it.¡±


    There is a laugh that can be heard from beside the wagon. ¡°You are right, Angor. I am not happy with how he is acting. However I do not wish to see my mate dead. My name is Summer of Whitesnow. Please Jess of Bloodvain let the dumb ass go. I will make sure he behaves and apologises for what he said about the half elf.¡± Jess looks over at Summer and smiles softly. ¡°Long time since I last saw you. How the hell did you end up with this shitting flea bag?¡¯ She lets him drop to the ground and goes over to her old friend. They hug and laugh at the fact Jess is stronger than Summer¡¯s mate.


    Growling he gets up and tries to go at Jess only to find that Sunny has him at crossbow point. Smiling, she says, ¡°What were you saying about me? I would love to hear it again.¡± He sniffs the air and knows that the bolt is silver laced. ¡°Well aren¡¯t you full of surprises? How long have you had those bolts hidden? They are dwarven if I am not mistaken.¡± She laughs and smiles. ¡°They were made but last week with my help. So they not only have silver in them but also wolfsbane. They have not been hidden at all. We made them for sale at the tournament. Some people find them useful when dealing with your kin.¡±, she snarls at him.


    Summer laughs and looks him in the eye. ¡°If you wish to come closer to me or even Jess you will need to get off your high horse and apologise to her. I will not stop her from shooting you. She has every right as for what you said about her. In our pack that would mean a fair fight. Seeing as how she is half elf and you are a werewolf she has done what she thinks to make it a fair fight. As I see it well she made herself able to take your ass down and sometimes I wish others would do the same.¡± He growls at his mate and Sunny takes a step closer. ¡°If you think you can come into my turf and start shit you have another thing coming. I do not deal with males who think they are better than a female simply because they have a dick and balls betwixt their legs. You can ask my father about how I have taken down men bigger than you.¡±


    David laughs and nods his head as she says this. Smiling David says, ¡°That she has. Be it wolf, werewolf, weretiger, or dragon shifter. So I would be very nice to her if I were you mutt.¡± Summer shakes her head and looks at Jess, ¡°How did you end up with this group of species? I mean most of our kind tend to keep to themselves. What happened to your pack?¡±


    Jess sighs, ¡°Well the pack is no more. We were attacked by a group of rogers. They number so large that I was lucky enough to be found  by Zack. He put me over his shoulder and took me from our lands. He had been the beta of that pack. They wanted lands and were not above slaughtering a whole pack to get it.¡± Zack looks at her and sighs before saying, ¡°I could not follow someone who would kill pregnant women nor children not old enough to fight. Seeing as how you were so wounded I could not just let you die. I felt the need to save you.¡±


    Jess smiles softly at him and nods, ¡°I know Zack. I know and I thank the gods and goddess that you did what you did. My pack was all slaughtered. I was the only one left alive. That alpha knew I was meant to be the next alpha of my pack and wanted me to suffer losing everyone before ending my life. Zack helped me heal from my wounds and then we headed as far from those lands as we could run. We ended up in a town called Silverville. This is where we met with Sunny. I was looking for a new blade since I did not have any of mine. As the days went by we started to take work clearing out monsters and other things for the town. We ended up meeting everyone over the months we spent there.¡± Summer nods her head and looks at her mate, ¡°Well are you ready to behave or not?¡± He nods his head yes after hearing how that pack had just vanished and a new pack had their lands.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I am sorry for calling you a knife ear but I have never had a good meeting with an elf or half elf. They have either wanted my pelt for their walls or they wanted to use me as an attraction for the humans to see that there are other things out there that they do not know of.¡± Sunny nods her head and lowers the crossbow before stepping back. Annoce lets go of the delta at the same time as Zack letting the beta go. They both step back but watch them closely.


    They look at their Luna and she says, ¡°Take the egg back to your mate Ram. She will be very pleased to have her or him back. Nicoles heads back with him and make sure nothing happens to him or the egg.¡± Ram nods thankful and with great care takes the egg before heading back to his mate with the beta in tow. After they leave Summer looks at her mate and sighs. ¡°You need to judge people by how they act, not what has happened in the past. I understand that it is hard. However, you need to do better. You are the Alpha of our pack and acting like a fucking child or worse is not going to be tolerated and you know this.¡± He lowers his head and nods. ¡°I know love. I will do better. It is just harder than I thought this to be, especially when I have not seen one of her kind in many a year.¡±


    Sunny watches him from Annoces arms. She looks up and smiles at him. ¡°Well what should we do about the dragons problem? We can¡¯t just walk away knowing that someone is doing this.¡± David sighs and nods before saying, ¡°Well we will still go to the tournament but after we are done I think it would be best if we help them with this. I can talk with the dwarfs I know and see if they have heard anything.¡±Sunny nods and thinks, ¡°We should also keep our eyes open for oddities there as well. That way if there is something amiss there we will see and get a lead.¡±


    Summer and Efren look at one another. ¡°What do you mean help? Most dragons do not want this know.¡± Efren says. Sunny sighs, ¡°Well since we already know and have returned one of the eggs. I do not think they will mind if we help.¡± Summer nods, ¡°Maybe but we will need to ask them if they are alright with this. This is up to them whether they wish for help or not. Please understand that they are very particular on the help they will take. The only reason we know about this is because of Ram being a mate to one. Otherwise they would not want any werewolf to know that they had lost eggs. It would start a mass war.¡±


    Jess nods and sighs, ¡°You are right when you say that. If a pack knew what was going on they would become allies with even the most hated packs to take out the dragons. It is a good thing that it was our group to have found that egg and not a pack member of one of the other packs.¡±


    Efren nods in agreement. ¡°You are very right that we lucked out and it was this group. There is a pack out by where you live that would love to take out all of the dragons. Do you know of the pack I speak of Jess?¡± ¡°If you mean that worthless pack called Moonview? I and Zack took them out. They would not leave us alone. We were not on their land in fact we were rather far from it. They were trying to take the town over.¡± Sunny nods, ¡°I remember when you guys showed up and helped get rid of them. They had been attacking the town trying to either turn or kill everyone in it. That was a few years ago now.¡±


    Summer and Efren look confused, ¡°What do you mean that pack is gone? I met with their Alpha three days ago. That is not possible that the whole pack is gone.¡± Jess looks at Zack and growls softly, ¡°Well then it is time to make sure that pack is either under new management or dead. I do not care one way or the other but they will be taken care of. If it is the same Alpha that it was, they are dead. He was the cause of all the town''s problems.¡±


    Sunny thinks for a bit, ¡°If you just met with him then would he be against meeting again so soon?¡± Efren smiles showing his fangs, ¡°No I had given him a few things that he needed to think over. I will be setting a meeting with him in the next few days. Does that give you the time you need for what you are already planning?¡± ¡°It lasts all week. We are done with the selling of goods in the first two days. Most people want dwarven goods. Seeing that we are one of the only options, it works out well for us.¡± Sunny says with a smile. Efren laughs, ¡°I would say I am surprised by that but I know how hard it is to get dwarven anything this far from the mountains.¡±


    ¡°Well it is almost morning. I for one am going to get some sleep. We have a bit of a road ahead of us.¡± Sunny says as she pulls Annoce behind her. David laughs softly, ¡°I understand my dear. Sleep well. I will take the rest of the watch with the little shit.¡± They all laugh except Latsol who just groans at that.


    As the sun rises David whistles to wake everyone up. Summer and Efren had left an hour before. They wanted to make sure this group was safe. As the group wakes and gathers everything up David gets the wagon and horses ready. Once they were ready they started the final leg of the journey. Near sunset they walked into the town of Williowwind.

 Chapter 6

    They head for the stables to settle the horses for their stay. Their group was not the first to arrive but by no means the last group. David was talking to the stable master about the length of their stay as well as what had happened in the last town they stayed in. He also made it clear to Belam the horses and cart were not to be handled unless the person was here in this group at this moment.


    Belam listened and sighed, sad to hear that one of whom he considered a friend would do such a thing to a group that looked like they could take almost any of the competitors that were here. He agreed to the terms that this dwarf had given him. He preferred not to anger any of his customers. It was not good for business if that happened. ¡°I will take care of your cart and horses myself. So that I will know if something is amiss. Does that meet with your satisfaction master?¡±


    David laughed at being called master. ¡°Yes, that will be acceptable. I did not expect you to be the one to handle this. I thought you had someone under you that you would hand this to.¡± Belam said, ¡°I do not wish to anger you so that is why I will handle this. I am upset to hear that you had to deal with that ass. I had considered him a friend but no more.¡±


    David nods in understanding. ¡°Our stay will be the length of the tournament or longer. We are not yet sure. How much is the price for this?¡± Belam thinks for a moment and says ¡°Two silver pieces for what you are needing. If your stay is longer than this we will go to a copper piece per day. If this works for you master?¡± David smiles knowing he will make that up in sales easily. ¡°That is acceptable. Here are the pieces. Do you know an inn that still has three rooms available?¡±


    Belam smiles and calls Therm over to him. ¡°Yes, sir what do you have need of?¡± Therm says. ¡°Does the Dancing Wolf still have room or are they full up?¡± he asks. Therm thinks for a moment. ¡°They have but 4 rooms left that are not taken yet. Would you like me to lead this people there?¡± ¡°Yes that will do Therm. Tell the innkeeper I sent them there. Have a good stay masters and mistresses.¡± Belam says as the group follows Therm out of the stables.


    Sunny looks to Annoce and smiles before asking Therm, ¡°What kind of inn is Dancing Wolf?¡± Therm looks over the group before saying, ¡°Well the inn is run by a mated pair of dragon shifters. They prefer other kinds to their own. I do not know what happened and try to keep them happy. They do not mind elves, half elves, dwarfs, or shifters of any kind. They are good folk to those who mind their manners. Your group should be fine there.¡± Sunny nods before looking at Latsol. ¡°You little friend will do well to remember this. Or have you not been listening?¡±


    Latsol looks at her and sighs, ¡°Yes, I have heard every word that the fire element in human skin has said. You know I will behave.¡± She looks at him with the look saying we will see if this is true, before turning to Therm. ¡°Is what he said true? Are you really an elemental in human skin?¡±


    Therm laughs softly, ¡°Yes, I am. It has been many a year since one has realised this. How did you know little one?¡± Latsol looks at him and humps, ¡°I am no more little than the half elf. Thank you very much. I knew what you were due to your eyes. They tend to give elementals away by swirling different colours.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Therm stops and truly looks at him. ¡°You mean to tell me that you are not a child, but an adult?¡± Sunny laughs softly before saying, ¡°Yes, he is an adult. May I tell him what you are Latsol?¡±Latsol looked at Sunny to see if she trusted this man. He nods to Sunny not saying a word.


    She looks to Therm and says, ¡°He is a kender and we will keep an eye on him to ensure the rules of the inn are followed. We do not want to anger the innkeepers.¡±


    Therm nods and starts walking again. ¡°This is the main street. We have a blacksmith, two taverns, three inns, two stables, and of course a shop. We are almost to the inn now. The area used for the tournament will be at the end of this road. It starts the day after morrow, but of course you know this.¡± Sunny chuckles and nods. ¡°Yes, we do but thank you for letting us know. Oh, the inn is beautiful. The carvings are perfect.¡±


    Therm smiles and nods. ¡°That they are. Is there anything else your group will need before I take my leave?¡¯  David smiles while looking at the wooden carved dragon above the door. ¡°No, we are good. Thank you for taking us to this inn.¡± Therm bows and leaves them there. They walk into the inn and are met by the innkeeper and his mate.


    ¡°Welcome, welcome. How may we be of service?¡± Ember the innkeeper asked. ¡°We are in need of three rooms for the stay of the tournament.¡± David said. Opal thinks for a moment. ¡°We have four rooms and I know the perfect rooms for your group. The one is elven in make with a beautiful view of the forest. The second one has a balcony that goes down to the forest so your wolves can be let out without having to use the front door. The last one is dwarven made to make you feel more at home I hope.¡± she nods to David.


    ¡°Those all sound wonderful. We will take them. How much will the stay be?¡± David asks. Ember nods and says, ¡°It will be six gold pieces for the stay. This will also include breakfast and dinner. Breakfast is served at dawn and dinner is served at dusk. Will you be paying now or at the end of the stay?¡¯ David takes out the gold and pays for the tab.


    ¡°Thank you sir. Opal would you be so kind as to show them to their rooms? I will keep an eye on this floor and work on the stew we have cooking.¡± She nods and waves for them to follow her up the stairs.


    Once they are up the stairs and around the corner she walks to the first door and says, ¡°Here is the elven room. Please let me know if there is anything you need please let me or my mate know. Come I still have two rooms to take you to.¡± Sunny and Annoce go into the room smiling at one another.


    Opal takes the rest of the group to the next room. ¡°Here is the room perfect for the wolves.¡± Jess and Zane smiles before saying ¡°Thank you we will retire for now.¡± Opal nods and smiles. ¡°Well the last room is for you two.¡± She takes David and Latsol to the last room. The door is dwarven made and has to be opened with a special key. She hands it to David. ¡°Here you go I will leave you two to settle in. Dinner is in a few hours. Just come down and sit near the fire.¡± She says and bows before leaving.


    David looks at Latsol before opening the door with the key. Once the door opened David thought he was back under the mountain he had left. The decor was exactly like that of his old room. The stone beds, the mine like ceiling, the walls that looked like stone walls, and the lanterns on the walls. David about wept looking at this. He slowly walks into the room. Latsol followed slowly, watching the dwarf wondering what was going on.


    ¡°What are you thinking David? You look as if you have seen a ghost or something from your past.¡± Latsol asks. David shakes his head and takes the bed nearest to the door and closes his eyes.


    Sunny is smiling at the room they are in. The room looks and feels like a forest. The furniture is made out of living plants as if they grew into the shape. There is a small waterfall that flows into a small river that goes out the window. Annoce wraps his arms around her and smiles into her hair. ¡°Is this how true elves live? In rooms like this?¡± Sunny asks. Annoce chuckles softly, ¡°Yes, those whom are of higher rank. My parents had a place similar to this. But it takes magic to ensure the house stays standing. Not all elves can use magic.¡± Sunny nods and nuzzles into his neck. ¡°Shall we lay down and nap before dinner or are you in the mood for something else?¡¯ He grins softly at her before kissing her lips. ¡°I think we shall nap for now. You do need to keep up your strength.¡±

 Chapter 7

    Zane and Jess are in a room that has a pile of furs for a bed and a nice fireplace. The balcony has a beautiful view of the forest. They look at one another before saying at the same time, ¡°Want to run in wolf form?¡± They laugh at this before opening the door and changing forms.


    They race one another deep into the forest. They are being playful racing around a river when a couple of young wolves show up. They stop and watch the wolves. The leader of the new group walks to the river and drinks. The group has not seen Jess or Zane yet. They are playing around and looking for food to hunt. The wind changes and takes Jess and Zanes'' scent toward them. The leader freezes and starts looking around. He starts to look around and growls when he sees them.


    Jess takes this as a challenge. She growls back and stares him down. She knows they are not on any packs lands. This is neutral lands. These are either from Whitesnow or they are rogers. Either way they will learn not to growl at her. She is an alpha and not to be taken as she is nothing. Zane is at her side and bears his teeth at the pup.


    The leader is glaring at them for growling back. The pack wants this land and had thought they chased out all the rogers. These two showing up angered him. How dare this whore growl at him. He mindlinks his soon to be beta to change and tell them to get off pack land. Matthew changes and stares at the pair. ¡°You need to leave this land. The Whitesnow pack will kill you if you stay. This is your only warning now leave.¡±


    Jess snorts at him and Zane turns back. ¡°You say this is Whitesnow lands when it is not. This is neutral lands, you are the ones that need to leave. If you try and kill us your parents will be saddened. You will not go home. Alpha Efren will not attack us. Your Luna knows us as friends.¡± Matthew looks to Simon to see his reaction. Simon mindlinks his mother Summer. Seeing if what this roger said is true. She yells at him for being so far from their lands and tells him to bring everyone home. If she has to come and get them she will chain everyone up in silver. If they attack Jess or Zane it will be months time in the chains.


    His ears flatten to his head hearing her yell like that. It is the first time she has ever been angered by him. He lets the group know that they need to get home before her threats are carried out. Matthew goes pale at the news and changes back to his wolf before taking off. The rest of the group follows. Zane chuckles softly as he watches this. Zane changes back to his wolf and they head back to the inn.


    The group meets up at dinner. They sit down and talk about their rooms. Jess fills the group in on the interaction that happened on their run. Laughing that the small group ran off without a word. Jess thinks that Summer had something to do with that. The innkeeper and his mate bring out the stew with fresh baked bread. ¡°What would ya all like to drink?¡± asked Ember. Sunny looks at David. ¡°I and Latsol will take ale. Jess and Zane would like mead. Annoce and Sunny would like wine.¡± David said. Ember nods and they head to fill the order. Once the drinks are delivered the group starts to talk on which of the contests they will be entering.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Jess chuckles, ¡°Well I think I will just sit this one out and watch. I know Zane wants to do the hand to hand fighting.¡± Sunny nods knowing that Jess might be with child and that is the real reason she is wanting to sit out. ¡°I want to do the archer contest and the rest I will sit out. I will be helping with the sales.¡± David smiles at hearing this. ¡°Good then you will not run the chance of going up against Whoppes. That makes myself and Annoce happy.¡±


    Annoce chuckles and kisses her cheeks. ¡°I do agree with what he has said. I am going to do the hunting contest.¡± Latsol sighs, ¡°I am not sure if I will do any of them. They aren¡¯t set up for kender.¡± David looks at him. ¡°You will be by my side the whole time. You are not to be left alone. When you are, you end up in trouble. I for one do not wish for that to happen while we are here.¡± Latsol grumps but says nothing.


