Serving The Council Ch. 05

From across the compound, Roux, Joe and the others watched and listened to the two girls, "Electra, are you sure your charm is no longer in effect on her," asked Roux, glancing back at the two girls. "Shouldn't she be able to shift if it is no longer active?"

"I set it to lift upon her eighteenth birthday, so I feel that there is something else preventing the shift, but I cannot think of anything that would do so."

Ghost took a few steps away from the group and thought aloud, "Perhaps Joe could try, as we all know that he did not consciously attempt his first shift and that it happened due to his emotional reaction to the attack on his friends. Perhaps we need to attempt something similar with Shele."

"What do you suggest we try?" asked Michele. "Should we introduce something that will elicit her fight or flight response, hoping it will bring her beast to the fore? The only thing I can think of that she is fearful of is Vampires."

"And do you know of a vampire that could be trusted?"

"Yes and no, there is an ancient that we could ask, but I do not know if she would agree, as she has fought hard to distance herself from her past, not to mention that as soon as Shele becomes known, we have the problem of the Vampire king's claim on her. This is the reason the vampires are so disagreeable lately, due to her disappearance and Joe's abduction of the princess."

In almost unison, the group shouted, "What?"

Before Ghost could explain, Joe walked up and told them what had transpired when he, Ghost and Shele had first met. Roux and Michele yelled at him, "What were you thinking, and more to the point, how did you kill the princes anyway?"

Staring off towards his mate to be and her sister, Joe remained silent for a few minutes, trying to organize his thoughts so he could answer their question. When he thought that he had the information as organized as possible he turned and began to elaborate on his and Shele's histories.

"To start at a beginning, apparently I am a 'sport.' I am the son of the elemental Diana, and my father carried the recessive gene of weres, elementals and vampires. This combination has given me the resistance to Vampire venom, the healing ability of vampires, allows me to not suffer the typical effects of silver on weres and vampires, and makes me less vulnerable to the powers of elementals. It seems that both Lily and Ghost can alter my perceptions and memories to a certain extent, but to do so means constant reinforcement of the suggestion, and even then, if I am angered enough, I can break them.

Joe walked over and leaned on a split rail fence and continued, "You know why Leon put the claim in on Ash, and you know that he is incorrect in his idea about her. But I will tell you this, Shele has twice stopped me from killing people by bringing my beast back from an uncontrolled rage just by speaking to me and putting a calming hand on me. Because of this, I think that even though she is not my mate, in so much as I believe in any fate or prophesy, the two of us are linked in a manner that is going to cause great strife and destruction amongst the 'supernatural' races."

Roux and Michele stood there exchanging glances with one another as they both tried to absorb all the information that Joe had given them. They both had so many questions, but didn't know which questions to ask first. Michele spoke first, "What you have just told us is amazing, even in light of what has happened since that night long ago. While Roux and I ponder the ramifications, I think the idea about trying to help Shele and her change is a good idea, and if this ancient vampire is willing to try it, I," she paused and looked over at Roux who nodded his head in agreement, so Michele continued speaking, "I think we should contact her and see if she is willing to do so."

Ghost gave a sly smile, "Oh, she has already agreed, we were just waiting for permission to act on the idea. Call Ash over here, Lara is already in the woods. Ghost glanced over at Joe, "But I am sure you knew that already, did you not grandson?"

Joe simply gave and enigmatic grin and watched Shele continue to attempt to call forth her beast, unaware of the approach of the female vampire."

Shele cried and cursed at herself, wondering why she could not call forth her beast side, when she suddenly felt a cold shiver run up her spine and glanced at a form coming towards her at great speed. Letting out a cry she started to run towards her parents and the others, wondering why they were not reacting to whatever was coming out of the woods towards her.

Lara saw the small human running away from her and wondered why Ghost wanted to scare her, but she had never known Ghost to ask anything that was cruel or violent and usually he had a reason and so she had agreed to help. She could smell the fear radiating form the girl as she ran, but Lara also felt the power radiating from the girl and wondered where it was coming from, as she smelled purely human, with no were or elemental scent coming from her, and it was obvious she was not a Vampire.

