Temptation of the Pack (Red Raven Witch)

Bane was at his locker with some of his packmates, roughing up the younger one's hair and joking with the older ones. They were a young group, but strong and many in numbers. Bane's nineteenth birthday was coming up soon, so Rocky, their mentor, would be retiring as an Elder. Rocky was just like how his name sounded, strong, serious and stone cold silent. The old wolf was in his forties and unable to defend his lands from the younger and larger packs in the area. So Bane, who had been raised as his secession, had fought and won his place as Alpha male. On his nineteenth birthday he'd choose his future mate and claim complete dominance over the pack.

Why was there such an age gap in the town of Stoneriver? For one reason or another, this town and the surrounding towns had a large age gap. Many of the Elders had been concerned and had even come together to try and figure out why there was such a phenomenon. With the help of science and old scrolls, they found that once a pack was strong enough the gene for being a wolf would jump over to the next generation. Reason? So that young and old wolves would not clash. Rocky was the last old generation wolf still patrolling and fighting on their lands. The age gap had made it so that the older wolves would be almost all Elders by the time the next young Alpha took over. It was rather amazing, how the supernatural in nature worked.

But today, Bane wasn't interested in mulling over facts and phenomenon of his kind. There was something more interesting in the air. A new wolf. The entire pack had been whining about the odd smell of a new wolf in town, but Bane had quieted them and consoled them accordingly.
"A new wolf has been shipped in to our town," he said in his soothing and hypnotic Alpha-calming voice, "The female was a bit troublesome to another pack that held leadership in another state. She would not be accepted anywhere but here, and only because we value the oddities in out kind. It means they are strong and will make great new additions to our pack."

"But Bane," Glen, his sparky best friend perked up, "If she's a troublemaker back there, won't she be trouble here too?" Bane scoffed, causing all of his packmates to grin.

"Our pack is too large for her to try and take over," he waved their concern away, "She may end up becoming a loner, since she had already declined our offer to stay in the pack's house. Worse comes to worse, we'll just politely ask her to move on. But I highly doubt she will be too much for us to handle."

"So it's a 'she' is it?" the very dry voice of Iris mumbled, "Does that mean you are going to 'personally' welcome her if she turns out to be attractive, Bane?" The handsome black haired male chuckled, his tall and athletically lean form commanding all the energy around him like a magnet. His smile made them smile, his calmness made them calm. And even Iris, the pack downer, couldn't resist his charismatic grin.

"But of course. We must be hospitable," his voice was smooth and thick like honey, making all of his packmates chuckle and grin, "Now hurry up and go to class, you lot." They giant group of teenagers spilt off, leaving only Glen and Bane to lean against the lockers. Bane and Glen's smiles turned into serious faces once their packamtes had gone to class. The bells hadn't rung yet, but even if they had Glen and Bane were always allowed exemptions from classes. As long as the elder's approved, of course. After all Bane wasn't nineteen yet, so he still had to be watched and mentored. Even when he claimed Alpha dominance, he'd still always listen to the Elders.

"Are you sure about this?" Glen murmured. Bane didn't need to say anything. He just gave his right hand packmate a curt nod. Glen said nothing further on the topic.

Willow-

Anywhere but here- France, London, Tokyo; just anywhere but here. A loner's life wasn't something I enjoyed, but the thought of being somewhere else was much more appealing. Of course I wouldn't admit that to anyone, not one soul would know how I truly felt about being kicked out of a pack to join a new one. Alright, so I didn't have to join, they could kick me out, not welcome me, but deep down I wasn't sure if I wanted to be excepted or shunned. Until I could figure it out all I wanted to do was be left alone, maybe not worry so much about how things had turned out and rather what they could turn into.

Maybe it was just childish thoughts of optimism getting to me again- something Granny told me I had a nack for; childish optimism. Others like Granny had rather enjoyed the optimism that I brought, but after getting a new pack leader. . .well, things wen't down from there. They didn't like my optimism much, nor my fighting back when seeing something wrong. It was reckless of me to fight against my pack, now I was paying for it. . .What made it worse was that I felt alone and it scared me. Again- wouldn't let it show! No one would know, nothing would be wrong, and if worse came to worse I could live on my own! Yes, that's right, I could do it if I really wanted to!

