Chapter Two

The Lycan Alpha was tired of all the bloodshed, he knew his time left on this Earth was short if he did not find her, his kind only ever had one true mate and unless they met soon both of them would die. His Beta came to stand beside him and asked quietly,

'What now Alpha?'

They had just defeated a Hunter Clan that had been plaguing the Werewolves in the area for the last half-century, the Pack's Alpha had called in the mighty Lycan as a last resort and now it was time for them to pay him for his work.

'They have many fine young females who could bear the Seed for you Alpha.'

He went on, the huge deep grey/black Wolf shook its thick coat, dust spraying everywhere he had been resting on the cool damp earth for the last few hours,

'No, Beta. None of them is suitable, none are the true Seed, when I find her I will know who she is and not hide the truth from her. You may take the females for our unmated males. Goddess willing I will find her soon and our Pack will be Blessed with pups once more. '

He lifted his great head and scented the air around him and growled deeply when from a little distance away he caught it, citrus and vanilla, a scent he had longed for all his adult life his brilliant blue eyes turned molten silver,

'Wait Beta'

He stopped the other wolf from leaving then lifted his head and scented again to be sure and a shiver went through his powerful body,

'She is near, at last Beta, I have her scent but I am not sure if she is of this Pack. The Alpha of this Pack did not mention any nearby Rogues, it does not matter I must seek her out immediately there is no time to lose.'

Alexandra stood looking towards the mountains, her pale red/gold hair glittered in the evening sunshine and her hazel eyes narrowed, she lived on the very outskirts of the Packlands, her cottage in a clearing surrounded by the woods. The Pack did not welcome her, they feared her because she was a half-breed, part Wolf and part, well, no one knew what else she was, her mother had taken that secret to her grave.                  When it became clear to the Pack hierarchy that the unmated female Wolf was pregnant it shocked them especially as she was the Alpha's youngest sister and refused to say what had happened. When her daughter was born with the same stunning red/gold hair, a colour never seen within the Pack before her mothers, she had been ostracized to this cottage. The Pack had wanted to expel her from their midst completely, send her across their border with her bastard child expelled from the safety of their Pack to become rogues. It was only her status as the Alpha's sister and therefore both she and the baby carried Alpha blood in her veins that saved her from that fate.                  Since that date Alexandra's mother had lived in happy isolation with her daughter as her only company, rarely mixing with members of the Pack, only her brother, the Alpha ventured through the woods to visit them. He kept an eye on the growing child waiting to see who she grew to look like, surely her father would be discerned at some point? The child must have some of his looks as well as her mother's and when he discovered who it washed would kill him for abandoning them both. His sister still refused to explain and they both saw the little girl grow into a beautiful teenager who looked like no one in the Pack, only her mother.                                                                                                 Just before she reached her majority and became a full adult in the eyes of the Pack her mother died from a virus caught from the humans who lived in a nearby village. The Alpha's sister had been considered to be a Healer by the humans and many of the Shifter families too. She often went into the village to help them when they were hurt or injured even attending at their births if they so required. She spent her days gathering herbs and plants to help her in her healing craft, as well as using her Wolf to aid the weak humans in healing quickly. At critical times she would even give them her blood to speed the healing process, after a particularly difficult birth or if the human who needed it was the family's breadwinner.                                                                She gave herself to her chosen craft, learning all she could and writing her findings in journal after journal but she gave too much, mixing with so many disease-ridden humans made her immune system weaker and when the virus hit her she was not strong enough to defeat it.                                                                                                                  She died as winter turned to spring leaving Alexandra alone in a hostile world, the young girl had buried her mother under the apple trees in their garden, with no help from any of the Pack. The Alpha had been away on Pack business and it was almost a month later when he turned up unannounced he was shocked to find his niece carrying on as if nothing had happened.

She had kept the cottage going, it was virtually self-sufficient and when he rode up she was in the garden pulling up weeds,

'Good morning Alexandra.'

He stepped off his motorbike and walked toward her,

'Good morning Uncle.'

She replied coolly her hazel eyes watchful and wary as he approached she had not seen him for many months,

He saw the pain flicker in her pretty eyes and then disappear just as quickly as she lifted her chin,

'Mother has gone to be with the Goddess.'

She was completely impassive, her words spoken without any emotion as she stared at him not blinking, the Alpha frowned,

'What does that mean?'

He asked stopping and looking around him searching for his sister,

'You know what it means Alpha'

She shot back at him chin up eyes flashing and he hid a grin, she was so beautiful and had her mother's spark of defiance,

'Where is she?'