Life in the Grey household settled into a comfortable pattern. All the Grey brothers except for Brian were living together again; one BIG happy family. Not that they did not have their squabbles; there were not enough babies to go around to satisfy everybody at the same time. And just like they had ‘rationed’ Grace with her movie watching; Cassy had put everybody on a strict rotation list for caring for the brand new Grays’.
Besides; Sam had to bring little Ricky over; if he wasn’t close to Tyler; he would not sleep properly during the day; so, early in the morning Sam would bring Ricky over to the pack house and leave him with Amanda and Grace. She would go back home and do some cleaning and then head back to the pack house about mid morning to feed Ricky. She would stay the rest of the day until after the whole family had dinner together. Then she and Brian would take Ricky back to their place.
Naturally the two grandfathers claimed priority when it came to holding and pampering. William and Timothy had a whale of a time spoiling the ‘brat pack’ as they called the four babies. When eventually it was time for Timothy to leave; he surprised Alex by asking if he could speak to him privately.
Alex walked on ahead as Timothy followed him to the study. Alex waved for Timothy to start speaking his mind as soon as they were comfortably seated.
Timothy flashed Alex a half cocky; half nervous smile. He seemed to have some trouble choosing the right words; but then he just opened his mouth and let the words fall out.
“I have asked Lee to come back with me for a visit. A long visit. She agreed.”
When he did not say another word; Alex frowned at him. “So; are you asking me or telling me?”
Timothy shrugged. “Both I guess.”
Chuckling Alex stood up and shook his father-in-law’s hand. “Lee is a fine woman. I consider myself informed; but I think it might be wiser to ask permission of Rudi; after all, he is the head of her household now. Technically speaking any way.”
“Yeah, I know; she is amazing. I just felt I had to speak to you first. We are not sure if this is going to work out; but we are both willing to give it a chance. It will not be the same as a mated relationship; very far from it. But I think we are still young enough to be good for each other. And Lee is young enough to have another child if things work out for us and she thinks she can handle it.”
“Cassy is going to be tickled pink that her kids are older than her brother or sister.” Alex could just imagine the look on Cassy’s face when he tells her.
In the meantime Dinah had also given Rudi a set of twins; the most adorable girls with the reddest little cheeks out and they had taken some ‘holiday’ time to go and visit Lee at Cassy’s old pack. Packwise; all except one of the males in his early twenties had found their mates. There was nothing that could go wrong that could dampen the cloud of wellbeing the whole pack lived under. Now, all the pack members were congratulating themselves for their foresight in making the correct decision to remain a part of the Yellow Stone pack. Business was booming and so were the babies; in one word; the pack was flourishing.
And so was Grace. Everyday that passed she became more mature and confident; poor Conrad had his hands full in keeping visiting shifters a polite distance away from his mate and on one occasion even had to make good on his threat to break bones on Grace’s behalf.
Grace had gotten irritated once and demanded to know why he had not claimed her yet as that would put an end to his threats of breaking bones.
“Grace,” he had sighed; and then he had secured her face between his hands. “I made a promise to you that day you decided that you were going to come home with us. That promise is what made up your mind to come here with us; and there is nothing on this earth that will make me break that promise to you.”
“And if I should happen to release you from that promise?” She had asked biting the inside of her cheek; not too sure whether she wanted him to say yes or no.
He traced the line of her bottom lip and smirked when she shivered. “There is no chance at all of me breaking any promise I made. Especially one I made to you.”
There was nothing else for her to do but reward his trustworthiness with a kiss.
By the time Tyler, Rebeccah and Audrey were four months old; Grace began to exhibit the early signs of shifting. She was easier to annoy and was running a slightly higher than normal temperature. On the odd occasion her senses had ‘flashes’ of sharper and more acute focus. By the time a week had gone by; she started having occasional tremor and not even two days after that while she was helping Cassy with her baking in the afternoon; a shudder shook through her whole frame. It was so strong that she ended up on her knees gritting her teeth, gasping for breath.
[Grace is shifting!] Cassy let all the brothers and sisters know. She made sure that Grace could not hurt herself and then she switched the oven off and covered the rest of the cookie dough.