    As the meal continues the talk turns to how fast the goods they brought will sell. If they brought enough goods and did David bring things to set up a small forge if they received small orders. David smiles and chuckles, ¡°Yes, I remembered to bring the setup for the small forge. After the last time we were at one of these we had so many orders that it took us over a year to complete them.¡± ¡°Good, I will be able to help before and after my computation. I will not help on the day of till after it is over. Does that sound agreeable father?¡± Sunny asks. David nods to her letting her know that her plan sounds fine.


    They finished the meal and sat around talking a bit more. It was starting to get late in the evening when a group walked in. They stopped talking and watched this new group. This group had four people in it. The one they could pick out was Whoopes. He is a seven foot tall barbarian. He was laughing at something the small hooded figure had spoken.


    One of their group went to the bar keeper to see if there were enough rooms for them. The rest of the group sat down to have a drink and eat while they found out if they were staying here. The small hooded figure tries to slip away but the female elf ranger stops them. Shaking her head she then points to the seat that the small one had left and gives them a stare. They sit back down with a huff.


    Sunny watches all of this and smiles softly before whispering in Annoce¡¯s ear. ¡°That little one reminds me a bit of our kender here. Do you not think?¡± He nods and chuckles softly. ¡°I agree they do.¡± Latsol looks at them and glares, ¡°What are you to muttering about?¡±


    They all laugh which makes Whoopes look over at them. One thing about Whoopes is that he shall we say isn¡¯t bright. He assumes that our group of travellers were laughing at him and not the kender of their group. He takes even a wrong look to mean someone wants to fight him. He starts to glare at our group, no one notices this. The male whom had walked to the bar keeper comes back and talks with the group. He notices Whoopes not listening and tries to catch his attention. Sighing he starts to look around to see what has made this barbarian mad. He spots our group across the room and steps into Whoopes line of sight and says, ¡°They are not even paying you any mind. Stop glaring at them. We need to go elsewhere for the night. They do not have enough rooms for us here. However they did tell me of an inn a short walk from here that has room. Come now, pay for your drinks and let us be on our way.¡±


    They pay and leave to go to one of the other two inns. Our group stayed up for a bit longer. Laughing and talking about old adventures.They part ways for bed agreeing to meet up at the place where they will set up shop for the tournament.

 Chapter 8

    The next morning they met at the appointed spot. Annoce and Zane set up the tables. While Sunny and Jess start taking out the items for sale. Once the tables are set they start grouping items together on them. David adjusts items here and there but is overall happy with how they are put out. ¡°We will be busy as can be once this starts in an hour or so. I know some of you have contests to do today. Now that we are set up you are free to go enjoy yourselves. I will stay here and do the same.¡± Sunny chuckles at him before kissing his forehead. ¡°Have fun dad. I shall be back in a small while. Annoce and I are going to look at the other booths first.¡±


    He chuckles and nods as they leave him alone with the kender. Sunny and Annoce walk around holding hands to see some of the other wares. He points things out here and there to her. She smiles softly and leans into his side.  Now that enough time had passed the shops were open to sale. Sunny sees an herbalist open knowing she is running short on a few items needed to make balms she walks over. Smiling at the keeper she asked, ¡°Do you have willow bark, clove bud, cinnamon bark, and  rosemary?¡± ¡°Yes, we do have those items. How much of each would you like?¡± the keeper asks. ¡°Two pounds of each if you can spare that much.¡± Sunnys says softly. The keeper nods and gathers them up for her. ¡°That will be two silver pieces for all of this.¡± She hands the silver over taking her goods, ¡°Thank you and have a great time.¡±


    Sunny walks back to Annoce with a smile. They walk around for a bit more. Sunny kisses his cheek as he goes to leave her with David. ¡°I am heading for the hunting computation now. I will see you this evening. Be safe until then.¡± She smiles at him, ¡°I will. Please take care while doing this one. I know some of the other competitors are not always looking when the shoot their bows.¡±  He nods and waves as he walks to the starting area. ¡°He will be fine Sunny. He won''t even be seen till he wants to be. Now let us work.¡± David said. She nods and puts her packages into the spot under the driver''s seat and locks it.


    Going to behind the table she waits on customers for the rest of the day. Zane and Jess kept an eye on Latsol. They knew if he was left alone things from stalls/shops would go missing and no one would be able to find them. Their group needed to stay on the good side of the law while in this town. Their group had talked about ensuring that he was never alone this trip.


    Latsol sulked a bit while walking around. He wanted to go look at the one table by himself but Jess had a hand on him the whole time he was there. Once they left there they took him back to the dwarf. ¡°Here he is, we need to head for a computation. Have fun little friend and play nice.¡± Zane says while chuckling. Those two headed for hand to hand computation. Latsol sighed and went next to Sunny. Helping her out with the customers some. Though he wanted to be in the crowds, David finished setting up the small blacksmith forge and started on an order he received this morning.


    As the day started to wane they let the few customers whom were at the shop know they were closing for the night and would open again in the morning. Once all the things left were packed up they took the cart back to the stables before heading back to the inn for the night.  Once there David, Sunny, and Latsol sat down at a table. They were joined shortly by Jess and Zane.  Sunny watched for Annoce for a bit as they ate supper. ¡°Do not fret Sunny. Annoce is fine and won''t be back till tomorrow eve.¡± David said having watched Sunny throughout the meal.


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    She sighed and nodded without saying a thing. She did not want to spend the night alone but understood that this would sometimes happen. They talked for a bit more before heading to bed. The next morning they met up at the shop. David nodded to the other as he started setting out the items.


    Once everything was set Sunny kissed David''s cheek and smiled. ¡°I will be back this evening. I am heading for my computation. I hope to place first. We shall see though. Have a good day father.¡± David chuckled, ¡°I will having Latsol here will be interesting of course.¡± She laughs and waves goodbye.


    The day passed rather uneventfully. Jess and Zane walked around for a bit but came back to the shop. They helped take small orders and sell the rest of the items. Near the end of the day they sold the last arrows and daggers. The orders kept coming. From small to large. There were almost enough orders to keep David and Sunny busy for over a year. David wiped sweat from his brow having worked most of the day at the small forger. He had made a few orders but they needed sharpening. He would do a few before the end of the day so they could be picked up.


    He smiled as Sunny walked back to them. She chuckled seeing the orders that needed sharpening. She kissed David''s cheek and sat at the grinding wheel. ¡°How long are we staying open today?¡± she asked. ¡°A few more hours I would say. If you are going to sharpen I will keep making some of the orders. So we maybe do not have as many to take home with us.¡± he says. She nods and starts working on the one small sword he has finished and ready.


    She sharpens four of the six orders that are ready. Standing up and stretching she looks up and sees that the sun is slowly starting to set. She smiles and waits for David to finish his project and lets him know it is time to head back for a meal. He nods and banks the coals for the night. They head to the inn for the night. They have no more wares to sell. They sit and start the meal before Annoce joins them. He is smiling knowing he brought in the biggest catch of the computation. He sits next to Sunny and kisses her cheek. ¡°Hello sweetheart. How have you been?¡± She laughs softly and leans into him, ¡°I am doing well. Better now that you are back. How was the hunt?¡±


    He smiles and chuckles. ¡°I would say I did well. The results will be out the day after tomorrow. I can help either by selling items or keeping an eye on Latsol.¡± David chuckles listening to them. ¡°Well we are sold out of items. I would say you would be of better use taking care of Latsol so we may work on the orders.¡± Annoce nods at this.  Latsol just sulks being talked about as if he was not there.


    He starts to get up to leave when Zane places a hand on his shoulder and shakes his head. Letting him know he was not going anywhere without someone at his side.  He lets out a soft growl of annoyance and sits back down while folding his arms across his chest. Some of the contestants come in complaining of missing items. Some of the items are small but a few are rather large. The group listens and realises that there was a thief somewhere in the town.    Their first thought is of course Latsol but they know he has not been to where half of the items were taken from nor did they leave him by himself. They looked at one another and decided to meet up in the morning and talk about this new development.

 Chapter 9

    The next day the group meets at the shop area. Latsol sits and leans against the wagon wheel. He listens to the group talk about what has been taken. All of the items seemed of interest but not really something he had need of.  Though he knew a kender had to be at the heart of the issue. There were too many items taken for a normal thief to have done this.  He sits there cleaning his nails with a short dagger while they continue talking waiting for a pause in the conversation.


    ¡°You do realise a kender or two is behind this. I mean the number of items gone missing means that unless there are six thieves out there or one kender. As you know it was not I. You lot have not left me alone the whole time we have been in this town.¡± He says while still cleaning out the last of the dirt.   They all look at him like he has grown a second head. ¡°How do you figure this Latsol?¡± Sunny asks. ¡°Well, look at it logically for a moment. The items all went missing in a few hours.  All of those whom had items taken did not even know that they were gone till they were in need of said items.¡± he says. ¡°I wonder if the little hooded person is a kender.¡±


    They think for a moment and realise what he is saying.``You think they would bring a kender into this place and not keep a close eye on them? That would be a big mistake to make.¡± Annoce says. ¡°We will need to keep an eye out for today. Did everyone lock their rooms before leaving?¡± They all nod.  David sighs softly, ¡°Well I need to start on these orders. Sunny can stay with me to work. The rest of you can spread out  and look around. I would do this in pairs.¡±  ¡°One other thing is to tie your purses to the inside of your tunic. This way the thief can not take them. I will stay with Annoce today if no one has an objection to this.¡± Latsol says. They all nod to this and do as he suggested with the coin purses.


    They head out as David starts the fire from the coal that are left. Sunny sits at the grinder to work on the orders. She finishes one of the arrow heads when a customer walks up. She puts it aside and goes to him. ¡°How may I be of service to you good sir?¡± He looks at the table and sighs, ¡°I had hoped to buy some dwarven goods but it seems you are all out. Do you know if you will have more or are you done selling here?¡± ¡°What are you looking for? We are making small orders if we have the needed materials here. If not then we would wait until we made it home to make the order.¡± She says with a smile. He thinks for a moment, ¡°I am looking for a dagger that is able to skin whatever I need. It would not dull for over a year. Does this dwarf make something like that?¡±


    She looks closely at the man before her. Watching how he looks around and does not stop. Never looking her in the eye when he is talking to her. ¡°I know of the dagger type you speak of, however we did not bring the ore needed to make one. If you would like we could do an order for one. However this would need to wait until we make it home.¡± She says calmly.  He looks at her for the first time in the conversation and sneers. ¡°No, I need this today. If you can not do what I need I will look elsewhere.¡± He turns and walks away.


    She turns and walks over to David whom had just finished another order. Seeing her concern he puts it next to the other ones. ¡°What is wrong, Sunny?¡± ¡°A man wanted an assassin''s dagger. Though he did not come out and say this.¡± she says with a frown.  He looked at the man''s back ¡°I want you to go to the other dwarven stalls and show them this token. Tell them not to sell to that man. He is up to something that is of no good.¡±


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    She nods before taking the token and heads to the first stall. This one is only a few spots down from theirs. She does as David said to and shows the dwarf the token. He pales at seeing it. ¡°May I ask how someone like you ended up with that token?¡± ¡°It is my fathers token. He asked me to tell you not to sale to a man asking for a dagger that can cut anything easily and does not dull for a year.¡± She says softly. He nods, ¡°I will do as you say. It is rare to see what you have shown me outside of the mines.¡±  ¡°Is there any others selling dwarven goods?¡± ¡°There is one other stall besides yours. Head to the other side of this area and go down six stalls and you will find them. Please take care when you do go there. They do not trust anyone who is not a dwarf.¡± She nods and bows to him before taking her leave of them.


    She heads to the last stall. Slowly she approaches them. They eye her as if she will cut them where they stand. As the other dwarf said they do not trust or like other kinds. ¡°May I speak with the person in charge?¡± She asks calmly. The one eyes her sideways before turning and saying to the one at the forge in dwarven ¡°Someone wants to speak with you. She looks like an elf but not an elf at the same time.¡±  Sunny raises an eyebrow at him but says nothing.


    Ragonier finishes the dagger he is working on. Speaking in dwarven, ¡°I will only speak with her if she can speak our language. Otherwise she is a waste of my time. I have too many orders to fill to stop and chat.¡± She sighs and says ¡°I speak dwarven just fine. I am a half elf so now that is clear. I have a request to make.¡± They all stop what they are doing and stare at her as if a baby dragon landed on her shoulder.


    She raises an eyebrow at them. He steps away from the forge and slowly walks towards her. ¡°How do you speak as if you are one of us? No outsider has ever spoken as clearly as you have.¡± He says while glaring at her. ¡°I see you are the one in charge here. I am to show you this and ask you not to sell to the man asking for a dagger that cuts anything with easy and does not dull for a year.¡± As she is saying this she shows him the token David asked her to. Upon seeing the token he tries to take it from her hand.


    She pulls her hand out of his reach in the blink of an eye. ¡°I was to show you. Not allow you to take this. My father would not be happy for this to go missing.¡± ¡°Who is your father elf kin? You are half human and not a half dwarf. How did this end up in your hands? No outsider is to ever touch this.¡± He almost yells. He is angered by her having the token. ¡°If you wish to see my father he is here and working in the shop called Dragons Breath. You may ask him yourself. I have done as I was asked and I will be heading back to him now.¡± She turns and leaves after saying her piece.


    The group of dwarves look at one another. He growls under his breath. ¡°Stay and mind the stall. If you can Dare please do some of the orders. Leave the dagger one for now. I do not want that man picking it up until I know what is going on. Understood?¡± They nod their head and he leaves following her. Once he sees she has not lied about the name of the shop stall he stays back a bit to watch whom she is meeting there.


    Sunny comes back and David can see that she is angered over something. ¡°Did all go well with what I asked you to do?¡± She shakes her head  and says, ¡°You may wish to keep an eye out for a dwarf named Ragonier. He did not wish to believe what I had to say.¡± He nods to her. ¡°We will keep an eye out. If he is whom I think he is then we may have more trouble on our hands than I wish.¡± She looked at him with a question in her eyes but said nothing before handing the token to him. She picks up another order and begins to sharpen the blade.


    David looks around and spots him. After seeing him he simply gestures with his hand at the dwarf he once called his brother before turning and starting on a new order. Seeing that he knows now who her father is and walks over. ¡°How the bloody hell did you survive that mine? We all thought you were crushed under the roof of that tunnel.¡± Ragonier says. ¡°The floor fell out from under me. I fell around twenty one feet. Thought I had died only to wake and slowly make my way out through a tunnel we knew was nothing about. At the end I found a babe whom I took and raised as my own. I was done with our people and the games of war they play.¡±

 Chapter 10

    He looks at David as if he was not the man he grew and trained with. ¡°What do you mean you were done with the wars? We were trained and taught from birth to do what we were told. To live by the code and not falter in any aspect.¡± ¡°That was another life ago for myself. I could not return to a life where I would not be allowed to raise the child I found. Finding her changed my life. I had figured everyone from my past would think I had been killed due to the collapse. Before you ask, yes I did turn my back on our people. However, raising Sunny gave me a sense of belonging that I had never had there. I was tired of being the one everyone turned to. Handling all of that dirty work was wearing on my soul.¡± David sighs.


    He looks at David and sighs. ¡°I will not tell the counsel you are still alive however your mother is living and would want to know. Why do you not want the dagger sold to that person?¡± David looks to Sunny and nods for her to tell him what she has seen and felt from this man.


    ¡°The reason behind the decision not to sell to this man is that he would not wait for it to be finished. But the way he asked for the blade made it seem as if he did not want the type truly known. I know the type he asked for is used when someone is hired to kill someone else. He has the look of someone whom enjoys that line of work. There has also been talk of the King of humans coming to see the last day of computations.  Which is tomorrow. I assume he came to your group asking for that blade? Also wanting it finished today?¡±


    Ragonier watched Sunny as she explained all of that. ¡°He made a point of wanting the insignia bigger than we normally make it. He also promised double the pay if it was ready on the morrow. The offer seemed too good to be true. Now I understand why you came. I will not sell to him till after the King has left. Though the insignia will be made smaller on his blade due to what you have told me.¡±


    David nods and sighs. ¡°Well this is all I could ask of you. If you wish to tell my mother I am fine with that outcome. However, I do not wish for the counsel to find out. They would have my head if they knew.¡± He nods his head before scratching his beard. ¡°Well that may be a small problem with that. You see, your mother was offered a seat on the counsel before we left. I do not know if she accepted or not. The trip is a two month journey just to get to this town.¡±


    David looks at him as if he wanted to punch him in the nose before yelling. ¡°What do you mean she was offered a seat? Women have never had a seat. It was forbidden by the ancestors, carved in stone, and foretold if this happens that will be the end of the dwarfs.¡±


    Ragonier puts his hands up as if in surrender. ¡°I remember all of the old tales as you do, however as you know I have no say in whom they ask to be on the counsel. What do I do to stop it from happening? As for this it was left in her hands as to whether or not she would take the seat. She may have declined for all I know. I will not find out until I return home. Would you like news of whichever happened to you?¡± David stalks to his forge and starts to work out his anger on an order.


