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Part 9

As we step out of the trees in front of the house we are greeted by a loud tumbling mass of fur as Rick and Jasper are trying to keep Luna, Tabatha, and Eve from heading into the woods to look for Shadow and I. Since they haven't noticed us yet I put a finger to my lips motioning to Shadow to be quit. We move around the edge of the yard staying in the shadows of the trees as best we can heading for the door.

We reach the porch and I quietly open the door letting Shadow in first. I step in after him and slowly close the door taking one last look at the group in the yard and make eye contact with Jasper. His eyes widen in surprise for a moment then a knowing smirk crosses his muzzle and he gives me a wink. I mouth a thank you to him and shut the door.

I turn around to see Shadow smiling and shaking his head, "Are they always going to be like that?" I shrug, "Just till the next source of gossip comes along." He sighs and rolls his eyes as he turns for the stairs leading to my, our room. "Well I wish it would hurry up, I don't like being the center of gossip." I just chuckle softly and wrap an arm around him as we head to our room.

When we enter our room I head first to the window to see how Rick and Jasper are doing. Looking out I see the two guys standing next to each other talking as the girls are sitting on the steps to the door, their heads close together, plotting their next move no doubt. Shaking my head I turn and head for the closet to dig out some clothes for Shadow and I to go to town in. As much as I like the easy access my clothes on him give, the baggy look and rolled up pants legs don't work for him. Fortunately we will be going to town in our human forms, so there shouldn't be too much size difference between us.

After tossing some pants and shirts out on the bed I start taking off my dirty clothes as I start shifting to my human form. An itch spreads across my skin as my fur pulls into my skin. My bones pop and compress as I shrink from my nine foot height down to six and a half feet. My face feels like someone is pressing on it as my muzzle shrinks back into my head. I have to fight back a sneeze as my sinus reforms. Lastly my tail shrinks away to nothing. That's probably what I hate most about being in human form, no tail for balance. How humans manage their whole lives without one I will never understand.

I look over at shadow to see him with just pants on, having already taken off his shirt. He seems to be concentrating hard on something. I put a hand on his shoulder and ask, "Everything ok?" He lets out a sigh, "It's just been a really long time since I changed forms, and I guess I'm a bit out of practice."

After a few moments his fur begins to thin out as it recedes into his skin as his muzzle shrinks back into his face. His ears shrink and move to the side of his head as his tail begins to vanish. In a few moments instead of the black wolf I love there was now a human who looked almost alien with his lack of hair, lightly tanned skin and muscular yet thin frame. Strange except for the silver eyes I first fell in love with, and the scar crossing his chest, even more visible now without his fur. His height didn't change too much, having lost just a couple inches so that he now stands at an even six feet.

He looks at me with an aggravated expression while tries to keep the very loose clothes from falling off his frame. "I feel so..... Naked, without my fur." I can't help but chuckle as I toss him a set of the clothes I picked out. "Well it's that or have a village of unhappy humans to deal with."

He looks at me with a confused look as he changes his clothes, "But don't they know what we are?" "Of course they know, but when we go to their town we take on our human forms. It's just a way of being polite. It's the same when one of them comes here, they don't make a scene about wolves walking around on two feet." He finishes putting on the clothes I gave him. "I guess that makes sense, seeing how close we live to them."

We finish getting dressed and head for the door when I stop suddenly remembering that I needed to get some money or the shopping trip would be really short. "I will meet you down stairs by the door love, just need to get some cash or we will only be buying a whole lot of nothing." He lets out a chuckle and heads down stairs.

I head over to the shelves where I have a box filled with gold coins, I open it and grab a couple handfuls and stuff them in my pocket. When I do I feel a strange tugging sensation on my wrist. Pulling my hand out of my pocket I look at it and notice that the trident on my wrist is pulsing with a pale blue light.

I stand there watching it pulse, "Well it's never done that before." I notice that with each pulse the tugging sensation seems to pull my hand toward the box where I stored the ring I bought the day I met Shadow. I open the box and pull out the ring and nearly drop it in surprise when I see that the sapphire on it is pulsing in time with my tattoo and as they get closer the pulsing gets faster until it is nearly a continuous glow.

