She Wolf

Celestial gains power - and responsibility- over time. Eventually the prediction of her grandmother comes true and new threat must be faced. There are some surprises among the humans even as the threat of evil grows.

Janet was awakened by a cold nose in her crotch. She laughed and spread her legs to feel the warm tongue that followed. The wolf tongue excited her, and licked up her body to caress her breasts. She ruffled the fur on his head and sighed. He paused to look into her eyes before resuming the exploration of her vulva.

The years of experience together showed as he drove her higher with each flick of the tongue. A long tongue entered her and she squealed. When the tongue withdrew it took up long slow licks along the length of her labia. When he took time to concentrate on her nub she writhed on the bed. Licks increased in frequency and intensity until he drove her over the edge and her back arched in orgasm.

She lay panting for a few minutes before he started up again.

"Fang, I don't know if I can take any more!"

He paused and looked into her wild blue eyes. What passed for a wolf smile passed over his lips and he resumed. When she was nearly out of her mind he stopped and nudged her side. She knew what he wanted - she wanted it, too. She rolled over and pulled her knees under her, raising her bottom.

Strong forelegs gripped her and he entered her, humping hard. Janet gasped and got into rhythm with him. Her second, stronger, orgasm was accompanied by his emptying into her until he was spent and she collapsed on the bed.

Fang shifted to Charles and wrapped his arms around her until they both recovered. She turned her head to kiss him. She laughed "So, does that mean you missed me?"

"Damn right it does."

"Well, you needed to finish up with grading final exams and turning in grades. It was a good time for me to come back and open the cabin for the summer. I laid in supplies, cleaned up and set up my studio area. I haven't been out at night yet - want to run with me tonight?"

"Nothing would please me more. Well...almost nothing," he said as he kissed her and caressed her warrior body beside him. "You've taken this leader of the packs thing seriously. I'd hate to face you in a fight, with your speed, the muscle you've put on and the training you've put yourself through."

"You'll never have to. We're a team, along with Lydia and Cliff. We're a good team. Thank goodness we haven't had to face anything like MRKX. He'll pop up again someday though, and we've got to be ready."

They dressed and as they fixed breakfast she asked "How's Lydia? Any chance of her spending time in this neck of the woods?"

He laughed "Dr.Cornwell is doing just fine. She'll be coming up for full professor soon. I'm glad she took your suggestion that she stay at Cornell and get a PhD. She's taken on some of the lower level classes I used to teach so I can spend more time with grad students and research. Did you know Cliff has been reassigned to Adirondack duty? Don't worry about seeing Lydia, she'll show up here to be with him. She's not doing summer session this year."

Over breakfast Janet mused "There hasn't been much going on in the lycan world lately."

"Ever since we cleaned up that remnant of MRKX's invasion a couple of years ago. Those six had been in hiding for a long time."

"The leader of the Appalachian pack called for help. If that evil pack hadn't lured one of the Appalachian pack over to the evil side they may still not have been discovered."

"Lydia and Cliff wielded mean axes as we chased the group into the trap. That group didn't want to tangle with Celestial and Fang." She laughed out loud. "We've developed quite a reputation. Snowflake decided the evil side wasn't so good after all and fought with us. The Appalachian pack was generous to take her back. Snowflake could have been shunned."

Just as they cleaned up from breakfast they heard a car pull up to the cabin followed by a knock on the door.

Janet opened it to find Ray and a girl of about eight.

"My daughter Hope wanted to meet you, Janet. She's seen your paintings at The Hen's Nest and some of her friend's families have them in their houses. She's fascinated with your work."

"Come on in. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Juice?"

"We're fine, thanks."

The girl looked around at several paintings in various states of completion and her eyes widened. She pointed to the portrait of Fang. "Is that a wolf?"

"Yes, it is."

"Did you really get close enough to paint him like this? You must have been awful close, or did you take a picture?"

"I don't use a camera; I paint what my eyes see. I did get that close. Wolves aren't all the big bad kind. I wander about at night and see him sometimes. He's not afraid of me and I'm not afraid of him, although I call him Fang because he is so big and does have big teeth."

"Is he a watcher?"

Janet cocked her head. "I don't know what you mean."

