Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2015 09:00:26 -0700
From: Ay Huh <howlatthe@gmail.com>
Subject: Wolves Don't Just Howl At The Moon Chapter 3

Wolves Don't Just Howl At The Moon

The following story is a work of pure fiction. Some material may not be
suitable for individuals under the age of 18.  This story is copyrighted
and not intended for print.  Please enjoy and I would love to hear what you
think!  I have a lot more to this story and plan on putting up others.
Your feedback will be highly appreciated. (^_^) E-mail me at
howlatthe@gmail.com.  Also, don't forget to donate at
http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html.

Thanks,
*Star*

Chapter 3

The Countdown Begins: Day 1

	I stand in a field of beautiful calla lilies. Their refreshing
aroma flowing into me, relaxing my body with ease. My eyes are closed as I
listen to nature and center myself. My arms are crossed over my chest as I
enjoy the sun shining down on me rejuvenating me with energy.  A gentle
breeze blows my hair up and over my shoulders. I get a scent of him and
hear his footsteps walking over to me. He reaches me and I feel his arms,
strong with power wrap around me. His right arm comes around my stomach
pulling my waistline into him, as his left arm goes over my left shoulder
and his hand goes in under my right upper arm intertwining his fingers with
my own. His chin hooks onto my right shoulder as his nose buries into the
nape of my neck, breathing in my essence.  I open my eyes to a head of wild
dirty blond hair. I lean my own head back onto his left shoulder and close
my eyes again, feeling the strength of the man I love. He holds me close,
as if nothing in this world could keep us apart. The fear of that happening
causes a tear to fall from my right eye and fall onto his face. His head
lifts up and I am instantly turned around to face him with my eyes still
closed. I finally open them and am instantly lost in his amethyst eyes
searching mine for the cause of my sadness. He opens his mouth to speak.

"Gabriel wake up we have to get to work." Interrupts Sam's voice and I'm
awoken from my dream in utter annoyance.

	I reluctantly open my eyes.  I look around the room unaware of my
surroundings at first.  Then, remembered, I came into dads' room last
night. I look over and see that father, Michael, and Samantha are
gone. Damian and Sophia are still fast asleep. I think of my room and
teleport out of the bed and into my own. I get up and head to my closet.  I
change into a black sleeveless thermal shirt and a pair of sweatpants.
After I'm dressed I head over to the bathroom and handle those morning
activities. About twenty minutes later, I'm walking into fathers'
office. He is at his desk typing on his computer, Michael is talking on the
phone next to him, and Samantha is sitting in a chair opposite of father. I
take the seat next to her. She looks over and her eyes glow for a second. I
feel my vision brighten signaling mine glowing as well.  As soon as it
starts, it's over. I have all the knowledge they have discussed so
far. Father is looking into the official documents of the whereabouts of
Raiden's property and Michael is on the phone with Cameron discussing the
actions his father has taken thus far.  Samantha gives me a reassuring
smile and gently squeezes my thigh.  Father finally finishes his research
and looks over at Michael. He is still taking notes on whatever Cameron is
telling him.  Father looks back at Sam and myself.

"Samantha is going to take you to the pack gym so you can begin your
self-defense training. As well as some offensive maneuvers.  You will also
be taken to the range to practice you weapons handling. The way you're able
to pick up information I'm sure this will only take a couple of hours
before you have fully mastered all of them." Father says looking at me with
concern in his eyes.

"Dad what is it? You look really distressed." I ask leaning forward and
taking his hand.

"My youngest shouldn't have to be going through such a difficult time as
this. You are my baby boy and I will make sure that this is all taken care
of. With much effort I hope a fight isn't going to take place. But, we need
you to be prepared just in case."  Father says leaning back in his chair as
he takes a deep breath. "I know that you have had it very rough since you
were born. But, we are all going to make sure that your future is for
sure." He says quite frankly. I hear no uncertainty in his voice and it
puts me at ease.

"I just want to be able to help you and Michael. If this helps, then I'm
fine with it." I say whole heartedly.

"Since you're already dressed for the occasion we can head over now." Sam
said smiling at me. She stands and reaches out for my hand. I take it
smiling and stand with her. We walk out of the office heading to leave.

	We get to the gym and see no other cars there.  We walk to the
entrance and head in trying to think where Connor could be.  The door to
the main gymnasium is open and I can hear movement and heavy breathing.  As
we enter, I see Alex and Cameron fighting with hand to hand combat.  Connor
is observing them, taking notes every now and then.  I just look on as we
walk in.  Sam and I walk past a fan and suddenly they stop fighting and
turn looking at us.  Connor looks up from his notes as well.

"Now that I have all of you here, let's get to work." Connor says handing
the note pad to Samantha. She flips to a blank page and writes something
down.  "Okay you two..." He say's pointing at the other two.  "...go ahead
and get in some weapons training. You know what you need to work on. So,
get to it." Connor says dismissing them. They run off joking with each
other as they head over to a weapons simulator. "Now, Gabriel. Let's see
what you got for me to work with. I know that you've had some training in
the past but, that was just defensive. So, I'll see how that has
evolved. I'm gonna throw some move at you and I want you to defend all of
them." He says. I nod and stand ready for him.

