by Pixie Unger
“It’s a new truck. You won’t need to work on the engine.”
“You are missing the point, Marv. The point is, I took care of myself. For years. Now, I’m living with you and you are treating me like I’m… I don’t even know. I started building a car at 13, so younger than that. Despite what you may think, I am qualified to wash the dishes.”
Marv looked at her. “You think I don’t know that? The point is, you are the newest member of the pack. You aren’t a slave to be cooking and cleaning and doing the grunt work in the garage. I’m giving you time to adjust. Why would you want to do the dishes?”
Sarah tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “Because everyone else does.”
Marv was about to respond with a cliche about jumping off the Empire State Building, when his brain kicked in. She was trying to say that he wasn’t treating her like she was part of the pack. And he wasn’t. She wasn’t. She was an Ulfurinn. That was different. Except it didn’t sound like she wanted it to be.
“You understand that you are our Ulfurinn, right? You should be giving us directions and having us do things for you?”
“And what’s the point of that? What if I want to do things myself?”
Marv gritted his teeth. “The point of letting us do things for you is to prove we can take care of you. To show you we are a pack worthy of you.”
“What if I want a pack to do things with me instead of for me?”
“But…” Marv stopped. “Ah, hell, I’ve been doing this all wrong, haven’t I?”
“I have no idea. I’m not even sure what ‘this’ is. I just know that I feel isolated, alone and, and…”
“Patronized?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, shit.” He thought some more. “That weren’t what I was aiming for.”
“I will take your word on that, if you try to stop.”
Marv thought about that too. “I’ll try, but you needa understand, I was raised to treat a lady in a certain way, and all I bin trying to do was be respectful.”
“Ok. Can you try to show me a bit more of the sort of respect you would give to a man?”
“I’ll try.”
And he did. Even when the other “old white dude” at the junkyard called her “little lady” and suggested she let her “Pa” pick out the rims she was after. He thought about socking the man, but instead he just said, “She built the damn thing, it’s up to her to buy the parts for it.”
Chapter 12
1980 - Test Tube Puppies
Based on recent developments in the field of IVF, Jonathan Black hires Canadian Celeste Emerson as a carrier for his child. She successfully produces a son, David. Jonathan is unable to spend more than a few hours with the child at a time so Celeste agrees to raise the boy. Careful experimentation leads to the discovery that Lupers can smell the bone marrow through children’s unfused epiphyses.
Several other pack leaders attempt to replicate the success. Subsequent children are accidentally eaten. Further attempts are discontinued.
October 21st
She was pretty sure Craig was pushing them together. She was even pretty sure she understood why. What she wasn’t sure of was whether or not she was capable of casual sex. It all sounded so straight forward when Gus was explaining it in terms of helping a pack mate out, like you would if they had an itch they couldn’t reach. Or in terms of bodily functions, “Sure you can eat all alone, but it’s nice not to have to, right? Just like that.”
But the reality was these men loved each other. Even if none of them would say it like that, they did. Each and every one of the boys was prepared to take a bullet for anyone else in the pack. They would always sacrifice their own comfort for that of one of their brothers.
Sarah was half certain that Craig was trying to fix her up with Marv because he thought it would make his alpha happy.
The problem was, Sarah was starting to think it would make her happy too. Once she understood that Marv wasn’t so much of an asshole as he was a hundred and fifty years out of date. The man was trying so damn hard to figure her out. That was flattering in and of itself.
The downside of all of this was that, in an attempt to treat her like any other member of the pack, they ended up on really weird dates. Like the shooting range.
“Seriously, Marv? What the hell?”
“I expect any other member of my pack to be able to kill a man, if they need to. You won’t be ripping anyone’s throat out, so you get to learn to use a gun.”
“Marv, this is New York. I don’t have a ‘special need for protection.’ I’m not going to qualify for a concealed carry permit and is there really any point to me having a Premises-only licence?”
“Yes.”
“What, that’s it? Yes?”
“Yup. You are going to get certified in both long guns and handguns. I’ll get you started and once you’re better at it, Sean will teach you all the modern military stuff.”
“Was this Craig’s idea?”
Marv frowned. “Why would it be Craig’s idea?”
Sarah just shrugged. But she spent the afternoon learning to disassemble, clean and reassemble Marv’s Beretta M9. She could at least hit the target at center of mass, so that was something. Marv was standing too close, giving her advice when she wasn’t doing as well as he expected and praise when she did better. She hadn’t missed a single time, but her shot groupings were a little sloppy. Her shoulders and arms ached by the time Marv called a halt. Then she still had to disassemble, clean and reassemble the M9 before they could go home.
Marv was a shitty date.
Right up to the point where he sat behind her on the couch and rubbed her shoulders that night. Man, he was good at that. And he smelled good! Christ, living with the pack would have been a lot less distracting if they didn’t all smell so good all the time. Because as soon as she made any little noise of enjoyment, Marv was going to bolt. She forced herself to keep her breathing normal and try to relax at the same time. That was harder than it sounded.
Speaking of harder...
And off he runs. Marv has left the building. Sarah sighed disappointedly.
