The Werewolf's Sabbat

Liam was sitting in the TV room watching a movie with his sister, Mariah, when he saw the flash of headlights through the window. He got up from the sofa and looked out the window to see his brother's jeep pulling up the winding driveway.

"Who is it?" Mariah asked, not taking her huge brown eyes from the big screen TV.

"Oh, it's just Mitch. I wonder where he's been? He usually doesn't stay away for so long." Liam continued gazing out the window when he saw what he recognized as Janette's car following behind Mitch's jeep. A slow smile crept across his face. "Aha! Now I know why he's been away. That dirty dog."

"What are you talking about?" Mariah asked, suddenly becoming curious. She got off the couch and walked over to join her brother at the window. She gasped out loud when she saw Mitch open the car door and a trim, long haired brunette stepped out.

"Mi-tch go-t la-id," Liam said in a sing song voice.

Mariah smacked her brother on the arm and glared at him. "Grow up, you imbecile." She peered out the window once more. "Is that her?"

It was no secret that Mitch had found his mate. Practically everyone in the pack was talking about it. "Yeah, that's her," Liam said.

"She's absolutely beautiful. Just so... I dunno... natural."

"What do you mean, natural?" Liam gave his sister a confused look.

"Well, she's nothing like the women you date, Liam. No fake boobs and botox there."

Liam looked down at his sister as though he was truly insulted. "Are you saying I date fake women?"

"Oh please, Liam. If you were to fall for a girl who didn't have a fake something or another, you wouldn't know what the hell to do with her. Fake boobs, liposuction, botox, butt lift..."

"I'll have you know..." Liam stopped talking suddenly when he heard Mitch open the front door. They both stood up straight with big smiles plastered on their faces as though they had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"Janette!" Liam called. He took several long strides over to her and wrapped his arms around her as though they were long lost friends. Janette just stood there, wide eyed and surprised by his greeting.

"Let go of her, Liam," Mitch said with an irritated look on his face. He pulled her to him and introduced her to his sister with a huge, proud grin. "Mariah, this is Janette Timbers. Jan, this is my sister, Mariah."

Janette was surprised to see the resemblance between Mitch and his sister. They looked so much alike only she had much more feminine features. She was about 5 foot 8 inches tall, had huge dark brown eyes, waist length wavy brown hair and the same blinding white perfect smile that Mitch had. "It's very nice to meet you." Janette said in a nervous voice. She extended her right arm in an effort to shake Mariah's hand but the girl completely ignored the gesture and pulled Janette into a big bear hug.

"I've heard so much about you. I'm so happy to finally meet you."

Janette quickly hugged her back before turning to Mitch and giving him a bewildered look. "Your family sure hugs a lot," she said in whisper.

Mitch laughed lightly and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her away from his brother and sister's greedy hands. "That can be explained, but at a later time."

Liam walked over to the mini bar in the corner of the room. "Janette, can I offer you a drink?" he offered while pouring himself a scotch.

"Do you have any chardonnay?"

"Sure thing. One chardonnay coming up." Liam popped the cork on a bottle from under the cabinet and poured Janette a glass and then one for his sister. "Mitch?" He raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"No thanks, I'm good." Mitch led Janette to sit on one of the many plush ivory sofas surrounding the enormous television before retrieving her glass and handing it to her. He switched the TV off and waited for Liam and Mariah to take a seat on the sofa to their right before speaking. "I hope you two don't mind but Janette is going to be staying here at least for tonight."

Liam caught the troubled look flash in Mitch's eyes. "Is there something wrong?"

Mitch shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Her apartment was broken into tonight." He wasn't going to go into details about the break in, he could fill Liam in on everything later when they were alone. "I don't feel comfortable letting her stay there. I'm sure you two understand." He noticed the look of uncertainty in Liam's face. "Don't worry. She knows about us and what we are."

"Of course. It's fine." Mariah said, reaching forward to pat her brother on the knee. She looked over at Janette. "You are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you need to. There's a guest room just down the hall. I'm sure you'll find anything you may need..."

