System of a Wolf - 13. Chapter 13

She hated being without her ears and tail. It had been years since Lynn had fronted, and she had forgotten what a weird feeling it was. The last time she had been fully out had been an accident; Jason’s plushie had drawn her to the front of the system, and it hadn’t been long before Varen had followed. Lynn knew she wasn’t supposed to be out on her own. It wasn’t safe. But she was in a safe place. Surely Varen wouldn’t be too upset at her for wanting to colour.

Even now she could feel him searching, and there was no hiding that she was in control of the body. Lynn was surprised she’d gotten even ten minutes to play. He was so mean, but she knew it was just to protect her,and to protect Erith. She could do things, like when she helped Erith count money, but she wasn’t supposed to.

‘You let him see you.’

And there he was, his presence filling the mind. They could feel Erith together, held back by Gara as the wolf woke up. For now, Lynn held the body, but Varen was going to change that. The best she could hope for was that he’d let her have her biscuit before she was locked away.

‘What do you think he’s going to do when he talks to Erith?’

‘But he is a baby too,’ Lynn pouted silently. ‘Erith keeps him safe. Why can’t he keep me safe too?’

‘Because he doesn’t need to. I need to,’ Varen sighed.

Arms moved on their own, pushing pencils aside as the body rose. Lynn could feel herself losing control, and in a moment of desperation, she pushed the body toward the kitchen before Varen left her a passenger in the front of the mind.

“Blake…”

Varen couldn’t forget. He was supposed to know the human’s name, and thankfully Gara remembered for him. He needed to talk to the man, needed to fix what Lynn had done. It pissed him off that she had escaped again, put them all at risk, but he couldn’t be that angry. She was a kid, and despite all his warnings, she was going to act like a kid. No, it was Varen’s fault for letting down his guard.

He stared at the kitchen, sighing at the sight of the cooling cookies on the counter.

‘You were a bad girl,’ he thought sternly.

‘But Blake promised,’ Lynn protested, a whimper in her thoughts.

‘I’m not Blake.’

Yet he approached the kitchen anyway, snatching up one of the warm cookies and taking a large bite. It gave him a chance to think, and if it made the neko happy, then it would make it easier to hide her again. The fewer people who knew, the safer they would all be.

“You promised.”

He spun around at the accusatory tone, finding the human standing with a black headband and tail in hand. A surge of suppressed emotion rushed through him, and Varen took a short breath, forcing everything back. He needed to be in control right now, not dealing with the thoughts of doing things to that body.

Especially not with Lynn so close to the surface.

“What did I promise?” he frowned, affecting a somewhat confused demeanor.

And the act began, a necessary deception. He wasn’t Varen, he had to be Erith. He had to be the front for the system, to protect them from more trauma. Who knew how Erith would react to them? Better to keep them hidden and let Erith think only Gara existed. He just hoped that Blake would keep quiet about them.

So he prepared for an extended stay. It would be hard, but he needed to make sure Erith wouldn’t front for a while. It meant he needed to watch Gara and take control as soon as the full moon ended. There would be no rest tonight, not for Varen.

“You told me you wouldn’t eat the cookies,” Blake frowned at him

“Oh. I thought I just took them out,” Varen shrugged.

He held out another one to Blake, offering the gooey treat to the human. Blake stared at the offering, before setting the neko ears and tail aside in favour of the cookie.

“Erith?” the mage confirmed.

“Um… yeah?” Varen said. “Are you okay?”

“Oh… yeah, just making sure. You… did you know you have a cat in you?”

Varen’s body bristled at the term, and he fought to keep from growling at the man.

“A neko?” he corrected sharply. “No… I have a neko in me?”

Racist asshole… this was exactly why he couldn’t let Lynn out. But if he could get Blake to tell him about Lynn, maybe the mage wouldn’t tell Erith. Of course, he still needed to make sure Blake would remain quiet about it. Though Erith had been friends with nekos before. It wouldn’t be that unusual for him to care about a neko.

“Yeah, he’s little like me,” Blake said.

Varen fought the urge to roll his eyes. Lynn as a guy, that was funny. But it only aided the misdirection he supposed. He could hear her giggles in his head.

More than that, he could feel the moon drawing near. Gara was getting restless, and that didn’t bode well for him.

“Is that why there are neko… things here?” he asked, looking at Lynn’s tail and ears.

“He wanted me to get them,” Blake frowned.

‘Please don’t hide them again…’

He had to though. Varen couldn’t let Erith find them, it would ruin everything. And he couldn’t front constantly just to keep the elf from seeing his closet.

His hands closed around the tail and ears, feeling up the synthetic furs. They were prosthetics, and he remembered getting them for Lynn, during a moment of weakness. It broke his heart for the neko to be forced to live without a tail. And he just knew that weakness would be their undoing.

“I’ll go put these away. Can you get the cookies back in the fridge?” he asked. “Leave one out for Gara.”

