What We Must Ch. 05

Nick stepped back and untied his robe, letting it fall to the ground. It was quite evident that he wasn't ready for this either. They watched as he took her hand, and placed it on his chest, holding his own over hers. He stepped closer, and kissed her again, before leading her to the bed. Anne silently cheered on Beth, and applauded Nick's restraint.

They sat together on the bed as Nick continued to kiss her, moving to her neck. Anne turned away and suddenly realized no one else was moving. She glanced at Devon, who'd been keeping track of her reactions, and he shook his head. Gods, were they going to watch it all?!

Nick's arms went around Beth and they watched the movements from the back lighting. Beth gasped and stiffened. Easy, take it slow. More kissing and they watched as Beth's hands went to his head and shoulder.

Slowly, so very slowly, she relaxed and allowed Nick to untie and remove the robe. He pushed it off her shoulders. He kissed her again. "Beth, you're so beautiful."

He moved back and laid down on the bed. They saw him rub her back. "C'mon down here with me." She took a deep breath and laid down beside him.

Again, things moved ever so slowly as he touched her, caressed her, and she finally put her hands on him.

He rolled her to her back and continued kissing her, working down to her breasts. They kept watching as he hardened and started to stoke the fire in her. She began to touch him as well. His touch aroused her further and he held himself over her. She stiffened again as she felt the head of his cock at her entrance. And, again, he paused, and sank down to kiss her. She relaxed a little again, and he slowly started to push inside her.

She whimpered. "No. Don't."

"Beth, baby, it's OK. It's me. Look at me. It's OK."

She sniffled a little. "OK. OK." A big breath. "Go ahead."

Slowly, carefully, he finished the push in. They now heard him whisper to her. "Does it hurt?"

Her response indicated she was a little surprised. "No."

"OK, sweetheart. Here we go. Ready?"

They heard no response from her but she must have agreed because he started to move. He continued to nibble at her breast as he moved in and out of her, starting to increase his tempo.

It was as if a switch was thrown. They saw her hands moving on his body, and sounds associated with pleasure came from both and, most significantly, from her.

It didn't last very long before he groaned. Anne watched as his body shifted and he appeared to place his teeth on her neck. Anne twisted, fear showing in her face, as Nick bit her. But Lily had her by the arm so she couldn't move. Nick licked the bloody wound, then wrapped his arms around Beth and rolled them over so he wouldn't crush her.

The rest of the pack breathed an almost collective sigh of relief. William kissed Abbie, while Kevin's hands were on Jen, then, hand in hand, both couples retired to their bedrooms. Devon took Amanda's hand and they headed off to her room.

The men headed upstairs, discussing a movie they wanted to watch. Lily and Anne walked off together. "So, what was that he did at the end?"

"The mating mark must be delivered during intercourse. It binds the two of them together."

"So it keeps her from straying or something? What about him?"

"The mark has no special power, if that's what you mean. It simply means she has been mated. It's similar to the ring that humans wear when they marry."

"And the male doesn't get one?"

"Do all human men wear a wedding ring? These rituals are hundreds of years old; it's our tradition. The rest of the ceremony takes place tomorrow."

"The rest?"

"Tomorrow night, we witness their union as wolves. Then the marriage and mating will be complete."

*****

Devon and Duncan stood in her doorway. She looked at them. "We need to discuss your condition."

"My... condition?"

"Anne. There's no need to dance around this. You're pregnant."

She got a grumpy look on her face. "You don't know that."

A small box was produced. "Perhaps you should take the test."

She ripped the pregnancy test from his hand and stalked to the bathroom. Before she could shut the door on them, they followed her inside. She glared at Devon. "Does he need to be here?"

"Duncan is Beta. This concerns him as well."

She knew that no amount of discussion would get them to leave. "Would you turn your backs at least?"

They turned away from her as she checked the instructions and urinated on the end of the device. They turned around as she washed her hands.

Devon took possession of it as they went back to her room. A few more minutes and the results appeared. Positive. He showed the stick to Duncan. Anne was, indeed, pregnant.

*****

Anne. It was Anne.

She was pregnant. She was going to have his pup, his child.

She was smart; she was difficult; she was passionate. And, now, she would be his.