	I close my eyes, breathe in finding my center of balance, and
exhale opening my eyes. He suddenly moves faster than I anticipated and
throws a left hook at my face.  I duck it and moved under his arm. Grabbing
his right elbow as it swings back around towards my face. He responds
quickly with a back kick that I block with my arms making an 'X'. The force
throws me backwards but, I catch myself doing a back tuck and landing in a
defensive pose. A second after I land he's on me with a barrage of
attacks. A mixture of punches and kicks. I am able to block most of
them. Well, I'd say I blocked about 80% of them. It wasn't bad for just
hopping back into fighting but, bad because I know he was taking it easy on
me.  Since, I am able to use so much of my brain, I was able to memorize
his movements and understand his attacks. After about five minutes of
getting my ass handed to me, I had ten minutes to get my bearings and use
all the attacks he threw so far to help me block him. Then, I was able to
block all of his moves.  We took a break as Sam brought us both over some
water. I looked at Connor and he barely looked like he broke a
sweat. Meanwhile I was soaking wet and in need of a break. I downed half
the bottle before regaining my energy and ready to go another round.

"Not, bad for your first go. You picked up my movements and attacks pretty
well." He said nonchalant and I just knew a downside was coming. "If you
were a human you'd be at the level of a high school karate student at a
state tournament. That's not nearly as close as you will need to be as the
battle draws near. So, I'm gonna turn the heat up a couple of notches."
Connor says smirking.

	He closes his eyes and breathes in deeply a few times. Samantha
steps back a few paces, taking our water bottles with her. Something about
him changes. He opens his eyes and I see a spark flash in his eyes. It
throws me off my game and in a flash he's in front of me. I wasn't even
able to block his palm strike as it lands directly on my chest. The force
causes me to fly back into the netting in front of the wall behind me. I
fall landing on my knees. Trying to recover the air I lost. I look up just
as he appears with a round house kick to my jaw that flips me upside
down. As I'm falling he does a back kick with his other leg that sends me
back into the rope netting. Feeling a bit angry and in some major pain. I
remember we upped the game. He's using some of his power. It's time I do
the same. I stand in time to see him coming in for another round house. I
teleport to a safe distance away. I am able to catch my breath and focus
again as he comes at me again. He goes out of my view and I teleport
again. I see him as he lands from a drop kick. I think about it. He just
told me to defend that doesn't mean I have to do anything. I focused on the
air around me. I grabbed onto all the molecules and slowed down their atoms
making the air thicker and slowing down his movements. I was able to duck
his attempted palm and hammer strike combo. He stopped and smirked at me.

"Nice tactic. You saw a way to take advantage and you did."  He said
surveying me. Somehow, I felt another but coming on.  "But, that trick
won't always save you." He said tripping me and holding a blade to my
throat. He pocketed the blade and reached out to help me up. "You are a
very fast learner and you are quick with adapting to your environment and
thinking on your feet. I'll give you a few books to read and you'll be good
with defensive maneuvers. Tomorrow we'll pick up on fighting with your cat
form. For now how about we head over to the weapons simulator and we can
pick you a weapon."  He said grabbing his water and notepad from Sam. She
smiled and handed me my water as well.

"I already have two weapons I'm good with. A glock 45 and a bow." I said
grabbing a good bow and a pack of arrows.

"Remember to breathe and focus. Hitting a moving target is different than
hitting a stationary one.  You need to calculate the targets speed and the
effect the wind will have on the arrow as it travels." Connor said hitting
a button on a remote.

	The woods came into view as I entered a room.  I could hear
movement all around me. I saw flashes of fur run past me as well as a few
human figures. Never close but definitely within my visual range. A huge
wolf came running at me at a fast pace. I pull an arrow out and set the
bow. I focused and released the arrow.  It enters the wolf's mouth and came
out the back of its head. Once he fell, another came from my left. I pulled
out another arrow piecing it between the eyes. It hit the ground and two
men came running zigzag patterns between each other from behind me. I
pulled out two arrows. Turning the bow on its side and taking in a sharp
breath, I hold it as I wait for the right moment. Three seconds pass and I
release both the arrows into the air. Each arrow pieces each man in the
chest. A group of men attack me at once. I grab an arrow releasing it into
one man's throat. As soon as it leaves my fingertips, another arrow is
ready in its stead. I release it into the other man's forehead.  As a man
lands from the trees behind me, he swings and I do a front flip over his
arm shooting two arrows as I'm in the air. They hit two men through the
throat and I stab the man I jumped over through the bottom of his chin, I
yank it out in time to shoot the last man as he fly's through the air at
me. I see a bunch of movement in the distance coming my way. I reach back
grabbing and shooting arrow after arrow until they are all in the air. One
by one I see about eight wolves fall to the ground with arrows in their
chests. The simulation ends and I turn to go grab the 45 confident with my
practice. I leave the room to hear Sam clapping and Connor looking a bit
positive but, I can instantly see the negative thought's processing.

"Good almost everything fired was a kill shot." He say's pointing the
remote at the window. The image appears of and arrow sticking out of a
tree. No signs of hitting a target.  I rolled my eyes.

"Did I kill everything else or not?" I asked simply, to which he
nodded. "Then, I rest my case. I'm gonna try the 45 next." I pick up two
45's and also put on a vest.  The vest has two gun holsters, 6 throwing
knives, two 9 inch blades, and strapped with 6 full magazines on it. I load
a mag in the guns, holster them, and head back into the room.

	The images change into a dark dank looking warehouse. I walk in
further and realize there is only one light on that is over a big open
space.  Around the center are some crates ranging in sizes from about three
feet to five feet.  I figure that is the best place to use for some type of
cover.  As I head to the center, I see that the outside area has two floors
with a catwalk over head.  I look around figuring out the possible
obstacles to get in my way.  I suddenly feel a mass of bodies heading
towards me.  I pull out my guns and step behind a crate.  I realize that
there are a lot more people coming at me than the last simulation. I feel
them as they fill the spaces all around me.  Then, I hear it.  The sound of
guns being cocked.  I take a big whiff of the scents rolling around the
room.  I get the smell of wolves.  I smirk as my brain processes the new
information and quickly formulate a plan.

