Fulfillment 11

He drops one elbow, and rolls them over. She lays fully on his chest and shifts her hips back and forth, stimulating them both as she continues to look into his eyes.

He pulls her against him, mashing her breasts against him, feeling the lace lightly scratching his chest. He takes her face between his hands and pulls her lips to his. Another passionate kiss leaves them both gasping and her hips never cease their slow roll.

Emmett pushes her more upright and she plants her hands on his pecs. [I want to touch you, mate.] Her movements are faster now and he thrusts upwards as she comes down. His knot swells and she pushes until it enters her, stretching her, locking them together. The stretching and the pressure expose her clit and her sensitivity ramps up. He is caressing her breasts, a large hand on each of them.

Lyssa goes up and down on him, with a circular roll of her hips as she comes to the bottom. Her breath comes in pants and she feels her body tighten up. [I'm close, Em.]

He hauls her back down toward him and she rolls her hips on him. He can feel the first little pulses around him and sucks a nipple into his mouth, through the lace covering it. He bites it and she shrieks, the muscles surrounding him pulsing in waves.

He takes her waist and pushes against the contractions until his seed pulses out, into her.

She lays on his chest, feeling boneless. [Love you, Em.]

[I like the present, mate.]

"MMmm." She closes her eyes, happy. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her temple. [I love you, too.]

A loud shriek and groan is heard through the walls.

Emmett smiles. [I'm glad Erich found Madeline. You did well for the party.]

The only response he gets from her is a tired. "Mm."

He hears the steady beat of her heart, her regular breathing. He inhaled her scent and the soft smell of peaches. Mingled with that was the smell of their joining.

She had fallen asleep on him.

So, he let his eyes close and fell into a warm, comfortable, sated sleep.

***

Brandon was laying in his bed yanking at his manhood. His thoughts are filled with a vision of a chestnut haired, curvy female in a black and red lace teddy.

Tuesday

The smell of breakfast cooking had his stomach growling but he was loath to move.

His mate was curled up against him, quiet, sleeping soundly. For the first time in days, weeks, she hadn't woken in the night, hadn't gone to wolf, hadn't had nightmares.

Emmett swallowed. He thought she might have trouble sleeping after Ross' death. But, thankfully, it seemed she might be alright.

It seemed that life might get back to normal.

The sunlight shone in on her hair, lighting up the red in it. It glowed around her face.

She opened her eyes to see him smiling at her. "You are so gorgeous."

Lyssa rolls towards him, still in the teddy, and strokes a hand down his side. It had gone green and yellow with the fading of the bruises. "Do you still hurt?"

"Nothing I can't handle." He gives her a lecherous grin. "Have something in mind?"

"Making up for the last couple of weeks." She smile she gives him in return lights up his world.

***

Alex is sparring with Stephanie. She seems distracted, thinking of something else.

He puts her on her back twice, without even trying.

"Your mind's not in this, Stephanie."

"Just fight me, dammit."

He raises his eyebrows, looks at her. He steps back and waits for her.

She looks at him, angered at her own inattention to matters at hand.

This was her, it was what she was good at, what she had trained for. Why was she mooning over a male?

She feels Alex come at her and ducks, just in time. She takes a deep breath and turns her attention to the fight.

Still, she's not her usual self.

The match ends with her on her back, again, sporting what will be another scar.

She growls and takes off, running into the range.

Alex looks after her. Should he bring this up to the Betas? The Alpha? Maybe the healers?

The pups come out, running around his feet, taking over the circle.

Several of them set about playfighting, mostly the young males. So, he steps to one side and watches, seeing who matched up, who bested their opponents, who showed better grace and coordination than the others.

He picked out a couple of the young males to follow and concentrated on them. The Betas would want to know who had the better skills.

A yip and a whine had him turning to look at one of the young females. She had taken down a young male of a similar age and size. Interesting.

***

Stephanie ran.

He was Alpha again. He had no reason to come visit her now.

And she found it irritating that it made her sad. That she wouldn't see him again. That she had come to depend on his visits. And, now, now that she looked forward to seeing him regularly, that he had dropped it. That she had been nothing more than a distraction for him. After all, what would an Alpha want with an Omega like her?

Selene! At least it hadn't gone any further than kisses and hand holding.