"When we're outside in the evening sometimes I can hear wolf howls. Sometimes only one but a lot of times even two. I like to hear them. Daddy says they're watchers, watching over us to keep bad things away."

"He says that, huh?"

Ray smiled and shrugged. "It seemed like an adequate explanation."

"Why, your dad's exactly right. They're watchers. I never thought of it that way, but that's true. That's what they do!"

"So you know the other one I can hear, too?"

"I do. Would you like to see that one?"

The girl nodded vigorously and Janet motioned with her head for Hope to follow her into the bedroom.

Ray was alarmed to hear his daughter gasp, and rushed in to find her staring at portrait of Fang and another wolf together. The portrait showed Fang sitting and the other one lying on the floor with her back legs under her and her front paws stretched out before her, looking out of the painting with her distinctive eyes. Ray immediately recognized Blue Eyes. How could he ever forget?

Hope got as close as she could to the wall to study the painting hanging there. Janet took it down and handed it to the girl to examine closely.

"What is it, Hope?" her father asked.

She looked up at him. "I know this wolf."

"Don't be silly, you've never seen a wolf."

She nodded. "Yes, I have. At least I think I have."

Hope sat on the edge of the bed and continued to study the painting. "This wolf has blue eyes. I never heard of a wolf with blue eyes."

Charles said "As a wildlife biologist I can tell you there are huskies - Siberian huskies - with blue eyes. Maybe with some cross breeding blue eyes could be passed on to a wolf, although that would be pretty rare. I have seen some eyes tending toward blue, but none as deep blue as the wolf in the picture."

"But this one has real blue eyes. I mean, almost like yours."

Janet said "Yes, it does. That's just the way I saw it, with blue eyes, so that's the way I painted it."

Ray looked at his daughter. "When have you ever seen any wolf, much less one with blue eyes?"

Hope balanced the painting on her legs and closed her eyes, concentrating. "I don't know exactly, I only remember bits and pieces. I was just a baby."

A chill went down Ray's back.

"I know our house burned down when I was a baby."

"Eight years ago. You were only four months old. How could you possibly remember anything from back then?"

"I remember being awake in my crib. I heard mommy scream, out in the hallway I think. I remember daddy screaming too, but it seemed like he was far away. The flames looked pretty, but it got smoky and hot. A big dog came into the room and up to my crib and I pulled myself up to stand up and look at it. I remember I wasn't afraid. The dog poked its head between the bars of my crib and licked me, so I knew it was friendly. I saw it had blue eyes. Then the dog reared up and put its paws on the rail of my crib. I remember the mouth opening wide and coming down toward me. I still wasn't afraid. Then the dog picked me up by my clothes and lifted me out of the crib."

She paused and thought. "I've never seen a dog strong enough that it could lift me out of my crib like that. I mean over the rail and everything. The dog put me down and got a better grip to lift me up again. We ran fast through the fire. It was hot and then I was afraid. I saw something burning fall from the ceiling onto the dog's back, but I was shielded the falling ceiling and it kept going. Then it was cool, and there was daddy and a lot of other people. I don't remember much more, but I think about that sometimes."

Hope studied the painting again. "It wasn't a dog after all. It was this wolf. That's why it was strong enough to lift me out of my crib."

Ray sat beside his daughter and put an arm around her. "That was a terrible night, Hope. A blue-eyed wolf did bring you out of the fire. I saw it. A lot of people saw it. You can ask some of the firemen in town. They all saw it, even if they didn't want to believe what they saw. But that's not all. The other wolf in this picture pulled your mommy out of the fire. Mommy tried to get to you but the smoke and fire got to her. She was badly burned and spent a long time in the hospital, but the wolf saved her. Then the wolf saved the horses when the barn caught on fire. Even that scrawny little thing of yours."

Hope smiled up a Janet and Charles. "I call her Sunshine. She's my best friend."

"That little foal recovered and bonded with Hope as Hope grew. The horse follows her around. Hope's the only one Sunshine lets ride. I think if the horse was smaller Hope would have it in the house with her."

Janet thought a moment. "Would you like that painting, Hope?"

"I do like it a lot."

"I mean would you like it to keep. It's yours."

"But you may never see the two wolves like this again."

"I think I will. I sell most of my paintings, but always liked this one and kept it for myself. But it means something to you and I think you should have it."

