Fulfillment 05

Dear Readers,

Sorry this took so long but holiday errands and travel have cut into my creative time, and some sections are harder to write than others.

Next chapter is in the works and, hopefully, won't take as long.

Enjoy the story and the holidays.

KemMyst

*******

Saturday

Lyssa did remember the dream, at least, parts of it. He had woken her gently enough that she had been able to retain part of it. There had been blood. Lots of it. She smelled it. It covered her muzzle, she felt it in her mouth, felt her jaws around someone's throat. She felt that last breath pass through the windpipe in a groan. And her eyes lit briefly on several bodies, nearby.

Wolves. Bloody. Throats torn.

Not one moved.

She saw grey fur.

What was wrong with her? Why would she have dreams like that? She didn't want any of them dead. They were her friends, her family. Her mate.

Emmett leaves her in the bed with a kiss. "I've got to get to work. We've got petitions, Erich's installation, and the pup's naming tomorrow. Gonna be a busy day." Lyssa groans and pulls the covers back over her head. [Don't go in if you don't feel well. They can finish without you.] Another groan from her. "Feel better."

**

Erich and Madeline are grinning and whispering like lovers with a secret.

Randall and Ariel watch and smile, glad that another of their pack members had found happiness with a mate. Happy that the size of the pack would likely increase with another mated pair in the pack.

Calvin arrives early that day. He was trying to find different times of day that would allow him to interact with Stephanie.

He hopes that she will loosen up, get more comfortable around him. However, he knew how difficult it would be to overcome the indoctrination of her youth. And, unfortunately, the kiss he had given her had set him back in her eyes, badly.

He had been careful not to touch her again but hoped his continued presence would begin to de-sensitize her.

She had duties to her pack, as did he, and he did not want to interfere with her work. That was, apparently, all she had. With no real friends and no romantic entanglements and decades before her, her life was her work.

Perhaps, given time and a softening of her feelings, he might petition to join the Wyeth pack, to be near her. But this was something he had to evaluate carefully if, no, when, the time came. Could he be just another member of the Wyeth pack? Or would conflict arise between himself and Randall because of his personality and traits, those things that made him Alpha?

He wasn't having trouble with Michael in charge of the pack but, then, he had been otherwise occupied. In fact, he continued to see and hear things that were deeply troubling. He could not, however, just take Alpha back from his son. There would be a confrontation; he would have to kill Michael to do it. Alpha was passed, generally, from father to son, going the opposite direction would be disruptive to the pack. It would also point out his weakness; that his own offspring had not been trained properly, was incapable of leading the pack.

Calvin's mood grows darker as he contemplates the many problems associated with the, as yet, brief reign of his son. It did take a while for young Alphas to get their feet under them, but things in the Ross pack appeared to be getting worse, not better.

The most enticing scent pulls him out of his reverie as Stephanie sits at the table. He looks at her and smiles. She grunts a 'hello' before starting in on her meal.

**

Lyssa showers, dresses, and hauls herself off to work. The cross checks on the two sets of software were completed and the new system put in place. Training for the employees would start the following week.

She says goodbye to the others after thanking everyone for their help and hard work.

Again, she starts driving away from the den, not quite ready to go home. This time, she ends up at another burned-out house. The place where she and Joanna had been held not so long ago. She sits in the car and stares. Another part of her life literally burned to the ground. Her past was gone, even her recent past. The only thing she had left was a pack of werewolves.

Sighing, she puts the car in drive and heads back to the den. A light snow begins to fall.

**

Joanna had been invited to the Severn compound, to have dinner with Nathan's parents. She and Madeline are in the clothes room, where Madeline is picking out some new clothes and Joanna is looking for the right thing to wear to dinner.

Madeline has a small armload of skirts and blouses. "Don't you wear pants? You can get a few more outfits, you know."

"No, I've never felt comfortable in pants. I feel freer in a skirt. And, there's not a lot here in my size."

Joanna replies, "Oh. I guess not. We'll have to get Alison your size for when she gets more clothes and you'll need to let her know your preference."

"Oh, sure. Have you figured out what you're wearing tonight?"

"No. I can't make up my mind. I don't want to look too young, too flirty, too frumpy, too anything."

"Has he told you what they'll be wearing?"

"He just said 'regular clothes'."

"Lot of help," Madeline replies. "Who's gonna be there?"

"His parents, 'course. And some or all of his brothers and their mates."

"Pups?"

"Yeah. Not sure how many there are."

"OK, Jo. So, his parents, his brothers and their mates, and the grandpups. So, nothing frilly or too girly... You've got some dark pants or capris, right?"

