-Alex-

I watched him walk to the store, knowing what would happen next. The boys hands were  already shaking slightly, and I sighed, walking after him quietly and far enough back he couldn't see me. He went in and I watched, leaping onto a box so I could see in the window. I watched him get groceries, watched him wait quietly in line, and watched him say not a word as the guy held out a box of cigarettes. The man seemed to grow more insistent, and Geff took a step back, shaking his head, finally stuttering out something. The man set the pack roughly on the counter and his posture grew demanding. The poor boy wilted, tears forming as he reluctantly stepped forward. I slipped inside, shifting out of view of the cameras and spoke up. "Hey Geff! Funny running into you here. Is this guy bothering you? You don't seem too happy." I gave a lazy grin, eyeing the man coldly. He bit his lip, nervously eyeing the camera in the corner. There was a slight tilt to it, and I could see that a certain part of it had been tampered with. No microphone.

He carefully slid the cigarettes back under the counter, ringing up Geoffrey's groceries before bagging them and nodding as Geff took them. He was pale, shaking slightly as he breathed shallowly, and I sighed, walking out of the place. I walked to the nearest alleyway, shifting and leaping onto a dumpster to lay down. I try to help him and he can barely keep from running away. I heard steps in the alley and I held still, confused. Who would walk into an alley at this time of day? My pride was still in school, no chance it was them, and most humans were busy around now. I turned, confused until I saw Geff. Then I just stared in dumbfounded lack of belief. Or shock. Shock was a good word. There was no way in the hells the witches said existed that Geff would willingly come near me. Geff was watching me, seemingly on the verge of tears as he struggled with himself. I jumped down and dashed past him, leaving him far behind. I found another alley to rest in, sighing as I hid my head. He had been there before, last time he went for groceries; he likely went there every time he went out. I sighed, tired suddenly as a memory surfaced. I would be speaking with the Vampire tribe soon, checking on our agreements and keeping them both appeased and in line. The Were outnumbered the bloodsuckers, which was the only reason they respected us.

Only witches rivaled their power, and that was saying something. Where witches held magic to wield as the pleased, Vampires controlled the stuff in a different fashion, only the three originals who were still alive- called the high Lunarchs by the vampires- could use magic like the witches could. And they were the truest nightmare the Draconian realms held. Thankfully, they slept these days; catatonic from a self-imposed blood-fast that would last until their Liliana, their "goddess" woke up. He shook his head in disbelief. At least they had a goddess, even if it was an odd religion; the shifters were notoriously godless. That tends to happen when the story of how you were made is known and was recorded by the witch who did the deed. No one remembered her name, but everyone calls her Luna. A witch who got into a wolfs pants. They did wind up married, but she was the one who started it all; and when it was a witch and not a goddess or something similar that started your race, you tend to be a bit... practical. And atheist.

Besides, who really cared about the gods when life never wound up being touched by them? Honestly, the closest to a goddess that existed on the earth likely died long ago; and the vampires still worshipped her. I chose to huff, annoyed at the world until I heard a footstep. I leapt forward, barely dodging the net that dropped where I'd been laying only a moment before. I hissed at the men, idiot humans who couldn't leave stray animals alone, and dashed off as they chased me. Surely they didn't expect to outrun a cat? Not in an alleyway. Which meant there was a trap ahead. I shook my head, slipping behind some boxes and waiting as they grew near. When they were almost on me, I shifted, keeping low so they would t see it happen. They lifted the boxes and threw down a net, covering a human instead of a cat. I raised my eyebrow, expression boredly unimpressed. "Really? You're netting a kid? Wow, the feds will love to hear about this one." They grew confused, stammering and backing off as they tried to figure out where I had gone. It was hilarious to do this, and it let me avoid so much stuff it was almost dead serious. Too funny for that though.

I slipped out of the net and down the alley before they could come to their senses and they chased after me after a minute, only to find I was gone. I was once again a cat, and hiding under the dumpster now. I watched them leave the alley, then sighed again. I wanted to kill them sometimes- heck, they'd neutered one of my pack-members before- but I couldn't. Draconian law was strict about that. Not that anyone ever said who made draconian law, only that the witches enforced it and even the Vampires agreed to go along with it. The other races were too weak, or too few in number to actually do anything about it, so we went along with it; better that than winding up a witches plaything. Honestly, witches were stuck up and self-righteous; they thought they were so much better than the other races, vampires were only slightly better- and that only because of their fanatical, nigh on creepy worship of a sleeping girl. Honestly, without that, they'd be way less creepy and a ton more self-centered; seriously, it was simultaneously similar to pedophilia, and reminiscent of a fetish. It drove some of the more fanatical vampires to nearly having a heartbeat merely at the sight of her body laying in the casket hidden in whatever cave they claimed as the resting place of the three remaining originals.