My optimism stopped there. Stopped right at the door of the new high school. Taking a deep breath in though the nose I let it out a second later, walking inside once I was good and ready. Sadly, taking my own sweet time had left me lost as the bell rang and children went to their classes. Standing there like a fool, a look of uncertainty plastered on my face, I looked around and tried to figure out where the office was . . .Or maybe where a teacher could guide me to my first class?

((I'm sorry about such a bad reply DX))

They saw the school doors open and the certain female with red hair walk in. She was certainly attractive and unique looking, like her exotic Were genes made her. Her hair was brilliant curly red but it was also rather golden, almost like firelight, whereas Bane's was like the midnight sky. Glen and Bane watched her with minor curiosity, both wondering if she was really as much trouble as her last pack had said she was. Then again, she had come from a small pack with a rather weak leader. Well, in the Elders' perspective she had. And they knew every pack in the country. Bane's dark blue eyes watched the new female with his everlasting mild amusement. He was always like that, calm and collected in such a amused way. He motioned for Glen to stay where he was, Bane's long legs carrying him over to the new wolf.

"Willow, yes?" he smiled warmly, extending his hand to the smaller she-wolf, "I'm Bane. We heard you were coming into school today. Must say everyone is a bit excited on meeting you. Us boys a little more so, but isn't that the norm for small towns like this?" He held up her papers. "The teachers got a bit busy and asked Glen and I to help you out today," he handed her the papers with a smile, his Alpha charm emitting like a wave of warmth from his heroic body, "Allow us to be your guides."

Willow-

Really, all I could do was pray that he couldn't read my thoughts. Why? First thought that popped into my head was about how he was kind of. . well. . cute. If he hadn't been a wolf as well then maybe I would have continued to think that, but knowing who he was and who his friend was I just wanted to dislike him.
He had that alpha aura, which was just radiating off of him as light would come from the sun- for a moment it was to much for me but before it could show I turned to look at the papers in his hand. While looking at them rather blankly was when I really listened to what he was saying. Whether or not he was just trying to be friendly was hard to decide, for when he put in the little tid-bit of how the male wolves were more interested in me I suddenly felt a bit angry.
Being new and all I didn't want to seem like the new thing to mess around with. Sure, wolves found their mates but being the center of attention in that 'new mate potential' department made me feel weird.

Ignoring the hand he held out for me to shake all together I took the papers from his hand gently.

"That's very kind of you both." Being polite I looked at him and his friend, speaking softly to them before looking down at the papers to read what class was first. "However, I don't need a guide. I'll do just as well on my own, thank you." A bob of my head, a simple goodbye, and I turned to head down the hall where I believed my first class was. British Lit.- anything with writing and books was wonderful to me! Maybe it could even get me out of the whole new situation as well, even for a little bit.

"Oo, not very friendly, are we?" he chuckled and retracted his hand. Glen tensed but Bane held up a hand, his warm smile still on his face. So she didn't want to even try to be friends? Aw, that was too bad. He was sort of glad she was here, her and that fiery attitude of hers. Made things interesting. Bane stayed perfectly poised, still holding up a hand to steady his friend. Well, at least he knew Willow wasn't going to try and convert his packmates and start a civil war. As she passed Glen, Bane could see his friend tense and want to lurch forward with a growl, but Bane had given the order to stay back, so Glen stayed back. Bane could see how the omega wolf could get into trouble, especially with a hot tempered Alpha. Good thing he wasn't too hot tempered. If patience was a virtue, Bane had a lot of virtue.

Following Willow he looked up at Glen, as Glen glared down at the shorter and frailer female. Bane wondered if Glen was having trouble keeping his wolf down. There were humans in the school, humans who didn't know their little secret. At this school there were Elders as teachers, even the principal was a wolf, but like any public school the students were very diverse. Bane and his pack were an odd looking bunch, with him as Mr. Popular, Glen as student body president, Iris as the lead goth, and even Fir as the school uber nerd. Bane felt a slight unease, unsure of wether he should leave the new kid alone, or plaster himself to her side. Her rather rebellious temperament was fierce and she was out of her comfort zone, which made all wolves more edgy. Bane smiled down at the new wolf.

"Too bad you already decided not to like me," he said in a warm and friendly way, "We have most of our classes together, I believe. And Glen here is student body president. So you'll be seeing a lot of both of us. We even have this class together."

