Whitepaw Revival

Yeah, I'm still alive, thanks for your patience readers.

No spicy scenes in this one sorry, still hope you'll enjoy it.

Cheers,

FWT

Chapter 12

Isaac skipped the morning run in favour of cooking for his mates, he threw together the fixings for loaded omelettes and they ate in the living room on the comfy couches after Jasmine mentioned the harder seats in the kitchen were uncomfortable on her "poor abused nethers"

The girls chatted happily while Isaac was staring into the middle distance and eating mechanically, lost in thought, he was wondering about his own stamina.

By the end of their morning session he had climaxed five times in quick succession and was still feeling like he could go again.

It wasn't particularly unusual for his previous girlfriends or hookups to tap out before him, he was a comparatively fit guy with a high libido so it never seemed unusual, and his partners had never complained. It occurred to him that he'd never really pushed his limits, never "pushed until failure" to use a gym-rat term. He posed that question to his mates and found the answer from Jasmine was mildly surprising.

"You will find you don't have much of a refractory period at all, maybe five to ten minutes at the most. And in terms of limits or amount of ejaculations, there really isn't a limit beyond your fitness, nutrition and hydration. During a heat female wolf shifters tend to be insatiable," her cheeks flushed slightly at that "growing up in Ironclaw the number of times we heard couples going at it all night and day during heats was not small.

For unmated females it's usually not anywhere near as intense, but once the seal is broken, so to speak..."

"So as long as we eat and drink, we can just keep going? That's crazy.." he shook his head in bewilderment.

Bella grinned and spoke through a mouthful of eggs, "You'd better hope we don't go into heat at the same time Zack, one horny-as-fuck mate will take your full attention for two to three days. two or three at once would probably kill you."

Cass piped up, "On that topic, it's probably way too soon but I figure it would be a good idea to have a plan before any of us goes into heat; where do we stand on babies? Do we take precautions ahead of time or what? I, um, really enjoy being stuffed full of Isaac's baby batter so condoms are not an option..."

"Nah girl, we can get you an implant if you want. I'm not saying I'm ready to get started right away but I kinda like the idea of us all having little ones running around at the same age and all," Bella grinned across at Cass, "and I know Jazz won't want to wait too long."

Jasmine folded her hands in her lap and blushed heavily, "Yes, well, it would probably be a good idea to let the dust settle on getting Whitepaw functioning like a proper pack, but I find myself enjoying the thought of little pups in the house."

"Me too, but I'm afraid I need to pull the handbrake a little here ladies," Isaac interjected, "we really should be focused on getting established for now. At least get the compound constructed so we have a permanent home. But I agree, I've always wanted kids and I don't want to wait too long either. That said, we have plenty of time, right? Something like a century of fertility?"

"Yes, the fertility rate drops pretty dramatically after the age of one hundred, maybe one hundred and ten years." Jasmine confirmed.

"Then if it's okay with you girls, let's plan to have you all on birth control for the time being. Once the dust has settled though, I want to fill this place with pups."

The grin his words put on his mates faces made his day.

_______________

Isaac was sitting at his desk while checking his emails, with Jasmine lounging across from him with her nose in a novel, when he broke the silence with a happy exclamation.

"Yes!! Coach Datu liked the idea and got agreement from the gym owner and their fight manager to come out and visit us for a few days!"

Jasmine sat up excitedly. "When do they want to come?"

"We'll need to nail down some dates with them but Shanaid has a fight in about six weeks, so we could be looking at dates within the next month.

It would just be an informal training camp this time around but we can start working up a program with Coach Datu as we go."

"That's great news! And gives us time to work up some plans. Your idea about a natural style outdoor gym is great, and maybe we could do some "strong man" style things as well? The concrete balls and such?"

"Atlas stones, yeah, I can get started on that next week. A yoke and some axle bars for deadlifts would be good, could be worth a trip to the scrap yard to see what we can find, I'm sure Will can help me put some other things together.

That dude is jacked, so I doubt he'd be upset about getting some weights set up." He finished with a chuckle, and he was absolutely right.

