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More Than Just a Fairy Tale

By: Jaisen



Camping had been a great idea. After all, they'd met on a dating site because of their mutual interests in hiking, camping and mythology of all things. Meg had turned out to be a lovely surprise. Long legs, nice curves and long auburn hair. Her hazel eyes lit up when she smiled. Luc had to admit that he'd been nervous when he first contacted her. Hell, it had been way too long since he'd had a date let alone a relationship.

Hiking up the valley, he caught himself watching her ass instead of the trail or the scenery around them. Three hours in, they came to the site he'd camped at on numerous occasions.

"Hey Meg. Stop here, this is the campsite I was telling you about," he said.

"Okay. I was getting tired, and this is a beautiful spot," she said as she dropped her pack next to some rocks.

They spent the next thirty minutes setting up the tent and gathering some firewood. Luc got the fire going and Meg started water for coffee. "You know, I don't enjoy coffee half as much at my apartment as I do in the mountains," she said.

"Have to agree with you there. I think it smells so much better," Luc said. "No pollution to screw up your nose."

"Nope! No exhaust fumes, no garbage. Just lots of clean air."

Luc nodded. He grabbed the frying pan and melted some butter in the pan. "Hope you like steak," he said.

"Love steak! I like all the bad stuff. You know, sugar, coffee, meat, bacon and doughnuts!" Meg said with a smile. She crouched next to Luc while he cooked. The smell of the meat cooking was heavenly.

Luc flipped the steaks, and then stuck some bread on a stick to toast it. Ten minutes later, he handed Meg a plate with steak, toast, and tomato slices. Both dug in to the food.

"I didn't realize I was so hungry," said Meg.

"I knew I was hungry. Could go for a second hunk of steak, but will settle for some cookies and another cup of coffee," Luc said. He grabbed a bag with cookies, grabbed four and handed the bag to Meg.

"Thanks." She looked in the bag and then up at Luc. "Peanut butter? Wow. I'd have expected chocolate chip out of you," she said.

"Nah, never been a fan of chocolate chip cookies. Peanut butter or oatmeal raisin are my favorites," he said as he sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"This is comfy," she said. Meg snuggled closer, and soon cookies and coffee were forgotten amidst kisses and exploratory caresses. She hadn't had a date in months, and wondered how this would go. Too many creeps of late. Way too many.

Luc kissed her as his hands moved to turn her towards him. Her lips were sweet and yet salty from the steak. His kisses moved from her lips to her jaw and down her neck. She reciprocated, and her hands moved to his chest. "This is nice," she thought.

Luc was getting aroused and so was Meg. "Shall we move to the tent?" he asked.

She nodded and stood. Taking him by the hand, she lead him to the tent. Snuggling in on the sleeping bags, hiking boots and jeans were soon wadded together at the foot of the tent. Luc ran his hands down her side and enjoyed the feel of her skin under his hands. She was so soft. He stuck his nose behind her ear and smelled the mix of her skin and the lotion she used. Meg smelled like honey.

"That tickles!" she said and then kissed him on the lips.

Luc kissed back, and let his hands trail down to her ass. She giggled, and he brought his hands up to her breasts, to find her nipples erect under her shirt. She didn't wear a bra. He gently pinched her nipples and then ran his hand back down to her hip.

Meg moaned as he touched her. Her own hands explored his chest, and moved across his stomach which was muscular and defined, even with him laying down. She traced her fingers down the cleft left by the well developed muscles that angled from his hips to his crotch. Her fingers followed the line of his sports briefs and ended up on his back, just above his ass. Running her nails up and down his back and across his ass brought moans to Luc's lips.

"God that feels good," he said horsely.

Meg felt bold and moved down his chest until her lips were just above his belly button. She kissed around it and moved lower. His erection was bumping her chin. She smiled and put her hands to the elastic band and pulled. His cock popped free. While not huge, Luc had a lovely shaped cock, that she could barely get her hand around. Luc groaned as she took it in her hands and kissed the head of his cock.

"Not fair!" moaned Luc. Doing the best he could, he moved to grab her panties and pull them down towards her ankles. Meg helped him and soon they joined the jeans and boots. Luc curled around Meg so that he could touch her while she wrapped her lips around his cock. She was so wet. He could smell her scent mixed with the lotion. Luc rubbed his fingers across her lips until they were wet and slid between her lips. He found himself with his fingers rubbing her lips and clit while Meg sucked his cock harder and harder.

"Meg, ssslow down," he said, not wanting to loose control.

Meg slowed down to a bare movement of her head, teasing him with the slow motion of her lips. She smiled as best she could with her mouth full.

"Really Meg. Slllow down," his words almost unintelligible.

Meg took her mouth off of his cock and turned her head. She hadn't wanted him to come too soon, but had been enjoying herself so much. When she turned, she screamed. Hitting at him in a panic, she bolted out of the tent.

Luc shook his head to try and clear it. Scrambling out of the tent, he looked around and found her heading into a forested section across from their tent. He followed her and watched her climb a tree. "As if that would do any good," he thought to himself. Meg was about ten feet off the ground and sitting on a limb. It was almost a comical sight. She had on socks, a teeshirt and a flannel shirt. Nothing else. She was trying to tuck the tails of her shirt under her ass. Granted, he had on even less. Just his socks and his flannel shirt. He loped over to the tree and after a minute looked up at her.

"Meg, we need to talk," he said stretching his neck and shoulders.

"Damn right we do! What the hell are you?" she asked.

"I'm a shifter. You'd call me a werewolf," he said, trying to get his jaw back to more human proportions.

"I thought that was just fairy tale junk," she said.

"No, we are more than just a fairy tale. We really do exist. However, it's genetic, not a disease or a curse like the movies would have you think," Luc said, moving a bit closer to the tree.

"Stop right there! No closer," she said.

"Meg, I'm not going to hurt you, I'm sorry I scared you. I lost control," he said.

"You lost control? You mean that you normally have sex and no one ever notices that you're... you're a werewolf?" she asked.

"Well, some don't exactly. I usually have the presence of mind to talk to my date and explain myself. You just short circuited me and I didn't say anything," he said. "Boy did I blow this one! Damn."

"You had the whole bloody hike up here to explain yourself!" she yelled. "Or, you could have mentioned it before we ever set out!"

"Meg, Please settle down. I admit that I should have spoken to you about things sooner. I apologize," Luc said as he moved closer to the tree.

"Fine, so when did you plan to tell me, or did you think I wouldn't notice?" she asked.

"Meg, I knew you would notice. I should have said something, and I've apologized. Can we at least go back to the tent? It's cold out here.

Meg looked at him, thought about it and how hard the branch was against her ass. "You sure this isn't contagious?" she asked.

"No! I was born this way," he said, just a bit exasperated. "I won't hurt you. Hell, I even keep my nails trimmed."

"Nails trimmed?"

"Yeah, if I shift all the way, I don't want to scratch anyone," he said.

"You mean some women actually like it when you shift all the way? Do you look like a dog or something then?" she asked.

"I look like a wolf, a big one. As for women, yes... some of them do like it 'doggy style'. After one woman asked me to wear booties, I started to keep my nails trimmed."

"Booties? she asked. "She actually asked you to wear booties?"

"Yeah. Said the sex was great except for the fact that I scratched her back with my paws. It isn't so unusual. My cousin wears them all the time," Luc said rather nonchalantly.

Meg thought about this. The bark was cutting into her ass and it was getting colder. He really was a nice guy, but it startled the hell out of her when he changed. "Well,... maybe" she thought to herself. Meg moved a bit on the branch and realized that her ass and more sensitive bits were hurting. "Okay, I'm coming down," she said. Meg moved closer to the trunk so she could climb down. Her sock caught on a twig stub and she started to fall.

Luc ,who was watching Meg, saw her start to fall and moved under the tree. He caught her before she could get hurt. His arms wrapped around her and he found himself cuddling her ass.

"Gotcha!" he said and moved to set her down slowly.

"Th...thank you," she gasped, realizing how close she came to being really hurt. "I slipped," she said.

"Yeah, you did." Luc was about to set her down, and changed his mind. Instead, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the tent. Once they got there, he sat her down at the entrance of the tent. "There you go. If you hand me my jeans, and bag, I'll sleep outside."

Meg swallowed hard. Luc had been decent. Plus, he was a great kisser. Just that turn furry thing to get over. "Luc, You did freak me out, but I was enjoying myself. Can we give it another try?" she asked.

Luc looked at her, and sniffed the air. She wasn't lying. Go for it!!!" said that voice in his head. "Are you sure?" he asked stepping forward. Meg didn't flinch when he moved. That was a good sign.

"Yes. I'm sure," Meg said and held her hand out to him.

Luc moved towards her and they crawled back into the tent and straightened the sleeping bags. He laid back and held out his hand to her. Meg moved towards him and slowly ran her hands up his body. By the time her hand reached his thigh, his cock was standing at attention. She let her hand graze the tip as she moved up to kiss Luc on the face.

"Do... do you shift all the way? Or, do you go sorta half way and stay there?" she asked.

"Both. I try to stay as human as possible, but some days my control just blows."

Meg nodded and then bent down to kiss him on the lips. They kissed and kissed until she was gasping. His lips felt so good. Then his hand ran down her side towards her ass. She was still a bit cold, and he tried to warm her up by massaging her skin. Meg moaned under his touch. Luc moved her closer to him until she was snuggled close on his chest. Her hand moved down to his erection and she wrapped her fingers around him.

Luc moaned at her touch. Trying to stay human was difficult, but not impossible. Same with partially shifting. Meg moved her hand up and down his cock and then adjusted herself to take him in her mouth. Luc moaned again. Gods she had a lovely set of lips. Her tongue lapped up to the head and then seemed to tap the head before sliding down once more.

"Meg, much more of this and I'll explode," he said, his voice growing gruff.

Meg kept right on doing what she was. Her lips and tongue teased and caressed him. Then she felt his fingers move up the back of her thigh and then inbetween her legs. She was cold, but her pussy was hot and soaking wet. Luc's fingers slid in and began stroking her g-spot and then her clit. She moaned and wiggled her hips against his hand, driving her fingers deeper.

Luc couldn't take any more. He grabbed her by the waist and turned her to face him. Holding her over his hips, he placed his cock at her opening and pushed. Luc slid id beautifully.

Meg couldn't believe how full of cock she felt. Oh god it felt good, and she bounced and rocked back and forth, slamming his cock deeper into her pussy. His hands held tight to her waist and he began to really pound her.

"Oh! Ohohohoh!" she said as the rhythm increased. She grabbed his shoulders and held on while Luc pumped his cock faster and faster. Meg felt a heat build in her pelvis. She could feel the orgasm growing and nearly ready to tip her over.

Luc loved the friction. She was tight, but not so shallow that he couldn't manage to stroke deep each time. He felt her cervix bump the head of his cock, and each time he did it, Meg shuddered in pleasure.

Luck to felt the heat of orgasm building in his balls. It seemed like it came up from his toes. One second, he was fine. The next one, he felt the heat surge up from his balls and Kate's muscles clenched in orgasm at about the same moment.

"Arrrrrgh......." he growled as he shot deep into her.

"Aaahhhhhhhhh!" Meg moaned as orgasm washed over her too. They moved together for a few moments as the orgasms ebbed and little aftershocks of pleasure washed over the two of them.

Meg moved off and grabbed his teeshirt to clean up with. Looking over, she could see that he was partially shifted. Looking down, she saw that his nails were trimmed. She smiled.

Luc reached down and grabbed the top sleeping bag to cover them with. After wrapping it around them, he snuggled her close to his chest. "Shee, I dinn't eat youh," he hoarsely whispered in her ear.

"No, you didn't. No snacking in the middle of the night either!" she said, gently rapping him on the end of his nose in a playful manner.

"No, no schnakking," he said with sort of a giggle escaping his lips. "Hmmm,... maybe this will work," he thought as they drifted off to sleep. 

More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 02



Meg was so warm. Partially awake, she didn't remember her sleeping bag being this comfortable. Maybe it was Luc's. She didn't remember which bag they'd ended up under. She reached her hand out to touch the top of the bag. Her hand touched fur instead. "Fur?" she thought for a second. "Oh!..." Meg opened her eyes to find herself with a wolf fur comforter named Luc cuddled around her. He had totally shifted in the night and now took up nearly all of the tent. She was in a little pocket in the middle. Not that she really wanted to move, but she had to pee. 

"Luc, gotta move," she said softly. No response. "Luc!" she said a bit louder. The huge wolf just snuffled a bit and moved around a bit tighter. "Now what in the hell do I do?" she wondered. Grabbing an ear, she tugged and said his name again.

The wolf dreamed. He was warm and comfy in a shelter. As he woke, it came to him that the soft one he was curled around protecting was awake. She was saying something. He didn't understand her, but she was acing like a puppy that needed out. He sniffed her as she yapped. She needed out. He understood. He needed out too.

The wolf startled Meg when he raised his head up and sniffed her. His head was bigger than hers. He was bigger all over than any wolf she'd seen on TV. After he sniffed her, he uncurled and belly crawled out of the tent. Meg shot out of the tent and headed for the bushes. 

When she came back, the wolf was down by the trail, carefully marking his territory. She laughed. Then she turned to the camp stuff and tried to figure out what to make for breakfast. Meg wondered just how long the wolf would be here and when Luc would show back up. The sex last night had been really nice once she got over the idea that he went furry. 

She started the small stove and was heating water when she realized that the wolf was gone. Looking around, she saw Luc stand up out of the tent pulling his jeans on. He hadn't put his shirt on, so his muscles teased her with lewd thoughts. "Oh yumm" she thought. 

"Moooorning," Luc yawned. "Sleep well?"

"Yes. How was your morning stroll?" she asked and pointed to the areas he'd visited earlier.

"I guess it was okay. There isn't always a lot of information exchanged when we shift. We aren't the best at communicating at times," he explained.

"So, if you were human and knew that Timmy was lost in the woods, you couldn't shift and turn into a super K9 search and rescue wolf to find him?"

"Well, probably. Especially if someone I trusted was there to give me the scent. However, it is the stuff as a wolf to human that isn't always so good."

"So, you don't remember going out of the tent this morning and peeing all over about fifty trees?" she asked.

"Not really. I remember great sex, beginning to shift and mumbling something and then the next thing I really remember is standing next to the tent naked," Luc said.

"Geeze, it is like that for all shifters?" she asked.

"No, some remember everything, others even less than I do. It all depends on how integrated you are with your other side. Just like with people, there are all kinds of memories. If you've had a bad time at a key point, you might not remember things, or nothing but the bad bits. It is really random," he said. Luc knew it sounded sort of lame, but it was the truth. 

"Oh," said Meg. She poured hot water into the cups for coffee and then put the sausages she'd found in the frying pan to cook. "So, is it just werewolves that are true, or are there other things that go bump in the night out there?"

Luc looked at her. He just sort of shook his head. This was not a can of worms he wanted to open, but... "Yes, there are. All sorts. Any fairy tale you've heard of probably has a core of truth to it. Most aren't as bad as you read about, or they are a thousand times worse," he said.

"Worse? Like what?" she asked.

"As far as I'm concerned, the worst of the lot are the fairies. Disney has them to be these sweet little things on wings. In real life, they can be real sadistic bastards. Tink with PMS and an attitude is a good way to think of them. Nice as long as you are, but if you piss them off, just forget it. Their little swords are sharp!" he said, thinking of the time he'd teased them as a child.

"Swords? Attitude?" she asked.

"Yup. Just because they are small, don't think that they are cute either. That artist Froud did one of the best jobs at drawing them. Surprised they let him live really. Or, he is some sort of other world creature and they won't touch him," he said.

Meg thought on that a moment. She stirred the sausages. "By the way, you caught me last night like I was nothing."

"Yes."

"So, climbing up the tree wouldn't have protected me much if you really wanted to get at me right?" she asked.

"No, it was no protection. I could have shifted a bit more and smacked you on the ass instead of just waiting for you to come down. As it was, I did catch you."

Meg nodded as she processed this information. The sausages went on a bit of paper towel as she cracked eggs into the grease. A few minutes later, she put the eggs onto plates while Luc divided the sausages. They dug into their breakfast and drank coffee while the rest of the mountain woke around them.

After breakfast and cleanup, Meg and Luc headed up a trail to climb the mountain that faced camp. It wasn't a difficult hike, but it certainly wore Meg out by the time they stopped for lunch. They'd hit the top and come back down the mountain to a nice lunch spot they'd seen on the way up. After lunch, Luc cradled Meg in his arms. 

"Are you still mad at me for not telling you?" he asked as he nibbled down her neck.

"You are making it very difficult to think let alone talk," she said as his hand went down the front of her shirt undoing the buttons. 

"Well?" Luc asked again as he undid a button that let him touch her breasts.

"Ah...ah...," she gasped as he caressed her nipple. "A little pissed, but I... um... I think I'm getting over it," she said at last.

"Good," he said as he cupped her breast and kissed the nipple that peeked out of the unbuttoned shirt. With one nipple between his lips, he moved his hand down and under her jeans waistband.

"Oh!" gasped Meg. "Hand is a bit cold," she gasped.

"Let me warm it up then," Luc said as he let go of her nipple and reached down with his fingers until they dipped into her pussy which was getting wetter by the second.

"Nnot fair!" she said trying to bring a hand around to touch him. She didn't make it before his fingers traced over her clit which was sensitive from the night before. "Oh!" she shouted and then heard echo across the valley. 

Luc laughed and started to wiggle her jeans down her legs, freeing her pussy to his attentions. Meg helped and soon his jeans were open too. Her hands weren't as cold on his erection, but they felt good. Luc rolled them on their sides so that each could put their mouth to work. His tongue licking her pussy made her squirm and gasp. Meg's flicking tongue on his cock and balls was driving him crazy.

"Oh Meg," he gasped. "Not going to... to last..." he gasped.

"Oh?" she said muffled by his cock. 

"No. Come here," he said and moved them so that they were on their knees. He rubbed his cock against her lips and then slid in deep. Meg arched her back and then drove against his cock. They built a rhythm and he grasped her hips as he drove in. 

"Oh!" squeaked Meg. 