***

Calvin did have some private funds. Some of the other pack members did, as well, from work they took outside the pack. While pack funds were used to provide food and furnishings, pack members did have some small amount of spending money for themselves.

Calvin had rarely needed for anything, especially once Sabine had gotten sick. The money in an account set aside for him had grown, more than he realized.

Sampson had objected but he transferred most of the money into the pack funds. He also took about half of what had been allotted to Michael - he had not spent much of that money, just the pack's - and left the rest for Erica to use.

He had a basic plan for recovery and it would take doing without some luxuries for a while. But the pack would survive.

Sampson called the pack together. They had a large meeting room in the back of the house and they came, some relieved, others a bit frightened.

Calvin stood before them and apologized for the treatment they had received at his son's hands. He told them that he expected to remain Alpha for some time but that a successor would have to be found as he could not keep the role forever. There were some pleased howls.

Then, for the hard part, he explained to his pack that they would have to cut costs, to some extent, for the next few months. They all looked a bit upset and resigned. Calvin heard a couple of low growls and chose to ignore them. Sampson, however, noted who the disgruntled parties were.

There was only setting the planned changes into motion. And Erica.

He called her into his office.

Sampson escorted her in. She sat in a chair, looking rather dowdy, huddled and smelling of fear.

"Sampson, please send Sharilyn up in, say, half an hour."

"Of course, my Alpha."

Sampson leaves the room, closing the door behind him. He hears her say, "What are you going to do with me?"

"What do you mean, Erica?"

"He's dead. I'm not Alph.. I'm nothing now. What's going to happen to me now?"

Calvin closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Michael had no brother to take her, as in the old days. Michael had not been killed by another wolf in a quest for dominance, so that wasn't an option. He, himself, no longer had a mate, so, really, he could. But he had no desire to. He wanted someone else.

He really was under no obligation to take Erica as mate.

And she had not risen well to the role of Alpha.

It would not be good for the pack.

She looked at him, fearful, crying, as he considered the options and discarded them.

"I have Michael's money allotted to you, so you will do alright if you manage it properly. You'll have to go back to the laundry." This pronouncement is met with fresh sobs. "I'm sorry, Erica. I won't take you, I'm courting another."

"I heard. Some cold bitch from Wyeth!" Anger now shows in her voice.

The duties of an Alpha were sometimes unpleasant, like now. He takes a deep breath and looks her in the eyes. Her eyes go wide, she sniffs, and looks down. Good.

"You have Michael's money. You have a position in this pack. You are no longer Alpha."

She mumbles. "Just an Omega. Just your son's mate."

"You continue to have a place in this pack but my son is dead. I suggest you find a male you can couple with when you go into heat. You will be taken care of." Calvin puts a hand on her shoulder and she pulls away. "Please tell me if you have trouble with any of the pack."

She gets up and runs from the room.

Sampson returns. "She may be trouble, Cal."

"I hope not, Sampson. But you may be right."

He spoke to Sharilyn for a time about her, to find if there were anything that would alleviate her stress, if there were anything that might stop, or lessen, her first heat.

There were things some used to bring a female into heat, some worked, some were only stories. Nothing they knew of would prevent estrus. The only treatment they had was sedation. It was not a good option, but it was better than nothing. They would use it if need be.

Estrus in a widowed wolf, unfortunately, was something to be managed. Even worse, for Erica, it would be her first heat.

And he grieved, for her, for himself. He had no possibility of an heir now.

The calls then began, to providers of services, to contractors, and he had an appointment with a finance manager at the local bank. Tomorrow morning he would visit the business, and see if he could manage without laying off any of the employees.

Wyeth also needed to be repaid. He knew Randall would be kind but he wanted to repay the damages as soon as possible.

Calvin fell into bed that night, exhausted.

The next day, Erich has Madeline drive around the range. The tertiary roads were not heavily travelled, especially not in the middle of the workday, so she had a chance to become a bit more comfortable behind the wheel.

And, although she may have had a good idea of where she was while running around as wolf, she still didn't know the area very well. So, Erich took her out to the remains of the house where Joanna and Lyssa had been held. They stopped for a while, looking at the burned timbers. Some one had knocked it down so all that was left was a pile of charred debris.

"Were you there?"

