by Jessica Snow
"So tell me Cassie, who do you think will win?"
"The Lockwood is faster, that is for sure," the younger woman replied, looking at Keith with enough hunger in her eyes Melanie could feel a surge of jealousy, "but Thornblood hasn't been defeated in a trial by combat in what is it, twenty, thirty years?"
"Yes, but the last one to do it was Lockwood's Father, the former Lockwood Alpha," the older woman remarked. "I was there for that conflict, just after I became Alpha of our Clan. It was a very vigorous fight, leaving both men battered. Although in my opinion, younger Lockwood here looks more than a match for the situation."
Melanie felt pride in the Alpha's words, who glanced over at her with a polite nod. Melanie nodded back in acknowledgment. "Your Mate will give a fine showing of himself, regardless. Rumor has it you were a police officer, is that correct?"
"Yes, it is. I apologize, Madam. I must have forgotten our introductions last night. It is a pleasure to become reacquainted."
"Thank you. I am Helen Greenstone, of the Greenstone Clan. This is my daughter, Cassie."
"I thank you for the kind words. If we may, though, I feel my attention diverted from the fight."
"Of course. Let's watch," Helen said, clearing a bit of space next to her for Melanie to step. She slid into the opening and found she had a much better view of the proceedings. Nioclas swung his right hand in a huge open-handed clawing slap, which Keith avoided by pulling his head back. At the same time, he kicked his left leg out, catching the other Alpha in the thigh, knocking him off balance. Keith took advantage of the stumble, gliding forward into a thunderous leg sweeping throw that took both men to the ground, Keith on top. Straddling Nioclas' torso, Keith landed thunderous elbows to the red-haired Alpha's head, bloodying him and sending an audible crack across the ground as his nose shattered. Nioclas's head rocked back, and Keith threw his arm over, sliding his body into a side chokehold that slowly squeezed the man's head until his face was bright purple.
Melanie was familiar with the choke, having used it herself on the streets. She knew that Nioclas had two options at this point. He could surrender, or be killed. The entire crowd watched as Nioclas struggled valiantly against the hold before finally slapping Keith's shoulder in surrender. Keith got up from the ground, his body trembling in adrenalin fueled anger and power, barely controlling himself. He stared down at the gasping body of Nioclas Thornblood, before turning and walking away without a word.
The white haired Alpha stepped onto the grounds again. "Keith Waldwyck of Clan Lockwood has emerged victorious from the trial of combat," he declared. "By Council law, his First Mate shall be seated amongst us, and the Insult is finished."
Melanie watched as Keith approached, a gentle smile on his face when he saw the worry written upon hers. Kissing her softly, he shrugged his shirt back on. "I was in no danger," he whispered, kissing her on the temple. "Nioclas was a fierce warrior in his day, but his day is past. You will be honored by all from now on."
Chapter 18
For Melanie, the aftermath of the Blood Insult was that every feeling of comfort and fun had been sucked out of the Gathering. At every turn, she swore she could see whispering comments in the side conversations of every meeting, every event she attended. Contemptuous sideways glances and barely overheard remarks from one werewolf to another filled her days, and she could feel the tide shift against her, regardless of Keith's assurances.
Morrigan Thornblood was also visible more, standing in a secondary position behind her father's chair at almost every meeting, saying nothing, but glaring her deep hatred at Clan Lockwood constantly.
On the formal political side of the Gathering, Melanie also sensed the increasing problems Keith was having as well. With the disruption caused by the Blood Insult, the various Clans had polarized, with Clan Lockwood on one side and Clan Thornblood on the other. While there were quite a few Clans that stood next to Keith and still supported him, many of the others, seeing a chance to take down a strong rival, temporarily allied themselves with the Thornbloods.
Melanie watched as vote after vote was brought to the Council's attention, only for each of them to go against Keith's wishes. While Keith and his allies may have been the Alphas of the more powerful and respected Clans, the Thornbloods have greater numbers. All of the disgruntled, second tier clans that were ready to take down those they felt were above them allied themselves with the Thornbloods.