"You have fifteen seconds to give yourself up.  If not, you will not leave
here alive. 15... 14..." A deep voice yells.  I close my eyes and let me
senses take over as the plan unfolds. "13... 12..." He continues as I
release my breath and take action. "11... Te..." I stand with my hands
up. And smirk.

	My right hand is aimed at the light.  I tilt my left hand at the
man who spoke and pull both triggers at the same time.  As the lights
bursts and darkness takes over, I teleport to the catwalk above.  I use
their gunfire to mask my own.  I kneel down and close my eyes.  When they
open again my night vision kicks in.  I begin firing at the men along the
catwalk one by one they begin dropping to the floor below.  The smell of
blood fills the room and I know they know I am up here.  I teleport to the
other side of the catwalk and look around seeing the catwalk is clear.  I
jump to the ladder along the wall sliding down.  As I reach the ground, I
tuck and roll behind a crate looking around.  All the gunfire stopped.  I
hear clips and magazines hit the floor and being switched out.  I take the
opportunity and run out.  I see guys all over ducking behind crates.  A
smirk hits my lips and I eject my clips and replace them swiftly.  I raise
them as I begin firing shot after shot running down the walkway of the
balcony.  Bodies start to hit the floor as I pass.

	Then, an uncalculated incident happens.  Emergency lights come on
as an alarm buzzes.  Everyone looks over at me and I am forced to teleport
into the darkness of a stairwell. I reach out with my mind and see how far
away they are.  I roll out and begin firing, finishing off these two
magazines.  Once they are empty, I eject them rolling back into my
stairwell.  I hear the sound of footsteps running up the stairs.  I pull
out two knives and two guys appear.  I throw the knives at them and finish
loading the new mags.  The two guys grab their throats as they hit the
floor.  I lean with my back against the edge of the wall.  There, was a
brief moment of silence where there was no movement then I heard the sound
of footsteps getting closer.  I jump out in a midair barrel roll shooting
the guys getting closer.  I teleport behind them shooting the rest.  I pick
up the sound of a gun cocking behind me and dive behind a crate, just in
time to evade being hit by a shotgun round.  I teleport to a crate, behind
me and on the other side of the aisle.  I pull out a throwing knife and use
its blade to see the guy's reflection.  I stand sending the blade into his
left temple.  His eyes widen as he hits the ground.  I holster the guns and
pull out the two blades.  I take a breath closing my eyes.  I am able to
focus more on the area around me.  I am able to detect the presence of
every person in the building.  I exhale the breath and open my eyes seeing
that the only people still against me, reside on the first floor.  I take
off running down the stairs.

	I jump off the last step flying through the air and catch the first
guy in the chest with my feet.  As he hits the ground I land on top of him
with my blades piercing his heart.  I hear the last beat, so, I jumping up
and continue on my path not looking back.  Running I see men lined up in
front of me.  Kneeling down I teleport right in front of the first guy.  I
appear crouched down in front of him and rise slitting his throat and
teleporting out of sight.  I appear behind the last guy stabbing him
through the back of his neck severing his spinal cord and through his right
temple.  I take off after the next man before the last guy hits the floor
and slit his throat as I run in front of him.  The men turn and start
shooting at me.

	I continue running as I disappear in a zig-zag pattern to the next
man.  I jump in front of him and disappear, appearing next to him taking
him out with a blade through his back. I teleport to the left of the next
guy, using the blades to sever his head and quickly disappear.  I appear
running at the last guy. He is holding an AK47 and shooting around
sporadically.  I start running in a big circle around him.  I feel myself
becoming lighter the faster I go.  Before long I start to disappear.
Teleporting so fast, it appears like I am multiplying.  I slowly move in
closer.  The guy starts to scream out in a mixture of anger and fear.
Suddenly, I appear face to face with him with one blade in his skull from
under his chin and the other in his chest through his heart.  I turn
walking out but hear movement behind him.  A wolf comes running at me.  I
pull out the last three throwing knives.  I throw two pinning its front
paws to the floor causing it to flip forward and whimpering.  It glares
over at me.  But, it's too late.  I teleported behind it and struck the
last knife through its muzzle.  Its eyes roll back and it falls over.  I
close my eyes standing and walking out as the simulation fades to the
normal room.  The guys are standing by the monitors in total amazement.
Sam looks over at me winking with an approving smirk.

"Can we call it a day now? I am seriously tired of over exerting myself."
I ask walking to the weapons table and placing the vest down.

"Uh..." Connor says sounding genuinely amazed for the first time today.
"Yeah... Same time tomorrow."  He says pressing a few things on the key
board. Sam and I begin to head out of the gym not even looking back as we
exit.

"I'd like to get home and see what Michael and dad have found out so far.
I want to put in as much work to help them as I can.  Raiden's son is a
possible threat and I need to know what it is that I can do to stop him." I
tell Sam as we get into her car.

"I know what you mean but, don't push yourself too far, over exertion can
have some very severe even deadly effects.  I also need to do some research
on Raiden's son.  His ability is just a myth from what I've heard." Sam
says pulling out of her parking spot and driving back to our estate.