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    Sunny listened to all and saw how David reacted before stepping in. ¡°Please send word as to what happened to the Dragon''s Breath in Silverville. Since he does not want the other dwarfs to know he is alive and well send the news to me. You can play this off as a competitor or as a new companion. Either is up to you. This way it is safe to send the news.¡± He nods his head, ¡°That will work well. This way you can send news back as well. I will head back to my shop and finish all but that one order. Take care not to show that token too often or all of this planning will be for not.¡± He leaves the group and heads back to his own.


    Sunny watches David for a few more minutes before she starts to sharpen more of the finished blades. The day wanes as they work as the team they are. They had finished half of the orders they had received. Tomorrow they would give them to the people who ordered them. Sunny walks up to David and puts a hand on his shoulder. He looks up after finishing the last blade of the day. She nods towards the inn. Letting him know it was time to stop for the day and that he needed to eat something.


    He grunts at her and goes to put the blade where the others were. Looking around he notices all of them are not there but have been sharpened and set to the side. He chuckles ¡°Well you always were one to keep up with me. Even when I had a head start. Shall we pack up and head for the inn?¡± She chuckles at him and nods. Jess and Zane come up to them. ¡°You two head for the inn. We will take the cart to the stables. With that many orders done we want them protected for the night.¡±  They wave to Jess and Zane before heading out.


    Once at the inn they sit down at the table next to the hearth. Annoce comes over and sits next to Sunny and pulls her softly against him. They smile softly at one another. Zane and Jess show up with Latsol in tow. . They all sit around the table before food and drinks are served. ¡°Tomorrow is the last day of computations. Is it true what we have heard? Is the King of humans coming to watch?¡± Jess asks. Sunny nods, ¡°From what has been said this seems true. We shall see at first light whether or not it is true.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that Sunny?¡± she asks.


    ¡°If someone such as the king were to show up there will be guards and half the court will also show up. The place will be crowded before the first meal is served.¡± Sunny says as a matter of fact. Jess and Zane look at her funny. ¡°How would you know of this Sunny? Have you been to one of the human cities?¡± David chuckles, making everyone look at him. ¡°Yes, Jess, we have been to a few human cities. It was many a year ago now. However the king showed up during one of those trips. I was thankful Sunny was grown by then. Made going through the crows easier.¡± Sunny nods and leans into Annoce reminiscing on that trip.


    Annoce knows how that trip went for the pair. It was during that trip he met them. He had helped them leave that city before things had turned from bad to worse. Of course the reason behind the trip going so bad had to do with Latsol. If he had kept his hands to himself then maybe all would have been fine.


    Sunny looks into Annoce¡¯s eyes and says, ¡°One good thing came from that trip. I met you. Though I could have done without meeting Latsol for a few more years.¡± That made the whole table laugh. Once the meal was finished they said their good nights and headed for their rooms. As the next day dawns Sunny stands up from the bed and looks back at Annoce whom is dressed in nothing but a sheet that sits on his hips.


    She smiles at him. ¡°The results will be coming out this evening. Are you going to be beside me during that time?¡± He chuckles softly before standing to hold her close, ¡°Of course I will be by your side. I wish to be the first to tell you how good of a job you did. I want to kiss you as you take your prize.¡± She smiles before kissing him softly.

 Chapter 11

    David and the others have already gathered at the table near the fireplace. Sunny and Annoce join them. Once everyone is there Ember walks over to the group. ¡°Today is the last day of the tournament. Do you mind if I ask how many computations your lot entered?¡± David chuckles, ¡°Our group only did three. We were here more to sell goods than test our strengths.¡± Zane chuckles at this. ¡°True but I had a fine time playing with a dragon shifter.¡±


    She looks at him puzzled. ¡°Our kind normally stay away from this. We are not ones to want to put ourselves in the spotlight. It has never ended well when we are in that light.¡± She shudders and sighs. David nods. ¡°I understand. It may have been a fledgling that took part. I hope he or she did not win. I know you want to remain out of the line of sight.¡± She nods. ¡°Well I will let you enjoy your meal. Please let me know if you have need of anything.¡± They wave her off and start to eat as she heads back to her mate. He takes her in his arms and kisses her forehead.


    After they had finished eating they left. David and Sunny heading for the shop. Annoce takes Latsol with him to explore. Jess and Zane heading out for a run. They had all agreed to meet up when it was time for the award giving ceremony.  David and Sunny look at the orders left and smile. ¡°There are a few more we can do here. However, the rest we will have to finish at the home forge. We will be finished today with these orders well before we need to be where we said. What are your plans when we are done?¡¯ David asks.


    Sunny smiles and starts to work on the blade that is ready to be sharpened. ¡°I will find Annoce and walk around with him. Maybe you can take over watching Latsol so we may plan our wedding. Though we will wait until we are back home to have this.¡± David smiles and laughs before saying, ¡°So the boy finally asked you did he? I am happy for you. Are you wanting to make his ring?¡± She blushes and nods. ¡°I would like to make his ring from the dwarven ore we have at home. Though I can not do the finer workings on something so small that I would love to have on the ring.¡±


    David smiles and nods. ¡°I will go see if one of the two shops has some that I may buy. This way when we are finished with the last three orders we may start on that ring you want.¡± She smiles and nods. ¡°I will work on the next order until you come back.¡±  He nods and heads out whistling softly.  He is happy to know she will be in good hands after the wedding. He knows Annoce will be a good man to her.


    He goes to the first one but has no luck. They have used all the ore they brought with them. He thanks them for their time and walks to Ragonier¡¯s shop. Ragonier had not spoken one word of whom the token belonged to. The others in his group had asked. He simply shook his head and went back to work. When David showed up the group was shocked. They turned to Ragonier and looked as if they were betrayed.


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    Ragonier looks at David and shakes his head. ¡°What have you shown up for? I know what I have promised, however they did not know you were still alive.¡± He looks over his group with a glare. ¡°We will not speak of whom is before you. The rest do not need to know he is alive and well.¡± His men nod their heads. ¡°Thank you for agreeing to this. I have come to see if you have any dwarven ore left. Mithril if you have any. I wish to help Sunny make a wedding ring for her betrothed. She wishes to make it herself however the details she is wanting on it are troublesome on this scale for her.¡±


    Ragonier smiled at hearing the news. ¡°I have some on hand. I always carry enough for a ring or three when we travel. We do not often handle rings. I will give you enough to make the ring. I will also send Vokherlig over when the day is half done. Does this sound agreeable?¡± David nods and shakes hands with Ragonier. ¡°How much do I owe you for the ore and the help?¡± Ragonier shakes his head and chuckles. ¡°Nothing. This is our wedding gift to your daughter. Your mother would want us to help.¡± David smiles and laughs, ¡°What you say is true though I did not think you would. I was willing to pay.¡±


    They laugh at what he is saying. Vokherlig chuckles and says. ¡°I will see you in a bit. Go help your daughter get ready. Should I bring my special tools for the ring making?¡± ¡°I will and I would say yes. I did not think to bring ours with us on this trip. As Ragonier said there is not much work for rings here.¡± Vokherlig chuckles and nods. ¡°I will bring mine then. It is not a bit of trouble. I prefer working with my own anyways.¡±


    David waves and walks back to Sunny with the mithril ore in hand. She had just finished the second order when he came back.  She looks up and sees him smiling as he walks up to her. ¡°I will take that smile to mean you found the ore you were looking for and we can start the ring?¡± ¡°That we can, my dear. We will even have the help from an old friend of mine. Do you know what you wish to be on the ring?¡± David says.


    She smiles softly and nods, ¡°I wish to have the meleth symbol and the silver oak leaves as well.¡± David chuckles and nods ¡°This will make a lovely wedding ring. How many more orders do we have that need doing?¡± ¡°One more that we are able to do here. The rest we do not have enough ore for.¡± He nods and sets to work the last order.  Sunny starts working on sharpening the other two orders.


    She finished those and sets them to the side ready for the customers. She looks at the order for the last one and notices that the customer does not want the blade sharpened.  She smiles and waits for David to be finished with the blade. She takes out a piece of paper and charcoal to start drawing the ring. She sits and draws this out in an hour. By the time she is done David has finished the order and Vokherlig  is walking up to their shop.


    She does not know he is there to help with the ring. ¡°Hello how may I help you?¡± Vokherlig chuckles, ¡°I am here to see David and help with a ring.¡± David chuckles as he walks over, ¡°I see you are early. That is fine, we just finished our orders. You can set up on the table near the forge. Sunny have you finished the design for the ring?¡± She shows him the drawing she had made. Vokherlig takes a look and smiles.


    ¡°This will be a beautiful ring when all the work is done. I will put together the pot we will need to melt the ore.¡± David nods, ¡°Sunny  I will need you to keep Annoce away awhile he and I work on this. I know you want the ring to be a surprise for him. The award ceremony should be starting in an hour or so.¡± Sunny chuckles, ¡°There are a few shops I wished to look at. I will have him accompany me to them. Though keeping Latsol from pocketing items may be a challenge. We should be able to manage.¡± David waves her off. ¡°Have fun and give us till nightfall. I hope we are finished by then.¡±

 Chapter 12

    Sunny walks around for a quarter of an hour before finding Annoce and Latsol sitting under a tree. She smiles walking closer only to hear the pair bickering at one another. Annoce was being unreasonable by not letting Latsol go to the shops he wanted to by himself. Before the argument could become very heated Sunny walks in between them. ¡°That will be enough of that you two. We have time before the award ceremony. Would the two of you accompany me to a few shops? I wish to take a look and see if there is an item that catches my eye.¡±


    Annoce chuckles and wraps his arms around her waist, ¡°Of course love. We would both be honoured to accompany you. Is that not right, Latsol?¡± Latsol huffs but nods, ¡°Of course we would. Could we stop into the one shop that has the tiger pelt hung? I am curious as to what they have.¡± Sunny thinks for a moment, ¡°I do not see why we could not stop, however you will need to stay at my side or Annoce¡¯s while we are in there.¡± Latsol nods and gets up. ¡°Where is the first stop then?¡± She smiles and leads them off.


    They walk to where the shops are lined up for this event. Looking around they head for the shop called Magic is Everywhere. This shop had bobs and babbles of all different magic items. Some of the items were so dangerous that if handled wrong they would make the holder either an animal or a pile of goo. ¡°Before we head into this shop I want your word you will not touch a thing. I can feel the magic from here. I will not find a mage to fix you. Do you understand?¡± Sunny says to Latsol. Giving him a motherly look that says if you disobey there will be a cost you do not wish to pay.


    Latsol nods his head seeing that look, ¡°I will do as you say and behave. I have a feeling I know the owner and some of the items are dangerous.¡± Annoce nods and they walk into the little shop.  Sunny looks at this and that before being drawn to the back area of the shop. She sees a silver and blue striped dragon egg.  She is drawn to it. The owner watches her with a small smile. He had bought the egg knowing it did not belong to the person whom had it. He can tell she will insure the egg goes home. He walks over to her slowly. ¡°Hello young one. Is there something you have need of that I may help you with?¡± he asks.


    Sunny jumps a little, having not heard him walk up. She turns and smiles at him, ¡°This egg is it for sale?¡± ¡°No, the egg has been waiting for the right person to take care of him. He is yours to take to where he belongs. I can feel he is in good hands with you and your group.¡±  She watches him for a moment before nodding and slowly picks up the egg. ¡°Thank you for this. He will be home in a few days.¡±  The shopkeeper nods before saying, ¡°Oh you may wish to look in my bags and see if there is one you wish to keep. I will be over there if you have need of me.¡±


    Sunny watches his walk to another area of the shop. While holding the egg carefully she walks but four steps to the bags. She sees one that is elven made. This type of bag is very rare to find outside of an elven city and they are wonderfully made. She cradles the egg with one arm to her chest and picks up the bag with her free hand. She then walks over to the shopkeeper ¡°How much is this bag?¡± He looks at the one in her hand and says, ¡°You may have it for a bronze piece. Though please take Latsol out. He is starting to forget not to touch items.¡± She looks over her shoulder and sees Latsol is about to touch a crystal. Sighing she does a jay bird chirp to Annoce whom stops Latsol right before his fingers touch the crystal.


    The shopkeeper chuckled at seeing this before taking payment and wishing her the best. She smiles and bows to him before slipping the egg into the bag. Sunny then walks over to the pair and gives Latsol a look. ¡°I think we have spent enough time in this shop. We should head for the ceremony area now. You seem not to remember what you agreed to. I will think of a chore you may do to make up for this.¡± Latsol sighs and puts his head down. Annoce smiles at Sunny and takes her hand before they head out.


    They head toward the award ceremony area. Zane and Jess as well as David meet up with them. Jess notices the new bag, ¡°That is a very nice bag Sunny. Wherever did you find it?¡± ¡°The little shop that is called Magic is Everywhere. I like the owner. He is very nice and is able to keep an eye on everyone in the shop.¡± Sunny chuckles softly. ¡°If you wish, Zane can take you after the ceremony. The shop is right by the food stall.¡± Jess nods and turns to Zane before giving him puppy eyes.


    Zane chuckles and kisses her cheek, ¡°Yes, we may go after we see whom won. Are you agreeable to this?¡± Jess nods before leaning into him. The group makes their way in silence to the area. Once there they see that the King has indeed come to this event. Sunny smiles at Annoce before leaning into his side. Jess listens closely to those around the group. She nods her head towards one of the people not far from them. His voice and smell give him up as a rogue. Zane looks him up and down watching his moves.  He gives a nod to David.


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    David sees this and slowly walks toward the male making sure that he is not noticed. Once he is within an arm''s reach he taps the male''s elbow. The male lets out a small growl and turns to see David and shakes his head and chuckles. ¡°Long time since I have seen thee. Though back then I was in a pack that wanted your head.  They and I ended up not seeing eye to eye.¡± David starts to laugh at seeing this male finally know who he is ¡°Raken, I can not believe you are still alive and here. You saved my hide back then. I do have a few wolves for you to meet. Though you may be a bit confused by the pecking order.¡±


    Daven looks at him a bit. ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± David chuckles and nods to Jess to come to him. She walks over with Zane at her heel. She nods to David and looks Raken over. ¡°David I take you know this wolf. So what do you want from me?¡± David chuckles, ¡°Well I am thinking your pack is small and that you may want a loyal wolf to watch your back. That is when you two decide to have pups.¡± She growls at him for that comment.


    Raken looks at her and then him. ¡°What are you doing, old dwarf? I did not say I wanted to join a pack again. I am happy not having to be someone''s lap dog. I have a disdain for packs after what the last one thought would preserve the past the best way.¡± Jess listens to him and hears how angry this made him. She then looks at David ¡±Do I wish to know what he speaks of? It would seem that he is not looking for a pack and somehow I have a feeling this has something to do with you.¡±


    David sighs, ¡°Your thinking is correct Jess. The pack he is speaking of had made a law that no one who was not of wolf blood would not be allowed on their land. Now that is not uncommon, however they would take this to mean killing any person who crossed into the land even if a foot did so. Which is how they earned the name Blood Moon Killers. I was in a small village not far from their lands and one of the young girls had been taken. I went with a party to find her. I found her and one of the wolves just outside of their land and well I was thrown into a tree onto their land to be killed. That wolf wanted the girl as his mate and was waiting for the moon to turn her. This one here saw what had been done and knew the Alpha would be angry. Turned wolves in his opinion were mutts and not to be mates.  He gathered me up since I could not move. The wind had been knocked out of me as well as a few cuts from his claws. Then he took me to a cave to hide and let me heal from my wounds. When his Alpha found out what had happened. Well to say this went down as good as a flaming pile of shit. I was dragged by the Gamma to the Alpha to have my head removed. He stopped the Gamma, helped me leave the lands and left the pack. They wanted to hunt us down but the wolf council stopped them.¡±


    Raken nodded along with the story, ¡°This is why I will not join another pack. If I can not trust those who are in charge.¡± Jess and Zane listen to the tale and understand where he is coming from knowing how evil some Alphas can be. She talks with Zane through their mind link. ¡°What do you think of him? Do you think he will make a good third? So do we even try?¡± ¡°I think he will be good for our small pack. As for making him our third, that would be wise. This way he will know we are not like those other packs. He will know we will take his opinion and listen to him. Though we should find out what his position was before we offer.¡± Zane says to her. She nods and looks at Raken.


    ¡°First off, who says we wish for you to join our pack? We know nothing of you other than you know David. You helped him but disobeyed your pack. What type of member were you before that? Have you found your mate or are you one to not look? If you are looking for your mate will you leave us for her or will you have her join us?¡± Jess asks at once. Raken looks at her as if she grew a second head. He then looks at Zane who was looking at Jess with a smile on his face.