"I tracked them out of our range and out this way but," he sighs, "they covered their tracks pretty well and then got into trucks and rode off. Can't track a vehicle on an asphalt road. When we came after them, I got there after most of the action was over. Nathan had rescued Joanna, she was on the back of his bike, and Emmett made me wait in the car while he went into the house. I didn't see anything until he came out with her in his arms. I drove them back to the den."

"She was so beat up, barely conscious. He thought she was going to die. I thought she might. And it was just so.. sad."

"You weren't mad?"

"Not then, later. It was just about Joanna and Lyssa being alright. Getting them home, back to the den. But we couldn't do anything."

"He's gone now."

"Yeah."

Madeline puts a hand on his thigh. He looks over at her and smiles, a little sad. "But, I found you because we got them back." He leans over and kisses her. "My Blossom."

"Would you drive back?"

"Sure." They change places and talk about other things on the way home.

***

Calvin had returned numerous things to his control as accounts and records had been put in Michael's name. His death was recorded with the county office, the death certificate signed by the healer of the Foster pack, who was a licensed M.D.

He then reviewed the state of the business with Peter and Paul and, while things were not great, they were not as bad as he had thought. No one need lose a job, thankfully.

On the way back to the den, he passes a florist and thinks of Stephanie.

Not a wise use of funds at this time, but he hadn't seen her in days now. He missed her and wanted to let her know he was thinking of her.

It was next to impossible to get the flower she had professed was her favorite, so he settled for something he knew. A flower Sabine had liked. Daisies. Gerbera daisies..

He had one sweetheart rose, pink, placed in the center. The card read only, "Soon."

Then it was back to the den, Sampson, and the work to be done.

***

[Somebody coming in the gate. Human. Delivery.]

May met him at the door and took the flowers. "For someone named Stephanie."

"Thank you, I'll see that she gets them."

Cassie came out with the little one as he left. "Ooo. Who're those for?"

"Stephanie."

"Stephanie? Really? Who from?"

"No name on the card but you know who's been spending time with her as well as anyone."

The bouquet sits in the front hall awaiting Stephanie.

Everyone who sees it shows interest. Word spreads quickly.

When Stephanie finally comes back into the den, she looks at it, reads the card, and scowls. She drops it into the nearest wastebasket and stalks away.

Hannah ran by on the way to the kitchen and stops dead when she sees what Stephanie has done. "They're pretty. Why don't you want them?"

"Because males are all liars."

Hannah stands there, highly confused, watching Stephanie walk off in a huff. "All of them?"

The Wyeth pack has settled back into normalcy, except for one.

Lyssa spars with Ariel, trying to improve her skills. Her shoulder still bothers her a bit, but it doesn't limit her ability.

Emmett is clearing out the backlog from his absence and talking with Erich about his new mate. Erich is working on a plan for training both Justin and Mercy.

Joanna is home, working on her lessons.

Ariel gets more aggressive and Lyssa backpedals, suddenly completely on the defensive. A moment of inattention and Lyssa gets a gash on her shoulder. [Ow.]

Ariel bares her fangs at Lyssa, crouches slightly, and begins to stalk Lyssa again.

Lyssa circles and sees something in the Madam Alpha's eyes. A rush and Lyssa fades back a bit, managing to trip Ariel. [Alpha. You're needed in the circle.]

Ariel rolls, coming back up to her feet quickly, and scales one of the boulders in the circle. [Lyssa? What is it?]

Lyssa keeps her eyes on the Alpha female, shifting backwards as Ariel currently has the high ground. [Ariel. Something's off. Please come.]

Lyssa shifts to wolf and rolls onto her back, exposing her belly. She forces herself to lay still as Ariel laughs. Ariel jumps off the rock and races over to the Beta female. She shifts to wolf herself and sniffs at Lyssa. Face, neck, chest. She raises her muzzle and sniffs at the base of her tail, her sex. Lyssa twists, uncomfortable with the inspection, and Ariel growls at her. Still. Stay still. On the other hand, she was afraid of what Ariel might do.

While she tried to maintain the submissive posture, every inch of her was screaming to run. Ariel's muzzle was partly opened, directly over her belly. The fight was over, but she wasn't acting that way, and Ariel could kill her easily right now. [Alpha?]

Another growl. Lyssa whines. [El, what are you doing?]

Ariel whirls and her muzzle goes up. She scents the air and launches herself at her mate.

