Trials

Dear Readers,

Here is the next installment in the latest Lyssa and Emmett story.

Enjoy,

KemMyst

*************

Ariel had caught during her last heat. The Alpha pair had wanted another pup and were now happily awaiting a new life. The pack, of course, was pleased in their expectation of another Alpha heir.

Unfortunately, the second Beta pair of Wyeth still had no pup, nor expectation of one.

Madeline’s mother had had four pups now, her sister already had one, but Madeline’s heats were problematic. Hers were less frequent, shorter, and less intense than the other females’. The healers thought that she was capable of having a pup, since her hormones did fluctuate appropriately.

Erich was kept busy by his duties as Beta with its focus on protecting and sustaining the pack. Especially since their true nature had been revealed.

Madeline had more time to think as her duties had less immediacy. She managed the gardens, where the pack grew some of their food. She also worked on the landscaping, though that mostly took care of itself.

After the first year at Wyeth she began looking for other things to do. She took some tasks from Lyssa, for the council, but those were pretty short term. She spent time sparring, strength training, learning to fight. While she was proficient, she wasn’t good enough to teach. And it really didn’t interest her.

What did interest her was the pups, the little ones.

Madeline began by hanging around Natalie and little Hugh. She kept the little one occupied when Natalie was doing her work as a healer.

She had gotten some experience with the first moments of pup’s lives in her old pack when they had had a spate of pregnancies that overwhelmed the healer. Now, she asked questions, watched, and took care, however little, of Hugh.

Most of the females had duties that would allow them to keep their young pups nearby. Werewolf pups, though, became independent quickly as compared to human children but those females with greater responsibilities needed occasional help.

The youngest ones, like others of their kind, didn’t often have any difficulties but problems still came up. Eating things they shouldn’t. Getting injured trying to keep up with the older pups. Accidents. Illnesses.

Wyeth had a fairly large team of healers. Natalie generally worked with matters female; Wade with the overall health of the pack, and Thomas took care of injuries, though all had some cross training. Since Natalie and Wade were mated, they were both unavailable when she came into heat. Madeline wanted to handle a small corner, carving out a small niche that she hoped to use for her own pups someday. Hopefully soon.

_____

The NSF request was going nowhere. The werewolves were holding tight to their privacy, keeping anyone from finding out what made them different.

The Mormons, conscious of genealogical information, had requested permission to copy the packs’ birth, death, and marriage records. That, too, had been declined.

While a lot of people were interested in them, a fewer number would take any kind of action. There had been people taking videos, trespassers, a couple of drones. There were a couple of letters addressed to the “Head Werewolf” asking if they could join and become a werewolf. They were written by a 12 year old named Luke who was being bullied and thought it would be cool. Anna had written a note to his mother, thinking she might not know about the bullying. She got a nasty letter back, telling her to mind her own business and leave her son alone. Not that nicely, of course.

Ross had a Facebook page and had thrown out the idea of a pack page. It was summarily vetoed by the Alphas.

Supper had a tendency to be rather raucous. It was not unusual for numerous conversations to be occurring simultaneously. Pups were normally chasing each other around, briefly sitting with parents for a few bites before taking off again. There were the occasional yips and yelps. The young folk generally occupied a table off to one side, beginning to explore their independence from their family groups. There was laughing and shoving.

There was usually only one reason the room went quiet. That was when Randall, the Alpha, had an announcement to make.

This time, however, it was at the entrance of two of their young females.

Sally and Hannah had spent the afternoon coloring their hair. Sally’s blond hair was now a bright blue and Hannah’s usual brown was purple.

After several moments of shocked silence, Jeremy stood, slowly, a low growl emanating from his chest. His mate, Anna, sat openmouthed. Simon was talking quietly with the Alphas. Lyssa wore a bemused look. Roland looked thoughtful.

The girls were giggling, obviously communicating silently. They appeared rather oblivious to the reactions of the pack.

[Sally! What have you done?] Sally’s head whipped towards her father and she whimpered at the anger in his send. Roland shot upright.

Lyssa interjected, “Blueberry lemonade, right? How many packets?”

Sally turned, brightening a bit. “Yeah. Three.”

