Life returned back to normal, or what my 'new' normal is now. My stomach was beginning to bulge, and I was getting a little crankier but Stephen just ignored all of my outbursts. I tried very hard to keep that to a minimum, and whenever I felt irritable I tried to take a nap. Stephen took immense pleasure in waking me up from naps, I think I was less resistant and more pliable when I woke up and he loved to dominate me so much. I would wake up from these naps often with his cock starting to slide into me, and I watched him smirk knowing I loved it- he was already inside me and getting me more aroused. I suspect he played with my clit when I was sleeping because I woke up wet all around his cock. That man was sneaky.
For my naps I sometimes snuck into guest rooms, and even slept once at the day care center- I slept wherever I could find a hidden spot in the village. This included a small room in the general store that I noticed had a cot, it was mainly used for storage. My Guard knew where I was, but they respectfully refused Stephen's requests for information about my whereabouts which annoyed him- and he never forced them to disclose my location. I believe they both enjoyed their little game, and my Guard not-so-secretly enjoyed watching Stephen tracking and hunting me down on a daily basis. And I not-so-secretly enjoyed trying to outsmart him which gave me a few minutes of the freedom I craved. But he always found me, he had a sixth sense about it and never told me how he knew where I was. I even wondered if he had a tracking chip installed somewhere on my person, but he'd never do that.
Stephen and I, along with my Guard, Tyler , and Marie, started touring around the Territories to check in with the Betas and the welfare of 'his people' as he called them. We had made several short visits to take care of pack issues, but not a trip of this scope. We drove in two black SUVs up into British Columbia, Stephen's territory was huge. It was Winter now, but the snow didn't slow us down at all. Tyler drove with Marie in the front of one SUV, while Stephen and I sat in the back and mostly worked on paperwork and reports. We had the latest communications technology in both vehicles and stayed in touch with the Command Center at all times. We also visited with some small, independent wolf packs, there was a separate small pack on both Vancouver and Graham Islands. Stephen was touchy about meeting these two Alphas, in the past there were some small hostilities but a truce was in place now. But he wanted to introduce me to the Alpha of Vancouver Island specifically since there was a small clinic for rogue rehabilitation there. It focused on the more holistic Native American approaches to healing, and I was fascinated.
It turns out that Matthew, Stephen's father, had extensively toured the Yukon, Alberta, and British Columbia 'Territories' to foster alliances to counter the growing threat from the Eastern Ontario and Quebec packs who started forcibly expanding their own territories. Several smaller packs on the eastern border were under threat and reluctantly asked Matthew and his larger Seattle pack to take them under his protection. In exchange their Alphas retired and became Elders, while the Alpha children and existing Betas took on the role of Territorial Betas.
All major decisions had to be approved by Stephen, and this kept him really busy. Any pack could withdraw at any time, but all packs that originally joined have stayed since the social benefits were tremendous. The combined packs were officially called the United Packs of Olympia, but everyone called it the original name of the Pine Ridge Pack. Safety was assured, pack houses were refurbished and maintained, day care and elder care were provided free, and the adults could choose their roles in the pack (except for the leaders). Wolves could freely leave the packs to join other ones when they found their mates or just wanted to switch. The only requirement made of individual wolves was allegiance, and every man and woman participated in boundary patrols. This meant extensive martial arts and defensive training also. The exception were single men and women who had small pups to raise, married mates had to trade off on patrol duty.
The system seemed to work well, it was an autocratic, socialist, free-participation hybrid system of government that worked for our people. Weres were half wild wolf, and strong leadership was required or both wolves and people would die. There were open local grievance courts run by the Beta's mates, and only the largest issues were heard by Stephen. Almost all disputes were handled by the Territorial Betas and reports were sent to Stephen. All of the various pack leaders had joined Stephen during some of their specials ops, and had seen his strength first hand. Shifting was kept to a minimum on the ops but occasionally occurred, and Stephen's wolf was magnificent. He had no open challengers. His father had a few in the beginning, but won them all. The loser was killed by the Alpha during the challenges, so they were rare.
