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  It would give them a fighting chance to object to Alfred’s claims. If she was pregnant, it would seal the union despite all objections, but it would take a few days to find out.

  “Give us a moment.” Sirnel turned back to her and walked toward the bed. Walther waited outside on the patio.

  Mel was sitting up with the sheet clutched to her breasts. “So, my grandfather is making a fuss, is he?”

  “He is challenging my right to you by virtue of your being of his bloodline.” He was laying her clothing over the edge of the bed and when he had collected them all he sat to take her hands. “As he is an alpha, it is his right to decide your mate.”

  “Even if he disowned my mother and myself?”

  “Blood does not acknowledge the legal refusal. It remains constant.” He raised her hands to his lips and kissed them. “I will fight for you, Melissande, no matter what happens.”

  He would. She could see it in his eyes. Now that he had committed to her, he would stop at nothing to keep her safe. She had to return the favour by whatever means necessary.

  “Call me Jinx.”

  Chapter 11

  Two phone calls and one text message later and she was ready to go with Walther and Sirnel. If he was willing to fight for her, she would return that loyalty with everything at her command. And that included members of her little family.

  They took Walther’s car back to the field where all of the activities of the past days had been staged. A mob was waiting for them.

  The Yellowpaw clan was out in force this evening. The sun had begun it’s setting into the west and it cast a bloody glow upon the proceedings.

  “As her grandfather and clan leader, I declare her to be of the Yellowpaw clan and therefore under the rights of blood.” Alfred looked pissed. He no doubt smelled Sirnel on her.

  “I do not acknowledge our blood ties, and therefore do not fall under your clan laws.” She kept herself calm knowing that it would infuriate him.

  A hissed cry of “Whore!” was her only warning as his hand descended toward her. Sirnel stopped him with his own arm, a blur of movement that she caught out of the corner of her eye. Alfred was on the ground and his clan was still with shock as their alpha lay in the dirt.

  They were trying to gear up to attack when as one all the were turned to look at the sky.

  Jinx smiled. Her second phone call was here.

  The were scattered as the dragon circled the clearing and then came in for a landing right next to Jinx. Well, Jinx and Sirnel. He refused to leave her, even as the dragon roared and flame erupted from her mouth.

  Jinx raised her hand to pet the scaled neck. “Hello Arabel. Thanks for coming. Did Matthias take it well?”

  Arabel shifted into her warrior form, nude but with wings and a tail. “Fine. He will come around in a few hours.” Her extended canines were exposed with her grin and her tail lashed with humour.

  “Sirnel, this is Arabel. The mother of one of my best friends, George. Arabel, this is Sirnel, my chosen mate.” The introductions were done with a rapt audience. All the wer had come running when the dragon landed and were maintaining a safe but attentive distance.

  Showing remarkable adaptation, Sirnel shook Arabel’s hand and said “Pleased to meet you, Lady. Be welcome on our lands.”

  “Thank you, Sirnel, but I think your alpha will have something to say about that.” She nodded to Walther.

  “I greet you as well, Lady. And my son’s welcome is that of his clan. The Silverfangs welcome you.” He came forward and shook her hand as well, carefully keeping his gaze above her neck.

  “Your welcome is most kind. Not at all what I remember the wolf packs to be.” Jinx was happy that Arabel left it at that. She had once told her that she found werewolves to be chewy.

  “Evolution is a hard thing mistress. We all must move forward or die out. Some of us know this better than others.” He glanced over at Alfred who had managed to right himself and was trying not to look terrified at the dragon in their midst.

  “You are wise.” She looked closely at the assembly. “Melissande has declared her choice. Who among you will gainsay it?” The formality of her words was not lost on Jinx. She was speaking from a different time.

  Alfred screwed up his courage. “I will. I will defy her choice and put her under the claim of blood ties.”

  “A tradition, I assume?”

  “Indeed, one of our oldest. I have control over all of my bloodline.”

  “We have similar traditions and my daughter has just defied them. Melissande has the same rights.”

  “Not as long as she is my granddaughter.” Alfred was almost foaming at the mouth. His hostility was palpable and his sentence gave her an idea.” Not as long as she carries my blood.”

  “If I no longer carried your blood, would you give up this bizarre claim?” Jinx had a feeling that this was the point of the power that had surged through her while she and Sirnel were making love.

  Alfred snorted in amusement. “Of course, but you cannot change your parentage any more than your mother could. Any more than I could have a daughter with the ability to change. An alpha, the type of child that I deserved.” Disdain dripped from his mouth and sealed her resolve. This was the time for her to make her move.

  “Arabel, can you read a new spell for me?”

  “Sure, Jinx. Where is the scroll?” Arabel looked feral, her eyes flashing with the urge to destroy the man who showed such contempt for his own child. Children were precious to the dragons. She herself had defied the council and hidden her child for fifty years to allow her to choose her own path.

  “On his body.” Jinx’s eyes flashed with amusement as she formed her next request. “Sirnel, can you remove your clothing, please?”

  “Here? Now?” His features declared that this was not the time for such matters. But there was a curiosity in them that belied his reticence.

