Dominant Species

Alpha Robert Stevens woke up in the middle of the day, the sheets and blankets of the bed tossed about him and smelling strongly of sex. He smiled as he thought of the previous day; every moment he spent with his mate was special, the bond pulling them tighter with each moment, with each time they made love. They had both been exhausted when they made it home to Tammy’s house last night; he had a full day of classes at Wolf U plus he was shadowing Josi and helping to ground the new changes, while she had her hands full with all the people at the clinic. Both were working so hard they barely had time to eat, much less see each other, but the mate link made things better.

Robert was an Alpha with a Pack of one, Tammy. He had talked to Josi after he had calmed down from his shift and changed back to human form. They had agreed that it was best if he wait to form his Pack until Reggie and the other Alphas could return. In the meantime, he was to watch and learn.

He looked over at Tammy sprawled face down beside him, the gentle glow of the sun through the blinds illuminating her soft curves. Her hair was almost covering her face, some of it blew out of the way when she breathed. He would have moved it out of her face, but right now his left hand was trapped under her; she must have rolled onto it during the night. His palm was facing up as his arm went down across her stomach, leaving his hand cupped over the curlier hairs of her sex. He didn’t want to move her, his wolf was quite content to have things as they were. She was naked in bed with him, she bore his scent inside and out, and his mark was prominent on her neck and shoulder.

His fingers curled up, finding purchase against her mound. He shifted his wrist slightly so his middle finger ran the length of her slit, feeling the outer lips part for him as he curled it up. She was in a deep sleep, so he watched her face as he moved the digit slowly, tantalizingly up and down. The small movements allowed it to part the gates, giving him access to the swollen and rapidly moistening treasure below. He kept the motions short and light, not wanting to wake her yet he could smell her body’s natural response to him. Soon his finger was well lubricated and sliding gently from her clit to her sex, and her hips started to rock slightly in search of more.

He added a second finger, moistening it then using them together to spread her lips apart. He could feel her clitoris rising up, and he trapped it gently between his middle and ring finger as he continued to tease her. The rocking and the motion were building up her body for what her mind wasn’t aware of yet; it wanted more, it wanted him.

He slid down and hooked his fingers, curling them until they penetrated her sex. She moaned in her sleep with the penetration, and her hips started to move as if they had a mind of their own. Working with her rhythm, he got first one knuckle, then two deep into her. She moved her body up, seeking the source of the pleasure as a plant reaches for the sun, and this allowed him to bury the fingers inside her while her clit rubbed on his palm. The noises she made started to get louder and more frequent, she was no longer deeply asleep. Her eyes were moving behind the lids, a sure sign she was in REM sleep and was dreaming. From her body’s reaction, he had a good idea of what kind of dream she was having.

The weight of her on his hand and forearm kept him from moving much, so he used the dexterity in his fingers to play her like a flute. He pushed deep and used his fingertips to massage the front wall of her vagina, seeking the rough spot that he knew would drive her wild. Her eyes opened, first in shock but then she let out a lusty moan; she was close and she wanted to finish what he had started without her!

Her hips now lifted and dropped onto his fingers as he added a third digit to the mix. Her mouth hung open, her eyes squeezing shut as the pleasure built to a peak and with a scream of “ROBERT!!” she came hard, her body spasming in pleasure as he held his fingers deep inside her. When her gripping sex finally released him, she rolled on her side and gave him his arm back. “Fuck, Robert, that’s just unfair.”

“I couldn’t help it, baby. You rolled on my hand and I just had to.” He turned to his side to face her, his erection up against his toned stomach as he pulled her to his chest. “I don’t regret a second of it.” Using his free arm, he pulled her in for a deep kiss, then rolled them so she was lying face down on his chest.

She caressed the stubble on his face and kissed him again as she squirmed up his body. Reaching down, she positioned him at her entrance and sank down, fully seating him within her. “I love you, Robert.” She squeezed his member tight then laid her head on his shoulder, her nose in his neck by his mark. “My wolf has been talking to me.”

“What did she say to you?” His own wolf was forward in anticipation.

“She said that I’m starting my heat, that the time is right. She wants you just like this, but she wants you to pin me and trap that seed deep inside. She wants your pups.” She started to wiggle her hips, rotating on him while squeezing him. “But do you know what I want?”

“What do you want, Tammy?”

