Preto calmly looked out the window as he tilted his wine glass in a slow circle, swishing the blood around within it. 

Hmm? 

He leaned against the sill as he watched a quite peculiar scene take place. 

"Is that truly my heir?" he asked out loud as he watched Sebastian dart down the street in an outfit that, if it were honestly the slightest bit bigger, he would have been sure had come from his own closet. 

Not that he would have complained about his heir wishing to borrow some of his clothing, but to see that he had intentionally gone out to purchase a similar set for himself? 

I feel as if I am missing a very good story behind that outfit. 

"My lord..." 

Ah, yes. 

Returning his attention to the person sitting opposite him at the small wooden dining table, Preto took a sip from his glass of spiked blood, then set it down with a relaxed smile. He'd been a little stressed about this meeting earlier, but having seen that little show from his heir had definitely lifted his mood quite a bit. 

"Now then, you were going to tell me the reason why you're not taking the pact you signed with Marquise seriously..." he told Verander. 

The man sitting across from him looked much more stressed than Pretennon had been, which made him think that he had quite a fun story to delve into, as well. He waited as the man chewed on his words, clearly still trying to figure out the best way to speak them out loud. 

While he waited, Preto lowered his left hand down near his side, but when it contacted nothing but air... no ears, no cold nose, no nothing, he bit back a scowl and settled it in his lap. After another moment, he lifted it back up to his glass of blood and brought it to his lips. It was already his second one, and their meeting had only been going on for twenty minutes or so. 

"My patience wears thin, Verander. You have attacked the Rain alpha on multiple occasions with minimal provocation. You've drawn blood and come close to breaking bones over disputes that you won't even speak into existence."

The man's wolf flashed in his right eye, making Preto tilt his head and lean on his arm that had its elbow bent on the windowsill. His long hair draped behind him like a curtain as he watched the man fight to control his inner beast. 

"Your wolf doesn't like being kept inside?" 

Of course, he already knew that the man wasn't the best at controlling his beast, but Marquise had tested him rigorously. Thus, there shouldn't be such issues that the other alpha had to continuously bring it to his and Marquise's attention. 

"Perhaps we should have this discussion at a safer location?" he added when Verander continued to struggle and was unable to answer his previous question. 

Tilting his glass back against his lips, Preto finished the remaining small amount of blood, then set it down, tapped his lips with a napkin, and signaled the wait staff over. He quickly paid for his two glasses of blood, as well as for Verander's venison meal, then stood. 

His guest was thankfully able to control himself enough to stand, too, so Preto turned and calmly guided him from the second floor of the little tavern restaurant. As soon as they got outside, Preto wrinkled his nose. The sun was still horrifically bright. Of course, he was practically impervious to it due to his age and strength, but his heir had been running around earlier without even an umbrella above his head, and in such an outfit... 

I will have to have a talk with him later. 

Returning his attention to his current issue, Preto immediately headed west. He knew that he was crossing into Silas's territory, but while sneaky and sometimes underhanded, he knew that the man wouldn't dare go against his decisions. He also couldn't handle Verander's wolf by himself, so trying anything against him would require quite a large number of wolves from his pack to attack in broad daylight. He wouldn't risk it. 

That didn't stop the man's guards from quickly picking up on their little outing, though. He heard the whispering reports start immediately, and he had no doubt that Silas was already heading their way... but he wouldn't overreact. The section of the city they were traveling through might have been awarded to Silas's pack, but being one of the two supernatural heads for the relocation project, Preto overruled him and could bring whoever he wished into the area as long as he didn't intentionally cause a dangerous situation to occur. 

Besides, he had no intention of remaining in the territory, and after a brusque bit of walking along the Thames river, they entered Marquise's territory. He could feel Verander's unease as his own given territory got farther and farther behind him, but that was the point. Several of his guard wolves had followed them up to the boundary they shared with Silas's pack, but since the other alpha's wolves greatly outnumbered his own, they didn't dare cross the border. 

Now that he was not-only an entire territory away from his own, but stepping into a third, the man's anxiousness rolled off of him in waves. Preto glanced back at him curiously, but Verander was able to keep a pretty decent poker face... besides the flashing of his wolf through his right eye. It was clearly very unhappy about their current situation.  

