The New Wolf

A/N: Hello! This story is done and I will be posting a chapter about once a week. Special thank you to my editors jayknie and notsweetenough.

*****

The pounding headache brought Clara back to consciousness. She pushed her hands to her head, hoping to relieve the pressure. As if on cue, her stomach tightened, forcing her to lean forward and pull her knees to her chest. Clara's shoulders began to involuntarily pop out of place making her throw her neck back. It seemed like her entire body was on fire causing more pain than she ever thought possible. If she were able to focus on anything but the pain, she may have noticed someone else in the room with her.

"Alpha Bishop, you should get in here."

The pain leapt from joint to joint. Clara threw her body off the bed and landed on all fours. A face appeared right in front of hers. She bit back the screams when a powerful voice filled her ears.

"We didn't think it would be this quick."

Clara looked up through her blond hair to see a nice looking man with a soft smile on an otherwise gruff face. He tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Don't worry, it will be over soon."

Where am I? Who are you? What did you do to me? These are the questions that Clara should be screaming, but instead she felt a wave of calmness come over her. For some reason, she trusted this man and knew he was telling the truth.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A chirping bird made Clara's eyes flicker open. She rubbed them a few times before turning over and clutching the pillow. Her alarm hadn't gone off yet and when it did she planned on hitting snooze. Every muscle in her body ached and she rolled her shoulders hoping to loosen them up. The sheet slid down her bare back. Clara winced. She never slept naked, where was her shirt? Then like a ton of bricks reality came crashing down. Clutching the sheet to her chest she shot up in bed.

Her heart raced when she realized this wasn't her tiny home. Instead, she was in a decent sized room that looked like it was featured in an L.L. Bean catalogue. Everything was wood, the walls, ceiling, doors, bed, even a chair in the corner looked carved from oak. Her eyes focused on the chair, placed on top was a stack of clothing. Diving off the bed Clara went for the pile. She pulled on the shirt and pants and started looking for shoes.

She told herself she drank too much the night before and this must have been a one-night stand. Her first week in Wyoming and already she'd gotten so drunk she went home with a mountain man. A whispering voice in the back of her head tried to force the truth on her. Clara couldn't even remember the last time she'd had a drink, why would she decide to black out and sleep with a stranger? Did she even know where a bar was in her new town?

A knock on the door broke her thoughts. She debated hiding or looking for a weapon. The door creaked open before she could make her move, so she froze. A man with a familiar face walked in. He matched the décor of the room in a flannel shirt and jeans. Clara looked down at her clothes and wondered if they were his.

"How are you feeling?" His voice was hypnotic, as if it were trying to force Clara to relax.

Her mouth dropped open, but no words came out.

"This can be difficult. Why don't you have a seat?" He walked over to the chair and sat down, signaling for her to sit on the bed.

His voice continued to force stillness on her, but her internal monologue met common sense. She willed her legs to move and took off towards the open door. She reached for the doorframe when powerful arms wrapped around her waist, stopping her momentum and hoisting her in the air. She started screaming, kicking her legs and pulling at the arms. The man was as immovable as a mountain.

"CALM DOWN."

Clara froze in the man's arms. He let out a sigh and carried her over to the bed, plopping her down. What just happened? Why did she listen to him? Clara sat up on the bed and pulled her legs to her chest, hugging them like a child who needed some sense of security. She forced the tears away, not wanting to appear weak or broken. The reassuring smile returned to the man's face as he pulled the chair closer towards her.

"Please don't kill me, I'll never tell anyone about this place okay? I promise, let me go home and I won't ever bug you again?" Clara mumbled into her knees as a lone tear ran down her cheek.

"Nobody is going to kill you." The man shook his head. "Clara Carlson you have my word."

She lifted her head and her eyes went wide. How did he know her name?

"Close your eyes." His voice was like velvet.

Without knowledge of what was to come Clara couldn't honor his request. He sighed and shook his head.

"You're a strong one," he said. He dropped the smile and narrowed his eyes on her. "Close. Your. Eyes."

Her lids snapped shut immediately. It was almost magic. She knew it was still her choice, nothing was forcing her, but she wanted to listen to him.