“I want you to screw me into oblivion first.” She bit his mark, causing him to moan and thrust up into her as his passion wound even higher. She started to raise up and drop down hard on him, while he ran his hands up her side and squeezed her boobs. His wolf was all for it, and when he thought for a minute, so was he. He wanted to see her belly rounded, see her breasts full of milk, see their babies running around their house. Everything in the world was changing, but his love for her wouldn’t.

He let her exhaust herself for a few minutes, then he rolled them so she was on her back. Grabbing her knees, he folded her legs up and back to give him deeper access as he started pounding her into the mattress. Sex with the mate bond was so much better because you could feel what your partner was feeling, and adjust as necessary. His hips were moving like a machine, and his wolf pushed forward and he felt the knot start to form at the base of his cock. He pushed forward, stretching her around it before it seated. She screamed in pleasure as it finally was in place, the sensation of it backing up against her G-spot was intense. Now that they were tied, his motions became shorter and faster. She moved her hands to her stomach, feeling him inside her and how deep he truly was as she started to tremble.

“Come for me, Tammy. Come NOW.” She screamed in pleasure as she broke apart under him. He bit down on her mark, his hips still moving fast as he fucked her through the first one and she went right into another. As her eyes rolled back, he started to come, shooting jets of liquid love deep inside her. She fainted from the pleasure, something that made he and his wolf pleased with themselves. He lowered her legs and embraced her, rolling them so he was on his back. His knot would keep the seed in her until it was time to wake up. With a smile, he thought about how things had changed. He had been nervous to change, was shocked to find he was an Alpha, but his wolf took it all in stride. It was time he did the same, he thought as he started to nod off. The other Alphas would be back soon, he’d establish a territory and a Pack, and they would find their destiny.

Donald backed the bus out of the Corvallis garage and back on the road just after sundown. They had talked with those they rescued on the way down; a few were staying in Corvallis, but they had encouraged people to go to Henderson where he was setting up his Pack, and most had agreed. Reggie’s bus was full of people who had been bitten already or were planning to be turned, those would go straight to Salmon.

The people they rescued had lost their fear of werewolves, but had a lot of questions about them and how they lived. On the drive, they told stories of Pack life and structure, letting them see how they had lived in secret alongside humans for centuries. Some things were harder to accept than others, especially in regards to the Pack leadership. Humans tend to want to vote, to control, but the wolf does not; he finds his place in the Pack and is content to stay there, and it is that discipline that allows the Pack to grow and strengthen. Donald used examples of real wolf packs, but in the end, he likened the Pack to a large family. They may live in different houses, do different things, but everyone knows who is the patriarch and matriarch, and they all come together to support each other.

He did warn them about some aspects of Pack life they might find different and have trouble with. Casual nudity was the easiest one; when you spend your life shifting between forms, you have that period where you will be nude and others will be around. Werewolves grow up this way and don’t see it as sexual; to see is all right, to stare or lust is not- and soon you find that it isn’t something to avoid. The mates and parents enforce this, he warned- if you are being inappropriate with them or theirs, they will correct you immediately and that might be a painful lesson.

The other thing he warned them was that wolves are social creatures, seeking contact and encouragement from others in the Pack. In either form, they embrace, touch, and seek out comfort; when one is hurting, others will surround him or her with love. It is normal for pups to sleep in the same bed, or crawl into bed with adults, and there is nothing sexual about it. It’s a puppy pile, it is what their wolves crave.

The talk took Duane’s mind off his mate, so when he saw they were only five miles from Henderson he reached out to Candice over the mate link. “Candice, honey… are you there?”

“DUANE!! Thank Luna you’re all right. I was so worried.”

“We’re about five minutes out, we’ll meet you in front of the clinic. We have people that we evacuated from Missoula, and some will need medical help.” He left out the dead that were being carried back in Reggie’s bus to their Packs.

“We’ll meet you there. I’ll have medical personnel standing by, and I have a surprise or two for you.” She closed the link and grabbed Alpha Carl Johnson and a few others and they made their way quickly to the clinic. Doctor Jenkins was still down in Salmon with the people that had been evacuated earlier, so Nurse Carol Jennings was in charge. They brought out a few gurneys just as the buses arrived; Reggie just kept going, the people inside waving, as Donald brought his bus to a stop.

Since the seriously injured humans were going to Salmon on the other bus, the gurneys weren’t needed. The five injured were less serious burns from the fire, or minor injuries from the fight. They unloaded first, moving to the clinic on their own power, and then Duane got out. His eyes burned into Candices, and they stared at each other for a second before he ran over and picked her up, kissing her fiercely as he spun them around. The people getting off the bus smiled as they sought out their own friends or family, giving the new mates a little privacy.

