One Deadly Bite

Chapter 1

Callum’s POV

It all started in the late fall of 1953. I was stationed to Thule, Greenland as part of the Air Force detachment there that provided support for the interceptors based there as well as the early warning radar sites. I had enlisted right out of high school and was away from home for the first time

I formed a great friendship with another fellow in my squadron by the name of Shawn. We spent a great deal of time talking, playing pool, the things that young men do while stationed far away from home at an isolated location. After being there two months I received a "Dear John" letter from my high school girlfriend. I mean, we hadn't had any s*x to speak off, heavy petting mostly with a few brief encounters in the back seat of my parents car, but I was devastated by the letter, written so coldly and matter of factly.

Shawn had a younger sister by the name of Shannon, and he, unbeknownst to me, had asked her to write me. In my loneliness and self pity, the arrival of her letter came as quite a surprise. Shawn had not even told me about asking her to write.

Her letter started out quite simply with the obligatory "Dear Douglas" and then went on to talk about little things in her life, her family (the first I know of Shawn's involvement in this matter), her school, friends, etc. An innocuous beginning. And I replied in kind. Speaking a little of home, the base, work, and the local environment. Probably quite dull, but some of my loneliness and pain musty have shown through, because she replied.

Shannon and I wrote each other weekly, our letters probably crossing paths somewhere over the reaches of the northwestern Atlantic. Each week I would look forward to her letter with an eagerness that was far out of proportion to the fact that I was corresponding with a lady that I had never met, and never seen. Although I was curious, I had never remembered to ask for her photograph, and she had never asked for mine. We spoke more and more of our inner selves, our desires, dreams, hidden pains, and fantasies. A bond was forming between she and I, whose strength grew with every letter.

By the time my tour of duty was up, we had decided to meet near her home in upstate New York. A small town by the name of Walkhill. I think that we both anticipated what this first meeting would be like, but were filled with doubts too. Fear and exhilaration all together.

I flew from Thule to Goose Bay, Labrador and then on to New York City, where I caught a train to Newburgh, NY. She was waiting at the station with her father’s car. Quite an adventuresome feat for a young lady in those days.

We embraced, me almost trembling with fear and anticipation, while she seemed quite at ease with the situation. I loaded my duffel and we departed the station, driving towards Walkhill. She drove through the sleepy little town to a hilly wooded area near the Aqueduct. She opened the trunk and brought forth a picnic basket and handing the basket to me, then led me by the hand to a hill overlooking the most beautiful field of summer wild flowers I had ever seen. She took the basket from me and opened it to retrieve a blanket which she spread upon the ground on a level spot on the hillside.

We lay back and talked while gazing into one another's eyes. She was the most enchanting creature I had ever seen. Soft flowing brown hair, deep expressive brown eyes, a complexion seen only in the 'high fashion' magazines, and a figure to make a man’s mouth water. Not voluptuous, but proportioned well with all the curves gently blending, one to the next. She smelled of soap and the wildflowers that surrounded us. And her voice was as melodious as the gentle breeze that occasionally brought her scent to me.

I couldn't help myself, I leaned forward and kissed her. At first tentative, fearing that she would spurn my advances. She kissed me back, her lips soft and gentle.

Our kiss deepened and we both opened our lips, sending our tongues into one another's mouth, softly probing and tasting. Feeling the texture of each other. The inside of her lips, her teeth, her tongue. All moving in a harmony that was unplanned, but so sensuous. A slight moan must have escaped us both, I know that it did her and we moved closer. Her breast to mine, her hips to mine. Pressing, trying to get ever closer to each other. I couldn't get enough of her, but was still fearful of frightening her. I moved to the base of her ear and kissed my way down her neck to her collar bone and back again as her thrust her breasts towards me and she began to sigh with her head thrown back.

But I was careful not to make her scared. I looked at her and said,” If I go any further, I doubt I shall be able to stop myself from taking advantage of your situation and I do not wish that. I am not going to harm or compromise your dignity under any circumstances.”

