Born Wolf - 22. Chapter 11

Kurt whirled and snapped at the grey wolf. The challenger was smaller than him, but lightning fast. The part of his mind listening in on his mate knew he was bleeding somewhere on his shoulder. He snarled, a noise meant to intimidate, and gnashed his teeth. The grey wolf dove back to strike again but this time Kurt was ready, ducked and came up underneath the smaller wolf, using his great wedge shaped head to throw the grey canine over onto his back. Kurt was not the best wolf in the territory for nothing. He was standing over the challenger, nails sharp in his chest and belly, growling into his neck.

The big blond and tan shape of Tahryn Ulrich leant over the pair, hands on hips and smiled at the challenger.

“I’d yield if I were you kiddo. Give it another ten seconds and he’ll kill you rather than bother with pleasantries.”

Kurt snarled, more at his mate than at the grey wolf and felt Tahryn’s love inside his skull. He couldn’t focus on that now, the situation was still dangerous. Beneath his feet there was the sensation of snapping bone and reforming muscle and a few seconds later Kurt was snarling down at a young man of about twenty who was flushed and pink from their fight, with messy dirty blond hair, and stared at him with petrified green eyes.

“Yield! I yield!”

Kurt growled, teeth millimeters from the throat of the other werewolf.

“Get off him Kurt.” ‘Come on pup, he’s plenty scared already.’

Kurt harrumphed and stood back, rolling his shoulders.

‘I love you but you ruin all my fun,’ He pressed himself up against Tahryn’s leg, half wishing his mate was naked instead of wearing cargo shorts, and thrummed happily. The new wolf had managed to get himself into a sitting position, but had stayed, very sensibly, on the ground.

“I thought the alpha had to meet all challengers?” He frowned at the two of them and Kurt’s snarled rejoinder was quick. His mate’s hand in his fur stilled him.

“We do. He’s the alpha and so am I. I suppose I could whup your arse as well if you’re not satisfied you’ve been beaten.”

“No! No!”

Kurt yawned and shifted, making the change smooth and swift and very different from the cracking and shrieking of other wolves. He was born to it. He stood dressed in skin and sunlight beside his mate and brushed his hair out of his eyes. It had gotten longer over the last couple of months and kept falling in his eyes, but Tahryn liked to have his fingers in the messy mop so Kurt didn’t let Jene trim it too often.

“So are you running or staying?” Kurt said in an off-hand manner, he turned to Tahryn and made sure to speak when he thought. “He’s bloody quick, I’ll give him that.” He rubbed the fast healing wound on his shoulder with a saliva slick palm. “He could be useful. What’s your name boy?”

“Cobb Jansen.” The challenger stood finally, revealing a stocky build, but a lack of height.

“Tahryn Ulrich, this is Kurt.” Tahryn offered his hand to the wolf. “What are you running away from Cobb?”

“Nothin’”

“Uh huh.” Kurt rolled his eyes and took a step forwards. Cobb didn’t move back, but turned his head to expose his throat to the stronger wolf. “Tell me.”

“My ex just mated with my old pack’s new alpha. She’s trying to make my life miserable. I want to petition to join your pack. Sir.” He added as an afterthought.

Kurt sniffed.

“Keep him.” He turned to pick up what was left of his shorts. He went through so many Jene had taken to running up pairs on an old sewing machine they’d picked up at the local charity shop. He had a feeling these were far beyond repair. ‘He can join Henry on the enforcing team.’

There had now been exactly four challengers since they had formally set up the new pack. The first had been a disgruntled northerner, a big man who had been a crappy wolf. Kurt had beaten him easily and publicly, both Carson and Roger Morris from South Bank had been visiting at the time of the challenge, so there hadn’t been any need to worry about paperwork when the man refused to back down. The second challenge had been a kid from another splinter pack who wanted to move up in the world; they’d sent him away. Then Bryn Roberts had joined them, got beaten soundly by Kurt, but had shown good form and had turned out to have previously been a coastguard from a pack in Wales. While the big man had been pissed at being beaten by a ‘stupidly young alpha’ he’d been happy to join the pack as a new recruit.

