Meanwhile Back at the Clarion Ranch
****
The Clarion Compound was located outside of Bismarck North Dakota and was a city within itself. It was a gated community that was enchanted to discourage humans from entering it boundaries. If it happened; the magic surrounding the property would gently guide them in another direction. Their shaman, Hosuk had protected the land many centuries ago.
At first glance someone would think they were entering an affluent suburb appointed with tennis courts and a first class athletic center. The Clarion compound educated their children only up to middle school. They wanted their children to attend the public High school so that they could learn to get along with humans. Although they had outstanding physical abilities, each child was not allowed to use them outside of the compound.
The pack members had their own homes and worked for the companies the Clarion's owned. Anderson Clarion had worked very hard to amass great wealth, but was happiest only when he could share it with his large and diverse pack. That included the large main house that sat at the very edge of the compound. It was much larger than the plantation house on the Boscoyo land.
The large building was comprised of three wings. The main floor held an industrial sized kitchen and a large dining hall that was open to the whole pack. There was also a massive meeting room and personal training areas for the occupants of the main house.
The clarion family lived on the third floor, where each suite was a small home equipped with a kitchen and living area.
On the second floor the Betas and their families were housed. In the well-appointed basement were the unmated Omega dormitories. Since they were the Clarion's largest workforce, keeping them close to the Alpha's home was important.
There was also a building to the right of the main house that resembled an elegant hotel. It was used as guest quarters and in the next few weeks it was going to be full.
Darien Foley the acting Alpha of the Clarion Pack was feeling a bit overwhelmed. The guests for the Blood Moon Ceremony had begun arriving, and finding a place for everyone was becoming tiresome. They had enough room to accommodate over two hundred guests, but juggling them around was frustrating.
The Eastern Europe Party wanted a suite with southern exposure, and the German Alpha wanted fresh pastries at every meal. Darien couldn't wait for Anderson and Ophelia to come back home.
They were great at this sort of thing. He knew this was a part of being an Alpha, but it was a job he didn't want. He was ready to leave on his own quest to find a mate. Jackson wasn't the only one ready for love.
His thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing and he picked it up tiredly.
"Hello." He answered not hiding his weariness.
"Hello Darien. It seems as if the festivities are getting to you my friend."
"Jackson! It's so good to hear from you. When are you coming home?"
"In a few days Darien, how are things going so far?"
"It's busy to say the least but, I'm happy that you were successful in finding your mate. I can't wait to meet her."
"She is as beautiful as the Prophecy declares Darien. It has been very difficult to keep my hands off of her. I am going crazy!"
Darien laughed loudly and said; "I feel for you man. I can't imagine not being able to have sex whenever I wanted to. I have been spoiled by pack life; there is no waiting around here."
Jackson could imagine the grin on his friend's face and sighed. "Don't be cruel Darien. I persevere because I know it will all be over soon. I look forward to our mating with much anticipation."
"I offer you my apologies Jackson. I will make sure that your suite is ready for a mistress and that no signs of Evelyn are present there."
"I greatly appreciate that Darien. How has she been handling everything? I have been worried that she wasn't taking our parting very well."
"Evelyn is a big girl Jackson. I tried to persuade her to stay away from you, but she has never listened to me. She is as stubborn as they come and I think that will help her survive."
"Thank you for your friendship Darien. You know I only wish her the best and hope that she will find a mate as well."
"You are welcome Jackson. Now is there any business that you need to discuss? I know this isn't just a social call."
"I was wondering if you had contacted the Shaman yet. You know he is deep in the wilderness and it will take a few days just to bring him back to the Ranch."
"I will send one of our best trackers to get him. Sebastian might be a good choice or even Maxwell. What do you think?"
"Either one will be fine. Just make sure Hosuk is there by the end of the week. We should arrive then as well. There will be quite a few of us; Megan, her grandmother, cousin Maddie; who is now Sullivan's mate, and another cousin Raphael."
Jackson stopped to catch his breath and laughed.
"I didn't just gain a mate, I added a family. Raphael is a beta for Napoleon Boscoyo, how is that for a great connection."
"Thanks for the heads up. I'll prepare Sullivan a suite as well. You guys have all the luck; did Stephan find a mate too?"
