Born Wolf - 14. Chapter 7.1

Aliza sat and watched the four male enforcers of the pack re affirm their bond together and wished she was somehow included in the ritual. Kurt looked happier than she’d ever known him to be in the two years it had been since she had joined South Sea. The boy was certainly turning into a solid young man. What really distracted her attention though was the stranger they had brought back with them.

He was pretty looking if you liked that geekish and thin sort of thing, with a mop of curly red hair, numerous freckles and green eyes. He smelt absolutely terrified, but under that Aliza’s twitching nose could pick up his real scent. He smelt like soot and burnt paper, touched with little purple flecks of shame and longing held so deep they had become part of his permanent shape. Aliza tensed. It was a good smell.

Aliza was not a big wolf. She was short and stocky, just like her human form, and a general brownish ochre kind of colour. She was quite proud of the lustre of her fur, if not deeply impressed by its actual colour. She stood as the new werewolf passed her. He acted so small it was hard to judge his actual height and he made his way over to the far fence and sat down with his back to it. His big eyes watched everything and seemed to see nothing. He really was scared. Aliza was getting up to go over to him when she found herself bowled over by the huge black shape of Kurt. His ears were forward, tail curved over his back with his butt in the air. Everything about his pose invited her to come and play. Aliza had come to nearly every meet for two years, but she was reserved, kept mostly to herself and didn’t often play games with the other wolves. She considered Kurt’s offer when he yapped.

It was no secret Aliza had a hard time trusting her new pack because of the circumstances in which she had left her old one. Aliza frowned at Kurt, but wagged her tail and the big black wolf barked again and turned back towards where the silver grey shape of Doug Camra was waiting for them. Aliza followed happily enough, but her mind was still on the pale red haired man. He felt as miserable and untrusting as she had once been, and she wondered if he too had come from a far less stable pack than this one. His fear smelt ingrained though, not hot and sharp as a recent shock would be. Aliza didn’t miss the Lune River pack, hadn’t since the moment she’d left. Lune River had not been a happy place to grow up when you were an independently minded young woman. The alpha had been very traditional, and in his youth had encouraged lots of sons and only allowed male wolves to join the pack. It had not been a very well thought out plan.

Lune River, with a male to female ratio that should have meant a girl got her pick of the boys, reached a tenuous and unstable position. Females had to mate and produce more wolves for the pack; it became the only purpose for them. At the age of twenty five, Aliza showed no signs of wanting to mate with anyone. And why should she, when she was a qualified heavy good vehicle driver, and didn’t care a single jot for any of the over inflated and pompous males of her pack? The alpha had not liked it. In Lune River, you got mated and that was that. Aliza’s mate had been chosen for her by her father and the alpha. Aliza had looked the young man up and down and scoffed at him and his trivially portentous self-importance. He was arrogant, assumed he could dominate her simply by owning a set of cock and balls, and Aliza had wasted no time in proving him wrong.

In hindsight, trouncing her intended mate very publically was not such a great plan. The punishment for rejecting one’s proposed spouse was forced mating by the group of the biggest, most testosterone filled males of the pack who had, stupidly, been made the packs enforcing team. Aliza hadn’t been too proud or too stupid not to turn tail and run. She had evaded the pack brothers sent after her, had hidden and cowered in ditches and fields. She had fought and run whenever stealth hadn’t been an option and finally made the sanctuary of South Bank and the National Council. She had spent her time uneasily in London, never understanding why any wolf would want to actually live in the big smog choked city. National Council had damned her former pack’s behaviour and several agents had been sent back up to Lune River to deal with the situation.

But Aliza didn’t go back, it wasn’t even a question her mind. Staying in London was not an option. With her HGV license and her lack of actual stability or relationship she had travelled about, visited other packs on a temporary basis and generally ignored her needs to be connected to others of her kind. She kept National Council informed of her movements, and they seemed happy enough to let her do as she wished.

The day she’d turned up at South Sea had been a complete accident. She’d put out a ‘man and van’ style advert on a couple of listings websites when business had been slow and it had gotten her hired by a group of art students in London to transport all their precious works of craft to a gallery on the coast. They were poor and needy, and Aliza had time to kill. Before she’d left her contact at the Council had told her he’d notified the local pack and they had invited her to stop in and say hello. They were a good group and she was encouraged to accept the invitation. After an hour chatting to Degan Canon and Carson Davies she’d wanted to stay forever. Degan had given her a staffing post, titular but important, which was what she had always wanted, and Aliza hadn’t looked back on her choice. South Sea pack had the other advantage of being about as far south as you could go from her old pack without falling into the sea.