When he had kissed her breathless, he let her down and looked at the others while keeping his arm around her. She introduced him to a few people, and ended with Alpha Carl. The two Alphas sized each other up, Donald was older but was new to the position while Carl had a decade of experience. “Another Alpha,” Donald said. “Luna said she was going to send help, and we need you. Candice has told you of what is going on with the turns?”

“Yes, we’ve been catching up. I was waiting to meet with the other Alphas, right now I have no Pack but I know there is one in my future. Luna told me to head down this way to find it.”

Donald smiled and shook his hand. “She’s been busy. We’re building something different, and with all the humans being changed we will need it.” He hugged Candice again. “We’ve got functioning Packs in Salmon and North Fork, and I’ve been sent here to Henderson to start another. Corvallis at this time has no Pack, but a number of its citizens- and some of the evacuees from Missoula- are undergoing the change. It’s too big and too far away for me to control. I think you should have it.” He saw the surprise on his face, in the old days Alphas would grab as big a territory as they could, and defend it. “I know, it’s different but so are the times. Born wolves are going to be a very small part of the new Packs, and we expect most of the humans, including those being changed, will want to stay in their home towns. When I met with Alpha Reggie of Salmon and Alpha Calvin of North Fork, we agreed on this vision for the future. Our packs will be allied, we will allow movement between them as things settle, and we will each focus on what our Pack does best. For instance, the Salmon pack has made mass turnings feasible, so all turns are sent there for help and training before returning to their Pack.”

“That’s never been done before… but it makes sense.” Carl looked around at the people, his wolf was already starting to see humans as part of his Pack. “Not only are we out in the open, but we will live with humans among us. It is a new world.”

Candice laughed. “You know what one of the big hangups is right now for humans to change? Those who are married or in a relationship are scared that they won’t be mates after the change. When we explained that sexual arousal will be tied exclusively to their mates, it was a deal breaker. No random hookups either.” She kissed Donald’s cheek. “Some didn’t see it that way. The more they see how we live, the more people seek the change.”

“It will be interesting,” Carl said. “Now, where is Alpha Calvin? Was he on the other bus?”

“No, he went back to Missoula. Two of his men didn’t make it to the bus when a fire raced across the town. We barely made it out, the fire moved so fast. He took three men to go find them.” Donald looked to the north. “I don’t hold much hope for their survival, but he had to go.”

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat.” Candice led them along to the town hall where a community lunch was being prepared.

Reggie stopped the bus outside the hotel in North Fork. The mood was somber; wolves had been killed, and more were missing. Luna Kelly took charge of the funeral preparations, comforting some as others rejoiced in the return of their loved ones.

Looking to the moon, she prayed for the safe return of her mate and her Pack members. It would be a long night.

The sound of the shotgun blast followed by the pain from Travis, and the panic from the others, told Alpha Calvin immediately that something had gone horribly wrong. He took off at a dead run for the next street, as his Pack members had been spread out to search the houses along the way out of town. He passed the horrified students in the hay wagon and burst into the yard where his naked Pack members were kneeling over a prone wolf.

With Eric up on the tractor, James was the only one not surrounding Travis. James was also naked but had a middle aged man by the throat and was holding him against the wall next to his front door. He could see the shotgun at his feet and a scared family staring out the window. He shifted, looking at Travis he knew it was bad. He had taken buckshot to the head and chest and was bleeding from multiple wounds. “Get him in the wagon, and get pressure on the wounds. MOVE!”

He didn’t wait for them to pick him up, he had another problem right now. “JAMES! Stand down. Let him talk.” James hesitated briefly then let the man go; the man sank to his butt as he tried to get his breath back. “What happened here?”

“We were searching for survivors, Travis smelled something and howled. As he came into the yard this asshole stepped out and shot him.”

Calvin looked at the man who was scared to death and shaking. “It was a big fucking wolf,” he said. “I didn’t know you were real. Werewolves… I didn’t KNOW! I was just protecting my family!” The door opened and his wife handed out a stack of shorts; smiling, he put a pair on and held the rest. When he was decent, his wife and ten-year-old daughter came out.

“It’s my fault,” Calvin said. “I should have known that a big wolf might scare someone, it’s not the first time tonight a human has pointed a gun at us.” He looked at the hay wagon where they were loading Travis up. “Look, we’re evacuating survivors to Corvallis. There are people there who can help, food, shelter. You can come with us, but we have to leave RIGHT now. I’ve got to get him to the hospital.”

