by Jade White
“Well, gentlemen, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go see how things went for the rest of the pack today,” said Night as he prepared to step away.
“The rest of the pack being the females in particular, I’d wager,” said Amos with a chuckle.
“Just because I’ve taken a mate doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore all the work that needs to get done,” he grumbled as he kept walking. “Now stop picking on me before I give you even more.”
“He’ll do it, too,” the little man told Rick. “But from what I’ve seen of you, you probably wouldn’t care anyway.”
Rick laughed. “Am I really that transparent?”
“More,” said Boris as he joined the group. “But that’s all right, Rick, because you’re exactly the kind of example these slackers need.”
The other men grumbled at this pronouncement, but when Boris pitched in right afterwards, they tended to let it go. At least the newcomers would not be a burden, and that was always a plus in their eyes.
CHAPTER FIVE
Night found Chastity sewing the hem on a pant leg of one of the men’s clothes. Beside her was a dwindling pile containing what looked like two or three other pairs awaiting attention. She smiled when she saw him, and his eyes held hers as he crossed the room and came to stand by her side.
“Hello Night, you and the men are finally back then?” she asked amiably.
“Oh, well, you know, I just couldn’t stay away another moment,” he teased her.
“Really? Why would that be, might I ask?” she chuckled.
“I suppose I just missed the pleasure of your company,” he answered. “Only, I don’t think we’d better drink any of that stuff tonight until we’re actually ready to leave.”
“Mm, why not?” she inquired. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I’d rather keep some parts of my adventurousness better hidden from the view of people who have no business with it,” he said, pointedly looking downward to his crotch. “Although, he does seem to be coming to attention without the benefit of that stuff anyway. Maybe it has more to do with you than it does the drink?”
Chastity smirked. “I suppose you’re just going to have to start wearing longer shirts then,” she told him sweetly.
“Either that, or we could always sneak off for a quickie,” he suggested in her ear, making her blush.
“Night!” she gasped. “You are just so—so incorrigible.”
“I try to be,” he agreed. “Why don’t we get dinner started so we can escape that much sooner?”
“Good idea,” said Chastity as she got to her feet. “Ladies? Night has voiced an opinion that he is very hungry. Shall we get to the task of feeding him?”
“Some more than others,” smirked Emily behind her hand in Tess’s direction. Tess cast her a quelling look.
“Now, Em, don’t be catty just because the Alpha never chose to court you,” she snapped. “You’ve got to admit that a young, beautiful wolf-born makes a much better catch than a lazy, old made-wolf like yourself. You should be glad our lord has not already thrown you out of the pack on your ear for being such a burden on us all.”
“Such harsh words from a woman who only managed to land the attentions of our lord’s second,” she sneered.
“That may well be, but at least I get any attentions at all,” Tess practically snarled at her.
“Ladies, enough please,” said Night. “Tess, you’re like a sister to me, it never could have happened. As for you, Em, you really are lazy. And if you try to start anything with Chastity, I really will throw you out on your ear. Now, if this conversation is over, please get to the dinner task. The men are quite hungry after all the work they’ve done today.”
“Yes, my Lord,” the two women chimed while Chastity held the urge to laugh in check. She knew better than to upset the disgruntled Em any further.
Dinner went rather well despite the attitude of Em and a couple of the others, who seemed generally to have decided that Night should have chosen a mate among the two unwed women. Chastity didn’t point out that Cookie was older than dirt, and she certainly didn’t mention that Em looked like she’d remained in wolf form even when she wasn’t in it, because it would just seem too vain of her if she’d done so. Instead, she merely smiled, nodded, and listened to what the others said to her, remembering it for later.
Chastity and Night went home with their drinks that night, unwilling to imbibe in the strong aphrodisiac while they were still with the others. She saw one of the men narrow his eyes as he looked at their goblets, but she didn’t think anything of it, and the two headed for the little house.
“Did it seem to you like some of the pack were a bit put out by us?” asked Chastity as they entered and Night shut the door behind them.
“I think Em has been spreading her poison among the ranks,” said Night with a grimace. “But I’d rather she spread whatever it is she might have with them than give it to me.”
Chastity laughed at this statement. “Fleas, at the very least,” she commented dryly.
“She should be so lucky,” said Night. Now come here and let’s down this stuff. I swear he needs to find some way to make it taste better.”
“Can’t argue with you there,” Chastity agreed as she took her goblet in hand. “Bottoms up.”
“If you like,” Night chuckled, making her pull a face, even though she also smiled as she did so. Then he set both of their goblets down and drew her into his arms. “You know, it’s too bad we don’t have any real music around here. I’d love to set the mood after the sour faces we were just enduring.”
“That’s silly,” Chastity told him. “All we need to do is forget all about them, and we should be fine.”
“I didn’t say it was a need, sweetheart, maybe just a want,” said Night. Then he started to hum a tune, and Chastity’s eyes perked up. She started to hum as well, and then the pair of them giggled. Night said, “Julian’s old lullaby.”