“Looks good. I like it. Hey, Hannah, I think a little more red next time.” She put an arm around each of the girls and leaned to one side. “MMmm. Raspberry. Yeah, try cherry next time. Is there any left? Cuz I never thought it would work on my hair.” She steered them back out of the dining room.

[Anna, please let your mate know it’ll wash out pretty quickly.]

Jeremy was still obviously still upset, having an animated, though silent, discussion with his mate.

[Why would she do that? There’s nothing wrong with her hair.]

[Jer, she’s trying something different. It’s not like she got a tattoo or a weird piercing.] Anna smiled quietly to herself as she watched Roland slip out of the room.

[But blue? Bright blue? That’s not even a real hair color.]

[It’s really not any different than wearing a blue blouse. It’s nothing permanent. She’s a teenager trying to figure out who she is.]

[She’s my pup. Our pup. She doesn’t even look like herself!]

Anna laid a hand against his cheek. He looked in to her eyes and leaned slightly into the caress. [What’s really bothering you, mate?]

Randall was watching the exchange between two of his pack while Ariel tracked Roland’s movement. While she earlier considered her son may be infatuated with the young female, she now thought there might be more there. He had, after all, seemed ready to come to her defense against her father’s displeasure.

Sally would need training if she were to become an Alpha female one day. It would be a couple of years before they could be mated and longer before Roland would be Alpha, but there was much to do in the meantime.

Sally was showing independence and some assertiveness. That was good. Ariel was sure it had been Sally’s idea.

She would have to have a serous conversation with her parents. And soon. She wondered if they had any idea.

The pup in her belly squirmed, reminding her that she needed to have more protein. Madeline smiled and passed her another half a roast chicken.

Lyssa, meantime, had gotten he two young women into the pantry, where the two bowls of colored paste sat. One of the bowls was plastic, the color might never come out of it.

There wasn’t much left but she mixed some of the blue with the purple. Sally took the bowl. “I’ll heat it up.” She headed for the microwave.

“So, Hannah, since we don’t know how well it will work and we can’t cover all my hair where should I put it?”

They decided on a strip near the front on the left side of her face and some of the ends.

They painted a stripe and dipped the ends, leaving it on for longer than they had with their own hair. As expected, the darkness of Lyssa hair made the effect less dramatic. But she had gotten some bluish/purplish color.

Emmanuel came by to see what funny thing his mama was up to. Emmaline trailed him. Their young ones didn’t feel comfortable wearing clothing so they were rarely found in them when they took human form. However, Emmaline was wearing a little fuchsia sundress and Emmanuel had on a pair of blue shorts. “Mama smell funny.” Lyssa picked up her son and smothered him with kisses while he tried to squirm away.

[Good funny or bad funny?] He cocked his head and looked at her, puzzled. He had an idea she was sending to him but didn’t understand what was sent.

Emmanuel had been born wolf-deaf, unable to send or receive. And sending was a communication method that was second nature to them and was very handy when they were in wolf form.

He seemed to be growing out of it, slowly. First, he only heard Emmaline and was a sympathetic sender. Next, he had been able to send when he was upset, and could hear them for a short time. Now, his ability was random, erratic.

“Whaddya think, sweetie? Do I smell good or bad?”

“OK. Berries.”

“Yup,” she waved the ends of her hair at him, “what about the color? Like it?”

He considered for a minute. “No.” Then he started wriggling. “Down now. Wanna play.”

She gave him a last kiss and set him down. “Have fun.”

Emmett lifted a leg to step over him as he ran out between his father’s legs, Emmaline hot on his heels. “No words for your father, pup?”

“Bye, daddy.”

Emmett shook his head, smiling. “Has Jeremy calmed down?”

“Mostly. He’s gonna wash her hair half a dozen times, though. Just can’t get why she’d do it.”

“It’s a harmless show of independence.”

Emmett just looked at her, shaking his head. As long as she’d been with them, there were some aspects of their thought processes she didn’t get. While they had been almost appalled when they found she’d shaved her pubic hair, some females had tried it. None of the others, though, had tattoos. At least, not yet. “What?”

He walked up, slid his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her had. “Your hair’s already got some red in it; it’s not too shocking. That was bright blue.”

“Yeah. Pretty cool.”

