Fulfillment 03

He's pumping into her, thrusting deep and hard, holding on to her hips for purchase.

Her dark hair hung over the edge of the desk, her eyes closed, her mouth open.

[Michael Ross, you bastard.]

He stops, fingers digging cruelly into her hips. She opens her eyes. [What did you say?]

"Nothing. I didn't say anything." His hand goes to her throat.

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not. I didn't. I had to be somebody else."

He stops, and thinks. Had it been the Wyeth bitch? "Did you hear anything?"

"N, no, Alpha."

He pulls out of her and sits in the chair. "Get down here and finish me off. I have to think."

Empty, frustrated, Erica gets off the desk and kneels in front of him, grasping his swollen dick and sucking him into her mouth.

***

Erich finally arrives at the Tucker den and pulls up at the main entrance. He takes note of multiple faces in the windows as he gets out of the car.

A large, dark haired male comes out to greet him. "I'm Tony. I was told to expect someone from Wyeth. Are you him?"

"Yes. My name is Erich. I've come to pick up Madeline."

"Please, follow me. My Alpha wishes to meet you."

"Oh, of course." Erich is a bit surprised, thinking he would just pick up Maddie and go.

As they entered the main floor of the house, a female detaches herself from a group and follows the two males. Erich glances back once, as pack members stood aside, and realizes it was the Madam Alpha of Tucker.

A relatively short walk brings them to the Alpha's office. Tony ushered him inside and closed the door behind him.

Erich stands, awaiting the Alpha's attention, as he is subjected to the scrutiny of the Madam Alpha. She walks around him, looks him up and down. He is dressed in a pair of khakis and a light green polo shirt. The Madam Alpha stops in front of him, sniffs, then places a hand on his chest. As he looks directly ahead so as not to seem a challenge to her, she looks at his face. She then turns to her mate and nods.

"You are to be made Beta soon?" The Tucker Alpha does not look up from his work.

"At the next full moon, yes, sir."

"What has interested you in our Madeline?"

"I found her outside on the night of the Alpha daughter's party and we went for a run. I enjoy being with her."

"You intend to mate her?"

"If we find we're compatible and she agrees, yes, sir."

Phillip Tucker finally looks up and smiles at him. "We know you will be able to provide for her and any pups. Treat her well."

Erich nods, once, in agreement. The door opens and a red blur rushes him. He catches Madeline and she kisses him.

Following behind are two more females, one older and one of a similar age.

A clearing of the throat has Madeline sliding from his grip. "Mom. This is Erich. Erich. This is my mom and my sister Matilda."

Madeline's mother looks at them, her eldest daughter nestled in the arms of a large male from another pack. Her mother smiles with tears threatening. "Can I trust you to take good care of my baby?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

Matilda says, "I've heard good things about you. I'm glad Maddie has found a good male."

"Well, I hope I live up to everyone's expectations."

There is a pause and another throat cleared. Madeline pulls away slightly and stands demurely beside Erich. "Thank you, my Alphas."

Erich makes a short bow. "Alpha Tucker. Madam Alpha." He turns to Madeline's family. "Ladies. Thank you."

Madeline starts to drag him from the room. Her mother and sister follow to say their goodbyes.

The Tucker Alpha looks at his mate. "Well, Nat, who'd have thought our Madeline would catch the eye of a Beta?"

***

Joanna and Nathan are at the movie theater.

The seating makes it difficult for them to sit close to one another so they hold hands. The huge bucket of popcorn on his lap is steadily disappearing.

She tries to lean against him but gets uncomfortable rather quickly, leaning against a hard armrest, so she sits back up to watch the movie.

As it ends and the credits begin to roll, he pulls her into his lap.

She swings her feet into the seat she had occupied as other patrons get up and leave.

He holds her close and nips at her neck as the lights come up. She turns her head to kiss him as the attendants start to clean up the theater for the next showing. A young human male finally stands over them and clears his throat. "Gotta leave, guys."

Nathan smiles and rises, setting Joanna on her feet. [Now I remember why I don't like movie theaters so much.]

[Why's that, Jo?]

[The smell.]

He takes her hand. "I know a place that makes killer subs."

***

Lyssa heads back to the den with Emmett trailing her.

She heads directly to Randall's office. The door is open, so she walks in. Both Randall and Ariel look up.

In a firm voice, Lyssa says, "I'm ready to finish the business with Ross, my Alphas."