Stephen radiated strong authority, confidence, and power, and ruled in the most fair way he thought possible. There were always areas of friction since the Betas were strong leaders in their own right, but they all respected and followed their Alpha.
I started to read the daily reports for Stephen and kept him informed of any issues that I thought might escalate. It took me a long time to understand most of the main issues, and we developed a rhythm and working schedule. Stephen setup an office for me next to his, I didn't want to share his since I desperately wanted to carve out a little bit of my own space. I surprisingly got a lot of support from the women of the pack. My 'escape' as everyone called it was witnessed by many and became a symbol of more freedom from the smothering domination of the males. I hated the fact this was so public, but there were few secrets in pack life. Women all over started demanding more 'personal space', and Freedom Trees and 'Freedom Spaces' sprung up everywhere. They were mini domination-free zones and this just spread through all the Territories.
I was mortified the first time I was shown one of these Freedom Spaces on our tour. I was speechless as a beaming woman, who was the mate of a Beta, took me on a short tour (with my Guard following behind) and walked right up to a magnificent Sitka Spruce and pointed to a sign. It said 'Freedom Tree, dedicated to Luna Danika'. Even though it was winter and everything was snow covered, there were benches around, and it was a peaceful spot overlooking a nice river. She informed me that she often went here and it had become a place of temporary escape and peace for everyone in her pack. Even men came there when they needed some peace, people were left alone here and it seemed to have an almost Zen-like quality. These areas were being created in each pack, mostly as a slightly defiant gesture to the autocratic overbearing Territorial Betas- and of course their autocratic overbearing Alpha.
The pack houses seemed to be built near hot springs since weres enjoyed their 'creature comforts'. We travelled up the coast to Vancouver BC (there's two different cities named Vancouver), and took one of Stephen's private boats to both Vancouver and Graham Islands for brief visits with the Alphas. They had a lot of respect for Stephen since he left them alone, they were also a symbol of freedom for all the packs in his Territories. He may be the Alpha, but each pack gave him the power to be one. He devoted his life to his united packs, setup and enjoyed running his occasional special ops, and loved fucking the stuffing out of me every chance he could get. Which I enjoyed immensely.
The Vancouver Island rogue rehabilitation center was an eye opener. It was setup like a standard drug treatment center, but had to be as secure as a prison. There was a customized plan created for each rogue sent to them, focusing on socialization and life skills. The success rate was pretty low, however, and most of them were executed. Rehabilitating rogues was a low priority for most packs, including ours.
Halfway through our tour we headed to the North Boundary, we arranged to meet with the Alpha of the Yukon Territory. There was no love lost between the two men, but all efforts needed to be made to keep the peace. Over the years there had been a few skirmishes along both sides of the border and a few wolves on each side were killed, but Stephen tightened down his control of the Northern packs until they learned to get along peacefully- if not exactly harmoniously. Disobedience was punishable by banishment or death, and that was a strong motivator. We drove into Whitehorse to meet Alpha Jack Bodin, then would stay at one of Stephen's pack houses at Atlin Lake. I was hoping to see the Northern Lights.
Whitehorse looked like most of the towns we had travelled through with mountains, snow, and evergreen trees- and I was getting tired of riding in the car. Stephen told me we would travel by private planes next summer, and take a long cruise on his yacht. I kept forgetting that Stephen was rich. He lived simply, but he was also a corporate mogul in charge of billions of dollars. The pack portfolio was diverse, and supported all aspects of pack life. He invested in private phone and electric systems, was heavily involved in sustainable timber harvests and protecting as much wild land as possible. Mining was off limits since it poisoned the land making it unlivable, greed was a powerful force and hard to stop. But us weres were tied to our land. Most of his efforts happened behind the scenes, and he had fostered relationships with many human government land managers and officials, then hired them after they retired. This made him in essence his own private government lobby, and had skilled diplomats working constantly to ensure the continuing privacy and safety of the pack.
