ANNOUNCEMENTS

[Kieran Gunn]

Kieran had done pretty well on not calling Pagan every five minutes since he had left Scotland, but with the full moon only a couple of days away and Declan knowing about what him and Pagan had done before he had left, he needed to hear her voice. He sat on the deck of Kelly's house, listening to the sounds of the others inside before dialing the number from memory. It rang and rang, but there was finally that click and a voice that made his heart jump.

"Pagan, God, have I missed hearing yehr voice. How have yeh been? Has Sutherland said anything about sending yeh down her yet?"

He knew that Kelly had been working on Sutherland, but he hadn't heard anything else about it since then. He listened to Pagan's answers, a smile curling his lips as he thought about their last night together. Speaking of, he needed to tell her about Declan.

"I called because I missed yeh, Pagan, but also because ... Well I told Deck about us. Everything about us. Don't panic yet, though. He's ... thrilled. Yet even that seems to light a work for it."

He didn't know what else to tell her, but that should be enough.

[Pagan Kavanaugh]

She had been staying at Kieran's place more and more lately. Her parents were worried and she ignored Sutherland. Pack meetings.. there had been two, and she did not come to either of them. Her parents told him that she wasn't feeling well. But he had cornered her, and when he took a deep breath, and scented Kieran on her skin... he just shook his head. THAT had pissed her off. So she avoided him. She knew that made him angry, but he had to know that the three of them together... and her with Kieran was a good thing. Yes they got into trouble, but that had not happened in about 5 years. Well anything that she admitted to. Kieran also bailed her out. And the last time she needed him... She called him from the police station. When they told Deck.. he had been so angry that if she had not been there, he might have gone tot he police and slaughtered the guy. But he was going to be in jail for a very long time.

She was asleep in Kieran's bed, since that was where she felt the most calm. Something was going on and it was driving her nuts. She missed Kieran so much that it hurt, and it hurt a lot. Her father noticed it, but when he asked about it she refused to tell him. Yes he had been happy that she and Kieran had become a couple. But what he did not really notice what that she missed him so very much. Hearing the phone ring, she rolled over and picked it up off the floor where she had dropped it.

"Kier.. hey...yeah I missed you too. I'm ok. Lonely. Sad cuz you're not here."

He would be able to hear her sadness, and her loneliness. It was kind of sad because she wasn't so.. active as he spoke to her on the phone. She was kind of grey.

"No... I have been ignoring him. He's kind of being a bastard right now. My parents have been covering for me but that can't last much longer."

She was going through her life, in this grey mood. Everyone noticed. She didn't smile as much and she definitely wasn't as colourful as she normally was. And while she spoke to Kieran,m she could not help the tears. But she held it together even as she wiped a tear from her eyes.

"Okay. Uhm.. everyone here knows. Even Sutherland. But I am happy he was ok with it. I mean.. I didn't expect him to freak out since you did tell me that he was trying to push you towards me. We were just.. a little late."

[Kieran Gunn]

Something was wrong. That was all Kieran kept thinking as Pagan continued to speak. She was almost monotone and didn't really sound like herself. Where was his bubbly baby? Where was the girl who he couldn't get to shut up when he got her on the phone? His heart began to beat a mile a minute and the wolf was suddenly rearing behind his eyes.

”Pagan, what's wrong, baby?”

Panic began to well up inside him and he knew that he was going to have to calm down or he was going to shift on the deck in a matter of seconds. He pulled the memory of Pagan's smell to him, using the techniques that Kelly had been teaching him, but he was still fighting with the wolf. Even as he spoke, the wolf was close to the surface, causing his voice to be more of a growl.

”Please, Bug, don't be sad. I can hear yeh crying. I'll be home as soon as I can and then … yeh can move in with me, and then we can decide if me, yeh, and Declan are going to remain in Scotland or move to the States. Because I can't stand being away from yeh like this, and I know under Sutherland, we'll always be separated.”

The growl was getting deeper and deeper, but the wolf was still just under the surface. There wasn't even any pain yet, but Kieran knew it was coming if he didn't hear a little bit of his Pagan.