Alenya Roberts had been a stray rather than a challenger. The diminutive curvy girl had shown up one Saturday afternoon with a kit bag and a friendly toothless smile.

“Who are you?”

“I want to join Chalk Horse Hill.”

“Great.” Tahryn had rolled his eyes at his mate and Kurt had folded his arms across his narrow chest. “Who the hell are you?”

“Alenya Roberts.” Kurt sniffed the air. The girl had smelt of wood chip and apples, all green and yellow and decidedly pleasant. “I remember you. You’re the Spencer boy.”

“Ulrich.” Tahryn had corrected her quickly, with a hard glance at Kurt, who narrowed his eyes. “We know each other?”

“Not really. You own that cute little blue Triumph Spitfire. I always wanted one of those after you came through”

“Through where?” Kurt snapped, his shoulders were ridged and nervous. Tahryn had laid a hand on his arm and pulled him close.

“You’re from Isis pack.” A nodded reply. “Why are you leaving?”

“My older brother just challenged for alpha and won. We don’t… get on, you could say.” Alenya had kept hold of Kurt’s gaze with a level head, but nodded in respect. “I want to come and join your pack.”

Kurt raised a thick eyebrow.

“What did you used to do back home?”

“I ran accounts and admin for an outdoors adventure center.” Her smile was smug and Kurt and Tahryn had turned to each other with the same thought.

‘She’s useful, let’s keep her.’

And now there were eleven including the new Cobb Jansen. Kurt walked away from the new wolf. Tahryn was much better at dealing with the new recruits once they were human. He tended to scare them senseless. In the main mess hall he found Jene at her sewing machine and pulled on a random pair of black knee length shorts. It was warm and sunny, the sky was blue, and everything was looking good for his little family.

In two months the wolves of the Chalk Horse Hill pack had gone from strength to strength. Four of them were a hair away from graduating, finally. They had spent every evening and weekend, every spare hour working on the site. First things first had been a bunch of second hand sofas for the far end of the mess room, rugs and blankets to make the main living space into a cozier environment. All four of the cabins had got underway very quickly. Henry became the main architect, and researched a bunch of traditional building techniques. Carson, Aliza and Doug were on and off the site all the time with supplies, tools, deliveries and advice.

The cabins were log constructed on the outside to match the big mess hall, and measured out in hay bales. Henry had done his research well, apparently there was an episode of Grand Designs involved, watched on the little second hand flat screen in the mess hall. Kurt hadn’t understood, but had helped to stack the hay insulation into the wooden walls, on top of which they’d plastered. The effect was interesting, if slightly uneven, but light, clean, warm and water tight, and meant the windowsills doubled as seats. Traditionally the first cabin finished should have gone to Kurt and Tahryn, but Kurt had insisted David and Yulva have it. One by one, they moved out of the mess room, and brought furniture in from their old houses to fill the cabins.

Bryn had come complete with truck and trailer-caravan, which was useful, and by the time June had rolled around David and Yulva, Jene and Chaska, and Henry had their own cabins. Kurt and Tahryn’s, the biggest of the four, was not quite finished. They were sleeping either outside in the wild or in the mess hall on a mattress, and Isla and Alenya were sleeping in tents. Kurt didn’t doubt Cobb would end up on a sofa for the time being. They were going to need to get planning permission to build at least three more cabins. They had the space, and they could still keep the eighty pitches separate, located on the other side of the toilet block. If the campsite went well, they were going to need to build another one of those as well. The schools would kick out soon, and they had the opportunity now that Alenya had gotten insurance for camping and activities to run they could start earning some actual money. The loan hadn’t left them short, but Kurt knew that Tahryn worried. Even four months ago if anyone had told Kurt he would have money worries…well. He headed out towards the woodland to go and catch dinner, leaving his shorts hung on a low branch. Often he forgot to come back and collect them. Bits of odd clothing littered the forest.

Kurt trotted through his territory, sniffing at the scent marks of his pack. The land still smelt new, there was not enough of the crisscrossing tracks, but he could smell every member of his family here. And most there was the thick combined scent, green and gold, of himself and his mate. Wherever they slept in the woods, their scents were thick and overlapping until one could barely be distinguished from the other and they smelt like one deeply complex wolf. Now he lowered his nose to the ground and sniffed for the hot rapid heartbeats of smaller animals.