Shannon looked at me with surprise and then composed herself and said,” You are right. We must wait till we are married.”

And I took her hands in mine and then kissed them again. But I did not know that it was going to be the last time that I was ever going to see her in my life. I returned back the same day and then waited for her letter but it never came.

Two weeks later, Shawn got a telegram which said that there had been a barn fire in his home and all his family had perished in the fire. I could not even imagine the pain that letter must have caused him but I was heart broken. I knew then that there was one thing that I was going to do. When I had my own pack, I was going to name the land after her.

And that is how Shannon’s Ridge came into existence.

Macbeth was looking at me and then after waiting for a while he sputtered outrageously,” You have got to be f*****g kidding me….what the hell is wrong with you?”

I looked at him and then said,” You are the one who wanted to hear the story of why the pack lands are named as Shannon’s Ridge. I told you the story, what is wrong with that?”

“He has got all the letters as well. I bet you,” said the sixteen year old auburn haired girl whom I brought back to the pack twelve years back on one stormy night.

“I am not going to make a bet with you which I know that I am going to lose,” said Macbeth and Rossetta laughed at him and said,” Serves you right for wanting to listen to the story of an old man. What did you expect? That you were going to get some stuff which was sexy and interesting?”

I looked at Macbeth glaring at him and said,” Yes, tell me…why did you think that I was going to give you an X-rated story of all?”

And Rossetta started laughing out so loud and then she fell on the bed clutching her sides and said,” Well I might have been responsible for that. But I just told him that it was because of your long lost love that we live in a place named Shannon’s Ridge.”

“And are you saying that it is completely my fault in thinking that there might be something more to the story?” asked Macbeth as he swatted Rossetta on her thigh and I growled at him.

Immediately the wolf in Macbeth whimpered at my voice and said,” It is playful Alpha. I did not mean to hurt her or to be mean to her.”

“Macbeth, I gave you a responsibility when I brought her in the pack all those years ago that night. That you are the one who is supposed to protect her and make sure that no one else even comes close to her. She is not like the females of the pack. She is not an wolf, and even after knowing everything you dare to raise your hand on something silly like this?” I asked him in my Alpha voice and Rossetta came to me and placed her arm on my shoulder and spoke.

“I know that I am not a wolf. You don’t need to remind that to every one every single time. I am not made up of porcelain that I am going to break down on a single swat. Even human beings do that,” said Rossetta and then she glared at me and went out of the room.

This was a girl that I could not say anything to. After all, how could I? I was the one who had saved her from the Rogue that night and now….the only thing I could was to wait for destiny to show me the path on which she was going to walk.

Rossetta waited at the door and looked at Macbeth and said,” Mac, you coming?”

Macbeth looked at me and waited for permission and I nodded at him. I could not say anything to Rose, after all it was my fault for bringing her to the pack because after what she had undergone I had considered that this was the one place in the world where she would be completely safe and secure. But never in my life had I thought about what all problems could crop in her mind, that she would feel different because she went to an all wolves school and ran with the pack but was still not a part of the pack.

Macbeth and Rossetta left and I waited for Marcus, my Beta to come in. He came in and said with a sneer in his voice,” Alpha, I don’t understand that why do you pay so much attention to that humn cretin. She is not even a part of the pack and what is worse is, she is human.”

“And why is that you are asking this again?” I asked him in my Alpha voice, making Marcus cower. I was the Alpha of the largest pack in the entire damn world and I was going to make sure that anyone who was in my protection was taken care of.

“Because there is growing unrest amongst the teenagers in the school. It is like that they don’t want a human amongst them. And you understand that with the time of the first transformation coming so closer, the emotions are running too high. They will change into wolves while she won’t and she won’t be able to run with the pack. This is the bone of contention of not only amongst the students but also the teachers as well,” replied Marcus with his eyes cast down but I could still feel the sneer in his voice.

I wanted to grasp him by the throat and tell him that whatever he was trying to do was never going to work because I was going to take care of her, because she was mine. But I could not. The vision I had twelve years ago has still not come to fruits yet and I could not make that claim.