Holly Grove Private School, Christmas Classroom:
Christmas had her back to the class as she wrote some notes on the whiteboards. As she is writing the information on the whiteboard. There is a knock on her classroom door. She looks at who it was and noticed it was assistant principal Thorton.

“Excuse me, class.” Christmas puts her marker down and walks out into the hallway.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Thorton?” Christmas was wondering why he was in her class.

Mr. Thorton didn’t know how he should tell Christmas about Julia. He looks at Christmas's face “Julia has been seriously hurt and is currently on her way to O’Conner General.”

“What happened?” Christmas was worried about her wife.

“I don’t know. Your Uncle Robert didn’t go into details. All he did say was that it was very serious. Mrs. Chang is going to come in and cover your classes for as long as you need.” Assistant Thorton knew how important Julia Bounty was to the school and the community.

“Does Julia sister’s, her niece’s, daughters, and son know?” Christmas was worried about her and Julia's children.

“Not yet. I thought I would inform you first before I pulled them from their classes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Thorton. Go ahead and pull everyone. Have them wait for me in the library.” Christmas knew her and Julia’s kids were going to wonder what was going on.

Government Class, Third Bell Class, Chayton:
Chayton was taking a test that their teacher had sprung on them. It was a good thing that his mothers made him reread several back chapters and some of the chapters ahead. He spots Elizabeth knock on the door to his classroom. He knew she worked in the office during this period.
He watches as Mrs. Williams walks over to the door and steps out into the hallway. He spots Elizabeth hand a note to Mrs. Williams.

“Hey Chayton, what did you do now?” Robert looks at his friend, from his desk.

“I didn’t do anything. It’s probably about you and that prank you pulled on Jersey Mike.” Chayton hated Jersey Mike. The boy was a bully and thought he ran the High School wing.

“Hey, he had it coming to him. The jerk popped Lisa’s bra strap and it broke.” Robert liked Lisa and didn’t like seeing her being picked on.

“Well, you know how Principal Massie feels about revenge pranks and bullying.” Chayton knew she didn’t tolerate it.

“Well, I don’t care. He deserved it and I stand by what I did. I just hope Lisa is okay.” Robert was worried about her.

“She’s fine. Her mother came and picked her up.” Chayton knew his aunt Silvia was friends with her.

As Chayton and Robert go back to finish their test. Mrs. Massie walks back into the classroom and looks over towards Chayton’s direction “Mr. Bounty, please report to the main library and take your books with you and turn your test into me on the way out.”

“Mrs. Massie knew Chayton’s mother. Julia had been one of her students way back when she and her sister Gina went to school at Holly Grove.

“Yes ma’am.” Chayton finishes his test and grabs his backpack. He wonders what he did now.

“Call me later and let me know what’s up.” Robert looks at Chayton.

“Alright.” Chayton walks up to the front of the class and turns in his test.

He walks out of the classroom and spots Elizabeth waiting for him. “Hey, Liza what’s going on?”

“Don’t know, but I was told to get all of you and have you, report to the main library.” Elizabeth didn’t know what was going on.

“All of us? You don’t mean my aunt’s and sisters as well?” Chayton looks at Elizabeth with a puzzled look on his face.

“Yep! All of you Bounty. Your aunts should be in gym class right now.” Elizabeth heads towards the main gym.

Chayton wonders why all of them were being called to the library. He walks side by side with Elizabeth. While they are walking towards the gym “hey, has anyone asked you to the dance yet?”

“No, not yet. Are you asking?” Elizabeth looks at Chayton and his Native American looks.

“If you wouldn’t mind going with me.” Chayton felt a little awkward asking Elizabeth to the dance.

“I thought you and Sanako were seeing each other?” Elizabeth heard that she had her sights set on Chayton.

“She was using me to get to Aroon since he is on the basketball team.” When Chayton found out what she was doing. He was extremely mad, but his grandfather gave him a better idea to get even with her.

“Well, since you and Sanako aren’t seeing each other. I wouldn’t mind going to the dance with you. However, before we go. You have to meet my parents.” Elizabeth knew her parents wanted to meet whoever was taking her to the dance.

“Sure, I don’t mind.” Chayton figures it couldn’t be that bad meeting Elizabeth’s parents.

They stop by the gym and watch as Alyona spike the volleyball on the other team. Chayton knew his aunt was very competitive when it came
to sports and chess. He spots Silvia blocking the ball and sending it back over the net. She was a good player.

Elizabeth and he walked up to coach Carter. He watches as Elizabeth hands the note from the office to coach Carter. He watches as coach Carter hands the note back to Elizabeth.

