What We Must Ch 08

Dear Readers,

Here is the last chapter of the first story of the McKenna pack. I have ideas for a followup.

Happy Reading,

KemMyst

*****

Anne and Abigail were outside watching their little ones tussle. "How you keep up with the three of them, I'll never know. I'm having a hard enough time with Wesley."

"It's difficult sometimes, but it's also fun sometimes."

Anne was crocheting as Abigail worked on another pair of trousers for her boy, who consistently chewed them to shreds.

They both looked up at the yelp and whine that came from the pups. Alana had Wesley by the ear while Joy and Callum were facing off, puppy nips and growling.

"Wes, sweetie, Mama's not going to come to your rescue every time the girls pick on you."

"I can't believe he lets her get away with that. He outweighs her by quite a bit."

"Still not quite believing the way rank works with us. He knows who she is and where he sits in the hierarchy." A pause. Anne smiled as Joy managed to knock Callum over. "So, Anne..."

"Hmm, yes?"

"When are you going to give Devon a break and admit that you love him?"

She set down her work and looked at Abigail. "I don't. Oh, you've all been nothing but kind since you kidnapped me, turned me into a werewolf, and he got me pregnant but he has made it perfectly clear that he didn't want this. I won't mistake kindness for love and I know that I'm nothing more than a well-cared-for, captive incubator. It basically boils down to a business arrangement and I will treat it as such."

"We all know. Except for you. And him. Admit it, you'll both be happier, and so will we. It's not good for us to have our Alphas at odds."

She was about to open her mouth to reply when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Children! Home! Abigail, run!"

They shifted to wolf as the males from a rival pack closed on their position. Abigail grabbed her boy and headed for the gate. Anne's children scurried for the gate to the compound but were too young to travel very fast. She stood between them and the males who were advancing on her, hackles raised, fangs bared, snarling at them.

***

They'd found her again. Their Alpha had been obsessed with the female they scented and caught in their range earlier in the spring. They'd caught her scent again from miles away and he had them follow the smell back to the McKenna compound.

She was alive and protecting pups! Three of them! Even better, with multiple births like that, he could get his pack strength up in 5 or 10 years. He could be Alpha over them all. He had to have her. Not one of the females they'd taken had gotten pregnant yet, and he'd gotten sick of them long ago. Even the new one they'd just gotten had lost her allure.

***

She was fast enough that she could save one of the pups, and herself, but how in the world could she choose between them? No, she wouldn't let any of them be killed. She'd die first. They were getting closer, and circling them. She picked up on the scent as the slight breeze shifted. It was them; he'd come back for her.

***

Abigail made it into the cabin and, holding her boy, shifted, yelling at the top of her lungs. "DEVOONNN!!"

He came at a dead run, the others following. "Rival pack. Anne and the babies", she panted.

"How many?"

Abbie shook her head. "I don't know."

The only thing left of the men were the piles of clothes where they had been standing.

***

Five of them. She turned constantly, trying to keep an eye on all of them. She picked out the Alpha and stared him down, her eyes glowing amber. Her babies were under her belly, whimpering.

One of them lunged in. She snarled and lashed out, ripping his ear. Another moved in, leaving a tear in her hindquarters as she pulled away. A third knocked her down and the Alpha came up behind her. As she got to her feet again, Ian knocked her to the ground and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. She looked for her babies and, thankfully, the males were ignoring them for the moment. They couldn't go far and would be easy enough to kill. Not knowing what to do with the scent of the unfamiliar males around them, they crowded around their mother, whimpering and licking her muzzle.

*****

William grabbed Abigail and held her and Wesley close. "Oh, Will, I should have stayed with her."

"No, Abbie, there's nothing you could have done."

"I could have helped her protect them; I should have stood with her."

Marcus strode up to them. "What happened?"

"We were outside with the little ones, just talking, and watching them play. Anne saw something. Told hers to go home. Told me to run."

"She's Alpha, you couldn't have done anything else."

"Who was on guard?"

"It was a nice day. We were just outside the gate. We thought, we thought it would be okay."

"Without a guard the best thing you could have done was to come in here and get help. She knew that. This is precisely why someone should be outside with you."

"I know! She could be hurt; they could all be dead now." And she burst into tears, and Wesley started shrieking. William grabbed him,looked him over. "Is he hurt?"