The man stood and pulled his wife into a hug, talking briefly they turned and nodded. “We’re in. It’s too dangerous here.”

Calvin waved them and they moved towards the tractor. “What about our stuff? I’m Carol, by the way.”

“No time, if it is still here the next time we come up here we can grab what you need. Come on.” He helped her up into the back of the hay wagon while her husband Mitch helped their daughter Emma up. The two of them jumped on and Eric put it in gear, accelerating down the road. Calvin tossed the shorts to the other naked men, much to the disappointment of some of the college girls, and went to check Travis. They had laid hay down in the center of the wagon to try and make him comfortable; he couldn’t reach him over the bond as he had passed out. Two of the girls had first aid training, they were using strips of clothing to try and stop the bleeding. “How is he?”

A blonde-haired girl looked up. “I’m not a vet, but only two of the holes are bleeding bad. His breathing is labored, he might have a collapsed lung. He needs help now.”

Calvin walked to the front where he could talk to Eric. “Eric- give me as much speed as you can, I don’t care if we all throw up back here, we need to get him to Corvallis.”

“This IS top speed,” he replied.

They were moving at a decent pace, about as fast as a wolf could run, so there wasn’t much else he could do. He moved back past where Travis was laying; the family was at the very back, looking warily at the people in the wagon. Calvin opened the bond to his Pack members so they could hear what he was saying, and a number of students were listening in as well. “This… this was an accident. It’s not your fault, I don’t blame you for shooting him and nobody else will either. We needed to be smarter than that, we didn’t think about how we would be seen, and that is on me.”

Mitch watched as Calvin’s head looked down, he could tell he was blaming himself. “No, it’s my fault too. I heard the tractor, I should have thought about maybe using dogs for the search. I was scared… I just reacted. It’s on me too.”

He sat forward and pulled Calvin into a bro hug. “Lots of bad shit has gone down lately, Calvin. We’ll get past this too.” His hug was soon joined by his wife and daughter, and pretty soon all of them were crying. The students gave them some privacy and in a few minutes they sat back and wiped their eyes. “So, we’ve been hiding in the basement since the world went to hell, what has been happening out here?”

Calvin waved Rob, Derek and James over and they moved more to the center, as the students were all interested in what all was going on. They traded stories as the miles passed slowly by and the wagon swayed side to side. It was a good diversion from the bleak landscape, the uncertainty, and the raspy breathing of a badly injured wolf. The survivors were glad they avoided the criminal gang that had taken over the town, although Calvin didn’t linger on their crimes against women. They were all interested in werewolves, how they lived and how the Packs were coming together.

Calvin kept trying the bond as they passed through the small towns along the Bitterroot River valley, and eventually he was able to reach a pack member in Corvallis. Unfortunately, Candice was farther south in Henderson and was out of range. The message would have to be relayed, and that took a little longer.

Eventually Candice’s message came back. “Doctor Jenkins just got here, she has Silvia’s car. Doc Marcus is down in North Fork.” He relayed what the injuries were as best he could, and a few minutes later got the relayed reply. They were leaving the Henderson clinic in a few minutes; Silvia was driving and bringing the Doc and a nurse.

“Sounds great, we’re a couple miles south of Lolo. The tractor can only do about twenty, so haul ass up here.” He moved forward to update Eric, and set the other boys up front to watch for her. Moving back to where the two girls were still tending to Travis, he knelt down by them. “We’ve got help coming, a doctor and nurse from Henderson are on their way.”

“Thank God,” the blonde said. “This is beyond my training, and I don’t have any supplies. I can tell his blood pressure is low, and his breathing is getting worse by the minute. I don’t know what else to do.”

He hugged her to his side. “You’re doing everything you can. Thank you.” She looked at him nervously, then back to the big wolf next to her. A stray tear ran down her cheek as she rubbed her hand down Travis’ neck.

“Can this thing go any faster?” Doc Jenkins was nervously looking ahead, her vision at night wasn’t that good compared to Candice so she wasn’t driving. A true Type A personality, she didn’t like situations she couldn’t control.

“Not really, we still have stalled cars, even bodies in the roads. I’d rather get there in one piece.” She looked down at the speedometer, she was doing eighty. “Besides, the suspensions on these old cars and the handling isn’t as good as what I’m used to.” Just to make her point, they went over a bump and felt the car rock on the springs three more times until the shocks stabilized it again. They had blown past Corvallis, and were now flying up 93 between the small towns.