“Ah, sweetheart, you have the oddest notions.” He gave her a squeeze and sighed. “Gotta do some training.”

“Yeah, I got stuff to do, too.” They kissed and separated, trailing their hands so that their fingertips were the last contact points.

_____

He came back that evening, late after sweep, to find her asleep at the desk in their room. The computer screen was dark, which meant she’d been out for a while. It also probably meant that Emmanuel was with the other pups or they’d be curled up together in the bed. Neither was there a telltale lump in the bed.

So, he crouched, putting her arm over his shoulder and sliding an arm under her thighs. She murmured and turned into him.

Emmett’s heart swelled as he cradled his mate’s body, straightening. She cuddled against him, rubbing the side of her face against his chest. He reveled in the warmth of her body against him, the feel of her skin on his, and the scent of her, mixed as it was now with the smell of berries.

He turned toward the bed as she sighed and snuggled closer to him. That’s all it took and he wanted nothing more than to feel more of her skin against his; to feel more of her. Dawn would come in a couple of hours but nothing would make him feel better and help him get to sleep.

As long as she was willing.

He pulled down the bedcover and laid her on the bed. She murmured and tried to roll onto her side, reaching for the blanket. Emmett undid her pants and slithered them, and her panties, off, dropping them on the floor and kicking them under the bed. He then pulled the light blanket up to her hip. He next pulled off the grey henley then worked the clasp on her bra.

Emmett licked his lips as her breast came free of the lacy fabric. He loved her breasts and placed a kiss onto each one. He loved her scent, her curves. He ran his hands over those curves, caressing the body he adored, the body that gave him his son. He traced lightly over her stretch marks, which she absolutely hated. She made a small sound.

He rolled her onto her belly, straddled her, and placed his hands on her neck, which had to be cramped from the way she had been sleeping. He rubbed her neck until he felt the muscles start to loosen. Then to her shoulders and trapezius. Finally, her lower back, thumbs working the muscles.

Her heartbeat and breathing changed and he knew she was awake. She groaned in pleasure at his touch. She sent [Mmm, magic fingers.] before she tried to twist and he let her roll onto her back. He held his hands out, palms toward her. She looked up at him and smiled. She waited. He waited. Until she pulled them down to her breasts.

He smiled then, leaning down and kissing her as he palmed her breasts, easing back slightly and rolling over the tips of her now-tightened nipples. She gasped.

Emmett smelled it then, the salty, sweet scent of her arousal. So, he pulled back to look down at her. “I’d like to work some more.” She looked at him, confused.

“Magic, sweetheart. Magic.” She smiled and reached for him.

“Oh, do try, mate.”

Ah, a challenge. He enjoyed a challenge.

He took her hands and pressed them to the bed, pulling them both over her head so he could hold them with one hand. With the other he pulled a length of red silk from the nightstand drawer. Her eyes got darker and she licked her lips.

A few loops around her wrists and the other end tied to the head board. A soft length of rope bound one ankle to the bottom of the bed. Last was a strip of dark cloth over her eyes. She squirmed as he left the bed and locked the door. He could tell she was practically dripping now.

Restraint required total trust in your partner and made for a delicious level of excitement. Lyssa knew how wet she was and that he knew, too. She could, of course, smell him. But, it wasn’t as strong as..right, he still had his pants on.

There. His weight had settled on the side of the bed. Where would he touch her?

He was looking her over, building the tension between them.

His mate. His beautiful Lyssa, with her curves and her interesting mind.

Now, how could he stoke the fire hotter?

It was his breath first. Warm. Moist. Against her left shoulder.

She squirmed, determined not to beg him to touch her this time.

He inhaled, mouth just above her mating mark. His exhale tickled a little as it ruffled her hair.

There. Heat. Warmth, over her left breast. Over her heart.

She breathed in, so her chest would rise, but while she felt the proximity of his hand, there was no contact.

Lyssa scrunched her eyes tight and clenched her fists, trying not to groan out loud.

Everything shifted suddenly. She felt his hand on her leg, movement, and he plunged into her.

“EEeeeaaaaaa!”

Emmett went shock still at the sound, afraid he’d hurt her. “Lys?”

She shuddered under him but recognized the concern in his question. [Go.]

He still hesitated so she pushed her pelvis up.