Joanna nods, "Yeah, sure."

"Then just a nice blue sweater to go with your eyes and you should be good to go."

Joanna exhales. "You know, you're right. Thanks, Maddie."

**

Lyssa drives back to the den and hands off the car to Anton. She climbs to the Wyeth 'control room', gives her mate a kiss and starts to pull away.

Emmett snakes his arms around her, pulls her to him, and kisses her more deeply. After a few moments, she puts a hand to his chest and pushes away slightly.

"Randall," she says, "I'm sure Mathias has already told you, but the new software is up and running. It's been put through all the tests successfully. Mathias and Gabriela have training sessions set up for the other employees next week."

"So, there were no issues?"

"Not yet."

Randall arches an eyebrow, "Meaning?"

"No one likes change. Moving to a new system will make many of them uncomfortable for the foreseeable future. But, hopefully, when they see how seamlessly the integration is between receipt, delivery, inventory, and sales, including the links to the provenance, they should learn to appreciate it."

"I see. Thank you, Lyssa." As she turns to leave, he says, "Oh, Lyssa?"

She turns back, "Yes?"

He takes in the look of her, something seems.. off. "Although she's not yet officially a Beta, Ariel wants to take Madeline with you for another visit to see Cassie's pup this afternoon."

She sighs. "Of course, Alpha Wyeth."

After standing at the window of their room for a while and staring at the woodlands outside, Lyssa sends again to the east. [You'll regret the day you ever met me, Michael Ross.]

The call comes for her shortly thereafter from Ariel, [Lyssa, please come to our room.]

[Of course, Ariel. Be there in a bit.]

Lyssa walks down the staircase to the second floor and approaches the Alpha suite. She takes a deep breath and knocks. "Come in."

Lyssa enters the sitting room of the Alpha suite. Madeline looks up and smiles as she walks in and Lyssa's lips quirk up in a slight smile. "Welcome, Lyssa. We've been talking about Madeline's duties at Tucker. We could use someone knowledgeable about plant life."

"I see."

"Have the two of you had much of a chance to talk?"

"Uh, no, ma'am. The warehouse..."

"Of course, we've kept you quite busy of late. Well, Madeline, I'm sure the two of you will soon be getting on like old friends."

Lyssa looks at Madeline and nods, once, with the barest smile.

Ariel stands. "Let's go see Cassie and her pup. You understand our objective, Madeline?"

"Yes, Madam Alpha, I guess so."

Lyssa can feel a growl begin. "Beta duties, Ariel?"

Ariel looks at her, surprised by the thinly veiled anger. "She will be Beta tomorrow, there is no reason not to."

"Of course."

The three walk upstairs to Samuel and Cassie's room. On the short trip, Madeline follows behind and watches Lyssa. What she was seeing, had been seeing of her, was in direct contrast to everything she had heard about the other Beta female. It was... a little scary.

Ariel knocks on a door and is met with the sound of squalling. Cassie opens the door, bouncing the little one.

"Madam Alpha. Lyssa and, um, I'm sorry?"

Ariel gives her a radiant smile. "Her name is Madeline, Cassie. I've invited her since she'll be Beta tomorrow."

"Oh, uh, OK. Um. I haven't had the chance to clean up." Cassie turns, allowing the other three females in. There were some clothes piled in a corner, the bed was not made. A crib to one side held several blankets and a stuffed rabbit.

Madeline was cooing at the baby.

Lyssa was decidedly not looking at the baby.

The little one smacks her lips, squeals, and clutches for her mother's breast. "I'm sorry, she hasn't settled into a schedule yet." Cassie unbuttons her blouse and raises her daughter to her left breast. The baby latches on and begins to nurse.

Again, Ariel smiles.

Madeline's grin is almost goofy.

Lyssa's expression is pained, almost hard.

Ariel sits as Cassie settles on the bed. "How are you feeling, Cassie? Do you need any help?"

"Not getting a lot of sleep, she's up all night. Well, I guess that's not right. She wakes up every 2 or 3 hours, hungry."

Ariel's voice is calm, gentle. "Every baby is different. You may want to try getting more fat with your protein. If your milk is higher in calories, she may not need to eat so often."

"I'll have to try that. Thank you, Madam Alpha." Cassie rubs her daughter's back as she suckles.

"We won't stay very long but I wanted to introduce Madeline to some of the duties she will have as a Beta female." Cassie nods. "Now, Madeline, what do you see?"

"OK. She's, let's see, 10 days old?" Cassie nods. "Then her eyes should be open."

Cassie says, "Yes."

Ariel says, "Good. What else?"