Conrad stormed into the kitchen and swept Grace up into his arms; cradling her against his chest. He held her tightly until she was breathing more normally; then he eased up a little bit; but only the littlest bit.
“Hey there Sunshine.” He kissed her softly on her forehead. “How are you feeling?”
She snorted, not caring that Cassy had told her that it was not a very lady-like thing to do. “Like someone tried to twist me into a pretzel.”
“If I can lay my hands on his I’ll break some of his bones for you; how’s that sound?” Although he was grinning; he could not cover the concern he had for her.
“Goodness Conrad! How long are you going to keep on doing that?”
“Doing what?”
“Threatening to break some more bones?”
“Until you are mine!” He growled; eyes darkening as he stared at her in challenge to deny his prerogative.
“It is not necessary to keep on doing tha …” Another shudder shook her frame; this time, a lot stronger than before and she whimpered as pain burned through her insides.
“This is not the way it should be.” Cassy told Alex quietly as she leaned into him when she saw how badly Grace was hurting.
“It might be because she had been given those herbs. Remember how fast she started developing? I think this change is not going to follow the normal patterns.”
“What can we do for her? I hate seeing her like this.”
Alex swept Cassy into his arms. “I don’t think that there is anything we can do to make this easier for her. But if her change follows the pattern of her development; this change should be one of the quickest ever.”
“I hope so.” Cassy whispered as Grace cringed deeper into Conrad while her whole body shook violently.
Conrad felt utterly helpless as he could do nothing else but hold her while he could feel how the painful tremors wrecked her body. When she eventually lifted her head, he caught the scent of fresh blood. Anxiously he pulled her just a bit away from him so that he could look at her properly. That is when he saw that her bottom lip was swollen on one side. With his thumb; he rolled her lower lip open; only to see the fresh blood welling from a cut she had most likely received when she had bitten herself.
“Grace!” He called out softly as he lowered his lips to catch her bottom lip. He gently sucked at the inside of her lip; hating that she hurt so much and that he did not know what to do. When he felt another tremor building up; he shoved her face into his neck and when she gasped, he pressed her face deeper into his neck. This forced her to bite down on his neck when the vice grip tightened around her and twisted at her body.
When she was able to think straight again; she immediately noticed what had happened. A look of anger crossed her face but was soon replaced with one of horror. “Oh my goodness Conrad; look what I did to you!”
“It’s nothing.” He said dismissively as he drew her back closer to him; but Grace resisted and wiped the blood on his shoulder away.
“But look what I did.” She was crying softly about how she hurt him until she saw the puncture marks. They were not human teeth marks; instead there were four distinct puncture marks that looked so familiar because she had treated so many wounds inflicted by werewolves.
Alarmed she sat up straight, her hands flying to her mouth as she gingerly touched her teeth. They were still elongated; but not so much that it was uncomfortable. Drawing her lips away from her teeth she faced Conrad. “Just look at me!” She sounded panicked. “This is not supposed to happen this way! I have seen people change for the first time and this had never happened before!”
“Grace!” Conrad spoke loudly to get her to calm down. “Look at me!” When she did not look up at him, he grabbed her face between his hands. “Look at me!”
A loud warning growl ripped from her throat; letting him know he had better let go.
Conrad did not allow him the luxury of being surprised at her growl; he let his hand loosen and lower to her shoulders. “Please look at me Grace!” He pleaded with her.
When she turned her eyes to him he could clearly see the panic and dismay. “Grace,” he spoke in the most soothing voice he could summon in the circumstance; “I think it is because of the herbs you were given that your change is like this. Just stay calm; we are all here with you; we won’t let anything bad happen; OK?”
“I feel so …” She shook her head in frustration. “Wrong!” She muttered. “Nothing feels right.”
“It won’t be for much longer; then everything is going to feel right again.” Conrad promised as he silently wished that it happen very soon.
Ten minutes later Alex and Brian were still debating whether it was a good idea to move her to the sauna when another tremor shook through her so forcefully that her body arched off of Conrad. When she fell back into his arms; the whole room could hear the growl and when Grace opened her eyes; her dark, black eyes stared at Conrad while every wolf could sense the ‘awakening’ of the new wolf.