A guttural noise came from Luc as orgasm began to sweep over the two of them. He drove in hard and nearly flattened Meg. He felt as if every drop of semen was pumping into her. Meg in turn had orgasm rip through her over and over. Things had just began to settle down when Luc leaned over her while still inside and bit her shoulder. It felt good, and her body reacted with another orgasm. A moment later, Luc let go of her and they fell back against the meadow grasses. 

"That was intense," Meg said when she could finally talk. She started pulling her clothes back on as the breeze picked up.

"Yes, it was. Hope I didn't hurt you when I bit," Luc said. His voice was a bit gruff as he was still partially shifted.

"Oh no. Surprised me, but it felt good. Good enough that I came again," Meg said.

Luc nodded. "This is going so much better," he thought. Looking around, he realized that they had better get back to camp before it was too late in the afternoon.

"Shall we head back to camp?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think round two aught to be at least on the sleeping bags. That grass was a little rough on the knees," she said.

Luc laughed and they moved down the trail to camp. 



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 03



Luc and Meg got back to camp late in the afternoon. Storm clouds were rolling in and the typical afternoon showers weren't far off. Luc tidied up camp while Meg fixed up the sleeping bags in the tent. 

"Where did all this fur come from?" she thought. "Oh duh! He sheds like a frickin' dog!" She finished just as the first rain drops fell. "Luc! Hurry up!" she called.

"Almost done!" he called as he hauled the food bags up high in the tree. He'd covered the bag with plastic to keep the rain out. Tying it off, he ran for the tent. Just before he entered, he shook from head to ass, just like a dog. Raindrops went everywhere. Then he dived into the tent. 

"You're soaked!" said Meg.

"Well, it happens when it rains," said Luc. He took off his boots and then stripped down to just his underwear. Piling his clothes on top of his boots, he sat watching Meg. His skin began to gently steam, as the water evaporated.

Meg took off her boots, and after sitting up, took a deep breath. "Uggghhh!!! It smells like wet dog in here!" she said.

Luc cracked up and started laughing. "What did you expect? I smell this way in the shower or swimming pool too." 

Meg blinked and then thought about it. "Then why on earth have you guys been able to hide so well all these centuries?" she asked.

Luc stretched out on the sleeping bags and started running his hand up and down Meg's side. "Easy, most of us own dogs. Big dogs, and so no one notices. Only pain is paying a pet deposit on a hotel room."

"You take the dogs?" she asked.

"Not usually, but more than once I've been accused of having a dog up in my room. I shed," he said.

"Oh yeah! When I straightened up the sleeping bags, there was fur everywhere," Meg said. It was her turn to giggle.

"There is a whole shitload of stuff that should give us away, but it never does. You wouldn't believe the things people ignore or pretend they don't see. Better yet, once you do know, you don't stop seeing it," he said.

Meg looked him up and down, lingering on his cock. "Like this?" she asked as she reached down and touched him.

"Oh yeah. You can pet me all day," Luc said. He rolled onto his back to let Meg touch him.

"Geeze! You're just like my friend Nikki's pit bull. He'll do anything if you rub his belly," she giggled. Then she ran her fingers up and down his ribs on the side.

"Nooooo!!!" Luc squeaked, as she rubbed his ribs harder. 

Meg watched as his foot started to twitch, just like a dog. Her giggle built up to a belly laugh and she was laughing so hard she couldn't rub his ribs any longer.

"Thank god!" Luc gasped. Trying to catch his breath, he looked over at Meg. Her nipples were hard under her teeshirt. He reached out and grabbed her shirt and pulled her to him.

"Wha.." she started to say.

"If you can scritch my ribs, I can kiss and suck on your nipples," he said as he pulled her shirt up and started to run his tongue across her nipple. It was her turn to gasp. Luc smiled and concentrated on one nipple and then moved to the other. With his other hand, he pulled her jeans off along with her undies. 

Meg didn't notice Luc shift ever so slightly. She did notice how easily he stripped her clothes off. She also realized that he was holding her down without any effort. Nor did she notice him get rid of his own underwear. Luc moved from her nipples and started working his way to her pubic bone. He nipped and licked and sucked her skin. He was leaving little marks across her skin. She smelled of sex and hot honey. Edible.

Meg tried to move, and Luc growled under his breath. It sent shivers up her spine. That's when she realized that he had begun to shift and didn't know what to do. She ran her hands through his hair and scratched around his ears. That brought a moan from Luc. He moved her legs farther apart and then ran his tongue down between them. With a few flicks, he had her moaning as his tongue played over her clit and down to the opening of her pussy. He used his tongue like a cock, and dove in and out of her pussy.

"Oh god! Ohgodohgod!" Meg cried as orgasms washed over her. His tongue... oh his tongue! Then when she thought she couldn't take another thrust of his tongue, he moved up and thrust his cock into her. She swore it was bigger than it had been this afternoon. Maybe she was just sore from all the sex. 

Luc was enjoying moving Meg to make her feel every stroke. Slowly he moved one leg over hers and turned her on her side. Drawing the other leg up he slid in and buried his cock deep into her. "Ahhhh," he moaned as her wet pussy started to clamp around his cock with each thrust. She was close to a huge orgasm, and he wasn't far behind.

"Lllluuc! Oh... ohshhhhhh...i....T!" she groaned as he pounded harder and harder. 

Luc gripped her hips hard and pumped in and out as rapidly as he could. The burn of orgasm traveled up his spine and exploded. He felt himself explode deep inside of Meg, filling her with cum. Meg gasped and her orgasm rolled her in response to his.

"OH!" she squeaked. Meg arched as the orgasm seemed to go on and on.

Luc moaned and then collapsed to the sleeping bags next to Meg.

Meg blinked and tried to get her brain back between her ears. "That was the... the... oh shit that blew my mind," she gasped.

Luc smiled. He was still partially shifted, and his face had a wolfish cast. His tongue shot out and licked the end of her nose.

"Ugggh!" Meg said as she wiped her nose. "That was wet!"

Luc just smiled. "Hhhyeah," he said, the shape of his jaw making speech difficult.

Meg giggled. They laid there in post orgasmic bliss listening to the rain.

Some time later, Luc woke up. It wasn't totally dark, but his stomach was rumbling. He had to eat. Meg was still asleep, so he covered her up with the sleeping bag and crawled out of the tent. Ten minutes later, he had water boiling for coffee and was busy dicing up onions, mushrooms and the elk jerky he had brought. After pouring the coffee water, he put more on for noodles. Once it started to boil, he dropped the ramen noodles into the water and set it aside. Then he poured water over the jerky and set it to boil. When the meat had soaked up the water, he added the onions and mushrooms. After it had simmered a bit, he set it aside and put the noodles on to boil. Once they were done, he drained them and added the spice and then the meat and veg to the mix. A little salt and pepper and the food was ready. 

Luc walked over to the tent and called Meg's name. "Meg, wake up, dinner's ready. Come on and eat," he said.

Meg rubbed her eyes, grabbed her jeans and stuffed her feet in her boots. Whatever Luc had cooked smelled heavenly. She walked slowly over to where he stood. Meg still felt relaxed from the great sex.

"Here you go Meg," said Luc handing her a bowl of noodles. He sat her coffee down next to her. Picking up his own bowl, he began to eat.

"Mmmm, this is good," she said.

"I do my best."

"Much better than the peanut butter sandwiches I usually end up eating," said Meg.

"Huh?" asked Luc.

"After the first day, I tend to just eat pbj's. Easier as I'm not the best cook," she said.

Luc nodded. He knew lots of women who didn't cook well. Not many admitted it as readily as Meg did. "Mom made sure all of us could cook. Doesn't do well to have hungry werewolves around," he said.

Meg nodded. It made sense. Then other questions ran through her mind. "Are you sure this isn't contagious?" she asked. 

"Nope! Although you can get pregnant and have a shifter," he said. "Shit! We never did discuss birth control," he thought.

"Guess it's a good thing I'm on the pill!" she said. 

"Yeah, that helps, but sometimes it doesn't. We are really fertile, so here's hoping. I should have used condoms."

"They make condoms big enough?" she asked.

"Just. Magnum extra large just about works if we shift," he said. 

"Damn! You change size during sex?" she asked.

"Yeah. My cock, my tongue, me," he said with a smile. 

"Have to admit, it is a really nice change," Meg said.

"Oh?" he asked.

"Do you have any idea of how many dinky dicks are out there? Or, men who don't know what to do with their cocks, fingers or tongues?" she asked.

Luc thought about it for a moment. Women had always liked sex with him, and while he knew some of it was due to the whole shifter thing, the rest he wasn't sure of. He'd never asked. "Meg, no, I don't know."

"Far too many!!! You said you were average sized on the dating site. Let me tell you, hon, you are hung. Not the biggest I've ever seen... Not counting that size change thing you do, but you are nice. Real nice. And, you know how to use your tongue and your fingers. Luc, you are a dream. Most men I know last five minutes if I'm lucky."

"Damn. I... I didn't know," he said. He stood up and took her bowl and set it next to the water heating up to wash dishes. He added his own plus the cup to the pile. 

"You may be weird by being a werewolf, but otherwise, you are wonderful," she said. 

"Gee, thanks!" he said in a joking tone.

"No, really! Even if you weren't a shifter, you are so much better than a lot of guys," she said.

Luc thought about that as he washed up the dishes. He wondered if it was just him or the way his mom had growled manners into him. In all honesty, he didn't know what to think, as he'd never had a woman honest enough to say anything to him.

"So, does this mean you'd consider dating me once we got back to the city?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," she said as they packed up the last of the stuff and hung it back in the tree. "You ready for round four?" she asked.

"Why, I thought you'd never ask!" said Luc as he picked her up and walked back to the tent.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 04



The next morning, they broke camp early. Meg was so sore that she couldn't even think about sex. Last night had been another romp that ended up with her eyes crossed and she swore for a moment that she even passed out. This morning, Luc had been rather wound up about getting camp broke and headed down the mountain. She figured she'd wait until they were on the trail before she asked.

"Hey Luc, why the hurry this morning?" she asked about ten minutes after they left camp.

"It's gonna rain," he said.

"It rained yesterday and you didn't panic," she said.

"I know, but this storm is a big one. We have two small river crossings to make and I don't want to get cut off," he said.

"Oh, okay. I was just confused and," was as far as she got.

Luc stopped, turned around and put his hand under her chin to bring her eyes up to his. "Before you start wondering if this is how I blow off dates, don't. You're the first person I've been around in years that hasn't freaked. I am not blowing you off, I just don't want to drown."

"Okay then, let's go," she said.

They got about a third of the way down the mountain when the rain hit. They threw their ponchos on, but it didn't help. As Luc thought, the rain was not the easy gentle downpour of the day before. This was a vertical flood. Pretty soon, the trail was a small stream. They got to the first river crossing, and the water was higher, but not impassable. Luc helped Meg over and then they headed down the trail as fast as they could.

"Are we going to make it?" she called out over the noise of the rain.

"I think so. The water wasn't too bad there. Just keep moving," he said.

The rain got heavier. Thirty minutes later, they reached the next crossing. The water was lapping over the logs. Luc took off his pack and motioned for Meg to do the same.

"Why are we taking off our packs?" she asked.

"I'm going to toss them over and then we are crossing. If you go down, try to keep your head up. There are a lot of rocks right here that are hidden by the water," he said.

Meg nodded. She watched as he seemed to grow taller and broader. He was shifting just a little, which she guessed would give him more muscle strength. Luc grabbed her pack first and lofted it over the river crossing. It landed a good twenty feet away from the other side. Then he grabbed his pack. It landed about ten feet away from the river.

"Wow!" Meg said.

"Yesh, Now chom ohn," he said. "Hate trying to talk in this half form," he thought.

Meg stepped out on the logs and stepped slowly across. Luc was right behind her. Step, slide. Step, slide. It was the longest fifteen feet in her life. Then the log slid out from under her. Meg was falling. The water sucked at her legs, pulling her in. Icy cold water flowed over her head and then pain as something snagged her arm. Gasping for breath, trying to figure which way was up, she struggled. She thought she could hear something, but it could only be the rushing waters in her ears. She tried to push her head towards where she thought the surface was. Then her head broke free of the water.

"Sthop fightn mhe!" Luc yelled. He was the sound Meg had heard, not the waters. He had grabbed her as she went under. "Mehg!" he hollered again.

Meg went limp. The next thing she felt was Luc pulling her up on the bank of the river. Half shifted, he looked like the movie werewolves from all the horror flicks. Part human, part wolf and huge. His clawed fingers had scratched her where he had grabbed her arm and torn though the material. He pulled her clear of the water and then picked her up like she weighed nothing. He didn't stop until he reached his pack. Grabbing that, he continued on and as they passed her pack, he grabbed it too. Luc ran.

Meg began to shiver. She was soaked from the rain as well as the river. Luc was still carrying her and in that half shifted form. "Wwwherre are wwwe gggoing?" she stuttered.

Luc looked down at her. Cocking his head to one side he realized she was shivering. "Damn! Can't let her freeze, but... Damn!" he thought. Looking around, he headed for a dense stand of trees. Under one of the big pines, it was only damp. Luc sat her down and tried to dig through one of the packs for anything to get her warm. He gave up in frustration and shifted fully. He nosed himself under her poncho, and tried to wrap himself around her all at the same time.

Meg couldn't figure out what was going on, and then the brainfog lifted. Luc was trying to warm her up before hypothermia set in. "Oh! I get it Luc!" she said to the wolf. She popped the sides of her poncho to make a big sheet and draped it over the wolf and herself. The wolf wrapped around her and pulled her to him.

"Silly soft one," the wolf thought. He brought his paw down on her leg to make her stay still. Then he nuzzled her closer to him and wrapped his tail up and around until it almost touched his nose. Then he went to sleep.

Meg didn't have any choice but to curl up to the huge wolf. She was afraid to doze off, but realized that she was much warmer and it was probably safe. She dozed off as the wolf began to snore.

Meg woke. Something was different. It took her a moment to realize that the rain had stopped. The sun hadn't come out, but the steady drip of rain had ceased. She was still wrapped up in the huge wolf, but she was warm and just damp.

"Hey Luc, wake up. The rain has stopped," she said. The wolf didn't move. "This is crazy. I'm talking to a huge wolf that doesn't speak English. Damn! Luc! Hey you!" she called again, not knowing what else to do.

The wolf heard a noise far off. He'd been dreaming that his mate was curled up in his paws. The noise got louder. He shook his head and realized that he was under something. Then he smelled the soft one and realized that she was making the noise. He wanted to go back to sleep, but she had grabbed his fur and shook him.

"Grrrrrrrrrr....." the wolf growled in deep subvocal tones. The sound sent a shiver thought Meg, but she didn't stop.

"Hey! Stop that! Shift or whatever the hell it is you do!" she said, trying not to freak out.

The wolf let the growl taper off. He could smell she was scared, but she didn't stop. He blinked a few times and then started to shift. He'd let the other one handle the soft one.

Luc felt himself come back slowly. He could hear Meg saying something to him, but he didn't exactly have all the connections right yet. "Juhsht mihn ut," he tried to say around a tongue that was still too long. He yawned and stretched, trying to finish shifting.

"About time you came back," Meg said. "I woke up and the rain was gone. I tried to get your wolf self to let me go and he growled at me."

"Shorry, Mehg," he said. He stretched his neck again and things popped. Wiggling his jaw, things finally slipped into place. "Dihdn't meahn to schare you," he said apologetically. "Buht you scaared meh when you fell into the wahter," he said becoming more articulate with each word. "I didn't have any choice but to grab you like I did and then all I could do was think about trying to get us to safety."

"I understand, it just scared me when he-you growled. It felt like something rumbled all down my spine and gave me the shivers," she said as she reached out and touched Luc.

"Sub-vocals," he said. "Wolves use them as emphasis. The hearing is different, so sub-vocals really get your attention. He looked around to see if any of his clothes had survived. He found a sock and both his boots, but his jeans and undies were shredded. No sign of his shirt at all except a cuff on the ground.

"Meg, could you hand me my pack?" he asked.

She smiled and handed it over. Luc dug out clothes and some of the food. He handed her some trail mix and jerky.

"Eat, we've still got to get down the mountain, and I know that neither one of us has any energy to spare," he said. Once he was dressed, he grabbed some jerky and then a handful of trail mix. He drank some water and handed the water bottle over to her. "Here you go," he said.

A few minutes later, they stuffed things back in their packs and headed down the trail. The trail still ran with water and was muddy. It took them forty-five minutes to reach the trail head. Luc had never been so happy to see his Subaru in his life. He dug the keys out of his pack and got the doors unlocked as fast as he could.

"Get in and get it started and turn the heat up full blast," he said handing the keys to Meg. She got in and did as he asked as he threw their gear in the back. She had just gotten back in the passengers seat when he crawled in the drivers side. He sat down and let the heat play over his body. The windows steamed up from all the humidity. Ten minutes later, Luc was beginning to get warm. Meg's clothes were steaming. A few more minutes passed and then Luc turned on the defroster. It took nearly five minutes to clear the windows. As soon as they did, he put the car in gear and headed down the mountain road towards home. Luc took care driving as the road was muddy and in some places, the water stood inches deep on the road. He was concentrating so hard, he almost forgot that Meg was in the car.

Luc looked over at Meg when they reached the highway. He was going to ask her which house to head for, but she was asleep. He turned left towards his house. It was closer. Thirty-five minutes later, he pulled into his driveway.

"Meg, wake up," he said softly.

Meg blinked and looked at him owlishly. "Where are we?" she asked.

"My house. I figured it was closer and I know I have a shower that will handle all the fur," he said with a grin.

"You... you have ulterior motives!" she said. Standing up out of the car, she realized just how stiff and sore she was from her tumble in the river. "Ow. God I hurt!"

"Yeah, well you bounced around in the water and then after a short nap hauled ass down a mountain. Let's get inside and get warm. Oh, and wet," he said as he grabbed their packs and headed for the door.

"Funny Luc, real funny," she said as they headed for the house.

Luc dropped the packs on the back porch and then grabbed Meg's hand and headed to the shower. His bathroom wasn't small, and the shower stall took up at least half of it. They dropped their clothes to the floor and Luc turned on the shower. He had it adjusted in a second and they stepped into the warm water. The water felt so good.

Luc looked at Meg, and saw that her shoulder and arm were bruising where he'd grabbed her after she'd fallen into the river. He grabbed the shower gel and started to soap her up.