For some reason that I still don't fully understand I felt an irresistible urge to put the ring on. As I slip it onto the ring finger of my right hand the glow intensifies considerable till my entire vision is filled with the blue light. Then in an instant all goes black.

.................

I slowly wake up and open my eyes to a room that is strange but oddly familiar at the same time, like something from a forgotten dream or a distant memory. The walls are covered with a wooden paneling, a soft golden light streams in from a window. I am lying on an old four post bed in my wolf form, I guess I changed in my sleep. The rest of the room is fairly empty with a bare dresser, a chair, and a door.

I sit up and swing my legs over the side of the bed and rub my head trying to clear my head and remember how I got here. The last thing I remember I was with Shadow getting ready to go to town, and then I put on that ring...... THE RING!!!

I look down at my hand but it's gone, then I notice something else is missing, my trident tattoo is no longer on my wrist. That should be impossible though, there is no way to remove a guardian's tattoo without them dying and last I checked I was still among the living.

Thoroughly confused now, and more than a little concerned I look around the room for some clue as to where I am and what happened to me. Looking around the room again I get the same weird déjà vu feeling like I should know where I am but the answer remains just out of reach. I stand up and move to the window and open the thin curtains covering to reveal a sight that I know instantly and know is impossible for me to be seeing. I look out the window towards a city of unmatched beauty, a city surrounded by water, a city with pedestrians of both man and wolf. I am looking at my home, at Atlantis.

As look out over the city waves of sorrow and longing wash over me as I see once again the city of my birth. Then comes the confusion, am I really here and was everything else I experienced a dream, or is this a dream that I have become trapped in somehow. If this is the dream how did I get here and how do I get out, how do I get back to where I belong? How do I get back to Shadow?

"It's a wonderful sight isn't it son." I jump at the voice and turn around to see another wolf standing in the now open door. He is a few inches taller than me, his fur is a brilliant gold, with gray surrounding his muzzle showing advanced years, his right ear is torn slightly from a fight in his youth. His eyes are a deep brown that shine with life and are filled with wisdom. On his right wrist is a tattoo, a white bow and arrow, symbolizing his station as a guardian leader. His face is soft and caring yet gives off an aura of power. It's a face I have wanted to see for a long time.

After a few moments I regain the use of my voice though it is scratchy, "D..... Dad? Is that really you?" He nods as he opens his arms, "Yes son, it's me. And no, you're not dreaming." I slowly step into the embrace feeling the touch of my dad for the first time in millennia. He wraps his arms around me and gives me loving hug before putting his hands on my shoulders and pushing me back so he can look me over. "You have sure grown into a fine wolf my son, you have made me so proud." A glimmer of sorrow flickers in his eyes as he continues, "I'm just so sorry I wasn't there to watch you grow and become the person you are."

He must have seen the confusion on my face at that point. "You're wondering why if this isn't a dream why am I talking to you like I have been gone, am I right?" I can only nod, as he walks over to the window and looks out. "That's because you are not really here, and neither am I." It's at that point that something clicks in my mind, "The ring, it was made by you wasn't it dad?" He nods, "Yes, I made it and sent it out into the world in the hopes that one day it would find its way back to you and I see that it finally has." He turns from the window and looks back at me. "3000 years was a long time to wait, but that the nature of such things they only happen when they are meant to happen. When you are ready for them."

"Ready for what dad?" He smiles at me, "For your destiny, my son. The destiny I saw you fulfilling the day you were born." Now I am even more confused than before, first I was ready to take my mate clothes shopping and now I am talking to my dead father about a destiny he claims I have. "What destiny would that be?" He looks at me with more pride than I have ever seen him show, even more than the day I received my trident. "Why to bring the guardians back from extinction, but to bring them back in a new way, for a new time."

I sit down heavily on the bed with a stunned look on my face, "What do you mean bring them back, I don't have that ability, no one does, only the council of the guardians could create new guardians, and they're...." "Dead, I know, we have all been dead for a very long time. That's why they agreed with me to create that ring, to give you the power to one day create new guardians, for when the world would need them most. And if you have the ring now, that means that time is fast approaching and you will soon be faced with a great challenge that will test your strength, and the strength of those you will lead."