He's walking with a slight limp to his left side, too... he noted, a bit surprised that someone had managed to injure him in such a way. 

Preto settled that information in the back of his mind for the time being and continued to lead Verander into a thicker forested area, walking for another five or so minutes before finally slowing to a stop, then turning around. Verander halted immediately in response, leaving them standing about five feet apart in the dense leaf litter. Preto could still hear the running water from the river nearby, but he'd made sure to move a little farther north to avoid it. If things went wrong, he didn't want to get his nice outfit wet. 

"Now then, if you need to let your wolf out to blow off some steam, now would be a good time to do so," Preto said as he calmly gestured at the quiet forest around them. 

Verander glanced to either side with narrowed eyes as claws began to prick free from his fingernails. 

Perhaps I made a mistake accepting the Ghost pack's application without personally meeting the alpha first, but Marquise seemed sure that Verander was manageable...

He rarely ever made mistakes, but as he watched Verander quickly tear off his clothing as fur sprouted along his back and chest, he realized that he just might have miscalculated the man's ability to control his animal half. 

The little black wolf he had become familiar with when dealing with Verander's shift was nowhere in sight once the transformation completed. Instead, a massive black beast stood where it should have been, panting heavily from stress and frustration. 

"So this is your true form," Preto said as he calmly observed the giant animal before him. 

It was quite an impressive wolf, to say the least, and definitely one befitting an alpha. It didn't seem all that interested in him quite yet, either, because it's nose began flaring as it hurried to scout the current area, needing to know what had been there recently and who was likely watching as their scents drifted to him on the wind. 

When he finally finished two laps of the wooded area, he began returning back toward Preto, but his new way of approaching him was not appropriate. 

Stalking an elder vampire? 

The thought brought a smirk to his lips as he heard the creature's massive paws crush dead leaves and twigs beneath them. 

You know that you are sneaking up on no one, yet your wolf still moves as if hunting. 

He could finally sense Verander trying to give him some sort of response as a chaotic static nudged at the back of his mind. Instead of letting himself get distracted by trying to decipher it, however, Preto licked his lips as a gentle breath of wind lifted his long hair and brought with it the scent of Marquise's guards. 

Good. They're going to get him so now I can do what I'd intended to. 

Rolling his shoulders a few times to loosen the tension in them, Preto glanced over his shoulder at the hunching wolf and winked. 

"Someone clearly needs some exercise... and perhaps a bit of training. So let's play, shall we?"  he taunted. 

The wolf clearly didn't seem to realize that it was being goaded. Well, that, or it just didn't give a damn. It snapped its jaws together, then roared loud enough to cause the ground to tremble beneath their feet. 

Preto quickly decided not to stick around to wait for Verander's beast to make the first move. He darted forward toward a thick grouping of trees nearby. Vampires were generally slightly faster than werewolves, but speed only helped so much when you had to continuously dodge trees and shrubs. It also didn't help that spring was just starting and there was quite a bit of detritus layered upon the ground to slip on if he wasn't careful. 

The forest also hadn't been the smartest place to take him for a fight, but it had been the safest for everyone else. Preto dashed through the first opening between trunks that were only about four inches thick. Of course, he knew that it wasn't much of a barrier to such a large wolf, and Verander's proved that to be true frighteningly fast. 

Not two seconds after he'd passed through Verander's beast slammed into the copse of trees hard enough to snap one clear in half! He made short work of two more with his massive teeth, then, instead of actually darting through the larger opening he'd made, he lunged at a slightly thicker trunk and sank his teeth into it with a snarl. 

Preto watched from where he squatted nonchalantly on a low-hanging branch in a larger pine tree as Verander's wolf quickly tore the smaller tree apart, felling it after only about twenty seconds.

He had plenty of room to continue chasing me, yet he stopped to destroy an extra tree. 

Preto hopped down from his little vantage point, intentionally hitting the ground louder than he had to. The abrupt sound of crunching leaves made the beast's head snap around, its teeth bared as splinters of wood dropped from his jowls like bits of flesh. 

