by Jan Stryvant
"Yeah, and I freaked out a whole hell of a lot worse than you did! Don't think I'm holding up any better than you are, I've done some nasty shit in all of this. Chad told me you hooked up with a wolf girl?"
"Yeah, Brenna. Thinking I'm gonna keep her, too."
"I thought you weren't interested in girls who turned furry?" Sean teased.
"Neither did I," John admitted, "but she grew up with this stuff, yet she copes just fine. Plus she wants me."
"Seriously?"
"Dude, I haven't had this kind of attention from a girl since Jane in tenth grade, remember her? She was the one who got it into her head that she just had to sleep with an Indian."
"Whatever happened to her, anyway?"
"She married my cousin," John laughed, "and up until a day ago I wondered if I had made the biggest mistake of my life."
"So you like her?"
"I was going to ask to hire her for my business and just put up with all of the constant attempts to bed me. She's hella smart and hella sexy. It's not like the tribe really has a problem with wolves, anyway."
"Thinking about letting her infect you?" Sean was curious about that. He could see why Chad had done it. It wasn't just the knee for Chad, but the unconscious desire to lead others, to be the top dog. Chad was born an alpha.
John, however, was a lot more laid back on a lot of things.
"I don't know, honestly. I always pictured myself with more of a cougar's spirit than that of a wolf. The whole pack dynamic thing never really meshed with me. Probably why I spend all my time working for oddballs and paranormals and living in town instead of back on the Res."
"I could always have Roger infect you, if that's what you want," Sean offered.
"I'd have to think about that, and he'd have to agree to it," John replied after a moment's hesitation.
"He'll do it if I tell him to, John."
"Yeah, don't go doing that. If he doesn't want to do it, leave it at that. Understand?"
Sean blinked. "If that's what you want, of course."
"Just 'cause I often don't act like it, I'm still an Indian, Sean. When it comes to the gods and the spirits, we don't take gifts that aren't willingly offered, and even then, we think about it long and hard. In fact, once we get done up here, I'm taking Brenna home with me and having a long talk with my cousin."
"Oh? Why?"
"He's one of our medicine men. They know a lot about the lycans, the fey and faerie, as well as demons and spirits." John paused a moment. "Actually, maybe I should bring your furry butt down to visit him some time as well."
That brought Sean up for a moment. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah, I think I'll ask him about that."
"John, ever since I've known you, you've never once offered to bring me onto the reservation or even introduced me to anyone in your family beyond your father."
"Well, yeah, you were just another city kid, no offense Sean, but you were about as vanilla as mundanes get."
"Oh? And now I'm not?" Sean said with a laugh.
"Actually, it's more a case of you needing all the help you can get," John snarked back at him. "Maybe we can learn you something before you embarrass yourself in front of all the other lions."
'Too late!'
"Oh, the abuse I take from all of you." Sean sighed. "Put Brenna on."
"Why?"
"'Cause I asked you to?"
"Just a moment."
Sean went inside his shop and started to clear off his workbench.
"Sean?" a timid voice asked over the phone.
"So, you like him?"
"Oh, yes! Can I have him?"
"You can't bite him unless he's willing and totally clear on it, and you clear it with me or Chad first, understand?"
Brenna grumbled. "I understand."
"Great, 'cause as of this moment, he's your alpha."
"Thank you, Sean!"
"Have fun, bye," Sean said and hung up the phone. It only took him a minute to find the machine Daelyn had built. The large post-it note helped. Taking his clothes off, he shifted into his hybrid form, then got the silver spool set up. He'd enchant the batteries first, then he'd see about the power section. That was all the same as the previous one, so he should have it all done before dinner.
"Sean? Roxy said you wanted to see me?"
Sean looked up and saw Stewart standing in the doorway. He pointed to a chair, then finished untarring the battery spell into the last of the batteries. That done, he dumped the excess energy into one of the finished batteries as he hooked them together.
