The Luna Phoenix

First Change

The morning of the full moon came like any other day, and Stacy had not heard a peep from her Wolf since two days ago. She was starting to think she had imagined it as everyone was excitedly preparing for the changing ceremony, Pack Run and the dinner that would follow it. She however was busy working with Benjamin, planning a trip into the city so that they could find and purchase the weapons they would need for the mew training program that she would be responsible for until she went to school in 3 months time.

"Can I ask a question?" Benjamin asked as they changed the type of weapon they were looking at again.

"You can ask anything you like, so long as you know I may not answer." she replied as she had brought the weapons she had gathered and found on old battlefields to train with.

"How did you learn this type of combat? It is not something we teach." he asked as she laughed and opened up a web page that showed all of the various techniques one would need to know in order to properly use the weapons.

"The internet is great for more than watching porn or shopping. It can be used as a great teaching tool." she told him. "As for the weapons I have, there are dozens more on the old battlefield. I however wouldn't trust them for more than being melted down and reforged. It took me months to find these ones, and from what I have learned they are only in this condition because they have some sort of enchantment." she said as he looked at them carefully.

"You have never had them properly tested by the Mage?" he asked her and she shook her head.

"Never had the chance before, he likes to go to bed early and wake up late." she said making Benjamin laugh as she had perfectly described the old man.

"Well, will you allow me to have them tested than? If you are to train with them, we need to know what they do." he said as he went to pick one of them up and was zapped by it.

"If you can, feel free." she said as she ordered both the training versions of these weapons and the real ones.

"Why bother with the bamboo and wooden ones? Why not just train with the real thing?" he asked naively.

"Because the bamboo allows you to learn with only a stinging pain in response to failures, while the wooden ones replicate the weight and dimensions of the real thing and might break bones. A real sword in a rookie's hand, and he might lose his head in training." she said making him laugh as he saw her point.

"Bamboo and wood it is for the beginners." he said laughing as he wrapped her weapons in a cloth and was able to carry them.

"Bamboo and wood for training period. There is a reason the wood replicates the dimensions and weight of the real things. Only Experts should use the real weapons, and only than when they are in combat or sparring for the experience." Stacy said as she felt herself getting warmer as the day progressed.

"You look like you aren't feeling to great right now." Benjamin said as he looked at her from the door.

"Suddenly I don't feel so great. Perhaps I will go lie down." she said as he nodded and took the weapons she had brought and demonstrated for him to the mage to see how exactly they were enchanted.

Stacy barely managed to make it to the kitchen entrance of the Pack House where her room was, and as soon as she stumbled in the cook looked at her and eyes went wide as she rushed over. As soon as she touched Stacy she could feel the heat in her skin.

"Destiny, take Stacy to her room now. Boys," she yelled the last word as Destiny rushed over and could feel the heat before she even took Stacy under her arm as two boys rushed in. "Fill the 5 gallon buckets with ice as quickly as you can and take the to Stacy's room. Wait for the bucket and do it until Destiny and I have all we need, or there is no more. Monica, inform the Luna we have a Wolf burning up and who it is. Inform her we are preparing her an ice bath in her room." Gretchen ordered them all knowing this was usually a sign of a Wolf going into heat.

Stacy however was no longer in her body as they helped her walk up the stairs, and the heat was nothing more than the feeling of warmth as someone would lay in the sun as she opened her eyes and saw a beautiful white Wolf laying near a creek with blood Red Paws. All 4 of them were red up to the first joint, which made her look beautiful.

"Adira is indeed a beautiful creature in that form, however it is not her only one. That is what your body is reacting too now as you approach the time of your joining." A beautifully melodic voice whispered to her as she looked around and saw it belonged to a woman that was equally as beautiful.

"Where am I?" Stacy asked looking around.

"You are in the Goddess Garden, safe for the moment while those in your Pack care for your body. You need to be informed of what exactly is going to happen now that Adira is taking her first host in the Mortal World." the woman said as she began walking and Stacy followed her.

"Adira is the daughter of the Moon Goddess and Ra. Said to be one of the most powerful of her deitic children, and an omen of times of war." Stacy said as she had once upon a time considered becoming a Priestess.

"She is indeed, however it is not a Human or even Supernatural War that she is being sent to protect you all from. Her power is so great, that even in mortal form she has the power to confront the Gods themselves." Artemis told her as Stacy gasped.

"Which Gods are going to War?" Stacy asked making Artemis laugh.

"The Gods are always at war with one another for a variety of reasons. Normally the lower realms are protected from it, however those who see me as an enemy believe it would weaken me greatly if they destroyed my Mortal children upon your plane of existence. That is why I am sending my most valued protector, so long as you and I can come to an agreement." Artemis said with a slight smile.