    ¡°I take from how he is looking to you that you are the Alpha.  So I will answer those questions. First I have yet to find my mate though I have been looking. Second I was the top warrior in that pack, but as for betrayal I did not have a choice. I would not see someone who did not step into the land with death on their mind killed. He was helping to find someone. Not looking to kill the pack. As for the one who had thrown him well it was the Beta. If I find my mate and will see to what she wants rather than try to make her mind up for her.¡±


    Jess listens and smiles hearing his answers. She looks to Zane who nods his approval. ¡°If  you wish to join our pack we would take you. Though if you join you will not be just a warrior. You will be our Gamma. You will have a say in our pack laws and order.¡±  Raken looked at her in wonderment. ¡°You would want someone who has never been of rank to be one. You would truly listen and would let me have a say in how this pack is run?  Why would you want someone like me?¡± ¡°Are you saying yes or no? Then your other questions will be answered.Of course we will have to bind you to us first.¡± Jess said.


    He watches her face as she says this. He can tell be scent and facial quirks. He knew she was speaking the truth. ¡°I will join though if things do not add up I will leave. I am making this clear from the start. I will only stay if this pack is willing to allow those whom are not of wolf blood on the lands.¡± Raken says. Jess chuckles softly before she slices her palm open and nods for him to do the same. Raken lets one claw lose and does the same to his hand.

 Chapter 13

    They join their bloody hands together. He becomes the third member of their small pack. He looks at the two of them with surprise in his eyes. Now that he knows how small the pack truly is he wonders at this. Know that in time they will tell him the why and how. He lets it go for now.  As they are releasing their hands a set of horns blow letting everyone in the area know the ceremony will begin shortly. Sunny and Annoce join them to see what has happened. Seeing Jess¡¯s hand bloodied, Sunny pulls out a small cloth and hands it to her. Jess smiles and nods her hand in thanks before cleaning her hand and does the same for Raken.


    The group walks to where everyone has gathered. Seeing the King of the humans on the platform makes David flinch. He knows if there is an attempt on his life it has been made easier with that platform. Sunny sees this and tilts her head asking without asking what is wrong. He nods to where the king is and she understands what he means. Annoce takes note and with Sunny they look around for something out of place. The horns blow once more to quiet those gathered. ¡°Welcome all who have come out to this Tournament. We have gathered to let those who won have the prizes and ask them to join us in a few months time for another tournament. We are planning a grand one.¡± King Thomas booms so all can hear him. Smiling, he nods to his daughter. She is the one whom will announce the wins.


    She nods to her father before standing and taking the list from the judges. Smiles she says, ¡°The winner of Hand to Hand combat goes to Zane of Silverville. The winner of weapon combat goes to Whoopes of Rivervalley. The winner of the bow competition goes to Sunny of Silverville. The winner of the hunting challenge goes to Annoce of Silverville.¡± She continues until all of the winners have been named. Once the naming has finished the King steps up asking for those whoms names had been called out to come to the grand tent for their prizes. He offers his daughter his arm and they walk off together.


    Once they are safely inside the tent the people whom won lineup in front of it. Sunny, Annoce, and Zane line up with the other winners. Whoopes is in front of them with a mage. They are talking softly. It seems to Sunny the mage is trying to keep Whoopes calm as they wait.The line moved slowly forward till their group was the last to enter the tent. They walk in together which seems to surprise the King. ¡°Welcome I was not aware that you are a group since you all entered different contests. Please have a seat and we will spend a moment or two talking while the rewards are gathered.¡± He waves his hand to the seating area near him as he says this. He starts to stand as they move there.


    His daughter smiles at the group and bows. Looking at her father she speaks softly to him once he has stood up letting him know she was tired and was going to lay down for a while. He nods to her before walking to the group and waving a hand for them to be seated. Once all of them have taken a seat. He nods to the servants to bring drinks to them. Sunny smiles to the young girl whom brings wine over. ¡°How did you find the tournament to be? Please speak your names as you answer so I may know whom I am speaking to.¡± King Thomas asks the group.


    Annoce smiles at Sunny before looking to the king and saying, ¡°The hunting was wonderful. I was surprised by the amount of game in the area, my name is Annoce your majesty¡± Zane chuckles, ¡°You should know they round up game in order to do this. Though the hand to hand was  a bit of a bore. The last round is where I had the most fun. My name is Zane, your highness.¡± Sunny shakes her head at Zanes comment. ¡°You are one to find fault everywhere you look. The bow rows could use some more challenges for the next time. They were a breeze for myself. I am Sunny, your majesty.¡±


    The king looked from one to the next as they spoke. He chuckled softly as he listened. ¡°Zane is right that we do round up game for the hunting challenge. Though the hand to hand will stand as it is. As for the bow I will have my master bowman look into changing a few of the challenges for the grand tournament.¡± Sunny nods her head before taking a sip of her wine. She looks at the cup with a question in her eyes. Annoce seeing this sniffs his cup and notes it is a very sweet blood red wine. ¡°What wine is this? I am able to smell oranges and peaches besides the grapes.¡± Annoce asks. The king smiles, ¡°This is from my private stock. One of my boats found an island with oranges that are blood red when opened.  The peaches are also from that island. They are sweeter than any I have tasted. I call this Blood Moon wine.¡± He takes a large sip of his wine after having looked into his cup.


    His lips start to turn a light white blue colour. His breathing starts to change. ¡°Your highness?¡± Annoce says upon hearing the breathing change.  Sunny looks at the king noticing the lip colouring she opens her bag grabbing out St. John¡¯s Wort and Broadleaf. She grinds them together before mixing them into clear water. Annoce has laid the king on the floor making sure he has nothing in his mouth. The guards come into the tent due to the noises the servants are making.  They try to remove Annoce from the king''s side. Zane holds them off. ¡°Sunny if you are going to help him do so now. I can not hold them off for long.¡± Sunny nods and kneels down beside the king. She opens his mouth and pours the mixture in. She then closes his mouth and holds his nose closed while rubbing his throat so he will swallow.


    After he swallows the mixture he sits up gasping. Once his breath is back he yells, ¡°Enough, they saved my life. Remove all of the wine and drinks from this tent. Have them all checked to see where the poison came from.¡± He coughs for a bit before standing. He goes to his chair and sits down shaking his head softly. ¡°I do not know from where it came however I do know that is an unusual one.¡± ¡°What do you mean by saying this King?¡± Sunny asks. He looks to her with a sad smile on his face. ¡°I know this due to the cup from which I drank. I had a wizard make the cup. This item can show proof of poison by changing the colour of the drink. Though this time the colour was normal. Meaning the person whom tried to poison me knew of this fact.¡±


    Sunny nods and sighs. ¡°Well I am happy I was able to be of service to you in your need. Though this is troubling news. If they knew of the cup then they must be close to you. I hate to suggest the use of a taster however I do not see a way around. You should have someone taste all of your food and drink until the person behind the attack has been dealt with.¡± The king sighed and nodded. ¡°I agree though I had hoped to never need one.¡±


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    One of the guards standing on either side of him  says, ¡°My king. How can you allow this knife ear to speak to you like this?¡± Zane growls at the guard and goes to jump him but Sunny raises one hand signalling him to stay put. ¡°How dare you. Since you are human you think you are better than I. Well I will let you in on a secret I am only half elf. However, had I not been here you would not have a king. So please keep your nasty thoughts to yourself or I will deal with you myself. Trust me when I say I am worse than the wolf standing near me.¡± The king glares at the guard whom has spoken out of turn. ¡°My dear you do not need to soil your hands on the malcontent. He will be on stable chores for the next three years for that comment. Send in Sir Brian on your way out.¡±


    The guard pales and bows before leaving the tent. In a few moments the tent flip opens and in walks Sir Brian. He bows to the king and then the group. He is an older knight. He walks and stands beside the king and looks over the group whom had saved his king. His eyes rest on Sunny. Feeling as if she is family to the king. She looks so much like his great grandmother.  He says, ¡°My king you called for me?¡±  ¡°Yes, you will be by my side until we know for sure whom has tried to take my life. If not for the three in front of us they would have succeeded in their attempt.¡± ¡°Of course my king. Though may I ask one question of the lady here?¡±


    King Thomas looks at him and nods. ¡°Thank you my king. My lady I must ask if you know whom your parents are? You see you look so much like the kings great grandmother.¡± Sunny looks at him with surprise. ¡°I do not whom my birth parents are. They left me for dead when I was but a newborn babe. I was taken in by my father whom is a dwarf.¡± The king looks at Sir Brian for a moment thinking. He knows how to test if she is truly a family member. At that moment the servant sent for the rewards comes bearing them. He nods to the group he walks over and presents the pouches to them.


    ¡°I would ask to have a moment or two more of your time.  With what Sir Brian said I would like to see if it is true or not. That is of course if you wish to know my lady.¡± Sunny looks at Annoce and wishes to know his thoughts on this matter. ¡°I know you have wished to know the why you were left my love. This may be a step to finding out. I will be by your side if you want to do this step. David will never stop loving you.¡± She smiles at him and leans into his side. ¡°Thank you, love. Zane please inform the others what has happened. As well as we will meet up at the inn when we are done here.¡±  Zane nods his head and leaves taking Jess with him.


    ¡°I would like to know if what Sir Brian said is true. If it is then I can understand the why half of them did not want me.¡± She says to the king. He nods and stands before looking at those left in the room. ¡°Sir Brian, myself, Sunny and Annoce will stay. The rest must leave this room now.¡± Once the others had left the king goes to his travel throne and pulls a small box from under. He walks to the table and waves for the others to join him. ¡°I will need a bit of your blood to see if this is true. I will also have to give blood. I will show you how it is done on myself. Then we shall do you.¡± Sunny nods and watches as he takes a gold cup, a golden handled knife and a silvery white powder in a vial out of the box.


    He takes the knife and cuts a shallow line in his palm over the cup. He lets some drip into the cup before bandaging his hand. He then nods to her. She offers her left hand to him. Once she is bandaged he takes the vial and adds a small amount of the powder to the blood. They watch as the blood changes colour. Once it has stopped the colour is blue and gold. ¡°So it would seem you are of my family, however this side is not the only royal blood you carry.¡± Sunny looks at the king with puzzlement. ¡°Whatever do you mean? How is it that I am royal from both sides and that you can tell by just my blood?¡±


    The king smiles sadly. ¡°The golden colour that is showing is for the elven royals only. The blue is for the human royals. Seeing as how they are both there one would know that you are from both houses. This is why you were left. They did not wish for anyone to know of their affair. Yet here you are in front of me many years later. If you were not my family it would have turned gold and black.¡± Sunny leans into Annoce having learned this. She was shocked about whom her parents were. She looks up to Annoce ¡°Take me back to our room please.¡± Annoce nods softly before looking to the king.¡°I will take her to our room in the inn of the Dancing Wolf. If you wish to speak with her on the morrow that is where we shall be. We will take our leave now.¡± The kings and bids them farewell. He looks to Sir Brian after they have left, ¡°I know you have had a fancy for my grandmother. I did not know you had looked at the old paintings.¡±  Sir Brian chuckles softly, ¡°You know as well as I that I may not take a wife. If I were to do so they would die within the year. I have lived so long I know your great grandmother in person. I am happy to know you have family left.¡± They smile at one another before heading to another room.


    Once Annoce and Sunny return to the inn it is well after dark. They are met with David and the others about to go looking for them. ¡°There you are. I was starting to worry something had happened to you. I am happy to see that you are both in one piece.¡± David says. He looks over them and sees that Sunny is not herself. He looks to Annoce who shakes his head.


    Jess walks slowly up to them and opens her arms to Sunny. Seeing this she hugs Jess and sighs softly. ¡°We will talk about what we have found out on the morrow tonight I just wish to lay in Annoce¡¯s arms. I need to think on what has been told to us.¡± Jess nods, ¡°We will wait until morning, go get some rest.¡± Zane is watching Jess closely to make sure she does not over do anything. Raken is not acting as he first did. They both are acting overprotective of Jess. Sunny sees this and whispers to Jess ¡°Are you with child?¡±  Jess looks at Sunny and nods. Then she glares at the two wolves whom do not know how not to let her be.


    ¡°The three of us will talk later in our room. Right this moment Sunny needs to lay down and relax.¡± Jess says, eyeing them with a frown on her face.  Both Zane and Raken flinch at her tone looking at one another. ¡° We will head up and wait for you in the room. On the morrow we will need to head for the pack of Whitesnow.¡± Zane says softly before nodding to Raken. They leave the group and head for their room.


    Once Sunny and Annoce have left the group David turns to Jess, ¡°Do not be too hard on those boys. They want to ensure you are safe. You are to birth the next Alpha of your pack.¡± Jess just sighs. ¡°My scent has changed but not long ago. I will be fine. I am an Alpha. Zane knows what I am able to do. I am wanting to help the dragons before I am too far along.¡± David nods and pats her arm. ¡°Go talk with them and see if you can come to an understanding of sorts.¡±


    The rest of the group heads for their rooms. Jess opens the door to their room and walks in. The two do not notice her at first because they are mind linking one another. She clears her throat and waits for them to look at her. They both freeze and look over to her. If they had been in wolf form she would have seen their ears go down and their tails tuck under.


    ¡°We need to speak. Yes, I understand I am with child. That however does not mean I will be stopped from doing what is needed until I can not do more.¡± Jess growls softly. ¡°I wish to help the dragons and finish this before I am forced to stop. We three need to help with our friends whom I think of as a pack. This is the right thing to do. Think how you would feel if my pup was taken.¡± Zane walks up to her and pulls her close. ¡°I know my love. We will try to do better however I will be overprotective. This is a part of a male wolf to want to ensure our mate and pups are never hurt.¡± He then kisses her forehead. ¡°Let us all lay down and sleep. We will be leaving first thing on the morrow.¡±

 Chapter 14

    They meet the rest of their group at the table by the big fireplace in the tavern. Sunny hugs Jess and looks over the other two making sure they are in one piece. ¡°We will be taking three of the horses for the ride to the pack lands.¡± David says to the group. ¡°Do you think they will be fine around so many wolves?¡± Jess asks. David chuckles softly, ¡°They were bred and raised in one of the close by packs. This took a bit of bargaining for me to buy them. But they are the best horses I have owned.¡±


    This makes Jess smile, ¡°This is good to know. One less item to worry about.¡±  Sunny looks from Jess to Zane and tilts her head to the side, ¡°What else must we worry about going on to this pack''s lands? I know the Alpha is a prick. Do you worry the rest of the pack will be the same to me?¡± Jess shakes her head, ¡°No, Luna will have talked with the pack and they will know to give you a wide berth. Their son is the one I am thinking will cause the problem. When we went for a run on the first day here. He and a few of their pups tried to claim the neutral land as part of their pack lands.¡±


    Sunny shakes her head. ¡°Well let us break bread and be on our way. The sooner we are there the sooner we can handle the problem if one arises.¡± The rest of them nod and everyone eats cooked veal steak with rye bread and oat porridge. A guard from the king shows up to the inn. They are almost finished with their meal. The guard speaks to Ember softly. Ember nods his head to their group. The guard bows and walks over to their table. He then bows to the group, ¡°I have been sent by the King to hand this invitation to Sunny of Silverville.¡± Sunny places her hand out with her palm up. ¡°Tell the King I shall respond post haste.¡± He bows after handing her the letter and leaves them. She opens the letter and reads  ¡° I cordially invite Sunny of Silverville and her companions to join myself at the palace of Goldengrove in two months time.¡±


    She smiles softly before asking her group what their thoughts were on this matter. Annoce smiles at her, ¡°I am up for this if you wish to do so. Though if the kender comes we shall have to have someone to watch him.¡± ¡°I would enjoy seeing the palace as well. Though you know these two will not allow me to travel without one or both of them.¡± Jess speaks. ¡°I will not allow you to go without me.¡± David speaks. ¡°So it seems we all shall go. I need but a moment to respond and find someone to send this to him.¡± Sunny writes a letter to the King in answer and walks to Ember, ¡°Do you have someone you trust that will take a letter to the King for me? I wish this to arrive unopened.¡± He nods and speaks to his mate. She nods and takes the letter, ¡°I shall take this myself to ensure he receives this.¡± ¡°Thank you. Here is a silver piece for the trouble of doing this.¡±


    Our group leaves after this has been handled. They head for the stables.   Belam greets the group by bowing. ¡°How was your stay? Is there a service you need today that I may help with?¡± David nods to him. ¡°We will be needing three of our horses'' saddles. We will be leaving the other three in your care for a bit longer. We should be back in a day or two.¡± Belam nods and takes care of the request himself.


    ¡°Here they are master dwarf. Ready for you. Please be careful out there. I have heard stories of wolves running people to the ground of late. Though they are leaving the young alive.¡± Belam says to the group. They look to one another before David says, ¡°Thank you for the warning we will be careful. Do you know if these are true wolves or are they more than wolves?¡± ¡°I would think they are more than wolves meself. Through others will tell you they are no more than wolves.¡±


    They all thank Belam and mount up to head for the pack lands of Whitesnow. Where the group is heading is less than a half day''s ride from the town. As the day moves forward Jess, Zane and Raken run next to the horses. Annoce rides beside Sunny and David brings up the rear with Latsol.  As they are about to cross into the pack lands Jess stops in front of the horses making the group halt.