"You have all day to stop that," Meg said. His hands felt good as they ran over her body. He was soaping all the places that hurt. He rubbed more soap into her hair and then stuck her under the water to rinse.

"My turn," she said from under the stream of water. He handed her the soap and then stood there as she lathered him up. As her hands ran over his stomach, his cock sprang to life. Meg smiled and made sure his cock and balls were very well soaped.   

"Oh Meg, that feels so good," he said softly. He hugged her to him and ran his hands down her back. They moved under the water and let the soap run off. When they were rinsed off, Luc turned off the water and stepped out to grab towels. Meg and Luc wrapped up in towels and Luc lead them to his bedroom.

"Don't know how long I'll last," Luc said as he flopped on the bed.

"Me either. I'm still sore from last night," said Meg. She smiled as she remembered how he'd tongued her until she'd shivered and then passed out.

Luc started by running his hand over her shoulders. Meg snuggled next to his chest and reached around his ribs to stroke his back and ass. Luc's hand moved slowly as it trailed down her back. Meg slowed her touch to match. Neither one was aware of when the other fell asleep. The both snored.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 05



It had been a week since Meg had left early in the morning with a note left on the fridge. She'd had to get to work and he'd been in wolf form when she woke up. She no sooner got in the door of her apartment than the phone started ringing. She grabbed the phone. "Hello, Meg speaking," she said. "Oh, Sorry, I've been out of town this weekend. Out of cell phone range too," she added quickly. "Yes, I'll be in as soon as I can," she said and rang off. Meg looked at the clock, and realized it was barely 7am. She wasn't due into work until 9am, but that had been her supervisor and from the sounds of it, all hell had broken loose over the weekend. 

Meg dived through the shower and dressed as fast as she could. Out the door thirty minutes later had her at work by 8am. Walking through the door she realized that a water main must have burst over the weekend. Crews were mopping water and everything was either up on furniture or being carted outside.

"What the hell happened?" she asked a guy she knew from one of the offices.

"Pipe burst. Flooded everything," he said as he passed her with an armload of stuff. 

Meg headed for her office. The carpet squished under her feet, and there was a tide mark about a foot up the wall. Right in line with all the electrical plugs. "Shit," she said to no one in particular, and started trying to figure out what to clean up first.

Luc had woken up to an empty house. The note in the kitchen explained that Meg had needed to get to work and that she would call him during the week. That was fine with Luc. He certainly didn't want to rush this relationship. The camping trip had been rather intense, and both of them needed to have time to think about things. Luc cleaned up his camping gear and got everything packed away. Then he headed into work. 

It was like every computer or server in the county died and needed his help. Luc and his staff of five were swamped. Alpha Wolf Tech had more work than they could cope with and for once Luc was afraid that he'd have to turn customers away. Out the door at 6am and if he was lucky, in by 10pm. He ate, and either shifted for a run or went straight to bed. Most nights, bed won. He had no time for personal computer use, much to his frustration.

Thursday morning, he actually had time to catch up on office paperwork. Three of his techs were out in the field and one tech was in the work room dealing with the backlog in there. His office manager just kept piling the paper work in the baskets and filing what he got done with. "She deserves a medal after this week. Didn't snarl or bite a single one of us." he thought.  What most people didn't know was that the entire staff of Alpha Wolf Tech LLC were shifters. It made life much easier if you worked with someone who understood it when you suddenly grew a foot in height and got furry when you were pissed off or upset. Ginny, his office manager, was one of those understanding people that kept a large bowl of peanut butter flavored dog biscuits on her desk. Most people thought they were for customers dogs. In reality, they were the treats she handed out to staff and some of their customers. Ginny knew how to keep the office on an even keel. 

"Hey boss," said Ginny as she strode into his office.

"Hi Ginny, what do you need?" he asked.

"We've got a new client called in. Needs their network checked and their computers serviced. Apparently, their last service contract was with Sheldon Electrics," she said and handed him a service order.

"Okay, so why are you bringing it to me?" he asked although he guessed the obvious answer.

"First off, you are the only tech free in the office. Second, they asked for the boss or the head tech to come in. Third, as a first contact type of situation, I figured you aught to go and put the best face on Alpha. Especially as Sheldon had been their last service contract provider," she finished. Sheldon Electrics was one of those companies that did well right up until they over extended themselves. They did that constantly, and it was the customers that suffered. 

Luc nodded and looked at the paperwork. "Okay, when did you say I'd be there?" he asked.

"About 45 minutes from now. 11am. And don't forget to take your printer this time," she said. "You'll need to fill in the details on the service contract." Ginny turned and walked out of the office.

Luc watched her go and smiled. The file she had was filled with 90% of the information he'd need, including a quote for all possible jobs.  "Damn, she's efficient." he thought. "Probably a good thing I'm not her type. Otherwise she'd own the company," he thought with a smile.  He and Ginny had been lovers for about two months when he first opened the business. She was ten years older than he was even if she didn't look it. However, they were much better business partners than bedroom partners and both of them recognized that.

He grabbed his tool bag with printer in the bottom as well as a box of Cat5e and other bits and pieces he knew he needed from the list Ginny had put in the folder. Looked like a rewire job at the least. Heading out the door, he waved at Ginny. 

Meg had had enough. After four days, she simply couldn't do another thing. She couldn't do any work and her office was stripped waiting for repairmen. She had called as many clients as possible and told them that the office would be closed for at least three days if not a week. Most of the partners could work from home and that left just the support crew in the office. Their consulting firm while not the newest one in the area, certainly had a select clientèle. Not every day that a company lands a state contract to provide demographics. "I'll be back in thirty minutes," she told Angie. "I'm going to grab some lunch," Angie waved from the front desk and marked Meg as out.

It felt good to get out of the damp and humid office. She filled her lungs with clean air and wished that she was back in the mountains with Luc. She wondered why he hadn't called her. Then again, she had been so busy, she hadn't called or logged on to her computer either. As she got in her car, she pulled out her phone and made a note to call him this evening. Pulling out of the parking lot she headed for the bank and some place to grab a burger.

Luc arrived at the job with five minutes to spare. He walked in and the smell of wet cement, moldy carper and damp assaulted his nose. "Ugh," he said to no one in particular.

"I agree, but standing there won't fix it hon. What can I do for you?" said a round receptionist behind a desk with a pad of paper in front of her instead of a keyboard. The nameplate said Angie.

"Oh, Sorry, just talking to myself," said Luc. "I'm here to talk to someone about a repair contract. Sheldon Electrics had it and now someone here wanted to switch over to Alpha Wolf Tech," Luc said.

"Oh yeah, that would have been Mr. Larken, but he isn't in today. He decided he would work from home," said Angie.

"So, who do I need to talk to?" he asked.

"Well, Margaret is out to lunch, but she should be back in about ten minutes. Want to wait, or do you want to look around and see just how bad the damage is?" she asked. "We had a pipe burst and it really flooded the building."

"Yeah, I'll walk around and see just how bad it is. Mind if I set my bag down here on the desk?" he asked.

"Not a problem hon. All the offices are open and the server room is down the hall to the left," she said and pointed.

"Thank you Angie," Luc said and headed down the direction she pointed. He pulled out a notepad and started jotting down things. From the looks of it most of the walls were drying out. Not a lot of drywall to replace except in the back offices. All the carpet was ripped out and from the way the cable runs were done, most of them were okay. Sheldon Electrics had a bad habit of dropping everything from the ceiling. Only one out of twenty runs was actually on the floor. The server room had been a write off. The bottom servers were soaked. He might be able to retrieve the data, but he sure hoped they had backups. Larken's office was next. Once again, not a lot of damage, but enough. More notes. Next was a corner office. It was fairly well stripped. Furniture piled to one side and the desk covered in a drop cloth. Drywall had been replaced and the room was ready to repaint. Luc was crouched down on the floor examining the plug layout. This room wasn't a drop down wire arrangement. 

"Damn," he said to himself looking at the mess. He realized that this office backed onto the server room. He dropped to one knee and started to make notes.

Meg hurried back from lunch and saw the computer contract van in the parking lot. Alpha Wolf Tech, LLC was blazoned on the side with a large paw print as the logo.  "It couldn't possibly be," she thought as she headed inside.  She knew Luc worked with computers, but business was something both of them had avoided like the plague. There was a big case sitting on Angie's desk when she walked in.

"Hi Angie," she said.

"Hi hon. The contract guy is here, and is he a hunk," Angie said softly. "He's taking a look at the damage and probably totting up a bill."

"Okay. Thanks Angie," she said and headed back towards her office. The door was partially closed, and she peeked around to find a man's rear end on the other side of the door. One she swore she recognized. 

"Surveying the damage?" she said hoping to startle the man.

"Yes, and it's nice to see you," Luc said turning as he stood up. A smile lit up his face.

"Damn! I was hoping to startle you," she said. 

"Meg, you smell way too good, and I know your scent. However, it is nice to see you."

"I agree. I'd begun to wonder if you'd fallen off the face of the earth, or if you were locked up in the dog pound."

"Oh, low blow!" Luc said. "I've been working my tail off, and now I have to find someone named Margaret to see if she can authorize this contract," he said.

"That would be me," she said.

"Meg, Margaret. I should have known," he said with a smile. He shifted just a bit and flashed a bit of fang.

Meg smiled when she saw his smile. "Let's see what you propose," she said. 

"Can we go back to Angie's office? The smell in this end of the building is really bad," Luc said.

"Sure, I guess it is pretty bad," Meg said and turned to head back to the front door. 

Angie cleared a spot on her desk for Luc and Meg to work. An hour later Luck walked out of the building with a contract to repair the network and wiring. The company would start work in the morning. Luc headed back to the office.

"He sure was nice looking," said Angie.

"Oh yeah," said Meg. "Almost edible," she said.  "And I want to play Little Red Riding Hood to that wolf," she thought. 

Ginny was at the front door when Luc got back to the office. She blocked him from entering.

"What gives Ginny?" he asked.

"Give me your tool bag and clip board and then go home," she said.

"I have work to do," he protested.

"Luc, take your testosterone overloaded self home and at least take a shower," she said. 

Luc sighed. He sniffed the air around him. Ginny was right. Seeing Meg had revved up his system. "Fine. See you in the morning," he said and headed for his car.

Ginny smiled and headed back inside. She picked up the phone and dialed the number on the notepad. "He's on his way home," she said when the phone was answered on the third ring. "Yes, have fun," she said and hung up.

Meg arrived at Luc's house about five minutes after he had. She found the spare key Ginny had told him about and let herself in quietly. Putting the cooler down on the floor just inside the door and headed into the house. She could hear the shower running and dropped her clothes just outside the bathroom door. Luc was splashing around making enough noise that she didn't worry about being heard. Slipping into the shower, she almost got her hands on him before he noticed her and jumped.

"Damn! Meg! Oh damn you startled me," he said.

"Glad to know I can sneak up on you," she said as she got all the way into the shower.

"How did you get in?" he asked. 

"I had help," she said.

"Who?" he asked, and then it dawned on him. "Ginny! That's why she met me at the door and sent me home!"

"Yeah, I called after you left, and we had a good conversation. Seems you've been working too hard, and how did she put it? Oh yeah... 'all work and no play makes Luc a crabby wolf.' I think is how she put it," said Meg.

"Ratted me out about the long hours eh?" Luc said running his hands over Meg and grabbing the soap.

"She certainly did. Especially after she heard we'd had a good weekend and that I wasn't freaking out about you and your shifty habits. Then we women plotted, and decided that we deserved a bit of playtime," she finished.

Luc smiled and ran his lathered hands up and down Meg's body. "I think I can go along with that idea."

They showered quickly and then headed for the bedroom. Luc dropped his towel and spread out on the bed. Meg followed him and straddled his legs. "You know, you do smell like a wet dog straight out of the shower," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, and let me show you what my canine tongue can do," Luc lifted her off of him and put Meg on the bed. Moving between her legs, he brought his tongue down and flicked it across her lips. Meg arched her hips upward and he moved his tongue up between her lips and teased her clit.

"Oh! Oh that feels good," she gasped.

Luc smiled and repeated the moves. This time he drove his tongue into her opening and then back up to her clit. Meg bucked with the fast little orgasms he was causing to course over her body.

He moved his tongue up to her clit and slid two fingers deep into her pussy. Moving them in and out, she became wetter and wetter. 

"Llluc, oh.." she moaned. 

Luc knew he was moving fast, but it had been a long week with nothing but work. He was hard and aching. He moved up from her crotch, and pulled her hips towards his cock. Teasing her with the tip of his cock, was almost his undoing. As soon as it was wet, he slid into her pussy.

"Uhhhh," he groaned. He moved slowly at first, but then picked up the pace. He held Meg's hips tight and soon had a fast rhythm going. It felt so good not to have to hold back. 

Meg swore that he was growing bigger with each thrust. She wrapped her legs around him and held onto his wrists. He was bumping her cervix which felt so good. "Oh gods, oh gods," she gasped. Luc picked up speed and pumped in and out as fast as he could. The heat of orgasm was building up fast. A few more strokes and he pushed as hard as he possibly could against Meg's pelvic area coming hard and deep inside of her. A growl escaped his throat.

Meg in turn felt the orgasm build up inside of her and as Luc went off deep inside of her it triggered a massive orgasm which had her arching up off the bed. "Ooooohhhhhhh!!!" she moaned. They froze for a moment in the bliss of orgasm. Then they collapsed to the bed.

Luc rolled to one side so as not to crush Meg. AS he rolled, he slid out of her and the sensation of her lips caressing his cock made him twitch in pleasure. "Ahhh..." he moaned softly. The two of them laid on the bed breathing and recovering. 

Meg turned to Luc a few minutes later. "I have supper by the front door in a cooler," said Meg.

"What did you bring?" he asked.

"Chicken salad, biscuits, carrots and iced tea," she said. "Fastest thing I could order on the way here."

Luc smiled as he got up. "I'll be right back." Luc headed for the front door and grabbed the cooler and was back before Meg had time to sit up. When she did, she made a face.

"What's the matter?" Luc asked.

"Um... I need a towel," she said.

Luc grabbed one out of the bathroom and handed it to Meg. She took it and then sat on it. He looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"You came so much I'm flooded," she said.

They both laughed as they dug into the food.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 06



Meg slept well curled up to Luc. She'd gotten use to the fact that he shifted at night. She understood the reason for the king sized bed too. The only problem she had was getting across the bed in the middle of the night. The wolf felt he had to protect her, even if it was from the dangers of the toilet.

After a week of spending more time at his apartment than hers, they'd had a long discussion about their relationship. The first compromise had been that Meg had to move in with Luc, and not the other way around. He spent the night at her apartment once, and the bed frame broke. The next was that she'd keep her apartment for at least six months in case things didn't work out for them. Little by little, Meg moved stuff into Luc's house.

A noise woke them up. Meg couldn't identify it, but Luc knew it. His cell phone was playing "Bad Moon on the Rise" which was his ringtone for Ginny. 

"Hullo," he said sleepily. "Yup, um..." Luc paused, looked over at the clock and nodded. "I can be there in twenty minutes. No, not a problem. Yes Ginny, I'll bring Meg," he said and disconnected the call.

"What's going on?" Meg asked.

"Ginny has a family emergency. She needs a babysitter fast, and we're it," he said standing up and looking around for his clothes.

"Family emergency?" Meg asked again feeling left out of the important bits of the conversation. 

"Ginny's niece had her coming of age trip this weekend, and never came back. So, the whole family is out looking for her," he said sitting down on the bed to put on his socks.

"So, who are we babysitting?"

"We are babysitting the younger members of the family who are staying with Ginny," he said. "Are you ready?" 

Meg was nearly dressed. She nodded and grabbed her shoes as they headed out the door. She wrapped a scrunchie around her auburn hair and headed for Luc's Subaru. She waited until he had pulled out into traffic before she started asking questions. 

"What is a coming of age trip?" she asked.

"It's a trip out into the woods for our teens. First shift, and they think they are all alone, but there are always watchers," he said turning onto the highway exit.

"Okay, sort of a rites of passage," she said.

"Yes, but with shifters, sometimes there are issues," said Luc.

"Like what?" Meg asked.

"Sometimes we never shift. Others get stuck half way. Some people die. Or, people shift and then never shift back. The wolf takes over," he said.

"I take it that not shifting back is bad?"

"Depends on the person. Some people are more wolf than human even before they shift for the first time. So, for some it is a blessing. Others get stuck, and can't think of how to shift back," said Luc as he merged into traffic. 

"Oh, so Ginny's niece didn't shift back?" Meg asked, trying to wrap her brain around what Luc had said.

"Exactly. Bitty wasn't real wolfish, so Ginny thinks she stuck. We have to get to her before she gets hurt," he said.

"Bitty?"

"Short for Elizabeth. She's real tiny. Petite," he said. "And before you ask, the common death for a wolf in this situation is either being hit by a car or being shot," he said taking the exit for Ginny's house.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, the confused shifter usually tries to go home, which means they cross traffic, or go too near a rancher. Predictable results ensue," he said taking the last turn and parking in front of a green ranch style house. Ginny was standing in the driveway.

"Bout time you got here!" she said. "Food's in the kitchen, kids are in bed or watching TV."

"Gotcha covered Ginny! Good luck finding Bitty!" he said.

Meg and Luc watched Ginny peel out of the driveway and head north. 

Walking into the house, Luc found three toddlers watching cartoons. Meg walked in and was greeted by three sets of eyes.

"Hi kids, whatcha watching?"

"Thomas Tank Engine," said one.

"Oh, Okay," Meg replied as she sat on the corner of the couch. 

"We's gots pamission frum Ginny," said the little girl.

"That's good," said Meg.

The third toddler just nodded and snuggled closer to the first toddler that spoke. Two girls and a boy. Luc stepped past them and went to check on the sleeping kids. He was back in a minute and motioned for Meg to join him in the kitchen. Meg stood up and walked around the toddlers.

Luc took Meg in his arms and gave her a hug. "Sorry for the abrupt wake up, but someone had to watch the little ones," he said.

"It's okay," she yawned. "You can rub my back tonight."

"Gladly. Now, let's get some food for these kids. There are four more sleeping. They're a little older than this bunch, but they will be just as hungry."

"I'll check the fridge," said Meg. She opened the door to find a slab of bacon, sausages, and three dozen eggs. "Bacon and eggs or sausage and eggs?" she asked.

