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Leader of the Pack Ch. 01

By: secretme



*Chapter 1* 

To the brave belong all things.

-Celtic Creed

Smoke thickened as the night wore on. The bar was crowded and Aislinn moved from one person to the next along the bar, filling drink orders. She had taken the job a month ago when she had come into town. Her scummy boss, Derrick, had been more than happy to hire her. He had recently lost a bar tender and Aislinn was above average in appearance even if she didn't think so. When Aislinn had applied to the job he hadn't even asked if she could mix drinks. He figured that he could teach that. She wasn't a super model but she was attractive in a strange way and she was better than the nothing that he had. Derrick was at the far end of the bar talking with some regulars. Aislinn had learned relatively quickly to keep space between herself and Derrick. At the moment she also had Luke tending bar in between them and that definitely helped. 

Aislinn hated the place. Derrick was an ass. He was always grabbing her and making lewd comments. He had even attacked her once. But she had slugged him and gotten away. She needed the job. She needed the money. The other people she worked with were mostly nice. Kelly was really the only bitch and that was because Aislinn had gotten the job Kelly had wanted. In this place the best spot to be in was behind the bar where the only person who could grab you was Derrick. Anywhere else and you were fair game for all the jerks who came in the place. Kelly's main problem with Aislinn had to do with the fact that she figured she had been there longer, had done her time and deserved the bartender job. When Derrick gave it Aislinn he had made Kelly a permanent enemy for her.

Aislinn approached the new guy who had sat down at the bar near the wall. He was impressive. His approach had resulted in most of the other patrons making more than enough room for him, resulting in an unnatural amount of space at that end of the bar. Aislinn was perfectly happy to have a short lull in the number of people she had to deal with. The man was pretty big, even sitting on the stool. He had black hair and brown-black eyes and was tanned. He looked hard muscled even under the black leather duster he was wearing. But the strangest thing was this ageless appearance to him. At first look she might have said he was in his late twenties/early thirties. But at second glance he looked almost 100. Whether that was normal for him or was the fact that he looked as though he'd had the worst day of his life was up for grabs. "What can I get you?"

The guy looked up at her as if he only just realized that he was in a bar. Aislinn waited and when he didn't respond she asked again. "What can I get you?"

Cullen stared at the girl speaking to him appraisingly. She had an odd scent. It was hard to make out between the rancid smell of the bar, the smoke from the people around him soaking into everything, and some awful perfume she seemed to have bathed in. But there was something to it that caught his attention. She was attractive but she wasn't remarkable in any way. She had brown hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and medium build. She wasn't his type. I would probably break her, he thought and grinned at himself. Besides she wasn't what he was here for. The last thing he wanted was a woman tonight. No matter how intriguing her scent was.

"If you're not ready to order I can come back in a couple," Aislinn offered at his silence and the annoyed, confused look on his face as he stared at her. 

"Guinness." 

Aislinn nodded, poured the beer and placed it in front of him. No sooner had she waited on the next person but he was pushing his glass toward her. She gave him another. Then another. At first she was concerned. He didn't look very friendly and adding drunk to not very friendly usually didn't end well. But he kept himself to himself, paid for each glass as he indicated his need for a refill, and didn't do anything to bother her or anyone else. He just stared at his glass and drank. Something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on kept everyone else away.

Aislinn really wasn't sure what kept drawing her attention back to him. The smell of him disturbed her. Since she had escaped her last job she'd had a sharper sense of smell. But after everything she'd been through to this point she kept herself to herself and that included telling anyone that she could tell who she was talking to with her eyes closed. Smells always got to her very easily. When she got out into the big wide world she had started layering on perfumes just to mask the smells around her. But tonight his smell was getting through her defenses. He smelled foul or dead. At least that was the only way she could describe it. She didn't know what could possibly make that odor. But every time the air shifted she nearly flinched at the awful reek that overpowered even the smell of rancid beer in this place. God why did I decide bartending was a good idea, she thought to herself. 

Cullen was still sitting there drinking as the place was getting ready to close. The girl who had been serving him all night walked up to him as she was clearing the bar. "Hey, buddy, do you need me to call you a cab or something?"

"Cullen," he said before he knew that he had said it.

"What?" Aislinn stopped what she was doing and started reaching for a phone. "Is there someone I can call for you?" she reiterated.

"My name. Cullen. Not 'buddy'. And no, I don't need a ride. I'll walk." He started to get up and then realized that he had drank more than he originally thought. It's been a long time since I managed to get drunk, he thought with a measure of amusement. Well that's what I came here to do wasn't it? He sat back down on the bar stool.

Aislinn sighed and looked over at one of the other girls. Nikki just shrugged. "Alright, Cullen," she said haltingly. "Look, we're closing, you're too drunk to move. You've got to have a friend somewhere who'll come get you."

He looked up at her and grinned with wry amusement. "Yhea," he said, "a whole pack." 

Normally a guy who said something like that and looked at her that way would have scared the crap out of her. But there was just something about the smelly guy that told her he wasn't a threat to her. If there was one thing she had always been pretty good at, it was reading people. That was half the reason Derrick didn't really bother her. She had known what he was like the minute she took the job. So, obviously it was her own fault she had to put up with him. Aislinn picked up the phone. "Give me a number."

Cullen rattled off a number and she dialed. It rang twice and then a gruff, sleepy voice picked up. "Hello?"

"Yhea hi, sorry to wake you," Aislinn said.

"Yhea, who is this?" the voice said. 

"Um, I tend bar. Do you know some guy named Cullen?"

A shocked, "huh?" came from the sleepy voice. Cullen was watching Aislinn with amusement. His eyes sparkled a bit and he had a grin that reminded her of a kid playing a great joke on someone. He was taking note of everything about her. For a human she was rather impressive or very stupid. There wasn't another person in this bar who had been willing to be within two feet of him, but the girl didn't seem bothered at all. At least not by his appearance or mood. He got the feeling that there really wasn't anything he could have said or done to have made her afraid of him. And more than any of that she was able to make eye contact with him and stare him down. It had been a long time since anyone had enough balls for that.

Aislinn growled her annoyance at the situation. "Look, I'm sorry I woke you up, buddy. But there's this guy in my bar and we're closing. He's too drunk to leave on his own. He says his name is Cullen and he gave me this number when I asked him if he wanted me to call someone for him. Can you come get him or not?"

Keith rubbed his face. He thought he was having a crazy dream. He looked at the cell phone and then put it back to his ear. "Cullen?"

"Yhea, Cullen." The female voice at the other end of the line was sounding more agitated by the minute. "Are you coming to get him?" she insisted.

"Yhea fine. Where is he?"

"The bar's called the Blood Pit. It's on the corner of Elm and Oak. Do you know it?"

"No," he said. "But I'll find it." Then there was a click.

Aislinn stared at the phone. Cullen chuckled. "He hung up?"

"Yhea, but he said he was coming." Aislinn went back to cleaning up. 

Cullen reveled in the feeling of the spinning room. As he waited he watched the girl move about. The drinking had done precisely what he wanted. It drowned out the look, smell, and feel of that bitch he wasn't interested in being mated to. He was trying to figure out what that scent was on the girl when one of the other girls walked up to her. That annoyed him to no end. Now there were two obnoxious smelling perfumes in addition to the rest of the odors in this room covering up the girl's scent. 

"Ais, I've gotta go." She lowered her voice and looked over at Cullen uncertainly then back at Aislinn. But Cullen's ears were better than most and he heard every word she said. "I want to wait for you but Jeremy's outside already and he's being impatient. I don't know who to be more concerned about. Derrick or this guy you're looking after. It's not real bright of you." 

Aislinn looked back toward the offices then over at Cullen. "I know. Maybe I can talk Derrick into watching him til his friend gets here."

"Fat chance on that. How's he gonna stalk you if he's gotta stick around here for some guy. Nope, he'll say that you didn't just kick him out so this guy's your problem. Then when he's gone and you don't have me around to give you a ride home, Derrick offers you a ride and guess how he'll expect you pay for it. Not to mention, the jerk's been drinking tonight. He's checked his brain at the door."

"It's okay Renee. I'll be fine. I've taken care of myself for this long." Cullen noted the tired, lonely sound in her voice.

Renee looked at Cullen again, just as some big football type poked his head in the doorway. "Renee," he yelled. "Are you coming or what?"

"Yhea," she answered. "I've gotta go," she said in that abused, manipulated, will-answer-to-any-jerk-that-pretends-he-cares-about-her way. She hugged Aislinn. "Be safe," Cullen heard her whisper.

"You too," Aislinn said knowingly. Renee blushed and then hurried away. As she reached the door the guy grabbed her by the arm and led her out.

Cullen held himself back. She was just another human in an abusive relationship and it wasn't any of his business. He growled under his breath and tried to stand up. Suddenly the room began spinning again and he sat back down on the stool with a grin and a chuckle.

"Aislinn!" The voice that called the girl's name was slurred and angry sounding. Cullen looked up to see the girl hurry to some greasy looking guy who was standing in a doorway on the back wall. He tried to get her back into the office but the girl was smart enough to not let him draw her in. "Haven't you gotten rid of that guy yet?" His tone was annoyed and drunk. 

"He's got a friend coming to get him. If you want to go I'll lock up behind me."

"And leave you here in my place?" He grinned luridly at her. "The only guy you get to stay here alone with is me." He tried to grab at her but she stepped back and he missed. That earned her a glare.

"You know that I don't work that way, Derrick. You wanna fire me go ahead. But I don't play touchy feely with any guy." 

Cullen grinned again. She was amusing. Her tone was assertive and she seemed to be in control so he let her protect herself. It was nice to see that some people could. Cullen missed the end of their conversation to his swimming brain and his own thoughts. The guy disappeared back into his office and Aislinn was walking toward him when he looked up.

"So where is this friend of yours anyway?" She said. He could hear an edge of concern in her voice when she said that. She stared at Cullen and then over at the door.

"You know what," Cullen said and eyed the office door. "If you need a ride home or something…" His voice trailed off as he looked at her.

Aislinn's eyes meet his again. She couldn't help see there was something in there. He was just one of those people she knew could be trusted in the same way she knew that Derrick couldn't be. At the same time logic dictated that she not accept rides from drunken strangers. "No thanks." She walked over to the main doors and looked out. There wasn't anyone there and the parking lot was abandoned except for a large black SUV and Derrick's crappy red Honda. Presumably he SUV belonged to this Cullen guy. She was considering calling a taxi. It would cost her but at least that was safer than any of her other options at the moment. Aislinn turned around to find Cullen standing directly behind her with a confused, appraising look on his face. 

He just couldn't put his finger on it. He wasn't sure what she smelled like. But he was starting to think that he liked it, whatever it was. He figured that if it weren't for the alcohol he probably wouldn't be being so introspective or even care. The worst part was that he wanted a closer inspection. Not that she'd submit to that. She wouldn't even let him give her a ride. She was standing there looking at him cautiously. He closed his eyes and smiled good-naturedly, shaking his head. He could just imagine her reaction if he said something like, I'll give you a ride home, you can take a shower, then you can let me smell you. He chuckled again. Alcohol hadn't felt this good in ages. And he didn't even feel that good. It's pretty sad with a little bit of amusement caused by a random female and alcohol beats out everything else in your life, he thought.

Aislinn could see the thoughts spinning through his head. He was amusing himself with whatever it was he was thinking. She couldn't help wondering what it was. He certainly had a pleasant smile. As he was standing there she finally saw what was making him smell so foul. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans under his duster. Everything he was wearing was black, so in the gloomy bar with all the smoke and him sitting behind the bar she hadn't noticed. But now that he was standing, with the coat open in the light from the main entrance she could see what appeared to be blood all over the front of him. She wasn't an expert but she was pretty positive from the smell that it wasn't human blood. That had a more coppery smell to it. She had caught that smell coming from people a number of times. People were always getting hurt. The smell of human blood wasn't pleasant but it wasn't this foul either. 

Cullen saw the look on her face and followed her gaze to the front of his clothes. When he realized what she was staring at he pulled the duster closed and looked up at her again. That had sobered him up a bit. He had nearly forgotten the fight with the vamp he'd gotten himself into on his way home. Then he didn't manage to make it home. This time when their eyes met they seemed to be staring into each other, trying to read the other's mind. That was when another large black SUV pulled into the lot.

Aislinn turned to look at who was pulling in. "This your friend?"

"Yhea, I think so," he said, still looking at her. He didn't want to be done with this yet. She had obviously seen the blood. Didn't she even care?

Aislinn looked back over his shoulder, and then sidled past him. "Excuse me." She half jogged, half walked toward the bar and jumped over it in one motion. Cullen noted the athletic ability that her non-athletic build masked. She grabbed some stuff from behind the bar and then came around the side, all the while watching the office door. As she came back toward the main entrance she called back to the office, "Derrick, that guy's ride's here. I'm leaving."

Before Derrick could get out of the office to stop her she had moved passed Cullen again and out into the parking lot. "Have a good night," she waved and walked hurriedly toward the street.

The guy from the office came trotting across the floor and stared out the door after her but she had managed to get out to the road and was on her way toward town. "Shit," he said and glared at Cullen.

Cullen could see the look in the man's eyes and knew that whether it was tonight or some other night Aislinn was in danger. Something in Cullen was outraged at the thought. But the alcohol was making it difficult for him to think beyond doing something unfortunate to the man right then and there. 

Keith walked up to Cullen as Derrick ushered him the rest of the way out the entrance and closed the door and locked it without a word. Derrick would never know how close he came to being ripped to shreds that night.

Keith followed Cullen's gaze as he watched Aislinn walking quickly down the road. "Hey, you alright?"

"Yhea," Cullen answered and looked over at his friend as he was led toward the SUV. "Congratulate me. I'm engaged to be mated." 

Keith understood. He shook his head. He couldn't believe that Cullen was going along with this. It wasn't the way the Arnauk operated. As they neared the SUV Liam stepped out. Cullen threw Liam the keys to the truck that he'd driven here and Liam headed for the other vehicle. Keith headed for his side of the car. As they were getting in Cullen saw Derrick appear out the side of the bar and head for the beat up car at the other side of the lot.

"Do me a favor," Cullen said. "Consider it a condemned man's last request. Follow that guy."

Keith stared at Cullen a minute and then shrugged. Putting the truck in gear he headed after the guy. It didn't make any sense but who was he to argue with Lord General Cullen Arnauk. "You gonna tell me why we're following him?"

Cullen smiled sardonically. "Cuz he's an ass and I want a reason to rip his throat out."

"Alright." Keith wasn't used to Cullen being like this. Firstly, he didn't get drunk. Secondly, he didn't disappear and then need rides summoned by strange girls in the middle of the night. Thirdly, he didn't show interest in human females. And if that wasn't enough, he didn't chase human males around regardless of his intentions on them. Keith looked over at Cullen appraisingly. He knew that being forced into mating with Jenna Tairneach was the last thing in existence that he wanted.

"Faigh muin," Cullen swore vehemently and brought Keith's attention back to the situation. Keith slammed on the brakes and Cullen dove out of the car before Keith could see what the problem was. 

***

Aislinn had been walking as fast as she could. She was just praying that she could reach her crappy apartment before Derrick could get his act together. It was only a ten minute walk from the bar but if he got in his car relatively quickly he'd be able to catch up.

When Derrick pulled in front of her, cutting her off, she knew that she was in trouble. Aislinn headed for the other side of the road as Derrick got out and followed her. "Hey Ais, are you sure you don't want a ride?" he slurred.

God, I wonder how much he drank tonight? Aislinn's mind raced. He was between her and her apartment. Just one more block. Momentarily she thought she might be able to get around him. She was rather quick. Then there was the other option. He had tried this once before. She had cold cocked him and he had left her alone for a week. "Do you want me to hit you again?"

"You bitch," he said with a wicked glare. "You really do think you're too good for me. I'll teach you this time." 

Aislinn set herself up in a defensive stance. As Derrick got closer she balled her hands into fists and punched him square in the face. Derrick grunted, but managed to catch himself just before he fell over. "Damn bitch!" he said, spitting out blood. "You on steroids or something?"


Leader of the Pack Ch. 01



Aislinn took the opportunity to try and run around him but he yanked a black boxlike thing out of his pocket and caught her in the side with it as she tried to run. Aislinn felt the electric shock shoot through her body. Suddenly everything spun and she lost control of her legs. She found herself lying on the ground in confusion, unable to move and staring up at Derrick. He held up the black box and pushed a button so that she could see what he had done. Electricity jumped across the electrodes on the end of the taser. Derrick smiled an evil smile. "I bet you feel just as good unconscious as not."

A low growl caught Derrick's attention and he turned around but all he could see were shadows down the street. He figured he needed to work quick before the stun wore off. Derrick shocked Aislinn again for good measure and shoved the taser back in his pocket. He had something more permanent in the car to deal with her. But he had to carry her over there. Another growl caught his attention and he looked behind him to see that guy Aislinn had been waiting on standing there out of nowhere. The guy didn't say anything and his face was shadowed where he stood with a street lamp behind him.

"Mind your own business," Derrick spit at him and headed for his car with Aislinn slung over his shoulder. 

Cullen lost it. He couldn't believe that the piece of caoch would still be trying to get away with this even after being caught. He stepped up and knocked Derrick's feet out from under him. As Derrick fell Cullen grabbed Aislinn and pulled her to himself. The stun was starting to wear off and she looked up into his face. His eyes were like molten pools of amber. It was almost hypnotic. They seemed to swim between dark brown almost black and glowing gold.

Derrick stood up swearing and pulled the taser out again. He headed toward Cullen and Aislinn and jabbed the device at them. Cullen took the shock in his arm and then shook his head at the guy. Derrick finally figured out that this was not going to go his way. He turned and made a dash for his car but somehow Cullen was there first. Derrick tried the taser again but Cullen only grunted as the shock went through him and grabbed Derrick by the wrist that was holding the gun. There was a disgusting crunching sound and Derrick's screaming as Cullen's hand squeezed around Derrick's wrist and the bones gave under the pressure. 

Aislinn was still a bit dazed as she watched Cullen beat Derrick to the ground and then toss the guy in the backseat of his car. Then as if nothing had happened Cullen came walking over to her. "Are you sure you don't want that ride home?" he asked.

Aislinn swallowed deliberately. She just didn't get it. "Why did you do that?"

Cullen watched her. She still wasn't afraid of him. This little human girl had just been attacked and watched him throttle her boss. He knew that she had seen his eyes turn. He's almost gone all the way. The alcohol was warping his sense of control. "I don't really know," he said honestly.

Cullen knew that Keith was watching from the truck. He could see the black SUV down the road a ways. "That ride?" he asked again.

"I just live a block down from here."

"Then I'll walk you." It wasn't an offer. 

Aislinn could tell from the tone in his voice that he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. She took a deep breath. "Fine, it's this way."

Cullen walked with her toward her apartment building. "I think you need a new job."

Aislin harrumphed at him. "Yhea, well you gonna give me one? Here's my resume. College dropout with minimal bartending experience seeks nice stable job not working for an ass." She refused to look at him and he knew there were tears in her eyes from the shaky way she finished the statement.

"Alright, you're hired," he said.

She stopped and looked at him incredulously. "Are you for real?"

Now he could see the glassy eyes. He wasn't sure if it had been his question or everything that had just happened that had caused her to be suddenly upset but he didn't like the idea that it might be his fault. 

"What do you mean?" she persisted when he didn't explain himself.

"I have some influence with a number of different businesses in town. I can give you a job. Secretary, waitress if you really want."

Aislinn wasn't sure if she should take him seriously or not. "Who are you? Superman?"

Cullen chuckled and one corner of his mouth turned up in that amused smile he'd been wearing off and on all night. "I prefer Batman. I don't think I could pull off red and blue tights and Batman had better toys."

Aislinn shook her head. "I think you've done enough for me at this point," she said cautiously.

Cullen rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance. "Why is it that people never do the smart thing when it's right in front of them? Look, I'm just offering you a legitimate job. You shouldn't have to put up with a creep like that."

Aislinn glared at him. What right did he have to be angry with her? It's not like she'd asked for his help. "And what about the other girls there? You gonna give all the people working for Derrick jobs elsewhere? Why are you so concerned with me?"

"Honestly?" Cullen ran his hand through his hair and looked back toward where the black SUV was parked. He knew that Keith was sitting behind the tinted windows watching the scene. "I don't really know. No, I'm not going help out everyone working in that dive. But I thought I might be able to help you out. If you want to keep working for that guy, be my guest. But my guess is that when he gets a grip after what I did to him he's gonna be looking to take it out on someone. Who do you think is going to end up the target?" He was suddenly feeling very sober and didn't like it. 

Aislinn stood in silence for a minute staring at nothing on the ground. "You're right. I'm gonna have to quit. I can't stay there now. It would have been one thing if I'd just beat him off like last time. But you really screwed this up."

Cullen growled at her. "Would you have rather-"

"Let me finish." Aislinn interrupted him. Cullen was shocked into silence. No one interrupted him. "No I wouldn't rather the alternative. But you didn't have to put him in the hospital."

"He's not in the hospital. At least I don't see you running to call an ambulance." Cullen shook his head. "You know what? Just forget it. I'm sorry I interfered." He turned and started to head for the SUV.

Aislinn watched him leaving for a moment. "Shit, wait!" She was standing there nervously. "God, why does the smart thing have to feel so crappy? Look, I just don't like owing people anything. And I seem to be accumulating quite the bill with you. First you come out of no where and," she shifted her weight from foot to foot, "well you know what you did. Now you want to give me a real job. How the hell am I supposed to pay you back for this stuff?"

Cullen could understand how she was feeling. He didn't like owing people either. "You can call us even for the first thing, considering you spent half your shift keeping an eye on me and then making sure I got home all right." She looked like she was about to argue but an authoritative look from Cullen kept her silent. Even if the glare she threw at him was screaming that she didn't think it was an even trade off. "And as far as the job goes, I'm just offering you a job. Intelligent reliable people are hard to come by. It's not as big a favor as you might think."

"I'm really not in a position to turn you down." Aislinn was feeling trapped. But she knew better than to think that it would be at all feasible to go back to her job at the Blood Pit.

Cullen nodded. He started searching his pockets. Then looked up at her. "Got a piece of paper and a pen?"

Aislinn opened her purse and started rooting around inside. "Now you're asking a lot." After a moment she shook her head. "Not with me. But I know I have one inside." She pulled her keys out and without another thought about letting a complete stranger into her apartment she headed up the stairs and opened the main door. Cullen followed along behind.

Keith watched out the window as Cullen headed up the stairs with the girl he had just rescued. None of it made any sense. He was torn between getting out and following them and just asking Cullen what the hell he was doing. It was late and he wanted to go back to his bed. 

Cullen was still just drunk enough to completely forget that Keith was waiting outside. The elevator was out of order so they headed up three flights of stairs. The place was entirely unpleasant. He couldn't help the look on his face when Aislinn opened the door to her apartment and then looked at him to come in. 

"I know the place is pretty awful. But the rent is cheap." She was more than a little embarrassed by letting him see the place. She lived in an efficiency in the bad part of town. There's only one look for places like that. Dark, dingy, dirty, rundown, and crappy. The only thing worse would be being homeless. The one room she was in had wallpaper that was tattered and old in the 70's. She had a mattress on the floor in one corner and the kitchen was only functional because of the microwave she got at the local Goodwill. She tossed her purse down on the table. She was kicking herself for letting him in here. She could just imagine where he probably lived if he was able to say that he had influence over a number of businesses in town. She rummaged through some things on a small table in the kitchen/dining/living area of the room and managed to produce a pen and paper.

Cullen could see the embarrassment on her face when she handed him the stuff without looking him in the eyes for the first time that night. He put the paper on the table and wrote a name, number, and address on the paper. Then he wrote something else underneath that. "Here," Cullen handed her the paper and she looked over the information. "Go to the address there. The guy you want to talk to is Liam Arnauk. Tell him that Cullen sent you. I wrote him a note there. He'll give you a job."

Aislinn looked over the paper. The note he had written on the bottom of it wasn't written in English, but she could read it. "The girl's name is Aislinn. I'd appreciate if you found her a job. I'll call us even if you manage something good. Cullen." 

Cullen was stunned. It took a lot to surprise him. But this girl had managed one thing after another tonight. "You read Gaelic?"

Aislinn was pleased by the shocked look on his face. She smiled at him smugly. "Actually I read and speak several languages. Gaelic is one of them."

"How? No one in the US bothers with Gaelic." He couldn't help the curiosity. Who was she?

"I wasn't always living in crapholes like this and waiting tables in bars to make ends barely meet. Before I came here I was a college student. I was studying folklore and dead languages. Gaelic may not be completely dead, but it's pretty close. I find it interesting. Actually I was wondering why you were using it. Studying something like that in college is one thing. But it looks like you're using it on a casual basis. And 'no one in the US bothers with Gaelic.'" Aislinn mocked good-naturedly. She could tell by the incredulous look on his face that she had managed to get a little passed his guard and that didn't happen often.

"My entire family speaks Gaelic. We just always have." He was giving her that appraising look again. Cullen couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer. He stepped in close to her and moving very slowly so as not to scare her he leaned down and smelled her hair. 

Aislinn felt an almost electric surge shoot through her as he stood so close to her. Her heart began pounding. At this proximity she could still smell the awful odor of whatever the blood on his clothes belonged to, but she also got a much stronger scent of him. 

They both just stood there breathing. Neither of them wanting to move. Cullen had never felt this compelled to touch a woman before in his life. Aislinn didn't know if she wanted him to go or stay. When they finally moved they just stood staring into each other's eyes as if they were trying to understand what was happening. But neither of them could wrap their brains around the situation. 

Finally Cullen gently reached out and cupped his hand along the side of her face. Warmth spread from the touch through Aislinn's body. Cullen ran his thumb slowly over her parted lips. She took in a sharp breath as shock waves seemed to travel through her from the place where he touched. All the sensations were amazingly strong and resulted in a heat forming between her legs. 

The minute the scent of her arousal hit him Cullen felt his wolf surge like nothing he'd ever experienced. No battle or woman before now had ever summoned his spirit like this. He wanted her and there was nothing else in the world right at that moment. Just this enigmatic female standing proudly in front of him, challenging him, and drawing him in. He still couldn't place her scent. It wasn't lycan, was it? But it wasn't completely human either. Could he even be drawn like this to something that was neither human or lycan? Was she fey? Maybe a druid? But he thought he knew those scents as well. Maybe the alcohol and all the competing smells from the evening were messing with his senses. He wanted to know.

Aislinn stared at him. She wanted him to do more. She couldn't believe how badly she wanted him to do more. She cursed herself for not being able to keep control. He was a complete stranger. An incredible, sexy, kind, complete stranger. As she stared into his eyes they changed again. It was like staring into molten gold. There were dark fleck swimming in this iridescent amber around his pupils. Aislinn felt herself being pulled in, as though she could be happily lost in those eyes.

Cullen felt his wolf taking too much control. He forced himself to pull his hand away from her and step back. It wasn't until he wrenched himself back into the moment that he realized his eyes had shifted. She was just standing there staring. He could smell her arousal, hear her breathing, he could almost feel her heart beat thudding in time with his own. When he felt the stirring in his pants he knew that things had gone way too far. His brain was screaming, You don't even know what she is! But his heart, soul, and wolf were insisting, Take her. 

Cullen closed his eyes, breathing heavily, willing himself to get control of himself. Aislinn watched as he seemed to be trying to gain a measure of composure. She couldn't help herself. She really didn't want him to stop. She stepped toward him and placed her hand on his chest. "Are you all right?" she said breathlessly. This is insane, Aislinn thought, Derrick tries to rape me and now I'm encouraging my would be protector to do who knows what. This just didn't make sense. It was as though her body had taken over and it wanted this man, badly.

When her hand touched his chest Cullen thought he might lose it. He needed to leave or rip her clothes off. He settled for something in the middle. Leaning into her he pressed his lips to hers. The entire room seemed to spin and it wasn't from the alcohol. The kiss was long and lingering. Neither of them wanted to stop. Aislinn felt her heart in her throat, goose bumps ran down her body, and she could feel the heat between her legs intensify.

The kiss became more and more inflamed. Cullen gently bit at her upper lip and she parted her lips to allow him to taste her. He snaked his tongue into her mouth and brushed against her tongue. Their breathing became increasingly ragged and Cullen's hands managed to find their way along her waist, move under her shirt, and then drift deftly upward as he began to explore her body. When he reached her breasts Aislinn let out a soft encouraging moan that soaked into Cullen's mind and called his wolf up full force. He wasn't going to be able to stop it if this continued. His mind was trying desperately to regain control of the situation while knowing that the fight had already been lost.

When the tentative knock came on the door Cullen turned suddenly toward it as if he had been startled and growled menacingly at the unknown intruder. For a brief moment he was in guardian mode and would have attacked anyone who came through that door. At the second knock reality grabbed hold of him and Cullen was able to reassert his mind over his wolf.

Aislinn watched Cullen's reaction and heard the growl issue from his chest. It was like some kind of weird guard dog sound. She remembered the sound in the street when Derrick had attacked her and knew it must have been Cullen as well. Oddly she wasn't bothered by it. She didn't really know why it didn't bother her. A third knock on her door and she moved to see who could possibly be knocking. The only thing that kept her from locking the door instead of opening it was the fact that Cullen had proven himself more than able of handling the situation should something terrible be on the other side of the door. 

Aislinn took a deep breath and willed her heart to stop racing in her chest. She looked back at Cullen before she opened the door. He was staring at it readily, as though he expected something bad on the other side. But his eyes had returned to normal brown and he stopped growling. So she opened the door. 

Aislinn recognized the guy who had been knocking as Cullen's friend who had come to get him. She realized that he must have been waiting for Cullen all this time. She really wasn't sure how long they had been standing there kissing. But if Keith hadn't come knocking she was fairly certain that it would have gone much farther.

Cullen eyed Keith standing there and then let his head roll over his shoulders and sighed heavily. He knew logically that it was a good thing Keith had shown up. The last thing Cullen should have been doing was having sex with some girl he'd met tending bar. No matter how intriguing she was. No matter how much he wanted to take her. For a brief instant Cullen's wolf reared its head again and Cullen considered telling Keith to get lost. But instead he headed toward the door. 

"Like I said," Cullen looked at Aislinn with a long suffering stare telling her he wished things were different, "take that note to Liam. He'll take care of the rest. It was…good to have met you."

Aislinn felt as though she wanted to cry. None of this made sense. Why should it hurt so bad that this complete stranger was leaving instead of staying to have sex with her? If she didn't know better she would have thought that her heart was mistaking Cullen for someone she had been in love with all her life. "Yhea, thanks," was all she could muster.

Cullen almost changed his mind about leaving when he saw the glassy look in her eyes. But it just wasn't something he could do. He was supposed to be mated to Jenna. The arrangements were made. He shouldn't be having sex with some random girl. This was probably just his subconscious trying to get him in trouble and out of the arrangement. He nodded at Aislinn, pushed passed Keith and headed down the stairs at nearly a run. When he reached the street he let out a yell and punched a nearby signpost hard enough to bend it in half.

Keith was completely baffled by the situation. He followed Cullen in silence to the SUV. They both got in and Keith started driving before he finally got up the nerve to ask, "What was that?"

"I've found myself saying 'I don't know' to similar questions repeatedly tonight. Just drop it."

The tone in Cullen's voice was dangerous and Keith didn't really know what, if anything, he could or should say. So they drove back to the den in silence. 



Leader of the Pack Ch. 02



Aislinn put on what she considered to be her best interview clothes. The outfit consisted of a pair of black dress pants, a white button up shirt, and a shear black scarf she tied at her neck. She put on a pair of black heels and combed her hair into a twist at the back of her head. She didn't really know what kind of business was at the other end of the address, but she figured that the look was conservative enough for just about anything and not overly dressy. She had bought the clothes to attend a funeral and hadn't been given another opportunity to wear them. 

She took one last look at herself in the mirror before pocketing the piece of paper she'd been given and heading downstairs. She'd been putting this off for more than a week. When she had gone into work at the bar the day after she had met Cullen she found out that Derrick had ended up in the hospital after all. Luke said that he'd been told Derrick would be out for a couple of weeks or more.

When Derrick had initially gotten to the hospital he'd been unconscious. Some nice passerby doing a good deed had called the ambulance. Aislinn had decided to wait and see what would happen. She hoped that he wouldn't want to admit to what had actually happened because he wouldn't want to have to deal with her accusing him of attempted rape. But when he woke up he fired her, then he decided to press charges against her for battery. She was arrested and spent the night in jail before Renee and Luke managed to put together bail money.

The story she ended up getting was that Derrick claimed she tried to steal some money from the register that night. Supposedly he caught her and she took off with the money. He chased her down and she and some big guy that Derrick didn't know beat him up and left him for dead. When Aislinn told the cops what had really happened they suggested she bring up charges of attempted assault. 

Everything was going to hell. Aislinn hadn't wanted to accept this job after Cullen had taken off after that kiss like there had been something wrong with it. She didn't understand why she felt betrayed by that. It was all too strange. On top of that there was the court case, and now she owed Renee and Luke a lot of money. She tried to find another job at a different bar but Derrick apparently had a few friends and no one was hiring Aislinn. So she finally decided that she needed the money too badly to let her pride get in the way of taking the job she had been offered.

Aislinn had been so caught up in her misery that she didn't pay attention o where the taxi was going. When the taxi pulled up in front of Taigh-osda, the restaurant/bar/hotel attached to the most popular casino in town, the Madadh-Alluidh Saobhaidh, was positive that he had to have the wrong address. "Are you sure this is it?" 

"Yhea lady. That'll be 13 even." 

Aislinn handed the guy her last twenty and accepted her change. She took a deep breath and turned around, heading for the restaurant. When she got to the front door of the popular steak house a girl in expensive looking heels, a knee-length brown skirt, and a white silky shirt opened and held the door for her. "Welcome to Tigh-osda," the girl said warmly. Aislinn immediately felt as if she were in over her head.

Aislinn walked in with as much confidence as she could manage and headed for the front desk. An incredibly attractive dark haired woman with a clip board approached her. The woman's eyes were the same kind of dark brown as Cullen's and from the look of the woman she could have been his sister. Aislinn wondered if she had ever met a more attractive woman in her life. 

"Do you have a reservation?"

"Um, no," Aislinn said. She pulled the paper out of her purse, noticing that her purse didn't match her shoes and wondered if the woman she was talking to noticed. "I'm here to see Liam about a job. Cullen sent me." She held out the paper to the woman.

The woman's dark eyes showed obvious shock and uncertainty. Aislinn was fairly certain that this woman wouldn't have believed her if it weren't for the note. 

"Okay," the woman said haltingly. "Uh, wait here a minute. I'll go get Liam." She handed Aislinn back the paper and she headed through a door just off to the right of the desk. 

Aislinn had to step out of the way as a couple came up to the desk and a different woman, also very attractive and with a similar look to the other approached the couple and spoke with them quietly. Then the couple was led off toward the restaurant entrance. As Aislinn waited she couldn't help take in the delicious smell of steak that was wafting from the restaurant. Once the initial nervousness of the situation wore off some she decided to look around a bit while she waited. She took a few steps through the hotel lobby so that she could get a view of the inside of the restaurant through the entrance. 

The lighting was low and the booths were high backed and mostly private so she couldn't tell how many customers were there. But it was relatively early. The place probably picks up when the casino opens, she thought as she glanced across the elegant lobby to the casino entrance that was opposite the restaurant. The Taigh-osda had only opened for lunch about an hour before she showed up. So it was still pretty early. The casino was pretty empty yet as well. But both venues were definitely more of a night life kinda thing. She knew of this place by reputation and it appeared well deserved. 

The lobby was decorated with an old celtic feel. The floors and walls were cut, carved stone and large wooden beams arched up to the ceiling. The beams were decorated with elaborately carved gaelic sayings that were most likely wasted on the average patron. But Aislinn was entranced by the intricacy and the beauty of it all. There were stained glass murals high on the walls that through beautifully colored shadows across the floor from the sunlight streaming in. There were tapestries lining the stone walls and sconces holding lighting that looked remarkably like flames. It was as though she had stepped into some different city. No wonder this place gets so much attention, she thought. 

As she waited she contemplated the names of the two businesses. The name of the restaurant, Taigh-oèsda, was actually "the pub" or "hotel" in gaelic. The name of the casino, Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh, was "wolf den". She thought about Cullen's eyes and the growling. She didn't really know how to take it all. She was smart enough to make the movie world guess and jump to really insane conclusions. But she just couldn't force that thought into her head. At the same time, she thought, I wouldn't have ever believed that there were druids until I'd had to run away from their creepy culty "circle." 

It wasn't too long before the woman returned and then asked Aislinn to come with her. She led the way back through the door next to the desk, passed a set of doors that waiters and waitresses were going in and out of on the wall that would have shared with the restaurant, and toward a similar set of doors farther down the hall. "This way," she said with a smile. The woman hesitated a minute and turned to look at Aislinn. Her eyes flashed with curiosity. "I'm sorry I just have to ask, how do you know, uh, Cullen?" Aislinn noted the strange emphasis the woman placed on his name. Almost as if Aislinn shouldn't have been allowed to use it. The tone reminded Aislinn of a parent pointing out to a child that she should be more formal when speaking of adults.

Aislinn had really hoped that question wouldn't come up. She cleared her throat. "He helped me out last week. Uh, he thought the guy I worked for wasn't very nice and suggested I get a job elsewhere."

The woman looked at her as if she didn't believe what Aislinn said, but didn't press the issue farther. She just turned around and led the way through a door at the end of the hall into an office. There was a man in a gray suit shuffling paperwork at a desk. He looked up and motioned for Aislinn to come in. The woman immediately headed back out the way they had come in.

He looked up at Aislinn with a piercing dark stare. Aislinn stared right back. He looked older than Cullen, but again there were those strange dark brown eyes and dark hair. Liam was much paler in skin tone than the woman or Cullen, as if he spent all his time in doors behind a desk. He seemed to be trying to see through Aislinn, but she put up her standard wall and waited for him to be done appraising her and say something. 

"Meghan said that Cullen sent you here with a note for me." Aislinn stepped toward the desk and handed the man the note that Cullen had written. He looked it over and then looked up at Aislinn with more of an interested gaze than before. "Okay, so do you have any experience with waitressing?"

"My last job was tending bar. But I'm a quick study," Aislinn offered.

The man nodded and looked back at the note. It was pretty obvious that this kind of thing didn't happen often. Somehow it made Aislinn feel good to know that Cullen didn't go around getting every woman he met a job. "Well Aislinn, I do have an opening for a new waitress. When can you start?"

There wasn't even an interview really. Aislinn filled out the paperwork, was given a tour of the place by Meghan, and was told what to buy as a uniform. That evening she went to the store and spent the last of the rent money on appropriate clothes for her new job. As she did it she wondered what her landlord was going to do when she didn't have rent on time. She shook her head. There wasn't anything she could do about it.





Leader of the Pack Ch. 02



Cullen tapped his pen on his desk with annoyance. "Jenna, I'm not going to deal with this right now. But I want you to think about what you just said to me and how exactly it would affect the legitimacy of your heirs. Or more accurately, your father's heirs. He's the reason we're both in this. If you can't handle the situation then you need to find a different patsy for your needs. Whatever they may be. I'm just the poor schlep who owed your dad too much to say no. This is how it is. You either cope or don't go through with it. Now, go home. Decide. I'll talk with you later this week." His glare held all the vehemence that was missing from his voice. 

Jenna realized all too suddenly that she was about to get stuck in a forcibly monogamous relationship with a lycan who really wasn't the least bit interested in anything other than repaying her father and just intelligent enough to make her plans difficult. Her father underestimated her. He believed that she was weak because she wasn't a fighter. But she wasn't as dense as he thought. What she needed was an alpha without a brain and who she could manipulate. A lycan strong enough to hold the wolves at bay but weak minded enough to let her lead. She was becoming increasingly more concerned that Cullen wasn't going to be appropriate for her needs. He was too clever. At the same time if she let him unite the packs and then got rid of him then the Tairneach line would run twice the territory her father had. Maybe then her father would see what she was worth. That is if the old man didn't die before she could finish.

Cullen watched her eyes and could see the flashes of emotion. Whatever her thought process was, he didn't like the look of it. He waited for her to refocus on him. He didn't trust her. Brennus's only daughter and she was becoming more and more like her mother. As Cullen watched Jenna he remembered what Brennus had said about her. She needed a strong hand. Brennus had implied that he would prefer than any power over the Tairneach pack be passed directly from Cullen to Cullen's choice of an heir and bypass his daughter completely, as long as the child was born from Jenna. 

Cullen had been there when Jenna's mother had been tried for attempting to kill Brennus. The man had put her to death and then coddled his infant daughter. He had loved Jenna's mother so deeply that he had put up with her attempts to kill him until it threatened to disrupt the pack and then had not touched another woman since her sentencing. He doted on Jenna. Cullen was torn between feeling sorry for the man and being pissed as hell that his supposed friend had just sentenced him to a similar fate. How the hell am I going to get out of this?

Cullen cleared his throat in exasperation and jogged Jenna out of her thought process. Just as quickly as her sweet demeanor had vanished it reappeared again. "The least you could do is take me to dinner before I leave," she purred and batted her eyes at him.

His jaw tightened and he contemplated the displeasure of having dinner with anyone other than Aislinn. Then he kicked himself for not being able to get the girl out of his head. "Fine, I need to finish this," he said and shuffled some paperwork on his desk. "Go to the great room. I'll come for you in about an hour. We'll have dinner downstairs and then you'll return to the Tairneach manor."

Jenna sweetly smiled her grateful acceptance. "Then I'll be waiting in the great room." Jenna walked out of the office pissed. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to get away with as much as she originally thought. The weight of the situation was getting heavier and heavier. She hated her father for having dragged Cullen into this. She hated Cullen for having gone along with it. She even hated herself a little for not being physically strong enough to carry the Tairneach line without help. But she wasn't giving up just yet. She would either get Cullen to give in and let her have some influence or she'd get rid of him. At the moment she was leaning toward the later.

Cullen shifted his attention back to his primary concern for the moment. He sorted the reports in front of him into several piles; reports on the raids in his territory, the reports on the packs believed to be behind the raids, the reports on the political situations within the neighboring packs, and the pile he hated most, the reports on who within his own pack may be helping the raiders. He growled his frustration. He had read the reports over and over looking for a pattern or connection and was yet to find one. It only served to remind him of why his mating to Jenna was necessary. It would reinforce his numbers and keep his northern border friendly.





Leader of the Pack Ch. 03



Aislinn went through the motions of serving dinner and completing the rest of her chores for that evening. Cullen and his date who, Aislinn managed to find out from another member of the kitchen staff, was actually his fiancé ate their dinner in relatively short order and then left. Jenna had been conspicuously silent on all the subsequent visits that Aislinn had to make to the table and Cullen had managed to catch her eyes with an apologetic stare at one point. 

Aislinn sat in the back of the taxi on her way home. She felt rich in her ability to afford the small luxury each night. Walking would have taken at least an hour. But she would have done it if it had been necessary. She figured that if tips continued the way they were that she would be able to afford to move out of her crappy apartment and closer to the restaurant in relatively short order. She was calculating how much time it would take for her to pay for her missed rent, pay back her friends for her jail break, afford an attorney to deal with Derrick's lawsuit, and then move into town. Anything to keep her mind off of Cullen.

The taxi finally pulled up in front of her place and she slid out of the car, paid with some of her tips from that night, and headed toward the steps. When a figure moved out of the shadows near the main entrance and reached for her she turned, leaned back, and delivered a forceful kick to the figure's chest. 

Cullen staggered back into the wall holding his chest and trying to catch his breath. He had to admit it had been a long time since anyone caught him off guard like that and he was shocked that she had been strong enough to knock him backward even with that consideration. He was still trying to catch his breath when she glared at him and headed inside without a word.

Aislinn fumed as she virtually ran up the stairs to her apartment. What the hell is he doing here? She barely managed to get her key out and go inside before he appeared at the top of the stairs. She slammed the door and walked across the room, threw her purse and coat on the table and kicked her shoes off. After a few minutes without a knock on the door she figured he must have gotten the message and left. She paced a bit before she decided that she wouldn't be able to calm down unless she looked to see. 

Aislinn walked over to the door and stared at it a minute. When she started to feel like a complete fool she took the locks off and pulled the door open only to find she was face to face with Cullen. He took a deliberate step into her apartment forcing her back until he was able to close the door. They just stood there staring at each other without talking. Neither of them knew what to say. 

Cullen finally started, "I need to apologize to you for Jenna-"

Annoyed, Aislinn cut him off. "No you don't. Why should you have to apologize?"

Cullen just wasn't used to people behaving with him the way she did. He smiled, chuckled and shook his head. "Do you have any idea how unique you are?"

Aislinn glared at him. She didn't get what he was trying to say. All she knew was that she could smell him and he was so close. She couldn't stop herself from wanting him and that was making her angrier and a little scared. "Do you have any idea how much of a jerk you are?"

Cullen had to laugh. When he saw the confused look cross her face he explained. "Sorry it's just been a long time since anyone seriously called me a name to my face. I'm sure plenty is said behind my back but they generally make sure I don't find out."

"Are you really this full of yourself?"

He continued to smile. She growled under her breath. The smile finally dropped. There were too many odd things about her. He was tempted to just ask if she was some weird kind of lycan that he had never scented before. "Look, I just thought that I owed you a bit of an explanation. I know that we haven't exactly gotten off on the right foot."

"So what? Why exactly do you want to be friends so badly? I mean this is virtually stalking. In fact I'd say that you waiting outside my place is definitely stalking. I'll admit that I do owe you for saving my ass the other night and for getting me that job, Lord Arnauk. When I figure out how to pay you back I will. But for now I think it'd be a good idea for us to keep our distance from each other."

Cullen flinched a bit at the use of his title. He had never hated his position before, but between Jenna and Aislinn he almost wanted to disappear and let the rest fight it out and deal with the raids and the politics on their own. He nodded and headed back toward her door. As he got to the doorway he stopped and turned to look at her one last time before he left. "I guess I just thought maybe I wasn't the only one involved in that kiss the other night. I was hoping we could at least be on talking terms."

"At least on talking terms?" she was glaring at him and her tone hit him harder than her kick had. "What are you trying to do? Start a harem? From what I hear you're engaged to that blonde bitch."

"That's a long story," he said, no longer finding her amusing.

"Okay, so explain why you would be back here after the other night and then dinner tonight? Why you could come back here and imply that you think we should be friendly." She crossed her arms and stared at him, waiting.

Cullen shook his head. "You know what? Never mind. You're right. I shouldn't have come here. Sorry." With that Cullen left and closed the door behind himself.

Aislinn just stood there watching after him. As the argument she'd just had sunk in she threw herself down on her mattress sobbing. It was a long time before she fell asleep.

***

Aislinn was standing in the middle of the street in front of her apartment. It was eerily dark and quiet. There were no stars or moon and the light from the street lamps seemed to be absorbed into the air as though it was being eaten by the darkness. The only sound she could hear was her own breathing and heartbeat.

Aislinn looked up and down the street and felt as though she was being watched. She looked up at her apartment. It may have been a hole but it allowed for some protection. She briefly considered going up there but something in her told her that it just wasn't safe any longer. She looked down at herself and realized that she was completely naked. She didn't understand it but somehow it felt normal and safer to be naked than to be wearing clothes at that moment.

Suddenly out of the darkness she heard quiet whispering. Unintelligible and frightening. She didn't know what it was but she knew that she was in incredible danger. Something was coming for her. 

Aislinn turned and started running down the street. She didn't know where she was running to but she felt drawn through the darkness away from the whispering. Every time she stopped she could hear the whispering getting louder. She turned down one street and then another until the whispering was so close she couldn't stop to look around any longer. She needed to move faster. She could feel sweat running down her face and chest and back. The night air on her bare skin. Her feet slapping on the pavement. She needed to move faster. Slowly she felt herself changing. When she looked down she had fur and was on four feet. She was some kind of animal. But she was moving much more quickly now. 

As she kept running she could hear the whispering retreating a little into the darkness so she stopped again and looked around. Everything seemed brighter now somehow and she reasoned out that it was because she was looking through new eyes. She found that she was outside of the Taigh-oèsda. She walked into the lobby and as the doors shut behind her the whispering became angry and frustrated. She walked through the empty lobby and found herself looking at a reflection of herself in one of the large windows.

It was a fuzzy image. The darkness outside causing the soft light inside to turn the window into an imperfect mirror. She didn't recognize what she was looking at. She was on all fours and shadowy. She was staring intently into her reflection when a figure came up to the window. Terror froze her solid as Rafe stared at her a lurid smile on his face. She started to backup to get away from him but he was calling to her. Suddenly the voices came into sharp focus and she understood what the whispering was. They had found her again.

Aislinn sat bolt upright in bed. She was covered in sweat and the darkness in her small apartment was overwhelming. She jumped up and turned on the lights. She stared around the room into shadows that couldn't possibly hide anyone looking for Rafe. I had another premonition, she thought. Sometimes she wondered if it would be better to never dream. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes and concentrated on the last she remembered of the dream. She needed to get an impression of how close they were. How much time she had. And she wanted to know what the other parts had meant as well. Why she had turned into an animal and why she had felt safe at the Taigh-oèsda. 

***

Cullen parked his SUV in the private garage attached to the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh. He slammed the door shut and headed for the elevator. Once inside he inserted his key into the elevator panel and pressed the button for the 13th floor. The floor directly below that was mostly storage and empty. From the 11th floor down to the lobby was the public hotel and the main face of the casino. The basement, which also needed key access, held the private training and workout facilities and swimming pool, and holding cells for the rare times that they were needed, as well as the security suite that monitored the entire building. 

The 13th floor was the great room and the floor that contained guest quarters when people came to visit his pack. There was the movie room which was virtually a theatre, the game room, and a small kitchen/dining area. Cullen's rooms were on the penthouse floor and had access to the roof. His key was the only one that allowed access there. But for now he needed to take his frustration. He had briefly considered hitting a punching bag downstairs but that wouldn't assuage the problem in his pants that had been developing all day.

Between Jenna's teasing, which only disgusted him, and Aislinn's scent he felt as though the was going to explode. Upon entering the great room he spied one of his usual targets for this kind of outlet. Normally he didn't go looking for company except during hunts out at the reservation, but desperate times as they say, and Celia was always willing.

He approached her with a heated expression and she looked up at him with her hazel eyes and a welcoming smile. He didn't have to say anything to her. When she saw him coming she ended her conversation with the other women she had been watching TV with and stood up to meet the Alpha coming toward her. His determined look told her what he was after. 

Cullen looked Celia over. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. She had on no socks and no bra from the looks of things. Cullen growled low in his throat at the thought, That'll make it easier. He looked over at the couch and briefly considered taking all of them, alpha advantages after all, but then thought better of it. Celia, to date, hadn't gotten attached to him and he didn't want any additional female troubles right now.

Celia pushed a strand of brown hair out of her eyes and smiled at him in that innocent way of her that belied what she really was capable of. "I thought with Jenna around you wouldn't come looking for me any time soon," she said with a pleased sound to her tone.

"I'm not going to be very nice this evening Celia," he growled in warning.

Celia briefly considered that. It was as though she disliked rough sex. It was that he'd never felt the need to warn her about it before. In the end though she knew that she wouldn't turn down a chance to lie with him. She did a great job of giving him the impression that she could take or leave his company. But that was only because she had learned a long time ago that she would get more attention from him that way. There were about six females that Cullen had come to trade off in his bed over the years. Celia had become the unspoken leader of that small group of women and due mostly to her ability to appear off-hand and unconcerned with Cullen's preference for her she had quickly become the favorite for ending up in his bed on the rare occasions that he was in the mood for company.

Celia shrugged. "Whatever you want, General," she replied. She had never been upgraded as far as first name status. But she never stopped hoping.

Cullen turned and headed down one of the halls to a guest room. He never took any of the girls up to his actual rooms. Again, this was mostly to keep any of them from becoming too attached. He walked into the room and immediately took off his coat and shoes discarding them on the armchair off to the side of the door. When his shirt and pants followed in short order Celia knew that his comment had been even more serious than she had taken it. He was never this quick about undressing.

When he turned to her and she saw his angry face and his ready hard-on she knew that he was on a mission to get off and that was it. She felt a little scared. He had never inspired fear in her before. Without missing a beat he approached her and ripped her white t-shirt up and off. He only took a moment to run his hands down her breasts, waist, and stomach before unbuttoning her jeans and forcing them down over her hips. The fact that she wasn't wearing underwear only served to reinforce in his mind that he had picked right for this. 

Without a second thought to foreplay Cullen whirled Celia around and pushed her onto her knees on the bed. His eyes shifted and his wolf growled angrily at the fact that this wasn't the woman it wanted as Cullen climbed up behind her on the bed. He grabbed hold of Celia's hips and pulled her back onto his cock as he thrust it forward, not even checking to see if she was ready for him. 

Celia winced at his intrusion. She braced herself for the worst and spared herself a glance back at the angry lycan pounding into her from behind. One look at Cullen's face and Celia wished she had just taken it and not looked. He was staring at the wall above the head of the bed. His eyes were on fire and she imagine that this was the face his enemies saw just before he ripped their throats out. 

Celia turned away from the scene and closed her eyes, tears squeezing out from beneath her lids and focused on the number of times he had fucked her and the passion had more than made up for the lack of love in his touch. She just held onto the bed and took the punishment of his cock ripping into her over and over again. She wondered what had brought him to this kind of mood and then decided that she didn't really want to know that.

Cullen growled anger and frustration and he plunged into Celia. All he could think about what that shortly the body beneath him would be Jenna and that the one he wanted would eventually go to someone else. He forced himself into Celia knowing that he was probably hurting her. But he also knew that she was strong and could take it. He had seen her accept worse from others in the name of rough play. He never considered that she might see it as different coming from him. He felt his balls slap against her mound as he forced himself into her faster and harder. He closed his eyes and imagined Aislinn lying beneath him begging him to go harder and pleading for more. With the image solid in his mind he felt his sack tighten and pulled out of Celia just in time to spray her ass and back with his cum.

Falling back from her into a sitting position Cullen watched Celia slump down on the bed, burying her face in a pillow from the head of the bed. He knew that she didn't get anything out of what he had just done to her. Feeling guilty for using her like that he growled at himself and got up off the bed. Cullen rubbed his face with both hands and tried to block out everything that had happened that evening. 

Cullen started getting dressed, leaving Celia lying naked on the bed. "Sorry," he said simply as he grabbed his coat and shoes then headed out of the room without looking back.



Leader of the Pack Ch. 04



Cullen sat in his office staring out the window. He was still trying to wrap his brain around the latest information he had received. Originally he had believed that the raids his southern border was suffering were perpetrated by the La Rayne. Stephen La Rayne, alpha asshole, of that pack had always been trouble. When he wanted to torment the human population he had a tendency to do it on other people's land so that the branch of the American government that periodically monitored and helped to hide the lycan population would blame someone else. 

Cullen had been in the process of explaining to the feds that he knew about the raids, they weren't originating from his pack, and he was in the process of getting the situation under control. "Muin," he swore as he looked over the reports that showed the raids moving closer and closer to the city. That wasn't like La Rayne. He didn't go any farther than he had to and he didn't chance his men getting caught, which was a distinct possibility of going too deep into someone else's territory. 

At the moment the reports were scattered. The raids involved "animal-like men breaking into and searching buildings" in various locations. But he didn't know what they were looking for or why. He also was confused by the "animal-like" description. When it was lycans the description involved terms like wolf or large dog. The implication was that the raiders were lycan. 

The knock on the door had Cullen turning to see who was wanting to talk to him. Most everyone had been avoiding him like the plague considering his mood lately. "Come," he called angrily.

Keith stepped into the room. He walked over to a chair in front of Cullen's desk and sat down without being asked. He was one of a very few lycans who didn't care about Cullen's mood. Keith had been friends with the man too long to fear the mighty General Cullen Arnauk. "I've got word," he said as he propped his feet up on Cullen's desk. 

In an odd way Keith's disrespect and nonchalance made Cullen feel better. "So?"

Liam and Serra just got back from their little espionage mission. "From what they heard the raids are originating from a group that has pretty strong affiliation with the Circle." Cullen was speechless. Keith smiled. He knew that would come as a shock. "I knew you'd like that," he chuckled. "When was the last time the druids came out of hiding?"

"I don't even remember. The real druids disappeared after Rome. Coach," he swore under his breath. "I can only assume you mean the real druids and the real Circle."

Keith nodded. "Yup, the real Circle. So the real question is what do they want?"

Cullen's gaze drifted off into space as he considered the improbability of the situation. "Whatever they're after must be pretty significant for them to come out of hiding after all these centuries. Hell, even if they want something, raiding isn't the way they used to deal with things. Live and let live and all. The Circle I knew allowed themselves to be killed off and assimilated because they believed that was the way of things."