”I need to know you're okay, Bug. I can't this up much longer.”

He looked up towards the house, hearing Kelly and Declan inside and knowing that one of them was bound to feel his wolf and come running soon. But the wolf was what gave him the courage to say what he said next.

”I'm coming to get you after the full moon, Pagan. Fuck Sutherland. I can't do this.”

They were words only the wolf could make Kieran say, but right now, they were the only thing he was thinking about.

[Pagan Kavanaugh]

She wasn't going to lie to him so when he asked her what was wrong, she sighed, shrugged and tried to think of something to say.

"I don't know.. I really don't know."

She had her feelings and nine times out of ten something happened. She was just never able to do anything about it. Yes she might be able to warn someone to not take the m-1, but it still did not mean that they did not get caught up in the traffic from the car wreck that happened ten feet away. She might have been able to get the person to either leave later or take a different route. But she was never able to prevent something from happening no matter what.

"I can't help it. I miss you and Deck and I am miserable. My Da knows something is up but I won't even talk to him because not even he can get him to let me go."

She sighed, wiping her eyes again.

"I would like that. You me and Deck.. I think we need to get out of here. We're... He's just out of touch with what's going on and its killing us. We can't... We just can't. He is just too old to see what's going on."

She didn't need to tell him who that he she was talking about. Kier knew.

"OK. I think I can get some money.. but.. let me talk to my Da.. I think he wouldmake sure I had some money but... I dunno."

That feeling of dread felt heavier now. Like something really bad was going to happen.

"Promise me that you will be safe.. you and Deck.. Promise me that Kier. Please."

As she asked him this her tone was desperate, pleading as if she needed to hear it because if she did not, it would kill her.

[Kieran Gunn]

Kieran felt the wolf closer to the surface now, and he could feel the pain of the shift already beginning to move through him. He needed to stay calm, but he couldn't with the pain and sorrow in Pagan's voice. He listened to what she had to say and sighed, feeling the wolf move back as if defeated.

”We missed yeh too, Bug. Yeh're all we seem to be talking about around here. And Kelly would be more than willing to give us a pack to belong to, baby. He's already told me that we're welcome here if we choose to leave Sutherland. And yeh're right. He's too old to see what needs to be done for the pack to flourish. Here, we have a chance of imprinting, Pagan. A chance to actually be happy.”

He knew deep down that, even if by some miracle him and Pagan actually imprinted under Sutherland, it wouldn't do them any good. He would always find some way to hinder the natural bond of the imprint. It was one of the reasons that Declan was the youngest born were in the Scottish pack. It was all because Sutherland wasn't ready for the changes that Kelly had already put forth in the States.

”Yeh're at my house, right? Get a chair and look in the top of the closet. There is a box with a credit card in it. Tell yehr parents where yeh're going, but tell no one else. Use the card if you need to.”

He didn't know why he was willing to help her, knowing that Sutherland would have a lot to say about it, but he needed her here with him. He needed both her and Deck to be with him for him to be comfortable. The desperation in her voice had him moving toward the house, heading toward Kelly and Declan.

”We're with good people, Bug. We're as safe as we're going to get. You have to promise me that yeh'll keep safe. I'm worried about yeh.”

He stopped before he hit the door, feeling the wolf fight to come to the surface. He growled, hoping that it carried into the house and someone would come help him.

[Pagan Kavanaugh]

She could hear the wolf coming to the surface for Kier. She knew it was difficult for him to keep it down when he was angry. And she knew he was furious about this whole thing. Why it was affecting her as bad as it was she had no idea. But she felt the anger, and she felt.. something else. She knew he was forcing the wolf down and it was good. Normally he could not this close to a full moon. So things were good for him there.

"I would like that. Somewhere.. not here. Somewhere where people won't judge the humans as just humans. And I can't.....God this sucks."

That sounded really good to her. Especially since she could hear it in Kier's voice. He wanted to stay where he was. He wanted to try to leave their current pack. That would be difficult and she knew that it would be trouble for Kelly.

