Silver Kitsune Clan 02

This is a pure work of fiction and all aspects are from my own imagination though some parts will probably sound similar depending on how much fantasy reading you have done.

If you have any problems with what I am typing let me know but if you are only going to give crappy feedback as in 'it sucks' then go frost yourself and hope you need a new wanker... Now if you have some positive feedback please let me know.

This is a side story to the official Silver Moon series I am working on. Some parts of the dialogue will be the same, or in the beginning it will be. Most of it is going to be from Geoff's and Mari's point of view with the occasional third party pov. Other parts will be different as one remembers it differently than others. That is normal in life. Most of this chapter is going to be from Mari's as she deals with her fear of men. I know that in the others I showed her as mostly not having troubles but many times people keep what they truly feel hidden.

Somaluna reviewed the rough draft but I decided I was in a sort of hurry due to the slow response to go ahead and post it before I had her review it again. I really am trying to get the chapters out in a reasonable time but shit happens you know. There is going to be one, maybe two more chapters for the Silver Kitsune chapters before I get back to the main series. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I have had writing it.

Chapter 2

When Dan contacted them and told them to make sure everyone was accounted for and safe Mari didn't really think. It was somewhat strange still to have the Alpha really care for the women and pups. She did her best to make sure the pups and all the females were in what was now the safe room as well as the pregnant females. She knew she was pregnant but actually having someone care for her and her babies was so strange that it didn't really cross her mind when she hurried upstairs to let Dan know that they were safe.

As she hurried upstairs to let him know she didn't even really consider she could contact him via the bonds since that was still as strange as actually having an alpha that cared for them. When Dan opened the door she had to freeze as she looked at the man who walked in with him. She liked his looks but with the scent of him waving past her nose her wolf stood up and howled. It was all she could do not to jump at him and howl her claim and desire. For the moment the wolf had taken control. Mari looked up at him and blushed slightly.

When he took her hand and lightly kissed it she damn near died on the spot and could feel her body reacting with a rush of feelings she didn't understand. He was such a handsome man with his long silvery hair. He had a slender build though he obviously did work out. She could feel the muscles in his hand as he took it and kissed it. Her wolf was more than pleased with his attention though Mari wasn't nearly as happy. Having Dan in her life was more than she had ever expected. Having such a handsome man obviously interested in her was almost too much.

To be honest she was scared of male attention in general since most of it had been bad. Dan had started showing her that it wasn't bad to have some attention but other than that she didn't like it. Having her wolf perk her head up at a male and try to claim him as hers was terrifying. She had tried to avoid male attention since the former Alpha had claimed her when she was still a pup. "Um, nice to meet you Lord Geoffrey." It was all she could say at the moment and in a very soft voice.

When he left with Dan, well was pulled away by Dan, she almost growled and ran after them. Her wolf was not pleased that her mate had been taken away even if it was by her Alpha. Dan had commanded her to take Geoff's people to get some food and rooms. Her human half was scared silly but she had a job to do and it had been given to her by her Alpha and she had to obey.

Mari showed the five other staff of Geoffrey to the dining room and called for Angie. "We have some visitors and need to feed them and find some rooms for them Angie. Their leader is Lord Geoffrey Logan of the Silver Kitsune clan." She turned and looked at them and smiled shyly.

The group consisted of four rather large yet nondescript men who radiated and intensity. All were of different sized by a few inches but had similar hair colors and facial features. The lady stood out in that she had a sort of silvery blond look. By that anyone who knew could tell that she was related to the core of the clan. Some of the central clan were born with a silvery blonde hair and virtually every clan heir had full on silvery hair.

Angie tensed slightly when Dan contacted her and smiled slightly though internally she snickered. She had a feeling why Dan had asked for her to keep Mari busy for a while. "Welcome gentlemen and lady. Come have a seat and relax while Mari and I get something for you to nibble on to keep you till dinner." She lightly grasped Mari's arm and led her to the kitchen. "Find some rooms for them while I take a few minutes to feed them."