"Yes," said Luc looking around for pans.

"Huh?" asked Meg.

"Both. We have seven hungry kids and us to feed. Knowing Ginny, there is enough in there for everyone as well as bread or waffles," he said.

"Okay, but I don't think most kids eat that much," said Meg as she got the stuff out of the fridge.

Luc laughed and started cooking. 

Thirty minutes later, everyone was fed. All the bacon was gone, two sausages were left and six waffles, half a loaf of bread and nearly two dozen eggs were gone. Meg was amazed at the the amount of food they had gone through. As the kids moved out to the living room to watch TV, Meg collapsed in a chair and worked at finishing off her waffle and one of the remaining sausages. 

" I can't believe they ate all that food!" she said.

"I can. Remember, our metabolisms are faster than the average human. Therefore, we need more calories. I never understood how my mom kept us all fed," said Luc.

"How many siblings do you have?" Meg asked.

"Started out with eight. Two sets of twins. One died in a car accident, two never came back after they shifted, so depending on how you count it, I have six or four," he said as he ticked them off on his fingers. 

"Car accident?" asked Meg.

"Ice on the road, and the truck rolled. She was 18," he said.

"Oh."

"It's okay. It happens. I just miss my brothers that shifted. They were more wolf than most, so we weren't really surprised," he said. "Do you have any siblings?"

"A sister. She'd probably annoy the hell out of you. High pitched voice and knows she's the only real authority on anything. Makes me want to introduce you two and have you shift, just so she'd shit her pants," Meg said with a smile.

Luc laughed. He'd met a few people over time that he'd fang flashed. Sometimes it was worth it. Other times it lead to more trouble than he cared for. He started collecting the sticky plates and silverware. Rinsed and loaded into the dishwasher, they went to check on the kids.

Looking in on them in the living room, Meg smiled.

"They're puppy piled," she said quietly.

"Yeah, what did you expect?" he said. "They are all potential shifters, and even if they never shift, they will still have wolfish characteristics. You saw how they wolfed their food," he said. 

It was Meg's turn to giggle. "You're right. I'm still not use to thinking of you and others as duel natured."

"Get use to it. Being shifter friendly is a good thing in some ways, but means you'll end up with a whole lot of new friends. Especially if we ever break up," he said. 

"Huh?" she said puzzled.

"Meg, you have no idea of how rare a person you are. A non-shifter who is cool with who and what we are isn't something you find every day," he said.

"Oh, so if we broke up, every male in a hundred mile radius would be at my door?" she said half joking.

"Three hundred mile radius," said Luc, and he wasn't joking.

"Suush! We's can't hears the TB!" said the little girl who'd introduced herself as Sawa.

"Sorry," said Luc who than sat down with the little ones to watch Bugs Bunny. 

Ten hours later after lunch, dinner, bedtime snacks and two stories, the kids were asleep. Luc and Meg were curled up on the couch half asleep when Ginny came back. She walked in so quietly, that Meg didn't hear her at first.

"Whoa! Where'd you come from?" asked Meg.

"The north forty," said Ginny who flopped exhaustedly into the chair.

Luc took one look at Ginny, who shook her head in a negative fashion. He got up and headed for the kitchen. He came back with a beer and then went back to get Ginny some food.

After Ginny had time to eat the sandwich which was more meat than bread, she was ready to talk. 

"No luck?" asked Meg at last, not being able to stand the silence.

"No, we found her," said Ginny. She sounded so tired.

"What happened?" asked Luc.

"She got stuck, just like we thought. We finally found Bitty and were working with her to shift back. Her damn mother panicked. This panicked Bitty and made things worse," said Ginny.

"How?" asked Luc.

"Bitty ran off. Her sister Isolda shifted and followed her. If we're lucky, we'll have a naked pair of teens to pick up in the next day or two," said Ginny.

"So, that doesn't sound too bad," said Meg. 

"Meg, the longer you stay stuck, the better the chance you don't come back," said Luc.

"Oh," said Meg. There were days she wished she had an owners manual for life with shifters.

"I made it worse," said Ginny.

Luc whipped his head up. "What the hell did you do?" he asked.

"I decked Penny," she said. "Right there in front of God and everybody. She was yelling and screaming and making a fuss that was drawing attention. So, I punched her. Broke her nose, blacked both eyes and I think I broke my hand," she said holding out her right hand. 

Luc tried not to smile as he inspected the offending hand. Tracing the bones in the hand, he found two that weren't right. "Hold still," he said. 

"Shit, afraid you'd do..." Ginny started to complain just as Luc pulled her hand swiftly. There were two loud pops and Ginny yelped. "DAMN!" she cussed.

"Meg, in the bathroom cupboard under the sink you'll find a med kit. Looks like a fishing tackle box. Bring it here and a bowl of water," he said holding onto Ginny's hand.

Meg headed for the bathroom. 

"Bastard," Ginny said through clinched teeth.

"Yes, but my parents married eventually," he said with a smile.

Meg came back with the box and the water. She watched Luc dig around and come out with a wrap of fabric. He dropped it in a bowl of water. Then he grabbed some gauze and wrapped that around Ginny's hand before he took the roll out of the water. He quickly wrapped her hand in the wet fabric tape and immobilized her hand.

"Now let that set," he said. Digging back into the box, he found another roll of neon sticky tape. He set it aside and took the box back to the bathroom and the bowl to the kitchen.

"Do you always do your own medical care?" asked Meg.

"No, but if we didn't set it quickly, it would heal crooked. As it was, it was nearly too late. We heal real fast," Ginny said. She tapped the cast tape and it thunked. It was dry. She then took the neon sticky tape and wrapped the cast in it. She finished about the same time Luc walked back into the living room.

"So, you decked Penny. What else happened?" Luc asked quietly. 

"Duke said the words," Ginny said.

"Huh?" asked Meg.

"This isn't the first time Penny's had a meltdown when her kids shift. So, Duke said 'I divorce you!' and then walked," said Ginny.

"But, it doesn't work that way!" said Meg.

"It will. Duke will have the papers filed by tomorrow and she'll never see her kids again," said Luc with tired resignation in his voice. "Prenuptial agreement. Penny's human. To make sure our kids don't end up in a cage in a lab or worse yet, in foster homes, we make people sign papers. In cases like this, divorce is uncontested, and custody of the kids goes to the shifter parent." he explained.

Ginny nodded.

"So, how many kids did they have?" asked Meg.

Bitty, Isolda, Jack, Ivan, Sara and Joe," said Ginny. 

"Little Sara and Joe in there on the bed?" asked Meg.

"Yep. I'll be seeing a lot of those kids as Duke is my brother," said Ginny.

Luc nodded. "You need babysitters, just holler," he said.

"Don't worry, I have your number on speed dial," said Ginny.

They got in the Subaru and headed home. They were both exhausted, both mentally and physically. Luc dropped his clothes on the floor and climbed into the shower. Meg followed.

"Those poor kids," said Meg.

"Yeah, and in spite of everything, I even feel sorry for Penny. She's a stupid cow, but she had great kids. Maybe they'll look her up when they're older. Some do. Others never forgive the offending parent. Guess we'll just have to wait and see," he said. 

Meg nodded. 

They showered quickly, and in spite of being tired, Luc was sporting an erection by the time they crawled in bed. Meg smiled and teased him with kisses down his stomach until she smothered his cock with her mouth. Luc groaned and grabbed Meg's hips and pulled her around so that he could run his tongue up her pussy. 

Flicking her clit with his tongue and then burying it deep into her pussy made it hard for Meg to concentrate.

"Mmmmmmph!" she groaned and squirmed as he lavished attention on her pussy. She tried to lick and kiss his cock to the same effect, and failed. Finally, she let go of him and turned to face him. Or at least she tried.

"Lllluccc!" she moaned as he continued to tongue her. She arched her back as her orgasm ripped thought her. As she began to collapse, Luc turned her around and mounted her on his engorged cock. Hot mouth, cold air, hot wet pussy. 

"Oh Meg," he moaned as they began to move in a rhythm. It was slow at first and then accelerated. Meg was bouncing up and down on Luc's cock with slapping sounds filling the room as their flesh met.

"Ohgodsogodsohohohohoh!!!!!" moaned Meg as orgasm ripped though her again and again.

"Gggggggggrrrrrrrrrrr," groaned Luc, with subvocals that sent shivers down Meg's spine as he came. Each twitch of Meg's pussy brought him again. It felt so good. Their orgasms subsided and they collapsed in a pile on the bed. 

"I...love...you," Meg whispered against his neck as she started to fall asleep.

"Ruv yhou tooh," Luc said shifting as he fell asleep.

The wolf curled around his mate. "Silly soft one," he thought. He reached out and licked her nose, and then covered his nose with his tail and went to sleep.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 07



Mr. Larken walked into Meg's office with a file in his hand. He dropped it on her desk and then perched on the corner. He knew that annoyed Meg, and did it anyway. Meg looked up, saw what Larken was doing and braced for whatever was headed her way. 

"So, do you think you can get your new boyfriend to cut us some slack on that bill of his?" he asked in a rather sarcastic tone.

"Gee, I don't know. Would taking your insurance agent to bed get us retroactive flood insurance?" she asked. Larken had decided to go cheap and not take out all the little extras on insurance when they opened the new office. Flooding that was not nature related wasn't covered. Therefore the company was paying for all the damages out of pocket. 

"Hey, I didn't know," he lied. "Besides, your boyfriend sure spends a lot of time here, and I don't want him adding his social calls to his bill," he said and pointed to the folder.

Meg picked up the folder. Looking over the invoices, she didn't see one item out of line. In fact, she noticed that Luc hadn't billed for at least two office calls that she knew of and had given them a discount on the Cat 5e. "You know, you aught to read before you open your mouth Larken. Better yet, quit talking to your sorry assed cronies down at Sheldon Electrics and spreading their bullshit," she said, getting more and more pissed.

"Hey Meg, I'm not the one who's fucking their lead tech," said Larken.

"No, and my love life is none of your business. Besides, take a good look at this invoice. He cut us a shitload of slack already. The savings on the cable runs alone was better than Sheldon's entire offer. We'd still be down and probably out of business by now if we'd gone with them," she said. Looking further into the file, she saw that the check had already been written, so it was a moot point. Larken was being an ass. She looked up and smiled. "You know, you ought to watch out. Never know who or what is behind you," she said.

"Oh shut up!" said Larken as he stood up. Meg wasn't getting as upset as he thought she might and it wasn't as much fun. "There is no one behind me!" he said and turned. 

"Hello Mr. Larken," said Luc from about two feet inside the door.

"Jesus!" Larken squeaked and ran for the door. 

Meg and Luc waited until he got through the door to break into laughter.

"I'm glad I came a bit early to pick you up for lunch," said Luc.

"Me too. However, his personal style of harassment is driving me nuts," said Meg.

"Well, from what I heard, he's working up to a rather good case of sexual harassment. Question is, who is the HR rep for your firm?" asked Luc.

"Me. That's why he figures he can get away with it, because the only people that I can report to are him and Davis, the senior partner," said Meg.

Luc stood there for a second. He was turning something over in his head. "Meg, you realize that if you stay and don't say anything, it will only get worse," he said.

"Yeah, I know. Right now, I'm too pissed to think straight, so can we go to lunch?" she asked.

"Certainly," he said and headed out of the office.

Lunch was quiet as Meg ran the events of the morning through her head. Luc gave her the head space to do just that, because he knew the correct course of action. At least from his perspective.

"Luc, will you come in after we get back to my office?" Meg asked, breaking the silence at long last.

"Yes," he said.

"Aren't you going to ask why?" she asked.

"Well, to be honest, you want me as a witness. First to Larken's behavior this morning, and second, because I'm one of the victims of Larken's temper tantrum," he said.

"Yeah. I'm going to talk to the senior partner. I know he will be in the offices this afternoon, because he has a meeting later on," she said. 

""Okay, shall we go?" he asked.

Meg nodded, and they caught the eye of their waitress. Ten minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot at Meg's office. Sure enough, the big black Lexus was parked out back. The Senior partner was in the office.

Angie was standing next to her desk when they came in the building. "What did you say to Larken?" she asked in a whisper.

"I told him to shut up, why?" asked Meg.

"His wife had to bring him a new suit! Something about spilling coffee on himself in your office," said Angie.

Meg blinked in astonishment, and Luc started to snigger. 

"Luc?" she asked puzzled.

"I really did scare him! He must have peed himself!" said Luc, having a terrible time not laughing.

Angie and Meg started laughing. Meg turned to Angie after a moment. "I need you to do me a favor," she said.

"Okay," said Angie.

"Call George, and tell him I'd like to see him in five minutes," said Meg.

"You got it," said Angie as she picked up the phone. "Yes sir, I'll tell her," said Angie as the conversation ended. "He'll see you in two minutes."

Meg gave Angie a quick hug and trotted back to her office. She picked up the file left there earlier, made sure it still had all the information in it and headed down the hall with Luc in tow. 

Meg went in first, while Luc cooled his heels in the suite's outer office. He could hear most of the conversation. He sat back and waited for Larken to appear. When Larken came into the office he was wearing a different suit than he had that morning. He also startled when he saw Luc. Before he had a chance to say anything to Luc, the secretary showed him into the office. 

Luc could hear the shouting through the door. So could the secretary. She quietly put a set of headphones in her ears. Luc smiled at her. She smiled back. Then the door to the office opened. 

"Mr. Moreau, would you step in here please?" asked Meg.

Luc stood and went into the office. Larken was beet red in the face, and the senior partner didn't look happy. 

"Now, what is this I hear about you scaring Mr. Larken here this morning," asked George Davis. 

"I walked into Ms. Stewart's office for a lunch engagement to find Mr. Larken hear speaking rudely about our relationship, and violating just about every rule in most people's HR handbook. When Ms. Stewart said that he should hold his tongue, Larken continued to be abusive, and I said hello. He jumped like a scalded cat and left the office. Ms. Stewart and I left for lunch," said Luc. 

George looked down at the folder Meg had brought in and then up at Larken. "You have certainly put the company in a bad position David," he said to Larken. "You know the rules. Hell, did I ever say anything about you having that affair with that blonde in Denver? No. So what is your issue with two unmarried people having a relationship?"

"It's unprofessional! She called him in here to wring money out of us because they were lovers! They decided that raking us over the coals to fix our office was a good idea!" Larken said nearly frothing at the mouth.

"Excuse me," said Luc with a subvocal rumble in his voice. "Your office called mine. How Ms. Stewart and I came to date is none of your business, especially as it had nothing to do with the job that my company did for your business," Luc said. "Furthermore, my bid was lower than Sheldon Electrics. The work was done on time and within the quote. In fact, due to a change in cost for the Cat5e cable, I saved your company over $500. I'd hardly call that 'raking you over the coals' considering all the work that was needed," he said. "I believe that Mr. Larken here owes Ms. Stewart and myself an apology."

George nodded. He looked at Larken and didn't say a thing. Larken got red in the face and stormed out of the office.

"Sorry about that Margaret. Is there any chance you will reconsider?" George asked.

Meg thought for a moment. "No, I want my share of the company in a cashier's check along with payment for vacation time unspent. In exchange, I want Larken canned, and Waters and Harlson promoted. In return for that, I won't sue you for HR violations, and believe me at this point, you are so deep into the abyss, that I don't see a way out."

"Anything else?" George asked realizing that there was no way to change Meg's mind.

"Oh yeah, a permanent statement in Larken's portfolio on why he was fired. In exchange, I won't take my client list," she said. 

George thought for a moment, and then called his secretary into the office. "I'll talk to you later Margaret," he said.

Meg and Luc walked out of the office and into Meg's. Angie was already there with boxes.

"How did you know?" asked Meg.

"Offices have intercoms, and Betsy is a bitch when she wants to be. When she realized that Larken was getting canned, she let all of us in on the happy news," said Angie.

Meg smiled. "So nice to know that Larken was universally loved," she said.

"Oh yeah. I'm just sorry you're going. What are you going to do?" asked Angie.

"I think she has a job interview with this computer company downtown at 4pm," said Luc.

"Wwwhat?" said Meg.

"You heard me. I'd be crazy to let a top grade demographer get away. Besides, Ginny would kick my butt if I didn't at least offer you a job," said Luc with a shy look on his face. 

Angie and Meg smiled. They turned to packing up Meg's stuff. Thirty minutes later, Meg had all her boxes in the back of her car. So much of her stuff was ruined in the flood,that it hadn't taken long. Once it was packed, she went back to George Davis' office. Betsy let her in to see George.

"I'm packed and ready to go. Do you have that paperwork for me?" she asked.

"Right here. Betsy had it ready almost before you got out of the office," he said.

"She's a real asset," said Meg, as she read over the papers and then signed them. She handed the paperwork back to George who glanced at it. In turn, he handed her a check for $35,000. It was the amount of her buy in to the company. Meg looked at it. "What about the vacation time?" she asked.

George handed her a separate check. "Thought that it might make it easier if we didn't cross pollinate funds," he said.

Meg nodded. Looking at the check, she saw that it was $2500 instead of $2000. "George, you made a mistake," she started.

"No, I didn't. That's a bonus for finally giving me a real excuse to fire Larken without loosing the company to him," said George with a smile. "Now get out of here and go have a good dinner with that handsome man of yours," he said. "Oh, and don't forget to email me every once in a while and let me know how things go."

Meg gave George a hug and headed out the door. She smiled all the way to the front door, where she left her keys with Angie.

"I'll miss you dear," she said.

"If you and Luc ever need a new receptionist, let me know," said Angie.

"I will Angie, Bye," she said and gave Angie a hug too.

Luc was waiting outside by the cars. "See you at the Alpha Wolf offices eh?" he asked.

"I guess, I sorta need a job," she said with a smile.

Ginny smiled as Luc and Meg explained the events of the day. "I guess I'm cleaning out the back office?" she asked.

"If you don't mind, Meg would certainly be useful around here. Especially when we get those clients that want data about life, the universe and everything," said Luc. 

"You realize that Meg's setting a precedent," said Ginny.

"Oh?" asked Meg.

"Yeah, you're the first non-shifter," said Ginny. "I think you'll do though," she finished with a smile.

"Glad you approve Ginny," said Luc. "We've got to drop by the bank and then head home. Any word from the girls?" he asked.