"OK.. I'll get online a get myself a ticket. But I can't do anything for a couple days. I promise Jo I would work for him. He's got a family thing."

Hearing him say that he was safe felt good. She needed to know that he was alright. Deck was with him, which was good, but she needed them here with her. So hearing his ask her to promise that she would be safe, she sighed, and she lied. She knew she could not do that because without them...

"I will.. Just.. stay with Deck and this Alpha. If he is as good as you say, he will keep you two safe. I'll try to get there as soon as I can. I love you."

She could tell he needed to go. She honestly did not want get off the phone with him, but the full moon was a night away and he needed to shift. If he did not, he would go mad. And she could not bear with it if that happened.

[Kieran Gunn]

Kieran knew that he didn't have long before the wolf burst through him. He was doing well enough keeping him at bay, but he wouldn't be able to fight too much longer. With all the rage, confusion, and longing that were running through his mind, he knew that he needed to get off the phone as soon as he could so that he could shift and get it over with. But he would wait a few more minutes, pulling the scents of all the wolves around him to wrap him in calm.

”We could come here, Pagan. This pack doesn't judge on basis of human or were. Everyone is equal. They don't even judge me because I'm a bitten.”

He knew that it would mean a lot of problems for Kelly if Kieran, Pagan, and Declan decided to leave Sutherland and come here, but he knew that Kelly would do whatever he could to keep the trio safe. He had that much trust in the Olympic Alpha. He used to have that trust in Sutherland, but as he had grown older, he had realized that his trust was in the wrong place.

”If a couple of days is as soon as yeh can get down here, then I will have to deal with it, but I need yeh here with me, Bug. I don't know why, but I need to know that yeh're safe.”

He could hear the lie in her voice, but he knew that he couldn't promise that she would be safe unless he was there with her. So he accepted it as it was and leaned against the door of the deck, trying to keep what control he had left intact. When he spoke again, his voice was almost completely wolf, though he knew the conversation was over.

”Kelly will make sure nothing happens to us, Bug, that much I can guarantee. And I can't wait to hold yeh again. I love yeh more than yeh'll ever know. Bye.”

As soon as the last word was out of his mouth, he dropped the phone, unable to even disconnect the phone call as the wolf came howling through him. He tore his clothes off just as the howl came from his throat, alerting both Declan and Kelly inside as to what was going on. Pain ripped through his body, but he took it as he had learned to, using pleasant memories to make the pain bearable. Shuddering, he felt the pull of the moon just as his bones began to reform and hair moved over his entire body. It didn't take long for the red blonde wolf to be standing on the deck, waiting for some guidance.

[Pagan Kavanaugh]

She could feel his anger, and she could feel the wolf. How? She had no idea. Maybe it was because she was so close, even closer now to Kier. She had slept with him, a few times before he left. And hearing him say what he was saying about the pack he was staying with. She heard his hope and that helped her. It helped her to know that he would be alright. He had to be alright. She needed him to be.

"OK. We can go there... if he is alright with it. I know... He'll be pissed and he might take it out on our parents. Deck's mum and da can take care of themselves.. but what about my parents? They won't leave... But why would they stay?"

She knew that they would accept any decision that she had made. They knew that she was not happy there. And they could see that this separation of her and Kier was killing her. That was why they had covered for her when the Alpha asked.

Her breath hitched when he said that he needed to know that she would be safe. But she knew... that was not going to happen. She was keeping aware. And she should have gone to her Alpha, but that was her stubbornness, and he want to show him that even He could not keep her safe. But at what price? She knew that no one was going to die. well she knew she wasn't, but she was terrified of what might, or might not happen.

"Ok. I'll try to get there as soon as I can. I promise."

It was all she could do.

She could hear the wolf and it killed her. Knowing that someone else was going to be there to calm him down. She needed to be there. Fuck Sutherland.

"I know. Trust me I know."

She was not able to say goodbye as she heard him drop the phone. She listened until she could not listen any more, clicking the phone off. She threw it across the room, hearing it land in a soft thud as it hit something soft. And the sobs that wracked her body had her curling up in a ball, clutching the sheet in her hands and she just cried and cried.