"What's the last thing you remember before this morning? Concentrate and tell me about it."

Clara couldn't see anything but a blank canvas. She shook her head.

"Go back further," he said. "Start where you feel comfortable."

The image a taxi dropping her off at the airport came to mind. Clara knew she went too far back.

"Tell me what you see," he said. "Walk me through it."

"I'm in New York. I'm getting on a plane to move to Wyoming. No more crowds and I have a dream job."

"Move forward. Tell me about your arrival."

"I got off the plane in Denver. I used some of my savings to buy a car before I arrived. The seller is waiting for me at the airport. The car is way worse than the pictures, the guy was definitely a smoker and the vehicle reeks, but I don't care it reminds me of my father. I miss him, but I take the gross smell as a sign I'm doing the right thing, that my dad is watching out for me."

"You can tell me all about your father later, keep going with the memories."

"I arrived in Cheyenne a few hours later. I know I should stay the night but I decide to drive through to Laramie. I want to see my new home. I arrive at the house I'm renting. The landlord meets me outside and gives me a key. He apologizes for the size, but it's an actual house! I've been living in a tiny studio apartment for years, I'm so happy to have space and a yard I could cry."

The man gave a chuckle and Clara felt a smile spread across her face.

"The place has furniture and I plop down on the bed. It has an old quilt that smells musty and it makes me want to go find a smoker so I can smell my dad again."

"You're delaying. Keep going. You're safe."

Clara frowned, she shook her head and moved forward.

"I wake up the next day. I don't start at the museum until Monday. I have the whole weekend to explore. I researched some amazing trails in the mountains and decide to go check those out."

The images of the beautiful landscape fill Clara's head. The lush forests, mixed with the rocky terrain. It's beautiful.

"What next?"

"I heard about this secret waterfall online. I decided to try and find it."

"Keep going."

"I'm off the trail, daydreaming about my new life. I'm not paying attention. Before I know it, it's dark out."

Clara's voice caught in her throat as the fear she felt came rushing back. She continued on with her story, voice shaking with anxiety.

"I don't know what to do, I've never been hiking before. I've lived in New York my entire life! I'm going to die out here, lost in a state where nobody knows me. My job and landlord will think I skipped out. Nobody will even come looking for my body."

Clara felt herself start to hyperventilate. A hand touched her shoulder and a feeling of warmth spread through her.

"I know this is going to be difficult, but please tell me what happened next."

"It's so dark and it's getting colder. I decide I have to try to start a fire. I'm looking for sticks trying to stay focused. Someone jumped on me from behind, pushing me down on my stomach. I try to stand up, but they're pinning me. I feel...fur. It's an animal. It's going to eat me. Then I feel it bite down on my leg. The pain...it's unbearable. I can feel it chewing my muscle. I wish it would have started with my neck, so I wouldn't have to feel this."

Clara's voice caught in her throat. She took a shaky breath and continued.

"I'm trying to move, but it's too heavy. Then out of nowhere it's gone. I don't care what happened, but I know I need to get moving. I try to stand, but my leg gives out. I'm too scared to look at it, but I have to see what the damage is. I can hear the animal. It sounds like it's fighting with something else. I realize they're fighting over who gets to eat me. Then I see my leg. A giant chunk is missing. My hands are covered in blood. I pass out looking at my bloody hand, hearing one of the animals yelp. A winner has been picked and I'm the prize."

Clara didn't try and wipe the tears streaming down her face. Instead she went for her calf. It was fine. Was it a dream or was she dead? If she died why wasn't her father here to greet her? A question formed in her mind and Clara started to open her eyes.

"Not yet. Keep going. Do you remember anything else?"

Clara shook her head, but an image flashed before her. The memory of intense, fiery pain, her bones cracking. Then this man walking in, soothing her, helping her. Next they were in the woods, running. Clara felt amazing, better than she ever had in her whole life. She wanted to run forever, but then she glanced down and saw her feet weren't feet. They were paws. Her eyes shot open and she turned to look at the man.

