by Pixie Unger
Marv sat down on the couch. “I’ve lived with four other men for the last twenty years. Don’t believe for a moment that anything you could do would hold a candle to how disgusting we can be.”
“I don’t know.” Sarah said. “The place isn’t too messy.”
Craig laughed. “That’s because we spent a month cleaning up while you were in a coma. He even made us take down the calendar girls in the shop.”
Sarah shook her head, “Well, since I bet it wasn’t Hilda the Pin up girl, that might be for the best.”
“Careful, don’t you go talk smack about my girl Hilda.” Marv said, dead serious. Sarah looked at him in surprise. “Hilda was cute and fun and people found her relatable. You don’t get that in models anymore.”
“As someone who has never been a size zero, I agree.”
Marv looked at Sarah. “Why anyone would want a skeleton when they could have a curvy girl is beyond me.”
“Marketing?” Sarah suggested.
Marv caressed Sarah’s calf as he considered this. “Yeah. I could see that. Everyone looks like that,” he nodded at Rachel Mcadams and Ryan Gosling, “on TV and whatnot. No one looks like that around here.”
Sarah had a good laugh at that. Once she could breathe again, she gasped, “Jesus, Marv, have you even looked at your pack?”
----
It had been creeping up on her, so Sarah didn’t notice how bad the cramps were until they were bad. She was trying to ignore them, but…
“Sarah?” Craig asked. “Do you need to go back to bed for a while?”
She gritted her teeth and nodded.
“Can I come with?” Marv asked.
“I don’t want to have sex with you, Marv.”
Marv felt rather uncomfortable at that, but he nodded slowly.
“OK.” Sarah said as she started to climb awkwardly off the couch. Craig just scooped her up and carried her out of the room. She nuzzled into his neck and whispered, “Sorry I’m being such a baby.”
She wasn’t expecting Marv to respond to that. “Nonsense! We take care of you! That’s our job.”
Sarah whimpered a little. “Marv, I… If I say stop, I need -”
“Of course I will stop if you tell me!” Marv said, so totally affronted that he stopped climbing the stairs for a moment.
‘Ok, but… if I try to…” she trailed off helplessly.
Craig smoothly took over, “Marv won’t escalate things after you change either, baby girl.”
Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, “Last night, I asked, so if he had, it would have been my fault… but… Fuck. I don’t know how to even…”
Marv opened the door to her room. Craig set her down on the bed.
“Human models don’t work for this either,” Craig explained. “You set the rules, we will stick to them until you are human enough to change them. No one wants you waking up scared of us.” Sarah looked at him, then at Marv then she nodded. Craig continued, “Same rules as last night?” She nodded again.
“What were the rules last night?” Marv asked from the doorway.
Craig looked at him. “Come in and turn on the heater so she doesn’t get cold.” Marv did. “Last night the rules were stay human, no total male nudity, fingers and tongue only.” Sarah nodded. Craig made and held eye contact with her as he added, “I would like to try a lot of fingers, as long as I’m not hurting you.”
Sarah blushed and looked away, “You have a fetish or something, Craig?”
“Nah, but I want you to be able to see how much your body changes when you shift.” She stared at him in confusion. Craig gave her a devilish grin, “You have no idea how much everything changes when you shift, because it is all on the inside. You need to be able to see the difference. I promise I will stop if it hurts or even just doesn’t feel good.”
Sarah nodded hesitantly.
Craig shook his head, “You get to decide but you have to be clear with what you want.”
Chapter 17
2000 - The Discovery
In November, Nathan Dai learns he has leukaemia. His foster sister, Nicole, tests as a good HLA match and her bone marrow is used to treat his leukaemia. 15 days later, he leaves the hospital AMA. He is the first Dog of War who had not been bitten. His research, along with that of Nicole and funded by Jonathan, leads to the discovery that the infection is something like a virus that infects the stem cells in its carriers' bone marrow. This is what allows the bones to change shape. Jonathan infects David with his bone marrow. David is the second Unmarked.