Aliza lifted her head from her game with Kurt and Doug and sniffed the air. The boys halted at the same time, but Aliza knew they were scenting very different things. Men always thought with their stomachs. When the two bigger wolfs abandoned her in search of the food which was currently coming out of the kitchen, Aliza turned and headed over to the new stranger who was still making her nose twitch in a most distracting manner. The new guy, Deoran, sat with his spine pressed against the fence in a manner that looked as if he wanted to push through the wooden slats by sheer force of will alone. He watched Aliza with the wary eyes of a petrified rabbit as she approached. Aliza put her ears forwards, tail up and tried to look friendly. There was just something about his scent.

The man shivered when she got within touching range and Aliza put her cold wet nose to his exposed neck and sniffed. The scent coursed through her body, found her pleasure centres and tugged. The effect was better than being high. Aliza had the overwhelming desire to see what he tasted like. Before Deoran could pull back, she licked his hand and nipped him quickly, just enough to break the skin. Deoran yelped and pulled his hand away and Aliza rubbed herself against him possessively. Then she backed off and made the same pose Kurt had earlier; tail high, ears up, butt in the air, tongue lolling. Come play.

For a moment, she thought it hadn’t worked. The skinny red head stood, stripped out of his clothes and groaned as he crunched into a small wolf with flame red fur. Aliza barked in delighted surprise and took off into the forest with the little red wolf hot on her tail.

*

Isla was lying at on odd angle on the currently deserted picnic table and was looking at the world upside down, which was making her head spin, but in a good way. Her brother was lounging in his human form again, a hand in their sister’s fur while Kurt sat at his side, looking very ‘on guard’ after his first enforcer trip. Isla wished she could change forms the way her siblings did and jump in on their conversations and games. Sure, she was still included, but so much of what went on at the meets was lost on her. Chaska said it didn’t matter, and the ability to read all the little tell-tale wolf signals would come with her first change. But what if they didn’t? Isla worried that she was most like her oldest sibling, and her oldest sibling was about as good at reading wolf body language as a salmon was at building houses. It did not bode well.

She wanted to be able to run in the forest on four legs, to see well in the dark and see with her nose. She could do all those things way better than a human could, but not nearly as well as her older brothers and sisters. And South Sea had no other pups her age. There was Mehran, then her, then an age gap of four years. Isla got on well with her next eldest sister, but with Mehran still new at changing and totally in love with her wolf form she was often distracted by the older teenagers. Isla had nothing in common with the Tanner brothers and to the adult wolves she was still too young to be really important. Seeing her father was deep in conversation with the alpha, Isla decided she wouldn’t be missed if she went for a walk in the woods. On meet nights, the woods were safe, since no creature was stupid enough to be out and about in a forest full of clever werewolves.

Isla swung her long legged frame off the table, and stood up a little dizzily. She shook off the feeling and waved to her brother as she began to wander off to the woods. No one really noticed her leaving. Isla hated that she still had to wear shoes, and proper clothes. Werewolves who had changed burned much hotter than young ones who hadn’t, and Isla was wearing jeans and a thin knitted sweater. When she was a wolf… Isla had vision of one piece summer dresses she could throw on and off without thinking, and hoped that unlike her eldest sister she didn’t suffer from gravity enough to need to wear a bra at all times. Isla sort of liked the idea of being properly naked under thin clothes, even though she wasn’t quite sure why this was. It was probably something to do with boys.

Isla picked her way carefully between the trees, going vaguely uphill, making sure she didn’t tread on any lose stones and turn an ankle. The last thing she needed when she was trying to be independent was to have to shout for help because she’d hurt herself in the woods again. Kurt had promised that when she ‘got her fur’ as he termed it, he would show her all the secret places in the woods for a young wolf to go, and the best hunting places too. Isla could smell lies, and Kurt had been totally honest. Isla desperately hoped the time for her first change would come soon, she hated waiting.

A noise up ahead distracted her. The woods were never silent, no matter what human poets might propose in their literary outburst, and any wolf worth her fur could hear the small creatures in the soil, under the earth: a good listener could tell the changing weather by the scent and noise of the wind, could hear the trees growing as spring bloomed. Isla was a very good listener. As the youngest in her family it had grown into an essential life skill. Adults never wanted to tell you things. If you wanted to find out the truth, you got really good at listening. There was the scraping of stones over the ground, claws in the ground, the snarl of a wolf in pain, a stifled yelp. Isla moved forwards carefully and caught a flash of red fur. The new wolf, the one Kurt had found, was fighting with Aliza. The two canines turned on each other, both showing teeth, their ears laid back.