She had allowed him into her bed, would she go along with the rituals for the marriage and mating ceremonies? She would now be his mate, because of the decree, regardless, but it would be looked on more favorably if the rituals were observed.

He was amazed at the happiness he felt.

And had no idea of what she would put him through.

*****

That evening, at dinner, the announcement was made. Lily was pleased; Jen and Abigail didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Amanda was confused - What would happen to her now?

"Under the conditions of the decree, I will take Anne as my mate. Duncan will go to Amanda now." Amanda looked at Duncan and smiled a little nervously.

They all started to pass the food around and load their plates. Anne was sitting stiffly in her place, staring at her plate. Beth made to pass her a serving bowl, she didn't respond. Setting the bowl down, Beth nudged her. "Anne?"

She raised her head, looking a little upset, maybe a little scared. "How long will it be?"

No one quite got the question she was asking. Lily spoke up. "What, dear?"

"Nine months? Nine weeks? How long?"

"You're not born one of us. We don't know."

"You don't know much, do you!?" She pounded her fists on the table, got up, and stalked back to her room.

Lily brought a plate to her room. She knocked on the door. "Go away."

"Anne, dear, you need to eat something." A pause. "Please."

Another pause. "Alright."

She was sitting on the bed, knees drawn up to her chest, arms across them, resting her chin on her arms. She was staring off into space.

Lily set the plate on her nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed. "Every one of us is scared, especially the first time."

Anne sat back a little, her hand on her belly. Her voice quavers a little. "What do I have in here?"

"Sweetheart. You have Devon's child in there."

She laughed, mirthlessly. "His child? Or am I carrying a litter of... something?"

Lily patted Anne's foot. "While multiples are not unusual, none of us has litters. You see that Devon and Duncan are twins. So am I. The rest of them were all single births."

Lily looked at her a little more closely. "Anne, did you want children?"

Anne sniffed, her eyes blurring, as tears welled up. "Yes. But I always thought that it would be..." She couldn't finish the sentence without breaking down.

"I know you're having a difficult time accepting your life here. The others don't understand why you continue to fight it. But you're one of us now. Your place is here. What you have in your belly is more than Devon's child. It's our future."

*****

Devon was a little surprised when she agreed to the ritual of the marriage and mating ceremonies.

The women dressed her before the ceremony. Except for Amanda, all eyes were a bit wet in remembrance of their own marriages.

"Why green?"

"To symbolize new life and fertility." Anne chuckled and shook her head. "What?"

"I don't know why I didn't recognize it as a fertility ritual."

Her hair was done up in one large loose braid and pinned, in a coil, to the back of her head. A couple of dried flowers were tucked in.

She was brought to the corridor outside the marriage chamber and left there as the women entered to take their places.

The men approached from the other direction and passed through the doorway. Devon stood at the other end of the hall, looking at her and fondling the pendant he wore regularly.

Look at her. She looks, well, lovely. The robe had been worn by many of the women in his pack and, most recently, by Beth. Their scents all mingled together in a celebration of life and the power of the female essence.

His hand went to the pendant around his neck. Bev, I'm sorry love. This was not my choice. But she was been brought into my pack and she bears my child. I will take her as my mate and take care of them both.

He walked to stand before the doorway and extended a hand to her. "Anne."

As she approached him, he asked the question. "Are you ready?"

She sighed. "I suppose."

He took her hand, firmly, and they turned and stepped through the doorway. She gasped and stiffened. There was no cloth to give them any illusion of privacy, and the others actually circled the bed, instead of standing outside. She stumbled as Devon pulled her forward to Duncan's recitation of the words she had heard from Devon the month prior.

Devon brought her to the opening in the circle, just before the marriage bed.

"Anne and Devon, are you prepared, at this time, to join together as lifemates?"

Devon said yes as Anne stared at the bed and the others around it. Devon squeezed her hand and leaned in to whisper to her. "This is how it's done. We allowed special provision for Beth's situation." She looked at him, then back to the bed.

Duncan tried to prompt her, "Anne?"

She looked at him, her mouth suddenly dry. The exhibition would have been bad enough, the way it had been for Beth and Nick. This was, was.. They were surrounding the bed. Like shooting a porno or something. Granted they'd seen parts of her body before, but to watch them fuck? This was so twisted. "Anne?"