    The Alpha Efren and Luna Summer greet the group with low howls before bowing their heads to let the group onto their lands. The group bows back to acknowledge this before starting to move again. Jess runs up to Summer and rubs against her in greeting. This makes Efren growl and Jess bares her teeth at him. Summer glares at him before mind linking him ¡°If you do not behave you will be in the den by yourself for the next month.¡± She then blocks him from answering her. She nods her head for the group to follow.


    As they follow her to a beautiful little village. The main house looks to be made from pine trees and stone. There is a stable near the house where the group dismounts and takes care of the horses. Once that is seen to and everyone whom will be speaking is in human form again. They all walk to the main house. There is some growling heard not far from them. Matthew is not happy to smell or see Jess and Zane again. Summer looks over to see whom is being disrespectful of what she asked from the pack. Seeing that it is her son she lets out a fierce growl. His ears go back to his skull hearing that from his mother. He turns tail and runs to another area of the pack.


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    Summer sighs, ¡°I am sorry about my boy. He seems to dislike you though he has not yet met you in person Jess.¡± Jess laughs at this, ¡°He did not want us in the neutral lands even said they were your pack lands to try and run us off. He thought we were rouges though we are not. I think he was also unhappy to hear that we know you.¡± ¡°I also did not help his opinion of you by threatening a month in silver chains if any of them attacked your group. I was unhappy to hear where they were when you ran near them. They are trying to expand the lands now that it is almost time for us to hand over the reins to them.¡±


    Jess chuckles hearing this and shakes her head.  ¡°You and I were no better at his age. We tried to do the same though mom wanted to make us take a wolfs bane bath. We ended up behaving cause we watched your cousin take one. How long did it take him to recover?¡± Summer laughs at the memory of this. ¡°Took him near two moons to recover. Knowing this we stopped our wild ways when we saw what he looked like in wolf form. He is still missing some fur to this day.¡± Sunny shakes her head as she listens to them.


    Once they enter the main house the group is invited to sit at a round table. Seeing the table makes Jess wonder why it is round and not a normal table. ¡°Before you ask about the table Alpha Jess this was my mates wish. So we had it made for her.¡± Alpha Efren says. Jess nods and sits to Sunny¡¯s right, Annoce to her left, Zane sits on Jess¡¯s other side and Raken stands behind them. Latsol is made to sit next to Annoce and David stands behind the two of them.


    The Alpha sits across from Sunny and Luna Summer sits in his lap. His beta and gamma sit on either side of him. The Delta stands behind the Luna and Alpha. As they are about to start Matthew and Simon walk in. Matthew growls seeing the group seated at the table. Jess growls standing, ¡°You will behave pup. You can not take me.¡± Summer knows what is going to happen, lays a hand on her mate and whispers in his ear, ¡°He needs to learn and Jess will not do permanent damage to him.¡± Efren nods to his mate and stays seated to watch this unfold.


    Matthew starts to transform but Jess moves so quickly to pin him to the wall by his throat. She holds him tightly so he has no breath. This stops him from transforming. She growls in his face, ¡°You still have much to learn pup. I was invited by your Luna and Alpha to be here. What you have done could be taken as an act of war. Is that what you truly wish pup? I could have thousands at my call however you do not know. But you are acting as if I came here to take this pack. Behave or leave. This is your last warning pup.¡± She lets him fall to the floor and sits back in her seat.


    Summer smiles softly at her and nods approving of the lesson she had just given to Summers'' son. She then looks to Matthew with a disapproving scowl. ¡°If you my son are going to cause more problems then the ones we are about to discuss leave. I will not have you causing more trouble. We have enough on our plates as it stands. Do I make myself clear you two?¡± Simon bows his head before helping Matthew to his feet and says. ¡°Luna, I will behave. As for him, I think the show of power with so little effort is showing him he needs to train more. I am sure he will behave for now until there is a chance for him to see what he is like against your guest.¡±


    Jess chuckles softly before saying, ¡°He may do a mock battle with my Beta Zane after our meeting is done if of course Alpha Efren does not have a problem with what is proposed. The rules will be simple, the fight to first blood.¡± Alpha Efren smiles as this gives the boy a way to save face. ¡°I am happy to hear those terms. I do not have a problem with him testing himself against Beta Zane.¡± After that was settled Matthew and Simon sat down.


    The omega brings drinks, bread, and cheese for everyone. Once they had left Alpha Efren says, ¡°The dragons are happy to have the egg returned and understand your group wishes to help. Their elders are talking about this and we will have an answer in a day or three. They do tend to lose track of time. Time has no meaning for them. They live for thousands of years. As for the meeting of the pack you asked for me to set up. This will take place on the morrow. We will be heading for half a days run from here. I assume your whole group would like to be present for this meeting?¡± He looks to Sunny knowing Jess holds her in high regard.


    Seeing this makes Jess smile. He is trying to make things right after the first encounter. Sunny says, ¡°Yes, we wish to be there for this meeting. Jess and Zane know the old packs Alpha by smell however I have seen his face in human form. He tried to have us make weapons of silver for him and him alone. We did not agree to this and he tried to have us killed. Jess and Zane helped us and we helped them.¡±


    Alpha Efren nods, ¡°The meeting is tomorrow at daybreak. We will need to leave here around midnight. Are your horses willing to follow wolves?¡± David laughs softly making those not of their group look at him. ¡°The horses were raised by a pack and bought from them. They are able and willing to follow wolves. They have followed Jess to safety. They will follow her without a problem.¡± Alpha Efren nods at this. ¡°We should all rest for the rest of the day. This way when we have to leave we will be ready.¡± Matthew clears his throat before they can leave. ¡°Shall we have the mock battle now or after the problem is solved? I just wish to test myself against your Beta.¡± ¡°I think it will have to wait. You and your father will be leaving with them for the meeting.¡± Luna Summer says. He nods and sighs. They all agree to this and are led to three rooms. The day goes by quickly.


    As the time draws near Annoce kisses Sunny awake slowly. ¡°Morning love. It is time to eat before we leave for the meeting.¡± ¡°Morning love. I wish I could have slept longer in your arms. However, I understand we need to move.¡± Sunny says softly. She kisses him softly before standing up and gets dressed. Annoce does the same.


    Everyone meets in the great hall and breaks their fast with venison and bread.Once everyone is fed they mount the horses and the others shift to wolf form. There are 30 wolves going to this meeting. The horses do not even flinch seeing this. Alpha Efren takes the lead. The horses follow at the back of the group. The plan is to have Sunny and Annoce ride up when the meeting starts.


    They ride in silence until they are almost there. Jess stops beside the horse and gives a small woof to let them know to stay where they are. Most of the wolves stay around them. Jess and Zane follow Alpha Efren and his son Matthew. As they move forward the group they are meeting shows themselves.

 Chapter 15

    Alpha Efren and Matthew shift to their human forms as Jess and Zane stay in wolf form. Jess sniffs the air without making it seem as if she is doing so. She wants to growl at the Alpha that they are meeting. He is the same one whom had been a pain in the ass for their group. Zane rubs against her to calm her so they do not give anything away.


    Only the Alpha of that group changes shape. His name is Kaherdin Blackpaw. He says,  ¡°Why have you brought so many to this meeting. This was to be just you, your mate, and son.¡± Jess hears this and knows he has planned to take Alpha Efren and his family out. That the bastard was planning to take over Whitesnow.  She growls softly at this male whom thinks so highly of himself. ¡°I do met with anyone without some members of my pack present. This is the way I sent to you in the letter Kaherdin. If you are unhappy with the terms I do not care. Seeing as how I can smell at least 50 other wolves here that are not whom I brought.¡±


    Sunny and Annoce both pull out their bows with silver and wolfsbane arrows. David and Latsol pull out silver short swords. Their group is ready if this turns into a fight. The sun is rising over the hills to the east of them. Though only 50 could be smelled there were 60 or more that the bastard had brought with him.


    ¡°Well it seems we will meet, however the dwarf and elves are not from your pack they will need to leave if we are to do this.¡± Sunny laughs at him hearing what he has said. ¡°I will not be leaving you bastard. You are the same one whom tried to have me killed all those years ago. The only way we shall leave is if your head is on a pike.¡± Sunny growls. Efren looks to Sunny, ¡°So he is the one and the same from then? Well this will be fun.¡± Alpha Efren changes back to his wolf and growls at the angered Kaherdin.


    Seeing there will be no talk or drinks which he had poisoned with silver, Kaherdin shifts to his wolf. He had truly hoped to be able to kill them off with the drinks or even the poisoned food. He lets out a howl and the battle for Whitesnow is on. He tries to get past Alpha Efren but can not. His beta is having to deal with Jess and Zane.


    Annoce and Sunny are shooting arrows toward the back of the fight where some of Alpha Kaherdin¡¯s wolves are  trying to flee. Their group along with the wolves from Whitesnow agreed if this ended in a battle none of his would be left alive.  If they lived and went to his pack lands Jess has agreed to take them over and ensure a better life to those willing still there.


    David laughs before jumping from his horse onto the back of a wolf trying to hurt his daughter. Though they rarely see him in a fight the group somewhat worries about how he is able to hold all his rage in. He moves as if he is the wind gutting and slicing through the wolves whom did not come with them. Latsol watches from the safety of the horse and cringes watching David.


    ¡°Please remind me later if we live not to anger him. I do not wish to be on the end of how he is now.¡± Latsol says to Sunny and Annoce. Sunny nods and chuckles at him while aiming at the head of grey with black tipped eared wolf.  She lets the arrow fly and takes the wolf down with an arrow through the eye. She and Annoce have a bet going at this point in the battle to see whom takes the most down with arrows. Whomever wins may ask something of the other.


    They each shot down 6 wolves whom had tried to run. The battle has become a bloody mess. As far as the eye can see there are wolf bodies littering the ground.  Some are missing their heads. Others missing their throats or limbs. All that lay on the group are dead. Alpha Efren and Jess are fighting the bastard Kaherdin. They have done fatal damage to him. He is still trying to fight. It is only a matter of time before he and his group will be finished.


    Jess jumps into his back and wraps her maw around his neck. She bites hard and shakes her head to tear his head from his body. This takes her a few moments but she finally does it. She holds the head high for those to see that she has won. There are howls after his death but only a few. Most whom had come with him lay dead.


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    Jess drops the head and lets out a powerful growl. Those whom are alive know if they wish to live they must submit or fight her. Only two walk to her and show her their bellies. She sniffs them and knows they have had the first shift not too long ago. She nods to them to go to Zane. The other 4 are ready to battle her. Alpha Efren tilts his head asking her if she wishes for him to fight with her.  She shakes her head no. She needs to show them that even though they are dealing with a female she will not tolerate their shit.


    She steps forward and growls at the four try to jump her as one. Three of them hit their heads together since they did not plan for where they were going to jump onto her and knock themselves silly. She sidesteps the last one before turning to the brown with a white bib and breaking one of his back legs. He yelps and growls, turning to try and bite her side. He just misses getting nothing but fur.


    Jess chuckles in her head at this pup. She knows she can not toy with him. She moves in and rips out his throat before he knows what happened. As she finishes him the other three have finally cleared their heads enough to fight.  The first one to charge her is a brown with black patches. He will not submit to a woman. He tries to get one of her front legs but misses cause Jess can tell how they were trained.


    She could run circles around them if she wanted but he gave her an opening to end him quickly. She takes this chance and uses it to bite the back of his throat. She thrashes her head back and forth to break his neck. This leaves her with the two whom waited to see how she fights. Seeing this will not be as easy as they thought the one with black tipped ears looks to the other grey white one before trying to run away. Seeing the black tipped ears run Jess gives a growl and Sunny shots him right through the back of the head. Dropping him not fifty yards from where he started. The grey white wolf sees his friend fall, lets out a growl and charges Jess.


    She thinks they have all trained the same. Though this is her mistake. This wolf had trained with the best and could see where she would move. He was the first of the day to truly land a hit on her. He hit her shoulder with his claws making her bleed. Feeling the pain of the hit makes her angry. She watches him for but a moment. Seeing how he acts as if he will go one way but goes the other. She notes this and uses the same on him. Before she gets her maw around his throat and rips it from him. As he lays there bleeding out she howls and those who had come with her answer. He dies seeing a very strong female Alpha take what she wants.


    The war is over, everyone sighs with relief. Only a few were hurt on their side. They would heal within a day''s time.  Sunny brings out a wash rag and her bottle of water before climbing down from her horse. She walks over to Jess and she nods to the wound on her shoulder. Jess sits down and smiles in wolf form at Sunny. Seeing this she gets to work cleaning the wound.


    Once the wound has been cleaned. Everyone whom was hurt was taken care of. Alpha Efren and Alpha Jess shifted to human form to talk. ¡°My pack and I will be heading to our lands. The two whom came to your side will be able to take you to your new lands. They are not far from here.  When you have settled them, Luna and myself will come for a visit to form an alliance with your pack.¡± Alpha Efren says to Jess. She nods and smiles before saying, ¡° I agree an alliance will do both our packs some good. I look forward to seeing you both. Our group will head for those lands shortly. I need to speak with those pups before we head on our way.¡±


    They shake hands before he shifts to his wolf. He then howls to his pack members and leads them toward home. Sunny has a feeling they will be seeing his pack sooner than anyone thinks. She has learned to trust when she has a feeling like this. Jess looks at the two whom had given up and come over to her before the last fight. ¡°Shift, we need to speak. I wish to know what we will be walking into when we walk onto those lands.¡± Only one of them shifts to their human form.


    He bows his head to Jess before speaking, ¡°Forgive her Alpha she is not comfortable being in human form. I will answer any questions you have. Some of the pack are unhappy with the old Alpha. He was cruel to all. Most will be happy to have a new Alpha. Most of whom you would have to worry about where here today and lay dead now.¡± She looks at the one still in wolf form wondering why she would feel the need to stay as she was.


    Looking at the male, ¡°What are your names then? How many warriors were left to guard the lands? You say most of the wolves whom are the problem were here today. Does that mean there will still be some whom do not wish to see a new Alpha?¡± He says, ¡°My name is Archibald. Her name is Gisela. We both had our birthday but a fortnight ago. He left maybe ten warriors to guard the lands this day. We have not had trouble with anyone in a few years now. He did not think we would lose today. He was bragging to his Beta on how when we ended the Alpha whom left here that he would hand him the Luna of the pack. The ones whom remained on the lands most are women and pups. We do not have any elders left. When the two elders we did have disagreed with him, he killed them in front of the pack. There are maybe two left on the lands whom do not wish for a new Alpha.¡±

 Chapter 16

    She nods her head and looks to Zane and Raken. They both bow their heads to her. ¡°You both will lead our group to the lands and I will talk with the rest of the pack. We will see the pack become what a pack should be this day. Those whom do not wish to see a new leader or for that matter a female leader will be handled. Let us shift and start on our way.¡± Archibald bows to her before shifting into his wolf. He stands next to Gisela waiting for his new Alpha to signal that they are ready. Jess turns to Sunny whom has a look on her face. ¡°Are you ready to ride? I am unsure of how long you will be in the saddle.¡± Sunny nods to her before mounting her horse.


    Once everyone is mounted and shifted. Jess nods to the two wolves to lead the way. Archibald nods to her and noses Gisela. They turn together and head towards their home. They lead the group for hours only stopping to get a drink when needed. Jess barks once. Everyone stops to see what is the matter. She lays down letting the group know to take a break. She can tell the horses need to rest for a bit. Once the horses have been brushed and fed Sunny walks over to her. ¡°Are you stopping so the horses may rest?¡± Still being in wolf form Jess can not speak but nods to Sunny. Sunny smiles and scratches behind one of Jess¡¯s ears.


    Archibald and Gisela both growl at Sunny when she touches Jess. She raises an eyebrow at their growl and chuckles.  ¡°You will learn very quickly to stop that or I will have some fun with you.¡± She says softly. They stop their growls and look at her as if she had horns sprouting from her head. Jess huffs at them and leans into Sunny¡¯s hand. Showing the pups that she is a part of Jess¡¯s pack.


    They think they will be punished for the growls. Their tails tuck and they bow their heads with their ears flat to the skulls. Zane watches them for a moment before standing and walks toward them, ¡°Jess, do you think they were beaten for trying to protect someone?¡± She sees how they are reacting and nods to Zane. ¡°We will have to find out what happened in that pack. I know we are taking over but the pack will have to be evaluated. The way they are acting is showing us things I wish not to think on at this moment.¡± ¡°I agree. I will nudge them and have them follow me a ways from here and talk with them. We shall be but a few moments. Love.¡±


    Zane nudges them both before tilting his head and starts to walk away from them and the group. Once those three had left and could not be heard Jess shifted to human. ¡°Sunny we may have more of a problem than we thought. The way they acted before being led away is very troubling. I fear what we shall find in those pack lands.¡± Sunny nods thoughtfully, ¡°We will have to be careful and try to help them one day at a time for the moment. The whole pack will learn you are not the way of life they have lived. You will give them hope when they have learned this.¡±


    Jess smiles and hugs Sunny ¡°Thank you my friend. I can tell by smell we still have a ways to go as of yet. I will shift and go see what has become of those three.¡± Sunny chuckles and nods. Jess walks the way they had gone to find them. She finds them all in human form by the river not far from the group. She sees why Gisela wanted to stay in wolf form. She growls under her breath. The poor girl was bruised over most of her body.


