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Chapter 1 - Calling Him Home

A strong silver paw ran through the wheat near its owner's hips. The paw belonged to a tall, well built wolf who was admiring the fields of his farmland. He owned a very large farm that helped feed the nearby town, and he was proud of it. He built it from nothing and it was more than he could've ever asked for.

He looked at the sky as it grew darker and smiled once he saw stars come into view. It was time to go back home, but not the one he was walking towards. The farm house he had built was getting closer to him, his mind already flooding with things he needed to do once he entered the doorway. He knew what was coming next, but he felt something stir in his chest that he couldn't just ignore this time.

He took a breath to strengthen himself before opening the door to a bit of a chaotic scene. He smiled wide as his smaller children ran around him, running from their mother who was begging them to wash their paws. The criminals in question were Rowan who recently turned 6, the twins Sydney and Tobias who were about 11, and the youngest pup Nova at 4. He waved a hello to one of his older kids, his daughter Eden who had just turned 18. He closed the door and started to sit down at the table. He smiled at his sons who had sat down before, patiently waiting for the okay to get food. Axel, who was 25 and Jesse who was just 28.

"Hey boys. How're you doin?" He asked them while helping himself to the food that had been prepared and laid out.

"I'm okay. Just a long day of school." Axel murmured.

"Same, really. I'm seeing scripture in my dreams, I think..." Jesse moaned along with his brother, the two of them cautiously getting food as if they shouldn't before their mother came to the table.

A red husky, who was very frustrated and holding onto two struggling toddlers, huffed and came up to them, "Lee. Please." She asked their father out of desperation.

"Ah. Sorry hun, I was just hungry and-- Let me help, here." Lee said gently as he took his youngest daughter into his paws and smiled wide, telling the older one to wash his paws. Once the little pup ran off obediently he played with the little red toddler and watched as she grabbed at his crystal necklace and tried to gnaw on it with her new puppy teeth. "Oop! Hey hey, Nova no!" He laughed and pulled back from her. "Don't chew on my crystal. We're nice to them, they help us."

She looked up and cocked her head. "Help us? Buh how?"

He sighed and cast a glance to his wife, who was busy with the twins. He nuzzled her and laughed, "They help give us life energy. It's hard to explain. But just know that ...it makes me happy to wear it. And one day you'll get one too."

"Will I get one too, dad?!" Yelped an excited Rowan who ran back with clean, yet wet, paws. He grabbed at food, but was quickly helped by his mother.

Cassandra rolled her eyes dramatically as she helped the young boy to the table, "You don't need to teach them about all of that stuff. I thought we agreed on the pups not meeting the tribe." She said without looking up. She sat down and concerned herself with her own plate of food now, though she hadn't eaten anything yet. She knew this wasn't going to be a conversation, and Lee caught on as well.

Lee folded his ears back and flicked his tail irritably. He didn't want to say anything in front of his children, but he knew it was futile to argue anyway. "Mm." He muttered before setting Nova into her chair and helping her with her food.

The meal was a little more silent and awkward, but it was eventually broken by Eden and Axel talking about college. Jesse looked at them both with a tired smile as he almost envied his younger siblings. Cassandra gave Axel a small glance now and then, not approving of his field of study.

"So after we made the mushroom powder, it was easy." Axel finished his story to Eden.

"That's amazing! You're so smart, I could never work in alchemy. Or anything magicky. There's way too much to it all." Eden said with a laugh behind her voice.

Lee looked at her and cocked his head, "You're smart, Eden. Just not in those ways. Have you figured anything out yet, or are we just going through the basics?"

Eden wilted in her chair and played with the last bits of her food. "I dunno. I'm still okay with doing the basic degree thing. I don't want to go into farming, I don't want to do anything like hair, fur or nail grooming. It all seems kind of pointless, ya know?" She didn't seem put off, just as if she were tired of hearing about it.

Cassandra looked down her nose at Eden, "You should pick something. Or there's always the church! You could babysit there, they always need help."

Eden bristled a little and picked up her plate, along with a few others. "I'm not going into the church." She said with a tone that sounded as final as her mother's. It didn't sit well with Cassandra, but she didn't want to start a fight.

Lee sighed and got up along with everyone else as they started to clear the table. He wandered over to the coffee pot to make some fresh coffee. Axel walked over to him and leaned against the counter to watch him for a minute.

