Myka's Tail Ch. 04

"Oh my god," Avery exclaimed again. "I didn't just see that, did I?"

"Yeah, you did," Kelli replied with a chuckle. "And that's one of the things we're going to have to talk about. Now, however, what are the rest of us going to do?"

"Well, I have to call this in, and there will have to be an investigation," Avery answered. "But with the evidence of poaching and with them moving off of the refuge lands into your property here, I don't think these guys will be a problem anymore."

"What kinds of questions are we going to be asked," Kelli's dad asked, and I could hear the deep concern he had in his voice. "Are we going to be in trouble at all?"

"Not from my stand point. I can't really describe what the other women did, but most of the ones who didn't survive were killed in hand to hand or with my pistol and your shotguns. My guess is there will be some questions, but once one of these idiots mentions or describes this Mathias, well, he certainly has motive and a definite pattern of violent behavior. I think it will end with that."

"That would be nice," Kelli breathed while she held me and was scratching our little pup under the chin. "What's the next step?"

"Well once I call it in, we wait. Eventually Myka will need to get her new friend some shots and get it licensed. Usually a problem with a wolf, but I have a friend who is a vet that I can sort of explain things to, and I know he will list it as a malamute or some other similar looking breed."

"That sounds great Avery," I sighed, but I was feeling the exhaustion of the night's activities more than the others. "But right now I just want to go back to the house and rest. Can we do that please?"

My question made the others laugh out loud, but they all decided that going back was a good idea, and after a few moments we were all headed in that direction, with the chaos of the evening left behind and a new life snuggled in my arms.

***

There was a crisp chill in the air which was definitely much colder than normal for this climate, and the breeze that accompanied it was slightly damp with the promise of a cold winter rain. Nine months had passed since Mathias had tried yet again to disrupt our lives because of his own personal obsession with Nekos and their power, and during that time he had not made his presence known in any way. It seemed Ali was right, and we were hoping that it would take much longer still for him to recover any sort of ability to mess with us further.

There was an immediate investigation but, just as Avery predicted, it didn't get very far. The surviving men who attacked us were part of a mercenary group that had been involved with some incidents of very questionable legality, so the local and federal authorities were not too understanding of their own complaints. Once Mathias had been linked to the group by the descriptions that some of the higher ranking members gave, any questions that remained for my friends and family pretty much went away. Like Avery said, strange things happened around Mathias and his cronies and no one was really that interested in explaining any of them.

I was a couple of weeks into my second semester of classes, but I was not far enough along that my free time was completely taken up by lab work. That would come soon enough, but for now I was enjoying a weekend night off, planning to push off my studying until tomorrow.

Looking out over our back deck into the forest that had, in many ways, become my third home, my ears and tail twitched in anticipation. My shoes had already been kicked off next to the house, and all of the buttons of my light sweater were already open. The fitful breeze that was still blowing had pushed the sides of the cloth apart, which allowed my overly sensitive nipples to harden and revel in the cold of the post New Year.

"Hey sweetie," Kelli whispered into my ear as she wrapped her arms around me and her hands gave those nipples a gentle squeeze that made me shudder in ecstasy.

"If you keep doing that I won't be able to take Kita out tonight," I sighed as I leaned into her delicious touch.

Kita was the name that I had given to the pup that I had been given charge over by her mother and by the pack, and she had grown into a very large and very rambunctious puppy. As good as her word, the vet Avery sent us to listed Kita as a malamute, and made sure she had all of the correct paperwork so that we wouldn't have to worry about any questions that might come our way concerning her looks.

She was a doll to care for at first, but that soon made way to chewing, and fighting, and other really poor behaviors that I did not know how to deal with. When I asked the vet what was wrong, he mentioned that he had been expecting something like this because Kita was a wolf, and she thought like a wolf. The problem was she had a human pack of two that did not know how to be wolves. He gave us some educational materials on training, and other suggestions, but it all came back to the fact that she needed to be a wolf.

"Do you really have to take her out again," Kelli whined. "You've run with them three times in the last month."

Interestingly, it was Gina who had suggested the perfect solution to our terror puppy problem. In preparation I spent several days running and living with the pack, and my ability to understand them grew by leaps and bounds. We didn't talk in the way that people talk to each other, but I began to truly understand the body language and the minds of the wolves that had accepted me. Once I had learned to do that, I started bringing Kita out with me on a regular basis so that she could run with her kind and learn how to be a wolf among other wolves. The truly amazing thing about that was that her behavior problems disappeared, virtually overnight.

