Rosy:

I spare Drew's brothers an annoyed glance as I walk through the lounge room to the kitchen. I accept the glass of juice Sam hands me and sip at its icy coldness.

"We eat in the lounge room?" Sam asks as he turns holding two plates of salad with cold roast. I turn my head to glare at the four interlopers in the other room before moving to take a seat at the kitchen table.

"Rosy you need to talk to them," Sam says softly as he places my plate in front of me before sitting down beside me.

"No," I snap short and sharp.

"Your kitt ..." Sam stops and takes a deep breath before forcing a stiff smile. "I know when Drew Dorrington died you thought ..."

"You don't know what I thought!" I snap hoarsely. For a moment I am back there, running for my life, the image of Drew falling and not getting back up fills my mind. The whine of a bullet passing through the air close to me makes me shudder and I look across the table to find Sam watching me with concern on his face. I don't want to relive those moments yet again today, just the sight of his brothers evokes them.

"I don't want to talk to them," I say as I fiddle with the placement of my plate before picking up my knife and fork. "Just not yet, okay,"

I don't look at my brother as I start to eat. How do I explain I understand that Drew told me a heap of lies, and although I now know them to be lies, they were still the truth to me? I had lived in the world of lies Drew had weaved and they had made up the reality I lived in. A world constructed by another's lies. The food tastes good, the salad cool and crisp as I chew it with pleasure. I lick my lips to get the few drops of tangy dressing and a soft chuckle has me looking up.

It's one of the four interlopers, his strong resemblance to Micah and his brothers tells me he is related to them. I frown as I watch him, I am dimly aware that I am chewing my food much slower. A faint growl comes from Sam and I glance at him to find him glaring at the tom standing there watching me.

"I see you still enjoy a good meal," The solidly built tom says as he shifts from one foot to the other. I am silent as I watch him.

"My name's Edwin ..."

"What do you want?" Sam growls angrily.

"We're going into town to get a feed," Edwin says. "Give Rosy some breathing room,"

"What do they want to know?" Sam asks.

"Just some information on their brother. How long Rosy was with him and stuff," Edwin answers and gives me a sympathetic smile. I blink as I look at him slightly dazed, it takes me a moment to remember that Rosy is my name and I give a shaky nod.

"When would it suit you to talk to Jacob and Ken?" Edwin asks quietly.

"The sooner you answer any questions about their brother the quicker they will leave you alone," Sam says in little more than a whisper.

"Might as well be now so I am left in peace," I say reluctantly. I don't want to talk to Drew's brothers but I don't want them hanging around making me remember how Drew had lied to me. Or how after his death Hank had started hunting me, making me run from him. Something that had every instinct screaming it was wrong to flee from a predator.

"Anytime you want a break or you want to stop talking with them just say so," Edwin tells me kindly. The sound of the screen door opening and people entering the quarters catches my attention causing me to look away from him. I listen to the footsteps in the hallway and I look towards the lounge room as who ever it is enters the lounge room. I recognise Aaron, the one they call Doc, but behind him is a stranger and I glance towards Sam with a frown to gauge his reaction.

Micah:

I listen as Dwayne reports the recorded sightings of the dingos along the northwestern boundary. The dingos had been steadily moving down the boundary fence all morning and into a couple of hours of early afternoon. Then for some reason they had began retracing their steps back towards the north until they had moved past our boundary over two hours ago. There had been no more alerts on the security system and Dwayne had been monitoring the system closely.

"Micah! Micah!" Sasha says slightly breathlessly as she pushes the door to Mitchell's office open without knocking. I turn my head to look at her with a frown.

"Sam called, you're needed at the Quarters urgently." Sasha informs me with barely a glance at the others in the room. I raise an eyebrow at her as I turn away from the laptop Dwayne has open on the desk for both Mitchell and I to study the report he had been giving.

"Sorry about interrupting but ..." Sasha gives an apologetic grimace and shrug. "Sam said Frank Inness has Rosy in a real state."

"Damn!" I swear as I head for the door quickly. I had left strict instructions for Frank to wait until I was there before so much as talking to Rosy. I wanted to be with Rosy when the early delivery of her kitt was discussed. I hurry from the house as fast as I can without making too much noise, once outside I break into a run. Before I am halfway to the quarters I can hear Rosy's frantic voice.

