Wolves Ch. 07

The next morning we were all up early, I could tell that the older boys knew that something was up but they didn't ask. Of the three of them only Tyler was relaxed and when I say that I don't mean that he was smiling and happy, I mean that he knew that his days of being hurt were over. Dee even looked better, I guess relieved would be a better word for it. She didn't say much as we got ready to go to the house; this was a very different Dee than the one I knew. I imagined that she didn't sleep well as she replayed the events of the prior day in her mind.

Marshall drove Dee's minivan with the boys and the rest of us rode in the truck followed by the minivan. An hour and a half later, we were back at the house. I got out and walked around, it seemed like a lifetime ago since I'd lived here and was plain old Allie Walker rescuer of the occasional hiker and a woman with truly wild fantasies that had come true.

There were so many good memories here and I missed my house, I just didn't realize how much until now. I handed the keys to Matt who unlocked the door but wouldn't let any of the women and kids go in until he and the others checked it out. Afterwards, they ran off to the back of the house, changed and ran through the woods marking the area and checking for danger.

The boys were already unloading the van without being told to confirming my belief that they knew that something had happened and was still happening. Without being told, Cecil Jr. And David took charge of Tyler without complaint even letting him help unload the van without the comments about him being too small. They knew.

During the ride up, Matt and the rest of us decided that the boys were much too know young to know or understand why and how I could be married to five men so we wouldn't tell them. If they came to visit we would have to be careful and make sure that they never saw anyone other than Matt coming out of our bedroom. Matt was wondering about the feasibility of making the rooms on either side of our room adjoining rooms. That would completely eliminate the chance that one of the others wasn't caught coming out or going into our room in the middle of the night. I suggested that we keep their rooms in the basement since they liked it down there and Dee was no longer an issue. The truth of it was I was tired of the racket of construction and wanted quiet for awhile, before too long the house would be filled with the sounds of crying babies.

I suddenly realized that we were talking like Dee and the boys wouldn't be going back to California and that this was a very premature discussion. Everything had happened so quickly that we didn't know what was going to happen and hadn't talked about it. The boys were in what would be their rooms while Dee was in my old room unpacking. My heart stopped as I realized that I still had some toys in the bedside table. While Dee and I were close we never talked about sex at least not much and I had no idea of how she was going to react when she saw the toys.

I didn't know how to get them out without her seeing me or them so I decided to come clean.

"Umm Dee, I don't know how to tell you this it's kind of well..."

Dee stopped what she was doing and looked at me expectantly. It then dawned on me that she already thought that I was a freak so what was a little more?

"In the top drawer, there are toys...sex toys." I said and then waited for her response.

There was a long hesitation and then she said, "So are there batteries?"

It was my turn to do the fish gasping for air thing. Dee and sex toys? I had to wonder what Cecil had thought about that.

"Close your mouth Allie." Dee said with a chuckle. "How naïve do you think I am? You up here alone most of the time and no men?"

I snapped my mouth shut and opened it again only it was to speak.

"You're not surprised?" I asked.

"No, I'm not surprised especially since finding out that you sleep with five guys who happen to be brothers and wolves to boot. So how does that work?" she asked.

I was so not about to discuss my love life with Dee even if she was my cousin but she wouldn't let it go.

"Do you all sleep together or do they take turns sleeping with you?" she asked. "And how does the whole wolf thing work?" she asked.

"Alright, this is all the info I'm giving you." I said. "We all sleep together now drop it."

Her eyes widened as she realized that if we all slept together then we made love together as well. She was going to ask but I stopped her.

"None of your business." I said before she got the first syllable out. But I had questions for her.

"Dee, what happened? I thought that you and Cecil were so happy."

She didn't reply for a long time but when she did, her voice was tight as if she were struggling not to cry.

"We were at first, or I thought we were. Cecil was moving up in his company and didn't want children because he said that they were too expensive but when Cecil Jr. came along, he seemed genuinely happy and adjusted. When David came along, he wasn't as happy but once again he adjusted. Then he started staying late at work because of clients needing him and because of this deal or that. I wondered if we were in trouble financially and offered to get a job but he told me that all I needed to do was look pretty and raise the kids. I believed him and didn't ask again but he became more distant and started not coming home at all except to change his clothes and an occasional dinner.