Coach Carter blows his whistle, afterward when everyone has stopped “Alyona, Silvia hit the showers and grabs your books. You’re to go with Elizabeth here to the main library.”

Alyona and Silvia stop and look towards coach Carter. They notice their nephew Chayton standing with some girl. Silvia walks over to her older
sister “I wonder what is up?”

“I don’t know. Mom didn’t say anything this morning before we left.” Alyona heads towards the girl’s locker room to shower and change.

Elizabeth and Chayton wait outside the girl’s locker room for his aunt’s. While they were waiting, Elizabeth gives Chayton her home address and asked him to call her later. Several minutes later, Alyona and Silvia come walking out of the locker room in their school uniform. Both girls look at Chayton “what’s going on?”

“Don’t know. Elizabeth was told to gather all of us and take us to the main library.”

“That means something has happened to one of the grownups.”

“I wouldn’t say Julia or Gina are grownups.” Silvia likes teasing her older sisters.

“Aunt Gina can be a little silly at times and so can mom.” Chayton liked his mother and aunt.

When everyone gets to the main library, Chayton’s sisters and cousin were waiting for them. There was another student in the library with them. Chayton didn’t know who it was.

Arabella spots her aunts and cousin walking into the main library with a girl from the office. She wonders what was going on as well.

“Hey, aunt Alyona. What is going on?” Arabella looks at her oldest aunt.

“Don’t know, we were told to report to the main library as well.” Alyona knew the only reason all of them were called to the library if someone in the family had been attacked or injured.

Fifteen minutes later, Christmas shows up and saw everyone with confused looks on their faces. She walks over to them “Alyona, I need for you to take everyone back to your father’s place. Haylee, you’re not to feed the animals unless someone is with you.”

“What’s going on, mom?” Chayton looks at his mother.

“Julia is in the hospital and I’m heading there now. I want you and your sisters to stay at your grandfather’s house until I came home. Arabella,
your parents are due in later today.”

“Mom, is coming home?” Arabella was excited that her parents were coming home.

“Yes.” Christmas had been informed that Gina and her Aunt Basset and cousin were flying in today.

“I’ll make sure everyone is safe, sis. You go and check on Julia.” Alyona could see that Christmas was worried.

“Thank you, Alyona.”

Chayton and the girls hug their mother. They always worry when their other mother ended up in the hospital.

“I’ll call you later kids.” Christmas hugs her children and kisses them goodbye.

Bounty Ranch:
Bella couldn’t believe how long it took her to get to the Bounty ranch. She drives up the long driveway and comes to a fork in the driveway. One driveway led to the left and the third one led to the right. There was one right in front of her. She looks at Lobo “so, which way do we go, Lobo?”

As if to answer her question, she spots Sphinx walking towards her from the middle one. She hasn’t seen him since Julia came to L.A. She rolls her window down and sticks her head out “thanks, Sphinx.”

Sphinx turns around and starts running up the middle driveway. She starts following him. As she got further up the driveway, she spots several more wolves standing around watching her. She could see a huge mansion of a house at the end of the driveway.

“This must be Julia’s house.” She spots a black military Hummer and parks her Rubicon next to it.

“Lobo, you better stay here until it's safe.” Bella could see over six huge wolves only a few feet from her Jeep.

Some of them were bigger than Sphinx and some were a little smaller. She opens her door and gets out slowly. Just as she walks to the huge house, the front door opens and an older woman with shoulder-length black hair, dressed in black dress slacks and a light grey blouse that went with the slacks comes walking out. She had on a pair of black cowboy boots.

“Can I help?” Selina saw the ash grey color jeep rubicon coming up the main driveway.

“Yes, I’m Bella Killjoy and I’m here to see Julia Bounty’s parents.” Bella wonders who the Spanish-looking woman was.

“What for?” Selina wonders who this Latino-looking woman was.

“I have information on who attacked Julia this morning on the highway.”

“Where did you acquire this information?” Selina knew Debbie and Jack would want to know who attacked their daughter.

“I’ve been tracking a gang from Oakland, California that has set up house in her backyard. The man who put the hit out on her. I managed to capture on video giving the order to eliminate her and her family.” Bella watches as the wolves surround her Jeep. She spots the biggest one looking right at her like she was dinner.

Selina looks at Chaos “Sàil!”

Bella has heard Julia give that command to Sphinx before. So, she knew what it meant.

“Bring your evidence to me, so I can see it.” Selina hopes this girl is telling the truth.

“Okay. Oh, one more thing. Can I bring my German Shepherd with me, instead of leaving him in my Jeep, please?” Bella didn’t want to leave Lobo in the Rubicon by himself.