It would be a nice reward for the wolf.

Dropping a cookie into a bowl for Gara, Blake poured a bit of kibble over it, enough for the wolf to have a nice dinner before bed. He bit into one of the cookies, moaning quietly as the taste of sugary peanut butter flooded his mouth. The mage shoved the rest of them into the fridge.

“If you moan like that again, I can’t be held responsible for the consequences.”

Blake yelped, spinning around. Erith was standing next to the counter, a strange gleam in his eyes as he looked Blake over. He almost seemed hungry, and the man wondered if this was becoming a common thing for the elf. It wasn’t like it was the first time Erith had looked at him that way, and the thought that the elf might take him sent a tiny thrill through the mage.

“I thought you didn’t want to have sex. And what about Lynn? I wouldn’t want to accidentally fuck one of your alters,” he frowned.

“You don’t trust me to control myself?” Erith demanded.

Blake stared at the elf, his eyes glancing up to meet Erith’s searing gaze. He looked away again, returning to his feet.

“Not when you say my moaning will make you lose control,” he said quietly.

“Gara never comes out unless I tell him he can. I can do the same with Lynn. You are not having sex with either of them.”

“What happened to the elf who told me he didn’t want his body to be used for sex? What’s going on with you Erith?”

“My body? Fuck that, it’s our body.”

“That you’re ruling with an iron fist,” Blake pointed out. “You’re not making a lot of sense right now.”

The elf twitched slightly, his face deepening into a scowl.

“Would you rather I let Gara run wild? Let him roam the streets and get hurt? Or maybe Lynn should run through the pack house so all the werewolves can chase her and rape her,” he snarled. “I’m keeping us safe! And I’m so sorry if that upsets you.”

Blake flinched back at the angry tone, his entire body curling slightly. He hadn’t meant to anger Erith; he was just trying to make sense of all of this. The mage could feel the moon getting closer and closer. Maybe it was making things worse, but he still didn’t see why Erith would be so upset at him pointing out the logical fallacies in the elf’s argument.

“You talk about sense. Fine. Let me make this make sense. I want you. I don’t want you to have my alters,” Erith said. “So I protect them. I keep them safe. They have nothing to do with you until well after we’re done. I don’t see it as ruling with an iron fist; it is necessary to keep everyone safe.”

“Lynn escaped you once. How would you keep her from getting out again when you’re busy with me?”

“Just tell me you don’t trust me. Go on Blake. Say it.”

The mage shook his head, backing away.

“Then you don’t get a say in how I run my mind. I’ve been dealing with Gara for years. I’ll deal with Lynn too. What gives you the right to question any of my methods?”

Blake swallowed tightly, letting out a quiet whimper.

“I’m… I’m going to get ready for the moon,” he whispered.

“Yeah, you do that,” Erith sighed. “I guess I’ll let Gara take over early too.”

The elf pulled his shirt off, and Blake gulped, staring at the arm muscles sculpted from years of yard work. Erith didn’t stop there; the elf yanked down his pants, and Blake squeaked, turning away from the suddenly nude elf in the kitchen. He fled from the room, closing the bedroom door carefully behind him

His clothes came off one by one, the clean diaper dropping into the growing pile of fabric. A sudden scratching at the door startled him, and he stared in horror as the barrier was pulled open.

A wolf muzzled his way into the room, letting out a whine as he took Blake in. The human dropped to the ground, curling up to hide himself as Gara approached. A loud snort escaped the wolf, and his tongue suddenly lapped out, running a wet streak over Blake’s cheek.

“Hey Gara…”

He couldn’t be mad at the wolf. Gara hadn’t done anything bad; it would be mean to let his argument with Erith shade his interactions with the wolf.

But Blake was still not happy the wolf had barged into the room before he could change.

“I need to change,” he muttered, pushing the wolf away.

Gara huffed again, laying at Blake’s feet. The meaning seemed pretty clear; he had just appointed himself the human’s personal emotional support wolf. It warmed Blake’s heart, but he really didn’t have long to think about it.

The moon hit fast and hard, and Blake let out a whimper as his body shook. Black fur sprouted from nearly every inch of his body in a maddening itch, the sensation eclipsed near instantly by the agony of bones popping out of sockets and resetting. Finally the change was finished, and Blake lay panting on the floor for a moment, trying to gather his bearings as he came to terms with the new position.

Crawling back to his feet, the wolf shook himself out. He nuzzled Gara silently, thanking the wolf for his help. Gara rubbed him back, before turning to leave the room. Blake trotted behind the larger wolf as they made their way out into the kitchen.

Nosing through the bowl, Gara spilled kibble all over the floor in his search for the cookie. Finding it, the wolf bit it in half, swallowing his piece before pushing the other half toward Blake. The mage let out a soft sigh, the stress of the argument slowly fading as he took his bite of the cookie. He had nothing to fear right now, not when Gara was protecting him as he always had.