"Are you kidding he's not looking. When his mate finally finds him, she will have to fight all the women in the pack. I don't think he has ever slept alone." The two men laughed and Darien promised to find someone to bring the Shaman back to the compound.
"Goodbye Jackson, I will see you soon." Darien hung up the phone and looked up surprised to see His sister standing in the doorway.
"Damn Evelyn you should have coughed or something. How much did you hear anyway?"
"I heard everything Darien, every damn thing! I need to get the hell out of here. Let me go get Hosuk, I am the best tracker you've got. I know this land like the back of my hand, and since we are part Sioux, you know I am the best choice."
Darien looked at his heartbroken sister and in that instant his heart broke too.
"I will let you go with Sebastian; it is too dangerous for you to go alone."
"Thank you Darien you will make a good Alpha someday."
****
Sebastian was surprised that Darien had agreed to let Evelyn accompany him. He had to admit that Evelyn was a good Beta in her own right, but this was a dangerous task and the Alpha would not be happy that she had come. They rode their ATVs as far as the land allowed and shed their clothes.
They transformed into their wolves and began the trek deeper into the wooded hill side. Evelyn relished her freedom and chased a squirrel that stepped into their path.
"Come on Evelyn we don't have time to play, we need to find the Shaman before nightfall."
Sebastian barked his disapproval and nudged her back onto the trail.
Evelyn breathed in the crisp cold air and lopped in Sebastian's wake. He was an impressive wolf and his mate was very lucky. They had four children, and that was a miracle in their pack. Most mates had one pup and they counted themselves blessed.
"There is a cave up ahead; we need to circle around and come up down wind."
Sebastian walked ahead slowly and put his nose to the ground. Sniffing carefully he suddenly reared back and shifted into his hybrid form, before he had completely changed a bear rushed from the cave.
Growling loudly the large Black Bear stood and assessed his target. This was a beast he had seen before. He didn't fear this thing and reached out swiping its paw through the air barely missing Sebastian's chest.
Evelyn shifted to hybrid form and joined Sebastian against the bear. This only angered him and he rushed the new enemy. Sebastian stepped between the bear and Evelyn raking his long claws across his stomach opening it and spilling blood an intestines.
Bellowing in rage, the bear fell backwards and managed to grab Evelyn's leg on his way down. Sebastian went in for the kill, and pried the bears head from his shoulders.
Evelyn didn't move and groaned in pain. Her leg was twisted in an odd angle and claw marks separated her flesh from the bone. Sebastian cursed their bad luck.
"I am going to have to set your leg before it heals. Shift back and it will make it easier for me to straighten it out."
Evelyn shifted into her human body and grimaced when she looked at her leg. It was torn and crooked from the knee down to the ankle. Her blood was turning the snow pink and Sebastian looked at it closely.
He found a strong branch and snapped it into a size that matched her leg. He smiled at her and winked his eye as he quickly grabbed her leg and pulled.
"Oh shit!" Evelyn shouted, and the laughter she heard fill the air, was not Sebastian's.
"I suppose you two must be looking for me." A man covered in bearskins from the hat on his head to the boots covering his feet entered the clearing. His face was smooth and clean. His eyes were a striking light blue like the afternoon sky.
Evelyn cowered in the snow not really feeling the cold but not wanting this man to see her naked. Feeling her discomfort the man pulled one of the skins from his body, and wrapped the woman in its soft warmth. He then helped Sebastian tie the branch to her leg.
"Hosuk we have been sent to bring you to the compound for the Blood Moon Ceremony."
"Has it been a hundred years already young Beta? That means that the Prophesies will end on that night. I will be relieved. No man should try to manipulate nature."
Evelyn was mesmerized by his voice and trembled visibly when he lifted her in his arms. If Hosuk noticed her anxiety; he did not show it.
"Do you need to get anything from your cabin Shaman? We still have time to wait for you to prepare yourself to leave."
"No young Beta, I will find everything that I need in my quarters at the compound. I haven't been there in over a century, but Anderson keeps it ready for me in case I ever decide to show up. We are very old friends." The Shaman smiled and looked at the woman he carried.