	We step into the house and I head up to my room with the books that
Sam grabbed from Connor.  I am so deep in thought about everything that I
have mentally blocked out everything else.  I walk into my room and begin
undressing.  I go into my bathroom and turn on the water.  I step over to
the sink pulling off my hair-tie and comb my fingers through my sweat
soaked hair.  I get into the shower and let the warm water relax my muscles
as it flows down my body starting from the top of my head.  I grab my
shampoo and begin washing my hair.  Thinking back to both of the
simulators, neither one of them was actually at the accurate speed to be a
were-anything. Connor must have known that I would have easily figured that
out.  Hopefully he was just testing out my ability to hold my own in
general. I wash out the shampoo and grab my conditioner. I massage it into
my hair and scalp.  Now that I think about it we could have easily added
some work with my leopard today.  Why waste more time than necessary?  This
should have been thought out more.  I feel like I am being withheld
important information about this plan.  I grabbed my washcloth and my
pomegranate body wash.  Squirting a bit into the wash cloth, I set the
bottle back down and begin lathering up.  I also find it so awkward that my
snow leopard is drawing so much attention to me.  Her presence demands so
much that it makes me the center of everything.  I begin spreading the body
wash over my body using the wash cloth.  I think back to my dreams.  They
are beginning to feel a lot more like visions of the future than dreams. I
close my eyes looking back on my past lives memories.  Images and pictures
of my previous lives begin to show up in mind.  I soon her a woman's voice.

"You have grown so much Gabriel.  I am so proud of all that you are and all
that you are going to be.  My only regret is that I wasn't able to be there
for the family.  I am so sorry to leave you with such a huge burden my
son."  She told me.  An image of a woman materialized in front of me in my
mind.  There was a brief moment when I felt the water stop hitting my body.
I opened my eyes instantly.  I saw nothing but light all around me.  A
presence formed behind me.  I turned ready to fight but, when the woman
threw up her hands in surrender with a smile on her face, I relaxed.

"Who are you?  Why are you so familiar to me?  Where are we? How did we get
here?"  I began to ask one question after another.  So many thoughts going
through my head that I was oblivious the obvious.

"Slow down Gabriel." She smiled walking closer to me with her arms out
stretched as if for a hug.  "For the first two questions I am surprised you
haven't recognized me yet.  You see my picture every day.  You are such a
thinker like your father.  He forgets the simplest stuff as well when he's
in deep thought." She smiled down at me.  Until now, I hadn't even realized
that she was floating.  Then, what she said began to sink in.  I looked at
her face. Really looking at her face this time and she was right.  Like a
light bulb, I knew who she was.  My eyes filled with tears of pure
happiness.  She was right.  Her image was the first thing I saw every
morning when I woke up in my bed.

"Mom?"  I ask taking a step closer to her.  Fear that if I touch her, she
would disappear.  As if she heard my thoughts, she grabbed me and hugged me
so hard I thought I would die from the love and kindness she
radiated. "How?" I cried hugging her back.

"I am apart of you.  I am a past life of yours.  But, we will have to
discuss that later.  At the moment we have more important things to discuss
and I don't want to overload you with too much information at one time."
She said stepping back and with one arm on my shoulder she leads me to a
bench that seemed to materialize out of nothing.  "For today we will start
with the basics.  This is the realm of the afterlife.  Since you're a
spirit carrier, you are able to travel in between our two realms.  However,
since you are only a carrier and not a full fledge spirit you are only able
to meet the past carriers of the spirit that is traveling inside you.
Every time you appear here I will be with you.  Even if you are here to
meet the other lives, as your parent, I will be here to guide you." She
smiled over at me taking my hand.  The light above us began to turn dark
like storm clouds.  "For your final question.  Until you have mastered all
of your, abilities we will only be able to meet when your spirit calls out
in emergencies.  This meeting was paramount in your growth and knowledge at
this point.  You don't have to keep it a secret from the family.  They
cannot access this realm so they won't have any impact on this place. For,
now you must return back to your realm.  They are waiting for you."  She
said as she kissed my forehead while hugging me.

"I'm not ready to leave you yet though mom.  I have so many questions and I
don't know where to start."  I say frantically.  I hold onto her as I begin
to lift up towards the clouds. Tears falling from my face. Her smile never
faltered.

"It's not goodbye young one.  With what is going on now, I know we will see
each other very soon."  She released my hand and I was sucked into the
clouds and felt the shower still running.  The water running cold now.  I
shut it off and hopped out. I grabbed all the water drops outside of my
body and released them from my body as I walked into my room.  Drying
instantly, I head into my closet to get dressed.  After I was dressed I
went to my father's office, where I found everyone. They all looked at
me. My families faces all changed when I got closer to them, the all had a
look of confusion.  Sam's eyes filled with tears and she began to cry as
she walked over and hugged me.  I quickly hug her back.  Everyone else, had
a look of surprise.  They didn't realize her tears were of joy.

"Am I the only one that is totally lost about what is going on right now?"
Dominic whispers to the others.

"Not a clue." Alex says shrugging his shoulders.

"Dad, what's going on with them?" Damien asks father quietly.

"I'm not entirely sure but..." Dad looked at my face.  "I think I have an
idea though."  Sam let go of me and stepped back a bit wiping her tears.

"Sorry everyone." She begins.  She turns to father.  "I saw the images of
mom talking to Gabriel and I lost it.  It has been so long I couldn't place
it right away.

"You finally met her." Father finally said smiling.  "I was beginning to
wonder if it was going to happen or not.  She told me before she died that
you might be able to be with her in the future. I was never supposed to
tell any of you because Gabriel had to figure it out on his own.  Also, to
not get all our hopes up just in case he wasn't able too."  He finished
walking over and hugging me.

