by Jade White
“I will,” she told him.
Night took her hand in his and kept it there as they went. The forest area the dissident group had chosen to enter was one of the thickest areas, making it much more difficult to get through or stick together. More than once Chastity had to let go of Night’s hand, but he was quick to reclaim her again as soon as possible each time.
“The birds are complaining up ahead,” Chastity observed. “I’ll bet anything they’ve been disturbed.”
“Yes, you’re probably right,” Night agreed.
They were with twelve other men, including Boris and Rick and the four other wolf-borns. Each of the natural werewolves was worth three or four of the made ones, yet still the other group outnumbered their own by at least ten, so it might be difficult to corral them all if it came down to a fight.
“Why don’t we see if we can hear what they are saying first, before we just burst in on them?” Night suggested. “It may be that Em doesn’t have as much of a following as she believes.”
“Up the trees?” suggested Rick. “We may as well get used to climbing.”
“Rick, I swear you think we’re monkeys instead of wolves,” said Boris with a smirk.
“It’s a good idea, though,” Night pointed out. “Anybody who doesn’t wish to climb, stay right here, and don’t get seen. I, for one, intend to go find out what they’re up to.”
In the end, they all climbed the tree, aware that should anyone stay on the ground the others might be more easily discovered. Night found himself admiring the agility with which Chastity climbed, and the view of her backside was rather pleasant as well.
Of course, he realized that meant the other men in the tree could see it, too, but he wasn’t the type of man to get jealous. As long as they kept their hands to themselves, it was all good. He caught Chastity looking behind her over her shoulder, well aware of his regard. She was wearing a knowing smirk on her pretty face.
*
“I still say it’s completely unacceptable, bringing in them outsiders and deciding to consort with the female almost immediately,” Em was complaining. “I mean if he wanted a mate, he had two women to choose from right here. I tell you, he thinks wolf-borns are better than us made wolves. It’s only obvious.”
“Well, maybe he just thinks Chastity is a beautiful, kind woman and the fact that she is wolf-born is just a perk,” argued one of the men with her.
“What do you know anyway, Amos?” she scoffed. “You heard what that Boris character said. She’s been sent here to breed with Night, and start creating a new line of super-wolves. If they make super-wolves, what more use are they going to have for us?”
“Surely Lord Night wouldn’t throw out the made wolves just because wolf-borns and super-wolves became a part of his pack. He has always been a most benevolent master. I cannot see why he would change in his ways now.”
“Oh, I can see how he will change,” growled Em. “He’ll change because of her. Chastity won’t want us around once her own people join her here. You mark my words, we should leave before we get thrown out. We should leave and form a pack of our own.”
“I think this whole meeting is very foolish,” Amos decided. “It is unwise to go against our lord in anyway. You must remember that he saved us from our own self-destruction. Do you really wish to return to behaving like a wild animal, fighting for survival in the woods, unclothed and sleeping in your own filth? I, for one, have no intentions of doing anything of the sort. I do not believe Lord Night would put us out, even at the whims of his mate. Further, I do not believe that Chastity would further any such aims.”
“You are a fool, Amos Little,” Em told him heatedly. “For all that she is in sheep’s skin, that woman is still a wolf. In addition, what right has she to come into our fold and become his mate, when he should have chosen a mate within his own pack. She has no right to be here. She has no right to become his mate.”
“This whole thing is not about Em’s affront at the nature of the child our lord wishes to make with his new mate, it is only about her being jealous,” Amos told the others. “Her problem stems from the fact that he did not see fit to choose her instead.”
“Whether that be her motives or not, the fact remains that we are being disrespected,” spoke up another man, Cyrus Biggs. “If he’s so worried about bringing in his wolf-borns and creating super-wolves, what use will he have for us in his new world?”
“He must think they are better than us,” Em agreed, pushing her opinion yet again.
Tired of what he was hearing, Night jumped down from the tree to join them. “Or maybe, and this is just a thought, maybe he knows that a pack of made wolves is not an immortal pack, and since he is an immortal perhaps he ought to begin thinking of the future beyond his current pack’s life span. Maybe he is also thinking that if he brings some women to live here, more of the males could find fulfillment during the extended lifetime that they do have. Maybe he figures that the only possible enticement such women might have to come here would be the promise of their own homes, where their children would have room to thrive. These are all just speculations, of course, you can stop me any time.”
“But what about the super-wolves?” demanded Cyrus flatly. “What possible excuse could you have for those?”
“To tell the truth, the main reason I decided to go along with that is because you’ve got to admit, Chastity is well worth the trade-off, and it certainly can’t do anything to hurt the pack if our children our even better than we are,” he said. “Think about it, doesn’t everyone hope to see their offspring fare better than they have themselves?”
“Yes, that’s true,” Cyrus conceded.
“And you’ve got to admit, there are plenty of trees in which the houses could be built,” Amos put in. “If we go off by ourselves as Em suggests, we’re sure not going to be able to expand like that elsewhere. We won’t be well fed, as we will be here. We won’t have any females but one to choose from, so we’d have no hope of children at all. I say this is enough nonsense, people. Let Em have her fit, and let’s all go home and get to work on the future.”