Lyssa gets up as Wade, Natalie, and Emmett approach. [Lys?]

The four turn to the Alpha pair. Randall had gone to wolf and was sniffing and licking his mate's backside. She was crouched in front of him, tail cocked to one side.

"I would say she's gone back into heat."

"You're right, dear. I assume it's because she didn't complete her last."

Emmett looks at them as Lyssa sits beside his feet. "How long do you think it will last?"

Wade and Natalie look at each other. Natalie answers. "I would look for the normal span. Our Madam Alpha is typically in estrus for four days."

His hand falls to Lyssa's head as Randall mounts his mate. "Thank you, healers. Well, sweetheart, I've got a few minutes if you'd like to continue your practice but then I'll have to get back to work."

[No, Em, unless you want to.]

He sniffs, then crouches and checks her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

[Yeah, it's not deep. You'd better tell Erich.]

As Lyssa trots beside Emmett on the way back to the den, he asks, [Submissive posture but you smell really scared.]

[I thought she was going to kill me.]

[If you thought she might kill you, why didn't you knock her out?]

[I don't know. I didn't think of it. In all the sparring I've done, you've trained me not to use it.]

Emmett thinks of it. She was right, they had not had her use that ability during practice. But, it was a weapon for her and she should be trained in its use. The question was, how to do that. In addition, they knew wolves could block her sends and that brought up another question. Who should be taught to block her? [But you thought of it when I was chasing you?]

[No. You startled me.]

Emmett stops. Lyssa circles in front of him, sits, and looks up at him, like a dog would.

He crouches down. [So, you do it without thinking about it.]

Lyssa whined and fidgeted. [Just that once. I'm sorry, Em, I didn't want to hurt you. I just meant to get away.]

Just that once. So, if she had sent one last time to Michael Ross, she wasn't aware of it. And if she had no idea and Ross was dead, they would never know, unless it happened again.

The bottom of his jeans are getting wet from the snow as she watches emotions slide over his features. She worried about his lack of response to what she had just said. He looked at her like she was some strange thing, with a mixture of fascination and a bit of fear.

His hands were on her shoulders and he was scrubbing up and down a little. It felt good, through her fur, but he was thinking really hard about something she'd said. [If I can really hurt somebody, like I did with.. with..]

[I know, mate. No need to say his name. No reason we can't forget about him now.]

Lyssa whines and licks his face. [But, Lys, you need to be trained. You have a weapon the rest of us don't and need to learn how to use it, how to control it. We'll figure out a way to do it without hurting anyone. Since Jo and I can block you, you can start with us. We'll get it figured out.]

Her send carries a sense of depression. [OK. Can we go in, now? My butt is cold.]

He smiles and scrubs his hands up and down her back, scratches her ears. [I love you, mate.]

She licks his face again just before he rises. [Me, too, Em.]

The Betas lives temporarily became a bit more complex with the Alphas otherwise occupied. Roland would take over many of Randall's duties in the interim but there would still be more for them to do.

Lyssa, as female First Beta, would take over some of Ariel's duties. A couple of the other females would take some of the others. After all, it was only for three or four days.

First Emmett and Lyssa had been away, now Randall and Ariel were unable to manage the pack. Ah, a Beta's work was never done.

Lyssa slept well again that night. Emmett was grateful for it. It seemed that she had come out of her funk.

Things were returning to normal.

He woke with a soft, warm, female presence beside him.

Lyssa rolled over and ran her fingertips over his stomach, briefly catching the ticklish spot near his hipbone. Emmett sucks in a breath but otherwise holds still as his mate touches him, waiting for what she would do.

Next, she strokes, working a little lower with each pass, closing on his now rapidly hardening cock. There is a brief, light brush across the very tip, and her hand stills.

Emmett holds his breath.

She grasps him firmly and he groans at the contact. Smug dark brown eyes look up at him and she smiles just before she presses a kiss to his collarbone.

Lyssa now strokes his length lightly as she kisses and licks down his body.

He lay there, getting harder with each touch, anticipating what she would do.

Emmett closed his eyes, taking in her scent, hearing her heartbeat, feeling her saliva cool on his body, the feel of her hand, her lips, her skin against his. Voluntarily cutting off one sense, he followed what she was doing with the others, waiting...