Sharkbait Down Under Ch. 61-70

"Take her inside and run a cool bath for her," Leo said. Ian helped her to her feet and led her to our bathroom.

"We should get some sleep while we can," Adrienne said. "Ian will be up all night with her, and she should have an Alpha around when it gets bad. You two take the first watch; we'll wake up at two and take over."

"We should get some sleep as well," Brent said. "Wake us up if you need more help."

"I will," I told them. Nicholas helped me clean up outside, and then we checked in on Dorothy.

"How is she doing," I asked my father-in-law as we went into the fancy bathroom.

"Fever peaked at thirty-eight point five and is now thirty-eight."

I popped up my conversion table on my phone and saw that she was now at one-hundred-point-four Fahrenheit, barely qualifying as a fever. "I'll get you a robe. Nicholas, get your Mom something to drink." I grabbed a fluffy robe out of a cabinet and held it out as Ian dried her off. She was a good-looking woman for her age, and her active life kept her in shape.

I helped her put on the robe, and we went back outside. The evening breeze off the water would do her good; I was comfortable in my jeans and a sweater I'd pulled on. We all knew the fever would come in waves, so she had to recover in between bouts until the fevers took over completely. None of us said anything as we looked out at the moonlit waters, which meant we all heard it.

Thump. Thump. Thump. "Oh yeah, baby, that's so GOOD!"

I blushed, burying my hands in my face in embarrassment as I heard Olivia's passionate talk with my Dad from the open window in their bedroom. "Harder, love! Pound me good!"

"Should I tell them," I asked Nicholas?

"Let them have their fun. What did you expect when you gave your parents a romantic room over the water? Just ignore it."

"Brent adopted me. That means I can pretend my parents never have sex," I replied.

Nicholas laughed and pulled me into his lap so I could rest my head against his chest. His heartbeat helped cover up the sounds, but it didn't stop them. "I think she's almost as loud as you during sex."

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. Another female voice started moaning in pleasure, this time mixed with the sloshing of water. Yep, my Aunt Adrienne was getting some action in the soaking tub. I now had my former Alphas screwing vigorously just a few yards away from us. I just shook my head as I listened to my Mom and my Aunt having hot sex. Ian and Dorothy either didn't hear it, unlikely for Ian, or they ignored it. "What should we do?"

"Well, you could bend over the rail again, and I could issue a challenge the old guys to see who can make their mate cum the most times. Who knows, maybe I can make your Mom jealous?"

"NICHOLAS!"

"What? Your mom is still smoking hot, and Adrienne's a redhead! I don't blame them for tapping dat ass every chance they get." I sat there, mouth open, as my Mom screamed out her release. "I know I'll never tire of this. We'll be a hundred years old, sitting on the porch swing watching our great-grandchildren play, and I'll still be copping a feel," he said as he ran his hand up my side to cup my boob. I could feel his love over the bond, and I was getting excited. Nicholas's eyes darkened as he scented my lust, and Ian could probably smell it now too.

"You two go inside and have some fun," Dorothy said. "We'll be fine out here for a while."

"Sounds good," Nicholas said as he picked me up in his arms.

"We're not going to..." I started.

"Give us grandchildren unless you get busy," Ian finished. "Go have fun, newlyweds. Enjoy your honeymoon, and don't worry about making noise. Nobody else is."

At least in the bedroom with the doors and windows closed, I couldn't hear our neighbors. I was pretty sure they heard ME the three times I came hard before Nicholas finished. Dorothy wasn't the only one flushed and sweaty when we came back out. "Tub time?"

"Yes," Ian replied. Dorothy's fever got up to a hundred and three this time despite the ice we added to the cold water. That was the pattern until two in the morning when I turned over to Leo and Adrienne. "We'll move her over to Leo's room," Ian said.

"I'm sure you two want to get some 'sleep' tonight," Leo said with air quotes.

"As much as you got," I teased back. We took a quick shower, and we did sleep, at least until seven-thirty when Mom woke me up.

"Leo needs you in his room," Olivia told me after I opened the door. "It's not going well."

I quickly dressed and went next door. Ian was dumping another bag of ice into the tub as Adrienne checked her temperature. "She's at a hundred and six," Adrienne said. "If we can't get this fever down soon...."