"Welcome to the pack."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After the initial shock wore off, Clara felt hollow. Arguing with the man did nothing and whether or not she wanted to believe it, the evidence was overwhelming. Clara Carlson wasn't human any longer.

"I'm sure you have some questions for me." The man leaned back in the chair.

"What's your name? How did you know mine?"

"James Bishop. Your ID was in your bag." He reached next to him and picked up the small knapsack Clara had been carrying, tossing it to her. "We were a little confused by the New York license, scared you might be a tourist."

"Why would that matter?"

Clara opened the bag and looked inside, not like there was anything of importance in there.

"Questions from the outside, but it seems like the moon goddess has smiled upon us. Not only are you not a tourist, but based on what you told me no family members are going to come looking for you."

This sent off an alarm. Clara looked up at him, trying her hardest to remain calm. He sensed her shift and spoke in a soft tone.

"We don't want humans aware of our existence. I already told you nobody wants to kill you."

She relaxed a little.

"How do you do that with your voice?"

"I am the Alpha, leader of the pack, your new leader," he said. "There is a hierarchy around here."

"So I have to listen to whatever you say?"

"You still have free will if that's what you're asking. But wolves automatically respect their Alpha. It's natural to follow a leader."

"Do we change into wolves on the full moon? Will silver bullets kill us?"

"Forget the movies. You can shift whenever you want to, but it is pretty difficult to not want to on a full moon. Silver bullets will kill us, but so will any normal bullet if it hits you in the right spot. We're not invincible, just stronger. You will have heightened senses that come in with time, better immune system, less aversion to cold weather, you will age slower, live longer..."

"How much longer?"

He shrugged. Clara kept her eyes locked on his and shrugged back mimicking him. He let out a laugh.

"You are strong already. Figure you have at least one hundred years, maybe two."

Clara closed her eyes and brought her hand to her forehead. She was starting to feel woozy from all this information overload.

"Breath." James stood up and walked over to her, squatting down in front of her. "You're going to have a wonderful life kid."

Clara forced herself to stand up and walked passed him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Can I go home now? Please, this is a lot to take in."

She was met with silence. Spinning on her heels Clara faced him again. With both of them now standing she realized he wasn't as tall as she thought, maybe hitting 6'1" to her 5'5". His dirty blond hair stuck out all over the place. She looked at her long blond tresses and saw a clump of mud and a leaf. She needed a shower.

"Please, I want to digest this."

"I am trying to think of the best way to say this...you are home."

"What?" Clara felt her nerves rise.

"You're a member of the pack, we all live here. Let me give you a tour."

He started towards her and Clara raised her arms, taking a step back.

"Live here? Where is here? Who is this pack?"

"We're in the mountains, about fifty miles outside of Laramie, no other town is closer. The pack is all wolves, we live and work together, and are for the most part self-sufficient. We are a larger pack, numbering eighty-two now that you've joined us."

"Joined you?" Clara felt herself start to shake. "Are you insane? I don't know you, and I don't know any members of your 'pack'. I didn't ask for this. Please take me home."

"I know you didn't ask for this. It was an accident, but it happened, you have to believe it's for a reason. You're part of something bigger now."

Clara started to pace back and forth. She pictured her little house with the old quilt. Remembered how excited she was about her new job. She stopped walking and turned to look at James.

"How long have I been here? What day is it?"

"Not that long, you were attacked last night. You shifted a few hours later. It was fast."

She let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. That meant she had two days until work started. She'd be damned if she didn't get out of here by then.

"So you're holding me prisoner?"

"Don't be so dramatic. This is your new home, you have free reign around the lodge or our pack lands. I will have to arrange a guide if you want to go outside though. It seems like you have a knack for getting lost."

"Lodge?" Clara asked.

"You must be hungry," James said. "Why don't I take you to the kitchen? You can start to familiarize yourself with your new home."

James walked to the door and pulled it open, ushering Clara into the hall.

"This is your room," James continued. "All eighty-two of us live here. Think of the layout like a hotel. There are four floors. Your room is on the second floor. Then the third floor houses the more important pack members and the top floor is where I live."