Will was quietly enthusiastic at first but that enthusiasm and motivation was cast in iron, within days they had a solid outdoor gym setup a stone's throw from their sparring fields. With all manner of rustic iron and carved timber they had a plethora of options for lifting, and the girls had pitched in with weighted sand-bags, balls, resistance bands and a dozen other items that were stored in a weatherproof tool locker that was basically a tradespersons tool trailer tipped on its side.

Isaac had also invested in several sets of high quality sparring gear, pads and matts, and of course a large first aid and medicine kit.

He'd taken the opportunity to add expanded first aid kits to each building on the property and to get an AED fitted in the lodge as well. While he doubted any of his eager young pack would have heart issues any time soon, he saw no reason to take any chances. They would surely have a range of visitors as they worked towards building a business around combat sports and training camps.

___________________

The rest of the week passed quickly as his growing pack worked together and separately to further their shared goals.

Morning training, shared meals, and movie nights in the lodge became the usual schedule and Isaac was able to put the looming meeting out of mind for a time. Cass, though, pulled him aside late Sunday afternoon while the others were enjoying an impromptu pool party.

"So are you okay? ready for tomorrow Isaac?" She asked as she closed the laundry door behind them.

"I think so, yes. I'm not looking forward to it but it has to happen. It... it helps that this Annalise is in many ways a victim of her coven as well. She was a kid. I can't hold a kid accountable for her coven's decisions." He finished with a sigh while hopping up to sit on the bench next to the sink.

"Good. It's hard to separate the emotion from it, I'm sure. But you're right, she's a victim too." Cass nodded along then set about re-tying her hair before continuing, "Now, take your pants off." She said as she dropped to her knees in front of him.

_________________

It was mid morning when Isaac and Tia heard the crunching of vehicle tyres on gravel heralding the arrival of their guests. They quickly stepped out of the lodge's front door to greet them on the porch.

A single white SUV pulled up, and two women stepped out of the back seats. They were both dressed in business attire, pencil skirts and blazers over button up white shirts, but the two women couldn't have been more different physically.

The obviously older of the two, that Isaac assumed was Councillor Anora Stonetail was a tall, statuesque woman with long light brown hair streaked with grey and rich sun bronzed skin. She had a professional air, he would say she was almost regal in bearing, but she moved in a fluid way that made him think of a cougar on the prowl. With cougar on the brain it was a quick skip into fantasy land for his traitorous brain had to admit that Anora was one hell of a MILF. Mature and curvy, not untouched by time of course there were laugh lines and crow's feet visible under her modest makeup, but she was no less beautiful for it. She was the kind of woman that those of certain proclivity would die to call "mommy"

The other woman in contrast was short, barely over five feet tall at a glance, with pale skin and strawberry blonde hair cut at her shoulders that straddled the line between blonde and redhead.

Her features matched her stature, fine high cheekbones, startlingly red irises and thin pink lips cast her face in an elfin light.

In truth she was tiny, he felt like he could wrap his hands around her waist and have his fingers touch, but if this woman was the vampire he was expecting then those looks could be tremendously deceiving.

Two men in suits climbed out of the front seats, and followed the ladies toward the lodge while eyeing their surroundings, clearly on duty as security.

As the ladies reached the front steps Isaac stepped forward and extended his hand toward the older woman, "Councillor Stonetail, I presume? I'm Isaac Greymane."

She crested the last step and smiled warmly as she clamped his hand and nodded.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you in person, Isaac. Please allow me to introduce Annalise Evans, formerly of the Darkseeker coven, my assistant."

She gestured to the diminutive woman beside her, who reached out to shake his hand and froze as her eyes met Isaacs. In her eyes Isaac saw an impression of fear, her small, delicate hand seemed to shiver in his.

Her scent wafted over him in that moment, rich tones of fresh vibrant blood that called to his predatory nature. He'd never been face to face with a vampire before, only having read online that other shifters often found the scent of vampires offensive, he'd heard it described like the putrescence of a bloody carcass left to rot in a dank cave, but Annalise's scent was worlds different from that foul stench.