Mari's wolf sort of sighed and then settled down. She knew that her alpha wouldn't let them close to Geoff till he was ready even if that wasn't what she wanted. Mari nodded and walked over to the diagram that showed the house and who lived where. After reviewing it she turned to Angie. "I think if we clean up the old beta and mates quarters that will give them the room they need as well as the beta quarters only have one door."

Angie listened and then nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. Get a few of the pack and take care of that. I will take care of his staff as much as possible." She smiled at the men and then the one woman who was with them.

Mari bowed her head and then walked away from Angie. She was more senior than Mari was and she had to obey even though her wolf wanted to go and hunt Geoffrey down and take him as hers. It was so scary to even consider a male as being hers. Women didn't scare her but men did and the idea of having a mate really scared the crap out of her. She grabbed several of the pack and headed to the wing they had been discussing. It didn't take all that long to reopen the rooms and get them prepared for occupancy.

All it really required was clean sheets, a light dusting, and a few other things. The rooms were kept reasonably clean and were cleaned four or five times a year. The room at the end she took care of herself since it was going to be for Geoff while he was here. The thought of spending her nights in this room with Geoff did scare her and she simply wasn't sure how to handle it. When she spent the night with Dan she was now comfortable enough that she didn't even think when she crawled in next to him. He would curl around her and drift off to sleep and she, for the first time, felt safe in a man's arms.

As she was working she kept thinking. Now she had to learn a totally new way of thinking. Her wolf was trying to force her to go to him since only now and tomorrow mattered to her. Her human half was fighting it tooth and nail since she had no idea of whom or what he was like. Was he as nice as he looked? Did he have a mean streak that he kept hidden or was he a cold fish? She was going to have to learn all that just like she had with Dan. In Dan's case she had sort of been forced to begin trusting him when he had created the bonds. With Geoff there wasn't any. She briefly leaned against a wall and sighed.

The room was done and she could hear the others working in the ones assigned to be cleaned. Now came the big question, should she push it and have them go and help get the luggage or let Angie deal with it. The question was cut short when Dan contacted her to go to his office. She stopped in the kitchen. "The rooms are mostly done and when they come back maybe they can help get the luggage."

Angie waved at her and turned back to talk to the kitsunes. She knew of them but had never met one before and was taking the time to find out what they were like. If she hadn't been mated there was one or two she might have considered inviting to her bed but would let the other females have that fun.

Once at the office she knocked and then walked in. "You called My Alpha? What can I do for you?" She glanced up at Geoff and blushed slightly and then looked down at the floor. To keep from quaking she called her wolf a bit forward to give her strength to deal with him. Eventually she would be able to escape to the pups room and try to think. How long she would do that she wasn't sure since he was sure that Geoff would be looking for her.

When Dan sort of threatened Geoff her heart skipped a beat and her wolf forced her forward. "You can't hurt him... That wouldn't look good my Alpha." As soon as she stood up for Geoff her wolf snorted in contentment and backed off somewhat. "We have cleaned some rooms for them in the old mated wing and the beta quarters for Lord Geoffrey. They have been fed as well and I will go past the kitchen and make sure everything is done."

Geoff stood up and held a hand out and waited for her to take it. "I am very pleased to have met you and please, just call me Geoff." Once her hand was in his he lifted his other to her chin and gently tilted her head back so she was looking at him. "Shall we go? I think Dan is planning on making a phone call."

Mari slowly reached over and finally took his hand and as hard as she tried it was still shaking slightly. When she did finally take it she had to admit that it was warm and his hand was just large enough to cover hers. That in a way felt rather odd since she had gotten used to the mitts that Dan called hands and much like him made her feel tiny. The hand under her chin made her jump slightly and almost couldn't meet his eyes. When she did they his were so beautiful. A soft silvery gray that appeared to hold both compassion and strength.

"Go play, children, just be good. Maybe show him to the kids' room and see if some of them would like to go for a romp." That would allow the two of them to have time together but not alone.