"So, what have we found out so far?  Anything that we can use to our
advantage?" I asked as father walked back over to his desk and looked at
his monitor over Michael's shoulder.

"We were actually waiting on you so that we could begin."  Michael said
focusing on the monitor.  I became really embarrassed and Sophia walked
over and led me to sit next to her. Her presence reminded me of mom.  I
leaned into her as we sat down on the chaise.

"Okay, so far, this is what we've got."  Dad says picking up his tablet.
He touches the screen a few times.  The lights dim and a 3D projection
appears on a table in the far side of the room.  We all walk over and take
the seats around it. The image presented, is a map of the United States.  A
dot appears in Kenosha, WS.  "This is where all the information we gathered
from Darien leads too for Raiden's property.  His company in the human
world is a cover up for the headquarters of his pack.  The location of it
is this location."  Father says doing a few things on his tablet.  The
image of the map rapidly zooms in on the location of a dot that appeared in
Chicago, IL.  Another 3D blueprint of the building appears.  "The top is
the functioning company of the human world.  The maze of tunnels under it
are the important parts to take notice of.  There are about two miles of
meeting areas and various areas underground that are used by the pack."
The image zooms back out to the image of the map.  A path from Chicago to
our location appears.  "This is the fastest path that he would take to
reach us.  Since he has so many at his disposal, he will probably have
trucks with the company label to keep from arousing suspicion.  We have
calculated the time from when the attack from the visions happens, to when
they would have begun traveling."  A few pin points appear on the
projection.  "They left about 26 hours ago.  We were able to hack into one
of the phone carrier's global positioning satellites from Darien's cell
phone and track down where they were based on when they left.  We found
their location."  A bulletin with an image appears.  A truck stop that had
about five SUV's, four pick-up trucks, and five semi-trucks.  There was the
sound of a collective gasp in the room.  "Now that we see what we are up
against, we all know what we have to be ready for."  The image dissolves
and the lights come back on.  "Connor, what is the status of our people and
the teams?"

"Alpha, we have safely evacuated both packs to our safe houses around the
globe.  Their flights took off at noon.  None of them were given any means
of communication, nor were they informed of their locations.  There are
trusted drivers at the airports that they will be arriving at to take them
to their final locations.  Once all this is over, they will be sent back
here.  Until then, they are under the Theta Protection Code." Connor says.
Father nods in understanding.  "The teams that you requested have been
given their orders and are making the preparations, with orders to inform
me when they have been completed.  With both packs combined we have about
63 fighters including those in this room." He looks at father who nods his
head signaling him to continue.  "All training is being over seen by myself
and Cameron.  We will all be ready by the time the full moon rises.  By the
look of it.  Our best bet, is to focus on training our wolf and cat forms
to their limits.  This will give us the best advantage in animal form.  No
matter how skilled their weapons handling is."

"Very well.  Continue to do what it is that you are doing and keep me
informed."  Father says making notes on his tablet.  He looks up as he
continues.  "Alpha Dominic, is there anything else we need to discuss or
are you content with ending the meeting as is?"  He asks sincerely.

"At the moment, all of my best fighters are practicing and patrolling the
property.  Some are mapping the area and finding the best places to inform
us of Raiden's approach.  Other than that, we are simply standing by for
your orders Alpha." He replies respectfully.

"Understood.  Please don't hesitate to inform us if there is anything else
that you need.  Michael..."  He say's turning back to his desk. Michael
finishes what he was doing and looks up.

"Yes Sir?"  Michael forever the perfect soldier says, causing me and my
siblings to smile.

"When you are finished with what you have been working on please accompany
me to the office.  We have some much needed work that needs to be done.  As
well as getting in contact with the council of elders."  My father says
before rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance.  "That alone is going
to stress us both out."

"Yes father.  We may leave now if you are ready.  I just finished."  He
said standing and walking around the desk to stand next to father.

"Alright.  Alpha Dominic, I would like for Alex and yourself to come along
as well.  I would like for you guys to get familiar with the company as
well.  The workers seeing your faces will be good as well."  He says
smiling to them as he begins to leave. We all stand upon his exit.

"It would be our pleasure Alpha." Dominic says following father out.

	As Michael walks past me, he places a hand on my shoulder and
smiles at me.  I smile back and he nods leaving the room with Alex who
glances over and smiles at me.  I see Connor on the phone.  He appears to
be giving instructions to Cameron who remained at the gym.  I walk over to
him and wait for him to finish.

"Okay... Keep me informed...  I should be back shortly... Goodbye son." He
hangs up turning to face me.  "How may I help you Gabriel?"  He asks with a
smile that seems to genuine to be real.

"I have a question for you."  I tell him with my own smile.

"Of course, shoot."  He insists.  My smile falls and I instantly take on a
serious look. His smile cracks for a slit second.  As soon as it happened
it was gone.

"You said we were taking this a day at a time.  I understand that and I am
okay with it.  However, I do have a problem with the way the simulations
were set up.  You saw how good I was yet, you still set it as if I were
fighting against average humans.  Why is that?" I ask as I begin to walk
around him.  Stalking like a predator waiting for a moment of weakness to
pounce.  But, I may have overestimated my thinking or underestimated his
ability to remain composed under pressure.

"You are reading too far into the situation Gabriel.  Those simulations are
for learning purposes.  The day after tomorrow when you enter and begin the
simulation again in human form you will understand why it was at such an
easy level.  Believe me, we know that you are far from an idiot.  But, you
also need to realize that we are doing everything in your best interest.
We are working to make you stronger as well as protecting you in the
process." He says placing a hand on my shoulder and moving as if to leave.