He thought it something along the lines of the metallic tang of fresh heart's blood spilled after a challenging hunt, fresh forest earth turned over with blood and bone, alive with life and vitality.

As he considered this impression along with what he'd learned about her in the bare handful of seconds since they'd met a knot loosened in Isaacs chest, the instincts that he'd been wrestling with relaxed, and he smiled. Here was a woman who grew up in the shadow of the horrible choices people around her made.

Isaac felt an odd sense of kinship with her, in a sense he had grown up in that same shadow, just the other side of the coin. Annalise jolted at his smile and her eyes went wide, the fear receded somewhat and something else took its place that Isaac couldn't quite identify.

Councillor Stonetail seemed to sense something had passed between them in that meeting and furrowed her brow before clearing her throat and continuing the introductions.

"Also with me are Tim Rogers and Jace Redback of the Howling Stone pack."

Isaac didn't recognise the pack name but he tore his gaze away from haunting red eyes and nodded a greeting at the men all the same.

"Ahem, ah, given it's a smaller group today we planned to use the lounge room instead of the conference room, if that's okay with you Councillor?" Isaac asked while making a concerted effort not to look back at Annalise, whose gaze hadn't left his face since their introduction.

Beside him, Tia growled so quietly under her breath that Isaac barely caught it.

"That sounds quite suitable, thank you Alpha Whitepaw. Tim and Jace will wait outside for the time being."

They headed inside while Isaac and Anora made polite conversation, and guided the group into the lounge and game room of the lodge. They'd selected this room to provide a more relaxed atmosphere than the 'boardroom' style meeting room down the hall. Tea and pastries had been set out on the coffee table already, and Isaac poured three cups when Anora and Annalise both indicated their preferences. Tia took up a guard position behind the couch where Isaac sat, and the two visitors sat opposite him.

"Thank you for the Tea, Alpha Greymane, and thank you for welcoming us to Whitepaw." Councillor Stonetail said with a warm smile.

"Ah, you're welcome, Councillor. And please call me Isaac."

"Of course, Isaac. And please call me Anora." Anora's smile grew even wider, and the smile lines beside her eyes crinkled up.

Isaacs eyes flicked to the vampire sitting beside the councillor momentarily, to find her gaze had settled somewhere around Isaacs' feet during the introductions.

Now that they were seated and settled, Isaac wasn't sure what else to say. It was unusual for him to be at a loss for words, he'd always been a strong conversationalist.

Thankfully Anora had an agenda and immediately launched into an explanation of the events that lead to the council ratifying his Packs' legitimacy.

However, it was a shock to Isaac when she went on to explain that the council had also extended an invitation to take up a seat on said council. That was surprising for several reasons, not least of which because only the largest and most influential of packs were tapped for their leaders to join the council.

"You don't need to make a decision on that immediately, or really at all Isaac, I understand you're likely immensely busy with the physical rebuilding of your Packs' holdings, and I advocated for the offer of a council seat to be held open in perpetuity until such time as your pack is firmly established." she took a sip of her tea and continued "Alternatively you may choose to second your seat, and hence your council vote, to another councillor at any time. That way your vote is made by your chosen representative. I do not recommend you do this, but it is an option if there is a council member you trust to align with your desires."

"For now I think we'll abstain from making a decision, Anora. As you say, once we're established properly we can revisit things." Isaac didn't much care for the idea of allowing someone else to use his vote at their discretion, but it was good to know it was an option.

"I believe that would be wise, Isaac. Now, onto the next matter." She shifted slightly and put down her empty tea-cup. "The two young men outside, Tim and Jace, are members of my old pack."

Isaac considered this a moment, in preparing for this meeting he'd done some research on Anora Stonetail and found that she'd been mated to a pack Alpha on the other side of the country in her younger years, but after his untimely death in a territory dispute she'd divorced her birth pack and campaigned alongside several council members for changes to the pack laws. She was a proponent of peaceful dispute resolution and had been granted an honorary council seat after several decades of ambassadorial negotiation.