  “Here and now, Sirnel, please.”

  The dragon was a bit confused, “Jinx, where is the spell?”

  Mel waved to her and waited until all of Sirnel’s clothing hit the ground. She slowly moved toward him and ran her hands over his shoulders. She felt the power building in her and brought his head down to hers for a kiss.

  She exhaled slowly and the talent of an Archive filled him. He warmed to her touch, then grew hot and Arabel began to chant softly.

  The runes and words that she had written in passion flared into life and burned out of his skin. The drone of the spell’s words rang in her ears and pulsed in her veins.

  Fire took her over, burning and running along her nerves. Blooming in her belly and rippling out of her mouth. With a scream she separated herself from Sirnel and fell to the ground as the spell she had written transformed her.

  She could hear the cries of confusion and concern but could not answer them. She had brought this upon herself and for better or for worse, it would be her fate to live with the consequences. If she lived.

  Her skin was too tight; the flames were ripping her apart. Suddenly she heard the wild calling her. A pulse, a howl burned in her throat. She screamed and the howl broke free.

  Fur erupted from her flesh, burning her as it ran over her body. She was a wolf. It was done.

  With a happy yelp she leapt to her feet and took a few hesitant steps, then began to run.

  Chapter 12

  Her eyes burned with the wind as she ran to the woods, it was amazing this feeling of freedom. She only wished it could last forever. She noted the squirrels and chipmunks, heard the chatter of the birds and the hissing of her gremlin.

  The gremlin called to her and she went to find him, her paws making no noise on the carpet of leaves and moss. He was in deep conversation with his squirrel and she crept up to him, keeping her eyes wary for more wolves. She could feel them. They were coming for her, hunting her.

  Like hell.

  A sharp yelp and her gremlin was on her. The squirrel clutched in his arms. She ran, this time heading deeper into the woods,
to a scent that she faintly caught on the breeze.

  Home.

  Faster and faster she ran; the path clear to her although the scenery blurred with her speed. She heard another wolf behind her and welcomed him. Sirnel. She would know him anywhere. Or any wer.

  Her endorphins must be high if she was making jokes as she fled for her safety. She saw her destination in her mind’s eye and half an hour later was outside her grandmother’s cottage. This would be the hard part.

  She was just wondering how to go about opening the door when it swung silently open on its hinges. “Melissande, get inside!”

  That her father recognized her in wolf form was odd enough, when she went inside to find her mother on the floor, as a silvery red wolf, she let out a yelp of surprise.

  Sirnel shifted to human form and came over to her. “You have to let it go now, Melissande. Just relax and let the change wash over you again.”

  He started to stroke her behind the ears, and it was the added petting of her gremlin and her father that relaxed her enough to begin her change.

  Naked on the floor, she rolled over and said, “Well, that was fun. Can I have a blanket or something?” Her father was way ahead of her. Daniel Simpson was a practical man. A comforter flowed around her and she struggled to sit up.

  Margaret Simpson was shifting back into human form and looked over at her daughter, “What the hell just happened?”

  Unable to contain herself anymore Melissande began to laugh. It was a howl that boiled up from within her to echo through the kitchen.

  She got a hold of herself and pulled herself up against the cupboards. “You know how Alfred has always said that he is disgusted that we are the results of his bloodline?”

  Wary, Maggie held Daniel’s hand. “Yes.”

  “Well, we are a new clan now. The clan of the Archive. The blood of the Yellowpaw has been burned from your blood, and my blood.” She looked at her mother with tears in her eyes, “We are new animals.”

  Silence reigned for several moments until her father summed it up. “Holy shit.”

  * * * *

  Arabel was waiting with Walther in the living room. They had arrived before Jinx by virtue of the dragon’s wings. It was an efficient way to travel, and Arabel had enjoyed the way the alpha had tried to hide his unease at her aerial acrobatics.

  If she didn’t miss her guess, she was witnessing an event that had happened less than a dozen times in history.

  The birth of a new werewolf clan.

  * * * *

  They had all gathered in the living room after Melissande and her mother had gotten dressed again. Sirnel was wearing a pair of sweat pants donated by Daniel.

  “So what does this mean?” Her father was always practical, cutting to the heart of the problem.

  “I think that we no longer carry Alfred’s bloodline. The spell that Arabel read off of Sirnel took away the traces of Alfred and left only the genetics of my grandmother, Agatha. She was alpha through and through, and had come by it honestly. Alfred murdered his way to power.” The guesses that she was making felt right. There was a freshness to her body, an energy that had never been their before.

  It had to be the alpha instinct.

  Even her mother was sitting upright instead of cuddling against her father as she had always done when the slightest threat to her family was spotted. They had been remade, redesigned by magic.

  “You can’t be the Clan of the Archive.” Sirnel’s voice rumbled in her ear. She was curled against him, and it felt completely natural to have him touching and cuddling her.

  “Why not?”

  “Because if you are correct, the Archive talent is only for you. There will be no generation that follows with the talent. You need a trait that can be passed from generation to generation within your clan.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, from what I have seen of both you and your mother, I would say that you are the Clan of the Redwolf.”

