Artiface of Strength Ch. 01

All of us become who we are because of what we remember-memories swirling around us... into us, creating our reality and driving us on.

*****

Once again she wondered why she had been putting this off. Sure, her life was stressful and her job overwhelming, but she'd sought both of them... hadn't she? So why had it been such a long time since she'd given in to her wild side and stolen some time for her wolf. Now she found herself five miles into her run and she could feel the stress just sloughing off of her soul like dead skin. The dirt under her claws and the sun shining on her fur was a blissful feeling. She was free for once; for her, these sensations were almost orgasmic in nature.

Florence had known in advance that taking the responsibilities of a pack Beta would be tough, but now as she ran on, she was beginning to realize that maybe she had let the pressure of being the first bitch to earn the Beta rank overwhelm her. The fact that she was only just now starting to grasp this reality bothered her, but not nearly as much as she was annoyed by the fact that her Alpha had ordered her to go on this run. As usual, Alpha John Billington was way ahead of her. He'd been an Alpha for centuries and he knew his pack all too well.

Now I'll have to apologize to the old bastard she thought to herself as she came to an abrupt stop after catching a faint whiff of a smell that shouldn't be here. Humans never came here; this was just too far off of their beaten trails. She was well aware that hikers would occasionally stray from the National Forest lands and into pack territory, but it was exceedingly rare for humans to be found this far inside their lands. After all, the distance from the park border is why she had felt safe to run as a wolf during the daytime in the first place.

So much for my day off she growled to herself, before sending a brief report to her Alpha—"a human, deep within pack lands Alpha John!"

"Investigate, but from a safe distance," he instantly sent back. "Be careful until you discover whether or not it is a hunter!"

This exchange took but a moment and Florence was soon sliding up on the smelly human. "No... humans", she thought to herself. "Less likely to be poaching hunters grouped together like that, usually hunters fan out to try to scare up their game. They also seem to making quite a bit of noise, surely they must be hikers."

Creeping yet closer, she heard a male voice call out some sort of compass directions, and a second male voice answer back immediately.

"Odd, it sounds as though they are mapping something out," she thought.

Slinking ever closer, Florence positioned herself to peek from the brush, finally seeing the two men. They were bent over while pounding survey stakes into the ground. She found that the first man, smelled like so many humans seemed to, cloaked in the aroma of old tobacco smoke and some sort of greasy food. He had probably wiped his lunch into his pants leg she thought disgustedly.

She guessed the man to be in early middle age. Florence knew she was never very good at figuring out the ages of humans, they aged so quickly as compared to wolves. He looked reasonably fit however, despite his apparent tobacco habit-tanned and weather-beaten, the man clearly worked out of doors regularly. Florence pegged him as a professional surveyor.

The second man was more interesting to the wolf. Younger, leaner, and better looking, he looked to be incredibly fit, more a product of martial arts training than of outdoor work and the sketchy diet of his companion. Tall and well muscled with jet black hair; Florence knew that she would be somewhat attracted to him if not for the fact that the man smelled more than faintly of the oil used to lubricate firearms. This smell said that he was definitely armed, but as he carried no rifle, he clearly was not a hunter. This man was seemingly out of place. He looked more like hired security than he did a surveyor's assistant.

"Two human men surveying our land with surveyor's tools, one of them likely armed with a handgun," Florence crisply sent back to her Alpha before backing back into the brush and out of sight of the two men.

"Good work; we are on our way. Do not, repeat do NOT engage them 'til we reach you... and yes, we are bringing you some clothes so you won't be left out of the fun, Flo."

"Florence," she snapped back!

The Alpha merely chuckled as he closed their mind link. "That'll teach her to call me the old bastard!"

Turning and yelling over his shoulder, he called his main Betas, "Sam... Tom... Florence has run into some intruders. She says they are probably armed; grab some supplies and let's go!"

Irritated, Florence growled quietly to herself and wondered if her Alpha had heard her earlier thoughts. "Surely, I was not broadcasting that loudly. If he brings me girly clothes, I'll make him suffer! That would be just like him to get even like that!"