As she caught the girl by her shoulders, she allowed her talons to extend, so they would be in the girls vision. What happened next shocked Lara, as much as it shocked those watching the little scuffle.

In what seemed to be less than a second, Shele went from a small, beautiful girl, into a massive snarling reddish wolf which turned and snapped at the vampire with its jaws, narrowly missing Lara's neck. Joe and Ash were the first to react, both shifting even before Shele completed hers. Ash was next to her sister in a flash, blocking the next snapping of jaws at the startled Vampire. The sisters looked identical, which was to be expected of twins, but it was Joes's size and coloring that caught everyone by surprise.

Roux had seen Joe in hybrid form, so he knew Joe was huge, but his beast form was simply amazing. Ghost had seen him, just not this big. To Ghost, it seemed that every time Joe shifted, his form got larger. Michele's reaction was simply one of awe, as she had seen his first shift. He was big that time, but to her, he simply looked enormous now. What shocked her more was his animal form, because it was not what she remembered him looking like. Electra just grinned at the reactions of the others, for she and Niva had engaged in a conversation prior to leaving sanctuary, and Niva told Electra that Joe had not shifted into his full sized form just yet.

Joe landed and put himself between the rather shocked vampire and an almost rabid Shele. He quickly shifted back into his human form and spoke to her. Shele quickly calmed, seeing that the vampire was no longer attacking. Lara and Joe now saw that the two massive wolves in front of them where nearly identical, save for one thing. While both had blazes down the muzzle, they were reversed in that Ash's was bordered in black, with the white down the middle, Shele's was black bordered in white.

Lara spoke first, "So that's why Ghost asked me to do this, she was having trouble shifting." Joe just looked over his shoulder and nodded, "Ok you two, now that Shele has shifted, it's time for her to shift back." Shele half growled at the suggestion, her beast, having just been allowed to come forward after so long, did not want to back down." Ash shifted back, talking to her sister, "Shele, I know your beast is probably not happy being asked to back off, but I promise when we get you to the point where you can shift at will we will let her run as much as she wants.

While this conversation, one sided as it was, was going on Joe glanced at Lara and told her to go talk to Ghost. Lara, after meeting the three giant weres, said ok and moved off. Even though she had run across the big male one at sanctuary, he seemed different now, and dangerous, so getting away from him seemed like a good idea.

Joe then took the opportunity to survey his mate to be, in her human form she was about five feet tall. Looking much like a child next to his height of over six feet, and her body was lithe and lean, with visible muscle, not overly so though, and topping it off were a pair of rose tipped breasts, which fit her form perfectly. His beast growled, wanting to take his mate right at that moment, Joe told him maybe, but not right now, she was busy negotiating with her sister, and that was more important at the moment.

Ash glanced back at her mate to be, still talking to her sister, noticing how he was massive even in his human form. She knew he was about 6' 4" and she guessed he weighed over 300 pounds. He was not your typical were male, ripped and almost like a body builder. To her he reminded her more of a power lifter or American football lineman, solid. On his body, she could see the scars of many, many fights, along with bullet scars. What made her wolf howl was hanging between his legs, which also unlike many males she had seen (and been with) was not overlarge but was proportional to his body. Her wolf huffed and cried, telling her to take him as her mate right now while he was right there and available. She argued that her sister took precedent and the wolf conceded the point, but said she would not wait long.

Shele soon saw the wisdom in her sister's request and talked her wolf into giving up control, at least for the moment. As she shifted, she realized that she would be naked. Before she could even attempt to cover herself up, her sister said with a laugh, "Get used to it, we are shifters and nudity is standard among us."

"It's not so much that, it's that other than my parents, no one has ever seen me naked and I guess it will take some getting used to." As she was speaking, the rest of the group, Lara included, walked up.

"Can someone get us some clothes please?" asked Joe, sensing Shele's discomfort. Even as Joe was making the request, Electra was producing the clothes, simple sweats, as they were easiest to produce.

Ghost and the others quickly apologized to Shele for the way they went about her first shift, the most apologetic being Lara. "Sorry, I thought Ghost was just asking me to play a joke, I had no idea that I would scare you so badly."

