i couldn't worry about future challenges. i hadn't made it out of this room yet. i had to focus on what was going on here, and eliminate the white noise.

"the next step is to formulate a plan," my father said. he didn't touch on what james had just said about me besting the rogue in human form. i was relieved. "the circle will stay to discuss the main options, and the other wolves will be brought up to speed once a decision is made on how the entire pack will proceed. you are excused until further notice." he nodded to the wolves lining the walls.

i watched as the wolves filed out of the room.

i caught a brief glimpse of marcy as the door opened, her eyes wide. then without missing a beat she said, "right this way, fellas." i didn't have enough money in my coffers to pay her enough.

behind me, there was a barely audible growl. it was coming from james. i turned to him, but his gaze was pinned on the last wolf leaving the conference room. as the door closed, i wondered if i should be worried. the wolves should behave themselves out there. marcy shouldn't be in any real trouble. i was the problem, not her. the smell of aggression diminished considerably as the wolves left the room, but before i could ask james what he thought, my father's voice filled the space.

"we will start this meeting with jessica. she will brief you on the details of her first change, up until she arrived here this morning. after we've heard from her, we will hear from both tyler and james. then the circle will decide what action is to be taken."

the circle was the formal name for the werewolf council, made up of roughly thirteen wolves including my father, one for every cycle of the moon in our original calendar. my father had supreme ruling over all decisions, which went without saying, but throughout the past few centuries wolves in every pack had employed an advisory council of some kind. the circle was short for "circle of the moon." the full moon has always been our most sacred symbol.

when it began, the circle originally consisted of the alpha and the twelve oldest werewolves in attendance at that given time. nowadays, with technology and modern human development, my father had assigned specific wolves to the council, to go along with the oldest.

there were nine wolves left sitting, not including nick, me, and devon, who was part of the circle but not a wolf. besides my father, my brother, and james, in attendance were grady carson; rich garley; my new super supporter, hank, who i wished to hell wasn't here, but because he was one of the eldest he ranked a seat whether i liked it or not; danny, who had a spot due to his status as the enforcer of the city boundaries; and two other older wolves, cliff delano and elliot murphy. three wolves were missing, all of whom resided in canada.

i had no idea how any of the council members felt about me, besides hank and grady, but we were going to find out in about five minutes. normally the council meetings were held on the compound, but because of the rogue attack, and everything that had gone wrong, my father had come here.

my father turned to me with his eyebrows raised expectantly.

i told my side of the story. i recounted to the circle everything that had happened to me over the past few days, up until james busted through my door last night. james picked up the thread after that, and then my brother followed.

nothing was mentioned about our brief interlude. neither james nor i would be expected to share our coupling. some things were private, even for werewolves.

my being a possible lycan was also not specifically mentioned by name either, but it was implied. james told the room i had begun to change, but never finished. when tyler finished describing the scene there was a long silence.

"what do you mean she started to change?" hank, not surprisingly, asked first. "did she finish, or did she get locked?" he looked at me hopefully. getting locked or stalling partway through the change was typical with newborns, and extremely painful. or so i'd heard.

i deferred to my father with a glance. i didn't feel it was my information to share; i barely understood what was going on my own self, much less trying to explain it to a group of wolves.

callum mcclain peered seriously around the table at his inner circle. the anxiety in the room had amped up a few degrees. i suddenly felt light-headed. i had no idea what everyone was going to do when they found out. it couldn't possibly be good.

"what i am about to tell you will stay in this room until i deem it pack business. vow it."

around the table a chorus of voices chimed, "i vow it."

14

a pulse of power flowed through the room as my father accepted an oath from each wolf. if they broke their vow he'd know it. vows were binding in our world. the link from an alpha to his wolf was a physical one, and when it came to a vow, it manifested between them in a tangible way.