Turning on my heal I looked up at the two boys, trying to give off an air of indifference, wanting them to think I didn't care whether they were with me or not. "I've never said I didn't want to be your friend, but you are not gaining any brownie points towards that goal." Highly doubting he wanted to be my friend, or at least doubting Glen wanted to be my friend, I wondered if I should push them away or just let them stay near me. Apparently we had classes together, we would see a lot of each other, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to try and make friends with them just for the sake of less awkward moments when in a room together.

"I'm quite friendly, for your information, but only when I want to be." His friend was giving off a vibe that told me he didn't like me talking back to Bane and all I did was stare at him. While I wanted to show that I wasn't going to follow him so easily- if at all- I also didn't want to get into a fight. Yes, even I, trouble's little friend, knew when to back off a bit.
Looking away from both of them I turned again, peeking into the door before walking inside with the boys. Oh, and just my luck- I got to sit with them. . .Fate was not being kind today.

"Ah, yes," Bane seemed very amused at the two interacting, "Well, you'll just have to forgive us. The principal is having us escorte you. Something about school promised acts or whatever."

Omegas were loner wolves, and by the looks of things Willow was on the fast track to Omega-dom, considering she hadn't interacted well with his pack so far. It also seemed that she didn't realize how much the Elders like Bane and his gigantic pack of young wolves. Bane was the Golden Boy, practically perfect in every way according to the Elders. And deep down Bane was just a good guy. But like anyone he had his dark side. In fact it was the principal, Elder wolf Rose, that had persuaded him to be personal co-guide for Willow. Glen and Bane followed Willow into their Brit. Lit. class, not responding to her last statement. Some of his packmates were already in class, so when he cleared his throat they looked up at him and stopped whispering.

"Finally decided to show up, Mr. Blackwater?" Mrs. Greenwood said sternly to Bane, but with a smile, "Shouldn't you and Mr. Herring be already in class?" His packmates grinned up at him like puppies, the humans in the class following suit and smiling up at him in adoration. He sure was Mr. Popular, nice and protective to everyone, even the humans. In his town everyone knew everybody and their mother-in-laws' secrets. So close was everyone in town, and so deep was the wolf blood, that full moon hiking trips and week long camping during the middle of the school year were normal. The humans never thought it was unusual that Bane and his gang were in a group co-ed dorm. That was just how it was in the town of Stoneriver.

"We were told to escort Ms. Winslow here to each class today," Bane grinned warmly at her, "Wanted her to feel comfortable and such. We even offered to accompany her home tonight."

"Well, then, I suppose it's alright," Mrs. Greenwood said warmly, "Ms. Smith? Mr. Bailey? Could you move up front so these two young gentlemen can sit near their escort?" The two teenagers stood without complaint and went to different seats, smiling and even welcoming Bane and Glen into the class. They were among the idol group. It was an honor to sit in the same seat as one of the River Gangs' seats, or even give up your seat for them.

"Thank you, Mrs. Greenwood," Bane grinned and then heartily ruffled the hair of the two who had given up their seats, "And thank you Becky and Louis for graciously giving up you seats." The two wolves went to sit by Brad. Glen scooted a little bit away from the new kid, while Bane just lounged in his seat.

"I love british literature," Bane grinned happily.

Had Willow taken notice, there was an interesting detail about the Stoneriver pack, or the River Gang as the humans so affectionately called them. Every wolf had a very earthy name. 'Bane' came from the toxic flower wolf bane, 'Glen' from a narrow valley. Every wolf had a nature induced first and last name, which made them not only easy to identify, but trace backwards into pack history. Every new wolf that got inducted into the pack took on a nature name, since the Elders thought it would give them a stronger bond with their wolves. The humans thought that these names were just a way of connecting to that land's history of Native Americans, but the wolves felt it more in their blood and land than anything. It was an odd thing to do perhaps, but in Stoneriver everyone was very warm and friendly only because they were unified. There were no rouge or feral wolves. There were no Omegas. At least... not yet.

So far I couldn't tell if they were under a spell or if this was rather normal. There was a limit to how popular one could be, wasn't there? Where did Bane's popularity end?! Everyone couldn't be part of the pack, some where human, but they seemed to follow suit with the whole admiring thing going on. It made me wonder what kind of person Bane was, but at the same time I didn't want to know. No, I didn't want to be worshiping the ground he walked on, I didn't want to look up at him with such affection or be looked down upon like some puppy!