When Dan spoke Mari jumped slightly and gave him a shy smile. "I believe the cubs are outside right now working on some hunting training. I think there is a piece of fresh bacon and some bad bacon out there that have been drug around. I will show Geoff where they are."

~~~

Once they were out of the office he heaved a sigh of relief. "I would really hate to annoy him." He sent reassurance over the clan bonds to his men. *I am talking to my future mate. I will tell you if you need to react.*

Mari sort of giggled. "He can come across that way occasionally and especially when it comes to both his pack and those he cares for. Subtle isn't his middle name which I am sure you have noticed. I do love him since he saved the pack from", her mouth puckered and the vitriol in her voice could be heard, "those men. He isn't perfect, but for a wolf he is one hell of an Alpha." She had to stand up for him.

She glanced slightly at him. "I assume Dan told you?" What Dan had told Geoff about her pregnancy she didn't mention and waited to see what he had to say. He might be her mate but she was going to get the measure of the man since she still didn't trust strange men. Her wolf might be screaming MINE but Mari the human was a different story.

He nodded. "I can't say it is what I expected but I can sense that he is a good man and has helped you in his own way as you have helped him. Neither one of you are really or totally healed but that connection and love and care you feel is what is important." He gave her a brief smile. "Now, you mentioned kits learning to hunt?"

~~~

The rest of the day went decently as they played with the pups and Mari couldn't help but enjoy watching Geoff playing with the pups. When he managed to get them calmed down and starting to think on how they should be hunting she was impressed. In the training center she had been very impressed as well when he had actually gotten a blow in on Dan. That was a first from what she had seen though she didn't spend much time in here. She had entirely too much to do in the house to spend much time in the training area.

Eventually the day was over and it was time for dinner and she was feeling sort of bushed. She had been asked to run a tray of food to Dan's room and had been more than startled to find the Kitsune woman using his back as a bed. Somehow she had a good feeling about the woman which was odd. Since Dan obviously wasn't showing any discomfort having her in his room she chose not to worry about it since she had her own concerns.

When she finally sat down for dinner she was more than startled when Geoff settled down at the pup's table with her. The rest of his staff was sitting at one table, other than the two standing behind which made her rather nervous and uncomfortable. It felt like it every eye in the place was on her and she hated that feeling. How he felt about both sitting where he was and having two people behind him at all times she didn't know and wasn't going to ask.

As they were eating Geoff kept up some light conversation both with her and with the pups. Nancy was still trying to take some extra attention and Mari kept having to tromp on her wolf. Nancy knew she was too young and so did Geoff but it felt like she was trying to poach on her territory. She might have to have a discussion with her later.

By the time dinner was over she was tired and ready for some quiet time. "Paulo, Shannon, Geoff and I are going for a walk. Please make sure to get the pups to the room. We will be back before bath time and I will take care of getting them into bed."

Paulo sighed. "Great babysitting duty. We will take care of it Mari." He was close enough to 18 that his wolf was starting to want to exercise his dominance and see where he would end up in the pack. The only reason he did obey was till he moved from pups section she was more senior to him. It was going to be strange to no longer have to obey her. She had been such a major part of his life since he was enough younger.

Mari smiled at him. "Thank you Paulo. I see about sneaking you a nice snack later." She knew it would feel really weird for him to be senior to her She was only 7 or so years older than he was but she had raised most of the pups since they was even younger than he was. She was their mother, father, cuddler, and disciplinarian. When she saw Geoff's hand in front of her she realized she was wool gathering.

She took his hand and damn it her hand was shaking again. "Let's go out back where we can get a bit of privacy." Mari couldn't help but glance over her shoulders and rolled her eyes. "Well as much as possible." Maybe they could hang back and pretend to give them some privacy? Privacy was almost a moot thing with lycans since their hearing was so good. You would have to walk quite a distance before you couldn't be heard. *Can you ask people to stay away from the back Dan? I need to talk to Geoff.*

Once they were a fair distance from the house she found a small sitting area. They were scattered around for wolfs to relax and enjoy the outside. "Gentleman I know you need to guard your lord but could you please give us a bit of space. I know that you will still hear everything I have to say but some of it is very painful memories."