Madeline cocks her head and looks, then gets closer and touches the baby's blanket. "May I?" Cassie nods again and Madeline pulls the blanket away so that she can more closely examine the little one. She then glances at Ariel. "OK. No visible abnormalities, limbs look good and strong," Madeline runs a finger along the bottom of the baby's foot and it clenches and pulls away reflexively, "good reaction and suckling well." She looks at Cassie and smiles. Cassie smiles back, tiredly. Madeline then looks to Ariel. "A healthy pup."

Ariel looks at Lyssa. "Lyssa, anything you wish to add?"

As Lyssa moves forward, Cassie feels like pulling away. Lyssa moves closer and inhales, then moves back. "No, Madam Alpha."

Ariel puts a hand on the hand Cassie has on her daughter's back. "Sleep when she does. At least until she starts sleeping through the night. You and Samuel have settled on the name?" Cassie nods. "I look forward to hearing it. Thank you. We'll show ourselves out. Ladies."

The three of them stand and start to file out as a growl rises in Cassie's throat and she twists her daughter away from them.

Ariel turns back at the sound and Madeline startles. Cassie's attention is riveted on Lyssa.

Ariel pushes the Beta females out the door and closes it behind them before turning to Cassie, who relaxes the slightest bit. "Cassie, can you tell me what precipitated that growl?"

"I'm sorry, Madam Alpha, I don't know why. Something about, about the Madam Beta made me want to protect my daughter. I'm sorry, I just..."

Ariel speaks quietly. "It's alright, Cassie. Just relax."

**

Joanna had planned on driving to the Severn compound but Nathan felt obliged to come pick her up. So, Joanna gave in, and got on the back of the bike.

Nathan again parks in front of his house and they walk around it, to his parents' house. He knocks once and ushers Jo in.

Two pups chasing a third knock her off her feet. A male she hadn't yet met caught her.

"Oops. Sorry, the boys are pretty rowdy." As he hands her off to Nathan he says, "I'm Matt."

"Thanks, Matt." Nathan sets her on her feet.

"Nathan?! Is that you?"

"Yes, Mom."

Juliet Severn comes out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron and flanked by three younger females. One of them was Kendra. Juliet holds out her hands, takes Jo's, and pulls her into a hug. Joanna is a little uncomfortable with this display. "It's good to see you again, dear. You've met Kendra." Joanna nods at her. "These are my other daughters-in-law. This is Laura and Mary."

"Nice to meet you, Joanna."

"Dinner'll be ready in about 15 minutes. Go on in and sit down for a bit." Juliet kisses her youngest son. "Watch out for the hooligans."

The women return to the kitchen as Nathan steers Jo to the living room. Four males are seated, watching the game. Nathan points, "You know Dad, and Matt, and Kyle, that's Luke. So. Those are all my brothers. The kids are Lewis, Mark, Norm, and Nelson is probably in the kitchen with Mary." He yells to the males. "Say 'Hi, Jo'."

Eyes flick up, then back to the game. "Hi, Jo." comes from four throats.

One of the youngsters comes to a dead stop in front of her. "So, you're gonna be Uncle Nate's mate?"

"Um."

"Go on, Norm. We're just seeing if we like each other."

One of the other boys tackles the youngster at their feet and the two start rolling around, wrestling and growling.

Joanna squeals as Nathan pulls her into a chair on his lap. [You'll be safer here.]

The four adult males look briefly at the young couple and smirk or smile. A yell of disappointment goes up as a play is missed.

The boys roll around on the floor, chase each other, trip each other, tackle each other, and generally seem to be trying to take each other apart. Two of them appear to be about 7 or 8 and the other 4 or 5. [Lewis is Kyle and Kendra's, Mark and Norm are Luke and Laura's, and little Nelson is Matt and Mary's.]

Joanna was busy trying to sort out all the scents in the house. There were so many strange new wolves around. It was as if she were in a strange den, which, really, she was, and it made her nervous. She fidgets in Nathan's arms. He pulls her closer and puts his mouth to her ear. "It's OK, Jo. Just relax."

He knew she was nervous, knew that it was a lot of unfamiliar, and she tries to focus. [Seriously? Kyle and Kendra? Luke and Laura? Matt and Mary? Don't you need to find someone named Nancy?]

[I don't want someone named Nancy.] Nathan nuzzles her neck.

"OOOooooh." Kyle notices and has to bring it to everyone's attention.

Kendra sticks her head in the doorway. "C'mon, we're ready."