"But, then why..." I begin but am cut off.

"Gabriel.  You said a question, meaning singular.  I answered it as
thoroughly as I can.  Any other questions will be explained and answered at
a later time.  I have many matters that require my full attention at the
moment.  Be patient young one.  We have much to do and now is not the
time."  He says smiling and giving me a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.
I nod lowering my head.  "Don't worry.  Trust us. Trust your father.  We
have this all covered."  He says as he heads to the door and leaves the
office.  Sam walks up to me.

"So, I had some friend's do some digging in central headquarters for `were'
affairs."  She said looking at her Kindle.  "Most of them said that the
files were all under high security clearance.  But, what they did find was
some type of prophecy or warning of some kind.  They are trying to have it
translated since it was written in some sort of Latin code."  I nodded
about to leave but she stopped me.  "I am having them look into foresight
as well."  I turned and looked at her.

"Good. I have a feeling that this may not come out the way that we
expected.  There is far too much that we haven't calculated as well as the
simple fact that they have the advantage of time on their side.  Father
should know all of this though.  So, I guess we'll just trust in his
judgement for now. Since the wolves are out there mapping the land, we
already know that there are some scouts out already." I said looking at
her.  She nodded and we both walked out.

	I walked out onto the back patio and looked out at the woods as I
sat on the top step.  The sun beamed down on me.  I could feel its vitamins
filling me in the form of heat.  I closed my eyes and just focused on the
feeling.  Everything disappeared.  There was absolutely nothing going on in
my mind.  There was complete silence going on in my head.  Light erupted
and I could hear voices of people talking.  I opened my eyes and I saw that
I was back in the realm of the afterlife.  I turned and saw my mother
talking to a man on the same bench as before.  She smiled and waved me
over.  I walked over and gave her a hug.

"It's great to see you again Gabriel."  She said releasing me then
returning to her seat.  "Take a seat."  She gestured behind me with her
hand.  I looked back and saw that a chair had appeared.  "Gabriel I'd like
you to meet your great, great, great, great, grandfather. Alistair
Harrington."  I looked over and saw that he was reaching out to shake my
hand.

	At, first glance I was taken aback at how young he was.  He looked
like he was maybe 29 if not younger.  Now, I know we age slowly after a
while but, he looked like he hadn't even reached the slow down point.  He
started to chuckle softly.

"You are quite right.  I wasn't very old when I died."  He said.  "We are
all the same person in a way so, we know you're thoughts.  After you have
matured a bit more you will also be able to think of us in your realm and
know what we are thinking.  But, enough of that."  He says looking over at
my mother.  "So, we have been looking over your shoulder seeing what's
going on in your realm.  The situation is very similar to the situation
that I went through." He said looking up at the sky thinking back.  "After
hearing the ambitions of this Raiden, he sounds like the same type of
tyrant that aided in my death.  Ryu Izuna."  The name stuck out in my head
but, I wasn't sure why exactly.  "You probably remember him from my memory.
He was very much like the man you are going to face soon.  The reason I
almost died was because the first time we faced him, I stopped him.
However, when he came back, we found out that he struck a deal."  He
started in on the story but, I was kind of lost.

"Wait a second, what do you mean when you say that he struck a deal?"  I
asked needing a bit of clarification.

"You know that were's are not the only supernatural creatures alive right?"
My mother asked me.  To which, I simply shook my head.  "Why, am I not
surprised that your father never taught you what I should have." She
continued shaking her head while holding the bridge of her nose.  Must be a
family trait.  We all seem to do that a lot.  I chuckled a bit inwardly.

"Let me explain." Alistair began.  "Like your mother stated, we are not the
only supernatural creatures alive.  Ryu was a were-lynx. They are not even
close to the power that we are.  So, naturally we easily stopped him.  I
spared his life the first time because much like you, I would never want to
kill someone unless it was absolutely necessary."

"But, you were able to stop him the first time so easily why not the second
time?"  I asked.

"Like I said, the first time I was able to defeat him easily.  The second
time he almost killed me.  Remember, I said that he struck a deal?" He
said. I nodded in understanding. "Well, he entered a contract to become
stronger..."  He paused looking up over his left shoulder.

"Go ahead Alistair. I should explain this part anyway." My mother told him.

"I will return shortly.  I am needed for something it shouldn't take too
long."  He said standing and disappearing.  I turned my attention back to
my mother.

"I guess I should explain more about us for you to understand."  She said,
as she poured some tea into two cups that were on the table next to both of
us.  I hadn't even noticed that it was there.  This place becomes more and
more curious by the second.  "Before our time, humans began tampering with
things they weren't able to control.  Witchcraft.  These witches started
being consumed by their greed for power and destruction that they began
making deals with the darkness. These deals turned them into the dark side
of the supernatural world.  One you may be well aware of, is Dracula.  Not
every supernatural species is of the dark.  For example, the `were'
species.  We were created to fight against the darkness."  She said taking
a sip of her tea.  I used this as an opportunity to ask for clarity.

"You said we are supposed to fight off the darkness."  I stated.  She
nodded for me and I continued.  "What is the difference between us? How do
we know who they are?"  I asked sipping on my own tea.  My eyes glazed over
from the feeling of the tea.

