What We Must

Dear Readers,

Things begin to heat up in the McKenna pack.

Enjoy,

KemMyst

*************

Devon was working on a set of bookshelves; Marcus was checking the stores. Jen was studying medical texts, in an effort to prepare for any issues related to the anticipated pregnancies. William was back in the tunnels, cleaning his equipment, preparing to start a new batch of ale. The others were working on their projects. Beth and Nick were watching a show. Anne was again in the tunnels.

Everyone had settled in to their winter routines.

*****

Devon spent this night with Amanda. It was a relief, in a way, as he got sounds, reactions, and more physical enjoyment in being with her. But, it was also not the same, not enough. She met him at the door, naked but for a very short skirt that failed to completely cover her behind. She greeted him warmly, with a kiss, and a hand at the waistband of his pants as she pulled him into her room.

He put his arms around her, stroking her back, enjoying the feeling of her breasts against his chest. She raked her nails down his back and he groaned. Then, her hands went to the ties on his pants, and she pushed them to the floor, as he reached down to cup her ass.

He groaned again as he pulled her more tightly to him, raising her on tiptoe, and smelling her arousal as he kissed her again. His grip relaxed a little and she slithered down his body, ending up on her knees, looking up at him. Her hair was light brown, and shoulder length, her eyes hazel. She licked her lips and slowly closed on him, until he could feel her warm breath on his turgid member. He closed his eyes as her tongue touched the base of his cock, and traced a wet trail up to the head. It lingered around the ridge and then she took just the head into her mouth. He twisted his fingers in her hair at the feeling and leaned back against the wall. She put her hands on his ass and pulled him closer, pulling him into her mouth. She licked and hummed as one of her fingers probed between his ass cheeks to rub against his anus. He moaned. He was building up to an explosive eruption and abruptly pulled her away. She whimpered in disappointment as he picked her up and put her against the wall. "But, Dev, I want you to cum in my mouth..." He twisted her around and she put her hands on his shoulders as one of his hands held her against the wall while the other ran down her body to fondle her wet pussy.

He brought his cock up to her entrance and pushed into her as they both moaned. As he pumped into her from below, he pushed his fingers, coated with her juices, into her mouth. She had wrapped her legs around him as he plunged into her depths and felt her breasts move up and down on his chest.

Already close, it didn't take too long before he lodged his knot in her pussy. Two more short thrusts, and he roared his release. His pulsing triggered her orgasm and she shrieked his name as she came.

He collapsed against her, pushing her more tightly against the wall, smelling his own blood from her fingernails piercing his skin. After a period of recovery, he carried her to the bed and lay back, with her sprawled out on him. She murmured pleasantly against his chest. After a time, he slipped out of her and she rolled to his side. Curled up against him under the furs, they fell into a sated sleep.

In the dark of night, he woke, with a soft warm female form against him. Mmm, Beverley. He pulled her tighter, no, wait, he was a bit confused. It didn't smell like... Amanda. This was Amanda. Bev was gone.

*****

Duncan had spent time helping with lunch while Anne was working on bread. After lunch she deigned to play a couple more games of chess with him. She still lost, but he commented that her strategy seemed to be improving. He didn't quite notice as she deflected most of his questions and he ended up answering most of them.

She retreated to the tunnels and wandered around. The expanse was larger than she would have thought, and it would take her a while to go through them all. Unfortunately, a couple of the openings she had found had been blocked off. But there had to be airshafts somewhere.

Duncan ran into her later that afternoon. She was standing in front of the vault doors, staring at them. She noticed him walk up; it was time to try his resolve.

"There's at least a couple of months before those will open."

"Why? Is there a timer or something?"

"No. But the snow gets deep enough that you can't go anywhere."

"So, you never go out in the winter, at all?"

"Well..." She looked into his eyes as he hesitated. "Yeah, sometimes."

"I didn't think you would all be able to stand been cooped up inside this long. I know it's making me a little nuts. I wish I could see the sun, kick around some snow, breathe fresh air. I just wanna go out, don't you?"

"It does suck, being stuck down here."

"Can you get out? Can everybody but us open the door?"

"Devon and I are the only ones who can open it. Why?"

"Can't we just sneak out there? Just for a little while? Please, Duncan, just so I can see the sun?"