“Yes,” she agreed with a smile. “I believe he wrote it himself. I can’t tell you how many nights it managed to put me to sleep.”
“Well yes, although sleep wasn’t my intention for it tonight,” Night laughed. “Only comfort. I really do miss the old man sometimes. I imagine once you’re here a while you may feel the same.”
“Oh, undoubtedly,” she agreed. “So it’s official then?”
“What’s that?”
“Our first baby’s name is Julian,” she said.
“Yes, or Julianne,” Night chuckled. “Let’s not forget that possibility.”
“Yes, you’re right,” she grinned.
“Well, my drink has certainly kick-started some things,” he said, his grin taking on a much more lascivious tone. Chastity’s smile matched his own upon hearing this. Night leaned forward and caught her lips with his as he added, “What do you say, sweetheart? Shall we work on making you even less chaste?”
Chastity giggled, and gave him the most wanton kiss she could manage with him suddenly picking her up and carrying her toward the bedroom. If there was one thing for certain, whatever Boris was putting into their drinks, it seemed to be working like a charm.
*
The following day, everyone was set to the task of sorting through the goods they’d looted the day before. Night and Chastity spent much of the time in each other’s proximity, and it was obvious from the way they looked at each other and talked together that they were well pleased with whatever they had been doing the night before.
Rick walked around among the thirty people overseeing their activities and making suggestions. “Well, what we have here could stretch to make a main quarters for the men, and a few houses for the mated folks, but obviously we’re going to have to get a few more things somewhere if we want to do anything more. The structures could be started within the next few days, once we’ve chosen a few trees to put them in and such. Of course, we will want to build a new house for the lord and lady as soon as possible. It only seems right that the top dogs
should get the first pick.”
“Oh, no, we’re all right for now,” Chastity piped in. “Get the dorm for the men figured out first, and we’ll figure out how to build everything else around that. It makes the most sense.”
“Listen to her, giving orders like she owns the place,” Em grumbled as she glared.
“Listen to Em, trying to get herself into the dog house,” Rick commented dryly. The woman clammed up, of course, but she continued to scowl darkly.
“That’ll be enough, you two,” Night grumbled.
“But—“Rick began.
“I know you’re trying to help, but you have enough to do without bothering with Em and her attitude,” he said.
“Yes, sir,” said Rick, continuing with what he’d been doing.
Chastity sighed as she looked at the woman. She wished there was something she could do to get her to stop with the jibes and such, but she supposed she had every right to be jealous. Doubtless, she had been trying to get Night’s attention for years without success, so it was only natural for her to be angry that a newcomer had succeeded so easily. Too bad she didn’t know the whole story, though. If she knew that Night had been practically ordered to choose her as his mate, maybe she would back off a bit.
“All right, you guys keep working on the sorting, and I’m going to check on the batteries I’ve been charging all night. They should be fully charged by now if the wheel is working as expected.”
“What if they aren’t?” asked Boris with a smirk.
“Then I suppose I’ll have even more work to do,” Rick pointed out. Then he disappeared into the building in question and wasn’t seen again for several hours. When he emerged he stepped right over to Night and handed him a cell phone.
“You charged it?” he inquired.
“Yes, it’s fully charged, and you’ve got a call from Julian,” he said. “I told him what I could, so you need not discuss anything out here, but you could always take it somewhere else, I suppose.”
“Oh, all right,” said Night, blushing slightly. “So he already knows what we—well, yeah.”
“He knows,” Rick smirked. “He is quite pleased.”
Night nodded as he took the phone. “Julian? Hey, Rick is a godsend,” he said into the phone. “He’s figured out how to generate enough power to charge this phone, for one thing, and he’s already designing a most unusual city for us. It’ll take a while to build, of course, but—“
“How is Chastity doing?” Julian asked. “She’s not upset?”
“She’s a very pragmatic girl,” Night said with a laugh. “Very pretty, too.”
“I thought you would approve,” said Julian with a laugh. “Keep me updated on that, will you?”
“Yes, by all means,” he agreed. “We really need to catch up sometime, my friend. Maybe I should call you back when it’s just me and Chastity. It might be a bit easier to talk then.”
“Yeah, I look forward to it,” he agreed. “Tell Chastity I said hello, will you? Things seem a bit dull without her brilliant ideas and even brighter smile around here.”
“You’re not regretting anything, are you?” asked Night worriedly.
“Not at all,” he laughed. “If anything, I regret ever letting you leave me, but you know that all caregivers have to let go of their charges sometime. I was very glad to hear about how well you’ve done for yourself. I’d been thinking about you the last few years, wondering where you’d gotten off to; for Chastity’s sake, of course. I’d planned this quite a few years ago and always figured you’d return.”
“So then what you and my mother told me—“
“Was mostly true,” he cut him off. “The only real difference was that you were born after her arrival. It was her wish that you not be told. She didn’t want you to grow up thinking you were different. And you’ve turned out well, just as Chastity has done. I look forward to seeing what comes of our next generation, as I’m sure she is as well.”
