Fulfillment 03

Saturday dawns cloudy still and the pack wakes to normalcy, save for one thing - the Ross wolf that remained guarded and chained in the back building.

Erich woke alone in his bed and found he missed the small warm soft presence that had been Madeline. He was going to have to petition the Tucker Alpha to bring her into Wyeth, even if only for a week or so.

Stephanie woke in the woman's quarters cranky and out of sorts. She headed immediately to the training room.

Emmett woke to Lyssa's hair in his face, her head on his chest. And he listened. To her breathing, to the beat of her heart. They were close to being two years mated. His mate. He tightens his arm around her.

The fingers on his chest move and her middle finger circles his nipple. "When was the last time there was an unmated gathering?"

"About six years ago."

"Did you go to it?"

"Yes. Like the rest, I kept looking for my mate," Lyssa flicks that nipple and he jerks, "searching for her in Wyeth and the other packs." Lyssa now pinches his nipple and he gasps. "Happily, I also looked outside of the packs."

"So, how many gatherings did you attend?" Her hand works slowly down his chest.

His mind is firmly focused on that hand. But she had asked him a question. "All of them."

She strokes across his stomach and he groans. "How many is that?"

"I'm not sure. Eight or nine." He wills her hand to move lower as she runs her fingers through the line of hair that travels from his navel to the base of his cock. It twitches and starts to fill.

"So, two or three females a gathering. You've had sex with a couple dozen females."

Her fingers circle in that line of hair. It was probably about three dozen, total, but he wasn't about to tell her that.

He reaches up to cup her face as she strokes his swollen cock. "I've only ever slept with one female that I love."

He feels her smile against his chest as her fingers continue to trace up and down his shaft. He thought he might go mad with the soft, gentle touches. He wanted her to wrap her warm hand around his length, to pump it up and down, to take him into her mouth, to impale herself on him so that he could worship her body. A low growl starts in his chest.

"Right up until the time you met me."

"No. Once I saw you the first time, I was done. Why the questions? You and I were both with others before we were mated."

"It's just.. The gathering made me wonder."

"Sweetheart, I wonder something."

"Hmm?"

He growls, grabs her, and rolls them over, holding her wrists to the bed and locking her legs under his. He looms over her, the head of his cock rubbing between her thighs. "Were you planning on making me mad with your touch?"

She smirks, looking up into his chocolate brown eyes. [How is your arm?]

She clenches her fist and flexes her wrist. [Good.]

[And your ribs?]

[Good.]

He smirks back down at her, seeing dark eyes hazed with lust. "Good."

He leans down and engulfs a rose colored and erect nipple with his mouth, nipping at the tip. She gasps.

Her fingers turn into claws. Her neck is already arched backwards, straining against the bed. She moans as he continues to alternate between sucking on her nipple and lightly biting it.

Her legs try to open wider so that he can settle between them but they're trapped under his. The head of his cock rubs against her entrance, sliding past towards the bed. She can't even shift her hips to capture him.

Emmett has moved his mouth up to her collarbone and was slowly bestowing kisses and small nips from one shoulder to the other.

Lyssa grunts. He pauses, a moment, and she feels the smile against her skin. He then sucks her skin into his mouth and pulls strongly. [What are you, 16? I don't need a hickey!]

[It'll be gone by the time I'm done with you, mate.] He releases the skin he's held in his mouth and looks down at the dark purple mark he's left. A quick dip down to suckle at her nipple again, then back up to her chin, kissing and nipping around her jawline.

He chuckles when she tries, unsuccessfully, to latch onto his mouth with her own.

She was stuck, couldn't touch him, and was increasingly frustrated, which he seemed to be enjoying, but she was not. Not in the least.

In fact, it was really starting to piss her off.

Now he was licking the side of her neck, where the mating mark was. She took a deep breath. [If you intend on licking me all morning I'd just as soon you get off me so I can take a shower!]

He pulls back, wincing, to look at her. "Sweetheart, are you in pain?"

She stops and takes another deep breath. "No."

"Then why the yelling?"

"I don't want to be teased. I don't want to be held down. Can't you just love me?"

Was that it? Because he was holding her down? She was out of sorts. But, she had been captured, chained, hurt, hobbled because of her injuries, then the party and the gathering. So much had gone on in such a short amount of time. She needed her mate's love.

Well, then.