I look into my dad's eyes, "What challenge? What do you mean tested?" He lets out a sigh and sits beside me, "We don't know what it is, our visions of the future never showed us, all we know is that you will be the one to stand before it. You and the new guardians you will lead." "And that's another thing how can I create and lead new guardians? I'm a guardian priest, not a leader." He just smiles at me, "That will be for you to decide, my son. The new guardians will be yours to form as you wish. I know you can do it, and you will make me proud, like you always have."

He takes my right hand and places his paw over my wrist, "I'm afraid our time is up for now my son. But this isn't the last time we will speak, whenever you need advice simply put on the ring and think of me and you will be brought back here. This is just the first step on a new journey for you." He removes his hand from my wrist to reveal my tattoo but there is more to it now, at the end of each point is a small diamond, the center point is red, the left is green, and the right is white.

The world around me is beginning to fade as a white light fills the room. "One last thing son..." I look into my dad's eyes as he begins to fade into the light. "You made a good choice in taking Shadow as your mate, I really like him, and I'm happy for you." With that my dad and the rest of the room vanish and the light fades.

.........

My eyes snap open and I take a deep breath as I look around the room. I am back in my room, and in my human form. Everything is still where it was before the dream or whatever it was happened. I step over to the window and look out and Rick, Jasper, and the girls are still outside. I can hear Shadow heading down the hall for the stairs, and nothing is messed up in the room. Whatever just happened, happened in the course of just a few seconds, but it felt like so much longer. It was so real. But was it?

I look down at my hand and the ring is still on my finger. Then I turn my hand over to see my tattoo, it is the same as it always was. Nothing about it has changed. I pull the ring off and put it back in its box. What ever happened, weather it was real or not, has left no evidence behind. The simplest explanation would be a hallucination of some kind. But something in the back of my mind is telling me it was more than that. And my heart wants me to believe it was real, if only for some link to my place of birth.

The sound of raised voices snaps my attention back to the present. I look out the window to see what the commotion is and see Luna, Tabatha, and Eve back to arguing with Rick and Jasper. Seems they have come up with a new plan to try and get past them. I just shake my head and return the ring to its box before I follow Shadow down stairs. The thoughts of going with him to town and of surprising the others have pushed my experience with the ring to the back of my mind for now.

When I get down stairs I find Shadow leaning beside the door, which is cracked open about an inch, grinning as he listens to group outside. When he sees me he motions for me to listen in. Getting close I hear Eve's voice first, "Just because they went out there alone doesn't necessarily mean they don't want company!" "It doesn't mean they want to be followed either." Replied Jasper. Next Luna speaks up in an irritated whine, "But I need to ask Seeker a question about something." Rick mumbles something that I don't quite catch, then Tabatha chimes in, "What about protecting our Alpha, you said you thought you saw something strange out there Jasper. What if it's something dangerous huh?"

Before Jasper can have a chance to respond I push the door the rest of the way open and step out on the porch. "Well if anything had been dumb enough to track two wolves in broad daylight, I'm sure it would have been no problem for said wolves to handle." The three girls freeze instantly their ears slowly turning to the sound of my voice. Jasper and Rick both just grin, apparently Jasper managed to tell his brother I was back. Shadow follows me out the door as the girls slowly turn around to look at me. Eve is the first to get her voice back, "Uh, hi.... Seeker, we didn't know you were back....... Uhm..... How long have you been back?" I shrug a bit, "Long enough to know Luna has a question, you wanted to watch what Shadow and I were doing on our walk, that Tabatha tried using being concerned for our safety as an excuse to join you, oh, and that a few minutes ago you three were so busy trying to get past Jasper and Rick that you didn't even notice us walk in the front door behind you." All three of them blush under their fur as Jasper and Rick begin to laugh out loud.

Shadow and I begin walking past them as we start heading for town. Calling over my shoulder, "We will be back in a few hours, going to run a few errands. Oh and Luna, you better remember that question when I get back." They just watch as we head down the path to town, as soon we go around a bend blocking us from view we hear all three girls yell out in unison, "YOU TWO KNEW THEY WERE BACK!!!" A pair of yelps comes from the brothers as they are tackled by the girls.

After Shadow and I finished laughing we continued along the path to town. Eventually thoughts of what happened with the ring returned to the front of my mind and I told him about what happened after he left the room.