"I thought you came out to play with me. Am I of no interest to you already?" Preto asked, honestly trying to figure out what was going on inside the creature's head. It was clear that Verander was having trouble controlling the beast, if he was even able to at all once it was let out... 

But why?

Darting to the right as the wolf finally began to give chase again, Preto focused on keeping himself at a reasonably-safe distance.

Elder Pretennon, what is going on with the Ghost alpha? 

Marquise had arrived. Well, he wasn't within their actual vicinity, but he was close enough for them to be able to communicate without issue. 

I am not sure. He was able to keep his wolf contained well enough while in the city while I was questioning him about Silas after you sent me a report that you were busy and couldn't make the meeting time, though he wasn't able to respond very well. I brought him out here to try and let him run off some energy and wear out his beast so that we can finally discuss his assaults on alpha Rain, but it seems like there is more to the situation than I had previously thought. 

He ducked abruptly as Verander's massive wolf lunged for his left shoulder, its jaws snapping down upon air with an unnervingly loud sound. Preto distanced himself quickly and was just getting situated on another low-hanging branch when he notice Marquise calmly land below in the leaf litter a few yards away. 

His appearance immediately drew Verander's wolf's attention, but while it didn't look happy to see him, it also didn't dare try to attack him, either. 

"So you know who you can risk attacking, and who you cannot," Marquise said in a firm tone as he walked straight up to the massive wolf with his hands nonchalantly clasped behind his back and his long dark purple robe rustling gently on the soft breeze that constantly wove its way between the trees within the forest.  

The beast bared its fangs and snarled in response, but the second Marquise mirrored its gesture, his face distorting as his own dangerous beast pressed close to the surface, Verander's wolf quickly closed its mouth and began pacing circles around the man.

A faint, unsettling scent met Preto's nose for a split second during the man's slight shift, but before he could put his finger on what it could be, the scent vanished.  

It was clear that Verander's wolf was looking for an opportunity, but it was also obvious that it would be very hesitant to take one if it even arose. Not only was Marquise the strongest werewolf Preto had ever met, but he also was the smartest, fastest, and quite frankly, the deadliest. He rarely resorted to violence, but that did not mean that he never used it to get his way. His control over his beast was impeccable, though, which was also one of the reasons he'd brought Verander into his territory. He'd never seen it, himself, but he'd seen enough glimpses and the strength that it lent its human form was no joke. 

"I'm not interested in playing games, Ghost wolf. Return to your human form," Marquise stated calmly as the wolf stalked around behind him for a fourth circle. 

As it came around toward his front, it lifted its head the slightest bit higher so that when it began to bare its teeth again, they were mere inches away from Marquise's face.

Cocky wolf...

It was obviously the wrong move to give such an obvious, taunting threat. Especially to a werewolf such as Marquise. Before Verander's beast could even close its mouth Marquise had reached over its head with his left arm and grabbed the top left side of its muzzle, completely ignoring the extremely sharp teeth that cut into his skin. His right hand clamped down on Verander's bottom jaw at the same time, then together, he snarled and jerked his left hand toward himself and down as his other hand pushed the wolf's bottom jaw in the opposite directions. 

The actual force of the action wouldn't have flipped the beast on their own, but if Verander's wolf hadn't at least partially moved with the actions, resulting in his beast being flipped onto its back into the dead leaves at Marquise's feet, then it would have ended up having a broken jaw, or even neck. 

Preto hopped down from his vantage point as Marquise calmly held the giant wolf where it was. The man's blood smelled intoxicating, though a bit odd, but he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind as he approached. 

"You are going to submit to me, or you are going to fight against me, and lose. Which choice would you prefer?" Marquise said as he held the wolf's jaws open at an uncomfortable angle, refusing to be lenient. 

Preto was about to comment on the situation, but his attention was caught by a familiar scent in the air. 

Silas is here? 

Marquise slowly stood from where he'd been crouching as he watched Verander's wolf go limp on the ground, unwilling to fight a battle it knew it would lose.

"I called him here. This situation, while a concern for everyone overall, seems particularly focused on him," he said as he looked over at Preto. 