There was food they had to buy; cereal, flour, ingredients for formula. Chaska had very quickly realized they actually owned an old bread oven. Now when the pack got through four or five loaves a day it wasn’t quite as expensive. Chaska was being forced to develop into a very good cook very fast. The pack liked big portions and regular hot meals, and as beta it was her job to provide that. It was Kurt’s job to make sure the pack could be properly fed. Rabbits, deer, pheasant, and pigeon: there was plenty of game living in the woods, and by careful management of stocks, not killing breeding females and not eating the same thing for weeks on end, it was going to stay that way. Which didn’t stop it being rabbit season.

Kurt tracked up into the hills to come up above a big rabbit warren he hadn’t visited yet this week. One bunny was no longer enough and he would need at least six big fluffy animals to feed his pack. Isla had been learning about Native American cultures online and had used the internet to work out how to tan skins. Apparently she was making him and Tahryn a rug for their new cabin, but since this meant there was a bunch of rabbit pelts soaking in a bucket of… something foul smelling behind the kayak shed, Kurt didn’t hold out much hope. It took him an hour and four visits to different warrens to get all the rabbits he needed. They were skittish tonight and the wind wasn’t favourable. He could not carry six rabbits as a wolf, so he shifted. Kurt was as happy to be naked on his own land as he was to be a wolf, but Jene had mentioned it might not be the best habit to get into if they were going to be running kids camps, even if the woods were going to be off limits. Kurt used the scent markers to find the closest hiding spot, a tree with a little hollow, and removed the plastic wrapped denim cut offs. Three rabbits in each hand he started off down towards the mess hall.

The new wolf, Cobb, was sitting at one of the long benches talking to David. The oldest member of their pack had been very good in his old job of negotiations, and he was excellent at finding uses for all their varying skills. He’d been made chief warden of the forest which backed onto their little woodland, then ‘hired’ Henry as his main deputy, once they graduated anyway, which meant good money for the council. Henry had wanted to be a counselor, but this was good for now, and there was nothing to stop him from honing his skills when they started taking kids on at the campsite. Kurt dumped the six rabbits in the kitchen, on the surface Chaska had cordoned off for anything coming in from outside that needed butchering before it could come any further in, washed his hands and went back out to the main room to scoop up his daughter.

The puppy let out a happy yap as soon as she saw her alpha and surrogate father and licked his face as he held her. Yulva was two months old, growing and developing fast. She hadn’t turned yet, but was no longer such a tiny helpless puppy. She could walk, very unsteadily, but she was still on milk. This would be the stage that lasted longest if his development was any indicator. Last time Doug had been round it seemed Yulva was growing quicker than he had. Apparently he hadn’t been walking until just before his first change. But in human terms she was still very much a new born, and like him, she was going to have a puppyhood that lasted years and not months.

“Whose daughter is she?” Cobb asked, watching one of his new alpha’s nuzzling the little blue merle pup. Yulva squeaked in delight, her tiny hot feet patting at his face.

“His.” Kurt and David spoke at once and Kurt smiled at the pup in his arms. He reached out and rubbed David’s short brown hair. It was a very wolf gesture; love, support, family.

“Yulva is my daughter,” David said gently. “My wife died, and Yulva was born a wolf, just like Kurt was. She loves him. He’s… her kind I suppose. They have much more in common than I do with her.”

“That’s amazing.” Cobb was watching Kurt with Yulva and smelt faintly jealous. “My dad always said having cubs was good for the pack.”

“He was right.” David smiled and got up. “I’ll make a fresh batch of formula. There’ll be more pups on the way soon enough.”

Kurt sat down where David had been and tucked Yulva into the nook between his thigh and abdomen. The pup pressed her nose into his navel, and moments later was taking soft little breaths that meant sleep. There were lots of good parts to his new life. His mate, the campsite, the being really close to actually graduating; but of all the parts of being the alpha of Chalk Horse Hill, pseudo-parenthood was the most interesting, and the most rewarding. Half the time Yulva slept curled up with him and Tahryn, regardless of skin or fur or the mix of both. She had started feeding when David did it, but she preferred Kurt. David said it was a mix of scent and heartbeat, she liked Tahryn too because they smelt similar. The little pup needled at something in his brain, he could feel her there during the day. It was softer than the presence of Tahryn in his mind, a general feeling of her rather than specific moments of knowledge. But she needed him, and that was a sweet flux through his system. He was needed.