"Yhea, well look at it this way," Keith said, "if all the druids believed that was the way of things then there wouldn't be any left. Whoever is calling themselves the Circle at this point survived somehow and chances are that means that some of them didn't necessarily believe in the way of things."

Cullen agreed with is friend. "Okay so the Circle is behind the raids. But who or what is doing the raiding?"

"That we haven't really found out yet. No one has really seen anything other than the aftermath and 'animal-like' shadows. But from the sounds of it and from some research that Granad did we think it might be big cats of some kind. The Circle originally made lycans as guardians. If they're looking for something they're probably using hunters who are less likely to care about rules or trade loyalty for each other over loyalty for their creators the way we did. The raiders have been strong, have claws like you wouldn't believe, are quick, quiet, and managing to blend in and disappear. I'm guessing panthers, leopards, tigers, lions or some such. Hell maybe a combo. That would eliminate the possibility of a unified pride. You know how much the were-cats hate interbreeding. Wouldn't want to chance a mutt."

"Sounds like you've thought this out pretty thoroughly," Cullen said, feeling like he hadn't contributed at all.

"Well, Serra, Granad, Liam and the rest of us have noticed your distracted and we kinda get it. We're doing our best to get this monkey taken care of so that maybe the mating business won't be so overwhelming." Keith shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. "Actually we've been talking about that too."

"What," Cullen asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously on his friend.

"The mating. We just wanted you to know that the pack at large, at least those of us high enough in rank to have a countable opinion," Keith looked at Cullen sympathetically, "don't think it's necessary."

"You don't." Cullen leaned back in his chair. It was obvious that no amount of glaring was going to have any effect on Keith.

"No. The way we figure it, if Gregorius gets his hands on the alpha spot in the Tairneach then we get into a fight. So what? We've been at peace so long some of our guys are forgetting to watch their own backs. Maybe it's time again."

Cullen sighed. Keith thought he looked a lot older all of a sudden. "Thanks, but I put a lot of effort into what little peace we have. Besides, the last thing we need is another clan war. The feds would be all over us. I for one don't want to go through that again."

"But Jenna Tairneach?" Keith said with some disgust.

"Yhea, Jenna Tairneach. It's not like there are any other women higher up on my list," Cullen lied.

When Cullen's eyes dropped to his desk at that last comment Keith growled his frustration at his friend's behavior. "Whatever," he said in annoyance. "I would have thought even Celia a better match for you than that galla Jenna, but what do I know."

"Enough, the mating ceremony is tomorrow. Everything is set. I expect you and all the others to be at the manor on the reservation same as the Tairneachs will be. I just want to get it overwith."

Keith nodded and stood up from the chair. "Any other orders General?" He asked with a salute.

Cullen turned back to the window in dismissal. Another move that was totally unlike him when interacting with his friend. Keith stormed out angry that Cullen was being such an ass and not even willing to look into other options. 

***

Aislinn stood in the courtroom. Derrick was looking at her luridly from behind the prosecution's desk with his attorney. In the end Aislinn hadn't been able to afford much. She had at one point considered asking Lord Arnauk for help, but decided that no matter how good his lawyers probably were there was no way he would help her out after what she'd said to him that night.

Aislinn had asked Luke and Renee to testify on her behalf but no one had been willing to lose their job. So with her cut price lawyer and no witnesses the only thing she had to go on was the fact that she was half Derrick's size and didn't have enough money to hire a hitman. Her defense had been based on that and Derrick's previous history of sexual harassment. 

Aislinn stood in there waiting for the verdict and hoping that if she lost she'd have a fine and wouldn't have to go to jail and possibly lose her job. At the same time her premonitions were telling her that she wasn't safe in her apartment and there wouldn't be a place much safer than behind bars and being watched in jail. It's always good when jail becomes a good alternative to life, she thought with tears in her eyes.

Finally the judge came back into the courtroom. Everyone stood and then was told to be seated and then the defendant was asked to stand. Derrick was grinning as judge found Aislinn guilty of battery as a misdemeanor. She was fined $500.00, which to her sounded like a fortune, but at least it wasn't jail time. 

On her way out of the courtroom Derrick caught her and cornered her in the hall. She felt completely defenseless. What could she do? Hit him again? "Get out of my Derrick," she said with a tired but angry voice.

He grinned. "You should have just played along with me. If you want your job back I'll pay off your fine and we can find a way for you to work it off somehow." He chuckled at that.

Aislinn looked around the hall and happened to catch the eyes of a courtroom guard who was standing near the doors. The man in uniform came over to her. "Do you need some help miss?"

"Yes," she said in such a grateful relieved voice that the guard almost arrested Derrick on the spot. "I just want to leave and he's... Well, he's..."

The guard got the point and gave Derrick a look that caused the man to back off and allow Aislinn to move hurriedly down the hall. Derrick smiled at the guard, knowing there really wasn't anything he had done that the guard could do anything about at this point. He hobbled out of the courtroom on his crutches thinking that he wasn't done with Aislinn yet.

***

Rafe watched from the back of the courtroom. This is better than I thought it'd be. I don't think she could be pushed much lower, he thought. 

The last time Rafe had seen Aislinn she was full of fire. She had fought him like a hell cat to get away. But he knew he'd track her down again. For now he was content to let her stew. It was obvious that the atmosphere of her life here was wearing on her. He wanted her to the point that when he offered her help she would come to him out of lack of any other alternative. This court case had totally blown her cover. If there was one type of record you couldn't keep undercover it was a police record. Rafe's contacts regularly kept track of police records. The minute Aislinn's name came across his desk and in the same area he was already headed he knew he'd get his chance with her again. But he was patient and had more important things to attend to for now. If she had ended up in jail he would have done something about that. But she could handle a fine. Besides, from what he had been told she was working for the Arnauk and that might come in handy in the end.

***

Cullen's stomach started to growl. He had been staring at the latest reports and avoiding leaving for the reservation. It was a three hour drive and he still had an hour or two before he had to leave to still manage to be there before sunset. He had been managing to find excuses to not leave all day. Everyone was waiting patiently. As far as most of the others were concerned this was Cullen's day. If he wanted to be late and piss off Jenna that was his call. 

The report he was looking at seemed to be calling his name. It was as though he knew there was something in it that he was just missing. His stomach growled again. Finally he decided to just take the damn reports with him and he pulled them together and headed down to the restaurant. 

Cullen sat down in his normal seat more than a little nervous about possibly seeing Aislinn and that pissed him off right from the start. He began spreading the records out to look at them while he waited. Just then a small commotion got his attention. He looked up to see Aislinn rushing through the restaurant and Meghan following her. He didn't even think about it. He just knew that something was wrong.

Cullen came up to the employee's break room. He could smell Aislinn and Meghan and he knew that they had gone in there. The door was open a crack and he could hear crying. He almost stormed in to find out why Meghan was making Aislinn cry when he heard someone start talking.

"Meghan I'm sorry," I didn't mean to be late Aislinn sobbed. Cullen stopped and listened, hoping he'd hear what was going on. He figured that Aislinn wouldn't tell him.

Meghan tried to be mad but it was really hard to be the boss and yell at someone when they were already upset. "Alright, just tell me why you're so upset. I can't very well send you out to wait on customers like this." Meghan tried to be comforting but Aislinn pulled away in a manner that reminded Meghan of someone who had been abused.

Aislinn shook her head. "I can't. Please I just need to go to the restroom. I'll be fine." She sounded so defeated. Cullen knew how she felt.

"Aislinn," Meghan said in a sympathetic tone, "I need to tell Liam something. I know you told Rissa that you had to go to court today. Is this about that? What happened?"

"Rissa told you?" Aislinn was scared to death she was going to lose her job. God she had just been to court and found guilty of battery. Never mind that it wasn't her. She would have done it herself if she had been capable. But as it was it didn't matter who had done it. She was the one who was found guilty and the Taigh-oèsda wasn't the kind of place that employed people with a record.

"Hey, don't be like that," Meghan said softly. She reached out to Aislinn again. "She was just trying to help. We're on your side here."

She shook her head. Well what was she going to say? It was public record. If she lied they could look it up. "Fine," she said with that defeated tone and more tears. "Remember when I first got here and I said that Cul- Lord Arnauk had helped me out with something?" Cullen felt his stomach turn. 

"Yhea," Meghan smiled. "You're entrance here was kinda hard to forget." She was trying to be lighthearted about it but it obviously wasn't helping.

"Well my last boss had attacked me and Lord Arnauk stopped him. He ended up in the hospital and decided to sue me for battery and he just won. I got fined and he came after me again on my way out of the damn court." Aislinn's voice broke at that point. "I can't lose this job Meghan. If I do I'll never pay off the bills I had before and now there's this fine. I don't have anywhere else to go." 

Cullen almost went into the room. He stood there growling under his breath. That piece of coach. He had one hell of a nerve. Cullen thought. Wait 'til he sees what I do to him when I get my claws on him again. Cullen was nearly of a mind to go back to the Blood Pit and burn to the ground when Aislinn and Meghan came out of the break room and saw him standing there. 

Aislinn's eyes went as wide as saucers and the tears started again. Meghan saw the standard Cullen Arnauk dismissal stare and gave Aislinn a reassuring glance before she hurried off down the hall. Aislinn looked like a scared animal about to bolt. Cullen took hold of her before she could run and led her down to the office further down the hall. When they walked in Liam looked up from his desk and upon seeking Cullen stood up.

"Lord Arnuak?" Liam looked between the two. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Cullen said shortly. "Can I use your office a moment?"

"Of course," Liam said in confusion and quickly let himself out.

Aislinn was still staring at him as though he was about to do something awful and that cut through him worse than anything else that had recently happened. He could handle any one being afraid of him. But not her. "It's alright," he said gently. "You're not losing your job or getting yelled at or anything else."

It was the look in his eyes that calmed her down more than anything else. This past week had been worse than any in her life. Perhaps worse than her time with the Circle. She couldn't understand her need for his approval or touch but being so close was more than she could handle right now. Aislinn stepped toward him, tears of frustration and embarrassment burning their way down her cheeks, and buried her face in his chest as she wrapped her arms around him. She didn't really know why she did it. She had refused any comfort from Meghan. She just need to be close to him.

Cullen wrapped his arms around her automatically and leaned into the hug so that his check rested on the top of her head. They stood there feeling the warmth pass between them and feeling the need for more growing relentlessly. When she had finally calmed down he managed to pull back a little. He placed his hand under her chin and brought her face up to his. Slowly he kissed away the tears. Then placed a small gentle kiss on her lips. At least it meant to be small and gentle, but as she kissed him back the intensity grew. They melted into the kiss and hands began to roam.

As Cullen felt his wolf beginning to stir he knew he needed to slow this and find out what he could do to actually help. Seducing her in this kind of state was just not a possibility. He gently pushed her down. Aislinn tried to lean in for another kiss but he managed to catch her and stop it before she caught him again and his wolf became unstoppable.

"Aislinn," he said softly. "We need to talk. I need you to tell me why you left me out of this court business."

She looked away from him. Her arms dropped and she stepped away. Suddenly he wished he hadn't asked. "I didn't think you should get involved."

"I was the one who beat the guy up. You shouldn't have taken the fall for that," he said with concern.

"I was certainly part of it, the cause of it, and I did hit him before that," Aislinn was sounding indignant and Cullen could see the argumentative side of her emerging. He knew if that happened there was no way that he'd be able to resurrect this conversation. 

"You're right. You were part of it. But so was I. I could have helped you. I would have helped you." He thought about it a moment. "Maybe we can get it overturned."

"No, I just want to pay it and have it all go away," she said sadly and the tears started again.

He couldn't handle that. "What if I managed to make it go away without you having to be involved anymore?"

She looked at him uncertainly. 

"Money could do a great deal," he said trying to sound as off-hand as he could. "Let me help you."

"I still don't understand why you want to," she said shaking her head. "I mean that night, this job, now you want to make this court case disappear." 

"Can't you just let me? Do I have to explain it? Besides, I really didn't need to beat him up as badly as I did. I was pissed and drunk."

She nodded and walked over to him again. He pulled her the last couple steps to her and held her again. Nothing had ever felt so right to him. He nuzzled into her hair and took in her scent, still wondering at the amazing way she smelled to him. "What are you," he whispered into her hair, entranced.

"I could ask the same of you," she responded just as softly. "What does it matter? I learned some time ago that who and what are completely separate from intention. Whenever I look into your eyes I feel...safe."

Cullen held her tighter, stroking her hair and breathing in her scent. "I'll take care of it. Just don't do anything until I tell you. Okay?" He finally pushed her away far enough that he could look into her face and she nodded. He let the air in his chest out, not even realizing that he had been holding his breath. "Now, Liam needs his office back, I want dinner, and you're going to eat with me."

"I can't. I have to get to work. I was already late," she said, sounding upset again.

"You can't wait on tables in this kind of mood. You won't make any tips," he smiled. "You'll eat with me and then you can get to work. You'll feel better by then. Besides," I'm in charge around here. If I want my waitress to sit and eat with me," he shrugged and smiled again trying to get her to smile back, "then I get to have her sit and eat with me."

Aislinn was about to argue some more but she didn't have the energy to. He took her by the hand and led her out to his table. Only realizing that he'd left the records sitting there when he saw them spread about the table. This woman is going to be the death of me, he thought. He had never been so easily distracted by anything before. He pushed the records aside and motioned for her to sit. 




Leader of the Pack Ch. 04



Rissa was immediately over to the table and taking their order. "And while you're at it you can tell Meghan that Liam can have his office back and I ordered Aislinn to have dinner with me. She'll be back to work as soon as I'm done with her," he smiled over at Aislinn as he said it and was rewarded with an amused grin as she shook her head at him.

"You realize," Aislinn said as Rissa headed off to get their order in, "that the entire kitchen is going to be gossiping about this for a week?"

Cullen smiled deviously. "Just think of how much fun the rumors would be if they caught us in the office a few minutes ago?"

Aislinn blushed a bit. "You're a dangerous man I think," she said a bit breathlessly. "But not in any of the ways that everyone else believes."

Cullen grinned and winked at her. Aisliin reached for her glass of water and noticed that Cullen was staring down her blouse. When he finally met her gaze again she gave him a knowing, amused look. "I'm only a man."

"I have a hard time believing that," she answered good-naturedly. As she set the water back down it spilled and ran across the table toward the papers he had moved out of the way when they sat down. "Shit," she said and grabbled the papers up, barely missing the torrent of water. As she held them up she felt the dark and light take her. Everything in the restaurant seemed to freeze in time. Like a dream while she was awake.

***

Aislinn saw a series of scenes flash before her eyes. First she saw a small, sleepy town. It was night and the streets were empty. She was standing naked, like in her other dreams, she moved and changed into her animal shape as she walked through the streets. She could hear the voices whispering but they weren't looking for her. They were looking for something. She walked through the streets. She couldn't see any people, but she saw buildings burning, and heard the whispering. She followed the voices to the buildings. It was as though the fire was frozen in its blaze. Solid and blinding in the darkness. She walking into the building and found she was instantly in an office. The room was torn apart and books and papers were strewn about the floor. The bookshelves were thrown away from the walls and the desk was carved in half as though someone had taken out his anger on the innocent furniture. 

The scene shifted and again she was standing naked on a street. Again she heard the whispering and again she found a burning building. Walking through the door she found herself in a library, just as destroyed as the office had been. The scene shifted again and again. Always she was taken to a burning building and always she found herself in a room of books.

Finally she found herself staring at a scene with people in it. There was no street. This time she was walking through the woods. This felt much different. This time the danger was coming. In the other places the danger had already gone. There were people and wolves. They were celebrating something. She walked slowly through the crowds of people and wolves. They didn't seem to see her. She knew that she wouldn't be here. This premonition was not for her.

She had never had a premonition for someone other than herself. It was a strange sensation. She knew that the danger was fearsome and real and coming. She knew she was meant to warn these people. She walked through the woods. Everywhere she looked there was sex. Half of the people she looked at were as naked as she was. They didn't seem to see her. But she got the impression that if they could see her it wouldn't have mattered.

She found herself looking at a woman on her hands and knees. She was beautiful. Her eyes glowed amber in the night. Her dark hair flowed over her shoulders. On top of her was a large black wolf. He had mounted her and the woman was writhing in ecstasy as the wolf wildly humped against her. Aislinn walked around the pair. She was fascinated. And she was aroused. She watched as the woman moaned and the wolf growled. Beads of sweat formed on the woman's brow. She begged the wolf to fuck her harder. The wolf's eyes glowed that same amber, brilliant and needy as he thrust into her. His claws scratched her sides and she begged for more from him. Finally the woman began to cry out her pleasure and the wolf howled hungrily at the sky. Aislinn reached down and touched herself as the couple cried out their climax. She could feel the wetness pooling in her own heated center as she stared in amazement at the pair. Then they both rolled off onto their sides. As she watched the wolf slowly turned into a man. All the while the creature's cock remained lodged in the woman's body. Aislinn stared in shock as she found herself looking at the face of the man who had come to pick Cullen up at the bar that night they had met. She didn't remember his name but she was sure that it was him.

She was snapped out of her realization as she heard the whispers getting closer. No one seemed to know what was coming. She tried to say something to the man and woman she had been watching but no sound came from her mouth, no matter how hard she tried. The voices were getting louder and more insistent. Aislinn felt compelled to move on. She knew there was more she was meant to see. 

As she came out of the woods she passed a large standing stone and found herself in a kind of clearing. All around her there were men and women and wolves and women and wolves and men and pairs of wolves rutting. The sounds of intense, unrestrained pleasure echoed through the clearing. She looked around at where she was. There was something here she was meant to understand. But she was missing it. She turned and looked back the way she came. The voices were getting closer and she was getting scared. She could feel a hot breath on the back of her neck and eyes on her body. She knew that whatever was come knew that she was there. She found herself staring at the stone she had passed. There was an elaborate carving on the large stone but she didn't know what it meant. When she turned around she realized that she was standing in a circle of large stones. They were all covered in symbols. Aislinn counted nine stones in all.

As she started to wonder where she was and why all the other scenes were books and this one was a circle of standing stones she noticed the couple rutting in the center of the circle. Actually they were fucking in the middle of the entire wolven orgy. The apparently female wolf on the bottom was snow white. She was panting and heaving with the effort of the large black wolf on top of her. He was coal black. As she looked into the animal's eyes her heart shattered. She knew that it was Cullen. This was his wedding that everyone had been talking about. The snow white wolf was Jenna. And Aislinn was watching him fuck her. The voices were getting closer but Aislinn didn't care anymore. 

Suddenly an icy hand was on her shoulder. Aislinn turned around to see Rafe staring into her eyes. The voices stopped. "You see," he said. "Your destiny is with me. You're better than this. Do you want to be some beast, rutting in the mud, birthing puppies?" he asked with disgust. "He doesn't want you anyway."

***

Cullen grabbed up some napkins and had sopped up most of the water before he noticed the glazed over blank stare on Aislinn's face. She had gone deathly pale and there were beads of sweat on her forehead. "Aislinn," he said and waited.

When she didn't respond he took hold of the papers and pulled them out of her hand, reaching out and touching her face. Suddenly she gasped and looked wildly around the room as if she didn't recognize where she was. "Rafe," she hissed in a terrified whisper, pulling away from Cullen as if he had just bit her.

At that point Cullen didn't care what anyone thought. He virtually jumped the booth to sit next to Aislinn and take hold of her. She was trembling and fighting him. It took a moment for her to come back to reality. By then there were a number of people staring in concern. A glare from Cullen sent most of the back to their own business.

"Shh, Aislinn. I've got you," he whispered softly. "I won't let anyone hurt you," he promised.

Aislinn felt him wrapped around her. The safety that she never seemed to have no matter where she went. At first she was afraid she was going to start to cry again. But when the tears didn't come she figured that she must have used up her allotment for the day. She pushed him back from her. "You won't be able to stop it. He's coming and he's going to get what he wants and then me as well."

Cullen let her push him away. The deadly tone in her voice seemed to reach into him and make it hard for him to breath. "What are you talking about?"

She looked over at the papers that were on the table. "You're looking for someone who is looking for something. It's in those papers and I saw it." Rafe was the only other person she had ever told about her premonitions and she had regretted it ever since. She was trembling now. She knew that she had to tell Cullen. He was the one that the vision was for. He was meant to save all those people somehow. He started to say something but she stopped him so that she could just get it all out and done. "I sometimes see things. Visions, premonitions. Sometimes the past, sometimes the present, and sometimes the future." Cullen could barely hear her speaking. Her eyes were glassed over and she looked so weak she might fall over if the air touched her wrong. "I've always seen them for myself, but I think that one was meant for you. Rafe, that's his name, the one who you've been trying to find. But he's coming to you. Tonight at your wedding." When she said that the tears that she had thought were dried up started to well in her eyes and her voice cracked. "The places he destroyed. They all had books and papers. He was looking for a book of some kind. Whatever it was he found it and now he is trying to find a place. He knows where it is and he'll be there tonight. During the celebration, while everyone is..." She stopped and her eyes met his. Cullen had completely forgotten that he was to be mated that night. He would have stayed there with Aislinn for the entire evening if this hadn't happened. "He's looking for a clearing with nine standing stones." And then he'll be free to come after me again, she thought.

With more strength then Cullen would have believed she had left she pushed him out of the booth so that she could get up. "I appreciate everything you've done for me. But now you need to go to them. He'll kill everyone." Then Aislinn ran out of the restaurant. 

If it hadn't been for what she said he would have chased after her. But if the pack was in immediate danger he'd have to deal with Aislinn after that. Rissa arrived with their food as Cullen was picking up the papers and turning to leave. She stared at him with confusion. 

Cullen took a minute to gather his thoughts. "Aislinn had to go home sick. When someone is able, please check on her." Rissa nodded. "I'm sorry I won't be eating. I need to leave." Rissa nodded again and then watched as Cullen swept out of the restaurant.



Leader of the Pack Ch. 05



Aislinn found herself back at her apartment. She had originally intended to pack up and run. She had about $200 in cash from tips hidden beneath her mattress and she figured that she could catch a bus and get out of town before Rafe finished with the wolves. But as she walked inside she only barely managed to lock the door behind herself. She had never had a premonition that strong before or during the day. Not to mention the court case and then Cullen. Just thinking his name hurt. It briefly occurred to her that her premonitions had always given her information about the future in a fuzzy way. She knew that usually what she saw was a warning and not guaranteed to happen that way. But the one she had tonight was awfully close to happening for there to be much that could change it.

She walked over to her bed and collapsed onto. She didn't even manage to get her shoes off. Falling into a fitful sleep she just prayed she didn't have any more visions for now. I know I'm in trouble. I know he's coming. I know that Cullen Arnauk is someone else's. I don't need to know anymore right now, she thought at whatever forces brought the premonitions on as she felt herself fall into oblivion.

***

Cullen paced in the elevator. When the doors finally opened into the great room his friends cheered his entrance. Until they saw the look on his face. "Every able fighter, even the ones who didn't plan on attending, need to gather in the garage and get out to the reservation. There's going to be a raid tonight."

They all stood in shock a moment, not wanting to believe what he was saying. It made no sense. Why would there be a raid on a lycan reservation. Was the source of their troubles recently that stupid?

"NOW!" Cullen shouted when no one moved. Suddenly the room burst into action. An alarm that hadn't been used in decades was sounded and the pack snapped into action as though they had never left war footing. There was a reason that the Arnauk enjoyed the peace they had.

A caravan of black vans and SUVs with tinted windows filed out of the parking garage at the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh and roared down the road toward the reservation. The reservation was a 20 mile square of land that Cullen had acquired when he had first founded the pack. It was mostly wooded and there was a small mountain range that bordered one side. A manor-like cabin was nestled into the forest at the foot of the mountain. There were a number of older pack members who had retired there. There were also a number of cabins that Cullen had allowed to be build in various locations around the forest. The manor itself was just as elaborate at the den in the city. But it was also built to be self sustaining. There were not electrical lines that led out there and there were no cell towers that reached far enough into the territory for a signal. The manor ran on generators and solar power. The only outside contact was through a satellite phone. And that was only when the satellite was in the right position. There was no way to call ahead and tell people to watch for an attack. 

The trip was only three hours long. But it felt as though it took all night. When they arrived in a rush of concern and warning the people who were there were all stunned with disbelief. It just didn't make sense. Who would be stupid enough to attack such a large group of Arnauk on their home territory? 

And then there was Jenna. The minute the announcement was made and the possibility of the ceremony being canceled became possible she started screeching and didn't stop. She followed along behind Cullen blaming the situation on him and accusing him of making excusing to cancel the mating. Cullen couldn't help but wonder what had her in such a panic. There was more going on with her right now than he knew but he didn't have time to figure it out. The current plan was make things look like everything was normal. But in a way that result in everyone being ready when the attack came.

Convincing Brennus of the trouble was the hardest part. He was inclined to agree with his daughter about Cullen's motivations, even if he was making the accusations in a more diplomatic way. In the end Cullen agreed to setting things up for attack and going through the motions of the ceremony. If the attack never came then the mating would be completed and it wouldn't matter. But if the attack did come then everyone would be ready and they might not lose as many lives. 

***

Aislinn felt herself being pulled into her dream. She fought against it as hard as she could. I don't want another vision, she cried into the blackness. As the scene flashed into view she was standing in the woods beside one of the large stones she had seen before. Rafe was standing next to her.

"I'm glad you could join us," he said in that sweet tone of voice that she had believed was sincere for so long. He had this ability to get into her head and change her perceptions. He had her doubting herself for so long. That was until she realized that he was doing something to her mind. At first she had thought he cared about her, then she thought he was drugging her, but after she escaped she realized that he could get into her head and make her think things. Like the jedi mind trick. 

Aislinn tried to leave but when she turned to go there was nothing behind her. No where to go. When she turned to face the scene again she could see the people milling about and Cullen and Jenna. She had her hands all over him and although he didn't look very happy about it, he was allowing it. When Jenna reached down to stroke Cullen's cock Aislinn turned away. She found herself looking at Rafe who was watching the scene with great interest.

"You know. I had originally thought to bring you here when I first took you. This place holds power for people like us. You'll see. You'll come to appreciate me once I show you." His eyes never left the couple. He seemed to be waiting for something. "We're the same you know."

"I'm nothing like you," Aislinn hissed at him.

He just smiled. "I don't mean morally or ethically. I'm referencing our abilities. That's why I had to have you. You know how few of us there are left. The bloodlines have thinned over the years and most of us don't know what we are. But there are some. Once I have all of what was stolen from us I'll find the others as well. I'll make us strong again. If you really want the pet wolf so badly perhaps you can keep him once I've relieved him of his throne."

Aislinn's mind was racing. She was trying desperately to think of something she could do. But it wasn't as if she was really there. When she looked back to the scene playing out in the stone circle she saw that Jenna had dropped to her knees in front of Cullen. He was breathing slowly and looking about as she sucked eagerly on his erect cock. Her hands toyed with his balls and inner thighs. He had his hands clenched into fists at his sides and was staring up at the sky with a frustrated expression. Aislinn was torn. If he truly didn't want this then why is he letting it happen?, she thought.

"Because he has no choice," Rafe answered her unasked question.

"Get out of my head," she spit at him.

For a brief moment Rafe seemed pained. Aislinn realized that she had done something. She needed to think. But if he was listening... She did her best to clear her mind and try to understand without thinking anything specific. 

Rafe wasn't surprised at all. He knew she would learn quick. But he was annoyed when he felt the wall go up and was thrown from her thoughts. He would have to get to her quickly when this was over. And he needed to shake her up more. Her spirit wasn't completely broken yet. "You see, Arnauk doesn't realize that the real danger is sitting between his legs," Rafe chuckled. "Jenna was easy to manipulate. She truly believes that when she gets rid of Cullen that I'll take her as mine and together we'll run the two territories. The woman is blinded by ambition. She has no idea what's important."

"Fine, so what is important?" Aislinn said, deciding to play along. Carefully keeping her guard up and watching as Jenna ran her tongue along Cullen's shaft. She felt chills run through her body. She wanted to rip the woman's throat out.

Rafe smiled and looked at Aislinn. His eyes were shining silver in the darkness, giving his face an otherworldly glow. "Power. Not political, or physical. But power like we had when we created them." Rafe walked forward and stared at the closest set of wolves rutting in response to their leader's example. "Look at them. Not even God himself was clever enough to create these creatures. These were made by our ancestors. Yours and mine. The power of life and change. They're magnificent. And I've improved on them. If you hadn't left so quickly you would have come to see what I mean. But now that I'll have you back, I promise that I'll finish." He smiled at her in a way that she was certain was meant to be sincere.

"What did you do to me?" she whispered in fear.

"I gave you the gift of the change. Oh it's not complete yet. But as I said. It will be." He walked over to Cullen and Jenna. She had reached between her legs to play with herself. Her fingers danced deftly over her clit, down into her wet slit, and then back to her clit. She was trying to convince Cullen that she needed him to mount her. But he wasn't going for it just yet.

As she reached down between her legs again Rafe seemed to get rather excited. At first Aislinn figured it was because he was getting off on watching the woman toy with herself. But then she noticed that the movements of Jenna's hand were real consistent with any kind of masturbation that Aislinn could think of.

Rafe smiled at her pleasantly. "You are a bright one. Our children will be amazing."

"So what's going to happen when she does whatever it is she's going to do?" Aislinn asked hoping he was one of those moronic bad guys who liked to monologue before his big plan could come to fruition. 

"His death is the signal for the others to attack. First his own men that I've gotten to, then my men will come out of hiding. It's exceedingly simple."

Aislinn closed her eyes. There had to be something she could do. Fuck it, if he can get into my mind because he wants to I should be able to get into someone else's.

"In time, pet," Rafe said with that awful smile. "I'll teach you in time."

Aislinn thought back to the earlier vision. The one that showed her Cullen's friend and she realized that there had to be a couple of lycans who had finished rutting and were sleeping off their exhausted energy lying around here somewhere.

Rafe glared at her and she glared right back. She turned away from watching Cullen and Jenna only to hear Rafe call after her that it was too late. 

She plunged into the darkness outside of the circle of stones and willed it to be as she had seen it before. Suddenly the forest in her mind lightened and shifted. She looked around and managed to find a couple of sleeping wolves. She knelt down next to them. She didn't really know what she was doing. She tried touching them, hoping that something would just happen like it had before. There was nothing. But the woman stirred. Something had happened. Aislinn touched the woman's face and closed her eyes. She brought into her mind pictures of what she had seen Jenna doing and tied a fearful emotion to it. The woman suddenly sat upright as though she had awoken from a bad dream. Jenna didn't know if it had worked but she leaned down and did the same thing to the man. When he sat up and looked at the woman they spoke to each other. Aislinn couldn't hear what they were saying and she was feeling drained. She looked around the clearing for more sleeping lycans. Everyone she found she woke in the same fashion. Aislinn was unsure how many she had touched when she dropped out of the vision into darkness again.

"NO!," she screamed into the black. "I need to know what happened!"

***

The only thing keeping Cullen hard throughout the blow job was the image of Aislinn in his mind. He was praying the attack would come soon. He wanted it to interrupt the mating, buy him time to figure a way out of this. After having held Aislinn in his arms earlier that night there was no way he could go through with this. But with the prospect of an unknown enemy surrounding them he couldn't take the chance of starting a war with the Tairneach right here and now. If he stopped this mating ceremony at this point he would need a better than damn good reason.

Jenna was bringing him dangerously close to cuming. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction. But the relentless assault of her tongue on his cock was getting to him whether he wanted it to or not. He looked down and watched her pretty face bobbing up and down on his shaft. Her eyes half lidded staring up at him with a terrible devious glare. She seemed pleased by what she was doing, but not because she wanted to be sucking him off. Something she was thinking was pleasing her and he was afraid of what that was. Especially since he was in such a vulnerable position. Muin galla, he thought angrily and wanted desperately to say it out loud and throw her off of himself.

He noted a number of his own gathering at the perimeter of the standing stones. They looked concerned and they were watching the mating. Jenna finally pulled her mouth off of him. She had been going at him for so long her jaw and neck were sore and he was showing no signs of stopping her any time soon. She glared up at him and turned onto her hands and knees, presenting herself to him. The group that had taken up position between the stones started to advance. Cullen looked at Ranaild. His eyes were stone and Ranaild shifted his look from Cullen to Jenna in warning. 

Jenna was starting to panic. This wasn't how Rafe said it would go. He had made it sound so simple, she almost thought the plan had been hers. She had a short stiletto blade, tipped with poison held nicely in her cunt. Since it was a stiletto the sides were dull and wouldn't pierce her flesh. But the tip would jab Cullen the minute he penetrated her. The poison was virtually instantaneous and Cullen would die, the fight would start and the Tairneach would take over.

As she watched the advancing Arnauk she knew that something had gone wrong. And then as she began to think about it she wondered why she had agreed to this anyway. It was far too obvious for her. She looked around for Rafe. He had said he would be there. Every time she thought his name she seemed to become more confident in the situation. She knew that he would come and save her. 

"What is this Arnauk?" Brennus growled at the interruption in the ceremony.

Rafe continued to watch from the shadows. He was getting tired and was cursing himself for bring Aislinn here. That was a miscalculation and he would see that she paid for what she had done. But at the moment it was all he could do, even with using the power from the stone circle, to keep the lycans minds from noticing the enemy hidden among them. He was trying to come up with a way out of this. He needed more numbers and the only way to do that would be to take on a pack. He didn't like direct confrontation. Staring at Jenna at Cullen's feet call out his name he realized he needed the bitch. As Cullen began to argue with Brennus Rafe extended his influence over the lycan's minds to hide Jenna from them and to bring Jenna to himself.

"You tell me Brennus. Your daughter seems to be following in her mother's footsteps," Cullen growled back.

"She's done nothing save try to please you," Brennus replied coming toe to toe with Cullen. 

"She has a knife," someone yelled. Cullen turned to see what was going on but Jenna seemed to vanish. 

Jenna braced herself for the attack that never came. "Come here girl," Rafe said to her in annoyance. "I can't have you killing him now. This plan will have to be changed. Complications have arose. But if we want your father to believe that Arnauk was the cause of the bad ending here then you have to leave him to be the target of Brennus' anger. That will make it easier for me to convince him that you should be mine. And that we need to go to war."

Jenna smiled at him dully. He hated the simpering look they got when he had to use his influence on them. He couldn't wait until he was done with this one. 

***

With Jenna's disappearance the mating ceremony was over and when the attack never came the pack was generally confused. The Tairneach left with promises of retribution for the embarrassment caused this night and threats should Jenna not reappear in short order. If Brennus hadn't been standing there when she vanished, arguing with Cullen he would have blamed it on him and possibly started the war right then. But as it was, Brennus figured it would be best to remain on tentative terms at least until Jenna was home safe.

Cullen had his hands full explaining away the events of the evening. But the strongest members of his pack were with him and there were at least a dozen people who claimed to have dreamt that Jenna was going to knife Cullen with a stiletto that she had hidden on her person. No one said exactly where but the implication had most everyone chuckling.

By the time everything was sorted out and calmed down dawn was on the manor. Cullen took one look at the rising sun, felt his body begging for sleep, and looked around at the tired faces of his men. The best he could do was pray that Aislinn was safe.

It took a great deal of convincing and then finally an order to get a set of keys handed over so that he could drive back into town without sleep. He just had a bad feeling and knew that he wouldn't rest until Aislinn was safe inside the den. Keith insisted on going with him but fell asleep halfway there. Cullen let his friend rest. It had been a long night for everyone.



Leader of the Pack Ch. 06



Hi everyone, thanks for reading. I can't believe all the great feedback that people have been writing me. I have to admit that I do love getting the comments. I probably wouldn't have kept going if it weren't for all the great feedback. So everyone who's written me encouragement you can assume that you're partially responsible for everything from here on out. :)

To everyone who mentioned the spelling errors and stuff. I am sorry. Chapters 1-5 were written during a pretty serious bout of insomnia. They were a first draft and never proof read. So yeah there were a few more errors than I like to take credit for. I know there are probably more to follow. I'm still fighting the sleep problem, but I'll try to pay more attention. 

Happy Reading!

And oh yeah... What does everyone prefer... spots, stripes, or both?!?

*Chapter 6*

Aislinn could feel herself falling through darkness. The black was throbbing around her. Somewhere in the void there was a pounding. The echo became more and more insistent, louder. Then she felt herself being moved. She was aware of the black shifting around her. Someone was trying to reach her. Aislinn could feel an urgent voice pulling at her. Suddenly the black turned into the street outside of her apartment. She felt drunk as she watched the street lights pass above her. The lights passing over her one at a time. Where am I going? She thought. Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh. I need to get to Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh. But she couldn't make her body obey her mind. She was so tired. She closed her eyes and drifted into the black again.

***

Rafe sat in the back of the long black limo. Jenna lay naked and prone across the seat opposite and large lion lay purring at his feet. She would periodically look up, agitated, at the naked lycan that had her master's attention. But as he stroked her head she went back to her patient waiting.

Rafe growled angrily. "These lycans are becoming more troublesome than I had originally tought they would be." The lioness sat up with interest and attention. Her large yellow eyes focusing intently on Rafe. "Look at her," he said in disgust. "So easily manipulated. Even easily drugged. She actually believes she'll be leading the Tairneach to glory or something. She has no concept of how inconsequential she truly is. Now Aislinn and Arnauk. They will pay for putting me in a position to have to soil myself with this bitch. I don't like interruptions or delays. What's worse, I had my hands on the stones themselves tonight and now I'm driving away from the power. I could feel it. I used it. It would take so little to learn how to truly manipulate the forces that sleep there. The lycans have no concept of it. How could anything like that," he indicated the unconscious Jenna, "be capable of using the power there to its full potential?"

The lioness sniffed at Jenna with distaste. When a buzzer sounded the large cat growled and Rafe pushed a button on the panel. "Yes."

"We've arrived at the address you requested," the limo driver said. 

"Finally," Rafe growled, opened the door and got out of the car. As he looked around at the rundown buildings and the bums lying about the steps in garbage he thought it fitting that she would have ended up here. Serves her right for leaving me, he thought. The lioness stepped lightly from the limo onto the street. She paced a bit. As she walked she lifted her paws from the ground as though she was stepping in something that was burning her feet. She looked up to Rafe for orders.

"I'll not go in that place. Go get her and bring her here. She shouldn't be any trouble," he said, knowing that after the evening they had she was probably completely unconscious. She was only a half-blood. She'd never be as strong as he was. None of the ones he'd found would ever be as strong as he was. Besides she had pushed herself much too far last night. If she truly wanted to get away from him she never should have shown him her potential. He had tried to get into her mind on his way here. But she was too far gone for him to even touch her dreams. That would make things exceptionally easy.

Rafe took one last look around and got back into the limo as the lioness headed up the stairs. One of the bums that sat near the steps got up and walked toward Rafe waggling a cup. This wasn't the type of area he wanted to be seen in, so Rafe got back in the limo to wait. He slammed the door of the car just as the old bum approached. The man proceeded to start wiping the windows of the limo, hoping for a handout and Rafe sent the limo driver to deal with it.

***

When Cullen pulled up in front of Aislinn's place everything looked normal. He elbowed Keith awake. "Hey, watch the door," he said as he jumped out of the driver's seat and headed up the stairs to the main doors of the apartment building.

Keith sat up. Looking around it took him a minute to realize where they were. This was the apartment where that girl Cullen had helped out lived. He watched the door the way Cullen asked. But he couldn't help notice the bum lying face down in the garbage next to the steps. Keith got out of the SUV and looked up and down the street nervously. It just didn't feel right.

He walked over to the poor old man lying in the garbage and turned him over. "Hey buddy, you okay?"

The old man groaned. Keith winced when he saw the bloody gash on the man's chest. Something had cut him straight through his big dirty overcoat. The old guy had a huge bump on his head as well. "Who did this to you, buddy?" Keith picked the old man up and put him in a sitting position on the ground near the steps. The old man couldn't answer. Keith pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialed 911.

***

Cullen took the steps up to Aislinn's door two at a time. He could smell something on the stairs that had the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. A cat of some kind. When he got to her door it was slightly open. Fear and anger boiled in the pit of his stomach as Cullen threw the door open and rushed in. 

There was no sign of anything being wrong. The apartment wasn't any more disheveled than it had been when he was here before. It almost looked as though the door had just been left open. The scent of the cat wasn't any stronger here than it had been in the hall. He figured that if there had been a struggle of some kind that the scent should be stronger. Maybe she went with someone willingly. Cullen couldn't tell anything from the look of the place except that Aislinn wasn't there. 

On the table he noticed her purse and headed over to it. Inside were her keys, her wallet, and her cell phone. He picked it up and looked around again as if Aislinn might come walking out of the bathroom and yell at him for not knocking. She wouldn't have left here without taking her purse if she had gone somewhere willingly with someone. At the same time he didn't have any proof that anything had happened either. He was too tired to think.

Cullen sat her purse back down on the table and headed out the door. He took a deep breath in the hall. He could smell her there. But that could just be because she lived here. He walked down the steps, considering that he could wait around and see if she came back for her purse. When he walked out the main doors he found Keith bent over a bum and talking on his cell phone.

One look at the bum had the feeling of fear returning to Cullen's stomach. When Keith hung up he looked at Cullen. "I called an ambulance. We should get out of here before it shows up. I don't have the answers to the questions they'll be asking."

Cullen looked back at the building and then got into the SUV without a word. Keith hopped in the other side and Cullen pulled away from the curb. What the hell am I going to do? Cullen was pissed and tired and feeling helpless. Okay, so he went to check on her and she wasn't there. There seems to be evidence of something, but he didn't know what. "I am getting so muin tired of not having the information I need to make decisions anymore!" Cullen yelled and slammed his hands against the steering wheel.

"Okay, so you want to tell me why we went to that chick's place? And why it pissed you off?" Kieth said cautiously.

Cullen kept driving. "We went to her place because I was worried about her and wanted to talk to her. I'm pissed because she wasn't there and it looks like either there's nothing wrong or something relating to last night happened here." 

Cullen's voice was deadly and Keith felt shivers go down his spine as he listened to the alpha's explanation. "Okay, so we go back to the den, we look up this Rafe guy. If something happened here and it had to do with what happened at the reservation then if we track him down we'll find out what happened to the girl."

Cullen growled. He didn't want to look things up any more. He just wanted to fix all the shit that was happening lately. "When exactly did everything go to hell around here?"

Keith didn't answer. He could hear the rhetorical tone in the question. "I'll take care of it. You get some sleep and by the time you wake up I'll have some kind of answer."

Cullen looked over at his friend. Keith was glad to see that what he said seemed to have helped some. The growl that came from Cullen next was low and resigned. They drove the rest of the way home in silence. Cullen pulled into the garage and parked. 

As they walked into the elevator and pushed their respective buttons Cullen finally felt the tired hit him hard enough that he knew he'd sleep whether he wanted to or not. Keith got out on floor 13. Cullen turned his key and hit the button for the penthouse as he watched the doors close behind Keith.

Keith figured that he'd gather up a couple people and get to work on figuring out who Rafe was. He wanted to see if he'd be able to get through to the reservation as well. Or maybe he'd try some cell numbers and see if anyone had left the reservation for home yet. But he guessed probably not. 

Keith walked into the great room to find an unusually large group of people standing around. He was taking note of whom was present and trying to decide who he should send to do what. As he walked around the room he finally figured out what everyone was so worked up about. 

***

Cullen walked out of the elevator and through his office/living room. His rooms included a main room right off the elevator that took up most of the penthouse area. On one side there was a large television with a comfortable couch positioned directly in front of it. He didn't spend much time in the great room with the others. When he felt the need for television he was much more likely to watch by himself. On the other side of the large room there was a desk and a number of file cabinets along with his computer. His favorite part of the room though was a carpeted area against the far wall with one large arm chair and the wall itself was lined with bookshelves. He had a large collection of antique history books and a few modern fiction books.

He stared at his favorite chair and his books and sighed. He hadn't had any recreational time in quite a while. Cullen promised himself that as soon as all this was taken care of he'd get a new book or two, lock himself in, and read for a few days.

He headed for a door at the back of the room. He was already pulling his shirt off over his head as he entered his bedroom. Then his cell rang. Cullen dropped his shirt to the floor and dug in his pocket for the hated source of the noise. He heard the plastic crack as his hand closed around the phone. He pulled it from his pocket with the serious intent of throwing it from the wall. When he saw that the caller was Keith he flipped it open and growled in a low warning tone into the receiver. "I thought you told me to get some sleep."

"Yeah yeah. Changed my mind. You need to come down to the great room. I can't decide whether we have a problem or a fortuitous circumstance."

"No. Figure it out then let me know tomorrow," Cullen answered.

"You'll be sorry if you don't get down here. And I'm not going to take the heat for it." Then Keith heard a click. He wasn't sure if Cullen was coming down or not. He was just contemplating calling him again when the elevator doors opened and Cullen came walking into the great room, barefoot, shirtless and looking as though he was going to kill someone. 

Cullen's glare was enough to make everyone step back. Rissa tentatively stepped toward Cullen and Keith followed her. "I hope it's alright," she said nervously. "I mean you told me to check on her and when I got there she was unconscious and didn't look at all well. So I called Jake and helped me bring her back here. The doc in the infirmary said to put her in a bed and he'd check on her in the morning. So I brought her up here and we weren't sure where to put her..."

Cullen tuned out Rissa's voice as she tried to finish explaining the events of the evening. He couldn't believe it but Aislinn was lying on the couch asleep. She didn't look well. She was pale and drawn. Her eyelids fluttered periodically as if she was dreaming and her face looked strained and tense. There was sweat on her forehead and she whimpered periodically. There was a small packed bag on the floor next to the bed. He just stared at her for a moment wondering if he had fallen asleep in his room and this was some cruel dream. 

He walked passed Rissa and Keith and knelt next to the couch. With as much control as he could muster he reached out and stroked her cheek gently. "Aislinn?" he said softly trying to wake her up.

"That's why we spoke to the doctor," Rissa said. "She won't wake up. We tried."

Cullen looked back at Rissa. "You did good," he said with a soft smile. Rissa beamed at that and looked over at Meghan as though to say I told you so. When Cullen looked back down at Aislinn she appeared to have calmed some. Her facial features had seemed to smooth over some. 

"Where do you want us to put her?" Rissa asked enthusiastically.

Cullen thought a moment. He knew where he wanted to put her. But beyond the fact that it would send the entire pack into a tizzy because he never took any women to his room, he didn't know how Aislinn would react if she woke up in his bed. When he pulled his hand back her features tensed again and the whimpering started again. That was enough for him. "I'll take care of it," he said. Then to everyone's shock he picked her up off the couch and headed for the elevator. "Keith, would you hit the button?" he called back over his shoulder.

Keith jogged up behind his friend and Cullen could hear him chuckling as he hit the floor button and the doors slid open. He stepped inside briefly to get the button for Cullen's floor. For a brief instant Cullen thought that he was going to escape without a smart ass comment. But he had no such luck. "So," Keith said with a wicked grin. "Do I have breakfast sent up tomorrow?"

"Actually," Cullen said with a growl. "I intend to sleep until lunch." Then he kicked at Keith so that he'd back out of the elevator and let the doors close.

***

Cullen had never felt his mood shift from one extreme to another so quickly. He walked through his living area and into his bedroom. He walked to his large platform bed in the middle of the room. As he looked down at Aislinn's sleeping form he noted that she was leaning into him and her features had softened again. He laid her down on his bed and watched her there a minute. The sight of her lying on his bed asleep pleased him far more than he thought it should. He made a mental note to find some way to reward Rissa for taking such good care of Aislinn.

He wasn't sure if he should undress her or not. She was still in her work clothes. Finally he decided that he couldn't let her sleep in her work clothes. Considering that he didn't want her thinking he did anything to her while she was sleeping he headed over to his drawers and fished out one of his t-shirts. He tried his best to be an objective adult and tell himself that he was undressing her so that she'd be comfortable and then he was putting her in his t-shirt so that she wouldn't be upset when she woke up. But he couldn't stop his reaction to the sight of her naked body. He moved as quickly as he could so that he could honestly tell himself that he wasn't ogling her while she was unconscious. It took all his effort to keep his hands to himself as he pulled her bra off. He'd never known a woman who slept in a bra. He held the white lacy material to his nose momentarily before setting it aside with the rest of her clothes. He left her underwear on and pulled his t-shirt over her head and then pushed her arms through the sleeves. 

The back of his hand brushed against her breast and he had to hold his wolf down. Every instinct in him was screaming for him to take her and make her his own. His wolf telling him that she would understand when it was done. Cullen forced his wolf down. Breathing deeply repeatedly he told himself that he was too tired and there was no way he should even be considering any of the things his wolf wanted while she was unconscious. He growled deep in his throat as he pushed his jeans off over his hips. He left his boxers on and crawled into the bed. He had to pull the blankets back in stages to maneuver her under them. 

Once he had both of them under the blankets he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into himself so that her back was pressed against his chest and his erection was pressed against her. He groaned happily and nuzzled his face into her hair. Breathing deeply he started to drift off to sleep. He figured that if she didn't wake up on her own come morning he'd make sure the doctor came up and checked on her. He couldn't explain why he wasn't worried about this but something in him said that now she was with him that she'd be alright. He'd take care of her. 

***

Aislinn awoke to sunlight streaming in on her face from a thin crack between the drapes on a large window and a warmth radiating through her from behind her back. She blinked in confusion as she took in the strange wall, then the strange bed, then the arm that was wrapped around her. She lay still a moment. The last time she was in a room this posh was when she was first dating Rafe, before she knew what he was. The blankets were soft and satiny and she had spent so long sleeping on that mattress on the floor she had forgotten what it felt like to be in a real bed. There wasn't any one thing she could see that stood out as extravagant. It was all normal bedroom furniture. But between the size of everything and the new/clean look of it all she might have thought she was in the best room at the Hilton. 

Aislinn started to get nervous. All she could think about was the fact that Rafe loved places like this. But there was something about the feel of this that wasn't at all like it was before and it certainly didn't smell right. In fact... she took a deep breath and then started to blush. Aislinn rolled back. The arm loosened so that she could move and she found herself staring up into Cullen's face. He was wearing a hopeful, concerned look and he smiled at her.

"Good morning, mo mhúirnín bán " he said softly. "I won't ask if you slept well. I know you didn't."

Slowly the memory of last night solidified in Aislinn's mind. The court hearing, the premonitions, Rafe... the mating ceremony. She took a deep breath then smiled as she realized what he had called her. If he had intended to make her feel better about everything she had to admit it was working. She had felt this safe in a long time. She cocked an eyebrow at him questioningly. "Mo mhúirnín bán?"

He smiled back smugly. "I thought you knew gaelic."

She shook her head and decided to not give him the satisfaction of knowing whether she'd understood or not. "I guess I can assume then that she didn't manage to kill you?" Aislinn said changing the topic to something she thought was relatively important considering the position she was currently in on what should have been his wedding night.




Leader of the Pack Ch. 06



"I'm afraid to ask how you know about that," he replied. Then he just couldn't help himself, she was awake, she didn't seem angry with him, and he didn't care about anything other than tasting her right then. He leaned down to her and nuzzled her nose with his own a moment, testing her reaction. When she didn't pull away or push him off of her he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her softly at first and then deeper as she kissed back. It took a little coaxing and she parted her lips allowing his tongue to dip into her mouth and slip along her teeth and tongue. As the kiss continued she felt waves of electricity surging through her body. Heat pooled in her stomach and she twined her leg around his then moaned softly into his mouth when he pushed his hips against her.

They parted briefly, staring into each other's eyes and trying to read the emotions there. Aislinn smiled at him. "I guess this means you're not married then."

"No, that didn't work out," he said with half a chuckle.

"Mmhmm," Aislinn continued. She could feel his need for her pressing against her thigh. She rubbed against him, teasing him a little. "And how did I get here?"

"Rissa brought you here last night. I asked her to check on you and she found you unconscious. So she brought you here to keep you safe." 

"And she put me your bed to keep me safe," she grinned.

Cullen smiled back at her and pressed his hips against her in response to teasing. He growled softly. "Not exactly. I suppose I'm to blame for where you ended up sleeping," he admitted.

"And who dressed me?" Her eyes were on fire. He wanted to sink into those eyes.

"Again I guess that would be me," he said. Then quickly added, "but I behaved myself."

Aislinn leaned into him and nuzzled her nose along his jaw line then kissed and nibbled at his neck. When he started growling again she giggled. Aislinn started running her hands along his chest and the growling grew more intense. Suddenly he grabbed her wrists and pushed her back onto the bed. When her eyes met his again she could see that they had shifted and she was staring at his wolf. She wasn't prepared for the intensity in his eyes that she was met with and her breath caught in her throat. Did he really want her that badly?

"Aislinn," he said, his voice guttural and deep with passion. "You need to be sure here. Too much farther and I won't be able to stop this."

She swallowed. She wanted him but the look on his face and the sound of his voice was frightening. They were both breathing hard and fast. Cullen waited. He didn't want to take this somewhere she wasn't ready or will to go. Aislinn was scared. She wanted this to be real so badly. Cullen started to pull away from her when she didn't answer. As he began to move back she realized that he was ending it and she couldn't handle that. She grabbed his shoulder to stop him from leaving her and kissed him heatedly.

When Aislinn kissed him Cullen felt his wolf overwhelm his senses. He pushed her back down onto the bed and immediately his hands found their way beneath her t-shirt, along her waist, and cupped beneath her breast. His thumb made small circles around her nipple, playing with the hard bud. He growled softly against her mouth. He needed a better taste. He could smell her arousal and he wanted to know her scent that well. She whimpered when he broke the kiss but he growled insistently at her and she lay still to see what he was doing. The blankets were tossed off to the side and Cullen pulled the t-shirt up as he moved his head down to lick at one of her nipples. 

Aislinn's breath caught in her throat. She watched as his tongue stroked her flesh. Soft, wet, warmth flooded from her breast, through her body, and pooled between her legs. Finally she let the air out in a moan that seeped into his mind and sent chills along his spine. He moved down her stomach, trailing his tongue across her skin and leaving a wet path. Aislinn watched as he tore the waist band of her panties and pulled them from her body, dropping the ragged material to the floor next to the bed. Then he leaned down and pressed his face to the triangle of space at the top of her thighs. He stayed there breathing a growling for a moment. The warm air of his breath tickling her skin. 

Finally he couldn't take it any longer and he pressed her legs apart so that he could look at her. She watched his face, how his eyes swirled with passion and his heated expression. This is how it should always be, she thought. Everyone should be wanted like this. Cullen's control was stretched farther than he had ever had to take it. It was all he could to convince his wolf that while he could have her, he had to go slow and he had to remain in this form. He could feel the annoyance in his alternate half. Cullen could only hope that Aislinn would eventually understand and placate that part of him. 

Cullen leaned down between her legs and began alternately kissing, licking and nibbling her inner thigh. Her scent was overpowering. It seeped into his soul and called to his wolf like no one ever had. He worked his way closer and closer to his ultimate goal. If he gave the wolf any more control he knew that he wouldn't have bothered with the little pleasantries that were making her moan so deliciously. Normally with women it went differently. The wolf was set loose and once he'd been sated the man would be allowed to play. But Cullen still wasn't sure what he was dealing with here. He didn't even really know how much she knew. She appeared to have figured him out, but that didn't mean she understood what it meant to be a lycan's lover, that her body was capable of handling what the wolf would do, or that she would be willing to let him be like that with her. 

Aislinn thought she might explode if he didn't stop teasing her. He was being sweet and gentle and coming so close to touching her and then not. Finally she couldn't handle it any longer and she reached down, grabbed his head by the hair and pulled his mouth to her center. Cullen growled with pleasure at her little show of force and took hold of her hips to hold her still while he let his wolf have that taste he had been fighting for. Aislinn arched her back and moaned her appreciation as his tongue delved into her cunt and lapped at her copious juices. His tongue ran from her core to her clit and then he sucked her clit into his mouth. Her fingers twisted into his hair almost painfully and pulled him to her harder. 

Cullen was losing his ability to think. He wanted to plunge into her and bring his own release. But he forced himself to make sure she was ready for that first. He alternated driving his tongue into her sopping cunt and suckling on her clit, listening to her moan sweetly for him. He released one hand from her hip and pressed one finger into her, stroking her walls and feeling her ripple around him. He listened to her breathing quicken and reveled in the thought that he had done this to her. He slipped a second finger insider her and she moaned louder. He continued to suckle at her clit, lashing it with his tongue and nibbling on the hard bud. With his fingers pushing insider her, he had lost control of her hips and she was writhing against. Her moans were increasing in urgency and her hands were pulling painfully at his hair as her hips thrust against his face and hand out of control. 