"She'll be staying in my room." Mitch interrupted bluntly. He wanted nothing more than for his mate to be tucked safely away in his bed next to him. When he realized that he probably should have asked her first, he turned to her. "You don't mind, do you?"

Janette's eyes grew wide and a deep blush rose up her cheeks. She took a healthy swallow of her wine and shook her head. "No, not at all. That's fine by me." Is that even appropriate? She thought to herself. But then again, she had just let Mitch have his way with her in the woods. It was a bit late to worry about morals now.

"Good." Mitch stood and turned to his brother. "Liam, I need to see you for a moment if you don't mind." Mitch didn't wait for an answer but leaned down to Janette and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I'll be right back. Will you be okay with my sister for a bit?"

"I'll be just fine," she said before returning his kiss and watching him walk down the hall with his brother following close behind. Janette surprisingly didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable being alone with Mitch's sister. There was just something about her personality that instantly put people at ease.

"So what do you prefer to go by?" Mariah took a sip of her wine and looked over at Janette with a friendly smile on her face.

"I'm sorry?" Janette looked confused.

"Jan or Janette? Which do you prefer?" Mariah asked.

"Usually people call me Janette but Jan is fine, as well. I don't mind either one."

"Well, Jan, I'm glad you're finally here. My brother has been waiting for you for a very long time. When is your mating ceremony?"

Janette gave the woman sitting across from her another confused look. "What mating ceremony? I don't understand... waiting for me?"

Mariah realized too late that she might have said too much. It wasn't her place to explain these things to Janette. She had just assumed that Mitch had already had this talk with her. Men in the pack didn't usually bring their chosen mates home to the den unless they knew exactly what they were in for. But then she remembered Mitch saying that Janette's apartment had been broken into. Perhaps he hadn't brought her home under the ideal circumstances and hadn't had the chance to explain things about the pack.

"Never mind." Mariah said with a nervous laugh. "How 'bout if I give you a tour of the house? I think you'll quite like it." she said, trying to change the subject.

Janette chose to drop the subject but made a mental note to ask Mitch about it later when they were alone. "Yeah, that would be nice. This place is huge! Mitch said that he had bought it and had to basically rebuild it. Must have been a lot of work, huh?" She stood and followed Mariah down the hallway.

"Yeah, it took a lot of work from the whole pack. Everyone had to put in their fair share of the work. That's the good thing about belonging to a pack. Things get done quickly around here. Everyone has their own talents to contribute. We have everything, electricians, gardeners, plumbers, doctors... each member of our pack is useful in one way or another. It all works out quite well." Mariah explained with obvious pride in her voice.

"Just how many people belong to your... uh... pack?" Janette asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Just about 200 I would say. Some live here but there are several families who insist on living in the city." Mariah led Janette down a long corridor and into a huge room. The walls were loaded with books from floor to ceiling. There were several plush love seats and a couple of over stuffed recliners scattered here and there around the room along with a few bean bags near the fire place for the children of the pack to sit on while they read.

"This is our library. Aside from the dining hall, it's one of the bigger rooms of the house. You are more than welcome to come here anytime you want while you are staying here." Mariah knew it wouldn't be long before Janette's 'temporary' stay turned permanent but she wasn't going to say anything about that.

Janette followed Mariah through the house from one room to another, oohing and ahhing at the enormous kitchen, dining hall and TV room. "This place is amazing. You guys have done a wonderful job with it." She continued gaping at everything when a thought occurred to her. "I'm not trying to pry or anything, but you guys seem to be... well... rich."

Mariah nodded her head slowly and smiled. "Yeah, we do well for ourselves."

"But you would never know it by looking at Mitch. I mean he drives a regular vehicle and wears regular clothes, nothing fancy at all. I would never have guessed."

Mariah stopped at the end of the hallway and turned to Janette. "There's something you have to understand about my brother. He's not the showy type. In fact, believe it or not, he's rather modest. He doesn't like to flaunt his wealth. It makes him feel uncomfortable. He also doesn't spend money frivolously, which is part of the reason that he has so much of it. Don't get me wrong, he makes sure that every member of his pack has what they need and a bit of what they want. We are all well taken care of here. He is also an excellent business man and is good at making wise decisions when it comes to money." Mariah began walking again with Janette following close behind. "We all have jobs and have our own money but when it comes to the house and businesses, Mitch and Liam take care of that part."

