Muahaha. This is the second shidbit of the Denaith series... written solely by me, for your enjoyment. =^_^=

Title-- Untitled; referred to as Werewolves! or the Denaith Series
Rating and Warnings-- G; no warnings. Except mebbe an angst warning. ^^;;
Species and Characters-- Nicht, city alpha male, and Minara, albino female omega in Nicht's pack and his servent.
Summary and Notes-- This piece comes after the first introductory piece, but in the story's time, a few weeks have passed. This was basically a shidbit to develop Nicht's character and explain a few things, as well as introduce a part of the plot. =^_^= Enjoy!


"Good day, Mr. Marrin, sir."

The small man didn't respond to his maid's greeting, fog-hued eyes cast low and intently watching exactly where on the colored tiles his expensive sandals slapped. He was dressed in finery, a light and fashionably oversized pastel blue silken robe that billowed around his lean, compact frame overlying more fitting cotton leggings and a tunic, both of a rich chocolate hue. His mediocre brown hair, a little shaggy for a businessman's typical appearance, had been carefully brushed back behind his ears--but for all the world, he looked and walked like a trapped beast.

The white-clad omega watched him pace past her towards the entrance to his luxurious gardens and shook her head a little in sympathetic, kindred-born pity. She was his maid, for sure, but she was one of his wolves, and he protected her from the outside world of humans who would label her an outcast for her too-pale skin, white hair, and faintly pinkish eyes. And she knew gratitude for his kindness, because, were it not for him, she would be one of the lone wolves surviving on city garbage and garbage-fattened city rats. She had seen them one time--they had had the glint of madness in their eye, whether it be wolf or human gaze that locked upon her thin, bony frame, and she had hurried into well-lighted areas again.

When she had returned to Nicht Marrin's manse that eve, he had dared to break human and wolf hierarchy by taking her in his arms and comforting her himself. And he had snarled at the subordinate wolf in the office who had sneered and sniffed her disapproval.

The albino leaned against the wall and listened with keen ears as the ornate doors that let into the expansive gardens clanged shut as though half-slammed. Nicht Marrin was alpha because of his heart, not because of his teeth, and she'd be dead 'fore she'd let harm come to him.

T'was a sentiment shared among the full twenty-seven betas, subordinates, and omegas of his pack.



Nicht felt his heart beating against his chest with the rage of a chained eagle desperate for release; he had to pause and lean against one of the carved marble pillars that decorated his flowerbeds and offered shade so that his lungs and legs wouldn't betray him. He gently placed one thin-fingered hand on his narrow chest and felt his palm jump minutely with each convulsion of that which powered his body and life. Some radical humans had begun to suggest that the soul resided in the skull, rather than the chest, but at such times when his entire body throbbed with the pounding of his heart... such a theory sounded asinine.

It seemed as though the day crept up around the city alpha and, when he looked up from his shaking hand, it drowned him in radiant warmth and fragrant scents and brilliant sunlight and refreshing winds. The sky, seen past the tall marble pillars and surrounding buildings, was a stunning azure with translucent wisps of snow-white clouds only enhancing its beauty. Every flower in the lush gardens seemed to turn its pollen-dusted face towards the alpha as though in homage, or perhaps simply to watch him--the wolf laughed a little at his fanciful thoughts as he shook himself off.

The twisting, rather animal-like motion reminded him with a judicious squeeze around his thighs and shoulders of what he wore beneath his white-embroidered robe, and he carelessly cast the expensive fabric onto the dirt path. Brown had always suited him better than such a human color as blue was, and though Nicht knew he was as much human as wolf... well, sometimes, he liked to forget.

And it was those times that got him into such maggot-infested trouble. The fine-boned face of an aristocrat fell into a heavy wolfish scowl as he kicked off his too-loud sandals and took a few paces, silent and graceful, between the well-tended flowerbeds--and there he paused again.