"Oh. Uh. Uh, huh."

She didn't hear anything else until they all said, "May your marriage be happy and fruitful."

Devon untied his robe and it fell to the floor from his shoulders. The rest were surprised as the woman normally undressed her mate. Devon then untied her robe, and reached inside to cup her breasts, his thumbs rubbing her nipples so that they were hardened, before he pushed the robe off her shoulders. Most of them had already seen her naked, one way or the other, but, still...

He released her hair, pulling out the pins and shaking it out. Then he dropped to his knees and kissed her belly while one of his hands traced down between her legs.

He looked up at her, wishing there was another look on her face, and rose. His hand was stroking her while his mouth was on her breast. She closed her eyes and her head tipped slightly, but her hands remained at her sides, fists beginning to form.

Her breathing deepened and he picked her up and placed her on the bed, then climbed on with her. He continued to stroke her, while suckling and nibbling at her breasts. As usual, she simply lay there, and did not touch him.

Depending upon the age and prowess of the male, the ritual could go on for some time as he subjected his new mate to extended bouts of pleasure before succumbing to his own release. However, in this case, the ritual was a formality and no one expected it to last too terribly long. They did, however, expect the female to do something other than lie there.

Duncan watched and, while he may have felt a bit jealous before, now felt sorry for his older brother, their Alpha. Anne apparently felt nothing for any of them, least of all Devon. There was no kissing, she made no sounds, and she did not touch him. Devon was doing all the work. They smelled her arousal, as his continued suckling and stroking made her body respond to him. He entered her and began moving in the age old dance. At least she was breathing heavily, and squirming slightly. Then, Devon moved more quickly. He shifted form and she made a surprised noise at the change in his size. He bit her as his knot bulged inside her, and she gasped and arched off the bed. He groaned, licking the wound on her neck. As he sank down on her, the others began to turn away and leave, nowhere near the happy state they had left Beth and Nick's rite. He took Amanda's hand and turned toward her bedroom, glancing back once at the two on the bed. "You're right, Devon, the leadership gig sucks sometimes."

*****

As was the custom, he began moving his things into her room. As the members of the pack had few belongings, it didn't take him long. He was there when she came back from her most recent foray into the tunnels.

"What is this? What are you doing here?"

"As is custom, the male moves in with his mate."

"You've got your own room; go back to it."

Unfortunately, the door was ajar and the other pack members heard the beginning of the argument before he shut the door behind him. His voice started out quietly. "No. You are my mate. I sleep here with you."

"And, how did you get this privilege? I didn't choose you." She'd found out, of course, that the females chose their mates.

He grabbed her, resisting, and placed a hand on her belly. "Because of this. Your body chose me."

She pulled out of his grip and turned to face him, defiant. "I'm already pregnant. There's no reason for you to be in here with me."

"Yes, there is. You're my mate. You belong to me."

She walked back up to him, looked him in the eye, and belted him across the face. "I belong to no one." She was shaking with rage and her eyes glowed amber.

He grabbed her arm and steeled himself against the anger rising in him. She was his and he would sleep here with her. He pushed her backward, carefully, against the bed. She struggled and tried to fight him off. Once he had her sitting there, he turned and left the room.

He then tried to walk off his frustration. Duncan caught him in one of the corridors. "Things not going well, brother?"

*****

Evening came and he returned to what was now their bedroom. She glared at him from the bed as he entered the room. Ignoring the look, he dropped his pants and crawled in beside her. It was warm under there and he automatically reached for her. He touched her soft skin, she was naked under the covers, and prepared to pull her against him and caress her. She stiffened and resisted him. She growled at him. "Don't touch me. You've accomplished what you intended. You have no reason to touch me."

"Anne, we're mated..." He looked at her back in the darkness. She had gone along with the mating rituals, he thought that she had softened a bit, that she might actually relent. But no, she was still going to resist him.

She yawned, and turned to look at him briefly. "If you're going to insist on sleeping here you had better make a bigger bed and bring your own covers." She rolled over, taking most of the covers with her, wrapping herself in them. He stalked back to his room and returned with the covers from his bed.

Grumbling, he made an additional platform and pushed it next to her bed, their bed, making it larger so that he could sleep in the bed with her, without touching her.