It would be suicide to step between them, and Isla wasn’t that selfless towards any of her pack sisters. She turned and ran back down the hill towards Degan’s garden, not caring where she put her feet, only running so hard she thought her heart might burst. Kurt would know. Kurt was the biggest wolf in the pack, possibly in the world. Kurt could fix anything. Isla ran.

“Help!” She was not quite out of the woods before she shouted, and by the time she was visible Kurt and the big grey black shape of Willis were already near the edge of the forest, drawn to her shout. Kurt was looking at her intently, his hackles rising.

“No! Not me, I’m fine.” The big black wolf visibly relaxed, “Aliza! The new wolf is attacking Aliza!” Kurt’s growl made her heart go cold even though Isla knew it wasn’t aimed at her and in a flash the big wolf was off into the woods. Carson had heard her too. The big mechanic had been sitting with his wife, finally able to understand what had been making her grouchy, but at the mention of his best second in command being in danger he was up. Carson was by no means the fastest or smoothest shifter in the pack, but his determination made up for a lot, and the big wolf tore his clothes as he shifted while running, an almost seamless change. It was impressive, but for the first time, when Isla glanced around at the nude and semi naked figures of her extended family, she felt something hot stir when she saw the naked figures of the men, a warm and interesting feeling.

Oh dear…

*

Kurt scoffed and turned his head. Willis knocked into him with a delighted glint in his eye. Kurt was not a prude, he was the least uncomfortable with nakedness in the whole pack, but no one needed to see this. Poor Isla, she’d probably though the little red wolf and the ochre brown form of Aliza had been going to kill each other. Fighting and lust-fighting looked very similar if you were human. Kurt sneered at Willis and turned away again. The little red wolf reminded him of…Koby. He was the male, and shape and evolution dictated his physical position, but it was obvious Aliza was in charge here. From below she had twisted her head around to close her jaws on the throat of the little red wolf as he humped her.

Kurt had never liked girls. It had been a total non-subject from about the time when his hormones had kicked in. Of course his life was going to be that much more complex because he fancied boys. Watching Aliza getting nailed by the new wolf was not something which interested him even vaguely. Kurt made a move to leave but Willis stamped on his front paw and the black wolf bit down both yelp and snarl. Apparently they were staying for some reason. Kurt sat down and put his head on his paws and sighed.

He had hardly had time to see his mate in between returning from Deoran’s capture to chasing off into the forest. He could not deny having the other three enforcers accept him had been nothing short of heaven. It hadn’t mattered somehow that they stroked his fur, because he was a wolf, and they were human and he’d stood over them and snuffled against their chests. It had been the best non-erotic experience of his entire life. That didn’t mean it could measure up to having his mate touch him. Kurt had wanted to jump straight over to Tahryn and rub himself against the sand coloured wolf. But Tahryn was human and talking with his sister and Jene and Kurt couldn’t bring himself to disturb him too much. Things had been going so well lately, and to do anything else felt like pushing at the fragile little nest they had built. Kurt wanted to give in more than anything, but every time Tahryn touched him when he was wearing skin the wolf in him rebelled.

Kurt felt his chest rumble with the beginnings of a growl and shut himself up. It was a very analytical way to be thinking, especially as a wolf. All the education is rubbing off on you… his inner voice said, and Kurt wondered if that was a bad thing or not. He wanted Tahryn. He did, he woke up from dreams of Tahryn touching him, imagined what it would feel like to be… inside the wolf mind he could barely even think about it. Being dominant with the sandy wolf under him was amazing, but Kurt knew holding out on his mate was never going to work long term. We are not submitting to him! The wolf snapped and growled and Kurt had to physically still the movement of his throat to cease the noise. But I want to… Kurt sighed into the short fur of his paws and looked up at Willis. The beta jerked his head at him to come with.

Aliza and Deoran were lying in a slumped pool of fur that sank of exhaustion and sex. Aliza grinned in a self-satisfied sort of way. Kurt growled at the red wolf and Aliza snapped at him instantly. Kurt loomed over her, bigger, stronger, and bared his teeth. The red wolf cowered, Aliza didn’t and Kurt stepped forwards. His paws were twice the size of hers, sharp nails dug into the earth and Kurt snarled, ears pressed back. Just as time stretched out thin with tension and Kurt thought he might actually have to attack the woman who he actually quite liked, she backed down. Aliza crouched low to the ground and dropped her gaze. She didn’t roll to show him her belly, but it was good enough and Kurt barked once as the strain dissipated from the moment.

Willis shook his head and rolled his eyes and then nodded to the two mated wolves in a deliberate instruction before he turned to walk back to the meet. Follow.