She didn't have to finish; we all knew what would happen if the fever didn't break. "We need to pull her wolf forward, guys. With four Alphas in the room, we might have more success."

I looked inward to my wolf, letting her reach out to the wolf inside Dorothy that was trying to come out. I could sense her; she was weak and tired. "We need you to be strong for your family, Dorothy," I whispered into her ear. She was delirious and probably wouldn't understand me, but that didn't matter. "Nicholas needs you to hold our children and tell them stories." I kept talking as Ian held her hand, telling her about the big family we were going to have and how much we needed her here with us.

Ten minutes later, her temperature had dropped by two tenths. The boys put ice in as fast as it melted, and we all let out a sigh of relief when the fever finally broke. "Ian?"

"You made it through the fevers, my love. We're going to take you outside so you can shift."

"I can hear my wolf talking to me," she said. "We did it."

I knew it wasn't over yet, and there would be a lot of pain associated with her first shift. Ian picked her up and carried her outside to where Olivia had laid a blanket down. Hidden by the building and the hills, no one would see or hear the change.

Olivia went inside to prepare some raw meat. "I can't watch," she told me as she walked off. The memories of her first shift were still fresh after all these years. Mom didn't have the willing turn of a mate, but the forced turn after rival wolves ran our car off the road and tried to kill us. It all worked out when she found out Brent was her mate, but it was hard for her.

Leo sent Brent out in the ATV to make sure no hikers or trespassers were around, knowing her wolf would need to run after it emerged. Dad came back thirty minutes and reported we were all clear.

The pops of bones and the screams of pain accelerated as the change pushed to completion, finally leaving a small grey wolf with black socks and a black right ear tip on the blanket. "You're beautiful," Ian said as he stroked her fur. We all shifted to greet our new Pack member, licking her face in greeting before Leo brought her into the Pack.

"You did great, Mom," Nicholas said as he plopped his big body down in front of her. Nicholas was twice her size, with Leo a little bigger still. Olivia was the only one not shifted yet; she was feeding Dorothy pieces of meat, which her wolf gobbled up. Once she'd caught her wind, we encouraged Dorothy to stand. Her head came up to my shoulders; as Alpha Females, Adrienne and I were much larger in wolf form. Dorothy was an Omega wolf by her size and lack of dominance. Omegas were the norm for human turns, joining the unranked who formed the majority of most Packs.

Once we got her used to standing and moving around, she was eager to run in her new form. Leo let out a yip and headed for the canyon leading away from the coast, urging them to follow. We started at a slow trot, with Nicholas and I surrounding Ian and Dorothy and Mom and Dad behind us. Once she was moving smoothly, Leo picked up the pace.

It was during the run I sensed something wasn't going right. Ian wanted to run close to Dorothy, but she growled and snapped at him when he did. "What is going on, Dorothy?"

"He's not my mate," she sent back over the Pack link. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Ch. 62

Consuela Mardona's POV

My Mermaid lawyer, Francisco de Leon, booked me on a flight for Australia that left just before midnight on January first. Of course, nothing in my new life was easy. A week after my shotgun wedding to Master Vespucci, followed by my betrayal of my Coven, a new Master was in place for Mexico City.

Emily and the Masters had cleaned house, and only a dozen Mexican vampires above newborn age remained. Esmerelda, the petite vampire from the Cancun branch, was the oldest of the remaining Mexican vampires and claimed leadership. The way Esmerelda helped Alpha Steven in the takedown of Mateo and the other Cancun vampires was in her favor. She was strong enough to hold it for now, and Emily's recommendation sealed it with Cyprian.

It wasn't without controversy; some Vampire Council members wanted to destroy every Mexican Coven vampire and start over.

Other Masters wanted to keep the Coven but install new leadership of their choice. Emily explained that as vampires became strong enough to threaten leadership, they either had to move "up or out." Moving out meant going to another Coven. Moving up meant killing your Master.

There were plenty of strong vampires eager to fill the power void. The prospect of controlling Vespucci's fortune by controlling me made it even more attractive. I was glad that Cyprian and other Masters stood up for me and said no. The Supreme Vampire would not allow me to be used as a pawn again. I'd risked too much to become a plaything for another vampire.

