MUSH! - 1. Chapter 1

It was… morning. Probably. It was hard to tell. The sun hovered a few inches above the horizon for the entire five hours in was up at all this time year. The light across the snow was bright and pale, the sun a flat yellowish disc in the frozen air. Whatever time it was, they’d slept long enough, six hours by Socco’s reliable internal clock, and therefore it was time to get up and run. The big grey and white husky blinked brown eyes in the cold light above the snow and swivelled his soft ears for the sounds of his family. It had snowed again while they slept, and the shape of the sled was covered on one side by a drift four feet deep. The fresh snow was frozen hard on the surface, and it would be a joy to run on. Here and there in the flat snow rose mounds which signalled the shape of Socco’s kin. Closing his eyes he could hear heartbeats and breathing, faint and soft. Much closer were the double thuds of the animals he slept with. Socco yawned, his jaw creaking like a rusted hinge. Nosing through the snow he found the grey brindled ear of his second cousin Natu, and the other husky blinked at him a few times before sneezing snow off his muzzle.

“Wake up babe. It’s time.”

As Natu stood, shivering all over to dislodge the frozen ice crystals from his fur, Socco barked across the snow. It was time to get up, time to run, and the team needed to be ready for the off. The mounds of snow cracked open as huskies in various shades revealed themselves, yawning and shaking off the snow. It was warm under the blanket of icy whiteness, and even though there was very little wind, it was much colder in the fresh air. Running would warm them, and Natu’s older brother was already stamping in circles, warming his feet.

Socco raised an eyebrow at his lover, and sighed. Together they nosed the remaining warm bundle of white and bluish fur lying pressed into what remained of their bed between the two older huskies.

“Come on Dinahei.” Socco murmured. “Time to get up.”

“Up you get pretty boy.” Natu said, licking at one thick velvet ear.

Dinahei grumbled as he stood. He was smaller than his two favourite cousins, and lighter built. White powder flew everywhere as he shook himself down.

“You need to lose weight Socco.” He nosed at the soft white chest of his lover. “You slept on my fucking foot again.”

“Aww, poor puppy.” Natu pushed his wide head under Dinahei’s raised paw and then stood, throwing the husky off balance.

“Hey!”

Socco looked at the two men he loved with equal passion and sighed.

“Come on, breakfast time. Who’s on skin-duty?”

“Me.” Came the reply. Natu’s sister shook the snow from her dense black fur, yawned, and with a certain amount of crunchiness, stood naked and human in the snow. She paused halfway through her stretch and wrapped her arms around her breasts. “Oh fuck it’s cold!”

Natu barked in mirth and danced about in the snow. Cenai vanished into the sled where, if they’d had a real human musher, a person would sleep, and after a moment re-emerged half dressed. She hurried into thick socks, fur lined boots, raw woollen trousers and a jacket over modern thermal under layers before pulling on a large snow-jacket. The one set of clothes in the sled had to fit everybody. She opened up a metal box on the sled and filled a hide bag with frozen fish portions quickly.

“Alright then everybody! Breakfast!”

The Sabaakax children ate like any other pack of huskies, silently and quickly. There was nothing but the sound of sharp teeth tearing through frozen fish flesh as the huskies literally wolfed their breakfast. Socco finished his fish and turned to his youngest lover to nuzzle at the thick ruff.

“Babe? You not hungry?”

Dinahei yawned, his bright blue eyes pinching closed as his long pink tongue was exposed. Socco felt his heart race, remembering where that pink tongue had been. Natu liked them to have at least a modicum of privacy, so they had dug into the old snow, creating a burrow big enough to house the three full grown canines before they had settled in for the night. Dinahei had been pliant and delightful between them, and all three had shared love and pleasure round and round in circles until all the snow in their hollow had threatened to melt.

“For fuck’s sake Dinahei.” The blue and white husky’s oldest brother scowled, his liver-red fur bristling. “Eat your breakfast would you? Before someone steals it.” He shot Natu an acidic yellow stare. “Again.”

“Like I would steal his food.” Natu snarled, even as he pressed his shoulder into the littler huskies side. “He gave it to me.”

“Then he’s stupider than I fucking thought to be involved with you two. Come on!” He barked to the others. “Let’s go!”

“Are you mushing today?” Suda, the eldest of the Sabaakax cousins asked, sitting down next to the sled. The thick set brown dog didn’t look as though he’d slept well, and his posture was wary. “We’d best get going, or we’ll be late.”

“We won’t be.” Cenai was munching through a homemade cereal bar, thick with honey and nuts. Her aunt made them for the journey. She tucked some seal-jerky into her jacket where it would thaw against her body so she could eat it later. “I know you want to be off, don’t flick your ears at me big brother.”

“Are we really likely to run into anyone at this time?” Kinai asked between chewing the ice out from between his toes. Dinahei nuzzled his middle brother gently with a soft grin. “Why don’t we all run? We’ll make faster time.”

Their eldest brother growled.

“Better safe than sorry. We can’t afford another close call if someone sees a team pulling an empty sled.” Mak shook his liver-brown muzzle firmly. “Someone has got to be standing there, if only for the look of the thing.”