Kurt brought up the rear of the group, enforcer requirements overriding the dominant need to be in front and leading the pack. Deoran followed behind Aliza like a good little boy and Kurt sniffed at him as he walked. He even smelled like her. The red wolf whimpered and tucked his tail between his legs. Kurt panted in happy self-satisfaction on a job well done and kept up the rear guard as they brought the two wolves home.

Aliza changed pretty much the second they were back on even ground and whirled on Kurt.

“Don’t you dare growl at my mate, boy!”

Kurt snarled at her. Turning human was a mistake, she was more vulnerable.

“Aliza, leave it. He already bested you.” Willis had also shifted to stand upright, and waved a hand at Carson who hurried back over to his wife. He still had some smoothing out to do over there.

Kurt barked his triumph.

“Shut up Kurt!” Willis snapped at his new enforcer and Kurt rumbled with a growl. “What do you mean, your mate?”

“I want him,” Aliza gestured to the now shivering form of Deoran, human again and trying to cover himself as best he could in his naked state, “where’s Degan?”

“Here.” Degan Canon made his way through the assembled wolves, most of whom had stopped talking to observe the latest drama unfolding in the garden. “You want to claim this man?”

“Yes. He’s mine. I can smell it.”

“Deoran is a visitor here. This not quite what I meant when I asked everyone to welcome him to the pack.”

“I don’t care. He’s mine.”

“Oh dear,” Degan pinched the space between his brows. “Kurt, would you switch back please. You’re intimidating our guest.”

Kurt changed with all the speed and natural ability he had and made the motion look like the reforming of water as it is poured. He folded his arms across his chest, looking no less menacing. Deoran shrank back against Aliza’s physically shorter form and Kurt couldn’t help the growl that rumbled his chest. The man reminded him so much of Koby. He had the same cowardly submissive thing going on, and Kurt was pretty sure if he took another step forwards the red head would roll over onto his back. He didn’t bank on the sudden warmth from behind him, the smooth dry roughness of skin on skin as Tahryn wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him backwards.

“Leave him be babe,” Tahryn’s voice right in his ear, right by that clearly visible mark, made goose bumps chase each other all the way down to his crotch, making his cock twitch and jump. “I missed you.”

Kurt was about to give in, he could feel his anger slipping out of his grasp under the heat of Tahryn and the desire to be with his mate. But then Deoran raised one eyebrow at him and smirked. It might have been a normal smile, but Kurt decided to take it as a threat. He pulled away from Tahryn and snarled.

“Don’t you fucking look at me like that again or I’ll take it out of your skin.”

“Kurt…” Tahryn’s tone was touched with disappointment and Kurt flashed angry eyes at him too and stomped away from the group, not bothering to stay and find out the consequences of Aliza’s and Deoran’s unexpected mating.

It was so fucking unfair. Kurt was vaguely aware he was being irrational and unreasonable, and that was a bloody human issue any way. Fat lot of good encouraging his human side did him. Kurt sat down on the blanket next to the nearly white wolf of his best friend and fell back, looking at the stars.

Jene shifted her weight and laid her head on his chest, clear liquid eyes looking straight at him.

“Yeah I know. I’m fucking it up aren’t I?”

The pale wolf blinked once, slowly.

“I can’t help it.”

A soft growl. Jene twitched her ears forwards.

“I want to. I really, really want to.”

Jene swivelled one ear in question, wagged her tail, and raised an eyebrow. Kurt sighed heavily.

“I think I might love him. Shit.”

Jene raised her head off him and smiled her canine smile, tongue lolling. Kurt sat up and ruffled her ears. She looked over to where Tahryn stood, half-dressed again in jeans, chatting amiably to David James and Henry Tanner. She looked back at Kurt and whined.

“OK, you win. I’ll tell him.” For a moment Kurt considered trotting across the garden in his wolf shape, but Tahryn would need him to be human to actually listen to him. His lack of body language awareness had not improved much. Kurt got up on human feet to walk over to his mate. He took a deep breath. Tahryn I think I might love you… Well that sounded juvenile. Tahryn, I love you. It wasn’t much better.

“Damn…” Kurt spoke low, muttered. “Why is it so hard to tell the guy I love him?” He turned, expecting to see Jene standing behind him, he hadn’t moved far. He blinked in time to hear Philip’s growl.

“I always knew you were a fucking pansy.” And then he changed and lunged.

Kurt was so surprised by Philip Tanner’s appearance all he did was raise his arm and growl as the brown wolf’s teeth slashed into him. Human skin was much thinner, easier to rip and tear, and Kurt clenched his teeth against the pain and the rage at being surprised as the blood pooled in the wounds. He blinked and then the big black wolf roared. Blood soaked the fur of his front left leg, but he put his weight on it anyway, not caring for the jolts of pain. He roared again, ears pressed back as far as they would go head down between his shoulder blades.

