Watcher Ch. 03

"He's a myth," she said, the fear in her eyes as easily read like the pages of a book, "a ghost story told to frighten little wolves and keep them in line."

"Is he?" Rhea asked. As Calista had answered, Rhea asked for me to shift, and stepping back that's what I did. Calista's eyes somehow grew even larger as she stared at me. Seemingly in shock, she appeared to be truly seeing me for the first time, her fear having blocked everything her mind refused to believe. Stepping towards me, she ran her fingers along my muzzle and down the enormous oversized fangs.

"It can't be," she said, her hand running through my fur as she circled me, "he just can't be real."

"You felt his power the same as I did," Rhea said, joining Calista in running her fingers through my fur, "and you can see the teeth for yourself. Do you have a better explanation?"

"No I suppose not," she said stepping in front of me, "Watcher it's really you isn't it?" I could have answered through the bond but licking her face was far more entertaining as she was so startled she fell on her backside. Moving forward I continued to lick her face until I heard the first peals of laughter from her.

"That's better, little one," I said down the bond, "now no more being scared of me, ok?"

"Yes, Alpha," she said, the tension and fear she felt no longer flowing down the bond.

I will always remember the year that followed as one of the happiest of my life. My little pack of three focused all of our energy on ensuring those two pups were as well protected and loved as possible. Not to say things didn't get interesting from time to time.

We quickly discovered that even though the twins were destined to spend their lives among humans they were far more mischievous when they were in wolf form. They quickly began walking and were very quiet as they tried to sneak out. Eventually, we built a small fence at the front of the cave that helped to keep them in. Well, it sort of worked for a while at least. There were times we all wanted to pull our hair out but somehow managed to keep it together. Honestly, I don't remember my own pups being this much trouble but I only had them one at a time.

With Calista was over her fear of me, I suddenly found myself outvoted when I suggested building her a new sleeping pallet a little deeper in the cave. She and Rhea had decided that the three of us would continue sharing a single area and I would just have to cope with the two of them curled up to me every night. Yes, I know the sacrifices we have to make.

As the pups grew, it was interesting how they seemed to spur each other on; sometimes in competition, sometimes in collaboration. Once they were weaned, they decided together that they would start sleeping in a different portion of the cave. Being so young they didn't so much as tell us as we just started finding them curled up there. We attempted to bring them back to the pallet, but invariably they would find their way back. The spot was deeper in the cave so eventually we stopped trying and let them have their spot.

They were only a few months old when I started taking them out hunting. I had them go after small game, rabbits, and such, at first but they quickly discovered they could take down the larger game when they worked together. The wolf's side quickly outpaced the human side and sometimes it was a shock when they shifted to see them so small and helpless. Calista said she had seen this kind of development before and it did not seem to affect them as the human side matured.

Once the pups had permanently adopted their new spot in the cave the dynamic between the three of us shifted as well. I would be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to the two women by my side every night but with Rhea losing her mate and the abuse Calista received I wasn't about to try anything with either of them. It seems, however, that decision was not going to be left up to me.

During my time in the cave, my dreams of chasing the she wolf had stopped only to be replaced by dreams of the women by my side. I awoke one night from a particularly enjoyable dream only to discover it wasn't a dream at all. As my eyes fluttered open I was stunned to find Rhea straddling me, her hips grinding against me. Only slightly less shocking was when Calista attacked my lips, her tongue pushing into my mouth. The three of us became regular lovers after that and for a while, it seemed nothing could bring it to an end.

One week, that was all the time that remained before Rhea was going to take the pups down to the village to live. I tried not to be melancholy about it, but after a year of so much joy and happiness, it was hard not to be sad to see it end. I was getting some of the supplies ready for travel when I felt a burst of joy coming from Calista. I had worked on filtering what came through the bond, but this was so strong it smashed through without a stop. Calista was out gathering, so I did not know what was causing this.

For a solid hour I tried getting through to Calista, but the only thing I got back was she was happy and was coming back to the cave. Rhea and I were waiting outside when she finally broke into the clearing and a large black wolf by her side answered all our questions. Our little pack was breaking up. She had found her mate.

"Alpha," she said, shifting as soon as she got in front of us, "this is Nors and he's my mate. He's from the Sea Wolf pack further south." At least she remembered to call me Alpha. We had decided not to announce to the world who I was if we encountered anyone. There's something enjoyable about being a myth.

"Alpha," Nors said, barely able to contain his excitement, "she is my mate and I want to ask your permission to take her back to my pack.

I knew how strong the mating pull could be and even if I said no one way or the other they would find a way to be together. "Nors," I said, "come with me." I had no intention of stopping them but I wanted to find out something about him first. Stepping away from the women I headed towards the side of the clearing and waited for Nors to join me.

"Alpha," Nors said, "I want you to know I will take care of Calista and." He went to continue but I waved him off.

"Nors," I said, "I know all that, I've been mated before. What I want to know is whether the Sea Wolves are still the only werewolves in the world who think fishing from those silly boats is a good idea?" I couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face.

