Behind the Lines of the Were War Ch. 06

Holding you
I held everything
For a moment
Wasn't I a king
But if I'd only known
How the king would fall
Hey who's to say
You know I might have changed it all
And now
I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end
The way it all would go
Our lives
Are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss
The dance
Garth Brooks- The Dance

The she-wolf loped along the river, the sun warming her white fur as her black paws gripped the meadow grass. It was a glorious morning to be a were; the smells of the forest surrounded her, and she had the freedom long denied to move through the open fields and woods without fear. Her long strides ate up the miles with no effort, as she moved upstream to where the field gave way to a rocky canyon. She picked her way to the top and continued to parallel the river as it flowed through rapids below her.

It was then she picked up the smell. He was around. Her right ear, the black one, twitched as she scented the air, desperate to find him. She followed the wind upstream, her pace quickened, her heart rate increased, and the smell of her arousal followed behind her.

Rounding the next bend, she saw him. He was magnificent; young, strong and rippling with power. She froze as she stared at him, while he just stood there on top of a rock at the other side of the river, gazing over the landscape with the confidence and bearing of an apex predator. His wavy brown coat seemed to glow in the bright sunlight. His head slowly turned and his eyes burned their way into her soul, the deep green flecked with brown forcing her to submit without thinking. She lowered her eyes, turned and presented her swollen sex to him, looking back to see that his erection was swelling to impressive size. It remained that size when he shifted to human form, his gaze still on her as he began to lazily stroke it. She shifted as well, her curly black hair framing her face and shoulders, her nipples impossibly erect as she stared across the canyon at him. One hand immediately went to her sopping wet sex, and she inserted two fingers and began to stroke in time with him. Evidence of her arousal was flowing down her thighs as she sawed her fingers in and out, driving her higher and higher, her face radiating her pleasure as she watched him build to his release. Those muscles, that bedroom face, that long cock with the scar at the end that tickled her cunt every time it would drive in, all that was going through her mind as she built to a huge orgasm. He knew she was close, he was walking towards her, his dick pointing right at her, and then he faded away.

"NO!!" she screamed, running to the edge of the canyon, but he was gone before she could say another word. Renee's scream woke her up; she was in the tent, covered in sweat and breathing heavily, her right hand slick with her juices as yet another frustratingly erotic dream ended. Her eyes filled with tears as she lay back, her orgasm had been denied yet again, the dreams of her mate that had filled her nights over the past few weeks always leaving her empty. Different, but the same; she hated the endings, but she would hate even more if she stopped dreaming of Gary, her lover, her mate... now gone. How could someone she knew for only a week turn her life so upside down? She missed him so, there was a huge hole within her that would never be filled.

She now understood why those who lost their mates lost their will to live. Her life plans ruined, her future so bleak. Here she was, widowed at eighteen, mated for only a few days. Left with so few memories to get her through the rest of her years. She could only look forward to years that were bound to be lonely and wanting; reincarnation would come, but when? Would she find love in a man twenty years or more her junior? Would she even find him again? Would it even happen while she was alive? Suicide was just a means to hasten the next cycle and bring him back sooner, she thought. Having found and lost her true mate, she was left only with the evidence of their time together. Both hands rested over her lower stomach as she thought of her babies growing inside. She had been thrilled to be found pregnant, and the twins were recently confirmed with an ultrasound at a clinic in Denver. What had happened to her was exceedingly rare; she had never been in heat before and yet she must have been at some point, just even if she didn't recognize it. Doc theorized that her wolf, knowing her mate was gone, forced her body to release an egg while Gary's sperm was still within her. It was a desperate attempt at carrying on his line at a time when their survival was uncertain. Without the promise of the babies, she would have gone mad. Her head was spinning as it hit the pillow.

"Renee?" Amanda was at the door to her tent. "May I come in?"

"Of course." Amanda unzipped the tent fly and crawled inside. Their accommodations were spartan; the pack had just returned to the old caves and were using camping equipment as there was nothing else there except the equipment for digging. She was dressed in a long T-shirt and shorts.