How dare Philip Tanner challenge him again? He had won, trounced the boy and left him damaged, beaten his opponent in a fair match. Apparently Philip wouldn’t learn he was weaker, and the lesson was going to have to be spelled out in blood. Kurt bared his fangs, giving the brown wolf an opportunity to back down. Philip snapped back and Kurt slashed at his neck with his teeth.

Wolves that fought to kill each other didn’t waste time snarling and growling, and now that Kurt was finished with his roar the only sounds were the thudding of sharp feet, the snapping of teeth and the hot breath of the two wolves who circled each other with deadly intent. That didn’t mean no one noticed. Kurt was loud when he shouted; both wolves gave off red anger, a tiny trickle of keening blue pain from Kurt, and the overwhelming desire for vengeance and dominance.

Willis commanded them to stop, and was completely ignored; Alex Tanner shouted at his son about the same time Henry changed forms to dive between his brother and his best friend’s mate. Philip knocked his brother away and Kurt took the opportunity to slash at his shoulder, tasting blood and opening the wound that was not long healed. Philip howled in pain, fell on his side and Kurt dived again, but his teeth closed on nothing. He could feel Tahryn at the back of his mind, pleading with him to stop, and Kurt refused to focus on the want he felt as Philip tried to bite him again. He ducked out of the way, turned and re-joined with a slash of one paw, sharp nails raking down Philip’s ribs.

Kurt was vaguely aware of Degan’s presence as he circled his challenger. Degan ordered everyone not to interfere. They would fight until one of them gave up. Whoever did would be exiled, Kurt knew. Troublemakers were not allowed in South Sea pack. And he knew he would not lose. Philip roared and lunged, and Kurt twisted away, but not quick enough. He sprang away, ripping his skin more and came away with a big open wound on his flank. Philip looked pleased with himself. That would not do. The big black wolf feigned left, went right and closed his teeth around Philip’s rear foot. His clenched his jaw until he left something snap.

Philip screamed in pain and Kurt wasted half a second feeling proud of himself. Teeth slashed at him; laid open his cheek and brow, and Kurt pounced with both paws, knocking into Philip’s damaged shoulder. He bit at the other’s wolf’s ear and backed off as the pain in his own face finally registered. The two wolves circled each other, twins in limping, shaking bodies, panting, fur matted with blood. Philip’s ear hung by a thread, he wasn’t using his back leg at all. Kurt limped on both front and back legs, but he kept putting weight on his paws as a matter of pride. His face throbbed, and blood dripped into his eye and ruined his vision. Philip tried to put his back leg down and howled in pain. Kurt knocked him back, dove to slash at his belly and bowled him over onto the ground. He stood over his defeated challenger and snarled, every fibre of his being tense and hard, hairs standing up on end.

Tanner should have submitted, the fight should have been over, and Kurt huffed and turned from his victim, wanting to slink off to his mate and lick his wounds. But Philip Tanner had other ideas. Kurt heard his mate’s shout of warning too late to stop the pain that blossomed up his leg from Philip’s slash of teeth. Kurt turned, sharp front feet knocking the brown wolf back onto his side. He felt something in his own ankle twist and bit back the pain. Philip was snapping at him, squirming and snarling, teeth clipping and nipping over his chest and belly, but Kurt didn’t care. His front feet braced on Philips’s chest, he thrust his jaws forward. They closed over the other wolf’s throat.

He bit down. He did not let go to take another hold, but squeezed his jaw closed over the muscles and cartilage, blood and bone. Kurt was vaguely aware that Philip struggled less. The wolf was no longer trying to bite him as hard. He knew he was bleeding. Philip’s blood tasted of salt and metal and Kurt snarled into the sodden fur in his mouth. His fangs sliced through the neck of the brown wolf who had challenged him. In that moment Kurt knew he was going to have to kill the other wolf. If he didn’t Philip would keep coming back to prove his dominance. There was shouting, Alex Tanner was struggling against someone, Henry was screaming. Kurt’s jaws closed inexorably. The tips of his longest teeth met, he could feel the half crushed cartilage of the wolf’s larynx in his mouth. Kurt breathed in, and bit down until his jaws snapped shut, and ripped up his head, pulling the collected bits of wind pipe and fur and flesh with him.