“Alright then.” Cenai pulled on her gloves in two layers, micro fleece and seal skin. “Let’s go.”

Natu barked and danced in the snow as the team assembled, and got growled at by Mak for his trouble. Socco snapped back, and it was only through the joint urge to be back in the traces and running, that the fight was not joined. The beauty of an entire sled team made up of shifters was they could pretty much get themselves ready. The downside of having a sled team made up entirely of siblings, cousins and second cousins was they bickered like mad. Cenai packed up the breakfast box, locked it, and checked over the sled. She could read the behaviour and body language of her family perfectly well as a human and chatted to the dogs as they fitted themselves into their harnesses. She walked with the pale dove-grey and white form of her cousin towards the head of the line and Socco grumbled.

“I don’t wanna run behind Kipa.” He stepped into the traces in second position. “No offense sis.”

Mak, who was Kipa’s mate, snarled at his tone, but he was already strapped in on the other side from Suda. Cenai stopped, her hand in her second cousins fur and stared at the big half malamute with one raised eyebrow.

“Well who else is gonna run lead dog?” The assembled huskies regarded him with expressions ranging from questioning to annoyance. The worst thing you could do to any eager husky was delay the moment he or she could start running.

“I wanna run behind Dinahei.” Socco grinned, brown eyes sparkling with mischief. “What? The view is better.”

Natu chuckled, tail high and ears pricked, “Oh yeah. Good plan. Put Dinahei in front, we’ll all run harder.”

“You mean you two will?” Suda shrugged from his favoured position as wheel-dog. He didn’t care who ran upfront, just as long as they got going soon. He stamped in the traces. “May as well. Do it sis.”

Kipa snarled at her brother as she passed him. Socco merely flicked his ear in acknowledgement of her annoyance. He’d got what he wanted. He could easily ignore his only sibling’s anger. Whatever fight she was going to have with him would come at some indeterminate point in the future, so it wasn’t his problem… yet. Kipa took up the spot behind Natu halfway along the traces where Dinahei would have run, and Cenai clucked her tongue to her youngest cousin, who stopped to nuzzle both his lovers as he moved to the head of the team. She hooked Dinahei’s harness to the carabiner at the front of the traces and checked the line.

“You sure you’re ready for this kiddo?” She ruffled his ears through the thick leather and wool of her gloves. “You gotta be ready to pull OK?”

Dinahei barked excitedly. Being the youngest, he basically never got to lead.

“What the hell is the rush anyway?” Taba asked, shaking out her snow white lilac tipped tail. “We’ve done our last drop, the sled is light. No more deliveries. It’s just about going home.”

Dinahei turned to his cousin with his ears up in disbelief.

“Have you forgotten what day tomorrow is?”

“Huh?”

“Oh sister…” Seeba shook her head at her sibling’s words.

“It’s Christmas!” Dinahei barked joyfully. “We gotta be home for the holidays!”

With a crack like a whip, Cenai broke the sled out from the ice which clogged up the runners and stepped onto the back, kicking up the break.

“Alright guys, let’s get home to our alpha for Christmas.” The dogs barked excitedly. “MUSH!”

“Dinahei!” Socco shouted.

“Huh?” The little dog glanced back at his lover.

“GO!” Both his partners barked.

The smaller husky yelped in surprise, threw his weight against the padded webbing straps around his shoulders and chest, and they were off. The sled ground on the snow, the front runners ploughing through the drift before lifting onto the new surface, and every single one of them pulled forwards as hard as they could. Suda and Mak at the back of sled snarled with the effort, the two big dogs taking the brunt of weight as they freed the craft. The sled groaned, a bolt somewhere in the runners squealed, and then momentum overtook the friction and the sled slid rather than ground against the hard snow. One more push, and each of the ten huskies was running free, ears up and tongues lolling as they went with joy.

To Socco, there was very little better than running, feeling the pull of his family around him, the weight of the sled behind them, the tight tug behind. There were even fewer things better than running towards home, the bonding as each of them pulled towards home and the rest of their family. By tonight, they’d be home and warm, and even though every last one of the eleven children of the Sabaakax family loved to run, they’d somehow be glad this trip was over. The last trip out before Christmas was always hard. There were always extra stops to be made, sudden last minute packages needing to be hauled across the Interior, and they had run for fourteen days solid. The sled had weighed tons and ounces by degrees and the going had been hard when the wind was against them and the ice had bit into their fur. But Socco couldn’t imagine a life without running and pulling the sled. However hard it was, the work brought them joy.

The big grey and white husky pulled hard in the traces, running behind his youngest mate. Even better than pulling towards home and Christmas, the promise of food, warmth and fire, even better than the fact there would be presents, warm beds and time to snuggle wearing their skin, was the fact he was running with the man he loved and behind the boy he loved. Dinahei ran with his tail high and curled up over his haunches, giving the two dogs following him an excellent view of his bright white behind. Socco pushed ever harder as he ran, because having a prize that good to chase was too tempting an opportunity to pass up on. Socco let his imagination roam as he ran.