That didn't mean everyone was happy with the situation. Esmerelda was the new Master, and everyone knew Esmerelda had betrayed her Coven. How could she be trusted to follow Council law?

I was a youngling, and everyone knew what I'd done. I'd betrayed my Coven to the werewolves, then poisoned my Master and the next two in line with tainted blood. How could I be trusted in a Coven?

I didn't trust Esmerelda, and she couldn't trust me or control my fortune. I declined continued Mexico City Coven membership politely, leaving me without a Master for now. Under Council law, Newborns and Younglings by Council law must be under the supervision of a Master who could train us properly. It made sense; vampirism required you to learn how to entrance, feed, and move on without endangering the Coven. Undisciplined and feral vampires risked exposing all supernaturals. Rogue vampires were a danger to everyone, so they are killed on sight.

Emily carefully examined each of the Mexico City survivors, disposing of those who didn't possess the skills for our world. Esmerelda was allowed to keep two in Mexico City, while eight different North American covens took one each. The Council made exceptions for those Covens to exceed their maximum size limits.

I was no exception to that rule. Emily gave me a week to choose before she left for Australia. Her coven in Boston, along with Masters Pontalba's in New Orleans, Master Bongino's in Chicago, and Master Molari's in Sydney, all had open offers. I chose to go to Australia for three reasons; Vicki trusted Master Alessandro, he promised I could live on my own, and there were far fewer vampires on his territory.

All of this was going through my mind as I took the tickets from him. "You're a rich woman, Consuela, and your name and face are out there. Vampire or not, there are people out there who might want to take advantage of you."

"What do you suggest?"

"Not traveling alone, for one. It would be best if you traveled with a supernatural or two that you could trust to watch your back. When you travel, stay with supernaturals if you can. Can you ask one of the local vampires to protect you?"

I thought about it for a bit. I had been a vampire for a little more than a year, and I'd learned not to trust anyone. I'd learned quickly to avoid the older vampires and limit my interactions with the other new turns in the Coven. "I need protection FROM vampires more than anything else."

He laughed, knowing my whole story. "I didn't expect you would. All the werewolves are long gone, so that's out. Talk to Master Alessandro; he might be able to send someone. I have an idea too, but I need to make a phone call first."

I caught Master Alessandro right after he dropped Master Cyprian and Master Emily at the airport in Sydney. She was getting ready to board her flights back to Boston after attending Vicki's wedding. "All other Coven vampires have left Mexico City by now," he said after I described the concern. "You're connecting through Los Angeles, so perhaps I can ask Master Caroline Grey to help?"

I laughed at that. "I don't know Master Grey or any of the people she might send."

"Give me some time, and I'll see what I can do. Do you think you'll be safe flying to Los Angeles?"

"I think so," I said. That is how I ended up in an armored limousine, escorted by security contractors to the airport with my travel companions. I wasn't surprised to see my lawyer flying with me as far as Los Angeles, but I was surprised when he introduced me to Maribel and said she'd be with me to Sydney.

The young mermaid was friendly, and she reminded me of what I was like before my forced change. "You realize we're going to be in an airplane together for a whole day," I said.

"I know, isn't it great? I've never been outside Mexico," she said.

"Why go?"

She told me about Mermaids and the difficulties they had in finding husbands with how scattered their population was. "It was Master Alessandro who recommended it. Now that Vicki is free and married, Alessandro is planning to meet in Sydney with the werewolves and mermaids. He hopes they can reach an agreement on the structure of the Australian Council."

Alessandro had told me about the structure they had planned; it was truly revolutionary. When I got trained as a newly-turned vampire, mermaids and werewolves were our enemies. "Are you moving to Australia?"

"Only if I find a husband there. Vicki insisted that all single mermaids of age attend, whether they were heads of families or not. She's even paying for tickets and hotel rooms for those who can't afford to come otherwise. Alessandro said I might be able to meet a hundred single Mermen in one place. Watching you and being stuck on a plane for a day is a small price to pay for the chance to meet ten times as many eligible bachelors as I've met before."