"Hey dad. You doin okay?" He asked, trying not to seem as if he were prying into something he probably shouldn't. He had been doing that since he was little, but now that he was grown it was a lot easier to learn more secrets.

He looked up and smiled as he turned the pot on. "I'm alright. Just the everyday thing getting me tired."

Axel waited for his mother to walk into the back of the house with two very tired and grumpy toddlers before talking again, "And by that you mean mom's anti-magic thing?"

Lee sighed. He didn't like speaking ill of anyone, let alone his wife. He also couldn't deny that it was a splinter in the middle of the family sometimes. "I don't want to talk ill of your mother. It's something we've talked about and I know she's not comfortable with the tribe. I just wish she wouldn't talk bad about them or keep you kids from learning your heritage."

Axel let a hollow laugh slip and crossed his arms, the smell of the dark roast putting him at ease. "It's kind of all she does, dad. With me on the road to being an alchemist she's been more on edge about it. I just don't think she likes that she's losing control."

The big silver wolf laughed louder than he meant and covered his mouth before snickering like a teenager. He ran a paw through his stark white hair and shook his head, "I don't know. But it's something you shouldn't be worried about. I'm proud of you and you should be proud of yourself for doing so well in school. Eventually she'll catch up, alright?"

Axel didn't seem satisfied with the answer but accepted it all the same. He knew it wasn't something they talked about, but he was always worried about it. Over the years it seemed as if the cult had been invading their lives. His mother was getting deeper and deeper into the inner workings of the church and it worried Axel. He had seen a few religious symbols pop up around the house, something they hadn't grown up with. The compass, the eye, all symbols of the Cult of Pyxis. He looked at the one plaque his father had allowed to be hung on the wall for his mother's sake and shuddered. The hanging on the wall was a wooden compass sculpture that looked almost like a weird umbrella, complete with an eye in the middle that appeared to be watching them all. It was foreboding and unsettling, but his mother found some kind of solace in it. He didn't understand, but neither did Lee.

Lee, who was watching the coffee pot intensely if not just to avoid awkward conversation, felt his son shift and twitch and followed his gaze. He grumbled deep in his throat but kept his maw shut. He didn't want to start that bag of worms with the one kid who was ready and willing to tear into it. He hated the church and the symbols that had been showing up. He should've never let his wife hang the symbol. The symbol on the wall was the first thing to show up and he knew it wouldn't stop there. She started wearing the necklace, dressing in the church's red, and kept her beautiful long hair up tight in a bun which gave her a severe look. It wasn't the girl he'd married, but he couldn't dwell on it. She made it hard to ignore as the pressure of the church started to weigh on the family through her influence. He never asked about her church activity because he was worried about her attempting to get him involved.

The coffee finished and the two boys were a bit thankful they had something else to pour their attention into. They started working on cups, Lee just pouring his straight from the pot and walking off. Axel stirred in some sugar and looked up to notice his dad had left. He felt a little let down but was more curious why he was so distracted this time. It was getting later and he still needed to study before bed so he walked off to do just that. He waved a goodnight to his dad and disappeared into the hallway.

Lee sat at a computer desk that was in the living room, putting the coffee down and taking his glasses off. He rubbed at his eyes and stared into the darkness of his coffee cup. He could feel the call of the pack raking down his nerves. He heard the voices on the wind and wanted to howl his response more than anything. He tried to shake it off and turned on the laptop in front of him. He clicked around on it and noticed an email from his sister.

Lee opened the email and started reading, his heart in his throat.

Hey there Lee,

Dad is wondering when you're going to come up for the joining. We've got at least five new pups, one of them is Copper's daughter's and he's not too happy about that. It's a mess, but we have to sort that out when you get here.

Don't wanna pressure you either, but he's also wondering when you and Copper are gunna talk... it's not going to be an easy one. Copper has been here almost weekly and it's gotten a little rough. Let us know, ok? Call me.

Misty

After he read it he got his phone out and looked at it. Lee hadn't called them in a few weeks, with the first harvest coming in soon and the fall season starting to kick in he was busier than ever. He had to make time for this. He missed his tribe and wanted to reconnect with them. He still had a few boxes of produce to give them, so why not hand them over in person?

He started to open his contacts to call Misty when Cassandra came around the corner. He locked his phone and smiled weakly at her. She walked over with a sweet smile, kissing him on the forehead.

"Hey there. What were you up to?" She said, glancing at the laptop he still had open.