Randall and Ariel study the looks on the faces of the Beta pair. Lyssa's stance indicates she is resolute but the quirk in her mouth and her eyes show discomfort. Emmett looks both sheepish and distressed and keeps darting glances at his mate.

Randall replies. "Wednesday evening, then. Dusk. We'll inform Joanna."

"Thank you, my Alphas." She turns to leave, obviously avoiding contact with Emmett.

"Lyssa." Lyssa stops and turns back slightly. "I told Cassie we'd be in for a visit at 3."

"Of course, Madam Alpha." She continues out the door as Emmett turns.

"Emmett. Stay. Shut the door."

Emmett does so and turns back to his Alphas. "Is there a problem?"

He looks briefly at his Alphas, seeing both confusion and concern. "Yes. But there's nothing to be done about it." After submitting to another minute of inspection, he says, "I have a meeting with Brandon in 15 minutes, if there is nothing else?"

Randall sighs. "No. Go."

"Thank you, my Alphas."

They had been formal, very formal, especially Lyssa.

[Something's very wrong, Ran.]

[I know, El. But what are we to do?]

***

Erich drives Madeline to the Wyeth den.

Madeline is happy, excited, giddy. Erich keeps glancing at the small female beside him. It felt so good to have her coming home with him, to have her staying with him. To eat with her, sleep with her, run with her, wake up with her. He would have his duties to attend to, of course, but she would get to know the others and find out if she liked it here, as much as she liked him, if she liked him enough.

It was good that Lyssa was Emmett's mate. He would expect the two Beta females to be close and Lyssa was a fine female. He'd introduce them later; they'd get along well.

He'd also have to introduce her to the Alphas.

Ah, a mate of his own. He'd found a female he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Just one more thing before they mated. Just one more thing. And he was both thrilled and frightened by it.

It was kind of scary since she'd spent her whole life in the Tucker den. She'd very rarely left the den.

She'd sometimes get someone to drive her to the garden center to pick up supplies or to buy some new plants. She didn't even know how to drive.

Now, it was possible she'd never go back.

She looks at Erich and couldn't imagine being happier.

There was just getting used to a whole new bunch of people. Maybe she could make some friends. She really wasn't close to much of anyone at Tucker.

Her things are put in his room and he shows her around, introducing her to several pack members. He looks for, but doesn't find, Emmett and Lyssa.

At dinner, she sits beside him and others note his infectious grin. The Beta pair is absent from dinner, as well. Emmett comes in near the end and eats quickly.

So, Erich introduces her to his Alphas and takes her upstairs, where he pleasured her again before they curled up in his bed to sleep.

Lyssa crawled into bed early with a quick, "Good night." to her mate.

Emmett frowned as he looked at her back. After looking a bit, he returns to his work.

He slides in beside her later, puts his arm around her, and pulls her close. She was fairly stiff in his arms and it takes some time before he feels her fall asleep.

Stephanie lay in her single bed, staring at the ceiling. Calvin hadn't shown up today.

Maybe he'd gotten the hint.

*****

He lay still when he woke; Lyssa snuggled in closely to him.

Tuesday. She would fight, well, kill the Ross wolf tomorrow. She and Joanna. Even though she didn't want to but because they all expected it. She was a werewolf now and it wasn't hard to forget that she hadn't always been one. In almost every way, she had taken well to being one of them. But, for 29 years, she hadn't been. She had been raised to see things differently.

He remembered now her reaction when she learned he'd killed a male from the Macy pack in a challenge. A challenge for her. He also remembered some questions she had asked occasionally which were rather alien to them. He also thought of her suggestion of a pack council. And what had she meant when she said she couldn't give him pups?

His mind runs through several possibilities when she moves slightly and sighs. As he feels her wake, he kisses the side of her neck and says, "Morning, sweetheart."

His hands move, almost of their own accord, and she grabs them. "Not this morning, Em. OK? I don't much feel like it."

Reluctantly, he loosens his hold on her and she sits on the edge of the bed. After a couple of minutes, she gets up and goes into the bathroom.

This would not do. He would talk to Randall today.

Nathan went to work, and started his shift, as usual.

However, the men and women around him noted a distinct difference in his demeanor this day. He's a bit distracted, twirling a pen, breaking into a grin regularly.

"Hey. Austin."

"Yeah, Joe?"

"Nate started getting some, huh? What's her name?"

"Ask him yourself. I'm not going there."

Randall and Ariel have gone to the business site to look over the inventory. Several members of the pack would be pulled in to check the current listings against the items in stock since they were going to shift to a different recordkeeping software. So, Emmett had to wait to speak to his Alpha.