“So tell me.” Kurt lent back on one elbow, his other arm protecting his cub as he turned to the new werewolf. “Why did you challenge me? You couldn’t have possibly thought you’d win.”

“I’m pretty strong,” Cobb snapped quickly. “It wasn’t as clear when I made the decision.”

“Why not challenge your own alpha? If you’d just wanted to move packs you didn’t need to challenge, you can petition.”

“I hate my old alpha,” the stocky werewolf folded his arms across the table, “he used to be my best friend.”

Kurt rolled his eyes and wondered why he had started on this line of questioning. Because he’s your pack, his inner voice said softly. Kurt scented the air, and sure enough there it was the smell of the new wolf, strong because he was close, grey with worry, but underneath was the strong scent of pine nuts and woodiness like maple trees. He was part of the pack, had been from the second Kurt had beaten him. You have to like him, be interested in him. Kurt sighed. Gain his trust and he’ll be more loyal.

“You wanna talk about it?”

Cobb opened up like a book.

“We were best friends all through school. His family joined my pack when we were six. We were going to be enforcers together, get jobs working together for the local police force, the lot. We spent all our time together, always took our dates on doubles, the works. He stole my girlfriend, challenged me for her and won.”

“That’s not traditional.” Kurt interjected softly.

“She’s not a werewolf, so no claims could be made like you would with a true mate. He beat me, and a year later took on the alpha of our pack, my uncle. He moved in on the alpha position and got her pregnant pretty quick too. She always thought me weak for not standing up for her. I’m not sure if she even likes him or just wants to be with him to spite me.” Cobb sighed and rubbed his shoulder. He obviously had gone back to where he had left his clothes and gotten dressed. “She started encouraging other wolves to challenge me, wanted me to move down the ranks. After three fights in one evening I decided it wasn’t worth it. London told me there was a new pack down South with a young alpha and I thought I might have better luck here.” He breathed deep as Kurt met his green gaze. “I’m sorry I didn’t think you were the alpha. It’s just that…”

“Tahryn looks like an alpha should right?” Kurt grinned, knowing the effect his mate had on strangers. You were either awed and impressed by his vast taut muscles and great height, or drawn to the fact he was the sexiest thing on four legs or two.

“You do too.” Cobb said quickly. “I mean…your wolf is bigger than any I’ve ever seen. Would you really have killed me if I didn’t yield?”

“Yes.” Kurt smiled without teeth to show it wasn’t a threat. “I don’t have a wolf Cobb. I am a wolf. You are too now that your Chalk Horse Hill pack. Tell me, what it is you want to do now you’re with us?”

“I apprenticed to a house builder for a little bit. I can help you finish that cabin.” Cobb grinned. “So what’s the plan boss?”

Kurt stroked Yulva’s head as the puppy mewled again. Somehow he thought Cobb was going to fit right in to the new pack.

Night drew in and the now eleven strong wolves of Chalk Horse Hill congregated in the mess hall around where Kurt and Cobb sat. Isla was delighted with her six new rabbit pelts: apparently they all matched nicely with the ones she already had. Jene returned from a hectic day at the nursery and instantly shocked Cobb by wandering around in nothing but panties and a lightweight cotton batwing shirt. Chaska kissed her mate hard on the lips and grinned at Cobb’s slack jawed expression.

“Kurt’s whole not wearing clothes thing kinda rubs off on everyone. You’ll get used to it.” She placed the big wooden platter down in the middle of the table, piled high with lemon and mint couscous. Alenya followed with two bowls of the jointed roasted rabbits. “Dinner!” Chaska exuded pride at her work. “You lot are starting to take a lot more feeding.”

Tahryn glowed with pride as he swung into the seat opposite his mate. Henry grabbed the big pitcher of water, and then they were all together.

“When are you guys finished at school?” Alenya asked quickly.

