We Own The Night (Private!)

Matthew sat a while longer by the river and frowned at the water. He sighed as he thought of Anna, wondering what she would have been like as an adult, then shook his head. He really had to stop this. Melchior was right. It worried the Shaman and Andrew when he was like this. Besides, worrying over things he had no power to change wasn't going to help him any. And had Malakai been alive, he would have beaten Mathew's ass for acting like an ass, hurting those who were still alive and cared about him when he knew Anna was gone. But Matthew couldn't help questioning himself.

"Anna..." he sighed, before turning and returning to Red Sands.

Mitchel hurried over to Kali. He gently picked her up.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

Siobhan, Princess of the Red Sands ,was wandering the forest near the border with the Hunters when she spotted two of them crossing the border slightly as they walked, obviously heading to the camp. She hid, so they didn't see her but couldn't stop a soft growl. She would have to report this to her father. They couldn't let the hunters just waltz through their territory, even per accident.

Gordan was out for a walk when he saw Lena gathering herbs for her father. The two had been friends since puphood, ever since she and Tobias had joined them after the Shadow Paws wee attacked, and he loved her as a sister.

"Hey, Lee." he said softly so no o scare her. "You need help?""

Shee's ears tilted back at the words she could hear. The girl's old camp...? What did that mean...?

Gordan smiled and began helping Lena pick herbs. At her question Gordan frowned.

"No, Lena... I don't think that is wise..." he answered. "Yes, he'll need to be told at some point but if he learns about her whereabouts right now... he'll charge in there without thinking and just get himself killed."

Shee narrowed her eyes as the male called the female Annabella Shadow.

That's impossible... she's dead... they all are, save Tobias and Lena. she thought to herself.

As the girl ran back the way they had come, Shee raced after her, tackling the young female to the ground.

Who are you!? she snarled. What business do you have in the Old Shadow Paw camp!? You humans lost nothing there!!

Gordan nodded. Yes, Matthew had been hit hard by the decimation of his own Clan, the Green Hills, but the loss of Annabella Shadow had really seemed to have pushed him close to the edge. If it hadn't been for the fact Andrew needed him... and had it not been for Melchior and Tobias... Matthew would simply have faded away. Or run off with the Summerwinds, a family of wanderers who passed by from time to time, their visits growing more and more sporadic after each one.

"We'll need to tell him... just not yet..." he said softly.

Siobhan snarled more, her lips pulling back to reveal her sharp fangs, a warning growl rumbling in her chest as she leaned more onto her forepaws, pressing her weight against the human under her.

Wrong answer, girl. she snapped. As Princess of the Red Sands, it is of concern to me... to me, my father and those who are left of the other two royal houses of the 4 Great Clans. You humans have no right to trespass on our sacred lands. And above and beyond that... you and your vampiric friend were traipsing along on our side of the border... which means we have free reign to retaliate on those pitiful human hunters.

Shee brought her face closer to the girl's. Although she was bluffing at the moment, she was also speaking the truth. The Red Sands was entitled to retaliate against a 'human invasion' as it were. But just because they could do it, didn't mean they would. But this human didn't need to know that.

So... if you don't want all those innocent humans' blood on your hands, you better start talking. she said, her face inches from the girl's throat.

Gordan sighed and nodded. He had caught the scent of humans on their borders and had noticed the blonde haired girl he now knew was Anna going there frequently. He just hoped Matthew didn't encounter her until he was ready to... if he would ever be...

As Anna spoke, Shee's ears drew back slightly and she stopped snarling although she didn't let the human up. The way she had turned away and broke off from saying especially who, Shee was fairly certain she knew who it was.

He's never forgiven himself, you know... she said, just before the girl managed to get up, since Shee had relaxed her posture and was just lightly resting on her. Matthew. He blames himself... for what happened...

As the girl got out from under her and ran off towards the hunters' camp, Shee watched her with ears pressed against her head. She noticed something was lying on the ground and shifted, picking up the locket. Shee kept her eyes glued on the locket as she addressed the vampire.

"She... really is Annabella Shadow...." she said softly as she turned to the vampire she assumed was Axel, since he looked as she imagined an older Axel to look from her memories of him as a child, although she was surprised he was a vampire as she had assumed only Malakai was one. "Isn't she...?"

Gordan nodded and sighed softly.

"I suppose we'll see her at the ceremony tonight..." Gordan said softly, the grimaced. "I'm really not looking forward to this..."

He glowered slightly at the herbs in is hand. His father had told him that morning, before he had run into Lena, what had been decided and Gordan wasn't happy about it. And he was sure, once she found out, Shee would throw a titanic temper tantrum. Hopefully she wouldn't have the time or inclination to tell Matthew what she had found out.

Mitchel gently lifted the thick-furred wolf into his arms.

"Come, its cooler in the den." he told her softly. "You should feel better there."

He wasn't happy about having his son and heir pledged to the Princess of the Red Sands either, but he had little choice. The alternative was to reveal the truth of the matter regarding Gordan's claim to the Alphaship. A claim, which was truthfully Kali's by birthright.

Emmaline (calledEmmy by everyone in camp) saw Anna running into her house and followed quietly. She could tell that Anna was upset and wanted to help her but wasn't sure how. She quietly knocked on her front door.

"Anna...?" she called quietly.

Shee sighed as 'Axel' disappeared after confirming the girl was indeed Anna. She looked down at the locket before sighing and returning to camp. There she was told her father was looking for her and she went to his den. A few moments later her outraged cry could be heard.

"WHAT!? But father...!"

Rodderick held up his hand and Shee held her peace.

"I know you don't like this, Shee, I don't like it anymore than you do... but it has to be done!"