Janette's heart swelled in her chest. It was obvious that Mitch's sister looked up to him and was profoundly proud of his accomplishments. The closeness that she sensed between the two siblings almost made her feel jealous. She had never had a brother or sister and had basically been alone all of her life except for her grandma and aunt. She had always dreamed of having a sibling though.

Mariah caught the slight frown covering Janette's features. "What's wrong?" she asked with a worried expression.

"Oh nothing." Janette tried to smile but wasn't feeling it.

"Come on. I can tell something's up. You can trust me."

Janette took a deep breath. "It's nothing. I don't know." She paused momentarily wondering how much of her feelings she should share with a complete stranger. "I'm an only child. I've only lived with my grandma and aunt all my life. The way you describe the pack... well, you all seem so close, like one big family. I've never had that before. It's just strange for me to see, that's all."

Mariah laughed suddenly. "Well, let me warn you. If you stay with Mitch, you will have to get use to it. Our pack is all about family." Mariah took Janette's hand leading her up the staircase. "Let me show you the study and then I will take you to Mitch's quarters where you will be staying."

They walked several feet down the hall before turning right into another large room. It wasn't near as impressive as the others but still held its own type of charm. There was a large heavy dark wood desk along the wall with a cushy leather chair behind it. The bookshelves, of course, were filled to the brim. Janette noticed, after further examination that they were all books on finance and law. Along the opposite wall was a fancy love seat in front of a large stone fireplace.

Mariah noticed Janette's less-than-impressed expression. "The only reason I'm showing you this room is because this is basically Mitch's office. If ever he goes missing, you can likely find him here with his nose in some book or another." Mariah grabbed Janette's hand again and led her out of the study and down the hall to Mitch's room. She opened the door and waited for her to enter.

Janette couldn't help the gasp that escaped her when she stepped into the large bedroom. The room was so big her entire apartment could probably fit in it. The bed was bigger than any that she had seen before. It looked so inviting with its plush pillow top mattress, thick fluffy quilt and the dozen pillows neatly arranged at the head of the bed. She found herself feeling sleepy just looking at it.

Next to the bed was a balcony with sliding glass doors, looking out onto the gardens. She walked across the room and into the adjoining bathroom, which was about half the size of the bedroom. It had double sinks and a huge garden tub. She found herself wondering how long it would take to fill that tub up. It seemed like a swimming pool compared to the small tub in her apartment. Across the room from the tub was a separate shower stall and the wall behind the double sinks was covered in huge mirrors.

"This place is amazing!" Janette exclaimed in awe. "This huge room is just for Mitch?"

"Yes." Mariah said with a smile. "There are many rooms in the house like this. There are also walk-in closets over on that side of the room." Mariah pointed towards the far wall across from the bed. "Mitch's closet is the one on the left. You can take the one on the right. Let me know what size you wear and I can go get you some clean clothes to use until you can get back to your place."

"Um... okay. Size 8. You're not going shopping at this hour, are you?"

Mariah laughed and shook her head. "No, we have plenty of clothes of different sizes kept in a spare closet downstairs. I'm sure I can find something appropriate for you."

Janette lifted an eyebrow in mild confusion. Who keeps spare clothes like that? She thought to herself. That's just weird.

"You would be surprised how fast this pack goes through clothing." Mariah said as though she had been reading Janette's thoughts. "It's necessary to have a back up supply available. Especially when we have newly changed weres around. They don't have as much control over their shifting and tend to rip through their clothing quite often by accident." She walked over to the door and opened it. "Make yourself at home. You can take a shower if you want to. I'm going to go round up some supplies and clothing for you. I'll be right back."

Janette stood there and watched Mariah leave the room. She didn't quite know what to make of the mansion she was in. It was all very impressive and she couldn't wait to go visit the gardens and greenhouse. She walked to the bed and smoothed her hand across the fluffy quilt before sitting down on the mattress. The bed was so soft, she couldn't wait to lay down and sleep on it. It had been a long and trying day and she was starting to feel exhausted. But first she decided to take advantage of the invitation to have a shower.