He hesitated. "I don't think that's a good idea."

She tipped her head up towards his face, put a hand on his arm and stroked his forearm. "I'd really appreciate it."

"Anne..."

"I could do something nice for you, if you were to do me this favor." She moved closer to him, her breast brushed his arm.

He stood rigidly. "Anne. I can't, and we couldn't." She knew he was becoming aroused.

She ran her hand up to his face. "So. You can't make a decision on your own? And why couldn't we?"

"Of course I make my own decisions but Devon would be livid if we went out without good reason."

"He wouldn't ever need to know", she gave him a little half smile, pulling him against her, "anything."

He took her arms and put her away from him. He took a couple of deep breaths. "Devon is the only one who's allowed to touch you. Besides, something could... happen."

"Duncan, you're twins. No one would know." A pause. "I know you want me."

Steeling himself, he turned and broke contact. "I can't Anne. I won't. Don't ask me again." He walked away from her.

Her voice was relatively quiet, but the word carried. "Duncan."

He stopped once more at the sound of his name, then, hands tightly fisted, continued to walk away from her without looking back.

Damn. Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn. That was her best shot and she likely wouldn't get another chance. It would take something catastrophic now for either of them to open the door.

Would he tell Devon? Would it really matter if he did?

Defeated, sighing, she retreated to her room.

*****

Agonizing over what just happened, Duncan hunted down Devon. He passed a couple of the others in the hallway and they noted the unhappy look on his face.

He found Devon in the workshop, checking a piece of wood in the lathe. Devon turned when he caught Duncan's scent mixed with Anne's.

Duncan looked supremely unhappy. Devon walked over to where his brother stood and grasped his upper arms. "Duncan. Brother. What's happened?"

"She was only trying to get out. She wasn't trying to get to know us, me. She doesn't like me. She just wanted to get me to open the doors."

"You're sure?"

"I found her by the doors and she talked about wanting to go outside, that we probably didn't like being stuck in here either. She tried a couple of ways to convince me to open the doors so we could go out, just for a little while." He gusted a breath. "She touched me." He saw Devon's startled reaction. "No, not like that. My arm, my face, then she pressed up against me and she suggested... Devon, she..."

"I get it Duncan. How did you leave it with her?"

"I pushed her away and told her I couldn't do it, and that she couldn't ask me again."

"Good. Good. It's alright Dunc. I know how badly she wanted to get away from us but I'm sorry she tried to play you like that." He clasped his brother on the shoulder and headed for the door.

Duncan's voice stopped him briefly before he reached it. "But I could have, Devon. I really wanted to."

*****

Why did she have to mess with Duncan? It wasn't as if he was sexually inexperienced but he'd never been mated. There had been a woman once, and he had pursued her. But she flirted with him, led him on, and then laughed at him as she chose someone else. The incident had soured him and it would be painful for him to realize he had fallen for it again. And it was entirely possible that Anne would go to him. It was all falling apart.

He checked the Science lab, headed for the tunnels. There was no sign of her, no recent scent. Asking around, Abigail said she'd seen her go into her room. Probably pouting. He walked to her room, knocked briskly, opened the door, and strode in, slamming it behind him.

She was at the table, writing something. She looked up as he abruptly entered the room and glared at her. "So, now I have no privacy at all?"

"What makes you think you deserve it?" His voice was loud; he was practically yelling at her.

She stood, and walked up to him, looking him in the eye, at least, as much as she could, her voice gaining volume, too. "I see. So, we're all equal but some are more equal than others, is that it?"

"There are rules! And just some damn common courtesy would be nice!"

"Common courtesy? For my kidnappers? Why do you think I owe you that?"

He gritted his teeth. "We've treated you well since you got here." She gave him a look, a glare, and he thought to himself, OK, except for that. He closed his eyes, opened them, looked at her again. "The least you could do was treat us the same way."

Now her voice dropped deadly low, her eyes were hard. "The first obligation of a prisoner is escape." He blinked. "You forget what I am." A pause. "You're lucky I haven't tried to poison you."

The threat stopped him dead. Was she that dangerous? Would he end up having to kill her? He assessed the determined looked on her face as he asked the next question. "Would you actually try to kill us?" She held his stare for a few moments and he held his breath. Then, her eyes flicked away, and back to him. No, thank god, she wouldn't.