  Jinx and her mother looked at each other and smiled. It was right. That would be their name.

  “Now, Mom, I don’t want to scare you, but what are you going to name my little sister?”

  “What?”

  “Oh, yeah. You are about two months pregnant, I can smell it.” She cocked her head, “And I can hear more than one heartbeat within your body.”

  “I just found out.” Daniel was amazed; he covered his wife’s belly with one large and capable hand. “A girl?”

  “I don’t know how I know, but it is a girl.” Jinx smiled “A little sister to teach all my tricks to.”

  Margaret and her husband shared a long kiss. Jinx was used to it. It created a certain warmth and security for her to know that her parents were in love after all these years.

  She only hoped that Sirnel would still stay with her as she started her own pack. Not all alphas would take a back seat to a matriarchal female.

  As if he heard her thoughts, he squeezed her tight. “No matter what comes, I will stand beside you. My clan has enough males to take over my position. You need me.” His voice was a husky murmur and she shivered.

  Boy did she need him. Naked. On her white sheets, with a rose in his teeth and desire in his eyes. Or running through the forest. Or sitting here on the couch. Oh, she had it bad.

  This had to be love. Nothing else could be that confusing, or all consuming.

  In the most cheerful voice she could muster she asked the room at large, “So, when are we going to face Alfred and tell him to fuck off?”

  Chapter 13

  They waited only until George and her new mate had arrived, the wolves were uneasy around Rikard. He was putting out a lot of power, and they could feel it in their bones. It was unsettling, but he was making his protective nature known to all comers. He finally had her and she was not going to slip his attention.

  The George and Jinx had squealed and hugged while their new mates sized each other up. The high-speed game of catch-up took less than two minutes and then George announced, “Well then, let’s kick your grandfather’s ass.”

  They each took up a seat on one of the dragons as they felt it was the best way to make an impression that would last on the were clan gathering. And that is exactly what they did.

  In a fit of humour, the dragons strafed the gathering, their claws touching the top of the tents as they made pass after pass. Werewolves scattered everywhere. Jinx was laughing so hard that when George finally let her and Sirnel dismount, she almost crumpled to the ground.

  At the scowling faces of the alphas that approached she regained a certain sense of decorum. Alfred was in the fore, striding toward both herself and her mother as they stood facing him.

  “Margaret, do you dare to reject your clan and your bloodline?” His tone was harsh, and no doubt had caused his daughter to cower in the past.

  “I embrace my bloodline, Alfred. I am of the Redwolf clan.” She looked over at her daughter and smiled. “I am a new animal.”

  “What? What the hell are you talking about, bitch?” His voice was a harsh shriek and his body language spoke of his temper.

  “I have nothing of you left within me. Magic has remade me, and my daughter. There is none of your blood in my veins.” She stood her ground and waited for the explosion.

  It didn’t take long.

  Jinx was waiting for it, and so was Sirnel. As soon as Alfred rushed at Margaret, he was tackled and held to the ground. Jinx calmly walked to him and used a nail to draw blood on her own forearm.

  “Sniff this.” It was rude, but she wanted to see the look in his eyes as he realized that his line was gone. It didn’t take long.

  “How?”

  “The how doesn’t matter. We are no longer Yellowpaw, no longer your kin. You have no claim on us and we are the beginning of a new clan. A matriarchal clan. The clan of the Redwolf.” It was formally spoken and she raised her voice to be heard by all the leaders. “As the clan of the Redwolf contains the only living Archive, they have asked for and received
guards from the dragon council. No one will take me from my family, and my choice is made.”

  She nodded to Sirnel and he released Alfred, who was looking bereft and confused. As Sirnel rose she took his hands. He leaned down to kiss her as she rose on her toes to return it. It was a meeting of equals. Alpha to alpha. Male to female. Mate to mate.

  “Let’s go home, Jinx.” His harsh whisper reminded her that they had not had enough time to learn each other in the whirlwind of the last days. By the look in his eyes, he wanted to correct that.

  George had not shifted forms and they ran to her, leaping onto her back with Sirnel shouting directions to his home as they flew.

  As soon as they landed they scrambled off her back and ran into the house laughing. As he closed the door on the curious dragon’s eye and leaned back against it, Melissande stripped off her clothing with unseemly haste.

  * * * *

  He watched every piece of clothing fall away and as she backed slowly away from him beckoning him with her body he surged forward. She squealed and ran. Straight to the bedroom.

  Snarling playfully he caught her, tackling her to the bed and pressing his body into hers. She groaned and pulled at his hair when he lifted his head, then snarled with need as he mocked her with his eyes.

  “What do you want, Jinx?”

  “You. Inside me. Fucking me hard and fast.” And just like that his own lust flared into overdrive and his clothes flew into a heap across the room.

  He was on her so fast that she barely had a chance to gasp as he flipped her to her belly and raised her to her knees. His fingers primed her with short jerky impacts, spreading the liquid heat that her body was producing to ease his entry.

  As soon as her hips moved in time to his hands he moved his cock into position. At the first blunt impact she arched her back, the second worked him an inch into her and the third slid him all the way home.