The sound that came from her as her body convulsed in orgasmic pleasure was somewhere between a moan, a growl, and a screech that might be heard from a jungle cat. Aislinn didn't seem to notice but the sound stopped Cullen dead. He stood on his knees looking down at her. When she stopped writhing from the pleasure coursing through her and looked up at him her eyes were swirling blue and silver pools. If there had been any doubt left in his mind that she wasn't human it was melting into those eyes as he stared at her. 

She wasn't sure what the change in his tempo was from. Aislinn blushed at the way he was s

taring at her. From the amused grin she assumed that he had been enjoying what he was watching and from the look of his tented boxers she figured that he was due for his share of the fun. Aislinn sat up and turned around. She figured from what she had seen in her premonitions the night before that she could guess what he wanted. With her back to him, standing on her knees she took the t-shirt off and tossed it aside. 

When Aislinn moved onto her hands and knees Cullen didn't care any longer about the strange moan. He watched as she moved her legs apart and looked back at him expectantly. He didn't need any further invitation. He virtually ripped the boxers he was wearing off. He stayed himself as he grabbed her hips. He was losing control of the change and he felt his wolf asserting his need. His hands tightened and his muscles strained to force himself to enter her slowly. He felt his cock press into her wet entrance and the warmth of her wrap around him inch by inch.

Aislinn felt herself stretching around him. Felt him pressing into her. His hands were impossibly strong on her hips. She knew she would have bruises where his fingers were pressing into her flesh. His pace was agonizingly slow. She whimpered her need for more. But Cullen heard her cry and thought he was hurting her. With a growl he released her hips and began to move to pull away. When he let go of her she couldn't take it any longer and she pushed herself back onto him. The momentum of Cullen pulling away and Aislinn pushing back resulted in him sitting on his heels with Aislinn on his lap. 

She was growling again and grinding herself against him. Cullen wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face into her hair, breathing her in. He growled in return and squeezed her breasts roughly as she continued to force herself down onto him, trying to take more of him in. Watching her amazed him. He pushed her onto her hands again, forgetting his previous concern and grabbed her hips again. Both of them let out a needy groan as he finally began fucking her. His thrusts were long and hard. He was still holding back but not nearly as much as he had intended. His fingers dug into her hips and their bodies slapped together. The sounds of their growling and moaning mingled deliciously with the sounds of his cock slapping into her cunt. 

It didn't take long. There had been so much build up and tension coming to this point that Cullen was ready to cum from the very beginning. As soon as he felt Aislinn begin to tense beneath him he lost it. He thrust into her hard a few more times as he released into her. Aislinn was so overwhelmed by her own pleasure she nearly missed the molten heat spreading through her from his own release inside of her. Aislinn's arms and legs were shaking as her cunt convulsed around his cock. 

Cullen collapsed off to the side dragging her with him and into his arms as they tried to recover from the intensity of what they had just done.

***

Rafe had arranged for a watch on Aislinn's apartment. He was pissed as hell and determined to have her. Nothing annoyed him more than someone denying him something that was rightly his. When Cullen and Keith pulled up and then left empty handed Rafe figured that at least the Arnauk didn't have her either. He left the watch on her apartment. She'd have to return there some time and when she did he'd have her. Until then he had other business to attend to.

Rafe stroked Jenna's face. He hated having to waste his time with her. But she had access to something he needed. "Time to wake up," he said. 

Jenna groaned. She was dizzy and sick to her stomach. She realized that she was naked and cold and lying on a floor. She sat up looking around and found herself in a large dimly lit room. The room was full of lush furniture. Royal purple plush couches formed a seating area. There were matching curtains covering large windows. Jenna could see from the light trying to penetrate the curtains that it must be well into daylight hours. 

"Come here I have something for you to eat."

Her brain felt numb and she could feel his voice more than hear it. She thought it was the sexiest voice she had ever heard. Jenna looked around the room more and saw where the voice was coming from. "Rafe," she said in confusion. When she tried to get up her head spun. She tried but couldn't remember what had happened the night before. "How did I get here? Did we win?"

"I brought you and no," he replied flatly. She could hear the annoyance in his voice. Something about the feel of his tone warned her to be careful. "Come here and eat. It will help with your stomach and the headache."

Jenna got up and walked over to the bar he was standing behind. Standing, she got a better view of the room. It looked to be a living room. In addition to the extravagant couches there were shelves upon shelves of books and expensive looking antiques of all kinds. Just my style, she thought as she mentally priced out all of the stuff in the room. 

Rafe was pouring a drink for himself and her. He pushed it toward her as she sat on the leather covered stool in front of the wet bar. "This will help," he said contemplatively.

"You seem like you've done this before," she said as she accepted the drink, smelled it and then took a sip. Orange juice and vodka. There was also a plate with steak and potatoes on it. It was prepared the way someone might be served in a decent restaurant. But her stomach wasn't willing to chance it just yet.

"A couple times," he said with a wicked amused grin that told her it was more than a couple times. "Just eat."

At the obvious order she immediately picked up the fork and knife and cut into the steak. She wasn't real sure why she felt so compelled to do as she was told. But she didn't like it.

"You'll get used to it," he said. When she looked up at him he had that amused grin on his face and now she was scared. "Good," Rafe smiled. "You're starting to get the idea. You and I need to talk. I think you'll find that we can arrange a mutually beneficial relationship."

Jenna wasn't about to be cowed that easily. At the same time she didn't know what her position was. The last time she talked to Rafe he had convinced her to attack Cullen Arnauk during their mating ceremony and now she didn't even remember what had happened. It couldn't have gone well from the tone of things. "Alright, I'm listening. But do you think you could arrange for me to get some clothes."

Rafe noted that it had been a demand, not a request. But at least she knew how to phrase it right if she didn't have the tone correct yet. She's trainable. Just like any dog, he thought. He walked across the room to a door on the far wall and went through it. Jenna watched him enter the room and see could see a bed beyond the door when the light was switched on. When he returned he was carrying a silky black robe. He handed it to her and then went over to what appeared to be the main door. Jenna had just put the robe on when he opened the door and a large golden tan lioness came trotting into the room. Jenna growled instinctively as the cat entered the room. 

"Play nice ladies," Rafe said even though the lioness gave Jenna an unimpressed look before alighting on the couch and making herself comfortable. "Jenna, this is Kara and your new escort. I suggest that if you leave these rooms you not go without her. I can't guarantee your safety. They do tend to have minds of their own when I'm not around."

"Where are you going and why am I staying here?" Jenna said before taking another bite of steak. 

"I have business that you needn't worry about. And you are staying here so that Brennus will be good and mad before I heroically return his one and only daughter to his possession," Rafe said dramatically, but with a tone of someone being put out. 

"I'm not that dense. There's more to it than that." She took another bite.

He smiled at her. "Don't you remember what we discussed before?" Jenna felt herself starting to get sleepy. His voice wa s hypnotic. "It's not too late for you to mate with me. We simply won't have Arnauk's pack as well this way. At least not yet. You, my dear will be the alpha's female and I will be the Tairneach alpha. It's what you wanted isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess," she said softly. 

"Good. Now finish eating, get a shower," he said wrinkling his nose and stepping farther away from her, "and get some rest. You've got no need to leave these rooms, but if you do Kara goes with you. You're no prisoner here Jenna," he said with an amused look. "But our plan will work much better if you remain out of site. I certainly think these rooms are nice enough to keep you happy for a while."

Jenna nodded, finished her steak, and then headed for the bathroom believing that Rafe was right and her best bet would be to cooperate with him. When she disappeared into the bathroom and the shower started Kara turned from her lioness form into her human form. 

Rafe looked the woman over. She had always been one of his favorites. He had done well when he changed Kara. Golden cat eyes stared back at him. "Orders?" she asked simply. 

Perfect, he thought. "Like I said to her. She doesn't go anywhere without you. And behave. I need her unscarred for a while. But if she balks the suggestions I gave her. Put her back in her room and lock the door. Just her the impression she'd in control for now. And don't let the others mess with her either."

The woman nodded her compliance and turned back into the cat. He preferred them like that.



Leader of the Pack Ch. 07



Cullen and Aislinn had fallen back to sleep. When the hesitant knock came on the door Cullen groaned. He looked toward the clock on the table next to the bed and saw that it was nearly 9pm. He thought about that for a minute. Yeah, I guess it could be that late. The ceremony, the drive into town, got back here, spent the morning asleep then afternoon with Aislinn. The knock came again, a little more insistent. Cullen hugged Aislinn to himself as he pressed his face into her hair and took a deep breath. By the time the third knock came he was crawling unhappily out of the bed. Aislinn grinned at him before she pulled the blankets back around her and cuddled down into the bed again.

Cullen headed for the door and opened it, knowing that there were only a handful of people who had the key that would get them all the way up to the penthouse. Keith was on the other side of the door. He raised his eyebrows at Cullen when he saw the man standing there completely naked and the woman in the bed beyond the door. Keith shook his head. "Please tell me she's conscious," he laughed.

Cullen pushed Keith out of the doorway and back into the main living area, closing the door as they went. "Yes she's conscious," Cullen growled but couldn't keep the smile from belying the tone in his voice.

Keith laughed openly at that. "Okay, I don't feel quite so used as I did before. I do believe this is the first time I've seen you smile in months. I think that whatever she did to put you in that mood should be bottled and put in an emergency box that the rest of us can get to and throw at you when you start getting pissy. Or we could keep here around on emergency stand my and the next time you get that glare on your face and come after one of us we can hide behind her."

"Alright," Cullen said seriously. "You've had your fun. Now what's up?"

"Well, we can start with the fact that most everyone is back from the reservation and they all want a more thorough explanation than I have to give them. Not to mention I've been running interference with Celia and the rest. Everyone downstairs knows you brought her up here last night. Between Meghan asking if she'll be back to work at all and Celia's group trying to find out who she is and how she got this privileged so quickly, I'm going crazy. Mostly because I don't have the answers to give them. You kinda took us all off guard on this one, my friend."

Cullen nodded. "Sorry. I didn't plan it. As far as explanations for everyone go, I'll need to talk to Aislinn before I'll have the answers to any of the questions that are going to be asked. Give me an hour and I'll be down. Besides, I'm starving."

Keith grinned again. "Now if I leave you two alone, you will get dressed and make it downstairs right?"

"You know," Cullen said smugly and crossed his arms over his chest, "do I need to remind you of that little party back in Boston, new years, 1907. I don't recall complaining about all the trouble I went through dealing with the Merick clan while you were off with the alpha's favorite daughter."

"Ooo, low blow," Keith laughed. "Alright alright I'm going, before you start digging up any more dirt on me."

"I wouldn't have to dig long," Cullen smiled.

"Ouch, I said I was going." Keith headed for the elevator and hit the button. "One hour," he reiterated as the doors slid open and he stepped inside.

Cullen ran his hand through his hair. He knew that this wasn't going to be an easy conversation. When he opened the bedroom door and walked into the room he was seriously tempted to jump back into his bed. He couldn't believe how much of a hold she had on him or how pleased he was by it. The word mate kept running through his mind. He didn't want to let her be around anyone else until he made their relationship permanent. Again he found himself forcing his wolf to concede to the human logic that it just wasn't going to work that way.

There were a number of things he needed to know from her. First he had to find out what else she knew about what happened during the mating ceremony and how she knew about it. He wanted to know more about her and that included her past as well as what she was. He stood there staring at her realizing how little he knew. At the same time he didn't really care. If he didn't need the information for protecting the pack he would have been perfectly happy just being with her. 

Aislinn stared back at him. She could see him thinking. She sat up, drew her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. She watched him and waited for him to decide what he was going to say. When he didn't seem forthcoming with what he was thinking she decided to break the contemplative silence. Aislinn smiled widely at Cullen. "I guess you don't worry much for modesty around here."

Her statement jarred Cullen out of his thought process. "Huh?"

"Do you always answer the door naked?" Aislinn almost started laughing, between his confused reaction and the look on his face.

"I knew it was probably Keith. There aren't many people able to get all the way to my bedroom door without making a lot of noise. And for the most part, no, I don't think much about modesty the same way you might." Cullen's voice was heavy and serious. Aislinn could feel the next question coming before it actually came out of his mouth. "That is if you're human."

Aislinn shifted awkwardly . "Well, I guess that you might have a right to ask that after the way we spent the morning. But I can honestly tell you that I don't really know. Not that I see why it should matter," she added with a knowing look. "In any case I prefer to answer my door with clothes no matter who is there. I've never known any guys who were quite that free. Even with good friends. Maybe you could arrange for me to get something to where for when I'm on my way out of here?"

"Aislinn," Cullen came over and sat down on the bed facing her. He knew from the tone, the run on attempt at changing the subject and the look on her face that he was in dangerous territory. He was speaking slowly and Aislinn figured that he was choosing his words very carefully. "As far as you and I are concerned, I don't care what you are. I want you here regardless. You can be an alien for all that matters," he smiled at her and she smiled back at the attempt to be light hearted. "But I'm in a difficult position when it comes to balancing my personal life with protecting the pack."

Aislinn's face dropped and became more tired and sad. "So if I were a danger to you would you get rid of me?"

Cullen quickly moved closer to her and reached out to touch her cheek. He forced her to look into his eyes. "No. I don't think I'd be capable of giving you up at this point. But I need all the information I can get if I'm going to make sure everyone is safe."

Aislinn smiled at him weakly. She put her hand on the back of his, turned her face to kiss his palm and pulled his hand away. "I'm sorry but I told you the truth. I was born human. At least I thought I was. I don't know. Rafe," he felt her shudder at the mention of that name, "has confused me about a lot of things."

"Alright, so start from the beginning. Who is Rafe? How do you know him? How did you know about the things you said to me at the restaurant the other night?"

"That's all a long story," she said and it was apparent that she didn't want to talk about it.

Cullen nodded. He got up and headed over to a table where he had left his phone the night before. He hit a button and waited, all the while smiling at her reassuringly. "Hey, Sarah?" Cullen paused and then growled into the phone. "I told Keith an hour. You'll get your explanations then. For now I need you to bring some clothes up here for Aislinn." There was another pause. "I don't know," he answered, then looked over at Aislinn. "What size do you wear?" She raised her eyebrows as if to say the question wasn't polite. "Oh come on," he said exasperated. "I can't get you clothes if I don't know what to ask for."

"Six," she responded.

Cullen echoed the number into the phone. "And give me some time." Then he hung up and walked over to Aislinn with a frustrated air.

"You know I could have just worn my work clothes." She indicated the pile he had made the night before. "I was just giving you a hard time," she said apologetically.

Cullen mirrored the concerned look she was giving him and shook his head. "My frustration isn't for you. Please don't take it like that. And the clothes aren't an issue. There are plenty lying around here somewhere. We tend to go through them regularly," he smiled.

Aislinn smiled back but it was only half-hearted and when he continued it dropped from her face completely again. "I'm sorry I have to push this. But I get the impression that you know a great deal that could help with some things we've been having trouble coping with." 

"Can't we just go back to having sex," she grinned wickedly. But Cullen's eyes told her that she needed to be serious and answer him. She shifted uncomfortably, then shot a heavy glare at Cullen. "I'm not used to being able to trust people the way you're asking me to trust you right now."

Cullen was trying to be understanding, but he didn't have a lot of time and was a bit hurt that she'd fuck him but wouldn't trust him. "I can't make you talk to me," he said and the hurt came through in his tone. "But you did say that you feel safe with me."

Aislinn nodded. She did feel safe with him. She wanted to trust him.

Cullen could see the conflict in her eyes as she stared at her hands and considered what to do. "Aislinn, I don't even know your whole name. I can tell you that the amount of trust I had to have in you to bring you up here was pretty high. I got used to trusting my instincts some time ago. I wonder why you're fighting yourself so hard right now. I give you my word that I won't hurt you. You may not know it, because you aren't part of the pack, but my word is worth a great deal to me. I don't make promises lightly."

"Alright," she said slowly. I guess I have to start trusting someone sometime. God I hope he is what he seems to be, she thought and tears almost came to her eyes. Aislinn hadn't wanted anything this badly in a long time. She hadn't dared to think she could have a family again, let alone a lover. And she wanted this to be so much more than just a onetime thing. "The burning buildings," Aislinn started, remembering the vision she'd had in the restaurant.

Cullen nodded encouragingly. "I need to know how you knew about that and what else you might know."

Aislinn sighed. She knew that she might as well get it over with. I suppose if he's going to decide I'm not worth the effort because of my past then it would be better for it to happen sooner rather than later. Aislinn resigned herself to the possibility of a miserable outcome and decided to just give him the whole story from the beginning. "Okay, I guess I should say that I've had premonitions, visions for as long as I can remember. When I was little I was told that it was just coincidence that I was dreaming about things that happened. The visions didn't get detailed or strange until after Rafe." Cullen's eyes narrowed but he sat silently waiting for her to continue. 

"In the beginning it was just vague impressions about things. My mother used to tell me that I was psychic, just like her. It always bothered my grandmother. She would tell my mother not to encourage me. They fought a lot about that." Aislinn's eyes glazed over and sadness over took her features. Cullen was tempted to comfort her but he didn't want to take the chance that she'd stop talking. "I believed that for a while. The visions didn't actually get strong or bad until I met Rafe. That was in college. About seven years ago. I was earning my masters in folklore." She smiled at him wanly. "Maybe I was always headed in this direction. My thesis was on gothic lit. You know Frankenstein, Dracula, and the reality that resulted in the fiction. My mother always argued with me about my college career. She didn't think I'd ever get a job with that kind of degree. I told her that I'd get my doctorate and teach it. I couldn't help it. I was just drawn to that stuff." Cullen chuckled and grinned at her. Thinking how gorgeous her eyes were.

"I studied several dead languages as well. I can read or speak quite a few actually. Gaelic being one of them. I figured that if I didn't end up teaching folklore then having experience with multiple languages would get me somewhere." She smiled at Cullen and he smiled back reassuringly, but remained silent and waited for her to continue. "Rafe was teaching one of my folklore classes. When I started taking his class was when the visions started getting scary. I didn't connect them to him at first. They were all disjointed and vague. As though something was trying to warn me that I was in danger." 

She took another deep breath. "But Rafe, himself, was always very nice. Exceedingly so. And he always smelled good. I don't know what it was but he wore some kind of cologne that made me want to breath him in. He ran a club after class that examined and discussed antique texts. I ended up joining the club and that was when we started dating." Cullen shifted and his jaw tightened. "That was a bad phase in my life. After I started dating him I found myself pulling away from my family and friends that I had known all my life. My world revolved around the guy. I had no idea what I was getting into or what he was doing to me. 

"After I told him about my visions, which I never should have done, he seemed to be even more interested in me. Since I was a doting girlfriend at the time I was willing to do anything to please him or make him happy with me. He started taking me with him on weekends to a compound that he lived on. It was weird. After I got away from it I started thinking it was probably a cult. 

"He referred to the compound as the Circle. When we were there the people treated him like he was God. They would do anything he told them to do. It was creepy. He told me that there used to be a council that ran the place, but he had convinced them that he would be a better leader than the council. I would nod stupidly and agree with him when he told me things like that and when I was informed of how wonderful and brilliant he was. Each time I went there with him things got stranger. But since it happened in little pieces I just accepted it day by day. I stopped talking to my family completely and my friends. Looking back on all of it I'm almost grateful that my separation from them happened the way it did. It's probably what stopped him from using them against me later. 

"Anyway the first couple times I went out there with him I noticed the exotic animals around the place. Lots of them. All kinds and weird ones too. Animals that looked like a bear had bred with a gorilla. And on any given occasion when I looked at them, especially the females, their eyes would glow and swirl. None of them in cages, just wandering around. Then there was the time I was there that I walked into an orgy. Animals and humans. At the time, I was exceedingly bothered by that." She smiled at Cullen as she put the emphasis on 'at the time.' "Even though it was so strange Rafe was always able to explain it all away and I would just accept it. Even now there always seems to be this part of my brain that looks at things that should bother me and tells me that I haven't seen anything yet and if I stare at anything long enough I'll see something unusual in it and that's okay." 

"As time wore on I started having black outs. When I would go with him to the Circle I wouldn't remember what had happened to me. I started getting scared. I didn't like the things I saw there. And I both wanted to know and still don't want to know what was happening to me that I couldn't remember. When I wasn't around Rafe for a long period of time I'd start to wonder why I was going along with him. But it was like every time I saw him I just accepted it all and was happy to do whatever he wanted from me. When I questioned him about what happened during some of the blackout time he would tell me not to worry about it and that he was taking care of me. I was his favorite." She had chills at the thought.

"Finally he decided that I should quit college and go live at the Circle. The suggestions he started making then got more and more demanding. I don't really know when I got control of my mind again. It might have been the day that I watched him order a man put to death. He fed the man to some of the lions that he had walking around." Cullen growled in distaste. This was the kind of thing that would keep weres and humans from ever being able to interact with each other.

Aislinn continued. "I was starting to think that I needed to get away from them. But I would lose the motivation every time I saw Rafe. I suppose I should thank Kara for giving me the incentive to get out. She was one of his favorites. She was always walking around naked and flaunting herself in front of Rafe. She hated me. She was the one who told me that he intended to get me pregnant." Cullen growled again.

Aislinn smiled at him. "It never happened. I left. It took more than I ever imagined it would. He sent people after me and I kept having to move. Any time I started to get settled somewhere the visions would come back. More and more detailed. It got to the point where I could feel him coming for me and could move on before it became too urgent. I got better at controlling the premonitions over the years. But he never stopped and just kept coming. It was always just a matter of how long. But the longer I was away from him the more I realized about what had been happening and what he had been doing. So I tried all the harder to keep out of his reach. Random cash jobs in shithole places until the visions came back and then I'd run. There were pieces of it all that I learned from visions and things that I just remembered."

"I can tell you that Rafe can influence anyone with his mind. He seems to be able to control people, large groups of people. Mostly you have to be kinda willing to let him. So he always comes off nice at first and slowly manipulates you into trusting him. Just like any guy who might start a cult. He starts by giving you things you want or treating you the way you want. Whatever will get you to trust him enough to let him plant suggestions in your head. He doesn't seem to be able to make people do things that they are drastically inclined not to do. Like if he had ever told me to kill someone that wouldn't have worked. I don't think." Aislinn seemed to look into herself at that before returning to the story. "He can get into dreams and he's been able to pull me out of my dreams. That's the worst because it doesn't matter where I am or how far, he can grab my mind and pull me to him. Sometimes I think that's worse than him having me physically. He doesn't seem to be able to get into my head while I'm awake. So I try to sleep as little as I can and usually at odd times of the day. Hence the bar jobs being my favorites. It give him fewer opportunities to bother me. During your ceremony, while I was sleeping, he grabbed me out of my dreams and brought me to the ceremony. He was there. Watching you all and waiting to attack you."

"The best way to describe it is an out of body experience. It's like my consciousness is somewhere. And no one can see me or hear me but I can see and hear them. I can walk around and touch things but no one can feel my touch. Or at least I used to think they couldn't." She briefly considered that she had managed to touch the lycans' dreams that night before continuing. "But I really don't know much about it. It all just sort of happens to me. But the impression Rafe has given me is that he's able to do more to me because I'm like him." Just saying it left a bad taste in her mouth.




Leader of the Pack Ch. 07



"He had set it up that Jenna was supposed to kill you. When she did then the people he's gotten to inside your pack were going to attack the rest of the pack and his people would come out of hiding and then he was supposed to take over. Obviously it didn't work." Aislinn looked upset. She didn't like thinking about all of it. At the mention of people in his pack Cullen tensed and had to remind himself to let her finish.

"He also mentioned that he had given me the 'gift of the change.' Whatever that means. And that he would finish it when he got me back. I guess I did notice some things about myself that had changed after I left him. I was stronger and faster. I could smell things better and my vision and hearing got better. I never understood it but I didn't have time to think about it, what with all the running. I don't really know what it means or what the change is for certain. But I think I can guess that at this point. I don't think anything would surprise me after everything I've seen and been through. My visions got stronger as well. And sometimes when I saw myself in them I would be something on all fours. I never really thought that it was anything more than a dream form of some kind. I mean I've dreamt that I'm other people I know or that I'm a shadow or that I could fly. So why not dream that I was an animal? I never considered that the animal thing might be part of the premonition until I started to figure you out. And even then I never really took that idea seriously. In my visions I'm on four legs but I've never seen what I am. And Rafe's statement didn't include a description of what he'd changed me into. I never actually saw all those animals change into people or vice versa but I don't think that it would be a big jump to guess that they could." Cullen nodded.

Aislinn stopped and looked contemplative. She was trying to think if there was anything else she knew that Cullen might find helpful to know. Not to mention if she told him everything right now then she'd be able to say honestly that she didn't have any more information. "Um, I've heard him use the word druid. Between that and him calling the compound the Circle and the research I did when I had that luxury I was able to draw conclusions and make connections about that. But it's not like the original druids in Europe from 500BC kept records or books so that I could figure out what he was thinking he was. But I could pretty much guess he wasn't the Winston Churchill kind of druid. I also know that Rafe has some weird vision of cultivating a 'perfect Circle.' I don't know what exactly that meant but I heard the phrase more than once. He has a crazy vision of something and he's been planning to get it for years. 

"I know from the vision in the restaurant and from the ceremony that he wants the standing stones for some reason. But you should have figured that out by now. I'm guessing from the whole druid connection and the Stonehenge associations that he either wants them for sentimental reasons or he thinks there's power there. I don't know for sure on that one either. Really I don't know anything. I just have a lot of partial information. Just enough to make Rafe keep coming and not enough to do me any good."

She took a deep breath and moved to stretch. Cullen watched her quietly, realizing that he had almost forgotten she was naked during all of the seriousness. It was all he could do to keep from going after her breasts as he watched her change positions and get comfortable again. "Anyway, that's how I met him and why I don't know if I'm human and how I knew about the stuff with you and the ceremony. Did I leave anything out? Oh yeah," she added sarcastically. "My full name is Aislinn Brianne Stevens." 

Cullen noted the sarcasm in that last and knew that her self defense mechanism had kicked in and that he better be careful or he'd be sleeping alone after the meeting. And he definitely didn't want that. So he ignored the tone and focused on the information he still needed that she hadn't already answered. "Do you know where this compound is? Can you find it again?"

"Yeah, I think I could if I had to," she said uncomfortably. "But I don't really recommend it. I mean, not that I don't think you guys aren't pretty tough or anything, but as far as the animal kingdom hierarchy goes I think lions, tigers, and bears would probably beat a wolf on the brute force and damage scales."

Cullen smiled at her. She certainly was a thinker. And he had to admit that she was right. Well as far as most of the pack was concerned. An alpha, by nature, put him above the rest and he had more than a decent chance of being capable of dealing with the kinds of things she was talking about. However, the average lycan probably would have a tough time dealing with the average were tiger. "I may be a bit tougher than you think," he said. "But you're right in general. Especially if he has the numbers you seem to be implying. Cullen was becoming increasingly more concerned. It felt good to know what he was up against at the same time there was a sinking feeling coming from it all. And Aislinn's answers were creating more questions.

Then there was the one question that he didn't really want to know. "Do you know who in my pack is aiding this asshole?" Aislinn shook her head no.

Cullen looked over at the clock. He wondered where Sarah was with those clothes he'd sent for. He had promised an hour and he intended to make good on that. He smiled trying to stop his brain for what brief time he had left before dealing with the council. He could tell that as far as Aislinn knew she had told him everything. It came across in her tone and the expectant way she kept looking at him. As if she was waiting for him to kick her out and be done with her now. 

Cullen decided that at the very least he needed to make sure she was okay before they headed downstairs and she had to deal with everyone. He pushed all the frustrating information she had just given him out of his mind. He reached out and ran a hand over her shoulder and down her back smiling wickedly as he did. "We could both use a shower."

Aislinn smiled back. The relief she was feeling at the fact that he was still interested was almost overwhelming. "Trying to wash my scent off of you?" she teased.

"Nope," he said as he stood up offering her his hand. "I fully intend to re-mark my territory the first chance I get." She raised her eyebrows at him as she took his hand and he pulled her up into his arms. He held her tightly to himself and breathed her scent in. "But I haven't had a shower in a day or so and, while you might not care, there are a few people who might. I just thought it would be fun to bring you with me. Though, I would be just as happy if you wanted to walk around with my scent all over you, advertising that you were in my bed. Less competition that way." He grinned at her devilishly.

Aislinn's face fell a bit. "Something occurs to me," she said. "I mean it's not like I didn't know you were in charge around here. But I guess I just didn't really think about it in terms of where things have ended up. I mean. What exactly am I dealing with here?"

Cullen looked at her carefully. She had the right to know. He was impressed that she knew the right questions to ask and worried that the answers might scare her off at the same time. Well, I guess it's my turn to be worried about being dumped. He had never been in that position before. "How likely are you to run away from me if you don't like what you hear?" he asked only half kidding.

It was Aislinn's turn for the reassuring smile. "Pretty unlikely as long as you tell me that you want me around and prepare me for whatever is going to happen when we leave this room. Or we could just stay here forever?" she suggested hopefully.

He grinned at the joke. We may be too close of a match, he thought and wondered what the fates were getting him into with her. "If only. I wish we could hide up here. But seeing as we can't…" He considered his answer carefully. "Alright, you were honest with me and it's not like I'll be able to hide the kind of thing you're asking about. Let's jump in the shower and I'll explain while we get cleaned up. I don't have much more time left before I need to get downstairs."

Aislinn finally took his hand and stood up to go with him. He nodded toward a door on the far wall and Aislinn headed for the bathroom. Cullen grinned devilishly as Aislinn walked in front of him toward the bathroom. He loved the swing of her hips and the fact that she was naked certainly added to it. 

She glanced back at him and chuckled when she saw his huge erection. "That didn't take much."

"With you it never does," he smiled. 

As they walked into the bathroom Aislinn looked around at the enormous room. She had never seen a bathroom so big. There was an entry area with a small couch and a plush navy carpet on the floor. The tiles were gray marble looking and they led up to a large tub in a raised platform with steps leading up to the edge of the tub. The tub looked like there were Jacuzzi jets in it and it was impossibly deep. Cullen noted the impressed look on her face as she examined the tub. "Maybe later," he said as he read her mind. "We don't have time for what would happen if we got in there." He grabbed her around the waist and drug her to the shower stall on the far wall. "I actually don't tend to us the tub much. But with you around I might be inclined to spend some leisure time in there." As he was talking he turned the knobs on a walk in shower that was in the back corner of the bathroom and put his hand in the stream to see if the water was warm enough. 

Aislinn let him pull her into the streaming water of the shower. "I just haven't had a real bath in a while and that is some tub. But don't let that change the subject. You were going to tell me what's downstairs."

Cullen thought about making joke about the casino and restaurant being downstairs but decided that he didn't have time to mess around at this point. He grabbed up the soap and lathered his hands then much to Aislinn's delight started to run them over her body instead of his own. She giggled as his hands slid over her and he started talking. "How often do you watch the discovery channel," he asked more seriously than she liked.

"Not often in the past seven years. I haven't had cable. You don't really mean-"

Cullen cut her off. "No it's not quite that barbaric, but the principle is the same. And you, mo mhúirnín bán," he added making her smile and working his way over her breasts with his soapy hands, "are in the pack alpha's bed. Unfortunately I've been around for a long time. After a certain point I stopped thinking I was going to find one woman I wanted to commit to," he paused trying to think of how to put the rest of what he was going to say.

Aislinn was a little amused by the way he was staring at her breasts and running soapy fingers around her nipples. He looked like he was concentrating on something vastly important. She couldn't believe he was that nervous talking to her about it. He reminded her of a high school kid trying to ask a girl if she wanted to go steady or wear his ring. She leaned into him and reached down to his erection. As the soap from her body ran over it she began gliding her hand up and down along its length. "So I get two things out of what you've just said. Firstly, there are several women, who might want to beat me up. This being a pack of wolves and the strongest of them is the one who should be in the alpha's bed. And secondly, that maybe you think that you might be interested in making some kind of commitment to me," she said tentatively, afraid to hope.

He finally looked her in the eyes. "You are certainly clever. I'll give you that. You can turn me down," he said. His stare was intense. It was like he was trying to get inside her head. "But really that's a conversation for when we have more time than we do now and for when you really understand what you'll be getting into if you agree to it. Just think about it," he said hopefully. "But as far as the first one goes, yeah there's a number of women who'll try to put you in what they think your place should be. I personally don't care if you end up an omega. But they'll think that if they make you look bad enough in that respect then I'll lose interest. So they'll try. The rest of the pack will probably be curious and inquisitive but not dangerous. I suggest you stay away from any women who seem to be trying to pick a fight. It's worse than an actual wolf pack in the regards that it's not just physical prowess. There's an element of mental prowess that goes along with it. Brute strength can really only get you so far. And I have had a tendency of preferring the higher ranking females who've offered over the lower ranks. So you can count on the ones trying to cause you trouble being good fighters and thinkers as well. As far as the men go, you shouldn't have any real trouble with them. Except that since I've shown interest in you they might try to find out why." Cullen seemed to growl the last part. 

Aislinn just stood there feeling his hands running along her body and stroking his erection and listening. "Okay," she said curtly. Aislinn was starting to think he was just trying to add her to a pack harem or something. She didn't know what to think. She certainly didn't want to share him, regardless of what the hell he was or wasn't. But she couldn't stand the idea of leaving and never feeling him cum inside her again. Her stomach was in knots and her brain was spinning. "Don't worry too much. A person doesn't survive on the streets for seven years without learning a couple things. I can take care of myself."

He moved his hips into her stroking and his eyes rolled back into his head momentarily before returning to the conversation. She pulled her hand off of him finally, noting his disappointed reaction to the loss of attention. She grabbed up the shampoo and poured some into her hands, sniffed at the nonexistent smell and started washing her hair. 

Cullen watched her soap her hair and couldn't help but reach out and toy with her breasts some more. This was taking longer than he should allow it to. "I'm not doubting that you can take care of yourself in most circumstances. But you aren't lycan and they're going to have trouble with that. And although you may be able to hold your own against a human in fight, Aislinn, these women aren't going to be nice enough to stay in human form. That's not how pack rank works. They're going to try to test you and there won't be anything I can really do about it. I probably won't even be around when they decide to mess with you, if they're smart about it."

Aislinn noted the concern in his tone. "Really, Cullen, I'll be okay." She turned away from him and leaned into the water to wash the soap out of her hair. She breathed out heavily. "Just one last thing," she added unhappily. "Not that I won't consider it if it's what you're looking for, but I just want to know up front. Perfectly clear so there's not any confusion. Are you expecting me to join the ranks of all these women you have sex with and just wait around here for my turn in your bed? I mean I was kinda getting the impression that you wanted more than that and I don't want to misinterpret what's going on here."

Cullen realized the mistake he'd made in what he'd said and wished he could go back and reword the whole thing. The hurt in her voice was almost palpable. He stepped up behind her, the water streaming over them as he pressed against her. His erection found its way between her legs and pressed into the slippery wet that was still there. "I've never wanted any of them the way I want you," he said softly into her ear. "I'm not very good at this. But I give you my word that I'm not trying to add you to any ranks the way you think." He pressed his erection as deeply into her slit as he could get it from their angle and listened to her moan. "You are one great big long list of things I've never felt or done before. Every instinct I have is telling me to take you and claim you and it's been all I could do to stop myself from acting on that."

Aislinn wasn't positive what he meant by 'claim' but from the way he was talking she could tell that it was incredibly serious. Aislinn felt his cock pressing into her and after what he had said she needed more of it. Aislinn stepped so that her legs were spread further apart and leaded forward until she had her hands braced on the wall of the shower under the shower head. She looked back over her should to see him eyeing her dangerously. Molten amber flooded his eyes and he was breathing heavily. "What are your instincts telling you to do now?"

Cullen's emotions were too close to the surface. Aislinn just seemed able to push his buttons exactly the right way without even trying. Before he could push the wolf back down he grabbed her hips and plunged into her. A low growl issued from his throat. On arm wrapped around her waist to hold her still and the other arm reached under her to grab and torture one of her breasts while he pounded into her roughly. Aislinn let out an appreciative moan that pulled Cullen's wolf further to the surface and his hands began to shift. 

Aislinn felt claws rake her beast. The pain mingled deliciously with the pleasure and she gasped. The water hit them as they moved together. Aislinn tried to adjust her hips to get more of him inside her but she couldn't manage the right angle. She let out a needy moan. "Harder, Cullen," she begged.

When Aislinn's words registered in his mind Cullen felt his wolf slip just a little more and his body shifted further. He felt fangs grow in his mouth and his face shift barely into his lycan form. He was holding it all back by a thread. But Aislinn's moaning and begging was more than he could handle. His wolf wanted her too badly. 

Aislinn felt her body yanked upright. Water hit her in the face and she closed her eyes. His arm around her waist was like steel. She felt the claws on her breast leave and then felt her head being pulled to one side. She let him move her how he wanted. She could still feel his massive cock thrusting into her. Her hands reached for something to hold onto but only found the slippery walls of the shower. Then she felt the piercing pain. Cullen bit down on her neck just where it met with her shoulder. She drew in a sharp breath. It was a strange sensation. Something about it brought her over the edge. She felt heat pool in her lower belly and the pleasure rolled over her. Her body trembled with the sensations and she cried out as he forced himself into her repeatedly through her orgasm.

Cullen tasted the blood as it rushed into his mouth. She was sweet and her cries were needed and the combination mingled in his lycan mind as pure pleasure. As she climaxed he held on and forced himself up into her over and over again. Her pulsing walls brought him over the edge. Cullen started to fall forward as he lost control of his muscles through the convulsing pleasure of their orgasm. He released the hand he had holding her head to the side and caught himself on the wall of the shower.

Aislinn was finally able to open her eyes as they moved toward the wall. She only barely registered how close they both came to falling over. She reached out and helped Cullen to catch their fall as he came back to reality. She could feel his hot breath on her shoulder as the pain and pressure from his bite began to sink in. Cullen heard her whimper and pulled his mouth from her. He had left a very definite bite on her shoulder. A strange combination of pleasure and guilt swept through him at the sight of the bloody bite mark on her shoulder.

Sarah's voice jarred him out of the moment as she called into the bathroom. "If you both are finished," she said angrily, "I have those clothes you asked for."




Leader of the Pack Ch. 07



"Coach," Cullen swore and carefully put Aislinn down. His wolf completely retreated into the recesses of his mind. At least he's pleased with himself, Cullen thought in annoyance. "We gotta get moving," he said and flipped the water off.

Aislinn gave him a dreamy look over her shoulder as she joined him back in reality. "Yeah, sure," she said with a smile.

He stared at her and considered the fact that she seemed pleased with what had happened and briefly wondered if she understood the significance of what he had done. It didn't matter right then. He'd have to have a serious conversation with her about it later. But for now they needed to get dressed and head downstairs. 

He handed her a towel as she stepped out of the shower and she wrapped it around herself. Aislinn stopped for a moment to look at herself in the mirror before joining him in the bedroom. She winced at the painful looking bite mark on her shoulder. She could tell from where it was that she'd have trouble hiding it. She had a brief flashback to the first time she had a hickey in high school and wearing a turtle necks and scarves for a week so that no one would notice. 

When she got into the bedroom Cullen was already pulling his pants on. Sarah had left the clothes on for Aislinn on his bed and had disappeared. Cullen looked over at the clock and swore again. He was already 10 minutes late. He knew that Sarah would tell Keith what she had walked in on and Cullen would have to go through another round of tormenting as a result. Then he looked over at Aislinn and saw her smiling at him. Her eyes were on fire. He wished that the two of them could run off for a month or so, alone. He wanted time to really know her, talk to her, and spend time understanding her. He wanted to be with her forever. That much he knew. But there was too much happening to afford that kind of luxury right now. Though it had been decades since he'd had the kind of motivation he was feeling right now to resolve an issue facing the pack.

Cullen growled under his breath as he finished dressing and watched her put her clothes on. It was just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "I don't have any shoes," Aislinn said as she looked around the room.

"You don't really need them," Cullen said with a shrug. "We're not leaving the building. You'll find any number of people downstairs missing more than just shoes. I'll get you some when we have a little more time."

Aislinn heard the rush in his voice and nodded. She figured that shoes were the least of her worries right now. 

***********

I want to thank everyone for all the feedback. I love getting it, good or bad! Thanks! Sorry this one took so long, thanksgiving, finals, a thesis or two… and all. 

 It's ended up being longer than I had originally intended. And I've done some back editing to the original story to fix some plot holes pointed out by some helpful readers. Sorry those are in the posted version. Maybe when it's all finished, If people want I'll post one file with the edited, proofread, completed version in it. But I don't really know how many people would want to read it again for the changes that were made. Who knows… Thanks for all the comments and advice. Keep it up!

For your info there are more than 5 chapters pending for posting to the site. When literotica gets round to the upload you'll all get the more you keep asking for. Don't worry it'll be finished…

And don't forget to vote!



Leader of the Pack Ch. 08







Leader of the Pack Ch. 08



Meredith's eyes virtually bulged out of her head. "Have you no respect for Lord Arnauk? You've no right to use his name."

Aislinn looked over at Rissa, who was wincing a bit and looking at her as though Meredith was right. But Rissa was keeping her mouth shut on this one. "Well," Aislinn said, "he told me to use his name. What? You slept with him and you never earned the privilege?"

Rissa leaned in conspiratorially. "You didn't tell me you could use his name."

Aislinn shrugged. "What's the big deal?"

"No one but a few of the elders get to call Lord Arnauk anything other than Lord Arnauk or General. He's the alpha Aislinn," she said as if Aislinn had missed something very important about the word alpha.

"Okay, but I'm new at this. I don't get all the rules here. I just do what he told me to do. He's never once told me to not call him Cullen. And frankly if I slept with someone," she added looking at Meredith incredulously, "and he didn't let me use his first name, I wouldn't be continuing to sleep with him, whatever he was."

Meredith couldn't take the condescending tone any longer. "That's enough. If you don't adjust your attitude then the little bit of his scent that still clings to you won't be enough to keep me from teaching you a lesson about pack etiquette."

Aislinn shook her head. "You don't intimidate me. Either do what you think you want to do or go away."

At that Meredith began growling. Aislinn just continued to glare at her sharply. With no warning Meredith shifted into her hybrid form, and then leaped at Aislinn where she sat. Aislinn only had a second to contemplate the change she saw with fascination before the woman was on top of her. Rissa barely managed to get out of the way as Meredith grabbed hold of Aislinn on the couch. The force of the attack caused the couch to vault backward and both women went rolling to the floor. A circle cleared around them in the room. Great, Aislinn thought, Cullen tells me to avoid fighting and the first thing I do is get into a fight. With that thought in mind Aislinn used the momentum from the roll off the couch to continue the roll until she was on top of Meredith. The shocked lycan pushed Aislinn off and then got to her feet and turned to continue the attack. Aislinn was on her feet as well and faster than any of the people in the room expected launched her own attack. Meredith was thrown completely off guard as the smaller woman began a volley of punches and kicks that quickly had her backed against the wall. Before Meredith could get her mind back in the situation Aislinn managed a punch to her face that had blood pouring from the lycan's nose. If Meredith hadn't changed into her hybrid form the blow probably would have broken her nose. Meredith was blinded by the pain and let out a growl that caused the onlookers to step back. She started flailing at any shape she could identify. Aislinn dodged each swipe as though she was bored with it. She had figured that a lycan would be faster than this. She led Meredith around the room ducking out of the way of each clawing attack and taunting the woman as they went. The room of people had fallen into deadly silence. They couldn't believe that this outsider was making such a fool of one of their betas.

Finally Aislinn grew tired of playing with Meredith. She grabbed Meredith's arm as the woman tried to claw at her again and flipped her so that she landed face first on the floor. In a blur of movements Aislinn had the woman pinned. Meredith growled furiously. Aislinn was impossibly strong and the angle at which she was holding Meredith's arm left the woman incapable of getting any leverage to change the situation. Not to mention it sent shooting pain up the woman's back and felt as though Aislinn was about to rip it off. "You shoulllldn't be abllle to do thiiis," Meredith hissed through clenched teeth in a guttural voice that shouldn't have come from her throat as she struggled to get control of the situation.

Aislinn's voice had a deadly quality to it. "Don't make assumptions about things you know nothing about. I suggest that you submit to the superior fighter here."





Leader of the Pack Ch. 08



"Why are all of you so stuck on how exactly we had sex? I don't get it," Aislinn glared at her. "And it's none of your business." Cullen stiffened and Sarah gave him a harsh glare at that.

"On the contrary. They're stuck on it because what the alpha does with his women is everyone's business." Celia grinned. Sarah had to hold Cullen back as the face off continued. Celia leaned in closer to Aislinn. Neither woman was willing to drop her gaze from the other for an instant. "Did you bite him back? Taste him?" Aislinn didn't answer. "No? Shame. I would have. Did he do it on purpose? Did he tell you what it means? Do you have any idea what it takes to be the alpha bitch?"

Suddenly Celia stopped. She tilted her head and her eyes looked over Aislinn's shoulder and stopped on the three elders that had been watching. She smiled broadly. "Have you come to make sure I didn't hurt her?"

Aislinn wasn't sure if Celia was trying to distract her so that she could attack or if there was something that was actually drawing her attention. Celia stood upright and dropped the threatening demeanor as though it had never been. She looked at Aislinn with more hatred than Aislinn had ever seen and at the same time there was a tear in the corner of her eye. She stepped in closer to Aislinn. Speaking in a whisper so low that Aislinn could barely hear what she was saying. "Do you love him?" she asked.

Aislinn swallowed hard. She didn't have an answer.

"Then you and I will have to finish this later," Celia said.

Aislinn looked at her in confusion. Then followed her gaze to the group in the doorway. Cullen was eyeing them both cautiously. The woman with him looked pissed and Keith had a disappointed air about him. He obviously wanted to watch a fight. Celia nodded in submission toward Cullen and then headed out the door. A man who had been standing against the wall immediately followed her. He had an annoyed air about him and Aislinn shortly heard arguing from down the hall. 

She was waiting to see what Cullen was going to say. She was pretty certain that he wouldn't be happy with her. To her surprise he came over to her and started looking her over for injury. "Are you alright?" The rest of the room stared on in shock and amusement.

Aislinn tried to stop his fussing but wasn't very successful. "Yeah, I'm fine. I told you I would be." 

Cullen stopped as she growled at him and he grinned at her. "Picking up bad habits," he said.

"Huh?" Aislinn was frustrated. It had been a difficult evening.

"The growling. Not generally a human habit." He smiled at her. He was greatly amused by the fire in her eyes. And the idea that she had held her own against Meredith made him feel better about her fitting in. Then there was watching her with Celia. No matter how concerned he had been for her safety he had to admit that she had looked and sounded impressive. He leaned in and kissed her. It took her and all the others totally off guard. 

Aislinn could feel his fingers on her chin gently guiding her mouth to his. His lips burned against her and she felt passion rolling in her stomach. She reached up and took hold of the material of his shirt. Partially to keep herself from falling over. When he ended the kiss she stood with her eyes closed for just a second longer and took a deep breath, feeling his scent seep into her and wash the frustration she had been boiling with out of her system.

He ran his fingers over her face and smiled at her. "Have you had enough for one evening?"

"What?" It took Aislinn a moment to catch what he was saying. 

"Would you like to go to bed?" He added and his eyes swirled with the suggestion.

Aislinn couldn't help but join him in the smile at that point. "Sounds nice."

Keith and Sarah approached the two. "We hate to interrupt. But," Sarah said. She looked considerably less pissed off than she had a minute ago. The anger had been replaced by a bemused resignation. She reached out and pulled the neck of Aislinn's shirt aside to see what Celia had been ranting about earlier. Then she gave a motherly look to Cullen. "I take it that Aislinn will be staying with the pack on a permanent basis?"

Cullen cleared his throat and, upon seeing Aislinn's uncomfortable stance with Sarah examining the mark on her shoulder, he pulled Sarah's hand away. "Aislinn has been told that she can stay as long as she wants. Anything more has yet to be discussed in detail."

Sarah crossed her arms and her tone adjusted to match the motherly look in her eyes. "You were behind her when you did that."

Cullen looked around to see how many people were witnessing the conversation and he watched Aislinn carefully. He had started to explain it to her but she just didn't seem to understand the significance and he was certain she wouldn't completely get it until she was dealing with it first hand. "This isn't the place to talk about that," he said and eyed the onlookers suggestively.

Sarah shook her head and then she looked over at Aislinn. "Are you okay with being in his rooms or do you think you might want rooms of your own at some point? I mean, he's only likely to get more aggressive and it he takes the play too much farther then you may end up stuck with him whether you like it or not." Then she looked at Cullen. "But if he's smart he'll do it by the book instead of taking things into his own hands." She looked back at Aislinn. "I know you probably don't get this right now. But if he gets out of control there won't be a way to stop him and the entire pack should be involved if it really does go that far."

Aislinn looked at Cullen and then at Sarah again. She was sounding more and more like his mother. Aislinn's brain was wheeling. Everyone seemed to be awfully concerned about this and she was starting to join them. The real problem being that the entire explanation was more than anyone was willing to say in detail and all the veiled information wasn't going to help. She looked over at Cullen. He looked concerned. She smiled at him. Hell, I haven't felt this good about someone ever. "No, I'm okay in his bed. As long as I'm wanted."

Sarah looked at Cullen then back to Aislinn. "Girl, if you are actually doubting whether or not he wants you there then I can think of a few elementary classes we give to the children that you need to sit in on. My concern is more that he doesn't seem to have a grip on where to draw the line." Cullen growled at her. "I am happy for you," she responded to the growl with a sincere tone. "Just be careful. And get around to making sure she knows what she's in for. I'm only half kidding about sticking her in one of the classrooms." Then she walked off shaking her head.

Cullen watched after her like a child who had just been scolded for doing something he knew he shouldn't have. "Well that went well."

"I did catch the sarcasm," Aislinn responded. Keith just stood there watching and waiting with a goofy grin on his face as if something great were about to happen.

"Ailinn, that was Sarah. She's one of my best friends and for all intents and purposes, she's in charge of the women. There are too many in this pack for me to deal with all of it myself. At some point you'll have to spend some time with her and get your position around here straightened out. But with the rest of the complications at this point I think it best if that waited."

Aislinn nodded. "Alpha female," she said earning an impressed look from Cullen. She looked at Keith quizzically as he just stood there looking amused. "Is there something growing out of my forehead?" She asked Cullen.

He shook his head and glared at Keith, who only returned an unimpressed look. "Have you actually met Keith?"

"That first night we met. At the bar."

"Yeah," Cullen breathed out. It was all like a bad dream now. "Well, this is Keith. His a pain in my ass and my right arm. He's mostly harmless. Though his mate is not. Where is Jaylyn anyway? I'm surprised you're still wandering the halls."

"You know one of these days you're going to hurt my feelings," Keith replied good-naturedly. Then he looked at Aislinn again. "In case you don't know it yet, he's none too subtle when he wants to get rid of someone. Jay doesn't care where I am as long as I end up in bed with her eventually. He's just afraid that I'm going to say something to embarrass him and so he wants me to disappear. That is an impressive bite mark Cull," he said rather loudly, not wanting anyone to miss the fact that Cullen had finally chosen a woman to mate with. "You were behind her when you did it. I can tell from the angle. Nice! When's the actual ceremony?"

Aislinn blushed furiously. "Well it seems as though Cullen was right about the embarrassment factor," she said in an authoritative voice that raised Keith's eyebrows.

"Oh yeah, this one is much better than Jenna," he chuckled. "She even has your annoyed tone. This is going to be fun. Things were getting rather dull with all the attacking and raiding and mystery. Give me a nice simple way to pick on the boss and my day brightens immensely."

Cullen reached out and took hold of Keith's shoulder. He pushed the man out of the way and with a hand at Aislinn's back he guided her passed his friend and headed toward the elevator. By morning everyone in the pack would know that he had bitten Aislinn. He couldn't decide whether he should try to talk to her about it again or not. 

When they got into the elevator Cullen reached for his key only to realize that Aislinn had it. She was holding it up to him with a smile on her face. He nodded to the panel and she put the key in and hit the button for the top floor. Cullen was torn between being tired and being playful. "By all the Gods you're beautiful," he said in a soft serious way that sent chills up Aislinn's back. His arm went around her and he started kissing her. 

He couldn't help it. All he wanted was to be inside her. When the elevator doors opened they virtually fell into the room, almost forgetting to grab the key. By the time they were in the bedroom they were naked and by the time they were in the bed Aislinns legs were wrapped around his waist. They never did get a chance to have a conversation that night.





Leader of the Pack Ch. 09



Cullen had to give Keith credit. He was nothing if not efficient. Cullen was looking over the pile of reports on his desk. It had only taken Keith 24 hours to produce a background report on Rafe Senach. Cullen was reading over the man's information. He looked relatively innocuous, if the reports were taken at face value. There really wasn't much more to it than what Aislinn had told him the other day, except some previous addresses that Keith already sent people to check out along with the address of the compound that Aislinn had been held at. The idea of what the man had done to her had Cullen contemplating the things he intended to do to Rafe.

Cullen also had a list of names. On the list were three bookshop owners, a couple collectors, and a librarian. All of whom shared the last name Senach with Rafe or, Keith had found out, were related to a Senach. Keith had done some digging and had pulled up some information on the family name. Apparently a lot of Senachs had been dying recently. They were a fairly normal family from public appearances. They didn't participate in politics. Most of them were teachers or writers. Cullen picked up a history book that Keith had provided with the report. It was written by a woman who called herself Alissa Morgan and covered information on ancient Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. That hit a cord with Cullen. Keith had found out that 'Morgan' was her pen name and she was one of these Senach. Keith was currently in the process of trying to find a couple of them. All of the unexplained deaths recently had Cullen wondering if the entire Circle was the problem or just this one member. 

Cullen sat back in his chair and tried to remember what his father had told him about the Circle. Cullen hadn't thought about his father in a long time. Dyfan Arnauk had died long before Cullen had become strong enough to be an alpha. Cullen had always wished he'd been around to see the pack. The only thing Cullen knew was that the Circle had spent the last thousand years keeping their heads down and practicing pacifism to a fault. That was why the Pack Council and the Circle Council had parted company in the first place. The various pack leaders hadn't been willing to go quietly into the night, so to speak, and the Circle Council hadn't been willing to stand and fight. They wanted the Pack to play guard dog but avoid direct confrontation. It just went against Pack instinct and after a few hundred years the Pack left the Circle on its own. It wasn't a bad separation. Both sides of the issue agreed that they weren't compatible any longer. Like an amiable divorce. But that was what the Circle had been like. Live and let live. 

After a dozen decades or so the Circle had been hidden for so long most of the people who had been a threat to them were either involved in different wars or dead. Another couple hundred years and even the lycans started to forget about them. By the time Cullen's father had told him the stories about the Circle they were legend and most lycans didn't even believe it any longer. The main legend being the one about the druids creating the first of the lycans. But that couldn't have been true could it? Lycans were born. Not created. All the ridiculous werewolf movies the humans liked to make up and the biting coach drove him nuts. Most lycans thought of that legend as similar to the Greek legends the humans had. No one really believed it. If you wanted to make a lycan, or any other were for that matter, two of them got together and had a good rut. Biting could be fun and with the human obsession to be more than a boring old human he could understand why they made that crap up. Everyone just assumed the druid stories were similar. Or the druids looking to give the lycans a god impression. He didn't even know if the stories were told to kids any more. But could there be something more to it? 

Cullen was debating on what he should say to Aislinn about it. She seemed to have accepted that Rafe had done something to her. The way that it sounded, from her description of the compound he was calling the Circle, he was either recruiting weres or he might be creating them. If he was creating them who knows what he had done to Aislinn. But if he had been trying to turn her into something Cullen didn't understand why she couldn't change. Rafe couldn't make someone half into a were could he? It didn't make a lot of sense. Cullen pushed the thoughts out of his head and went back to the reports.

Keith hadn't been able to produce any concrete information on anyone in their pack causing trouble. But there was a list of tentative names of men who had been acting more agitated than usual and people who had been out of contact. That list included reasons for the inability to get a hold of them. 

As far as the bonfires and Jenna went there wasn't anything new or helpful on that front either. Jenna was still missing and the Tairneach were threatening war. Cullen had even had a phone call from one of the feds who kept an eye on the pack interactions. He'd spent part of his afternoon reassuring the man that he had it all under control. He just wished he believed what he had told the fool on the phone. 

The questions about the bonfires led to omegas who said that Jenna had made them do it and had told them where to get the stuff to do it. Cullen had been given a small pouch containing an assortment of plants that the omegas had put on the fire to turn it green. Apparently Jenna had said that it was for decorative purposes. Now half the omegas who had been at the reservation that night were panicking and thinking it was all their fault.

There was a knock on his door and Cullen groaned. He had too much information floating around his brain at the moment. He didn't want any more. When Aislinn popped her head in the door and smiled at him he couldn't help but smile back with relief. He waved her in and she closed the door behind herself.