I began to wonder if he was having an affair and asked him about it, of course he said no but I knew that he was lying but I couldn't prove it and what was I going to do even if I could? I had two babies and no job skills to speak of. That's what he meant when he made the comment about the housekeeping but Allie; I would have done it if it would have helped. But at any rate, we became for all practical purposes roommates. He didn't even notice when I moved out of our bedroom and into one of the spare ones."

I had no idea that things were that bad between them. As I said she always sounded so happy when we talked when the reality of it was that she was hurting just as badly as Tyler had been. I can't even begin to imagine living like that and was very thankful for my guys. But there was more.

"I heard him talking to her one night. The things he said to her, the things that he said that he wanted to do to her and what he wanted her to do to him...Allie it was like listening to a triple x movie. I didn't know that he could talk like that and the thing is, I would and could have done any and all of the things that he wanted her to so if he had just told me what he wanted. The whole time I had been thinking that I wasn't a good wife or that somehow I was repulsive to him but that wasn't it. I was the wrong color."

What in the hell was she talking about? According to Cecil blacks should only be with blacks and so on and so forth.

"Dee, what do you mean you're the wrong color? You're black and that's all that mattered to him." I said.

"The woman that he was seeing, she was white. I rented a car while the boys were at school and followed Cecil all day. The woman looked like a hooker the way that she was dressed, she had long blonde hair and oh god Allie, can you imagine how I felt?" she asked.

I was doing that fish thing again, but then I understood or at least I thought I did. In his mind, Cecil was getting back at the man by screwing a white woman because he felt screwed by the white man. Wow, talk about being screwed up and no, I hadn't the foggiest idea of how she must have felt.

"After I saw them together a second time, I filed for divorce and moved out taking the boys to my mother's while I looked for a place to live. I had enough money to support us for awhile if I was careful and found an apartment. It was a definite step-down from what we had but it would work, it had to work. While we were separated, I met this man who lived in the same complex. He was everything that Cecil wasn't, he was polite, kind, the kids liked him and he didn't treat me like an idiot. Cecil and I had been separated for four months before I slept with Jonas, I had no plans of reconciling with Cecil and it had been so long since I had been touched in that way that I threw caution to the wind. What I said about the condom was true, one of them was defective. Well any one day Cecil shows up full of apologies and proclamations of love and stupid me believed him.

He said that he was through with the other woman and begged for forgiveness and said that God had already forgiven him and like a fool, I went back. Jonas begged me not to go, he tried to warn me but I didn't listen. When I got home, we made what I thought was love once and Cecil never touched me again. A month later, I found out that I was pregnant with Tyler. I really did think that he was Cecil's but when he was born, Cecil wanted a paternity test and the rest you know."

Sweet Jesus, how had she remained sane? I wondered. No wonder she shed no real tears when Cecil ceased to exist.

"He threatened to take Cecil Jr. and David away if you left him didn't he?" I asked.

"I didn't know what to do! I couldn't leave them with him so that he could teach them how to hate! You saw what he was like. I thought about coming to you but Allie, I was ashamed. I was too afraid to tell you what was happening, and what would you have thought of me?" she asked tearfully.

"I would have told you to come, I would have thought that my cousin needed me and I would have done anything that I could to help you and my nephews." I said as I hugged her. "I wouldn't have judged you." I added kissing her cheek.

Dee pulled away from me and smiled sadly, "But I would have judged you. Maybe that's why I didn't call you and ask for help." she said.

"What about now knowing what you do about me and that my guys are wolves?" I asked.