"The nightmare again?" Renee nodded and laid back again. "It all seems so real to me. Tonight I was out for a run, I could smell him, then I could see him. The dream got me excited, if you can't tell." Amanda grinned, the smell of her sex filled the tent. Half the pack probably knew how excited she had been by this dream, and it had happened almost every night since the funeral two weeks ago. "It was all so good, I was feeling like I was with him again, and he... just..." and then dissolved into sobs again. Amanda sat next to her and drew her into her embrace. Although only a few years older than Renee, her time as Alpha Bitch had drawn our the loving and supporting part of her makeup. She considered Renee a baby sister to her, and watching her in pain cut into her. It took a minute for Renee to stop crying, with Amanda stroking her face and softly talking to her the whole time. Finally Renee started to talk again. "I miss him so much. I miss the things we did together. I really miss the sex. He made me feel so good. Even in the dreams it is so good, but it always ends before I can come and I get so frustrated, it's the worst way to wake up."

"Honey, I can't fix your dreams, and I don't know if you even want them fixed. It's your time together with him. I can help you out with your frustrations if you want, though. Now that you're not under my mate's forced virginity edict you can come out and play with the adults if you want. And we do like to play..." Adult females had free reign to play with each other within the pack, and the men did not dare to interfere. Amanda stood up and doffed her T-shirt, then pushed her shorts down and joined Renee on the sleeping pad. "Just lay back, close your eyes, and replay that hot dream in your head while I help you out a bit." Renee lay back on the pillow, her arm over her eyes, as Amanda started to trail kisses down from her lips to her breasts. After sucking her nipples back to attention, she left her hands there while her mouth kept going lower. Her tongue tickled her belly button and then kissed the skin just above her sex, whispering to the babies inside that Mommy was not going to be alone and that she would be there to help. When her tongue worked its way down to her slit, she jumped as it circled her clit. Her sex was still swollen from her dream and Amanda's ministrations. She teased the folds with her tongue while her hands squeezed her ample breasts. Renee went from whispering encouragement to thanks to moans and grunts as she quickly ascended back towards the peak she had been denied. Her fluids soaked Amanda's face as she dug in, pushing her tongue as far in as she could until she shifted it to wolf form and went even deeper. Renee arched up into her, and Amanda shifted her hands to grab her muscular ass and pull her even closer. Her breath started to come in pants as she started to squeal. Amanda finished her off by licking her broad tongue from her ass to her clit before sucking the nub into her mouth while flicking her tongue rapidly across it. Renee broke hard, her entire body tensing as she screamed her release into the pillow. Amanda held her through it, cleaning her juices off before sliding back up to her. Taking her in her arms, Amanda rocked her slowly as she fell into a well deserved sleep. She would do anything to help her adapt to her new role as mother of the first cubs that the pack would welcome in years. They wouldn't be the last; mated females were going into heat left and right as the wolves in them celebrated the end of the war.

Santa Fe National Forest Mobile Command, west of Los Alomos, New Mexico

During Lieutenant Colonel's Stan Montgomery's time at West Point, they had a saying: "There's always that ten percent that don't get the word." The wisdom of that saying never failed, and in this case the problem was how to convince an isolated pack that peace had come after nothing but war and attacks over the past five years. High command had worked with Renee and some of the Alphas they were able to reach to get the cease fire in place over three weeks ago. These packs were then able to locate and convince neighboring packs to come into the fold. The problem with that strategy was that the Santa Fe pack was isolated by hundreds of miles from other packs. To make it worse, they had been pretty hard hit by the war as the area did not have the dense natural cover of other areas in the Rocky Mountains, so their losses had been heavy. They were rarely seen, and did not respond to pamphlet drops, loudspeakers or envoys. The last attempt at contacting them had failed as the Red Cross helicopter was fired upon as it tried to land. Stan didn't want to risk any other men on a plan that wasn't working. He needed help. He called in to headquarters and explained what he wanted.

