Everything Changes Ch. 06

She looked back up, into the camera. "I was scared of them. Terrified. Because I didn't know them. I thought they would be animals. I thought I would be hurt, maybe killed."

"I was so very wrong."

"They're, hm, we're, like any other family, any other group. We work, we eat, we teach our kids. We have hobbies, we watch movies, we run around outside. We love our mates and children."

"And we can change form and become wolves, fur and all."

"So many misconceptions. We can change any time of the month. And we don't become bloodthirsty, ravenous beasts. We don't lose our minds, our reason, when we change. We just get furry and four-legged."

"You've seen us around. We go shopping for clothes, cars, food. We work jobs in the community. We own property. We own businesses. We do normal things."

She sighed, looked down, looked up. "But, because of what we are, we do things that don't seem normal to most human beings. We are led by a pair, a couple, called Alphas, as some of you know. But this isn't Twilight. We don't hunt vampires. We're monogamous once we find our mates, but it's not like the love at first sight thing. We like our meat rare and bloody. We know each other by scent. We settle our disputes physically. And our rules and punishments can be harsh."

"And we have always kept the secret of what we are."

"Tried hard to keep you from finding out about us."

"Why? You want to know why we kept ourselves hidden. Some of you do the same thing. Keep secrets, not letting anyone know the real you. Why do you do that? Because you're afraid. Of what other people will think. That they won't accept you for what you are."

"We want to be accepted. We're different, yes, but the same. Because we want the same things. To live our lives as we please, within reason, within the laws."

"We're not all perfect but you know us. You do. And we want you to know we just want to live peacefully with you, the way we have up until now, before you knew we were here."

The screen went dark as she hefted Emmanuel up to her shoulder. "Um. Yeah. I didn't know where to go after that."

Emmett squeezed her hand.

Randall and Ariel were apparently having a private conversation. Madeline turned and smiled at her.

Lyssa was nuzzling Emmanuel's dark hair as Randall turned to her.

"I believe you have made a good start here. This is simple, from one who has only recently learned about us."

Ariel spoke briefly. "It might be helpful to show some aspects of our life. Teaching the pups, watching a movie or a sports event, making dinner, interaction between mates."

Lyssa nodded. "OK. Nudity won't fly but maybe running around outside? And they're gonna wanna see someone change."

"In addition, Lyssa," she shifted attention back to her Alpha, "you understand what this would mean for you, personally?" Lyssa blinked at him; Emmett gripped her hand more tightly. "You would be identified personally, branded as a monster. And your disappearance would be solved and questioned. What would the police do?"

She inhaled deeply as Emmanuel rubbed his face against her breast and wetness appeared on her blouse. "They'd want to talk to me. Find out why I didn't tell them I was alive. Especially since they suspected Ronnie of killing me. They'd wonder if I was being held against my will. If you'd abducted me."

"Would they have reason to hold you?"

Emmett inhaled deeply, on a gasp. He hadn't thought of that.

"I haven't done anything wrong, except hide. Other women, and men, have done that. I don't think they could."

"Only if they don't believe their laws apply to us."

"Yeah." Emmanuel was feeding, a little noisily.

Emmett spoke up now. "I would feel better if they talked to her here, in the den."

"They might be suspicious of that."

Ariel replied, "We'll have to establish trust between us, somehow."

Randall inhaled. "We won't solve anything now. These are some things we should consider. But, Madam Beta, a fine start."

*****

Stephanie called a couple of days before the next pack council meeting. "Madam Beta, I was watching the news last night and something came up that I thought might be of interest to the council."

Stephanie watched the news? Hm, she had to admit, she barely saw a television anymore and hadn't been keeping track of human news.

"Sure, Stephanie, um, Madam Alpha. What did you find?"

"There was mention of an organization called the ACLU."

Lyssa would have smacked her forehead if she hadn't had her hands full. She groaned. "Is that a problem? It seemed that they were helpful to people in trouble."

"No, Stephanie, Madam Alpha, it's just that I'm stupid for not thinking of them sooner."

"You have had other things on your mind."