"Of course, my mate. Of course I can." He released her hands and, braced on his elbows, leaned down to kiss her.

Then, in one fluid movement, he rolled them again, so she was on top, and lifted her body above his straining erection. He lowered her slowly, making sure she was ready, and moaned when she had enveloped him completely.

"You feel so good around me, mate."

Lyssa exhales, her hands braced upon his strong chest as she shifted her pelvis. "And you feel good inside me." He watches her lip tremble slightly and her voice cracks a little. "I love you, Em."

He reaches up and pulls her down to him. "You're strong. You're beautiful. I love you, Lyssa." He cradles her against his chest, holding her tightly to him, and waited for the emotion that he thought would break free.

But, after a couple of minutes, she takes a deep breath and kissed his chest, then pushes upwards.

He releases her and she rotates her hips before settling down on him once more.

Then it begins. She moves up and down on his shaft, lifting and dropping herself on his engorged length.

He allows her to set the pace, wanting her to feel comfortable, wanting her to feel pleasure.

She scratches down his abs lightly and is rewarded with a light growl.

As one of his hands moves upward to touch her, she takes hold of it and sucks one of his fingers into her mouth. Her tongue swirls around the enclosed digit and he stiffens further inside her. How can that one little action turn him on even further?

His other hand traces up the side of her hip, her waist, and runs along the edge of her breast.

At this, she releases his finger and tips her head back with a moan.

He watches her, the gorgeous body of his mate above him, and feels his knot grow.

Her head comes up and her eyes widen as the swelling is embedded in her slippery pussy. And, now, he takes her hips and starts his short thrusts. [Touch yourself, sweetheart. Bring yourself over with me.]

Dark slitted eyes look at him as her hand traces down from her breast, to her navel, and through the dark curled hairs to the sensitive nub that resides below. He feels her dip into the juices flowing from her womanhood as she moves the lubrication to her clitoris and begins to rub.

His thrusts come faster. [Lys. I can't..] With a howl that's almost a roar, he releases deeply into her.

She's gasping for breath, mouth open wide, finger furiously rubbing near where their bodies are joined. As his cock begins to slow its pulses, he feels the tightening around him that signals her impending orgasm.

In a haze, he reaches up, grabs both breasts, and tweaks both nipples. She shrieks and arches backward over his legs.

He snakes an arm around her waist, to prevent her from going all the way back and bending his embedded cock in half.

She comes back forward, gasping, and he pulls her back against his chest. He nuzzles her ear and murmurs, "You are marvelous."

"Thank you. That was wonderful."

They fall into a doze, locked together, on the bed.

*****

Lyssa calls from the bed. "What's going on? Where are you going?" He was dressed in jeans and a charcoal t-shirt, a couple of shades darker than his hair.

"He's been in the cage long enough. He's starting to rant. Randall and I are going to find out what he knows."

She shoves herself upright. "I'm coming."

"Lyssa..."

"No. You can't stop me. I want to know. Is he a threat?"

Emmett's grin is feral. "If he ever was he is no longer."

"Alright, then." Having risen, she yawns once and slides into a pair of jeans and a peach tank top. He stares at her. "What now?"

More specifically, he was staring at her tits.

She snaps her fingers in front of his face. "Em?"

He blinks. This time a different grin splits his face as he reaches for her breast and rubs his thumb over her nipple. "I like the top."

She arches her eyebrows at him. [Sexy.]

"Sexier than naked?" His grin gets broader. "Males are so weird."

He drops his hand and takes hers. "C'mon. Let's grab something and go see Randall."

Simon and Thomas are currently at guard. They separate slightly at their Alpha's approach.

[I want you behind me, Lyssa.]

[You forget, mate, I can kill him where he stands.] It's another flat statement. He grunts in acknowledgment and takes her hand.

Randall opens the door.

The smell hits them all. Rancid, unwashed, male. Devolved.

Alan is curled up in the corner. He turns and blinks towards the open door.

Randall snarls and Alan covers his head with his arms and whimpers.

"Stand up!" Using his arms, Alan basically climbs up the wall and turns, fearfully, to face Randall. The chain rattles as he struggles to stand like a man.

Randall's eyes bore into him and he says nothing.

A minute passes. Two.

Lyssa leans forward slightly. Emmett squeezes her hand in warning.

"Just kill me!"

Randall continues his stare.

"What do you want?" No response. "What!?"

