Shea and I stand there in awe as my parents' souls are sucked back into their bodies. I cannot help but gasp, because the event that took place was so amazing, so... great in power, that one can only gasp at such a powerful thing.

I bow to the Great Wolf and Shift again when she does; it's the respectable thing to do. But because I am an alpha, Shea must remain in wolf form at all times when in my presence. 'Chas' the Great Wolf asks of me 'Don't you suppose it would be a good idea for you to thank Shea for bringing you here?'

'No; she'll be fine. She doesn't need me.' I turn up my nose and look down on Shea disdainfully. What kind of omega is rejected by her pack? My thoughts are interrupted by the Great Wolf, who says 'All omega wolves need an alpha, Chas... even runaways or rejects like Shea...' Ohhh... she's a runaway...

'Oh, okay... but how do I deal with the guilt of leaving my parents, though?'

'Well, for starters, you need to channel the regret.'

'Then what?'

'Then, force it out. It will eventually leave; it just might take time.'

'Alright... thank you, ma'am.'

'I will see you again someday, Chas. You can count on that.'

_______________________________________________________

As we walk back the way we came, I see a man and woman watching the stars nearby, with a little house in the background. I identify the rugged features of the man as those of Robert Harlow, the man that had tried to kill me near Berlin.

As he runs toward us, I Shift and yell at Robert: Stay the hell away from us; what the hell did I ever do to you? He stops running and straightens himself when he's just inches from my face.

'You tried to hurt my wife, that's what' he sneers.

No I didn't; Jesus, man! Get a grip on yourself! I just wanted shelter for the night, and you're trying to call me out on hurting your wife!? You Strikers have reached a new kind of low!

'If you want me to give you shelter, then drink this... werewolf...' As I Shift, he hands me a phial of red liquid (not blood, it doesn't have the same color, the same hue, as the life source which vampires feed off of; blood is thicker as well).

Hesitantly, my hands grip the miniature flask and I open it, gulping down the contents all at once.

I cannot help shake the feeling that I shouldn't have drunk that phial of liquid. The last thing I hear is the shuffling sound of footsteps before I pass out.

When I wake up later, I am back in my human form and - gasp - buck naked. 'What the hell is going on, Shea? Where am I?'

You're in a shaman's lair. Don't worry - she's not evil; she can tell you what effect the red liquid caused on your body. Magdalena will take care of you. The reason you're naked is because Magdalena is washing your clothes. She will give them to you once you have ingested the cure.

All of a sudden, a young woman, perhaps in her late twenties, walks into the room with a small cauldron in her hands. 'Such a dashing young man' she observes of me. 'Are you sure he's not your type, Shea?' Shea nods, but says nothing. Even through thought, I can't reach her.

Magdalena turns back to me and says 'Oh, it's because you're an alpha' after noticing the birthmark on the inside of my left ear.

'Sprechen Sie Deutsche?' When I tilt my head in confusion, she sighs and asks the same question in a different language. 'Parli Italiano, signor?' I know she is asking me if I speak Italian, so I respond 'Si, signora.' (Yes, Ms. or Mrs.)

As Magdalena mixes the ingredients, she hums a tune that brings back memories of my life with my parents. I am 100% sure that she notices my sad expression, because the minute she looks up, she stops humming. I am sure Shea told her about how I ran away from all I'd ever known.

'You miss somebody; am I correct, young cub?' I nod, unable to speak a word.

I am awestruck at Magdalena's beauty. How does she manage to be so... so sexy? My mind is officially blown as I stare at her, her curvy body seducing me without effort. This merriment, however, is interrupted by a Vision that somehow made its way into my mind.

"I'm going to kill you and every one of your family, even if I must sacrifice my life to do it, you lupine scum." I recognize the voice as Robert Hamley, the Striker that drugged me and possibly left me for dead. The next voice I hear is an alarming one. "My son will come for me; he's had a tussle with you already. He knows your moves, Striker."

The last word repeats as I pull out of the Vision and scream "Dad; no!" Magdalena wrinkles her forehead. What's wrong, Chas?"

"I-I need to... I need something to drink..." When Magdalena tries to hand me a tonic, I push it away and mutter "No; not that kind of drink. I need beer; ale, alcohol..." She gasps, but willingly lets me go.

**** 

Later, at a tavern called the Blind Wolf Lodge (har-har, guys; really genius), I find myself surrounded by a large troop of Strikers, named so by the stealth that has been bred into them from the very first day they appeared.

The story behind them is, a Pack of werewolves, then known as the Sunlight Pack, had been bullied by their Alpha enough that they got fed up with his tyranny and rebelled. They drank some liquid that greatly reduced - but didn't completely abolish - the amount of lycanucleic acid, or LNA, in their body.

They kept their agility intact and started an uprising against Baron Seamus Whiteclaw (the tyrannical pack leader) and won, thus strarting a new breed of hunter. I guess Robert was trying to convert me to the side of the Strikers.

Something else just dawned on me; Seamus supposedly had black fur, much like my father's. No wonder Robert went after him! Relief pours over me as I realize that I still have time to save my dad.