Most of the pack's wealth was in the form of land and development. His corporations ran lodges, hotel chains, cargo freighters, private air delivery, car rental fleets (all of these things free to pack members), technology and communications development companies, and anything surrounding pack business. I was also getting involved in clarifying the financial aspects since that was my specialty in my former life. I was able to navigate the hundreds of reports and financial channels to shore up weak areas, and change some of the investment strategies. But Stephen's enterprises were mostly sound, and mostly secret with minimal public exposure. He had a strong team running each area, and offered investment advice for any pack members who wanted to invest their own money.
We were meeting Alpha Bodin at the Northern Klondike Restaurant, which was known for its delicious salmon and local cuisine. There was absolutely no way Stephen would go to the Alpha's pack house, it was too dangerous. We entered the elegant restaurant and were immediately welcomed by Alpha Bodin and his mate Sandra and shown to a private room. The room had a wall entirely made of glass, which showed the northern landscape that included stunning views of distant tall mountains, snow, and forests. The Bodins were gracious and inviting, and soon the alcohol and stories were flowing. I couldn't drink anything of course, and felt huge.
I would sometimes look longingly outside, what I would give to shift and run in the wild snow here, to track the wild game and sniff delicious new scents. I caught Elise looking at me pointedly, silently telling not to think about escaping. My Guard was naturally spaced around the room enjoying a nice dinner but constantly on alert. I just huffed at her. Stephen had also brought in a few men from the Atlin Lake pack as enforcers to balance out Alpha Bodins own bodyguards. Stephen took my hand after I huffed, and squeezed it refusing to let go of me. He kept up his conversation with the other Alpha, but told me in our mate-link to relax. He knew I wanted to go outside. I wouldn't do it, but I wanted to.
There's no way anyone would let me out of their sight. I had tricked them a few times and they never let me forget it. And my actions inadvertently spawned a silent, underground freedom movement, mostly for women. I just sighed. As the night progressed, I became more edgy and restless for some reason. I also watched the Northern Lights as they became visible in the dark. Whole ribbons of energetic color rippled in the sky over our heads, it was a wonderful sight and made the hairs stand up on my neck. Wait, there was something else that was making my hairs stand up, and Stephen felt it at the same time.
Zeke. The distinguished looking werewolf-wizard had entered the private room and everyone stopped talking to look at him. Obviously Alpha Bodin had encountered Zeke before and immediately stood up. Zeke was looking directly at me and Stephen started to lunge at him. Like before, Zeke simply held up his hand and shouted 'Stay!' And once again the entire room froze, still as statues. I put my hand protectively on my stomach and Zeke looked down at it, then back up to my face.
"Congratulations, Luna," he said as he nodded to my stomach, took off his parka, then walked to look out the huge windows. He wore an immaculate, expensive dark suit and tie like before, and seemed to give off the air of casual confidence. I wasn't fooled for a moment.
"What do you want, Zeke?" I asked stiffly, looking around for any guns. There were plenty around but I didn't feel the need to grab one this time, it was good to be prepared though.
"I have always enjoyed the Northern Lights. Such power from unknown sources." He slowly turned to look at me, making sure I didn't do anything drastic. "It's time for us to have a little discussion." Zeke gestured to a small table next to him, then picked up a nearby glass, poured himself some wine, pulled out a chair and sat down. He expertly smelled and tasted the wine, and shook his head in affirmation. "Bodin keeps a good wine cellar, that's one area he excels in at least."
"What do you want, Zeke?" I asked again a little annoyed as I slowly walked towards him. I didn't sit down, but stood next to the table.
"I seem to be at an impasse, my dear. I need information that only you can give me, and you are so well guarded that I had to travel to this great white wasteland to get it. For god's sake, how do people live up here in this freezer?" he rhetorically asked me and took another sip of wine. I wasn't going to play his game and remained silent.
