"I thought you said you had it ready," Cassie commented from her seat, her tone was casual but I could tell from the way her chin was resting in her hand that she was annoyed. The more time we were out, the more likely someone would notice we were gone.

"Cassie dear, have you ever heard the saying 'you can't rush perfection'?" Clark shot back patiently; he was sitting at his desk, adjusting a few things on the tattoo. I knew he wasn't doing it to be a pain, Clark really was a perfectionist when it came to his work. "I'm not going to make you late for a date, am I?" He said with the slightest bit of sarcasm. Cassie rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.

I stepped in, more curious about what information Clark had. I was sitting in the tattoo chair between the two of them, I fidgeted with a bit of loose thread on my shirt before I prodded Clark, "Alright, share your story, oh wise one."

I could almost hear Clark's smirk and he glanced at me over his shoulder before he began to speak, "A few centuries ago, our ancestors first settled in this land because of their beliefs and practices. They had been shunned from society because of their great respect for the land and their 'brothers', or the native americans that used to live in this area. Our ancestors were called traitors and were exiled for life. So they moved to this land and continued their beliefs and practices, at first, life was difficult. Crops failed and many people died, but they still held onto their hope. They greatly respected the wolves of this area, their strength, their loyal packs. They prayed to any god that would answer that their families would be as strong as a wolf pack. One night, the town that had shunned the families formed a mob and attacked the village where the families lived. By morning their homes had been reduced to ashes and the ground was red with the blood of both the livestock and the families. No prisoners had been taken, children lay dead alongside their mother's bodies. Only one man was holding on to the last few moments of his life but he was hysterical with madness, his wife had died moments before and he was speaking, screaming to the sky asking for help, asking for forgiveness so his wife could be saved. "

"It is said that Saska answered him, that she had been watching over the families since they had moved to that area. As soon as the words had left the man's lips the wolves came from the woods, looking for the bodies of the families and breathing life into them, turning them into wolves but they could change forms at will. The families lived out the rest of the year as wolves, they became stronger and adopted the ways of the pack and they recognized Saska as their goddess. The man that she had heard became the first Alpha, and he also became the first Blessed. The families grew and separated into different packs, and although every pack had an Alpha, only a wolf with a direct connection to the goddess was Blessed."[/b]

Cassie spoke up when Clark was finished,[b]"Okay, history teacher, but what exactly does that even mean? Like does she get magical powers or fairy dust or some nonsense?"[/b]

I snorted at her comment and flashed Cass a pointed look to which she only stuck her tongue out at me but Clark answered casually,[b]" In theory, and keep in mind this is based on legend-wolves that are Blessed have the ability to control other's emotions...well, I guess balance them and keep them calm is a better way of explaining it. They help prevent fights and keep everyone thinking clearly, which is very helpful in large packs. Wolves seek out the Blessed without thinking because of their good energy and their connection with the goddess. It is even said that the Blessed have healing abilities. They also help the Alpha make decisions and can override the Alpha's choice if they feel it is putting the pack at risk. They're…kind of like the mother to the pack."[/b]

[b]"Neat! So you're a Fairy Godmother,"[/b] Cass grinned, winking at me as she leaned back in her chair.

I growled a little at her, [b]"Keep it up and I'll bippity, boppetty, boop you right in the-"[/b]

[b]"Enough, pups!"[/b] Clark spoke up, cutting off the two of us, [b]"There's more you have to know, like why Tasha is the first of her kind in almost two centuries."[/b]

Cassie became quiet, her half interested gaze on Clark and I settled back in my seat before Clark began to speak again, getting his brightly colored ink ready for the tattoo.

