Casmas Clan: Josiah and Clara

~ Clara Clara walked through the house, wondering what she was going to do now. The town was completely flooded by the recent typhoon. Her basement was full of dirty water over four feet high because of said storm, and her father was after her for their moving plans. Yet none of that was what was bothering her now.

Looking out the top floor window, Clara closed her eyes as her hand lowered to her stomach. She was so screwed. She couldn't tell her father, he would totally flip out over it. And the father of her child, with whom she did have a long term relationship, decided to dump her shortly after he found out.

"Don't tell anyone it's mine and stay away from me. If you see me, don't approach me, just walk away."

Were his exact words. What great parting words, from someone who once said they cared greatly for you. What a load of crap. Sighing deeply, Clara opened her eyes and stared outside once more. Oh great, there was her father, heading inside the house. Probably still searching for her. Closing her eyes once again, Clara relaxed her mind, a great feat considering, and focused her attention on the outside. At a slight bump under her feet, she opened her eyes and looked around. She was now standing outside, the slight breeze rustling through her shorn blonde hair. Smiling, she decided to go for a small walk.

Even with the storm that just passed through, the small town Clara lived in hadn't really suffered from any true damage. Just some slight flooding in the basements of the few houses that had one. The whole town was basically beachfront property, so it wasn't much of a change. The only difference was, this small coastal town was owned by the Casmás Clan. A Clan of shapeshifting felines who scared the crap out of everyone. Clara of course was not the exception; she was absolutely terrified of all animals. Though felines were not the highest up on her list of 'frightening animals'. Those would be canines. She shuddered just at the thought of a canine being around.

At the end of the block rested a large playground, for adults and children. In the middle of the playground sat a double, side by side, sandbox. They were four feet wide, by twelve feet long. Clara wasn't quite certain why they needed such a large sandbox, much less two, but perhaps it was because of the sixty-year-old man, wearing a Speedo, attempting to swim in the sand. She shook her head and turned her attention to the sitting area of the park. Where a small food cart sat, serving the park's guests.

And there he sat. Tall, sandy brown hair, brown eyes, and just so tempting. But no, she would not succumb. He no longer wanted anything to do with her. Lifting her head higher when his gaze rose to meet hers, Clara turned on a heel and started to leave the playground.

So much for staying away from the house and her father for a while. She might as well just return home and find out when he was planning their move. Perhaps she could use a bucket to clean out the water in the basement? Anything to take her mind off of him. So much for trying to get something to eat as well.

Clara hadn't made it halfway down the sidewalk before someone had grabbed onto her arm and swung her around to face them. She had to look up, way up, considering she was only four feet tall and he was well over six, to look into the face that had been haunting her dreams this past month.

"Josiah…" She couldn't help but whisper.

Shaking her head to get a grip, Clara yanked on her arm to force him to release her.

"Let me go, Josiah. You have no right to touch me."

"I don't?" Josiah raised a cocky eyebrow, causing her anger to rise that much higher.

"No, you don't. You were the one who decided we were nothing. You were the one who said I couldn't be anywhere around you. Let me go, and leave me alone from now on."

"It's not going to happen, Clara. Now come, we need to have a discussion."

As if he gave her any choice in the matter. Josiah gripped her arm tighter and led her down the sidewalk to where an empty newly built home sat. The paw print beside the door made Clara balk.

"What are you doing, Josiah? This is the Casmás den!"

"Don't worry, Clara. It will be ok."

~ Josiah Josiah led Clara into the middle of Dermet's home. He wasn't quite sure of why the Clan leader decided to make his new den right across the walkway from Clara's house, but now it would come in handy. Now that he finally went to Dermet and explained his relationship with Clara. Now that he finally got permission to be with her. Now that he probably screwed up his relationship with Clara so badly that she may never forgive him.

Josiah closed his eyes and sighed deeply. How was he supposed to know that day two months ago that Harvey wasn't there to harm Clara? That the Clan had known for some time he was with her? Or even that the Clan knew of his impending fatherhood long before he did, all because her OB-GYN was a member of their clan?

Josiah opened his eyes as he shook his head. Man, he screwed up so badly. His only defense, if you could even call it that, was he hadn't known how the feline Clan dynamic worked. He didn't know they accepted, and even welcomed, relationships with humans. In his old pack, before he was thrown out for wanting to challenge the Beta for his position, they would kill any humans any pack member even contemplated speaking with.

Josiah had hated that life, that pack, and had hoped when he took the position of Beta, the Alpha would listen to him and his ideas. Perhaps then their views would slowly change. But that didn't happen. His supposed best friend ran directly to the Beta when Josiah foolishly told him of his plans. Unheard of among other packs, the Beta with the Alpha's permission, used the entire pack to 'teach him a lesson and his place.'

He had nearly died that day and probably would have too when they threw his bloodied, broken body into the river if Dermet's Clan hadn't swum in after him when they noticed his unconscious form bobbing in the swiftly flowing currents. They cleaned his wounds, healed him back to health, then shocking him to the core, because he was a wolf, allowed him to join their Clan ranks. Josiah hadn't been happier since. At least, not until he first saw Clara and she finally agreed to go on a date with him.