"I was thinking about dinner. You interested?" she asked as she walked around his desk and stepped up to him.

Cullen grabbed her hips and pulled her down onto his lap so that she was straddling him, her hands were on his shoulders, and she was nose to nose with him. He nuzzled her playfully. Gods I got it bad, he thought. "You have no idea how glad I am that you're not Keith."

She smiled wickedly. She settled down onto the growing erection beneath her and chuckled. "I think I can guess how glad you are that I'm not Keith." She put her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. This whole experience was scaring her. Not in any of the ways that Cullen thought it might. All she could think about each time he touched her was the idea that every time she had found something good in recent history, Rafe had shown up and destroyed it.

"How has your afternoon been?" Cullen pushed her hair away from her face. He was contemplating shoving the reports off of his desk and taking her on it.

Aislinn giggled at the look in his eyes. She knew exactly what he was thinking. "Didn't you get enough last night and then this morning," she teased, knowing that if he wanted more she'd willingly give it and she hoped the smile on her face told him as much. "All the women are avoiding me," she responded to his question. "So it's been a pretty uneventful day. I guess Meredith told them all that I broke her arm. If I did," Aislinn looked skeptical, "I really didn't mean to. But she has it all wrapped up and keeps whining about it. There appear to be two groups of people." 

While she was talking Cullen was running his hands under her shirt and heading for her breasts, causing her to smile through the annoying topic. She breathed out with an odd soft growling purr that had him more listening to her breath then her talking as he cupped her breasts and pushed his hardon against her. Aislinn tried to continue but was finding it more and more difficult. "Half the people I run into seem curious about me, amused for some reason, and inclined to sniff and move on. The other half, mostly women, are acting as if I insulted their mothers." If Cullen kept up his play then she'd never get to talk to him about what was going on.

"They'll get over it," Cullen said in dismissal and pinched her nipple, causing a delicious moan. He smiled and moved her off of his lap onto the desk. He sat her on the edge of the desk and nuzzled her nose with his angling her face up. He was pleased that she seemed to be taking this all with such acceptance. "As long as you think putting up with them is worth it."

Aislinn put her hands on either side of his face and stared into his eyes. "Tell me that you want me," she responded softly and with a seriousness that nearly drove Cullen back into the wall. Normally a woman speaking and acting like Aislinn would have him assigning her to some job as far from the den as possible. But Aislinn inspired him to want to do any number of things to her, most of which involved his bed and her on her hands and knees.

Cullen stared into her eyes. Emotions crashed over him like a tidal wave. "Aislinn, I-" A knock on the door interrupted him and Keith walked in without waiting for a response. When there was no smart ass comment about walking in on Cullen standing between Aislinn's legs with such obvious intent Cullen knew that something serious was happening.

Keith didn't wait for Cullen to ask what was wrong and only briefly considered suggesting that they send Aislinn out of the room. There were some things he wanted to know about Aislinn that Cullen didn't seem willing to broach with her and he figured that this would be as good a time as any. He had never seen his friend so obsessed with a woman. There wasn't a lycan in the pack that couldn't see where this was go. Hell, half the women who had been chasing him for decades had already given in and moved on to lesser targets. The only problem was that most of the elders were uncomfortable with Aislinn. She was too much of a mystery. And what was worse was that Cullen didn't seem to be in any hurry to figure it out. With all the time they had spent together, if Cullen had been talking to her, then he'd know her family life history by now. Keith stared at her contemplatively and Aislinn stared right back. Another reason to be nervous about her.

Keith didn't bother to wait for an invitation. He just started his latest resport. "Jenna has turned up. Apparently there's a mating about to take place. Brennus and Gregor are both dead and Rafe is to be the alpha of the Tairneach." Keith sat down in the chair across from Cullen's desk. He propped his feet up and waited for a response.

Cullen took a deep breath and stepped away from Aislinn. "When did this happen?"

"This morning I guess. Our contact in the Tairneach says that Rafe showed up with Jenna on his arm and a group of weres of all shapes and sizes backing him up. Odd weres too. A bunch of them were mix-breeds. Made some pretty speech that had everyone growling with approval and then Brennus promptly handed the pack over. Shortly there after Brennus's body was found along with Gregor's. The story is that the two men killed each other fighting over Brennus's decision. No one is contesting it. I wonder why. Who knows what Rafe's doing to their brains as we speak." Keith shifted uncomfortably and looked over at Aislinn. "You can't do that kind of coach can you?"

Aislinn looked confused. "What? Mind control? No. But Rafe seems to think I have the potential. He talked about teaching me. I think that it's part of the reason he won't back off and let me go. He keeps saying that I'm like him." Then she turned to Cullen. "But I'm not."

Cullen heard the tremor in her voice. He had been concerned that this might come up. He pulled her to himself and hugged her. "I know. Don't worry. I think Keith was more interested in the possibility that you might be able to do something to help the situation." He gave Keith a meaningful glare over Aislinn's head so that she wouldn't see it.

Keith wasn't sure he liked the way Cullen was coddling her. There were times that Aislinn appeared strong and intelligent. But all it took was mention of Rafe and she seemed to crumble. The guy had gotten to her badly and Cullen was dangerously protective of her. He only hoped that the situation would improve once they were mated and Cullen would be more able to keep track of her. "Yeah, that's what I meant," he said unconvincingly. "Look what we know is that we're about to be at war with a pack that was already our equal and has now added lions, tigers, bears, and the Gods know what else to their numbers. To make matters worse the new alpha has no trouble randomly killing anyone who might see reason and can play games with people's heads. I don't know about you but I'm scared shitless. You'll have to forgive me if I start grasping at straws and being suspicious." Keith's joking demeanor was completely gone and Cullen knew that the only thing keeping him from joining Keith in serious terror was Aislinn. It was impossible to think about anything unpleasant when she smiled at him.

Aislinn got down off of Cullen's desk. Keith was right. She knew how he felt or worse. Rafe terrified her. She thought back to the night at the mating ceremony, as much as she didn't like that. With a great deal of effort she pulled herself into the moment and tried to be as helpful as she could. She knew that if she was going to fit in around here then someone other than Cullen needed to trust her or they were all going to start thinking that the only reason Cullen liked her was because she was doing something to him when no one was looking. Well, beyond what she was doing. She smiled to herself. "I don't know what I'm capable of. I seem to be able to manage things when I put my mind to it. I'd never tried getting into other people's minds before that night at your ceremony but I managed a little. I don't know. Maybe if I put some effort into it I could do some of the things Rafe does. But it's more than just some mental ability he has. He uses something else too. He's always got a smell about him. That's part of his ability to mess with people. Maybe you could all wear gas masks or something."

Cullen considered that. "Maybe not gas masks, but I think that figuring out what was in those bonfires just became top priority." Keith nodded, impressed at Aislinn's thought process. Cullen figured that there were only two ways to figure out the herbs Rafe had used. Involve the feds, which he desperately didn't want to do, or find the druids. He looked at Keith. "Do you have any more word on the Senachs?"

Keith shook his head. "They've all disappeared. Every address we've found is abandoned."

Aislinn looked at them uncertainly. "Senach?"

"Yeah, that's the name of all the people who were involved with the book shops and such from your vision," Cullen said and pulled the report out of the pile on his desk. He looked at her with interest. "Mean something to you?" He half wondered about suggesting she touch it again, but she pulled back from it when he showed it to her so he set it back down.

"That was my grandmother's maiden name. Brinah Mong Senach," she said uneasily. "Do you think I could use your phone?"

Keith sat forward in his chair and cocked his head at Cullen with a look as if to say, 'see she's trouble'. Cullen ignored Keith and reached across his desk, picked up his phone and handed it to Aislinn. She stared at it a moment, the old familiar number from her childhood running through her head. She hadn't spoken to any of her family in so long. "When you say they've all disappeared. Do you mean in a bad way," she asked with fear tinting her voice.

"We don't know," Keith said suddenly sympathetic. "Some are dead," he said slowly and Aislinn winced at the phone. "But most are just gone. No trace. They could have left on their own."

Aislinn nodded and dialed the number. With each ring her heart sank a bit. As the fifth ring cut off and an elderly female voice said "Hello?" Aislinn was so relieved she almost jumped for joy. "Grandma?"

"Who is this," Brinah asked not wanting to hope.

"Grandma this Aislinn," she said sofly. "How are you?"

There was dead silence on the other end of the line for a moment and Aislinn could hear a soft sob. "How am I? Child how…where are you?"

"Grandma, a lot has happened. Uh, I don't think that the whole story should be said over the phone. But I have to ask you something strange," she paused and tried to think of what exactly to say. "Do you know anything about a Circle?"

There was dead silence. "Aislinn," she said seriously with the authoritative tone that can only come from a person's grandparent. "If someone has approached you saying things about that then you need to get away from them. Do you understand me?"

"Grandma I wish that I could. I'm not with them but I guess a lot of people with the last name Senach have been disappearing and I was worried about you. Has anyone been bothering you?"

There was some more silence as Brinah tried to figure out what to say to her granddaughter. "All these years and now this. Sweetheart are you in trouble? Have you been in trouble? Is someone making you call me?"

"Yes and no. I'm okay grandma."

There was a heavy sigh. "I left all of that a long time ago. I don't use the name and I didn't think that I can be tracked down easily. When Fearguis called and warned me that we were being hunted I didn't take it seriously. You tell whoever is bothering you that if they let you go I'll not fight them."

"Grandma I don't really know exactly what you mean. I'm okay. I'm safe. I'm not with them or the people hunting them."

Brinah sighed with relief. "Then where are you child and how do you know about this?"

"I'm sorry about everything grandma. I wish I could explain."

"Just tell me that you aren't involved with the Senach."

"I'm not." She could see Cullen and Keith staring at her. She knew they needed information. From the way her grandmother was talking Aislinn knew that her grandmother could give them information that they needed. "But one of them is after me. I'm safe. Don't worry. I'm with some people now who are protecting me. But I can't come home. I just called to see if you were safe and because maybe you could tell me something about what's going on."

Brinah was getting nervous. "I don't know what I can tell you child. I haven't associated with them a long time. I left when I married your grandfather."

"So tell me what you can. I mean anything might help. The man who's after me. He does strange things. I need to know if there's a way to stop him from doing them."

"That depends on what he's doing Aislinn. You're scaring me. It doesn't sound as though you're safe. Who is this man who's after you."

"His name is Rafe."

Brinah nearly dropped the phone. But she caught herself and tried to stay calm. She knew that she needed to get to Aislinn as quickly as possible now. "Okay, I can tell you that he is not someone to play games with. If he completed the training that he had been chosen for then he's an alchemist."

"I don't understand what that is. Alchemy went out in the dark ages. Isn't that turning lead to gold and nonsense like that?"

Brinah smiled into the phone. She had always been very proud of her granddaughter. She was impressed that Brinah knew even that much. "There's a great deal more to it than that. Wasn't your thesis on the fact behind myths child?"

Brinah thought about that a minute. "Okay, so what kind of alchemy makes someone able to control someone else's mind?" She said it before thinking. She was getting caught up in learning something new. Her brain had been hungry for learning for so long now. It was part of why the pack wasn't bothering her. She felt like she was back in school again and absorbing new information. But the kind of thing her grandmother was now suggesting fascinated her even more than pack dynamic.




Leader of the Pack Ch. 09



"A very dangerous kind. Aislinn you need to get very far away from this man."

Aislinn felt guilty that she was scaring her grandmother so much. That shocked her out of her desire to learn something new. Aislinn had been missing for seven years and here she was on the phone leaving her grandmother with no uncertainty that she was in danger. She owed her grandmother more than that. "Grandma, I really am okay. I'm safer here than anywhere else. These people can protect me better than running away can."

There was more silence. "You have a great deal of faith in these people you're talking about. And you seem to have acquired a great deal of knowledge about things I worked very hard to make sure our family wouldn't have to be concerned about. Who are you with Aislinn?"

Cullen was watching her. His heart jumped a bit each time she professed how safe she was with him. Keith could read the pleasure his friend was getting out of this on his face. He shook his head. Keith had never thought he'd ever see Cullen this gone over a woman. Aislinn was searching for the right words to explain the situation without making matters worse. Hell if her grandmother knew about druids and was maybe possibly a druid herself, then who knows what she might know about the lycans.

Brinah could almost feel the pause in the line. "Okay, child, you don't have to tell me. I'll just have to trust you. If you insist on staying where you are and you have Rafe after you, then you'll need to do something about his abilities. I can't help you from here. You don't know anything about mixing compounds." It had been a long time since Brinah had done anything remotely druidic other than hide and keep secrets. But she knew she needed to get to her granddaughter somehow.

"Grandma if you think for one second that I'm going to bring you here then you're crazy." Aislinn sounded like the original defiant child.

"Don't you dare use that tone with me, Aislinn Brianne. I'm still your grandmother and you'll do as you're told. Whether you think it or not this is partially my fault. If you look at it from the point of view that if I had remained with the Circle you would have known how to do these things yourself or if I had done a better job with leaving they never would have found you."

"Grandma," she tried to interrupt.

"No, you're my granddaughter. You need help. Whoever is protecting you won't be able to do it alone. Not if Rafe is doing what it sounds like. And I would have thought that with your curious nature you would want to know more about all this anyway. I guarantee you that you won't find any of the things I can tell you in a book." Brinah paused and her voice softened. "Besides. It wasn't all bad. Over the years I've regretted not passing it on. Maybe it's time."

"Hold on a minute grandma." Aislinn covered the phone with her hand. She looked at Cullen and Keith with raised eyebrows. "Well, grandma seems to know something about what Rafe is able to do. She wants to help. But that would mean bringing her here. I don't know if I like that."

Keith looked at Cullen. "You said to find the Senach and get what information we could. But, I personally don't want to lead Rafe to the woman. Especially if he doesn't know about her. He seems to be taking them out one at a time. She'll be in danger if we go there. She'll be in danger if we bring her here. And that will be one more non-lycan in the den. You're call."

"I don't see much choice in this." He looked at Aislinn. "What can she do here that she can't do over the phone?"

"She said something about mixing compounds, alchemy, and that I couldn't do it with phone instruction. She'd have to be here. But it seems that she can do something about Rafe's mind stuff." Aislinn's brow was furrowed and she was shaking her head. "I didn't even know that she was… How could she have kept this secret all this time?" 

Brinah was getting tired of the silence on the other end of the line. "Aislinn," she called into the phone.

Cullen nodded to Aislinn. "Tell her we'll come get her. But not to involve anyone else."

"I'm sorry grandma," Aislinn said into the phone. "I was making sure it would be all right. I guess they're going to come get you. But you can't tell anyone what is going on. Not mom or dad or anyone."

"Child I've been keeping this secret since long before you were born. I'm not about to start sharing now. But I would point out that your family loves and misses you. Some day you should do something about that." 

Aislinn couldn't bear to answer that comment. She nearly started to cry. I miss them too, she thought. Cullen cut in again. "Tell her that a woman named Sarah Arnauk will come to get her. If your grandmother is close enough I'll send her tomorrow." Cullen looked over at Keith with one of his looks that sent his friend into action without the direct order. Keith got up and pulled out his phone to call Sarah.

"Grandma, um, a woman named Sarah Arnauk is going to come and get you. She'll be there tomorrow. So get everything ready. Okay?"

There was a long pause before Brinah answered. "Druids and lycans then. Well at least it's the Arnauk. No wonder you think you're safe where you are." Brinah said to her granddaughter with a knowing tone. "I guess I didn't do a very good job at protecting you," Brinah said apologetically.

Aislinn almost dropped the phone. "You know about that too?"

"The story is too long for the telephone dear. I'll be ready when she gets here."

"Alright grandma," Aislinn said softly. "I guess I'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you too," Brinah replied and they hung up. 

Aislinn stared at the phone for a short time before she put it down. Cullen came up behind her and put his arms around her. "Grandma knows about your pack."

"We've been around for a long time Aislinn. There are a lot of people who know about it. We just do a very good job of making sure that the only people who know are people who won't say anything," Cullen said, trying to be reassuring but feeling a bit uneasy by it. Apparently the Circle kept tabs on the Pack. "Aren't you the one who pointed out that you seem to have been headed in this direction your entire life."

"Yeah, I guess so," Aislinn turned in his arms and rubbed her face into his chest. She always felt better when he was holding her. "Can we get dinner now? Before the next disaster strikes. And I need to figure out what to tell my grandmother about you."

At that Keith started laughing. The first real good laugh he'd had in days it seemed. It felt good. "That's the funniest thing I've heard all day." 





Leader of the Pack Ch. 10



Rafe stood in the great room of the Tairneach manor. One thing he did like about Brennus Tairneach was his taste in decorating. The manor was huge and richly furnished. Everything was brocade, silk, antique, or plush. A grandfather clock on the wall began to chime. The moon was high and could be seen through the skylights in the ceiling of the great room. Every room in the manor seemed to have a fireplace. That was Rafe's favorite part about the place. It was as though the fates had planned for him to be here. He was seriously considering having the cabin on the Arnauk reservation remodeled in this fashion. A large greenish tinted fire blazed in every fireplace and no one questioned the oddity. Even though the nights had been far too warm to justify lighting them.

Jenna stood in the middle of the room. She was naked except for a large red, ruby, signet ring hanging from a thick gold chain around her neck. It had been her father's ring. Rafe had been gracious enough to let her keep it. Rafe walked up behind Jenna. He was in a relatively good mood. So he allowed her to wear the ring during the ceremony. He found it morbidly amusing in some way that he was about to mate with the girl and she was wearing the ring that had been on her father's hand when he had died.

Rafe smiled as he thought about the look in Brennus's eyes when he died. Rafe pushed Jenna down to her hands and knees roughly. Then he dropped his pants and took up his position behind her. The movement brought some halting applause. Rafe was pleased by the turn out. He grabbed hold of Jenna's hair and yanked her head back as he thrust into her. She cried in pain as he forced himself into her dry cunt. She hadn't been ready for him. How could she be? He disgusted her. But this wasn't the time to fight him. She knew that she'd have her chance soon enough. She stayed herself with the thought that she would be there to see him die.

Kara watched Jenna submit to the punishment that Rafe put her through. He appeared to be thoroughly enjoying himself. He seemed to be looking at this as practice for when he turned himself into what he was calling 'perfection'. Kara seethed with jealousy. The idea that Jenna wasn't appreciative of what Rafe was gifting her with was beyond Kara's ability to comprehend. Just as Aislinn had baffled her. Aislinn had been worse though. Rafe actually wanted her.

Rafe continued to fuck Jenna until she began to respond. Jenna was doing her best to cooperate through her revulsion. She managed to imagine herself in a different enough situation that when she faked her orgasm he believed it. Rafe considered himself to have been infinitely generous, allowing Jenna to come first. 

Rafe yanked her upright by her hair as he released into her. Positioning her the way he wanted he bit down on the join between her neck and her shoulder. Since he wasn't were (yet,he thought) his teeth were exactly made for this part of the ceremony. He bit down hard on Jenn's shoulder. His teeth finally piercing her skin and drawing blood. There was some additional applause at that point. He had at one time considered this ceremony to be barbaric. But now that he was in the middle of it he could see the draw. He swallowed the blood readily and then pulled away from her to admire his handiwork.

Jenna had yet to fulfill her half of the mating. It wasn't as if this could work the way it was supposed to. He wasn't a lycan. She hadn't even bothered to take her wolf form. She stayed in her human state to match his. She knew that he was only doing this because it would send a message to the pack. The positive point about it being that at least she couldn't make her brain believe this was an actual mating. She felt no bond with him, she was totally unsatisfied, and her wolf wasn't anywhere near interested in the situation. She took his arm in her hand and brought it to her mouth. She bit down just hard enough to draw blood. But she made sure that the wound would heal without scaring. She didn't plan on keeping him around for life. 

The ceremony didn't last long at all. Rafe had watched the weres he had created rutting throughout the great room. Noting that there were a vast number of differences in the tendencies of each of the species. He vastly preferred the habits of the cats. The wolves tended to make each session of sex long, drawn out, and overly intimate. The cats liked their short, sweet, to the point and then they moved on. 

Rafe and Jenna spent the rest of the evening mingling with their pack. Rafe was enjoying playing the part of the alpha male. Jenna was frustrated, angry, and ashamed. She tried several times to escape the ceremony. But Kara would appear and send her back into the mix. Rafe mostly ignored her after he had finished. Various members of the pack approached her and she stood bored and indifferent as they knelt in front of her and showed their respect by pressing their faces against her sex and taking in her scent mingled with Rafe's. She couldn't help a grateful shiver when an old lover approached her and spent a great deal of time licking her clit. He had been enraged by Rafe's treatment of Jenna that evening and pitied Jenna. Besides there were currently three women kneeling in front of the new alpha lapping at his latest erection and there was no way Jenna's scent was still clinging to Rafe after the little display he had put on. The point of this half of the ceremony was for the pack to acknowledge the joining of the alpha pair. And this wasn't how it was done.

By the time dawn rolled around Jenna was sent back to her room and Rafe retired to his. He had cleared his morning for sleep, but he had several appointments that afternoon and then he would begin assembling the army.

***

Sarah boarded the plane angrily. She sat in the seat fuming. And she was still pissed when she took the taxi to the address that Aislinn had given her. Cullen had been insistent. He didn't know who to trust. So his solution to the problem was to only involve the people who he thought needed to know. Sarah and Keith were the only two on that list right now. Cullen would arrange a meeting of the pack elders when he had enough information. 

Keith was in the middle of dealing with the fact that while he had been talking with Cullen about Aislinn's grandmother and then having a delicious dinner at Taigh-Oèsda, Sarah had managed to pin down Ranaild's son Iain on the fact that his mother had been missing for quite some time. When Sarah had tried to talk to Ranaild about it he had also turned up missing. 

Sarah figured that she should be the one looking into it since she had discovered it. But Cullen was adamant that Aislinn's grandmother be dealt with delicately. Keith was not the delicate type. Well right now neither am I, Sarah thought in annoyance. She had also suggested that Aislinn go after her own grandmother. But Cullen wasn't letting Aislinn out of the den for any reason. Aislinn had protested. That made Sarah less angry with Aislinn. But Cullen was the alpha and Cullen told Sarah to go.

She told the taxi driver to wait and she headed up the path that lead to the front door of a pretty little white house. Before she had a chance to ring the bell on the door it opened hastily and a small woman with gray-white hair, pulled nicely into a bun on the back of her head and wearing jeans, a t-shirt that said 'don't underestimate me', and carrying a duffle bag appeared in the doorway. She eyed Sarah with the same striking blue eyes as Aislinn. Nodded. Then locked the door. 

Sarah was nearly bowled over by the woman as she headed for the taxi. "Are you coming?" Brinah called back to the startled lycan.

Sarah got herself together and headed for the taxi. Once they were both in the backseat they exchanged introductions as the driver pulled out and headed back to the airport. "I don't think I will," Sarah said as she indicated the t-shirt. "You certainly weren't what I was expecting."

"And what were you expecting dear?" Brinah said. Her tone and words belying the appearance that she was giving.

"I don't know. A grandmother?" Sarah said. "I guess I can see where Aislinn gets it."

"I don't think I know what you mean by 'it' but I'll take that as a compliment." Brinah looked out the window impatiently.

"We can't get there any faster. I got the earliest flight. We should be there by dinner." Sarah watched Brinah. 

"I haven't seen my granddaughter in a very long time. You'll have to excuse my haste."

Sarah nodded. The rest of what she wanted to say to the woman would require privacy. That they wouldn't have until they were back at the den. So the rest of the trip was silence. 

***

Cullen wasn't willing to concede that any of the names on the list that Keith provided him with could be in the process of betraying his loyalty. "I want more proof," he stormed as he threw the list down on his desk. The names on the list were people who were too close to him. "I refuse to start ripping throats out until I know without doubt that these people have turned. Rafe has to have done something to them."

"You're the one who wants to believe Aislinn when she says that they won't do anything that they would be drastically disinclined to do in real life." Keith argued. He thought that all of the men and women on the list should be caged for their own good until this was figured out. 

Cullen growled. "Is there anything else?"

"Not until Sarah gets back," Keith said. 

"Good. I've had enough news for this afternoon. I'm going to find Aislinn."

Keith got up and walked with Cullen out into the hall. "You find Aislinn an awful lot you know," he said with a chuckle. "She in heat or something?"

Cullen rolled his eyes. "Do you have to make this into a joke?"

Keith shrugged. "No I don't have to make it into a joke. It's just more fun that way." Keith's voice took on a mocking tone. "The mightly Lord General Cullen Arnauk chasing after a woman." He started chuckling again. "Actually the best part is that she seems so clueless about the grip she has on you. I can't decide if it's denial or she's just that dense." Cullen growled a warning at Keith that caused him to start laughing again.

***

Aislinn was getting seriously bored with the way things were turning out. Cullen refused to let her do anything that might put her in what he saw as danger. If she hadn't been sleeping with him she probably would have put up more of a fight about it. But she just couldn't argue with him when he got that concerned, hurt tone in his voice and asked her to stay upstairs in the den for just a little while longer. She was just too used to always having something to do. This sitting around was driving her nuts. All she did was think about the next time she would get to be with him. And those thoughts only made her sitting around more miserable. She squirmed in her seat a little and looked around to see if anyone had noticed. She still couldn't decide why she was so infatuated with the guy. Maybe I just don't know what's bad for me. First Rafe and now Cullen. He's a werewolf, she told herself. What am I doing?

She growled to herself and turned the page of a decent book she had found in the library. At least there was plenty of entertainment on the main floor, even if no one except Rissa would talk to her. Aislinn fully planned on making Cullen let her have a job after this was all over. Alpha or not she didn't see anything wrong with waiting tables at the Taigh-Oèsda. That way she could feel useful. There was also the thought in the back of her mind that she'd like to have her own stash of cash somewhere. Just in case. She just couldn't help but feel like this couldn't be real. She was waiting for him to get bored with her and move on. With all the talk about the women who were after him it was impossible for Aislinn to completely believe that he wanted her more than one of them. 

She was having trouble concentrating on the book she was reading and kept looking out the window instead. She watched planes fly by and her stomach would jump. She couldn't wait to see her grandmother. It had been so long and she missed her family so much. She had to keep telling herself that they were safer this way. But that didn't make the hurt stop. Although, she had to admit, Cullen had been a fairly good bandage for that pain recently.

God, she thought, and then there's Cullen again. Can't I stop thinking about him for just one minute? Her heart nearly beat out of her chest. The way he touched her was more than she could handle. I'm in love with him, she finally admitted to herself as she stared out the window. The question is if he feels the same and then what do I do about it. According to Rissa an alpha male could choose any female he wanted. But they generally tried to find a woman equal to their abilities who could compliment their position in the pack. There was supposed to be someone out there that the fates intended for each of them. That didn't stop people from mating with whomever they liked. It just made matters more complex for the few lycans who put effort into trying to find the one who was meant for them. Rissa said that Cullen had been around a long time and had chosen not to mate on several occasions. At least one of those occasions had been badly handled. The girl had been wrongly given the impression that he was in love with her. Ever since that mismatch Cullen had put a lot of effort into making sure that he spread himself thinly so as not to accidentally make a girl think he was interested. Then there was the Jenna incident.

She was so lost in thought that she missed Celia's approach until it was too late. Celia took the book out of Aislinn's hands and tossed it aside. "We have some unfinished business little one. I'm surprised you're out and about all alone. Have you finally qualified for grown up status?"

Aislinn stared back at Celia. She had learned quite a bit about Celia as well. If the woman thought that Aislinn had just been sitting around doing nothing and waiting for Cullen to have time for her then Celia was mistaken. Aislinn had spent most of time quizzing Rissa about the supposed competition and she was feeling pretty confident in her position with Celia at this point. 

"I could say the same of you Celia. Doesn't Mack usually follow you around?" Aislinn's tone was haughty. She didn't bother to stand up. It wouldn't be necessary yet. 

"I would be careful to not talk about things you don't understand little one," Celia growled in warning.

But Aislinn had been planning for this and wasn't about to not use the material she had been preparing. "So I heard that you've turned him down three times now. That's either cruel or stupid. I mean I guess I kinda pity you. Do you actually prefer the idea of being alpha over mating with someone who you were meant to be with?"

"You ignorant galla. You have no idea what you're talking about," she spat vehemently.

"I know that Mack believes you're his mate. And if he's feeling it for you than you should be most definitely feeling it for him too. I think that the reason you're so pissy is because you want something you can't have and at the same time you need something you won't accept." Aislinn flashed a superior smile at Celia. The people in the room who were listening to the conversation were starting to look frightened. Everyone thought exactly what Aislinn was saying but no one had the courage to say it to Celia's face.

In a shadowy corner of the room Mack stood watching and listening. He decided that he very much liked Aislinn and that she made an excellent match for Cullen. Now if only some of her common sense would rub off on Celia. Or at least shock her into reality.

Celia was struck dumb by Aislinn's gall. The only woman in this pack able, physically, to stand up to Celia was Sarah, and with good reason. No one was dense enough to talk to her this way. "You're not one of us. You have no rank to speak of. You have no right to speak to me this way," Celia growled menacingly.

"We haven't established that yet." Aislinn stood up at that point. "I should probably tell you that I had a dream last night. You lose this fight." Aislinn had been doing a lot of dreaming lately. For the first time in years she wasn't afraid to sleep, as long as Cullen was there. She didn't really know why but Rafe didn't seem to be able to get into her head when she was with Cullen. There was something about being with him that made her feel stronger, more confident in herself. She didn't know if Rafe's inability to bother her was because of Cullen or the way Cullen made her feel. Either way she was more rested than she had been in a long time. 

Doubt flashed in Celia's eyes. Everyone in the pack had heard about what Aislinn was capable of. Celia considered that she may be bluffing to put her off guard. Then again if she wasn't and Celia started a fight and lost then she'd look like a fool. Celia hesitated. It was just long enough for Cullen and Keith to enter the room.

Cullen and Keith stopped when they saw the women standing toe to toe. Cullen growled a warning at Celia that Aislinn stopped with a pleading look. Keith started laughing again and Celia stormed out of the room. Mack then appeared from a corner to go after her. He nodded at Aislinn as he left. 

"I suppose it's good that you interrupted," Aislinn said as she walked over to Cullen. "If Grandma came here and found me bruised there might be trouble."

"Then you two need to lay off the rough sex? That really is a shame," Keith chided.

Aislinn was getting used to his running commentary. Cullen ignored it so she didn't see why she should let it bother her. She slid her arms around Cullen's waist and nuzzled her face into his chest. Cullen responded by wrapping her in his arms and placing an affectionate kiss on top of her head. After everything Rissa had said about Cullen not touching women affectionately in public, every time he was like this with her she felt a little stronger in their relationship.

"Eww," Keith mocked. "Get a room."

"Don't tempt me," Cullen said. Then he looked at Aislinn with a wicked grin and raised his eyebrows.

"You serious?" She asked incredulously. Things had been getting rather intense between them. He didn't seem able to stop touching her. Not that Aislinn minded. But Rissa had said behavior like that was how couples got just before mating. Aislinn didn't know what she thought about that. Especially after learning how it was done. Besides, Cullen hadn't said a word about mating. Everyone else did. They joked and suggested and poked fun, when they knew Aislinn was in hearing distance. But Cullen never said anything about it. After everything Aislinn had been told about his habits with women she still wasn't certain what he was doing with her. He was showing her a great deal more attention than anyone else he had been with in the past. But he hadn't actually defined the situation and she was scared to make him. As long as it was uncertain she could still hope.

Cullen looked seriously hurt by her response. "If you're not interested then maybe an early dinner instead?" He was wondering if his wolf was making a mistake. She was always pulling back from him just enough to make him nervous. He wanted her so badly. But she seemed reluctant. He wasn't used to chasing women as Keith had put it. He kept trying to come up with a magic thing to say that he knew she wouldn't be able to turn down. He didn't think he'd be able to handle it if he suggested mating and she told him that she'd prefer to just be friendly. At the very same time he knew that if friendly was all she wanted he'd take it for as long as she was willing to give it. Life would be much easier if human over thinking didn't complicate wolven instinct, he thought.




Leader of the Pack Ch. 10



Keith dropped his eyes and looked embarrassed. It was a rare occasion that someone was capable of making the alpha obviously upset. It wasn't any fun to pick if it actually ended up hurting his friend. From the way Cullen sounded after Aislinn's reply there was no doubt that she'd stung him that time. Keith wasn't even sure what she had said that was so terrible. Cullen appeared to have lost his ability to mind read when it came to her. He was usually a savvy diplomat and never showed when someone got to him. Keith often wondered if it was even possible to get under his skin. Keith had never seen Cullen lose his confidence so readily as when he was dealing with Aislinn.

Aislinn looked into Cullen's hurt expression. She hadn't meant anything by her response. "You just took me by surprise," she said apologetically. She smiled hopefully at him and softened her voice, hoping that Keith wouldn't hear her confession. "I don't actually think I'm capable of telling you 'no.'" Aislinn bit her lip. He didn't look like he believed her. Aislinn's brain raced to find a way to repair the misunderstanding and to get his smile back. She felt like her heart was being ripped in half by the upset look on his face. 

"It's okay Aislinn," he said trying to sound normal and reassuring. But the look in his eyes belied his voice. "You don't have to spread your legs for me every time I ask. Come on we'll go to dinner." He started to pull her toward the door, trying to change the subject.

Aislinn was overwhelmed with frustration. You stupid jerk, she thought.  If I could arrange to never leave your bed I would. Aislinn was so scared that she had just messed things up with Cullen that she did something she had been telling herself she'd never being able to do, no matter how long she might be here. People were always having sex out in public around here. She knew they wouldn't find anything she did embarrassing or unusual. That didn't change the fact that Aislinn had been raised with human ideals and the idea of public sex sent butterflies fluttering through her stomach. 

Aislinn stopped him and leaned into him. Her left hand on his shoulder urged him down so that her lips were right next to his ear. "If you don't believe what I said then maybe you'll believe what you feel," she said softly. 

Cullen could hear a slight tremor in her voice. Her face had flushed and he could feel her hand running down his arm. When her hand reached his she pulled it to herself. With what little confidence she could muster and praying that he didn't pull away from her and make her look like a complete fool, she guided his hand beneath the waistband of her jeans, inside her panties, and pressed his fingers into her slit. When she pulled her hand away to give him more room, his hand remained behind.

She started speaking into his ear again as his fingers slid into her wet folds. "I've been thinking about you all afternoon," she said. "I think that's pretty good proof."

Cullen knew that Aislinn was shy about sex in public. She had been easy to read on that. So it wasn't hard for him to see how far she had to push herself for this little display. The only problem being that his wolf wasn't concerned about her modesty factor and he had been thinking about her as well. He growled with pleasure into her ear and buried his face against her neck as his fingers slid deeper into her heat and his thumb played with her clit. His other arm came around behind her and pulled her against himself so that she could feel the desire growing in his pants.

Their passion was palpable. More than one person in the room was watching the display, entranced.

Cullen growled again as her rapid breathing in his ear spurred him on. "I need you now."

"Alright," Aislinn answered breathlessly without hesitation. His fingers were driving her mad. Somehow she just didn't care about where they were any longer.

In one sudden movement Cullen pushed her against a nearby wall and his wolf pushed her jeans off over her hips. He pulled his cock out of the front of his pants and then picked Aislinn up. His fast movements telling of how much he wanted her. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her back on the wall gave leverage, and in one fluid movement he entered her warm, wet, needy body. Aislinn's growling cat-like moan of pleasure was the sweetest music he ever heard. She sang to his wolf. The beast was even starting to accept being caged while making love to her. Anything to get a taste of her. Cullen was slow about it. Taking his time and pumping into her in long strokes so that he rang more of the sweet sounds out of her. 

Aislinn's strange catlike growl had everyone's attention. The couple was far too caught up in the sudden passion overload to notice the looks that they were drawing. Cullen kissed and nuzzled her neck as he slowly made love to her. The onlookers' discussion of what kind of animal made the sounds she was making was getting quite involved. As the couple started to get more intense, the moaning cat-like growl got louder. Finally Cullen forced his name from her with a long hard thrust as she came and he followed her into pleasure. 

Cullen braced himself against the wall and held her up. Aislinn's face was buried in his shoulder out of exhausted passion and uncertain embarrassment. When Cullen managed to get a grip on his legs he held her to himself and headed for a nearby armchair. He sat down with Aislinn straddling him. There was just enough room in the armchair for both of them. He smiled at her. His amber eyes meeting her silver and they started kissing again. 

Cullen's tongue delved into her mouth. He couldn't believe that she had given in to him in the middle of the library. He smiled as she continued to kiss him and he stared at her with an amused considering look. 

"What?" she asked breathlessly. Then she ground her hips down on his rapidly rehardening member.

"You amaze me, mo mhúirnín bán," he said softly. "You didn't have to do that."

She was still kissing him, trying to coax him into round two. "Does it feel like I didn't want to?" She asked in between kisses.

He chuckled and pulled her hips down hard on himself as he lifted up to meet her. A satisfied growl issued from his throat. He was staring into her eyes again. Aislinn stopped her insistent sexual onslaught and stared back at him. Their eyes were mirrors of each other's uncertainty and desire. 

When Keith saw Cullen pulling Aislinn's shirt over her head he let out an exasperated sigh. "Looks like lunch is on an undetermined hold," he said to no one in particular. There was a round of laughter in the room that the couple didn't notice. Keith started to check out the books on a nearby shelf. He figured he'd give them a little time before insisting that they get it together. The public show would go a long way with the rest of the pack. The people who loved and respected Cullen would be happy for him, the ones who thought Aislinn was doing something to his brain would see exactly what she was doing and that it had nothing to do with mental manipulation, either way it would get her some more respect. Ah politics, Keith thought as he picked a book and sat down to wait.

***

For once Sarah's plane was running on time. That never happened. Sarah and Brinah managed to even catch a taxi in short order and they were at the den well in time for dinner. The Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh was not wasted on Brinah. She was shocked into an impressed silence at the den's setup.

They got into the elevator, Sarah inserted her key and hit the button for 14. "I'll show you your room. Then we'll find Aislinn and Lord Arnauk. I'm sure he'll want to have dinner downstairs. He always does." She smiled at Brinah. Sarah was dying to start the conversation and get some answers. But it had been a long morning and then a long afternoon and they were both tired and hungry. But mostly Brinah was in a hurry to see Aislinn. Sarah sympathized. She didn't know what she would do if someone close to her vanished and then popped up again several years later in as much trouble as that girl had managed to get involved in.

"Does the entire pack live here?" Brinah tried at polite, non substantial conversation.

"No, but most spend time here at some point. There's room for everyone if need be." Sarah had arranged for Brinah to have a room on floor 14. There were several guest rooms there and it was a lot quieter than the main floor. They dropped her bags off in a room that Brinah thought might belong in the Hilton. There was a small sitting area with a television, chairs and an overstuffed couch, a walk in closet on the far wall, a private bathroom, and everything was conservative but beautifully decorated in navy and green. The huge bed had large comfortable, inviting pillows and Brinah nearly said that maybe it'd be okay to find Aislinn in the morning.

"Are you sure this is my room," Brinah asked with a smile at Sarah.

"Definitely like Aislinn," Sarah said in amazement. Brinah had the same confident but friendly demeanor that Aislinn was so outgoing with. She was just a bit more abrasive than Aislinn. But Sarah could see Aislinn aging into Brinah quite easily. She shrugged as she looked around. "These are just guest quarters. The casino does very well."

Brinah nodded in amusement. "Lord Arnauk has managed quite well for all of you then."

Sarah knew that Brinah had no clue that Aislinn had gotten involved with Cullen. Sarah hadn't intended to set things up to be any easier for the two of them but she couldn't help supporting her alpha when given the opportunity. "Lord Arnauk does well by all of us. He's a business man, diplomat, warrior, politician, and anything else the pack needs. There isn't a more prosperous or influential pack on this continent," she said with pride.

Brinah considered Sarah's tone during the little informative lecture as they got back in the elevator and wondered what she was missing. When they got out on the 13th floor the entire place was buzzing. Sarah explained to Brinah that the 13th floor was the main area of the den. She was telling Brinah about the different recreational rooms on the floor and was in the process of telling Brinah that Aislinn seemed to be spending a great deal of time in the library. Sarah felt like a tour guide. "I figure that Aislinn will be easier to find than Lord Arnauk. He's usually dealing with the latest conflict. Aislinn spends a lot of time reading." Brinah was smiling, eager to see her granddaughter.

When they walked into the library most of the crowd that had gathered for Aislinn and Cullen's scene had dispersed. There was one couple rutting in a back corner of the library. Keith was sitting in a large armchair near the door thumbing through a book with a devilish smile on his face. He had noted the time as Cullen and Aislinn had fallen asleep in the chair. But he wasn't about to be the one to interrupt. Not after the little argument that had preceded the show. When he saw Sarah and the elderly woman come in he jumped and ran to intercept.

Sarah looked at Keith with frustration as he tried to turn them both out of the library. Brinah stopped dead and turned on him. "Young man, I don't know who you are. But, you can stop what you're doing and explain yourself," she snapped.

Sarah glared at Keith. "What she said. But I would like to add, do you know where Aislinn or Cullen is?" She could tell from the look on his face that something was up.

"Uh, yeah," Keith fumbled. "Why don't you let me get them for you. Just wait in the great room. It'll only take a minute."

But Brinah caught sight of the back of Aislinn's head and refused to be ushered out of the room. 

***

Cullen's head was lounged back against the chair and his eyes were closed. His hand was trailing gentle petting strokes up and down Aislinn's spine. He didn't think he had ever been this comfortable in the whole of his life. Aislinn was still straddling him. He was still inside her and he was entirely unwilling to let her move. She had tried twice but he growled and pulled her back to himself. He was taking the afternoon off. 

Aislinn had finally given up and had fallen asleep on his chest as he petted her. She was curled against him with her head snuggled securely against his shoulder and her arms folded against him at his waist so that she was almost hugging him. He held her tightly and listened to her breathing. He could barely make out what sounded almost like a purr each time she breathed. It had started when he began stroking her bare back. He was trying different patterns of stroking, trying to find one to make the sound louder. He didn't really understand why the little sound pleased him so much. But then again everything about her seemed to please him. He was listening intently to her and ignoring all else. 

He had completely forgotten that they were expecting Aislinn's grandmother. At that moment he didn't care what Jenna or Rafe was up to. And he believed that he would be happy for the rest of his life if he could just stay there holding her and trying to make her purr.

The gruff throat clearing that caught his attention had him wanting to kill the owner of the voice. He ignored it, assuming that it was Keith. When someone tapped the hand he was stroking Aislinn's back with he got really mad. He opened his eyes to deliver one of his patented glares to the intruder only to find himself staring at an elderly looking woman with Aislinn's startling blue eyes.

Cullen took in a deep breath. This is probably not the best way to meet her family, he thought. When he started to move Aislinn rumbled her dislike of his change in position and he settled back down. 

Brinah was obviously not happy. There were voices warring inside her head. One said that this was perfectly normal behavior for lycans. The next voice pointed out that Aislinn was not a lycan. Then there was the voice that said how much he appeared to adore her. That was countered with the fact that if he cared as much as he appeared to, by the look on his face and the way he held her, that he would not have put her in this kind of position. It had been a long time since Brinah had been exposed to this kind of behavior. She understood that this was the way lycan's behaved and if she had raised her daughter and granddaughter as druids then this type of thing would have been common place there as well. At the same time Aislinn had been raised human and this was not how humans behaved. She didn't know whether to admonish or accept. She settled on the one thing that would have been common to all three species. She softly asked Cullen a very simple question. She didn't want to wake Aislinn. Yet. "What exactly are your intentions toward my granddaughter young man?"

Keith thought he was going to die. The glares that Brinah was doling out were incredible. But the 'young man' thing was priceless. He was trying his best to muffle his laughter when Cullen started squirming. Brinah added. "You do that and you'll wake her up. Just answer my question."

Cullen felt trapped. He was pinned and being questioned by a girl's grandmother. How the hell did I get into this? He thought. 

Aislinn lay perfectly still. She had no intention of facing her grandmother like this. There was no way she was opening her eyes until she figured a way out of this. Even if she had to play dead. She had never been this embarrassed in her entire life. She hoped that Cullen wouldn't take offense but she wouldn't be doing this again any time soon and that was all there was to it. She felt like she was going to be sick.

Brinah just stared at him expectantly. Finally Cullen decided that honesty would be best. All he had was the truth. "I don't know. We haven't gotten to that conversation yet."

Brinah's eyes flared with anger. "Don't you think that's something you should have talked about before turning her into the afternoon entertainment?"

"That's not what it was like," he whispered back just as angry. He couldn't believe how much of Aislinn's attitude was being handed to him through her grandmother. Well now I know where she got it, he thought. Brinah's eyes were flashing and she talked to him as though he was child. He felt like a teenager who had just been caught having sex with his girlfriend by the girl's shotgun toting parent. He had human television to thank for that image.

"Well I'm going to tell you what it will be like." Brinah fumed. "I am going to step out that door and you are going to wake her up and get her dressed so that when I come back in I can say hello to my granddaughter with some semblance of decorum. And at some point very soon you and I are going to talk about what you think you are doing with her." Then Brinah turned on her heal and headed out the door. Sarah followed her out into the hall but was smart enough to know to not say anything. Brinah was talking to herself angrily the entire time they waited.

Cullen could tell that Aislinn was awake. Her breathing had changed repeatedly throughout the short conversation. "You can open your eyes now possum," he said softly. 

When Aislinn looked up at him she had turned a brilliant beet red blush that made him smile. "I can't believe grandma found us like that. I think I'm going to die," she said aloud. And what do you mean you don't know what you're doing with me, she thought.

Cullen shook his head. "I won't let you do that. Just put your clothes back on. It'll be fine. I'll take the heat." Cullen saw the concern in her eyes and wondered if it was entirely her grandmother that had caused it.

Aislinn jumped up and grabbed up her clothes from the various locations on the floor where they were thrown, blushing repeatedly as she accidentally made eye contact with various people about the library. When she and Cullen were fully dressed Cullen went over to the door and pulled it open. Brinah glared at him heavily and walked into the room headed straight for Aislinn. Before anything could be said she pulled Aislinn to herself in a hug that nearly forced all the air out of Aislinn's chest. After some time she pulled away and just stared at Aislinn a moment.

"Well, child, you certainly do look to be in one piece. I have missed you so much," she said and hugged Aislinn again.

"I missed you too grandma." Aislinn said still blushing. "I don't even know where to begin."

"Well," Brinah smiled at her, "why don't you introduce me to your friend and then we'll go find Lord Arnauk. It's been a long time but I do remember some of my schooling and pack etiquette says I should really have gone to talk to him first, seeing as I'm in his house. Then we can do all the story telling that needs to be done." She was standing there staring at Aislinn unblinking, as though Aislinn might disappear. Cullen, Keith, and Sarah were impressed with Brinah's statement. They never would have expected her to know anything about pack life. 

"Uh, okay, grandma this is Lord Arnauk," she said, indicating Cullen. 

Brinah's eyes caught fire again. "Now, I definitely want to know what you think your intentions are," she said angrily. 

Aislinn blushed again. "Grandma, it doesn't matter what his intentions are. Can't we just go sit down and talk about what we need to talk about. I don't think-" Cullen didn't like the way she said that it didn't matter. The terrible feeling that his wolf was wrong started to creep into his stomach again. Way to ruin an afternoon, he growled at himself.

Brinah interrupted Aislinn. "Child you can't possibly know what you're dealing with here. It's more important than you can possibly realize. As far as I'm concerned I came here to protect you and it looks as though I'm a bit late. Rafe and now this?"

Keith was chuckling and Sarah was looking pained. Cullen for his part was completely bowled over by the fact that now he had two women who didn't seem to understand that when he was in the room they were supposed be intimidated, let him talk, and behave with subdued respect. He had never fully appreciated that luxury of his position until now as all the lycans in the room looked on. "Enough," he said with emphasis and managed to get the women's attention. Brinah's glare got much worse and she placed herself between Aislinn and Cullen. That was a big mistake. Cullen started to growl. His wolf was concerned that Brinah may try to take Aislinn away. As far as he knew Aislinn might actually go with her. Brinah was her grandmother and so far Aislinn hadn't said whether she intended to stay or not. But the look on her face when she called her grandmother and talked about her family was plain enough.




Leader of the Pack Ch. 10



"Alpha or not, you don't get to talk to me like that or growl at me. You need my help and you won't get it being threatening. I have every right to protect my own and you should have some respect for that," Brinah said with an air of authority that made Cullen back off a little. "I asked you what your intentions are." Aislinn started to say something again and tried to move passed her grandmother to get to Cullen but she was cut off before she started to talk and then blocked before she could move. It was a talent that she figured must be born out of being a parent.

Sarah elbowed Keith to stop the laughter and then indicated that he should help her clear the room. It was obvious that the group would not be getting out of this argument without trouble and it was one of those arguments that might not go quite as badly if the witnesses were limited.

"Regardless of my intentions," Cullen replied, trying to remain calm. "I don't think Aislinn would allow anything that she didn't intend."

That comment went a lot farther with Brinah than Cullen realized. The alpha's acknowledgement that Aislinn had a choice in the matter settled her anger quite a bit. But she wasn't done. "You're behaving very possessive of my granddaughter. Do you intend to mate with her?" Cullen wasn't sure whether he should be pissed by Brinah's attitude or impressed by her apparent knowledge.

Aislinn felt her grandmother's words sting in her chest. "Grandma please," she said softly. She couldn't believe this was happening.

Cullen looked at Aislinn. This wasn't how he intended to have this conversation. He had no idea what to say. He didn't want to scare her off. He wished he knew what she was thinking. But a bond had to be pretty strong for that and that would only happen if he mated with her. He rubbed his face with his hands. Aislinn recognized the move as something he did when he didn't know what to say or was upset. She was getting pretty good at reading some of the things he did.

Brinah wasn't about to back down and she reiterated the question.

Aislinn couldn't take it. If he really didn't want to say then she didn't think he should have to. Before Cullen could respond Aislinn moved around to face her grandmother. "Grandma. I love you and I've missed you. I don't want you to take this wrong but I can handle myself. Cullen and I get along very well and he makes me happy. If he doesn't want to take things farther than that I'm okay with that. I need you to leave this be. I'm not a child that needs to be protected in this way. We have a much more dangerous problem then my love life right now."

Brinah could see the pleading in Aislinn's eyes and she didn't want this to come between them when she had only managed to get her granddaughter back just moments before. "Alright, I'll let it be for now." Brinah hugged Aislinn close to her again, but continued to glare at Cullen over her shoulder.

Cullen was relieved and dismayed by Aislinn's interruption. There was a part of him that just wanted to say it and get it over with. But the part that was afraid of rejection still held him by the balls. He was thinking about the way she had phrased what she'd said. He decided that one way or another he had to get up the courage to tell her that he loved her. And it was going to need to be soon. Or at least before her grandmother killed him.

Cullen led the group back to his office, ordered up dinner from the Taigh-Oèsda, and the rest of the evening was spent filling Brinah in on the last seven years of Aislinn's life and the latest information about Rafe. 



Leader of the Pack Ch. 11



For the most part Sarah and Keith had been supporting Aislinn being in the pack because Cullen so obviously wanted her there. He was the alpha and if he wanted this non-lycan outsider then whether they thought it was a good idea or not Keith and Sarah backed him. He so rarely asked the pack to just do something because he said so. Besides, she seemed to make him happy and they were his friends. 

Sarah and Keith had heard the edited version of Aislinn's story from Cullen during the elders' meeting. But hearing the detailed version from her own lips was much more compelling. They found themselves feeling for her and actually wanting to help. 

Brinah's eyes were wide and she looked as though she may cry. Aislinn tried to gloss over some things but Brinah seemed to have an innate sense of when she was skipping ahead and forced the extra information out. The only thing she was able to keep from her grandmother was the fact that Rafe had done something to 'change' her. She just couldn't bring herself to let her grandmother know how different things really were. She knew that her grandmother was looking for a way to bring her home. Brinah was shaking her head and looking scared when the entire rendition from Rafe creating his own Circle to his obsession with Aislinn and now finding the standing stones was finished.

Brinah let all her air out as if she hadn't breathed for the past hour. "You are all in a great deal more danger than you have any idea. I suppose," she said in a defeated tone, "I would be talking to air if I suggested that you abandon this place and take shelter somewhere far away."

Cullen growled at that. "We're not druids. We don't run and hide."

Brinah looked at him with fear painted in every feature on his face. "Then you're all going to be killed."

***

Ranaild entered the lobby of Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh. He felt like his life was coming to an end. To some extent he figured that one way or another he would be dead. Either Rafe would kill him or Cullen would kill him. Hell Aislinn was rumored to have closet fighting abilities. Maybe she would kill him. Any way it happened he would probably be dead by the end of this. He may even have to kill himself if he couldn't find a way out. He had done his best to avoid harming anyone. But with the dagger coated in his mate's blood tucked into the back of his jeans to give him the strength to go through with his assignment he headed for the elevator, inserted his key, and hit the button for the 13th floor.

As the elevator proceeded up the elevator stopped at the 3rd floor and a human couple stared at the stormy faced lycan in the elevator. One look at the man had them deciding to wait for the next one. 

When the elevator finished its agonizing ascent to the main floor of the den Ranaild nearly vomited on the floor. He walked into the great room. Everyone who saw him got out of his way. They didn't know why Raniald was upset, but he wasn't a lycan to mess with when he was angry. He was one of Cullen's best men and a pack elder. They assumed that whatever the problem was, it would be above their heads. No one even asked what was wrong.

Ranaild asked an omega where Cullen and Aislinn were. When he was told that they were in an office meeting, just down the hall, he decided to take a seat and wait. He just needed an opportunity.

***

Cullen stared at Brinah with angry fire. "I don't accept that as an option."

Brinah glared right back. "Then you're a fool."

"The druids were never so powerful that what you're suggesting could be possible." Cullen was speaking with a deadly calm and his features had taken on the stony look he got when dealing when someone he was trying to intimidate and control. Brinah was unimpressed by Cullen's appearance. That all by itself was impressive. But it reminded Cullen of Aislinn's firey attitude and softened his opinion of Brinah slightly.

"We've told you why we brought you here. Now you need to tell us what you know about Rafe and what we can do about his mind altering coach. Then if you don't want to stick around and find out how it'll turn out that's your call."

Brinah's eyes narrowed. "I find it interesting that Aislinn did all the talking and the story was for the most part hers, for years, before you all came into the picture, accidentally. It's interesting that you seem to count her as one of you. If anything she's a watered down druid. Not a lycan."

"That doesn't change the fact that Rafe is trying to take a piece of my territory. Stop trying to alter the subject. I'm getting the impression that you may not be able to be as helpful as you originally seemed to indicate. If the only reason you told us you could help was so you could come here and attempt to take her home with you I'm afraid you'll find that Rafe is more intent on getting his hands on her than you understand and you'd be risking both your lives leaving. Your presence here now negates the possibility of your leaving without the danger of him following you." 

Aislinn found Cullen's calm strange to watch. He was always so passionate with her it was as though he was another person. She didn't like the way her grandmother and Cullen were arguing. "That's enough both of you. Grandma you said you could help us make something."

Brinah looked at her granddaughter. Her eyes were searching Aislinn's. Cullen wasn't the only one referring to her as being with them. She was afraid she had permanently lost her granddaughter. A tear formed in the corner of her eye and she leaned toward Aislinn and reached out to put her hand on her cheek. "If you choose this life here, you'll never be able to go home Aislinn. There are a great many people there who love and miss you."

Aislinn's breath caught in her throat. Cullen just sat there waiting for her response. She didn't even look at him. If she managed to get away from all of this and he dealt with Rafe she could very easily go back to her life with her family. Rafe hadn't changed her enough to make a human existence impossible. He watched her with her grandmother and he saw the loss in her eyes. She didn't want to make the decision. He knew from the way she had spoken to him about her mother and her grandmother before that she missed them all terribly. He could easily understand that. He knew how he would feel if he was pulled out of the pack. Not that he wouldn't willingly leave it all for her. But he couldn't make her make that choice. Especially since she didn't seem nearly as interested in being here as he was in having her here.

After a silent pause that seemed to last an eternity Cullen shifted in his chair. Cullen's voice had softened significantly but his face went more stony, if that was even possible. There was no emotion to be seen in his eyes. The stranger Aislinn was looking at made her go numb. "All right. Brinah, you show us what we need to do to make something to stop Rafe's mind altering abilities. When we deal with him and it is safe, you and Aislinn can go home."

The look on Aislinn's face when he said that ripped into him, even if no one could see it. How could he do that? Was he just going to shove her out the door? "Isn't that my decision to make," Aislinn said in a cracking voice. 

Cullen's stomach turned. "I'm not going to ask you to leave your family for this," he responded.