"How far have you gotten through the books I gave you?"
"I'm done with them," Stewart said with a smile. "The only part I really didn't know was the spell that keeps your work from unraveling on you."
Sean nodded. "Yeah, that's a handy one. I'm surprised you didn't know it."
"Well, my father wanted me to be a member of the goon squad, basically. He didn't like the idea that I was a skilled enchanter. So I never got the advanced lessons, I'm mostly self-taught."
Sean looked up at him. "Really?"
Stewart nodded.
"Awesome! That's going to make all of this so much easier."
"Really?" Stewart asked, looking surprised.
"Yup, and before we start," Sean reached down into his own lion 'self' and pointed at Stewart. "You cannot teach any of what I'm about to teach you to anyone else, unless I, or another lion, allows it."
Stewart's eyes widened at that. "How'd you do that!"
Sean grinned. "I'm a lion. All those stories they tell about us? They're true."
"But Art told me you've only been a lion for a few months!"
"Being a lion is sort of an all or nothing proposition. Lucky for me, I got the 'all'."
"What happens to the nothings?"
"They die."
"Eww. So is that where you learned how to enchant? From the lions?"
Sean shook his head. "Nope, I figured all this out on my own. Course, now that I know it, they all know it."
"How come there aren't any other lions around?"
"There are, but they don't want people getting confused, as I'm the one in charge of this whole 'rebellion' thing, so they're staying out of the way for now."
Stewart just nodded and accepted that. Both Rachel and April had spent some time telling him about lions. Stewart was pretty sure now that they worshipped them.
"So, how do you do this," Stewart waved his hand at the machine Sean was working on. "I took a look at that tag machine you made, and while I couldn't figure out any of the spells on it, from what I do know, it should have taken years to make. And you did it in a week?"
"Actually, once you learn how to enchant by the normal methods, you could probably do a job like that in eight or so months. But I didn't have the time for that, so I had to come up with new methods.
"Now, what do you know about computer programming?"
"Huh?"
"You know what computers are, right?"
Stewart looked at Sean like he was mental. Sean almost laughed; it had been months since a lycan had looked at him like that.
"Of course I know what computers are!"
"And programming?"
Stewart shrugged. "Why should I learn that? I'm a magic user."
Sean smiled. "Because casting magic is very much like programming a computer."
Stewart stared at him, his jaw dropping.
"So you're going to sign up for college to study computer programming here at UNR."
"You want me to go to college?" Stewart looked at Sean in a combination of shock, surprise, and dread.
"I spent three years studying for a degree in computer science. I don't have the time to teach you everything I learned, Stew. It's going to take me months to teach you how to apply what you learn there to magic, but I need you to learn it first, and I need you to learn it with the idea that eventually you're going to be teaching my kids, and your own as well."
"But I don't want to go back to scho
ol!" Stewart complained. "I want to learn enchanting!"
"You will be learning it. When you get done, you'll know it better than anyone other than me."
Stewart sighed. "Yeah, but I sucked at school."
"Sign Rachel up for the same courses. She's pretty smart."
"But she can't cast magic!"
"No, but she can help you study, and between her and April, I'm sure they can come up with all sorts of wonderful awards for when you do well," Sean said with a smirk.
"Ummm…" Stewart blushed.
"Talk to Roxy about getting enrolled, then talk to Deidre about finances. You'll be living here, of course. Once you get in, bring me the course book, and I'll tell you what's important and what's not."
Stewart sighed again; he really wasn't a big fan of school. And now he was going back to it. What made it worse was he didn't know a damn thing about computers.
"Isn't there anything you can teach me now?" Stewart asked.
Sean stopped and thought about that, he could make Stewart a watch like his father had made for him, with some of the same study aids in it. Some of the stuff was pretty advanced, and he could add to it as Stewart progressed.
