Disclaimer: Everything but me belongs to Mrs. Hamilton, Ms. Roiling, and Mr. Butcher. No money's being made out of the story.
Warning: Possibly some bad language.
Chapter 2
July was hot and muggy in St. Louis, and there wasn't much rain to cool things off. I had arrived here in St. Louis a week ago from my grandparents in Paris to live with my father and my stepmother. It's been six months since the attack on me in London and eight years since my car accident and the death of my husband. My family was keeping an eye on me because I had been badly hurt, and they were worried about me. They feared I would do something drastic over losing Dakota. This irked me, just because I have my own way of dealing with things and I keep them inside, my family thinks I'm going to go loco on them. My grandparents had been watching me for the last six months, but after my grandfather got promoted as a new member of the council. I had to go live with my father and stepmother due to circumstances my grandfather refused to tell me. My father's house was a huge mansion, but it looked almost like a castle from the inside and out. The house was sitting on a huge estate of land out in the mountains near The McGregar's school of witchcraft and wizardry. My stepmother is the head mistress there, and she does a good job keeping the students in line. If you go a mile up one way, you come to a lake, and if you go a mile the other way, you come to the local wolf pack's lupanar. My stepmother is also the new vargamor for the pack. My father is Master over the lands across the river on the Illinois side. The queen split half of Jean-Claude's land up as punishment for him not taking the council seat, and gave it to my father. My father and Jean-Claude have come together, joined forces, and formed a treaty between the two. They were also working together as business partners. The head of the werehyenas wasn't too happy about this arrangement, but like my father said he'd get over it. I learned most of this from my grandfather, but my dad told me about the rest of his investments when I arrived last week. I was on my way to the kitchen thinking about this, and what had happened in my life during the last six months. I didn't realize I had walked the wrong way to the kitchen until I fell into the pool. I must have walked downstairs into the basement part of the house by accident. The strange thing was I don't remembering opening any of the doors. I guess that's what I get for keeping my head in the clouds. I was just getting out of the pool, when my stepmother came in the door.
"Alexandra Jane McGregar Montgomery, why are you in the pool with your clothes on," She asked me. I know when my family used my entire name I was in trouble, even though they seldom yell at me.
" I sort of thought this was the kitchen," I replied back with a smile on my face.
" Well it's not, so get out of there and go put some dry clothes on before you get sick."
" Okey dokey," I replied.
" Oh and Alexandra," she said going out the door.
" Yes mom," I answered.
" I need you to go with me tonight to the lupanar," she replied turning to look at me with her eyes. My stepmother was my height, 5ft6in, with white hair and tan skin, but what made her stands out in the crowd were her eyes. Her eyes were like the eyes of a demon. They were yellow with black slits down the middle. When she looked at you with those eyes, you had better listen, because she means business.
" Why are we going to the lupanar tonight, it's not a full moon yet?"
" There's a pack meeting and your being introduced to the pack," she said with the tone that said you had better behave. I misbehave, not little old me, but I had to groan at the same time. The thing I was dreading had come to pass. I was being dragged to the lupanar to meet the pack. Did I forget to mention, that I'm a werewolf witch?
" Do I have to, can't I just make myself a nice little cage to stay in every full moon," I replied with a pout?
She just looked at me and smiled. "No, you can't, and it's pack law that all new wolves in town must be introduced to the pack."
"You don't need to tell me why that is, I already know from past experiences," I rolled my eyes as I said this, because I know I'm in for one of those nights.
" You had better go upstairs and change, we leave in an hour," she replied as she went out the door.
This really sucks. I thought to myself, heading out the door dripping water everywhere. I have to go upstairs, change my clothes to go to some stupid meeting, that I've been trying to avoid for the last week. How much worse can my life get, don't answer that question?