I let the screen door slam behind me as I rush down the hallway to the lounge room door. I pause in the doorway taking in the havoc inside. Rosy is near the corner well away from both the Dorrington brothers and Frank Inness, Sam is in front of her trying to talk to her while Edwin is keeping the Dorrington brothers back near the archway into the kitchen. Frank is fussing with a machine I recognise as a portable ultra sound, it is on a chair by the main lounge and he glances up at me as he puts the sensor down.

"Would someone care to explain what is going on here?" I demand angrily.

"I am not letting him cut my kitt out and kill it!" Rosy snarls angrily in a voice laced with fear as she moves to keep Sam between her and everyone else.

"I never said ..." Frank tries to speak but Rosy lets out a shriek of fury.

"Do you all think I am stupid and deaf?" Rosy demands with an almost hysterical note to her voice. "I heard what was said when I was sick!"

"Your wife needs to stay calm, all this stress is not good for her in her condition." Frank says to me without looking in her direction.

"Rosy just calm down and we can talk ..." I begin soothingly.

"NO! I am NOT your wife! I am NOT your Rosy! I am ME! HARLEY! You have no say over me! You have no say over my unborn kitt! None of you do!" She yells, her voice rising sharply as she fists both hands in the hair over both of her temples.

I feel my inner cat becoming concerned over her agitation, the way her hands clench and unclench in her hair. I see how her face has gone pale especially around her mouth and nose.

"Nothing will be done without your permission," I say evenly. "We only have the best interests..."

"You aren't listening to me! No wonder I left you!" Rosy snaps and stumbles back a step or two.

"Do you want to go for a walk and tell me what happened?" I ask softly trying to stop this before she has another headache or fainting spell. I can see her indecision in her eyes, yearning and fear mixed together, she gives her head a brief shake.

"Would you like to go for a bit of a walk by yourself?" I offer quietly. Dwayne's report had said the dingos had headed north and hadn't been back near our territorial boundaries for a couple of hours. Rosy would be safe by herself and I knew she wouldn't leave our sons. Of everything I knew I was most certain that Rosy would never desert her kitts regardless of whether she remembered them or not.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sam asks in a low gruff voice.

"You can't let...!" Ken Dorrington protests.

"Enough!" I snap with a hard glare in his direction. "If R ... Harley needs some time by herself it is perfectly fine for her to go for a walk around the clearing."

I am almost holding my breath as I watch Rosy, she is backed defensively close to the corner and her eyes dart between those in the lounge room nervously. I hear the soft scrape of a booted foot in the kitchen and Rosy jerks her head to look that way. Her top lip lifts in a sneer and a soft hiss escapes her as she glares at whoever moved.

"Yes!" Sasha snaps behind me in the hall doorway. "Come on ... Rrrsis, lets go for a walk. No one else is welcome!"

"Can't I come as well?" Clint asks behind Sasha.

"No! Just my sister and I," Sasha says sharply.

"I'd feel a lot better if you would let a few of the warriors go along as well," Ken Dorrington says firmly.

"You are here at our invitation! Do not go thinking you can make conditions on any matter," I snap at Ken.

"Come on big sis," Sasha urges softly. "Let's go get some fresh air."

I watch as Rosy edges out of the room to follow Sasha from the building. I can hear Sasha's voice as she chats away, the tone of her voice light and friendly as it slowly fades into the distance.

"You can't allow your prisoner to go wandering around escorted only by a teenage she-kitt," Frank says with a shrug.

"My wife is not a prisoner!" I snap tightly.

"So I see," Frank says unruffled. " But she needs to remain near immediate medical attention all of the time."

"You can't allow her to do anything to endanger the kitt she carries," Ken says forcefully. I take a deep breath as Ken Dorrington steps forward and I narrow my eyes.

"Our mother was inconsolable when she was told about Drew, but now ... the news about his kitt ..." Jacob says quietly.

"And you think stressing Rosy, Harley, whatever she wants to be called. Stressing her out until either she passes out or collapses from one of the turns she has from the headaches she gets would be a good idea?" I ask dryly. I watch as the two brothers exchange worried glances.

Rosy:

I wonder along the edge of the tree line with Sasha close behind me. A comfortable silence has fallen between us and I watch as she runs light touches over the different bushes. Now and then she stops to pluck a leaf from a bush and crush it between her fingers before lifting it to her nose. Occasionally it is a bud or a flower instead of a leaf and I can't stop myself from copying her actions. Always it is the native plants she seems to mentally catalogue and I am not surprised when she stops beside a large thick tree that has a myriad of scratch marks up the trunk. Even in human form I can smell the tang of the markings the toms have left on the tree.