However, he was introduced to Madeline as Erich brought her with him to the office area where they worked.

"Where's Lyssa at? I thought she might show Madeline around a bit.

"Off to the warehouse. She's kinda in a crappy mood right now."

"But the party went great and she's back home and alright." Erich stops, remembering her questions in the car. "Oh, right."

"Yeah. Well. I'm gonna talk to Randall."

"I don't know, Em. It's her right. It's her kill."

Emmett closes his eyes and counts to ten. "She really doesn't want to do it."

"You're only gonna make things worse."

"Can't get much worse," Emmett grumbles. "Why don't you call Jo?"

"She's not off with Severn?"

"No. He's got work today."

"Oh, good idea."

Randall and Ariel return to the den while Lyssa, Mathias, and Gabriela spearhead the effort to get the inventory up to date and transferred over.

Emmett goes to speak to him after lunch.

"So, Emmett, what do you think of Madeline?"

"I've just barely seen the female, Randall. I came to talk to you about something else."

Randall arches an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Emmett breathes in, exhales. This would not be an easy conversation. "It's Lyssa. The Ross wolf. She really doesn't want to kill him."

"She seemed quite certain yesterday."

"I know, but she was just saying that so she won't look weak in front of the pack."

"Her assessment is correct. You know she will look weak if she doesn't do this. Why are you here without her?"

"I..." Emmett closes his eyes and breathes. "As her mate, I wish to take on this responsibility. To keep her from harm."

Randall looks at him for a full minute. "I will speak to her when she returns from the inventory."

"Thank you, my Alpha."

***

Calvin shows up in the late afternoon, having secured permission to return. Sampson stopped to drop him off before running some errands for the Ross pack and asked to speak to Randall.

"I can't, in good conscience, continue to aid him in destroying the pack. Three males have disappeared. He's spent a large amount of money redecorating the Alpha suite. No one else in the pack is aware, but he just placed an order for a red Viper. He's not watching the business at all. He's harassed a couple of the younger females and they're afraid to tell their mates. There's been talk among some of leaving. He refuses to listen to petitions."

"How much does Cal know?"

"Maybe about half. I'm not sure, he's no longer my Alpha. And my Alpha does not deserve my support anymore."

"Sampson. If I take you in, what will happen to the pack?"

"Someone else will become Beta, probably Peter."

"And, will the pack be better or worse for it?"

Sampson puts his head in his hands, despondent. "Worse."

"The Alpha has a grave responsibility for the health and well being of their pack. The Beta's role is no less important. Unless things fall apart completely, I cannot take you in."

Sampson leaves, heavy at heart.

Calvin sat outside, waiting to catch a glimpse of Stephanie, perhaps to speak to her.

***

Lyssa comes back just before dinner, kisses her mate, and sits beside him.

Stephanie sits in her usual place, her eyes hard whenever she looks at either Calvin or Randall.

As the meal ends and pack members begin to disperse, Randall said [Lyssa, we need to have a conversation.]

"Yes, Alpha." She looks at him, then Emmett.

They go to Randall's study, Ariel trailing. "Please, sit."

Emmett sits. Lyssa remains standing. "The inventory is proceeding well. We should be finished by week's end."

"I am pleased to hear it. Why don't you sit?"

"I prefer to stand."

"Lyssa, Emmett has spoken to me earlier today. He asked to take your place in the circle tomorrow. 'To keep you from harm.'"

"I didn't ask him to do that."

"I understand that."

"I said I'd do it."

"Yes, indeed, you did."

"Then, what's changed?"

"Your mate came to speak to me of his concern."

She turns to glare at Emmett. "I said I'd do it. You had no right." Her voice is getting louder.

Emmett stands to face her. "I have every right to protect my mate."

She turns back to Randall. "Do you have a reason for me not to do it?"

"No."

"Are you going to order me not to?"

Randall's eyes stay focused on her. "No."

"Thank you. May I go?"

"Yes." She turns and strides from the room.

Ariel now speaks. "She seems determined to go through with it, Emmett."

"It's not her, Ariel. Something's wrong and I don't know how to fix it."

He catches up to her at the top of the stairs.

"Lyssa, wait. I just..."

She turns around and shoves him. "How dare you? Going to Randall behind my back?"

[You've said you really don't want to do this. It's not something that will bother me..]

"Why didn't you do it when you found us?"

[We wanted more information..]

"You couldn't have 'persuaded' him, earlier?"