Former Den Caves, West of Cheyenne

Linda Remington emerged from her tent energized for another day. Her access to Derek's pack had been a boon to her career, and she was taking advantage of it. She had arrived the previous evening along with her technician Len and cameraman Tony. They had been invited by Alpha Derek to observe and report on their recovery effort.

The MOAB crater they now camped in was starting to green up again as nature's adaptability showed forth. The tent she was using was at the very outside edge; there were dozens of tents in use for the Pack and another dozen or so for military and civilian volunteers. After the funeral, Derek had been asked on camera about what they were doing next. His answer? "Find and bid farewell to our dead. We believe that in order for our spirit to return in the next life, the spirit needs to be released. That is why we have a funeral pyre. Our dead in the caves will not rise again unless we do this for them." It didn't take long for help to arrive; the military provided airlift support, tents and mobile power, while a local construction company donated heavy equipment and volunteer operators. They had started opening the collapsed caves three days ago.

So far, they had recovered 14 of 68 pack members, all near the cave entrances. Half of the pack would work the dig site, using their keen sense of smell to identify the next dig location, while the other half prepared a pyre. Each night, they would send off their dead. Volunteers also manned a mobile kitchen, serving four meals a day. It reminded Linda of the scenes she had seen after 9/11; when a victim was found, all other work stopped and the whole pack would gather around. The body would be recovered and the men would place it on a stretcher, pack members lining each side of the route to the pyre. The military and volunteers had started to join in, removing their hats in a token of respect. Family members of the person would follow the stretcher, then those on each side would fall in behind until the whole group was gathered at the pyre. The victim was then wrapped in white linen and placed on top of the pyre to wait until evening. It was this operation that Linda was going to show the nation.

As she walked towards the latrine, she didn't notice the reaction of the man she passed who couldn't stop looking at her, even while two of his friends tackled him and held him down. He kept saying one word as he struggled against them. "MINE!"

The helicopter landed just after breakfast, a military transport carrying one passenger, Lt. Col. Montgomery. He was ushered to the Alpha's tent immediately, where Amanda was also waiting. "Good morning Colonel, what brings you here?"

"Alpha, I need your help. We have been unable to establish contact with the Santa Fe pack; we know they are there, but they don't trust us or our offer of peace. There are no nearby packs to reach out to either. What I would like is to borrow someone from you who has universal respect and trust among your kind, to seek out their Alpha and broker a meeting with me."

"I'm sure we could find someone to help. What kind of time frame are we looking at?"

"Immediately, for a few days to a week. We don't want just anyone, though. I'd like to use Renee."

Derek sat back, his thoughts going all kinds of directions. "I'm not thinking that is a good idea. She has had a hard time adjusting to the loss of her mate, and she just found out she is having twins. I don't like the idea of her being away from her family right now, much less doing anything dangerous."

Just then Renee walked in. She had seen the VIP arrive, and as second in command and Next Alpha, she had come to see what was going on. "I believe I get to decide what I get to do. What is it you are looking for?" The Colonel repeated his request. "Give me five minutes to grab some stuff and we can go." Derek was shocked, she hadn't even looked at him to get his assent. "Colonel, could you give me a moment to discuss this with her?"

As soon as he was out of the tent, Derek came around his makeshift desk and grabbed her arms. "What do you think you're doing? You're pregnant and I don't want you risking yourself for another pack!"

Renee was defiant. "Everything I did to end this war was for our pack AND all the others! Gary's goal was to end the hostilities so the killing would stop and we could be free again. I promised my children that they would grow up free. That doesn't happen until I finish this. Besides, I'm not even showing yet. They are well protected and won't slow me down. A week away may help, just some time for me to work some things out while I'm out running alone." The argument went on until Amanda pulled Derek aside. "Honey, she needs something like this. She's holding on to the dream her mate had, and moving that forward makes her closer to him in her mind. Just think about it for a minute." Derek sighed, he didn't like it but he understood it. "OK, but I want her to have an escort along. Any suggestions?"

"I think we should send Red along. Like her, he lost a mate and is drifting. He'd probably welcome the chance to get out there and feel like he is contributing again, plus he was in her squad so they should be able to work together easily."