He looked over and noticed the email was open and casually clicked back to his inbox, trying to pass it off as nothing. "Just checking emails and such. I'm pretty caught up, and the new manager is great at-"

"Misty was trying to get you to go back, wasn't she?" Cassandra said dangerously. She looked at him as if he were a bug. She hated the tribe and that it pulled him away. She also hated what had come of his little visits. Mainly the fact that he came home with a few puppies more than once. She loved all her children, but didn't approve of how a few of them came to be.

Lee swallowed hard and grabbed his coffee to let the warmth comfort him, "Uh yeah. She's just talkin about how Copper is trying to take things over and dad isn't happy about it I'm sure. I just need to get up there and sort some things out, you know."

His wife let out a long, breathy sigh and sat on the back of the nearby couch. She fidgeted with her Pyxis' eye necklace and looked at him, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine. I'll be gone a week or so and I can give them the produce that's been sitting there for a few days." He drank his coffee and flicked an ear. Making it sound like a produce run made him more confident at least, even if it didn't help Cassandra's case.

"Lee, I just don't want this to become a thing. Surely we can just send them the produce with one of our drivers and you can just call or mail them something, right? You can call your brother and hash this out over the phone, right?" She pleaded. She knew that once he was in the mountains with his family things always got harder for her. He didn't approve of her religion, but she didn't approve of his. It was something she almost felt guilty for, but she was determined to stay on this path. The problem for her was that Lee was just as stubborn.

Lee looked wounded. The last time he'd gone to the mountains he came home with the twins as a special prize. His wife never said no to a cute puppy, but he felt bad when she got upset about it. Her family was more traditional and not as free as some of the other races. His tribe was very open to mating partners and he had a few here and there when the season struck. It wasn't completely unheard of, but he had stopped doing all of that for her sake.

"Look, I just need to go up there and sort things out. Misty just wanted my answer, and they're expecting me for the joining. I know you don't like when I talk about it Cassy, but I need to be there in person. There are a few new pups that need to be officially introduced to the tribe." He said, trying to be as calm as possible with her.

She tapped her paw on the ground in a bit of nervousness, "Those poor puppies..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"How they have to live there in that sort of environment! They should be in..." She started, but stopped herself. She had such a problem with his tribe and how they operated, and at times she could be a little unfair and even racist.

"Civilization...?" Lee finished her thought and stood up in anger. He walked off with his cup and tossed it into the sink where coffee split up the wall, the cup breaking in the sink. He didn't even flinch. "I'm going to the mountains tomorrow." He said in a definitive tone.

Cassandra shrunk and nodded then squeaked out, "Alright, Lee. I'm... I'm sorry."

"It's..." He bit his tongue. It wasn't fine. It wasn't okay. She hated the wolves, and he couldn't take that all the time. He grabbed a towel and started cleaning instead of responding to her. He didn't want her to have to clean his angry mess and needed to calm down before bed.

"I'm going to bed. I'll see you in a minute?" She said softly, carefully getting off the couch as if it were going to explode. Lee had never laid a hand on her, but she knew she was in the wrong this time and was unsure how she should handle the situation.

"Yeah. I'll be there in a minute after I clean up." He laid his ears back, ashamed that he lost his temper. The smell of coffee was still everywhere, but it wasn't horrible. He looked at the build up of plates and cookware and decided to finish the job.

An hour later and the kitchen was sparkling and he felt a lot better. He made his way to the bedroom where a sleeping Cassandra was bundled up on her side of the bed. He slipped out of his jeans and crawled in bed after her. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked back with a smile. He kissed her cheek and wrapped his strong arms around her. She made a happy rumbling noise and backed up against him for the warmth. "Sorry I lost it. Kitchen's all clean though." He chuckled some and nuzzled against her.

"Hm? Oh, you didn't have to do that..." She looked at him, waking up a bit more.

"Nah it's fine. It let me cool down, and that's what I needed to do." He sighed, still a bit angry at her statement before. It was a conversation that needed to happen, but they were both so busy or distracted that they never had the words for it.

"I'm.. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did. You can go tomorrow and we'll see you in a week, it'll be okay." She said gently, nuzzling up under his chin.

The two of them fell into a mess of cuddles, kisses and petting until the night heated up quickly. Another hour passed, and Lee cuddled up a very happy but tired Cassandra. He looked up at the ceiling lazily, thoughts flowing in and out of his head.

Tomorrow would be a mess, but at least the two didn't go to bed angry. With that happy thought in his head he finally drifted off to sleep.