They’d spent the night wrapped up in each other’s fur, the last night they’d be able to for a while. Socco had piled love and adoration on each of his partners, well aware of the fact that when they returned home, their largely uninterrupted lovemaking would be over. The memory of Natu whimpering under him in his brain made Socco grin. He looked over and slightly back at the grey brindled husky, and as though he knew what Socco was thinking, he flicked and ear and smiled. All his body language spoke of love and desire.

Socco’s relationship with Natu and Dinahei was not generally well understood by their siblings and cousins, and unfortunately, they weren’t going to be getting away from snide comments like Mak’s when they returned home. They were all going to the big house which Dinahei, his next eldest brother, parents and grandparents all shared with their Alpha. There was no way anyone was going to be cool with the idea of the three of them sharing Dinahei’s room, even though everyone was going to have to double up anyway. There simply weren’t enough bedrooms. Of course, Mak and Kipa got their own, because they were mated. Socco found it deeply unfair. He, Natu and Dinahei had been together just as long, but no one in the family openly recognised what they shared as a real relationship. Socco suddenly wished something would happen to the sled or the traces and they’d get stranded, because at least he and his lovers could sneak away and screw each other’s brains out properly before they had to go home.

The three of them spent the majority of their time together privately as huskies; for Socco, when he thought of the men he loved, he thought of them in their fur. Of course, he loved the way they both looked as humans, how could he not? But more than that, he loved the textures of their furs against his own, the distinct differences in flavour of their kisses, Natu’s gruff pants and Dinahei’s high whimpers of pleasure when one of them was up to the hilt inside him. Lost in his head, he missed a step and his pure white cousin nipped at his heel.

“Buck up there Soc.” Anysie snapped quickly, laying her ears flat against her skull. “We can’t all be day dreaming in the traces, having a lead dog that needs direction is bad enough.”

Socco growled, but rather than start a fight which would slow them all down, he simply pulled hard in the harness and had the delight of hearing Anysie behind him squeak in surprise and pain at being tugged. She’d have to run faster now.

It was good weather for running, cold and clear with the sun over the horizon, and a nice day for Dinahei to try out his position as lead dog to the whole team. Running at night was easier, because the lower temperatures meant they could run faster and harder as the cold air cooled their burning insides. One of the most useful things about being human was the ability to sweat, though Socco and most of his family members still tended to pant if they got too warm. But running in the day meant the sun sparkled off the snow and the ice riming the branches of trees. It was a beautiful day to be in the far north of Alaska. For a moment Socco couldn’t think of any reason why anyone wouldn’t want to live there.

Other people, people from Outside, thought they were all mad. And not just the Sabaakax, but anyone they considered crazy or stupid enough to spend the majority of their lives living in the bitter coldness at sub-zero temperatures, threatened by ice, sea and wild animals. But those same people liked the steady supplies of goods which came from the high north. Fish and exotic seafood, interesting meats and rich furs came from the Interior and the icy coasts cut off at many times of year by any other means of transportation. Helicopters and light aircraft often flew overhead, but fuel was prohibitively expensive to many of the people who lived in the far north, and when storms hit there really was no other way of travelling than by dog sled. For most of the people the Sabaakax team served, it was much cheaper and more convenient to hire a team of dogs to transport an item than use what people from Outside would think of as more traditional methods.

And so they ran, following the blue and white flash of Dinahei leading the team. Once or twice Socco or Natu had to point the boy in the direction of the best ground, the hardest ice, the best packed snow. It was easier for Socco, in second place on their uneven tandem pulling arrangement, because when the blue and white husky slowed, he could rub against his rump before snapping at his heels.

They ran all day as the sun crept a paw’s width higher in the sky and moved swiftly along the horizon. The light gave definition to the snow, and while it would be light if not sunny for an hour or so after the sun when down, the huskies took advantage of the better light as they spend towards home. With a full sled, their target was to make six miles an hour. With the sled empty and light, on good snow, the team were pulling for at least ten. They had started nearly seventy miles from home, and every single one of them wanted to be back. The Sabaakax team kept a tight tug line behind them, and the brush bow of their shipping sled took the strain. When the going became harder, Cenai would get off and jog alongside them, but the huskies ran too fast for her human pace.

Socco was happy to be in the traces, he hated to mush at the back, to stand still while his family ran ahead, pulling with joy. Over the last trip, every single one of them had taken turns to stand on the back runners and be ‘in control’ of the sled. It was not a job that suited everyone, and Socco, as much as he adored the blue and white husky who ran tantalizingly ahead of him, had to admit if Dinahei was ever forced to mush for any length of time, he might just quit and go and get what his father would call “a real job.” The teenager was too heavy on the break when they had to stop and wasn’t great at breaking the sled out of the ice. He made a good husky, but a poor musher; too young to try and dispense discipline, the older dogs wouldn’t listen to him and there had been a couple of little fights the day he had been on the sled. Of course, the weather and the sea ice hadn’t helped. Now the going was better, and they were close to home.

