Did you see the frightened ones?
Did you hear the falling bombs?
Did you ever wonder why we had to run for shelter when the
Promise of a brave new world unfurled beneath a clear blue sky?
Oooooh
Did you see the frightened ones?
Did you hear the falling bombs?
The flames are all long gone, but the pain lingers on.
-Pink Floyd, Goodbye Blue Sky
********
Santa Fe Pack, New Mexico
********
Renee awoke to the sunrise. She didn't keep her eyes open, she was still in wolf form and her nose told her what was going on. Most of her pack still lay piled around or on her, but the fire had been stoked and breakfast was being made. She gently untangled herself from the wolves around her and stood up.
She was healing quickly. The pain from the gashes plus fatigue left her stiff and sore all over. Yesterday had been tough on her physically, the fight exhausted her and she had multiple injuries. His claws had done serious damage before blood loss stopped his movement.
Then there was the mental fatigue. It had been a rough couple of days, including the loss of a friend and her imprisonment. The Alpha challenge had been the desperate answer to the threat of a forced mating and the loss of her pups, and now she faced a new challenge, one she was not ready for. She was now an Alpha. She looked around to all the people who now depended on her. She had been in leadership positions before over groups this size, but it was the first time where she had no one above her to help her and mentor her. Maybe now with the ability to use cellphones again she could call her brother and Amanda for help.
How would she do this all by herself? Derek had always had Amanda by his side to help him. This pack didn't even have true Betas left. It was all so overwhelming. Almost as overwhelming as what was coming.
Her babies. She shifted into human form and rubbed her hands over her belly which had not yet began to show, carefully avoiding the healing wounds. She focused her love onto them as she walked. Gary's children, their future. If she hadn't become pregnant she doubted she would have kept going after he was killed, when he stopped breathing her soul had shattered. She missed him terribly, but for her cubs she would go on, somehow.
At least this last night she had not had the nightmare, had not woken screaming, had not cried herself back to sleep. It was a start.
She was standing still with her eyes closed when she felt someone hug her leg. She opened her eyes and looked down at Michelle's eyes, then rested her hand on her dirty blonde hair. Julie had given her the story last night after Michelle was asleep. Michelle was the only cub in the pack, she was seven years old now and was orphaned at five. She had been fostered by Crystal and Ed, two pack elders in their fifties who were former schoolteachers. Michelle rarely spoke and didn't interact much. Her eyes were haunted by the memory of watching her parents being killed in front of her while searching for food in a nearby town. She watched them bleed out while she hid silently for hours, staring at her mother's dead eyes, and that pain never left her eyes.
She clung to her Alpha, hoping she could help fill the void in her heart. Renee thought the same.
She picked her up and lifted her onto her hip, and Michelle buried her face into her shoulder. Her maternal instinct took over, as Alpha she felt the responsibility to look over the cubs. She would help her the best she could. Michelle snuggled in as they walked to the cave entrances.
Anna poked her head out of the cooking cave, smiling at her new Alpha. "Good morning Alpha, breakfast will be ready in about twenty minutes." Anna was a young and vibrant brunette with a mischievous streak. At seventeen she had not fought in the war, she grew up working in the caves. She kept to the kitchens where she worked with Becky, the twenty year old daughter of Crystal and Ed, and Julie who ran the household. The smell of food awakened her brother Caleb, at 18 he had grown up quickly. He was the pack's tracker and one of their better hunters. He had the skills to be a Beta but intentionally had hid them during the previous regime. He had seen what Betas were doing to others in his Pack and wanted none of it. He was a kind boy at heart. Life as an Omega was preferable to working directly for the Alpha, so he never challenged his Pack position. He nodded to Renee in greeting then kissed his sister and told her he was going to clean up in the nearby stream. Anna handed him a water container to refill and sent him along.
To Renee, a bath sounded pretty good right now. She let Michelle down and asked her where she could find soap and a washcloth. Michelle slid down to the ground and pulled her into the cave towards her foster parent's sleeping section.
As they passed the Alpha quarters, Devin was just coming out carrying a blanket filled with other items. "Good morning, Alpha, how was your night?"
"Good, Devin, I enjoyed being under the stars with everyone, it reminded me of when I was a child. What are you up to?"