While it only took a few seconds for the new wolf to realize she was already in the arms of her mate; it took all of Grace’s concentration to recall why it was not acceptable behavior to rip his clothes off right now. Somewhere in between her jumbled thoughts she also recalled how she thought Cassy had overstated a female wolf’s response to her mate when she met him for the first time. With her clinical mind she could feel how the strange attraction towards her mate was growing so fast that it left her reeling.
She only realized that her body had followed the instinctive pattern when she saw and felt the changes in Conrad. Due to her enhanced senses she too could feel the rise in his body temperature; hear his increased heart rate; and she could feel a certain part of his anatomy; it was so hard she was sure she would have a bruise on her derriere. She squirmed down into him and in response he gripped her side, sliding his fingers under the loose top she was wearing; making her shiver.
Too soon her scent was nearly overpowering and still this little wolf sitting on his lap continued to tease and temp him; didn’t she know that it was not the smartest thing to do?
“Grace?” He asked while his mind was desperately clinging to the last bit of control he had. With her wolf aware; surely she knew with the kind of response she was having that his claims about her were true.
“Yes.” She hissed; both in acknowledgement of his question; and as encouragement when his fingers grazed along the skin on her sides.
Conrad was prevented from taking any further action when she convulsed with another tremor, this one much worse than before. And she made it even worse by fighting against it.
“Don’t fight it.” Conrad whispered hotly in her ear. “Let it happen Sunshine; just let it go.” He was eager to have his mate available to him; to have her full attention.
No matter the encouragement he gave; she was not able to stop fighting against the havoc wreaking shudders that shook and ripped at her because she wanted to stay in her human form and be with him; her mate! After half an hour or so Conrad was getting desperate; his mate was in pain. She was literally stuck between two sides. And to make it even harder on him; she was in heat. Her wolf was crying out to him and when the next tremor took her and she whimpered against him; he could no longer stop himself. She had buried her face in his neck, leaving her neck exposed to him and the temptation was just too strong; as was his mate’s agonizing pleas.
Moaning; he let his teeth sink into the soft flesh of her shoulder. With satisfaction; he felt it when she relaxed into him, even while he could still feel the trembling of her body while the tremor tried to shake her apart. While he tended his mark with pride and tenderness; she relaxed against him; and when new tremors took hold of her; they shook through her without her tensing up again. It was not long after that when the first loud snap could be heard; and then it sounding like popcorn popping; only with more attitude.
Within a matter of minutes the brand new honey colored wolf tested her legs as she tripled around the kitchen; her sharp claws clicking all over the tiles.
Alex hugged Cassy before pushing her away from him. “Go take her for a run; I will watch the kids.”
Before Cassy stripped and shifted she gave him a hard kiss. [Come on girls! Let’s get this party started.]
The other girls were quick to follow and soon the kitchen was crowded as the rest of the brothers all shifted too. They would follow the girls without interfering.
Grace turned around to look for Conrad and was surprised to find that he was still in human form. [Conrad?] She asked while her wolf whined; butting at his side with her head.
Conrad looked at his brothers and they understood that he needed some privacy; they herded their mates away to give Conrad and Grace some space.
[Why won’t you come with me?]
Conrad groaned. Her ‘voice’ was a mixture of hurt, sadness, want and need. He knew she felt hurt because he did not want to run with her; but in his current state of mind; there was no way that he would be able stay away from her.
“Grace; please understand. There is nothing in the whole universe I want more than to be with you; in more ways than one. I am going to be honest with you; the wolf part of me wants you as much as I do; and if I go with you now; he will take you. And I don’t want that to happen. If I get to have you first; he will not be happy, but he will still feel satisfied; whereas if he gets to have you; I will be neither happy nor satisfied. I … I, want you too much to let that happen.”
Grace growled and possessively bit down on his arm. [I want you too!]
Conrad felt a burning heat course through him at her words and he fought to stay strong. “I know Sunshine; but I can do things to you that he can’t. I promise that I will make it up to you.”
The honey colored wolf whined and poked her nose in his belly.
Conrad sank down to his knees; tangling his hands in her soft fur. “And if you really insist, we can always go for a run alone later tonight.” He was satisfied to hear and feel it when she rumbled in agreement. “Now go; go run. Just remember not to stick your nose down rabbit holes like Lucy did.”
