Everything Changes Ch. 02

Dear Readers,

Here is the second installment. I hope you enjoy it.

KemMyst

*****

Lyssa kept going over her notes, trying to figure out what should be done first to protect the packs.

Everything she read led to something else, even things she hadn't originally considered, like the legends of lycanthropy and how it spread. Silver bullets.

The other thing was trying to figure out how people would react. In the wake of the Twilight series and other recent works of fiction, vampires and werewolves were popular. How could she use that to their favor?

As she got more involved in her research and preparations the Alphas saw the time it was beginning to take and relieved her of her of her duties at the warehouse.

She was a little dismayed by that, like they were thinking she wasn't capable of doing both. Emmett found her napping at the desk a couple of times so she had to concede the fact.

Because she started hogging the computer in their suite, another desk was brought in and Ross set up a computer for her. It was only when she began noting some more specific things that she started worrying about the possibility of the computer being hacked. And, while she did need to access the internet, she also needed to keep some things she was working on very private. Nothing was stored in the cloud. The most sensitive things went on a thumb drive.

She couldn't always focus on one thing so initial work was rather haphazard.

Things like dogs and cats inheriting property when their owners passed away. Genome sequencing for people, plants, animals. Drug testing of athletes. Establishing birthplace and inheritance.

Emmett pulled her away from the computer and she protested briefly. "You won't figure everything out in a couple of days, sweetheart."

Lyssa sighed and snuggled up against him on the couch.

They watched Big Bang Theory and then Emmett switched to a documentary on whales. She was sitting there, with his arm around her, leaning against him. About half an hour into the show she sat upright suddenly.

"Lys?"

"I need a camera. A video camera."

"For what?"

"So we can show them what we are. That we aren't bloodthirsty animals."

"We'll discuss it with the Alphas in the morning."

They watched the show for a bit longer and he felt her relax against him, felt the yawn she tried to stifle. He squeezed her, lightly, and quietly said, "Sleep if you're tired, sweetheart."

"I wanna see this thing about the blue whales."

She ended up missing it and was snoring lightly as he lifted her. He turned off the lights and placed her on the bed. She grumbled as he stripped her and she sighed when he kissed her belly, "Good night, little man," he whispered. She rolled onto her side as he pulled off the sweatpants and rolled up behind her.

He heard noises coming from the room next door but she was oblivious.

Madeline had chased her mate around the room. As he passed the seating area, she ran up on the couch and leapt onto his back. "Gotcha. Now, pay up."

Grabbing an arm, he hauled her around his body. "Where would you like me to start?"

With a gleam in her lavender eyes, she said, "At the bottom." She grabbed the hair on the back of his head in both fists and held him still while she kissed him. The kiss was forceful, passionate, tongues twisting, and she pulled away with a satisfied grin.

His growl was feral, his grin the same, "Alright, Blossom, get on the bed."

She slid down his body, coming to her knees on the floor in front of him. He groaned as she rubbed her cheek against the bulge in the front of his shorts.

Suddenly, she released him, moving backward. As the back of her legs hit the bed, she stood still. Small hands came up and she unbuttoned her shirt. He watched, growling quietly as her small breasts were revealed. The aureolas were fairly dark, and large. Her arms went back and the blouse slid down her arms to drape off the side of the bed.

Her hands came back up, to her throat, and slid down, knuckles tracing the outside of her breasts. Her thumbs then slid into the waistband of her skirt, and his growl increased in volume.

One button, a zipper, and she wiggled it off her hips. The material puddled to her feet and he found that she had shaved. As he started forward she put out a hand to stop him. "Not yet, Erich."

He swallowed and breathed quickly, not quite panting, and looked at her.

She licked her lips and looked at him in appreciation. He had a broad, muscular chest with a sprinkling of hair between his nipples, a smallish waist. A line of hair disappeared beneath his waistband, leading to a decided bulge. She licked her lips again and dragged her eyes up to his shoulders. Strange as some thought it, she loved a good set of shoulders. And there was the contrast of light-colored scars on his tanned skin. [Take off the pants, slowly.] She sat on the bed as his hands went to the button on his khakis. Her eyes were riveted there.

As the button was loosed and his fingers went to the zipper, she pushed back on the bed. As the zipper pulled down, she pushed back further.