The smell is faint but pungent on the late evening air and I am not surprised when Sasha closes her eyes and takes a long deep breath. I watch in fascination as she licks her lips, working her tongue in her mouth, I find myself doing the same and I can clearly tell who has marked this tree. A shiver traces its way up my spine and I open my eyes to find Sasha looking out towards the mountain, my home.

"Can you feel it calling?" I ask softly. I look towards the mountain but storm clouds are building in the sky and the mountaintop is lost in the low clouds.

"It's silent," Sasha says quietly and glances my way. The colours in her eyes seem to be shifting and changing in the light, but as she looks away to the mountain I wonder if I had imagined it.

"There's something else ..." I say, my voice trailing off, lost in the gust of wind that brushes against our backs as it passes. Lightning flickers in the distance and I notice how dark is has suddenly become and I become aware that no sounds come from the creatures that are in the bush that surrounds us. All would be seeking hiding places from the storm that is slowly building and heading our way. I feel goose-bumps form on my arms and rub my hands up and down my arms to soothe away the sensation.

"We'd better head back," I say with one last glance at the rapidly forming storm. Sasha gives a nod and turns, heading back the way we came.

"It would be quicker going through there," I say as I point towards a thick stand of trees. I can see the shine of a tin roof through the trees as I head in that direction.

"Rosy wait!" Sasha calls urgently. "We're not supposed to go through there,"

I glance up at the dark clouds gathering and ignore Sasha as I head in the direction my cat tells me to take to get back to the quarters. I hear Sasha break into a run behind me, she soon fell into step beside me grumbling under her breath that it wasn't her fault. If Micah wanted to blame someone he could blame his ... her words end on a gasp and I glance her way as she suddenly stops. Sasha is staring ahead of us and slightly to the left with a startled expression. I look that way and a prickle of unease works it's way up my spine as I spot the shadowy figure at the edge of the path.

He has a large frame that hints he was once strong and powerful, he leans heavily on a walking stick as he turns to face us. I can sense the cat in him and it makes my own cat growl as her hackles rise slightly. His eyes widen and surprise crosses his face as he looks me in the face. Slowly he nods at me, before glancing at Sasha. I can't help stepping in front of her with the feeling of protecting her from his sight.

"You must have been hurt really bad," he says softly in a slightly husky voice.

"Do I know you?" I ask coldly. He steps forward into what remains of the sunlight and I see the strong resemblance he has to the Williamson brothers.

"You're their father," the words escape me in a whisper.

"Come on!" Sasha grabs my arm and urges me along the path, she leads me out wide past him. I turn my head quickly to watch him as I hear him move in an awkward stumble. He gives a rueful grimace and a nod towards his walking stick.

"A blood clot caused a stroke during a hernia operation," He says quietly. I take several more steps then stop, turning to face him. I can feel something, some memory, hovering just beyond the black void in my mind. I stare at him as he stares at me, both of us waiting for the other to speak.

"I should have explained how things were to you," He says and sighs. "I should have listened to what others said. What I did was wrong."

I tilt my head to the side trying to make sense of what he is saying. He glances up at the sky before looking back at me. I glance up, the clouds are churning almost violently and the wind seems to suddenly change directions, hitting me from the side and almost pushing me towards the quarters.

"Sasha! Rosy! Sasha!" The voice is faint in the roaring of the wind but I recognise Sam's voice. I don't take my eyes off the middle-aged tom as he turns away with unsteady steps. I am dimly aware of Sasha answering my brother as I watch the once powerful Alpha shuffle several steps. I take my eyes off him for several moments as I look where Sasha has cut through the trees towards two figures.

A sharp coldness seems to fill the air as the wind picks up strength. The wind almost sounds like a low savage growl as it roars through the trees surrounding us. I glance back towards the crippled werecat and narrow my eyes as I see a lanky figure moving through the trees towards us.

Sam:

"What were you thinking going so close to Wade and Marissa's cottage?" I demand as Sasha rushes up to Clint and I.

"Rosy said it was the quickest way back!" Sasha says breathlessly. "She was being stubborn,"

I look past Sasha and I can see both Rosy and Wade a good distance away, I glance at Clint and incline my head towards Sasha.

"You take Sasha back to the quarters while I retrieve Rosy," I tell him firmly.

"I had better come with you to make sure Rosy doesn't end up deciding to argue with you," Sasha says firmly. "She is in a weird mood."

"You're coming back with me Sweetpea," Clint says with a grin.

"No I ..."