"The Howling Stone pack is one of the largest packs in the country, larger even than the Iron Mountain pack you're already familiar with. I've known both of these young men since they were pups, and in recent years they've shared a desire to leave their home pack and move to a different location. Both of them are skilled fighters and hunters, they are both mated to lovely young women, and they are looking for a new home to start their families.

As such, I requested they attend me as my bodyguards on this trip, so that you could meet them and hopefully if all are agreeable, absorb them into the Whitepaw."

Realising that this was much the same situation at its core as what happened with Will and the others, Isaac was already nodding along to her explanation. Anora's reputation in the shifter community was rock solid, so he didn't think it likely that this was some underhanded attempt to inject her own people into his pack. Nothing was impossible, mind you, and he wouldn't simply say 'yes' without having spent some time getting to know these people, but he had a good feeling about Anora's judgement.

"I understand. If they're amenable then they're welcome to join us temporarily, get to know us and make a decision at a later date if all parties agree. That's how we've proceeded with the Iron Mountain pack members and it seems to be working well."

"Excellent, once our visit is complete I'll make arrangements for them and their mates to travel here expecting an extended stay." Anora clasped her hands together happily and took a deep breath, settling her features into a more neutral expression. "Onto our last topic of discussion then. The council has long been dedicated to easing the tensions between the disparate communities of demi-humans. Annalise here, as a surviving member of the Darkseeker Coven, will deliver a statement on behalf of the Coven Council and her former Coven." Anora nodded to Annalise and gently patted her knee.

The Vampire woman nodded back and gave a shaky smile to Anora before standing and speaking as though reading from a written prompt.

"Alpha Whitepaw, it is with great sorrow that the Council of Covens formally apologises for the atrocities committed by the Darkseeker Coven..." Isaac lost the following words to the rushing of blood in his ears. He saw her lips moving and the neutral mask she wore, she was clutching her shaking hands and her quivering eyes were glassy as she spoke someone else's words to him.

It would have been seconds or hours later, he had no idea, when she fell silent and placed a crisp white envelope on the coffee table before him with both hands.

Isaac leaned forward and took the envelope, opening it slowly to find a short letter and a cheque. He was in near enough to a fugue state as he read the words on the paper before him, a trite three sentences explaining that the cheque was intended as reparations to his pack.

He slipped the papers back into the envelope and placed it back on the coffee table before lifting his gaze not to the vampire before him, but to the councillor.

"Anora, I understand that the shifter council expects me to take these reparations in order to ensure continuing good relations between the two councils, and I will do so out of respect for those trying to use their power to build a better world for all of us; but make no mistake. No amount of zeros on a cheque will ever be sufficient reparation for the family and friends senselessly massacred on these lands." he finished with tears in his eyes, and took a deep shuddering breath as he sat back in his seat and folded his hands in his lap before looking to the red eyed woman across from him.

"I'm sorry that you had to be the one to deliver that message, Annalise. Thank you for your courage." At his words, Annalise's eyes welled with blood and her mouth dropped open.

A hiccupping cry issued from her and she spoke a few unintelligible words before she threw herself off the couch to her knees beside the coffee table and prostrated at his feet in an instant.

Her small voice rang clearly in the room as she spoke into the carpet in a rush.

"I submit myself to you. I submit all that I am, all my tomorrows, to use at your whim from this day onward, for as long as I draw breath."

Anora shot to her feet with a horrified expression and shouted, "'Lise, No!" before Annalise continued.

"My blood is your blood, bound to you, may the long sleep claim me if I turn from your command." she finished as Anora crouched beside her attempting to lift her to her feet, but she stayed firmly planted to the ground. Anora hugged herself to Annalise tightly despite the awkward position, "Why would you do this 'lise?"

Anora looked up at Isaac with an anguished look on her face and tears in her eyes, quietly, she asked, "Do you know what she's done, Isaac?" When he shook his head in bewilderment, she continued, "She has sworn a blood oath, a vampire oath of fealty and submission. She's sworn herself to you, by will and blood. You could literally cut her throat, here and now, and the council could do nothing about her murder."

Isaac was rocked to his core, what the hell had just happened, and why!?