An hour later, a chopper lifted off with Renee and Red on board, the Colonel showing them maps on his computer and briefing them on the limited intelligence they had on the Santa Fe pack.

As soon as Derek and Amanda returned to their tent after seeing them off, they found Andy waiting outside with Betas on each arm holding him in place. This was highly unusual; Andy was prior Army, had extensive combat experience and had distinguished himself as second in command of Renee's squad. He had never been in trouble before, certainly nothing warranting the Alpha's attention. He entered the tent, seated himself next to Amanda by the desk, and waited for the bad news. It didn't take long.

Andy looked up at his Alpha pair, not making eye contact but looking at their throats, and bared his neck in submission. "Alpha, I found my mate today." Derek grinned, knowing how important that was, until it sunk in that there was no one new in camp except... "She is the reporter, Linda Remington. I caught her scent as she left her tent this morning. They," he pointed to the betas on his side, "kept me from her and brought me here to you. I am requesting your permission to mate with her and to change her into a were if she assents."

Derek paused for a moment to consider the ramifications of this statement. "Andy, first let me congratulate you on finding your mate. You know how big a deal this is for a wolf, and you are blessed by Luna to find her at a young age. My first question is, what does she say about this?"

"Alpha, I was stopped before I could say anything to her. She doesn't even know I exist."

"Then that is your first task. Humans aren't the same as wolves, she won't recognize you as her life mate by scent. You will have to get to know her slowly, the human way; get her to trust you and explain to her your side. Under the new laws, the two of you need permission from your Alpha and a human judge to change her, and that can't happen unless she decides of her own free will that it is what she wants. It will not be an easy thing; you must hold back your wolf, who will want to claim her immediately. The penalty for a forced turning is death. You cannot lose control at any point if you want her to be with you."

"I understand what is ahead. I have talked to my wolf already, and he understands, although he is impatient and does not want to wait forever. Sir, do I have your permission to pursue her?"

Derek took Amanda's hand and they came around and hugged him tightly. "Of course. I can help you with one thing. This is an Alpha command: you may not have any physical contact with Ms. Remington unless she has granted you specific permission to do so." His Alpha powers reached deep into Andy's mind, forcing his wolf to roll over and bare his neck in submission to the command. "The rest is up to you. I recommend you clean yourself up and get ready. You just became the escort for the TV crew, reporting directly to me. You are to provide them full access to anything and anyone, and to explain anything they don't understand. I am doing this so you have a chance to be with her constantly without appearing like a stalker. Use this access wisely. If she leaves without you at least having her friendship, it will be very difficult for you to take it any farther. And believe me, she will want your friendship first." Amanda followed up with a hand on his arm. "You need to learn all you can about her while allowing her to learn about you. Show her your strength, your wit, your character, and your attention. Make her feel like she is the center of your world, but do it in a way that doesn't overwhelm her. That means you have to hold back on how you feel about her until she lets you know how she feels. It will be difficult, but is there anything you won't do for your mate?"

Andy smiled. "No, Madam Alpha, there is nothing I would not do for her, up to my very life."

"Come on then, let's find her and I'll introduce her to her new press liaison." Amanda led him away to the press tents, while Derek closed his eyes and considered just how much trouble a woman could be. Life sure was interesting. "I heard that!" Oops. Maybe he shouldn't have left the bond open to his mate while pursuing THAT particular line of thinking. "Yes, my dear, but you are SO worth the trouble!"

Highway 126, 20 miles west of Los Alamos

Red and Amanda watched the helicopter disappear over the horizon. The best intel available said that the pack was in a 25 square mile area just north of the dropoff point, based on sniper fire and satellite imagery. Finding a wolf was a job best suited for a wolf, though. They stripped and placed their clothes in the simple packs they would carry, which also contained a satellite radio, water, and enough food for five days of travel. Renee shifted first with Red placing the pack onto her, then Red shifted and she used her teeth to pull his pack into place. "North it is, let's stay aware for scents and activity." Red nodded and they headed off to the nearby ridge-line.