He was a businessman in the human world. His packmates were his staff, his betas his board of advisors, his omegas his servants; other city alphas were corporate allies and "business friends" with whom he could speak freely and, on rare occasion, hunt in one of their carefully-stocked preserves. There was no need for dominance fights between those who were separated by blocks and buildings, whose territory never even bordered that of anyone else.

On full moons, when every werewolf in the city would transform into their most natural state, Nicht's mercantile trading business would shut down in an unofficial, unannounced nightly closing. The other city alphas weren't so foolish--they had humans on staff who would work and who, knowing naught better, made it look as though a simple change in shift had all the wolves missing that one night of forced shapeshifting. However, Nicht's pack would head to the country as a unit once a month, and the lights were dark in their homes and headquarters.

The other city alphas also weren't foolish enough to link corporate arms only with wolf-run or wolf-staffed businesses--but then, neither was Nicht. And there lay the problem, like a poisonous forest serpent awaiting a wolf pup's too-close investigation.

Human alphas--business tycoons--and personal friends alike had begun to wonder at Nicht Marrin and his staff and servants. He hadn't realized it until a human female who kept trying to mate with him delivered a snarky comment when he excused himself from her company as evening set in last full moon--she had taunted him of being a "foul, flea-infested werewolf," then laughed at her joke.

His own laughter had been very forced.

She had noticed. She had given him a questioning look, apologized for offending him, and allowed him to depart the restaurant without further comment.

Nicht thought he saw suspicion gleam in her human eyes... eyes that shone with a hunger that wasn't felt in the belly, but lower and higher at once. That one was sharp-witted and tended to succeed in her so-human hunts; he had evaded her advances several times, and each time, his respect for her cleverness had been renewed and strengthened.

His human "allies" were not ones to offend. If, somehow, one of them even thought that Mr. Nicht Marrin was a scorned werewolf, the rumors that would flood the city would ruin his business and the lives of his pack. Other city alphas would be endangered. Wolf hunters from miles and miles around would come in to exterminate the most filthy of beasts, and that would be the end.

They might even search the countryside and happen upon Seyah's pack.



The albino opened the intricately shaped garden gates silently and stepped into the shadow of the first pillar, a tall glass of wine held daintily in both of her little hands. She watched Nicht jerk violently as he heard her bare foot touch the soft earth, straightening his hunched back and spinning with a very bestial expression of territoriality--then his expression shattered and distraught kindness, recently typical of the male, returned to his beautiful grey eyes.

"Mr. Marrin, sir, I thought you might like a drink." She aimed her eyes at the sky, squinting at the brightness of the blue. "It's a mite hot outside t'day."

Nicht made the mental transition from wolf to man slowly, safe in the company of his faithful, trusted omega. "Yes," he said deliberately, the word dragging as it left his thin lips. "Thank you, Minara. Your thoughtfulness is much appreciated in times like these." And he smiled, a tiny smile but a genuine one, as he strode forward with a façade of superiority and took the glass from her.

The omega bowed low from the waist, then straightened and returned a small smile. "You still have no meetings or conferences scheduled for the next two days, sir. I'll immediately alert you should someone request one or the other."

"Thank you, Minara."

"Yes, sir."

She turned and padded back inside silently, pausing only to shut the gates again (and latch them for her alpha's privacy) and to wipe her soil-dusted feet upon the clean but well-worn rug just inside the entrance.

Nicht watched his servant walk away, then turned and again stepped into the sunlight. The smell of heat was thick and painted heavily with the perfume of his flowers; the citrus scent of his wine was barely noticeable under the lush fragrance of the air. Consciously trying to stay human in his mind, he took a sip of the tart liquid and strolled forward, deliberately making his steps loud and graceless.

Humans were graceless, noisy creatures, after all. He had best act like one, or he and his wolves would be slaughtered mercilessly.

After a few generous sips of his wine, Nicht Marrin laughed aloud. Should his human "friends" become too curious, Hashu could always persuade them to think of other things. Nicht disliked Hashu and did have some emotional attachment to some of the humans, but he was an alpha, and alphas would do anything for their wolves.

And he would.


I <3 Nicht. XD.