Dee looked down and then back up at me, "I'm not going to lie, at first I thought that you were sick. What woman sleeps with five men who are brothers that aren't even human and is pregnant by one of them? Later, when they were getting ready to look for Cecil, when they didn't know I was watching, I saw how they looked at you. Allie they love you, all of them and I was jealous. All I ever wanted was for one man to look at me like that and you have five of them! So to answer your question, I don't think that you're sick but a very lucky woman. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the wolf thing though"

We stayed in my room talking until Paul called up saying that dinner was ready. Before we went downstairs, I took the used toys out of the drawer but left the unopened ones there. I had a feeling that Dee was going to need them for awhile.

Dinner was quiet with very little conversation happening. The guys cleaned up after telling the boys to be in the living room in an hour. I didn't know what Dee told them if anything but we were about to find out.

An hour later we were all in the living room with me sitting to Matt's left and Kevin on the other side of me. The other guys sat nearby but not so close as they were touching me. Dee sat on the loveseat while Tyler sat next to Marshall and the other boys sat on the floor in front of Dee.

"Ok guys, a lot has happened since you got here and unfortunately most of it isn't good. I don't know what your mom told you..."

"Dad's gone." Cecil Jr. interrupted.

"Yes, he is." Matt said.

"He went into the woods even after you told us not to and got lost." Cecil Jr. continued.

He knew. I don't know how but he knew that his father was dead, I don't think that they knew specifically how he died. Why wasn't he more upset about it? I wondered.

"He was mean to mom and little man." David said softly. "We couldn't stop him." he added as a tear ran down his cheek which got Cecil Jr. going and then Dee. Tyler was crying too but Marshall had him in his arms and was whispering in his ear. I could see Tyler's head bobbing up and down in response to whatever Marshall was saying. I watched as Tyler threw his arms around Marshall's neck and sobbed.

Oh my god! I understood now. They knew what was happening to Dee and Tyler and felt guilty that they couldn't stop it which made sense because if you'll remember I mentioned something about both of the boys being Alpha males with David being only slightly less Alpha than Cecil Jr. They felt like failures because they couldn't protect Dee and Tyler and then to complicate things, they were just as relieved as Tyler and Dee that Cecil was gone but they felt guilty because they were relieved. All of them Dee included, needed to see a therapist and pronto. I was sure that Matt knew of someone that would see them. I looked at him and saw that he was already way ahead of me. Both Cecil Jr. and Davis were hugging Dee and crying. I wanted to find Cecil's body and beat it to a pulp for what he had done to his family.

It was late when we left but Marshall stayed behind to help Dee with the boys and he didn't want to leave Tyler who was still clinging to him. Of the three boys I think that it's my little heart that's going to have the roughest time of it, I'm not sure of why I think that maybe it's because he's spent so much of his short life afraid but I had a feeling that Marshall is going to be very helpful with that.

I was totally exhausted by the time we got home, my head, back and feet hurt even though I was able to lie down in the truck using Matt's lap as a pillow. I just didn't feel quite right but I attributed it to too much emotional upheaval. Now here's the thing, I didn't want to be made love to, yep me who loved being made love to for hours on end didn't feel like it. Even the guys were shocked but didn't say anything as they helped me into bed and surrounded me with their bodies.

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep but all I could think of was that bastard Cecil and what he had done to his family.

"Baby, you've got to relax." Matt said from behind me and began to rub my shoulders. It wasn't too long before my feet were being massaged as well as my stomach and my legs. Gradually I began to relax enough that I could sleep.

I woke up feeling a little better but still not quite myself. I really can't explain how I felt; I was just out of sorts. I stayed in bed that day with Paul. He was worried, I could tell and to be honest, I was getting worried too. Something was wrong but I didn't know what. There was no pain other than the back pain that was from the excess weight I had gained. There was no bleeding or the leaking of fluids, in other words none of the things that the doctor told us to look our for especially since this was a first pregnancy and a multiple birth one at that.

I found myself angry at Cecil again, this was supposed to have been a happy time and here I was in bed and feeling more and more like crap as the day went on. I was sound asleep in Tony's arms when the first cramp hit. It wasn't a bad one but it was enough to wake me up. The next one was even stronger and made my breath catch, something was seriously wrong.

"Tony, something's wrong call the doctor!" I said panicked.