Nathan stands and sets Joanna on her feet. He laces his fingers in hers and draws her to the doorway. As he steps through, he pulls her quickly around into him as the three boys rampage through to the dining room. "BOYS!"

Juliet Severn stands by the table, hands on her hips, giving her grandsons her best grandmotherly scowl. "We have a guest. Your Uncle Nathan will be quite cross if she gets bruised or knocked down. Now, apologize."

The boys line up before Nathan and Joanna. "We're sorry."

Joanna smiles and chuckles. Nathan smirks. "Go sit. Grandma's gonna get your fathers." The boys scamper to the table where Mary is seated beside a small boy, about toddler age, who is trying to escape a high chair.

As Nathan seats her in a chair at the large trestle table, Joanna hears a groan go up from the men as the television goes off. Kendra and Laura put rolls and salad on the table and take their seats as the men file in. They settle beside their respective mates and children, looking a little grim. "Well, you boys can all stop looking like someone died."

Kyle sounds like a whiny child. "But, Mom, it was State and ... Ow." Juliet smacks him on the back of the head.

"Now, let's have a nice pleasant meal and try not to overwhelm the girl."

Nathan picks up a plate of turkey. "Turkey? Or would you prefer pork?"

**

Ariel hunts down Lyssa. [Lyssa, I need to speak with you.]

Lyssa closes her eyes at the summons; it sounded like she was going to be scolded. [I'm in the sitting room.] She's sitting in the smallish room that overlooks the back garden. She can hear half the males in the TV room down the hall, watching the big game. But the sitting room held no TV, just some overstuffed chairs, games, books, and a small area for making hot drinks.

Ariel strides in and sits beside her. The others look up briefly, then return to games or books.

"Lyssa, Anton has told me that the car you've been driving was returned almost empty and that there are a lot more miles on it than there should be."

"Oh, Ariel, I've put a lot of hours in this week and I'm tired."

"That's not an excuse for ignoring the standard tasks required of all pack members."

"Don't scold me like an errant child, Ariel."

"Lyssa, what's going on? This isn't like you."

The others in the room are beginning to pay attention to the conversation. "Nothing's wrong with me. I felt like taking a drive. I was tired and didn't fill up the car; it's not the end of the world."

"Now you do sound like a spoiled child. You have a responsibility..."

Lyssa throws the book she's been reading on the floor. "You have no reason to be yelling at me. I know what you want me to do. Quit making such a big deal of it and stop telling me what to do."

The entire room goes dead silent as the growl grows in Ariel's throat. "Lyssa, you know you're wrong. Don't push me." Several of the wolves start moving for the door.

"Why, what're you gonna do? Lock me up in the outbuilding? Beat me up?"

"I am your Alpha! You will listen to me."

Most of the others have cleared out as Ariel's growl gets louder. Alex is astounded to see chestnut fur break out on Lyssa's arms. [Um. Randall. Emmett. You'd better get in here. Sitting room. Uh. Now.]

Lyssa leaps up, having shifted to intermediate form. Ariel responds in kind, becoming the russet wolf woman. Both are growling, claws ready, tattered clothing on them, and starting to circle each other in prelude to an attack.

The sound of feet pounding down the corridor is heard as Lyssa leaps at Ariel.

They meet with snarls, claws grasping, jaws open.

Lyssa, by virtue of her size and weight, knocks Ariel to the ground and the breath from her lungs. She snaps at Ariel's throat.

"LYSSA! NO!"

There is a moment of hesitation at her mate's command and Ariel hooks a leg around Lyssa and heaves, throwing her off. Ariel now pounces on Lyssa, straddling her waist, a clawed hand around her throat, the tips of the claws of her other hand over her heart, drawing blood. Lyssa's voice is all gravel as she growls out. "Get off me you sanctimonious, redheaded bitch!"

Ariel snarls, and smacks Lyssa's head against the floor. "Submit."

Emmett watches, vacillating between pleading for his mate's life and asking Randall, who was standing beside him, to intervene. Fear had him sweating.

Lyssa spits out one word as she pulls her feet against her butt, "No." and she bucks Ariel off.

Randall grabs his mate and Emmett his.

Lyssa shrieks in his arms and Ariel struggles, as well. "Lyssa. Stop this." Emmett's voice is full of emotion. "Ariel, please." Lyssa is gasping, panting.

Ariel is completely enveloped in Randall's arms. "Stop! Both of you. NOW!" he commands.

Both Lyssa and Ariel still. "Ariel, would you like to explain to me why you and our Beta female were having a serious altercation in the house?"

Ariel takes a deep breath and shifts back to human form. "I was reminding Lyssa of her obligations to the pack." Lyssa growls.