"What sort of agreement?" Stacy asked her.

"As Adira has never been to the Mortal Realm, she has no body like yours yet that she can change into. It is not a skill she can learn either until she has done so, but it is one that she can be bound too. Your soul however is Mortal, and is not normally equipped to deal with the amount of power she will be able to summon. So you have a choice to make, knowing that it will effect you for the rest of eternity.

"The binding process will bind your soul to Adira, giving her your form while still residing in your body. The Process will make you my daughter, as well as immortal. You will be allowed to live your life as you normally would have, but when the challenges you would face have finished, instead of dying and moving to my realm for rest and potential rebirth, you would come alive and assist Selene and myself with guiding and protecting my Mortal children." Artemis said making Stacy stopndead in her tracks.

"Why would you want me to become an immortal guardian?" Stacy asked as Selene turned to her and smiled.

"Because you have skills and passion that I think are needed amongst the Gods, and you are special even without it. Your Beta is about to learn the reason that he cannot handle the weapons you use, is because they have a blood lock on them. Only those descended from this particular person may use them, and they are far from ordinary weapons." Artemis said with a smile.

"Who were they made for?" Stacy asked as Artemis lead her to a bowl and showed her a great battle where one of the men used a lightning bolt as a sword, and another controlled water through the power of a trident.

"Cronos, father of Zeus and the Olympians. One time ruler of the Realms, and Titan now locked away in Tartarus. You are the specific descendant of Hercules, son of Zeus, son of Cronos. Those particular weapons are the ones he lost in the final battle before Zeus, Poseidon and Hades cast him into the pit, and have been lost since. The fact that you found them 10 years ago showed me just how desperate our coming situation would be, and I knew than you would be a powerful ally, or an even more powerful foe. So which will it be Ms Todd, will you join me in protecting the Mortal Realm by joining the Battle of the Gods, or will you use those weapons to battle your way to dominance over it?" Artemis asked her.

Stacy looked at the battle as the sword fell along with the 4 others when the harness he used to hold them was cut from his body. As soon as they hit the ground, it swallowed them before anyone could even spot where they had landed as the battle raged on. "I will join you Moon Goddess, and protect the Mortal Realm from whatever may threaten it." she said firmly as Artemis smiled and the Wolf stood up and ran at her before jumping into her.

"It will be interesting to see what happens in the future daughter, but know I will always be watching and shall assist if you have need." Artemis said as Stacy and Adira fused into one.

"I hope so, because I have been essentially alone long enough." Stacy said before she found her eyes closing and heard the voice of her Luna.

Stacy had been unresponsive in the tub for three hours now, steam rolling off the water like it was somehow being heated no matter how much ice they added to it. The kitchen was making it as fast as possible, but it was just not enough as Stacy continued to burn up like she might actually catch fire.

As suddenly as it started however, the steam stopped rolling from the water. Stacy began moaning in the tub as she moved and Amanda was concerned. "Stacy, open your eyes dear." she said quickly as Stacy did just that.

"Why does it feel like I got hit by a truck?" she asked as she focused on the face in front of her and wondered how exactly she had got here.

'Because you got hit by all of my powers all at once.' Adira said in her mind perfectly awake.

"We were concerned you were going to burst into flames you were so hot. How are you feeling?" Amanda asked taking her temperature which was now normal for a Werewolf.

"Exhausted. Can I get out of here and just lay down for awhile?" she asked as Luna Amanda laughed.

Stacy slept for what felt like ages, but she knew was only a few hours as she opened her eyes and saw the plate of food that had been left for her. She quickly ate it, knowing that when the moon rose into the sky tonight, she would be changing into her Wolf for the first time.

'Nervous?' Adira asked in her mind.

'Excited.' Stacy replied as she stripped out of her clothes and walked onto the balcony as the moon began to rise over the Horizon.

'Let us get the party started.' Adira said as she began to take control and they both felt the incredible pain of the first shift as her bones broke and healed creating new joints that would make future shifts seem painless. Unlike others who could take hours to complete the transformation, she was finished in under a minute and sat there as a Wolf watching the moon finish rising into the night sky. 'That wasn't so bad.'

Stacy laughed in her mind at that. 'High tolerance to pain.' she said making Adira laugh.

'Wait until we change into my other form for the first time. That will be painful.' she said before she jumped from the balcony and landed on the ground like she had just taken a small step.

It wasn't long before the Pack went past the Psck House, almost ignoring her as they ran past before she joined them in the run around the territory for the first time.