Cenai was a good musher, she was light on the break, quick to change tack with the wind and the team pulled well for her. Suda, the oldest of them, was an excellent musher, but an equally excellent wheel dog. He was strong and loved to pull. Each of them had their strengths. Mak, Dinahei and Kinai’s older brother, hated to mush almost as much as Socco did, and stamped hard on the break every time they stopped causing whoever was leading to jerk hard in the harness. Anysie, Taba and Seeba all mushed well, but the girls were less accepted as long distance mushers by a community that was still pretty traditional in its views.

Anchorage came into view over the rise of the snowy plains, and a mile from the city’s edge, Dinahei put on a burst of speed and tacked to the right.

“Oh, what the fuck?” Mak snarled from the back of the traces. Socco felt like kicking the big liver and white husky who was putting a damper on his mood.

“Dinahei!” Cenai shouted. “What are you doing?”

But Socco and Natu had both caught on to Dinahei’s change of route, and running through the centre of town seemed like a great idea on Christmas Eve with one of the men he loved leading the way. After all, Dinahei was the lead dog, and it was his decision to make.

“Dinahei! Dinahei!” Natu barked in excitement, his tail flicking quickly from side to side.

“Good plan babe.” Socco leapt forwards in the traces, making Anysie behind him lurch and snarl. “Give the kid a break cus.” He snapped back to his cousin.

“You guys are ridiculous.” Anysie replied, but she was happy when she nipped at Socco’s white heels. “Come on! Let’s give the people something to look at. Take us home Dinahei!”

“Right through the middle of town.” Kipa mumbled, laying her ears back against her skull. “What a mess.”

The ten strong team of well-matched huskies came into Northeast Anchorage at full tilt, and Dinahei set up a joyous bark as they passed through the currently white green-belt and into the university campus. Other dogs yapped and howled at the call and Dinahei danced in the traces even as he ran. Socco knew the pack would hear them even from miles away. It was Christmas Eve, and they were coming home.

Anchorage city was alive with Christmas lights and snow like a postcard picture from the past. The smaller shopping district south of the university was all a-glitter with fairy lights hanging from the rooftops, and people passing waved to the sled as the dogs trotted by, tails high and tongues lolling. It was Christmas Eve, and by now the sun had set darkness had fallen rich and thick with bright stars and the promise of colder weather coming in from the frozen sea. People bundled up in furs and bright synthetic jackets hurried to and from each other’s houses, taking gifts of food and warmth and love. Dinahei barked as they passed through the main streets and down towards home, pulling against the padded harness all the harder in the knowledge that similar gifts would be waiting for them when they returned.

Every light blazed in the windows of the Sabaakax family home, a sprawling wooden chalet-cabin which was tucked into the thick forested foothills of the Glen Alps, right beside the main trailhead fork. It was the house nearly all of them had been born in, where they all spent most of their time when they could. Even though Socco lived with his parents and his sister, and of course her mate, his own mate’s antagonistic older brother, the home of their great-grandfather was where he always thought of when anyone said the word ‘home.’

The Glen Alps was a popular tourist spot in this part of the world, a forest run through with sled trails and hiking paths, a true wildness which could be explored in a myriad of ways. People always asked the rangers if they had a lot of problems with wolves, but the answer was always no. Wolves were smart creatures, and they knew staying out of the way of an entire pack of shifters was a smart move. The on-duty ranger’s cabin was up and around the corner from the big house, but it was Christmas Eve and it was dark. Natauq, Dinahei’s human father and head ranger for the trailhead, wouldn’t be there. Everyone was home, waiting for them to come back. Even Mak barked as they came up the main drive towards the house and the big fir tree covered in warm white lights. No one would admit to such a silly sentiment, but the sight of the Christmas decorations made every heart glow like the candles in the window. There was one for each of them, a line of lights in the little window by the big front door. They’d been lit when the team had left, and though new votives had replaced them, the lights would not go out until each and every member of the team was home and safe in the house.

“Gran-mama!” Dinahei, Natu and half the team all shouted at once, because standing in the doorway, wrapped in many layers of wool ,was their great-grandmother, alpha female of the Sabaakax pack. Yakona laughed as the sled slowed all at once, Cenai stepping on the brake with both feet to avoid crashing into her cousins who had halted suddenly, the lines becoming instantly tangled.

“Gran-mama!” Dinahei had wriggled out of his harness, backing up practically into Socco’s face and sprung away to Yakona’s arms, pressing his muzzle into her thick clothes and the warm scent of family and home.

“Well look at you little pup, running at the front.” She ruffled his thick ears. “Good for you. Well done kids!” She called to the rest of the team, smiling wide, her eyes twinkling with love in her lined face. The others were even now backing out of the traces and shaking their fur loose after the long run. “Come on inside when you’ve put the sled away. Hot dinner’s all round!”

The sled shed was a long storey and a half building built to the west side of the house. It was a combination of metal panelling with thick steel doors and a roof permanently covered in thick white snow. Someone had cleared the most recent drifts, leaving a wide clear path towards the door which was propped ajar to keep the latch from re-freezing. Each of the dogs wriggled back into their harnesses, at least partially, and Cenai opened up the doors fully so they could drag the empty sled inside. There were clothes in the shed, a line of fifty five gallon metal bins with lids which held an assorted array of largely shapeless garments in wool, leather and fleece. Boots and gloves were neatly paired on a head-height shelf. Suda was the first to shake off his fur and stand up with a distinct cracking of joints sliding back into place. He grabbed a pair of trousers and a woollen jumper before beginning to pass around clothes to his siblings and cousins who were crunching their way through their own change. They shook, stretched and became human once again. Only Socco, Natu and Dinahei stayed in their fur.