He had been looking down. He looked up, through his eyelashes, and he inhaled deeply. He could smell how wet she was. And he looked at her, at one part of her. Her legs spread slightly. Her lips were wet; he could see it, smell it. She had shaved the hair from them. They were naked. A small strip of hair, vaguely triangular in shape, sat atop her mound.

[Hey! Weren't you getting naked?]

He blinked, and looked up at her face. She was smiling and he smiled back, chuckling lightly. [As my beautiful flower desires.] Grasping the waistband of the pants, he shoved them down.

She looked in appreciation at the bulge in the grey boxer briefs.

He heard her heartbeat and breathing speed up and she clutched the bed covers and pushed back further on the bed.

Erich was so hard it was almost painful, wanting nothing more than to pound his mate into a satisfied, quivering heap. But she would cry foul, 'cause tonight they were playing Madeline's game.

She grabbed handfuls of the bedclothes and her hips flexed. [Shorts.]

Erich pulled the front of the shorts out and started sliding them off his hips. He groaned as his erection sprang free and he hauled them off his legs and stepped out.

"Mmmm. You look delicious."

"No more than you, mate."

"C'mon, then."

Erich inhaled deeply, taking in the heady scent of Madeline's arousal. He opened his eyes and stalked to the bed, where she was clutching the bed covers and shifting back and forth slightly on the bed.

He grabbed one of her feet and pushed the pads of this thumbs into her soles. She threw her head back, "Aaah."

Madeline groaned as he finished off one foot and started on the other. Then he kneaded her calves. Coming to her knees, he pushed her legs apart a bit more. She watched his tongue as it left his mouth and approached her leg. A lick up the inside of one thigh, stopping as he reached the crease where her leg met her body. Then, a repeat on the other side. Madeline groaned at the slowness of his pace.

He moved up the bed a bit more and groaned, himself, as his stiff length rubbed against the blankets.

His head dipped down, and his hair hid what he was doing. But his hair tickled her thighs and generated shivers. His breath warmed her most intimate place. And his tongue sent jolts of pleasure through her, drawing sounds from her she couldn't control.

[Your lips are so soft, my Blossom. And so wet.]

She made no reply, except to grab his hair and wrap her fingers in it, pulling him more closely to her.

He licked her, lapped at her juices, delved inside her walls, flicked across her sensitive bud.

She moaned and twisted slightly, fingers tightening in his hair.

He slid a finger into her. Not mated a year yet, he still had to be careful with her.

She was wet, slippery, ready. But, he needed to follow her rules. This time.

Two fingers, curled slightly to rub the rough patch behind her pubis. Thrusting. Rubbing. Sucking. Listening to her moan. And pant. And call his name in passion.

She was lovely.

A squeak when he sucked hard on her clit, and she broke.

She was sweating, still panting, her walls still twitching around his fingers, when he started to move up her body. A lick along the crease where her leg met her body led up to a breast.

And he stayed there, licking, nibbling, and sucking while continuing to plunge his fingers into her sopping wet hole.

Madeline was moaning, writhing, lost to pleasure. She could have been anywhere in the world but the scent of her mate surrounded her. And his warmth practically seared her.

Erich brought her a second time while suckling on her right breast and a third time while biting her left nipple lightly.

And, when she was practically boneless, he presented the head of his hardened length to her entrance and began to push inside.

She was a tight fit normally and the orgasms had made her tighter. He felt small flutters as he finally seated himself inside her.

Erich looked down at her. Her head was thrown back, her mouth open to draw in air, her hair spilled across the bed, and she was covered with sweat. "Look at me, Blossom, I want to see your eyes."

She slowly rolled her head and opened glazed, lavender eyes. A small smile graced her lips as he started his thrusts.

Between his buildup and her sensitivity, it didn't take long. She came again, screaming, digging nails into his shoulders. A few strokes later, he howled his own release.

Locked together, he rolled them over. As he stroked her hair from her face, he saw she'd passed out.

He was good.

***

Randall and Ariel were wrapped up together on their bed. Sweaty, sated.

He was running a hand up and down her hip and she was kissing his shoulder, giving it an occasional lick. He sighed.

She looked up at his face and saw concern in his eyes. "Ran? What is it, mate?"

"Thinking about Lyssa."

"What about her? The healers say she is doing well."