“Missing something, lass?” Gus teased.
“Yeah, the rest of my back rub,” Sarah grumbled. No one volunteered to take over, so she hauled herself off the couch and went upstairs to run a hot bath.
Again.
Fuck.
If she had balls, they would be the colour of midnight.
October 26th
It was supposed to be a routine patrol. Nothing big ever happened until Halloween. But now Marv and Craig had found something. Or the trail of something, and it was running straight for the garage. Last time Marv checked, Sarah was out trying (again) to get the heater on that piece of german junk working. For fuck’s sake! Why couldn’t she just drive the god damn truck? He had tried to howl a warning, but now the thing was closing in fast and she was standing there, elbow deep in the front of her car, completely oblivious to the monster running towards her.
Marv panicked and found extra speed he didn’t know he had, but still he was only at the edge of the parking lot as the thing pounced.
Then fell to the side in a crumpled heap. What?
He looked at the creature that was obviously dead. The side of its face was all bashed in. Then he looked at his Ulfurinn. She was standing there, looking smug, holding a tire iron. She grinned at him, then at Craig as the other luper skidded to a stop.
“Just like baseball, huh?”
Marv looked at her, then looked at the thing. It was shaped mostly like a large jack rabbit, but it had tiny hands instead of paws. The hands had sharp claws. The eyes were more forward facing.
Craig changed back, “Wanna see something cool?” he asked Sarah.
“You are naked in the parking lot, Craig.”
Craig shrugged. He went into the garage and came back with pants and a shovel. He used the shovel to remove the thing’s head.
“Ew.”
He grinned
up at Sarah and pulled back the thing’s harelips. It had fangs like a snake. “They are venomous,” he said.
“It looks like a bunny. But it sure as hell don’t smell like a bunny.” Sarah commented.
“Humies can’t tell that.” Craig said flatly. He picked up the other half of the thing. “Come on. These things are delicious.”
----
Craig was trying to teach Sarah how to clean the thing. “Is it that much different than cutting up a chicken?”
She was a little squeamish, but so far was doing a good job of going along with things. “Yes! With chicken, the organs are already gone. Here I still have to deal with that. And the fur.”
Craig shrugged. “I can just do it, if you want. But it’s your kill, I thought you might want to cook it.”
“Is this even safe to eat?”
“Yes! It will make excellent stew!” He carefully skinned the thing like it was the rabbit it resembled. “Do you want any of the organs?”
Sarah gagged. “Nope! I can’t watch. I’m sorry, Craig, but you are on your own for this.”
Craig watched her leave. Her loss, he thought as he popped the heart into his mouth. The liver wasn’t that big, but he could make a little pâté.
----
Sarah found Marv the dog waiting outside of the kitchen for her. “You OK?” she asked.
“That was dangerous, waiting for it to come for you.”
Sarah understood most of that. “I didn’t know how fast it was coming and I thought it would be better to face it. I can’t run as fast as you.”
Marv whined.
“Look,” Sarah said reasonably, “I know you have some weird historical hang up that women shouldn’t have to fight. And, hey, it would be great if it worked that way. But don’t you think it is better that I know how to swing a tire iron when I need to than have that thing attack me from behind?”
Marv whined again and hesitantly nuzzled her hip. This part was still hard for him, but he was trying. Sometimes he still flinched when she touched him. She was getting better at making sure he saw it coming. It was embarrassing that she never had the same response. She just accepted that they were there and she trusted them to be careful with her. It was the most remarkable thing. Marv had no idea how they had managed that.
That night at supper, Craig had served pâté on flatbread. It was good, but they had encouraged Sarah to eat most of it. She needed the iron.
Tonight they were all sitting around watching Sarah try to learn a first person shooter game. She kept dying and laughing about it. The girl was terrible at it and she thought that was the most hilarious thing. She would even make fun of herself as she fell prey to the zombie in the closet. Mac was playing with her and doing his damnedest to keep her character alive. But she ended up running into things or looking at the ceiling. When she died, again, she tossed the controller to Sean and suggested he would be better suited to this sort of thing. Then she took a sip of her beer.
Gus was watching her. So was Craig. And Marv, if he was honest with himself. But it was Gus who asked, “You don’t mind that you keep losing?”
“Nope. It’s just a game. Plus I know I’m better on the other system. I regularly kick ass at Mario Kart.” She grinned and smelled happy and slightly turned on. Craig walked over and sat on the couch. She smiled at him. “What can I do for you?” she asked. Craig didn’t say anything, just watching her intently.
“Go back to your chair, Craig,” Marv ordered.
Craig winked at Sarah. “Why? You aren’t going to come sit with her.”
“Maybe I will!”
“Nah. You’ll just leave her lonely like you always do.” Craig slid closer.
Two hundred pounds of combat form alpha male werewolf hit Craig in the chest and knocked him to the floor. Craig changed moments later and the two of them erupted into a snarling, clawing dog fight.
Sarah jumped up to stand on the couch. Everyone else was staying clear but watching with interest. Until the fight bumped the couch and Sarah made an involuntary cry in alarm. Craig immediately backed off and rolled over. Marv was still snarling.