Lyssa inhaled. "Thank you, Madam Alpha. That is a great suggestion."

"How is the pup?"

"Doing well, thank you."

"And, you?"

"Better."

"I'm glad."

"Thanks, Madam Alpha."

"Good day to you, Madam Beta."

*****

Joanna came back for another visit a little more than six weeks after Emmanuel had been born. Lyria, by this time, was 3 months old.

She visited with her parents for a while and was happy to hear that Lyssa was doing better. "..but she still hasn't been away from him for more than a couple of minutes."

Joanna watched Lyria sniff around their feet. She was a light brown wolf cub, like her mother. She had blue eyes that were startling in the darker fur of her face.

"How is she with Emmett?"

Ariel exhaled. "He's been very careful with her. I think he's afraid to approach her, or perhaps of how to do so."

"Maybe I can coax her out for a run. How often is he eating? Do you know?"

"Natalie would know better but I think it's about three hours."

Joanna smiled.

***

[Hey, Lyssa, up for some company?]

[Hey, Jo. Where are you?]

[Down in the dining hall.]

Joanna left Lyria in her mother's care and walked down to the Wyeth dining hall. Lyssa was at a table holding onto Emmanuel, who was straining to reach the plate on the table. She was dipping her finger into the juices on the plate and presenting her finger to her son, who would be momentarily distracted by its nearness, to lick the reddish fluid from his mother's proffered digit. "I can't keep him away from it. I don't know if I should be giving it to him."

"You'll find out soon enough if it doesn't agree with him."

Lyssa looked up at her. "I don't want him to get sick."

"He'll either throw it up or you'll find it at the other end."

"When did Lyria start taking meat juices?"

"Oh, a couple months or so." Lyssa relaxed a bit at that statement; he wasn't way ahead of Lyria. "When did he eat last?"

That was an odd kind of a question. "Why?"

"I wanna go out for a run, I want you to go with me, and I want to know how long we have."

Lyssa drew back, glancing at the dark brown wolf cub in her lap. "What?"

"Do we have time before he wants to eat again to go for a run?"

"Yeah, a couple hours, but.."

"No buts. C'mon, it's a nice day. The sun is out, the snow is pretty, and I wanna go for a run with my friend."

Lyssa exhaled and Emmanuel nosed her hand. "Who do you trust to leave him with?"

"I don't know."

"Mom's got Lyri, I'm sure she won't have any problem watching Em, too."

Lyssa blinked, like she didn't quite understand what Jo was saying. Emmanuel was making an effort to climb to the table. "C'mon, Lys. Let's go."

Another exhale, and Lyssa looked out the windows. When she looked back to Joanna, who noticed Emmanuel was again licking juices from her finger, Jo saw something that seemed either sad or hurt, or both, in the older woman's eyes. "C'mon, Lys. You remember, running in the snow."

A big inhale and Lyssa blew out the breath. "OK."

Joanna smiled, trying not to grin in triumph. "Cool. C'mon."

They went upstairs to where Ariel was putting her granddaughter into a little nest on the floor. "Up for a second pup, Mom?"

Ariel looked rather surprised, but agreed readily when Joanna sent that she'd gotten Lyssa to agree to a run outside. She also sent to one other.

Lyssa stood on the front steps, a chestnut wolf beside a smaller light-colored one. Jo saw her chest heave as she glanced back at the front door. She debated on telling Lyssa that he'd be fine but then just started down the steps, hoping Lyssa would follow.

They started out; Lyssa's steps were halting. Jo looked back and bounced around her once.

The snow was light and fluffy and was stirred up by Joanna's actions. Lyssa's fur was dotted with white flakes. Lyssa looked at her and huffed.

Joanna flicked her tail and took off.

Lyssa watched that tail get smaller, sighed, and ran after her.

The snowscape was crisscrossed with tracks, particularly close to the den. They then started finding wider and wider swaths of snow that were untouched.

Joanna wended around trees, scooted under snowladen pines, and skipped over the small stream. Lyssa followed, a little less rambunctiously.

When they stopped, Joanna sat in the snow, Lyssa sat, too. [Now what?]

