Milking the Thistle into the small glass jar, one after another until a few spoonfuls are rendered. The prickle of fine pickers causes my fingertips to become irritated.

Most wolves hate the Thistle finding it an eye sore in their gardens always weeding it out but to me, it's a plant that holds virtue for the wicked to suffer.

Walking back to the house the warm sunlight is starting to slowly smolder into the new day, as the sweet taste of the green forest tickles my face on the breath of the breeze.

A giant pitcher of ice tea sits already made by my Aunt Sophie in the back of the fridge. The destructo twins favorite drink after a good workout on a heating summer day like today. Those twins thought I just forgot about the massacre of Fred the first, my rabbit, my pet, my friend. They thought that since I didn't react right away, they were safe to eat Fred the second.

Wrong, I have been waiting, plotting and planning retribution day. Waiting for them to drop their guard. They've been cautious only eating from what their mother has made them or eating what they have made or caught themselves.

Giggling with a little dance around the kitchen it's hard to hide my excitement of months of planning. Ice cubes are bobbing on the surface. Lemons cut thinly stirred into the liquid.

The Thistle milk added with generous amounts of sugar to hide the tartness. Needing gloves to hide any trace of my scent while handling the pitcher is needed now that those males have shifted, they can smell my trail anywhere. Putting the pitcher in the back of the fridge as if it never was tampered with.

Once they drink one glass each I'm going to pour the rest out and then have a good long talk with them about eating things that have owners.

It's not a long wait for them to come barging in all sweaty. Reaching in the fridge, they get the ice tea out. It's with great desperation I try to hide my glee. I have to put my head down and concentrate on my work, only a few pages left before my first journal is complete.

Lana, the healer, said that she has over ten journals, all filled with the plants she knows.

Shamus is walking in, his pants are just a little too short for him, just an inch away from his ankles. His face has a smudge of chocolate ice cream on the side. The twins start laughing at him.

"Hey backup, your face is dirty." Keegan is throwing him a towel right at his face. Shamus catches it easily before it hits him. "

"Stop calling me that." He wipes his face and throws it right back at Keegan as hard as he can.

"Why don't you like your name it's the truth? You're our backup. The next Alpha because Charlie is going to be the Luna of the Far North, so that leaves you! Why do you think they are starting to have you train with Charlie? You're the backup plan just in case things don't go the way they want." Keegan is thinking he knows everything about the pack, which bugs me, the know it all.

"I'm not going to be the Luna of the Far North." Both twins are looking at me while Keegan pours two glasses one for his brother, one for him.

"Baby Wolf wants to be a healer when she grows up." Keegan's pretend baby voice rakes along my spine, I hate the sound of it.

Contemplate allowing them to have two glasses, but I can't do that to them, the one glass will have them thinking they are going to die already.

Odin had two cookies; he must have felt like his world was ending out his ass if only I could have been there to see it.

Shamus is going to get a glass, but Paley shoves him away from what they are drinking. They don't share with anyone but themselves or the little pups. Shamus to them isn't little anymore, but they treat me like I'm just out of diapers.

Always following me, herding me up if they don't like where I'm going. They constantly threaten to tell my mother on me. I should let them have two glasses of tea, by the moon I think I will.

"Charlie, can you run this up to your Aunt for me." My dad is holding a package that's addressed for Aunt Meela with my name on it too.

Taking it from his hands, he goes back outside bringing Shamus with him. Uncle Grey and dad have been spending extra time with Shamus since Odin has this belief in his head that I'm his mate.

Running up stairs quickly with the intention of going back down quickly so I can taunt the twins after they are finished their glass. I'm going to do a jig in their faces asking who's the baby wolf now?

I already made up the antidote so I can give it to them once the bad cramps start to lock them into a fetal position that they can't move from. No one will know but them and I.

"Aunt Meela." Knocking on her bedroom door lightly, when I see inside she's on the bed sleeping with her baby by her side and the second youngest curled up beside her. Uncle Grey is always complaining that they have a king size bed but there is never room for him in there.