“Oh well that’s convenient for you.” Kipa grumbled, running her fingers through her thick black hair. She had some romantic notion of wearing it long, but every time they returned from running, her carefully wound braid was a tangled mess as the rubber bands were snapped and lost during the change. “Just so you don’t have to help with the sled.”

Socco growled and stood, skin, muscles and bones rearranging themselves into a tall twenty-six year old with slightly grey short cropped hair and wide smooth features. Everyone on Socco’s side of the family had stronger Inuit characteristics, whereas Dinahei and his immediate cousins were much paler. Socco grabbed the tangled leads from his sister with a snarl.

“Like you can even fucking count.” He snapped. “Let’s go boys.”

Though every single one of them wanted to be in the true warmth of the house and get food, not one of them would leave the sled in anything other than perfect condition. Kinai already had his set of tools out to check over every bolt and screw, and Socco knew his second cousin would want to investigate which weak linkage had squealed so loudly earlier that morning. There really was no point being the fastest delivery sled dog team in south Alaska if they couldn’t up and leave with a moment’s notice.

Dinahei and Natu both rose from their fur, shaking out the long run, and Natu grabbed two pairs of jeans and a couple of crocheted afghans. Dinahei went for boots first, seal fur lined, because he always said he could deal with being cold if his feet were warm.

“Get dressed Soc.” Natu handed his lover some clothes and took the tangled lines. “Dinahei get the harnesses off Cenai before she mixes them all up again. I ain’t fuckin’ running in fluorescent pink next time we go out.”

The eleven of them cleaned down the sled, unpacked the small remains of the food box and removed all of the fabric covers from the interior of the sled. Taba replaced the covers and webbing straps while Seeba tightened up the braking mechanism. Dinahei hung each of the thick padded pulling harnesses on their pegs, checking them over for wear and tear while Natu coiled the lines and re-strung the carabiners. Since every member of the team could grab their own set up, it usually took the Sabaakax children less than five minutes to get the sled out of the shed and onto the trails. When they were done, it was Mak’s job to lock up the shed and secure the doors should the weather take a turn for the worst. Seeba knocked her knuckles against the four big snow shovels which hung against the side of the shed, sheltered from the wind. The eleven of them eventually made their way into the house in various states of undress and dishevelment, uncombed hair and palms and feet dirty from running despite the snow. Every one of them grinned, teeth and eyes bright for the scents of food.

“What’s for dinner?”

“I’m hungry ma!”

“Jesus Mak, will you two get a fucking room?”

“Watch ye tongue.”

“Christ Kinai, your brother hits hard.”

“Hush, squabbling pups...” Ujarak’s low timbre made them all still, turning towards where he sat in the giant pine, antler and hide throne by the crackling fire. “Come and be warm and happy with each other.”

“Gran-papa.” Taba sighed, stepping across the gleaming wooden floor on bare feet to where their Alpha sat. She hugged him hard as she knelt, resting her head on his lap for a moment before looking back up to meet his soft amber eyes. “It’s good to be home.”

All the bickering and fighting was instantly forgotten as each of the young huskies went to the leader of the pack, great-grandfather to each of them. They hugged him, were petted by him, communed with him in the way only canines of the same family could understand. Each of them felt their hearts grow lighter for being in the presence of the man who ran their family, who oversaw that all was made fair and they were well looked after. No matter how much they all loved their parents, or didn’t as the case might be, every single one of them adored their great-grandfather. Dinahei practically purred under his Alpha’s hands, shivering happily to be home.

“Come on pups!” Came the call from the big kitchen. “Dinner’s ready.”

It was not physically possibly for any meal involving twenty eight people to be anything less than loud, mad and enormous. Other families cooked a lot at Christmas, but every Sabaakax family meal was a big deal for those who cooked it. Food for the team had to be prepared in bulk, but with all their parents and both sets of grandparents in attendance, the meal was nothing if not outlandishly huge. The long table in the kitchen was six inches thick and hewn of solid pine. It nearly groaned under the weight of so much food. Ordinarily the pups would eat last and help serve their elders, but the long journey had left them both full of bounce and excitement and the threat of suddenly dropping in exhaustion when the flurry of endorphins vanished. They were all too excited to be home again, and so it was excused when they served themselves as soon as Ujarak and Yakona had filled their own plates.

The team ate swiftly and silently, because they were never home between trips long enough to fully lose the canine instinct to wolf down their dinners. Unlike their parents, who had each graduated from running deliveries all over the Interior when they became parents and settled down to jobs which ranged from the tough to the downright sedentary, each of the kids still spent the majority of their working lives wearing fur. Socco sat back in his space along the bench, gnawing on the end of a shank bone he’d fished out of the big stew pot.