Ten minutes later they saw the headlights of the old tractor. Candice linked them, so they were stopped and had Travis ready to unload by the time they had turned around and pulled behind them. Before they even stopped, Doc and her nurse were opening the doors and rushing forward. She started listening to his lungs even before Calvin had brought him and set him in the back seat of the car. The two climbed into the huge backseat with him, while Calvin jumped in front. Twenty seconds after they arrived, they were heading south again.

“Can you get him to shift to human form?” Doc was nervous, she wasn’t a damn veterinarian and this was tougher than she thought.

“Not unless he wakes up, it takes conscious thought to shift.” Calvin kept his eyes on them as they worked; she was using forceps and a scalpel to cut into the wounds and extract the buckshot. As she worked, the nurse would seal the wounds with a glue and covered it with a bandage. They tossed the blood soaked pads out of the car as they went, furiously trying to stop the bleeding.

“Pulse is 110 and dropping,” the nurse said.

“Left lung is collapsed, we’ll have to reinflate. Candice, pull over.” As she was stopping, Doc was pulling a chest tube kit out of the emergency medical bag. Ripping it open, she used a scalpel to make an incision and carefully inserted the tube. When it was inserted into the chest cavity, she used sutures to close the wound around the tube and attached the Heimlich valve. She then put gauze around the sited and used tape to secure it to his chest. They watched the bubbly mixture of blood and air travel down the tube to the valve, which drained it and allowed the lungs to slowly reinflate. It took a few minutes before his respirations returned to normal, and his pulse stabilized. They could see the color of his gums returning to a pink color. “OK, get going again.”

They passed through Corvallis and could see the fire barrels in the town of Henderson when it all went bad. Travis started to seize, and a few seconds later he had stopped breathing. “PULL THE FUCK OVER,” she yelled. Checking with her stethoscope, his heart had stopped. “We can’t do CPR on this seat,” she said, but Calvin was already there. Working together, they moved him to the pavement and laid him down. “How the hell do I do CPR on a dog?”

“Pretty much the same way,” Calvin said. He rolled Travis onto his back, measured up six inches from the bottom of his sternum, and started compressions. They didn’t worry about emergency breaths, not that anyone wanted to take his nose into their mouth, as the compressions would do enough. After two rounds, Calvin stopped and allowed Doc to check him out.

“No pulse, continue CPR,” she said. The nurse took Calvin’s place while Doc measured out a syringe with adrenaline. When the cycle was over, she took her best guess for the location of his heart and injected it.

With each passing minute, the realization came to each of them, but they didn’t want to be the first to accept it. When Calvin took over, they could hear his broken ribs crunching and Doc finally had to make the call. Putting her bloody gloved hand on his, she waited until he looked at her and then she shook her head. “He’s gone.”

Calvin sat back and shifted, then raised a mournful howl to the heavens, then ran off into the darkness.

Doc and her nurse removed the chest tube and the bandages and cleaned the blood off him the best they could. Working together, they laid him in the back seat and got in. Candice was crying, and had to link her Alpha to get him to come back. He jumped in the back and sat on the floor, his head next to his dead friend, as the car pulled back onto the road.

The mood was somber when they arrived in Henderson. Candice parked outside the clinic, and many townsfolk and werewolves were waiting for them. Doc was still very upset; she had been second guessing herself the whole way home, vowing to learn wolf physiology so she could treat her new patients better. She was so upset as she rushed into the clinic, she barely glanced at the man who opened the door for her. She just pushed the inner doors open and ran to her office, needing privacy so no one would see her break down.

Alpha Carl was gobsmacked. Her scent had washed over him as she rushed by, but her eyes… he lost himself in her hazel eyes in that moment. His wolf rushed forward, MATE echoed in his mind. His wolf was whining in his head, mate was hurting and needed him. He watched as Travis was respectfully carried out of the car and wrapped in a sheet, then placed on a gurney. Calvin addressed the crowd, thanking them for coming out, and informing him they would be returning Travis to North Fork immediately for the funeral.

Carl shifted with the other wolves to send a howl to the heavens. When it was done, he followed the nurse into the clinic. Moving quickly in his wolf form, he tracked her to the offices in the back of the clinic. Reaching up with his teeth, he twisted the knob and pushed the door open. The room was saturated in her scent, and he moved around the desk until he had his head in her lap. She looked down at him, reflexively placing her hand on his head and then pulling it back when she felt tingles running up her arm. She put it back, relaxing into the comfort he could provide her as tears ran down her face.