“As long as he behaves himself. You might want to put him on a leash.” Selina knew Trigger could handle a German Shepherd.
“Thanks.” Bella opens the door of the jeep to let Lobo out and to grab her laptop that had everything she already backed up in the cloud.

She grabs Lobo’s leash and puts it on his collar. She rubs his head as she grabs her laptop bag.

“Come on boy, let’s go inside.”

Lobo jumps out of the Rubicon and spots several huge wolves looking at him. He growls at them, warning them to stay away from his human. He especially, looked at Chaos when he growls.

“Let it go, Lobo. He won’t hurt us unless he is order too.” Bella knew how protective Lobo was towards her.

Selina watches from the porch as a young German Shepherd growls towards Chaos. A smile appears on her face because she knew Chaos could chew him up and spit him out like he was nothing. She feels Trigger walk out of the house and stand next to her.

“It’s alright, girl.” Selina reaches down and scratches her between her ears.

When Bella starts walking towards the steps of the huge house. She spots a smaller wolf standing near the woman. It appeared to be an ordinary wolf. In the doorway were a coyote and a black and white color border collie.

Julia never said anything about her father owning a border collie or a coyote. Bella walks up the steps towards the porch.

“Julia never said you guys had so many animals.”

A smile appears on Selina’s face “they belong to Julia’s daughter.”

“Oh! I didn’t know she had children.” When Bella met her, Julia didn’t have any kids.

“At the time she went to L.A. Julia didn’t. Why didn’t you call Julia to tell her she was in danger?” Selina was curious about that.

“I lost the business card she gave me with her number on it. Well, not lost it exactly. It was destroyed in a fire that consumed the van I had been living out of at the time.” Bella misses her van.

“How did that start?” Selina gives Bella a puzzled look.

“I pissed off the wrong people. They thought they would burn me alive, trapped in my van. I barely made it out of the van, alive.” Bella remembered that night clearly.

“Sorry to hear that. Let’s go inside and take a look at what you have.” Selina escorts Bella and Lobo inside the house.

Half an Hour Later:
Alyona spotted a Jeep she hadn’t seen before parked next to her father’s Hummer. She pulls in on the other side of it.

“I wonder who that car belongs to?” Silvia was curious.

“I don’t know.” Alyona gets out of her jeep and walks around the Rubicon. It had Washington state license plates on it.

“Could it be someone dad knows?” Silvia looks towards her sister.

“Why don’t we go inside and ask, Silvia?” Arabella looks at her aunts.

“Sounds like a plan.”

Everyone grabs their backpack and head inside the house. They spot Selina and a Latino girl sitting in the living room and looking at a small laptop.

“I wonder who that is?” Haylee was curious.

Haylee gets surrounded by Roxie and her coyote. She pets them as she wonders who the woman was.

“Kids, go into the dining room and have a seat, please. I have some bad news for you.” Selina looks at all the kids that came into the house.

“Yes ma’am.”

All the kids do as Selina asks them to. They sit down at the dining room table. They wonder what was so important.

Selina gets up and walks into the dining room and looks at all the kids. She wishes she didn’t have to tell them the bad news about Julia.

“Girls and Chayton, the reason you are home right now instead of in school. Is because your aunt Julia has been attacked and is in the hospital in critical condition.”

“Is mom going to pull through, Selina?” Haylee was worried about her mother.

“I don’t know right now, Haylee. Your mother is in pretty bad shape.” Selina wishes Jack was here to reassure the kids.

“Does, grandfather know, Selina?” Chayton looks at Selina.

“I don’t think he does, Chayton. We’ve been trying to get in touch with him but were unable to. Also, your aunt Basset and aunt Gina are on
their way home as we speak. So, when they get here Alyona. I want you and the girls to go down and bring them up to the house. If they ask what is going on, don’t tell them anything. I’ll explain everything when they are here. Until then, I want all of you to change out of your school clothes and into your normal clothes. Chayton, there are clothes laid out for you in your mother’s old bedroom.”

“Thanks, Selina.”

“You’re welcome. Now go and change. I’ll fix you some lunch in a little while.”

“Yes ma’am.”

All the kids get up and head upstairs to change. They knew better than to disobey Selina.

“Which ones are Julia kids?” Bella watches as the kids walk by her.

“The young man and the two youngest girls.” Selina watches them as they head upstairs.

“Boy, she’s been busy since I last saw her.” Bella was impressed.

“Julia wants a big family. She has always loved children.” Selina knew family meant a lot to Julia.

“I guess that was why she saved me, from myself.” Bella knew she was heading down the wrong path. That was until Julia straighten her out and showed her what would happen if she continued down that path.