I honestly just wanted to get the meeting over with so I could go back to my irresponsible catnipping; a habit I knew my pack wanted me to drop- the stuff was just too alluring though. Then again, if I did catnip, I couldn't be around Geff, the stuff was like cocaine for cats; Geff was too innocent for that. I sighed, remembering vaguely the first time I'd touched him. I'd groomed him to show I accepted him into my pride, my pack, and then... he'd sounded like he wasn't breathing. I'd gone go check his pulse, reaching under his shirt to better feel his heartbeat, and then he'd thrown up. That had been a slap in the face. I hadn't understood what was happening or why, until I had gotten my senses back later that day via catnip. Sure, it was a useful focus when my hormones were in control, distracting my cat enough to give me back my ability to think, but I still felt bad about how I'd tried to invite him. Honestly, that was one of the worst possible ways of getting a new pride member, or pack member. The terms differed depending on species. Birds had flocks, prey had herds, fish had schools, canines had packs, felines had prides, reptiles... they usually called their groups tumors or pits. Much to the confusion of the rest of us.

That probably is the entire point knowing reptiles as a general group of shifters.

Regardless, I hid, waiting until school was out, and then my pride came. I began my usual job; babysitting. That was basically all I existed for. An Alphas duties were complex tasks, seemingly impossible to complete, and desperately necessary to the prides survival. They were idiotically simple. To fight when our territory was threatened, to make babies with someone, and to act like a mother the rest of the time. Honestly, having a Luna around to take that part of the job from you was part of their allure. It left you more free time, it gave you chills, and... well, people listened to Luna far more often than they listened to their Alpha. Unless I used my command voice. I hated using it; it hurt my throat and made everyone sulky until they forgot about it. It was boring being an alpha, I wasn't allowed to have a life of my own. My entire purpose was to help my pride-members, to let them get as far as they could on their own before stepping in and helping them achieve whatever goals they had. That was my purpose, so I couldn't have any aspirations myself. It honestly hurt sometimes.

I watched my pride, monitoring their roughhousing and playful explorations as I kept a look out for the animal control guys. Honestly, they thought they were doing us a favor at one point, but I'm honestly shocked they don't notice how clean and well fed we are. It makes one wonder why they're still chasing us. Unless it's simply out of spite after all these years. Which brought me back to the present. Luckily no one had shown up and nothing bad had happened while I zoned out, but I still scratched my foreleg till blood beaded up. I needed to remember not to zone out while watching my pride or else they might all lose their happy, kitten raising futures. That was a thought that chilled me to the bone. I knew I'd rather me get caught than all of them, even with the price of such a failure. I shivered, half formed dreams of the future children I'd have, or the nights in bed I'd share with my lover seeming to quake as I focused intently on my surroundings. Which was a good thing, because the animal control guys decided to try sneaking up on me again. I screeched a warning as I leapt off of the dumpster and dashed towards them, already planning how to take them down. They had Kennedy and Gavin muzzled and sedated in cages behind them already. They had messed with my Pride, no mercy this time.

I avoided their first darts, making it to them and clambering up the first guys body to bite his trachea for an instant before continuing up his body to claw his eyes. A dart hit me as the guy screamed, falling over backwards as I leapt off of him. I would be out in seconds, and the only way to avoid that was to make myself bigger. So I did, and suddenly he had an enraged Mountain Lion after him. He barely made a sound before he was down and unconscious. I shifted into a human as my vision began to swim, and I grabbed his gun, darting both guys before stumbling over to Kennedy and Gavin. I fumbled with the locks until I felt someone's hands move mine away and I grew drowsily panicked. "No... no... mine... don't..." I passed out, then, and nightmares filled my dreams as I made the only assumption that made sense. My pride had a standing order that if I gave the warning, they return home and lay low for a few days. None of them could be here, so it must have been another AC guy. Which meant I was as royally screwed as my Pride-mates. I knew what would happen, how long it would take him to lose credibility before he set me free, but I would be messed with until then. And... Kennedy and Gavin... I'd failed them. I had failed my Pride.

I'd never felt so painfully crushed in my life.
_________________________________(A/N) Hey Guys! How are you? Sorry this is a day late, yesterday was hectic. But yeah, a bit of lore as far as Alex understands it, and some consequences for what happens when you wind up distracted by a Luna. Hormones go crazy, and sometimes it takes months for you to think straight again. Let's hope this consequence makes it through to his head, shall we? Or are you beginning to see the devils softer side? Hehe... he isn't as bad as we thought on first glance, is he? This is first person point of view, everything is told the way the characters perceive the world to be. Every story has two sides, and I take pleasure in shocking you with both sides now and then. Remember, if you have questions or comments: don't be afraid to ask! 😄

Till next time, Sept-Mates!

Your Poet and Scribe,
~ShadeFinder<(0^0)>