The Keeper of the Wolf Clan
By
Red Phoenix
SMASHWORDS EDITION
PUBLISHED BY:
Red Phoenix on Smashwords
The Keeper of the Wolf Clan
Copyright 2012 by Red Phoenix
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Your support and respect for the property of this author is greatly appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Adult Reading Material
CONTENTS
The Keeper of the Wolf Clan
***
The Keeper of the Daric Wolf Clan died the day before the Bonding Ritual, giving Layla no chance to prepare or say goodbye…
Her morning romp was exhilarating. Layla joined the adolescent pack for a quick hunting trip. Technically, she was too old after her rite of passage less than a moon ago. She wasn’t supposed to hang with the adolescents, but these were her dear friends. Besides, nothing excited her more than hunting deer. A deer’s quickness, combined with its sharp hooves, always made for an exciting challenge.
Layla loped back triumphantly with a large doe to show for her morning efforts. Triss patted her white fur in admiration. “I’m sure going to miss you, Layla. I don’t think your parents are going to let you get away with hunting with us much longer. You need to start looking for a mate. It’s your duty to the clan.”
Layla shook her head violently in response to her best friend, unable to speak in her wolf form.
“Duty? What wolf in his right mind would have anything to do with Layla? Such a weak and temperamental female.” Renz joked.
Layla growled in mock challenge and then transformed into her human form, punching him in the gut without warning. She grinned mercilessly as he doubled over. “Don’t speak to your superior like that, Renz. I just may become Alpha some day and you’ll pay for that insubordination.”
It was all in jest, but out of nowhere, Valen charged up and threw Layla to the ground. He snarled into her ear threateningly. “Enough!” He pushed her face into the dirt and stood over her, further humiliating her in front of her friends. For all her bravado, Layla was frightened of Valen. Since she was a pup, he’d gone out of his way to dominate her. Had it been anyone else she could have fought him off, but Valen was unusually strong. He was a lone wolf, an orphan adopted by their clan. A nobody.
Still, for whatever reason, he’d seen fit to terrorize her since they were small. The tiniest perceived infraction of village protocol and he was on her in an instant, making an example of her as painfully as possible. He hid his bullying by only punishing her when she made a mistake, no matter how small or unimportant the violation. No one else in the adolescent pack was held to the standards Valen set for her. What hurt most was that none of the adults intervened, not even her parents. Their lack of response caused her friends to accept his cruelty without question. Layla hated Valen with deep-seeded rage. She promised herself that someday, when she had power, she would repay Valen for his many cruelties. She was not one to forgive or forget.
Valen smashed her into the dirt one last time before taking off into the forest. Layla glared at his back as she wiped the dust from her. “You’ll pay for this,” she growled under her breath.
Her group of friends continued towards the village as if nothing had happened, excited to show off their morning’s bounty. As penance for Renz’s remark, she forced him to carry her doe. Instead of cheers, they were greeted to the sounds of mourning as soon as they reached the outskirts of the village. It was unusual. Of all the clans in the Tethon Empire, theirs was the most protected. Few people died unexpectedly- other than old age and the occasional illness. When she heard the wailing, she assumed Gena’s baby must have passed on. It had been born too soon and was small for a newborn. Layla was unprepared when Oni came up and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly.
“Our Keeper is gone!”
Layla backed away from her and hurried to her family’s tent. She had to find out for herself what Oni meant. The tent was crowded with mourners howling loudly and pulling at their clothes. Layla pushed herself inside and gasped when she saw her mother lying on the floor. Her face was pale and lifeless. Layla shook her head violently, refusing to believe it. She ran up and kneeled next to her, grabbing Mika’s cold hand. “Mama, please open your eyes. Open your eyes for me.”
She felt the warm paw of her father on her shoulder. “She’s gone, Layla.”
Layla put Mika’s hand to her face, pressing it against her warm cheek. “You can’t be gone, Mama. You are too strong to die. You have many seasons left.” She leaned forward and whispered, “Please Mama, it’s Layla. Please open your eyes for your daughter. Oh Mama… I can’t lose you!”
Layla stayed beside Mika’s still body for hours, holding her mother’s lifeless hand hoping for a miracle. She overheard people talking outside the tent. During a simple morning trip gathering herbs, Mika startled the snake. With one swift strike, the adder rendered her mother powerless. Mika attempted to crawl back to the village, but the paralyzing venom prevented her from getting far. She suffered alone until a group of children happened upon her. By then her breathing was labored. She struggled valiantly to breathe until the venom finally claimed its unwilling victim. Clansmen hunted the snake down, but her father refused to let them kill it. He said that Mika would not have wanted the creature to die for behaving as a snake should. Therefore, the creature was released far away from the camp, not having any concept of the extraordinary life it had extinguished or how close it came to death itself.
Layla remained by her mother’s side the entire day. It wasn’t until her father physically picked her up and carried her away that she broke the tight hold on her mother’s hand. “No, Papa. Please! I need to stay next to Mama. Don’t take me away. They are going to bury her if I go.”
Jerric touched foreheads with his daughter and growled softly, “They must bury her. Night is coming, Daughter. She deserves a proper burial.”
Layla looked into the red-rimmed eyes of her father. “Papa, please.”
“I know, child, I know. I can’t believe she’s gone. I expected my beautiful Mika to outlive me, but as leader, I must accept this and remain strong for our people. Your mother’s death throws our entire clan into turmoil.” He gazed deeply into her eyes. “Layla, it is important that you understand the vital role your mother played for our clan. The Keeper is responsible for sustaining the bond between the Alpha males. With four Alpha males to defend us, our clan is the most powerful in the empire.”