"Duncan didn't deserve that kind of treatment. I'm responsible for this pack and for bringing you here. If you need to take it out on someone, it's me you need to deal with. Leave the others out of it."

She gave him one last look, then went back to the chair. He wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her, but what would that accomplish? She had made up her mind about them and couldn't be convinced of anything different. He took a step closer to her and she tensed, but otherwise ignored him. He then turned and opened the door. He looked over his shoulder, "Just me, Anne, there's no reason to take it out on anyone else."

He exited the room, closing the door behind him. She looked at the closed door for a moment, then went back to what she was doing.

***

He went to the workshop, took a scrap piece of 4x4, and threw it across the room with a yell. Then he put both hands on the workbench, his shoulders slumped, his head bowed. Why was this so hard? Dammit! This was her night, too. Should he just skip it? No. No. This was a woman he couldn't show any kind of weakness or loss of resolve to, nor would the rest of the pack take it well. OK, right, go to her as usual and treat her as he normally did. Damn! She was so obstinate, completely focused on one goal. Getting away from them.

*****

She didn't come to dinner and, again, there was tension in the air. Duncan looked unhappy; Devon looked angry. Things relaxed a bit as the meal progressed but not completely. Devon's mood turned from angry toward worried as he kept looking at Anne's chair. Why wasn't she here? She'd always taken meals, and eaten well. Was it a hunger strike now? Was she embarrassed at her behavior after all? Would she have hurt herself? No, no, she was a survivor, or she wouldn't have lasted this long. She wouldn't, would she?

His anxiety level continued to rise as the meal concluded.

He took his plate to the sink, nodded to the others, and forced himself to walk back to her room. What did she have in her room? He'd given her back her knife. Medicines? No, just some for her cramps. Poisons? Surely she knew more than he did about what could be used...

He stood outside her door, fearful of what he might find now when he opened it. She was still at the table, writing. She finished a line, looked up at him, closed the journal, and slid it into the nightstand. "You missed dinner. Would you like something...?" Without a word to him she stripped and crawled onto the bed.

The time was passed as it normally was. He brought her to climax and spewed his seed within her. This tie was not as long and he pulled her back against him, and fell asleep.

***

Amanda was having her monthly and Anne's scent was approaching its peak again. He wanted badly to go to her tonight but it wasn't her turn until tomorrow. Amanda had made it clear that he was welcome in her bed when Anne was off limits but the reverse wasn't true. As much as he wanted to sink into her, he'd stay away from her tonight. But his wolf yowled in his mind and he shifted. He ended up pacing outside her door, snuffling, finally curling up there to sleep.

*****

It was the night before the full moon when he came to her again. He knocked and entered, as he normally did, but she wasn't in the bed. A low growl came from the other side of the room. His wolf clamored at him and he immediately shifted form, sliding easily from his pants.

He watched as she shifted to human, back to wolf, to human, and to wolf again. She paced around the room, as if trying to figure out which way to turn, what to do. And the dance began.

He stalked up behind her and sniffed. She was ready; it was time. Moving closer, he touched his nose to her. She growled and took a couple of steps away. He stepped forward again, tongue out, taking in her scent, and rubbed against her. She shied away, skipping sideways. But then she stopped again.

Her mind was screaming inside. 'What are you doing? Quit antagonizing him. Human, I'm human, I'm human...'

The dance continued a bit longer, until she finally smelled the strength of his arousal. Her wolf was in command and she wanted this. This was a strong healthy male and his status compelled her. She stood still and let him approach her. She smelled the fluid practically leaking from him and cocked her tail a bit to one side as she turned her head to look at him. He mounted her, his penis easily finding her opening, and he thrust into her. A slight yelp from her, and she shifted slightly, but he took a firmer grip and began to pound in and out of her. There was a chant going on in his mind as well. 'She wolf. Mine. Mine. Mine...'

He howled as he filled her, his knot expanded to keep it there. He slid a foreleg over her and they stood, backsides together, as the last of his load was expended. She tried to pull away a couple of times, as this tie was rather lengthy, and, each time, he jerked within her. When he finally deflated and slid out, she sat on the floor and licked at her vulva. He came over to sniff at her further, rubbing against her again. She jumped onto the bed, circled twice and curled up. He followed, curving his body around hers.