"So you're done with me. Just like the others." Aislinn couldn't stop the tear that dropped from her eye. She stood up and walked away from his desk. She had been figuring it would happen. Just not this soon. And after the afternoon they'd had.

"This is nothing like the others," he said.

"Right," she answered. Then walked out of the office, slamming the door behind her as she left. The shock wave that rolled through the room made Cullen flinch. He almost went after her. But decided that she needed to cool off and if he was going to go through with this then chasing her would give her the wrong impression. He figured that he would talk to her after he was done here.

***

Aislinn headed for the elevator, walked inside, and hit the lobby button. She needed to get out of here and get some air. She knew there wasn't anywhere inside this building that she could hide and she just didn't want to deal with her thoughts right now. 

Ranaild only barely made it into the elevator before the door closed. She sent him a teary eyed glare when he joined her. It nearly broke his heart. Whatever had happened in that office wasn't going to make his intentions any easier.

Neither of them spoke. He didn't really want to talk to her. If he started feeling too bad for her he might change his mind. Ranaild wasn't sure how she had managed to get out of Cullen's sight, but there was no way he could pass this up. When the doors opened on the lobby he wondered why the fates seemed so damned determined to give Rafe what he wanted. Aislinn slipped through the lobby and headed for the front doors. Ranaild followed her. He couldn't believe how easy she was making this. 

She took off out the front doors of the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh and then down the sidewalk. She wrapped her arms around herself. The cool air was helping. She was trying desperately not to cry. I knew it, she thought.  Nothing in my life ever stays good. I don't know why I let myself get so attached so quickly. I knew that something would ruin it. Her brain was swimming and she just wanted it to stop. She didn't even notice Ranaild following her down the sidewalk.

Ranaild decided to let her get as far from the den as possible before he took her. She was moving at a good clip and as far as he could tell there wasn't anyone else following her. He kept looking behind them and watching. He sniffed at the air. But he seemed to be in the clear. 

Finally Aislinn stopped on a corner. There was a taxi sitting and waiting for a fair. Ranaild stepped up behind her and took her by the arm. She looked up at him with a shocked, angry glare. He returned an apologetic look as he pulled the dagger from behind him and brought it covertly around to jab into her side. Her anger turned to fear as she realized what was happening.

Ranaild guided her toward the taxi. "Open the door," he said in a frightening deadpan and pressed the dagger further into her side. Aislinn silently did as she was told. They both got into the taxi and Ranaild gave the driver directions to where he wanted to go.

Aislinn looked down at the dagger, covered in dried blood, which was pressing into her side. Then she looked back up at Ranaild. She knew him. She often saw him talking to Cullen. She knew that Cullen had trusted him.

***

Celia watched as Ranaild sat brooding in a chair angled so that he could watch down the hallway. He was acting strangely. Everyone who had been in the elder meeting knew the possibility of one of their own being on the wrong side of all the mess that was going on. The rumors had everyone in the pack on edge. Regardless of Celia's issues with Aislinn there had been a reason that Cullen had taken her as one of the women he spent time with. Ultimately she was one of the best in the pack. She had earned her position the hard way. She was intelligent, observant, and devious enough to see it in other people when sometimes it was overlooked. Ranaild was acting just strangely enough to get her attention.

When Aislinn came out of Cullen's office in tears and Ranaild headed after her Celia watched with an uneasy realization that he might be one of the traitors. She couldn't believe it. Ranaild? Celia went over to the elevator panel and watched to see what floor the elevator stopped at. Then she hit the stairs. She flew down the flights of stairs as fast as she could. She knew she wouldn't catch up if she waited for the elevator. But she might be able to track them if she got to the lobby before the scent was lost.

Mack watched Celia dart for the stairwell and immediately trailed after her. He didn't really know what she was up to but it was a rare occasion that she ran anywhere and he was going to find out where she was going.

Celia almost raised the alarm. But she couldn't bring herself to it without proof of what she thought she was seeing. She had been friends with Ranaild and Elise, his mate, for too long to do that to him and his family if it wasn't true. At the same time, if it was true she'd rip his throat out herself. Elise? When was the last time she'd spoken with Elise? The thought was fleeting and gone the minute she came slamming out the lobby doors. 

Celia headed for the elevator and immediately picked up Aislinn's scent. She'd know that galla anywhere. When she saw Mack come through the stairs' doors and into the lobby she swore to herself. Doesn't he have anything better to do?

"Whatcha up to Cel?" Mack said nonchalantly as he approached her.

"Mind your own-," Celia started then thought better of it. If what she was thinking about Ranaild was true then it might not be bright to chase after him alone. "Coach," she swore. "Just come on. Follow me and try and keep out of sight."

Mack knew it must be serious when Celia stopped herself from trying to get rid of him. He nodded and followed her out. He picked up on Ranaild's scent as they went and it only took him a minute to recognize Aislinn's as well. Everyone in the pack had caught the new girl's smell. She was weird. Hard to place. The rumors about her being 'not quite human' had everyone looking to get a wiff. 

Twice Ranaild almost saw them. Celia's heart was racing. She stood behind the newsstand and hid, waiting for him to keep going before continuing to follow him. "I can't believe it. He really is following her. That piece of coach."

"What the hell is going on here Celia?" Mack asked with a growing fear of what she was going to say.

Celia looked around the corner and seeing that Ranaild was moving again and watching Aislinn she pulled Mack along behind her and headed after them. 

"I don't really know. Ranaild is following Aislinn. I don't know where Aislinn is going but it's all too weird," she said hurriedly.

Mack grabbed her by the arm, hard, and stopped her. He pulled Celia to face himself and she lost sight of Ranaild. She fought Mack's grip but couldn't manage to move him. Ranaild was one of his closest friends. Celia did a lot of stuff that pissed him off, but this was the limit. "Don't you even suggest what I think you're suggesting. Aislinn shouldn't be out here. If he's following her, he's probably just keeping an eye on her."

"Well we'll never know that now," Celia said angrily as she wrenched her arm free and ran off in the direction in which they had disappeared.

Mack came walking up behind her. She was pacing the sidewalk where the scents mingled and then ended. "They got into a car," he said.

"Faigh muin! I caught that myself. I never should have brought you. You didn't see the way he looked." 

"I know that Ranaild wouldn't do what you're suggesting."

"You didn't see the way he looked." Celia paced. It didn't feel right. "I agree with you. It doesn't make sense. Ranaild has never... He wouldn't... Would he?" The confusion in her voice concerned Mack.

"I don't think so. Look if Aislinn is actually missing then the entire place will be in an uproar. Cullen is far too gone over her. I'm betting that Raniald is just keeping an eye on her. We'll head back and if there aren't alarms going off and warnings of Cullen bringing the apocalypse down on us all if we don't produce her from the shadows then I think we can safely say that this isn't what you think it looks like."

Celia didn't want to but she let him talk her into heading back and seeing. What do I care anyway? If Aislinn ends up gone then things can go back to normal. She didn't even realize that she was leaning into Mack as they walked down the sidewalk and she didn't think about how his words had been more reassuring than they should have been. She hated how much she liked him. She growled under her breath. 

When they got out of the elevator on the 13th floor and headed into the great room nothing seemed amiss. "I guess maybe," Celia said looking around. Cullen was still in the meeting with Keith, Sarah, and that human woman Sarah had brought up. More odd rumors. She was getting tired of all the secrets. It wasn't like Lord Arnauk. Lord Arnauk, she thought. Her mind took on a mocking tone, Aislinn wouldn't continue sleeping with a man who wouldn't let her use his name.

"You guess maybe what?" Mack asked smugly, smiling at her.

"You're probably right," Celia snapped. "There you happy?" Gods why can't I shut my brain off? How many times did he tell me that he'd never mate with me? Why did I think that I could change his mind if I just kept myself available. Is he an asshole, am I a complete fool, or both?

"Both," Mack said out loud. 

Celia didn't realize she had been projecting. But Mack had always picked up on her thoughts so easily it didn't really surprise her. Just embarrass. "I'd thank you to keep your opinions of what you know I don't intend to say to yourself."

"Cel, why do you fight me so hard? Is the fact that I'm not the alpha really that bad? You wanna break off and form our own pack? It's not like we couldn't manage. I just always thought that the family we had here was more important than rank. But you tell me what you want to do, I'll do it."

Mack sincerity seeped into her. She knew he'd do anything she asked him to do. Ambition aside she did care about him. She hated to admit it but she did. She growled and rolled her eyes. What was worse was that she was going into heat and she hadn't been with anyone in so long it was really getting to her. Then the little chase they just went on. "Come back to my room. We'll discuss reality later," she offered begrudgingly.

Mack leaned into her and tilted his head cautiously to the side as he slipped an arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her. She hadn't let him touch her since that time they had been out at the reservation on a hunt and they nearly ended up mated. They had been so into each other that night. He thought he was going to catch fire when she moved into him for the kiss. Her hands slipped up his shoulders and grabbed the material of his shirt fiercely.

In seconds the kiss went from experimental and tentative to explosive passion. Celia's tongue delved into his mouth and danced with his. Without breaking the kiss Mack picked her up by the waist and her legs wrapped around him. He backed them into the elevator and they fumbled for the key to the panel. Mack had to put her down as the exited the elevator and headed down the hall for her room. Both of their eyes swirling amber. 

Celia's door slammed behind them and she began tearing at Mack's clothes. He grinned and watched her as she ripped them to pieces and pushed him back toward the bed. Celia knew that he was stronger than her and he was letting her run the show to prove a point. But at that moment she didn't care. Her clothes quickly followed his in shreds onto the floor. 

Mack found himself pushed back onto her bed. The scent of her overwhelming him. He'd never managed to get into her room before. He just hoped she'd be this enthusiastic about him when it was all said and done. Any way it turned out though, he knew he'd wait for her forever if he had to. Celia looked down at Mack's form on her bed. She couldn't decide what she wanted to do to him most. One look at the adoring gaze she was getting and she knew that the first thing she wanted was to wipe that look off his face. 

Celia climbed onto the bed and much to Mack's delight she turned away from him then straddled his face and pressed her sopping sex down onto his mouth while she leaned down and took his cock into hers. He couldn't have had a better invitation. Mack grabbed hold of Celia's writhing hips and plunged his tongue into her. Dying for a better taste he let his wolf slide out into his hybrid form. Celia moaned with delight as his cock grew in her mouth. She licked around its head and then plunged back down onto it. His wolven tongue was much longer and more maneuverable than his human tongue. He drove it deep into her pussy, lapping teasingly at the walls and the more sensitive spots, until he could just reach her cervix. Breathing in her scent in his wolven form was what told him that she was about to go into heat. He growled at the temptation. It wasn't strong enough for him to catch in his human form. But being inside her sex and in his current state he couldn't miss it. She would probably get her heat that night or the next morning. But really it was close enough.




Leader of the Pack Ch. 11



He growled hungrily. He had already purposely let his control slip. Now the intelligent half of him was arguing with the beast. She belonged to him. The fates had dictated this from the day they were born. She brought him here. She was the one who started fucking him. He could feel her hot wet mouth sliding up and down his shaft. Her hands playing with his knot. She had to know what she was doing. Mack pushed Celia off of him and grabbed her by the waist before she could get away.

"What do you think you're doing," she squealed as he forced her onto her hands and knees.

What does it feel like, came the guttural response in her mind. 

Celia couldn't restrain the moan of pure bliss that escaped her mouth as he drove his huge member into her wet heat. He filled her completely and then forced the knot inside as well. She was panting with the effort of trying to pull away from him. At the same time her beast was screaming at her to just hold still. "Ahh," she cried out breathlessly as he managed to completely take her onto himself. They both stood still on their knees on her bed minds blank and just feeling the ecstasy of being joined together.

Mack's voice was almost angry in her mind. Tell me to stop now and I'll leave. He didn't want to end up accused of raping her in the morning.

Celia whimpered. "Can't you just do it and we'll argue about it tomorrow?" She bent her elbows and buried her face in the bed, trying desperately to contain her own wolf. Gods that feels good!

Mack smiled as he picked up on her thought. Her bending down only gave him a deeper angle and he pushed himself deeper, the head of his cock buried against her cervix. She moaned and pushed back against him. Tell me you want this, he thought at her, fighting his wolf desperately to keep from fucking her brains out without the approval. But his human half wanted something more. Celia had been stomping on his pride too long. He thrust against her once. Say it, he demanded.

Celia moaned into the pillow. Alright, Mack please fuck me. I want you to fuck me. As she finished the thought he felt her shift in his hands. 

He watched fur grow along her back and sides. His claws dug into her hips and he began fucking her hard. Quick thrusts into her that made her growl with delight. He could hear her begging for more in his mind and it was driving him crazy. When he began to swell inside her he stopped and pulled out, suddenly realizing how dangerous a position they were actually in. Elders won't be happy with this, he thought at her in warning. Not that he wouldn't do it if she let him. He didn't care what the elders had to say on that account. But he figured that he'd give her a last chance to get out of it. Then she wouldn't be able to accuse him of anything.

It was the stopping that did it. Celia was too close to being in heat and too far gone with their rutting to allow for a lull at this point. She turned on him, forcing him onto his back. She sat down on him growling her delight as his swelling member filled her again. She began humping him wildly and he watched as her breasts bounced beautifully before him. He reached up and squeezed them savagely, causing her to moan some more. He pinched and twisted her nipples, then pulled her down to him so he could suck on one while she fucked him.

When she started to come he stared into her eyes. He thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He was mesmerized by the exquisite look of tortured bliss on her face. A couple quick thrusts up into her while she writhed above him and he joined her over the edge.

Cullen, Celia's mind moaned sadly.

With that Mack hit a rage that nearly threw Celia threw the wall. He pushed her off of him so forcefully that both of them felt the pain of his swollen member being ripped from her body. Mack's wolf howled in misery and retreated back into him, leaving the human standing staring glassy eyed and pissed at Celia on the floor. 

"Galla," he swore at her. "I can't wait to see the look on your face when he mates with Aislinn. He doesn't want you. He never did," Mack spat at her. "I don't know if I do now." Of all the things she had ever done to him this was the worst. She shook his head at her, turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Celia had never seen that look in his eyes before. She hadn't meant it. Gods what did I just do?

***

Brinah had a new respect for Cullen. The pain on his face when Aislinn slammed the door was evident. "Alright," she said. She decided that if he was willing to send Aislinn home with her then she would give them what she could. And to some extent he was correct. If what Brinah wanted was her family to be whole again then she would have to have Rafe dealt with. There was no way she could explain to her daughter, after having hid it this long, what was going on and that they would have to move and change their names and hide. She really didn't have a choice. "The first thing you have to understand is that Rafe has two things going on. He's a druid and an alchemist. The druid half gives him some ability to move in dreams, influence thoughts. It's kind of like a hypnotist. The alchemist half gives him the knowledge to work with herbs and elements to make compounds that can aide his abilities. Make people more pliable and willing to let him influence them."

Cullen picked up the bag of herbs he had on his desk that had been added to the bonfires at the mating ceremony. He couldn't believe that it had only been a few nights ago. He handed the bag to Brinah and she poured the contents out on the table. She looked through the contents off-handedly. "Okay, I'll give you a list of what I will need. This doesn't look too complex."

Cullen looked over at Keith. His friends had remained silent throughout the meeting. When he met his friend's eyes he could see the sympathy there and it made him angry. He didn't want to be pitied. He was doing what was best for Aislinn. "Get Brinah what she needs," he said flatly. Keith nodded and took down the list of things that she wanted and the quantities. 

Brinah sat thinking. "That will allow me to make a compound that will counteract the one he's using. But that won't stop him. It will only make it harder for him." She thought some more. Cullen could see her mind working over what she had been told earlier. "If he's making weres then he has to have recreated something ancient. When I was still with the Circle that kind of alchemy wasn't practiced any longer. I know that in ancient times, when Rome threatened the Celts, the Circle created a compound that when mixed with animal blood and ingested over a period of time would give the person who drank it the characteristics of the animal that the blood came from. It was a lengthy and painful process. When it was completed the person was able to change into that animal. Hence all of you. It was done by a small group within our number that thought we should fight back. Seeing as we weren't fighters and Rome was so powerful they theorized that the only way for us to protect ourselves was to have guardians that were stronger than the Roman legions."

Sarah shook her head. "I always thought that was a story told to us when we were children to make us more sympathetic to the druids. I thought that the druids started that story because they wanted to guilt us into protecting them. Make it seem like we should show them respect and loyalty."

Brinah smiled. "In the end all creatures with a brain assert themselves. We watched the lycans grow and move on to create their own identities and we were pleased to see it. Humans who didn't understand us or what we had done turned it all into stories about druids being shape shifters, able to speak to animals, and things like that. Everyone creates their own legends to make what they don't understand make sense. I'm sure that even our stories about that time have become tainted over the years. Believe what you like about your origins. The truth about history isn't what the current dilemma is about. Right now, if Rafe is using ancient alchemy to create weres there is nothing I can give you to stop that. Once it's done then it's done. I can only tell you that it is possible."

Cullen nodded. "If it takes a long period of time to do, are there stages? Does it just stop if you stop drinking the compound?" He was trying to ask the questions without bringing up Aislinn. She had obviously not told her grandmother about what Rafe had done to her. So he didn't want to make things worse between himself and Aislinn by saying something she didn't want said. He had a hope that Aislinn would understand and not leave there hating him. The thought of her leaving ripped through him and he lost track of the conversation momentarily.Brinah's answer snapped him back into the moment. 

"I don't know for certain," she said. "It was taught as history when I was a child. But the details of the compound and how it worked weren't included in the lesson. There were some, like Rafe, who tried to find the old compounds and spent a great deal of time researching our past. But I was never one of them."

"You talk like you knew him," Cullen replied in a despondent tone.

"A long time ago. He wasn't a very friendly child. But I was on my way out of the Circle at that time. He was still very young. He just had... cruel tendencies. There wasn't a member of our group that didn't know who that child was."

Cullen nodded. "So then what about the stones. Apparently he wants them for some reason."

Brinah didn't really want to explain that one. But she had come this far. "The stones aren't what he wants. The stones are just a marker. He could find what he wants in any number of places. The stones are just an indication that he definitely found the right spot. We used the stones to demark the location of an intersection of ley lines. It's a point of power. If you know how to use the power it can be a very dangerous place. We held rituals there. The site could be used to make compounds stronger, if that's what he's doing. It's hard to say what kinds of things he might be up to if he's determined to take possession of that location. You'd be better off dealing with him in a different place."

"Is there anything else significant that you might be able to add to this?" Cullen wanted to be done with the meeting. 

"I'll keep thinking. But from the sounds of things, he has you outnumbered, with stronger fighters, and he's using alchemy to undermine your ability to fight him. It doesn't sound very promising."

Cullen nodded. "No it doesn't he said." And at that moment he just didn't care. He got up from his chair and headed out of the office. 

Keith and Sarah looked at each other. This wasn't good. Sarah was the one who spoke. She was completely unable to hide the frustration in her voice. "Brinah. I totally sympathize with you wanting your granddaughter back. But it seems to me that someone who left her own family or Circle or whatever you had behind, to marry someone and cut yourself off from everything you knew, might understand what's going on between them."

Brinah stood up and met Sarah's anger head on. "I was in love with my husband. What happened between us is totally different from an alpha lycan adding an additional female to his numbers."

Sarah's eyes shifted and swirled with amber as her wolf tried to surface out of loyalty toward Cullen and this ignorant woman's words against him. "Eistigi liom. I have never seen Cullen Arnauk in love with a woman the way he is with your granddaughter. I had always been given the impression that druids were observant and intelligent. I would have thought you should have seen that."

Brinah stood her ground and waited. She refused to perpetuate this argument. If the man was in love with Aislinn then that was yet to be seen. Brinah couldn't believe he'd give her over so easily if he were really in love with her. 

Keith was the one who broke the battle of silence. "Do you women think that we can deal with this in the morning? I don't know about both of you but I've had a long day. And tomorrow promises to be longer. The women agreed without a word and Brinah was escorted to her bedroom. She thought about looking for Aislinn, but decided to give her some space and find her first thing in the morning. When Aislinn had been a child she had always preferred to be upset by herself and would come looking for comfort when it was wanted.

***

Cullen went up to his room. He waited for a time trying to think of what he would say. He lay on his bed feeling how empty it was and thinking that if he could fall asleep then he might wake up to find her in his arms and have this evening be just a bad dream. Well aside from the afternoon in the library. He closed his eyes and smiled painfully as he remembered how it had felt sitting in that chair with her lying on his chest. He could almost hear the soft purr-like sounds she had been making. There was no way he could sleep. 

When Aislinn didn't come up he started to get nervous. It took some effort but he decided to go looking for her. Keith's comment about chasing after a woman echoed in his brain again. The longer he was away from Aislinn the more Cullen's resolve to let her go was breaking. He was thinking that he should just apologize or tell her it was a misunderstanding. Maybe he should try the truth and say he had thought it would be what she wanted. Then he could ask her to stay with him instead. Depending on how angry she was with him maybe he'd beg her to stay.

When Cullen had searched the entire building, including the casino and every other room she had never been in he began to panic. He virtually threw a couple customers out of the elevator and hit the button for the basement. 

Cullen stormed into the security suite. There were computers and monitors along all of the walls. One of the monitors was even monitoring the security suite that monitored the casino. That was the room that the human cops saw if they ever needed into the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh surveillance system for some reason. This room contained the system that monitored the rest of the building.

Cullen violently pulled the chair out from under the man who had been watching the monitors with disinterest. The poor guy landed on his butt on the floor and then scrambled to bow his head to the angry alpha standing over him.

"Find Aislinn," Cullen ordered. "I need to know if she's anywhere in this building. If she isn't I need to know when she left." Then he stood there with his arms crossed, waiting.

It took a second for the lycan to realize that Cullen meant for him to do it instantaneously. He jumped and fidgeted as he played with buttons and moved cameras and checked monitors. After enough time to cause Cullen to begin pacing the man said, "I don't think she's here General. It'll take me a little bit to find out when she left." There was an intimidated tremor to the man's voice. He knew that was not what Cullen wanted to hear.

Cullen growled menacingly. Fear boiled up in him. He knew she was in danger. He just felt it and his instincts were rarely wrong. "When you find her, call me immediately." With that Cullen stormed out of the room and back to the elevator.

He paced in the elevator as it headed up. He didn't know what to do. He had no idea where to start looking. It was incredibly late and everyone was already in bed. She may have just taken off and was fine. He kept trying to reassure himself but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something terribly wrong.

When elevator doors opened on the 13th floor, he stood there a moment looking down the hall. It was mostly empty. The carpet was well worn from all the people in his pack that came and went on this floor. He could hear a television down the hall where all the insomniacs were currently getting their fix of some bad horror flick. He walked down the hall like a zombie. He was the alpha. He was supposed to know what to do.



Leader of the Pack Ch. 12



Every time Aislinn started to speak during the taxi ride Ranaild would jab her with the dagger. It didn't take long for her to realize that she needed to just keep her mouth shut. The taxi driver kept looking in the rearview mirror. But one look from Ranaild and the man would go back to minding his own business. 

By the time the taxi pulled up in front of the Tairneach manor it was nearing dawn. Ranaild had the man stop at the end of the drive just outside the gate. Ranaild got out first. He was tired and his guard was down. He figured that he was home free at this point. He just couldn't make himself feel good about it. When Aislinn noticed that Ranaild wasn't paying attention she turned and ran after the taxi that was pulling away from the gate. 

Without even thinking Ranaild let his hand fly. The dagger he had been holding all evening hit Aislinn in the back of the thigh. The dagger lodged deep in the muscle and sent searing waves of pain running all the way up her body. She cried out in pain as she fell to the ground and tears of anger began to pour down her face as the taxi got away. She slammed her hands on the ground in frustraton That was it. She didn't have anything left. Her cries died out and she went limp, resigning herself to her fate. Maybe Rafe was right. Maybe she was destined to be his.

With an emotionless demeanor Ranaild came over to her. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry," he said as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He reached up and pulled the dagger out of her leg. Blood poured from the wound. There was a trace scent of Elise from the blood that had dried on the dagger that mingled with the coppery fresh smell of Aislinn's blood. The scent reached into Ranaild and reminded him of why he was betraying his pack, his alpha, his friend, and himself. He put the dagger back in the waist of his pants, not bothering to wipe it off. He figured that with the blood on his hands now, it didn't matter that it was on his clothes as well. Then he headed toward the manor. The gate at the end of the drive swung wide without Ranaild having to ask. He was expected.

Aislinn didn't bother to fight back. The last ounce of fight left in her was lost in the dash for the taxi. After what had happened with Cullen and now this, Aislinn felt drained. She lay over Ranaild's shoulder like a rag doll and watched the ground pass beneath his feet as he headed through the gate.

***

Rafe sat up in bed and picked up the ringing phone on the night stand. "This better be good." As the voice answered back a disgusting smile crept across his lips. "By all means let them in. I'll be down momentarily." Rafe jumped out of bed and threw on a black robe and slippers. He hadn't bothered to rise this early in a long time. But what kind of host would he be if he didn't greet his guest personally.

Ranaild stood in the front room of the manor. Blood dribbled down Aislinn's leg and was leaving drops on the white and gray marble floor. He stared at the blood and weighed the odds that Elise might already be dead, that Rafe might not release her even now, or that he would get Elise back and be allowed to leave unharmed. But at what price. He felt cold and empty.

Rafe walked into the room. When he saw the blood on Aislinn he was angered at first. But his features smoothed over as he reminded himself that a leg wound would heal. At least he had her now. "Put her down."

Ranaild did as he was told too well. Aislinn felt her ass hit the cold marble and winced as the pain in her leg shot up her body again. She was starting to feel strange. She figured that the loss of blood must be making her nauseous and dizzy. She just didn't think she had lost that much blood. And that didn't explain the pain in her arms. All her muscles felt tight and her ears were ringing.

"Where's Elise?" Ranaild said coolly. He had made the decision that if Rafe did anything other than what he had agreed to Ranaild was going to kill him where he stood one way or another.

Rafe smiled at the man. He knew exactly what the lycan was thinking. "Why wouldn't I hold up my end of the bargain my friend?" he said with that terrible smile playing along his lips. "After all I wouldn't want to deprive you of the lifetime of self loathing for what you've done." He was amused. Lycans were so easily manipulated. He leaned over to a large tiger that had a lion's mane and said something softly to the animal. Then it trotted off down a hall.

"Now if you don't mind," Rafe said, "you can wait in the entry way." At that another large cat appeared and ushered Ranaild back toward the front door. Ranaild vaguely noted the number of annoyed looking lycans around the room who were allowing the cats to run their manor. Rafe walked over and knelt down next to Aislinn. Her blue eyes flashed at him and silver swirled in their depths. "You certainly are beautiful when you're angry," he said staring into her eyes.

Aislinn couldn't help but be frightened. She did her best to channel that fear into her anger so that Rafe wouldn't have the pleasure of knowing how much he scared her. But between the pain, the sick feeling, and his eyes boring into her, Aislinn didn't have the same kind of control over herself as usual. She decided that the best thing she could possibly do is channel all of her remaining energy into blocking Rafe out of her mind. If nothing else she didn't want him able to use what had happened that night to torment her. She'd rather be raped than that.

Rafe tried to get into her head. He had been frustrated enough when he stopped being able to find her dreams. But having her right in front of him and not being able to get in was pissing him off. He stood up and without thinking he pulled his hand back and slapped her across the face sending her sprawling on the floor.

Aislinn was shocked. He was much worse than the last time she had been face to face with him. Something about him was more twisted than before. This was not the man she had originally met. This one wouldn't have been able to play at nice the way Rafe had been in the beginning. This one was leaning toward insane. She hadn't even seen the slap coming when he hit her. She lay on the floor. She could feel him trying to get into her head again. She refused to let him.

"You've gotten better at this since meeting the lycans. I wouldn't have thought you could learn so much so quickly and on your own," his voice shifted strangely from sincere to menacing and angry then back again as he talked. "I'm torn between being annoyed and being impressed. I don't think you want me to put you through what I'm going to do to you if you continue to hide your mind from me Aislinn."

There was a sound in the hallway and Aislinn looked up to see a disheveled, abused woman barely walking, being led by the arm down the hall. When Ranaild saw her he had to be held back in the entry way. Rafe knelt down next to Aislinn and spoke softly to her. "Look how weak they are. So attached to one another that they'll sacrifice their entire lives just to be together. They'll have nowhere to go now. And every time they look at each other they will know that he betrayed his pack to save her. They'll spend their lives running away, feeling guilt rack them, and all because lycans have a terribly misplaced idea of loyalty and love." Rafe stood up and sneered at them. "Pitiful." 

Elise was shoved into Ranaild's arms and they stood there holding each other. Elise's sobs could be heard all the way down the hall. The few lycans present could feel the pain that had been caused in them by what Rafe had done. Jenna appeared in the doorway. She was watching the couple and toying with a ring on a chain around her neck. She looked over at Rafe and could see the wheels in his head turning. Before he could change his mind about letting them go Jenna waved her hand and the pair was ushered out the door.

Aislinn laid her head back down on the marble floor. The cold felt good against her feverish face. She took a couple long breaths and waited. She didn't know what Rafe intended to do next but there wasn't anything she could do about it.

Jenna watched. She knew that Rafe intended to make Aislinn his alpha. Here she was again. She had even allowed herself to be subjected to a mating with the muin bastard and he was going to throw her aside the minute he didn't need her any longer. But for now his connection with her was keeping the Tairneach accepting of him as alpha. He still needed her a while longer. That would buy her time. She fondled her father's ring on the chain around her neck and her eyes fell on one of the larger lycans in the room. He nodded to her submissively and she smiled back. Not yet, she thought at him, but soon.

***

Cullen was standing in the security suite. The watchman had found Aislinn on the tape. His heart was sinking into his stomach. He watched Aislinn walk through the lobby and out the front doors. He noted the direction she had gone in. But who the hell knew where she went after she left the building. 

He watched the tape and saw several different members of the pack coming and going at the same time. A couple of them even watched her leave. But she had that air of someone doing exactly what she should be doing and no one stopped her or said anything.

Cullen pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He called Keith. When the tired voice came through the line Cullen growled at the phone. "Aislinn is missing," he said simply.

That woke Keith up. He looked at the clock on the night stand. It said 7am. The sun was just barely peeking through the windows. "How long?" He said getting out of bed. Jaylyn growled a complaint. She spent most of her time in bed recently, seeing as she was heavily pregnant and due to drop any time now. 

"Since she left the meeting yesterday," came the deadpan over the line.

Keith was surprised that it had taken this long for Cullen to call. "Where are you?"

"The security suite." Cullen was still watching the tape. She looked like she was fine. She just left. "I'm watching the camera footage of her leaving the lobby. There are a few others who left at the same time. I'm going to start calling and see if anyone saw anything. I want you to get Brinah working on that stuff she said she could do. I get the feeling I'm going to need it sooner than I originally intended."

"I'm on it." Keith had already left the room and was headed into the elevator. He'd need Sarah, considering he didn't know what room Brinah had been put in. He put his cell phone back in his pocket and headed for Sarah's room.

Cullen watched the tape and paused it. He stared at the man who left shortly after Aislinn. Ranaild. He opened his cell and searched for the number then hit send. On the other end of the line Ranaild held his phone up and looked at the caller ID. Then he looked over at Elise. She stared at him with tears in her eyes. They were walking down a deserted street headed away from the Tairneach manor. Ranaild couldn't face it yet. When he knew that Elise was safe he would probably go to Cullen and confess what he had done. But for now he silenced his phone and placed it back in his pocket. Cullen left a message, telling Ranaild to call him back. 

Cullen forwarded the tape to the next people out the front door. Celia and Mack. Cullen growled and shook his head. That's just what he needed. He found Celia's number in his phone and hit send. Again no answer. Celia was down the hall in the gym. She was running the track, trying desperately to get Mack and what had happened out of her head.

Cullen dialed Mack angrily and listened to the phone ring and ring. He was about ready to rip the computer panels out of the desk when Mack picked up the call. "Yeah," a tired voice came into the phone.

Cullen's dead pan voice was eerie and had Mack listening to the man on the other end of the line with even more attention than usual. "You and Celia were on your way out of the building last night about the same time as Aislinn. Did you see her?" Cullen was answered with an extended silence that had him wanting to crawl through the phone and shake the man on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, Ranaild was following her." Mack was suddenly sick to his stomach. Celia had been right. "Cel thought that he was up to something and was trying to follow him. I thought that you'd stuck Ranaild on her as a tail and talked Celia down and brought her back to the den." The apologetic tone on the other end of the line did nothing to stem Cullen's temper. 

Cullen threw the cell phone across the room then proceeded to have a temper tantrum that included destroying quite a bit of computer equipment. The poor man on duty had to jump several times to get out of the way. Suddenly Cullen stopped and stared at the ceiling with his hands balled into fists at his sides. "The report," he said far too calmly. He looked over at the security guard. His eyes were wild swirling amber. His wolf was ready to go at anyone who breathed wrong. "I wanted more proof. I ignored the report. His name was in the report," Cullen said to the confused guard. Then he turned and left the room.

***

Aislinn's head was swimming. She wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious or when exactly she had passed out. She was naked and on her stomach, tied down to a bed. She tried to move her arms and legs but pain shot through her body and she drew in a sharp breath before lying still again. When she tried to open her eyes the light from the room stung and sent a new pain into her head. She closed her eyes again. Somewhere in the background she could hear people talking, but couldn't quite make out the voices. She couldn't remember where she was or how she had gotten here. But she was scared and cold and in pain. "Cullen?" she said softly not really thinking that he'd be there or hear her.

"Does Arnauk tie you down to beds as well?" Rafe's voice sank into her and suddenly she remembered what had happened to get her there. Aislinn pressed her face into the bed. She didn't bother to try and pull away or open her eyes. She knew that it wouldn't get her anywhere. When Rafe's hand touched the back of her leg she flinched. Pain sliced into her again and she went still, her breath hissing out of her. Rafe chuckled and continued touching her. 

Aislinn could feel a bandage on the back of her leg. Rafe was avoiding that area. He apparently preferred to be more intimate. Aislinn knew that if she protested it would just get worse. So she laid perfectly still and bit back her comments and disgust as she felt his hand stroke up the inside of her thigh. When he reached her sex he pushed his fingers into her. "Hmm, I wonder what you were dreaming about to be such a welcoming target for me," he said angrily, pissed because he knew that if she had been thinking about him she wouldn't be like this. Then Aislinn felt his attempt at a caress turn to agony as he dug his fingers sharply into her sensitive flesh. "How are you blocking me Aislinn? You're not that strong." After he finished the question his fingers let up and he waited. The pain he had caused ebbed slightly but the sting was still there. A tear formed on her cheek.

When she didn't answer right away he dug into her again. "I asked you a question." This time his brutal fingering lasted longer and Aislinn couldn't hold back a strangled cry.

When he stopped she answered him this time. "I don't know," she whimpered. She pressed her face into the bed and cried.

"That's not a very good answer," he said soothingly. He was stroking her again. He gently rubbed her clit and the tender area he had been torturing. When she seemed to gain control of herself he moved to stand in her line of sight so that he could look at her and asked again.

"I really don't know Rafe. I just did it. I wanted you to stop. I don't know what I did. I just thought about making you stop."

Rafe listened. His eyes narrow and angry. He was staring into her eyes contemplatively. "Lucky for you I believe you." He put his fingers to his mouth and Aislinn saw blood on his finger tips. He breathed in her scent and then licked the blood and juices from his fingers while she watched. "Don't get too comfortable pet. We'll be leaving for the reservation soon. I've decided to move things up. I'm far too excited about bringing you back into the fold. My little lost lamb." Rafe moved around to where she couldn't see him again. She was terrified that he was going to touch her again.

She heard metal scraping and rattling. Then there was a pause and she heard him behind her again. She felt his hand on her and she whimpered, numb with fear. Then she felt a sting that could only be described as a shot. Was he drugging her? Rafe chuckled again when she flinched. "Don't worry lamb. I'll protect you from the wolves." His voice started to echo in her head. Her mind started to fuzz over. "If you continue to block me pet then I'll find a way to make you less inclined to block me. I'll start with giving you the choice to cooperate and accept that you belong to me. If you fight me, you'll only make me hurt you more." His voice terrified her. Her body felt like it was on fire. Her muscles ached and the room began to spin.

"Lesson 1," Rafe's distorted voice blurred in her ears. "The quicker you come, the sooner I'll stop." Aislinn felt something, probably his fingers again, press inside her. At least it wasn't painful this time. She lay there crying, much to his delight, as he plunged into her over and over. Aislinn couldn't believe her body was responding to him. She was torn between holding out and giving in. She briefly considered imagining Cullen holding her and letting Rafe have what he wanted. But the idea of Cullen only brought more tears. The room began spinning more. Rafe said something else. She could hear frustration in his voice. But the distortion was too much now. She wasn't sure how long he continued his assault before blissful blackness settled over her and she lost awareness of what he was doing to her body.

Rafe was pissed when she passed out. "I didn't give her enough for her to black out already." He stomped across the room and grabbed the omega that was standing by to see to his needs. He got no pleasure from torturing someone who couldn't respond with the fear and submission he found so arousing. He forced the frightened omega to her knees and pulled his cock out of his pants. She hesitantly obeyed his obvious intentions and began sucking on his member. She wasn't very enthusiastic or good at it, but Rafe was worked up from tormenting Aislinn and he came quickly. Pushing the omega away he pulled his pants back up and went to check on the arrangements he had been making.

***

Keith and Sarah pulled Brinah out of bed to start working on the compound she had told them she could make. Brinah argued at first. "I understand that you're all in a hurry. But is there truly no time for me to talk with Aislinn. I had hoped she would be able to help me."

Keith looked at Sarah. He had been trying to find a gentle way of breaking the news, but Sarah was still angry at Brinah from the day before and she was happy to explain. "She ran off out of the building after you and Cullen argued and she got upset," she said shortly. "From what we can tell she may have been picked up by one of Rafe's men. But we're not completely positive. Right now the plan is to attack the Tairneach, risk all of our lives, and maybe manage to find her. I guess the assumption is that she's not bull headed enough to take off on her own and just not come back. Which means that someone must be stopping her from coming back. Which means Rafe probably got to her. But, like I said, we don't know for sure."

Brinah was wide eyed. "You're going after Rafe and you don't even know if she's there?"

"Cullen is upset. When you upset an alpha you have problems."




Leader of the Pack Ch. 12



Brinah was torn between telling her that it was ignorant to go charging off to attack a place over the possibility that they may have taken one person captive and asking why they hadn't left yet. She opted for not causing any additional trouble. "So do you have the things I asked for? I'll need a kitchen. And there are a few other things that occur to me might be helpful. I'll get you a list of ingredients for those as well." She was wringing her hands and shifting her weight form foot to foot. 

Sarah rolled her eyes and took off out the door to handle other duties and left Keith to finish with Brinah.

The Arnauk were drastically out of practice. It had been a couple decades since they had been on war footing. When Cullen had spoken to the elders after the failed mating everyone had left the meeting believing that Cullen would get it all under control. He always did. When the call for fighters to mobilize went out it took everyone off guard. Cullen was pissed and impatient. At one point in time a call to mobilize would have had the entire pack assembled at the den within hours. 

As the day wore on Cullen grew more and more agitated. Brinah wasn't finished with whatever she was making and a large number of his pack were still missing. He didn't know whether it was because they had joined Rafe or because they hadn't gotten the call or because they were on their way. He promised himself that he wouldn't let the pack get this out of shape ever again. But for now there was nothing he could do about it. He paced and swore and scared people away from himself. He decided that regardless of who he had, how many he had, or whether Brinah was ready by nightfall they would be leaving for the Tairneach manor.

***

Ranaild and Elise had managed to get to town. Elise had been chained and beaten so often that she had only barely managed to walk to town and she wouldn't have made it if Ranaild hadn't carried her most of the way. He was debating taking her to a human hospital. But the need to be as far from the Tairneach as possible made him opt for the first public bathroom they came too.

Ranaild carried Elise into the nasty gas station bathroom and sat her on the dirty graffiti covered sink counter. They hadn't talked since they left the manor. Elise could see and feel the self loathing in him even though he refused to look directly at her. Ranaild wet a bunch of paper towels and made Elise let him look at her wounds. He was wiping dried blood away from a particularly nasty looking one on her side.

Elise's voice trembled a bit when she asked him, "What did you do to get me out of there Ranaild?"

He stopped cleaning the gash in her flesh and finally met her gaze. He stared into her eyes for a very long time. Tears formed in his own and she reached for him, but he wouldn't accept the comfort she was offering. "Whatever I had to do," he finally said.

Elise didn't ask him any more. She submitted to his poking and prodding. When he was satisfied that she was able to keep going he helped her down and they headed out the door. He couldn't stop thinking about how much he hated himself right then. He wasn't strong enough to have protected her the way he should have. He wanted to kill Rafe for what he had done to Elise and for what Rafe had made him do. He wanted to kill himself for betraying his pack. 

Elise was the one who saw the Tairneach convoy. Her hands dug into Ranaild's arm and she pulled him back around the corner of the gas station to hide as they drove past. Her heart was racing. They were headed for Arnauk territory. "They must be on their way to the reservation," she said as tears filled her eyes. "They're going to attack again. It's all they've been talking about for days. When they were going to take the stones."

Ranaild looked at Elise. "You know I love you," he said.

"I don't like the way you said that Ranaild. What are you going to do?"

"If I call Cullen and warn them they may be able to do something about it. But after what I've done..." He couldn't finish it.

"So we weren't going home, were we?"

"I'll take you back to the pack Elise. You'll be safe there. But if I were Cullen, I wouldn't let me live."

"Then we won't go back. Ranaild, I don't want to know what you did. I don't care. I just need to be with you. We don't need the pack. We can go somewhere else." The panic in Elise's voice almost made him think that it could work.

He shook his head. "I'd never be able to live with myself knowing... And there's the boys Elise. I've got to tell Cullen. I can tell him other things too. I can't just disappear. I wish I could." 

Elise wanted to stop him. But she knew that if he didn't follow his heart then he wouldn't be the man she mated with. She nodded agreement with tears in her eyes.

Ranaild fished his cell phone out of his pocket. The 1 message caption was running across the face of the phone. He knew that it was from Cullen. He wondered if the alpha had figured it out or if it was just a call. It didn't matter. He dialed Cullen's number and listened to the phone ring with the morbid feeling of a man going to his own funeral. 

***

Cullen was sitting in his office going over the report he had neglected earlier. He was trying to decide if Ranaild was the only traitor or if he needed to jail all of the people on the list. His phone rang and he picked it up to see who was calling him. When he saw the caller ID his wolf went into overdrive. He flipped open the phone and growled into the receiver, "Tell me why I shouldn't rip your throat out."

"I can't. I'll lay down at your feet and offer you my throat when this is over. But for now you need to know some things. Rafe has loaded the Tairneach up and they're all headed for the reservation. I just watched the convoy pass us. I give them two hours to get there."

Cullen was confused. "Why should I listen to you?"

"I've done enough damage. I'm on my way back to the den. You can deal with me when you return. I'll accept the repercussions of my actions. I'm sorry."

Cullen's wolf retreated in confusion. Cullen could felt as though his beast was pacing in him mind. He wasn't sure how to deal with Ranaild now and that made him angrier. It would have been much easier breaking Ranaild's neck before this phone call. Ranaild proceeded to give him the names of the other men he knew were being manipulated by Rafe. But left the detailed explanations for a later date, when there was more time.

Cullen stormed out of the office with a new list. He had to further cut his numbers. He pulled several of his best men who weren't on the list to round up the men that Ranaild had named. The last thing he needed was inner pack conflict when they went into battle, even if he was neutering his numbers. 

Finally he decided that he couldn't wait any longer. The Tairneach had a two hour lead by the time he straightened everything out. If Ranaild was correct that would place them on the reservation by now. Brinah had only just finished the alchemical formula she said would counteract the compound Rafe was using. It was a foul smelling liquid that she told people to spray themselves down with. Keith was complaining that it didn't mesh well with his aftershave. Brinah insisted on going with them. Cullen hadn't thought it was a good idea but he had enough other things going on that he just didn't have the energy left to try and stop her. Overall it was a hectic mess.

*************

Not a lot of sex in this one. I know, I know... that means a lot of lower votes. Oh well, character building takes work. You'll get more good stuff later... J

Vote anyway! J



Leader of the Pack Ch. 13



Vae Victis!

Aislinn was getting sick of passing out. She never knew where she would be waking up. This time she was in a sitting position and her hands and feet were still tied. It occurred to her that Rafe must have thought she was fairly dangerous to think that tying her up unconscious and sick was necessary. 

The pain was subsiding but she still ached all over as if she had the flu. She opened her eyes to find that she was in a car. Probably a limo. She was on a black leather seat which was facing a seat on which sat Rafe and Jenna. Rafe was leaning back and looking out the window, oblivious to the fact that Aislinn's eyes had just opened. One hand was on Jenna's knee. She didn't appear to care or notice that Rafe was touching her. At the same time she was staring at Aislinn with a vicious glare. Aislinn didn't know what this particular glare was for. Jenna could probably come up with a reason to glare at the pope. Aislinn could only figure that Jenna was still dwelling over Cullen. Rafe's other hand was stroking a golden tan lioness who was lying at his feet. The lioness appeared to be pleased by the petting as she was purring her approval. 

Jenna reached down and touched Rafe's hand on her knee. "Your new pet has awakened."

Aislinn was becoming more and more cognoscente. She realized with a great deal of embarrassment that she was the only one who was naked. Well, unless you count the lioness. She immediately burned a brilliant shade of red. Then grew angry at herself when her obvious upset appeared to please both Rafe and Jenna. Rafe was in a causal suit that looked to be tailored and Jenna was in a loose fitting but expensive looking red silk dress. Between the blonde haired bimbo in the red dress and the greasy looking weasel in a suit sitting on black leather limo seats with a lion at his feet a person would have thought that they were in some bad rock video. The thought caused Aislinn to roll her eyes. She leaned into the leather seat and felt her body aching. She closed her eyes with the intention of going back to sleep. 

"Aren't you even curious where we're going?" Rafe asked in a way that might have been friendly if it weren't for the fact that she was tied up and naked.

"No," Aislinn answered without opening her eyes.

"Usually there's more fight in you lamb. I am curious what has you so defeated," Rafe cooed in irritatingly fake sympathy. 

Aislinn didn't answer. She could feel Rafe squirreling around in her brain. She made her mind go blank. She refused to give him ammunition for abusing her. The way she saw it, she couldn't protect her body from him, but she sure as hell wasn't giving him her mind again.

Rafe pulled his hands from the two women, braced his elbows on his knees, pressed his hands together and leaned toward Aislinn. His eyes narrowed dangerously and his voice seethed, filled with threat. "Do you remember what I told you about blocking me lamb? Or were you too out of it to remember out last conversation?"

Self preservation being her number one priority, a thought suddenly occurred to Aislinn. The more she fought him the more she had found she could do. She didn't really know her limitations, but she seemed to manage things she wanted to do badly enough. She let a picture float into her mind of what she remembered of their last conversation. 

Rafe smiled and sat back. "That's it lamb." He continued to work himself into her mind. He figured she was tiring of fighting. 

Aislinn was glad it was working. She let him in just far enough to see what he expected to see. Beyond that she stayed safely inside herself. She waited for his reaction.

"I've always been impressed with your talent Aislinn. I had thought it an unusual thing to find in a human outside of the Circle." 

Rafe was fishing and Aislinn knew it. She wasn't sure what he was after finding out but she wished that he would get to the point. She wasn't feeling well enough to play this game right now and she let him in far enough to catch that thought. 

He chuckled. "Fine," he answered her unspoken comment on his behavior. "I was informed by one of my men in the Arnauk clan that your grandmother has paid the Arnauk a visit. Personally escorted to the building by the female alpha." The fear that Rafe picked up on after his statement wasn't purposely given to him. "So I did some looking. It seems that you and I are more alike than I had thought," he said jovially. Then his voice suddenly dropped and took on his usual deadly monotone. "Why exactly did you keep this from me?"

Aislinn didn't see a reason to not tell him the truth. As long as he remained focused on her and left her grandmother alone. "I didn't know. She never told our family."

Rafe watched her as she spoke. She could feel him in her mind and she let him reach a place that would give him the impression that she was telling the truth. That wasn't hard since she was. She figured it would get more difficult if she had to make him believe a lie.

"So then," he continued, "I suppose you're going to expect me to continue to believe you were never trained to use your abilities?"

Aislinn didn't answer him. She knew it wouldn't matter what she said to that one.

"Fine. I'll leave this for now. But don't think that the topic won't be revisited. Especially if you continue to develop skills miraculously out of nowhere. Let's just hope it won't be necessary for me to bring her in after we've destroyed the Arnauk and question her."

He sounded so definite about destroying the Arnauk. It sent chills down her spine. She moved to try and find a more comfortable position. But that wasn't easy considering the way she was tied. 

Rafe watched her breasts bounce as she moved and he was tempted to play with them. He moved across the space between the two seats and helped her into a sitting position. 

Aislinn glared at him. "I would thank you for the help if I weren't naked, tied up, and drugged."

"Naked?" Rafe questioned. "I would have thought that all the time you've spent with the Arnauk on your hands and knees would have made you accustomed to being naked," he said in an innocent sounding voice. 

Aislinn was uneasy with the Jeckel and Hyde voice distortions. She was having a difficult time reading his mood and that played havoc with her figuring out how far she could push him. She wondered if he was doing it on purpose or if he really was that crazy. "I don't know what you mean," she said angrily.

One of Rafe's hands reached up to cup her breast. He kneaded the flesh gently. Aislinn grimaced and pulled back as far as she could sitting up in a car seat. His gentle touches tended to turn cruel fairly rapidly. She let him into that thought and pressed her legs together tightly at the agonizing memory. 

Rafe smiled at her again. "How insightful you are, lamb," he said sweetly. Then he grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head back, exposing the bite mark on her neck. As he did he dug his nails into her breast and leaned in close to her ear. "Did you think I wouldn't notice? So you let that mongrel lay claim to you? You're lucky I'm still willing to touch you." He threw her back against the seat and then returned to his own. "Don't worry lamb. The big bad wolf will be dead soon and if on all fours is the way you like it, very shortly I'll be more than able to oblige."

When he said that Aislinn couldn't help wanting to know what he meant. She relaxed and reached out with her mind with the intent of reading his thoughts. There was a part of her that just didn't believe she was trying this. All she managed to get was an image of a thing that looked rather like a cross between a lion and a bear with Rafe's insane eyes staring back at her out of his head.

Rafe felt her intrusion into his thoughts and anger flashed red hot on his face. He leapt across the limo and backhanded her so hard she fell off the seat and onto the floor. Pain from the sudden movement and from the impact swirled in her brain almost knocking her unconscious again. "Never do that again," Rafe said manically. "Apparently you still don't know who is in charge here or where you fit in." Rafe went back to his seat. He was furious. An image of his hands around her neck and her breath being slowly squeezed out of her drifted through his mind. 

Aislinn stared up at him defiantly. She couldn't manage to get back up into the seat herself. From where she was on the floor the lioness was uncomfortably close to her and leaned down to sniff at the blood running from Aislinn's lip, where it had split with the impact of Rafe's attack. Kara's large cat tongue snaked out of her mouth and licked the blood off of Aislinn's face. Aislinn pulled back in revulsion. 

Rafe smiled triumphantly as he watched Aislinn try to escape the lioness's wet caress. He sank down into his seat once again relaxing into the comfort of the soft leather. "We have at least an hour before we reach the reservation." Rafe's eyes flashed with pleasure at Aislinn and she knew that he was about to cause her more pain. "And I'm bored with the trip. Jenna, entertain me."

Jenna felt the man's touch on her mind. She knew what he wanted her to do. She pushed her vehemence at being used like this down. If he knew how little control he actually had over her then he would attempt to fix it and she didn't know if she could regain her senses in time to use the upcoming opportunity to her favor or not. So she moved to Aislinn and helped her back up onto the bench seat. Besides, Jenna thought, it's not as if I won't enjoy tormenting the druis for what trouble she has caused me.

Aislinn was watching Jenna move. The woman had a blank stare on her pretty face as she laid Aislinn on her back across the bench seat. Aislinn lay at a strange angle with her hands tied behind her. Rafe was watching with delight as Jenna untied the bonds on Aislinn's ankles and then forced her legs apart. Aislinn started to squirm to get away but there was nowhere to go. Rafe's smile broadened when she looked at him pleadingly as if he might save her. 

Jenna dropped the shoulders of her red dress off her arms and let it puddle on the floor around her knees as she knelt between Aislinn's legs. The angle was bad and Jenna had to arch awkwardly and fight to keep Aislinn's legs spread so that she could accomplish Rafe's mental order. Jenna was just glad that the asshole thought she was too stupid to do anything about him. He tended to only send her orders to do and never really messed with reading her as long as she smiled mutely and did as she was told. The few times he had tried to read her she was able to use her she was able to use her experience with sending thoughts in her other forms to protect herself. All lycans learned how to think selectively in order to communicate in their other forms. Jenna was counting on Rafe's overconfidence and tendency to underestimate lycans.

Jenna only sneered for a moment when she caught the full intensity of Aislinn's scent emanating from her sex. Rafe's eyes glowed happily as he watched Jenna bend down and draw her tongue along Aislinn's thigh. Her hands pressed against Aislinn's knees to force cooperation. Aislinn was in too much pain from whatever Rafe had injected her with to be capable of fighting with much strength. Even Jenna was able to subdue her this way. 

Aislinn jumped when she felt Jenna's tongue stroke her sex. At the movement she hit her head against the car door. Rafe's smile broadened. Kara laid her head down on her paws with disinterest. Jenna repositioned herself and moved down on Aislinn with more enthusiasm than Rafe had expected. He was pleased that Jenna appeared to be thoroughly enjoying this. He reached down and started stroking himself through his pants. I may have to make this a regular thing. Keep the bitch around to play with instead of giving her away as a prize. He would have to think about it. He adjusted himself and moved for a better angle to watch the show.

Aislinn squeezed her eyes shut and tried to not think about the woman licking gently at her nether lips. Jenna slipped her tongue over Aislinn's pussy with infinite care. She made sure to stroke every inch of bare flesh with her tongue before moving on to suckle on Aislinn's clit. Rafe watched the agony on Aislinn's face and the tears squeezing out of her eyes. He pulled his cock out of his pants and began to stroke himself in earnest as he watched the two women.

Jenna took turns between suckling on and licking Aislinn's clit. The more Aislinn wriggled to escape the more delight Rafe took in watching. Aislinn fought to control herself and not let Rafe take any more from her. Her mind reeled with the tormenting sensations that Jenna was causing. Aislinn wondered if things like this were what she had blocked out of her mind and never managed to remember from the last time she was with Rafe.

Aislinn shuddered and tried to relax. When Jenna felt the fight go completely out of Aislinn she released her hold on Aislinn's leg and inserted a finger, then two into Aislinn's now dripping cunt. Jenna smiled with pleasure as Aislinn whimpered and pressed her face to the leather seat. Aislinn hated her body for her reactions to the woman's mouth. But there didn't seem to be anything she could do to stop the impending reaction. At least it wasn't Rafe. Aislinn gasped as her body tightened and her cunt rippled around Jenna's intruding digits. Jenna continued her tongue lashing and stroking until Aislinn lay limp again, panting for air. Then Jenna withdrew her fingers and much to Rafe's delight sucked the last of Aislinn's juices from them while she stared into his eyes.

Rafe toyed with himself trying to decide which of the three women in front of him deserved the pleasure of helping him find his release. He finally decided that Aislinn would be receiving that gift soon enough and Jenna had hers not too long before. But he had been neglecting Kara since their move into the Tairneach manor. Kara. The one truly loyal follower he had. He had never been forced to manipulate her in any way. If he asked her to do something she willingly did it. She worshipped him. Rafe had often wondered why he felt nothing for her. Perhaps she ruined her chances with him when she posed no challenge to him. He didn't know. But every so often he felt obligated to reward her for her loyalty. 

Rafe nudged the lioness with his toe and she eagerly stood and presented herself for his approval. Rafe made sure that she was positioned so that he would be fucking her right in front of Aislinn's face. "Watch this," he said grabbing Aislinn by the hair and forcing her face to angle up and watch was he was about to do. Jenna sat back on the seat to watch Aislinn's misery. All Aislinn could think was that at least it wasn't her. 

***

Cullen had left some men at the reservation to defend the territory. But the vast majority of lycans had returned to the city in order to find out what had happened after the mating ceremony. No one expected that there would be an attack on the reservation so soon. Cullen had sent word that a significant force would be coming. But the preparations for the battle had only just been started.

