A White Tiger and The Wolf Ch. 07

Chapter 7: Explanations and Surprises

Back at the Den

When she arrived at the den, Kay was feeling a bit calmer. She had so many questions for her father and Uncle Henry. It was really hard to believe that her father was alive. He seemed to be so loving and caring, but she could not understand his decisions concerning her care. She wanted to know why he had left her with Norman and Helen. Didn't he know how they would treat her?

Kay wondered while growing up, why Helen never really showed her much affection. She thought mothers were the ones who gave you all the affection at least that is the way that it was in the books that she read, but not Helen. It seemed like the older they got the more she despised them. Norman was mean also, but it would have been bearable if Helen showed them some love.

She thought about the powers that she had. Norman must have been a tiger too because he had some of the strange powers that she had. It was going to be interesting to see what else she could do.

Charlie came in the library. "Do you want a coffee Kay?" he asked.

"Yes, please Charlie," replied Kay.

Bradley came in with everyone else, so Charlie asked, "Would anyone else like a drink since I'm just about to get one for Kay." They did so he went to get drinks for everyone.

Bradley sat on the sofa beside Kay and she leant on him. He put his arm around her to comfort her and let her know that he was there for her. Everyone else sat around by the big table with the wolf carving on it. It was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. They all knew that Kay had so many questions, and they were just waiting until she was ready to begin asking them.

Kay stared into the fire not, really thinking about anything in particular. After a few moments, Charlie returned with a large tray of tea and coffee that he placed on the conference table. He served Kay and Bradley their coffee and as he left the room told everyone else, "Help yourselves."

Once everyone finished their drinks, Kay couldn't take the silence, so she confronted her Father saying, "Why did you leave me with Norman & Helen?"

"They were Paul's parents, and Norman was my older brother," said John.

"I don't think they really wanted me. They never showed much love to me. Actually, I don't think they wanted Paul either because they treated him as badly as they treated me," Kay said.

"It was the best solution that I could come up with at the time. I had to hide you, and I wanted a family member to take care of you," John said.

Paul said, "It was fine when we were small as they treated us ok. When we got older though, they didn't want the responsibility anymore. We spent much of our childhood making up games to entertain ourselves. By accident, we discovered that we could communicate with each other using telepathy."

John asked, "When did that start? How old were you?"

"Well, Kay was 3 and I was 5 when we discovered we could communicate with each other. Kay had been crying a lot that day when she just turned 3. It was driving mom mental, so she put her in the cupboard under the stairs in the dark to teach her a lesson. Kay was sobbing. I thought, this is so sad, and Kay heard me.

"She thought back, is that you Paul?

"I was surprised but replied, yes, it is me.

"The entire time that Kay was in the cupboard, we talked to each other that way. It kept Kay calm.

"Mom noticed that Kay had stopped crying and let her out thinking that she had learned her lesson. Mom and Dad never knew we could talk to each other like that. It used to be our secret."

"I bound your powers when you were 2, so you could lead a normal childhood without coming to harm. I never knew Norman and Helen didn't really want you. I'm sorry Kay," said John. "You should know I only left you because I was afraid that Lazlo would find you and take you. You are a very powerful woman even though you may not feel it just yet."

"Who is Lazlo?" Kay asked.

"I will tell you later. For now, let me try and explain some other things to you. Ok?" John said.

"I know a few things, Father. Things that have been happening to me and they are making me very scared. Can tell you?" Kay stated.

"Like what?" John asked.

"I heal a lot faster than normal, especially in the dark, just as Paul can. I can run about 25 miles an hour, when I try. I can teleport from one place to another. I found that out one morning when I was almost late for work. I just thought about being late for work and I started getting upset. The more I thought about being late, the more upset I got and the next thing I knew I was at work. I can, also, move objects with my mind.

"These things are pretty cool, but it's these other things that are happening that are scaring me. I can completely vanish or fade in and out without having any control over when it happens. The last few weeks my skin is on fire most of the time and it's the scariest thing I have had to cope with.

"So, are you going to tell me exactly what is happening to me and why I have this feeling of burning up most of the time?" Kay asked.