The first sign of the new alliance was a dispute on air rights. Previously, travel fees for werewolves going through another's air territory was paid directly to the Clans involved. Via a proposal by the Thornbloods and carried by their new alliance, the Council itself would collect the fees, equally distributing them to all Clans regardless of if the travel went over their territory or not. It was a clear disadvantage to the Clans with major airports in their territory, while Clans with minor territory or even no air routes would greatly benefit. As Clan Lockwood contained four of the busiest airports on the Eastern seaboard, they stood to lose the most in the new, "equal" redistribution.
"It's not a matter of the damn money," Keith grumbled to her and Kimberly via mental link, "But the fact that the minor clans can now literally sit back and do nothing and make money off of our Clan."
Melanie could see the tight lines of Keith and Kimberly's faces as decisions kept going against them, until after three more days, she didn't think Keith could stand anymore. They had lost on almost every vote: air rights, education rights, Council fees, whatever else she could think of, each decision whittling away at the Lockwood's finances and power while enriching the minor second tier Clans. Desperate to help Keith, Melanie knew she could do nothing except help him relax at least a little bit. Retreating to their quarters, she waited up, making sure she was awake when he came in from his latest side meeting, his face black with concern. "We have lost another ally," he said as he slumped down in the chair of the sitting room.
"What happened?" Melanie asked. She felt more out of touch than ever, as Keith's stress levels led to him cutting off their psychic link more and more often, sometimes not even by choice. She could still feel his emotions, and his presence was always there, but his actual thoughts were now often just blurry impressions. "I could only tell you were talking to the Blanc Loup Alpha."
"Mmmm, yes. Henri has been a good friend for a while, but he is in a difficult position. His territory is now surrounded by enemies, and he cannot survive if he continues to support us. He informed me tonight that while he will not vote against me, he will abstain from supporting our Clan for the rest of the Gathering."
Melanie could feel her shoulders slump. While the Blanc Loup were small, she had found the time she could talk with their Alpha Female, a softly French beauty named Cherise, enjoyable. She had hoped that they could develop a friendship and had expressed as much to the woman in their last conversation.
Now it looked like that chance would never present itself. "What of our other allies?" she asked, kneeling at his feet and rubbing her hands along his tense thighs. Keith looked at her through his fingers, sighing as she worked at his knotted muscles.
"The Mac Tíre are an old alliance, their support is still strong. Like us, they are on a seaboard, so they cannot be totally cut off from support, and they have plenty of power on their own. There are others, but after this Gathering, I do not know how many."
Melanie rubbed her hands harder over his thighs, not knowing what to say. She felt her presence at the Gathering was a mistake, and had weakened Keith and their Clan with her even being there. She knew she had to show her support to her Mate, and shifted her hands, taking her hand from his thighs to her right hand tenderly caressing his cock through his pants, smiling as she felt it swell under her touch.
"Well, I'm glad to see that at least your stresses haven't taken away your desire for me," she joked, as Keith swallowed thickly.
"Melanie, you know that...."
"That I don't have to do a damned thing other than what I want to," she finishe
d for him. Giving him her sexiest gaze, she kissed the fabric covered hardness, while her hands reached up to unbuckle his pants. "And what I want to do is show my Mate that he is still the strongest, sexiest man I have ever known, the other fools be damned."
Unzipping his pants, Melanie carefully pulled Keith's erection out of his underpants, immediately swallowing it whole. This wasn't a time for tenderness and making love, she knew. This was a time to let her Mate feel how powerful he was, and how devoted she was to him. She sucked him greedily, slurping and licking him all the way from the fine hairs at the base of his cock to his shiny red tip, plunging herself over and over on him, burying him as deep in her throat as she could before hollowing out her cheeks and dragging herself off, her body's arousal growing as she felt his soft moans and growls grow in frequency and volume.