Another minute as Alan trembles.

Randall's voice is quiet. "Tell me everything."

It all comes tumbling out. "He, I guess, saw her one day, them, I guess, when he was running the edge of the range. He kept talking about being Alpha, especially after the Madam Alpha died." A breath. "With the Alpha's decline, he thought he'd get it. And, he thought, he thought.. He needed to be mated. The other one was at the burning. So, hey, mate an Alpha daughter. He kept seeing them together. And, I guess, he came up with a plan." Alan takes a few heaving breaths, licks his lips, and glances at Randall.

"He started talking to the three of us about it. Any of the others who were old enough were already mated. So. So. Grab the girl and he could mate her."

"Then, the invitation came. It was perfect. Grab her and wait for her birthday." Lyssa growls involuntarily. Fucking asshole. Kidnap a young woman, rape her and force her to be your mate. It was quite similar to what had almost happened to her after she arrived at Wyeth.

[Easy, sweetheart. Didn't happen.]

[But it could have!] Emmett winces.

[Please, dear heart, no need to yell at me.]

[Sorry. We need to get that rule changed. No female should ever be forced to mate someone. The packs should have a council or something.]

[Easy, Lys. Not the time.]

[It almost happened to me!]

Alan has gone on as Emmett and Lyssa converse. He glances at Lyssa when she growls.

"He said that one could mess with your head."

"Since we always saw them together it would take more than just him to grab the daughter, his mate. And we knew you'd follow, search for them."

"So, we got the ATVs and parked them close by. He figured out where to hide them, outfitted the basement of the house. Got syringes full of sedative."

"We were ready. So we watched and waited."

"He, he started to get antsy."

"Then, they showed up. I called him and we waited. Made sure no one was around."

"We grabbed 'em. She," he gestures to Lyssa with his chin, "bit Jason and he smacked her. Then we all heard her yell. I got the needle in her arm."

"M.. He put his foot on her neck and told the daughter to come or he'd kill her."

"She came. We took off."

"Left the young one alone. He'd killed us." The growl starts in Emmett's chest now. "We didn't touch her either! Young one wrapped herself around her."

"Kept her out, every time she started waking, we gave her another dose."

"Cept she woke up. Gave us all the whammy and the young one ran."

"Jason told us to kill her and took off after the other one."

"Gerry was pissed, kicked her a few times, started punching her. We heard Jason take off in the truck and knew we were fucked."

"The other male came in and said we should have some fun before we killed her, that she'd fucked up his life."

"Gerry insisted on taking her first. She clawed him, he landed on her, ready to screw her, and collapsed. The other male came at me."

"And your males showed up."

Randall pins Alan to the wall by his throat and snarls in his face. "Who. Is. He?"

"Michael." In a very small voice.

"Excuse me?"

"Michael. Ross. The Alpha."

Randall abruptly drops him, turns, and strides out. The doors close behind him.

A plaintive wail rises from the outbuilding. "What are you gonna do with me?"

Emmett and Lyssa trail Randall back to the house.

He turns to them once inside. "Lyssa, please let me know when your strength is returned and you are fit to fight."

Her eyes go wide. "But.. Ran.. Alpha. Me?"

"You suffered the most at their hands. Joanna will be your second."

"But, but. Me?" The question is almost a squeak.

Randall stands tall and looks her in the eye. "You have been sparring. You are the Beta's mate. You have already made your first kill."

She drops her head. "Yes, Alpha."

Checking for Emmett's response to his movements, Randall puts two fingers under her chin and lifts her head slightly. "You are reluctant." She nods slightly. "I've studied the workings of human society. We have to, to survive in this world and interact with them. There, human criminals are pursued, hunted, tried, and punished. If the criminal's life is forfeit, someone else does the killing for the victims. It's sanitary, bloodless."

"You aren't in that world anymore. Werewolf justice is swift and deadly. There are no 'technicalities' here. You have learned, insisted on, fighting males of the pack. Therefore, you are capable of meting out his punishment."

An inhale and a shuddering exhale. "Yes, Alpha."

[I'm not sure she's capable, Randall.]

[Showing weakness before the pack would not be good.]

Randall walks away, to attend to pack matters. Lyssa clutches Emmett, wrapping her arms around him and laying her head on his chest. She murmurs quietly, "I don't know if I can, Em."