I turn away and start walking towards Rosy, ignoring the argument between Clint and Sasha. I know Clint will make Sasha return to the shelter of the quarters. The two of them are crazy in love and I know it is just a matter of time before I find myself with an American brother-in-law.

The wind gusts and almost blinds me with the grit and leaves that are being blown into my face. I can smell the promise of rain in the air, can almost feel the charged ions that will come with the lightning that is flickering in the clouds above. I am nearly halfway to Rosy when I see Ray McIntosh heading towards where Wade and Rosy are. I hurry my steps, I don't know why he is here, he knows he is not welcome on this Clan's Territory.

I hear Ray's angry tones as I approach, somewhere in the back of my mind I note how Wade stands directly between Ray and Rosy. Wade holds the nob of his walking stick in his hand, the stick barely touching the ground as he faces Ray with his shoulders back and chest puffed out. I can see Rays face clearly as I cover the last twenty metres, make out his words as he rants.

"...did you think I didn't know where you were? I knew the day you shacked up with that bastard Jeddah! You didn't fool me! ..." Ray is ranting. His eyes are wild and spittle flies from his mouth as he yells. He is pointing at Rosy with a shaking hand and fear twists my guts as I realise he has lost his mind and thinks Rosy is our late mother.

" ...that half breed bastard was sniffing around you while we were married! Dirty human mongrel! ..."

I don't understand all of what he is saying, his words slurring together as he waves his arms wildly. I feel sick to my stomach as I know what fate awaits insane werecats, I have no fondness left for him but at one time he had been an okay father to Mitchell and I. I hear Rosy gasp in horror and can't stop myself glancing her way, she isn't looking at Ray, she is staring to his left and I feel my heart stop a moment as I see what has caught her attention.

'So this is how I die,'  the thought flits through my mind as I take in the pack of dingos coming out of the underbrush and into view. There are nine in total, five are the orange-tan typical of dingos of this area while the other four have black through their backs and heavier builds telling of cross breeding with feral dogs. I step close to Rosy and reach for her hand but her attention is fixed on the dingo that inches forward ever so slowly, it's head lowered until it's chin isn't far from the ground. For a moment I imagine I see a darker shadow move from the corner of my eye. But as I turn my head slightly I realise it is just my mind playing tricks on me, like the way the wind almost sounds like a woman sobbing. There are no sounds coming from Rosy even thought I can feel her pulse racing where her inner forearm rests against my arm.

Rosy:

I clutch hold of Sam's arm unable to tear my gaze away from the hypnotic gaze of Hank. I don't see his feet moving but I am well aware that he is inching ever closer to me. The crazy guy is ranting about someone called Jeddah, calling her names and saying horrible things about her... wait, he thinks I am her. He says bleaching my hair blonde doesn't fool him.

"She's safe," the words have a slight accent as they come from close behind Sam. I am afraid to look to see who spoke, scared I might see the ghostly wraths that have flickered in and out of sight in the dark shadows beneath the trees. I can hear their voices in my head, a woman crying, a man's angry voice.

I can smell fear, anger, excitement, insanity, and ...

"You murdered her?" Sam demands in a roar.

"They hunted her, tracked her down for me ..." the crazy guy waves his hand at a pair of dingos that have the white hairs of age peppered up their muzzles and around their eyes and ears.

"She was nothing more than a whore!"

"She was my mother!" The words come from Sam in a roar of pain as he jerks his arm away from my grasp and throws himself towards that crazy guy who seemed to get so much pleasure from Sam's pain.

It is suddenly dark as the storm hits, the wind stills for an instant as lightning streaks down striking the ground perilously close to Sam. I see the dingos sent flying backwards as if in slow motion white a silvered figure appears beside Sam for a moment as Sam morphs into his cat form in the blink of an eye. I see my own face appear before me her hair and eyes dark. There an instant before an inky black panther looked back at me. I feel my own change roll over me as my inner cat bursts free. For an instant she is with us, her velvety shoulder against mine as her whiskers brush my face.

"Only our own," the words echo deep within me with a sense of sadness as her strength flows into my body. I throw my head up and roar my rage to the trees. Thunder cracks loudly and I feel the noise rather than hear it as I leap forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with my brother for an instant before he leaps towards that crazy werecat. I feel that almost invisible wrath with me as I leap among the dingos, whirling and slashing to prevent them turning towards my brother. The crippled Alpha steps forward, he swings his walking stick at a dingo that would leap after Sam. I feel flesh tear beneath my claws and my canines sink deep into living flesh.