He stepped back, away from the body and spat. Alex Tanner was being restrained by both Carson and Doug. Henry was on his knees, tears pouring down his face. Dinah Tanner was further away, screaming and crying and shouting for her son, being held by her friends. Kurt stood there, all four feet on the ground even though it hurt like fire, breathing hard, the dead wolf’s blood dripping from his jaws, mixing with his own. And then there was a sense of peace.

Tahryn’s hand was in the fur at the back of his neck, about the only place where he wasn’t injured or covered in blood. The feel of his mate’s fingers on him made all the pain seem suddenly less, breathing was easier, and Tahryn’s scent, those mixed spices and the salted chocolate sweetness of him, flooded through his body. Kurt made a small noise somewhere between a moan and a growl, and passed out.

*

“Fuck’s sake!” Tahryn knew throwing a tantrum wasn’t really helping his cause, but apparently possessive instincts had taken over and there wasn’t a lot he could do about it. “Why can’t they let me see him already?” He aimed a kick at a potted plant and took no satisfaction from the sound it made as it smashed.

“Tahryn calm down.”

“Do not tell me what to do!”

“Tay!” Chaska vibrated with anger. “Pull yourself together. Noakes is fixing him. Let the man work.” She put her arm around Jene, who was visibly shaking. Chaska had never seen her brother this angry. “Are you OK?”

Jene nodded and leant against her friend while Tahryn continued to pace up and down the short space outside the ground floor guest room. He didn’t want to think about what was going on in the rest of the house. Degan was in his office with Willis and Doug, trying to calm Alex and Dinah and the weeping Henry. His mate had just killed his best friend’s older brother. The human in him was horrified, but he, like everyone else with a working set of eyes and nose, and known the fight was going to end in someone’s death. Neither wolf would’ve given up. Kurt had given Philip ample opportunity to back down. Tahryn had thought the fight over, as had Kurt when he had turned away, but Philip had meant to kill him and Tahryn couldn’t feel bad for the wolf that had lost. Now he was being denied contact with his mate, and he could feel Kurt’s pain, could hear the whimpers coming from the room and Noakes wouldn’t let him in.

Carson appeared in the doorway of the room Noakes had converted into a hospital and put a hand on Tahryn’s chest to stop him pushing past.

“No. Wait.”

“He’s my mate!” Tahryn growled. Kurt was in pain, he needed to be with him.

“And he does not need to be reminded how weak he is. Stay out.” Carson closed the door behind him. “We got him awake to switch forms, Noakes didn’t want to have to shave off all his fur to get the stitches in. He can’t change back or he’ll rip them out, so he can’t have too much morphine.”

“He’s awake?” Jene sounded distraught.

“He has to be, at least while he heals up. He’s too likely to switch back if he gets knocked out.”

“I want to see him!” As Tahryn spoke, there was a long drawn out groan through the door. “Now!”

“No. You don’t.” Carson placed a big, oil stained hand on Tahryn’s shoulder. “He’s in a bad way.”

“But-!”

“No. Go back outside, help clear up. Try and be normal. The pack needs stability right now, not fits of rage.”

Tahryn stared at Carson, but the big mechanic didn’t flinch and Tahryn knew this was not the time or place for this argument. And you’d lose… Tahryn knew Carson ranked him. He turned and stalked out into the garden. Parents with younger children had taken them home and Tahryn saw his two littlest sisters were with his father. The grass where Philip had fallen, when Kurt had fought him was dark with blood and the mess of bits of fur and skin, and the remains of Philip’s throat. His body had been moved, wrapped in sheets and placed in another guest room in the house. Tahryn grabbed a plastic bag from the drinks table, emptied it of cups and used it to scoop up all the solid bits he could find. That was tied up and dumped by the back wall of the house, out of sight for now. Tahryn turned to find Clover Willis, a woman he only knew to nod to, offering him the hose from the shed. He took it, nodded and waited until she’d switched it on at the wall. He sprayed the grass, and tried to pretend he was watering the garden, not washing his pack brother’s blood from the lawn.

People began to clear plates and cups, wash down tables and gather chairs. The meet was over. No one really spoke, just ‘pass that please’ and ‘do you know where this goes?’ until everything was done and cleared away. Apart from the grass wet with beads of water, it looked like nothing bad had ever happened in Degan Canon’s back garden, let alone that not even half an hour ago the air had been rent with screams and howls. Tahryn shivered involuntarily and swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. People left by twos and threes, the pack thinning out until only Tahryn, Jene and the remaining members of the council were left, along with Tahryn’s sisters.

“Tahryn, take your sister’s home please.”

“I have to stay.”

“Tahryn…” Whelan’s voice was gruff and low. “They need someone to look after them.”

“Sorry, but no. I’m Ulrich now Dad, not Spencer. I stay.”