"No problem, with the trouble I was having, the idea worked, so in the end, I have no problem with it," said Shele.

"Now that we have gotten you through your first two shifts, it's time to start you on your training," Roux said. "And your mother and sister will start with that tomorrow, so until then, I will give you a lesson in what you need to know about being a Were princess and what it entails."

A few hours later, while Roux spoke to his youngest daughter, Joe decided he wanted to hunt for his evening meal which he had not done since he met Shele for the first time. He was very hungry so he decided to hunt down a moose.

As he stalked and older bull, he sensed that there was another predator in the area, so he angled off to higher ground to see what and who it was. Stretching himself out on a high rock ledge he watched a reddish wolf slowly stalk up to the moose then before it could strike the moose bolted, having smelled the wolf. When the moose bolted it ran directly towards the ledge where Joe was laying. Seeing that the animal's escape route passed where the path to the ledge started, he rose up and started down, timing his descent so that he and the moose met at the same spot.

Ash was pissed that she had spooked the moose, so she raced after it. Just as she was about to leap onto its back, a massive shape appeared and caught the moose broadside, rolling it onto its side. As she skidded to a stop, she realized it was Joe and watched him dispatch the moose with little effort.

As Joe stood over the moose, he looked right at Ash and growled low, claiming the moose as his. Ash chuffed and whined, annoyed that Joe had poached her kill. Instead of beginning to eat, he just stood there and cocked his head from side to side, a meal suddenly not a priority. He chuffed back and moved towards Ash.

Sensing the change in Joe, Ash backed away, not knowing what his intentions were. She had no idea how he was going to react to her complaining about losing out on a meal and the change in Joe's eyes were what clued her in on what he was thinking. Her human side wanted to play hard to get, but her beast side just wanted its mate. While this internal argument was going on, Joe walked up and around her and sniffed at her sex, flicking out a tongue to see if she was aroused.

The contact of Joe's tongue ended all arguments in Ash's head. Dropping her front legs to the ground and sticking her back end into the air, she wiggled it back and forth, making sure she stuck her tail high into the air. Taking the actions as an invitation , Joe got behind Ash and settled in behind her, leaning over her back, he placed his cock at her entrance and teased her a little by putting it against her and pressing lightly, teasing her.

Ash, in no mood to be patient, shoved herself backward, spearing herself on Joe's cock. Joe pounded into her hard and fast and as they both approached climax they sped up even more. With a howl and a roar they came together and in that moment, Joe bit into her shoulder, marking her as his mate. As they came down from the high of orgasm, they shifted back into their human forms.

"That was amazing, but I think we are in trouble now you know," Ash said.

Joe hugged Ash back harder into his chest, answering her, "And why would that be, your parents and sister all knew that what just happened was my intention, even if you sort of started it."

"But we were supposed to wait for the mating moon," she said.

"So fucking what? Now or then, it does not matter, this is what we both wanted, is it not?"

"Well yes, it is, but it complicates things a little in that there are no witnesses and with my being a royal, that means that technically this did not happen."

"Bullshit!" Joe said as his knot subsided. "Walk over to the lake and look at your reflection in it, I think the proof is obvious!"

Getting up and trying to walk was a bit of a chore. In all the times she had been sexually active prior to this time, no one had made her feel so sore. When she got to the lake, hearing Joe following her, she leaned over and looked at her reflection on the water. The size of the mating mark on her shoulder startled her, it was huge and it was only partially visible. The marks from Joe's lower teeth were not even visible. And what was visible showed below her collar bone. She felt Joe stop behind her and soon felt his arms come over her shoulders. She looked up and she had to ask, "Just how fucking big do you get in animal form?" Joe just shrugged, "Truth be told, I do not know, but it seems that every time I shift, I am a bit larger in size than the time before."

Ash turned inside his arms, reaching around and hugging him, "I guess we have things to learn about each other then." She pulled her left arm away and reached over her right shoulder feeling where that side of the mating mark lay, "Shit, the other side of the mark is on my back, and it's huge! I guess trying to hide it would be rather irrelevant."