An alarm blasted through the manor-like cabin as the Tairneach vans charged through the front gate. The drive was long and the Arnauk inside the grounds scrambled to assemble in order to defend their territory. Men and women took up positions at windows holding guns and waited.

The Tairneach vans pulled up in front of the cabin and as the lycans and other weres got out of the vehicles the Arnauk began a volley of gunshots that had the Tairneach jumping for cover. Rafe completely ignored the battle. He got out of the limo and had his driver open the trunk as if nothing were happening. He pulled a duffle bag out of the trunk that clinked of glass before he headed toward the wooded area that concealed the standing stones. Jenna spared a glance of concern for her men who were being shot at before trailing along behind Rafe obediently. Kara was left to drag Aislinn along.

Aislinn was shoved out of the limo. Pain shot through her body again and she fell to her knees and then onto her chest. The gravel from the drive dug into her breasts as she hit the ground. She only barely managed to lift her head high enough to not scrape her face on the driveway. Kara growled impatiently and shifted into her hybrid form so that she could carry Aislinn. 

She reached down with a golden clawed hand and took hold of Aislinn's limp form. "You make me ashamed to be a woman. When I took the change I didn't roll about on the ground whimpering. If I'm going to have to put up with you being around again the least you could do is make an attempt at dignity," Kara snarled as she flung Aislinn over her shoulder like a rag doll.

Aislinn looked up toward the cabin. It was obvious that the Arnauk were losing this battle. The Tairneach had already reached the front door and were climbing in some of the windows. As Kara toted her easily into the woods she saw someone crash out of a window on the top floor and scream before hitting the ground. Aislinn let her head fall back down as Kara entered the woods and trailed after Rafe and Jenna toward the standing stones.

***

Cullen drove like a maniac. The caravan of SUVs blasted down the highway trying to close the distance between themselves and the Tairneach. Cullen had called in a favor that was owed to him by some friends on the highway patrol and were managing to make it across the state in record time.

As he gripped the steering wheel of the lead truck and gunned the gas even more his cell rang. He reached into his pocket with the intent of taking note of the caller ID for a future pummeling. The name of his federal contact flashed across the display. Cullen closed his fist around the cell and an audible crunching noise told everyone else in the truck that calling the man right now was not a good idea. Cullen tossed the cell into the backseat and nearly hitting Sarah in the head with it. 

Keith tried desperately to find humor in the look on Sarah's face when Cullen's cell went flying passed her head. But even he was having a hard time seeing the good in this situation. The truck reeked of the lovely perfume Brinah had whipped up and his brain was trying to calculate the odds of getting disemboweled by a were-tiger or whatever else he might be about to fight. "Well," he said trying to lighten the tension in the truck, "At the very least if this stuff we're sprayed down with doesn't stop Rafe from his mind control coach we might be able to stink the lot of them off our territory."

Cullen's growl told him that his attempt at humor had not been appreciated. Keith grumbled a bit and settled back to watching the road speed passed them. He figured that at this rate they would make the reservation in less than an hour. Hopefully that would be soon enough. Though what they were going to do when they got there he wasn't sure.

Cullen knew that his pack was uneasy. His brain was working overtime for a solution to this one. He knew that if Rafe didn't have Aislinn he would have waited and thought it out. It didn't make sense charging into this and it pissed him off at himself. How many people are going to die, he asked himself over and over again. But he couldn't stop himself in the head long charge. He didn't know how he was going to do it but he was going to bring her out of this safe, then he was going to hunt down Ranaild. He felt like his entire pack was falling apart and it started with him. 

"Brinah," Cullen demanded with a growl. "Are you able to do anything like what Rafe can do?"

Brinah shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had been wondering when they would get around to that. "Most of the Senach were able to do things similar. All of our talents lied in slightly different places though. My talents tend toward premonitions, but I closed off that part of my mind a long time ago. There are consequences to seeing the future." Brinah hesitated as though there was a bad memory attached to that statement. "I believe Aislinn is fairly gifted in premonitions as well. I was never very good at using my talents and I never put the effort into developing them. They always used to control me. Then I fell in love with a human and left the Circle without looking back. I forced that part of me into silence and I can't claim that it could be of any help to you now. Aislinn's abilities always concerned me. I tried to stop her mother from encouraging her. But she seemed to manifest the talent for dreams without even trying. I'm sorry but I don't think there's anything I can do to the Tairneach to help you."




Leader of the Pack Ch. 13



A defeated silence fell over the truck. Brinah was so worried about Aislinn she had twisted the handle on the bag she was holding on her lap until it ripped off. "I did make some salves and things that might help anyone who becomes hurt," she said hopefully as if that would fix everything.

Cullen was pissed and Brinah's voice was just pissing him off more. "Got anything to bring life back to the dead," he asked sardonically. The people in the SUV went back to riding in silence. 

***

Rafe walked up to the circle of tall stones. He ran his hand over the surface of each stone with reverence. When Kara entered the circle with Aislinn he indicated for her to be dropped in the middle of the circle. Kara tossed Aislinn off of her shoulder, onto a stone slab set into the ground, in the middle of the circle. 

Aislinn hit the stone slab hard and all the air was knocked out of her lungs. Kara smirked. She didn't know what Rafe was turning Aislinn into but she had a hard time believing that it would be anything Kara needed to worry about. So far Rafe had professed, on several occasions, that Kara was the best of his work. She had always been pleased with that. 

Rafe was excited. His lifetime quest was finally going to be achieved. First he would complete his change and then he would deal with the rest of the Senach and force the Circle Council to accept him as the head of the Senach. He read the rune carvings on each of the stones carefully and proceeded to place jars of herbs in front of each stone. When he had finished his circuit of the stones he walked to the center. Aislinn had managed to come to a sitting position. Jenna was waiting and watching expectantly and Kara was keeping an eye on Aislinn.

A smallish spotted cat, rather like a leopard came bursting through the trees and into the clearing beyond the stones. He slowed his charge and slunk up to Rafe at nearly a belly crawl. Then he changed into his human form. He stood up on two feet, breathing hard and trying to catch his breath. "Rafe, a caravan of Arnauk was spotted."

Rafe smiled widely much to everyone's surprise. His eyes glimmered with power. He believed he had already won. "Fine. Let Arnauk and his pitiful little pack in. He seems so fond of my mate. Let him come see our union. Then," he looked down at Aislinn, "I'll kill him. A gift for you on our wedding day lamb."

***

There was no sneaking up on this fight. Cullen pulled his truck up before the main entrance. The gate was down. There was no question that the Tairneach were already there. They had numbers and positioning so the best thing the Arnauk could do would be to try and sneak in. They had the advantage that they knew these woods and hills better than the Tairneach could possibly know them.

The pack already had their orders. As the men and women piled out of the trucks they stripped out of their clothes and bodies began to shift. As each of the lycans completed the change to hybrid or wolf they headed in different directions along the wall. Some of them vaulted the wall while others slipped along the outside of the wall headed for different entrance points. Cullen, Keith, Sarah, and a select group of others formed up and headed, in human form, through the front gate on foot. Brinah was told to stay with the trucks but she had ideas of her own. She trailed behind at a distance scanning the scene for any evidence of Aislinn.

Cullen led his group toward the standing stones. They dropped clothes as they went but remained in human form for the moment. They would wait for Cullen's lead. As the half naked group of men and women passed their second home they could see the Tairneach and the strange weres watching them. It was an uneasy passage. There was no immediate attack. Cullen figured that Rafe was so confident in his position that he wanted to gloat before destroying the Arnauk.

Cullen could smell blood on the air and his wolf howled in his ears at the loss of his friends even before he saw the bodies piled along the side of the cabin as his group passed into the woods. He told himself that at least those deaths were over the territory and not because he was dragging his men into a fight over a woman. He could scent the various intruders throughout the woods. The strange green bonfires were lit. But the coach that Brinah had made overpowered the smell that the bonfires were putting off and Cullen could clearly see the enemy lycans and weres hiding amongst the trees as he neared the standing stones. 

As Cullen and the others cleared the edge of the woods that surrounded the stones his control was nearly defeated. A path between the weres that were surrounding the standing stones opened in front of them. The were-cats grinned at them as they passed, knowing where the advantage here lied. There really wasn't anyone present who believed that the Arnauk could come out of this alive.

Rafe was standing bare chested. He wore only a pair of expensive looking suit pants. He had drawn a number of runes on his chest in woad. It was a strange anachronistic vision. Aislinn was naked and on her knees. Her body had been abused. He could see dried blood trailing from a swollen lip. There were numerous scratches across her breasts and bruises covered her legs. There was a were-lion standing behind her. She had Aislinn by the hair, pulling her head back and holding a knife to her throat. Jenna was standing by and she was smiling as though this was all exceedingly entertaining. Cullen's wolf reared. He felt his fangs extend in his mouth and his hands grew claws.

Rafe walked over to Aislinn. "If Arnauk moves from where he is," Rafe said nonchalantly to no one in particular, "attack him. And I should probably tell you." Rafe petted Aislinn's hair, she pulled back and the knife sliced her skin. A trickle of blood flowed from the cut and Rafe used a finger to wipe it. He placed the finger in his mouth and smiled down at her affectionately. Then he looked at Cullen. "Several of your men are still alive. I'll let them live and you and your fool followers all go unharmed as long as I get the word of the mighty Lord General Cullen Arnauk that none of you will ever return to this place and you'll not pursue my mate." His hand reached out and stroked Aislinn's hair again.

Aislinn's eyes were on the ground. She hadn't looked up at Cullen since he had walked into the clearing. He could see tears glistening on her cheeks. Throughout Rafe's talking Cullen could hear howling in his ears. She's right there. Go to her, his wolf cried. Cullen had known that he would be outnumbered. But it looked as though Rafe had brought every Tairneach there was here to fight the Arnauk and that didn't take into account the were-cats and other beasts that Rafe had apparently created. Subtract from that number all the men Cullen had lost to Rafe already and the men he had guarding the men Rafe had turned against him. Could Cullen sacrifice Aislinn to get the rest of the pack out of this?

Keith was the one who spoke. His voice startled Cullen. "I don't think so Rafe," he said with a half smile. Cullen looked at Keith. "This is our land," Keith said. "We all fought and bled for this territory long before Aislinn was a consideration. She's not the only thing at stake here. Even if she's the only reason you're here," he added with a wicked grin. Cullen looked back at Sarah. She nodded in agreement with Keith.

Cullen looked back at Rafe and shrugged. "You heard him," he said with a deadly growl that spoke of his wolf surfacing.

Rafe looked annoyed briefly and then his features smoothed over again. "As you like it. My life will most likely be easier with you dead, even if I lose a few men in the process. But I wouldn't want you to miss the show you've come to see." 

Rafe walked over to a number of jars that were on the ground in front of Aislinn. He opened the first jar and dipped his finger in the jar and pulled it out covered in woad. He stepped over to Aislinn and began to draw runes on her chest. Cullen's wolf broke free. He shifted in to his hybrid form and moved to attack Rafe. Before he could get to Rafe he was jumped by several of the weres that were surrounding them. 

Cullen found himself tearing madly at the flesh of a creature that looked like a cross between a gorilla and a tiger. The man had cat-like wild eyes and claws that sliced into Cullen's side. He had a huge barrel chest and long arms but short legs. He was colored like a tiger, orange with black stripes, across his back that blended into the muscular ape-like chest. He had a grip that nearly broke Cullen's arms as he wrenched them behind the lycan's back and with the help of several other cats forced Cullen to his knees. When Cullen looked up he saw that his men were all in similar positions. They must have tried to join him in the attack. He growled and snapped wildly at the men holding him. But there was no breaking the ape-cat's grip.

Aislinn's scream blazed into his ears. Immediately Cullen's rage shifted its target and he turned to see what had happened. Rafe was standing over Aislinn's writhing body. She shrieked in agony and her body began to shift. Her arms and legs shortened and her head took on the look of one of the cats and her body shortly joined it. She was covered in brown fur and black stripes started at the nape of her neck and covered her back bleeding into spots that vanished into the white fur covering her stomach and the insides of her legs. She was smaller than the other cats present. Cullen figured Rafe probably did that to keep her more controllable. 

By the Gods she's beautiful. If Cullen hadn't already been on his knees he would have fallen to them. When the change was completed Aislinn lay still. She was still whimpering a little but the worst of it was over. She tried to stand but her legs wobbled and she ended up sitting back down. Four legs is different than two, Cullen thought gently. She looked around at herself in confusion and then seemed to understand when she saw her tail. There was a pause in her movement as it folded out from under herself. 

Rafe looked down on his work. His face and eyes illuminated with hubris. He had done better than he had imagined. He dropped the jar of woad to the ground and walked over to the last jar left. He started speaking in Gaelic, asking the fates to bless his transformation. There was a feeling of energy that crackled around them. Rafe opened the jar he had picked up. This one was red. He held it up and the weres surrounding the circle started howling and screeching.

Rafe put the jar to his mouth. As he downed the liquid the woad on his chest started to run. Sweat began to pour from his face. Once the jar was emptied he dropped it and it shattered on the stone slab. With a roar of triumph tinged with pain Rafe's body began to transform. His dark hair grew into a wild mane. His body grew larger than any lion since prehistory. Rafe's fur was white and the roar sounded bear-like. Polar bear and lion. There may have been other things in there but the main combination was obvious. The jars sitting in front of the standing stones shattered and various liquids poured out onto the ground, seeping into the earth.

Rafe paced back and forth in front of his audience. The weres were still raising a cheer that rang in the ears of the Arnauk. For the first time in centuries Cullen Arnauk felt fear.

*********

I can already hear the screaming. Tee Hee! 

Don't worry. The next chapter is already posted. J

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Leader of the Pack Ch. 14







Leader of the Pack Ch. 14



Keith approached them tentatively. He could tell from the expressions and the way Aislinn was holding Brinah that he needed to be careful. He knelt next to Cullen. "You got hit hard. Are you able to make to the cabin on your own feet?"

Cullen didn't answer. He just stared at Aislinn's back. 

"Alright," Keith said on a long tired breath. "I'll send someone over to get you back to the cabin. I know you haven't bothered to pay any real attention but you don't look like you should be conscious." He cleared his throat and looked at Aislinn's stooped form over Brinah's body. He lowered his voice, hoping he wouldn't upset Aislinn more. "Didn't Brinah say that she made something to help with healing people?"

Aislinn couldn't help but hear the conversation. Her ears seemed impossibly better than they had been before. She wished she could turn off all her senses. It was overwhelming. Without looking at them she grabbed the bag that Brinah had been carrying and shoved it toward them. Then went back to mourning over Brinah's body.

Keith took the bag with a sympathetic look at Aislinn's back. He opened it up and looked at the assortment of small bottles and jars. Some of them held left over reagents. But most of them were full of foul smelling liquids. He wasn't sure what exactly he was looking at. "Well," he said with a shrug. "What's the worst that could happen?" He picked one of the corked bottles out of the bag, popped the cork out of the bottle, and took a small sip from the bottle. A gentle cooling sensation seeped into his muscles and he felt a great deal more awake than he had felt previously. He tipped the bottle up and drank down the rest. His entire body began to tingle pleasantly. The scratches began to knit back together before their eyes.

He pocketed one of the full bottles, hating the fact that he was being so practical as he looked at Aislinn and Brinah. He figured that the stuff would be useful. But with Brinah dead they were going to have to figure out how to make it again on their own. He uncorked another of the small bottles and handed it to Cullen. "I hope this is the same stuff I just drank. It looks and smells the same. It's foul but it feels nice once it's down."

Cullen didn't respond at first. His eyes hadn't left Aislinn. Keith got the distinct impression that he was on his own for the rest of the evening. But one look at Rafe's dead form and he figured that Cullen had earned the evening off. He nudged the bottle in Cullen's hand and finally got his friend to drink the stuff before he left Cullen alone and took off with the bag to deal with the worst of the injuries and to figure out what to do with the large number of were-beasts that they had taken prisoner. It wasn't as if they had facilities to keep these guys captive. 

Aislinn sat there, crying over Brinah, for what seemed like an eternity to Cullen. But he wasn't going anywhere. He figured he could wait. All around them the bodies were gathered and the battle was cleaned away. There were even omegas cleaning the broken jars from around the stone circle. They moved quietly, not wanting to disturb the angry looking alpha or Aislinn. Eventually Sarah approached Aislinn. The crying had stopped and now she was just stroking Brinah's hair gently and staring off into the woods. 

Sarah crouched down next to Aislinn. She looked over at Cullen but was greeted with a blank expression. Sarah was tired and finding it difficult to be sympathetic, but forced her voice to be gentle when she spoke. "Aislinn, can you let us take Brinah with the others? You need some sleep. There will be a memorial to honor all the dead in a couple days and all the bodies will be burned."

Aislinn took one last look at her grandmother. "I want to be there when her body is prepared." Her voice was devoid of emotion. 

"I'm sure that can be arranged. Can I get you to go up to the cabin now?" Sarah suggested and looked over at Cullen again.

"Where can I sleep?" Aislinn asked.

Sarah's features took on an unsure and concerned look as her eyes met Cullen's. He didn't respond. "There are plenty of rooms. I don't think anyone is worried about assigned beds tonight. If you won't be sleeping with Cullen then I'm sure you could take any room on the main floor." Sarah watched Cullen's jaw tighten. Aislinn stood without looking at either of them and walked away toward the cabin.

Cullen rubbed his face with his hands and growled. His body wasn't nearly as painful as it had been but he still felt as though he was being torn apart. He stood to follow Aislinn and a couple omegas instantly appeared to try and help him. He waved them off angrily. He wasn't about to let Aislinn see him weak right now. But, he didn't want to let her out of his sight. He limped along after her with the concerned omegas cowering behind.

Sarah caught up and grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. The glare that he level on her would have sent most lycans to bowing and scraping. Or at the very least another lycan would have released his arm. But Sarah had known him too long and wasn't giving way. "What the hell?" she asked.

Cullen wrenched his arm away. "What do you think?"

"I think you haven't bothered to say the two things that might magically fix the entire situation. I think men are morons and you Lord Arnauk are no exception," Sarah growled at him in frustration.

"Difficult to say anything when she tells me to stop and not touch her or talk to her," he growled back.

"And of course you listened." Sarah said incredulously. "Because you always listen when someone tells you what to do. By all the Gods I need to figure out what she says and how she says it."

"So how do you think I should fix this, oh magic guru," Cullen said sarcastically, still glaring and snarling. But his mind was grasping for anything that might work and rid him of his uncertainty.

Sarah leveled her tone. She could hear how much he was hurting. "Tell her that you're sorry and that you love her," she said simply. Then she walked away.

Cullen sent the omegas off and hurried after Aislinn, following her scent through the cabin to find what room she went to. He was just grateful she hadn't decided to run off again. He stood outside the door to the room aching to go inside. He knocked, but there was no answer. A few lycans passing by were trying to ignore their alpha politely. He tried the door and found it locked. So he knocked again. "Aislinn I need to talk to you," he said through the door. There was no answer and there were a few more people pretending not to stare. Cullen's pride was getting to him and he couldn't take doing this in front of the pack, not after the display he had made of himself over her already. He growled and headed down the hall, up the stairs, and went to his room.

Aislinn stood on the other side of the door listening to his footsteps retreat down the hall. She went over to the bed and laid down. She was trying desperately to not feel any more. All she wanted was to be in his arms, but she didn't think she could handle leaving if she gave in now and spoke with him. She figured that he wanted to explain, tell her why he didn't think she should stay with him, how it would be better for her to leave. She didn't care what his reasons were. She kicked the blankets back and then pulled them over herself. 

Aislinn didn't sleep very well. Every time her eyes closed she was plagued with nightmares. She dreamt about Rafe, about Jenna, about her grandmother, but the worst part was that in all the dreams she was alone. She wished she had never met Cullen. Maybe she wouldn't feel the loneliness so badly if he hadn't shown her what it would be like to be with people again.

Cullen lay awake as well. He was afraid that she'd take off and he wouldn't get a chance to do anything about it. He was pissed. That was easier than being hurt. She over reacted. It's her own fault for taking off like she did. She won't even let me explain. And how dense does the woman have to be that she can't see what I did to get her back. Cullen's mind reeled all night long.



Leader of the Pack Ch. 15



Cullen threw his bedroom door open before most of the rest of the pack was up. He couldn't believe that all his injuries seemed to have healed overnight. Whatever that stuff Brinah had made was he figured he should get it put on tap. 

The only lycans who were awake that early after the night they had were the omegas, who were getting breakfast ready and finishing the clean up, and the others who hadn't slept the night before. Most of them were people who had lost mates in the fight. Cullen felt a strange guilty, bitter jealousy. At least they had mates to lose, he thought angrily.

Cullen went down to his office. There were several handwritten notes on his desk. Cullen recognized Keith's scrawl. The first one said, "Don't wake me up on pain of death alpha boy!" Cullen couldn't help the grudging grin. He tossed that one in the garbage, considering going and waking Keith up on principle. The second one said, "The feds showed up after you went to bed. I handed them the cats for safe keeping and made the report. You're welcome. Not to say you probably won't get a phone call. Did that make sense? Who cares I'm tired." The third said, "Word was sent to the den with a list of the deaths." The fourth said, "Arrangements for the memorial service, including pyres for burning the bodies. We're giving it three days to allow for everyone who lost someone to be contacted and get here." The fifth said, "Anything else you want, take care of it yourself. Although I would point out that your schedule looks pretty clear to me. Leaving you a few days to straighten out the mess you made with the lovely were-mysterycat girl who is currently sleeping in the omega's quarters. By the way, I assigned someone to keep an eye on her. Just in case." 

Cullen sat the last note down. Keith should be the alpha, he thought. And he was serious. Not that any of the things his friend had taken care of wouldn't have been handled personally under different circumstances, but Cullen wasn't entirely sure that he ever wanted to have to deal with all of this ever again if he couldn't get Aislinn back. He created this pack so that lycans could be safe and have families. What the hell's the point if I can't have one of my own? It took so much for her to trust me. Now I'm starting all over again with a strike on the record, her grandmother dead, and who the hell knows what Rafe did to her. He was staring out his window. He had a tendency to do that when he was upset and couldn't stop thinking. 





Leader of the Pack Ch. 15



Aislinn's hand came up to his face and she traced his features. Where Aislinn's face was more human than beast Cullen's was just the opposite. His nose and mouth protruded from his face too far to make kissing as Aislinn knew it possible. She was considering how to go about it when he leaned in and licked her lips. His voice was a grumble monotone not meant for speaking, "Mmmm, I coullldnn't lleet mmy betterr hallf haavve all the funn," he said. 

Aislinn could see the pleasure in his eyes as he began pulling at her clothes. She was amused at his impatience. He may have been big and strong in this form but he didn't have any dexterity, finger-wise. He ended up ripping her bra off when he couldn't get the clasp. From the tone of his growl she knew the he wasn't finding the clothing dilemma at all amusing. He ripped at his own shirt and then his jeans getting them off. Considering how tightly he had grown into them there really wasn't any other way. 

His gaze on her was intense. Aislinn felt drawn to him in a way she couldn't express. She knew she was about to find out what he had been holding back from her before. Her body trembled with anticipation. He growled at her and she felt his voice in her mind. On your hands and knees, came the insistent, needy, order.

She looked at him in surprised confusion.

You didn't think we relied on voices in other forms did you? He growled again. On your hands and knees. 

"I've still got a lot to learn," Aislinn grinned as she obediently turned away from him and knelt on the grass next to the fallen stone. She looked back over her shoulder at him as he watched her. He was growling nearly continually. A soft insistent rumble deep in his chest with each breath. His member stood out in front of him proudly. It was a good inch or more longer than he was in his human form and it was as thick as her wrist. She wiggled her butt anxiously. She wanted to feel him insider her so badly. Then she noticed the thick knot growing at the base of his shaft. That concerned her a bit. She remembered what Rissa had said. She suddenly realized that the differences here might be more than she was necessarily prepared for.

Cullen saw some doubt filter across her face, but it had gone too far for him to stop now. The most he could do was try and temper the beast. But he was afraid his wolf was going to win this time. As she wiggled deliciously in front of him he fell to his knees behind her. Reaching out he ran a clawed hand down her striped back before taking her by the spotted hip. He reached out with his other hand and held her hips still in front of him. The only thing keeping him from letting loose all his pent up need for her was the promise to his wolf that he would get what he wanted. He didn't need to rush. Cullen leaned down to take in the scent of her sex. His tongue dove into her glistening slit to lap at the juices spilling from her. She moaned and wiggled some more, trying to back herself onto his tongue. 

Aislinn's growing need for him far outweighed any fear she may have felt about his massive erection or what he intended to do to her with it. She felt a beast inside her fighting against her human common sense. And she suddenly understood what he meant when he referred to his wolf. She felt his tongue driving into her. He licked the walls inside her in a way that no human tongue could possibly do. She writhed in ecstasy as he managed to bury his tongue all the way back to her cervix and continue the onslaught on her senses. She moaned again, the sound increasing in intensity. "Cullen please," she begged when he pulled his tongue out of her and began circling her clit deftly with it. "Ahh," she cried breathlessly.

You keep making sounds like that and this is going to be much shorter than I intend, came the growl in her mind. 

"mmmm," she whined and wiggled her sex against his face. She couldn't help it. He growled out loud again and sat back to regain some control. She looked back over her shoulder with a wicked grin and watched him lick her juices off his muzzle.

Her eyes flashed feral as her cat growled at him. He couldn't help but give in to that. He straightened up where he knelt behind her, grabbed hold of her hips with a strength that would leave hand print bruises on both hips. He slipped the head of his cock up and down her slit, feeling her try to push onto it, and coating the head in her slick wet heat. Aislinn fought his grip on her hips trying to push back, but he was too strong for her. He groaned his pleasure at her desire for him. 

"Stop teasing," she demanded as she fought his grip.

As you wish, he said to her. His claws dug into her hips and he drove himself into her. He wasn't capable of being slow or gentle at this point. Aislinn cried out as pain and pleasure seared through her as she stretched around him. Once he was completely inside her he bent over her and wrapped his arm around her while the other arm braced him so that he wouldn't put all his weight on her.. One clawed hand gripped and dug into the flesh of her breast. Her cunt rippled and gripped at his huge cock. She couldn't believe how intense it was. Suddenly he began thrusting into her. Long hard strokes. He withdrew so far he nearly pulled out then slammed back into her with furious need. Each thrust wrenched an exquisite moan from her mouth. Cullen found himself grateful to Rafe for having managed a hybrid form that allowed for such music. 

Aislinn's claws dug into the ground to hold her in one place throughout the intense punishment her body was taking. She had never thought to find pain so exquisite. Between the claws, his size, and the strength of each thrust she was torturously coming to her climax. Cullen felt her pushing back against him as her cunt squeezed and rippled against his shaft. His cock began to swell inside her, locking them together for the rest of the duration of their coupling. He growled loudly, knowing that he was nearing his limit and trying desperately to hold out for her. 

After what seemed like forever he felt her body tense and the cries of pleasure she had been serenading him with changed to be louder and higher in pitch. The strange growling moans that had so intrigued him before were stronger, louder and strangely fitting coming from her now. Cullen grabbed her roughly by the shoulder. He pulled her up and back, so that she was on her knees with her back to his chest. He rammed up into her grunting with each thrust. Aislinn let out a cry of pleasure that Cullen thought must be echoing through the woods all the way to the cabin. Pushing her hair to the side he bent to place his mouth on the join between her neck and shoulder. She let her head fall to the side, anticipating his bite. Cullen gave a few final quick thrusts and bit down on her shoulder hard as he released into her. He held her there, one arm wrapped around her waist and the other around her chest. Her hands gripped the arm across her chest, holding on as he pumped into her. Her claws pierced his flesh and caused blood to drip from her fingertips. His mouth sucking at the wound he had created as he emptied his seed into her. 

Aislinn felt a strange energy filtering up through her hands on the ground. It was as though she could feel everything. She knew how many birds and squirrels had been witness to their coupling. She could feel sadness and concern for what had happened the night before coming from the cabin. When she closed her eyes it was as though she could see everything all at once. She could feel the sunlight beating down on herself and Cullen. I can feel Cullen, she thought in awe. She could feel everything that had brought him to this point: what he had felt for her from the first day, his fight with himself ever since, how angry and hurt and worried he had been, how much he loved her. She could even feel the pleasure he was getting from making love to her. She let herself bask in his orgasm, amazed. It all soaked into her. She felt like she was swimming in his emotions. Then just as suddenly as it had all come to her it retreated back to a corner of her mind. It was still there just softer, like he was whispering to her how much he cared for her. Aislinn started breathing again. She hadn't realized that she was holding it all in.

Cullen felt the bond take hold. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could feel Aislinn's love for him. He had been told long ago about what it felt like to bond with someone. He knew that once the bond was formed he should be able to sense her moods. That was the easy explanation. But there was more here than that. He could feel Aislinn's amazement at what was happening and the pleasure she was getting from it. But he could feel why as well. It wasn't as detailed as reading her mind. But there was more than just the surface emotions she was feeling.

Cullen let his head fall back on his shoulders. He took a long deep breath as he came back to earth. He felt his wolf retreat, sated. His wolf didn't care about the emotional side of things. He had gotten what he wanted and was pleased. Cullen wrapped his arms around her waist and drug her off onto her side as he collapsed to the ground, her bottom tucked tightly against him and her head coming to rest on his shoulder.

Aislinn felt his body change, returning to his human state, with the exception of the swollen member lodged inside her. He kissed her back of her head, amused when she tried to pull away from him to turn around. "You'll have to wait a bit," he said. He grinned as he felt her arousal at the idea that he was stuck inside her like that. 

Aislinn could hear the grin that she couldn't see and feel his amusement. "So why didn't this ever happen before," she asked, cuddling back against him. There was something about the idea of his penis swollen inside her that pleased her a great deal.

Cullen felt her walls squeeze down on his shaft. He chuckled. "You keep that up it'll take longer," he warned. "I never let my wolf get that involved before," he said as if that was enough explanation.

Aislinn could feel that he had been trying to protect her. "It seems as though your wolf has retreated and you're still, well…" she wiggled against him in lieu of saying that he was stuck inside her.

He laughed and hugged her to hold her still. "Don't like it?" he asked but already knew that she liked it very much.

"I didn't say that," she said and blushed. "And you are finding this way too funny."

Cullen stopped and just lay there feeling her and finding himself more content than he had ever been. But he couldn't help the curiosity about why the bond seemed so strong. "Do druids bond when they marry or whatever?"

"Huh? I don't really know about druids. That would have been something to ask my grandmother."

Cullen instantly regretted asking. He could feel her sadness welling up. He wrapped himself around her and changed the subject. "I'm in a lot of trouble you know?"

Aislinn could feel that he was trying to change the subject. He didn't want to mar what had just happened between them. She decided that she agreed and let him move on. "Oh, then why are you so amused by the idea? I just realized that we're going to have an awfully hard time lying to each other," she joked.

He smiled. "Do you intend to lie to me?"

"No, but we've built such a wonderful relationship on misunderstandings at this point. I'd hate to completely change the dynamic now," Aislinn said sarcastically.

"Too late. It appears as though you will know each and every time I say something stupid what I actually meant. No more excuses." He squeezed her tight.

She nuzzled against his arm. "So what happened to needing to set up a ceremony and now not being a good time?"

"Well, it kinda got away from me," he said honestly. "Maybe I made my wolf wait too long. Or maybe I just wanted you so badly I couldn't help myself."

Aislinn could feel the truth in what he was saying and was near tears of happiness that he really wanted her that badly. He hugged her closer and they lay there for a while just feeling how much they loved each other.

Cullen was still lodged firmly inside Aislinn when they heard the footsteps coming. He started growling a loud warning, praying that they wouldn't get caught quite this red handed. 

"I don't think that's going to work," Aislinn said and felt Cullen's confusion and ego. She giggled. 

"Are you really that full of yourself? What am I saying I can feel that you're that full of yourself." The footsteps were getting closer and Cullen increased his volume. "It's Keith," Aislinn said. "Last I checked he didn't care about your warnings. Why are you so concerned about it? Are we in that much trouble?" 

Cullen grumbled. Now he was mostly annoyed at the interruption. "Trouble isn't the right word. But the elders won't be happy. Don't worry. I'll deal with it. How did you know it was Keith?"

"Yeah, how did you know it was me?" came a far too amused voice from directly behind them. 

"Hard to explain. Go away," she said, voicing Cullen's feeling for the intrusion.

"I feel so unloved," Keith said. "You do know what this looks like don't you?" He walked around the two of them and then sat down on the toppled stone.

Aislinn growled at him and did her best to maneuver into a less exposed position.

"Hey," Keith said in mock offense. "You're just lucky I came looking for you myself instead of sending an omega. I at least have the common courtesy to ask if this is going to be announced or if it's going to be hushed up until more appropriate arrangements can be made. Then again if I'm not wanted I can just head right back up to the cabin and-"

"Don't bother to finish," Cullen interrupted. "You're such a pain."

Keith smiled down at his friend. "Congratulations," he said in the most earnest tone Aislinn had ever heard out of the man.

"You have to be the most impossible person I have ever met," Aislinn said in exasperation. "You shift from bad standup comic to overbearing know it all to sentimental all in one breath. Is there a persona you don't make use of?"

Cullen started to laugh. "I was going to suggest that you get to know Sarah and Keith a bit better but you certainly seem to have Keith pegged."

Keith raised his eyebrows. "And here I was trying to be nice. I guess I've learned my lesson. Be warned, kitten, you're fair game now."

Aislinn grumbled. "Is this really the time and place and situation for friendly banter?"

Cullen could sense her annoyance at the intrusion on their moment. A look at Keith and his friend stood up to make a polite exit. At least he knew when each different persona was appropriate. "I just needed to see if we would be headed back to the den before the funeral. I have to point out that there are quite a few people still missing. And I really should establish if this is to be public knowledge."

Cullen thought about it a moment. He didn't want to offend Aislinn by suggesting that they keep it a secret. But he thought that as far as the pack went, with everything that had happened the day before this wasn't the best way of handling his mating. Whatever his motivations had been. He was still the alpha and there was protocol to follow.

Aislinn nuzzled against him. "It'd probably be better to save the announcement for later," she said for him.

Cullen smiled and hugged her. She had caught his entire thought process. "Just make sure that people stay clear of the stones for a couple hours would ya?" he said to Keith.

Keith nodded. He started to walk off again, but stopped. "I suppose I should offer to make it official for you if you want."

Aislinn's mind drifted to the 'acknowledgement' part of the ceremony that Rissa had mentioned and then to Cullen's talk about lack of witnesses. He felt her unease at the suggestion. "No. Not yet. But thanks," he said. With that Keith headed back up to the cabin.



Leader of the Pack Ch. 16



Okay guys, so this is the relative calm after the storm. But don't get too comfortable. This is another set up chapter. The story is still going strong. But I think I know the ending now and should be able to get there in 3-4 chapters. I think. Don't hold me to that… • 





Leader of the Pack Ch. 16



Aislinn was wide eyed. "You don't mean that was normal?"

Cullen growled. "Only if you don't let it run its course. Technically I should only get like that when you're in heat."

Aislinn shook her head. "Maybe I should sit in on that elementary class that Sarah was talking about before."

Cullen smiled, then chuckled and kissed her forehead. "If you like. But Keith is a big boy. He could have handled a pummeling. And he probably did something recently that deserved it anyway."

Keith grumbled at that. "Thanks," he said angrily. "You do realize Aislinn, he can turn on you when he gets like that and unless you like it really rough then that little move you pulled, as grateful as I am, could get you hurt."

Cullen took a deep breath and Aislinn could tell that he agreed with Keith. 

She smiled at Cullen. "No. He wouldn't hurt me," she said with an air of confidence that made both of them stare at her. "Anyway. I'm going to get a shower now, if there's enough time before we need to leave?"

"Yeah, go ahead. I'll get some clothes brought up for you," he leaned in and nuzzled her neck. "Make sure you clean up that bite so it doesn't get infected."

Aislinn kissed him on the cheek and then disappeared into the bathroom. Cullen watched her go and his eyes flashed. "I've got a problem," he said after the door closed.

"That appears to be an understatement. I wouldn't have expected you to attack me. Are you sure you can hold out? I mean maybe you two need to disappear for a while."

Cullen shook his head and walked into his bedroom with Keith on his heels. "That'd be too obvious. Besides," he said contemplatively, "Aislinn seems to be in control of herself pretty well and apparently she can bring me back to earth as well. I'll just make sure to get to bed early and sleep late. I've cause enough upheaval for the time being. If I were to announce that I took Aislinn as a mate without going through the steps then I'd be risking loyalty issues. The people who've been moaning about her being like Rafe or non-lycan would be all about her having screwed with my head. They'd make everyone else start doubting if I'm acting normal. Especially with that charge to her rescue I pulled. I realize he was threatening our territory and I would have dealt with him even if Aislinn hadn't been involved. But it would have gone differently. All my decisions are starting to get questioned. Not to mention that they'd be all over Aislinn and she's having a hard enough time fitting in and dealing with all the changes she's gone through as it is." Cullen pulled his shirt over his head. "I need everyone to keep following my lead without question. Same as they always have. I have to admit that I'm a little pissed that there's so much random doubt about me right now. Decades of consistent leadership and one lousy detour from the road I paved for them and they're all acting as if I'm a different lycan. And on top of that with Jenna still questionable and the feds on us the last thing I need is being questioned and doubted. Hell, they've all fallen out of shape. Do you realize that it took all muin day to mobilize. Thirty years ago it would have been an hour, tops. This may sound ignorant but I'm starting to think that all these years of peace and quiet have been too much. Without a threat outside the pack we apparently aren't strong enough to hold together." Cullen's voice got increasingly more agitated as he spoke.

Keith nodded. "I know what you're saying. That's why nations love war so much. United in a common cause. Blah blah blah. Everyone says that they want peace. Then they get bored. So they turn on each other. So what do you suggest?" Keith leaned against the door frame and waited.

"As far as the unplanned mating goes. We keep it quiet. Not even innuendo about it in public," he said with a hard look at Keith, who put his hands up as if he was giving in. "We'll start with arranging as much time, uninterrupted, alone with Aislinn as I can manage. And you'll actually wait to be let in after you knock. Beyond that we're going to have to play it by ear. We need to set up some drills for the troops and lay into them about the lousy show they made yesterday. Not to mention the fact that I wasn't taken seriously. That pisses me off more than anything else. I say there are people we need to watch for in our own pack and no one really believed it. What? Was I just talking out my ass? They ignore my warnings and question my ability to lead?" Cullen finished by violently tying his shoes and stood up. His hair was still wet and he shook his head like a dog, splattering Keith.

"Funny," Keith groused. "At least it was just water and not getting slammed into the wall. I'm thinking that I need to get out of here before she's out of the shower."

"Oh come on. I wouldn't have killed you." The two men headed for the hall, knowing that Keith was right about how Cullen may react to Aislinn being wet and naked with Keith in the room. Cullen called an omega over to send for clothes for Aislinn then turned back to Keith. "Anyway, the satphone call."

"Hell, I nearly forgot. Right. Liam has everything under control for the most part. Ranaild and Elise showed up at the den this morning. Ranaild is apparently his own jailer and Elise spent the morning telling Liam what happened to her and trying to convince him to advocate for Ranaild when you get back. Apparently, when Elise was being held there were a significant number of others being held as well. I'm gonna guess that there's a scary correspondence between the guys you dungeoned before we left and the women who Elise has reported as being held."

Cullen nodded gravely. "Maybe I can talk to Jenna. Who knows. We might be able to reach an amiable solution and get Jenna to let them all go. It appears as though the Tairneach have allowed her to step in as alpha without too much complaint. With Gregor dead that gets her main opponent out of the way. She may be willing to back off and just be happy about being able to follow in Brennus' footsteps. As far as Ranaild goes," Cullen growled. "I better spend some time with Aislinn before dealing with him. He's lucky things worked out. If she had been permanently hurt or had left me, I don't know if I'd be able to reason my way around a very painful death for him. As it is…" Cullen had to stop what he was saying. His wolf was pacing in his mind like a caged beast and wanting to go charging back to the den.

Keith nodded. "Who all is going back to Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh now?"

Cullen leaned against the wall. He was watching for the omega to return with clothes for Aislinn. "If we're going to have to go on a rescue mission then we'll need all the betas. But I'm still thinking I may be able to talk Jenna out of having another fight right now. Let's leave it as me and Aislinn and I'll take Sarah along. You stay here and get things ready for if we have to go charging in to get the rest of ours out of there. But I want to try talking first. If we leave within the next half hour we can be back at the den by dinner. Taigh-Oèsda," Cullen said with a nod. He was in the mood for steak. Keith shook his head and laughed. "If you want to get the satphone out and call the den around 10 tonight I'll make sure that either myself or Sarah is able to answer."

"Yeah, I'll call Sarah."

With that the omega came back carrying jeans and a t-shirt similar to the ones Cullen had shredded earlier. The omega bowed her head and disappeared down the hall. Keith watched the girl walk down the hall. "I wonder how Jay's doing. I hate not being there but she's been getting so bitchy the closer she gets to having the liter. I swear she's gonna kill me for nothing. And," he stared at the omega's butt as she headed down the stairs. "I'm so damn deprived right now it's not funny." He looked back at Cullen who was grinning and laughing to himself as he headed for the door. "Yuck it up now alpha boy. Just wait til Ais is pregnant and you're not getting any. We may have to clear the den if you're behavior now is any indication."





Leader of the Pack Ch. 16



*****************

I've made myself a list of loose ends that I need to deal with. But if there's a question in anyone's mind about something or a plot line that you need to have resolution too, drop me a line. I'll compare it to my list and make sure I get it all in. I never know if the stuff clear in my mind has made it through to the audience. And thanks for the info ahead of time! •

Take a second and vote!



Leader of the Pack Ch. 17



The group loaded silently into the large black SUV and Cullen began driving back to Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh. Gaven and Hagan were afraid to speak. They didn't know what to say to Cullen after everything that had happened. But both men looked at each other with hope as they each felt some of the muffled fear in the back of their minds ebb away. Something was happening with their mates that was making them less frightened. The men didn't know what it could be. Their bonds weren't strong enough to project thoughts over this kind of distance. But there was hope now. The two men sat impatiently in the back seat.

Sarah had about a million questions she wanted answered. But she wasn't able to ask Cullen about his mating with Aislinn with the others present. The only positive thing Cullen could get from having all the upset and conflict before leaving was that he didn't feel harassed by his wolf to pull over and play with Aislinn on the way back to the den. Now that he knew Aislinn was alright he had gone back to dwelling on the things she had said to him. He still didn't know what to do about the traitors. 

"I think we have another problem," Aislinn said, trying to ignore the upset radiating from him that she knew she had helped to cause.

"Just what I need," Cullen growled. "What now?"

"When I was sleeping in your room during your shower I had a premonition and then another one when I touched Gaven. But there was more to that one than just the stuff it told me about the captured people." 

"Okay," he said shortly. "Again I say what now?"

"You don't have to be so snippy. I'm sorry," she snapped back. "But I'm not taking back what I said. I'm just sorry you're being so upset by it."

Cullen growled and shook his head. "What did you see?" he said impatiently.

"I don't know exactly yet. But I figure you'll be pissed if three days from now I figure it out and tell you then, but have to admit that it started today." Aislinn was staring out the window.

Sarah sat forward at that point and snapped at both of them. "The two of you need to stop blowing so hot and cold. Get over it. Aislinn if you have something to say just say it."

Aislinn glared at Sarah over her shoulder but continued anyway. "I saw the Tairneach manor in both visions. The first time I ended up looking at a book with gaelic writing in it. The second time I was in a kind of dungeon. First it was full of your missing people but then they all disappeared and a bunch of new people appeared. They weren't weres though. I don't know who they were. But one of them tried to talk to me. That's weird because my visions have never interacted with me before."

Aislinn felt Cullen's anger ease as his brain began to work on what she had just said. "So what do you think it means?" he asked in a relatively decent tone.

"Like I said I don't know. The fates must think that the book was important. Wasn't Rafe stealing books and burning buildings? But I don't know what he was stealing the books for. As far as the people go I don't know." Aislinn thought about it all. "I know that the first vision already happened and I was too late. I don't know what that means. The second vision hasn't happened yet. The man seemed to be reaching for me. Like he wanted me to help him."

Sarah stared out the front window of the SUV. "Well Rafe was stealing the books from druids. He was after the stone circle and he was out to turn himself into the biggest baddest thing he could mix together. The books could be maps, could be recipe books, could be something he was planning to do next that we don't know about, or could be nothing. Any way you look at it Rafe is dead so he can't be using the books. But if they're at Tairneach manor then Jenna or someone else there must have them."

"So even if she does have a bunch of books and she goes and turns the basement into a prison for some people who don't deserve to be in prison. It's not like that has anything to do with us," Cullen said. "We're going to get our own back. But I'm sorry Aislinn, I'm not going to start a war over books or some unknown prisoners. I can let the feds know that Jenna's up to something that could result in trouble. But that's it."

Aislinn sighed. "I understand what you're saying. But I've yet to have a premonition that didn't apply to me in some way. Even when I had the vision at the Taigh-Oèsda I knew that I needed to tell you but it was still Rafe and I was drawn into it. In the end whatever these premonitions mean it's going to catch up to me. They always do."

Cullen's brow furrowed. "Well we'll deal with it when it happens. For now we have enough going on."

Aislinn knew she was being dismissed. I can tell that this feeling sharing shit isn't going to be all fun.

Cullen growled back angrily. 

Aislinn leaned back in her seat and watched out the window. She shortly fell asleep in the silence, trying to direct her dream back to the premonition from before in the hopes of getting another look at that book. As she slept she felt more conscious in some ways than she felt when she was awake. It was an odd sensation. She had never tried to direct her premonitions before. They had always just happened. When Aislinn had been a child her grandmother had always discouraged exploring the talent. Then there was college and Aislinn had believed she had more important things to learn about. Especially since the visions were never significant until Rafe came along. And then there was Rafe. He had made her frightened of what she could do and all her energy was spent trying to avoid it or unsuccessfully block him. It wasn't until Cullen came along and she felt safe that she began to think about using it to her own advantage. She felt like he gave her strength somehow.

Aislinn felt herself drifting. There was something odd pulling at her. She felt as though she wanted to go back to the reservation. But she wasn't sure why. The harder she tried to bring back the book she had been looking at the farther away it seemed to get. She was able to summon fleeting images and feelings of fear and acceptance that she knew didn't belong to her. There was also a floating feeling of evil, angry, determination. While it reminded her of Rafe there was a difference to it. Rafe had been scary crazy. This feeling was more cold and lost. It wanted something and Aislinn knew that it would never find what it wanted. 

No matter how hard she tried to bring the premonition, throughout all of the strange feelings and flashing indistinguishable pictures, she wasn't quite able to summon up a vision like the ones that just happened. Aislinn felt like she was barely missing something and if she just tried hard enough to focus she could make it all come clear. 





Leader of the Pack Ch. 17



"I think that first order of business is that I'll get a hold of Jenna and thank her for the return of our people. Then I'll call the feds and check up on the weres that were handed over to them. I want you and Keith to get a feel on the atmosphere around here. Arrange something to improve moral. That includes dealing with pack doubt about Aislinn. I'll do my best to try and keep things more public. But if they think she's messing with my head I don't know how much that will help. I'm going to set up a meeting with the elders for after the funeral and I'll deal with the mating ceremony issues. I think the only other thing would be assigning Aislinn to work with some of the others. They'll get more comfortable with her if they meet her. And as much as I hate to bring this up," he looked at Aislinn apologetically. "Make sure everyone knows that Brinah was a druid from the same order as Rafe and that she gave her life to help us. That might help." Cullen took another drink of his beer. 

Aislinn was playing with her cup and staring at it. Cullen looked over at her expectantly. "Whatever it is just ask it," he said.

"Now who's over reading whom," she snapped.

Cullen gave her a hard look. "I could have read that from anyone. Stop playing with your drink and say whatever it is."

There was a long pause. Sarah looked at the two of them and smiled in amusement. "How strong is your bond anyway?"

"That has yet to be completely determined." Cullen responded, wondering what Aislinn was afraid to ask. He shifted his gaze to Sarah. "How strong is yours? It's been a long time since I had that part of my lycan education," he clarified when Sarah chuckled.

"Well," she said thinking about it. "It's been so long since I was without Drake I don't really remember what it's like to feel by myself." She sat contemplative a moment. Both Cullen and Aislinn stared at her attentively. "We seem to have a connection that's good for most of the territory. I can still sense him even at the reservation, but it's weak from here. I know a couple people who have stronger links than that. I don't know really what determines the distance allotment. Uh," she thought some more about what he might be trying to find out. "Sometimes I pick up things that he didn't mean to project at me, but that's usually only when he's projecting at someone else and angry. From the sounds of things," she smiled, "you two go a bit beyond that."

Cullen glared at her. He wasn't finding it funny.

Aislinn growled. "You know, if it bothers you so much I could always try and teach you how I blocked Rafe out. Then you could shut me off whenever you wanted." Sarah suddenly felt like she was about to become the third wheel in a dangerous argument.

Cullen could feel the hurt coming from Aislinn. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. "That's not it," he said gently.

"It just seems to me that everyone else around here accepts this part of mating. If you didn't want it you shouldn't have done it. Logically, considering that I'm the outsider here and the one who didn't see it coming I would have thought that I'd be the one having such a hard time adjusting." Aislinn almost started to cry. She wanted out of here. Her head was throbbing.

Cullen breathed out heavily. This was not a conversation that should be happening in front of Sarah. Sarah sensed the need for some privacy. She looked over at Aislinn sympathetically and excused herself to go to the lady's room.

Cullen reached across the table and took Aislinn's hands. She glared at him and tried to pull them back, but he wasn't about to let her have access to running away from him again. He knew she wanted to. He spoke very softly, trying to coax her into looking at him. "Piseagan, it's not that I don't want it. I love you with all I am. You can feel that can't you?"

Aislinn stopped trying to pull away from him, but still wasn't looking into his eyes. He decided a different tactic might be better. "Do you really feel so sure of yourself that you have no problem with me knowing everything that goes through your head?" Aislinn didn't answer. Cullen smiled, knowing that she caught his point and that her answer would have been 'no' if she were speaking to him. "Now add to that the fact that you seem to pick up far more from me than I get from you." She looked up at him when he said that. There was confusion on her features. "I know that I'm picking up more from you than normal bonds give the others. I can feel more reasoning behind your emotions than the others get from their mates. I know most of the others only know if their mate is happy or sad or whatever. I know you're upset now and somehow get why you're upset too. If that were all you were getting from me then I don't think I would be nearly so concerned. But you also seem to pick up on thought process as well. You answer me like I was talking. I've never had to censor my own head before and I don't think any of the others do either. How happy would you be with the situation if our positions were reversed? You only get to know feeling and why, but I could hear you thinking."

"I don't know why it's like that," Aislinn said. "I can try not to listen," she offered. "I mean I could probably block it out the way I did with Rafe. But," Aislinn hesitated, "I kinda like knowing you this well."

"It's certainly adding to your confidence level," he said with raised eyebrows, thinking about how she was carrying herself and the way she was talking to Sarah..

"Is there anything else weird with us that isn't there with the others that might be my druid fault?" 

He let out a long breath. "Not your fault." He smiled. "It pleases me to think that we were meant to be together like this. The stronger the bond the more compatible the couple. At least that's what they teach. There's the projecting in human form. That only happens with really strong bonds. Most lycans can only project thoughts in hybrid or wolven forms. But that is part of lycan lore. So it's not your druid fault. I've even heard of partial bonds that ended up with the couple having the ability to project or sense each other without completely finishing the mating. But that's incredibly rare."

"But I don't want you to start feeling like I'm invading." She looked around. "Technically I seem to be able to get into anyone's head if I try to. I've done it while people were sleeping." Her eyes started to tear. It frightened her. "Before we mated I thought about trying to read your thoughts about me. I never did," she said quickly. "I don't want to be like Rafe. I don't know how to make it stop. And the more things I try the more things I seem to be able to do. What's worse is that there isn't anyone for me to ask about it. Not now." Aislinn's mind was overwhelmed by a feeling of her grandmother watching her. It only made her more upset.

Cullen felt her hands trembling in his. "If it makes you more comfortable to be inside my head, piseagan, then it's okay. Don't worry so much about what you can do. You'll never be like Rafe. It's not your capabilities; it's what you do with them that make a person. Just be more selective about what you choose to answer when you catch what's going on in my head. Especially if there are other people around." He smiled at her. Then he started thinking about what he'd like to do with her after dinner. "Although there are times that a man could grow to love having a mind reader around." His eyes sparkled and he could feel her upset fading away. 

Aislinn smiled. The image she was getting was pretty graphic. "I love you," she said softly. 

Just then Marta appeared with their dinner, Sarah came back from the restroom, and Liam came walking in with a storm cloud over his head promising to rain on their plates. It was as if they all decided to descend upon them at once. Aislinn felt a resigned annoyance take over Cullen. She sat back as he reluctantly released her hands. Cullen ignored Liam's approach and ravenously dug into the rare meat on his plate.

Liam grabbed a chair from a nearby table, spun it around and seated himself at the end of their booth, glaring at Cullen. Marta was nearly shoved out of the way and she had to reach over him to distribute the rest of the plates. Liam watched Cullen chew and glared some more. Though the glare was accompanied by a reluctant head bow. "I must ask why exactly dinner has taken precedence over a room full of battered, abused, tired, cold, frightened people."

Cullen slammed a fist holding a knife down on the table. His eyes blazed with anger at Liam and the man immediately backed down. Liam re-bowed his head. This time with submissive intent as an apology. 

"Because," Cullen strained. "I'm more likely to do something drastic and unfortunate to the tired, cold, frightened traitors, if I don't get a grip on my wolf first."

Liam cleared his throat. "I guess that after the stories I've heard I've become a bit more sympathetic to their situation. I'm sorry Cullen. I didn't mean disrespect."

Cullen sat back and poked at his steak, mulling over what Liam had said. "Okay, so tell me." 

With that Cullen sat forward and ate as Liam gave him the full report on what Rafe had done to the women, how he had gotten a hold of them, and the different threats that had been made. "Acutally the worst of it was Peter. Apparently he had been one of the first. When he decided that Zoe would rather die than help betray the pack he tried to go to you. Rafe threatened the others that if Peter managed to let you know what was going on then he'd kill three women for every one thing you found out. So it was our own men who stopped Peter from confessing. Then Rafe tortured and killed Zoe anyway. She's the only one who didn't come back. But Peter knew she was dead days ago. He's been sitting in a corner of the room ever since." 

Aislinn lost her appetite and a tear streaked down her face in sympathy. Liam looked at her curiously. "You didn't even know Zoe," he said.

"Does it matter?" Aislinn looked at him with a glassy expression. "I'd have to be pretty cold hearted to not feel how much this has affected everyone here." 

Liam nodded. He watched her contemplatively for a moment. When Cullen growled a warning at him it got his attention. He looked over at Cullen questioningly. Cullen rubbed his face. His wolf was in high gear. Nothing was sating the beast this evening. He was far too worked up. Right then he only wanted to forget what was happening and that would involve Aislinn naked and on all fours. The image brought some small calm to his demeanor.

Liam looked at Cullen with uncertainty. "I don't want to add to your upset Cullen. But I would point out that I have a mate and you know that I have no intentions toward Aislinn. You've been acting so strangely with her. It's one of the things causing so much talk."

Cullen stabbed at another piece of meat on his plate. "I've heard all about the talk. I think what's pissing me off is that everyone seems to assume that I'm supposed to have this magical ability to turn my wolf off whenever I want and to not be possessive of a woman when I finally decide that I want to mate with someone."

Liam raised his eyebrows. "So you're making it official then?"

Cullen looked over at Aislinn. "She's agreed to it. I don't see a reason to hide my intentions. I don't intend to make anything formal until after the funeral. So don't go advertising."

Liam nodded. "You know I wouldn't. Congratulations," he said tentatively.

"Don't sound so happy about it Liam," Cullen growled.

"I'm sorry. But I've always been honest with you. I agree. When I first met Lizbeth, okay, I acted similarly to what you've been doing lately. But you have to admit that with Rafe and the mind control crap and it being so unlike you. It's not so strange that some of us would question the situation."

Cullen glared at him. "You know it's rather insulting to think that the whole of my pack thinks my mind could be so easily manipulated."

"Cullen, I didn't mean-"

"I know what you meant. You and the rest of the elders can just suck it up," he said violently.

Liam stiffened. "Things have just been so strange lately. I'm concerned."

"The implication in that statement seems farther reaching than my mating choice," Cullen said staring at the man.

"Just watch your back, my friend. You know that you have my loyalty. Regardless of your choices."

Sarah sat forward at that. "Liam, why exactly would Cullen need to watch his back?"