    Zane feels her anger and understands. He turns to her and opens his arms. Jess walks toward and leans against his leg. She stays in her wolf knowing if she shifts to human the anger on her face will scare those two. ¡°What happened to the girl Zane?¡± She links him. ¡°The former Alpha beat her almost to death for not being willing to join his war. Archibald saved her by saying he would ensure she came along. Though he did not say either one would fight. The bastard wanted to use them as fodder. He did not care for them. He had said to his other pack males if she did not fight they could use her as they pleased.¡±


    She sighs in her mind and looks up to Zane. He kneels down and hugs her close. Archibald watches this and wonders why Zane is hugging his Alpha. As he goes to ask this Gisela elbows his side and shakes her head. Giving him the warning not to say a word. Seeing this Jess shifts to her human form. ¡°We will not hurt you as you have been hurt for speaking up young one. I will not allow members of my pack to be used as you were. This has never sat right with me. My father and mother taught me to respect the voices of those I am charged with caring for. I took those lessons to heart. I am angry to see how you did not have the protection you deserve from your former Alpha. Know this I will never allow a female to be used against her will. If someone tries this you have every right to inform us. We will handle this matter.¡± Gisela starts to cry as Jess talks. She had been forced to be with males whom had taken what they wished and left her.


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    She nods to Jess unable to find her voice.  She shifts back to wolf form and lays there trying to control the storm inside of her. Archibald knells beside her and tries to calm her. He looks to Jess, ¡°I understand what you say however time will be needed for her and others whom have suffered at his hands. Though I would ask for her if I may end the life of the second delta whom stayed on the lands. He is the one whom she suffered the most from.¡±  Jess watches his face and eyes as he speaks, reading the truth as well as the hatred.


    ¡°I will allow this. If he has made her suffer I do not doubt for a minute that others have as well. We will stand back and allow you the kill though he will be chained in silver. I do not wish for you to be hurt when taking his life. I understand your need for this. This will be an execution for the pack to watch and know we will take the words of  even those whom are not of rank and find the truth.¡±


    He bows to her as best he can while holding Gisela. ¡°We should start moving again soon. We will meet you back at the group in a few moments. She needs to calm down before we continue Alpha.¡± Jess nods and heads back to the group with Zane in tow. Once they are far enough from those two Zane asks, ¡°Are you doing well my love? I know this was hard to hear. We will do better by the pack when we have finished removing the last of his loyal men.¡± ¡°I will be soon. I will have trouble allowing him to take the life of that bastard. I want to be the one but to allow her to start healing I will hold back.¡± she sighs.


    Zane nods before shifting to his wolf. Jess does the same and they walk the rest of the way in silence. Once there they cuddle together near the group as they wait for the others to join them. Gisela and Archibald walk to the group. Jess raises her head and looks toward them. Gisela walks up to Jess and noses her softly before turning to the direction they will be heading.  Sunny, seeing everyone is here , gets started readying the horses.


    Jess stands and goes to Gisela before nuzzling and licking her face. Letting the poor girl know she understands and will be by her side for as long as the girl chooses to be with the pack. The group waits for those riding to mount before starting to move once more.  Gisela and Archibald move at a faster pace now knowing they will be protected from those in the pack that would harm them.


    The whole group reaches Jess¡¯s new pack and lands a full days ride from where the fight had taken place. They were all tired and on edge knowing some there would be angered by the loss of the old Alpha. The border warriors were surprised by the group. They had been almost asleep with the dawn almost on the horizon. They growled out saying with a tone the group was not welcome on those lands. Jess steps up and lets out a growl. Showing she is an Alpha and their new Alpha at that. She makes them submit to her by showing them without force.


    Once they know she is the new alpha they lay down and show her their throats. She steps onto her lands before howling out. This is to let the pack know a new leader is here and to meet at the pack house. The rest of the group follows behind. She nods to Archibald to lead the way. He does a half bow to her and takes the lead. Once to the main house she stands in front of the door with Zane and Raken on either side of her before shifting to human.


    The pack gasps seeing a female standing in front of them. The men still loyal to the old Alpha growl at her. They will never allow a female to rule them. One of those men try to jump at her but ends up with an arrow through his wolf shoulder. Making the lung impossible. The whole pack had been solely focused on the new Alpha; they did not see the others. Sunny has her bow still posed to shoot the next one whom tries something.


    Jess shakes her head, ¡°Sunny I could have handled that male. There is no need for you to jump in. Though I will thank you since you have shown the males not all females are weak as they think. Now some of you think there is a mistake a female can not rule. I will allow you to challenge me for this right. Though Gisela and Archibald will tell me about the one whom abused their power and used this to do evil. The person when I have won will be executed for those crimes.¡± She growls the last part.


    Most of the pack was happy to hear the one in charge will not tolerate what had been happening to them. Only three were unhappy and stepped forward to challenge her.  Though at the time they did not know the one would be in chains shortly. Sunny is watching Gisela for signs knowing something had happened to the girl but not what. Seeing her start to shake as those three stepped up she nods to David without taking her eyes from those men.


    ¡°Archibald, do you know the one whom is responsible for how she was treated? If so you need to point him out to us so we may ensure he stays in place for what will happen to him.¡± Jess says. He nods and looks right to the one closest to Sunny of the three. Sunny smiles and shoots two arrows pinning him in place. She hit each of his feet with ease. The arrows were silver tipped. Keeping him in human form. He lets out a growl after both arrows found their marks. ¡°David, if you would be so kind as to chain him up and then remove him from the area where the fight will take place.¡± Jess says with a smirk on her face.

 Chapter 17

    Once the male was removed Jess says to the pack, ¡°Form a circle and the fight will start. I wish all to see how a female can be your leader. You shall see how I will defend you and yours.¡±  The pack members whom are not fighting form a circle around the three whom were. All three shift to their wolf forms.


    The fight was not a long one for which Jess was thankful. She watched them for a moment or two seeing that they truly did not know how to fight. Zane informed her they were the Gamma and Delta of the pack. She nods letting him know she understood what he had said.


    She takes them both out in a matter of minutes. She was tired but knew they still had to handle the matter of the man in chains. For he is a man at the moment. Silver can take the wolf from you. If it has wolfsbane mixed into the matter before the forging is done. The reason Jess had David chain him was for that very reason. Shifting to human again she looks at her new pack. ¡°We have one final issue to handle before you may head to your homes. On the morrow we shall meet again and handle any other issues at that point.¡± They nod happily to see how strong this new Alpha truly is. She then turns to David, ¡°Please bring him here. We will be handling him now.¡±


    David and Annoce have to drag him to where Jess stands since he will not comply. ¡°As you can see he does not think he deserves what is being handed out. Though I am sure more than one of you have suffered at this man''s hands. Yes, I know I have said man and not wolf. The reason behind this is the chains he is in. David and Sunny are very talented blacksmiths. They have the knowledge to ensure the chains we will use take the wolf from the person while they are worn. Archibald, I will now grant what you have asked for while we were travelling.¡± She steps back and allows him to step up to the bastard.


    He stares into the man''s eyes before speaking, ¡°You may have been my father but no more. You are nothing but a disgrace to the meaning of the word. How could you be such a vile and despicable man. How could you do what you did with a smile and laugh on your lips. I do not care to know your answer. But now I will strive to do what my people need. I will protect them as you should have. I will still have my mate to cherish. No thanks to you.¡± He then lets his claws come forth before taking the man''s head.


    Jess gasps as she hears what he has spoken. She did not know the man was his father. Though she understands the need he had now. Archibald turns from the body and walks to Gisela whom had shifted to human. He wraps her in his arms and lays his head into the nook between her neck and shoulder. Zane lays a hand on his shoulder. He looks to the pack members. ¡°I believe we have all had a few rough days at this point. I will talk with the warriors in a few moments to set a border watch. The rest of you go rest and we will see you all on the morrow.¡± They bow to him and those whom were not warriors left.


    Seeing the number left did not make him happy. They would have to train the pack to fight if they were to thrive. He goes and talks with the warriors and sets up a time frame so some can rest while others work. Once done he asks Raken to clean the mess from the fight and the body up so Jess does not see them again. Raken agrees. The group goes to rest for a bit with the time still being so early in the day.


    Once the group has rested and eaten something they sit down and talk about the work needed to make the pack capable again. This goes on for a few hours. Once a plan is formed David smiles. He sees Jess will truly help the pack become a force to deal with once things are in place. He nods to Sunny and walks outside to wait for her. She joins him with a smile. ¡°I will be heading back for our horses and cart. I will take Latsol with me. Should I leave Annoce with you or would you prefer he comes with me?¡± She thinks for a bit. ¡°I will be safe here. You should have him go with you so you both come back to me unharmed.¡± ¡°Very well he shall come with me. Here is the ring you wanted for him. Though do not look at this until you are placing it on his finger.¡±


    . The three set off and promise to return within the week. Sunny and Jess watch them until they are not in sight. Jess turns to Sunny, ¡°You know they will come back to us and may have a tale or two when they do.¡± Sunny just laughs, ¡°Yes, I know this Jess. For now we must work on this pack of yours. When will you start training them? If they are not against me working with the young pups. I will teach them to use bows.¡± Jess nods and thinks before saying, ¡°I believe this is a wonderful idea. Even without their wolves they will be able to help the pack. We will hold a meeting this evening. I wish to get the pack''s opinion on this. I have to do a joining of the packs as well.¡±


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    That evening the pack has come together for a meeting. They are thinking they will be told how they live their lives from now on. They think the killing of the bastard was a show. They do not know Jess, but soon they will learn how wrong they truly were.


    ¡°I have asked everyone of you here this evening to discuss how the pack will be run before I take my oath to you and join my two packs together. First the way of life you had under your former Alpha will not happen with me. I refuse to be that evil of a person let alone wolf. So to the first item. I wish for everyone whom can fight to start training on the morrow. This is to strengthen the pack. I do not care if you are male or female. I also wish for the pups without their wolves to learn to use a bow. Sunny will be the teacher for this. Yes, she is not a wolf however she never misses in the time I have known the woman. I will open the floor to all of you so you may speak your peace.¡± Jess says before sitting in the Alpha chair. She waits for them to speak, wanting to truly know what they thought.


    The males think she is joking. They sit there with their arms crossed over their chest. No one seems to want to speak, they are all still afraid to believe what she has said. Seeing this Raken steps forward to speak with this group in front of them.  ¡°I am here to speak since you lot do not seem to think things will be different. I can smell your fear. You are thinking you will be smacked down for voicing what you want. I can tell you this will not be the case. What she has spoken is true. She truly wishes to know how you feel on what has spoken. I joined her pack not long before the fight with your old Alpha. I did not think I would join a pack again due to how my old pack was run.¡± He says.


    One of the old males scuff at him, ¡°Why the hell should I believe an ex rogue as yourself. I doubt your old pack was as bad as you think. You are still young and arrogant.¡± Raken gives the old male an evil smile, ¡°You think I would want to stay in a pack where if you were not wolf born or wolf blood you die. If you were bitten and turned you are a slave and nothing more than something to be bred if female.¡± He snarls.


    One of the females gasps at this and starts to cry. A male holds her hand and comforts her to quiet her. The old man truly looks at him. ¡°Those standards are not allowed anymore. The wolves have formed a court to stop what you have said from happening now.¡± This makes Raken laugh, ¡°The court you speak of does not head to the area in which the Blood Moon Killers pack is. I left that pack due to the Alpha turning a blind eye to his Beta turning a human. He thought the Beta was making a breeding slave. In reality the Beta wanted her for a mate. He threw the dwarf David onto the pack lands to stop him from stepping in to stop the turning. I saw and took the dwarf to safety to heal. The Alpha found out and had David brought before him to take his head. I stopped this by fighting in wolf form. I managed to free David and take him from the lands. As I kept one paw on the lands I broke from the pack and left. I joined her pack due to David. If not for him I would still be a rogue.¡±


    The whole pack is watching him for lies but see none. The female whom had been crying had calmed down. She looks to Raken. She knows he speaks the truth. For she was the female whom had been turned and kicked from the pack once the Alpha learned she would not be shared. She stands and walks toward him before turning to her pack mates. ¡°Everything he has spoken about Blood Moon Killers is true. I know this due to being the female that was turned. The Beta wanted myself for his mate. The Alpha killed him when he learned this and gave me the choice of serving the pack on my back or to leave by sunset. If I was still near or on lands he would hunt me. I for one seeing this male again trust the new Alpha and will do what is needed to help our be good and strong again. Will you not do the same? Or will you scuff, turn your noses up, leave since you think nothing shall change?¡±


    Those whom know the female sees she has made her mind to trust their new Alpha. Most know she does not trust easily due to what had happened to her. The pack takes turns speaking what they wish to see happen with the pack. Jess stands near the end and puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. ¡°Thank you for speaking up. I know this was hard for you. Know I do not think less of you for being a turned wolf. You will do great things in this pack. What is your name? Do you wish to have word sent to your family if any still live?¡± She blushes at the attention from her new Alpha, ¡°My name is Melanie. As for a word sent to my family I do not think they still live. The Alpha of Blood Moon Killers made sure to slaughter the village I came from.¡±


    Jess nods to her and is about to speak when one pack member asks what they will do with the undercroft. Zane and Jess look to one another. He asks, ¡°What undercroft do you mean?¡±  The old male whom had been giving the lot a hard time speaks, ¡°The one with those secrets were known only to the higher ranks. I will show you shortly though you still need to do the ritual so you are the Alpha.¡± Zane chuckles, ¡°I am the Beta. Your Alpha will be Jess. I am her right hand. But you are correct we still need to do the rite in order to be the pack at ease.¡± The male looks surprised by this news. He had thought they were just allowing the female to speak to put the women at ease.


    The supplies for the ritual have been gathered and brought to Jess. She smiles and thanks the ones whom had brought them to her. Jess, Zane, and Raken stand before the pack. They each take a turn and pledge themselves to the pack. Once this is finished the pack seems happy with the group.

 Chapter 18

    Once the ritual was finished the old man walks up to Jess. She looks to him and waits for him to speak first. ¡°I know I have put my foot in my muzzle more than once this evening with you. I wish to apologies. I have lived here most of me whole life. Never have I seen a female Alpha before. This is something that will take time for me to become use to. As for the undercroft I think you will need to see this sooner than later. The old bastard had us guarding this for months now. We do not know what is inside. But seeing as you freed us from him. The undercroft is now yours to do with as you please. Follow me and I will take you there.¡± ¡°First before you lead us anywhere, what is your name? I wish to learn everyone''s name soon. Though I know this will take time. Since you are taking us I wish to call you by name and not what my Beta thinks it should be.¡± Jess speaks with a smile.


    The old wolf truly looks her in the eye seeing she is being sincere. He sighs, ¡°My name is  Everard. Though the pack I came from is no more. I had wished at one point to just watch a pup grow and find her mate. But that pack has been taken and killed.¡± Hearing his name Jess starts to cry. He does not know she is the pup he had just spoken of. He was her old teacher. She thought he had been killed during that battle. She hugs him hard and whispers, ¡°I thought you were dead just as everyone else from the packs was. Zane is the reason I still live you old goat.¡± Hearing the old nickname only one pup had ever called him he starts crying as well.


    Zane, seeing both of them crying, moves to their side. ¡°My love, are you alright? What has happened to cause these tears?¡± Everard hearing him looks over, ¡°What the hell do you mean by that pup? She is your Alpha not some omega whom you can say shit to.¡± Jess laughs while she wipes her tears away. Zane and Everard are staring each other down. ¡°Enough, he is my mate and has the right to call me what he wishes. Though if he calls another by the nickname you have the right to challenge him. Now Everard please lead us to this undercroft. I will fill him in on the why we were crying.¡± Everard nods and heads out of the pack house.


    ¡°I am fine, love. He is one from my first pack. One I thought I would never see again. He was my teacher in the ways to fight. We are lucky to have him still with us. I would ask that you have him work with the young and those whom have just gotten their wolves. If he is agreeable to this that is.¡± Zane nods and holds her for a moment. ¡°I will speak with him on the morrow. However, we should follow him. Raken is able to handle those still here. Sunny is outside with him. Let us go.¡± She smiles and nods.


    She laughs but nods, ¡°I will agree. He has three days to learn his place though. Raken said you wished for me to follow you somewhere?¡± Zane looks to Everard whom had a strange look on his face, ¡°Please take us to the undercroft now.¡± Everard sighs but nods. He leads them not far from where the pack house is. There are two warriors standing by the doors of what looks like a small hill. Everard nods to them before pulling one of the doors open. He waves his hand for them to go inside. Jess looks at the warriors and asks them to leave. They bow before doing as she asks.


    Once the group was alone they walked into the undercroft. The room they walked into has five doors leading to other rooms. Around the room they are in is a big pile of gold coins, one  wall between two doors from floor to ceiling is a liquor rack filled with wine, mead, honey mead, draconian water, and other liquors. There are piles of cloths as well as ores. ¡°Sunny, would you look at the ores and see if they are able to be used to make things needed for the pack?¡± Zane asks. She nods and walks over to look at them.