John stood up and slowly made his way towards Kay. He was standing right in front of her. She was all grown up. He had missed her so much. He loved her with all his heart and didn't want her to feel this hurt anymore. They looked at each other, just staring for a bit.

Kay was standing front of her father, and she felt this immense feeling of belonging, something she never felt while growing up. If it hadn't been for Paul she would have ran away from home when she was little. Many times she had come near doing just that, but Paul would know when she was upset, come find her and make it better.

All of a sudden she put her head on her father's chest. He pulled her into his arms holding her close to his heart. Now, tears streamed down Kay's face. She held her dad, and he in turn held her while she cried. He rubbed her back and said, "I'm so sorry, baby. I love you so much and I promise that I will never disappear on you again. I really thought that I was doing what was best for you. I thought that with my brother, you would have a family and a normal childhood. It never occurred to me that you would be mistreated.

She could feel herself beginning to shake, and then it happened again. Her skin just started burning, and she couldn't seem to stop it.

John released Kay because she really was burning up. He looked at her and discovered that her skin was bright red. John asked, "Henry come feel Kay's skin. Is this normal? I have never seen this before." Henry put his hand on Kay's arm. He soon moved it, and found he had a burn on his hand.

Kay was getting really frightened. Bradley could feel the tension coming from her and building in the room. No one knew what to do. Kay thought, Oh, the pain. This is getting to be unbearable. I can't take much more. Suddenly she turned toward Brad and disappeared right in front of everyone.

While Kay's skin was hurting, she knew that she needed to cool down in a hurry. This was the hottest she had ever been before. Suddenly she thought about the stream and the waterfall where she was earlier. She remembered how cool the water was and all of a sudden she was there.

Standing under the waterfall with the water cascading on to her, she began to cool off a little. She stripped down to her underwear and just stood there.

It finally occurred to her that this was the furthest she had ever teleported herself. She also knew that Bradley and everyone would be frantic with worry, but she had to cool down and this was the first place of which she thought.

It was her birthday tomorrow, and she was ssssooooo scared. She kept wondering about what her father said about how powerful she was. She didn't feel powerful now. She only felt scared and at this moment very much alone.

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Meanwhile back at the mansion, everyone was wondering what had happened. One minute Kay was there and the next she was gone. Bradley was frantic. He wasn't thinking straight and thought John had done something to Kay. So, he punched him in the face and shouted, "What have you done to Kay?"

John did nothing. He didn't want to fight Bradley. He knew that it was just reaction because he was worried about Kay. He was worried about Kay too. He told Bradley, "Calm down, son. I didn't do anything to Kay. We will find her."

Bradley was upset, angry and shouting at the top of his lungs, "WE'VE GOT TO FIND HER NOW."

John asked, "Paul try to communicate with Kay and find out where she's gone."

Paul closed his eyes and searched for Kay. He could sense that she was not far away, but wasn't sure where she was. Kay where are you? Paul asked her.

Oh, Paul, Kay thought while crying, I was burning up and I needed to get cool.

So where are you? Paul repeated.

"At the waterfall where I was earlier," replied Kay.

Why did you just leave without saying a word? Everyone is worried about you, Paul exclaimed. Bradley was frantic.

I'm sorry Paul, but my skin was burning. It began to hurt really badly, so I teleported myself into the waterfall. It feels a little better, but it is still hurting a lot. This time it won't stop. I'm so scared Paul. You have to help me; Kay said and then started crying harder.

Paul opened his eyes and everyone was watching him because they all heard John ask him to try to contact Kay. Paul said, "She said that her skin is burning so much that it was hurting her badly. She was scared, so she teleported herself to the waterfall where she was earlier. She is now standing under the waterfall trying to cool off."

Nathan said, "Have her stay there. I have an idea."

He gathered a few people to help him, and then took them to the medical centre so they could get a load of sheets. They dumped the sheets in a large bath and filled it with cold water. Once he was finished with his preparation, Nathan phoned Bradley, "Bradley, come over here, and I'll tell you what I have come up with."