"No, it's only been three days, and while I'm worried, there isn't a thing I can do about it," said Ginny.

"Guess not," said Luc with a growl in his voice. They left the office and headed out to the cars.

Meg had kissed her way up Luc's thighs and was nibbling the base of his cock when she swore she heard a noise. She ignored it and continued to engulf Luc's cock in her mouth. Luc moaned. He loved it when she gve him a blow job. Normally, they weren't his thing, but her mouth was so talented. Luc moved his hand up between Meg's legs and stroked her pussy which was getting wetter by the second. His fingers slid in and out. Tickling her g-spot was making her squirm.

"Llluc! Your making it very harrrd to suck your cock," she gasped.

"Then come here," he said.

She moved away from his crotch, and Luc moved behind her. With a slight adjustment, he slid inbetween her wet lips. His balls slapped against her ass as they made love 'wolfy style' as Meg teasingly called that position. Luc could feel Meg's muscles tighten around his cock, which felt so good. He'd have to concentrate to not come too soon. Meg must be close too, because she was pushing back with every stroke. This drove him deeper and deeper. 

"Almost there," he thought to himself. "Hold on... just...a little..."

There was a noise at the back door. Luc stopped mid-stroke. Listening intently, he hard it again. 

"Wha-at's the matter?" asked Meg.

"I heard a noise at the back door," he said as he got up off of the bed. Grabbing his jeans, he slid them on and zipped up. He was partially shifted. Meg grabbed a sarong she kept near the bed and wrapped it around her. She followed him as quietly as she could out of the bedroom.

Luc stopped in the kitchen, as the sound started up again.

"That sounds like a dog whining," said Meg, and then it struck her. "Is it the girls?" she asked.

Luc had already started to move towards the door when Meg first spoke. He reached the door before her last words reached his ears. Opening the back door, he found two very thirsty and beaten up wolves at the back door. He dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around them. 

"Meg, grab a bucket of water!" he said loudly. The two wolves were greeting him joyously. Tongues and paws were everywhere. 

Meg came back with the water and set it next to Luc. The two wolves drank. When they'd had their fill, Luc moved into the house. The wolves followed, sniffing and looking around. Luc sat down on the couch. Meg followed, sitting next to Luc.

"What now?" she asked.

"Well, do you have a couple of spare sarongs?" he asked.

"Oh!"said Meg and she headed off to the bedroom. One of the wolves followed her. Meg stopped and put the red sarong down next to the wolf. Walking around, she headed out to the living room with the blue sarong. She put it next to the wolf at Luc's feet.

They waited. Isolde came out of the bedroom wrapped in the red sarong. She was dirty and scraped up, and looked hungry. 

"You okay dear?" Luc asked. 

"I will be. Can you help her shift? She's stuck," said Isolde.

"I can try," he said and partially shifted. He got down on his knees and then yipped at Bitty. He added a subvocal rumble or two. Bitty began to shiver and shake. 

Meg suddenly realized that Bitty would be naked if she managed to shift back. She grabbed the sarong and held it like a curtain in front of Bitty. Luc continued to growl and yip. All sorts of noises came from the other side of the sarong. Yips, growls, and pained cries. Meg wanted to look, and plug her ears at the same time. It sounded like it really hurt. Luc gave one last yip and then began to shift back. 

"I'll take the sarong now ma'am," said a quiet scratchy voice.

"Oh," said Meg, and let go of the sarong. 

As it lowered, Luc turned away to give Bitty a moment of privacy to get things in order. Penny had been a real prudish mom, and so the girls were body shy. 

"Thank you Unky Luc," said Bitty.

"I'm just glad to see you," said Luc. He moved forward and hugged the two girls. "Now, which do you want to do first? Shower or eat?" he asked.

"Shower!" said Bitty,

"Eat!" said Isolde.

Luc laughed. "Fine, the bathroom is that way and the kitchen is behind you," he said. Both girls went off in the appropriate direction. Luc followed and stopped at the fridge. He got out steaks and eggs. He started cooking while Meg made tea and toast. By the time Isolde had eaten, Bitty was done in the shower. The two girls switched places. 

"Why don't you call Ginny," said Meg quietly as Bitty inhaled the steak Luc had cooked for her.

"I will. Now that they've been fed and I know that neither is really hurt. Sorry we got interrupted," he said.

"Not a problem. I"m just glad they're safe," said Meg.

"So am I," Luc said as he reached for the phone.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 08



Meg swore that Ginny arrived before Luc finished hanging up the phone. She burst in the door and was hugging the two girls before they knew what hit them. Listening to the conversation, Meg thought that there were as many yips and yaps as there were actual words. She stood in the kitchen doorway, watching the whole thing shaking her head.

"Yes, before you ask, we are very emotional and very pack oriented," said Luc.

"So, why aren't you in there with them?" she asked pointing to the girls and Ginny.

"Because I'm not the one that's just become their 'mom' for all intents and purposes," said Luc.

"Hmm, didn't think of it that way," said Meg. "Shall we let them be?" 

"Yes," said Luc as he started to turn and head back to the living room.

"And where do you think you're going?" asked Ginny.

"We were going to give you some time alone," said Luc.

"How about we move to the living room where we can all pile on the couch?" suggested Ginny.

Luc nodded and they all moved out to the living room. 

An hour later, Ginny and the girls left. Between the three adults, they had worked out some strategies for babysitting, housing, school transport and those basic things that had been stressing Ginny. Duke was a decent guy, but not a real homebody. Penny had done most of the childrearing. Now it was Ginny's and Duke's responsibility.

Meg had also learned more details about the prenuptial agreement. It came about because the shifters hadn't always been as forthcoming about what they were, which lead to some nasty surprises. A few people had really gone off the deep end and people had gotten hurt. Now there was a prenuptial agreement. Most people didn't go to the extremes that Duke had with Penny, but as they explained to Meg, it wasn't the first time Penny had not reacted well the first time her children shifted. 

Meg turned to Luc as they walked back towards the bedroom to hopefully finish what had gotten interrupted. "Luc, just where is our relationship headed?" she asked.

Luc stopped, stepped up to Meg, and put his arms around her. "I have to admit, that I never expected to find someone like you on a dating site. Furthermore, I figured I'd be a bachelor most of my life. Where do you want this to go?" he asked.

"That's no fair! You just turned it back on me!" she protested. 

"Yes, I did. Where do you want our relationship to go, especially as I just became your employer?"

"Errr.... Hadn't thought of it quite like that," she said as she sat down on the couch. She was quiet for a moment. Luc sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back against him.

"I would like to see how we work together, because I like how we are now. I'm glad that you've nearly moved in with me. I'm happy that you don't freak out when I shift," he said.

"Okay. I'm still in shock over what I did, and probably haven't figured out all the ramifications yet, but I am looking forward to working with you. Main reason, as you said, is because we seem to mesh well," she said.

Luc nodded. "And I need to explain something," he said.

"Huh? Explain what?" she asked.

"Relationships aren't just a two body equation," he said.

"Okay, I don't have a clue as to what you are going for," said Meg.

"Shifters are dual natured. Sometimes the man and the wolf agree. Sometimes they don't. Especially when it comes to sex lives, relationships, and all of that," Luc said.

"So where are you going with this?" she asked.

"I'm slaughtering an explanation is what I'm doing," he said half jokingly.

Meg laughed. 

"I'll just be blunt. My wolfish side has decided that you are an acceptable mate. Meanwhile, I've been too damn cautious and half afraid to spoil a good thing by saying I love you," he said. 

"I,...ummm... Your wolf as you put it decided I'm good mate material?" she said somewhat flustered.

"Okay, he thinks of you as his-my-our mate," said Luc. 

"Is that why you lick my nose at night?" she asked, trying to put this all together.

"Yeah, Sort of a good night kiss once I shift," he said. 

"Oh," she said and then was quiet.

Luc waited for a moment. Still she didn't say anything, and he began to wonder if he'd made a tactical error. "Meg, is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yes, it is," she said as she turned in his arms. I've been trying to understand why shifted you were more affectionate than not shifted. Now I realize that you had a conflict going on. Wolf saying mate, and you being cautious," she said.

"Exactly. I'm still a bit nervous," he said.

Meg looked at him, brought her lips close to his and whispered, "I love you."

Luc hugged her tightly to him, and picked her up.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Off to bed. There was this lovemaking that got interrupted," he said. 

"Ooh!" she said as they headed around the corner.

Luc put her down gently on the bed and began to undress her. Once she was nude, he dropped own clothes to the floor. Kneeling between her legs, he ran his fingers up and down her thighs. Each stroke moved his fingertips closer to that damp spot between her thighs. She smelled good. He put his head down and let his tongue taste her.

"Oh!" squeaked Meg.

Luc grinned and snaked his tongue between her lips teasing her clit and the opening of her pussy with alternating strokes. Meg opened her legs wider and arched her back as the orgasm built quickly. Just before she exploded, he stopped. 

"Wwwhat the..." she started.

Luc returned to what he was doing before she could get a full sentence out. He let her build up to an orgasm, and stopped again right before she went over that edge.

"Dddddamn it! Don't stop!" she gasped.

Luc smiled and replaced his tongue with his fingers. She was sopping, and his fingers slid in easily. First two, then three fingers teased her while he rubbed her clit with his other hand. Meg shuddered, and as the build up to release came near, he stopped once more.

"Youh...hhhh.." she gasped.

Luc rubbed her g-spot with his fingers in a 'come hither' movement, which nearly did bring her. He was hard and aching by this point, so this time as she built up to orgasm, he moved his fingers out and his cock in never loosing a beat.

"Oh!" Meg squeaked as Luc leaned over her. He teased her lips with his fingers still coated in her juices. She smiled, and then the orgasms began to roll.

"Lu...c!" she gasped. She came and came until Luc lost his rhythm. Meg wrapped around him as she came hard. He held still for a moment, and as she melted back to the bed, he picked up the pace again. His own orgasm wasn't far off. Meg tried to hold on to his arms and wrap her legs around his hips as another orgasm drove through her. Meg's orgasm sent him over the edge, and he felt the orgasm rip up from the bottoms of his feet and shoot through his brain like a flash of lightning. 

"ohhhhgoddddsss!" he gasped. Meg responded with another orgasm and then they were a pile of twitching flesh on the bed.

"Damn, that was intense," said Meg a few moments later.

"Oooooh yeah,"gasped Luc, still trying to collect enough braincells to do more than lay there and twitch. A few moments later, they crawled towards the center of the bed and fell asleep.

"Our mate," thought the wolf sleepily. "Sweet tasting Soft one." He licked his lips which still tasted of her. 

The alarm went off way too early, but Luc shoved Meg and himself into the shower. It was Monday, and there was work to be done. It was Meg's first day in the office as well. Ginny had cleared out the back office over the weekend. God only knows where she put all the stuff. Luc got dressed and rounded up his stuff while Meg finished drying off.

"I'm a bit nervous about all of this," she said from the bedroom.

"You'll be just fine. Most of the guys know you from the job at your old office. Just remember, that you are working with a pack of two legged wolves. Be the dominant bitch," he said with a grin.

"Oh yeah. Right," she said.

"No, I mean it. How do you think Ginny survives?" he asked.

"Cause she's a tough bitch that will eat you for lunch and spit out the buttons?" she said half joking.

"Damn right! Let's get moving. I don't trust traffic today," he said and headed out the door.

Meg followed with briefcase and computer in hand.

They made it to work with ten minutes to spare. Ginny met them at the door, and showed Meg her new office. Meg set to work at getting settled into the new office. It wasn't very fancy, but it had nice windows. She heard other people come in, but no one disturbed her. It was a nice change.

Thirty minutes later, she heard someone yelling. She ignored it, because she was deep in examining some papers for Luc. Next thing she knew, boxes were flying in through her doorway.

"What the hell..." she started as she walked towards the door. She almost made it to the doorway when a box flew towards her. She deflected it and then picked it up heading for the office that all the noise was coming from.

"God damn boxes in my office," growled the voice of the man bent over picking up another load to toss.

"Hold it right there mister," said Meg.

"Who the hell are you and why did you put all these boxes in MY office?" he shouted at her.

Meg was taken aback by the volume, and nearly stepped back when she remembered Luc's advice. Channeling her inner bitch, she tossed down the box she had brought with her to the floor.

"I didn't put these boxes in your office. However, tossing them in MY office is offensive, especially when they miss my head by centimeters," she said in a voice that had as much growl in it as she could muster.

"Well, they don't belong in my office. So pick them up and get them the hell out of here," he shouted.

"I will do no such thing. If you don't like the boxes in your office, you need to talk to Ginny, because she put them here," said Meg. 

The mention of Ginny brought the man up short. He stopped with a box literally in mid-air. He blinked, and really looked at Meg for the first time. Then he sniffed the air. Meg stood her ground with arms crossed. 

"You... you're... um. ah..." he stuttered.

"Are you always so articulate?" she asked with a bit of scorn in her voice.

"Um.... Margaret! From the number crunching shop," he said finally dragging the face out of his memory. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked.

"I work here. It is MY office in the back, and don't you dare throw another box. In fact, you can come get all the other ones out of the hall and put them back in here until Ginny tells you where she wants them stored," she said and turned on her heel to head back to her office.

The man stood there stunned silent. 

When Meg got back to her office, she found Ginny and Luc leaning against the desk. Both of them were desperately trying to stifle their laughter. Tears were rolling down Ginny's cheeks.

"And how long were you two listening?" Meg asked.

"From about the point where you growled 'My Office!' at him," said Luc. 

"We heard the boxes hit and came to look. We saw what was going on and decided to let you two settle it between yourselves," said Ginny.

"Gee, thanks," said Meg sardonically.

"Meg, if you can knock Kevin down like that you'll do just fine around here," said Luc coming over and giving her a hug. "He's our edgiest employee, and if you can make him listen when he's shouting, you've won,"

"He's right," said Kevin from the door. "I came down to apologize and pick up the boxes. I'm territorial about my office, and just blew my top before finding out any of the facts. After you left, I realized I smelled Luc on you and knew you must be his new mate."

"I... um... Yeah. Business partner too," said Meg. "Mate! No! um.... wait... yeah, guess he's right," she thought.

"Glad to see it didn't come to blows Kevin. Boxes at ten paces can be viscous," said Ginny.

"Why didn't you tell me when I came in this morning?" asked Kevin with just a touch of temper in his voice.

"Cool your jets pup," said Ginny in a growl. She waited until his shoulders slumped before she continued. "I was on the phone when you came in and by the time I was free to tell you anything, you were already throwing boxes."

"Oh. Sorry Ginny," Kevin said.

Luc just watched the whole exchange and smiled. Meg hadn't over reacted to being called his mate. She had also backed down one of his more dominant employees without a fight. He was happy enough that he almost wanted to wag his tail. 

"Shall we get back to work?" he asked looking at everyone.

They all nodded and Ginny and Kevin left the office.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, touching her on the arm.

"Yeah. He just startled the hell out of me with the boxes, and I just let it rip after remembering what you said this morning," Meg said.

"Okay, and are you okay with him calling you my mate?" he asked with trepidation.

"Um... it startled me at first, but then I realized that it is what I am isn't it?" she asked.

Luc took Meg in his arms. "Yes, if that's what you want," he said softly.

"Yes, I believe it is," Meg answered. "Now get out of my office. I have work to do, and your handsome ass is distracting me," she said with a smile.

Luc smiled back and headed out the door to his office.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 09



Meg quickly settled into a routine in her office. At first she didn't think that there would be enough work for her with Alpha Wolf Tech. To be honest, there wasn't a lot at first, but once the techs realized what she could do with information, her in basket began to fill. Plus, Luc was helping her with freelance work.

Ginny came down to talk to Meg, and heard her laughing as she hung up the phone. Standing in the doorway, she tried to figure out the reason for the laughter.

"Alright, I give. What's so funny?" Ginny asked.

"That was a referral call. There's this company that needed some demographics, and they were referred to us," said Meg still smiling.

"I still don't see what is funny," said Ginny.

"It was the company I just left!" said Meg with a broad grin.

Ginny started to snicker, and then laugh. "Well, did you get the job?" she asked.

"Yes! At three times my normal pay, because they need the data fast. Apparently, they lost their demographer to an HR issue," she said.

They both laughed.

"What did you need?" asked Meg once she stopped laughing.

"Luc is out of the office, and Duke just dropped off Sara and Joe. Their babysitter called in sick. I said I could watch them for a bit, and then I remembered that I have a date tonight. Could you and Luc watch them?" she asked.

Ginny thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, we didn't have any plans for this evening," she said.

"Thanks Meg! I'll makes sure you have the peanut butter by the time you leave," said Ginny as she turned to go.

"Peanut butter?" she asked.

"Yeah. Sara and Joe have hit the peanut butter stage. Won't eat much else but the damn stuff," she said.

"Oh god," replied Meg and turned back to her work as Ginny left.

*

After work, Meg packed the two children into their car seats along with a bag filled with peanut butter, bread and a few other items. Luc was working late. He'd been alright with the kids staying, which was a relief to Meg. Not having any of her own, she really enjoyed the kids.

When they got home, Meg made them a quick snack of peanut butter on toast and they sat down to watch Pixar movies. Cars and Planet 51 filled up most of the evening. Luc arrive home in time to watch most of Planet 51. Joe fell asleep by the end of the second movie, and Meg carried him off to the guest bedroom which they had set up with sleeping bags, stuffed animals and a night light earlier. She tucked him in bed and then went back to the living room.

"Meg, I'm hungwee," said Sara.

"Alright Sara, what would you like?" Meg asked knowing the answer. She couldn't believe the amount of peanut butter these two little kids had stowed away already.

"I wants a peanud budder sanwich wif red jewwy," she said.

"Alright, and then a bath?" Luc asked.

"No. I taks a baf in da moning. I wants a stowy," said Sara.

Meg made the sandwich while Luc and Sara picked out a story. She wanted Revolting Rhymes By Roald Dahl. They were reading Little Red Riding Hood.

"That's wrong!'' cried Wolf. "Have you forgot To tell me what BIG TEETH I've got? Ah well, no matter what you say, I'm going to eat you anyway.'' The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers. She whips a pistol from her knickers. She aims it at the creature's head And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead."