He took the hint, withdrew, then thrust forward again, watching her face as he did so. Though he couldn’t see her eyes, the way her mouth was open meant she was lost in the moment, to the passion of their joining. So he moved faster, slowed when he felt the initial fluttering, then moved faster again. He knew he wouldn’t last long, given the buildup, so he closed his eyes and used his other senses as he pushed her toward completion.

He heard his gasps and moans, the beat of her heart, the noises of their flesh coming together. Beyond that were the birds and other den noises. Aah, the scents. Damp earth coming in through the open window. Mostly was her scent in his nose, flooding out almost everything else. Lastly was the feeling of heat, where their skin met, the strength and softness of her body. Of course, the most sensitive…

He stiffened, and howled, his seed jetting deeply into her body. The orgasm had snuck up on him and he stopped breathing momentarily.

Then, gasping breaths as he watched her breathing start to slow.

He levered himself up a bit and slid his hand between them, thumb headed for her sensitive bud. The position made things difficult and so did the fact that he’d tied her to the bed. Thinking quickly, he threw his leg over her bound one and rolled them onto their sides. That gave him the space he needed to reach her.

It didn’t take very long. He was glad the short intermission hadn’t cooled the fire in her too much. But she writhed, unable to clutch at him. Emmett continued to push until she came with a shuddering cry.

He held his mate close to him, feeling the waves of contractions around his member, and the warmth of her body. About the time her heart rate returned to normal, he kissed her forehead and reached up to loosen her bindings. As he stretched up he jerked as she licked him. Emmett glanced down to see her smiling behind the blindfold. He then reached down to release her ankle as she removed the blindfold.

Lyssa nuzzled in to his chest and he threw his arm over her. And he started to slide into sleep. In that moment, between wakefulness and sleep, he thought of his mate cradling another pup and that he’d like to have two or three more with her.

—–

[Clayton Ross!]

Uh, oh. Mama was calling him. And she didn’t sound happy.

Clay was outside, pouncing on pill bugs to make them curl up.

Better go in or she’d get really mad.

[Behind the garage, Alpha.]

Well, at least he wasn’t far. They had to get going.

While she had gotten her driver’s license, Sampson had insisted that the Alpha and her heir be accompanied when away from the den and their security may as well drive them.

Trevor was waiting to take them to the Wyeth den for a visit.

Clay barreled around the corner and skidded to a stop at his mother’s feet. [Mama?]

Stephanie looked down at her son, a bit cross. But, one look at his little face looking up at her expectantly caused her face to soften into a smile. He was only a pup, after all. “Do you remember what today is?”

[Birfday?] he said, hopefully.

“No, Clayton, your birthday comes when it’s really hot. Where are we going?”

He tipped his head to one side, thinking, then brightened. [Wyeff?]

“That’s right. Now, I’ll let you go as a wolf this time, but next time you need to be a boy, understand?”

He barked an acknowledgement. “Come on.”

Young Clay spent the bulk of his time as a wolf cub. He was dark, darker than either of his parents but lighter under his belly. She was trying to get him to stay in human form for more than the time it took to open doors or grab a dessert.

Stephanie was at a bit of a loss since he was already asserting his independence and she had no idea how to discipline him. So, while he was playing with some of the pups at Wyeth, she’d consult with the Alphas about how to get him under some control.

She sat in the back seat, looking sullenly at her son. Clay was standing, forefeet on the armrest of the door, watching the world go by. She contemplated her current situation, so different from her early life’s expectations, or even 5 years ago. She had very quickly gone from a warrior for Wyeth to the Ross Alpha’s mate, to Alpha herself. With a pup. She, who never thought she would mate, much less have a pup, would never have imagined being in charge of a pack. But she was, both Alpha and mother, with all the obligations that entailed. Her duties were often tiring, mentally, and her head would pound at times.

Stephanie Ross, the Alpha Ross, thought of the current issues she needed to resolve. The bunker and the panic room had been completed. They should have a practice session, or two, and see how long it would take for the pack to get to safety. The pups would be the biggest wild card. The youngest would be hauled in by a parent; the older ones would come on their own. It would be those between the ages of about 2 and 6 who would be problematic.

They could be almost anywhere at any time and couldn’t move as quickly as the adults.