She knew that she wouldn't have to wait very long to find out. Aside from having to stop to grab a few supplies, it shouldn't take long for the three wolves to arrive. They would only have a couple of miles to run as they would surely make a bee line to her location, not traveling the same circuitous route that Florence had enjoyed during her run.

While she waited, she kept her ears open and listened to the two humans as they worked, and while Florence was very well read, she lacked the formalized training in engineering that would allow her to understand what the two men were doing. Though, it did seem as though they believed that some sort of road was to be constructed along the path they were plotting.

"Surely not" Florence speculated. "There is no way that Alpha John would allow a road to be built through the heart of pack lands! As it was, the Billington Pack had little enough peace from the constantly encroaching humans. It seemed as if the Forest Service was constantly airlifting injured or lost humans from their property and back to the Whiskey Lake Recreation Area. Florence hated the sounds and smells of their horrible helicopters. If I don't see another chopper for another ten years, it will still be too soon!

Before she knew it, the three male wolves had arrived, both Betas wearing backpacks full of spare clothes, weapons, and medical supplies. John was somewhat obsessive about being prepared for anything. He, rarely, went anywhere not heavily loaded as if to face an angered herd of grizzly bears, or worse yet-armed humans.

The harnesses that the wolves had worn had been developed hundreds of years before by Tom, shortly after he had been turned by Billington. Having spent his human life as a Patuxet war-scout, Tom never quite got used to arriving to battle without possessions in hand. The modern materials of polyester and Velcro still annoyed him, though he had to admit that they certainly were more versatile than the leather thongs and straps that he had originally designed so many years before.

Quickly shifting back to human, Florence rifled through the packs and found that the men had brought her a pair of hiking boots with pink neon laces, pink Daisy Duke shorts, white frilly socks, and a white cropped tee-shirt with a logo that said, 'I do it doggy-style'.

Her head snapped around to growl at John, but he studiously ignored her gaze, as did the two Betas—though the two didn't work as hard to hide their smirks.

Yanking on her clothes, she wondered once again why she worked so hard to impress these three; they constantly bent over backwards to annoy her-rarely giving her a moment's peace. Not dwelling on this for long, she ignored her irritation and reported the conversation of the two humans to her Alpha.

"Sorry about the clothes Flo, err... Florence. We couldn't resist, umm... I mean that all we could find were Beth's clothes."

"Tell me again why it's wrong to kill one's Alpha," she snapped back.

"Because I need to go talk to those two humans," he grinned while the four finished dressing. "Play the part of my girlfriend; try to look a bit vacant so they'll ignore you as a threat."

"Wearing Beth's clothes, that should be easy," she snapped again.

Sam chuckled and said, "See John, I told you... camouflage, it works every time!"

"I will get even with you two if it takes a couple hundred years," Florence growled.

"See Tom, I told you that she would be thankful!"

Florence growled again, impatiently waiting for them to get back to business.

They walked out of the trees making as much noise as was possible. Indeed, they made more noise than the humans usually did. John wanted to be absolutely sure that the two men heard them coming so they would not be startled into a thoughtless defensive position.

As he made eye contact with the men, he said "Ah... hello gentlemen," as if surprised to be meeting them. "Are you lost? You guys are quite a ways outside of the National Forest. Did you lose the trail?"

"Umm no... we are here to survey the area," replied the sloppier of the two men.

John thought about that for a second and then responded, "Surveying the area; why would you be surveying the land here. It is private land. It isn't part of the park service."

Florence listened to the exchange with only half an ear, her focus was on the second man-fit, clearly able to move at a moment's notice, and most assuredly armed, he would be her responsibility if things went sideways. If he reached for a gun, she'd disarm him if able, or kill him if not. She knew that she'd rather not kill the man if she could avoid it, as someone would surely come looking for him eventually, and that sort of thing tended to spiral out of control rather quickly.

"Yes, that is true. This survey was paid for by the Burton Waters Land Management Group. I understand that they are interested in building a new road to the casino on the edge of the park."