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    Jess, Zane, and Raken look around the room seeing what can be given to the pack as well as what to keep back for now. Once the room has been cleared they look to one another before each going to one of the doors. They open the doors together unsure of what they will find. Jess is the first to look through her door. She gasps at the sight in front of her. Rows upon rows  of dragon eggs are set in wooden shelves.  Each room they look in has the same. The eggs are all different colours.


    Everard is in shock seeing all of the eggs. ¡°How the hell did that bastard get these? How did he move them here without the pack seeing? None of us knew about this hoard of his. How do we go about giving these poor souls back without causing problems for our pack.¡± He speaks this with a sigh. He looks to Jess knowing she will be the one in danger when giving the eggs back. She smiles to Sunny whom shakes her head. Sunny speaks, ¡°I hope all the missing eggs are here under one roof. When David and the others are back we will speak with them. Though I think you may wish to send a runner to Alpha Efren and Luna Summer. They will want to hear about this. I would say ask them to come to you. You have the pack settled now that you have taken the oath to them.¡±


    Jess chuckles softly, ¡°You have spoken what I was thinking. Everard, do you know of a fast trustworthy runner in this pack? We shall not speak of what is in these rooms until we have spoken with our group and Alpha Efren. His pack is tied to the dragons.¡±  Everard looks surprised by the news. ¡°You can send Archibald. He is the fastest runner from this pack. He knows you mean to help the pack grow and become strong. You can trust him with your life.¡± Jess nods, ¡°Let us leave here and I will have him meet us at the pack house. Zane call for three warriors to guard these doors. We shall have a pack meeting once we have a course to do.¡±


    Zane mindlinks three of the warriors whom were not running the border. As they walk out the door of the undercroft the warriors are walking up. They bow to Jess and Zane.


    Their group walks to the pack house and is met by Archibald. Jess waves for him to follow them into the house. Once they are alone and will not be overheard Jess looks to him. ¡°I have need for you to run to the pack of Whitesnow. I would have you invite their Alpha and Luna to visit us. Tell them I have found something they should see. They will not want to delay in this.¡± Archibald nods, ¡°Is there anything else you would like me to tell them Alpha?¡± ¡°No, that will be all. Rest for the night and leave at first light. I would like them here within three days time if able.¡± He bows before leaving.


    Everard watches them before he bows, ¡°If you have no more need of me I will take my leave. I know you wish to speak freely and can not while I am still here. I will ensure he leaves at first light.¡± Zane nods to him. Everard leaves the group to speak in peace. Things the old alpha had done are not adding up for him. He knows to leave this in Jess¡¯s hands. She will be able to see a way out of the horrible shit show they are in.


    Jess sighs while running her hands down her face. ¡°What the hell was that bastard into? Have you found his papers? We will have to tread softly here. I do not even know how many eggs are in the undercroft. But from the number of them he was into starting a war with the dragons. Or was working with some person whom would see the dragons in a panic.¡± Zane picks Jess up from her seat. Then he seats down with her on his lap.


    ¡°My love, Raken is looking for the papers as we speak. I will run the lands border tonight so you may sleep. If I catch a whiff of something not right I will handle the matter. You must stay calm for our pup. I know the way the pack was run is not how you would have but you are now here to help make this right. I will have Sunny go count the eggs. She can speak that she is there to sort the ores to make weapons for the pack.¡±


    Raken walks over to Jess and Zane. ¡°Here is his ledger. He had this hidden in an odd spot. Like he did not wish the pack to know of it. He had two ledgers. One sat right in the middle of his desk, the other in the bookcase behind three books.¡±  Jess growls softly hearing this before they retire for the night.

 Chapter 19

    On the morrow Archibald sets out to Whitesnow pack. Jess had given him a scroll to hand to Alpha Efren. She tied this to his neck with a bit of rope. He takes off at a hard run. He wishes to make this trip in half a day. They watch him until they are unable to see him. Gisela sighs softly, ¡°Raken, how long will he be gone for? I know I sound childish, however I do not wish to be apart from him.¡±


    He chuckles softly before answering her, ¡°If I read his mind correctly he is going to try and do this request in half a days time. I would not be too worried about him. He is going to a pack that wishes to have an alliance with your alpha. He shall be safe.¡± She nods, ¡°I will head into the pack house to make food for breaking bread.¡± He nods to her before turning to walk away and check on the warriors.


    Jess and Zane smile to one another. ¡°If he is able to do what he wishes. I would dare to say he is the fastest runner we have.¡± Jess says softly. Zane nods, ¡°Well shall we see how Sunny has fared in those rooms? Or my dear shall we sit and go over those ledgers?¡± She thinks for a moment. ¡°I will go over the ledgers. We have need to know what that bastard was up to. You may join me or go look in on Sunny.¡± He chuckles softly, ¡°I will join you. This way the work will be halved.¡±


    Sunny at break of dawn goes to the undercroft as she approaches the two warriors eyeing her. She gives them a small bow before speaking, ¡°I am here under orders from Alpha Jess to go through the ores and see how much there is. This way when my father returns we can make a plan on what weapons will be forged for this pack.¡±  They say nothing in return but do not move to allow her entrance to the undercroft ether.


    Everard walks upon the scene and has heard what was spoken. He eyes the warriors for but a moment before he growls at them. ¡°What is the meaning of this slight towards our Alpha? Are the two of you so stupid that you would cause trouble for one whom is here to follow orders? If you do not move I shall move you myself and inform the Alpha of your behaviour and see if she will allow me to choose your punishment.¡± The two guards growl back even under threat of punishment they do not move.


    Raken is called for by way of the mind link. He walks upon the guards and Everard growling at one another. Sunny sighs and pulls her silver dagger from its sheath. Raken puts a hand on her and shakes his head before he walks toward the three.


    He growls at them while putting his power behind the growl. All three stop at once and bow to him. ¡°What is the meaning of this? Are you to be thought of as nothing more than dogs whom growl is worse than the bite? Or are you pack members whom will do as they are told?¡± Everard still stares at the two warriors as he speaks, ¡°They would not move when told Sunny was under orders to count the ores and make a plan for what weapons are to be made for this pack. Even when I brought about punishment they still did not move.¡±  Raken looks at the warriors, ¡°Does he speak the truth? If the case, as he says, I will punish you myself. For I was there when Sunny was given the right to do this.¡±


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    The warriors look to Raken neither speaking but bow their heads as they move to the side. Raken waves to Sunny, ¡°Go and do what you need to. No one shall enter to disturb you my dear. I will see these warriors understand you are a higher rank than they are. That when you speak you must be listened to and followed even if that were to mean death.¡± Sunny nods to him as she is about to enter she turns and speaks, ¡°I would speak to the pack as a whole. This will stop misunderstandings from here forth. I understand they must be punished for this transgression, however I do not wish the rest of the pack to undergo the same if it can be avoided.¡± Having spoken her piece she goes to do what is needed.


    Raken smiles hearing what she has spoken. He looks to Everard, ¡°Call two warriors whom will behave and defend the undercroft while I handle these two. We will wait while they come.¡± Everard nods and calls two of whom he trusts. They arrive shortly, bowing to Raken and Everard. ¡°Guard the undercroft. Sunny is inside doing what was ordered of her. She is to be left alone. No one is to enter unless you have been told so. She is the only one at this moment that is allowed in there.¡± Everard says. Raken nods his agreement before turning to the warriors whom had disgraced themselves. ¡°Follow. Do not speak. We shall see what the Alpha has to say about this.¡± He walks off with them in tow. Everard follows to see how she will handle this.


    Archibald reaches the borders of Whitesnow in a few hours. If all goes well he will be able to make it home by the time he wants. He howls out to let the pack know he is at the border. He then sits to wait for them to come to him. He is an unknown wolf and would be attacked on sight by the warriors.  Luna Snow and Alpha Efren come to where he sits just outside of their border. They have a small number of warriors at their backs. As they are unsure if this will be a friendly wolf or an enemy.


    Luna Summer looks him over before speaking, ¡°Change so we may speak to one another wolf. What have you come here for?¡± Archibald does as she asks of him. He bows to them though they are not his Luna and Alpha. ¡°I come to bring tidings from Alpha Jess. She has given myself a letter to give to Luna Summer and Alpha Efren. She wishes to invite them to her pack lands to talk and see something. As for what I was not privy to. I am but a simple runner for the pack.¡±


    Alpha Efren smiles to his Luna, ¡°It would seem all went well for her.¡± He nods to his Beta Nicoles. ¡°Retrieve the scroll for me. I wish to look it over and give my answer here and now.¡± Nicoles nods and walks to Archibald. He puts his hand out. Asking for the scroll without words. They watch Archibald''s movements to see if he will attack or is true to his word. He hands Nicoles the scroll before bowing and taking a step back.


    Nicoles nods to him. Seeing his movements where what the should be. He then turns his back to Archibald. He walks to his Alpha and Luna handing the scroll over he then bows and walks to the side. Alpha Efren and Luna Summer read, ¡°I am asking you to come within three days of receiving this. I have found dragon eggs in an undercroft. I do not know what the old Alpha Kaherdin was about. Though I do not think any good came from him. We wish to make a plan to insure the eggs are returned to their mothers and fathers. I also wish to make a pack with you to insure we are both stronger from this. Please tell Archibald if this is agreeable to you both. If this is not enough time tell him when you will be able to come.¡± Jess and Zane had signed the scroll.


    Summer and Efren looked at one another before nodding. Alpha Efren speaks, ¡°We shall set out on the morrow. We shall be there by the end of the day. Please tell Alpha Jess this and that we would be more than happy to bring anything that is needed for the pack.¡± Archibald bows to them. ¡°I shall deliver your message to her. Thank you for answering this right away. I shall return to my pack now to allow you the time needed to make preparations.¡± He bows once more before changing to his wolf and running home.


    ¡°Can what she has written be true? If so then maybe we shall have luck on our side to return all the eggs.¡± Luna Summer speaks softly. Nicoles looks up hearing this. ¡°Do you mean to say they found more? If so, how many do you think they found?¡± ¡°Not here. We shall talk once we are back in the pack house.¡± Alpha Efren speaks in a harsh tone.

 Chapter 20

    Annoce, David and Latsol have reached the town Williowwind once more. They decide to stay for the night in the Dancing Wolf if there is room. They plan to set out on the morrow. They step into the inn to see about rooms. Whoopes is in the corner and growls softly at them. The hooded little person is beside him and smacks his arm before whispering, ¡°Behave or we will not have a place to stay the night. I for one will not have you get us tossed out again because you want to fight.¡±


    Annoce walks to the counter, ¡°Ember do you have one or two rooms available for rent tonight? We wish to stay the night before we head out on the morrow.¡± Ember looks to Opal, ¡°Do we still have two rooms or is only one available now?¡± He had been in the back and was unsure. Opal smiles, ¡°We have four rooms for rent. We had a few people leave today.¡± He smiles and kisses her cheek before turning back to Annoce, ¡°It would seem I have four room to rent how many would you like?¡± Annoce looks to David whom puts two fingers in the air. ¡°Two rooms will be fine thank you.¡± He nods and Opal smiles softly, ¡°Follow me and I will show you to your rooms.¡±


    David and Latsol share a room once again. The dwarf does not trust him to stay by himself. Annoce is in his room. They all choose to go to sleep early so they may start out before dawn on the morrow. Just before dawn they leave the Dancing Wolf and head for the stables where the wagon and horses are. They meet Belm whom bows to them. ¡°The horses are in fine health and the wagon is in good repair my lord dwarf. Give us but a moment to finish hitching the horses and you shall be ready to depart.¡± David nods and pulls out his coin punch. He pulls from it a few silver coins and hands them to Belm. ¡°Thank you, we shall wait outside. Please bring the wagon to us when it is ready. We would like to be on the road soon.¡±


    The wagon is led out by Therm a few moments later. ¡°Here you are. I touched up the wagon. There were a few holes on the bottom. They were not big enough for items to fall through yet. I hope you do not mind.¡± David chuckles and shakes his head and pulls out two copper pieces. He hands them to Therm. ¡°No, I am not mad at you doing this. I hope what I have given you is enough to cover the cost. If not please let me know so I may pay the proper amount.¡± Therm bows. ¡°You have given more than is needed.¡± He tries to hand David one of the copper pieces back but David shakes his head and puts one of his hands up. ¡°No, keep what was given. We shall take our leave now. We have a long way ahead of us.¡± The three seat themselves into the wagon. David at the helm. They set out on the road heading back to their group. Annoce thinking of Sunny.


    Jess and Zane are sitting down to break their fast with most of the members of the pack. Just as the food is brought out Everard and Raken come into the hall with the two warriors between them. Raken nods to Jess and Zane before speaking, ¡°Alpha these two warriors would not allow Sunny entrance to the undercroft. I have replaced them for the day and informed the new warriors. Sunny is inside of the undercroft. She is as of right now the only one to enter unless you give orders. What punishment would you want for these two?¡± Jess and Zane look over the two warriors before Jess speaks, ¡°I wish to know what they were thinking in not allowing someone to follow orders I gave.¡± She growls the last part out.


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    One of them has the nerve to growl back and Zane moves so fast that in the blink of an eye he has the male pinned to the wall with his claws out and in the male''s throat. ¡°I do believe your Alpha asked what you were thinking. Though by the way you responded. It would seem to me you do not think a female can lead and you wish to take her place. Know this pup you will have to kill me first. She is my mate and by far a better being than you shall ever have hope to be. This one to the dungeon. He shall stay there for now. We shall not trust him. As for the other, we shall see what he has to speak on this matter.¡± Two warriors come and take him away from the pack.


    Once the room has settled they turn to the warrior whom was smart enough not to make a sound or flinch when Zane moved past him to pin the other. He bows to the room. ¡°I have just left training and became a warrior but a few days hence. I was told when this happened I was to follow the older warriors commands without questions. This day I was to be under Frederick''s command. This was the one whom was taken from here. He has never thought a female to be someone to follow. As he would speak they are not good for anything but bearing pups and to put food on the table. I do not agree with his thinking. I was to follow his lead today. When the one whom had come to the undercroft spoke she was here under orders I had wished to let her pass. I was told by him to hold and not move.¡± He bows once more, having spoken his piece.


    Jess has watched him closely as the time passed. She was able to tell he had spoken the truth. The practice was commonplace for new warriors to be under someone''s command until they had proven themselves. This would take weeks, months, sometimes years. ¡°What is your name warrior? I wish to know. I am still learning the names of all. This shall take time.¡± Jess speaks to him. ¡°My name is Vinrick alpha.¡± ¡°You spoke of just leaving training and becoming one of the warriors. This to me means you are of age but just. Are there other warriors whom share Frederick''s thoughts that you know of?¡± Zane asks. ¡°All you have spoken of me is true. As for warriors there are a few of the older ones whom may think the same though most went with the old alpha for that trap.¡±


    Jess nods, ¡°We shall with you have you return to your room for the day. On the morrow we shall meet at daybreak and choose whom you shall be under for the remainder of your time until proven.¡± He bows to her and turns to go to his room. ¡°Ensure he is locked in for the day, Everard. This is to allow him time to think on what has happened and why he should have followed what he thought was right. Not to have blindly followed Frederick.¡± Zane speaks so the whole room may hear him. Everard bows and leaves to follow out the command. ¡°Please let us break our fast now that the matter has been handled.¡±


    The day went by quickly for Sunny as she counted the eggs in the undercroft. There were hundreds of them by her count. She had of course looked at the ores before starting. There was enough there to make quite a few good quality weapons for the pack. She knew how she wished to use them. Though she would see if her father agreed with her first. They worked as a team when forging. As she counted the last of the eggs she thought of how to get Jess and Zane alone to give them the numbers. She sighed softly wishing Annoce was with her. She left after finishing her work. Walking slowly to the pack house she listened to the chatter of the pack members. Some wondered how Sunny was thought of as higher than that of a pack member.

 Chapter 21

    Two days passed as Annoce, David, and Latsol make their way to the pack lands. They talked a little but for the most part wanted the journey to be at its end. As they near the lands wolves come out of the bush to surround the wagon and horses. David pulled on the reins to slow the horses to a stop. Delta Ram sniffs the air as he nears the wagon. He shifts from his wolf to his human form. ¡°Well now I was not thinking we would run into you three until we had walked into the pack house. What brings you this far from the lands?¡± David shakes his head. He is not about to answer since the horses are unhappy at being stopped.


    Annoce sighs. ¡°Why do you not ride with us and we shall talk as we finish our trip. Does this sound agreeable to you or would your alpha or luna prefer to ride with us?¡± Ram chuckles at him, ¡°I shall ride with you. Though they wish to listen in.¡± Annoce nods and tosses him pants to put on. David is not fond of people riding in his wagon without some form of clothing on. Ram chuckles as this before complying to the wish that was not spoken.


    ¡°May I ask why you three are not with the others of your group? Luna Summer thought you were with the others.¡± Rams asks. David chuckles softly at the question. ¡°We are on our way to them now. We have need of this wagon and our horses. Though they were not with us when we visited your lands.¡± Ram nods his head. His eyes change colour as his alpha asks him something. They cross into the pack lands Jess is the alpha of.


    ¡°We shall be there in but half an hour from now. We have crossed into the lands. I for one will be happy to have finished this trip. I wish to see Sunny.¡± Annoce speaks softly. Ram smiles hearing how he truly feels for her.