"Oh, dear goodness." It was all I could muster out, whispering to myself as I gently placed my hand on my forehead, shaking my head in disbelief. Giving a small prayer, I looked up at the ceiling before looking at some of the other kids in class. Now, this I could understand- death stares from girls. Once again, wouldn't dare admit it out loud, but I was pretty much sitting with two of the cutest guys I knew. Whether human or wolf, the girls seemed to not like it all to much, and with courage I met their cold eyes. From their looks they were popular, no doubt about it, but they weren't 'Bane' popular- now a new term!

Looking away I sighed and this time prayed for my own safety in this new enviorment- heaven knows I'll need it. With a glance over at Bane, then at Glen, I realized I didn't have a book. "We'll have to get you a book, but for today you can share with your neighbor." Oh no. . .Quickly looking at Glen I moved my desk a bit closer to his; rather have him to read with than Bane. For now, until I could figure out what spell he was casting on the students, I wasn't going to get to close.

Bane raised a brow at her way of ignoring him. It was not something he was used to. They would have to work on that. Glen looked over at her, when she got closer to him. The brown haired male was not smiling as he looked over at her, but he allowed her to see his book. Bane's midnight blue eyes watched her. Was she really going to try and avoid him? With a huff he leaned over his desk, looking forwards. He had at least two wolves in every classroom, not including faculty and staff.

"Willow," Glen's voice was cold and hollow, his eyes hard and his body rigid, "You can have my book. I have already read it twice." Bane held back a smirk. That was the Pres for you. He was two steps ahead of everyone, even Bane. Bane had intense charisma, but Glen had the most intense smarts out of any wolf he had ever met. Well, any person he had ever met. Except for Elder Cling. That old she-wolf was a genius if he had ever met one. Bane looked at Willow with warm amusement, his chin in his palm.

He leaned back and turned his attention to the teacher. It was interesting, teens acting so calm in class. But that was how Bane ran his pack. Education was important, and if his pack did well, the humans would follow like passive sheep. And if Bane couldn't control his pack inside school, he was not fit to be Alpha. Bane looked at her. He leaned back towards her.

"If you ever want to learn control to get me off your back," his voice melted over her like honey, blue eyes intense as the Caribbean sea, "you will have to take our lessons and pass, like every other wolf. We meet near the river with the sandy bank every weekday after school. I hope to see you there." He leaned back, eyes forward, as if he had never said anything at all.

Whether he was doing it because he didn't like me or because he would have rather had me be partners wtih Bane it didn't matter, what did matter was that he was letting me use his book. Now, his tone and look was what told me this wasn't out of the kindness of his heart, but the way I looked at it was that he could have told me to go away but no, he didn't, he was willing giving me his book to read until I got my own. Maybe I was only seeing it this way so that I would have a reason not to feel so, well, alone. Again- had to look at the brighter sides of things.

Surpsingly, with a genuinly warm smile I looked at his book and took it. "Thank you, it's awful kind of you." Meaning it, with a true tone of kindness, I took the book and decided that if I had to get along with someone I would rather try to get along with people who wouldn't make me feel I had to worship the very ground they walked on. While I was just rebeling against Bane more than anything, I started to think that maybe it wouldn't be bad to try and make friends. Yes, the sound of friends were nice. . .I was just unsure of how to do it and who to have. Guess Glen would be a good place to start.

Those warm ideas and thoughts left quickly, however, when Bane leaned over and whispered to me. Though I didn't look at him I could feel his eyes on me, and the feeling I got from them was strange. So far I couldn't tell if it was a good or bad feeling- it was just very noticeable, something I couldn't shake off, and it frustrated me for I wanted to ignore him! He was making things difficult, he was just trying to get me to be on his side- I'm sure of that. Even so, I did listen to him, and when I felt his eyes off of me was when I glanced up at him. Giving what he said some thought I let it sink in and realized that if I played along just a bit he would really get off my back. No, I wouldn't be put under his spell, but maybe he could think that way just enough to leave me be. In truth I wanted no trouble from him, I just didn't want to deal with alphas right now really.