Sarah was long past being able to speak. The pain and irritability were gone. Her whole world was reduced to the feeling of Craig’s fingers, lips and tongue between her legs and Marv’s chest pressed against her back, his hands making gentle swirls on her breasts and belly, his cock hard and pressed tight into the small of her back. She moaned softly, eyes squeezed shut, head lolled back over Marv’s shoulder. He would occasionally give her neck a little lick. Something about the way he did that… she would have to try to remember to ask about it later.
“Sarah?”
She whimpered as Craig went still.
“Sarah, love, I need you to look at me now.”
Marv made a quiet groan way back in his throat. Sarah forced her eyes open and peered down at Craig. Her body had swallowed his hand to the wrist. She stared at it in confusion, not entirely certain how that was possible. He twisted his arm, her head flung back as another orgasm was ripped from her body, her scream now a howl.
Marv joined in. His hips started to twitch against her back. Craig was suddenly trying to quickly but carefully get his hand back. Marv’s skin was writhing against her back. She tried to squirm out of his grasp; her back wiggling against his cock was suddenly warm and sticky. Craig was backing away as the hand that was holding her became a set of talons.
Fear spiked through her as she realized Marv had changed. He pushed her forward and stood over her growling at Craig, who was keeping his eye line on the floor, his whole body radiating submission. The growling got louder and was interspersed with snarls and snapping.
Sarah whimpered and tried to get away.
Craig kept his tone low and even as he said, “You’re scaring her, boss.”
Marv froze and sniffed Sarah’s head, then he whined and pulled her tighter to him. She squeaked in terror. Marv dropped her on the bed and sprang away from her, pacing in front of the door. His cock was red and wet and angry looking, the knot pulsing slightly. Craig crept forward on his hands and knees and knelt between Marv’s legs. With careful hands he reached up and squeezed Marv’s knot, holding it reverentially.
Marv sighed. He stroked Craig’s hair and looked up at Sarah. It took him a couple of tries, but finally he was able to Speak, “I wasn’t trying to scare you. That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” It said something about Speak that ‘seen’ could also be correctly translated as ‘smelled’.
Sarah was shivering, wrapped up in the soft blanket they had been laying on and curled up on to her side. Marv was watching her intently. He caught Craig’s hand and licked it clean, his eyes locked on Sarah. “Go,” he ordered Craig, nodding at the girl.
“I’m just going to need a minute.” Sarah mumbled. “Maybe two.”
Craig was still holding Marv. “Sarah, can you drink some water for me?”
“Yeah. Just a moment. You take care of Marv. I’ll get cleaned up and have a snack in a little while.”
Craig looked up at his alpha, who was watching the girl. He chirped a question and Marv focused on him, then leaned down to lick Craig’s face clean. Marv nodded at the door then headed over to the bed and spooned up behind Sarah.
Craig had a quick shower in Sarah’s bathroom, then went to make lunch.
----
When the boys came home at noon, it was clear that something had changed. Craig was serving lunch, there was no sign of Marv or Sarah. “Weel, now, that is verrry interesting.” Gus said, grinning like an idiot.
Craig just
shook his head. “We were all hoping for her to bond with Marv, it’s the best thing for the pack. I’m not entirely sure how that is going.”
Gus rubbed his hands together and grinned a little harder, “So, am I on deck this afternoon?”
Craig shrugged, “If you insist. Might be better to leave Mac in the house this afternoon, though.”
“Wait! What? Why?” Mac interjected, “Not that I don’t want to, but why me?”
Craig watched Gus as he spoke, “If Marv shifts, he won’t see you as a threat. Gus is old enough to give him some pause.”
Gus glared at Craig, “He was fine with you this morning!” Then he hesitated and asked, “Wasn’t he?”
Craig chewed his sandwich thoughtfully, “I was the gateway that got him into the room. But she cuddled up against him when she passed out and I can’t see him letting anyone get between them now.”
“Which brings us back to my original question, why me?” Mac said.
Craig shrugged. “It should be Sean. He’s close to her age and doesn’t want to fuck her. But I can’t see him going in there and not panicking. Having him freak out isn’t what she needs just now.”