Lily touched his arm. "He's upset because his mother is. You two should get out there."

Handing Wesley off, Marcus and William shifted to wolf and ran out.

Abigail continued to sob as the other women got her into a chair and crowded around. "They could be dead!"

*****

She tried to get away but he was holding her tightly. By his position and the smell she knew what was going on behind her and what he intended.

His penis was fully extended and glistening as he mounted her and pulled back to stab it at her. She shifted her hindquarters and he missed. He growled and took a firmer hold of her.

Devon, Duncan, Sam, and Kevin silently raced out of the compound toward the knot of rival males.

Pressing closer, he found her opening. She cried as he shoved himself into her, and twisted, trying to get away.

***

Devon's heart was pounding in his chest as he took in the scene. He looked for small bodies; they'd probably kill the pups first. There! The pups were still with Anne, and alive. But he smelled her blood. Devon saw Ian Matlin atop his mate, saw the thrust, heard Anne's cry, and saw red.

***

As Ian started to pull out to start pounding into her, they were both knocked to the ground. A yelp came from one of the pups and Anne cried again in pain. The McKenna pack set up an ear-shattering howl at the rivals and they squared off.

Ian picked himself up, darted in, grabbed one of the pups and took off, with Devon in hot pursuit. Anne released an anguished howl, torn, looking between her remaining babies, the retreating forms of Devon and Ian, and the rival male advancing on them.

Duncan, Sam, and Kevin each confronted one of the other males. The fighting now began in earnest, feinting, biting, tearing, snarling. The pups continued to crowd Anne as she faced off the last male.

She checked that the remaining pups were alright; he had taken Joy. While facing and snarling at the other male, she backed the little ones towards the compound. He lunged; she slashed. He turned, feinted, bit at her hindquarters. She twisted and caught him across the muzzle, blinding him in one eye. He retreated, shaking his head.

Jen and Beth had come out to help and each grabbed one of the pups. Anne looked at them, turned, and raced off in the direction Devon and Ian took.

*****

A reasonable distance away, Ian shifted to human form, holding Joy in his arms. Devon skidded to a stop, and shifted, facing the older Alpha of the Matlin pack.

"Give me my daughter, Ian, and I'll let you live."

"Big words, McKenna. But, I'll let you have her if you give me what I want."

Joy was struggling and growling in his arms. "Feisty. Not bad for a little half breed. And female. I should have known you wouldn't have it in you to produce a male."

Ian was deliberately baiting him. Devon concentrated on holding still so that Ian wouldn't hurt her. "What do you want, Ian?"

"The female, Devon. Give her to me and you can have the little one back."

"She's my mate, Ian. Why would I want to let you have her?"

"She's a human female." Ian looked at Devon a little more closely. "Don't tell me you've actually taken this mating with her seriously? Do you actually feel something for her?" He snorted. "I've known you were a weak leader, McKenna, this only proves my point. I can show her what it's like to be with a real Alpha."

"Ian, give me my daughter." It came out in a growl.

Ian held Joy closer. "Not until I get what I want."

"You couldn't handle her, Ian." He paused, thoughtfully. He knew Anne. "If I don't kill you, she will."

Ian laughed, loud and long. "That's rich. She's a human female, and not that big. Mind you, that made it feel better when I was in her. Pretty amazing after having three pups. So tight. Mmm, I look forward to doing that again, a lot."

Devon's anger threatened to break free. He took a step closer. Ian grabbed Joy by her head and backed slightly. She continued to struggle and growl, with little effect, although he had his hands full holding onto her. "One more step and the little one dies. I just want the female." The two Alphas stared at each other. Devon resigned himself to the fact that he was probably going to see Joy die at the hands of this bastard. "She ran away from you. Give her to me!"

"Ian, you can't have her. You've come onto our range and threatened members of my pack. If you want a war I'll give it to you, but the council won't took kindly on your betrayal of the codes."

"We've returned to the old ways, McKenna. Killing and kidnapping rival pack members was always used in the fight for dominance. The council won't do anything about it." Then, a slight breeze had their nostrils flaring as the scent reached both of them. "I'll be taking your female with me. Maybe I should take them both, it would make it easier to control her. And, I'll have both to play with. Or, maybe, we should just ask her."