    They sit in silence for the last bit of the travel. As David pulls the horses up to the pack house. Jess, Zane, Sunny and a few others come out to greet them. Sunny has a giant grin on her face as Annoce jumps from the wagon not waiting a moment longer to kiss and hold her. They are wrapped up in one anothers embrace so they did not notice the wolves shifting into humans. Once everyone is dressed they greet Jess. Summer and her hug.


    There is a bit of laughter here and there. ¡°We shall have a few roasts in the evening tonight to honour you whom have come.¡± Jess speaks to the whole group. ¡°Though at the moment I shall need to take Alpha Efren and Luna Summer with me for a chat. Everyone meet our allies and make them feel welcome.¡±


    The group along with Efren and Summer head into the pack house. They go to the study to discuss what they had found. Once everyone has a seat an Omega comes in bringing drinks. They bow before leaving and closing the doors behind them. Jess sighs softly and nods to Sunny. Sunny nods before speaking, ¡°There are Three hundred and ninety eight dragon eggs in the undercroft on this land. I finished the count not once but thrice. This was to insure the number was correct. I do not know what the dead alpha had planned but it has been stopped for the moment.¡±


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    Efren and Summer look at one another. They are shocked to say the least. Summer takes a moment to compose herself before speaking, ¡°The number is a big surprise to us. The number is close to what was lost. Are the eggs unharmed or are they?¡± She could not finish the thought. This was too unthinkable to her. Jess nods to her understanding where her mind has gone. ¡°They are safe and sound Summer. From what we could tell they are unharmed. Once we found them they have been guarded. I would not wish harm to them. Though we now have on our hands to find a way to bring them back to the dragons. I would not wish to keep them.¡±


    Summer smiles and looks to her mate. ¡°Call Ram here please. He will need to help with a plan for turning the eggs over to the dragons. Since they trust him I would wish him to travel with the eggs.¡± Efren nods and mindlinks Ram to come to the study. Ram walks to the door knocking before he opens the doors to walk in. Once inside he closes them behind him. ¡°You called for me Alpha?¡±


    Efren nods before speaking, ¡°Come sit Ram. There has been a change you must be made aware of. We will be sending you with this group to the dragons. They will be taking dragon eggs they found here.¡± Rams eyes pop wide at this news. ¡°If I may be so bold, how many eggs have been found on these lands that would require a guard of this size?¡± Sunny chuckles softly. Ram turns to her. He wants to growl but has seen first hand her not taking kindly to the noise. She speaks, ¡°The number found on this land is three hundred and ninety eight. All are unharmed and safe.¡±


    Ram looks at her with shock on his face. He is almost weeping at hearing how many were found. ¡°Almost all of the eggs have been found then. We are only missing fifty one eggs.¡± Latsol chooses that moment to walk into the study with Sunny¡¯s new bag around him. He is not watching to see if anyone is in the room with him. Sunny stood and made her way to him without making a sound. She takes hold of the bag in one hand. His top knot in the other. Pulling them apart. ¡°Jess, is there somewhere this one can not cause trouble? I have the feeling it would be wise for him to be there over the next few days.¡± Jess chuckles and nods, ¡°Yes there is a place I can think of where even he can not wiggle his way out of. Zane, please take him there. If you would be so kind.¡± Zane kisses her check before going and taking him from Sunny.


    Once they have left she opens the bag and checks to ensure everything is still inside.She smiles softly seeing the egg is unharmed. Walking slowly to stand in front of Ram. ¡°As I spoke the number found here is not the only eggs. I found one while we were at the tournament. A seller had one there. He gave the egg to me knowing we would ensure he or her was taken home.¡± She pulls the egg from the bag and hands it to Ram. After this they all sit and speak on how to handle the matter. This takes hours for them to come to terms of how, who, and how long the trip will take.


    Once all is decided Jess and Zane talk with Raken and inform him he will be in charge of the pack for two weeks or more. They will be heading with the eggs as a show of good faith. They plan on leaving in a few days. Efren and Summer will help if there is a need for this. Though the hope is no trouble will arise while they travel.


    The rest of the night is calm and relaxing as both packs talk, drink, eat and be merry. They have a merry time laughing and chatting as the night passes into the early hours. Jess has gone to bed sometime during this. She needs her rest before the trip.


    Three days later the group moves the dragon eggs and safely places them all in the wagon. They ensure everyone of them will make the trip home. Ram joins them when the time to set out is upon them. They greet him and show him how they handled the eggs. He is pleased to see this. He plans to run in wolf form alongside the wagon. Sunny will sit next to David whom will drive the wagon. Annoce will ride at the back of the wagon. Jess and Zane plan to run alongside as well. They all agreed together that Latsol should not make the trip with them. Dragons tend not to be fond of kenders. They wished not to have trouble with them. They set out toward the mountains to the east at dawn. The trip will take them on roads mostly untraveled.

 Book 2 Chapter 1

    The group is making jokes as they follow the road to the mountains. They did not know that Latsol had hidden in a small enclosed nook under the wagon. David and Sunny start speaking as the miles are slowly eaten up as the day moves forward. ¡°Did you find the time to send a message to Isabella? Will she be making your dress?¡± She smiles softly, ¡°Yes, I found the time to send her the message.  She knows the colours I wish this to be made from. I also sent a message to the Inn so we may be married there. We will need to figure out the food we wish for to be made. Though we have the time to do so during this trip.¡±


    Annoce chuckles softly hearing what they were speaking of. David turns to Sunny and whispers softly so Annoce would not hear, ¡°I have the rings in one of my pouches. Shall I hand you his when we arrive home from this trip? Should I hand him yours as well?¡± She smiles softly and nods, ¡°Yes, this way he will not be trying to find one. Thank you for making one for myself as well. I know I only asked for his to be made.¡± David laughs at this knowing full well she was touched at the thought of him making her ring.


    He looks to the sky to see the time of day. Seeing the sun is starting to set he starts looking for an area for them to rest for the night. Zane woofs at him and tilts his head to the side showing an area big enough for them to camp near the river. David nods to him and pulls the reins to the right. The horses follow Zane to the spot, slowing to a stop. Annoce jumps from the wagon holding clothes for Zane, Jess, and Ram.  They nod to him before taking the clothes and heading behind different trees to shift to human form. Once they have dressed they come back and help set up the camp.


    Annoce and Ram head out to hunt for the group. Jess and Zane set up the fire pit area. David ropes an area off for the horses to rest. Once he has finished this he takes one horse at a time and rubs them down before letting them into the makeshift pen.  Sunny is setting up a table to make the meal on. This takes the whole group till dusk.


    Annoce and Ram come back with three  female deer ready to butchered. Sunny has the pot boiling with vegetables. Once the first deer is laid on the table she sets it on the spit to roast before turning to the other ones. She portions them up. One goes into the pot. The last one is made into stripes for jerky.  Ram helps by turning the spit as Annoce helps make the jerky.  By the time the meal is ready, night has fallen.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    As they are finishing the meal Zane, Jess and Ram hear soft thumps. They start looking around the campsite for the noise. Annoce is watching them seeing they are hearing something. He strains his ears to listen for this. Looking around the group he sees everyone whom had agreed to come.  He speaks, ¡°Zane could you check the far side, Jess the other side, Ram the other corner from Jess? I will check by the wagon.¡± They nod before standing to check the areas they were asked to.


    As Annoce near the wagon the thumping sounds becomes louder. He checks the back of the wagon to see if it is one of the eggs hatching. Seeing nothing of note with the eggs he begins looking the wagon over.  Jess, Zane and Ram come over. ¡°There was not a thing in those areas. What have you found?¡± Jess speaks.


    ¡°The sound seems to be coming from the wagon. Though I am not sure from where. The eggs are all fine. I had thought maybe one was trying to hatch but that is not the case. Help me see where the sound is coming from.¡± Annoce speaks. They look starting from the top to the wheels. Not seeing a thing out of place. Ram crawls under to see if maybe the sound is coming from there. As he is almost in the middle of the wagon belly the trap door finally opens and Latsol drops onto him.


    Latsol screams as he is grabbed by Ram. He starts to kick and wiggle trying to free himself from the grip. Ram grunts as an elbow hits his ribs hard. Zane reaches out and grabs Rams ankles and pulls both of them out and into the light. Jess grabs Latsol by his topknot and pulls him out of Ram''s hands. She brings him to her eye level before growling at him. He stills and opens his eyes to her wolf is the one in control.


    Sunny and David walk over to see what all the noise is. Seeing Latsol she sighs softly and David starts to curse under his breath. ¡°Here I thought we would for once have a peaceful trip. How the hell did thee get out of the cell you were put in? From what we were told the cell should have kept thee within for good.¡± speaks David. Latsol whimpers softly still staring at Jess he does not answer for not fear but a feeling he does not know.


    Sunny walks to Jess and lays a hand softly on her arm before speaking, ¡°Please put him down so we may get him to answer us. I know thee is angry seeing him here when he should still be within the cell. If he could escape the cell then we shall see what the problem with them are and fix this issue when we return.¡± Jess huffs softly and lets his topknot go. He drops onto Ram whom grunts softly at this.

 Book 2 Chapter 2

    Jess walks off with Zane leaving the other to handle the kender. She is growling softly as they walk off. Annoce stares at him knowing if for but a moment he were to look away the kender would take the chance to disappear from sight and they never receive the answers they seek.  Latsol starts to move off of Ram whom has been laying there watching the exchange. Ram puts hands on him and gruffs softly before speaking, ¡°You shall answer the questions before the group chooses what to do with you thee.¡±


    Latsol has the good sense to still and nod his head. Sunny waves a hand for the others to bring him closer to fire so all may see his face and tell whether or not he is speaking the truth. Once all whom remained are once again seated they turn to the kender. Sunny gives him the motherly face of when a child has done something wrong. ¡°What do you have to say for yourself Latsol? We left you in the cell. This was for your protection as well as our own. Dragon shifters do not take kindly to your kind. We are trying to help them and wish for them not to see our group as a threat. However you choose to find a way to be with us.¡± Sunny speaks softly to him.


    He shivers as he listens to her. He hangs his head in shame knowing he should have stayed in the cell. He took it as a challenge to free himself. Latsol was never one to sit still for long. Kenders tend to have wanderlust and do not do well when confined in small places. If you could keep one for more than three hours, confined people of all races found they had time to hide what they treasured most.


    He hangs his head before speaking to the group in front of him, ¡°I do not like being in a cell. Never have and never will. When put in one I take my time looking this over and finding the weak spot to find a way out. I know you all wished for me to stay on those lands but I wished not to be left behind from my friends. With my wife still angry with me. This group is my family. As for how I left my cell they have a small fault in them. You see there is a gap big enough for someone my size to slip through. I will show you all when we return there. Please do not send me away. I promise on my glided tiger paw that I shall behave for the rest of this trip. I will not even speak when we are with the dragons. If you wish you could have David chain me so I do not wander away from the group while we are there.¡±


    Sunny watches him the whole of his little speech. Watching for his little twitches he has when lying to someone. None of them are present as he spoke. She looks to David and then Annoce. They both know him very well and  will be able to spot if he spoke the truth or not. If not they will send a message with him tied up back to Jess¡¯s pack. Annoce sighs and looks at David. Whom looks at the rest of the group before turning to Annoce. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    David speaks to Annoce and Sunny, ¡°He is telling the truth this time. Though what are we to do? The dragons may take his presents as a threat on sight and try to kill us, or lock us all in cells for bringing him onto their lands. Sadly I had thought this may happen and did indeed pack a set of manacles. This was so we could cuff him to the wagon.¡± Sunny chuckles under her breath having seen him pack them. They are a full set. Meaning the kender will not be able to move much for his neck, hands, waist, and ankles will be chained together.


    Sunny looks to Jess whom is in Zane¡¯s lap.  This is to keep her from letting her wolf free to kill Latsol. The group all know him being here is a direct challenge to her leadership. Which in a wolf pack means a fight to the death. Though their group is not formed as a pack in that sense. For this reason only she tries to calm herself and her wolf. Sunny speaks softly, ¡°Well we do have the means to restrain him if we choose for him to continue with us. If we choose to send him back one of us must go with him to ensure he arrives where we wish him to be. I believe we as a group should vote on this. What say yee?¡±  Everyone looks at her and nods their heads. Lastol smiles softly before nodding his head.


    Sunny gives him the look a mother gives a child to shush them before speaking, ¡°I will call out the names and then the person or wolf will answer. Only those I call will speak. No one else. Ram what say ye?¡± He thinks for a moment. ¡°Unless one of our group stays with him to ensure he stays in place he will just follow us again. I say bring him but the chains are a must. The dragons will not allow him near their lands without them.¡± Sunny nods to him before calling Zane¡¯s name.


    ¡°I will have to agree with Ram as much as I do not wish to. His point has truth behind it.¡± Sunny nods then calls Jess. She growls before shaking her head to speak, ¡°Zane and Ram are both right. We shall bring him however if the chain comes off then Latsol will pay with pain. They are to stay on until we are leagues from their lands on the way home.¡± Sunny smiles and nods before turning to David.¡±What say yee Dad?¡±


    He grumps and huffs before speaking, ¡°We shall have to bring his ass with us. Though the chains will be on him when this is done. This is so we know where the little bastard is at all times.¡±  She nods before asking Annoce his choice. Annoce sighs softly looking around the group. ¡°Unmistakably the whole of the group seems to think on the same matter. We have to bring him unless we wish for him to follow without our knowledge. Which would mean his death. I do not see a way for him not to be with us. So I say put the chains on him now.¡±  She looks to David and nods.

 Book 2 Chapter 3

    He nods before reaching into his bag at his feet. He pulls the full set out before walking to Latsol. He then slowly puts the manacles on Latsol. Starting at  his neck and working his way down until the ankles are finished. As each is closed they are checked to ensure they can not be slipped from. Once the whole group had ensured of this they settled down for the night. He was sent into the tent with David. Sunny and Annoce take the first watch. While the rest lay down to get some sleep. All the watches were quiet but short due to the group having to handle Latsol.


    At first light Zane and Jess wake the group so they move on after breaking fast. They work together cleaning up the site. The horses have been fed and hitched to the wagon.  Latsol is chained to the wagon seat. The rest of the group take their spots before they set out. Though Sunny had to be in the back of the wagon with Annoce due to having another person added to the group.  Sunny and Annoce talked in whispers for most of the day.  They laughed softly while this happened. Latsol pouted, not even able to itch his nose.


    David was quiet throughout the day not wanting to listen to the pouting little ass. He was angry at the little shit. Why for once could he not do what the group wanted of him. Why must he always do as he pleases? David tries to stop thinking of Latsol by watching the scenery go by. The road they were on was not but more than a  hunting trail. Meaning he would see a doe with her fawn eating off to the side. If he looked to the sky there would be all manner of birds and flying little lizards. As the day nears the end they come to a fork in the path.


    One leads into a dark old forest where the trees bend making it seem as if the  wagon with the cloth top on will not fit. Ram looks though to the other path that leads away from there. He tilts his head to the path of an open field leading to the base of a mountain. David nods to him. Turning the horses toward this one. Latsol looks to the other and sees someone moving amongst the trees. He starts to sing trying to get there person or person like thing to show itself.


    Look there to the trees for one may see what should not be there.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Look over yonder and see what I see. You shall be surprised by the trick of the light.


    Come now my friends see what I see and we shall do what must be done.


    David smacks him on the back of his head and says, ¡°Shut your mouth we do not wish for something or someone to come at us while we have akin to this precious cargo.¡±  Latsol pouts at this but watches to see if the person or persons come out of the woods. He watches until they are out of sight. They travel an hour or three more until they come upon a stream. With night about to fall upon them they choose to set up camp. Once that is taken care of they all sit down to eat a meal together.


    Most of them choose not to speak with the stow away. Making him a bit miserable.  David chuckles softly before catching Sunnys motherly look. He sighs and gives her back the fatherly look he perfected over the years of raising her. She chuckles softly at him. Annoce can tell they are turning to see whom breaks first and talks with the little kender.  He chooses to stop them from getting into a small spat over this one. He walks over to Latsol and takes him from the group to chat for a few moments.


    They talk about how he will need to be calm for the rest of the trip and how he has brought this upon himself by stowing away to be with the group. How Latsol will need to come to terms with how they will not trust him for years due to him doing this. Annoce then brings him back before saying to the group that he will take first watch with whomever wishes. Sunny smiles at him before walking to him ¡°Do you not wish for me to join you my love?¡± ¡°I do wish this however if you wished to sleep thru the whole of the night I would not abject that either my love.¡± He kisses her softly. She smiles and tells the rest that she will join him and they may pick whom was to do the other shifts.


    Ram and Zane take over for them on the second watch. David and Jess have chosen to do the last watch.  The night is quiet until Jess hears rustling in the bushes not far from their camp. She does a soft owl hoot to alert David. He nods his head to her. She then goes to see what thought to come near them. She sniffs as she walks quietly and slowly toward the bush. As she nears she smells something that she thought to be extinct. Shaking her head she sniffs again.


    David watches from near the wagon with a crossbow out and ready. He aims for the bush ready if she were to need help. They were not expecting what walked out of the bush. David''s mouth drops open and Jess jumps back. She is unsure of what to do. They watch this baby walk up to Jess before sniffing her and then nuzzling into her stomach.