I started crying as he called the Doctor and then the other guys. In no time flat they were all around me but it was Paul who was holding me. He started talking to me softly in my ear as he rubbed my stomach in slow circles. Gradually as I calmed down the cramps diminished but didn't go away completely. By that time the doctor had arrived and checked me out.

"Let's get her to the hospital and put her on a fetal monitor. I'll meet you there." he said as he walked away.

Matt carried me while the others followed, oh before I forget, we didn't go to a human hospital. Anyway, Tony drove while Paul held me in his lap and talked to me while Matt sat on one side of him and rubbed my back and Kev sat on the other side rubbing my legs and feet. All of them were talking to me softly reminding me that they weren't leaving me alone.

I started to cry again, I didn't want to lose my babies.

"Allie." Paul said in my ear, "Concentrate on my voice."

He began to speak so softly that I could barely hear him and in doing that I was distracted from what was happening; you know the 'you can't concentrate on more than one thing' theory. By the time I figured out what he was doing we were at the hospital.

I was taken to a private room big enough to hold all of us and placed on the monitor while IV's were started. Did I mention that I hate needles? Anyway, they started pumping me full of fluids and monitoring the babies. They also did one of those 3D sonograms and we saw our babies for the first time, all seven...seven? Did I just count seven babies?

The Doctor left us alone for a few minutes as we looked at our babies. We were all crying and talking at the same time. I didn't even minds when the nurse came in to draw blood; I was really going to be a mommy!

"Matt, did you happen to do a head count?" I asked.

"What? No why? He asked.

Kevin began to count.

"One, two, three, four, five.... Oh my God! Our Allie is giving us seven babies! He exclaimed.

"No way!" Matt said and began to count and recounted twice.

They all started talking at once forgetting that I had no idea about the significance of the number seven.

The doctor came back in and shushed them.

"I understand your excitement but this is a hospital so please keep it down."

Even Matt was contrite, "sorry, we just got a little carried away." he said.

"It's alright." He said. "Allie, your labs look good but I don't think that you're taking in enough fluids as you noticed the contractions stopped when we started pushing the fluids. Seven babies are taking a lot out of you and you have to replace what they're taking. I want you to double your prenatal vitamin dose and I'm charging your guys to make sure that you're drinking enough. I also want you on bed rest for a week and no lovemaking for at least that long."

He couldn't be serious! Now that I was feeling better I was ready to play.

"Nothing?" I asked.

"Nothing and I'm keeping you overnight." he said firmly.

"But..."

"No buts, I want to make sure that everything is alright before I let you go. The guys can stay if they like." He said and walked out.

"Wow, Allie loses one." Tony teased.

I glared at him but didn't say anything, I wasn't going to like being on bed rest especially since we couldn't do anything to make it more pleasurable.

Dee called later in the evening wanting to come back down.

"No, it's late and the guys are here with me." I told her.

I talked to Marshall next.

"Marshall I'm fine and the babies, all seven of them are fine too."

There was several seconds of silence and then Marshall let out a whoop that must have scared every wild animal around my house away. I still didn't understand the significance of the number seven and asked Matt about it.

"Each family has what they consider to be a lucky number, ours just happens to be seven. Every so often the mate of the pack leader delivers babies that are the lucky number of the family. It seems that we are being blessed in that we share a mate and said mate is going to give us seven babies." he explained.

Ok, I really don't get it but that's ok I guess. I moved in the bed to get more comfortable and missed our big bed at home and wondered where the guys would sleep. Matt looked at Kevin who nodded and left the room with Louis and Tony.

"Where are they going?" I asked.

"They'll be back, don't worry." Matt said as he sat on the bed next to me and held my hands. It occurred to me that we had to come up with seven names, no make that fourteen. The babies could be all boys or all girls or a mix but if we had fourteen names, you see what I mean? The other thing that I needed to find out was if there was some kind of naming ceremony or protocol that I should know about. Just as I was about to ask, Kev, Tony and Louis came back carrying sleeping bags that they laid on the floor so that they were touching. I told them that they could go home but even as I said it I knew that they wouldn't leave.