Putting the box on the floor, rushing back down the stairs. Uncle Thomas and the twins sitting at the kitchen table with the empty pitcher of ice tea in the sink.

Oh no, "Did you drink all the tea?" The quiver of my voice can't be hidden.

"We didn't know you wanted some?" Uncle Thomas is asking.

"No, I didn't want any. I was just wondering." This is bad, really bad.

Panic's whisper is tickling my body; a natural disaster is about to explode the inside of them. I don't think that so much has ever been given at one time unless to cause death.

"Uncle Thomas." Trepidations fear low in my voice.

"Yes, Charlie." Uncle Thomas's easy smile is looking at me, oh I am a wicked wolf, a very wicked wolf.

"I did something really bad." The twins attention all on me because I have never done something like this before, telling on myself.

"What is it, Charlie?" Uncle Thomas is now putting his empty glass in the sink. He had the tea.

"I put something in the tea." Paley gives a low tone of a growl out; it's deeper than I have ever heard him do before, it vibrates the air around the kitchen.

"What did you put in the tea, Charlie and why did you do it?" Uncle Thomas's voice steady and calm, while the boys start to go pale with anything it could be.

"I put thistle milk in the ice tea. I wanted to teach them a lesson." My eyes are staring hard into theirs, daring them to come forward to have our special talk about dominance.

"Teach them what?"

"A lesson." That's all I say; I don't want to snitch on them about killing Fred the second. I just wanted them punished by me.

"Why would Charlie do this Paley?" Paley's fake face shaking his head back and forth, pretending he has no idea why I had to resort to extreme levels of retribution.

He just shrugs his shoulders, but he does give me a look as if, I'm going to get you back for this.

"Keegan do you have any idea?" My uncle's voice is going deeper, more annoyed.

"No idea." Keegan following his brother's lead.

"I have the antidote. Here." Giving them Uncle Thomas a leaf to chew on and splitting the other leaf in half for the boys to share.

"This should do it." Saying it while trying to leave out the back door.

"Charlie, I'm going to talk to your parents about this."

"I understand." Putting my hands in my summer dress pockets with my head hanging low, walking out the back door. When it closes behind me, I run to Lana's cottage as fast as I can, please be home.

Banging on the door, when Lana opens it up, Odin is there at her table as if they are having a discussion.

"Why's he here?" My mood now completely soured and upset.

"He's come to get some things from me."

"What things?" Asking Odin directly.

"Things that will keep me safe from my little monster who thinks she's so smart poisoning food for me to eat from her hand." Lana is now looking at me with an eyebrow raised.

On Lana's table are many things that I have never seen before. So many jars of herbs, plants, roots that don't look native to our land.

"What's all this?" My hand is going over the small glass jars filled with dry leaves that I could look at forever. Odin's watching me, how my fingertips are exploring all the exotic things that I have to know about.

"Odin felt that I needed to stocked up on different things from his pack that might come in useful if you ever needed something in an emergency. He made his healer part with many things that must have been hard for her to part with." Lana is saying this to Odin who doesn't seem to care about his healer being upset. He's just staring at me while holding the end of his chair in a firm grip.

The growl that he gives out is still so different than what I'm used to that I think maybe their wolves talk a different language than ours.

Lana gives him a very hard stare when the noise lingers on for too long.

"I brought my little monster something too." He holds a folded white piece of paper in his hand. Black swirling tattoo's that run around his wrist attract my eyes, cleverly drawn making the illusion as if the symbols are revolving, turning spinning themselves round and round.

Peeking underneath the sleeve of his shirt on his upper arm holds a big tattoo that I can see are claws the only thing that's visible everything else is covered by the material of his short sleeve shirt.

"Why are you calling me a monster?" I don't like his tone of voice, reaching for the paper that he pulls away from fingertip reach.