“I’ll go.” Tahryn turned to look at Jene, the alpha’s granddaughter still had an arm wrapped around Chaska’s waist, wearing nothing but a loose sarong. “I’ll go with them.”

“Thank you.”

Jene took Isla’s hand and turned to Tahryn with a stern but pleading gaze.

“Look after my brother.” She said, and Tahryn knew the last word carried more meaning than a girl referring simply to an extended member of her pack. Together, the four girls left.

“We’d best go in,” David James, who had taken his wife home and returned, gestured sullenly towards the house, “Degan will want to hold council to decide what to do.”

“He’ll have to call another alpha.” Whelan said sullenly. “Deaths have to have an adjudicator.”

They assembled in the back lounge, the one closest to the garden where the judgement had been passed on Koby. Extra chairs were found. No one felt much like sitting though, and Tahryn paced nervously until his feet wore a visible track in the carpet. Eventually Alex Tanner, his wife, and his remaining son appeared with Degan and Willis. David James escorted Dinah and Henry home. Tahryn could not meet his friend’s eyes as he passed him.

“Alex maybe you should go home/” Willis’s voice was calm and soft. “Be with your family.”

“My family is less because of that beast!” The time in Degan’s office had done nothing to still his rage. “He must be exiled. He,” and here he pointed an accusatory finger at Tahryn, “should not be here!”

“I am here to speak for my mate.” Tahryn stopped himself short of snapping. “He cannot speak for himself and someone must defend him.”

“You do not think I would stand up for my own son?” Dick Smith’s voice was small and low and Tahryn was surprised, because he had almost forgotten the other man was there.

“With all due respect Smith,” Tahryn knew he outranked the other werewolf and he wasn’t going to deny it, “he is no longer your responsibility. He is Ulrich and he is mine.”

“He’s doesn’t get a vote!” Alex was nearly screaming, his face twisted and red with rage. “He is not a member of the council.”

“There is no vote tonight. Sit down, all of you.” Degan spoke in a nearly normal voice, but his words stilled every pulse in the room, and the members of the South Sea pack council sank into their chairs. “I have made a call to Murray Hill at the New Forest pack, he will be here tomorrow morning and we will decide. You must all think on what you saw tonight and make up your own minds. Two wolves fought, one died. The other, a son of this pack, one of your brother’s, lies in agony. Those wounds were meant to kill him just as surely as the ones he inflicted. We will meet in the morning. Until then, I expect you all to go home, comfort your families and sleep.” Degan stood again and glared at every one of them in turn. “Until we convene tomorrow this is not to be discussed, I will have no hearts turned with gossip either way. Defy me and face judgement.” He faced Alex Tanner when he spoke those words and there was no doubt as to whom he was really talking to. “Go home, all of you. Ulrich, follow me.”

Degan did not wait to see the other’s leave and Tahryn followed him further into the house. Noakes emerged from the sickroom as they arrived at the door. The sleeves and front of his shirt were stained with blood, but not a lot. The sight still made Tahryn shiver.

“I splint his arm. He’ll need a proper cast in the morning. Spiral fracture.” Noakes ran a hand through his short cropped hair and shook his head. “I stitched the leg and the arm, the face was worse than I thought under the fur, he’ll have scars.” He turned to Tahryn, “I have seen lesser wolves die from wounds like these. He’s strong, but he needs proper rest. If he is in real pain you can give him one of these,” he pushed a bottle of scarily large white pills into Tahryn’s hand. “No more than four before sunrise mind. He must not shift forms or all the hard work will be ruined.” Noakes turned to go and Tahryn panicked.

“You’re leaving?”

Noakes turned and shook his head at Tahryn sadly.

“He’s your responsibility. Every wolf for miles will have heard you say it. You look after him.” Noakes walked off with his medical bag and Tahryn gaped.

“He’ll be back in the morning boy,” Degan rumbled, “Deidre will bring you some more blankets and some water. Look after him.”

Tahryn paused with his hand on the door handle.

“Sir?”

“Yes Tahryn Ulrich?” The alpha’s use of his full name was very deliberate, reminding him of his bond to the other wolf.

“You don’t think the vote will exile him do you? He had to kill Philip or he would have died. Maybe not today, but it would happen someday.”

“I can’t say young one, it is a council matter.” But he smiled when he spoke and Tahryn watched his alpha walk away and felt very slightly better. Then he opened the door.

Tahryn wasn’t sure what he was expecting, blood and mess everywhere probably, but the room was clean. The heap of clothes and sheets in the big laundry basket was the only sign of the struggle. Tahryn barely noticed, all his senses attuned to his mate. Kurt lay in the big bed on a clean white sheet with another up over his chest. He looked remarkable clean, and very pale under his bandages.