Sara giggled and ate more of her sandwich. Luc walked off to make coffee. He smiled at the story. He wondered if the root of the story was really the tale of a werewolf. He took his coffee to the office and did some work.

Luc realized that he hadn't heard any voices for a while. Walking down the hall, he poked his head into the bedroom. Sara and Meg were sound asleep on the bed. The book had fallen to one side. He put it on the nightstand. Luc picked Sara up off of the bed. Unfortunately, she had brought her peanut butter and jelly sandwich to bed. It was smashed between Sara and Meg, with a long smear of it on Meg's right thigh.

"Hmmm," he thought looking at that peanut buttered thigh. Walking down to the guest room where Joe slept. He put Sara down next to her brother an then headed back to the bedroom. Meg hadn't moved. Luc dropped his clothes to the floor and shifted just a bit. His tongue reached out and began to lick the peanut butter off Meg's thigh.

After a moment, Luc had most of the peanut butter eaten. Meg woke up and looked down at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Ehhting penuht buhtur," he said half shifted.

"I think I remember saying something a while back about 'No Snacking'," she said with a smile.

"Noht Schnnakin'. Jus clheanin'," he said smiling. He licked her thigh again.

This time Meg noticed all the little smears of peanut butter and the remains of the sandwich Sara had been eating. She smiled, and tried to grab the bits. Luc's tongue beat her to the bits.

"Yuhhm," he said. Then his tongue proceeded to clean the rest of Meg.

"Hey! That tickles!" she tried to protest.

Luc smiled and grabbed the waistband of her shorts and shook. A second later, Meg was wearing just her tank top. Luc buried his tongue between her legs.

"Oooh...," she moaned, and struggled to pull her top off. It got tangled around her arms, and Luc caught the fabric with one hand and held it and her trapped hands down on the bed.

"Whaaa?" Meg tried to ask wondering what was going on with the hands, when Luc's tongue distracted her with more insistent probing. He flicked her clit, and she arched with the beginnings of a powerful orgasm. He let her arch a little higher off the bed, and then stopped.

"Oh... you... brat," she gasped. "You could finish eating me," she said not thinking what she'd said.

"Nohh schnaakin'," he grinned.

Meg rolled her eyes and laughed. She tried to wiggle free of her shirt, to no avail.

"Let me go Luc," she said.

"Noh, tu muhtch penuht buhtur," he said. Then he moved up a bit and licked her chest where a smear of peanut butter traced across her breasts.

Meg realized that there must be more peanut butter on her shirt, and gave up struggling. Luc licked and sucked at the peanut butter and her breasts. It was turning her on to the point where she felt she was laying in a puddle on the bed.

In a quick move, Luc was kneeling between her legs and the head of his cock bobbed at the entrance to her soaked pussy. As he entered her, he moved his hands to Meg's hips. He felt so good inside of her, and the orgasms he'd been teasing her with earlier began to roar through her. Luc's rhythm got faster and faster. Meg knew she couldn't last much longer. As her mouth began to open and the first cries of passion began, she remembered the two little ones down the hall. She stifled herself as best she could with the back of her hand. Instead of her normal moans, there was simply a quiet squeak.

"Mmmmmph..." she moaned as the orgasms ripped through her.

Luc was oblivious as his own orgasm triggered by hers froze him in pleasure.

"Ahhhh,.." he cried, and then the next thing he knew, Meg's hand was over his mouth.

Puzzled and confused, as the orgasm rode his brain, he slowly stopped and then dropped to the bed.

"Whaaz han for?" he tried to ask. His tongue and mouth was still shifted.

"Babies next room over! You didn't shut the door," she said as she pointed.

Luc rolled over, and saw the door wide open. He thought about it, buried his head in the pillow and laughed.

*

Meg woke up warm. Way too warm. She tried to throw off the covers and couldn't. Couldn't move. Too hot, too sweaty, and now too frustrated to go back to sleep. She looked around and saw that Luc was fully shifted. He was part of the reason she was too hot. Then she saw what he was curled around. Joe and Sara. They had obviously crawled in bed during the night, and Luc hit shepherd mode. They'd talked about the whole 'protection mode' that Luc and others went into, and Meg had called him a shepherd. It fit.

Slowly, she wiggled free of Luc and the bedding and headed to the bathroom to shower and dress. By the time she returned to the bedroom, two sets of little eyes were peeking over Luc's haunches.

"Morning Joe. Morning Sara," she said quietly.

"Mownin," said Joe.

"Gu mownin," yawned Sara.

"I was surprised to see you in here this morning," said Meg trying to figure out what had prompted the move.

"We's hurd somfin squeem like a gurl in da middle of da night," said Sara.

"An Sawa said wes gots to come sweep wif Unky Luc da woff when we heers squeams," said Joe.

Meg managed to smile, because she knew what the "squeems like a gurl" had been. "You two were very smart to come sleep with us and be safe," she said. "Now what do you want for breakfast?" she asked hoping it wasn't peanut butter.

"Wafuls an eggs an apull socks," said Joe.

"Eggs an bacon an wafuls," said Sara.

"Okay, but what is a pull socks?" asked Meg.

"You knowd! Apuls, you cook em and squish em and frow sugar an stuff in em," said Sara.

Meg was still puzzled and trying to figure things out when Luc came up behind her.

"Apple sauce," he said.

"Yeahhhhhh!!!" the two little ones cried together.

"Oh," said Meg, as the words finally made sense. "I think we can do that," she said and headed for the fridge.

*

Forty-five minutes later, the two little ones were full and sitting in front of Luc's TV. Meg pulled him into the kitchen out of earshot. "By the way, next time we have company, we must shut the doors and no screaming," she said.

"Huh?" Luc asked a bit confused.

"We had Sara and Joe in with us because 'some one was squeemin like a gurl' in the middle of the night and they got scared," she said complete with Sara's accent.

"Squeemin like a gurl? That must have been you," he said while the red blush crept up his neck.

"No, I think it was you... I stuffed my fist in my mouth if you remember correctly," Meg said.

"Oh," Luc answered turning a bright shade of red.

"I love it when you blush," she said and started on the dishes.

*

Duke picked Sara and Joe up about two hours later. The kids were happy to see their dad, but didn't want to leave Luc's.

"Buh Daddy, we likes Unky Woffy Luc," said Sara. Joe nodded behind her.

"Well, it would be nice if you could stay, but if you come home with me, you can see Bitty, and Isolde and then maybe you can come back another day," Duke tried to negotiate.

"Buh Daddy, we likes Mweg too, even if she isn' a woofy," said Joe.

Meg smiled. Duke laughed. "You realize you're in trouble don't you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she countered.

"Well, once you go furry, you never go back. Not just because of the great times in bed, but how will you ever be able to look at faces like this and say no?" Duke said as he pointed at the kids. On cue, the two of them shot Meg big puppy eyes. "Besides, I think it's too late anyway," he said. He then turned and started to gather up the kids and their possessions. A minute later, he was out the door.

Meg turned to Luc with questions all over her mind. "What the hell did he mean by that?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," said Luc. "I'll call him later and see if he'll tell me."

"Okay, because he sounded sorta sad when he said it," she said.

"Who knows. Maybe he's just not dealing well with the separation from Penny," Luc said. "Oh! Almost forgot. Ginny will take the shop today, and said if we wanted to run away from home, she'd be okay with that."

"Run away, like go camping?" asked Meg.

"Yeah," said Luc.

"What's your problem then? Why isn't the car packed?" she said heading off to the bedroom. She realized that Luc hadn't followed her. "Luc, come on!" she called. When he didn't answer, she walked out to the living room where he was getting a few items off his desk.

"I thought you wanted to go camping?" she said.

"I do," he replied.

"Then why aren't we getting the gear ready?" she asked.

"Because 90% of it is already in the car. Only thing we need is your pack and the cooler off the front porch," he said smugly.

"You bastard!" she said laughing as she ran back to the bedroom to get her clothes.

*

The hike up to the camping spot was gentle. Meg hadn't been up in this mountain range before. Luc knew it well, and he led them to a secluded camping spot next to a small mountain lake. They set up the tent and were cooking steaks before the sun set.

"Oh I have missed this," she said.

"It hasn't been that long," countered Luc.

"It has! Over two months, and the last time I got scared half to death, nearly drown and ended up with a new boyfriend," she said trying to sound exasperated.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Luc said.

"Well, a little of it was. The nearly drowning part," she said.

"Oh good! Here I was afraid that it was the new boyfriend bit that terrified you," he said jokingly.

"Nah, The unbelievable part though was the sex," she said mischieviously.

"The sex? What was unbelievable about the sex?" he asked.

"How good it was!" she laughed.

"Oh? Well then, after dinner, I will just have to prove to you it wasn't a fluke," he said with false indignation.

They laughed.

After dinner, Luc spread out the sleeping bags outside the tent so that they could watch the meteor showers. The Perseid Showers were this week, and Luc was glad to be up above the city lights. They laid there watching the meteors streak across the sky. At one point they were falling so fast that it was hard to point them out individually.

He rolled over and started kissing her neck. Meg giggled. Then Luc traced his fingertips down her sides. Meg rolled towards him and totally forgot about the meteors.

"Oh! I almost forgot, I learned some interesting massage techniques while I was waiting for a client the other day," she said.

"Ah, and what might these new techniques be?" Luc asked.

"Well, originally, these were directions on how to make a standard poodle moan. However, Ginny and I decided that they would work well on shifters too," Meg said.

Luc gave her a glare even though she couldn't see it in the dark. "I'm not a standard poodle," he said.

"No, but let's see if it works," she said.

"Fine," he sighed.

Meg straddled Luc's lap and then leaned forward putting her fingers on the back of his ears and thumbs just inside. She then proceeded to rub lightly in small circles.

Luc tried to hold still. He felt the shiver run down his spine as she increased the gentle touches.

"Oh. God," was all he could say.

Meg smiled. She then extended her hands to cover his ears as well as the eyebrow ridges. Sort of a Spock mind meld looking hand movement. She was caressing the sinus points and Luc was melting.

"You can do that all day long," he said.

Meg was really pleased this was working. She slowly stopped the face massage. Then she moved down a bit and lifted up his teeshirt. She started rubbing large circles on his stomach, with just enough force to make good fingertip contact.

Luc tried to keep still, but his leg started to twitch. He also felt himself start to shift. He swallowed hard to keep from drooling. Noting the effect this was having, Meg smiled to herself and knelt off to one side. Pulling his knee up and then dropping his leg to one side, she started tickling his inner thigh, right were the leg joins the body.

"Meg," Luc started to moan. His body responded not only with partial shifting, but with a hard on that threatened to break his zipper. Meg kept going, and then switched to the other thigh. By this point, Luc had had enough. He started peeling Meg out of her clothes and dropping his at the same time. Meg was laughing, and not helping him. Instead, she kept hitting the same spots as best she could.

"Youh, arr suhch a thheeze," he groaned. His jaw always shifted too fast and he felt like Scooby Doo.

"Yes, and I'm glad to know that poodles and werewolves have something in common," she said as he started to lick his way down her belly.

"Yesh?"

"A little massage makes for a very happy canine," she said.

"Ha! Shohw Youh!" he said, and preceded to lick her crotch with his tongue. He flicked her clit and put his thumbs in the soft spot where her hips met her body. It was Meg's turn to moan. Luc moved his thumbs up and down her crotch, finally dipping his thumbs into her pussy. Meg arched her hips as he continued to tongue her clit and use his fingers to play with her.

"Luuc, pleazzze," she groaned. She was sopping wet, and he worked two and then three fingers deep into her pussy, Shifting ever so slightly, he tickled her g-spots and the end of her cervix. This caused her to come very fast and hard. The orgasm whipped through her and she nearly curled around his hand, the muscles clamping hard.

"Oggggohds, Ohohohohohohoooooo," she cried. Her body shuddered as he brought her again and again.

"Nohw whu's skkueemin' a gurl?" he asked.

"Me! Oggghoods, ogodds, ohhh,..." Meg moaned.

Luc smiled and in a quick motion removed his fingers and slid his cock all the way in. He grabbed her hips and worked a fast rhythm of long strokes that brought the tip of his cock to her cervix. Meg moaned, orgasmed again and wrapped her legs around Luc tightly as she came hard. Luc faltered for a second and then resumed the rhythm and stroked deep. It felt so good. He felt Meg about to peak to another orgasm when his own began to roar up through his body.

"Arrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhh," he growled as the orgasm smashed through him. He felt like he'd come buckets. Meg had joined him in orgasm, and she was stiff with pleasure and then slowly melted back to the blankets.

"Oh my," she said in a whisper.

Luc smiled and after disengaging, slowly lay down beside her. They pulled the sleeping bags up around them and fell asleep watching the meteor showers. "Noht puudle, wolf! Worhk gud. Like Soft One play," he thought as he drifted off to sleep. As he did, he shifted fully and wrapped himself around her. 



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 10



Sorry for the long wait on this chapter of the story. My computer died. Not only the hard drive, but the mother board fried as well. Nearly lost all of my data. We rebuilt my computer, my data and I have finally gotten back to the story. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

*

Luc woke up with the sun. The night had been cooler than he expected, but being furry had it's advantages. He stood up and stretched. Meg slept covered by the sleeping bags. He got dressed once he found most of his clothing and then went to make coffee. They had planned to hike up around the peaks behind camp. There was a small hot spring up one of the side canyons that he thought they'd head for today. Luc took a cup over to Meg once it was ready.

"Hey sleepy head. You going to snooze all day?" he asked playfully.

Meg blinked, stretched and then realized that he was holding a cup of coffee. "Mmmm, I love breakfast in bed," she said sleepily.

Luc smiled and walked back over to the stove where he had oatmeal cooking. He dumped in the dried apples and cinnamon sugar. It smelled good. He heard Meg get up.

"Where are my undies?" she asked.

"Don't know. I um... I well, try over there," he said pointing off to one side of their camp. He had vague memories of tossing them off to one side.

Meg walked over. Sure enough, there were her undies hanging from a bit of sage. She walked back over shaking her head. "You are damn rough on my undies," she said.

"I can't help it. You started rubbing my ears and I just lost it," he said a bit embarrassed.

Meg laughed. Pulling her undies on, she walked back to where the rest of her clothes were piled. She got dressed and then walked over to where Luc was putting oatmeal into bowls.

"This smells good," she said.

"Better be. It's Ginny's recipe," Luc said.

Meg laughed.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Oh, just the idea of a werewolf eating oatmeal," she said.

Luc laughed with her.

*

After breakfast, they packed a light lunch and headed up the trail to the peaks. Luc lead the way, and they took their time. Meg stopped to take pictures as the scenery opened up, each view different and beautiful.

"Okay, what is this surprise you said you had for me?" she asked after they'd been hiking for nearly two hours. They had started down into a side canyon and she wondered what lay ahead.

"Well, if you wait just a few minutes, you'll hear what it is," he said.

Meg gave him a puzzled look and kept on following behind him. Five minutes later, she could hear water. It was getting louder.

"Another river crossing?" she asked. Meg wasn't too fond of them after the last time.

"Not exactly. More like a puddle, a big warm puddle," he said as they came into an open area with a stream off to one side.

"Warm?" she said. Then it dawned on her. "A hot spring?"

"Yes. There is a pool over this way that we can adjust with a bit of stone here and there," he explained as they headed towards the pool.

Meg smiled and jogged to catch up to Luc. He was standing beside the pool and dumping his pack. She dropped her pack next to his.

"Oh my," she said as she knelt next to the pool. The water was warm. Luc smiled at her and started to shed his clothes. Wading into the pool, he grabbed rocks that had been moved by others and blocked the flow in one spot and opened it up in another. Meg bent to test the water after a few minutes and realized it was much warmer. She stood and took off her clothes.

"Luc, this is lovely," she said as she lowered herself into the water.

"And so are you," he said putting an arm around her to pull her closer. Meg wrapped her arms around him and brought her lips to his for a kiss. Luc wrapped her closer and then trailed a hand down her back to her ass.

"Mmm, that feels good," she whispered in his ear.

"You feel good," he said, his voice growing husky with passion.

"I,... mmmm, have this ache," she said. Moving in his arms, buoyed by the water, she floated above his growing erection and opened her legs so she straddled his lap.

Luc reached down and moved his fingers against her lips. "Is this where it aches?" he asked. "Or is it here?" He moved his fingertips up against her clit stroking it lightly.

"Oh, it really aches there," she said. "Oh,... and there too," she gasped as Luc moved his fingers up inside of her pussy.

Luc smiled. He moved his other hand and stroked her nipples which were bobbing right at the surface of the water. Meg smiled. Then he moved his other hand so that two fingers were deep in her pussy. The water moved between her legs teasing her. Luc moved his hand from Meg's nipples to her shoulder and gently put pressure on her to drive her down onto his fingers.

"Oh Luc," Meg gasped. Luc repeated the process until Meg squirmed with delight. She moved her hands up to his shoulders and helped rock back and forth on his fingers. Then he took his fingers away and moved her over his cock. He drove in as deep as he could.

"Oh!" Meg squeaked. Luc grabbed her ass and the two of them moved enough to make the water churn. Meg dug her fingertips into the muscles on his shoulders. She wrapped her legs around him too, driving his cock deeper into her pussy. The water moving between them added sensations that she didn't expect.

Luc ducked his head low enough to catch her nipple in his teeth. He didn't bite hard, but sucked and tugged on first one nipple and then another. "Wwwatch those teeth!" she gasped.

Luc grinned, showing just a bit of fang. He arched his eyebrows up and down, smiled and then blew a raspberry on the nipple in his mouth.

"Ggggods!" Meg said trying to catch her breath. She realized that his attentions under the water were bringing her to the brink of orgasm. His nipple play had distracted her and now she realized that not only was he pumping in and out of her in rapid motion, but the hand grasping her thigh had moved so that his thumb stroked her clit. Her breath came in fast short gasps and then the orgasm ripped through her. She trembled and spasmed as her body arched in pleasure.

Luc enjoyed watching Meg come. He loved the way her body gripped his cock, and spasmed which drove him to his own orgasm a moment later. He grabbed her ass and gripped it tight as he drove in deeply. He came in pulses and the final one nearly brought him to his feet. The water lapped around them.

"Ah, ...." he started.