“Easy,” Gus said.
Marv turned to snarl at him. Gus took a knee. The other boys followed closely behind. Marv stood there, towering over all of them, glaring.
Then he turned to where Sarah was still standing, wide eyed, on the couch. They looked at each other. Sarah was trembling slightly. Even standing on the couch she was shorter than Marv in this form. He leaned in and sniffed her hair. She flinched and said, “You told me you are still you, even when you look like this. Now’s your chance to prove it.”
The rest of the pack tensed. None of them would have gotten away with that. If she were a luper that sort of thing was very nearly an alpha challenge. It shouldn’t be an issue since it was Sarah, but she was really afraid right now. Marv needed to back down or one of them needed to make him. While none of them wanted to be pack leader, Gus was pretty sure they would all intervene if needed.
Marv was just watching her. It seemed like an eternity. Marv and Sarah just watching each other. Then it happened.
Marv took a knee.
Sarah relaxed and climbed off the couch. She flung her arms around Marv (which caused Gus a whole new bout of stress) and buried her face in his neck. Marv hesitantly put his arms around her and rubbed her back.
When Sarah opened her eyes and looked over Marv’s shoulder, Craig winked at her. The boys started to leave the room. Marv disentangled himself and followed them.
“Marv?”
He stopped and turned to look at her over his shoulder.
“If my being here is just being a problem for everyone, you can just say. I know you said that I should talk to you before it gets bad enough that I want to leave, but… That goes for you too, right? If you don’t want me here, Nicole said she could always help me find another pack.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because I just caused problems between you and Craig and that was scary and now you are just leaving me to try to deal with that on my own,” tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped her face on her sleeve. “I am trying to understand the whole pack thing. I am trying really hard. But I just don’t fit in. No matter what I do, I don’t fit in.”
Marv stared at her in horror. His Ulfurinn was crying and he didn’t know what to do, but he was pretty sure it was his fault. Ok. Think. What would he have done if it was his wife before he turned? Marv made himself human again and walked over and pulled her into a tight hug. He rubbed her back. “I have never had an Ulfurinn as part of my pack. I’ve never been part of an Ulfurinn’s pack. I do know just grabbing you like this is enough to get me killed if you object. But if it were my Mary crying ‘cause I scared her, I would give her a hug and tell her I’m sorry.”
“Who’s Mary?”
“My wife. I was turned during the war and I never came home.”
Sarah thought for a moment. “This is nice, but I’ve got to ask. You don’t like it when I touch you. Is that some stupid Ulfurinn prejudice or is it because I’m not her?” Marv tensed. The silence went on too long. Sarah let go of him. He did not let go of her.
“Maybe a bit of both. I don’t want to hurt you, but I don’t know how not to.”
Chapter 13
1993 - The Death of Celeste Emerson
Celeste Emerson was killed by a drunk driver on her way home from the movies. David was in the car at the time of the accident. He was apparently uninjured when discovered by the paramedics unconscious on the sidewalk 50 meters away. He was subsequently placed in foster care as his father was declared an unfit parent. Jonathan was allowed twice weekly supervised visitation. However, there were several complaints from foster families that Mr Black made them extremely uncomfortable. After his fifth arrest for an assortment of misdemeanours, David, along with his foster sister, Nicole, are transferred to a military school in Northern Ontario for rehabilitation.
October 27th
Sarah was out
walking the dog. Marv called a pack meeting. He made a point of waiting until Craig had a mouthful of hot tea before he said, “I need advice on how to have sex with Sarah.”
He knew it was coming, so he leaned out of the way while Gus ended up wearing most of it. He forced himself not to laugh.
Gus wiped his face and glared at his alpha, “You were married. You had kids. This isn’t a birds and bees discussion, so what’s the problem?”
Marv rubbed the back of his neck. “Haven’t been with a woman since I turned.”
“Well, then, you’re lucky.” Gus said firmly. Sean looked ill. Marv should have sent him with the lass. “I have, a couple of times. For... political reasons. Fucking takes a lot of energy, the change takes even more. Next thing you know, you are full combat form, balls deep in someone that smells like the best Sunday roast ever, and you’re knotted so she can’t even get away.” The pack knew that “political reasons” meant that Gus’s previous alpha had ordered him to.
Marv looked at Mac who was looking away. That could mean anything from he had the same experience to Gus had raped and eaten a girl so that Mac wouldn’t have to. That left Craig, who shrugged.
“With an Ulfurinn, it isn’t that much different than before you turned. It damages them less if you force them to cum first, but either way, you won’t end up eating her.” They were all staring at him. “What?”
“I think the phrase we are struggling over here, lad, is ‘damages them less’.” Gus said flatly.
“I don’t know, I am also struggling with ‘force them to cum,’ myself.” Mac added.
Craig groaned and ran his hands over his head. “For fuck’s sake, really? None of you know how to get a woman to cum?”
“I’m with Mac,” Sean said, “the word ‘force’ is giving me issues.”
