When I was 5, around the time my parents divorced, I ran away. I was gone for 7 whole weeks. Because of my parent's status as royalty and their positions of power, everything was kept hush hush. P-NDA's signed by everyone involved. And for a paranormal that is not just a legally binding agreement, but a magical contract. Each contract is assigned a Contract number, and each signee a number too. Anyone involved would have to sign the contract. This is one of the few dealings that paralegals have no part in- they type of contract that is filed by the lawyer themself in enchanted catacombs accessible only lawyers and sitting UPU board members.
If anyone tries to break a paranormal non disclosure agreement, it would cause them physical pain so awful they would likely be incapable of speaking and breaking that contact. If someone did happen to push throught the pain they would die, so would their family, and anyone who heard the information that was magically disclosed.
Even an innocent bystander just walking past- if their subconscious was able to catch it the magic would take hold and they would drop dead. The only evidence of what happened would be the Contract/Signee Number (CSN) left behind somewhere on their body, like a tattoo. This has only happened once in all of Paranormal Contract Law History.
So, under the highest level of secrecy, there was a 7 week man hunt for me. They ended up finding me at an animal care center mere miles from my home. I had shifted into my wolf form, and for several weeks was enjoying belly rubs and treats. I came into the care center for medical attention. I had been hit by a car and brought for emergency care, but to their surprise was completely uninjured. The humans were baffled. I was nearly adopted by a werewolf-human family looking for a pet. The father scented me and knew immediately I was not a normal husky puppy like I was advertised. He could scent alpha power on me and immediately called the UPU to report it.
Up to that point they were looking for mortal Lily. I had not been able to shift into a wolf since the High Priestess of the Half Moon Coven put magic blocking cuffs on my arms and ankles. They were intended to stop my magic from working, while still allowing magic to come onto me. They didnt work.
The moment that family walked me into the UPU Consolate in Columbia, SC, I shapeshifted back to my mortal form. Seeing them together holding eachother, it gave me hope that things would be back to normal. I was wrong, but atleast they made changes for my benefit. We resumed family activities, and for the most part it was very much like it was before, except now when my mother was not traveling she just slept somewhere else. They took my "pretty bracelets" away after that. They were useless anyways.
I grew up in the Griffin Mansion, which has been passed down from pack alpha to pack alpha for hundreds of years. Every Alpha has lived in that house since 1438 when my ancestor Benjamin Griffin first came to the South Eastern portion of North America. At that time it was only inhabited by natives. He and his pack traveled all the way from Ireland, on the run. Apparently Benjamin was a brave man… or Stupid.
In 1422 he offed the king of England thinking that would make him the new king. But that is not how it works. Human monarchy does not work the same way as wolf packs do. So in 1437 when King Henry IV came into power and her learned the truth of his father's death, Benjamin fled to lands that humans Europe had not yet discovered. Slowly the pack made it's way down through what is now Canada and eventually settled in what would later be South Carolina.
They overtook the pack living here, and then he built this house. It has obviously undergone some changes over time- additions made, updates including electricity and central heating and air. But overall the original structure is still here, preserved in time by magic. So long as someone from his blood line remains alpha the house will stand. Should we loose the pack the house would burn to the ground along with anyone in it. Bloody brilliant bit of magic there.
Why is that so epic, you ask? Well, you may have noticed that my last name if Griffin- which is a variant of Gryphon. You have probably been wondering why this pack of wolves has a name like Griffin… since Griffin is supposed to be another supernatural being? You are correct. And long before the conception of UPU- long before paranormals began living in peace and harmony, or the illusion of it anyways, about 4000 years ago. A werewolf alpha fell in love with a phoenix princess. They loved eachother so deeply that even when their families found out about the affair and demanded they separate they refused. They were both cut off from their families and rejected, forced to live in exile.
Together they had a baby, and that baby was a new creature noone had ever seen before. Part lion part bird. Her tears had healing magic and she could throw fire, even stand it it with no harm to her, just like a pheonix. Though she had wings she could not fly, and though she was born of a wolf she was massive and agile more like a large cat than dog. She was not wolf and not phoenix. They named her Gryphon. She was the first of her kind.
Rumor has it that baby Gryphon grew up to be a beautiful woman who fell in love with a wolf. By this time she had created, but not birthed, thousands of creatures just like her. Many thought her an abomination, for surely only God could create other beings. But she did not listen to them, and neither did that wolf. That wolf did not have a name because he was truly a wolf. Not a were, but a wild animal. She was so in tune with nature because of what she was that she was able to turn him into a "were-wolf."
He was not a wolf like me and that of my pack- no. He was like the scary stories of were-wolf that humans tell to scre their children. A man who animates on the full moon and unleashes a month's worth of destruction because his natural instincts have been suppressed for the month. This was the creature of nightmares. From their union came my ancestry. The Gryphon pack- eventually changed to Griffin as language and time progressed. 4000 years strong my pack has been. Did I mention ours was the largest and most powerful pack?
Many have tried to snuff out this pack- but it was born of the offspring of The Gryphon. We are immune to fire, and our tears have healing powers. Only alphas and those in the alpha bloodline can use these powers. So when I am injured my own tears will heal me.
So, when my ancestor settled here in South Carolina in 1438 and built this house, a single drop of Benjamin's blood and a single tear was all that was needed to lock in the gryphon magic. Or curse, depending how you look at it. The only way to kill a Griffin is to remove our heads. And if we are set to fire we will be reborn of the ashes. So if we are killed- our house will catch fire. And if we are in it then we, along with the house, will be reborn of the ashes. This would be great for wolves because the first thing you do when taking over a pack is kill the alphas family.
That is why the Griffin pack is so large and powerful and why it has lasted over 4000 years. Everytime a Griffin alpha has been 'killed' one of three things has occured: they have either been burned to dispose of the body, thus causing them to be reborn and therefore not dead and still alpha, taking over that offending pack and their territory; critically injured and left for dead, at which time their tears would heal them, and -you guessed it- not dead - take over the pack yada yada yada; OR they actually do die, the head is removed so the alpha actually dies, at which time their dwelling goes up in flames. There has always been a tradition that one member of the alphas family should remain home at all times, for if the alpha dies, and the dwelling is burned up and the family brutlaly killed- atleast one would be reborn. That wolf could then use the element of surprise to kill the wolf who murdered the griffin alpha.
Then all is right in the world yada yada yada griffin alphas back in power yada yada yada. And here we are 4000 years later. There is no written account of this. Just some campfire pack gossip. But something tells me every word of it is true.