With one last whine and bark-laugh she turned around and loped right past the small group waiting for her; easily taking the lead as the others yelped joyfully and stormed after her.
Alex joined Conrad and put his arm around his younger brother’s shoulder. “That was tough; I am glad you thought of claiming her. It calmed both parts of her down enough so that she could complete the shift.”
Conrad laughed bitterly. “That is just the problem! I was not thinking at all. I just could not resist any longer. It felt like I was being torn and twisted right along side her; but for a completely different reason. Alex; I could have hurt her!”
“But you didn’t!”
“Not yet.” Conrad blurted out breathlessly as a look of panic flashed in his eyes.
“Why on earth do you think that you will hurt her?” Alex asked when he could not understand the sudden fear his brother was experiencing.
“Later, when she comes back.” Conrad stumbled over his words. “It will be her first time. Heaven knows I do not want to hurt her!”
“Oh.” Alex thought back to the first time he had made love to Cassy and recalled that he had not been aware that it was her first time. “At least you know.”
Conrad looked at him in surprise when he heard the words his brother spoke quietly. Understanding registered in his eyes. “And you didn’t?”
Alex shook his head. “I had no reason to think she had never …” He shrugged uncomfortably; shifting his shoulders to ease the sudden tension. “I had no right to expect that and did not even think to bother checking with her first to be sure.”
It was quiet for a long time before Conrad spoke again. “But what do I do now?”
Alex’s lips lifted in a grin. “I am sure I do not need to explain this to you?”
Conrad rolled his eyes at his brother’s lame attempt at being funny. “No you don’t. But what do I do to not hurt her?”
“Conrad, there is no way you are getting around that. Just remember that your instincts led you well a short while ago. Trust them. I know that we always hammer on the fact that we should not get carried away by our instincts; but there are some instances where the wolf part of our nature knows best. Trust that part of you. That is all you can do.”
Alex pulled a reluctant Conrad into the kitchen after him and started cleaning up the bits of clothing lying everywhere. When he was done; he uncovered the cookie dough and started eating it. Soon Conrad stuck his fingers in the bowl as he joined Alex.
“Cassy is going to kick our backsides for eating her dough.” He said as he took another cookie size lump of dough.
“Nah. I will simply explain that we are eating raw cookies. Not our fault they are not done yet.”
“Sure thing bro, you can tell me later how that worked out for you. I intend disappearing as soon as they come back.”
A baby’s crying had them both rushing upstairs to collect all three babies. If one was awake; the others woke up soon after. After changing them they took them down to the kitchen with them. While they were waiting Alex absentmindedly started feeding Tyler some of the cookie dough and before long; the two guys were having a ball getting the dough to stay in the eager little mouths.
“Cassy is going to kill you dead!” Sam’s voice came from the open door.
Both guys looked up to see her standing with Ricky on one hip and her hand in the other. “She will laugh herself silly first; but then she is going to kill you all dead for sure.”
She passed Conrad on her way in and planted a kiss on the heads of the two girls in his arms before giving him a kiss on his cheek. “I am so happy for you. Brian said they were on their way back and asked me to meet him here.”
Sam went to give Tyler a kiss as well and when Alex held his hand for his nephew; she refused to hand Ricky over. Quick as a flash, his arm shot out and he swept her onto his lap. He nodded his head in satisfaction as Tyler gurgled with mirth.
“Now I have two boys in my arms.” He told Conrad who had claimed trumps because he had two girls.
Sam didn’t say a word as she watched Alex feed both boys tiny bits of dough as they waited for the wolves to come home.
The sound of howling alerted them to the presence of the nearing wolves and they went outside to wait for them. As they reached the house they shifted back into their human forms. Conrad had to coach Grace on how to find herself first and then change back. She shifted between her two forms a couple of times before settling on her human form.
Shyly she walked up to him. She reached for Audrey and took her out of his arms. She kissed the little girl on her rosy cheek before handing her over to Liz who was the closest. Then she took Rebeccah; kissed her as well before putting her in Tina’s arms.
“What?” Conrad said as she turned to him again. “Are you going to kiss me too and hand me over to someone else?”
Grace stepped right up to him. “No,” she whispered against his lips. “I think I might actually keep you.”