"i have not seen this for myself, but it has been witnessed by my son and my second." he met the curious stares of his council straight on. "it seems jessica was able to change partway and hold that form for a considerable amount of time. she fought the rogue that way ... and won." he lifted his eyebrow slightly, challenging his wolves to say otherwise. "she did not get locked. she did not stall. she was able to function with complete control."

there was dead silence.

some of the wolves darted looks at each other. i wiggled in my seat, uncomfortable now that my secret was out. receiving the news i was a lycan had to be the equivalent of proving the cain myth true for these wolves. i knew my father had to address it, there was no other way around it, but i just wished i'd had a few more days to digest everything first before it all came crashing down around me.

the soft clacks of the computer keys came to a halt. "lycan," devon breathed. "you're talking about a lycan, right? i didn't think that was even possible. i mean, there's plenty of legend surrounding it, but no one in the last thousand years has ever witnessed one."

everyone held perfectly still.

emotions passed over each wolf's face as they grappled with the news.

a hesitant cough came from across the table. "but, callum, if you didn't personally see it, they may have been mistaken," rich said calmly. "no one has ever seen a true lycan. how could it be accurately judged so quickly? it's possible that a female werewolf can't even change fully to begin with. changing partway may be the only thing she can manage."

he had a point. if i hadn't made a full change my first night i would be questioning it as well.

"i would agree with you, rich. caution would be the right way to tread with this," my father said. "this is not information i share lightly with all of you. jace did a full blood workup on jessica when she came back, and her chemistry has completely changed. i received the results before i left the compound. he is still working on isolating the gene, but according to her blood, at this time, she is full wolf and that's confirmation enough." he let his voice trail off as he gazed around the room. it was still absolutely quiet. he continued, "there have also been a few other indicators pointing to lycan, which have made me solidify my judgment."

cliff delano, a steady wolf with chocolate skin and serious eyes, stared at me in open wonder. "what other indicators?" he asked my father in a sedate tone, which underscored the fear quietly emanating from him.

in fact, the stink of fear began to fill the air from several directions. that wasn't good.

"jessica, it seems," my father told his circle, "is able to block me from her thoughts unconsciously. i am unable to reach her. i cannot break through her barrier, though i have tried to do repeatedly."

there was an audible gasp and a few open growls.

i felt like a fish in an aquarium, right before the cat dips his paw in and gobbles her up. i burned under the weight of their gazes. what do you think about that, boys? huh? i'm an unknown risk and the most powerful alpha in the world can't control me. i'm your worst nightmare come to life. how do you like me now?

i closed my eyes. my internal senses shifted as tyler spoke in my head. jess, it's gonna be okay. we will figure this out. if they retaliate, we will quell it and move on.

that's easy for you to say. quelling a few wolves is one thing, but once this gets out, my life will be up for grabs. you can't stop all of them at the same time. the wolves who fear what a lycan will mean in pack, having never seen one before, will hate me for no other reason than that, and those who deny i'm a lycan will fight me for status.

my brother's emotions swirled near the surface. in my mind, it appeared like an ethereal arc of colors. i had no idea the thought process could work like that. fiercely loyal green, purple for his fears, and the scarlet of his heart. he had no words for me, but that was enough.

i glanced up from the table. my gaze landed solidly on hank. naturally. his facial features went from shock to revulsion in one second flat.

he shot up from his seat before he could contain himself, so fast he stumbled back a few steps, his chair clattering. "i will not take orders from that," he said as he pointed at me. "i will not be ruled by a female." he was so angry, spittle gathered at the sides of his mouth.

my father stood from his chair slowly, taking his time to rest his hands on the table and lean forward. "no one is asking you to take orders from jessica, hank lauder. i'm the alpha of this pack. i will remain the alpha. there's been no shift in power, nor do i expect there to be. there is much for us to learn about what a lycan means, but i assure you jessica will not be seeking to challenge me. not now, not ever."

you've got that right, dad. i had a very clear sense my wolf wasn't the pack alpha type. yes, we were alpha, strong and bullheaded, but running pack was for alphas. there were very few true alphas born. it took the strongest alpha-born personality, coupled with cunning, power, and the ability to run a pack to make a true alpha. just because you were alpha-born didn't mean you were strong enough to control a bunch of unruly wolves. don't ask how, but i was certain it was not our role to take over pack leadership. my wolf snapped her jaws at the thought, dismissing it. i was definitely missing something here. i don't get it. i know we're alpha-born, but not alpha. none of it makes any sense.