Damn. It was Anne. He couldn't smell any of the others coming and refused to take his eyes off Ian. He couldn't stand the thought of losing them both; he couldn't stand the thought of losing either of them. But he had to do something before she got here because she probably would agree to go with him. Nor did he want her to be witness to Joy's death, too. Because, even though Ian said he'd let Joy go, he'd be just as likely to go back on his word and kill her anyway. Under his breath he said, "Joy, my Joy, your Daddy loves you." He took another step towards Ian.

Ian yelped as Joy bit him and, more startled than hurt, he dropped her. She yelped as she hit the ground and the men grunted as Devon hit Ian with as much force as he could muster.

******

Anne raced in the direction they took. Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god. Joy, he had taken Joy! Devon had better stop him before he got too far.

Where were they? She knew the general direction they were heading, but was surprised to realize she was tracking them by scent. Oh, gods, Joy. Would he just take her? Or would he do something worse? Would he hurt her?

No, not yet. He wants me. He'd be trying to make a deal with Devon. Would Devon turn her over to Ian? Could she get Joy back in one piece if she went with him? They weren't weaned yet. Could Abigail keep up with four of them if she left? She'd be obliged to take care of Anne's three; Wesley would suffer for it.

No, she couldn't think too far ahead. Get her back. And think about the rest later. Gods, she'd find a way to kill this son of a bitch. One way or the other, he wouldn't last the month. Of course, that probably meant she'd die, too.

She had to make sure her baby was alright. Where were they? There, they were standing there, looking at each other. Joy was squirming in Matlin's arms. Still alive. OK, now shift to human and give herself up so that Joy would be returned unhurt.

What? He dropped her! Devon was on Ian.

"Anne! Take her and get out of here!" After grappling for a few moments, they both turned to wolf to continue the fight. Anne picked up Joy and moved away, back toward the McKenna compound.

*****

Jen and Beth brought Alana and Callum back into the cabin where Lily and Amanda were assembling medical supplies. Abigail had gone to her room with Wesley.

"Where's Joy?"

"I don't know."

"And, Anne?"

"We don't know that either. She brought them into the compound and took off. Something bad must have happened."

*****

Anne had moved Joy away from the men and now checked to see that she was alright. Joy whimpered and licked at her mother's muzzle and Anne proceeded to remove all traces of Ian Matlin's scent from her baby.

Devon and Ian struggled with each other to get the advantage. While Devon was larger than his opponent, Ian had years of experience. They were fairly evenly matched and both now had wounds to show for it.

Anne picked Joy up again and started to move toward the compound. She glanced back and watched as Devon made a misstep and Ian took advantage. Devon was now on his back with the other Alpha over him. Ian got his jaws around Devon's throat.

As he moved to finish the McKenna Alpha, Ian Matlin didn't notice the raging blur of fur headed his way. The female knocked him off his feet and he rolled a couple of times from the momentum. The last thing he saw was a pair of glowing amber eyes before he felt the sting of teeth through his skin and she ripped his throat out.

She raised her bloodied muzzle to the sky and howled.

She then smelled the other males of the Matlin pack coming and raced back to grab Joy. Glancing back again, she saw Devon was still laying in the grass. She returned to his side, with Joy, placing the baby near Devon's head. He sniffed Joy and licked her as Anne stood over him, hackles raised and teeth bared, watching the approaching males with glowing, amber eyes.

They raced right by although one of them stopped briefly at Ian's body before moving off.

Devon slowly rolled over to get his feet beneath him. He had a nasty gash on his hindquarters and a horrible tear on his neck. Anne whined and licked the side of his mouth. He struggled to stand as the rest of the McKenna males arrived. Duncan and Marcus stood to either side of him, supporting him with their bodies, and they started to move forward, slowly.

Anne licked Joy and grabbed her one more time, sprinting for the compound.

She ran into the cabin, gently placed Joy with her siblings, and shifted to human. The others gathered around. "You're alright." "Thank god." "Where's Devon?" "What happened?" "You're hurt, let's get you taken care of."

She started dispensing orders and asking questions. "Quiet! I need bandages, big ones. A blanket. He's seriously injured. Where are my truck keys? I've got to go back so that we can bring him here before he bleeds to death." The women scattered, grabbing bandages, a large skin, stuffing them in a bag, Jen ran out to start her truck and bring it around. Lily attempted to get in with her as she pushed Jen out of the driver's seat. "No. You all stay here. The men will be coming back with injuries. And someone needs to keep an eye on the children and the gate."

