Margie approached the old ship's bell in front of the community hall. With a huge smile plastered across her face, she grabbed the clapper in her hand and started ringing the bell as if her life depended on it-- repeatedly banging it as if to wake the very dead. She knew that the best party in the pack's long history would take place tonight. It was clear to every wolf in the pack that this mating would signal the end of the mating drought. Word always spread like a summer wildfire in a wolf pack, and everyone was sending to one another.
They finally had a shaman, their shaman had spoken with the Lady, and soon many of them would have mates...and more importantly, children.
John watched his pack from the sidelines, and as he saw everyone buzzing around like excited hornets, he knew that if Ja-mul's predictions did not come to pass, then the pack would quite cheerfully tar and feather the old man for giving them hope once again. John was torn; he wasn't positive which way he should be leaning. Sure, he desperately wanted to find his mate, and maybe even finally have some children of his own, but the vision of the old bastard being covered with boiling tar and then being rolled in filthy chicken feathers...well, that had some appeal too.
So John chuckled to himself and wondered how much a cauldron worth of tar would set him back. It wasn't that he really cared a great deal; he knew that it sounded like a worthwhile expenditure.
Hell, it might even be tax deductable.
Maybe I could find a suitable excuse to tar and feather the old bastard even if his predictions do come true!
All of this meant that John was smiling quite broadly as he entered the hall, but then his life took a turn for the worse. Beth and Carol were whispering to one another in the far corner of building. This caused his smile to dissipate as he got that sinking feeling that always accompanied the sight of these two bitches together.
"Caught sight of them plotting, did you?" Jefferson asked with a sardonic grin on his face.
"Any clue what they are up to this time?" John asked his ex-Beta without even bothering to say, 'hello'.
"If I did, I'd be smart enough to deny it, my old friend."
"Jeff, she's your mate. Can't you control her?"
"Not a chance, she knows where I sleep. And John...some words to the wise, they get even worse after you mate them."
John winced at this, but he remembered that he hadn't yet bothered to greet his old friend. His worry evaporated as he grasped Jefferson in a bear-hug and thanked his old friend for coming so quickly.
"Any time John," Jefferson said, "You do know this...right? You act so surprised that we'd leap at a chance to come help you!"
"I'm not used to having to ask for help, Jeff. It feels weird."
"John, every pack in the Americas is in your debt, and the best part is that we are all
eager
to help you! You are doing me a favour by giving my pack an opportunity to be part of this, and before you say anything else... Yes, Carol is plotting something evil; so just think of her deviltry as an offset for whatever help we provide. Fair enough?"
John chuckled and said, "You've been spending waaay too much time with your lawyers. They are corrupting you!"
"No, that isn't it at all. It's all Carol, even the corporate guys are afraid of her. I caught a couple of them calling her Judge Carol."
"More like Judge Dred," John shot back morosely. "The second nastiest bitch on the planet!"
"...and she's all mine, buddy." Jeff laughed, "She's like a thrill ride that runs twenty four hours a day."
"Physically...or emotionally?" John asked with a knowing grin.
"Both, thank the Goddess!" Jefferson leered back at John-- his face alit with a manic sort of glee.
This caused John to roar with laughter, which unfortunately for the Alphas, clued the two Alpha bitches that the hunters were scouting them.
"Now, you've done it," Jeff hissed, "You've alerted the herd. Now we'll never manage to sneak off for ale."
"Nope, I have it covered today my friend. Watch this..." Then John yelled, "Oliver!"
The overweight wolf waddled up to the two men. "Yes Alpha?"
"Jefferson, this is the most important wolf in our entire Resort. His name is Oliver, and I am putting him at your complete disposal. I was recently informed that no other wolf knows the Resort nearly as well as he does; I'm also told that he knows every square centimeter of the place. If you or any of your men need anything, absolutely anything at all, you just tell Oliver or his man Stan, and they will take care of it. He will also be heading up our Fresno baby-sitting operation, so these two can be tasked with almost anything."
John paused for a moment to let Jefferson examine Oliver at his leisure, and then sending a private message to his old friend, he said, "
Here, watch this
."
"Oliver, number two."
Oliver heard this and then put two fingers to his mouth and whistled. Moments later, Stan appeared, carrying two large tankards filled with foaming brown ale. Stan nodded respectfully to the two Alphas and then handed each of them a dripping tankard, before moving back and standing at an approximate posture of attention immediately beside Oliver.
That wolf can't weigh more than one twenty five,
Jefferson sent back tightly.
...and the other one, he's gotta go 350.
"Thank you men, you've done a great job!" John said aloud to the two mismatched wolves.
"It's an h-h-h-honor sir," Oliver managed to squeak out, "w-w-we'll do a good job for Alpha Jefferson sir."
"Well Jeff," John said, taking a long draught from his tankard. "We've put this off long enough... shall we go see what sort of mischief that Judge Dred and the tornado are causing?"
Jeff also took a long draught, finally saying, "This ale is superb, and that should help us both survive this. You go ahead and lead the way Alpha, that way, those two will prosecute you first."
Seeing the men eyeing them while fortifying themselves with ale, Carol asked Beth, "Do you think those two are up to something?"
"Not a chance; they have beer. They've found someone to bring them more when they run out, and dinner is almost ready. What more could they possibly want?"