"You mean you went behind my back and signed this agreement!?" she shrieked. "Father, that's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair, Siobhan... and yet we still live it." her father said, then frowned. "What's the matter... I thought you got on well with Gordan Black...."

Shee snorted.

"Just because I like him as a friend, it doesn't mean I want to mate him!" she snapped back, although, truth be told, she did have a crush on the Beta of Black Rocks and they got on well... it was just the principle of being forced into this mating that angered her.

Rodderick waved a hand, dismissing his daughter.

"Whether you approve or not, we are going to have a ceremony tonight announcing your engagement to Gordan!" he growled. "Now be off with you!"

"Yes, father." Shee growled before stalking out of his den.

Gordan frowned.

"We like each other..." he said. "I mean, we're friends... but the point is, we should have been told of this before the pact was made and the mating arrangement signed!"

He had fought back a blush when Lena said she thought Shee and Gordan liked each other because he had a crush on the fiery Red Sands Princess, but was sure she just wanted to be friends.

Gordan nodded at what Lena said about Anna and Matthew having to meet. He sighed.

"Yeah, you're right." he said. "I'll go see Andrew and Melchior... perhaps they can help."

(OOC: If I'm correct with my calculations, then the only 3 demon wolves who should be born, albeit toddlers right now are Carlisle, Silas and maybe Jason...?)

The little girl merely shook her head and hugged Anna.

"Nate and Gramps went out again tonight, and I didn't want to be alone in the house, so I was following them when I saw you running to your house... are you alright Anna?"

Gordan grinned wryly at Lena's words, then chuckle with a nod.

"Yes... your gift makes it a little difficult to keep secrets from you." he teased her, blushing a bit now, knowing that Lena knew how much he liked Shee. "And you're right... but I thought only Matthew knew about the mating contract because of his gift... then again, I can't remember what Anna's gift was, so I guess she could also have known..."

Gordan nodded with a smile.

"I'm sure he will." he agreed, then watched Lena runoff to get Anna. while he went back to ask Tobias to come with him, while he went to go as Melchior and Andrew to help him get Matthew.

A little blonde-haired boy with blue eyes was playing with the other young pups in the Venetian werewolf pack, which had been under the direction of the de Luca family for several generations. As they played an yelled, racing around, the young pup accidentally ran into a warrior. The man snarled at the pup.

"Watch where you're going, you filthy half-breed!" the man yelled at him in Italian.

Carlisle blinked his wide baby-blues at the man. For as long as he could remember, most of the adults had referred to him as such. After much begging and persistence, his mother had finally told him his father was a vampire, so he wasn't a full-blooded werewolf... but until now, Carlisle had yet to meet the man, although his mother had told him she hoped he never did.

"I-I' sorry." the little pup mumbled back.

"Maybe we should teach this runt some manners?" another male asked, grabbing a fistful of Carlisle's hair, making the youngster squeal.

(Wolfs, should this time period be before the split or after?)

Emmy smiled slightly as Anna carried her to the kitchen. She watched Anna start making tea, then tilted he little dark-haired head.

"You were crying." she said softly.

It wasn't a question.

Gordan knocked at Tobias' den door, wondering if the Shaman was in and if he'd come with him to go fetch Matthew. Gordan knew that today was a bad day for the other male... but he wasn't exactly jumping for joy today either, given what his father had told him. He sighed as he waited for Tobias to answer.

Nathan Hunter's expression turned a little sullen. The 12 year old boy grumbled something about being treated like a child and then sighed.

"Yes, gramps." he said softly, glancing at Lena before he headed back to the Hunter camp to go fetch Anna.

Seattle was collecting wild herbs with some of the females when she heard a few of the younger females begin speaking about her in exaggerated whispers.

"Just look at her." one told her friend. "She looks no better than a child."

"I know right, why would Alec choose her...?" the friend replied. "Maybe she put some spell or something on him?"

"That wouldn't surprise me." said a third. "I mean, what other reason for this madness could there be?"

The three of them looked over at Seattle, trying to gauge her reaction. On the inside, Seattle was furious. She disliked having to listen to talk like tis and it made her all the angrier because it hurt Alec more than it did her. After all, these were wolves Alec busted his back to protect and lead and they went out of their way to make trouble for her... and for him by extension. Seattle drew a deep breath as she placed the herb in her basket, her shaking hands the only indication she was upset. If these three she-wolves were hoping for an angry response they were going to be sorely mistaken. She merely turned towards them, gave them a small smile, no matter how it burned her hide, and then she continued what she was doing, as if she hadn't heard them.

((ooc: thought I'd play the trouble the pack gave Sea a little more... to make the situation seem believable.))

A blonde haired young man sat in a glade filled with wildflowers. However, it didn't seem to lift his spirits as one would have thought, his blue eyes were dark and filled with sorrow. He drew a shuddering breath as a small tear slide down his cheek.

"Sea..." he whimpered quietly.

Gregory sat outside his parents' cave den, his face a virtual thunderstorm, his dark brown eyes almost black in his anger, his back rigid. The dark circles around his eyes spoke of sleepless nights. He growled quietly to himself as he glared at the WanderPawe territory. He was tired... tired of the fighting and the tears... tired of the frustration in and around him... tired of the constant anger he dragged around because of his sister's betrayal and Alec... He grit his teeth. He was just.. tied of it all.

The male Carlisle had run into glare at the young she-wolf.

"Your little half-blood brat ran into me!" he growled.

"Yeah." the one who had Carlisle by the hair added. "What's wrong with the little abomination being made to apologize?"

As he spoke, he moved his hand round tugging at the young pup's hair, making Carlisle whine and yelp.