"There will be no road," John practically spat! All of the woods around you are old growth; they've never been cut, they've never been burned out. Not only is it important environmentally, but the owner likes it that way! He will make sure that it stays untouched by greedy hands."

"Why are you so sure that he won't sell," the younger man interrupted.

Florence found his voice to be remarkable; it stirred something within her. Once again, she hoped she wouldn't have to kill this man. The Alpha was right to send me on this run; clearly something is wrong with my head. I'm rarely ever even attracted to wolves from the pack, much less a mere human. They've never held any attraction for me at all.

Curious, she leaned forward and attempted to scent the man, but all she could detect was the oily smell of the lubricant used on his gun, and the greasy smell of his companion, neither of which made her any happier about the situation.

"Because I am the owner," John replied with a growl. "I won't be selling, and this land is all the riches that I'll ever require. Waters will never get his dirty hands on any of it! That man is a cancer; he fouls everything that he touches, and he won't be touching my land!"

Billington paused just long enough to spit, spittle splashing onto the surveyor's boots. He then stared into the security man's eyes and said, "Get off my land...Now!"

Not batting an eye, the security man splayed his fingers widely, and making no sudden moves, he slowly reached into his back pocket, removing his wallet with two fingers. Opening it in clear view of his adversaries, he pulled out a business card. "This..." he said, "is the contact information for our legal team. They will be contacting you. Make things easy on yourself; speak with them and listen to what they have to say."

The Alpha took the card, his eyes never leaving the human's eyes. "Next time you sneak onto my land, bring more than a handgun, and please bring a shovel with you; it will make our job easier!"

Noticing that the two men seemed nonplussed by his implied threat, John snapped, "Sam... Tom... Escort these men back to the park lands. Pull up every stake they've driven into our land. Burn them."

"Mr. Billington," the security man said slowly, "I don't want to be your enemy, but Burton always gets what he wants. I don't like him any better than you do, but I've been forced to work for him, and I've seen how he works. He won't stop 'til he wins; he never does."

John stared back at the man for a moment before replying, "Sir, you have me at a disadvantage; you seem to know who I am, but I don't know your name."

"William, William Yazzie, this is my partner Philip Perry. We won't trouble you any further."

"Yazzie? You don't look like a Yazzie, and I've never met one so far north."

"My grandfather left the desert a long time ago. He claims that a vision led him here, although knowing my grandfather; he was probably just chasing tail. You've met Yazzies before? "

Off to the side, Sam snorted, although he said nothing.

"A few," John said, his face breaking into a grin. "Although it has been awhile."

Obviously a bit perplexed, William responded, "Well Sir, I'm sorry that we've met under these circumstances; Phil and I will be on our way. Call the number on that card; it will make it easier for all of us." And with these words, William tipped his hat to Florence, gathered up his gear, and began walking back to the National forest area.

The wolves made a point of remaining still for a few moments, standing silently and just watching the men walking away; using their superior hearing to listen into the human's whispered conversation.

"Didya see her shirt Will? I was dying to ask her what I would have to do to be considered!"

"Billington would have had your head! She must be his arm candy; you notice that she didn't say a thing."

"Yeah, but what a way to go," the older man laughed. "That girl was smokin' hot... Doggy-style? Oh, I wish!"

As the two men faded out of hearing range, the sounds of two meaty sounding punches were heard. Bent over in pain, Tom gasped, "What did I do? It was Sam's idea!"

"Sorry Alpha," Florence snarled, not sounding a bit sorry. "But I wasn't going to wait any longer to get even with those two."

John spared a quick look for his two Betas. "When you two get your breath back, shadow those two back to the fence. Pull up every stake. Florence... you go finish your run, and for punching my Betas, your punishment will be that these two will be buying tonight. Come thirsty."

As the two crept away, Florence heard one of them mumble, "It was worth it," as the other wolf laughed quietly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Later that night, Florence walked into the Whiskey Lake Roadhouse fully intent on drinking her friends into poverty. As a wolf, her tolerance for alcohol was prodigious, but fortunately for Sam and Tom, the bar was owned and operated by the Pack, so they just might get away with some of their week's pay intact.