Meg relaxed and lay back in the water until she was floating. Her only connection to Luc was his cock still buried deep in her and her legs wrapped around his waist. He watched her float there relaxed. She was beautiful. Then he couldn't resist it any longer. With one hand, he helped support her while the other hand dipped into the water and then dribbled it up her body to her face.

"Akkk! Luc! You brat," she gasped, trying to wipe the water off of her face. She pulled free of him and ducked under the water to pull her hair away from her face. As she came up, she shoved water at Luc splashing him.

"No fair!" he called and the water fight ensued. Five minutes later, the two of them dragged up on the bank to lay in the grass. They were laughing as they caught their breath.

"That was fun," she said.

"The sex or the water fight?" asked Luc.

"Oh, definitely the water fight," said Meg.

"And the sex?" he asked.

"Sex? Did we have sex?" she teased.

"We certainly did!" he said. "The poor beast is exhausted," he said pointing to his cock. "Usually the sight of you nude has him up and hard in an instant, but look at him now," Luc said handling his limp cock.

"Well, it could just be erectile dysfunction. You are of an age you know," Meg teased.

"I am not!" Luc answered back. "You just wore me out!"

They both laughed. Meg stood up to find her clothes and a combination of water and semen ran down her inner thigh.

"Oh gods! The gift that keeps on giving," she muttered trying to figure out what to do with the mess.

"You could always hop back into the spring," he mentioned.

"I'm going to have to. Where on earth do you hide all of this?" she asked. It wasn't the first time she had commented on his generosity. He came more than any lover she had. She waded back into the water to wash off.

"I don't know. The family doctor swears it is because we have two sets of balls as shifters. Also says that's why vasectomies don't work. We'd have to neuter the wolf as well as the man, and well,... that just isn't happening," Luc said.

"I can't see getting any of you on the table long enough for that. Is that why you are all so fertile as well?" Meg asked.

"Some of us are. Some of the women have a hard time carrying to term. Shifting isn't kind to pregnancies," Luc said. "It's why so many of us try to find wives that are human."

"I can understand that," Meg said. "And why you made the comment about birth control not being a sure thing." She stood up out of the water and then stopped.

"Meg, what's the matter?" Luc asked after noticing that Meg had gone silent.

"Um, nothing. Just wondering where my clothes are. I think I finally got the flood under control," she said.

Luc didn't believe her. He sniffed the air. He could smell the sudden onset of nerves. Standing up, he walked over to Meg and turned her face up to his. "Let's try this again. What's wrong?" he asked.

Meg knew that tone in his voice. There was no avoiding the thought that had sprinted through her head. "Um... I just realized that um... my cycle is late," she said softly.

Luc just nodded, knowing by her body language that she was not totally happy about this thought. "How late?" he asked treading gently.

Meg thought for a moment. "I think about four or five days," she said at last. She was dry enough by now to start dressing. All of a sudden, the mountains were too far away from civilization for Meg.

Luc watched Meg dress while he put his own clothes on and tied his boots. "How in the hell do I handle this?" he thought. "I'd love it if she were pregnant, but I don't want to influence her. Our relationship is just firming up, and oh hell! Where is Ginny when I need her?" He walked over to where Meg was pulling her water bottle out of her pack. After she took a swig, he took it from her hand and wrapped her in his arms.

"When we get home, if you want we can get you one of those tests. What you do with that information is up to you," he said.

"Luc, I'm not sure if I'm ready to be pregnant. Hell, I'm not sure I could cope. I love playing with Joe and Sara, but ..." she trailed off.

"Meg, I'm not sure I'm ready to be a dad. Nor am I ready to have to put that piece of paper in front of you," he said as it dawned on him that that might be part of the problem. While she had never said anything either way about the agreement, it isn't an easy thing to deal with for either party.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really. It's your body. Your decision," he said. "Gods! This is difficult!" he thought.

"Okay. Would you mind if we headed home a day early?" she asked. "I will not panic! I will not panic! Oh god! Oh god!" she thought.

"Not at all," he said and grabbed the packs so they could head down the hill. He stopped and turned to face Meg about twenty yards down the trail.

"Meg, I want you to know something," he started.

"Yes," she said.

"Regardless of whether or not you're pregnant. Regardless of whether you keep or abort any child, I will stand by your decision," he said.

Meg wrapped her arms around him. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too," Luc said holding her tight. "Gods I love you!" he thought. "And that was probably the hardest thing I've ever said to anyone."

*

The trip down the mountain was quick. When they got to camp, they packed up in record time. They headed down the trail to the car. When they got there, they tossed the stuff in the back and hopped in. Luc drove to the radio chattering away. Meg was distracted, and he didn't know if he should interrupt or just let her be. Finally, he couldn't take it any more.

"Meg, what are you thinking?" he asked.

"Um... I'm trying to figure out if I'm pregnant, and how I got there on the pill. I've never forgotten it. Never skipped a pill. Ever. And then, my mind is going in about eighty directions. Do I keep it? Abort? Wait? Trying really hard not to panic too," she said.

"Okay. Do you want to talk or just sit in silence?" he asked. He really felt out of his depth on this. "This is Ginny's area of expertise," he thought.

"I don't know," she said. "I never thought about having kids. Hell, I haven't had a decent relationship except for you and ..." she trailed off again.

Luc reached his hand out and took hers in his. He gave it a squeeze. She squeezed back. They drove the rest of the way home like that.

*

They stopped at the grocery store and Meg ran in to buy a pregnancy test. She was looking it over as she got into the car.

"It says that it might not test right if I'm not pregnant enough," she said.

"Okay. Is that why they give you two?" he asked.

"Yeah. If the first one is negative, you're suppose to wait a week and test again. Gods, I don't know if I can take the stress," she said. "Oh, and we have to wait until the morning to do it."

"Huh?" Luc asked.

"It says to do it the first time you have to pee," she said.

"Oh. Okay. Do you want to talk to Ginny?" he asked as they turned down the street to their house.

"Do you?" she asked.

"Yes!" he answered. "I've never felt so out of my depth in my life. Ginny has always been there when I didn't have an answer, and I've been thinking about her all the way down the mountain," he admitted.

"So have I," she said. "I'll call her when we get inside."

"Okay," he said as he parked the car. "I'll get the packs while you call."

Meg nodded and headed inside. Luc unpacked the gear while Meg phoned Ginny. He could hear the conversation. Some days having wolfish hearing was a benefit.

"Ginny will be here in about twenty minutes. I didn't tell her what we wanted to talk about, just that we needed to talk to her," Meg said.

"Okay," Luc said and wrapped his arms around Meg.

*

They were still standing like that when Ginny popped into the living room.

"So, what has the two love puppies upset?" she asked.

"How do you know we're upset?" Meg asked.

"I could smell it!" Ginny said exasperated. "Did you run into some Sierra people up in the mountains? Guns fired at you? What?" she asked. They all sat down, and Meg looked at Luc. Neither one of them wanted to broach the subject.

"Um,... my cycle is late," Meg said.

Ginny looked at the two of them, sized up the situation and thought for a moment before she opened her mouth. "And neither one of you knows whether to be happy or upset?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Luc.

"Well, to be honest, don't worry until you are or aren't. Fretting about it right now will just make things worse. If your cycle is late due to stress, you aren't helping it. So, get some sleep, take that test you probably bought and then decide what you want to do when you know for sure," she said. Standing up, she went to Meg and hugged her.

"We've all been there," Ginny said. "Not everyone is cut out to be a mom. I know I wasn't. Didn't make it easier though. I thought I should be happy I was pregnant, and when I lost baby after baby, I just figured it wasn't meant to be. So, I love my brother's kids as mine."

Meg looked at her and hugged her tight. "I... I didn't know," she said.

"I don't exactly announce it to the world. However, it does mean I can have a great time and not worry," she said trying to lighten the mood.

Luc smiled and wrapped his arms around both women.

Meg came out of the bathroom around 5am. Luc rolled over and tried to wake up. It was probably the first night in ages he hadn't shifted. Instead, he'd held her all night and finally fell asleep about 3am.

"It says I'm not pregnant," she said holding up the tester.

"Okay, and how do you feel?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. I think I want to sleep on it," she said and crawled back into bed. "I read all the early symptoms of pregnancy, and they are the same as your cycle almost. That didn't help."

"No, can't see that it would. Well, we have the day off, what do you want to do?" he asked.

"For the moment, sleep," she said and snuggled up to him.

Luc held her and they slept.

They spent a quiet day trying not to talk about it. The next morning, they headed to work. It was a busy day. Luc swore that for every day he took off, the work piled up twice as deep. He was beginning to curse Ginny for arranging the day off. "No, can't think like that. It wasn't her fault that Meg noticed her cycle was late up in the mountains. Nor is it her fault we suddenly have so much work," he thought.

Coming back from a short trip out for a consultation, he noticed that Meg's car was gone. He hunted Ginny down when he got into the office. She was dispatching drivers and he had to wait a minute for her to finish.

"Where's Meg?" he asked after Ginny hung up the phone.

"She said she had to go home for a bit," Ginny said. "I've cleared your afternoon. Go home and see what's happened."

"I'm out of here," he said and headed for the door.

Thirty minutes later he was pulling into the driveway of the house and heading into the house.

"Meg, where are you?" he called.

"In the bedroom," came her voice.

Luc headed to the bedroom where Meg was curled up on the bed. "Ginny said you left work and would be back later. What's the matter" he asked as he sat down on the bed.

Meg wrapped around him and put her nose to his chest. Luc put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up. "Meg?" he asked.

"My cycle started at work, and I just couldn't cope, so I came home," she said. Tears were welling up in the corner of her eyes.

Luc felt confused. First she was upset that she might be pregnant. Now she was upset that her cycle started. "Um... Meg, I'm confused. Why are you crying? I thought you were upset about the idea of being pregnant," he said.

"I was. Then I sort of wrapped my brain around it and decided that if it was going to happen, I'd go with it. So, I wasn't happy, but I wasn't upset either. Then this afternoon when I discovered that my cycle had started, I was upset again," she explained.

"Is it alright that I think I get this?" he asked.

"Yes, just hold me. This is a really crampy one and I feel horrid on top of everything else," she said.

"Holding I can do," he said. "Well, I guess we dodged that issue. For the moment. Not sure I'm happy or upset either. Damn!" he thought.

Meg couldn't seem to get comfortable. Luc tried to figure out what she wanted. Finally, he gave up. "Meg, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I can't get comfortable. I don't know what I want," she said at last.

Luc smiled. He stood up and took off his clothes and then crawled back into bed.

"Luc, my cycle started, and the last thing I want is sex," she said misunderstanding his intentions.

"Meg, just relax. I'm going to shift and didn't want to shred my clothes," he said with a smile. He realized that for the last few nights he hadn't shifted. She missed the wolf and just didn't realize it.

"Oh," she said.

Luc shifted and curled around Meg. She snuggled down and was asleep in minutes. "Soft one worry too much," the wolf thought. "No pup this time. We play more. Still time," the wolf rolled the thoughts over as he too fell asleep with his mate.

A week later, Luc and Meg headed up into the mountains for the last camping trip before hunting season really kicked in. Right now it was just the bow hunters and black powder muzzle loaders out there in the woods. Luc was confident that he'd scent them before they got too close.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 10



"Do you think we have enough blankets?" Meg asked looking at the pile in the back of the car.

"Maybe. It gets cold this time of year and sometimes even I don't have enough fur," Luc said. He smiled at Meg who shot him a look of sheer disbelief.

"I didn't think that was possible," she said.

"Oh, it is. ODFS is just about over, and the nights are cold," he replied.

"ODFS?" she asked.

"Out Door Fucking Season," Luc answered.

They both broke up with giggles.

"I had never heard that term before," admitted Meg.

"Well, now you have. Soon we will have to just hike in the woods and leave the nookie to the bedroom and lots of warm indoor heat," said Luc.

Meg smiled. She thought about how hot and sweaty they had been most of the summer and sort of relished the idea of being cooler. She watched the scenery go by as they drove higher into the mountains. Last weekend had been upsetting and while she was glad her cycle had shown up, there was still a part of her that had really wanted to be pregnant. That was a situation she had never expected to find herself in let alone desiring. Ginny had taken her out for lunch and the two of them had had a really good girl's night out. She found out that Ginny had been dumped by a lover when she couldn't keep a baby. After that, Ginny had decided to just enjoy life and not worry about babies. Besides, she had Duke's brood to worry about.

Luc looked over at Meg. She was deep in thought and he just let her be. While they hadn't really argued this week, it was a rough one for both of them. His cousin Bert had been after him to dump Meg and find a good shifter to make babies. Luc had decked him and told him to never show his face again at the office or Luc's home. Duke had been sympathetic. He'd explained that Penny had a rough time when they first got together. Luc hadn't realized that. They'd had a few beers while the girls had been out and talked while waiting for them to get home.

"Meg, we're almost there," he said as he turned into the campground. They had decided to see how things were as this was a rather isolated area. There were maybe two campers in the whole campground.

"Are we going to camp here and hike in the morning or are we going up higher?" she asked.

"I'm all for going higher if you want," he said.

"Let's do that. I know I'm still in a bit of a funky mood, and I think I want to be as far from people as we can," Meg said.

"Fine by me," said Luc as he turned up a road at the back of the campground. The road lead to a wilderness area that had primitive camping. He noticed that the bushes were loaded with berries as they drove up to higher elevations. Five miles up the road, they stopped and pulled into a big meadow. Meg got out and stretched.

"This looks good. The river is just over on the other side of the meadow," she said.

"This is nice. We might car camp up here more often. I'll get the tent if you'll start dinner," he said.

"Okay," answered Meg. She got out the little Svea stove and started up water for tea and was cutting up meat to cook with the noodles.

Luc found a soft grassy area to put the tent up. He got it set up in record time and started setting up the bedding. Amongst the extra blankets, he had a few treats hidden. He put them under his side of the nest he'd built. Standing up out of the tent, he could see that Meg had the tea ready and the meat and noodles were simmering. It smelled good.

"I didn't realize how hungry I was until I stood up out of the tent," he said.

"I agree. I haven't felt really hungry all week, but right now I could eat every bite of this," said Meg. She spooned the food into two bowls and handed Luc one. She sat down and began to eat.

They sat there quietly eating and drinking their tea as the sunlight began to fade. As the sun set, the wind picked up. It seemed to howl down the valley and then ten minutes later it changed directions and howled up the valley.

"What the heck is with this wind?" she asked Luc.

This valley is called Lungs of the Earth by the local Native Americans," he said.

"Are we going to have to listen to this all night?" she asked.

"I have no idea. I've never camped up here before. I've camped higher up, but didn't notice the wind."

"Oh. Okay. Well, let's get the dishes done and take a bit of a walk before bed," she said.

Luc nodded and began to heat water. That took longer than they expected, because the wind kept shifting. It even blew out the stove once. As Luc started the stove again, something caught his eye.

"Meg, move very slowly and look out about 30 yards from my left shoulder," he said softly.

"What?" she asked.

"Just look," he said again.

Meg looked and soon she saw a pair of eyes reflecting in the darkness. "Oh," she said softly.

"If my nose is correct, that is something that doesn't exist," he said.

"Huh?" Meg asked.

"That is a wolf. A real one, not a shifter, and she is very interested in us. She is having a terrible time trying to understand why a two-legs smells like a wolf," he said with a smile as he slowly stood up from the stove.

"I bet that is confusing," replied Meg.

"It certainly would be for me," Luc said. "I know I was terribly confused the first time I met a non-wolf shifter. All I could think was 'why did that man smell like a bear?' and then I realized what he was," said Luc.

"Oh, I bet that was funny," she said.

"It was. He really did smell like a bear. Garbage and all. Had all the bad manners too," he said.

"You're joking," Meg said.

"No, You've met him. Mr. Michaels. The guy who didn't want to believe your projections this week?"

"Him? Ewww! He did stink in spite of all that fancy cologne," said Meg. "Now I know who it was that Ginny called Mr. Griz, and why."

"Yep. There's a short order cook I know who's a were-coyote. Great cook, moves like greased lightening and a really sweet guy. Then there is the fae. Most of them are small and stay away from men. However, there are those that are almost human sized," he said.

"You mentioned them before. Said that fairies make Tinkerbell look sweet," said Meg.

"Oh yeah. They steal and have no problems moving things just for the hell of it," Luc said. "Hey, our wolf just got closer."

Meg looked and nodded. "Shall we just go to bed, and not scare her off?" she asked.

"Sounds good. Let's finish up the dishes and close up the car," agreed Luc.

They spent ten minutes cleaning up and packing stuff into the car. After a trip to the bushes, they headed to bed.

"Wow this is soft," said Meg.

"Meadow grass and extra blankets," said Luc. "I figured we deserved comfort tonight."

"I could go for that," she said laying down after taking off her boots and kicking off her jeans.

Luc smiled. "I think that is one of my favorite outfits," he said.

"What, me in a flannel shirt and undies?" Meg asked.

"Especially when it is my flannel shirt. I love it when your scent mixes with mine." he said laying down next to Meg. He pulled her to him and kissed her lips. Meg returned the kiss. Her hands moved down his side and crossed down. He was growing hard under his jeans.

"Are you sure you want to stay dressed?" she asked.

"Noh," he answered, his voice growing thick with excitement.

"Don't you turn furry on me yet! This is the first time we've had a chance to have sex in a week," she scolded him.

"Noht trying to. Juhst hard after a weehk," he moaned as her hand rubbed his erection under his jeans.

"I agree, it has been way too long. You have too many clothes on," she said pulling at his belt.

Luc moved to get undressed. His erection sprang upwards as his jeans were pushed to the bottom of the tent. His undies followed as did Meg's. He pulled her to him and kissed her roughly on the lips as his hands roamed over her ass. Meg wrapped her arms around Luc, bringing her flannel covered breast up to his shoulders. Luc moved down and pulled at the buttons with his teeth.

Meg moaned as his lips and teeth grazed her bare skin and nipples taunt with sensation. She rocked her hips forward. Luc took advantage of her position and grabbed a nipple while his fingers found her wet nether lips and plunged into her.

"Oh! Ogods!" Meg cried out. She was so sensitive after her cycle and no sex. She almost came just from his fingers entering her pussy.

Luc growled sub-vocally against her nipple sending shivers up and down her spine.

"Geeze!" she gasped.