"Once I get this done," Sean said and motioned to the machines, "I'll put together some stuff for you to start with. But you're going to be making stuff the old-fashioned way for some time to come."
"At least I'll be doing something," Stewart said with a smile, "I just don't want to be useless, you know?"
Sean nodded. "Trust me, I know. Now, let's go get some lunch. Then I need to get back to work here. If you want to work on your own projects, you can use the workshop, just use the table on the other side of the room."
"Why's that?"
"I have a tendency to set things on fire," Sean said with a grin. "That's why there's all these fire extinguishers in the room."
It was after dinner, and Sean was considering paying Deidre a visit and either going over the books or having a romp in bed with her. It had been a while, and she was carrying one of his kids, so the last thing he wanted was for her to think he didn't care.
"Sean, Love?"
Turning, Sean saw Sheila standing there in human form and smiling up at him. She really was a very pretty young woman, and for all that Sean now knew a lot more about her non-bedroom talents, she looked as innocent as they came.
The single-piece thin wool dress she was wearing, which only came down to her thighs, also made it clear that Sheila was one very desirable woman. He revised that to an excited and desirable woman, seeing the way her nipples were causing very visible bumps under the dress that was already being stretched by her chest.
"Yes, Sheila?"
"Could I talk to you a minute?" She smiled up at him. "In private?"
Sean nodded. "Lead on."
Following her, it was obvious she wasn't wearing any underwear, and Sean had to admit the view from behind was as good as the view from the front.
"Close the door, please," Sheila said as they entered her bedroom.
Sean pushed it closed, then watched in surprise as she reached down and grabbed the hem of her dress, pulled it up over her head, then dropped to her knees before him and tossed it off to the side. She had his pants undone and was yanking them down before he was quite sure what she was up to.
"Sheila, what's..." Sean sighed as she took him into her mouth and teased him erect with her tongue.
"Hmmm?" she asked, the vibrations having the intended effect as he just smiled and leaned back against the door. Sheila winked at him and started to fellate him. Sean actually hadn't slept with Sheila in weeks, even though he did have feelings for her. This had been a tough decision for him, because with all of her training, she was a complete animal in bed, and sleeping with her was quite the experience.
The problem was, her submissive attitude towards him meant that, as long as he kept having sex with her, she wouldn't hook up with another male. Well, hook up permanently, that is. From the things Peg had told him, Sheila was hooking up with the guys on a temporary basis several times a day.
Putting his hands on her head, Sean just closed his eyes and enjoyed the experience. It wasn't until he was starting to get close that she suddenly stopped and, opening his eyes, Sean noticed the look on her face as she literally climbed up his body. It was a look of determination.
"Breed me," Sheila whispered in his ear as she wrapped her legs around his waist and slowly settled back down, taking him inside her. He was shocked at just how wet she was, and his lion suddenly told him that Sheila was most certainly in heat.
"What?" Sean gasped as he grabbed her hips and slowly worked himself in and out of her.
"Breed me. I want a lion cub. Just like you gave Peg." Sheila bit her lip and looked at him. He could see a brief expression of apprehension cross her face.
"Wait, what? You want me to put a cub in you?" Sean asked; he hadn't stopped screwing her. He liked Sheila, and dammit if the idea of making cubs was one that went right to the core of his being. His lion was also very much in favor of the idea, not that Sean was opposed in the slightest.
"Yes." Sheila leaned forward and, putting one hand behind his neck, she licked and nuzzled his earlobe. He actually felt himself growing stiffer at that.
"Why?" Sean asked.
"You have to ask why?" she whispered throatily into his ear.
"Hell yes, I have to ask why. It's been weeks since we've had sex, and now you're begging me to not just knock you up, put to put a lioness in you like I did Peg. Why?"
Sheila giggled. "I don't feel you slowing down."
"No, you're getting knocked up, like it or not. But unless you want a fox, I want to know why?"
She growled then and nipped his ear, which definitely cooled his ardor.