Janette walked back to the bathroom and was just about to turn the shower on when she thought better of it. She turned the faucet on in the tub instead, eager to soak in it. She rummaged through the many cabinets in the bathroom and finally located the clean towels and a nice bottle of bubble bath. She couldn't figure out why Mitch would have bubble bath but she didn't care. She poured a good dollop or two under the running water and was pleased to see that the tub was filling up faster than she had expected. She quickly stripped off her clothes laying them in a pile on the floor and stepped into the tub, sinking all the way in and laying her head back and closing her eyes. She hadn't felt so relaxed in such a long time.

*

"So you think it was a were who broke into Janette's place?" Liam asked with a look of surprise.

"Yes, I could smell it. But I didn't recognize the scent as being anyone from our pack."

"But why would anyone want to rob or harm your mate? I don't get it." Liam gulped down the last of the scotch in his glass and walked over to sit on the loveseat in front of the fireplace.

"I have no idea. I've been wondering the same thing myself." Mitch sat next to his brother. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He felt so confused. He didn't even know where to start looking for the intruder but he was certain that if anyone harmed Janette he would make them pay dearly. Possibly with their own life.

"I can't let any harm come to her, Liam. If anything were to happen to her, I don't know what I would do. This may sound strange to you but I don't think I could live without her." Mitch knew a few people who had lost their mate and he knew of the torment they had gone through. One friend of his actually took his own life as he wasn't able to cope with the loss.

"It doesn't sound strange at all. I've never felt that way about anyone but I understand what you mean. Don't worry, brother. I will help you find who it was. I'll help you protect Janette. I know you two aren't mated yet but she's already like family. We always protect family." Liam slapped his brother on the back reassuringly. "Speaking of... when are you going to tell her about the mating thing? You eventually have to explain things to her and hopefully soon."

Mitch sighed. "I know. I will tell her. Maybe I will tell her tonight. I'm just waiting for the right time, that's all. I'm kind of nervous about her reaction. I don't want her to think I'm trying to push her into anything."

"I understand that. Stop being so nervous about everything. If you two are truly mates then she will be feeling the pull as well. I mean, hell, she was fine when you told her you are a wolf so why would she take the mating news any worse? You'll be fine, she'll be fine. Just tell her already." Liam knew his brother was incredibly smart and a good decision maker but he sometimes got annoyed with Mitch's lack of spontaneity. Sometimes he just thought too much about things rather than acting on them.

Mitch suddenly found himself feeling extremely tired. He couldn't help the yawn that crept up on him. "I'm going to go find Janette and then I think I'm gonna call it a night. I'm exhausted." He stood and walked to the door, bid his brother good night and then headed towards his room. He passed Mariah in the hall and was surprised that Janette wasn't with her. "Where's Jan?"

"Oh she's in your room. I brought her up some clothes and other supplies I thought she might need."

"Thanks, sis." Mitch gave her a kiss on the forehead. "It's late. I'm going to go to bed. Thanks for all of your help. I'll see you in the morning." Mitch made his way down the hall to his room, walked in and closed the door behind him before engaging the lock.

He looked over the items his sister had left laying on the bed and smiled his approval. Everything she chose for Janette was perfect. He hung the clothes in the closet and took the assortment of toiletries into the bathroom to put them away. He stopped suddenly when he saw Janette laying in the tub full of steaming water and bubbles. She had a wet cloth covering her eyes and seemed to be asleep.

Mitch quietly placed the items on the counter and stepped up to the tub. He smiled down at her. She looked so peaceful, as though all the stress from the day had melted away. He disrobed and put his clothes in the laundry hamper along with the ones she had laid on the floor. Janette jumped and pulled the cloth from her eyes when she felt someone slide into the tub next to her.

"Jesus! You scared me! I didn't see you come in," she said.

"Of course you didn't." Mitch laughed and slid an arm around her shoulders. "You had your eyes closed. In fact, I think you may have even been asleep. Don't you know that it's not safe to sleep in the tub? You could drown."