"I'm just saying that some of the rumors are going pretty far. I've heard about a pack split. There are people claiming that she's neutering him. I don't know what the general private thought process is. But the public talk is disturbing."

Cullen started growling again. 

Aislinn knew that if the conversation went too much further he was going to lose it. "Well, hopefully, if I start spending more time trying to be social they'll all figure out that I'm just a normal person and not trying anything. Cullen are you sure I couldn't just go back to waiting tables here?" she asked hopefully. "I mean if I don't look like I'm trying to be in charge of anything and I'm willing to do my part maybe it'll stop."

Liam looked at her again. He was trying to read her. He had never had too much contact with her but this didn't strike him as a girl trying to take over a pack, mentally or any other way. Cullen shook his head at her. Liam cleared his throat before Aislinn could argue some more. "Aislinn," he said, "it's not appropriate for the alpha's mistress to be doing things like waiting tables down here. Even if you were an omega it wouldn't be allowed and from what I've heard you could qualify as a beta if you wanted to. But you don't want to, do you?"

Aislinn shook her head. Liam just stared into her eyes. He nodded back and sighed. "You are quite the enigma. I think that you'll win them all over eventually. Just keep being you and you'll be fine. That is after Cullen stops carrying you upstairs so often."

Sarah grinned and looked at Cullen with and I told you so expression. At which point, Cullen got out of the booth and held his hand out to Aislinn. Sarah had to move in order to let her out. "I'll do as I like," he said. Then he grabbed Aislinn. She squealed as he tossed her over his shoulder and headed out of the Taigh-Oèsda toward the elevator. 

"Cullen put me down," she growled and pounded on his back. "This is not dignified."

Her protests drew quite a bit of attention and resulted in amused smiles and giggling from the few waitresses who were left in the restaurant. Liam looked over at Sarah, who sat back down and smiled to herself. 

"He is the alpha," she said. "You tell him to stop something…"

Liam started to laugh. "I guess I should be happy for him. I just wish he had better timing."





Leader of the Pack Ch. 17



Aislinn perched on the ledge just above the door. A mischievous grin on her lips. When he reached the balcony she jumped lithely down from her perch. Cullen turned just in time to see her dash inside and slide the glass door closed. She turned the latch and grinned at him through the glass.

Cullen's wolf was raging with lustful intent as he watched her through the glass. It took all of his control to not break through the door. Enough piseagan, let me in, he ordered.

Aislinn eyed him. His cock stood out from in a tempting display and she almost gave in. But there was too much fun to still be had. Mmm, you fell into my trap. The piseagan has caught the big bad wolf. Aislinn's eyes gleamed and she began stroking her breast absentmindedly with one stray finger as she watched him pace back and forth on the balcony.

I don't like being caged. When I get my claws on you…

I can't wait, she thought back. But for now I'm thoroughly enjoying my moment of triumph. Aislinn pinched her nipple and watched his eyes follow her fingers as she began to toy with herself enticingly. 

Cullen's cock bobbed in response to Aislinn's hand on her breast. She bit her lip and stepped in close to the window so that he could watch as one of her hands pinched and teased her nipple while the other hand traveled the length of her stomach and her fingers dipped into her wet slit. She moaned softly in that purring catlike way that drove him mad.

Cullen didn't know how long he could handle watching her through the glass. He looked around for a way in, knowing that there was only the one door to the balcony. He growled in frustration and Aislinn could feel the amusement in his mind waning as she tortured him.

She pulled her fingers from her wet cunt. She was getting to the point where she needed him more than she wanted to play games with him anyway. She put her wet fingers in her mouth to lick her juices off of her fingers and walked toward the door to let him in. 

Cullen couldn't wait any longer. He stepped up to the door and grabbed the handle. With a sharp tug he heard a crack and a spiderweb traveled through the glass from near the handle. Aislinn stopped, her eyes wide and she realized she had pushed him too far. Another sharp tug and the door flew open. The glass shattered as it rammed into the wall at the far end of the track. 

This time there was no escape. Aislinn turned to run away but he was already on top of her. He had her on the ground beneath him. Cullen wasn't about to be gentlemanly about the fall this time. My turn, came the gruff growl in her mind. Cullen grabbed her hips and roughly pulled her to her hands and knees. Growling with expectation he aimed and drove himself home inside her. 

Aislinn's appreciative groan at his violent invasion spurred him on. Cullen pulled back and then drove into her again. "Ahh," Aislinn moaned as he began thrusting. Hard, long, forceful strokes had her moaning uncontrollably. Aislinn's body shook each time he pressed into her. She was out of breath and couldn't seem to catch it quickly enough. 

Cullen felt himself begin to swell inside her. He growled hungrily as he forced his knot deeper insider her with the intent of locking them together. Aislinn was trembling with the pleasure of the exquisite pressure of his enlarging member. She looked back over her shoulder. His eyes were glazed over with determination as he drove into her over and over. "Deeper Cullen," she begged.

Cullen readjusted his grip on her hips and pulled her to him as he thrust in forcing himself in further. He loved her sweet voice almost more than the pleasure of fucking her like this. With the hard stroke she felt her body begin to give in. Her cunt clamped down on his cock hard and spasmed with her orgasm. Aislinn growled and moaned as she forced herself backward onto him.

Cullen allowed his release to take him as he felt her give over to him. He released his molten heat into her in a few short thrusts. It was by shear will alone that he didn't collapse forward and smash her to the floor beneath his weight. He couldn't believe how intense it had been. Cullen stood on his knees behind her. His cock swollen and would be trapped inside her for some time. He smiled his pleasure at the thought and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Aislinn was panting and still trying to catch her breath. "Mmm, more?" she asked through heaving breaths.

Cullen laughed. He held her to himself and carefully stood, carried her over to the bed and crawled them both up onto it. They collapsed onto the bed and cuddled together. Give me a moment and I'll gladly give you whatever you want. As long as it doesn't involve a locked glass door.

Aislinn grinned. "You broke it anyway," she giggled. 

*************

Hi guys,

I want to thank everyone for all the compliments. I'll keep writing as long as everyone wants to read it. I would have figured that people would be getting tired of these two by now. But I guess as long as you all like it I can keep it up. Thanks again for reading.

Don't forget to vote.



Leader of the Pack Ch. 18







Leader of the Pack Ch. 18



Jenna was about to begin the questioning process, confident in the fact that she had the right one this time when an omega came in and notified her that there was a phone call for her.





Leader of the Pack Ch. 19



Cullen drove back toward the reservation with a full belly and his wolf growling in his ear for not having spent some time alone with Aislinn before getting into the car. Her scent was driving him nuts. Everyone else at the reservation who was going to attend the funeral would be caravanning to the reservation that evening and the next morning. 

Cullen listened to Aislinn and Sarah discussing the fact the new omegas had been overly friendly to her and though Ranaild had avoided her like the plague, Elise had hugged her and then spent the rest of the afternoon following her around and trying to do all Aislinn's work for her. Cullen smiled figuring that his little comment about Aislinn changing his mind from killing them to just demoting them had made her a few friends. Aislinn had been so engrossed in her conversation with Sarah that she missed his thoughts about it. He noted that the next time he wanted to have his mind to himself he'd just get her involved in a conversation with one of the other women.

"I caught that one," Aislinn said and shot him a look that made him chuckle as he drove. If it weren't for the fact that they were headed for a funeral they'd have been in great spirits.

They arrived at the reservation in relatively short order. Cullen's plan had been to go straight to bed with Aislinn. For the last hour of the trip he had been sending her images of what he intended to do to her. Aislinn had been countering with her own ideas of what would be fun and it was working them both up so much that Sarah had commented on the rapidly rising pheromone level in the car. 

When they finally arrived at the reservation the hour was late, but most of the lights in the cabin were still on. It was a sign of the upset of the pack that so many people were still up. Cullen looked up at the building wondering if he would even be capable of making it to their room. He growled know full well he didn't want to wait to have her at this point. Cullen shot Aislinn a predatory grin and nodded back toward the woods. "There probably aren't any glass doors for you to hide behind that way," he suggested.

Aislinn grinned and her eyes shifted. "No, probably not. But I don't need to hide if you can't catch me," she grinned and started to back away from the car toward the woods.

When Cullen started to follow her Sarah growled at both of them. "This won't go over well. You're supposed to be more public. If this isn't running and hiding I don't know what is. What the hell am I supposed to tell them when I walk in alone?"

Cullen pulled his shirt off and tossed it at Sarah. He had no intention of going inside just yet. "I don't care. Tell them to come out and join us if they like. I'm guessing that I'm not the only one who could use a run in the moonlight."

Sarah watch Cullen take off the rest of his clothes, shift and the take off in the direction that Aislinn had disappeared in. She yelled after him that he was acting like a teenage idiot, but the last thing she got from him was a howl crying at the moon telling that he found her scent and was on the hunt. 

Sarah threw the clothes she was still holding on the ground. She couldn't believe he left her to deal with the pack tonight. "Why exactly did I not want to give this job to Aislinn?" she grumbled. "I hope she manages to completely snow your ass," Sarah added as she stomped toward the cabin. It would be great if she managed to get away from the mighty hunter. But Gods he'd be frustrated if that happened. Sarah snickered. If anyone could manage to get away from him it'd be Aislinn.

When Sarah walked into the cabin the atmosphere was frigid. Keith approached her and the first thing out of his mouth was, "So where's Cullen?"

"Playing hide and seek," Sarah groused. "What's wrong?"

"Hide and seek?" Keith asked incredulously. 

"Yeah, hide and seek. They're getting worse. He actually carried out of the Taigh-Oèsda on his shoulder when I told him to start controlling himself." Sarah was watching the onlookers. The room was full of elders and Terrick was glaring in her direction. "What exactly is going on here Keith," Sarah said growing increasingly more concerned.

Keith leaned in and spoke softly to Sarah. "Terrick's instigating a pack split. He's trying to convince everyone that Aislinn is currently running the pack and we just don't know it. He doesn't have many number, but enough. Cullen needs to get in here now."

Sarah nodded. Her brain was scrambling for a way to diffuse the situation. "Leave it to Terrick to cause problems on the eve of funeral," she growled angrily and eyed Terrick.

He smiled at her. "Has the druid gotten to you as well then?" Terrick asked loudly.

Sarah knew that he was setting her up to lose credibility. "Terrick, firstly Aislinn isn't capable. You don't know enough about druids to be able to talk on it. And secondly what kind of mas goes and start trouble the night before a funeral? I realize you've always be out to displace Cullen but this is low even for you." That comment had a soft murmur rumbling through the room. Everyone knew that Terrick had designs on being the alpha. Now they were wondering if all Terrick's talk while Cullen was out was really him being overly ambitious and trying to stir up discontent since he saw an opening.

Terrick noticed the turn in his tide. It had taken him quite a bit of work to set this up. He wasn't about to let it go this easily. "Then where is our alpha. If there truly isn't anything to be concerned about with this woman then why does he spend so much time keeping her to himself? And every time we've seen him lately they act strangely."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Everyone acts strangely when they meet the one they want to mate with." That sent another wave of murmuring around the room. "You just think it's weird from Cullen because he's been so long in the choosing. And he's keeping her to himself because she was raised human and doesn't really understand what's going on most of the time. You're turning it into more than it is. You want to see Cullen and Aislinn. They're having a run." She pointed out the window. She chuckled to herself. Well, he did say to invite them all to join him. "I think that we could all use an outlet. There's been too much upset of late. You want to see what Aislinn is up to with Cullen? I suggest you go hunt them down for yourself. I'm done playing babysitter. But I'll warn you not to interrupt. He wants to mate with her and he's getting more and more possessive the longer he's being forced to wait."

Terrick looked distraught as his audience started to filter out the door. Sarah smiled at him triumphantly. She knew that it wasn't over but she had won this battle. Keith looked at her. "Do you really think that was a good idea?" he asked nervously as he watched the rest of the pack heading out after the alpha.

"Well, he did say to invite them out," Sarah said with a vengeful look. "But you're probably right. Come on. We'll catch him first and warn him that he's got an audience. That's if he's even managed to get his claws on her yet." Sarah smiled at Drake as he approached her. He always had a look of pride on his face when he caught up with her after something like this. Sarah counted herself incredibly lucky that she had found a mate who could handle the fact that she acted as alpha in the pack. Drake was her support. He was always there when she needed him and never minding standing in the shadows of her spotlight. 

Keith saw the looks on their faces and knew that he was no longer needed. Jaylyn was her way but wouldn't arrive until later that evening and he knew that he wouldn't be getting any from her. Maybe if she was there she'd let him take out some of his pent up aggression on an omega. He thought back to the one who had brought Cullen clothes for Aislinn the day before. She'd had a awfully nice ass.

Sarah, Drake, and Cullen headed out into the night, shedding clothes as they went. Keith and Drake actually had the best chance of finding Cullen considering they had hunted together for so long. They knew his tactics. They shifted into wolves and headed for the woods, howling into the night as they went and hoping that Cullen wasn't too far gone to notice the noise the pack was making.





Leader of the Pack Ch. 19



No one knew what to make of that. They shifted into their human forms and walked toward the stones. Cullen was too worked up to be capable of shifting into human. They others looked around. Her trail ended at the stones. Cullen was right. She just vanished.

"Cul, there has to be some explanation. People don't just disappear. She's here. We'll find her," Keith said. 

Others were starting to gather about. They were curious as to what was happening. With all the fuss Terrick had made it was looking bad that Cullen would be so worked up that he couldn't shift back into his human form and was pacing about the stones ready to kill. When it hit everyone that she was gone again, there were some annoyed comments about what Cullen might do this time.





Leader of the Pack Ch. 19



Aislinn heard the sounds of others around them. Cullen had been right. They were definitely being watched. Aislinn turned her head and saw several couples who had come out of hiding. Aislinn's eyes met those of a woman who was on all fours as a large grey wolf pounded into her from behind. The woman smiled at Aislinn then closed her eyes and her head fell forward allowing the wolf to bite her neck. Her arms collapsed beneath her as an orgasm shook her body.

Aislinn felt her own building. When she looked back to Cullen she found that he had been watching her watch the others. He smiled knowingly and Aislinn blushed but smiled back. As she stared into Cullen's amber swirling eyes she felt her body begin to tremble. It built down low in her stomach and flowed in waves through her. Aislinn stared into Cullen's eyes as her breath caught in her chest and her pussy spasmed around his cock. Cullen gritted his teeth and growled when he felt her walls clamping down on him he couldn't hold back any longer. He came into her as they stared into each other's eyes.

Tá grá agam duit, Cullen, she thought in lieu of breath to say it out loud.

He pulled her close to himself and hugged her tightly, rolling them over so that he was on the bottom. He kissed her passionately. Tá grá agam duit, Aislinn.

***************

Getting closer to an end… One chapter at a time. If you're still with me, by Microsoft word standards we're up to 122,000 words, that's 225 pages! Woo Hoo. 

Time to vote!



Leader of the Pack Ch. 20



The pyres burned high into the night sky. All around the reservation wolves raised their faces to the heavens and howled their mournful song into the night. There were only a few Arnauk not present. Too many lives had been lost for there to be a single person unaffected by the deaths. The only ones who weren't there were those that had to run the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh and the Taigh-Oèsda. But those were minimal. It was mostly being run by the human hires tonight.

Aislinn stared at the pyres. The yellow and orange flames licked the sky and sent shadows dancing about the trees. It was a sharp contrast to the howls of pleasure and the bodies dancing amongst the trees the night before. There was very little talking. That morning they had found two suicides. It was expected. With so many mated losses it wasn't unusual for the one left behind, especially if there were no children, to take his or her own life.

The day had been long and hard. Aislinn had seen very little of Cullen and it was getting harder and harder on both of them. He had spent the entire day being diplomatic and sympathetic to all the families that arrived to attend the funeral. Aislinn had spent the day trailing after Sarah and taking on odd duties that Sarah suggested. Mostly it was to show the rest of the pack that Aislinn was taking orders from them and not the other way around. Sarah hadn't assigned her anything difficult. She would bring a message to one person or another. She helped with bringing things in when more important people arrived. She smiled and spoke when spoken too. She answered a lot of questions about herself. In the end she was mentally exhausted.

Aislinn watched Brinah's body burn and tears slid down her cheeks. Knowing that her grandmother's soul existed but was tied to this place was little comfort. She had questions. Aislinn looked over at Cullen. It was the first time the two of them had managed to be standing next to each other all day. He knew what she wanted and she knew that he was uncomfortable with the idea. 

"I'll be fine," she said. "It scared me the first time because I didn't understand what was happening or why. But I need to talk to her."

Cullen shook his head. "People will notice if you go missing right now."

"We're leaving for the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh in the morning. I won't have another chance."

Cullen growled. "Aislinn I don't like it."

"I know. I'm sorry. But I have to." She kissed him on the cheek and then headed for the stone circle. He watched her walk into the woods, knowing he couldn't stop her.

Aislinn could feel him nearby. He wouldn't stray far from the stones. There wasn't anything he'd be able to do. But he didn't care about that. He'd try if something went wrong. Though neither of them knew what the possible consequences of her actions could be.

Aislinn stepped through the perimeter of the stone circle with the firm intention of finding Brinah there and to her surprise it worked. Everything went still. No breeze, no sounds, just black and the stones and there in the middle of the Circle stood the ghostly figure of her grandmother.

Brinah was smiling with pride, her blue eyes sparkled and unworldly glow. "You have no idea how difficult what you just did should have been. It took a great deal of energy for me to bring you here that first time. You plane walk as though you were born to it." Brinah walked over to her granddaughter. "I never dreamed I would regret having kept you from the Circle. But I can't help wondering if I've held you back."

"Why did you leave them? Did they do something to you or something wrong? I know you said you wanted to marry grandpa, but did that require leaving?"

"Hmm, straight to the point. You remind me of myself some times. You know that is not a characteristic of the Circle. They are much more... diplomatic." She smiled. "No it wasn't a requirement. But your grandfather didn't know about the Circle and I didn't know how to tell him. He was very Christian. Traditionally that isn't a religion that is accepting of the types of things and beliefs that the Circle represented. In the day and age that we were in it was just easier for me to hide it than for me to try and explain it. The circle itself wasn't at fault for my leaving. It was my choice and they let me go."

"Should I be concerned about the things that I can do? Should I try and learn about it?"

"That's up to you, child. You can ignore it all if you want. Though the fates don't seem to be willing to let you. Now that you've bound yourself to a lycan it will be even harder if you want to attempt to ignore that side of yourself. The more you use it the stronger it will become."

Aislinn nodded. "Then the visions. They've been happening more and more recently."

Brinah tilted her head and stared into her granddaughter's eyes. "That should only happen if you're willing to let it happen. You must be becoming more accepting and open to it. Premonitions come when you allow them to."

"What about controlling it? Can I have one when I want one?"

Brinah suddenly understood. She smiled knowingly. "That's why they're increasing. You're trying to use them." She shook her head. "That's more complex an accomplishment then you might think. The fates control the premonitions and they'll not let you have influence over them. It takes a powerful druid for that. The best you can do is will yourself to be open to allowing one to come to you. You control them by accepting that one might come. But you don't control the content or influence them. The harder you try the less you will get. It's kind of like your shifting from one form to another. To have a premonition you have to surrender your control to the fates and hope they give you what you want."

"It seems that the druids are big on stepping back and allowing the fates to control them."

Brinah smiled. "Traditionally we're observers, philosophers, teachers. The people who seek to control things usually get replaced by time or someone else out to control. We move with the fates like the oceans and the tides."

"What else am I capable of?"

"Now that is a very complex question. Everyone is capable of whatever they like. It all comes to what you apply yourself too and if you choose to use your natural talents or seek to develop an ability that may be more difficult to come by but may be more helpful to you."

Aislinn stared at her. "No straight answers then?"

Brinah smiled again. "You have the answers. You just don't know it yet. They'll come to you as you need it. I've given you advice that is more helpful than you may think. Is there anything else?"

Aislinn nodded. "I can't convince Cullen to deal with Jenna and the books. He doesn't believe it's a pack matter. With the recent deaths and the pack dissention as it is, he doesn't want to risk giving them a reason to doubt his leadership. I'm a big enough problem for him to justify. If he goes chasing down other packs based solely on my word he risks loyalty issues."

Brinah's face fell a bit. "It will become pack business shortly. If he ignores it long enough it will come looking for him. It would be easier dealt with now than later. But the fates will play out as they wish."

"Can't you tell me what the problem is? What does Jenna want with the books?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know everything. I only get impressions of paths that could be taken. It's like when you have a premonition and you walk in knowing whether it's the future or the past. You don't know how you know. It's just a feeling the fates have allowed. A hint to help you find your way. Perhaps the warning I have given you is enough all by itself to help you survive your path, even if you do nothing other than wait for it to come."

Aislinn sighed. "I don't do well with just allowing things to happen. I'd rather do something about it."

Brinah smiled. "That's because you were raised human. Different philosophies. I suggest you do what you feel you need to."

Aislinn could feel Cullen's impatience at her absence. "I need to return."

"I understand. Lycans can be very possessive. And the alpha is very controlling. But if anyone is going to be able to handle him I believe you can." Brinah walked up closer to her and kissed her cheek and then she vanished into a fog of sparkling silver blue dust. 

Aislinn looked around for Brinah but she was nowhere to be seen. As she stared into the shadows of the dark silent stones she felt a presence beyond Brinah. Or more precisely many presences. It was only then that it occurred to her that the stones had been here for a very long time. At one point they were uses regularly for rituals and spells. If Brinah's soul could be trapped here, what was stopping other souls from being trapped here as well. As the uneasy feeling grew she turned and left the Circle with the firm intent of being very careful about who she was thinking about when she entered the stones.

Cullen was waiting for her when she stepped through the border of the stones. He was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. Aislinn smiled at him as she felt the fog blocking her mind from him clear. There was a strong sense of concern coming from him. It ranged from concern about the pack seeing Aislinn's pursuit of her druid abilities as a threat to them to her pursuit of her abilities taking her away from him. Aislinn approached him and walked into his arms. 

He held her close and took in her scent. "I don't like the fact that that place blocks you from me even a little bit."

"I know. I'm sorry," she said and hugged him harder.

He growled. "Did you find what you wanted?"

"Some yes. Some no. Druids can be very enigmatic," she said and grinned at him.

He grinned back and shook his head. Then leaned down and kissed her. His tongue slid over her lips and she opened her mouth to let him in. It only took moments for the kiss to grow heated. Let's go back to our room, he suggested.

Aislinn broke the kiss and nuzzled into his neck, biting him gently. "Okay," she said and they headed back up to the cabin.

***

The next day was a great deal like the previous day except that it involved saying goodbye to everyone diplomatically instead of saying hello. Cullen, Aislinn, Sarah, Drake, Keith, and Jaylyn as well as the rest of the main group of betas from the den were the last ones to leave that day. The plan was to arrive at the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh, have dinner at the Taigh-Oèsda, do the last of the mourning and then sleep on it all. The next day would return to business as usual.

The first thing Cullen said when they all got in the car was, "By all the Gods I'll be glad when this is done. Now I remember why I worked so hard to stop this kind of crap." Aislinn decided to save her discussion about Brinah's warning for a later date. She sat uncomfortably throughout the car ride. His scent was getting to her more than usual. All she wanted was to be alone with him.

When they managed to walk into the penthouse without further incident Cullen smiled and laughed wondering how long it would take for the next natural disaster to hit. Aislinn was torn between attacking Cullen and cleaning up. She finally decided that one would make the other more pleasant so she started dropping clothes on the floor and walking toward the bathroom. She was feeling guilty over the fact that she had just come from a funeral and all she could think of was sex. 

Cullen watched Aislinn undress and head for the shower. He could feel her upset over everything that had been happening. She'd been dwelling all day, in between thoughts about getting him naked and alone. He smiled.

Aislinn heard the curtain slide and then felt Cullen's hands across her body. "Stop it," he said.

She scoffed, "What? You got something against me showering?"

"I know what you're thinking remember?"

"No you don't. You said you only know what I'm feeling. I could be upset about anything."

"Smart ass. I know why too. None of this is your fault. You didn't bring it here. Rafe would have come looking for the stones whether I'd fallen in love with you or not. At least that's what people keep telling me. If I can come to terms with it all so can you." He took the soap from her and started rubbing her body in way that had nothing to do with cleaning. "Besides," he said softly, "you're worth it."

Aislinn felt him slide his erection against her butt and then he pressed her forward into the stream of water. His hand slid down her back and between her legs. Aislinn braced herself against the wall and water pounded on her back. Between the heat of the shower and the heat that Cullen was creating she felt like she was on fire. 

Cullen slid his fingers into her slit and felt her coat them. He growled his pleasure at that. She was always ready for him. He pulled his hand from her and listened to her whimper, wanting his fingers back. He chuckled and brought his fingers to his mouth. Suddenly his wolf roared into his mind and seized control of the situation. 

Aislinn felt the rush and was more than a little shocked when she felt him grab her roughly and force her out of the shower. Before she knew what was happening she was on her hands and knees on the bathroom floor and he was fucking her hard from behind. She tried to get away at first. But he was far too strong and determined. It took some time for the forceful thrusts to become pleasurable. Aislinn gave over to her cat, knowing that she'd be more capable of handling it that way.

As the cat took control the confusion gave way to primal need. Aislinn began growling and pushing back into his thrusts. Cullen wasn't concerned in the least with her pleasure this time. He was going to come inside her and then he was going to do it again. He swelled inside her and forced himself as deep as he could into her sopping cunt. He came hard and Aislinn shook with her own orgasm as she felt his seed fill her. She growled happily as they collapsed to the floor. 

After some time and some internal struggle Cullen was able to force his wolf down. Aislinn had already returned to her human self. She could feel the sore already starting. She stretched a bit. He was lodged inside her more solidly than usual. She rubbed her butt against him. They were still wet from the shower and sweat. "I'm going to need another shower," she said with an amused tone.

Cullen wasn't amused though. "I didn't hurt you did I," he asked.

She looked back over her shoulder. "My knees a little," she chuckled. "But I'll get over it. What's wrong?"

Cullen cleared his throat. "You're going into heat," he said flatly. "By morning I'm not going to be able to stop."

She could feel how serious he was. "How long will that last?"

"Couple days, a week? Hard to say. 

"You're worried."

"Yeah. I've got meetings scheduled. This isn't going to look good. But judging from how I reacted to the preliminary, there isn't going to be any fighting it once you really start. We're not going to be able to go out into public."

Aislinn giggled and cuddled against him. She felt his annoyance at her amusement. "I'm sorry. I kinda like the idea that you want me so bad you really can't keep your hands off me."

Cullen smiled smugly. "You do realize that I'm trying to get you pregnant right?"

That stopped the giggling. "Okay, so you want to have kids," she realized suddenly.

"Now," he said harshly. He could feel his wolf growling to take her again. 

"On the bed," Aislinn said, knowing there was no stopping him. But unsure how she felt about being pregnant. "And the shower needs turned off."

***

Terrick was in his room grousing. He'd been doing his best to sow seeds of doubt in everyone's minds about Cullen but the new omegas were in love with Aislinn. Every time he said anything against the missing couple someone else would come along and suggest that the problem was Terrick's interpretation. He was getting frustrated with the fact that he seemed to have miss played the best chance he'd been giving for ousting Cullen in centuries. He was trying to come up with a way to make the fool look bad. 

No one even seemed to care that he had probably already mated with Aislinn and was lying about it. Ranaild, Elise, Celia, and Mack were the ones who were pointing out to people that they were expecting more of Cullen than themselves. At least a third of the pack had 'accidentally' skipped the dumb ceremony. If Cullen fell short on that one well maybe he had earned a reprieve from their expectations. That mixed with the omegas spouting how wonderful Aislinn was and how dead half of them would be if she hadn't talked Cullen down had the pack pretty much over the whole situation.

Terrick only had a select few people on his side. Luckily the few he had were elders and they agreed that he shouldn't be skipping protocol. More was expected of the alpha for a reason. And they certainly didn't like being lied to. Terrick's support was less, but he still had some.

When his phone rang he answered it angrily, "What?"

"Hmm, something certainly does have you in a foul mood," came the honey sweet voice of Jenna Tairneach.

"What do you want, Jenna?"

"The same thing I wanted last time, Terrick. I'm just trying to find out if you're still stubbornly holding out against me," she cooed.

"Remind me what you think our mating will accomplish?"

"Well, you'd at very least get to be alpha with the Tairneach. And once you have a pack maybe then you can get what you truly want."

"Jenna if I mate with you I'll never get what I truly want. And although I may despise Cullen Arnauk my loyalty to this pack is true. I want Cullen gone and the Arnauk hailing me as alpha. Your way won't do that. I'll not risk any of our own lives. There isn't a single lycan here who would trust and follow me with real loyalty if I left the pack only to start a war so that I could take it over. If I can't beat Cullen in a one on one fight it's pointless. But we've already had this discussion. So why the hell are you really calling?"

Jenna was annoyed. Even the Arnauk who wanted to get rid of Cullen were difficult to get to. She may have to have the druids teach her how Rafe played the mind games he did. "How about just making him look bad for now. Would you be interested in helping me with that?"

"I'm listening," Terrick said, his tone less annoyed.

"The Pack Council is sending a message to him. There's going to be a meeting. Just intercept the message," she cooed. "The council will get made and he'll look like a fool."

Terrick thought about it. Making Cullen look the part of the fool was always a good idea to him. But there was one thing bothering him. "What's in it for you Jenna?"

She growled to herself. Terrick was an thoin but he wasn't stupid. "Time," she said. "Just time."

"For what?"

"That's not your concern. Do it or not. I don't care. I was just trying to be helpful." With that she hung up on Terrick.

***

Keith and Sarah were pissed. They'd been running interference all week. "How much longer do you think she's going to be in heat?" he said angrily as he slammed into Sarah's office and sat down in the chair across from her desk.

Sarah shrugged and shook her head. "Terrick knows what's going on. And most of the others are suspicious. That's making Terrick's stupidity easier for them to stomach. I'm tired of lying to everyone."

Keith nodded in agreement. "He better name all the boys after me and all the girls after you," he said only half joking.

"Speaking of names, do you and Jay know what you're naming yours yet?" Sarah asked.

"No. I leave it to Jay. It's her first liter. There's only the two. Thank the Gods. And she has a list a mile long to pick from. As long as she's happy and I'm finally allowed to touch her again I don't care what the pups are named."

Sarah smiled. She had been trying to have a liter with Drake for a while. It didn't matter how much sex they had while she was in heat, she just hadn't gotten pregnant yet. It wasn't uncommon for it to take years for a lycan to get pregnant. They went into heat so rarely. But at least when they finally did get pregnant they had several at once. Sarah didn't mind at all when Keith interrupted her thoughts. She was more than a little jealous of Jaylyn at the moment. 




Leader of the Pack Ch. 20



"How are the arrangements for their mating coming along?" Keith asked.

"It's set. We just need the couple to come out of hiding. Then we get to put up with them disappearing again," she groused.

"Oh well," he said in resignation. "It's not like he doesn't deserve to get something good. And at the moment there's nothing pressing to stop it. I've got the retraining of the out of shape troops dealt with. You've got the new quasi-omegas relocated and assigned only semi-demeaning duties. Jenna's been quiet and there's no new info on that front. Even the southern border's quiet. Terrick's the only problem and he's always been a problem."

Sarah growled. "I don't know. Terrick's really pushing it this time. Cullen's going to have a lot of explaining to do."

The phone rang and Sarah grabbed it. "Sarah, what?"

"Cadifor," the voice said. "Where's Arnauk?"

Caoch, Sarah swore to herself. Muin Pack Council. "He's indisposed. Can I get him and have him call you back?"

"It better be soon," came the angry voice. Then there was a click.

Keith raised his eyebrows. "Who could that have been that you'd be willing to go get Cullen?"

"Pack council."

"You've got to be kidding. That was too short for him to have told you what he wanted."

Sarah nodded. "It must be important. He didn't even offer to tell me. Obviously I'm not good enough to know what it was about." She stared at the phone with concern. "You never should have said that we didn't have any problems at the moment. You jinxed it." Sarah stood up to head for the door.

Keith jumped to go with her. "I'm coming too. I'm suspicious that he's been dragging it out for the fun of it anyway."

"If he isn't there's a chance we'll get attacked," Sarah said off hand as they walked down the hall for the elevator. 

"Yeah, then it'd be better if there's two of us anyway. Don't know about you but last I checked I couldn't take him one on one," Keith said with a grin. There was more than one reason Cullen was the alpha. "He did manage to bring down a were bear lion thing recently. I'd guess he's been keeping up on his training even if the rest of us weren't overly concerned for it."

Sarah nodded. "Well hopefully he's worked out enough aggression that he'll at least listen before attacking. Doesn't matter," she said as they walked into the elevator and she inserted the key. "He's got to know that Cadifor is looking for him. This isn't one he can ignore until he's done fucking Aislinn."

Keith chuckled. 

"You've been waiting for a reason to interrupt. Why do you get so much pleasure out of this?" Sarah was only letting him come along because he was right about the possibility of getting attacked.

"Because I haven't been getting any and I don't like knowing how much he's getting," Keith chuckled.

Sarah shook her head. Her stomach was turning as the elevator headed for the penthouse. She didn't relish dealing with Cullen if he was going to attack her. Why the hell did it have to be Cadifor? Couldn't have been any of the others could it?

***

Aislinn was exhausted. Cullen hadn't let up since that evening in the shower nearly a week earlier. The routine had developed rather quickly. Sex, sleep, sex, eat, sex, sex, sleep. Once in a while he let her get to the bathroom. At least two of those trips had involved Aislinn running from him. That resulted in a broken bathroom door. He was completely unreasonable. And it annoyed him that she was able to remain partially reasonable. In one of his brief moments of clarity he figured that it was the druid half. For as much as lycan's were instinct driven, druids had always been portrayed to him as logic driven. If Cullen were being more reasonable he would have thought that it was a good balance. At the moment however it was bothering him that she was able to apparently turn it all off when she wanted.

He was in the main room pacing. Aislinn was finally coming out of heat and she had managed to convince him that a shower would be a good idea. She had also worked into that a need for her to shower alone. After about 5 minutes of her being in the bathroom, door or not he was considering dragging her out. This was a vast improvement from the day before. She never would have gotten the water on. 

Aislinn smiled as she felt his frustration. Five more minutes, she reassured him, knowing it would take longer than that, and was rewarded with a mental growl. She laughed. She would have been just as happy to let the omegas come in, clean the place up, and change the bed sheets at this point. How much longer is this going to keep you worked up like this?, she asked him.

Cullen forced himself to be rational for a moment. You're almost done. I wouldn't be capable of waiting impatiently if you weren't. Probably by tomorrow, maybe tonight.  He sighed heavily. He was torn between being relieved and disappointed.

Aislinn smiled again. Haven't you had enough yet?

Mo mhúirnín bán I don't think I can ever get enough of you, he responded sweetly.

That was enough to get Aislinn to cut her shower short. She felt much better having been allowed to clean up a bit. She had been dying to shave and put deodorant on for a couple days now. Even if she knew he was just going to mess her up again. The minute she came out of the bathroom, toweling off, Cullen grabbed her around the waist, threw her over his shoulder, dropping the towel, carried her across the room, and then dumped her across the back of the couch.

Aislinn giggled. She had to admit that she was still feeling a need for him even through the soreness that seemed to be a perpetual state of being at the moment. Her hands were on the couch seat cushions and her rear was up in the air, with her feet dangling just above the floor behind the couch.

"Perfect," Cullen said and his eyes shifted to molten amber. His body shifted into his hybrid form as he fell to his knees behind her. He stared at her sex for a moment. He could still smell the soap she had cleaned herself with. He leaned in close to her sex and he could smell himself on her. 

Cullen growled his excitement and Aislinn could feel his breath on her lower lips. She couldn't see what he was doing but the waiting for him to make his move was driving her crazy. She could feel her cat clawing at her mind and she forced it to be patient. She was enjoying her moment of control. It had been a rare thing this week.

Cullen watched her shiver as she waiting for him to do something to her. He growled again. The fact that he was able to torture her like this was a testament to the fact that her heat was ending. He reached up and stroked her thighs gently, letting his claws draw white lines down her damp skin. Aislinn drew in a sharp breath and adjusted her position on the couch to keep her balance.

Cullen's eyes were focused on her sex. He watch her move and leaned in to smell her again. Aislinn whimpered as she felt his breath on her. He was so close. She wanted to push back so that he'd touch her but there was no way with the position she was in.

He was pleased with her need and frustration. He stared at her neatly shaved pussy. The outer lips were bare except for a patch she left on her mound. He let his tongue snake out and lick at the crease between her inner thigh and her outer lips. She whimpered some more and tried to wiggle so that his tongue would touch the parts she wanted touched.

He took his time, working his tongue over her smooth outer lips. You made me wait. Turn about it fair play, he teased. He dragged his tongue up to her butt and nibbled at each cheek, causing her to giggle and wiggle as he watched. He was enjoying his game, but watching her sex was getting to him. Finally he leaned in close and let his tongue stroke her pink inner lips poking swollen and inviting out of the folds of her sex.

Aislinn moaned appreciatively at the touch, hoping that would spur him on. Cullen managed to hold himself back though. He gently ran his tongue over the pink lips, lapping at the outside and working his tongue into the groove between the inner and out lips of her sex being careful to avoid her clit. 

Aislinn was going crazy. Cullen watched her wiggle and listened to her needy moaning and whimpering. He was thoroughly enjoying this game. "Uh, Cullen!" she demanded, trying to get herself off the couch so that she'd be able to be more active in what was happening.

No you don't, he growled into her mind and gripped her thighs tightly, keeping her from getting enough leverage to move. But he gave her a little more attention in return for behaving. Cullen pushed his wolven nose into her slit and parted her inner lips as he breathed in her scent and his own.

"Ahh," Aislinn moaned. "Cullen please," she begged.

Finally she felt his tongue stoke her clit. It was agonizingly slow and only gently grazed her. But it sent waves of pleasure shooting through her body. Aislinn was shaking with need as Cullen lapped tentatively at her clit and ran his tongue along her slit to her weeping opening before dipping inside and causing more moaning.

He was getting to a point where he wasn't going to be able to keep torturing her, no matter how much he was enjoying the display and her needy moaning. Cullen stood up and took his cock in one hand as he lined up for what he really wanted. 

The knot at the base was already hard and large and would hurt a little as he pushed into her. But he had learned this week that she didn't mind a little pain if he did it right. Aislinn wiggled some more. She was looking back over her shoulder and could see him standing behind her. The waiting was driving her nuts and her cat had gotten a little more of a hold on her. Cullen could see the amber and blue swirling together and there were dark lines and spots starting to bleed onto her pale skin. He was amused at how hard she was trying to keep her control.

He ran the head of his cock up and down her wet slit and this time the moan was tinged with jungle cat. Cullen growled his pleasure right back. Aislinn's head fell forward as Cullen took hold of her hips and lined himself up behind her. With one solid thrust he forced himself inside her. Aislinn winced and groaned. She felt like he had shoved his fist into her. The pain and pleasure mixed deliciously and flowed through her body in alternating waves of bliss and torture. Cullen gave her a moment before he began to move.

Aislinn felt him swelling more as he thrust over and over into her. She leaned further down the couch so that he would press against her clit with each stroke. Cullen dragged it out, listening to her grateful, needy sounds and feeling her cunt squeeze his cock as he humped her relentlessly. He loved hearing her call his name. As they neared the end he grabbed her from the odd angle she was in and pulled her up against him so that her back was pressed against his chest. She pulled her hair to the side for him. She knew what he wanted. He had bitten her again several times over the week and she had returned the gesture twice.

Cullen brought them both to their knees on the carpet. He thrust up into her waiting for her to give in and come. He put his mouth on the join between her shoulder and neck and growled hungrily, knowing how close she was. His clawed hand ran down her stomach and he pressed his fingers roughly against her swollen clit. Aislinn's body jerked in his grip and she came hard, crying out as he sank in his teeth and allowed his own release. 

Neither of them noticed the audience waiting quietly for them to finish. Keith and Sarah stared around the destroyed penthouse in amused awe. They had never seen Cullen's room quite this trashed. The furniture was all askew. Everything normally neatly arranged on his desk was scattered about the floor. Pillows from the couch were thrown about the room. The bathroom door was on its hinges and hanging to the side. There were two broken lamps and the bookshelf was missing one shelf, the contents were on the floor in front of it. They were afraid to look in the bedroom.

Cullen collapsed onto his side, taking Aislinn with him. Then he rolled slightly onto his back, or at least as much as he could with his member lodged firmly in Aislinn's limp body. The wolf retreated again, temporarily. Keith and Sarah actually couldn't have asked for better timing. If they were going to get him in a moment of lucidity it would be right after he had sated the beast.

"Whatever it is it had better be good," Cullen said without looking at Keith or Sarah. He took a deep breath and let it out as he closed his eyes, lying on the floor. 

Aislinn was confused at first. When she looked up and saw Keith and Sarah standing there looking at them she blushed furiously and pulled a stray pillow to herself.

Cullen laughed and tightened his grip on her hip to stop her from trying to escape. You're really going to have to get over this embarrassment issue. Just wait until we mate. If you can't handle people looking what are you going to do when they want to touch as well? Aislinn growled at him.

Sarah cleared her throat. "What do think the omegas are going to think of this mess. I don't think you could have made it any more apparent what's going on up here if you made a general announcement," she said with annoyance, partially testing the waters to see how reasonable he was going to be.

Keith held his breath waiting for a response.

"So don't have them come for the clean up until after the mating ceremony," he said. "Why are you up here? I didn't call down with the all clear. So it must be urgent. Terrick?"

"You're sounding alright," Keith said grinning, figuring he'd get away with a comment or two.

Cullen stretched and looked over at them. His eyes narrowed as he focused on Sarah's concerned face. "I think we'll be done by this evening or morning. What's wrong?" he said much more insistently. He didn't like the fact that it was third time he asked. They were avoiding telling him.

"Cadifor," she said. That was all she said.

Cullen groaned and let his head fall back onto the floor with a thud. "When?"

"About ten minutes ago," Sarah said.

Keith grinned widely. "You guys really have trashed this place," he said enthusiastically. "Can't wait til the mating ceremony. This is going to be good."

Aislinn pulled the pillow over her face, Keith chuckled, and Cullen and Sarah glared at Keith. "Enough," Cullen growled. He sighed heavily. "All good things," he said contemplatively. "Did he say what he wanted?"

"No."

Cullen growled. "Fine. Give me my phone."

Aislinn turned and glared at him. "You can't be serious," she said in disbelief.

Cullen looked at her like she was being ridiculous. "It's not like he can see us. I have to find out what he wants."

Sarah and Keith rooted through the mess on the floor. Keith started laughing. "Where is your phone?"

Aislinn growled. "It's probably in the bedroom."

"Temper, temper," Keith snickered. "I bet you didn't complain while you were helping to make the mess."

Cullen smiled amused and Aislinn elbowed him for the thought. "Alright," he said holding his side where she got him.

Sarah managed to find the phone on one of the end stands next to the bed. The only one still standing actually. She grabbed the phone and a blanket from the floor. Aislinn gave her a grateful smile as Sarah handed her the blanket and Cullen his phone.

"How are you going to handle-" Sarah started.

"I know, the mating ceremony," Aislinn interrupted.

"Well at least he told you about it," Sarah said a bit relieved.

Aislinn shook her head. "No, he's just implied. He hasn't explained. But chances are I'm imagining something worse than it will actually be?" she asked hopefully.

Sarah looked thoughtful. "I don't know about that."

"Shh," Cullen growled as he finished paging through the numbers and found Cadifor's name in the contacts list. He hit the button and the phone only rang once before an angry voice picked up. Aislinn felt concern surge through Cullen. "Arnauk," he said.

"Where the hell are you?" Cadifor growled.

"Where I always am. Why?"

"Cullen you were summoned to a meeting three days ago. No word. No appearance. You better have a damn good explanation."

"I can honestly say I never received word that I was due at a meeting." Cullen looked at Keith and Sarah and they both shook their heads uncertainly.

"We called the pack heads for a council. The government it on our asses. For the first time in centuries we've been contacted by the Circle. You wrote the reports that instigated all of it and you never received our message," Cadifor ranted. "Fine. I'll accept that. I'm going to have the messenger tracked down and find out who did receive the message. You need to find out why all the calls from anyone less than me have been intercepted and rerouted to avoid getting a hold of you for three days. In the mean time, get your ass here."

"By nightfall," Cullen said gravely and then heard the other end of the line click. 

"Well?" Keith said as Cullen let the phone fall away from his head. "Don't keep us in suspense."

"The government and the Circle. And a missing message." Cullen didn't have to track down why the lackey's phone calls were intercepted. He'd told them not to disturb him. "Keith, find out why I didn't get it. Sarah what's going to happen when I go downstairs?"

"Honestly, if you're referring to you and Aislinn and all this, I don't really think there's much to worry about. Most of the pack is okay with us pretending you're behaving. There are just a few elders who are siding with Terrick and think you should have shown Godlike restraint and waited until it was appropriately condoned by the elder council. It won't be too bad. But don't expect them to not be suspicious," she said. "And I'd like to point out that you've used up your allotment of me taking the fall for you for quite some time."

Cullen looked over at Sarah gratefully. "Thank you," he said.

Instantly her anger faded. It was kind of hard to glare and stay angry at the guy when he was in such a compromised position on the floor and thanking her for helping him get there. "I'll survive. Besides, I'm assuming Aislinn doesn't get to go with you to the Pack Council. At which point the heat will all be on her once you're gone."

Keith started laughing. "Did you say it that way on purpose," he chuckled, knowing that she didn't. 

"That wasn't that funny," Cullen growled at him and Sarah rolled her eyes. "Both of you get out of here. I need a car ready to leave within the hour. I'll be down as soon as possible." Luckily Aislinn's heat was so close to being over. He didn't really know what he would have done if he'd gotten the message when it was originally sent.

****************************

Hopefully things are starting to clear up and tie together. So far no one has asked for anything I haven't already accounted for. If you're missing something let me know.

Thanks for reading.

Please vote!



Leader of the Pack Ch. 21



Aislinn crawled onto the disheveled bed, dragging a blanket with her. The pillows were strewn across the floor but she didn't care. She just wanted to get some sleep. She could hear the shower running and knew that Cullen would be leaving the minute he got out. She couldn't decide if she was happy or upset about that. Her body desperately needed a break and at the very same time didn't want one. Aislinn closed her eyes and instantly fell into a sleep that could only be induced by days of sex and exhaustion.

Cullen knew the minute she fell asleep. The soft murmur in the back of his mind that told him she was concerned about him leaving faded into a nondescript whisper of contentment. He smiled to himself. He didn't care how it happened. She was his and he was pleased about it. The pack elders could go to hell and he'd tell them as much if they caused any trouble. The pack was technically only a democracy in as much as the alpha was willing to let it be.

He snuck into the bedroom and pulled some clothes out of the closet. He didn't want to wake her up. Cullen dressed in his standard black jeans, black shirt, and whatever. Then he went over to the bed and placed a gentle kiss on Aislinn's forehead before sneaking back out of the room. He ignored the mess that the place was in. He didn't even want to think about what the omegas would say to the rest of the pack when they got back from cleaning the mess up. He never pulled anything like that before. He grinned happily thinking about it. It certainly has been a nice week. 

Cullen managed to get to the garage and on the road in short order. He spent the entire drive dwelling about Cadifor's phone call. 





Leader of the Pack Ch. 21



Jenna got up and left. She was more than a little nervous. Those damn druids had better be ready for me when I return.

Cadifor looked at Cullen as the door closed. "You don't believe her."

Cullen shook his head. "I know Jenna. She's up to something. It can't be the same as what Rafe was doing. But I don't know what she could possibly want with druids and a formula to create weres. Though I agree with you. I shouldn't have suggested the feds go after Jenna. We're going to have to get those books out of the Tairneach manor before someone else gets them."

"Not that simple. We can't just go raiding the Tairneach manor. It violates any number of laws we've laid out. The Pack Council cannot be involved. Since I've called this meeting and approached her already there is no way a raid wouldn't be seen as associated with the Council. We'll have to find another way."

Cullen growled. "The bitch has been causing me headaches since she was old enough to spread her legs. I don't see why I couldn't just deal with it and claim it was territory dispute."

Cadifor smiled at his friend. "Because you would never normally do that and everyone knows it. For now we'll hold the meeting. Deal with the feds. And wait and see what she's doing."

"What are you going to tell the others?"

"The same thing I originally intended to tell them. The same thing I just told Jenna. The Circle is real and they want our help. I'll have them keeping an eye on the druids on their territory. That will make it harder for Jenna to take any more of them for whatever she's doing. And it will have us keeping an eye on them at the same time. Two birds, one nicely legitimate stone."

Cullen cleared his throat. "Now that the serious topic has been dealt with, you coming to the mating ceremony?"

Cadifor smiled broadly. "Of course. I wouldn't miss scenting the woman who managed to get her claws into you." He chuckled. "When?"

"Probably this week. I'll need to talk to Sarah. She's been arranging things. But since Aislinn was in heat last week we're going to have to get the ceremony over with in relatively short order. Just in case." He was grinning again.





Leader of the Pack Ch. 21



"Okay," Aislinn smiled. "So I'm not getting killed when you get back?"

"Not this time," he said. "Goodbye." Then he hung up the phone.

Cadifor looked at Cullen as he replaced his phone in his pocket with the ringer off. "Well," he said with a superior tone. All the others at the table were grumbling and growling.

"I'll tell you in private," Cullen responded. There was no other way to deal with it. Aislinn's timing had been lousy. But the call had been necessary.

Cadifor's eyes narrowed on Cullen. "Then I suggest we finish the meeting and I'll deal with you afterward. I have to admit Arnauk, you're disappointing me." Cadifor's comment and tone had the other lycans looking at Cullen with delight. Most of them were tired of the favoritism. For once Cullen was on the short end and they were loving it.

Jenna chuckled inwardly. She batted her eyes at Cullen and licked her lips temptingly. Something about him being in trouble with Cadifor was turning her on. She felt her own cell vibrate and she took it out of her pocket under the table. Cullen watched her glance down and read something from the face. She flipped it up and read something else. Then she closed it. 

Jenna flashed Cullen another smile as if to say, 'That's how you get a message while in a meeting.' 

Cadifor took a good hour asking each lycan at the table questions about the possible druid population on their territory and describing what to look for. "They don't tend to interact in a significant way with anything. They're there for gaining knowledge and sharing knowledge. They know a great deal more than any human you run into and tend to behave as such."

"That's not much to go on," Sean said. "It's not like we can read minds to know who knows the most and then ask if they're a druid."

"The Circle has instructed the ones who need assistance to approach the packs in their areas. They'll find you. I just want you to make sure you're helping the right people," Cadifor said as if that should have been understood. "There's to be no aggression toward them. The Pack Council wants to cultivate this relationship. Answer their questions; participate in the search for their people. But above all there is to be no government involvement with them. If the feds ask, send them in a different direction. Don't deny involvement or outright lie. But don't go leading them to the Circle either. They're set up similarly to us. They each have a 'family' unit that's referred to by a name in each of their areas and they each have a representative on a larger scale similar to our Pack Council. I'm told on some authority," Cadifor said sarcastically, "that we modeled our structure after theirs. So know that if you mess with one group," he looked at several lycans in the room in particular, "you're not only messing with that group but the whole of the Circle and, through our new relationship, the Pack Council. Don't do anything stupid. They've been in your territory for as long as it's been your territory. They're not a threat. But they could be a powerful ally. Am I completely understood?"

Cadifor glared at each lycan at the table in turn. The rest of the Council sat with him showing silent support of his lecture. Cullen couldn't help but think that the show Cadifor was playing out for Jenna was spectacular.

As Cadifor finished the other Pack Council members stood and walked out, leaving Cadifor to conduct any personal business with his group. Cullen wondered if he had ever heard another Council member speak in the whole of the time he had been attending these meetings. Fortunately Cadifor didn't have anything further to add to the meeting this time. Everyone was dismissed from the room, except Cullen.

Cadifor leveled a glare on Cullen that was far from wasted on the men and women leaving the large room. As the last of them filtered out and the door closed behind them Cullen smiled at Cadifor and shook his head. "I don't know if I should applaud the act or cower submissively in a corner."

Cadifor returned the smile. "Was I so transparent?"

"No," Cullen said. "But none of them were present for our prior conversation. And you had me shaking a couple times. I do apologize for the phone call."

Cadifor nodded. "So what was it?" His curiosity was killing him.

"Aislinn had another vision. Do you know how to contact someone named Nora Senach?"

Cadifor's brow furrowed. "Where'd you get that name?"

"A man in Aislinn's vision told her to give a message to Nora Senach."

"Well, then let's go talk to Nora," Cadifor said. "She's upstairs."

**************************

Alright, so it's taking more than 3-4 chapters to finish. But I did warn all of you that it might. 

But we are getting closer… This time mean it.

Vote, feedback, you know the drill. 



Leader of the Pack Ch. 22



Jenna watched the others all head in different directions. She knew she wouldn't be missed. She hadn't been wanted in the first place. She stopped and looked at herself in a large mirror on the wall. She studied her curves, her hips, her breasts. She looked at her eyes and her full lips. Her heart was racing with excitement. She looked back in the direction that everyone had come from to see if there was anyone else around.

When she was confident she wouldn't be seen, she headed for the front door. Jenna let herself out and couldn't help the little jog in her step as she headed for her jeep. She pulled out her phone as she got into the car and texted Maon to let him know to expect her before morning. 





Leader of the Pack Ch. 22



Cerdwyn started to protest, but Jacob shot her a hard look and she gave in. "That's why Rafe needed the ley lines. The process of instilling a being with that much power is contrary to laws of balance that nature works on. It either requires time and patience, which you have told us to ignore or more power. Rafe drew on the power that occurs at the site on the Arnauk reservation to compensate for the natural inclination of fates to force the receiver of the power to endure an equally powerful back lash."

Jenna smiled content with that answer. "Maon, make sure the druid gets something to eat and some sleep." He nodded. "Actually let them all have a short break for not giving me a hard time with getting an answer." She had expected at least some argument. So she was feeling generous. 

Jenna walked out of the room and Maon followed her. "Any other orders," he asked.

She stood a moment looking off into nothing. Maon could almost see the wheels turning in her mind. "Yes, gather a group of volunteers. Make sure they know what they are in for. But introduce them to Devon and explain the benefits. Anyone who wished to undergo the change is to be provided the ability to do so." Jenna refocused on him. "Then report to my room. I believe I promised you a reward for your efforts tonight." She smiled at him and then headed down the hall toward her room, making sure to swing her hips enticingly for Maon as she went. 





Leader of the Pack Ch. 22



This is why I'll deal with the rest of the crap, she thought to herself as she felt his obsessive thoughts about her. She closed her eyes and let herself drift in their bond for a moment. Cullen's annoyance and concern brought her back to reality rather harshly. Aislinn looked at him questioningly.

Cullen put the phone down. "I don't remember the last time that fool didn't answer on the first ring."

"Maybe something's wrong. That seems to be the theme of late," she suggested and Cullen growled. Then Aislinn smiled widely. "Or Jaylyn could be having the babies."

Cullen nodded. "That's entirely possible. It seems like she's been pregnant forever." He headed out of the office and Aislinn had to jump to follow him. He stopped at Sarah's office and there was no one there. On the way back through the great room Cullen looked around for the usual group and didn't see anyone. The two of them got in the elevator and headed for the beta floor.

Getting out of the elevator answered the mystery. Aislinn had to be right. The floor was far more active than usual. The beta common room was packed with excited people and there was an unusually large number of omegas walking back and forth from the living quarters.

Cullen and Aislinn headed down the hall toward Keith's room. Aislinn grabbed Cullen's arm. "Do you really think they need more people in there?"

Cullen looked over at her. He stopped momentarily and smiled at her. 

"Don't start," she said, blocking his hopeful thoughts about her being pregnant out of her head. 

Cullen grinned at her annoyance. "I'm just going to check in and then we're going to go deal with Cadifor and Makeda. I don't intend to stand around and watch. Jay would probably kill me."

Aislinn followed him down the hall. "Are all male lycans this obsessive about getting their women pregnant," she said softly to him.

"Like I said before, that's what mating's for," he answered as he poked his head into the doorway of the front room. Keith's room was set up similarly to his own, just smaller. There was a sitting room off the hallway. Sarah was holding Keith back from the bedroom door. Cullen smiled. He nodded at Sarah who gave him a frustrated eye roll.

Cullen ducked back out into the hall with a huge grin. "Yeah, she's having the pups," he said. "Come on. I put Cadifor and Makeda down the hall."

"Pups," Aislinn said contemplatively. 

Cullen looked over at her concerned face and started laughing. "Or babies, whatever you want to call them." He grabbed her hand and kissed it as they walked.

"Sure, babies would probably be a better term considering I'm a cat and you're a dog. What exactly do you think we'll have?"