"Do you really want to have the unstoppable eating, gnawing, and chewing machine back in our room," I asked.

"Oh goddess no," Kelli cried in mock horror before we both laughed together. "Fine you can go run, but these things are mine when you get back."

And as she said that, Kelli gave my nipples another wonderful pinch and roll, and I groaned in both pleasure and disappointment. When Kita and I would run it often took several hours, and that was a long time to wait for Kelli's touch again.

"Are you going to buzz the night lab again," Kelli asked, referring to the students that had come here to get some research experience in the refuge.

"No, not tonight. I don't want to really scare them off before they get things done."

"Alright," she said and kissed me on the cheek and turned to go as an idea popped into my head.

"Why don't you come with us," I blurted out, just as surprised as Kelli was at the suggestion. "I've been working on my training with Gina and I have a really cool idea I want to try."

I had really been working hard in my extracurricular training, and I had spent as much time with both Gina and Sensei Rick as I could. A couple of months back I had tested for black belt and had passed with flying colors, after which both Sensei and Kelli's dad had told me that the real learning would start from that point on. The fact that they both walked off chuckling to themselves got me a little bit worried.

Gina was also a heavy task master, and I had really learned to understand my connection to the elements because of her. Again, it was her suggestion to use this connection to help Kita become a wolf with the other wolves, and I felt truly confident that I could figure out my various abilities.

"Just get undressed real quick," I told her as I turned back toward the house.

"Undressed? It's way too cold out here," she cried as I opened the back door and whistled for Kita.

"Just hurry up and strip," I grinned as Kita came rushing out the door, only to dance around the two of us in an excited flurry of activity. "You have to be naked for this, and you won't feel the cold like you usually do in just a moment."

Kelli grumbled a bit before removing her clothes, and I guess I was a little bit cruel to watch her for a few moments longer than I should. The goosebumps that appeared on her skin, and the slight shiver that made her whole body tremble was making me hot, and I had to remind myself why we were out here. I also had to turn and tell Kita to settle down so that I could help Kelli, and even though she whined about it she dutifully sat and waited for me to tell her it was ok to run. I also made swift work of my shorts and sweater so that we could go once I had set everything up for Kelli.

"Ok, close your eyes and relax," I instructed as I placed both hands over her heart. "This may feel a little weird."

"How will I know if it worked," she asked, betraying just a hint of trepidation.

"Trust me, you'll know," I replied, and then closed my own eyes and concentrated.

I reached out to the now quite familiar bond I had with the earth around me, and I called its power to aid me in my desire. It was almost like the surge of power that I had felt when I healed Kita's mother, but the amount that flowed now was just a trickle in comparison. But it did its work and bent to my whim as it flowed through me and into my love, and as I had told her, when the moment came her eyes flew open wide.

"By the goddess," Kelli cried out as the power of the earth settled into her center, slightly changing her in a few subtle ways. "Do you always feel like this?"

"Not always," I replied as I took her hand and led the three of us down into the grass. "But whenever I am running with Kita I certainly do."

"Is this permanent? Did you permanently change me?"

"No my love, I don't have that much power, and I think it would probably kill you if I tried. It will last for a few hours though, which is just long enough for our run."

And I sat there and watched Kelli look around in amazement at the world she now inhabited. For a short time she would be able to see in the dark like I could, and all of her other senses were heightened as well. I watched as she giggled in wonder at the feel of the grass as it tickled her feet, and how she tilted her head back to breathe in the cold night air. I also knew she was going to love the feeling of running through the trees like I did, at a break neck pace, with nothing but the wind and a song in her heart.

"Amazing right," I asked, and all she could do was nod. "Well you haven't seen anything yet. Let's go!"

I turned and ran off towards the forest, intent on meeting up with the pack as soon as possible, and within moments both Kelli and Kita were running right beside me. I giggled in happiness as I heard Kelli's laugh of delight upon entering the trees, and I was warmed by the ever present brightness of her love for me. Kita also seemed to feel the difference in the air and she yipped and barked just as happily as we danced off through the trees.

Mathias was still out there, and I was sure that he would make another play at my family, but for now he was silent. The Betrayer was out there too, and I knew that she was playing a long game, and we had no idea when that would rear its ugly head. Even so, those were not my concerns tonight.

Tonight was about reveling in the joy that a good run could bring, and sharing that joy with those that I loved most.