"Your cock is perfect," she whispered as she looked him in the eye, her hand pumping his wet shaft. "You know that every morning I wake up aching to feel you inside me, fucking me over and over again until I want to scream your name out loud?"
She felt a bit corny, with the clichéd porno dialogue, but the effect she had on Keith was obvious. His fingers bit deeply into the armrests of his chair, and she could see his eyes widen as she combined her sucking with a teasing of his balls, until he could control it no longer. Taking her head in his hands carefully, he began to thrust himself in and out of her willing lips, holding her still as he fucked her face. She could feel his arousal grow higher and higher, and she moaned around him, urging him on to give her everything he had. His thrusts grew stronger and faster, and she could feel him brushing into her throat with almost every plunge of his cock, until with another lupine growling howl, he came, filling her mouth with his sweet-salty come, Melanie swallowing every bit she could, with only a little seeping out the side. Sitting back, she wiped the last bit from the corner of her lips erotically, letting his wondering eyes watch as she sucked the last of his seed from her finger, relishing the taste, giving him one last erotic vision to savor.
"Delicious," she sighed, pushing herself up to her feet. Melanie smiled at her Mate and sat in his lap. "Now, did I at least take your mind off your stresses for a few minutes?"
"You're amazing," Keith whispered, capturing her mouth with his own in soft kisses. "But you didn't have to."
"I wanted to," Melanie replied, wrapping her arms around his neck while she dangled her legs over the side of the chair. "You're always the considerate lover, giving more than you get. Tonight was my turn. You don't need to do anything for me."
Keith relaxed into her embrace, sighing, and she watched his eyes flutter closed as the exhaustion of the meetings, the stress, and everything of the Gathering forced him into sleep. She kissed his forehead tenderly and whispered in his ear. "Sleep, my love. We can tackle these problems together tomorrow."
Chapter 19
Kimberly felt through her link with her brother as he finally fell asleep. She was grateful, Keith had been awake almost constantly since the fight with Nioclas Thornblood, getting less than an hour of sleep each night as he pondered and worried about his Clan's future. Now, it was her turn to do what she could as Clan Alpha Female.
Kimberly found herself in the gardens, next to a shrub which overlooked the river, gathering her mental energy. Kimberly was harnessing one of her most special talents, one that came to her more naturally than any of her other skills. While all werewolves were quiet, Kim had found at an early age she had a unique ability even amongst her kind to seemingly disappear, to blend into the shadows and mask her presence to the point that she could often sneak undetected past even attentive guards. It had served her well in the past.
Tonight, she was going to violate one of the most important rules of the Gathering, that of privacy. All Clan Alphas were given their own quarters or guest houses on the grounds, which by Council law were supposed to be private, treated as Clan territory for the duration of the Gathering. Kimberly would never even think of violating this most strict of laws if it weren't so vital to her Clan's survival. She was dressed in all black, her normal scent masked by washing herself in a specialty soap and spray, her lustrous brown hair tucked under a knit wool cap. Dressed in soft felt-soled shoes, she still had doubts. This wasn't sneaking past human guards or breaking into government buildings. This was testing her skills against werewolf senses.
Kim finished her meditations, gathering her will, and softly rolled to her feet. She was just about to stand to her full height when she heard a rustle in the grass approaching her. She froze, and waited to see what it was. The wind carried her a female scent, but that was all she could tell.
Whoever it was stopped on the other side of the shrub Kim was hiding behind, and she could hear more rustling as a device was pulled out. From the soft beeping, she could tell it was a cell phone, and somebody was making a call. "It's me," the voice said softly, and Kim felt her heart leap into her throat. Morrigan Thornblood.
"You think I like working with you assholes either?" the young woman growled into the phone, piquing Kim's interest. Whatever the hell was going on, she needed to listen to this. "Yeah, yeah, I don't want to fucking hear it. If you trace this call, you get what you want."