“We should probably talk later, as I said,” Night replied. “Perhaps later tonight?”
“You want me to interrupt your alone time during the night?” Julian smirked.
“We don’t necessarily have to talk to you all night,” said Night with a smirk back at him “Talk to you soon, old man.”
“You too,” he replied, and Night pressed the end button.
The power cell indicator on the screen was completely green. “This is nice,” he said. “The car battery usually takes much longer to get the job done. Have you managed to get a working outlet?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been working on all this time,” Rick told him. “You’ll be pleased to know we can actually plug in up to four things and still have the juice to refill the batteries as well.”
“That’s wonderful,” said Night with a smile. “At this rate, you’ll be needing to add a few wheels in no time.”
“As to that, now would be a good time to figure out the next step,” Rick agreed.
“Later, Rick, now it’s time to eat, and then Chastity and I will retire for the evening.”
“Of course you will,” Rick agreed. “I’m surprised the two of you don’t begin taking meals in your hut,” he said with a knowing grin.
“No, I do not wish to alienate the pack by our absence,” he said. “They need to feel included, if we are to make it through the upcoming changes unscathed.”
And so that evening was yet again spent among the others. Night and Chastity excused themselves after the meal, and the others watched them go. Some of them seemed much less pleased than they had the day before, but the couple were too intent on returning to their house to notice.
They talked to Julian for a couple of hours, and then spent the rest of the evening enjoying one another in every way possible. By the time they were drifting off to sleep, they’d both decided that Boris must have upped the dose, but they were too sated even to care.
*
The next morning when Night and Chastity emerged from their little cocoon of bliss, they were met with almost open hostility. They cast each other a confused glance as they continued on into the gathering of wolves, some of whom turned their backs on them completely.
“What is going on around here?” Night wanted to know.
“I’m afraid it’s my fault, my Lord,” said Boris with an embarrassed frown as he bowed his head to him. “I had a bit too much drink last night, and let slip the nature of your new union with Chastity.”
“How much did you tell them?” Night asked with disgust.
“The whole story, it appears,” he answered. “They are upset that you don’t think made wolves are just as valuable as wolf-borns, and they think the idea of genetically enhanced super-wolves is very offensive.”
“Really?” Night scoffed. “What do they think they are, if not genetically enhanced humans?”
“I have no idea,” Boris said with a shrug. “Since Em appears to be the ringleader, perhaps you should be directing your questions to her.”
“Yes, I think I’ll do that,” said Night with an annoyed frown. “Where is she now?”
“Busy holding court with her new followers out in the forest somewhere,” he explained. “I believe they are thinking of leaving here completely.”
“Good, we don’t need them if they only want to cause trouble,” Night said.
“No, Night, not good,” said Rick from his other side as he came to speak with him. “If you let them go, these disgruntled wolves may very well betray us to the humans. Including our location and intentions.”
“Damn, that’s the last thing we need right now,” Night grumbled. “But what can we do? I don’t really want to imprison them.”
“But what else can we do?” asked Rick worriedly. “If they were to reveal our plans, the humans would be sure to come in here and shut us down. Especially if they were to mention the two of you.”
Chastity’s face had gone red. “Why do they have to make such a big deal out of it, anyway?” she complained. “It’s not as
if we’re trying to displace them personally, we just want a better future for our children. I wish they could understand that.”
“For all that they are wolves now, Chastity, you must remember that these people were born human,” Night pointed out. “They think the way that a human would think. The humans have always shied away from the study of genetics rather than embracing it. They’re never going to see it the same way that we do—as a means to improve ourselves. I just wish I knew a way we could convince these trouble makers that it’s perfectly natural to desire something like this.”
“Either way, we simply must prevent them from attempting to leave,” Rick insisted then. “We cannot take the chance that they would lead humans straight back here and ruin everything.”
“I agree,” Night said with a heavy sigh. “I suppose that we had better go and get them back. If they actually are on the move, they may be quite a ways from here by now.”
“Perhaps we would do best to have the faithful remaining men spread out to find them, such as they are,” suggested Boris then.
“Chastity, I want you to remain here,” Night told her, making her look up sharply.
“Why?” she protested.
“Because if they dislike your role so much they would leave over it, they might just as easily take the opportunity to end the problem in some other way,” he insisted. “Even a wolf-born who has been buffed up all her life could be killed if the group decided to solve the problem in that manner instead. Remember, we still don’t know what actual decision they’ve made.”
“But Night, if they come back while you’re away, they could just as easily kill me here,” Chastity pointed out. “I’d much rather go with you. It would be safer than leaving me alone.”
Night sighed again. This morning was just not going the way he would like, and he didn’t want his first disagreement with Chastity to happen today, either. He knew, of course, that they’d have to have one eventually. Just not now.
“All right, you can come with me,” he conceded. “But I want you to stick to my side no matter what, okay?”