Carl sat back when she stopped scratching his ears, his head cocked slightly and tongue out the side of his mouth. He watched as Doc Jenkins, he didn’t even know her first name, closed her eyes and set her face. She opened them a few moments later and her face was emotionless and professional again. It wasn’t the first time she had to lock away her emotions in order to do her job.

She stood up from her chair and her hand grazed his head as she walked by and stood by the door. “Come on, we’ve got work to do. Down the hall, last door on the left goes to the loading dock, you can find scrubs in there.” He followed her out and she opened the door for him, he watched as she closed it behind him. Quickly shifting, he found the shelves and pulled on plain blue scrubs and a pair of flip flops. He went back through the hallway, following her scent through the treatment areas and back to the front. The place was empty; Beta Candice had arranged for evacuation of all those undergoing the change to the Salmon clinic earlier in the evening.

He found her in the front reception area, looking out the window as the morning sun started to rise behind the eastern mountains. She had her arms hugging herself, and didn’t notice him at first, so he made sure to slap his shoes as he walked to her. He reached for her waist from behind, and she relaxed into his broad chest. “The tingles… I’m your mate, aren’t I?”

“Yes,” Carl said softly into her ear. “I knew the first time I looked into those beautiful eyes. You are my other half, the one I have been searching for. I don’t even know your name, beautiful.”

“Justine.” She turned around in his arms and looked up at him. “And you?”

“Carl. Carl Johnson, formerly the Alpha of the Blue Mountain pack up near Missoula.” He bent down slowly, his right hand moving up to cup her face, and he gently pressed his lips to hers. They both moaned as the tingles spread through their bodies, firing their libidos as it seemed to be connected to their groins. She opened her lips to him, and soon they were kissing deeply. She finally pushed him away, but he held their hips together as she looked at him in wonder.

“I’m not confident about these things.” She looked down at his hands on her. “I’ve never… I never had time for relationships. I never had boyfriends, I couldn’t take the time. I had to work my way through school, I ran up huge student loans in order to become a surgeon. Then when I went into practice I had to establish myself, and I worked every shift I could find. I thought I’d spend five more years trying to pay it all off, and then I’d think of dating. You are mated to a thirty-two-year old virgin.” Her face flushed with embarrassment, and he cupped her face and gently kissed her.

He chuckled. “Me too, but I’m thirty five.” She looked at him, then realized what he meant; werewolves did not have the ability to achieve erections until they found their mate, as sexual arousal was linked to them. “Bank loans are no longer an issue, wouldn’t you say?” They looked out at the town of Henderson, which had lost almost its entire population inside of a week. “I lost my entire Pack, and it was luck that I survived. If I hadn’t been on patrol deep in the mountains, I would have died with them. I was ready to go with them, I thought I had nothing left; I was an Alpha without a pack, an Alpha who couldn’t protect his people. Then Luna came to me in my dream, told me to come here, that I would find my future here.” He pulled her into his chest. “I did. YOU are my future. Whatever else happens, I now have you and I will do anything to make you happy.”

She leaned forward, her head rested on his shoulder as she was a good eight inches shorter than his six foot five frame. “Will you change me?” He looked down at her. “I’m not afraid of it; when werewolves first came out to the town, Donald cleared out my clinic, biting them all to give them a chance to live. I went with my patients to Salmon, to the clinic there, where I saw the process and how they train the new wolves. It was quite impressive.”

“If you want this, I would be proud to change you.” He looked outside again, the sun would be over the mountains soon. “But not here. We need rest, and privacy. I want you all to myself for a while.”

She kissed him again. “I would like that.” She pulled away, holding his hand she led him back into an office she had turned into her private bedroom. It wasn’t much, the office desk had been removed and a spare mattress was on the floor; toiletries and extra clothes and scrubs were stacked on the shelves where books used to be. “I want you to know I’ve learned a lot about werewolves in the last few days; I know about mates, I know about Packs, and I know about the change. I was always going to ask, but now that I have you I need it. I want you to change me, I want me to make you yours.” She pulled off her scrub top, leaving a plain white bra and showing off her athletic figure. Pulling the tie on the bottoms, she let it drop as well. She watched the lust on his face before she moved to the bed, shyly covering herself in the thin sheet.

“I will change you, but I will do it when we wake up.” Carl pulled his top off, she licked her lips as she ran her eyes over his well-formed chest and abs. “We will need to leave first thing in the morning for the gathering in Salmon. Last night, the last of the operating vehicles left with the humans who were going. The wolves, myself included, were planning to make a run at sundown to get there.”