Zeke sighed and put his glass down. 'Here it comes' I thought to myself. Matthew had desperately tried to get additional information about Zeke and came up virtually empty handed. He reached out to all his contacts, but Zeke and his group remained surrounded by an impenetrable wall of secrecy. Matthew was able to discover that Zeke specialized in obtaining the deepest, darkest secrets about governments all over the world- but nothing specific. Zeke used any means, including blackmail, torture, kidnapping, and whatever else it took to get the information he was looking for. The man apparently specialized in obtaining designs for new weapons, especially from the various military research facilities around the globe. And he left a trail of fear that added to his mystique. That is all Matthew could discover, and couldn't uncover what additional powers Zeke had, or what sort of creature Zeke was.
"Luna, you have been a difficult puzzle to solve." He looked at me like he was looking into my soul. I felt that ice-cold power emanating from him towards me as he tried to probe my mind. Well, it wasn't going to work, I would let nothing harm my pup, Stephen, or my pack.
"I looked at kidnapping your family, but after investigating you I found out that you would probably let them die before telling me anything." I felt my anger build as Zeke watched me curiously. "Your weakness are your connections," the infuriating man continued as I glanced over at Stephen's immobile body. "Your need to be with others, your fierce protective instincts toward Stephen and your pack, and now your unborn pup." Well that asshole was wrong, he had just listed my strengths. Zeke continued to watch me in a remote, creepy way, like I was an insect in an experiment. My anger was building inside of me, I was starting to lose control. Then it occurred to me that he was provoking me deliberately for some reason, and I pushed my wolf back down. I needed to discover why.
Zeke smiled and said, "Tell me about your visions, Luna."
I just huffed at him and bit out, "I don't have visions you idiot."
Zeke looked amused, then leaned forward and said softly, "Liar."
I took a few steps closer to him and watched him become uneasy, and said to him in a low voice that sounded like it was someone else's, "Shut the fuck up before you start something you can't stop, you don't know what will be unleashed." I stepped back to my original position, totally surprised at myself. I tried not to let it show, but that was freaky. What the hell did I just say?
"Ah, there it is finally." Zeke definitely looked uneasy as he sat back and sipped his wine, never taking his eyes from me. "Tell me, Luna," Zeke continued talking like he was trying to calm a panicked child, "when did you start having these visions? Or would you prefer I call them 'dreams'? Did they start when you were a child, or later?"
Zeke stood up slowly but kept talking and I tried not to become more mesmerized. "Do they seem like vivid dreams, and do you sometimes wake up not knowing where you are? Do you see pictures of foreign buildings, strange clothes or languages? Do you see the compelling geometric symmetry of the written 'Code', the first writings of our people?"
He leaned forward and continued with greater intensity, "Can you read what it says?"
Zeke let the words sink in as I started remembering some flashes of some dreams that I have had ever since I was little- only I didn't remember them consciously. I didn't even know I had these dreams, like they were stored away somewhere hidden inside of me. Why didn't I remember any of them until now? They were just dreams, but now I started to see them like a movie, like a waking movie that I couldn't stop. I shook my head to try to stop this, but this collection of dreams was now playing in my head. I could see this restaurant, but I could also see this movie playing over it like a flashback. Both had this etheric translucent quality, and I didn't know which scenes were real. Where was I? Was I watching a strange movie about an ancient scribe wearing a metallic headband drawing on strange paper? Or was I looking out a window at the distant mountains? Did I see the geometric writing about a type of apocalyptic weapon, or did I see the gentle snow falling? Both were equally real, what the hell was happening? My vision solidified more, and I could see this scribe flipping through pages of technical drawings, they showed a type of weapon and I could feel the scribe's own reaction of horror to them. It was like I was there with the man.
"What do you see, Luna? What is he showing you?" Zeke whispered in my ear from behind me. I should have been alarmed, but I just continued to watch the scribe and couldn't look away. "Tell me," Zeke whispered and I felt compelled to tell him.
But the scribe put up his finger to his lips and said, "Shhh," and I remained silent. I felt Zeke trying to form a mind link with me, but I continued to block it easily. I felt Zeke's frustration, but ignored him. The scribe looked through his papers and held up one of them. It was a schematic for what looked like a weapon, and I could feel the scribe's revulsion and horror again. He looked at me and shook his head 'no', then put the paper down.