It made sense once she explained it. Vampires didn't have emotions, we didn't love like that, and we didn't have mates. We were highly sexual, both for feeding and pleasure, and we had our favorites, but nothing like the wolves.

We arrived in Los Angeles without incident. Francisco arranged for Airport Security to escort us to the first class lounge to wait for our connecting flight. We were relaxing with drinks in a private area when I heard high heels rushing across the floor towards us.

"Consuela!"

"I can't believe you're here," her identical twin said as she hugged me. "We can't thank you enough for your help escaping from those men," Makani whispered. "Consuela, these are my parents, Jack and Kaia."

Her mother pulled me into a hug. "Thank you," she said as she cried on my shoulder.

"Pull that table over and join us," I told them after introductions were complete. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Alessandro called Steven, and Steven suggested we take a vacation down under since we missed the wedding," Noelani said. "Mom and Dad came down to San Diego with us to drop our men off at the base."

"We couldn't turn down a free Australian vacation," Jack agreed. "We're your extra security."

Four werewolves and a mermaid ought to do it.

We exchanged stories about what happened after I left them in the cell that last time. "I feel so bad that this happened," I said. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"None of it was your fault," Noelani said.

"You risked yourself to get us out, and you refused the reward," Makani added.

"I don't need the money; I have more than I know what to do with now."

Francisco nodded at that. "There is something you could do," he said. "Sue her."

They looked at Francisco like he had two heads. Kaia spoke first. "What? Aren't you supposed to be her lawyer?"

"I'm supposed to help her with what she needs," Francisco replied. "You six sue Vespucci's estate over your kidnapping. We settle the lawsuit quickly and quietly, so don't let a lawyer bend you over for a percentage; pay them by the hour because legal fees aren't tax-deductible. You six get millions in compensation, and I work my magic so the money comes out of assets that we may not recover anyway. I can work out a deal with the government to call it victim compensation, after all."

"Will they go for that," I asked.

"Of course. It will mean giving up claims on a chunk of your estate, but I doubt you'd see it anyway. As long as you aren't personally profiting from the illegal activities, the government will be satisfied." He looked over at the twins. "I'm sure you've been hearing from lawyers already."

"Only a hundred or so," Makani agreed.

"I'm sure there is a werewolf lawyer you can bring in on this, and I know Mermaid lawyers in Mexico they can work with on the lawsuit. Everyone wins."

"I'll talk to the others," Noelani said.

Our talks had taken us to the boarding call. I thanked Francisco for his help, and we boarded the plane to Australia.

It was going to be a fun trip.

Ch. 63

Vicki Corcoran's POV

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Everyone came to a stop in the narrow canyon we'd been running through, shocked at what Dorothy just shouted over the link. Ian tried to approach, causing his wife to growl and raise her hackles. Adrienne moved in front of him, growling low and instantly convincing him that continuing would be a bad idea.

"What is going on, Dorothy?" Ian was confused, as were the rest of us.

Nothing good would come from pressuring her, though. Dorothy was shaking, clearly intimidated by all the powerful wolves surrounding her. "You guys run it out. I'll take Dorothy back to our room," I told them.

"Good idea," Leo said. "Link us when you're ready for our return." We were all figuring it out; we'd known this was a possibility but didn't expect it here. None of the wives of the Southern Cross Pack wolves were their true mates. Hell, until we arrived in Australia, the werewolves didn't know what a mate was. Isolated from the rest of the world, the descendants of Philip Corcoran had to adapt to survive, and that meant mating with humans. Nicholas's ancestors learned to fall in love with and marry human women, holding their wolves back from biting them. If you bite your wife, you've doomed her to a painful death.

In the last month, my Pack members found out about both mates and turnings. Fiona found her true mate in Joseph; he and his wolf chose her, leaving his wife Margaret to divorce him. There were only a few options for a married werewolf, and none were good. If you were happy, you could leave things as is. The good part was that this avoided the coin-flip risk of her dying from a changing bite. The downside was that Luna had a fated mate waiting out there somewhere, and she wouldn't know of the rejection. Then, if we could use scent to find the spurned mate, we could bring them together for him to reject her and hope his wolf didn't claim her anyway.

Other werewolves chose to find their mates, quietly divorcing their wives and trusting them to keep the secret.