“Oh Socco, don’t be so uncivilised.” His mother admonished from down the table. It was from her malamute genes he and Kipa had got their wide brown eyes and much of their stronger Inuit colouring, though Kipa’s mess of hair was pale whitish-grey rather than their mother’s traditional black. It was an interesting fact of life that their fur colour was reflected in some way in the colour of their hair, though it did mean many people in town assumed he dyed his it’s steely grey tone. “You surely gnawed on all the bones you wanted on your trip.”

Natu managed to muffle his laugh with his hand and Dinahei snorted, blushing at his plate. Socco merely grinned in a lazy sort of manner, his eyes sliding across to where the slim figure of his youngest lover sat.

“I’ve always an appetite for more bone-”

“Oh don’t be so disgusting!” Mak snapped, gnashing his teeth. Dinahei shrank away from the physical presence of his brother along the table, even though there was no way Mak could have reached him from where he sat without upsetting the entire meal.

“Boys, boys…” Mak’s grandmother Kunik shushed them. With six grandchildren and five of them boisterous boys to boot, she was as excellent at keeping discipline as anybody. “Anyone would think you had been cooped up in a kennel all day, not out running more than fifty miles! I think you’d best be excused. Go relax by the fire in the big lounge.”

Socco didn’t need asking twice, and leapt up from the bench swiftly, slipping out from between his cousins. With a jerk of his chin, Natu and Dinahei also got up, following him from the room. All their ears were sensitive enough to pick up on Dinahei’s mothers parting comment.

“You are not actually attached at the wrist…”

The fire roared in the grate of the big lounge, the central room around which the entire house revolved. The crackle of pine and scent of home, that unique mix of linseed oil, warm wax, pine and raw wool made the tension across Socco’s shoulder ease. Not for the first time he had wanted to let fly at Mak and tell the big stubborn liver and white dog exactly what he thought of him. His second cousin was also his brother in law, and lived in his house, but it didn’t stop the two of them bickering almost every chance they got. The three of them fell into a heap on the hearth rug and the two older men instantly pulled their younger lover across their laps. Dinahei purred, nuzzling into Socco’s abdomen even as he laced his fingers with Natu’s.

“It won’t last long.” The yellow eyed young man said sadly. All too soon, everyone would be done eating and their tiny moment of private bliss would be interrupted by various members of their well-meaning but unaccepting family.

“Then we may as well enjoy it.” Dinahei replied softly, his blue eyes watching the pale twinkling lights on the big Christmas tree. In many ways, the Sabaakax family home was like any other, but unlike any other, the edge of the big nearly circular lounge was lined with dozens of dog beds. There were stockings hung by the fire, made of caribou skin and seal leather, each one with a carved antler tag made by Socco’s grandfather Sivoy, bearing one of their names. Socco nipped up from his fireside slump and rearranged the decorations until Dinahei’s stocking was in between his and Natu’s.

“Right where you belong.” He returned to the rug and kissed the teenager passionately. Dinahei purred under his hands, still sitting in Natu’s lap. “We all belong together.”

“If only everyone else could see that.” Natu kissed both his mates, allowing himself to linger over the distinct differences in the way they kissed. Socco kissed like a hot furnace, possessive and obvious, whereas Dinahei’s sugar sweet kisses had a danger and draw which was much more subtle. He knew he could never pick a favourite. “I almost feel sorry for them.”

“Who are we feeling sorry for?” Kinai, the middle brother between Dinahei and Mak with the navy blue eyes, half smiled and half yawned as he wandered into the room. He’d actually bothered to go and get dressed properly, and looked warm and snuggly in corduroys and a chunky bottle green knit sweater.

“Isn’t that my jumper?” Natu asked with a raised eyebrow. The huskies weren’t generally possessive about their belongings, and Natu waved away the comment as soon as he’d spoken. For his part, Kinai seemed oblivious to the fact his younger brother was lying wrapped around two other men.

“Yup. Here.” The black haired young man held out a bowl with a spoon. “I brought ice cream, one for you too Socco.”

“Hey thanks.” The boys smiled and Socco dabbed ice cream on his youngest lover’s nose with the rough pad of one finger. Most of the girls tried to combat the build-up of natural callous with human moisturizers and pointless exfoliants, but Socco knew he didn’t care enough to bother.

“I don’t get ice cream too?” Dinahei whimpered plaintively.

“Nah.” Kinai was grinning wide, looking smug and delighted with himself. “I thought I might give you your Christmas present early. You’re going to want to wear it in the mornin’.”

“Really?” Dinahei was suddenly excited, kneeling up on the floor looking every inch the excited pup, even though he was wearing skin and a nineteen year old’s supple, slender figure.

“Well, everyone else said I shouldn’t buy it for you, but it was their idea.” He nodded to Socco and Natu, now leaning back against each other, feeding each other frozen desserts and looking conspiratorial. “We three figured if you were gonna be out front, then we were gonna wanna keep track of you.” Kinai brought the present out from behind his back with an enormous grin. “Merry Christmas little brother!”

To the uninitiated, it might have looked like a random bundle of straps, but Dinahei put his hands over his mouth, squealed with joy at an ear splitting pitch, and then leapt on his brother, hugging him and knocking them both to the floor.