“I’ll be fine,” Sean insisted.
“Really?” Craig asked, skeptically. “Even if they end up having sex and Marv shifts?”
Sean shivered. Mac gaped at him and said, “Wait… You want me to just go hang out and watch my alpha and my Ulfurinn do the nasty?”
“Yup. And offer to give it up if she taps out before he’s done.”
“Uh…” Mac looked uncomfortable.
“I’ll do it.” Sean said quietly. They all stared at him.
“Are you sure, lad?” Gus asked kindly.
“Yeah.”
When Sean crept into Sarah’s room, Marv was spooning her under the covers. He was human shaped. He lifted his head and watched Sean with narrowed eyes. Sean ignored him and found a chair near the door. He pulled out his phone and opened Tumblr because an internet based time suck was more than required in this situation. He checked out Nicole’s blog and laughed at Josh finally coming out to his girlfriend. Good for you, bro.
Sarah stirred a little at the sound of his laugh. “Mmm, Craig?”
Sean froze.
Marv rubbed her shoulder, “Sorry, darlin’, Sean’ll go get him if you need him.”
“I’m OK.”
“That’s good.”
“How long until lunch?”
“Any time you want.” Marv assured her.
“Mmm kay. I’m hungry but I need a couple of minutes before I’m ready to move.”
Well, that was his queue if he ever heard one, “Sarah? Can I bring you anything to eat?”
“Thank you. Can I have cheese and crackers and fruit?”
“If you like. Need me to break out the chocolate and white wine too?”
“Oh dear god! I think I love you, Sean!”
“Umm, you’re welcome? I’ll be right back.”
When he got back, Sarah was sitting up in bed, wearing Marv’s t-shirt. The combined smell of his alpha and his Ulfurinn hit Sean like a ton of bricks. He stumbled for a moment and almost dropped the plate. Marv hurried over and took it from him without a word.
Sarah asked, “Are you going to stay for a while, Sean?” as she watched.
“Uh… yeah… if that’s OK.”
“Yup. Just, take your boots off before you sit on the bed, OK?”
Sean looked at Marv, who shrugged and added, “You’ll want to take your pants off while you’re at it, son. You smell like the garage.”
“Oh, crap! You were supposed to be on engine duty! What happened?”
Sean set the wine down on Sarah’s bedside table then stripped down to his t-shirt and shorts. He tried not to make eye contact with Marv as he sat on the other corner of the bed. “Craig thought, um, that I would be... helpful this afternoon.”
“Did he now?” Marv said with a dangerous tone in his voice.
Sarah noticed, “Is Craig in trouble?” She sounded worried.
Marv shook his head. “Nope. But if you would rather have someone else -”
Sarah shook her head and reached out to take the glass of wine. After she had a sip, she set it down. “Look, I’m only beginning to be able to follow the pack politics. Sean has never been anything but super polite to me. Am I supposed to be mad at him because I slipped getting out of the truck or something? He did warn me.”
“I killed my wife.”
Sarah looked down at her lap. “I heard that. It was, what? Twenty years ago when you were first turned?”
Sean nodded.
“Nicole explained that the pack that turns a person is responsible for making sure they are safe. That for the first while we are all a danger to ourselves and others, but the pack is supposed to protect us.” She looked at Marv, then at Sean for confirmation. They nodded slowly. “So, if the pack who turned you knew you were dangerous but didn’t give you the care to keep you from going home and didn’t give you the information to let you know what was going to happen, well…” She trailed off and flapped her hands for a moment, like she was trying to think of the right words. “I guess what I’m getting at, is you have to be informed to be able to consent. If you weren’t, well, that is about the most horrible thing I can think of for them to have done to you.”
Sean stared at her, his nose twitching slightly, “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“Of course I do! I know my saying that isn’t going to make it better, but… I guess I’m just trying to say that I am really glad that you are all trying to take care of me and keep me safe.” She took another sip of wine, “Even if Marv’s idea of what taking care of someone is about three hundred years out of date.”