~ Past: Josiah The girl's scream echoed throughout the valley, as the pack leader stared on dispassionately. How could he just stand there and allow them to butcher a teenager just because she was human? Did Albert have that much of a sway over the Alpha? The girl's next scream abruptly turned into a gurgle as the three pack males did something disturbingly nasty to her, causing Josiah to inwardly cringe. On the outside, he didn't make a move. Nothing gave his inner misery away, while he watched the three members now dismembering the poor girl.

The girl's only crime had been approaching one of the young males who were around her age and saying 'hi'. That's all she did, just one small 'hi', before turning away from the boy. Maybe she gave a small wave as well, but that doesn't matter. Neither action warranted this kind of punishment. Neither warranted her death. Why was Alpha Rogé letting this happen? Why would he allow the butchering of humans for no reason other than for pleasure? Because they were weaker?

Josiah turned away with the rest of the pack when Albert decided the execution was complete. His disgust was extremely hard to hide as he headed to his den. Something needed to be done about Albert and his hatred of humans. That hatred was beginning to bleed into the rest of the pack. It shouldn't be that way; the shifters had to live with and among the humans. If one pack decided the humans had to die, then the wars of the past would begin again.

With the advanced weapons humans now had, the shifter packs and clans would be annihilated quite easily. If any actually survived, they would be forced back into hiding. That life was horrible, and though he was too young to have lived through it, Josiah remembered the stories his grandparents had told him of those times. He needed to do something to stop Beta Albert and he needed to do it soon. There was no way any of them would want to return to those dark ages. So it was up to Josiah to stop Albert before his hatred went any further.

~ Clara Clara walked through the halls of the school, wondering just what else would go wrong. Several of her female classmates had gone missing, with no trace, and now her father had decided they were going to be moving. She didn't want to move, she wanted to find out what happened to her classmates. She wanted to find her classmates.

Stopping in the middle of the deserted hallway, Clara looked around when she heard her name called out. There was no one and nothing around her. Shaking her head, Clara began heading in the direction of her next class. Not even halfway there, she heard the same voice calling out her name again. Looking around, she still didn't see anyone. Gritting her teeth, she decided to ignore any other voices calling out her name for the rest of the day.

It didn't work. All through Clara's last three classes, she kept hearing that same voice calling her over and over and over again. It was driving her insane. Three classes full of at least thirty-two other students and a teacher and she was the only one who could hear that damn voice. Why? What the hell was going on? At least it was now the end of the day and she could go home.

Not even six feet from the school, Clara heard the voice again, more incessant and quite a bit louder now. Sighing in annoyance, she turned in the direction of the voice. For over an hour, she followed in the direction it called out to her. The voice finally stopped when Clara stood in the middle of a small glen, surrounded by forestry.

'What happened here?'

Clara thought as she stared around the small clearing. It was completely covered in blood and what looked to be bits of gore. She felt sick to her stomach. What could have caused…this? Was this what happened to her missing classmates? If it was, then she was glad her father decided they were moving. Bending down out of morbid curiosity, Clara reached out and touched a bloody blade of grass. Her breath whooshed out of her in a rush as images flowed through her mind.

Her classmate Misty smiled and approached a group of extremely handsome young men. She flirted with them for a bit, before walking away from them with a light step. Five feet away, she stopped and turned back to them over her shoulder to wave at the middle boy.

Several hours later, a group of fifteen men break into Misty's house and yank her kicking and screaming out of bed. It didn't matter to them how loud she was, all her noise seemed to do was make them more excited. Once outside, they threw a bag over her head before tossing her in the back of an unmarked van.

One moment Misty was in the van, the next she was standing in this glen, surrounded by people she didn't know. She was scared and shaking, listening to all the harsh words the people were stating. More like yelling at her. Not just words, but ideas over how they would kill her.

Misty started yelling at them, demanding they let her go. She tried fighting them off, tried everything she could think of to get them to release her, but nothing worked. Suddenly a very large, black wolf leaped past the other people. It stood before Misty, examining her crying form, then started to shiver, to shake.

A flash occurred and the wolf disappeared leaving behind a tall, stout man. He had shoulder-length, black hair with strange orange-colored eyes. He spoke for a short time, though Misty could not understand what he said in her hysterical state. After the male was finished speaking, he snapped his fingers then shifted back into a wolf.

Clara was abruptly brought back to her body when three of the group surrounding Misty ran up and grabbed hold of her. Hearing a noise to her left, Clara fled the glen, running as fast as she could before finally falling to the ground and expelling her lunch and breakfast at the memory of those people ripping off Misty's arms and legs.

When she was finished, Clara brought the back of her hand up to her mouth as tears began to fall. How? Why? Why would a wolf shifter kill Misty? Why would they rip her to pieces like that? What could she have possibly done to the shifters to warrant such a grisly death? Clara didn't know, but now she was damn glad her father decided they were moving.