Bradley went to the medical centre and Nathan showed him what he had done. "If we get Paul to ask Kay to teleport over here, we can wrap her in these cold sheets to help cool her down. When her body warms up the sheet, we'll drench them in cold water. Since she will be at the medical center, we can also keep an eye on her," explained Nathan.

"But will it work, and what happens later?" asked Bradley.

"Well, hopefully, by then John will have some answers as to how we can control this burning," Nathan replied.

Suddenly, Paul raced into the medical centre. Just as he entered the room, all the sirens began blasting. "What's that?" Paul asked.

"We have intruders," Bradley said. "The sirens you are hearing mean someone is on our land without permission."

Paul's voice rose in excitement as he said, "That's what I came to tell you. Kay said there are about 6 men and one woman standing about 200 yards from where she is and she wants to know what to do."

Bradley shouted, "TELL HER TO GET BACK HERE NOW!!!" as he raced off. By the time he got to the community room, his team was assembled and went charging off in full wolf form because it was faster.

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Back at the waterfall

Kay couldn't seem to move. It was as though she was frozen under the waterfall. She could make out 6 men and 1 women approaching from west of the forest. They were all massive. Two of the men were at least 6' 7" tall and very big.

Kay asked, Paul, did Brad send these people?

No, get out of there! Paul yelled.

I can't move. It's like I'm frozen in place. The woman is funny looking, almost as if she's a ghost. You can see right through her. OH GOD, PAUL HELP ME!! She shouted.

As the woman got nearer, it seemed as though she were floating on the water. Then the woman said, "Don't be afraid. My name is Constance and I'm your mother."

"But you....are.... dead," Kay said.

"Not exactly, I can never die. I'm immortal," Constance said.

Feeling much calmer, Kay said, "Dad's at the mansion."

Just then, John appeared next to Kay and wrapped his arms around her. As soon as Bradley raced off, Paul teleported to Uncle John and Uncle Henry to tell them that Kay was in trouble. The minute the words were out of his mouth, Uncle John was gone.

John turned ready to defend his daughter with his life, and his mouth fell open from the shock. "OH MY, GOD," he said, "Connie, you're alive."

"Well, I'm here. I couldn't miss my daughter's 21st birthday tomorrow," Connie exclaimed.

"But how are you here? You were killed a long time ago," John questioned.

"No, I just had to disappear for a while. The men with me are my body guards. They go everywhere I do," Connie stated.

Kay couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had her mom and dad with her now, although her mom looked really strange to her at the moment. She was really happy. Having a mother who you can see through may take some getting used to, but it is great to have LOVING parents. Kay thought with a smile

Suddenly, Bradley and his warriors surrounded them in full wolf form. Bradley growled and charged forward determined to protect his mate.

Connie, not knowing the wolves were friendly, threw out her hand creating a dome to cover herself, her bodyguards, John, Kay and the waterfall. The wolves were left outside the dome.

Seeing that Connie was intent on protecting them from the wolves, John explained to her that the wolves were there to protect Kay. "Kay is the mate of the Alpha of the Black Wolf Pack, Bradley. He and his warriors thought that she was in danger and they are here to defend her," John said. Connie dropped the shield.

Until this time, the cool water of the waterfall kept the burning and pain of Kay's skin to a bearable level. But Kay began to notice that her skin was getting hotter and hotter. She drew everyone's attention by screaming, "MY SKIN MY SKIN, IT HURTS, MAKE IT STOP PLEASE." Then she collapsed.

John gathered Kay in his arms getting himself soaking wet, but he didn't care. If his holding her could help Kay, he was willing to do it for as long as he could. He couldn't hold her for long because the intense heat that she was producing burned his arms and hands. She was extremely too hot. It was like trying to hold an armful of hot coals.

Connie used her powers to encase Kay in a dome which would allow her to be handled without causing extreme burns and pain to the handler, and then they removed Kay from the waterfall, placed her on the ground. Once she was on the ground, her mother removed the dome. Connie seemed more solid now than when she first appeared. She kneeled beside Kay and placed her hand on her head. Connie then said, "This is not right. Yes, she should feel warm, but Kay is roasting."