"No one must get this weapon, Luna," the scribe said in a foreign language that I understood perfectly, then produced a ball of silver-blue fire in his cupped palms. "It would be the 'end of all things'. This knowledge is forbidden by the 'First Ones'," the scribe told me as his eyes filled up with the same fire as his hands. His metallic headband begin to ripple with this silver-blue electric energy. He then held out both hands holding the burning blue flames, and I reached out to take it. I felt the transfer of heat and energy but it did not burn me. I looked down at the rippling fire in my hands and the scribe started to fade. The last things I saw were his eyes shining full of silver-blue flames staring at me out of the ages.
Slowly my consciousness returned to this room and I took a deep breath- and released it- then turned again to look at Zeke. I was not afraid and now understood his mission. I now understood his wolf, and the depths to which he would sink to get his information. Killing even. He knew in that instant that he had failed and stepped back from me. Zeke was a zealot and beyond reason, which made him evil, he was dangerous because he was misguided, afraid, and a fool. Zeke truly believed if his team could assemble the pieces of the weapon, they would have the power to save the world. He was desperately searching the world for the pieces that had been scattered in ancient times, in his misguided way he was trying to protect the world.
But the man was so wrong, the pieces needed to be destroyed, not assembled together. No mortal could resist the urge to use it, for it harnessed and focused the same silver-blue power from my ceremony, any mortal would be overcome by a lust for supreme power. The silver-blue force is one of the four Energies of Life.
"You have been denied," I said in a strange voice and Zeke looked at me horrified.
"Luna, your eyes are glowing with the blue fire!" he gasped and stepped back a few steps. Then he whispered, "Zend wrote of this."
"You sent the assassin," I talked in the strange voice, but I knew this man had tried to kill me. "How did you know of me?" I asked, not expecting an answer.
"You are the 'Avestan Viewer' and I have been searching for you," is all Zeke said stepping back further. "The glowing photographs simply confirmed it. The prophet you see is Zend, I am his descendant."
"You have been denied," I repeated myself.
I then walked toward him and he shouted, "You don't know what you are rejecting! I can save the world from its own destruction! You are a fool to deny me, you are a fool."
I simply walked up to him quickly, grabbed his suit, shirt, and tie in the front under his neck with my left hand- and threw him through the window in a high arc and watched him crash out in the snow. I ran as fast as my pregnancy allowed to his body on the ground where he was groaning quietly. With a fury I had never felt before, I put my hands on his chest and pressed down while pouring all my energy into his immobile body with the intent to kill. The Northern Lights seemed to answer and intensify overhead and flow more wildly, lashing out and licking the sky.
I screamed at him as all my focus and hate was directed toward him, "You will never threaten my people again! Your team will be scattered, and all your work will burn with the silver flame!" I kept my hands on his chest and he screamed in agony. I didn't care, he had threatened my family, my Mate, my packs, and even my world. As I was pushing this lethal energy through my body, I felt my Mate's hands on my shoulders pulling me back, and startled a burst of light was sent out in all directions as I broke contact with Zeke. Stephen interrupted me or I would have actually killed the man. Apparently time had started again.
Zeke stood up slowly, blood dripping from his mouth and nose while his own eyes glowed in fury with a light green, glowing light. His suit was burned and smoking where my hands pushed on him, he now had a large brand on his chest in the shape of my hands which was bloody, red, and smoking. He was breathing heavily with blood dripping out of his mouth. He started to raise his shaking hand like he would again try to stop time.
"Never again!" I shouted and pushed my hands out towards him, sending some sort of blue, fiery energy wave which picked him up and threw him about fifty feet away. I felt remote from myself, like I was in a movie or something. Later I would realize it was shock.
"Danika!" I heard Stephen shout from behind me as I turned toward him. The blast had apparently knocked everyone around me down, as well as the remaining glass in the restaurant. There were people scattered everywhere, and others were running. And my only thoughts were of my Mate, I heard my Mate, I wanted my Mate. I reached out my hand as he ran to catch me,I then felt a comforting blanket of blackness as I fainted in his arms.
**End of chapter. Please vote and comment.
Thanks, Olympic Wolf