Geoff nodded at them and they gave a nod and moved in opposite directions. When he moved towards her and she flinched slightly he tensed up and then moved away to give her some room. He knew that sometimes things happened and Dan had hinted at a few but had a feeling it was worse than he thought. "Sorry Mari I am just feeling drawn too you and want to hold you. What do you want to talk about?" His voice was even as he was talking.

She could smell the traces of hurt when she flinched away from him but it was trained into her. "Sorry Geoffrey but strange men scare me. Hell half the men still here scare me." She had to clear her throat before she could continue. "I never wanted a mate because I could see how much pain they caused the other at times." Damn it she was making a hash of it.

"Let me try again. This was a broken pack run by an evil bastard who enjoyed causing pain. If he saw something he wanted he would take it. If it was a mate and the other complained he would at the very least beat him into a wreck before making him watch as he took the woman." She had to swallow since this was so very hard to talk about. Before she could continue she heard a noise and looked up and noticed Angie carrying a jug and two cups out.

"I figured you might want something cool to drink while you are talking." She put the tray down on the picnic table and gave her a hug and kiss before turning and leaving. Dan had asked her to bring it out though she would have done so anyways. She knew what Mari was going to talk to him about.

Geoff could feel his guards tense up slightly when Angie walked out and then watched her pass. They were listening to what was being said since it would impact on their charge. They had heard some stories before but this was going to be the first that would directly impact on the Clan Leaders family. They were sure that Geoff would expect it but they were sending the story to the other guards as she was talking.

Geoff shifted slightly but not towards her so much to face her more. He slowly held his hand out. "If you want I promise if you pull back I will let go." It was held out halfway between the two of them and he simply waited for her to do something.

Mari stared at his hand and then looked up at him and very slowly reached over and finally grasped it. Holding his hand was hard enough but she could do it. "He killed my father when I was twelve and took me to his bed when I was 16..." She kept talking to him about some of what had happened though she didn't into details. She moved her eyes to the table as she talked since she didn't want to see the probably revulsion and disgust on his face.

As she was talking he lifted their hands to the table and with his other hand started stroking the back of hers. As she was talking he was sensing her spirit and was impressed at how strong she was. She might be a submissive but she was a very strong person. "I am sorry to hear that Mari." What he really wanted to do was to rage and scream and dig the bastard back up but that wasn't what she needed right now. "Nobody should have to have anything like that happen to them.

The guards had stiffened up though they didn't really show it. It gave them a better feel for what they had been sensing from both her and the pack. They might be muscle but they were also highly trained in the use of Kitsune spirit powers. Hopefully with what Sheliae was doing with their Alpha it would help fix the wounds.

Geoff reached over and again had to tuck his finger under her chin to encourage her to look up at him. When she finally did he could sense as well as see her expecting to reject her after what she had told him. "Such a strong little wolf, Dan calls you his little wolf and I think I might have to start calling you my little wolf as well." There was a sad smile on his face but nothing else.

Mari twitched when he touched her chin but it was a gentle touch and carried only a bit of force. It was just enough to encourage her to slowly look up at him. The last part was the hardest which was to lift her eyes to meet his and that seemed to take forever. When she finally meets his eyes she was actually shocked when all she saw was compassion and sympathy. Tears started trickling down as she tried to take her eyes from his.

Geoff slowly moved forward. "I am just giving you a shoulder to cry on and just pull back if you need to." She leaned towards him and though she tensed up she didn't pull away and he was pleased.

It was stupid but though the tears were real and she was reacting to what was in his eyes it was still a test. Now he knew she was pregnant with Dan's pups and some of what she had grown up with. She was going to be watching every move he made with everyone till she was satisfied. She had to admit that he was warm and his wolf was enjoying the feel of his body. He felt strong but not bulky which was nice.