"Because only a monster would do something like that to their mate. I should have expected nothing less considering who's daughter you are." His voice drips with foulness from who I come from.

"Did you not like my cookies, Odin? Just always remember who I come from." Smiling evilly at him, if he thinks I'm a monster than I will give him my best monster face.

Baring my teeth to him, showing him all of them, while looking at Odin in the eyes. I give him my best growl that now I can hold lower on my chest instead of at the back of my throat. Holding my eyes, he gives his low chested growl out that resonates at the base of his lungs coming up in great rushing sounds of threat. I understand this language. It's an answer to my threat. He's telling me he's not scared of what I just displayed out to him.

"Lana! Lana!" It's Shamus that's running hard up the pathway to the door, he skids to a stop staring at up at Odin.

"What's the matter, Shamus?" "It's Uncle Thomas and the twins, there sick. Aunt Sophie told me they were poisoned with Thistle and you need to come now."

"Poisoned with Thistle?' Lana is looking at me now. Her irises are dilating, head going to the side as if she can hear the whispers on the wind that are fluttering the leaves on the trees.

"How much did you use, Charlie?" Her voice a concentration of strength with her inquiry. Odin's eyes move from mine as he assesses Lana up and down. "

"Uncle Thomas and the twins shared a pitcher of ice tea that contained a spoonful of thistle milk." I'm not looking at her in the eyes. Odin is taking everything in.

"Do you always go around and poison wolves Charlie?"

"No, only the wolves that deserve it." Giving him a look that says he deserved everything he went through on his way home after he ate the cookies.

"What did those wolves do to make you do that?"

"The twins ate Fred the second. The rabbit you brought me. I was teaching them a hard lesson."

"Your Uncle? What did he do to deserve it?" Odin's voice is sounding like my father's slightly gathering up the information before making a decision.

"Nothing, it was an accident that he drank it." Odin doesn't say anything else.

"Your dad's looking for you, Charlie. He told me to find you and bring you back home." Shamus hates having to drag me back home, but they now that I will always listen to Shamus.

"How bad is it?"

"Really bad, Aunt Sophie is saying that you should be whipped for this, to teach you a lesson to stop tormenting her males. Your mom's ruffled up because Aunt Sophie told her your training with Lana should stop immediately, that you're a danger to everyone in this pack." Closing my eyes because mom never knew that I was indirectly training with Lana, this will upset her. I want to become something she hates the most in this world, a healer.

Odin is just watching taking everything in. I don't make a move to follow Lana or Shamus back to the house; I stay like a tree that has grown roots, planted in my spot, afraid what's going to happen to me.

"You need to go and face your actions." Odin comes up to stand behind me, but not touching. Another growling language is coming out from the bottom of his belly, the sound tickling my skin.

Goosebumps rising as if I'm cold, but I'm not cold.

Taking a step away because I feel funny as he's starting to smell the air.

"It's starting Charlie. She's starting to stir inside you. I can smell the faintest change." His words in a tone of lowered vibrations.

"You should go now, Charlie." Odin is stepping back and away from me, when I turn his way his eyes are no longer the forest of green but a swirling mess of black trying to shove any color away from the small space that makes up the irises.

His teeth are descending downwards; fingers elongating becomes clawlike. His shifting body is threatening to tear the shirt from his body. Nose angling in the air taking in great lungfuls of air.

A tormented sound is coming from his throat before he stops it clamping his mouth shut. Jaw muscles are spasming with the sheer force he's exerting. It takes a few moments to calm himself down before he's able to speak.

"When you shift, I will not be able to hold him back from you. He will have what's his." He's looking tormented as if every muscle in his body is trying to lock itself down to keep the shape of skin from turning into fur.

"You need to go now!" The last word is slamming into me to create my movement out of the small cottage.

Running hard to my house dad, mom and Sophie and Lana are arguing outside by the punishment post; only the very bad wolves get punished by dad. All four look at me, their talking ceases.