*****

Spencer had been keeping to himself lately. He wasn't as engaged in his regular pastimes, a couple of projects started and now untouched. He spent some time in the tunnels, but not very long, just longer than usual for him.

The others were well aware of the time she spent in the tunnels. While she did spend time in the entertainment room, reading, or watching the occasional show, she also haunted the science lab, checking through the cabinets and making notes. She also regularly helped with dinner. But she spent much of her time alone in the tunnels. Devon periodically sent someone to check on her, but less and less frequently as time went on.

Her third peak had come at the full moon before Beth's birthday. Her smell was maddening and he had been unable to find an outlet for the tension he felt. Tonight, Spencer decided to take action.

He was following her scent into the nearby tunnels. He moved quietly, seemingly ignoring William and Abigail in the warm pool. He passed by, but lingered in the next chamber, inhaling the smell of their arousal, particularly her smell, and listening to them as they had an intimate interlude.

There was a light splash as she dropped backward into the pool, floating. Will's hands grasped her calves and he dragged her towards him. "Spread your legs for me, darlin'. I want to have a look at what I've been wanting for hours."

Like Jen and Kevin, they were not long mated and she was still a bit shy about some of his more public displays of affection. As she opened for him, she asked, "What if someone comes?"

"They'll turn around when they realize we're having playtime." He cupped her buttocks in his hands and raised her hips slightly to look at her pink, swollen lower lips. She lifted her head slightly and noticed the head of his cock had emerged from the surface of the water, like a... like a... the head of a turtle sticking out of a pond. She giggled at the thought.

"What?"

Knowing he probably wouldn't appreciate her reference, she thought quickly of something else to say. "I think I'm a little wetter than you want."

He dropped lower in the water, sitting back on his heels, as he drew her closer to his mouth. "Umm. Are you?" He gave her a knowing look, and smiled before dropping his head to smell her. Then, his tongue extended, and he teased her with the tip of it. "Mmm. Slippery." He took her clit with his mouth and nibbled at it. In response, she opened her mouth and tipped her head back. Startled by sucking in water, she thrashed out of his grip and came up, sputtering and coughing. "Abbie! Oh, Abbie, are you alright?"

She put a hand on his chest as she coughed a couple more times. It turned to a caress, and she smiled at him. "OK, I guess I'm as wet inside as out."

William pulled her into a hug and kissed her, ran his hands over her back. One moved up to her shoulder, the other clasped a butt cheek. Pulling on it slightly, he delved lower, and pushed a finger into her wetness. He stroked her and she moaned into his mouth. She yipped as he abruptly grabbed her, picked her up, and laid her out beside the pool. He looked her over, his eyes sweeping her form, loving the curves of her body, her long legs, the brown hair, those arresting green eyes. He touched her soft skin, marveling at her. "Tell me again, Abbie, why did you pick me?"

She looked at her husband, his broad chest, his strong arms, his unruly chestnut hair, answering the question as if she never had before. "There was no one else I could have picked. I wanted you to be mine for a long time."

He stroked her inner thighs with his fingers, and she squirmed under his touch. His tongue then traced the path previously taken by one of his hands, and she spread her legs wider for him, as he approached the lips of her seeping pussy. He used his fingers to open her as his tongue explored her folds. She began moaning and twisting as he took her clit between thumb and forefinger while continuing to lap at her entrance.

He couldn't keep up with the fluid seeping from her, and it coated his face, and chin. She started tossing her head about, then went stiff and shaking. "Aaah!"

Now taking in big breaths, she reached down and grabbed him by the hair. He lifted his eyes to her, while continuing to stroke, and lick. "Will, give it to me. Give it to me, now!"

"As my lady commands." He rose, opening her legs wider, and slammed home. A shriek poured from her lips as the sudden stretching and filling triggered another orgasm. He held still, trembling, until the fluttering slowed, then began moving. "Harder." Bracing himself, he pistoned in and out of her, until the world exploded behind his eyes in fireworks and she screamed his name. "Oh, Will, yes!" He clutched her. "Abbie, oh, Abbie."