“What about the tractors?”

“Still up in Corvallis. They aren’t fast, but they are good for searches and scavenging. They are going to continue the search for survivors in Missoula and the north valley. They will take care of the people they rescued, too.” He had tugged off his pants while talking, a task made more difficult by the erection he was now sporting. After an entire lifetime without one, it was a novelty for the both of them. She held the sheet up and he slid in to the narrow bed. He laid on his side, his arms gathering her to him, as he kissed her face then moved down to her neck. “I won’t break skin yet, but your unmarked neck is an affront to my wolf side. He wants you marked so everyone knows you are mine.” With that, he sucked and pressed his teeth to the junction of neck and shoulder, leaving indents in her skin.

“Can I?” She ran her hand down to his waist, he nodded so she took him in her hand. “I’ve had to deal with these in a medical sense, but never had one that was for me.” Her hand explored him, gently caressing his cock and balls as he unsnapped her bra and went to work worshipping her breasts. Her moans became more insistent as her excitement rose; soon she was kicking her panties off and his hand was exploring her wet sex. “Take me… take me now.”

So he did.

Eric looked around at the somber group that awaited them in Corvallis as they pulled in with the hay wagon full of survivors. Word had come back from Henderson that Travis hadn’t made it.

The humans left in the town greeted the people and led them to the dining room, where a late meal had been prepared for them. After that, they would be given rooms and allowed to rest. Tomorrow would be soon enough to find out who they were, what they could do and what they needed. The leadership of the town had left earlier in the evening for Salmon, he found out. The gathering was to include werewolves and humans, so those in charge of the different groups- food, sanitation, power, and others- were going there to meet with their counterparts in the other Packs and cities. Also gone were all those who had been changed or were planning to change. The remaining people in the town were to scout the areas to the north for supplies and people, and continue work to make the town habitable in the long term.

It had been a long night. He linked with Derek; in the morning they would take one of the two tractors and trailers and drive to Salmon, picking up any passengers along the way who didn’t get better transport. It would take a while, but it was better than a long run through the mountains.

--

Calvin held Kelly’s hand as they stood in front of the funeral pyre for Travis. The rest of the Pack and the humans staying in North Fork spread out in a circle, surrounding the pile of wood with the wrapped wolf on top. The flames had caught in the dry wood easily, and they all ignored the smell of burning flesh as his body was consumed. Calvin pulled off his clothes for the shift, the Pack following him. He sat and let out a long, mournful howl; the next time, Kelly’s wolf joined him, and then the entire Pack let out their emotions. Travis had been well liked within the Pack, a good young man and a good warrior. He would be missed.

They watched until the pyre collapsed on itself, just as the sun was threatening to rise above the mountains. They shifted back and went to their houses or rooms for the day. The Alphas headed for the hotel where Silvia had remained behind her closed door. The funeral had occurred immediately after the car carrying Travis arrived with Alpha Calvin and two others who had been left in Henderson, so they had not had time to talk to her about what they now knew.

Donald had driven one of the buses that still worked from Corvallis to Henderson to drop off humans from Missoula, then loaded up with people from Corvallis heading to the gathering and stopped in North Fork. Silvia had been glad to see him, but it was the second time he had returned to her without her parents. He had a short time to fill her in on what had happened; he knew her parents had survived the gangs, but they were trapped by the fire he had escaped. She would have to wait for Calvin to return to find her answer.

She had turned her back on him as he drove off to Salmon. Donald was crushed, but he drove on. Kelly had tried to help her, but her grief was strong; Donald hadn’t given her much hope they would have survived the fire they barely escaped with their lives.

Kelly knocked on the door and called for her. She opened the door, Michelle was almost asleep against her chest. Zach and Abigail had been sent to Salmon with Donald to complete their change and start Wolf U; the only reason she hadn’t gone with was because she was waiting for word on her parents. Kelly held out her hands and she handed Michelle over then they all sat on her bed. “We have good news, Silvia.”

Calvin took her hand in his. “Your parents survived the fire, they are safe and are up in Corvallis.” Silvia screamed in happiness, causing Michelle to give out a tired cry, before she collapsed back onto her bed. “Eric and Derek found them and they all rode out the fire in your parent’s safe room. Earlier tonight, I took three others including Travis back to Missoula. We met your family outside of town, they were driving a tractor with a hay trailer and some refugees down to Corvallis. We kept going and met up with Eric and Derek, who had their own tractor and were searching the town for survivors. During that search, Travis was accidently shot.”