Cullen shrugged. "Doesn't matter as long as they're yours and mine." He looked so pleased by the idea that Aislinn couldn't help but smile back at him.

Cullen knocked on Cadifor's door. It opened almost immediately. Makeda stepped back from the door and waved them both in. "This must be the woman you turned me down for," she said as she smiled at Aislinn and her eyes roamed over Aislinn's body. "I don't feel so offended now."

Aislinn looked over at Cullen questioningly. Aislinn didn't think she had ever seen such a beautiful woman as the one standing there and undressing her with her eyes.

"Aislinn this is Makeda," he said as if that was an excellent explanation.

Makeda's eyes never left Aislinn. "Cadifor is still in the bathroom. What's all the commotion?"

"Keith's mate is having a liter. It's been expected for some time now. There's a lot of excitement. I have to apologize. I put you both up here because it's usually more calm on this floor. The excitement is normally on the main common floor."

Makeda's smile sparkled at him, eliciting a growl from Aislinn. "No apologies. A liter is a blessing. I'd endure a great deal more noise and commotion for that reason." She looked at Aislinn again. "I'll not touch him without permission," she smiled. Then walked up to Aislinn and ran a hand down her arm. "I'll not make such promises about you, however." She grinned deviously over her shoulder at Cullen.

Cadifor came out of the bathroom as he dried off. Cullen watched Aislinn's eyes shift from Makeda to the naked blonde. Cadifor had scars all over his body from centuries of fighting. Aislinn looked over the unusually pale man. 

"Careful," Makeda said in fake confidentiality. "You'll give Cadifor ideas if he feels your eyes caress him so freely."

"Keda," Cadifor said sharply. "I told you not to cause trouble."

"And you know I take no orders from you," she replied unconcerned as she walked across the room and ran a hand over Cadifor's stomach, dangerously close to his cock before going over to lounge on the bed. She looked over the people in the room with pleasure. "This would be a fun group. I have no doubt."

Cadifor didn't seem at all phased by either the fact that he was naked in front of Aislinn or that Makeda was being so sexually aggressive. Aislinn looked over at Cullen, who didn't seem affected by the situation either. So what would you do if I took her up on her offer, Aislinn thought at Cullen.

He looked over at her with raised eyebrows, amused at her unsure tone. I didn't know you were interested in that kind of thing, he responded trying to not look like he was having a conversation.

Cadifor looked from one of them to the other and then raised his eyebrows at Cullen. "If Keith's busy then I'll assume it's just you and I." He started pulling his clothes on.

"Yeah, Aislinn's going to show Makeda around. You and I will finish getting a hold of the people we need to talk with. I'm assuming that Malik is downstairs by now. They were all supposed to arrive by this morning. But with Jaylyn going into labor I haven't been able to get any of the normal people in one spot to get the information. It's still early."

Cadifor smiled. "I always did like the fact that your pack is less rank and order and more family."

Cullen didn't know how to respond to the compliment. Cadifor looked Aislinn over briefly. "So this is the one with the visions. Pretty," he said. 

Aislinn nodded respectfully to Cadifor. Cullen stood patiently as his friend approached Aislinn and walked around her looking her over as if she were livestock at a fair. He leaned into her and smelled her hair deeply. Cullen took a deep breath, but dealt with it. He knew he'd have to cope with a lot of males checking Aislinn out soon enough.

Cadifor's eyes shifted from the icy amber to a golden glow and he stepped away from Aislinn as if he'd been bitten. He looked over at Cullen. "I see," he said and Cullen nodded in return. "We'd better get going," Cadifor said. "But I have to admit, I won't argue if Makeda talks her into some play."

Cullen and Cadifor went to the door and headed out. Aislinn caught a look from Cullen as they left. He was leaving it up to her. When Aislinn looked back over at Makeda the woman was smiling broadly. 

"You're surprised," Makeda said to her. "By what?"

"Sorry," Aislinn sighed. "I'm still relatively new around here. I seem to run into something I find surprising on a daily basis. I was raised human. I've only been around here a little over a month. It's been an adjustment to say the least."

Makeda smiled at her wickedly. "Well, I've been around for a long time. And," she got up from the bed and walked over to Aislinn. "I'd be more than happy to help you adjust."

"Why don't we start with that tour I was told to give you," Aislinn said.

Makeda shrugged. "Whatever you like. I tend to find people much more interesting than buildings. But anything's better than sitting in this room all day."





Leader of the Pack Ch. 22



Keith and Malik walked into Cullen's office with smirks on their faces. Without a word Keith walked over to the nearest chair and plopped down then propped his feet on the edge of Cullen's desk, right on top of some papers Sarah had been writing on. Sarah looked as though she might rip his head off. 

Cadifor shook his head. Keith and his blatant lack of concern for superiors was interesting. Cadifor gave him credit for appearing to know when to turn it on and off, but this wasn't one of those occasions. 

Keith looked around at all the glaring people. Malik at least had the courtesy to wipe the smirk off his face. "Okay okay, I give in I'll tell. Guess why I can't find out when Jenna intends to attack." There were more glares. "Alright I'll give you a hint."

"Keith," Cullen growled. "Enough."

Cadifor smirked this time. At Cullen's tone the look on Keith's face immediately vanished and he sat up in the chair. Sarah brushed the paperwork off and gave him the kind of amused look a big sister gets on her face when little brother is getting yelled at by dad.

"Sorry," Keith said. "I just find it amusing. From what I just found out it seems that the reason I haven't been able to track down when she intends to come over the border is because she's trying to find out when the mating ceremony is. I think her plan is to hit the ceremony. Turn about being fair play so to speak. She's pissed that you and her got interrupted so she's looking for revenge. Actually when I stopped and thought about it I wondered why we hadn't come up with it in the first place."

Cullen sat back in his chair. "I wish I knew how to stop this. It's pointless. I had really hoped, after Rafe was dealt with, that Jenna had gotten a grip and would back off."

Keith shrugged. "Jenna's too much like her mother. In any case the rest of what I found out is that she's already started turning people. She's got a number of families in the pack looking to find shelter somewhere. I thought I'd ask you before I suggested we could offer asylum."

Cullen nodded. "We have too many ties with the Tairneach. Do we know how many of ours mated into their pack over the years?" Cullen looked at Sarah.

"I could find out. Do you really want to know," she asked.

"No. It was just a thought. Anyway. Yeah, offer asylum. But on the off chance that it's a trick keep them separate from our own for now. Anything else?"

Keith grinned again. "The best part. She knows we're importing people for the mating. But it seems that she intends to go ahead with the attack anyway. So she's either mad or stupid. At least that's what the Tairneach are saying. So, pick a good day for a fight. I'll leak the info. We'll be set."

Cadifor sat grumbling. "How did Brennus manage her?"

Malik cleared his throat. "I hate to point this out, but considering the information we were able to retrieve from the Tairneach and all the precautions I took with the information that left here with messengers and over the phones, I think it can be assumed that the Tairneach are getting their information from inside your pack."

Cullen growled. "That's why the elder were fed the story they were given. Keith, find out who. After all the caoch with Rafe I thought we had it taken care of."

Sarah looked at Cullen sympathetically. If there was one thing that could piss Cullen off this was it. He'd had too many issues with loyalty lately. "Cullen, there's a chance that the information wasn't leaked to cause trouble. You didn't tell anyone not to speak to the Tairneach about it. There are a lot of shared families, like you said. I could have just gotten out."

"That's what Keith is going to find out," Cullen said with emphasis.





Leader of the Pack Ch. 23



Cullen had decided that the less time Jenna had the better. Cadifor called in quite a few favors. But it looked as though they were going to pull it off. The group had eaten dinner, finished their phone calls, and the mating was set for the next day at sunset. Cullen sent as many lycans ahead to the reservation that evening as could be managed. The rest would follow the next day.

There was some argument as to whether Keith would be joining them. He refused to allow Jaylyn to leave the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh and he didn't want to leave her with just omegas to look after her. In the end she insisted that he go and leave her in peace for the night. She had her hands full with Eiros and Eira. Even so Keith decided to remain behind and with Jaylyn for as long as possible. Mostly he held her gently while she slept.

The den was eerily quiet that night. Cullen, Cadifor, Aislinn, and Makeda sat with bottles and glasses in hand in the main room of the penthouse. Cullen and Cadifor had been laughing and telling stories in an attempt to one up each other on situations that had they had been in which were worse than this. Makeda was watching Aislinn hopefully and refilling her glass as it emptied.

When Aislinn stood shakily and walked away from the men Makeda followed her. "Are you alright?"

Aislinn ran her hand over her stomach and looked over at Cullen shaking her head. "I'm nervous, uncertain. Have you ever done this before?"

"Mating? Yes. Once." Makeda's eyes took on a lost look for a moment. "A very long time ago. He's been lost to me for over a century now."

Aislinn looked at her sympathetically.

"No pity," Makeda said with a strange strength. "I choose to believe that what time we had was worth an eternity alone if only for the memories we made."

Aislinn sighed. "I don't like not knowing what to expect. And I especially don't like having to do a public performance."

"Why? What difference does it make if others watch? Will you behave differently? Do you think you might do something wrong?" Makeda was obviously amused.

Aislinn felt the alcohol spin the room gently about her. "I don't know. I'm just not ready for this."

Makeda stepped closer to her and Aislinn laid her head on Makeda's shoulder. "You're ready. You're stronger than you think," she said and started stroking Aislinn's hair.

Aislinn looked up and Makeda's hand traveled down her back sending shivers along Aislinn's spine. Aislinn could hear Cadifor and Cullen laughing in the background. Between the wine and Makeda she felt like she was on fire. 

Makeda smiled at the look in Aislinn's eyes and leaned closer to her. "How drunk are you?"

"Not as drunk as I should be for what I'm thinking. But drunk enough for it to look like an excellent excuse," she said softly.

Makeda laughed softly and leaned in to kiss her. Aislinn responded much more eagerly than Makeda had expected her to. Aislinn's hand stroked Makeda's cheek and slid back into her hair. Aislinn's lips parted as Makeda's tongue stroked her mouth asking for entrance. The women took turns tasting the wine on each other's lips.

Cullen and Cadifor were so engrossed in their conversation that they missed it all at first. It was the sense of arousal that flowed through Cullen's mind suddenly that caught his attention. It was strange to feel Aislinn excited and not be part of the reason. Cullen looked over at the two of them standing near the fireplace. He sat farther back in his chair and nodded in their direction. 

Cadifor followed Cullen's gaze. He chuckled and shook his head. "Leave it to Makeda. I was never able to tell her no. Seems like Aislinn's having trouble with that as well." He looked over at Cullen. "You gonna stop it this time?"

Cullen shook his head. "As long as she's okay with it I don't see a reason to stop it." He leaned forward as Makeda's hands began to work their way beneath Aislinn's shirt.

Aislinn's skin was burning up. When Makeda's fingers pressed into her flesh along her waist she let a soft moan escape into Makeda's mouth. They stopped kissing and looked into each other's eyes. Molten amber met glowing gold and the two of them smiled. Aislinn bit playfully at Makeda's lips, then stepped back and pulled her shirt off. She dropped it on the floor and much to everyone's surprise she took Makeda by the hand and headed for the bedroom. 

A sense of incredible disappointment stopped her as she reached the doorway. She turned to look at Cullen who was watching them head for the bedroom with a frustrated look on his face. She looked at Makeda and the two of them started to laugh. "Well come on then," she said to Cullen. Then she looked at Makeda and doubt seeped into her features.

Makeda read the look easily. "So there's ground rules," she said reassuring Aislinn. Then she looked over at the two eagerly approaching men. "Cullen keeps himself to you. And Cadifor can wait until he's invited. I've got not claims to him. He can do as he likes." She gave him a warning gaze. "But I suggest he stick to known territory for now."

Cadifor laughed and threw his hands up. "If I'm not wanted," he started.

Aislinn looked at Cullen. He felt her uncertainty and nearly suggested that he and Cadifor could go downstairs for a while. She shook her head. "I'd rather someone show me what's going to happen tomorrow." Cullen knew she didn't necessarily like the idea. But she'd rather know exactly what she was in for.

"I think we can handle that," he said. 

Aislinn nodded resolutely and then walked into the bedroom still pulling Makeda happily along behind her. Cullen and Cadifor stood back while the women undressed each other. Makeda and Aislinn were kissing again. Makeda was doing her best to remind Aislinn why she had originally thought this was a good idea. 

Aislinn pulled Makeda's shirt over her head and kissed the bare skin on her shoulders as Makeda unhooked Aislinn's bra. Slowly, in between caresses the rest of the women's clothing found its way to the floor. Aislinn's lips traveled down Makeda's collar bone and then breast. When she reached Makeda's hard nipple she ran her tongue around the bud before drawing it into her mouth and sucking and biting it. Makeda growled hungrily. 

The scent of arousal emanated through the room. Makeda pulled Aislinn down onto the bed, sparing a wicked look at the men as she straddled Aislinn's waist and pinned her down. Not that Aislinn was putting up a struggle. Makeda stroked the flesh around Aislinn's breasts, working her way in gentle touches to her nipples and then she pinched the hard knots viciously as she leaned in to capture Aislinn's moan with her mouth.

The kissing and touching took a sudden needy turn. Aislinn rolled Makeda to her back and knelt above Makeda's head. Leaning down she bit playfully at Makeda's thighs. Makeda pulled on Aislinn's hips as she let Aislinn press her legs apart. Aislinn took in Makeda's musky arousal. She smelled a little spicey and hot. Aislinn leaned in to taste her. 

Makeda growled wantonly and pulled Aislinn's sex to her own mouth. Her tongue danced in Aislinn's wet folds. Aislinn pressed a finger and then two into Makeda's open slit. There was more growling as they took turns sucking on each other's clits. 

Cullen and Cadifor didn't know how long to hold back. They stood there watching and tentatively stroking themselves as the women licked at each other. Cadifor was the one who gave in first. Mostly because he was less concerned for Aislinn's reluctance than the others were. He knelt on the bed between Makeda's legs. 

The movement drew Aislinn's attention and she looked up to see the strange foggy golden eyes of Cadifor looking down at her. His member was rock hard. His hand stroked Aislinn's hair. Cullen stood by considering what he would do if Aislinn changed her mind. Aislinn sat up a bit and Cadifor moved in closer to Makeda. He watched Aislinn with amusement as she stared down at his cock while he pushed into Makeda. Aislinn felt a rumbling vibration against her clit as Makeda growled her pleasure at the intrusion of Cadifor's cock. Aislinn closed her eyes and felt the delicious sensation surge through her.

Cadifor growled as he moved in Makeda. He leaned down and whispered into Aislinn's ear. "You don't have to stop. She loves it when someone licks her clit." 

Aislinn stared down at the man's huge member sliding slowly in and out of Makeda's pussy. It had to have been one of the most erotic things she had ever seen. She leaned back down and let her tongue stroke Makeda's clit. There was no real way to go about it without taking in Cadifor's scent or brushing the base of his cock as her fucked her. The taste of Makeda's sex mingled with Cadifor and Aislinn found that it was much more pleasant than she had originally thought it would be. 

Having established that he wouldn't have to come to Aislinn's rescue Cullen found himself the only one left out. He stepped up to the edge of the bed where Aislinn was kneeling. He felt Makeda's tongue snake up to taste the pre-cum on his cock. He felt her tongue dragging along the length of his cock as he pushed into Aislinn. He couldn't help the moan of pleasure that escaped as he filled her. 

The room was filled with moans and the scent of sex as the men's thrusts increased into the women. Aislinn was overwhelmed. The taste, the smell and the feel of the entire situation was nothing like she had thought it would be. She was the first one to release. She felt it building deep in her stomach. Between the assault on her senses from watching Cadifor pound into Makeda as she tasted it and felling Makeda's tongue lap at her clit as Cullen thrust into her she couldn't handle it. Cullen growled with pleasure as he felt Aislinn's body tense in his hands and her orgasm surge through his mind. 

Aislinn cried out and he had to hold her up to keep her from collapsing on top of Makeda. He pulled her up so that her back was against his chest as he continued to pound up into her body. Makeda pushed a growling Cadifor back so that she could turn around and give him a better angle. Cadifor grabbed a hold of her hips roughly as she stood on her hands and knees in front of him. He plunged back into her and began thrusting harder than before. 

Makeda growled and moved forward so that she could get to Aislinn. There was a brief struggle between Makeda and Cadifor as he tried to pull her back to himself for better leverage and she tried to move forward to play with Aislinn as he fucked her. Makeda won the contest of wills and Cadifor gave in and moved forward on the bed.

Aislinn moaned and wiggled as Makeda leaned down and began licking at her clit again. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over Aislinn. She reached up and held on to Cullen's arm that was wrapped around her chest supporting her. Makeda reached up and began to stroke the base of Cullen's cock with one hand as he thrust up into Aislinn. The growling and moaning got louder and louder as the four of them moved closer and closer to their climaxes. 

Cullen started to shift. His wolf surged forward to take control. Somewhere in the haze of sex rushing through her Aislinn heard him in her mind. She only barely registered what he was saying to her. This is what will happen tomorrow night, he growled.

Aislinn could feel him swelling inside her. His thrusts became more manic. Aislinn had long since lost the ability to do anything beyond moan incoherently through the pleasure onslaught. She felt his claws dig into her body and then his mouth on her shoulder. Cullen bit down on her as he started to come. Blood rushed into his mouth as Aislinn cried out and came again. Her body jerked in his arms. Makeda rolled away from Cadifor as he pulled out of her and jerked madly on his cock before spraying cum across her stomach. Makeda moaned happily and ran a finger through the mess he had made before putting it in her mouth. 

Cadifor grinned at Makeda then looked hungrily at the other couple. Cullen and Aislinn were still trembling and clinging to one another. From the looks of things Cadifor figured that he and Makeda were done here for the night. He crawled across the bed shifting into a large snow white wolf. Aislinn looked at the beautiful animal as it approached her. Cullen was licking at the wound he had created on her shoulder and was ignoring Cadifor. He sniffed at Aislinn's sex. Cullen was still inside her and would be for some time yet. Cadifor's tongue snacked out and he ran it along the join between the two, tasting the mixed scents. A rumble of approval issued from his chest and then he turned and jumped down from the bed.

Makeda watched the two of them collapse on the bed. Cullen wrapped himself possessively around Aislinn. He was already trying to coax her into round two and Aislinn wasn't putting up much of a fight against it. They gave the obvious impression that the other couple wasn't invited to the next session of fun though.

Makeda was in no way surprised that it had gone that far. She watched as Cullen, in his hybrid form, pulled Aislinn to her knees again. She was this tiny little thing beneath the large dark lycan. But she was certainly holding her own against him. Makeda smiled and went to join Cadifor, making a mental note to coax Aislinn into another couples night before they left. Cadifor grabbed her roughly and pulled her to the floor with him. She laughed and let him have his way. 

"Again?" He growled into her ear and she laughed. 

"Let's leave them alone," she said, pushed him off of her and started grabbing her clothes up off of the floor, while he chased her around the room.





Leader of the Pack Ch. 23



"This is ridiculous. I don't wear makeup like this," she groused. "He's just going to mess it up anyway."

"You said you were going to cooperate," Sarah warned.

Aislinn growled in response and the two women laughed. After some time they were satisfied with her face and her hair. She had managed to convince them to leave it down. "It's either a pony tail or long. I don't do twists or whatever else you want to do to it." So they let her win that one. They used a curling iron but ultimately it lay in long brown waves down her back. When they stepped back and gave her a satisfied look, Aislinn got up and went after the dress again.

"Don't put it on yet," Sarah said. That was when Sarah held up the box that Cullen had given her. "Cullen picked these out for you," she smiled. "Let's see if he has any taste," she added as she handed the box to Aislinn.

Aislinn's stomach fluttered a bit. He'd never given her a present before. She wished he had given it to her himself instead of leaving it with Sarah. She opened the lid on the black box to see a great deal of white gold and diamonds. The three of them gasped in delight.

"They're beautiful," Aislinn said, breathing again.

Sarah made her put the box down so that she could help her put the jewelry on. There were quite a few pieces of jewelry. They were all made of heavy, loose fitting white gold rope chains that had diamonds dangling from different lengths of smaller delicate chains so that it looked like it was raining diamonds from the heavy chain. There was one for her ankle, one to wear around her waist, and one for around her neck. There were barrettes for her hair as well. That resulted in a great deal more fussing. They were all fitted loosely enough that they wouldn't be broken when Aislinn shifted into her hybrid form. 

"It's considered bad luck," Sarah explained. "Not to mention it would really suck to mess this set up." She held up her skirt so that Aislinn could see the golden chain around her ankle. It was simple and very pretty. "Drake bought this one for me when we were mated. He didn't quite have the resources that Cullen does though."

Aislinn looked at herself in the mirror. She had to admit that the affect was beautiful. The light in the room danced off the diamonds. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. Both Sarah and Makeda could see her nerves failing her again. The jewelry scared her. I'm not really in his league, she thought. I can be dressed up. But this isn't me. Aislinn felt a strange calm from the back of her mind reassuring her. 

Cullen, she asked him. Are you sure you want me? I mean. This is so much.

 Cullen was talking to a small group of men he had just been introduced to. He took a sip from his drink and tried to send Aislinn as much reassurance as he could. Calm down. It's a little late for you to change your mind. That conversation should have taken place before the last time we were here.

 Aislinn could feel how amused he was that she was this nervous. Cullen, she started but didn't even know what she was thinking.

He answered something that someone asked him but it wasn't quite the right answer. He cleared his throat and took another drink out of his cup and looked around the room so he wouldn't have to participate in the conversation he had been having before Aislinn called out to him. My love, I want you more than I could every say. And I hope you want me. You don't have to come down here. I know I'm asking a lot of you in this and I didn't even really discuss the situation with you. It's up to you. Cullen's worry shifted at that point from the possibility of Jenna's attack to the reality that Aislinn was just nervous enough to bolt. 

Aislinn could feel his entire train of thought shift from Jena and how she had dominated his mind for days now to being scared to death that she was going to leave him, that he had pushed too much on her in too little time, and that she didn't want him enough to be capable of putting up with his life. I'm not going anywhere. I love you too much for that, she told him. But that didn't help his new upset. He wasn't sure he believed her. Aislinn decided that she needed to hurry.

Makeda and Sarah could see the vague look in her eyes and knew she was having a private conversation. From the look on her face it was serious enough to leave her be until it was over. 

Suddenly Aislinn's vision seemed to clear and a new resolve over took her features. "Are we almost done?"

"Yeah," Sarah said. "Are you okay?"

Aislinn took a deep breath. "No. But I will be. I want to go down and see Cullen. You guys don't do that bride before wedding bullshit do you?"

"No," Sarah said in concern at her tone.

"So then I can put the dress on now?"

"Yeah."

Sarah and Makeda exchanged looks, but helped her put the dress on over her hair and jewelry so that it wouldn't be caught. The black silk clung to her hips and breasts and any other body part that curved. Aislinn looked herself over in the mirror. The halter dipped low between her breasts in front and just grazed the sides. The skirt clung to her hips and legs and flared past her knees to pool on the floor about her feet. She walked away from the mirror a bit and then looked at her back in the mirror. There were a few folds of the dress that sat just above her butt and left her entire back and lower back bare, except for the white gold and diamonds. She had to admit it was impressive.

"It's too bad I'm not better at controlling my shifting," she said softly.

Makeda was confused by that. "What?"

"I've only been able to do it a short time. I'm not very good at it. But Cullen likes the stripes and spots. I've seen him just change parts. So I guess I was thinking it's a shame that I couldn't just have the markings, bare back and all. Thing is I don't really want to do the cat thing yet and it's pretty much an all or nothing process with me."

Makeda grinned. "I didn't know you had stripes. I've only seen parts of you in lighted rooms," she chuckled.

Aislinn couldn't help but smile at that. And the women got another amused look from Sarah. 

"I agree. That would definitely add to the affect," Sarah said. "But unfortunately it really is a learning process. I don't think I'm able to just tell you how." She held out one hand and shifted it to a clawed paw then back again. "It's not easy to describe," she said contemplatively.

Aislinn walked over to Sarah and hugged her. Sarah didn't know exactly how to react. When Aislinn let her go she looked at the surprised woman. "I just wanted to say thanks."

Sarah smiled back. "Well, I think we're ready then. Would you like to make an entrance or just appear in the crowd?"

"I'm not the entrance making type."

Makeda shook her head. "Oh but you could be." Makeda was eyeing Aislinn wantonly. "But you're not for me tonight." She grinned wickedly and then walked to the door. "We'll go with you. Are you ready?"

Aislinn nodded and reached down to pick up the front of her skirt. The three women walked across the balcony and down the large staircase that descended from the balcony to the main room. Sarah and Makeda walked just behind and beside Aislinn. There were enough people coming and going on the staircase at that moment that no one in the main room noticed the group as being any different from the rest of the crowd. There were quite a few beautiful women in the cabin that night. 

Aislinn looked over the crowd. There were very few people who weren't dressed in black. Even the druids were in suits or gowns. The women who weren't in black were obviously trying to draw attention. There was a red-head in a fire red dress, surrounded by numerous men. 

Makeda laughed and pointed to the woman over the rail of the staircase. "I'll not tell you her name, so that when you do meet her you'll be able to say honestly you've not heard of her. That will drive her crazy. But be sure to mention knowing me during the conversation." Makeda's eyes sparkled mischievously. It was strange but that little joke was enough to make Aislinn feel much better. Perhaps it wasn't as scary out here as she thought it would be.

Cullen and Cadifor were talking with a small group of alphas from outside of Cadifor's territory. Cullen was doing his best to look like he was enjoying himself. The last twenty minutes had been pure misery. He wasn't sure if Aislinn would be joining them or not. 

Makeda and Sarah were pleased and impressed to see that even if Aislinn was upset she was managing to look every bit the part of alpha mate. It was an important skill that not everyone could manage. Bottling feelings when appropriate for appearances.

Aislinn felt guilty for having upset him so badly. She led the way through the people in the main room. Heads turned as members of the pack recognized them and pointed them out to others who didn't know who they were. 

Cadifor saw them before Cullen did. When Aislinn's eyes met Cadifor's he bowed his head to her slowly as if he was mesmerized. Cullen and every other alpha in the group turned to see what or who had earned that great of a compliment from Cadifor. Cullen thought his heart might stop. Aislinn walked up to him and without hesitation she ran her hands up his chest and over his shoulders, pulled him down to her level and kissed him. Cullen slid his hands over her bare back and held her to himself as he kissed her back.

Cullen, Aislinn broke the kiss and pressed her forehead to his.  Tá brón orm. Tá grá agam duit. I'll do whatever you need me to do. Anything. Then she kissed him again.

The group who had been talking with Cullen watched the pair kiss with amused smiles. Some of the men had women standing with them but most of them were alone. There was some joking about not being able to wait as Aislinn kissed him. Finally he pushed her away gently, before things got out of hand. Aislinn bit her lip and looked into his eyes. He was alright now. She smiled, having accomplished what she wanted.

"Tá tú hálainn," he said and bowed his head to her. There were very few people who ever gained that compliment from an alpha. Cullen could see how she had managed to get it from Cadifor. There wasn't another woman in the room who Cullen believed could outshine her tonight.

"It's all the diamonds," she said and gave him a hard look that told him, he'd taken it too far.

He laughed. "I never get to have any fun," he grinned back. "Besides, no one will even notice the diamonds if you continue to smile like that."

The group Cullen had been talking with started to return to the conversation. They didn't know if Cullen would be rejoining them or not. "A man can only take so much blatant affection," someone said loudly and then there was more laughter.

Cullen looked back at the group and then to Aislinn again. "Alright. They'll bring you back to me when it's time. For now you're supposed to be mingling with the rest." He ran a finger along her jaw and his thumb over her lip and she kissed it before turning away. 

Makeda and Sarah led her off through the crowd to introduce her to leaders from other packs who she would have to know. Cullen watched her disappear into the crowd before he returned to the conversation, a little out of place.

The next few hours turned into a political chess game and Aislinn was grateful that Makeda and Sarah were close at hand to help her with it all. 

Cullen's eyes traveled the room. Most of the people here had no idea how much danger would be coming in that evening. Cullen wasn't sure whether he should hope for Jenna to get a grip and leave them be or if he should hope she'd just attack and be done with it. The worst case scenario would be for her to decide to come to her senses enough to not attack tonight but plan for a different night instead. Cadifor reassured Cullen that if the attack didn't come then they'd use the night as it was set up for, a diplomatic meeting, and worry about the next move later. Mostly Cullen was hoping that Jenna wasn't bitch enough to use the beginning of the ceremony itself as her cue to attack. But he knew full well that it was the most likely scenario. 

Cullen and Cadifor were standing in one of the rare moments that they were surrounded by a bunch of people. "The part that bothers me the most," he said quietly, "is that there are so many strange faces here, Jenna could have her men in the middle of this room and there's no guarantee I'd notice."

Cadifor clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Stop worrying," he said quietly. "We're as prepared as we can get. The alphas are aware of the situation. They'll keep tabs on their own. Yours are still wary from the last time. We're ready for this. Enjoy the moment. When have you ever seen this many alphas in a room getting along? And druids as well," he said as excitement tinged his voice. "Our time is changing before your eyes Cullen. This is perhaps the most exciting party I've attended in centuries. I for one am thinking that this may need to become a regular thing."

Cullen had to admit that Cadifor was correct. He looked around. The place was nearly a United Nations convention due to the different groups that Cadifor had invited. Some of them had even flown in from different Council member's territories in order to meet the druids. Cullen knew that any number of the alphas who Cadifor had invited had come only to meet the druids and because of the need to understand the newest danger in their world. But the men and women were all mingling and there had been no angry outbreaks or threats. Cadifor had made it amply clear when the invitations went out that this was to be a friendly evening and he'd personally deal with anyone who made his friend's mating ceremony into a brawling match, outside of the possible attack that is. They all appeared to be staying true to their word. 

It was getting toward evening and people had already begun to discard clothing. The smart ones had already left shoes and extraneous items in their cars so that they'd be able to find their things come morning. Others were delivering things to their cars in anticipation of what was to come.

Malik approached Cullen and Cadifor, "I was briefed on how the evening should go. But there are a number of others who wish to know if they are permitted to make use of the stone circle before your ceremony begins."

Cullen looked at Malik with concern. "What do they want to do?"

"Bless the event." Malik's gaze was unwavering. "It's one of our traditions and I must admit that none of them had thought they would feel inclined to do it. But after having observed you all night long they feel as though they wish to participate. Consider it a gift and an act of good will for our joint future."

Cullen looked to Cadifor questioningly. He nodded. "This is supposed to be a joining of the druids with the lycans." He smiled at Cullen's flat look, knowing that Cullen didn't like that his mating to Aislinn had taken such a dramatic political turn.

"Is anything required of me or Aislinn," he asked.

"No. But you may wish to be present. It should be beautiful to watch." Malik bowed in thanks and disappeared to tell the others that he had received permission.

Cadifor sent a couple omegas to tell the alphas that the druids were going to demonstrate a ceremony for them if they wished to be present. Cullen and Cadifor didn't have any trouble finding their women. They just followed the trail of moon-eyed young males.

********************

So I'm thinking that I really like Cadifor and Makeda. Maybe I'll go with them for whatever I do next. I've had people ask about other couples- Ranaild and Elise, Sarah and Drake, Keith and Jaylyn. I've got a lot of different angles to take if I continue with this group.

I also thought about doing something with the weres that ended up with the Feds. Don't really know what I'm in the mood for though. 

I might jump worlds for a bit. I've actually got something else on the side lines that I've had sitting around for a while that I might get back too.

But as always I tend to be motivated by all the great things the readers have to say. You never know what's going to spark a creative idea.

Next chapter is the actual ceremony and consequently the end. Though since I've been inundated with comments bout Cullen and Aislinn having a liter I was considering an epilogue. We'll see where the mood takes me!

Luv you all!

Thanks for reading…

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Leader of the Pack Ch. 24







Leader of the Pack Ch. 24







Leader of the Pack Ch. 24



"Brennus," Aislinn said as her mind wrapped around something. 

Jenna growled angrily and rushed toward Cullen. Aislinn came out of nowhere and ran into the stone circle. She didn't know if it would work, but she figured that it was worth trying. She focused her mind on Brennus Tairneach. As she stepped beyond the stones the ruby ring around Jenna's neck flashed a blinding red and suddenly Aislinn and Jenna were gone.

Cullen felt his sense of Aislinn fog over and he roared his anger. She had trapped herself somewhere with a dire lycan. Aislinn, his mind screamed. But in that instant Maon attacked him. Cullen rolled away from the monstrous lycan and howled for reinforcements. He managed to dodge the brut again and he heard a response. But it was far off. Cullen was no fool. He knew that he couldn't take on one of these alone. He thought back to fighting Rafe the werebearlion and really didn't want to go through that again. In the end it had been Brinah's sacrifice that won that match. 

Jacob watched Cullen dodging artfully out of the way of the giant lycan he had just created. He stood next to Malik and tried to be sly about reaching up and pulling the wad of cloth out of his mouth. 

The Tairneachs for the most part seemed unconcerned with the druids now. They didn't know if Jenna still wanted them. They were more worried about where their alpha had gone at this point than what the orders might be when she returned. Then there was the fight going on in the circle and the fact that reinforcements were coming. The men looked from one to the other, uncertain what they should do. Maon seemed more than capable of dealing with Cullen. There was more howling but this time it was closer than before. That seemed to decide it. The Tairneachs took up positions to deal with the oncoming reinforcements.

Jacob untied Malik the minute that the other lycans were distracted. By that point the other three druids had worked their way over to Malik as well. "Strength in numbers," Jacob said. There were nods to answer his comment. There was a quiet conversation as more lycans burst into the clearing around the stones and the Tairneach met the attack head on. As the lycans brawled the druids spread out. They took up positions around the stone circle and began to speak quietly again in unison.

Cullen was running out of steam fast. When he noticed that his call for help was being intercepted he wasn't sure he was going to be able to keep avoiding Maon long enough for it to do him any good. Cullen leapt out of the way of the huge lycan and hit one of the standing stones. When he fell he knocked over a glass jar at the base of the stone. Maon was coming at him again. Cullen picked up the jar and threw it at the lycan's head. It shattered against his face and Maon roared in pain as glass shards stuck in his muzzle. 

Cullen rolled under another grab. He was trying to think of something. Maon was bigger than the others that he had fought. He had obviously lost speed in the transformation. But if he got his hands on Cullen it would be all over. 

The druids continued speaking quietly. They're voices seemed to carry through the area though. It drew the attention of several lycans but they had their hands full with actual fighting and didn't have time to deal with the little men talking quietly to themselves in the background. 

Cullen dodged again but this time Maon got a hold of his foot. With one yank he whipped Cullen back and threw him against one of the stones. Cullen hit the stone with a thud and he wondered if his back had been broken. He crumbled to the ground and felt the glass jar beneath him break and slice into his side. Maon reached to grab hold of Cullen again and Cullen took a huge chunk of glass with him as the lycan held him by the neck and slammed Cullen against the stone with one hand.

Cullen felt Maon's grip on his neck tighten and his windpipe begin to crush under the pressure. He struggled against the ungodly strength of the dire lycan and slashed at its wrist and arm with the chunk of glass, trying to get Maon to release his hold. Cullen couldn't breathe. The entire circle was spinning around him Maon's digusting muzzle was in his face and the man was growling savagely at Cullen as the world began to go black.





Leader of the Pack Ch. 25







Leader of the Pack Ch. 25



"Jenna," Aislinn said uncertainly and honestly. "Last night was desperation and a wild guess. I suppose I can try to do it again. But I'm not positive I can."

Jenna assumed that Aislinn was messing with her. She wasn't inclined to trust Aislinn in anything. "So what do I have to do? I mean I stopped the attack. There's no way the Council will let me keep the alpha position in the Tairneach." Her voice lowered. "I suppose my father didn't want that anyway." Jenna's voice cracked and there were tears again. "I have something I need to ask him. Can't you just pity me and take me to talk to him? Or maybe one of the other druids can do it if you won't."

Aislinn stared at her. Jenna's tone was making it hard for Aislinn to feel bad for her. The woman's actions had nearly taken her mate away. "I told you that I'll try," she said in a calm voice that a person would use with a whining child. "I don't know what the others are capable of. If I can't manage we can look into whether or not the others can. But Jenna I'm curious why you think you can ask for anything in your position. How many people did you intend to kill in your little quest for godhood?"

Jenna flinched. You for one, she thought angrily. "Look. I know that I'm in trouble here. I also know that I could have made things much worse for you last night and didn't. What's the chance that you as the supposed good guy will meet me half way?"

Aislinn shook her head. "Not real inclined to be overtly helpful to you. I happen to think that the fact you're in this room instead of strung up somewhere is half way." Somewhere in the hall, back to his usual self, Keith chuckled.

"Fine. You know what? I'm tired and don't really want to play mental chess right now," Jenna sneered. "How about you take me to talk to my father again and I'll tell you where the books are?"

Aislinn smiled. She was glad to be done playing games with Jenna anyway. "No. How about you tell me where the books and the notes and anything else that might hint at the fact that a druid ever existed in or near the manor is, we go get them to make sure you're not lying, and then I'll take you to talk to your father?"

"Damn," Keith said a little too loud. "She'd tough." Cullen glared at him to be quiet. But he was pleased that she was doing so well. He hadn't been entirely sure this was a good idea.

Jenna looked toward the door and smiled at the men standing there through tears. "Fine whatever," she said. "You're the good guys right? I'm supposed to trust you."

Jenna handed over the information that they wanted. In the end it seemed that if they had just raided the manor most of the things would have been pretty easy to find. She still had some of the stuff locked away in her father's desk. But most of that had been extraneous information that didn't apply directly to the creation of the weres.

It was decided that Cadifor would personally deal with the missing books and notes. That was partially because Cullen had business to attend to with the pack and then back at the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh and partially because now that Cadifor had a taste of doing something active other than having sex with Makeda and wanted to participate. Besides he had decided to stick around until Cullen did the official mating thing with Aislinn. Since he had announced that it wouldn't be for another month that meant he'd have to do something to keep busy.





Leader of the Pack Ch. 25



A goofy grin started in the corners of his mouth. "You're pregnant? That's what's got you worked up?"

Aislinn didn't say anything. But she dropped the block she'd erected in her head. Cullen felt the uncertainty. Mostly because she understood human pregnancy and human babies, but the idea of having lycan babies, a litter of lycan babies, was terrifying. Although she had gotten used to the fact that she had a learning curve in the pack environment, she didn't feel like a baby was something a learning curve was allowable with.

Cullen stood up and moved around the table into her side of the booth. Aislinn could feel his happiness through their bond and it was helping a little. He put his arm around her and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her forehead and hugged her. "You will be an incredible mother," he said though his smile. He didn't know what else to say. He couldn't believe she was pregnant. Already.

Aislinn started to wonder if he was going to get up out of the booth and start dancing. It was hard to be scared and uncertain with that much happiness pouring into her mind from outside. She rolled her eyes at him when she looked up and saw the goofball grin had gotten impossibly wider. His eyes were sparkling and he was near laughing. "I'm glad you're so happy," she said trying to keep herself from smiling and then finally giving in.

Cullen suddenly frowned. "I don't want you around Jenna."

"It'll be fine," Aislinn said. "See now you're gonna get more overprotective than you already are."

Cullen growled.

"Don't do that," she snapped. "I can still do what I'm supposed to do for now. No one can even tell yet. Though in a week or so it'll be pretty obvious," she said mostly to herself. "If there was anyone left who doubted that we'd already mated they'll all have those concerns put to rest now."

Her sarcasm bit into him, but he wasn't giving on this. "Jenna's dangerous. If she decides she's no longer cooperative for any reason while you're alone with her then you're dead."

"Cullen I don't see that as being as likely as you do. Brennus seems to be able to control her fairly well."

"I don't care. We'll get the rest of the caoch that's missing some other way." Cullen pulled out his cell phone and started paging through the numbers for Cadifor's name so that he call and cancel.

Aislinn grabbed the phone out of his hand and put it under the table. His eyes flashed dangerously at her. She smiled at him. "You wouldn't dare," she smiled sarcastically.

The waitress appeared with their food and was instantly frightened by the deadly staring match that was taking place. "Aislinn," Cullen growled. "Give it back."

"Or what?" Aislinn looked over at the concerned waitress. "It's okay. Just leave the food," she said sweetly to the girl.

The plates were dumped hurriedly on the table and the pretty waitress instantly disappeared. Aislinn watched her go. "Now see what you did? You scared her."

Cullen looked like he might explode. 

She sighed. "Please just stop it. What do you mean caoch missing?"

"We're not going to do this. It isn't a debate. I won't have you in that kind of danger regardless of the situration. Now give me my phone back before this table ends up on the other side of the restaurant."

"Liam would kill you," Aislinn answered. But she put the phone down in front of him. She really didn't want to make him this angry. She knew she woudn't get anywhere with the situation if he was so pissed he wouldn't listen to reason. "Cullen. I need you to try and understand that this is stupidly scary for me. I know you don't really get why. But it is. It's important that you let me do what would be normal so that I can pretend in my head that this isn't as big a deal as it is. Please."

Cullen took the phone and stared at her indecisively. He growled some more. He could feel how upset she was and how much she needed things to stay normal but his instincts told him to protect her. Putting her in a situation where he couldn't get to her if he needed to and with someone as dangerous as Jenna was just stupid. "Aislinn," he started.

"Please, Cullen."

She heard a crunch and a strangled beep as the cell phone in his hand crunched. Cullen looked down at the phone. He was upset enough that he'd actually crushed the damn phone in his hand. He put it back down on the table to prevent himself from throwing it across the room. "Alright, how about a compromise? We'll go and see what kind of mood Jenna's in. You let me talk with her first and get a feel for how dangerous she is at the moment and then I'll decide if I want to let you be this stupid."

Aislinn glared at him. "I want to know why it's so different now that I'm pregnant. When I took her to Brennus a month ago it was just as dangerous as it is now. I still would have ended up dead. If I weren't pregnant now and took her to see Brennus I'd still be in danger. It's not like this makes me incapable of something I was previously able to do. In essence the situation really hasn't changed in any way other than an extra couple of lives are involved. And no one will know that other than you and I."

Cullen fumed some more. He couldn't argue with that. "I told you. Let me talk to Jenna first."

"Fine. I'll compromise. But don't think I won't argue with you if you decide in a way I don't agree with tomorrow."

"Fine," he said back just as snottily.

The two of them sat there eating in silence. Aislinn hated that he was so angry. She sighed. "Cullen?"

"What now?"

She looked into his eyes and gave him a half-hearted smile. "I'm pregnant," she said again trying to sound happy.

Cullen couldn't help the pleasure that her saying that gave him. He smiled back, knowing she was trying to help.





Leader of the Pack Ch. 25



Love ya all!

secretme



Leader of the Pack Ch. 26



Take two, Aislinn thought as she walked out of their room and down the stairs to join their guests and friends. Sarah had outdone herself. Aislinn knew that she had helped with the arrangements but Sarah really deserved the credit. The entire cabin had been decorated with twinkle lights and white roses. The food on the buffet was beyond extravagant. There was soft music being played by a live band. It sounded old and enchanting.

The guests were all smiling and joking about what they'd do if there was another fight. They didn't realize that their hosts considered it a possibility since Jenna was not recovered. The Tairneach manor was in the process of being thoroughly ransacked by order of the Pack Council. In addition the entire Tairneach Pack was rounded up to be questioned about the missing information. But it wasn't looking promising at this point.

But the night went off without a hitch. They waited until sunset. The druids performed the blessing again. This time Nora led the song. The lycans were enchanted by the faeries. Even the ones who had seen it last time were amazed at the sight again. Then it was time.

Aislinn found herself in Cullen's arms. He smiled at her intensely then kissed her. His tongue ran over her lips and she opened her mouth to let him taste her. His hands danced over her, undressing her. She pulled at the buttons on his shirt then pushed his shirt and jacket off his shoulders. Aislinn ran her hands across his chest, scraping her fingernails across his nipples. Cullen growled and watched as she knelt in front of him, dragging her nails along his skin as she went. 

Cullen watched her with loving light in his eyes as she opened her mouth and her tongue slipped out to taste the pre-cum on the tip of his cock. He drew in a sharp breath, staring into her eyes as she drew his cock into her warm wet mouth. Aislinn sucked gently on the spongy head and then drew him deeper into his mouth. There was growling and howling all around them as the lycans watched her kneeling in front of him sucking on his cock. Cullen wove his fingers in her hair and encouraged her to go faster. She readily took his direction and began suckling ravenously on his steel shaft. Cullen groaned as she drew him in and pulled back from him. Her tongue circled his cock deftly as she sucked and he was getting dangerously close to overload.

Cullen pushed her away gently and walked around behind her. She watched him as he went. Her hand trailed along his thigh as he stepped up to her. He knelt behind her and she felt his cock stroke down her back. He pulled her hair back from her neck, exposing the scarred bite mark that was already there. He smiled, leaned down and kissed the scar, then began trailing kisses along her neck and up to her ear as he pulled her against him. He reached around in front of her and caressed her breasts. His hand kneaded the soft flesh. 

Aislinn moaned sweetly for him and began purring. He was being too gentle. Not that she wasn't enjoying it, but the audience was getting antsy. They were only supposed to follow the alpha pair's lead and Cullen was taking longer than they would have liked for him to get to the good stuff. One of Cullen's hands ran down her ribcage to pause at her stomach on his way to his ultimate destination. Aislinn laid her back onto his shoulder purring sweetly as he kissed and nibbled her neck. She could feel his erection against her lower back and his fingers tripped over the diamond chain around her waist as his hand rested shortly on her stomach.

"Tá grá agam duit, Aislinn," he whispered into her ear. "I don't know what I was or how I lived before you."

It was mostly the intense sound of his voice coupled with the love she felt pouring into her from him that caused the tear in her eye. She turned her face to him and looked into his eyes for a moment. She couldn't say anything. For the first time in her life, Aislinn felt like the world really was perfect. There wasn't anything else she wanted. This was what people looked for. Jobs, degrees, hobbies, vacations, marriages, family, money. None of it was what people thought it was. This is what they were all looking for. 

The sound of desperate lust coming from the surrounding lycans broke the moment between them. Aislinn smiled, blinked the tear out of her eye, and nuzzled against his neck. She put her hand on the back of his where it was stroking her bellybutton with knowledge of the children he had placed there. She pressed gently against his hand encouraging him to continue to her pussy.

Cullen looked up at the anxious crowd. The younger unmated lycans were the ones making most of the noise. Cullen's eyes fell on Cadifor. He smiled a sad knowing smile. He had lost a mate a long time ago. But he understood exactly what was taking Cullen so long. Makeda stood at his side waiting just as patiently and watching the two with a smile and tears on her face, a little envy in her eyes. Cadifor looked around at the surrounding crowd. He stepped up just enough to get some attention and bowed his head toward the alpha pair. Makeda did the same and the rest of the crowd silenced a little echoing the acknowledgement.

The clearing rang out with excited howling. The druids watched in awe. It was a strangely beautiful ceremony, even if they believed there should be more dignified reverence and less rutting. The moon came out from behind a cloud and lit the clearing brightly as if on cue and Cullen decided to finish it. They could be sweet and embrace each other later in their room. 

Cullen briefly dipped his fingers into her dripping slit. The moment he touched her she let loose a needy moan that had him incapable of making her wait any longer. Her pussy was on fire and dripping, the lips swollen, ready and hungry for his cock. He pulled his fingers from her and pressed them into his mouth. The taste of her brought his wolf surging to the surface. Cullen growled as his body shifted into his hybrid form. Aislinn felt fur against her back and the arm around her chest grew in width and strength as claws on his fingers bit into her breast. She drew in a sharp breath as her cat responded to the change in tempo. Aislinn growled excitedly and pushed his off as her body shifted. 

The crowd roared with approval as Aislinn leaned forward so she was on her hands and knees in front of Cullen. He looked down at her stripes. By the Gods, she was gorgeous. The diamonds tangled in her fur as it grew along her body. Cullen grabbed her hips roughly and pulled her back to him, growling as he thrust deep into her needy body. Aislinn pushed back onto him as he pulled her. 

"Ahh," Aislinn growled as he began fucking her relentlessly. His knot worked deep into her and still swelling inside her. She loved the way it felt when he filled her body. His claws drew blood at his finger tips as he forced himself into her over and over. She growled through the pleasurable pain, wanting more. Aislinn's breast shook beneath her as he drove himself into over and over again. The sounds of rutting wolves rose into the night sky around the clearing and woods surrounding the cabin. Aislinn was surprised at how turned on she was by the idea that it was partially caused by the fact that everyone was watching them.

Aislinn felt her body start to tense. She lost track of anything else as the pleasure began to surge through her. Cullen was grateful that she had finally started to come. He didn't think he could last much longer. He leaned over her and bit down on her shoulder. Aislinn cried out as she felt his teeth cut into her. He released into her as she began to moan out the last of her spasms. His body jerked hard and he thrust involuntarily as his body emptied into her. Cullen let her go and sat up again as he finished, then fell back sitting on his heels, bringing her with him so that she was sitting in his lap with her face buried against her arms on the ground. Her body heaved with her breathing as she tried to catch her breath. 

It took a few moments for them both to recover from the intensity of the orgasm they had just shared. Blood dripped from Aislinn's scarred shoulder and the corner of Cullen's mouth. He stroked the fur on her back, tracing the stripes to where they faded into spots down her side. Aislinn giggled a bit when his gentle caress touched the right spot along the side of her ribcage. It was a strange sound coming from a cat. Cullen smiled as much as he could with a muzzle. He took hold of her and pulled her up so that she was sitting up against him with is cock lodged firmly inside her.

The crowd was already milling about. There were quite a few alphas visitors who had met Aislinn, caught her scent, and were dying to find out what she tasted like. Cullen wrapped his arms around her again and began licking and nibbling her neck and ear. 

Spread your legs for them, he told her.

Aislinn blushed beneath her fur and was grateful she had it for the first time. Her stomach fluttered a bit and Cullen hugged her reassuringly. Aislinn closed her eyes and leaned back against him as she parted her knees and spread her lets wide. Cullen's legs framed her, one of his arms was around her waist and twined into the chain of diamonds, and the other hand was groping her breast and pinching at a nipple. 

Aislinn kept her eyes closed, but watched possessively as the wolves circled them. Cadifor was the first to approach. The snow white wolf trotted up to the alpha couple, followed by a beautiful black Egyptian looking wolf. Cadifor lowered his nose to their joined sexes and took in their scent. His tongue snaked out and lapped at the inside of Aislinn's thigh first. It was covered with her own juices from their energetic play and it tasted more of her than Cullen. Cadifor was well aware of the purpose of this part of the ceremony. But he was far more interested in Aislinn's taste than Cullen's. 

Aislinn shivered and stifled a moan as Cadifor's tongue slid along her thigh, into the dip along her outer lips, and then along her lips to brush her clit. His tongue was deftly precise as he avoided Cullen's cock. Cullen's gaze bored down into the top of Cadifor's head. He knew what his friend was doing. Not that Cullen was enthused about having the other man's tongue on his cock. But that wasn't the point. Aislinn couldn't help the orgasm that was building already. She whimpered and wiggled in Cullen's arms. His fingers on her nipple twisted and he held her tighter. The more times she came it was considered good luck. He figured he'd talk to Cadifor later about his obvious attention to Aislinn.

Aislinn trembled and then her eyes shot open. She looked down at Cadifor and the moan she'd been holding back finally escaped. The circling wolves howled. Cadifor dragged his tongue purposefully over the base of Cullen's cock and gave one last swipe to Aislinn's clit before lifting his head and licking his muzzle, quite pleased with himself. Makeda nosed him in the rump to get him to move out of the way so she could take her turn. Makeda wasn't as discriminatory as Cadifor had been, but ended up with a similar result. 

Aislinn relaxed back into Cullen's arms and surrendered to the sexual onslaught that continued throughout the night. Even when Cullen managed to calm enough, long enough that he could pull away from her and the two of them could move and mingle with the guests again wolves would approach her or people would kneel in front of her and lick at her pussy. 

By the time they were allowed to retreat to their room alone Aislinn was exhausted in ways she never thought possible. They showered before getting into bed. Cullen didn't like all the mingled scents that were on her body from the evening. They cuddled together in their bed with the blanket pulled up tightly around them.

"Do I get to tell everyone you're pregnant tomorrow," he said softly to her as his hand drifted to touch her stomach again.

"If you want," she smiled at him.

Cullen hugged her. He could feel that most of her anxiety had passed. They were official now. Jenna and the rest of the mess was Cadifor's problem. From what he could tell, life as he had known it could go back to normal. Or as normal as having a litter could be. She smiled and closed his eyes as sunlight began to filter around the curtains on their window. He didn't intend to get out of bed for some time today. He had never been this content in his life. Aislinn began purring and the two of them fell asleep. 





Leader of the Pack Ch. 26



Aislinn giggled. Why she thought her grandmother wouldn't know was beyond her. "I'm pregnant Grandma," said said excitedly and she realized that she really was excited.

Brinah's smile widened. "You'll have to bring them to see me," she said.

"Of course. But I'll have to learn how. I'm still not sure of what to do to bring people here except that Jenna's ring helped with Brennus." Aislinn's smile faded when she thought about that.

"Jenna was holding the ring. That aided you in bringing her along. But if you were touching her that would have worked as well."

Aislinn nodded. She could feel Cullen getting nervous already. She smiled again. 

"He certainly is protective of you," Brinah said as if she knew what Aislinn or Cullen was thinking.

"When I brought Jenna here I was hurt. He worries because our connection seems to weaken when I'm here and he can't get to me."

"Brennus used you," Brinah said with concern. "You have a great deal to learn if you're going to use your abilities Aislinn. You try too much too quickly. It's impressive that you were able. But Brennus took advantage of it. Now he's with Jenna. You are very lucky you survived what he did."

Aislinn felt a terrible feeling run through her. "I don't understand what you mean when you say that he's with Jenna."

Brinah sighed. "Come back to me when you have more time. It's not important now and your mate paces awaiting your return. Have your time with him. Come back to me when you are able to have time here." Brinah vanished suddenly and the trees around the circle came to life. 

Aislinn looked around in frustration. She didn't like leaving it like that. But Brinah had been right. Cullen was standing against that tree he seemed to like so well. His arms were crossed and he was watching for her. Aislinn headed over to him.

"Grandma said something about Brennus being with Jenna. Then she kicked me out because you're being impatient," Aislinn growled.

Cullen's eyebrows raised. "Maybe I like Brinah better than I thought," he said and kissed Aislinn's forehead. "I wouldn't worry about Jenna. Brennus is dead and Cadifor had a lead. She's his problem now. And Cadifor has the help of the Circle at this point. If Brennus becomes an issue then they can deal with it."

Aislinn sighed. "You never listen to me," she said.

"Ditto," he replied with a smile.

She stuck her tongue out at him and he grabbed her and quickly leaned in to suck on it.

"Hey," she squealed and pushed at him playfully.

"That's what you get for sticking it out," he smiled. Then his tone got more serious. "Alright. I'm listening. I leave it to you. I will call Cadifor and tell him what you just said. You decide whether I offer to hand you over newly mated and pregnant to help him track down and capture a dire lycan who may now have a ghost or something with her or I warn him and suggest he get help from the Circle and you and I go away together."

Aislinn growled. "Have it your way. But when we get wherever you're taking me, I get a turn on top," she grinned.

Cullen grabbed her into his arms and swung her around. "Anything you want."

Cullen made the call as soon as they got back to the cabin. With everything taken care of they went upstairs and got their bags packed. Cullen told her that they'd be riding an atv most of the way and then doing some hiking, so she only got to take one backpack. "Besides, I intend to keep you naked for most of the time anyway." They decided to tell everyone that she was pregnant when they got back. For now it was their little piece of happiness and they wanted to keep it like that. The rest of the pack headed back to the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh praying that they'd be able to manage for a couple weeks without Lord General Cullen Arnauk, the leader of the pack.

**********************

And so ends the beginning of the story. I say that because the dumb thing ended up with a mind of its own and given an infinite amount of time I'd still be writing it. But unfortunately Christmas break is only so long and life beckons.

Not to say I'm done, by any stretch of the imagination. I've grown kinda attached to this world. So if people still want it I'll come back to it. Just maybe not as soon as everyone would like.

I think I might do Cadifor and Makeda next. I kinda like those two. And I'm considering an epilogue with the "wittens" in it. Like I said you guys named them, not me! We'll see. Thanks for reading. I hope I ended it in a way that satisfied most everyone, within reason. If I get a bunch of complaints about it being done I'll see what I can do.

Thank you all for making all the time I spend in my imagination seem justified!

Hugs and Kisses

Secretme

Please vote and happy holidays!