"I'm clearing out the quarters for you. As you asked, nothing of his will be left. Give Julie and I a day or two and we'll have it ready. Until then, you are welcome to stay with us, or anyone in the Pack. We all want you to be comfortable here."
"Thank you, please let Julie know I will stay with you tonight." Renee smiled and followed Michelle as she got the bathing supplies. She had just returned when Crystal walked in, nodding to her Alpha she brought back a blue sundress and handed it to Renee. "You don't have any clothes yet, but this should fit you. Go on, Michelle, show her to the bathing pool." As they walked out Crystal smiled. She couldn't be more pleased with how things had changed, not just a new Alpha who was kind and strong but a woman who would not be afraid to change things. Things were looking up. Michelle was coming a little out of her shell now. The former Alpha had little patience for cubs, so they had kept her out of the way. She hadn't been allowed to run around the caves or make noise, and with the war she couldn't play outside. It would be so nice to see her behave as a young girl should.
Renee followed her down the trail to the stream and they left their clothes on a nearby rock with the towel. Michelle led her to a deeper section on the outside of the pool, where the water came up just below her shoulders. They both dropped down into the water and then moved into the shallows to soap up. Renee cleaned her young charge then sent her off to rinse. She was scrubbing her face when she saw Michelle staring at the angry red scars left over from the fight.
"Alpha... are we going to be all right?"
Renee smiled as she massaged shampoo into her hair. "Yes, little one. The war is over, we have a chance at a better life now."
"Good." She hugged her leg. "I don't like it here."
"Well, maybe we need to go somewhere for a while." She dunked herself down into the deep water again to rinse her hair. A few minutes later Michelle was holding her hand, dried and dressed, as they returned for breakfast. Tables had been moved outside as they took advantage of the war's end to get out of the caves. They were enjoying being in the sunshine again.
*****
Johnson Pack Camp, Montana
*****
The small tan and white she-wolf was mesmerized. Colors, smells, sounds- all were far sharper and had more depth than before. The sensory inputs overwhelmed her, so she just closed her eyes for a second to calm her mind before opening them again. She looked down at her paws, then back along her body to see the white tail. It waved back and forth quickly. She tried to grab it with her teeth, turning in a tight circle, but couldn't quite get there. A few rotations later and she finally grabbed it before tipping over on the ground and losing the grip again. Linda laid her head down as she heard the laughing from her crew as they continued to broadcast her change live to the world. She couldn't believe her first filmed act as a wolf was to chase her tail!
The gray wolf with the white ear walked over and sniffed at her muzzle. Her scent was much stronger now, he breathed in deeply and reveled in the scent of his mate. Linda got her first good sniff of his neck and immediately her eyes widened and her ears perked up. Eric stood quietly and let her explore him. A few more deep sniffs and it was like an electric wire was going from her nose to her sex, her juices started to flow as her body recognized its mate. She got up and started rubbing her muzzle against his and licked at his face.
He bathed her with his tongue before he rubbed against her chest on the way to her tail. Once she got to his tail, she got a good sniff and her tongue came out and licked his swinging balls as his cold nose probed her slit. Andy's arousal and the pending activities could only lead to one thing, and as the TV hosts saw her about to be mounted, it was time to go to commercial. Quickly.
Amanda looked over at her Betas with a smile. "I guess this is better than her coming out all claws and teeth!" Andy was pounding away, his forelegs pulling her back against him as she wiggled with her front paws flat on the ground to stay in place. She kept her tail high and out of the way and panted with the exertion of being taken hard and fast. She felt him slow momentarily, then his knot pushed into place. She gave a soft yelp as it forced its way into her, but soon had her head was lolling on its side as she rode the feelings his knot produced. Andy grabbed the scruff of her neck with his teeth and pinned her down with the weight of his chest as he short stroked her to completion. As she crashed over into orgasm, Andy bit hard into her neck, and the taste of her blood exploded on his tongue. The bite took them both over the edge and he shook as he began to empty his balls into her. She twisted around and grabbed his neck with her teeth, biting deep and shaking to ensure his mark would scar well.
At that moment, it was like a new part of her brain was unlocked. She could feel his thoughts, his emotions, she could even feel the pull of the knot on the base of his penis as she collapsed to the ground. His love, his pride in her, even thoughts of them running through a field with their pups alongside, everything he had was now hers.