Preto nodded before looking across the area to see Silas walk out from behind a large tree. He wore a loose long-sleeved black shirt and similar pants that were held onto his waist by a simple brown leather belt. 

He's ready to shift and defend himself if needed. 

"Alpha Rain, thank you for coming," Marquise said as he walked toward the man, completely ignoring Verander now that his wolf had submitted to him. 

Silas nodded his greetings to Marquise, then to Preto before looking toward Verander. Of course, the wolf had caught his scent already, and was looking straight at him with barely-contained rage. 

"Did you bring what I had requested?" Marquise asked right before Silas reached into a little satchel that had been resting over his shoulder. 

When he pulled out the familiar silver prong collar he'd jokingly put on him a few days ago, Preto narrowed his eyes. He understood what Marquise was considering, but he wasn't sure if he liked the idea. 

Marquise took the item, showing no discomfort as he touched the pure silver and turned to walk back toward Verander. The other werewolf immediately jumped to its feet, but then quickly hunched back down to the ground when Marquise let out a deep warning growl. 

When he stopped with his dark boots inches from the large wolf's nose, Marquise knelt. 

"We have tried to be lenient with your aggression, but unwarranted and unexplained attacks are not going to be tolerated any longer. Since you cannot manage to hold back your hostility, you will be given a choice. Your first option is simple. Take your pack and leave. Your given territory will be forfeit and you, and any wolf associated with the Ghost pack, will no longer be welcome in London," Marquise said, his words completely matter of fact and straight forward. 

Verander's wolf gave out a quiet whimper as it tucked its tail and let its ears droop to the sides of its head. 

"Or, you will accept being collared and cede your territory and pack to me, for the duration of a week, while we get to the root cause of this issue and decide how to proceed." 

Preto felt his own nerves surface. Marquise was not playing. He'd never heard of an alpha willingly removing themselves from their position... but he'd only just recently gotten closely involved with the species when he'd come together with Marquise to form the program they now worked on together. 

He knew that the collar would greatly decrease Verander's power, but unlike what had happened to Ruoka, it wouldn't keep his human mind from existing, because he'd already shifted before the collar was put on, though it wouldn't be able to shift as long as the collar was on. If anything, though, it would actually allow his human half to possibly gain more footing against its wolf side.

Wait a minute...

"Marquise, is it normal for wolves to be so dissociated from their human forms?" he asked, beginning to realize what the man might be getting at with the collar. 

He watched as Marquise shook his head, but refused to look away from Verander's panting wolf. 

"No, it is not common to see a wolf so easily able to influence its human half. Of course, most wild werewolves have no issue letting their wolves control their actions, but that's not the same. I think Verander's wolf is a different story. It passed our tests because any alpha who values its pack over itself, would. It did what it had to in order to insure that the Ghost pack would be accepted into the program... however, once the contract had been signed and land given, it began showing its true self."

Preto tilted his head as he walked closer, no longer worried that the wolf might try for him. 

"Then its true self...?" 

Marquise reached forward slightly with the collar, making Verander's wolf pin its ears back and twitch its upper lip, but not dare to bare its teeth. 

"Have you ever heard of dissociative identity disorder?"  

Pretennon nodded slowly, quickly putting the pieces together. 

"His wolf is a completely separate entity?" he asked, knowing that the answer had been right in front of him the entire time. 

That's why it looked like it was trying to escape instead of just come out. And also why it seemed to try and take over one of Verander's eyes instead of simply look through them both like most werewolves would when their inner beast became curious of a situation. 

"Correct. It's usually a result of severe past trauma, but there is still a lot of research that needs to be done with it. I've never seen a wolf with it, but I've come across a few humans," Marquise said as he reached forward with his free hand and, after hesitating for a moment when Verander's wolf hunched a little closer to the ground, settled his hand atop its head. 

"It's not something that can be cured easily, if ever, and I have a feeling that a large portion of his wolf's reactions recently have been because of the new situation and, more importantly, the new alpha constantly at the edge of his new territory. Silas is an extreme threat, but not only to just himself, but to his much smaller, vulnerable pack."

Marquise began gently sifting his fingers through the wolf's fur as its right ear flicked a few times. 