"The darkness is quite easy to detect.  They have the scent of death on
them.  Darkness is formed once a beings light is gone or if the light
enters into a contract.  The dark can never be turned into light.  Much
like, how the dark can never be born. The light is born.  The darkness is
turned. Creatures like vampires and demons are dark.  Vampires, are made
after death.  Demons, are dark spirits that take on remains of a fallen
light being.  Their darkness morphs the body into an evil creature.  Beings
of light, such as were's, were created to protect the world from the
creatures of the dark.  It sounds kind of unrealistic but, that's how the
world has to be.  You can't have darkness without some sort of light and
vice versa."  She finished as Alistair appeared taking his seat.

"Sorry about that.  In this realm I am a chairman.  Sucks, because I always
get called upon for the most mundane situations." He said pouring himself
some tea.  "Now, where was I?" He said taking a sip. "Oh.  Yes.  Ryu signed
a contract with a demon. That is how he was able to cause such an issue the
second time around."

"How exactly, was that an issue?  Aren't we supposed to take on these dark
creatures and kill them?" I asked still not understanding.

"It's different fighting a creature that is in a contract.  Especially, a
light contract.  Once they are in a contract, if you don't separate the
darkness from the light creature it is nearly impossible to kill them.  For
that you must perform a basic exorcism to expel the dark entity before you
can kill the light.  However, if the darkness revives the light person, it
is no longer a light contract.  It is a dark contract.  You simply just
kill a dark contract." He said adding some more sugar to his tea.

"Is that why you killed Ryu, because he was a dark contract?" I asked
trying to figure out how my own situation may work out.

"Unfortunately, not." He said setting his tea back down and sitting all the
way back in his seat.  "With creatures of the light that have too much
ambition for power they become a hazard to all of our wellbeing.  Had I
realized that to begin with, we could have had a much better outcome.
Since I didn't kill him the first time, he entered into a contract that
gave him the power to kill more than two packs and almost killed off mine
as well.  People of light that are on a path of darkness, MUST be killed
once they have used their ability and/or strength to kill for a selfish or
dark purpose.  I thought that just because I beat him we would be safe and
Ryu would change his ways after realizing he couldn't win.  That was my
mistake and a grave one at that.  Beings of light that are willing to kill
for their purpose, will stop at nothing to reach their goal.  So, any
reservations you may have about trying to save him or change his mind,
stop.  The more they kill the more their light turns dark.  This Raiden
that you will face is no different.  And no this isn't pessimism, this is
the downside to being born a creature of the light instead of human.  It is
easy to turn a human dark but, since we are born of the light, it is close
to impossible for us to be taken as such."  I heard a rumble as storm
clouds began to roll in again.  I felt a pull of my body not like last time
but stronger.

"Tell them, I said I miss and love them all." My mother said hugging me.

"I will." I said returning the hug and kissing her cheek.

"Don't forget to share this information with your father.  This could be
even more useful than you think." Alistair said standing to hug me as
well. I released my mother and embraced him next.

"I will."  I answered.  His hug was protective and strong.  I was close to
the same size as him but he had me beat in strength.  Once I let him go, I
began to raise.  "I love you both."  I smiled down at them.

"I love you too Gabriel."  They both said at the same time causing us all
to laugh.

	I was sucked into the clouds.  It was like, once I blinked, I was
back in my realm chuckling still.  I stood up turning to walk inside but,
stopped.  Damien, Sam, and Sophia were standing behind me.  Damien and
Sophia looked like they were really pissed off.  Sam looked mad, until her
mind and mine touched again.  She smiled at me and walked over hugging me.
Damien and Sophia were still mad but, they were also surprised at what was
happening.

"Sam why do you keep doing that?" Damien asked.  "This is the second time
today he has left without telling us.  Dad is gonna flip if he finds out."
I was a bit confused.

"What do you mean, when you say I left?"  I asked.  "Wasn't I sitting on
the steps the whole time?"

"Uh, no you just teleported here."  Sophia said.  I was surprised that I
was taking my physical body with me.  That's why Sam kept hugging me.  She
could feel mom's presence.

"So, that's how you could feel her."  I said to Sam.  She nodded not
letting go of me.

"Samantha, what is he talking about?" Damien asked.

I simply raised my arms for them to hug me too.  They came over and hugged
me as well.  About ten seconds of them hugging me awkwardly they began to
feel it.  They instantly started to crush me with their hugs.

"She said, she loves and misses you guys."  I tell them, to which I begin
to feel them tighten and my shirt starts to absorb some wetness.  "You
guys, I'm not back to 100% yet.  Take it easy on me."  I chuckled.  So,
they reluctantly eased off, and wiped their tears away.

"How are you able to physically be with mom?" Damien asks.

"I am able to travel to the realm of the afterlife.  I am carrying a spirit
inside of me so, I am able to see the spirits of those that carried it
before me.  Mom is there to aid me as a guide."  I answered.

"Have you met anyone else there yet?" Sophia asks next.

"Well this is only my second time going.  I am not able to travel there at
will yet, but, I have met our great, great, great, great, grandfather..."
I said be for Damien interrupted me again.

"Wait, you met Alistair Harrington?"

"Um, yeah.  How do you know about him?" I questioned confused but, with a
bit of amusement.

"He is the most known were-cat in the Northern Hemisphere.  Bro, we have an
archive of history in dad's office.  I'm guessing you never actually read
any of it." He says ruffling my head causing my hair to go all over my
face.

"Well, I guess I could see why that would be."  I say fixing my hair.  "He
is a chairman now in the realm of the afterlife.  Speaking of, what do you
guys know about demon contracts and exorcisms?"  I asked them.  They looked
at each other not wanting to be the ones to have to explain this.