"Because you're my king, my master, my liege, my leader, my god! You're my lover's husband! You're the biggest and the best, and the lion that scares the hell out of this little fox, because we both know I'll do whatever you tell me to, even if it means my death, and I'll sing your praises the entire time!
"You're a god, Love, and you're my god! Of course I want your babies! I want what you gave Peg because I love Peg, and for all that you scare me half to death, you also make me want to melt at your feet, to wrap my body around yours every time I see you, I want this! I want to have your cub inside me, I want to give you as many lions or lionesses as you'll let me!"
Sheila had a tight grip on his hair now, and she was staring into his eyes with a look of utter need.
"I'll never have this chance again, Love! Never!"
"Oh, you're going to be getting this chance a lot!" Sean growled and, grabbing her hips tightly in his hands, he spread his legs and pumped his hips up in counterpoint to her body moving up and down against him. "I'll give you all the lionesses you wa..." Sheila mouth came down on his, and in an instant, she had a serious case of lip lock going on, as her talented tongue snaked around his mouth and teased at his.
Honestly, Sean hadn't been this turned on since Roxy had made her desires clear to him! Submissive Sheila, the bold temptress to all she came across—well beside him—who could seduce any man, lycan, or magic user she met, was begging him, him, for children.
Oh, he was so going to do this!
Dropping to his knees, he laid her back onto the floor, covering her body with his as her legs came up and wrapped around his waist, and one hand wrapped around his neck to run through his hair, the other going down low to tickle his balls.
Reaching down inside, as he had done with Peg, Jolene, and Roxy, Sean triggered the magic that laid within his lion just as Sheila released his lips and screamed as she had an orgasm Sean could only describe as epic, causing him to immediately go over the edge as well. Grinding in to the hilt, he just held himself there as he came, filling her with his seed.
Lowering himself carefully, Sean pulled her body close to his as they both shivered and shook, though Sheila continued to shiver and moan for several minutes after his own orgasm had run it
s course.
"Thank you, my lord," Sheila whispered in his ear when her breathing had finally slowed down.
"I'll give you all the cubs you can handle," Sean said, his voice a little growly, "but I'm the only one who gets to put his cubs inside you, understand?"
Sheila looked up at Sean with wide eyes. She could hear the possessiveness in his voice, and it made her insides melt. She'd fretted over this decision from the moment Peg had told her she was pregnant. She'd immediately felt jealous then, as a need arose out of nowhere and filled her mind.
When they'd shaped her mind and her habits back in the kennel she'd been trained in, she'd been told again and again that her wants and needs didn't matter. That she was a servant to the pleasures of others, a toy, and even now that she was free, she enjoyed the lifestyle into which she'd been raised and trained. But the very thought of being fit to have the children of one such as Sean, a lion, a god! To be worthy to give birth to the gods themselves, that was not something one such as her should ask for.
But she had. She'd thought he'd tell her no, perhaps punish her.
"Thank you, Love!" Sheila said, hugging him tightly.
Sean smiled. "No, thank you. You're a treasure, Sheila. The girls might yell at me for taking another mistress, but damn if you're not worth it." Sean kissed her. "Now, how about round two?"
Sheila smiled shyly up at him. "What about your wives?"
"Oh, I'll take care of them, don't worry about that! But what kind of a lion would I be if I didn't show my loyal and faithful servant just how much I cared and loved her?"
Sean blinked in surprise as she went off under him a second time. Oh yeah, there was no way his ego was gonna fit through the door out of here anytime soon.
It was good to be the king.
Failure is not an Option
"What the hell?" Chad asked, looking at the screens as the van drove through the streets of Seattle. "Is there a convention going on or something?"
"Hard to believe it's two in the morning." John sighed.
"Look at all these people! And the cops! There's stuff going on everywhere."
"Almost like somebody didn't want an army of people coming down on the sly to cause problems," Jonas said, looking over at Chad.