[b]"In recorded pack history, there has never been a Blessed that was also an Alpha-at least until now,"[/b] Clark glanced at me continuing,[b]" It helped keep balance in the pack. However, an Alpha named Anicus attempted to change all of that two centuries ago. Anicus held the largest pack in the territory, partly due to his quality as an Alpha, and also because a Blessed, named Sage, led alongside him. Anicus held some different beliefs from most of our kind however and some felt he was power hungry. He did not believe that any wolf should speak above the Alpha, not even a Blessed, and especially not a female. He felt an Alpha should be all a pack needed and that they should have the powers that he Blessed carried. So, believing it would be for the good of the pack, Anicus devised a plan to change hierarchy and make the Alpha the ultimate leader of a pack. He would do this by courting Sage and marrying her, in the hopes that when she had children some of them would take on her qualities. However, an Alpha will not marry a Blessed in respect of Saska's law of balance, and even then a Blessed does not always have a child with the same powers as themselves. But Anicus still went on with his plan, making Sage believe that he loved her and they married in secret. Both wolves had angered Saska however, and when Sage finally had her children, twins-they had been stillborn. Anicus knew this was Saska's doing and in his rage he killed Sage to show the goddess how much power he had.

When any pack member is killed without reasoning, the punishment is exile. But when a Blessed is killed, the ruling is execution. Things went bad very quickly for Anicus' pack afterwards, there was a drought and most of the game travelled further up north, out of the pack's territory. Many wolves were getting very sick and dying of hunger. The pack knew that something had to be done, Anicus had to be killed or exiled, otherwise the pack would not survive. Some of the members agreed with Anicus however, why should they need a goddess to rule over them and tell them their ways? The pack was very divided, so those that were against Anicus had to be careful.

They came up with a plan to poison the Alpha, however it did not kill Anicus. It created an infection in him that was very contagious and could be passed on by blood or saliva. It could drive a werewolf insane, make him unafraid of humans and walking into cities and towns, it gave them greater strength and speed-and it made them seek out human flesh. It is rumor that one of us biting a human could turn them into our kind. Normally it could only kill a human from the infection, which is why it is law not to attack humans or even be around them in our true form. Being a "werewolf" is in no way contagious. But Anicus' infection was attached to his werewolf DNA, and it [i]was[/i] contagious. If a human survived being bitten by an infected werewolf, they would became a werewolf as well, but they would also share Anicus' madness. He bit humans and werewolves alike, infecting members of the pack. Those that did manage to get away knew they had to do something before Anicus gathered enough werewolves to attack the human village nearby. So they held a gathering and called upon Saska, asking her for help and to exile Anicus-and she did. It is said that she exiled him to a place called the Black Mountains and he has not been seen since then."[/b]

I blinked, realizing Clark had finished speaking. The story was unbelievable,[b]" So you're saying those guys that attacked me were Anicus' followers?"[/b] I remembered their fangs and how easily they had snapped my bones.

[b]"Well a few generations down but yeah, "[/b]Clark nodded,[b]"I mean think about it, you're the first Blessed in two centuries. It's a given that not a lot of wolves are going to like you because of your power and it will mean change for the pack-but no one would send three crazed wolves to kill you on the spot."[/b]

[b]"But why would they want to kill Tasha in the first place? I mean considering this is all true and Anicus is really in exile, why would they bother her?"[/b]Cassie asked, her expression skeptical.

[b]"It could be a number of reasons. Wolves are simply drawn to Tasha, so maybe they could just pick her up more easily and she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe they really do just have an instinct to kill her because of what she is. Or maybe they really don't want to kill her at all, maybe they want her for something," [/b]Clark explained the few theories offhandedly.

[b]"What could they possibly want me for? I'm barely a werewolf not to mention a full-fledged Blessed. I doubt this is true Clark, I'm sorry. I wouldn't even be of use to those guys, "[/b]I commented apologetically. This "legend" was impossible to believe, probably just some hokey story to tell pups to keep them in line. What scared me though was that Clark's expression was very serious. He actually believed everything he was saying.

Clark met my gaze then, his dark eyes very serious, [b]"They want you because you were made for them."[/b]

[b]"Clark, knock it off you're starting to freak me out,"[/b] Cassie snapped, her expression a little frightened.

Clark ignored her, looking at me and speaking before I could cut him off,[b]" There was only one human ever survived Anicus' Bite and became a werewolf like us. That human was your mother, Tasha."[/b]