"Well, I guess we can start at the basics."  Sophia says gesturing over to
the patio furniture.  We all walk over and take seats around the table.
"How much do you know about them?"  I proceeded to tell them all that mom
and Alistair explained to me. "Okay, well that's the basis of demons.  Now,
as far as contracts go, those are a bit harder to explain.  They are a bit
tricky but, they are made one of four ways.  The first and most common way,
is by signing a seal in blood.  There are a lot of seals that were created
to capture or kill dark beings and spirits.  Signing your name in blood
over the seal will open a contract.  The second way, is by using a
summoning spell.  The root language is Latin.  Thus, all spells would be
spoken in Latin.  Using a summoning spell is not as easy as any of the
others.  Once the demon appears, he has to be willing to open a contract
for you.  Nine times out of ten, the demon will try to kill you instead.
The third way, is only used by witches.  They use their soul's energy to do
a spell that binds the demon to their body.  Once trapped inside, the demon
fuses with the host.  This method has the most server consequences, since
the host is human.  It carries a fifty/fifty chance that the demon will
consume the host's soul.  The fourth and final method, is by drinking all
their blood and consuming their life force.  It's the most frowned upon
but, is also the most effective."  She pauses as we are joined by Darien.
He waves coming to stand over my left shoulder.  We all greet him in our
own manner and focus back on Sophia.  "Sam, I think you should take over
this next part.  You're the only one that has personal experience with it.
So, your knowledge exceeds all of ours."

"Alright.  It's really not that difficult though.  The number one thing you
need to know about performing an exorcism, is that if your will is not
stronger than your expectations of the outcome, you might as well not even
perform it to begin with.  Like Sophia said before, all of the linguistic
roots are Latin.  So, you're basically performing a Latin prayer that is
powered by your soul.  If you have any doubt or wavering focus, you will be
killed in the process.  You have to be a hundred percent focused and
confident with your words.  As soon as it begins, the host or spirit will
be paralyzed.  But, if either your will, confidence, or focus falters by
even point zero one percent the paralysis will fall and you can be killed
or possessed. Now as far as the phrases used, they all depend on the host.
Such as, if it is a light contract or a human contract you will exorcise
the darkness out of the host.  But, if it is a dark contract you will
simply banish the darkness to the afterlife."  She explained.  We all grow
quiet as we hear cars speed up to the house screeching to a stop.  Father's
voice can be heard from all over and he doesn't appear to be the least bit
happy.

"Everyone to my office now."  He orders.

	We all look at each other before rushing into the house and running
up to his office.  We all enter right behind dad, Michael, Dominic, Alex,
Connor, Cameron, and a few other people I didn't recognize.  They all took
seats, where my siblings and I stood along the wall.  Michael was already
on the computer typing and clicking away.  Father is standing leaning
against his desk.  His face is unpleasantly looking over everyone's faces.

"Dad, what's going on?" Sophia asks breaking the silence.

"We have been informed of a situation.  There were apparently some campers
in the mountains.  But, they have gone missing.  They are teenagers not
much younger than Gabriel.  The alert said that, they left Thursday night
for the mountains but, never came home when they were supposed to Sunday.
The parents said they would wait until Monday evening to report it since it
would take 24 hours before the police could get involved.  Then, they got
calls from all the schools saying that they never showed up.  So, this is
going to cause a major issue.  Dominic says that his patrols have not found
any traces of them being on the mountain."  My father says, gaining a nod
of agreement from Dominic.  "The problem is that this is my property that
we are talking about.  We have never had any issues like this in the past
that I am aware of.  This is going to cause a major issue seeing as we have
less than a week before the full moon rises.  An even bigger problem, is
that there are more than 15 kids missing without a trace.  We need to find
them quickly, as well as be on high alert.  The police will be showing up
sometime tomorrow and I would like to have them gone before night fall.  I
assume that the scouts from Raiden's pack have something to do with their
disappearance."  Father says.  Darien stands raising his hand gaining the
rooms attention as he stands.

"Your assumption is accurate."  He says walking over to my dad with his
cell phone.  "I have a text order to standby.  There is somethings in work
that will give them the upper hand."  He ends handing his phone over.  Dad
looks at it and hands it to Michael.

"Thank you Darien.  Your help is much appreciated."  Dad says placing his
hand on Darien's shoulder.  "That is as I figured we all should be aware of
what is going on."  Dad says as a dismissal of the group.  I step forward
to stop them.

"Father, I actually have some stuff to tell everyone."  Dad turned to me
nodding his head for me to continue.  "Well, my mother and great, great,
great, great, grandfather Alistair informed me of somethings I didn't know
about and told me to pass them on."  I explained what I was told and dad
seemed to immediately know where this was going.

"That information may give us the edge we needed to turn the tides a bit."
Dad says.  "Dominic, Connor, and team leaders we have a few more things to
discuss.  Everyone else is dismissed."  He kisses my forehead and the rest
of us leave.

	I yawn turning and heading back to my room to call it a night.  I
feel like not a lot happened today but, all this new information, made me
so exhausted.  I walked into my room and headed to my closet.  I changed
into some lounge wear.  Coming out of my closet, I dive onto my bed.  I do
another yawn and roll over.  Before I can even open my eyes from my blink,
I'm already in dreamland.

-----------TBC-----------

Thanks for reading. I also created a group for the story on Yahoo.  It will
have pictures and updates.  As well as open discussion for all of you
views.  Check it out at https://groups.yahoo.com/group/donthowlatthemoon
Until next time.

Stay awesome.  (^3^)
*Star*