Silvia sat up, tears running down her face. “He was the funeral, right?”

“Yes, we did everything we could to save him but it wasn’t enough. I had your car so we were able to get him here from the Henderson clinic before sunrise. I haven’t seen your parents again, but I did verify they made it to Corvallis safely.”

She looked at him, pleading. “Take me to them, please!”

Kelly shook her head no. “They will come to us. The gathering in Salmon, when it is dark again they will drive the tractor down with anyone else from that town who needs to come. They should be through here before midnight.” She looked at Calvin. “We have to get home, the sun is almost up. Sleep well, and we will talk again after sundown.” They let themselves out and raced back home, just beating the rising sun.

Marcus made his way to Rachel’s room at the Salmon clinic as sunrise approached. He had made a visit to North Fork to check on Megan; it had gone as well as could be expected given the limited medical equipment that still worked. She wasn’t bleeding and he could hear a fetal heartbeat, so he settled for weekly checks. He cautioned her and her mate Al to stay out of the sun, take it easy, and sleep underground. He then caught one of the transports that were headed to Salmon, making it back around midnight.

The night had been busy, more new werewolves were being brought in from Henderson and Corvallis plus those from North Fork and Salmon itself. As people became more comfortable with werewolves and saw people they know change, they were eager to make the change themselves. The fever and the pain of the change were nothing compared to what they gained, the additional adaptations that would help them function in the world they found now. Just the better night vision of a wolf was a major advantage.

He opened the door, Raven was already asleep in her bed in the corner and Rachel was reading a book as she waited for him. She hated bedrest, but she and her wolf would do anything for their new baby. She smiled as he walked in. “Good day?”

“Busy. Almost everyone is here for the gathering, and we had a bunch of people entering Wolf U tonight. I have plenty of help, so if there isn’t an emergency I’m yours for the next eight hours or so.”

“That’s good,” she smiled as she moved over. He slipped into bed and laid on his back, allowing her to lay on her side with an arm and a leg over him. “I love you, Marcus. No matter what happens around us, I still have you and Raven and that’s all I really need.”

“I love you too,” he replied and they quickly drifted off to sleep.

“COLONEL! WE HAVE CONTACT!”

Colonel Michael Kent of the Montana Air National Guard sat up in his underground bunk, his fatigue disappearing as his mind processed the news. He looked at the Airman who had barged into his room as he was putting his boots on. “With who?”

“NORAD. We got Cheyenne on a VHF frequency.” The airman stood aside as his Commanding Officer burst out of his room, zipping up his flight suit and taking off down the hall towards Communications. The room door was open, as the electronic locks no longer functioned and there were only a handful of them left anyway.

“Tech Sergeant Billings, you fucking genius, how did you get this to work?” He clapped his radioman on the back as he entered the room.

“I managed to find parts in storage in the back of the bunker and cobbled it together. It’s spotty, but I was able to raise the Air Defense Command. They want to talk to you.”

He put on the headphones and Sgt. Billings handed him a microphone. “Cheyenne, Cheyenne, this is Malmstrom Air Force Base, Colonel Kent commanding, come in.” Malmstrom Air Force Base was a missile defense base, his Air Guard unit operated helicopters from the base airfield.

“Malmstrom, this is NORAD Actual. Colonel, we can’t raise your missile command. Status report?”

“Dead, sir. We haven’t been able to access all the control areas, but those we found open the personnel died in the sunlight. We have one operational helicopter, twelve surviving personnel.”

There was a pause on the net. “Malmstrom, any evidence of attack?”

“No sir. All the damage thus far is from the solar storm, it knocked out almost all electronics and transportation. We’ve cobbled together the assets we have. We have made scouting missions in our helicopter to surrounding areas. Estimate is 99 percent of the population is gone, and society has broken down in many places. None due to enemy action, we’re collapsing on our own.” He paused for a moment. “Sir, are you in contact with National Command Authority? Is the President alive?”

“Negative, Malmstrom. You’re the first unit we’ve been able to contact.”

He bent his head close to the microphone. “We can put a helicopter in the air with a 400 mile range, more if we can find a field and a way to refuel. Other than that, we have no assets.”

“Roger that, Malmstrom. Stand by for orders.”

A half hour later, the Colonel had hand copied his orders onto two pages of a legal pad. His face was pale, he didn’t like it, but orders were orders. As soon as the sun set, he would set out with his men for Salmon. They had been invited, and he may as well start there.