"No. No. She's worried for us, all of us and it's obviously manifesting in her dreams."

"All pregnant females worry, mate."

"Yes, but our first Beta female is different." Ariel furrows her brow.

"Things she's doing for the pack council are bothering her, but..."

"El, she could incapacitate half the pack with a strong send."

"You're afraid she'll do it during a nightmare." He nodded.

"Emmett confided in me that he thought she might have killed Michael Ross."

She twisted, as much as she could, to look at him more directly. "Well, certainly, she seemed to have done substantial damage to his brain."

"The morning he died Emmett believed he felt the pressure of a strong send. Lyssa was asleep at the time and. apparently, has no memory of it."

"And you didn't tell me? Ran, this is serious..."

Randall pulled her tightly to him and kissed her temple. "Mate, stop. I know. I know. But we have no proof. And no way to protect against it, unless we turn them out. If, if it happened, she had a very specific target."

Ariel closed her eyes, worried. "But, with the hormones of pregnancy and her worries for us, the pup.."

"I know. But, there's no way to know for sure."

Ariel chewed her lip, thinking. "We've never tried it."

"What do you mean, mate?"

She snorted a chuckle. "We've tested her sending for distance but we've never had her try to knock someone down from a distance. We don't even know if she's capable of it."

Randall smiled, grabbed her ass, and pressed her lower body against his. [I do love your mind, mate.]

*****

Stephanie's clothing began coming back from the laundry in pieces. Well, actually, there were occasional holes at first. Then torn sleeves, a pair of pants split in the seat. Calvin had laughed at that. She had growled at him.

A favorite shirt was the last straw.

Part of the back was gone and one shoulder was ripped up. It couldn't be salvaged. She couldn't smell anyone in particular on it except for those that normally handled the laundry.

As soon as Calvin came in, she rounded on him with the ruined shirt. "Look, look at this! This isn't some accident, this is deliberate."

Calvin dropped his head and shook it. "Annoying, but she's not trying to kill you."

Her voice went low on the growl, "You told me not to kill her before, when she hurt you. Now I can't go after her for ruining a shirt. But she shouldn't be able to get away with things like this. If you can't control her, I will."

Calvin looked into angry green eyes and says, quietly "The way I control you, punish you?"

Stephanie looked away as he took her shoulders. "Weakness."

He put a hand to her face and turned her back to him. "Little one, to an extent you are correct. The pack has been much unsettled this past year. After Sabine's death I almost wished that I had followed her. And my grief over her death began the slide."

She looked at him. Upset. Angry. But she listened to him take a deep breath. And saw resolution and determination in his eyes. "You are right, Madam Alpha. I need to re-assert my dominance over this pack to remain Alpha. At least, for as long as I choose to."

Stephanie heard some uncertainty in his voice at that. "We have 10 days until the new moon. On that day, we will make clear who controls this pack." He stroked her hair and smiled as her eyelids fluttered slightly. "As Alpha female, you are in control of the females. We will, however, have a discussion as to how you intend to deal with Erica. I will talk to Sampson."

He took her face and kissed her. [In the meantime, I will assert my control over you.]

It had taken a bit of convincing and promises of stopping if she became too uncomfortable with it but, in light of continuing her exposure to new experiences, she had agreed.

And so, she had allowed him to blindfold her and tie one wrist to the bedpost. She had refused to allow him to tie both, or her legs. Calvin had told her that she was not allowed to touch him, until he released her wrist.

Stephanie didn't understand this game and he could tell by the tension in her muscles, in her breathing. "I don't understand."

"How do you know where I will touch you next?" She startled as his palm lightly brushed over her breast. "Or here?" The backs of his fingers traced down her inner thigh. "Or with what?" Something light tickled across her lips and she smelled, "Bird?"

"A feather, Stephanie." "Or what kind of touch it will be." He grabbed her thighs, forcing them apart, thumbs rubbing in the crease between them and her folds.

She twisted quickly, to free her bound wrist, but stopped when he lightly stroked her folds, brushing her sensitive nub. "Trust me. As you have trusted me."

Her breathing was rapid and she was back to tense again. "I can't... It's just..."

He climbed over her and brushed his lips over hers. [I know, little one. But I am not them.]

Calvin kissed her then and moved back to more conventional lovemaking while still maintaining the blindfold and bound wrist. She relaxed then and responded to him positively, although he had to remind her a couple of times that she wasn't allowed to touch him.