[So, you look better. I guess you're getting more sleep.]

[Uh, huh.]

[Is he crawling away from you when you take a nap?]

[No. What is this, the third degree?]

[Huh?]

[Questioning the new mother, see if she's getting it right?]

[Just wanted to talk, Lys. And since we both have pups, it's something we have in common to talk about. We haven't really had a chance to talk since I got mated.]

Lyssa dipped her head. Joanna had mated and moved out of the den. They hadn't talked much since then. Joanna had three sisters-in-law and her mate's mother to talk to. Lyssa had had... well, Madeline. And Ariel, sort of.

The last time they had a talk, a real talk, they had been in the meadow. Lyssa looked around and swallowed. This meadow.

Right before..

Right before..

Lyssa closed her eyes and shuddered visibly. [Lys?]

The send was choked. [Why are we here?]

[What?] Joanna looked around. [I dunno, just ended up... oh.]

A large grey wolf burst from the tree line and Lyssa jumped up, turned, and snarled.

Emmett stopped, confused. [Mate?]

[She's remembering when we got kidnapped.]

Emmett closed slowly on Lyssa and Joanna.

Lyssa was breathing heavily. [Why are you here?]

[Ariel said you had gone out for run and I wanted to join you.] He sat, watching his mate, who'd sat down again but seemed unnerved. [Are you OK?]

[Mm, hm.]

Emmett changed, to a furred wolfman, and stroked his mate. He petted her, scrubbed her spine. She groaned in appreciation and stretched, backward, then forward.

Joanna watched the two of them, Emmett caressing and hugging his mate, and decided to make herself scarce.

Emmett's hands ran over her back, her sides, her teats. She jerked a little at that. [The last time we were here together...]

[I know, sweetheart. It's been a year now.] She looked at him. [I know it doesn't make it any less horrible. And I have no idea what you went through or how you felt. But you're safe, and you're here, and we have a pup, and I love you.]

Lyssa changed and Emmett gathered her into his arms, and rocked her. [Close your eyes, dear heart. Smell me. Think of me. Think of our pup. He's gone and we're here. Together.] She continued to breathe rather quickly. [This meadow can't hurt you.] He stroked her and held her, her face turned against his chest. [Just breathe.]

He supposed he shouldn't be so surprised that this place affected her but it was winter, completely different from when she had been taken. He hoped that this wouldn't start her down a dark path again. Especially not with Emmanuel.

Slowly, slowly, her body relaxed and her arms went around him. She stopped clinging and simply embraced him. And exhaled.

He kissed the top of her head and, after a second, she reached up to kiss him, putting a hand around the back of his neck. [I love you, Em.] The send was filled with emotion. He could tell she was close to tears.

He held her close to him, kissing her back. [My beautiful mate. You make me so happy.]

She looked into his eyes and he saw the tears that threatened to spill. She sniffed, pulled away slightly, and smiled at him.

He put his forehead against hers. [Lyssa. Mate. I want to touch you.]

[I don't know if I... Maybe it won't feel...] He stroked her furred shoulders, ran the back of his hand against her cheek. She blinked and her lips turned up in a slight smile. An inhale and she went back to kissing him.

Emmett took that as an affirmative signal.

*****

Joanna had come back and was watching Emmanuel and Lyria tumble together. Mouths open, playing, making little puppy growls. Lyria was bigger, at twice his age, and was knocking him around a bit.

Ariel was talking to her daughter as they watched the little ones.

Emmanuel stopped and the two females looked over at him. Ariel picked him up and took him into the bathroom. She held him over the toilet and he urinated.

Joanna looked at her mother as she returned with the dark pup, ruffling his fur. "Mom. What was that?"

"He had to go."

*****

They had never coupled in this form. It had always been in human form or as wolves. But it was cold out and he wanted to do more than just mount her. He wanted her to know how desirable he found her.

So he stroked her, caressed her, kissed her. Emmett knew she could feel he wasn't ready just yet. He had swelled a bit, thinking of being with his mate again, but was a little worried as to how she would react.