Kim kept her breathing as soft as she could, straining to hear what the other party was saying, but even with her werewolf enhanced senses, the mutterings from the phone's speaker was too soft. "Listen, I don't give a damn about your justifications for this. You know our deal. You take out Waldwyck and his bitch, and you leave my Clan alone. You get the tri-state area, and my Clan is safe. Permanently."
Kim almost leapt through the bushes to grab Morrigan and throw her over the cliffside when her heart froze in her chest at Morrigan's next words. "Yeah, I gotcha. Richter isn't to be touched by any of us. She'll be delivered to you free of major injury. After that, I don't care. Actually, I take that back..... send me pictures of her body. You guys still do crucifixions, right?"
Kim slowed her breathing even more as Morrigan ended the call without waiting for a reply, snapping the phone in half and slinging the shattered pieces down into the river below. She stormed away, her boots grinding into the gravel of the walkway as Kim sank down to the ground, sweat breaking out on her forehead. Regardless of Morrigan Thornblood's rage fueled naiveté, her traitorous acts had now placed all of werewolf kind in danger. She had to find Keith and wake him now.
Chapter 20
The meeting hall was ablaze with light as the sleepy, grumbling members of the Gathering assembled. For the first time, it was an Alpha only meeting, even Melanie staying in her room.
It was well past midnight, and even though few were as stressed as Keith, all were exhausted by the long meetings and endless political machinations. Nerves were frayed, and none were happy about being roused from their sleep. "Assembled Alphas, I apologize for...." the white-haired chairman began, before being cut off by the Alpha of the Blanc Loup.
"Can the shit, my friend. No offense," he said, "If you are gathering us at this fucking hour, then we don't need any ceremony."
"So be it. I turn the floor over to Kimberly Waldwyck."
Kim stood from her position at the table, still clad in her black clothing from her earlier activities, although she had taken the time to remove her knit cap and change into more normal shoes. There was no need for the assembled group to know that she had been planning on violating one of the most sacred of Gathering rules this night.
"Gathered Alphas, I regret to inform you that less than thirty minutes ago, I overheard a cell phone call between a member of a Clan's delegation and what I believe to be the Silver Bringers. I also have reason to believe that this Gathering will be attacked soon."
"What evidence do you have?" asked one of the Alphas, an Alpha Female aligned with the Thornbloods. "I have greater suspicion that you wish to end this Gathering early, before some of the important votes at tomorrow's meetings."
Kim rolled her eyes, vaulting the table to land in the middle of the space between the ten
tables. "Listen well, and listen on my honor. I overheard this conversation. Now, I personally do not give two fucks about who sent the message, and I have spoken directly with their Clan Alpha Female to discuss the matter. I leave the discipline of her own Clan members to her. But know this: danger is coming. If you wish to continue this Gathering, you are playing with all of our lives."
The old chairman raised his hand for silence, as others clamored to be heard. "I have known Kimberly Waldwyck for her entire life," the old man said, "And I believe her. As such, I have asked Clan Lockwood to mobilize all of their forces in the area, to act as protective forces. If the Assembly wishes, we can continue our Gathering in the morning. If not, we shall make a temporary adjournment to reconvene next month at our alternate location."
"And let the Lockwoods use their political muscle to choke the life out of our Clans?" another Thornblood ally said contemptuously. "I would rather risk my life here, now. If you lack courage, please, go ahead and take a respite. I'm sure the Lockwoods would appreciate it."
Keith's fingers gouged deeply into the oaken table in front of him as he stood to his feet, his eyes blazing as he barely controlled his rage. He could control himself against insults to himself, to his Mate, to even his own sister. But to challenge the courage of his entire Clan? He could feel his teeth lengthening when suddenly the faint sound of helicopter rotors could be heard in the distance.
"What the hell?" he asked, as an explosion bloomed against the side of the estate, shattering the stained glass windows of the hall and sending shrapnel flying throughout the entire room. Keith closed his eyes and ducked in time to avoid being blinded by the flying shards of glass, but could still feel the pain as sharp slivers sliced into his arms and cheek.