"You are the Madam Beta and the victim. It's your duty." Lyssa closes her eyes. The tone of his voice made it clear he didn't understand and expected her to do it. She doubted she could explain it to him. It was just so, so natural for him.

The day passed quietly as the Wyeth wolves ran, and talked, and ate, and fucked, obliterating the scents and signs of the foreign wolves, reclaiming their range.

Stacey was setting new glazing in the broken window.

Anton was looking into replacing the broken tables and chairs.

Others pursued leisure activities or performed necessary pack duties.

Lyssa sat quietly on Emmett's lap, while he worked at his desk.

Erich struggled to put together a petition to bring Madeline in for a visit.

Joanna was texting Nathan, who was working again this day.

*****

Sunday

The next morning, Nathan arrives and asks permission to spend time with Joanna. He begins teaching her to ride a motorcycle.

They take a picnic lunch out into the woods.

They eat and talk quietly. He watches her, looking at the lines of her face, the way her hair fell across her shoulders, the way her mouth quirked up when she smiled. She has a small beauty mark on the cheek, near her left ear, and a light spattering of freckles on her nose.

They hold hands as they walk back to the house.

As he gets ready to leave he collects her into his arms and runs his hands up her back under her shirt. "You smell good, Jo."

"You do, too, Nathan. When can you come back?"

"I've got things to do tomorrow, then I've got work again."

"Oh. Have you seen 'Thor'? I haven't had a chance yet."

"No," he says into her hair.

She looks up at him, reading the expression on his face. "OK. Yeah. A couple of us went out last week. But, I wouldn't mind seeing it again. Especially with you." He pulls her more tightly to him and she gasps, feeling his hard length against her thigh.

He tips her face up and kisses her, groaning at her taste. One of his hands drops down, below her waist. He cups one of her buttocks, pulling her more firmly to him.

A couple of wolves watch from around the corner, grinning, as the young male says his goodbye.

Stephanie stands beside one of the front windows, arms crossed, watching. Ariel hears the low growl start in Stephanie's chest as she steps over to see what she's looking at.

It was Joanna and Nathan in an intimate embrace.

"Is their activity displeasing to you, Stephanie?"

"Males. Only after one thing."

"Indeed. The same as us. A mate and family."

Surprised, Stephanie glances at her Madam Alpha. "May I ask why you are so concerned with my daughter's activities?"

Stephanie stiffens; this could be taken as a challenge. "Madam Alpha. My allegiance to Wallace extends to his blood kin. I will not see her hurt."

Ariel steps closer. "If he were doing anything she did not want, the entire pack would be down on his head." Ariel glances back to her daughter, smiles, and turns to Stephanie. "Not all males are beasts, Stephanie. You would do well to remember that." She pauses, then continues on. "I want you to look around you the next few days and look at the evidence in this pack. Look at the mated pairs. I will ask you to tell me what you see before Erich's installation and the pup's naming."

A sigh. "Yes, Madam Alpha."

Ariel walks off as Nathan rides away.

What she sees in the mated pairs? What did she mean by that?

***

Calvin arrives later in the day and sits with Randall for a while. He is then invited to dinner.

He sits between Ariel and Emmett, chatting lightly with each, and occasionally glancing at Stephanie. After looking at him once, she keeps her eyes on her plate and leaves before the meal normally ends.

Calvin frowns slightly at her departure.

***

Madeline began to feel nervous. A second day and she hasn't heard from Erich. Was he not going to call for her? Didn't he want her?

She admitted it to herself; she wanted to be his mate. She'd jump if he asked her. He was so amazing. She got tingles just thinking about him. Waking up with him, showering together, it had seemed to right, so nice.

But, maybe he hadn't really felt that way about her.

She crawls into bed, doubting what she thought had been a connection.

Emmett caught up with Erich after dinner. "Hey, Erich, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I thought you and that female were getting cozy. What happened?"

"Nothing. I mean, I'm trying to get the petition together. It's not coming out right."

Emmett laughs and claps him on the back. "Just request her presence for a few days and ask if the Alpha has any desire to be compensated for her absence. It doesn't have to be fancy."

"But, it just seems so.. bare. It seems like there should be some explanation."

"The Alpha will understand your motivation and, if she's excited about it, he'll be happy to oblige. Have you called her?"

"Madeline? No."

"Erich!" Erich flinches slightly at the sound of the reprimand. "It's been two days, she's probably wondering now if you've changed your mind."