"We have to teleport Kay to the medical centre," Bradley said. "Nathan has an idea for cooling her off."

"What?" asked Connie

"He's going to wrap her in cold sheets while we try to figure out how to stop this. As the sheets warm up, they will be drenched in cold water," explained Bradley. Connie made a sweep with her hand and a bright light appeared transporting everyone back to the compound, immediately.

"My God, how did you do that?" Jason questioned.

"It's a bit complicated to explain, but basically I bound everyone together and transported us all here," she said.

"How did you know where the medical centre is located?" said Bradley.

"I simply instructed my powers to take me to the location you were speaking of when you were telling me about Nathan's plan," Connie answered.

While she was answering their questions, Connie encased Kay in a dome again, so John to could take Kay inside the medical centre. Jane and Kim, who were Kay's nurses, were waiting for them. Kay's skin was blood red now and would burn anyone who touched her.

John laid Kay on the prepared bed, which was already covered with cold sheets. Connie removed the doom, so Jane and Kim could begin wrapping the cold sheets around her. Initially, there was a lot of steam coming from the cold sheets. Kay was still unconscious which was good as she must be hurting her awfully badly. Once the sheets started to warm, Kay and the sheets were soaked with cold water.

John, Connie and Bradley needed to talk, so they went outside.

"Why is this happening to Kay?" Bradley asked.

"Well, she is a white tiger, and she is going to have her first shift on the first full moon after her 21st birthday, which is tomorrow," Connie answered.

"Is it normal for her to be this hot as her body prepares for her first shift?" asked John.

"No, she should be warm, but not this hot," stated Constance.

"What is she exactly? I know were tigers and their first shift happens when they are very young," asked Bradley

"She is a White Tiger and when I say white I mean all White, with none of the usual stripes. There are only a few around. I'm one also," said Connie. She continued, "I was queen of the last pride of white tigers, but now there is not many of us left. We can harness power from fire and when we shift, we can use the fire power. Kay will have to be taught how to harness her power. She is very powerful because she has inherited some of her dad's power as well. John is ancient and a Wizard as well being an elemental, which makes things complicated. We have a few enemies that want to get to Kay because of her power."

John said, "A guy named Lazlo wants to control Kay's power to take over the Wizard council. Lazlo feels that he can hold the world ransom after he gets control of the wizard council. If he gets her, it will mean a war will break out between the non-humans and the humans, which neither the Wizard council nor any of the other ruling councils want to happen. This is why I bound Kay's powers when she was little."

"What I don't understand at the moment is why she is burning up. I know it was never like this the first time I shifted," pondered Connie. "It's her birthday tomorrow, and she will be 21 years old which means she will get full use of her powers. When the new moon appears, two days after her birthday, then she will be able to shift. Once she shifts, we will have to teach her how to control her powers. She will not be able to throw her hands up without doing some serious damage. It will be hard for her, but she will get used to it."

Bradley said, "A few days ago Paul was kidnapped and tortured by a man called Johnson, who we are still interrogating. So far, he is still holding out and we have been unable to get any information from him."

After a minute or so of thinking John exclaimed, "Oh God! Johnson is Lazlo's right-hand man. I can help interrogate him if you like. I can do a mind sweep on him and there is no way he can hide information from me."

"I think it would be a good idea for you to do a mind sweep on him. I will set it up for some time tomorrow," Bradley said, "but let's sort Kay out first, ok."

"We are going to need more guards to protect her from Lazlo," John said.

"Don't worry," said Bradley, "I can call in a few favours from neighboring packs and prides. She will be guarded 24 hours a day."

John and Connie went back inside the medical centre to sit with Kay.

Bradley went to the library where everyone else was and explained, "The rest of this meeting is postponed because Kay is not well. She is in the medical centre being treated by Nathan. Jason follow me. I need your help with something."

Bradley and Jason went to his office. Bradley said, "We need to call all of the neighboring packs and prides and ask them for help protecting my mate, Kay."

Jason nodded and said, "Do you want me to take the ones south and west of us?"

Bradley said, "Yes and I will take the ones north and east of us." They each began contacting the packs and prides in their areas to request assistance in protecting Kay.