Hope put her arms around Janet's neck. "Thank you."

"I'll pay you for it."

"You will not, Ray. It's a gift." Janet squatted down in front of the girl. "Your daddy is right. The wolves you hear are watchers. They saw the fire and went to help. It's what they do." She paused to let that information sink in. "Let me wrap that picture for you so it doesn't get damaged on the way home."

"I'm going to hang it in my room!"

"Maybe, sweetheart. But maybe we'll hang it in the living room where we can all see it."

Hope danced out with the painting but Ray paused at the door. "Why? Why do you keep helping me after what I did to you?"

"I know what made you do it. I know you are a decent man. As I told Hope, helping is what we do."

After the pair left Charles said "You never know what children will remember."

"I think tonight the watchers better go to that ledge and howl. She'll be listening."

***

Cliff moved around where he was needed on assignment and dropped by the cabin periodically when his assignment was nearby. During the summer Lydia rented the basement space Charles used to rent in town, back before he and Janet were together.

The four were out to dinner at the Maple Grove Inn when Ray, Elizabeth and Hope walked in and stopped by the table on their way to be seated. Elizabeth never missed an opportunity to thank Lydia.

"I don't know what you did, but the doctors had been talking about major skin grafts before your visits. Every visit you put your hands on my face and the burned places on my body and they gradually healed on their own. The doctors couldn't explain it, and neither can I, but I thank you."

"I didn't realize you were in the hospital until I went to visit the hurt firemen and rangers. There were a lot of burns after the fire on the mountain."

"They got better fast, too. What did you do?"

Lydia smiled and shrugged. "I don't know what happens. I've heard of people having healing hands, but don't know if that's it at all. I try not to explain it, but just do it whenever needed."

Hope looked at Charles and Janet. "I've heard two watchers lately. I listen for them every night."

"Well, they may not be where you can hear them every night."

"But I listen anyway. When I hear them I know everything is going to be okay."

Janet said "Maybe someday they'll come and visit you. You wouldn't be afraid, would you?"

"Oh no! I'd like that. I'd like to thank them. Do you talk to them or something? Maybe you could ask them."

"Sometimes I talk to them, just like you talk to your horse. Who knows what animals actually hear you saying? But hey, it's worth a shot."

"That would be awesome!"

Back in the cabin Charles folded his arms. "You don't really think we should go to them, do you?"

"I don't know. On the one hand it's not a good idea for her to get comfortable with approaching wild animals. On the other hand, she knows these wild animals are different. The animals approached them once during the fire. Maybe we should do it under better circumstances."

The next night they ran to the ledge and howled a different howl - a howl ending with some sharp yips.

Down in the valley Hope screwed up her face. "Something's different. I wonder what it means. Have they seen something? Let's see if anything happens."

"It's probably nothing."

"But can we stay out just a little longer?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt. Let's sit on the porch and listen. Maybe we'll get another clue."

Fifteen minutes later there was rustling in the field near the house. The horses got agitated and stomped around in the pasture.

Two wolf faces poked out of the vegetation, hesitated, and began walking across the lawn toward the house. Elizabeth gripped Ray's arm, but Hope jumped out of her seat. "It's them! They're here."

Elizabeth grabbed the girl's shirt. "You stay right up here with us, young lady."

The wolves trotted across the yard and sat on their haunches about twenty feet from the porch.

"It IS them! Look at the blue eyes! Just like in the painting."

The blue eyed wolf got up and slowly approached closer, stopped and whined. Ray took his daughter's hand and they stepped off the porch to carefully approach together. The wolf stretched out its paws and sank to the ground with its rear legs tucked under it, just like in the picture. Ray and Hope crouched in front of it. Ray reached out and stroked the head. "Hello, Blue Eyes. Remember us?"

The wolf whined and licked Hope's hand.

"Mom! Come here! It's really them! I remember this face."

Elizabeth cautiously approached and the big wolf stood.

"Go ahead, hon. That's the one that saved you and the horses."

She nervously reached out to pat the head of the large wolf and the wolf nuzzled her hand.

"Well, wolf. If you can hear me I guess I should thank you for saving me. They tell me you saved my horses, too. I don't know how you did it, but thank you for that also."