"The human half understands that the chances of Silas being allowed to even consider harming his pack or trying to take his given land as being pretty low, but his wolf doesn't. It's so out of touch with what its human is thinking that its own emotions, mainly aggression and agitation, spill over. It's a dangerous combination for a werewolf living amongst people..." 

Preto nodded as he walked over and knelt down next to Marquise, but noted that Silas didn't dare move closer and stayed roughly twenty feet away. The man might not be the most honest or friendly, but he knew not to push a situation that he definitely wouldn't be able to handle. 

"We can speak more on this subject later, but for the moment, make your choice, wolf. Give up everything and go back to the forest, or relinquish your control for a short time and, if you learn to control your aggressions, your wolves and land will be returned to you. If you do not, your pack will be exiled." 

All of the normal sounds of the forest quieted as Marquise finished speaking, almost as if it were waiting to hear the wolf's choice as well. 

Preto watched as Verander's beast slowly turned its nose toward the collar Marquise still held up. He could see the wheels turning in its head and did not envy the choices it was being forced to consider. It seemed like it might actually decline to allow the collar to be put on, but right when Preto thought that it might just stand up and walk away, the wolf leaned forward and slipped its head through the opening. 

The moment it settled against its thick black fur Preto saw something akin to relief flicker in its eyes. Marquise reached forward right as the giant wolf began to fall over, catching it with ease before lifting its hefty mass up into his arms as if it were simply a stray puppy he'd found walking about the forest instead of a three-hundred pound alpha werewolf that had just passed out. 

When he started heading back toward town, Preto hurried to fall into step beside him. Silas followed them, too, but still kept a reasonable distance until they reached the edge of the forest and Marquise turned toward him. 

"Rain alpha, Silas?" he said, drawing the man's attention immediately as Silas gave a nod of acknowledgement and respect. 

To his surprise, Marquise walked up to him and handed over Verander's now-unconscious form. The werewolf struggled with the weight for a moment before he managed to rearrange Verander's wolf so that its head was settled on his shoulder and he was able to hold its back end with both hands. It looked quite funny, but Preto didn't dare joke about something so serious. Handing another alpha to its neighbor after forcing a handicap upon it? 

Marquise... this might be too much, he thought to the man. 

Instead of replying to him directly, Marquise kept his attention focused on Silas. 

"You are responsible for him for the next week. I will come check on him several times, as will elder Pretennon. If there are any injuries inflicted upon him, or you, during the week, I want all of the information about the incident submitted to me immediately, understood?" 

Silas still seemed a bit dumbfounded, but he quickly nodded as he shifted Verander's weight a little more in his arms. 

"Good. I will take my leave now so that I can inform his pack of the current situation and place some of my guards on the outskirts of the territory to be sure no wild packs dare to try and cause problems while he is unavailable to defend his land before I have to go to my meeting," Marquise said as he began to turn away. 

"Moon alpha," Silas called out quickly, his voice seeming a little stressed from the weight he carried. 

Marquise looked over his shoulder at him and raised a brow, clearly wanting to finish his task and get back to his own pack's issues. 

"Verander was injured by a silver bear trap down by the river in his territory. Please look into it when you have a chance." 

Ah, so that was why he was limping a little. 

It was clear that Marquise wanted to question him further, but the man truly was extremely busy and had taken time out of his own matters to tend to this situation, so it was no surprise when he simply nodded before turning and walking away. 

Preto considered helping Silas carry his new quarry back to his pack house, but something far more entertaining came to his mind before he could offer. 

"Where would beta Kandza be today?" he asked instead. 

Silas seemed to scowl in response, but he used Verander's thick fur against his face to hide the majority of the expression. 

"He's at the pack house," he replied with a grumble. 

Preto immediately walked forward and took Verander's wolf with ease. After nonchalantly tossing it over his shoulder, he turned north-east and started heading toward the Rain pack house. He could sense that Silas was wanting to say more about what he'd asked, but the man bit his tongue and simply followed him. Likely because he didn't want to have to carry the massive wolf all the way back to his home by himself. Either way, Preto was more than happy to help... then find his way to Kandza's room.  

(Edited)