Aunt Sophie is marching right up to me; mom is beside her. "Do you know what you did? They're so sick they can't stand right now, they can hardly open their eyes, all they are doing is moaning." Aunt Sophie takes up a stance towards me that has me taking my stance towards hers.

Mom is balancing on her feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for them to get as much as they did. Uncle Thomas wasn't supposed to have any."

"So you wanted to hurt my males, you wanted to see them sick?" Her rage is pouring out of her, drowning me in guilt for my wickedness.

"You could have killed them!" Aunt Sophie is yelling in my face while I cower down ashamed of what I did.

"I'm sorry." Lana is looking on as if she's at fault, that makes my heart sinks in my stomach. The twins so sick they can't even witness my punishment.

Aunt Sophie is turning on my mother. Who looks at her in the eyes.

"She might be the next Alpha but right now she's not special and for you to do nothing about this behavior is only going to hurt her. She can't go around and inflict her justice as she fits. Someone innocent will die one day." Mom is looking hard at me now, I can't meet her eyes with mine.

"You're right Sophie she should be punished. I will be the one to punish her." Mom's face is twisting up in her torment. She's never laid a hand on me.

She has only ever talked to me about what could I have done differently, what was wrong with the action I decided to take. Aunt Sophie looking on a little bit better that something will be done to me.

"Victoria, I'll do it." Dad now going to the shed coming out with a leather whip. Silver can only be used on shifted wolves because leather doesn't hurt them.

"Go stand against the pole Charlie." I do what they say nothing will change their minds now. Looking into the tree line no sign of Odin, is he watching this?

Mom does the leather bindings up that are just for newly shifted juvenile wolves. They are strong enough to hold them in their place, only the silver shackles are used on adult wolves who can break through leather easily.

Mom puts her hand on my shoulder giving it a squeeze of comfort before stepping away.

Odin coming out of the tree line making himself visible while walking with a purpose towards me.

His nail cuts into my leather bindings, releasing me from my spot.

"This is not Charlie's fault, something she loved was taken away from her, and she retaliated the only way she knew how against juvenile wolves. In our pack, this would not be a punishment. Know that Charlie. If something you love is taken from you, it's in your right to take something they love away." Odin's looking at my father in the eyes saying this.

"Use the silver your pack is so fond of." Odin goes to the pole while the leather is replaced with silver in my father's hand. He takes his shirt off, and a new tattoo runs down the side of his ribs.

"Charlie I want you to watch me take every lash of your's but the last one you will have to take yourself because your Uncle didn't deserve that." Odin's claws are coming out sinking into the pole anchoring himself to the spot. No need to be tied up, I have a feeling he won't move.

His eyes never leaving mine when the first swish of the silver hits with a groan coming out of my throat.

A small splatter of his blood dirties the front of my shirt. His face remains the same not giving away his pain.

The second one rains down just as hard as the first his nose flares before he lets a breath out. His nails are gouging deeper into the wood. The third on proves to be hard enough to make his head shake back and forth, with the fifth blow his head turn slightly towards my father, Odin's teeth flash but he rights himself back to look at my eyes.

The ninth one cuts hard into his back that sprays more blood of his onto me. How wretched I feel.

"Charlie, your turn." Dad now switching silver for the leather. Odin puts me against the pole, he's leaning his body on the other side of the wood.

"Look in my eyes, Charlie." When I do, nothing but the forest is staring back at me a dark green canopy of life that looks enticing on a needful level that I'm not understanding why I would need him?

When that one stroke of leather hits over top my dress it makes me scream out. I've never been hit like that before, the sting making my eyes water. I can't imagine what he's feeling right now.

He puts his shirt back on carefully, as not to hurt himself more than what he's feeling.

Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, he pulls out that white folded piece of paper, handing it to me to take.

When I take the paper in my hands, he turns himself away without any more words, nothing else is exchanged between us.

His shirt now staining in his blood that are from my crimes.