“Willis is letting us out on the tenth.” Tahryn met his new packer sister’s gaze. “We’re getting out early. Why?”

“I got a logo done for the site, the web’ll be up soon and we should start taking bookings for the summer.” Alenya pushed a printed sheet across the table. Tahryn took it and Kurt snatched it over before passing it back.

“Thank god she’s got better taste than you.” He gestured a leg bone to Tahryn’s timber wolf t-shirt, “I like it. Run it.” The logo was a green circle, dissected by blue representing the ox bow lake. The strong, clean, simple white lines of a horse stood proud over the whole thing. Chalk Horse Hill Adventure Camping was printed around the outside in welcoming black letters. “It’ll make a nice blanket patch.”

“T-shirt’s too.” Alenya grinned and took the sheet back. “Most campsites make good money from over indulgent parents with money to burn. The kids have fun and they’ll want things to remind them of us. Stickers, shirts, enamel mugs, the lot.”

“Whoa.” Chaska raised an eyebrow at her pack sister. “Hold up, maybe we should get some actual customers first, and I mean, are we even ready? What are we gonna do with them? We still have two, well now three, people sleeping in the mess hall.”

“We’ll get the cabin finished soon Chas,” Tahryn replied quickly. “And we can try for planning permission for more. Or we buy another standing caravan.”

David saw Cobb’s slightly worried expression.

“Not sure you can rough it young ‘un? We don’t skimp on luxuries at Chalk Horse Hill.” He grinned. “But we sure eat well.”

Chaska smiled widely and kissed the top of Kurt’s head.

“That’s only because our alphas’ look after us so well.”

After everyone had pretty much finished eating Jene and Bryn went to go wash up, it was their turn. Tahryn and Kurt, and Yulva, were the only ones not on the rota. Tahryn stood up, looked at his pack and sighed contentedly.

“Alright kids,” it was an affectation he’d picked up easily in the months since becoming alpha, even though there were only three people in the pack younger than him, “movie time. Cobb gets to pick, since he’s new.”

Kurt rolled his eyes, stood, stripped and shifted. He was aware of his pack mates staring at him as he trotted out of the mess hall, into the night. He never would understand the obsession with television, even in wolves as well rounded and balanced as his pack. Not when the world was so beautiful. Kurt sat in the wide open grass land between the mess hall and the river front, the cabins to the right, closest to the forest, the empty pitches to the left side, closer to the sea, broken up by little trees. Alenya had got them to make pitch markers and number the sites with the little white tags to better keep an eye on their potential campers. As soon as they graduated they had to start earning money, no one would be going to university, at least not yet and not in the usual way.

Bryn had gotten a job with the local coastguard, which was deeply useful and meant he was qualified to train all the rest of the wolves in water-based first aid in order to run the kayaking for the site. Tahryn was going to be working with Carson, training up as a jobbing mechanic, focusing on the vintage cars, which suited him fine. Jene was still working for the nursery, she loved it and the pay was good. Henry was going to start training under David with the forestry, and Alenya was going to run the business side of the campsite. Who knew yet what Cobb was capable of, perhaps something in tree surgery. Of all of them, Chaska was the most academically gifted, but she was also the best cook by far, and seemed happy to be able to take care of her pack, a perfect pack mother if ever there was one. And she had another year left at college. Isla had asked him that morning what she could do to help with the money, and Kurt had wanted to cry to see her worry. She was twelve, too young to be concerned about things like that, but she delighted in having her own tent and the run of the land, and couldn’t wait until she got her own cabin too. Tahryn had promised her a house of her very own. Kurt hoped the pack didn’t grow anymore for a while. There just wasn’t enough breeding stock to keep them fed otherwise.

Kurt raised his muzzle and stared at the stars. The sky was a perfect inky blue, dark but not black, the river glowed gently in the flickering light. The hills were dark outlines against the vast canvas of the heavens, and the white horse shone. Kurt stared at the chalk outlines, imagining a flicker of movement, the earth alive underneath him as he sat and swished his tail. There were a thousand scents, a million tiny noises to explore, the wash of the sea, the heartbeats of sleeping sparrows, the soft sounds of fish in the river, grass growing with a scent sharp and vividly green. There was a whole universe out there for a wolf with a brain to vanish into, to run in and delight under the perfect sky. Six months ago, the world was enough. Now…

‘You thinking about me again pup? I can hear you over the TV.’