“Hey! I’m not that old!”
Sarah raised an eyebrow and popped a chocolate in her mouth. She made a happy little noise as she chewed. After a bite of pineapple, she asked, “How allergic to chocolate are you?”
“Whaddya mean?” Marv asked.
“Well, am I going to have to brush my teeth before I kiss you? Should I be kicking you out of here while I’m eating it?”
“Nah, we’ll be fine.”
“Well, in that case, Sean looks like he needs a hug.” Marv startled, then leaned across the bed and hugged his pack mate. Sarah giggled and a moment later wiggled between them and hugged Sean herself.
“OK, as much as I hate to rain on this tender moment, I am crusty and disgusting and going to have another shower.” Sarah wiggled out from between the two men.
Marv caught her hand. “You are not crusty and disgusting. You are beautiful.”
Sarah turned back and kissed Marv on the cheek, “That is so sweet! Unfortunately, I can smell myself and I need to go fix that. I’ll just be a few minutes.” Sarah hurried off to the bathroom and locked the door.
Sean sprang into action, stripping the bed and hustling the blankets out the door. Marv watched him as he hurried to remake the bed. “What are you doing?”
Sean didn’t stop as he replied, “Military corners. If she thinks she is crusty and smelly, there is no way she would want to get back into bed when it is like that.” Sean grabbed the last teddy bear soft blanket out of the hamper. “Congratulations of getting your rocks off, but if you could keep it in your pants for an hour so I can wash these-”
“Hey! Watch it!”
Sean froze and looked at his alpha. “Of course. I could just go. I’m sure Sarah would be more than happy to wash her blood and your jizz out of the sheets. Especially since Gus was talking about how she wanted us to stay human because she isn’t really comfortable around our combat form yet.”
“Yeah, I’m going to have to work on that.” Sarah said from the doorway to her bathroom. Sean and Marv both looked guilty. “Thank you for doing the laundry, Sean. I was going to wash the… bodily fluids out of it after my shower, but I appreciate the help.” She thought for a moment, then added, “If you aren’t too grossed out by it, that is. If it bothers y
ou, I can -”
“I am a Marine, ma’am. I am not squeamish.”
“Of course. Thank you. I’ll just get my comb then be out of the way.”
“Sarah? There’s a restaurant about fifteen minutes out of town. They don’t have pizza, but if you are sick of our cooking -”
“Thanks Marv, but I don’t have any complaints about the food. Craig’s roast chicken is amazing and I think that we all could do with a family meeting.”
Marv winced. “Yes, ma’am.”
Sarah watched as Sean bundled the laundry out of the room. Then she turned to Marv, “Pre family meeting, meeting?”
Marv hung his head. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to scare you, I just… went off like a teenager after his first glimpse of ankle.”
Sarah stared at him. Then she started to laugh. “Ankles? Really? You’re yanking my chain, right?”
“Maybe a little. Things were different when I was a boy.”
Sarah looked around, then sat on one of the chairs. “From my point of view, everything was amazing. Then you changed and that was… scary and unexpected -”
“I am so sorry!”
Sarah held up a hand and continued, “But the thing that really bothered me was the snarling. What was that all about?”
“I don’t know.”
“What I am worried about is: was that a statement of ownership?”
“No!”
“You weren’t looking at Craig and… and mate guarding?”
“Um…” Marv cringed. “Maybe a little.”
“But then you tried to send Craig over to me?”
“You were scared and I wanted to make that better, not worse. I thought me going back over to you would have made it worse.”
“How long have you and Craig been lovers?”
“Uh… it’s more complicated than that.” Sarah just looked at him. “The one who turned me was running a brothel in New York in 1920. I killed him. He had picked up Craig at some point. His pack was expecting me to take over. I didn’t want that. When I left, Craig followed me.”
“Marv, look… jealousy in people is not a healthy thing. But as I keep getting told, human rules do not apply here. If you need me and Craig to not be a thing, I need you to tell me that. You two have been together for a long time. I’m ok backing off and leaving you both alone.”