"No doubt about that, so let's go face the music. Your mother is going to be thrilled, but your father, not so much, I think," he laughed. They both shifted and Joe went over and picked up the moose, not wanting to waste it.

-------

Leon looked up from his desk as one of his betas, Alaric, entered the room,"My alpha, our spy in Roux's den indicates that he, Anna and Ash all left the den a few days ago. Where they went or for how long is not known."

Leon pondered the information, and then sent a mental message to Lily, "Lily, something is going on with Roux and his daughter. Have you heard anything about this?"

Lily answered him, "No, but it could be they are just taking some time away before the mating moon, it is not unheard for an Alpha who knows that there are claims on one of their daughters, to prepare them for the fights they will witness."

Leon thought that was probably correct and decided not to worry, "And any word on the beast?"

"No, there is still no sign of him, though after this long, I wonder if he is even still alive."

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Roux was truly angry, Ashlynn and Joe had mated both without permission or witnesses. He wasn't sure which of these two things angered him more.

Michele, Ash, Shele and Joe where all standing, watching and listening to Roux rant and rave about proper matings and requirements. Michele was the one who spoke up first, "Roux, my love, this may work to our advantage you know."

"And how would that be?"

"Well, at the mating moon, we allow Leon to reaffirm his claim and then you inform him that he must challenge her mate for the right. At that point Joe will show himself, with Shele at his side, that will be when we introduce her, it will force Leon into a corner, does he retain his claim on Ash or make a fool of himself by making one on Shele?"

Roux ponder this, for it did bring up a good dilemma for Leon, one which would and could discredit him."

"Okay, sounds like a plan, but how do we keep Leon's spies from finding out and informing him?"

"It's simple, we hide the three of them in plain sight."

"And how do we do that?"

Michele turned to Joe and asked, "How about we visit the old homesteads?"

"Sounds like a plan, no one would recognize either you or I after nearly forty years. Being that it is in Karl's territory and I can tell you who the spy there is, or was, we should be able to hide there for the week until the mating moon, as it's the mating circle at Karl's which will be used that night, so it should be perfect."

-----

Joe looked around as they drove thru town, amazed at how much had changed, but also noticed many things that were still the same. "Mendokers Bakery is still open, I thought that it would have moved by now. With all the retirement communities and developments, is there a farm left in the area?"

Karl answered him, "Except for the few that where preserved as historical places or ones that could not be built on, no there are not."

"That is such a shame, I can remember hunting with my father and Micah in those woods, it is such a loss." Karl could not argue the big man's statements.

Joe glanced over at what was once his home and the garage that had been his father's place of business. He wondered what had happened to his father after his 'death.' Joe saw that it was still being run as a repair shop, so he turned and asked Karl who was running it, knowing Karl was not fully aware of his identity. Before Karl could answer Joe saw the door open and a figure step out, "What? Who is that coming out of the garage?" Karl looked over, as did Michele and the girls.

Michele let out a gasp. "That could not be, could it?" She looked at Joe.

"No Michele, it cannot be, he would be well over eighty by now."

Looking at the person, he couldn't help but wonder. He turned to Karl and asked, "Can you find out the name and age of that man?" Karl was about to ask why, but the expressions on both his mother-in-law and the big man killed the question in his throat. Taking out his Cell, he called one of his pack, a computer geek who was probably breaking into government computers in his spare time and asked him to do an inquiry.

"Lets go down to the den. I am sure you all would like to go out and have a run."

The older weres murmured and the younger two laughed and said it was a great idea.

-----

Ally took her two sisters for a run through her and Karl's territory. Her and Ash worked to hone Shele's wolf instincts.

After the run, as they lazed by the bank of a stream Ally commented on the size of Joe's mating mark and asked just how big Joe was in animal form, and why his bite mark looked so different from hers. "Ally, when we mated, Joe made me feel tiny, and you know that Shele and I are even bigger than you. I would guess we might be as big as Karl, and Joe is much larger than him. As to why the mark looks different than yours, you will find out at the ceremony tomorrow." The comment only peaked the other girls' interest.