She wasn't tensing up; she was touching him. She bit his lower lip lightly and his eyes opened in surprise.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her up against him, then wrapped his arms around her upper back. Milk chocolate eyes looked up into dark brown and a real smile graced her lips.

Emmett nibbled along her jawline and down the side of her neck. Lyssa tipped her head back and moaned. Her hands clutched his head and she kissed parts of him she could reach. And he smelled her then. He knew she was becoming aroused.

Anna and Ariel and the healers had talked to him, warned him that she might react differently now, that it might take more. He went from nibbling at her collarbone to kissing her. Her face, her shoulders, her hands, her neck, and she laughed, caught his face in her hands, and kissed him.

Lyssa wrapped her legs around her mate and kissed him deeply. She was a little scared. After all, a baby had gone through there. She wouldn't be tight around him anymore.

But, he felt good, and she loved him, and he was making her feel good. So, she rubbed up against him. Her wetness began to coat the bottom of his hardened shaft. Her breasts were bigger now, fuller, and her nipples felt sensitive because of it. Emmett pulled away from her kiss and licked over one of them. They had perked up in the cold air but tightened up at his treatment. He placed his mouth over it, flicked it with his tongue, and she jerked slightly. He sucked a bit and was rewarded with a small amount of milk. And she thought that was a little weird and hoped he wouldn't take much, since Emmanuel was a hungry boy.

Emmanuel.

He felt her attention shift.

No, no, no.

He licked that nipple and slid his hand down her belly. Emmett stroked her folds, recognizing that he couldn't draw this out. He slid his fingers over her swollen nub and she sucked in a breath. Two fingers then, slipped into her, to be assured she was wet enough. He pumped them, a couple of times, and listened to her sigh.

Emmett looked into her eyes as he picked her up and carried her off to the side so he could put her back against a tree. She had her legs around him and rubbed deliciously against his stiff length on the way.

He watched her swallow as he lifted her by the hips and slowly, so slowly, slid into her. He watched her eyes for any indication of pain or discomfort.

And, as he found the end of her, he closed his eyes and groaned. Emmett held there, for a few moments, then pulled out slowly. Lyssa had her ankles locked around the small of his back. Taking a deep breath, he set up a slow rhythm. After a bit, he sped up and she met him on the upstroke. She was breathing quickly and putting her nails into his shoulder.

He continued plunging into his mate, stroking her insides, and nuzzled her neck. She was panting, meeting him thrust for thrust. He knew he wasn't going to last much longer but wanted her to come before he did. He wanted her to feel that pleasure before they had to return.

There. A slight quiver. And he thrust a bit more deeply, a little harder.

He felt a flutter in the muscles around him and was undone. One last push, and he groaned and released inside her.

Emmett leaned against her, against the tree, while he recovered. Lyssa sighed and stroked his back, resting her cheek on his shoulder.

It was a bit later that they kissed and headed back to the den.

Lyssa's breasts were getting heavy and she knew Emmanuel was going to need a feeding soon, if he wasn't hungry already.

They were surprised, when they went to collect Emmanuel, to see that the Alphas, the other Betas, the healers, and Joanna were waiting for them. Lyssa immediately looked for her baby, concerned that something had happened. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

The faces of the others were inscrutable, confusing.

Wade addressed Emmett, "Tell me, Beta, how often have you heard your pup cry or whimper?"

Emmett saw Emmanuel, saw he was fine, and scratched his head as Lyssa went to collect him. She picked him up and sat in a chair to nurse him, while paying strict attention to what was being said.

"I don't know. I don't remember ever hearing him cry."

Lyssa looked down at her little boy and concern colored her voice, "What's wrong? What did you find, healer?"

"Your son was born with a caul, Emmett, that is sometimes an indicator of things."

Erich spoke, "He did whimper when he was presented to the pack."

Emmett didn't understand what was going on, but realized it was enough to concern the most important individuals in the pack. He looked at his mate and pup, then looked at the others. "Speak plainly. What is your concern with my son?"

Ariel spoke. "We have found nothing wrong, Emmett. Can you tell us, Lyssa, how long he's been projecting?"