She smiled patiently. “I know, Father.”
“I know you do, child, but are you aware that with Mika gone the Alphas will turn on each other tomorrow? The Keeper’s willing sacrifice every full moon is essential to preserving our power. The Ritual also keeps our clan strong in ways you cannot fathom. In the past, there has been needless bloodshed amongst our people when the Bonding Ritual was not performed.”
Layla touched her father’s cheek. “None of this is news to me, Papa. I am part of the Daric Clan.”
Jerric looked like he was about to say something, but then he shook his head and muttered, “I sent message to Ezra. Your brother won’t have time to attend the burial, but he needs to know what happened.”
Layla closed her eyes, trying to keep the tears back. “Yes, poor Ezra will be devastated.” Her father nodded sadly. She could sense he was holding something back, so she waited silently for him to continue.
Jerric cleared his throat, staving off his emotion in order to speak. “It is terrible that in the midst of this tragedy, I must choose someone to take your mother’s place tomorrow. Her death right before the full moon has forced us to revert to our ancient laws.” Layla could smell his angst and it frightened her. She’d never seen Jerric as vulnerable as he was now. The great man seemed smaller somehow.
Suddenly, she heard a profound sob escape from deep within her father’s chest. Layla grabbed onto him tighter, wanting to bring comfort but knowing the loss was too big. Nothing could fill the gaping hole left behind by Mika’s death. Her mother kept the clan strong for many, many seasons. “Oh Mama, we need you…” she cried, burying her head into her father’s shoulder.
Jerric pulled away from her embrace and looked down at Layla with pain in his eyes. “Tomorrow the Bonding Ritual must take place by the light of the full moon.” He lovingly stroked her long white hair. “Oh my sweet innocent, how I wish this duty did not have to fall to you.”
She realized he was appointing her as the next Keeper. Even though her mother had been Keeper ever since Layla could remember, the role itself was shrouded in mystery. Only the Alpha males and the Keeper knew what happened during the Bonding Ritual. Their total secrecy protected the clan from enemies wanting to exploit their strength. “It would be my honor to act as Keeper for Mama.”
Jerric growled softly, “If you only knew what you were agreeing to, Layla. What will be asked of you is terrible.”
“But Mama was Keeper for years. I am sure I can handle it.”
“Child, the Keeper is supposed to be married. It is not right for an unmarried woman to take on this role. You are only being asked because of the timing of Mika’s death.”
Layla put both hands on his face and smiled tenderly. “It’s okay. You raised me to be strong. I can do this.”
Jerric ripped himself away from her and snarled under his breath. “It is bad enough that I lost my wife, but to sacrifice my daughter as well? It is too much to ask of any man.”
“Sacrifice? What is going to happen?”
“I cannot say. You know I cannot. You must walk in blind. It makes me ill to think of what will happen tomorrow.” He turned around and blanketed her in his strong arms. “Not my innocent girl. Why?” he screamed up to the heavens. Amy could feel his temperature rise dramatically. The angst in his heart was causing him to transform against his will. Jerric started panting, “No, not now…”
“It’s okay. You need to let go, Papa. Let it out. Let it out and run!”
The hair on his arms grew coarse and long. She saw the snout jut out from his face. He unconsciously shed his clothes. Clothes only acted as unwelcomed restraints during the change. Layla was not embarrassed to see his naked form; it was the natural way of her people.
Jerric howled in rage, not wanting his body to have control over him. The transformation was painful, but it was an addicting kind of pain. Sometimes it felt good to hurt like that. Layla knew it would be beneficial for her father to run feral for a few hours. He needed the release.
Jerric continued to cry out as his body transformed into a large gray wolf, a wolf with great power and a strong mind. In wolf form, his emotions would center on instinct and survival. The pain of Mika’s death would momentarily disappear.
He towered over her, panting his warm, moist breath against her cheek. “I love you, Papa. Go ahead and run. It’s okay.”
Jerric licked her cheek and bolted into the forest. It was extremely rare for her father to transform against his will. Of all the Alpha males, he had the most control. His iron-like control set him apart from the others.
Layla understood that his unwelcomed transformation meant that tomorrow’s ritual truly held something dire for her. Her father said it was a sacrifice. A sacrifice meant something would be lost. Her father mentioned that a married woman normally took the role, which could only mean one thing. Tomorrow Layla would lose her virginity.
Layla snuck into Triss’ tent, trying to avoid contact with the multitude of mourners. “Are you doing okay?” Triss asked.
“No… for many reasons.”
“I’m so sorry about your mom. I can’t believe it.” She held Layla close, crying on her shoulder. But Layla did not join in her tears. She felt nothing inside. Triss finally noticed her lack of emotion and let go of Layla. “What’s going on, my friend?”
“Father has asked me to become Keeper.”
“Wow, that’s such an honor! I can’t believe I’m friends with the next Keeper.” When Layla didn’t smile, Triss immediately apologized. “I am such a fool. You just lost your mom. Of course you aren’t excited. Please forgive me.”
“Triss, it is so much bigger than that. I cannot believe that I lost my mother this morning and now I am facing a frightening duty.”
Triss put her arm around her again. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t have any details, but my father is really upset. He says the Keeper should be married, so it makes me think it has something to do with sex.”
“What?” Triss shook her head in surprise “Why would you think that?”
“My dad said something about sacrifice. I think I’m giving up my virginity tomorrow, but I don’t know which one of the Alphas it will be.” She looked at her friend with tears in her eyes. “I’m afraid, Triss.”
Triss hugged her, squeezing as hard as she could. “We need to talk to Sheen. She recently got married and should have some advice.”