She drove as fast as she dared back to meet the men, thinking only of getting to them and bringing him back to the compound alive. As she closed on them, she saw he was still moving. She stopped and laid the skin in the bed of the truck, while Duncan and Marcus lifted him into the back. She climbed in with him, pulling bandages out as she spoke. "Someone needs to drive. Anyone hurt badly enough to need a ride?" They all shook their heads. "Now, move!"

Duncan drove while Marcus sat shotgun looking through the rear window at Anne and Devon. She knelt over him and arranged the torn skin, then wadded a big piece of cloth up and pressed it against the neck wound. "It's really gonna hurt, Devon." He was breathing heavily and whined at the pain. "C'mon, stop. C'mon, stop." She watched the cloth turn red with blood as he started to shake and his eyes closed. Shock. She threw part of the skin over him and pressed harder. "Stop already. Don't you dare die on me McKenna. I've got something to tell you."

*****

Devon was carried into the cabin and placed on the dining room table. Anne continued to hold the cloth over his neck wound. Lily and Jen hurried over and looked at the blood on both of them. "Anne, are you hurt?"

"Take care of him, now!" They moved to work on Devon, assessing the terrible wound on his neck.

"Duncan, Marcus, are you injured?"

Marcus shook his head. Duncan had a scalp wound and a rip along his ribs. "Amanda, Beth, clean him up. Can either of you stitch?"

"Marcus, Nick, outside. Close the gate up when the others get in, then I want you to keep watch." Duncan opened his mouth to object and she glared at him.

Anne went over to her little ones, and hugged them all, then, one at a time, starting with Joy, she carried them over to their father's head. "OK, you three, keep your father company for a little while, mama's got a couple of things to tend to and then she'll be right back." She touched Devon's head, "You're not going anywhere, McKenna. I forbid it."

The other three men came back in; Sam was limping. Anne was wiping down the tear on her hip. "William, go down and tend to your family." He looked at her, then Duncan, who nodded. He disappeared down to the rooms.

Jen looked up from Devon as Kevin entered with Sam. "OK, Kevin, kiss your wife and let her get back to work. Beth, come over here and give Kevin a hand. Sam, sit."

The women were each tending to one of the men, except for Devon, who had both Lily and Jen working on him.

"All right, now that we're all here, what kind of a threat was the Matlin pack now that Ian is dead?"

"Ian's dead?"

"Yes, do we know what his Beta is like and how he'll take to this? Will they come for us sooner, later, or not at all?"

She was asking the right questions, things they should now be concerned about, but most of them looked at Duncan. She looked between them. "All right. Let's have this out now."

"Devon is Alpha, yes?" All heads nodded.

"Duncan is Beta?" Again, nodding.

"And, I, as Devon's mate, am Alpha?" They all nod again but Duncan opened his mouth to speak. She looked at him. "Yes?"

"With Devon incapacitated, I'm in charge."

"I'm Alpha." She stood before them all, covered in blood. "Grow up. This is 2015. Do I sound incapable?" Heads shook. "Am I asking the wrong questions, concerned about the wrong things?" Again, heads shook. "Then, unless I'm making a grave mistake somewhere, you will listen to me."

Devon groaned behind them. She went to his head, and stroked it, touched each of her babies. "Just because I'm female didn't mean I'm incapable of leading. Now, let's try this again. Who's now Alpha of the Matlin pack?"

Duncan spoke again. "Actually, the fight for Alpha is a fight to the death. That would mean, officially, that Devon is now Alpha of the Matlin pack, since he killed Ian."

"Devon didn't kill Ian. I did." They all looked at her again, some mouths hanging open. She raised her eyebrows at them. "You heard me howl, didn't you? I have his blood on me."

The men looked at each other, then nodded. She now saw a bit more respect for her in their eyes. "So, now, what do you think the Matlins will do?"

She returned to finish her work on Sam as they discussed the turmoil which was likely going on in the Matlin pack. Dylan Matlin would be next in line for succession and, while groomed for the role, was still fairly young. His older brother, Ethan, had disappeared over a year prior. Dylan would have trouble with some of the older males in the pack; one wrong decision and the pack would be divided; it probably already was.