After I finish my story we walk along in silence for a few minutes before Shadow asks, "Do you think it was really a message from your father?" I take a slow deep breath before answering. "I don't know, I would like to think it was, but if it was real that means everything he said was real as well. And I don't know what to make of that." Shadow tilts his head to the side thinking, "So if it was real then somehow you will recreate the guardians to fight something, and it was predicted by your father the day you were born, and no one ever told you about it." I just nod. "Well if it was real at least one good thing came out of it." I look at him with a raised eyebrow, "Oh, and what's that?" He grins at me, "Your dad would have liked me." I can't help but laugh at that.

...........

After discussing several more theories regarding the ring and the vision it gave me we arrive at the edge of the village. There is a buzz in the air as street vendors are calling out to customers walking by. The crowds of people moving around in mass as individuals go from stall to stall looking at the wares. Turning to Shadow I grin, "Looks like we got here in time." He stays close to me as we enter the crowd.

Moving through the crowd we pass vendors selling everything from food and weapons to jewelry and rugs, with everything in between. I notice Shadow looking around as we head for a nearby clothing vendor. "Once we get you some clothes we can walk around for a bit if you would like." He just nods as he looks at a selection of swords we are walking past.

In no time we come to a stall set in front of an old but clean store. In the windows are wooden mannequins dressed in the popular styles of the village, the stand has a selection of shirts alongside a variety of brightly colored bolts of fabric. Seated on a stool behind the stand is an elderly lady with white curly hair, a weathered face that still shows a healthy glow despite the years of wrinkles carved into it. In her lap she is working on crocheting a navy blue scarf.

As we approach she looks up at us with smiling eyes as she sets aside the scarf and rises from here stool spreading her arms to embrace me in a hug. "Ah, Mister Seeker, good to see you again. How have you been my boy?" I just chuckle as I share a hug with her. "Madam Rosalie, good to see you again as well. I am doing well, and you know good and well to just call me Seeker, none of that mister stuff." She pats my cheek laughing, "I will stop calling you mister when you start calling me grandma Rose, everyone else does." Shaking my head, "Rosalie, you know I'm much too old to call you grandma, I knew your dad before you were born after all." She just waves my comments off and smiles, "Just shows we are both a couple of old coots, you just got pickled younger than most."

She looks past me and sees Shadow for the first time. "Oh and who is this strapping young man?" I place a hand on Shadows shoulder and smile at him, "This is Shadow, my new mate." Rosalie looks from Shadow then back to me and her eyes light up even more, "You found your mate! Oh mister Seeker that's wonderful news!" She wraps her arms around a startled Shadow, "It's so good to meet you my boy." He shyly returns the hug, "It's good to meet you ma'am."

That gets him a soft slap on the arm, "You will call me Grandma Rose or just Rose, none of this ma'am stuff," she nods over her shoulder to me "only he gets away with that." He blushes a bit, "Yes ma.... Rose." She smiles up at him, "Good boy." Turning back to me she claps her hands together happily, "Now what can I do for you today mister Seeker?" "Actually we came to get Shadow some clothes, two full sets if you have enough that fit him, plus a couple of your special outfits you make." Her already wide smile gets wider, "You want some of my stretching clothes so he can shift without worrying about tearing his clothes huh." She quickly gathers up her scarf and needles and starts ushering us into her store. "Well let's get Shadow here inside and see what we have that will fit him." Shadow looks over at me with a slightly worried look in his eyes. I just grin and walk inside with him.

In a few minutes Rose has Shadow up on a raised platform and is taking his measurements. After jotting down a few notes she moves around the room gathering up a large bundle of clothes and starts holding them against Shadow sorting them out even more. Soon she hands him a pile of six shirts and five pants saying, "Try these on and see how they fit." She pushes him towards a nearby changing room. "And once you have tried them on I need you to shift into your wolf form so I can get more measurements." A muffled "Yes Rose" comes from behind the changing room door.

Rose heads back towards me smiling, "You managed to catch yourself a nice mate there. Now why don't you go do a little shopping while I work my magic on him." I smile as I head for the door. "Don't be too rough on him Madam Rosalie." She just smiles and sets off on a hunt for more clothes. Leaving Shadow to her mercies may not be the best of ideas, after all no man or wolf should have to try on that many clothes in one day with Rosalie around. I will just have to make it up to him.