The big sandy wolf trotted across the grass and sat next to him, close, but not quite touching, and pressed his muzzle under Kurt’s throat, into his ruff, thrumming with pleasure. Kurt flicked his tail and pressed his chin over his mate’s narrow shoulders.

‘Like you’re the only thing in the universe.’ Kurt purred softly. ‘Self-important jerk. Being alpha has gone to your head.’

‘I’m a wolf.’

‘You want a point for stating the obvious?’ Kurt huffed and flicked his ears again. If Tahryn hadn’t been able to hear him… his mate was never going to be good at reading body language.

‘If anyone is really, really alpha right now…’ Tahryn let the words fade and flashed Kurt a mental image which made the big black wolf bark in surprise and pleasure. Tahryn stood and waved his tail like a bitch in heat, cocking one ear forwards. ‘Run with me?’

Kurt let him get as far as the tree line, far enough from the mess hall to be out of sight, close enough to be close to territory and family. They were the alphas of their pack. They couldn’t both leave, though their scent trail would show anyone where they had gone. As Tahryn rounded in a playful stance, Kurt simply leapt for him, holding him down with his paws.

‘Ha!’ His bark was triumphant, ‘Pinned ya again.’

Tahryn whined, and Kurt didn’t need a though to translate what his mate wanted. It had taken a lot of figuring out, and patience, which neither wolf was very good at, but Tahryn had wanted to be able to look at him when they rutted in abandonment and joy. He flicked his tail out of the way and Kurt sank onto his haunches, licking the sandy wolf’s muzzle, eyes bright with wanting. His hips jerked, his cock aching and dripping between his furred thighs as he sought the tight hot entrance to the wolf he loved, whose scent drove him out of his mind with lust. Tahryn whined, head thrown back to stare at the world upside down as Kurt nipped the fur of his neck as he finally locked down.

‘Fuck you’re gonna kill me…’

Kurt pressed his advantage, into the supernova heat of his mate’s body. The tightness constricted around his long cock as he snarled in exultation.

‘You’re so damn good Tay,’ he barked along with the thought, breathless, bottomed out inside his mate. ‘You want…?’

‘Jesus, don’t ask me!’ Tahryn swiveled his head to bring them nose to nose, brown and blue eyes met as they held together, every muscle tense. Kurt humped against him causing the other wolf to writhe underneath him, front paws going round his neck. His knot was swollen, big as his human fist, pressing against Tahryn’s entrance. ‘Just do it already!’

Kurt licked his lover’s muzzle softly, buried his nose in Tahryn’s fur and drank him in. He was right where he needed to be. The world was beautiful and perfect and none of it mattered because of the lovely snapping horny as hell and hotter than fuck wolf pinned in the cage of his legs. He drove in and locked their bodies together.

‘That better?’ Kurt knew he sounded smug as he rocked his hips, slow and torturous, pressing his thick knot ever further into his mate.

‘Bastard.’

‘You love it.’ And Tahryn snapped with pleasure as Kurt began to thrust in earnest, his hips snapping back and forth with a tightness and speed that drove them both out of their skulls. They were both panting hard, and Kurt turned back his eyes and gnashed his fangs as he felt Tahryn tighten around him, the warmth of his cock pressing between their bellies increasing as he came in short thick spurts. Kurt snarled and thrust forwards hard enough to make the earth shake as he came inside the body of the wolf he loved.

‘Tay…fuck!’ Kurt collapsed on top of his lover, chest heaving as he panted. ‘Jesus Christ boy…’

Tahryn licked the big black wolf’s face tenderly, squirming against the weight still lodged inside him.

‘You reckon they heard us?’

‘Probably.’ Kurt grinned, tongue lolling. He scented the air. ‘Definitely. We smell very red.’

‘Well whose fault is that?’ Tahryn flicked an ear and poked him with a paw. ‘Love you pup.’

‘You’re the one who screamed his damn head off.’ Kurt felt himself soften enough to pull out of his mate. ‘Sleep under the stars with me?’

Tahryn wagged his tail.