“I still think we should’ve gotten him a computer game or something.” Natu joked, resting his temple against his mate’s shoulder.

“I think he’ll learn to like it.” Socco replied softly, his eyes sparkling. “Dinahei get off him, the kid’s gotta breathe sometime.”

“Oh thank you, thank you, and thank you!” Dinahei held up the harness, spreading out the webbing straps with both hands. It was certainly a lead-dog’s harness, and it wasn’t built quite like the weight pulling harnesses they usually wore when making delivery runs. The pale grey-blue straps were laid out at different angles to make the whole thing seem longer and sleeker and the contrasting padding only extended around the neck collar and the portions which would lie along his ribs. The whole thing was stitched with bright silver reflective tape. “A racing harness?”

“You wanna try it on bro?” Kinai asked as the rest of the family began to wander in, most with more ice cream and much of the team newly dressed in ‘real’ clothes.

Dinahei was naked in seconds. Every well balanced shifter, from huskies to polar bears, felt little to no shame about nudity. It was a normal part of life. Dinahei was strong and fine boned, but lithe and narrow. He looked his age. A few crunchy breaths later however, he was back wearing four feet, thick blue and white fur, and his big pink tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth. Kinai had measured up his youngest brother well considering size had been mostly guesswork, and the harness fit with the smallest of adjustments. Dinahei barked with joy as he turned to his lover’s, shaking out his fur, his tail curled attractively over his back.

“You look great babe.” Natu hugged the husky round the neck. “I always knew running up front would suit you.”

“Oh what have you lot gone and bought him now?” Their uncle Nocus asked as he settled onto one of the big sofa’s with his wife. “You keep filling the boy’s head with ideas about racing and he’ll only end up disappointed.”

“We’re in the Boxing Day Thirty uncle.” Natu replied without missing a beat. “First qualifying run of the season.”

“Oh god…”

“Hey Dinahei, looking good man.” Kal petted him as she came in before Suda, the slender husky jumping up on his hind paws to be petted. The first of his generation to mate with a human from a non-shifter family, Suda was often super protective of his wife. But Kal had grown up around dogs, pets and working animals, and the fact her new in-laws could change shape seemed to have fitted rather easily into her world view. “You guys are going to race? Very cool.”

There was a grumbling from Sighai, Socco’s father and their uncle Nocus, and for a moment it looked like the two men were going to get into an argument about the gift of the racing harness, but the moment passed with a rumble from the chest of their alpha. Dinahei licked his brother’s cheek in thanks, and went to slump over his two partners, who instantly petted and tickled him until he panted and yelped in delight. They were content to lie in the heat of the fire, fingers in their young lover’s fur, communing together without words.

For now, everyone was content to let the matter rest, and Socco decided the best thing about Christmas was that everyone was invested in keeping the peace. As annoyed at their uncle and his father might be, or as uncomfortable as Mak and some of the others were at the sight of the three of them so obviously together, no one wanted to say anything to disrupt the peace and calm warmth of all the family together in front of the fire. It was Christmas, and no one wanted to fight about something that would still be an issue in a few days. Especially since Socco was sure many of them had the nagging idea, deep in the back of their minds, any complaining they were going to be doing wasn’t going to make a split hair of difference.

He stroked the thick velvet ears of his lover as he watched the flames dancing in the grate. Dinahei yapped happily under his hand and Socco tugged softly on the straps of the new harness that fitted his lover so well. How wonderful it was going to be to run behind his mate when he wore it, and how perfectly fitted the back of the neck band was going to be between his teeth later when the three of them got a chance to slink away.

“You’re thinking dirty things again.” Natu muttered, his head on Socco’s shoulder, feeding their husky partner melting ice cream from his fingers.

Socco blinked back into focus in time to watch Dinahei licking wet vanilla from Natu’s hand.

“Well I am now.”

“You cheeky fucker.” Natu placed the fastest and lightest kiss possible on Socco’s wide cheekbone, despite the echo of an unhappy growl from his own father. Pakak had been another human who married into shifter life and adjusted well to his children changing shape. Unfortunately it didn’t mean he was happy with the idea that his youngest child played ‘second fiddle’ to a dog who was bigger and more dominant. Socco pushed his free hand into Natu’s inch long buzz cut and shook the back of his neck softly.

“Let it go babe.”

“Anyone for a mince pie?” Grandmother Aluki asked, appearing from the kitchen, a huge platter laden high with baked treats in her arms. Most of the team instantly jumped up to take the tray, offering a pie differentially to their alpha before demolishing most of the pile in a few minutes.

“Oh to be young again.” Luava said wistfully from her position in her husband’s lap. She patted her ridiculously flat post-three-strapping-young-boys stomach with a grin as Natauq whispered low in her ear, making her blush.

“You guys are the lucky ones.” Kell sighed, ruffling her own husbands white hair. “You shifter’s have such good metabolisms.”

“It’s just a Sabaakax thing.” Sighai replied. “None of those polar bears in town weigh anything less than two hundred pounds.”