............

Leaving Shadow in Rosalie's care I head out of the shop and back onto the street to browse through some of the wares displayed by the various vendors. While I am talking with a merchant who is trying to sell me some cooking spices I feel a slight pressure on my pocket as someone tries to pick out some gold. Moving faster than the would be thief can react I grab the hand that is trying to enter my pocket and hold it above its owners head. Turning to look at the culprit the first thing I notice is that it is just a boy, no older than 11 or 12. On his face is a look of surprise then horror as he recognizes who it is that has caught him. (Living near the same village for over a century you tend to get recognized easily.)

The boy looks up at me and swallows hard. Without saying anything to the boy I pay the merchant for the spices I have picked out and ask him to have them delivered to the house. After finishing with the merchant I turn and lead the boy towards a nearby ally, at first he tries to resist but when I pull him along with no problem despite his resistance he gives in and allows me to pull him along by his hand. Once in the ally I stand him in front of me so that he cannot escape and release his hand. He stands there staring at the ground rubbing his wrist sheepishly.

After a few moments of silence I get down on one knee so I can look him in the face and ask, "What's your name son?" After another hard swallow he answers in a voice barely louder than a whisper, "Aaron...." "Well Aaron, my names Seeker. Do you know why I brought you to this alley?" A tear begins to roll down the right side of his face, whether it's from fear, shame, or a mixture of the two I'm not sure yet. "Cause I tried to steal from you." I nod, "That's right, now what do you think I am going to do since I caught you?" Another tear rolls down his cheek, "You're going to..... kill me."

My eyes widen as I stare at Aaron as I realize the tears he is shedding are because he is afraid his life is about to end. I lower my gaze and shake my head with a small smile, "No Aaron, I'm not going to kill you, but you are going to be punished for what you did." He looks up at me with a mix of surprise and hope in his eyes. "You're not going to kill me? But you're a.... a werewolf, isn't that what you do?" Someone has been filling this kids mind with bad stories, which unfortunately have more truth to them than I would like to admit.

"Yes I am a werewolf Aaron, but I have never killed anyone for trying to pick my pocket." Looking at the kid for a few moments I notice his clothes are dirty and ragged and don't appear to have been washed for quite some time. There is dirt and filth all over his skin. His hair has not been cared for in several days at the very least. "Aaron, where do you live?" He looks surprised at my question then looks down at the ground with a bit of shame. "You don't have a home do you?" He just shakes his head sadly. "And no family I take it?" He shakes his head again. "I see"

Now the reason for his thievery makes sense to me, he is an orphan who is just trying his best to survive on his own in a world that is not kind to children without people to care for them. It looks like I now have a choice, punish this kid for being a thief and trying to survive, or make a difference in his life and maybe set him on a path that will help him make a better life for himself. It only takes me a moment to come to the obvious choice.

"Aaron, if you promise me you will never try to seal from anyone ever again, and I mean never. I will help you if you let me." He looks up at me so fast I was afraid he would break his neck. "Help me? Help me how?" "Well, you can either come live with me and the rest of my pack, or I can ask one of my friends here in town to look after you and give you a place to stay. Neither choice will be easy, you will have to work and earn your place in both cases. But it will get you off the streets and into a warm home. What do you say?" He stares at me for a few moments with more tears leaking from his eyes only this time they are tears of hope. "You would do that?" I nod, "Yes I would, but only if you give up stealing for the rest of your life." He nods enthusiastically. "Good, now all that remains is for you to choose if you want to live with a pack of werewolves, or if you want to find a place here in town. You don't have to choose right now. So you are going to follow me around town while I do some more shopping and you can meet one of my pack mates later and then can make your choice." He wipes his tears with a dirty hand smearing them with more dirt as he looks at me with a smile.

Standing up I place a hand on his shoulder and head back to the street, "Now let's see about getting you something to eat and cleaned up a bit." As if on cue his stomach lets out a rather loud rumble. Looks like I have picked up another lost lamb. What am I, a wolf or a shepherd? Some days I really wonder......