[Well, yes, but it's your..]

"Yeah. Got it. Werewolf justice."

[I would appreciate it if you wouldn't keep interrupting me.] She stands, looking at him, arms crossed. [We also shouldn't be discussing this in public.]

"This isn't a discussion. It's an argument."

[Please, Lyssa, either send to me or come with me to our room.]

"I'm mad at you and I'd probably hurt you if I sent to you."

[Dear heart, I didn't mean to upset you with this. I only meant to perform a task you find distasteful.] He reaches for her.

She snarls at him. [Task? Distasteful? My god what's wrong with you?] She turns away, "Don't follow me." and walks away.

Emmett looks after her. He had no idea what to do. None. He had thought he understood. He had thought she would be relieved. He'd thought it would make her happy.

Calvin had continued to sit after the meal ended. One arm thrown over the back of the chair, he watches as the wolves of the Wyeth pack talk and visit.

He hears the argument and is saddened by it, by what his pack, his son, had done. It wasn't over yet.

Stephanie looks at him. He wasn't going away.

Why was he interested in her? She wouldn't fall on her back and spread her legs for him. Was that it? Was she a challenge? There was nothing else.

Emmett walks to one of the 4th floor rooms and knocks on a door.

"It's Emmett. I'd like to speak to Anna."

The door opens and Jeremy hands Emmett a beer. "C'mon in."

"I'm sorry to bother you but I'm trying to help Lyssa, to understand what's going on in her head. I thought you might be able to help me, Anna."

"The strange wolf?" Emmett nods. "What's the problem?"

"Randall is sending her to the circle against him tomorrow."

Anna closes her eyes and bobs her head. "She doesn't want to do it but she marched into the Alpha's office yesterday and told him she was healed and ready. I went to him and told him I'd do it. And now she's mad at me."

"I don't understand."

"I'm not sure you can understand, Emmett, it's not the way you were raised. Jeremy had his arms around is mate and is nuzzling her neck. "She told him she'd do it." Emmett nods.

"Then you know you just undermined her decision with the Alpha." He grimaces, knocking the back of his head against the back of the chair.

"I don't like what it's doing to her. I'm worried.

"This is completely foreign to her, Emmett. She doesn't know how to do it. As a wolf, she's only two years old, a pup. She's trying very hard to be a Beta, to be strong, to be what everyone expects. But, in her heart, it's not her."

"What can I do?"

"Nothing. She's determined to go through with it. Support her in the decision. But, be prepared, you're already seeing it. This will change her. But, how it does, how she ends up after, depends on you."

"She's been through so much lately. This is just one more thing."

"This isn't the first time. But this time, she's got you."

Emmett stands. "Thank you, Anna. Good night, Jeremy. Thank you."

"Good night, Emmett." Jeremy leans down to kiss his mate, hand dropping from her shoulder to her breast.

Emmett walks to the roof, thinking. He had to let her do it, if she could. Although he wanted to help her, wanted to take over, he would stand behind her and support her this time. He looks up at the waxing moon and howls, long and mournful.

She was curled up under a blanket, in front of the fireplace. He could tell she wasn't asleep.

He walks into their room and sits on the bed, looking at her. "I'm sorry." She doesn't respond. "Would you please come up here and sleep in the bed with me?" She pulls the blanket a little more tightly around her. He sighs. "OK."

He walks over, crouches, and gives her a light kiss. "Good night, my mate."

Emmett lies on his back, staring at the ceiling.

Lyssa lies on her side, staring at the hearth.

In the wee hours of the morning, he finally breaks the silence between them. "Lys. I can't sleep without you here. I thought I wouldn't have to any more when we got you back. You'll be more comfortable up here and maybe you'll be able to get some sleep, too." She releases a sigh but doesn't move. "Tell me now, then, cuz I'm coming down."

"You don't trust me." On his way over to curl up with her, he halts, dumbfounded.

"What? Of course I do."

"No, you don't, or you wouldn't have gone to Randall behind my back."

"I.." He closes his mouth, looking at her back. Was that it?

She rolls to her back, finally looking at him.

He drops down beside her but doesn't touch her. His voice is quiet. "I thought I was doing a good thing, something to help my mate. I thought you'd be relieved. But, I shouldn't have done it without talking to you."

"Damn straight."

"I don't always understand you but I keep trying. Of course, I'm never really sure if it's because you were human or because you're female." She quirks her lips to one side and exhales, annoyed. "I went to talk to Anna."