He found his release first and she had time for some less-than-complimentary thoughts while he recovered.

Calvin pushed up on his elbows and looked at a face made carefully blank. She turned her head slightly as he bent to kiss her.

Dismayed by the rebuff he moved to her nipple [Little one, did you think I would seek my own pleasure, and not finish you?]

Stephanie squirmed a little. [No.]

[Don't lie to me, my mate.] She closed her eyes at the accusation.

He wasn't helping the mood any but he had to shock her into some things. He wanted her to stop thinking of him as any other male, to stop believing that he would be completely and utterly selfish. "Look at me."

She looked up into his green eyes. Serious green eyes with flecks of brown and amber. "I.." she stammered, "just.."

A kiss stopped her. [Just, try, Stephanie. Try not to be so cynical.]

*****

Ariel and Lyssa talked about a baby shower for Jo.

While her mate and pack would provide everything they needed for the pup there would be some gifts. They would talk, and eat, and predict the sex of the pup. And the females would spend time with them, hoping to have the same luck on their next heats.

It would not, of course, be as elaborate a party as her last. They planned for the day after her birthday.

[Lyssa.]

[Yes, Erich?]

[Go find Mercy. Don't call, track her down.]

Lyssa sighed, hanging her head. "Madam Beta?"

"I need to go hunt down Mercy."

"Then, by all means..."

It was dark out, and humid, and she was supposed to find Mercy.

Not a clue where to start, no time limit, just find her.

Lyssa sat on the front steps, a brown wolf with two white socks behind her. Erich, apparently, was going to shadow her.

So she huffed, and put her nose down, and started circling the house.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Was she in the house?

OK. She'd be really hard to find in there with everyone wandering around. Pups all over the place...

How could she be sure? She didn't even know how much of a head start Mercy had.

In? Or out?

She moved about 100 yards out and started around again. Her nose was close to the ground and she concentrated on Mercy's scent.

Lyssa ran by a trail, turned around, and cast about. Mercy's scent was there, but Madeline had apparently run over her track.

Lyssa snorted, to clear her nose, and started to move away from the house. Mercy's scent was pretty fresh but so was Madeline's. She had twined back and forth over Mercy's track. Just to confuse things. Lyssa growled lightly.

[Doin' pretty good, Em. She found the doubled track and is headed out. She's slow, but working it out.]

[Glad to hear it, Erich. Let me know when you're on your way back.]

[Sure thing.]

Lyssa wasn't moving very quickly. Nose to the ground, she put a forefoot in a hole and stumbled. [Ow.]

[Focused too much on the scent, Lyssa.]

She held up her paw, looked at him, and huffed. [Trail's getting colder.] She'd roll her eyes if she could. She sighed, shook herself, and started off again, limping slightly. [We should probably go back if you're hurt.]

Lyssa turned back to the trail and tried to move a little faster. Finally, Madeline moved off and Mercy's trail got clearer. She moved forward faster on her sore foot.

Damn. They were coming to one of the creeks. If she ran up or down stream it would take a long time for her to pick up the trail.

Oh, good, she pretty much ran straight across.

Up on a rock, down the other side. Ow! The foot still hurt and she staggered. [Lyssa, maybe you should quit.]

She growled at him and kept going. Through some trees toward one of the meadows.

[Lyssa, if you're injured I want you back at the house.]

[Would you quit, Em?]

There was no answer to that so she kept on. The trail turned back to the house. Lyssa limped up to the side patio where a small, brindled wolf sat, tongue lolling. Mercy gave a light bark as she and Erich approached.

Emmett walked out and scowled as Lyssa limped up. "I told you to come back."

[I did.]

"Only because you tracked Mercy back here."

[Did you tell her to come back? Did you make this easier?]

Erich drew Mercy away as Emmett growled.

[Why are they so mad?]

[Because of the pup.]

[Huh?]

Emmett closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Sweetheart, I don't want to fight with you. I want to surprise you."

Dark brown eyes looked up from a face covered in chestnut fur. [Surprise?]

Emmett got down on one knee. "What's hurt?"

She picked up her left forepaw. [Just a little sprain.]

"You should have come straight back."

It caught her by complete surprise and she vomited onto the brickwork.