"Alpha," he said, growing serious, "you insult me. The Sea Wolves have always fished and we always shall. Our ways may be different from what you are used to but that is no reason to insult my pack." From the way he was bristling he was prepared to defend his pack from the perceived insult.

"Relax Nors," I said, "I knew Cassius and Electra, and he was a good Alpha and cared for his people. Tell me, how old you are and what you do in the pack." My comment about having known the pack's founding Alphas seemed to catch him off guard as the pack was well over 1500 years old.

"I'm a Beta and over 300 years old, one of the oldest in the pack," he said, "truthfully I'd begun to give up hope of ever finding my mate." Looking hard I could see the age on him even though every wolf looks like a pup to me. Calling Calista over through the bond I waited until she arrived before saying anything else. That Rhea came with her didn't surprise me.

"Nors," I said, feeling Rhea slip her hand into mine, "You have my blessing to take Calista with you back to the Sea Wolves. She is an amazing woman and has come so far from when we found her, but that is her story to tell. I hope you have a long happy life together." As I spoke, I felt the bond slip away until I could no longer feel Calista in my head. I found I was saddened by this.

"Thank you Alpha," Calista said, flinging herself at me and wrapping her arms around me in a hug, "I'll never forget you."

"I'll never forget you either, Calista," I said, releasing her as Nors bristled at the contact with his mate. I didn't blame him; all newly mated males were touchy like that.

"Thank you Alpha," Nors said as Calista and Rhea went to gather her things. Since we had started prepping for the move to the village it was only a few minutes later that they reappeared with her items. The goodbyes were brief since we had already said everything that needed to be said and just like that I watched Nors take Calista out of my life and lead towards her new one.

"She'll be fine," Rhea said as we watched them vanish in the distance.

"I know, but that's not going to stop me from making sure. They don't call me Watcher for my stunning good looks." Turning back to the cave I went back to making sure the supplies were ready for the move. That night Rhea and I made love but it was obvious that everything was different. Calista had been such a big part of our lives that it just didn't feel right for her not to be there, and that was the last time Rhea and I were together. We didn't change the sleeping arrangements, but beyond that nothing else happened.

"Watcher, we need to talk about something," Rhea said the night before we were supposed to leave for the village.

"What's up Rhea?" I said. Everything was ready to go, and it was really just a matter of getting up and going in the morning.

"Once I've moved to the village I was wondering what your plans were?" she asked. I really hadn't given it much thought but part of me had considered settling in the village to watch over the twins.

"I'm not really sure just yet," I said, "I wanted to see what the reception in the village was like first."

"I thought as much," she said with a note of sadness in her voice, "Watcher, once we reach the village we have to part ways. The twins have a destiny to fulfill and the protector was only while they lived in the wilderness. I'm sorry but it's over." I had a feeling something like this was coming, but it didn't lessen the sting any.

"I understand," I said, feeling the bond with Rhea slipping away, 'Then tomorrow I will walk you to the village and that will be the end of it."

"I'm sorry," she said, "this year has been good and even though I wasn't your mate, you made me feel loved and cared for. Thank you for that."

"I couldn't do any less," I said. Neither of us spoke much for the rest of the night and when we climbed into the sleeping pallet, it surprised me at how tightly Rhea clung to me before finally falling asleep. The night passed slowly as I found sleep wasn't coming and eventually dawn was upon us. I knew Rhea would want to get an early start, so as soon as I saw the sky lightening I shook her awake.

"Did you sleep at all?" she asked.

"No, but I'll be fine for the journey." As she untangled herself from me, I couldn't help but pull her against me for one last kiss before letting her go. It was a surprise for me to see her blush. After pulling on my trousers, everything seemed to happen in fast forward. Getting the twins ready, eating the food we had left out for breakfast, and much too soon we were on the road.

The trip to the village was far too short for my tastes even though it took the entire day and part of the evening. The area was so different from where the cave was located with seven good-sized hills and a large river running to the west of them. As we approached the outskirts of the village, a group of humans came out to meet us. "I see you brought my grandchildren," Cornelia said.

"I did," Rhea said, "they survived in the wilderness and are now ready to be among people and assume their destiny."

"Does your protector know he cannot go any further?" Cornelia said.

"I do," I said. We had discussed this on the way down how this seemingly simple greeting was strangely ritualistic and important to the twins being accepted.

"Having survived the wilderness and being brought forth for acceptance," Cornelia said, "the children have earned the right to be named. Have names been chosen?"

"They have," Rhea said. The boys had moved up beside Rhea and were holding her hands in anticipation of finally being named.

"Then declare their names and enter," Cornelia said. My part in this was over and I had already said goodbye to Rhea and the twins so Rhea had said I should walk away as the names were announced. Turning on my heels I began to walk away.

"I declare him Remus," Rhea said, "and I declare him Romulus."

"Romulus and Remus," Cornelia said, "enter the village and be welcome." Romulus and Remus were good strong names and I hoped that whatever destiny they were supposed to fulfill would find them happy.