“Well said, Amos,” said Night with a smile. ‘And one more thing. I have no intention of being ‘my lorded’ among the new group. If we’re stepping into the future, we may as well step all the way into it. Why don’t you all call me Mayor or Governor or something?”
Chastity dropped down beside him, smirking. “Now, hold on a minute,” she teased. “If you were to call him ‘king’ that would make me the ‘queen’. I might like being treated like royalty, you never know.”
“Chastity, that is not helping the situation,” he grumbled, trying not to chuckle with her.
“Oh, well, I suppose outright calling you Alpha might work then, since that’s what you are.”
“And you as well,” he reminded her as he wrapped a possessive arm around her. “What do you say, fellas, is that a deal?”
“Yes, Alpha,” they all chimed.
Em sneered at them all. She knew that she could not possibly go off alone and survive for long. But she also knew that it would be foolhardy to try to traverse through the endless forest until she found human society and attempt to tell anyone about what was going on right under their unknowing noses. She’d never make it there, let alone figure out exactly who to tell if she did.
“Fine, I know when I’m defeated,” she grumbled. “But don’t think for one moment that I am pleased with this situation. I still say Night should mate with me. It would only be right.”
“You could take two mates, Night,” Amos suggested with a grin.
“Or I could assign the bitch to be whelped by you,” said Night with a much more wicked grin.
“Never mind,” said Amos, cringing away from him at the thought. “I think I’ll take my chances with the new females once they get here.”
“And maybe I will get one of the males interested in me,” Em said hopefully. “This lot certainly hasn’t got much to offer, but a real wolf-born, now tha
t would be something else altogether.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Amos smirked, making the rest of the men laugh as well.
“Oh, you men!” she fumed. “Maybe I should see if Julian would let me come and live there. It’d be better than putting up with such sass from the likes of you.”
“Sorry to say, but Julian is precisely the type of wolf you were accusing me of being,” Night told her then. “He would not have any room for you there.”
Em sighed. “What’s so bad about me anyway?”
“I don’t know, I wonder if I could give you some tips,” said Chastity speculatively. “Maybe with some new clothes and a new look, you may just turn some heads after all.”
“You’d do that for me, after what I just did to you?” Em gasped.
“Of course I would,” said Chastity. “What kind of an Alpha would I be if I didn’t take care of my pack?”
“Thanks,” she whispered, blushing contritely. “Perhaps the future won’t be as bad as it seemed.”
CHAPTER SIX
A bird singing in the trees woke Chastity Fayre from a deep sleep. As her eyes fluttered open, she realized her mate was not in their bed. She stretched languidly, enjoying the fact that she had the room to do so. It was a luxury she never had growing up in the overcrowded werewolf pack back in the city, but one she didn’t mind having here at all.
Her old Alpha, Julian Hunter, had sent Chastity to James Nightsky four months ago under the premise that she was supposed to be there to teach his pack of made wolves how to practice werewolf first-aid, but she had quickly learned the true nature of her presence. As one of the super-wolves, Julian had secretly been breeding for over a century now, he hoped that she would produce an even stronger offspring with Night. It seemed that Night, too, was an enhanced wolf, and with the help of some supplements, they were supposed to “breed the next generation” together.
They were having no trouble at all with making the attempts, but unless she missed her menses this month, as she half expected already, they had yet to produce the offspring everyone so desired. She was about three days late, and all her fingers and toes were crossed that she would stay that way.
Night came back into their bedroom, his long brown hair draped over one shoulder. It looked as though he had decided to bathe in the new pond the men had dug near the waterwheel. As it had been pointed out by the tech-savvy Rick Collins, who had come here along with Chastity and her Uncle Boris, they may as well build something on the ground as well; make it look like a few people lived there, somehow. That way, the people below could distract any humans who might wander in, away from spotting their true upcoming home in the trees.
“You’ve been out swimming again this morning, I see,” she said with amusement. “I had hoped to find you in bed when I woke so we might get in that quickie you keep talking about.”
Amused, Night replied, “We don’t have time for quickies today, as you well know, my dear. Today we are lifting the first load of supplies onto the platform Rick’s has rigged up at the top of the main tree. We certainly can’t be selfish on a day like this.”
Chastity sighed and got up onto her knees in the bed so she could latch her arms around his waist. “Yes, I suppose you’re right, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking about it.”
“I’ve created a sex fiend, I think,” said Night, bending down to kiss the golden curls that topped her pretty head. “Not that I mind, of course. I don’t mind in the least.”
“Well, I still haven’t started my moon as yet,” she announced with a grin. “I wish Boris could lay his hands on a pregnancy test so we would be able to know for sure.”
“Well, if you start losing your lunch a lot or something, that might be a good indicator,” Night replied with a chuckle.
“Oh! You are so incorrigible!” she grumbled amiably. “You know very well those old wives tales don’t apply to wolf-borns, and maybe even especially not to me, since I’m some sort of super-wolf. Who knows what kind of symptoms I’m going to get once the deed is finally done?”