Ray came over to the large wolf. "Fang is your name, isn't that what Janet told us? Thank you both for saving our family."

Hope jumped up. "He saved the horses, too! Come here, Fang. There's another one that needs to thank you."

Fang followed Hope to the pasture fence and she opened the gate. At the sight of a wolf entering the pasture the horses all ran to the far corner of the field and turned to face the threat together, pawing the ground and snorting.

"Sunshine! Look who's here!"

A small horse with spindly legs broke away from the group and came over to Hope, approaching from the side opposite the wolf.

"This is who saved you, Sunshine. He brought you out of the burning barn. He saved mom, too. He's a watcher and has been watching over us to keep us safe. He won't hurt you.

The horse looked doubtful. But eased when Fang sat next to Hope and she stroked his head. "See? He's our friend."

During the exchange another horse approached, watching warily. Fang surmised that the mare was the mother of Hope's horse and was the one that had kicked him in the barn that night. He stood and turned sideways toward the horse, hoping that would refresh her memory of kicking him before he rescued her foal.

Sunshine eventually lowered her head toward the wolf, sniffed and whinnied. Fang made a whining sound and touched noses. The mother horse approached cautiously, head down and neck outstretched until she could sniff the wolf. Satisfied, she lifted her head, backed up a couple of steps and swished her tail. She tensed when Fang turned, but he went over to the gate, made a graceful leap over it and returned to where Blue Eyes and the humans stood watching.

The wolves turned away and trotted side-by-side across the field toward the mountain.

Back at the cabin Charles shook his head. "I sure hope nothing happens that we're called away again. That little girl is listening for us."

"Nothing has lately, but I guess we've got to be prepared for that eventuality.

Yet, two weeks later both Janet and Lydia started feeling uneasy and Janet got a phone call from Gertrude.

"Get in touch with Gray. Something is happening out there. Whatever it is has him worried."

"I can feel it here. Where is he?"

"He followed whatever it was from Yellowstone into northern California. I have a feeling you'll be needed. Henry isn't up to helping out, and neither am I, I'm afraid. We're old and getting slower. You have the reins now."

"I'll contact him right away."

Janet fussed at herself for not keeping in closer contact with Gray, but gathered the others in a circle to hold hands while she concentrated. An image of Gray came to mind, and the image spoke.

"I don't know what it is, Celestial, but it's big. It's cloaked, and hiding deep in the valleys under a heavy tree cover so we can't get a handle on how big or how many there are, but it looks like something major is brewing."

"MRKX again?"

"Don't know for sure, but wouldn't be surprised from the efforts to hide. I'd keep an eye out there where you are, too. It wouldn't surprise me for him to try and extract vengeance on our parents."

Janet still had a hard time believing that she and Gray shared the same lineage and the gray wolf was her mother's brother. "Damn. I agree it's a possibility. It's too far to run out to you. Claw will have to bring us and our equipment out there, so Swift and my parents will be here and will have to be prepared. Swift is old and not very swift any more, I'm afraid."

"I hope this isn't a ruse to get you out here while he strikes there."

"It may be a gamble we have to take if something big is out there. I'll try to keep my mind ready to receive at any time."

"We should have a better handle on it in a few days."

"In the meantime we'll start preparations here."

When the circle broke Janet filled the others in on the conversation, passing on the potential warning to Gertrude. Janet, Charles, Lydia and Cliff all drove to Pennsylvania to meet with Janet's parents and grandmother.

Gertrude thought things over. "We could have Henry fly us all out there, but I'm afraid my usefulness is dwindling. Neither Henry nor I are what we used to be - we're showing our age. He can still fly a plane, though."

Wanda said "We can't leave you here alone, mom. Clark and I will stay here with you. That fight with MRKX a few years ago opened our eyes to what we can do. Who'd have thought a seemingly ordinary farming couple would have the gumption to get involved like that."

"It's all in your genes, Wanda. You're not full lycan but when push comes to shove you have the fighting ability of one. When the others leave we can still prepare a nasty surprise if MRKX tries to spring something on us. Time to sharpen axes and lay in a supply of shotgun shells. We're not going down without a fight."

"Grandma, you be careful."

"Look, Janet, I've given you all that I have to give. Right now you are far stronger and have more skills than I had at your age. I have been thinking about something, though."