“Don’t…” Tahryn heard the break in Kurt’s voice and had to suck down the overwhelming urge to burst into tears. “Don’t look.”

“Babe…” Tahryn scanned his mate as he moved into the room. The sheet did not hide the bruises and scratches that marked his chest and ribs, and a thicker white showed him where Kurt’s leg and thigh were bound up underneath. His left arm was splinted and bound up, wrapped from elbow to knuckles. The cuts on his face were deep and dark, but clean and stitched closed. On the left side one slash divided his brow about two thirds of the way along. The matching teeth had lain open his cheek bone in the same slanted angle. He’d been lucky not to lose the eye. Tahryn’s hand found Kurt’s good arm and grabbed his hand. Kurt let out a drawn out groan like a dying animal and Tahryn let go of him. “I’m sorry I…”

“Shut up and come here,” Kurt’s annoyance had overcome his fear and Tahryn again took his hand and sat on the edge of the bed, “I’m in pain, not made of glass. Just don’t squeeze so fucking hard.”

“And here I thought nearly dying would sweeten your attitude.” Tahryn almost regretted his words when the beginning of Kurt’s laugh turned into a wracking cough that made him bite his lip and scream.

“Just for today, don’t be funny OK?”

“OK.” Tahryn raised his mate’s hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles softly. Kurt shivered. “Cold?”

“Yeah.”

“Hang on.” Tahryn got up and went to the door. There was a stack of thick blankets, a big pitcher of water and a paper bag of jerky, Tahryn scooped up everything and carried it inside. “I think Doug sent you this.” The paper bag bore the smooth writing of Kurt’s fellow enforcer. “Smells nice.” Tahryn laid a couple of the blankets over the bed and pulled up the sheet. He knew he was fussing, but it was almost easier to look anywhere other than right at Kurt just now. When his mate was warm and there was nothing else to do Tahryn sat back down again.

“Are you in pain? Noakes said I could give you these.”

“Tay…”

“But you can only have four. You want a drink?”

“Tay…” Kurt’s tone was harder now.

“I should go and let you rest. Noakes said-”

“Tahryn Ulrich!” Kurt cut him off mid flow. “Will you shut up and stop mothering me? We have enough strong women in our lives to last us forever without you turning into one.” Tahryn snarled in response. “That’s better. I’m fucking beat, will you just turn off the light and get in here already?”

“What?”

Kurt spread his good arm out over the bed next to him and pulled back the covers.

“Degan expects you to stay here, and since you’ve already seen how ugly I am now…” Kurt’s confident tone wavered and faltered.

“Oh pup,” Tahryn knelt on the bed and bent to kiss Kurt’s forehead, “you are beautiful.” Tahryn could see that Kurt didn’t believe him. He pulled off his jeans and socks and slipped into the bed beside his mate. “You know, we’ve never actually slept together.”

“Yeah we have.”

“Outside doesn’t count.” Tahryn dead panned. He worked his fingers into Kurt’s hair and stroked the back of his neck softly. Kurt purred. “You like that huh pup?”

“Hmm?” Kurt’s eyes fluttered closed and Tahryn kept stroking. It was late, and the stress had made him tired. “I was gonna tell you something…”

“Yeah?” Tahryn moved close to his mate so he could smell the scent of him under all the sterile bandages and antiseptic.

“I was going tell you that I love you.”

“Yeah?” Tahryn tone was hopeful.

“But I found a better way of stopping you from trying to get into my pants.” Kurt shifted, groaned and Tahryn found his boy’s head lying pillowed on his shoulder.

“This is nice.” Tahryn could barely believe he had said it, but it was true. He was happy, Kurt was smiling despite the pain and they were lying together in a warm clean bed.

“I’d rather not have a broken arm…amongst other things.” A pause. “When’s the vote?”

“Tomorrow, but don’t worry about it.”

“They’ll kick me out.” Kurt sounded like he was on the verge of tears and Tahryn couldn’t stand it. He twisted his shoulder, bent his head and angled Kurt’s jaw with one hand until he could kiss his mate properly. Kurt moaned into his mouth, rough lips and warm tongue seeking pleasure as they moved against each other.

“Doesn’t matter.” Tahryn whispered the words into the darkness between them. “You go where I go. We’re our own pack Kurt, you and I.”

“Hmmm….sounds good.”

“Dream about it pup.” Tahryn waited until he was sure Kurt’s breathing had evened out in sleep. He let go of his own tenuous grasp of reality to slip into dreamless unconsciousness.