The hallway was lined with doors on both sides. It did look like a hotel. They walked to the end, Clara saw most of the doors were decorated with names or pictures. When they turned the corner Clara counted the number of doors.

"The center is communal bathrooms, we share everything so don't worry about getting your own toiletries. Ones will be provided for you."

She glanced at the opening to the bathrooms. They looked surprisingly neat.

"I can tell you're counting. Don't bother. There are forty-eight rooms on this floor, currently thirty-one are occupied. Eight apartments on the third floor, all are occupied, and like I said, I have the top floor to myself."

They stopped walking and Clara saw they were at a staircase, this reminded her of a rustic log cabin dorm. That didn't seem like enough to house eighty-three people though.

"Some couples live together." James started walking down the steps. "As I mentioned earlier, there is a hierarchy. My Beta is not here right now; he is in Laramie getting some much needed supplies. He has the biggest apartment on the third floor. Then my top soldiers and their families each get an apartment and the last two are filled with whoever has the youngest children. I try and make a way so that the families can stay altogether until their youngest turns thirteen, but as you can guess, there aren't a whole lot of kids around here. At the moment there are twelve members of our pack that fit that age group, and five more ages fourteen to eighteen. The rest are all adults. I saw from your license you're twenty-four?"

"How old are you?"

"I am sixty-seven years old."

Clara's eyes about bulged out of her head. She guessed he was about 30-35. James laughed again without turning around to look at her.

"I told you, we age differently. You will too now."

The logic and reason section of Clara's brain was going haywire. She tried to calm herself and remember the only thing she should be concerned about was finding a way to escape. He mentioned someone was in Laramie, she hoped that meant there was a car somewhere, or at least a road.

"Now here's the fun floor." James turned and grinned before opening the door at the bottom of the steps.

Clara stepped into the largest room she'd ever seen. It reminded her of a gymnasium. There was a pool in the far corner, tennis courts, basketball courts. In fact, it pretty much was a gym. There were people working out with weights and another group that looked like they were boxing each other.

"Do you want an introduction?" James asked.

Clara was quick to shake her head no.

"It can wait, I suppose." James turned around and shooed her back to the stairs. "That was the basement. Feel free to head down there whenever you like. You will have to take up training soon so you will get familiar with it."

"Training?" Clara always sucked at sports.

James stopped walking.

"All members of the pack must know how to fight. I insist on it."

"Fight?" Clara asked. "Who would we fight?"

A worried look came to James' face. He took a seat on the step and signaled for Clara to sit next to him.

"You haven't asked who bit you yet."

Clara automatically grabbed her calf, the pain felt like a distant memory now. She felt the less she knew the easier it would be to forget.

"Wolves are pack creatures. We live for the pack. Without one we will go crazy. Without one you will go crazy."

"What are you talking about?" Clara was confused.

"Sometimes a wolf will leave his pack or get kicked out or get lost. When that happens they start to go mad. Their nature tells them to find another pack. They know they can't go back to their old one so they look for a new one, but by that time they're too far gone to join. They become a threat. They see members of a pack and become enraged with jealousy lashing out and attacking. They also have no fear of death, which makes them incredibly hard to kill."

"That was what bit me?" Clara asked. "But why? I'm not a part of a pack."

"You weren't part of a pack," James corrected. "As a wolf you will never attack a human. That would draw questions and make people start looking up here, not to mention the moral consequences of murder. An outcast wolf doesn't feel that way. He saw you and thought food, easy prey."

"So he was going to eat me..." Clara shivered.

"Yes, but we knew a lone wolf was close to our lands, someone spotted him recently so we expanded our patrol. I was able to kill him before he finished you off, but we weren't able to make it before he bit you."

Clara felt a weight pressing down on her. This was not what she wanted to care about. Work, making friends, decorating her house. That was what Clara wanted to focus on.

"Now do you understand why you have to stay here?"

She looked over at James.

"I understand why I have to join, but why do I have to live here? Can't I just come up for the weekends or whatever?"

James shook his head.

"If you lived in Laramie alone you would draw these outcasts like a moth to a flame and we wouldn't be able to protect you."