“Come, my sweet, we must get dressed now,” said Night as he pulled her to her feet. “The men would like to get started on our little project within the hour.”
“Oh, all right,” she conceded.
Truth be told, Chastity was just as excited as they all were, to finally begin to move building materials for their new town in the trees up where they’d finally be of use. Rick had hit upon an excellent idea when he suggested it. If they built it properly, it would be barely noticeable from below, and should be hidden from the view of the satellites that orbited above, creating a perfect hiding spot for the pack they eventually hoped to build there.
The thirty pack members currently there, mostly males who were made wolves rather than wolf-borns, had spent the last months gathering the supplies they were about to make use of from many of the old mining towns littered throughout this protected forest, deep in the heart of the Adirondack mountains. So deeply hidden was the place, in fact, that only one main road serviced the huge expanse of land, giving no clue to the fact anyone was inhabiting the area at all.
Chastity grinned as she looked at the man in charge of it all. Night was wearing the outfit she’d made him from the new supplies of material they’d gotten when the men went out to restock last month. Rick also now had an assistant, Carl Jackson, who had been sent by Julian to help with all the many innovations he had planned. The two of them had been almost inseparable ever since he’d arrived.
When Chastity and Night stepped out into the clearing where everyone was waiting, the first thing they saw was a huge mat made of reeds which was wrapped around a bunch of lumber the pack had managed to collect over all this time. It was closed with a long length of rope, which was hitched around a tree limb far up into the tops of the trees, out of sight.
“They’re here!” Amos Little shouted excitedly. The crowd of men cheered and got to their feet to greet their Alpha couple. Then, without any further ado, the logs were pulled quickly up into the trees. A few moments later, the huge mat dropped back down, ready to be spread again.
“Wow, they really did want to get started right away,” said Chastity with a smile as several people came forward and began to reload the mat with lumber again. The echo of a hammer sounded shortly afterwards, and everyone began to cheer as the second load followed the first. After about four loads went up in this manner, Night and Chastity figured their attendance was no longer required and decided to go see what was happening in the already existing buildings of their current regime.
“What happened here?” asked Night as they spotted a building that had been knocked down sometime that morning.
Em, busily knitting, glanced up from her knitting from her vantage near the rubble, and said, “I guess they’re taking parts out of that one. Amos said they’ll eventually haul it out of the way and put something nicer in its place. I don’t see how they’re going to get much good wood from that old thing, but to each his own.”
“I imagine it depends on what they intend to use the wood for,” Chastity pointed out, and Em frowned at her, confused.
“If they were to turn it into pressboard it could become useful again, for example,” Chastity said.
“What is pressboard?” Em wanted to know.
“Chopped up wood that is pressed together to make a board, I’d imagine,” Night supplied. “The name tends to give it away.”
“As it happens, that’s exactly what it is,” said Chastity, making a face at him. “Lots of houses get made from the stuff these days. Night, when is the last time you saw a house built?”
“I’ve seen construction plenty of times,” he replied. “But I’ve never involved myself in the process overmuch before this. I’m actually looking forward to seeing how it’s done.”
“Luckily your grocery shoppers returned from the city with a whole lot of nails,” said Chastity. “That will make the new construction much sturdier than carving them from wood, I’d have to sa
y.”
“You’ve got a point there,” Night had to agree. “But I think the most important item they carried was the deed for the old town.”
“It was so nice of Julian to buy it for us,” Chastity replied. “That way, we won’t ever have to worry that anyone will try to kick us out of here.”
“Yes, I agree with him that keeping it legal, at least to some extent, is the best way to go,” Night said with a nod. “As far as the humans will know, we’ll just be a small camping site where people can spend up to one week at a time.”
“Simply genius,” said Chastity with a smile. “Now all we need to do is build the camp while we’re at it, and make sure all the selected campers are werewolves.”
“Yes,” Night agreed. “That would probably be the best way to go. It would keep us from being discovered, for sure.”
*
The steady sound of hammering became a constant backdrop for some time to come, and Chastity listened to it happily, content in the knowledge that it seemed she and Night had succeeded. After a couple months without her time, she began to feel tiny movements from deep within, confirming her suspicions.
Boris had already begun to feed her the supplements that were meant to speed up the growth of her baby, so she couldn’t be sure if the little one had already gotten bigger than the norm by that point. Either way, she was expected to deliver three months sooner thanks to the supplements.
She hadn’t suffered any kind of morning sickness or other symptoms, not even moodiness, and certainly not lack of sex drive. If anything, her libido had gotten stronger than ever.
Today was another momentous occasion. The men’s dorm in the trees was now finished, complete with an elevator and running water. Rick had constructed a strategically placed drainpipe right down the side of a tree into a drain that emptied downstream from an underground outlet. The water itself was being fed in with a well and waterwheel set up, and the new wheel was generating power for the building.
For once, Chastity was actually awake before Night. He was still snoring beside her. But that was probably because she’d completely worn him out with all the sex they’d had last night. In fact, she was still pretty tired herself. Just the thought of it made her want to have him again.