Heads turned as she walked through the door, dressed up country in her Wranglers and Ropers. She was in peak athletic shape and with curly dark brown hair hanging down past her shoulders, she was a vision. The humans who made up most of the Roadhouse clientele probably thought that the life of the party had arrived; the few wolves in the house mostly looked the other way- carefully avoiding any eye contact with her. Most of them had a scar or two with Florence's name on it.

Her Alpha caught the look in her eye and mumbled to his seconds, "I hope you two brought plenty of money; she still looks pretty pissed."

"I notice that she got rid of the shirt," Tom whispered back, before hurriedly standing and waving Florence over to their usual corner booth.

"Oh, I don't think Beth will ever see that shirt again," Sam sent back to the other wolves.

Florence strode across the room as if she owned it, barely noticing the bright swarm of neon signs or the sawdust and peanut shells under her boots. She'd been here many times before, although in truth, it had been awhile. In her younger days, she had swept the place out and refilled the peanut barrels every morning before heading off to school. Later in her life, she had tended bar and acted as the female bouncer before outgrowing that job too, as she had advanced within her pack. Catching the bartender's eye she waved for a pitcher and a bottle, then gestured at Sam to signify who would be paying.

"Looks like the first round is on you," Tom snarked.

"Oh, I have a feeling that there will be more than just one," Sam shot back.

The bar maid showed up promptly saying, "One bottle of single malt, and one pitcher of brown ale. Florence, did you want more than one mug?"

Seeing that Beth was on duty, wearing her usual outfit, little more than a few inches of lace held together by dental floss, Florence replied grumpily, "Hell no, let these two order their own drinks! Oh, and I almost forgot, Tom owes you a new set of clothes. The next time you are in the city, buy whatever you like and charge it to his account.

Beth's face lit up; she loved to shop! "Oh thank you Tom," she said delightedly before leaning over and hugging his face, one large breast on either side of his nose. Giggling and heading back to the bar, she missed hearing her Alpha say, "There goes the rest of your paycheck!"

"Shit, dressed like that, she makes more in tips than both of us put together, and now we have to buy her clothes too?"

"You know that she'll be thankful, very thankful," Florence grinned back.

"Well, there is that," Tom offered thoughtfully.

"Okay, does everyone feel even now," John asked with a smile.

Taking a long draught from her bottle of single malt," Florence said, "I'm starting to."

"Yeah, the look on her face was worth it," replied Sam.

"I'm thinking that I might come out ahead," Tom offered while watching Beth bend over the counter.

"You're welcome, asshole," Florence grinned, seeing where Tom's gaze was focused.

"So... can we talk business now," John stated, more than he asked. When no one contradicted him, he continued, "Sam, report on the two men."

They walked directly to the fence line, Alpha. They didn't make any detours, although the older guy took a few notes and some photographs as he walked along, so I doubt if tearing out all those stakes will do any good. He'd obviously not given up on his job."

Mmm, I didn't think that he would," growled the Alpha. "Those two seemed pretty cool and unflappable for a couple of working guys. Did you manage to catch their conversation as they walked along?"

Sam's eyes flickered over to Florence for a moment before he responded, "Umm... not much."

"Spill it," Florence growled, taking another long pull from her bottle.

"They were quite taken with you, Flo."

Florence merely growled at the use of her nickname, waiting for Sam to continue.

"They argued about which one of them would have a better shot at you. The older guy, I think his name is Phil, he kept saying that Will wasn't even rid of the last one yet; why would he want another one. He said a fine young thing like you needed his experience, his steady hand, his umm..."

"I think I get the point," Florence said dryly.

"Yeah, but then that Will guy, he kept going on about your eyes. He said that he'd never seen eyes flash like that. I think he may have gathered that you were angry about something."

"I wonder where he might have gotten that idea," she shot back sarcastically.

Seeing his Betas headed back for a fight, John interrupted, "Did they talk about business at all, or was it all about dating?"

"Not really Alpha. From the tone of their voices, I got the distinct impression that neither one of them could stand their boss."