“I dunno.” Tana snuggled into her husband’s side even as Anysie pulled a face at how sweet her parents were being. “I like a man with a bit of substance.”

“You saying I’m fat, woman?” Kova tickled his wife, pulling a comical frown.

“You are part Burmese Shepard buddy.” Luava chipped in. “You didn’t stand a chance.”

After the mince pies were fully demolished there was wine, whiskey, and other things in interestingly shaped and expensive bottles which had come from Outside. Dinahei didn’t switch back to his skin, much too happy in his new harness, and Anysie and Seeba also ended up in their fur, a heap of white fur and Seeba’s lilac mask. The dogs got hot milk with whiskey in a bowl to share between them. And after that everyone wanted some. All twenty three huskies ended up in a mixed heap on the floor, with their five humans watching over them.

“You kids wanna all go for a run?” Aluki asked, already pulling on her coat.

It didn’t matter that her husband, brother-in-law and both parents-in-law were amongst the furry mass of canines, because every single one of them acted like a puppy when they were all together. Everyone barked, but it was Urajak who stood at the head of the suddenly assembled Sabaakax clan. The grey husky howled softly in agreement of the idea and turned to bark at the only one of them who was in any way dressed. Dinahei put his head down and slunk past his mates, his mother, his father petting him as he passed, and crept past his grandparents to stand next to his alpha.

“Well then little pup.”

“Gran-papa?” Dinahei stood with his muzzle scraping the ground, one ear half-cocked in a hopeful sort of manner.

“Merry Christmas pup.” Urajak pushed against his youngest great-grandchild’s fur, sharing their scent, showing everyone he loved the child, in spite of any faults which others may have seen in him. “Well, you’re lead dog now. Lead the way.”

“Really?” Dinahei blinked rapidly, both ears flicking forwards. Already his tail was curling up and wagging in unbridled excitement.

“There’s nothing like being with family for the holidays pup.” The old husky smiled openly, rubbing the tip of his muzzle on Dinahei’s white cheek. “We’ll be right behind you. Now MUSH!”

Dinahei barked once, and dashed past his great-aunt and out of the open door into the snow. One dog in flashing silver reflectors at the head of a pack that yowled and yapped, running for the joy of flight, nipping at each other’s heels and rejoicing in their fur. The garden out back of the big house was part paved, but the summer furniture had been stowed under the big eaves of the main building, and what in warmer weather would be the lawn was covered in a thick layer of snow. The trees bordered right up to the lawn, in some places the big pine branches joined the eaves of the house in little snow bridges. The five remaining humans, three women and two men, stood in the doorway and under the porch and watched their family playing in the snow.

The dogs didn’t go far, and spread out as they began their games, rolling in the fresh powdery whiteness, rubbing against each other’s fur. Parents, children, siblings, those related by marriage and by birth, all together in the snow, a mass of fur and colour in the star studded darkness.

Socco rubbed against his sister, a happy purr in his throat to keep the peace and go part way to fixing the strained bond between them, then shrugged off his parents and left the group to stand in the boarder of the thick trees, looking back at the house of his family. The welcome home lights out front would have been extinguished now they were returned, but hanging from the back porch, the paraffin storm lantern still glowed. Every time they came this way home through the woods, it was the first light they saw. He wagged his tail as Natu trotted up to him with a happy yap.

“You glad to be home babe?”

“Yeah.” Socco sat, curling his brushy tail neatly around his three black and one white paws. “It’s nice to be home again.”

They watched their cousin Taba rolling in the snow with Socco’s grandfather and Natu’s aunt; fur and snow flying everywhere and Socco chuckled. It was good to be home, and Socco was looking forward to tomorrow, the celebration and food. Even though certain members of their family were going to make the following few days hard for them, it was still nice to be surrounded by the people they’d grown up around.

“Where’s Dinahei?”

“Here.” Both huskies turned to see their boy, looking resplendent in his new racing gear, his fur dusted with diamonds of snow. “Can’t you see me in my new harness?”

“Cheek.” Natu barked, but he wagged his tail.

“I can think of a fair few uses for that present of yours babe.” Socco said with a salacious grin.

“I bet you can.” Dinahei pushed his front paws into the snow, dipping his head low, waving his tail in the air in a clear invitation to come and play. In the body language of these three particular huskies, the move, along with the sparkle in Dinahei’s glacial blue eyes, the gesture meant a very specific sort of play.

“We should go back and join them.” Natu shrugged, one ear folded down. “Home for the holidays and all that.”

“I am home.” Dinahei rubbed himself over his two lovers, pushing against their fur. “Come on.” He tilted his head towards the woods, cocking an ear. “I can think of plenty of things we could do to make some of this snow melt.”

“We’re supposed to have snow for Christmas babe…” Natu sighed, shaking his head.

“We have snow nearly all year.” Socco smiled. “And it ain’t Christmas yet. They won’t miss us for a little while.”

As he followed his mate’s, the two men he loved with his whole heart, Socco wagged his tail to think one day soon, they might have a little home all of their own, together. Until then, the best place to be as Christmas dawned over the world of the far north was within howling distance of the house with both the dogs he adored wrapped around him in the snow.