Luc smiled, her nipple still in his mouth. His hand between her legs was dripping with moisture. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that sub-vocals done just right turned Meg on. He slipped a second and then a third finger between her lips, slowly pumping in and out.

Meg reached down between them and caressed his cock that was bumping against her.

"Ahh," Luc gasped, dropping her nipple.

Meg squirmed around and brought her mouth down to his cock and wrapped her lips around his head. Luc moved to let her have access to his cock while still fingering her. She wiggled her hips at him, encouraging him to continue touching her. He slid his thumb down and touched her clit.

"Mmmmph!" Meg screamed against his cock as she came.

Luc repeated the movement, enjoying the way she came as well as the vibrations against his cock. His hand was dripping with moisture, and he was afraid he'd come too soon.

"Hhhold on Meg," he said.

Meg stopped and he got on his knees, pulling her to him so they could do it 'wolfy-style' as Meg teasingly called this position. She leaned forward on her arms while he grabbed her hips, pulling her to him while he buried himself deep in her.

Bliss. Holding her hips, he moved slowly and then sped up. It felt so good to be back inside of Meg. They fit so well together.

Meg could feel the heat building up in her groin and drove herself back against Luc. Luc took note and increased his own rhythm. The slapping of flesh was punctuated with rapid panting breaths and then a howl as Luc came deep in Meg. Meg shuddered and felt her orgasm rip through her.

"Arrrrrrrr," growled Luc as he came and came.

Meg shuddered and collapsed into the nest of bedding. Luc followed her down. She'd clamped her muscles around him so tightly, it was like they couldn't separate. Meg came again as they moved. Luc realized that he'd partially shifted and he honestly couldn't separate from Meg.

"Hhhold stihl Mehg," he said.

"What's the matter Luc?" she asked trying to think through the haze of orgasmic bliss.

"Knoht," he managed as his jaw tried to shift more towards wolf.

"Knot?" she asked without understanding what he meant.

"Wolhf, knoht, ph-ppen-hiss, knoht," he panted.

"Oh! Knot!" she said finally understanding that he'd shifted enough to form that knot particular to canines and werewolves.

"Uhhuh," he said laying there trying to relax.

Meg smiled. She had found that she liked the feeling. It was an extra bit of sensation that made sex just that bit nicer. They laid there in post coital bliss as the wind breathed over the tent.

Meg woke to the sound of the wind shaking the tent. At some point, Luc must have covered them up. The tent flapping against her head had woke her up and she settled down to go back to sleep after moving down a bit. Just as before, the wind blew hard, settled down and almost stopped and then reversed direction. It was like being in the presence of a huge sleeping giant.

The wind started to blow the tent back onto her head when suddenly something outside fell against her head. It was warm. In the next moment, it was gone.

"Luc, did you feel that?" she asked.

"Huh?" Luc asked sleepily.

"Did you feel something fall against the tent? Next to your head?" she asked.

"Noh," he said, and then sniffed the air. "Lihill wof ouside," he muttered, and then wrapping Meg in his arms, went to sleep.

Meg laid there awake for a few moments waiting to see if it happened again. Luc shifted more and as he wrapped her in his arms, she fell asleep. It was cold, and she was glad not only for the extra blankets, but for Luc's fur.

Luc woke first as the sun hit the tent. He rolled over to see if his present was still hidden. It was. He looked over at Meg. She was sleeping peacefully. It was the first time she'd done so all week. He'd asked Ginny if he was doing the right thing, and she had spent an hour reassuring him that he was doing the right thing. Now to wait for Meg to wake. He leaned on his arm watching her.

Meg woke to see Luc leaning on his arm and watching her.

"Were you watching me sleep?" she asked through a yawn.

"Yeah, watching and thinking."

"About what?" she asked.

"About us. This whole thing last week made me think about things I hadn't considered," he said.

"Like what?" she asked wondering where he was going.

"Relationships, children, contracts, family, those kind of things," he said.

"Okay," she said wonder where he was going with this. "Continue."

"I was thinking about the contract and how we've dealt with humans all these years and whether it was right or wrong," he said.

"I can see that. This week has been rather chaotic for all of us. So, where did your thoughts go?" she asked.

"I love you, and would love to have babies with you. I've also decided that if you don't want to sign that contract, I won't push. I won't have that threat hanging over our relationship," he said.

"Oh, are you sure?" Meg asked, amazed at this statement.

"Yes, and it has tied me up in knots, because I've never liked the damn thing and almost let it destroy the best relationship I've had in years," he admitted.

Meg reached up and wrapped her arms around Luc. He hugged her back and started kissing her face.

"I love you," she said softly.

"Love me enough to be my partner? My mate?" he asked reaching behind him.

"What?" she asked trying to see what he was pulling out from behind the bedding.

"You heard me," he said with a smile. "Would you like to be my mate?" he asked as he put a box in her hand.

Meg looked at the box. It wasn't a ring box which sort of surprised her. She took the box and opened it up. Inside was a silver necklace. The chain was woven of interlinking sections like a four strand braid. The clasp was a buckle. The medallion on the necklace was another woven piece like a delicate wreath and in the center were two initials twined together, M and L. It was beautiful. Delicate enough to be feminine, but only just so. She looked at it and then she got the giggles.

"You give collars and tags as love tokens?" she asked between giggles.

"Yes," said Luc trying not to turn red with embarrassment. "But it's practical," he tried to say in an attempt to explain his choice.

"Luc, I'm sure it is. I don't understand why just now, but it is beautiful and I would love to be your mate," she said.

Luc took the box and necklace from her and put it around her neck. It laid across her collar bone as if it had melted. The medallion rested between her breasts. He smiled.

"So, oh mate of mine, why is it practical?" she asked.

"Well," he started. Then he blushed. "Um,... because if you shift, you tend to loose rings, but collars stay on," he said swiftly.

Meg tried not to laugh. Her lips twitched and then the smile spread across her face. Finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer and fell against Luc in a mass of limbs and giggles.

"Woof!" Meg said as she looked up at him between giggles. They both laughed.

"Oh! That reminds me. Did I hear you right about the wolf falling on my head last night during the wind?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think she came up to check us out and the wind knocked her over. I was going to look for foot prints this morning when we got up," he said.

"Cool. Oh, before I forget, am I suppose to reciprocate with a necklace for you?" she asked.

"If you'd like to, but it isn't required. Sort of like some weddings where the bride is the only one to get the ring. Totally up to you," he said.

"Okay," Meg answered. She and Ginny had a shopping trip in their future. "Oh, one other thing. How on earth have you shifters kept out of the eye of the general public all these years?"

"Caution and lots of misdirection. In the old days, we just stayed away from humans for the most part. It has only been in the last 100 years that we've really had any issues. People either freak out or accept us. Most of those that accepted us married into the family. Those that freaked out either got killed or discredited. That's where all the werewolf monster stories came from in the first place. We'd move if it got too bad, or people would die. Now most of us have big dogs and do the 'oh, you must have seen Buster last night' thing if people get nosy," Luc said.

"I can see that. But what if someone like Sara says her Unky Wolfy is really a werewolf at school or something?" she asked.

"Would you believe a little kid, or would you believe their parent that said they watched a werewolf movie and had an over active imagination?" he asked.

"The parent. Geeze," said Meg. "You've literally been hiding in plain sight."

"Yes, we have. Any other questions or can we get up and have breakfast?" he asked.

"Yeah, just one. Do we have any big ceremony like a wedding or do we just carry on as normal?" she asked looking down at the necklace.

"What do you want to do?" Luc asked.

"Honestly? I'd rather carry on as normal," she said.

"Then that's what we'll do. Ginny of course will want at least a dinner party, but I think we can manage that," he admitted.

"I can cope. Last one dressed makes tea!" she said as she dived for her clothes. Luc laughed.

After breakfast, they packed up their stuff and then hiked up to a waterfall. They ate lunch next to it, but conversation was limited as the roar of the falls deafened them. They had crackers, cheese and sardines for lunch. Luc put the trash from their feast in the ziplock they'd used for crackers. The waterfall deafened them enough that they didn't hear the bear that came up to eat the choke cherries next to the falls. He didn't hear or scent them either. They might have gone totally unnoticed if the wind hadn't shifted.

As they headed down the trail, the wind blew across the falls to where the bear had been eating. He snuffed the air. A scent tickled his nose. He abandoned his berries and started to follow the enticing odor.

Luc and Meg laughed and bounced down the trail. They were noisy and goofing around. They didn't hear the noise of the bear. They got back to the car and were relaxing before heading down the road when the bear shambled into the clearing.

Luc looked up as the smell and the movement registered at the same time. "Oh shit!" he gasped. "Meg, get into the car now!" Luc ran for their packs and was tossing them into the car when the bear charged. Luc scrambled for the driver's door and almost got it closed when the bear swiped at the car. The car rocked and Luc nearly lost his grip on the door. Meg was trying not to scream as the huge bear shook the car. The sound of metal ripping under the heavy claws sent shivers through Meg.

Luc was trying to hold onto the car door and start the engine at the same time. Hard to do when the car is a standard. He almost had it going when the door wrenched open. The bear's paw swiped in and caught Luc across the shoulder. The glass of the window shattered and scattered everywhere. Luc roared in pain and hit the gas as he tried to hold onto the steering wheel. The bear was still trying to pull him out of the car. The car hurked and jerked across the meadow in a contorted dance as the bear tried to keep up. His last attempt scored the side of the car from the driver's door to the rear fender. Luc, who had partially shifted, barely fit behind the wheel. He grabbed the door and slammed it closed as they bounced down the road in first gear.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 10



"Luc, are you okay?" Meg asked over the whine of the gears and engine.

"Nho!" he growled.

"Pull over and let me drive," she said.

"NHO!" he growled loudly with sub-vocals thundering inside the car.

Meg took a deep breath and grabbed the rear view mirror to try and see the side of Luc that the bear had swiped. She could see blood and that was about it. They bounced down the road for almost a mile when she tried to get his attention again.

"Luc, pull over now!" she hollered.

"Nho! Beahr! Mus geht whay!" he gasped.

She knew he was in pain and wouldn't listen. The bear was far enough behind them that they weren't in danger any more. As soon as she could see that the road was cutting across a fairly level meadow, she reached over and turned off the car.

"Nho! Mehg!" he said and turned towards her.

Meg could see the damage to his shoulder and about threw up. Swallowing hard, she grabbed her shirt from the back and stuffed it against his neck.

"And if you bleed to death being a hero, I will be so pissed at you!" she yelled. "The bear is gone. Back in the meadow. We can stop for five minutes to stop the bleeding and change drivers," she shouted.

Luc blinked and her words cut through the fog of adrenaline and pain. He tried to swallow and move his neck. A whimper broke from his lips. "Hokay," he said and stopped fighting Meg's attentions. Meg scrambled out of the car and ran around to the driver's side. She helped Luc out and got him into her seat. Wrapping her shirt around his wound as best she could, she added another shirt from the back and then belted him into the seat. She swept the glass off the seat, got in and headed down the mountain. She knew that there was no cell service for the next twenty miles. However, she had her phone tucked in her shirt ready to use it as soon as it beeped that there was service.

"Mehg, sorry,..." he started.

"Just shut up and don't die on me," she barked back at him.

"Call Ghinny," he said.

"Why? Why not go to a hospital?" she asked as they bounced down the road.

"Neehd shihfter doc," he gasped.

Then it dawned on her that there was no way he could go to a hospital. Dammit! She drove as fast as she could down the dirt road. Meg blew through the lower campground at 75mph. She was grateful that all the campers had left. Crossing the cattle guard, they caught air, and when the car landed, Luc winced in pain.

Meg drove as fast as she could. She drifted around curves and left dust plumes that were probably visible for miles. She hit pavement at the same time her phone beeped. She had signal. Reaching for her phone, she slowed a bit and hit the speed dial button for Ginny.

"Ginny! We need a doctor! A bear slashed Luc!" she hollered into the phone.

"What?" Ginny asked, not sure what she just heard.

"A BEAR HURT LUC! We need a doctor!" she shouted again.

"Fuck!" Ginny exclaimed into the phone. "Where are you?"

"On highway 69, about 27 miles from the nearest junction," Meg answered.

Ginny thought for a moment. Then she remembered. "Meg, there's a truck stop there. We'll meet you there," she said as she gathered her coat and headed for the door.

"Okay," said Meg and turned off the phone to concentrate on the road. She looked over at Luc. He was still conscious. Just barely. He nodded at her. She turned back to the road and drove like hell for the truck stop.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 11



This chapter wrote itself in spite of continuing computer issues. For all of those readers who have been holding your breath, enjoy! I think the only reader more impatient to find out what happened next has been my partner. He's frothing over the next installment and hopes that my next bit of free time is spent writing.

*

Meg took the last curve at 75mph. It was only rated for 50, but she didn't give a damn. Luc had passed out fifteen minutes ago, and she was way past panic and into that state of calm which would closer her down hard and leave her exhausted once she stopped. It was a straight shot to the truck stop and there next to the first entrance was an ambulance. As she got closer, the lights began to come on. Meg pointed the car towards the ambulance and pulled in next to the driver's side.

Two medics moved towards the passenger door and started to help Luc out of the seat. They picked him up and put him on a gurney. One checked his vitals as Meg crawled out from behind the steering wheel. Ginny was right there.

"I'll take care of the car and your stuff. Go with Luc in the ambulance," she said giving Meg a quick hug and a kiss.

Meg moved in a fog and walked towards the back of the ambulance as the two medics loaded Luc. One held his hand out to her and hoisted her into the back while the other slammed the doors shut. She perched on a jump seat while the first medic started an IV and the other hit the lights and headed off out of the truckstop.

"How big was the bear ma'am?" the medic asked.

"Big enough," she said.

"Brown or black?" he asked.

"Brown with blonde highlights. I know that sounds weird, but that's what it looked like," she answered, her voice getting softer as she began to relax.

"Probably a grizzly then," he said and started to slowly check around the wound. He didn't want to move too much of the cloth. If he did, Luc would start bleeding again. He braced against the gurney as they went round a corner. Meg looked out the window and didn't recognize where they were going. She looked back to Luc, who was breathing shallowly.

"He'll be okay," he said trying to reassure her. "It always looks worse than it is. It's the ones that don't look so bad that usually kill us," he finished.

"Great. Just what I need, an optimistic paramedic," she thought. The adrenaline was wearing off, and she was loosing her ability to keep her sarcasm in check. "Where the hell are we going?" she wondered. Looking out, she recognized the area of town they were in, but didn't have a clue to where they were headed. Next thing she knew, the ambulance turned off it's lights and pulled into an underground drive. Harsh sodium lights greeted her as the doors opened. She was helped out and then Luc on the gurney was taken out and into the building through huge glass doors. She followed and headed down the hall with the medics and Luc when a nurse stopped her.

"Just wait here ma'am," the nurse said.

"No, I want to stay with Luc," Meg countered.

"Ma'am, the doctor is going to have to deal with his wounds and it will be easier on you if you stay here," the nurse said with more force.

"No, I'm going with him," Meg said trying to push forth.

The nurse didn't say anything, she simply grabbed Meg by the arms and walked her backwards into a waiting room. Meg tried to get around her, but it wasn't working. Next thing she knew, she heard Ginny's voice.

"Meg! Stop fighting the nurse!" she hollered with sub-vocals ringing under the words. Meg flinched and stopped.

"But... I want to be with Luc," she said. Despair was coloring her tone of voice as Ginny lead her to the couch and they sat down together.

"You need to let the doctor do his thing. As soon as he can, he'll let us into see Luc. Plus, if Luc starts to fight the doctor, anyone in there might get hurt. Sometimes when we are in pain, we don't react well and strike out at people," Ginny tried to explain.

Meg blinked, trying to understand Ginny as exhaustion and adrenaline let down hit her hard. She swallowed and nodded her head. Ginny wrapped her arms around Meg and held her close. Meg put her head on Ginny's shoulder. The tears began to flood her eyes and she began to cry softly.

"It will be okay," Ginny said softly. "Luc's tough, and we heal fast. Just relax."

Meg cried for a few more minutes and then ever so slowly fell asleep. Ginny adjusted Meg so that she was asleep across her lap. Meg's hair fell to one side and Ginny could see the necklace that Luc had picked out for her. Ginny smiled, and hoped that Luc would be alright.

"Don't you dare die on me Luc," she thought as they waited for the doctor to finish up with Luc.

*

Ginny had fallen asleep too while waiting for the doctor to report on Luc. She woke as the door opened and the nurse entered.

"Is she still asleep?" the nurse asked quietly.

Ginny nodded.

"He's out of surgery, and the doctor thinks he'll be down to talk to you in a little bit," she said and left as quietly as she'd entered.

Ginny tried to wake up without disturbing Meg. It almost worked. Meg sat up and blinked groggily. She looked at Ginny with a look of confusion. She sat up and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"Has the doctor been here yet?" Meg asked.

"He's suppose to be here any minute," said Ginny.

They sat there trying to wake up as they waited for the doctor. Ginny stood up and stretched while Meg sat.

The door opened a few minutes later and the doctor sat down in the chair next to Meg with a thump.

"First off, he's fine and sleeping off the anesthetic. Thank you for being such a quick thinker and apparently a race car driver," said the doctor with a tired smile on his face.

"Can we go and see him?" asked Meg.

"As soon as we get done talking here," he said. "Now, the bear did a lot of damage to his neck and shoulder. Missed the artery and veins by centimeters. His collar bone is broken and I had to rebuild his rotator cuff and most of the shoulder. However, he will heal. There will be scars, but he is alive. Hardest part will be keeping him from shifting."

"Why don't you just keep him sedated?" Ginny asked.

"Well, I could do that, but that leads to other problems as you know," said the doctor.

"What kind of problems?" asked Meg.

"Sometimes shifters have trouble with the anesthetics. Just like old people hear or see dogs or cats, shifters sometimes do the same thing. It is like their four legged side tries to take over. We have to use heavier doses than for humans too and after too many doses they become hypersensitive to the drugs. Luc hasn't had too many surgeries or serious injuries, so he may be okay. On the other hand, his dad had terrible issues. So, I am loath to dose him anymore than I have to.

"And why do we need to keep him from shifting? I thought you healed better when you shifted," said Meg.

"We do. Right now, Luc is in four legged form. What I don't want is for him to shift back to human form, said the doctor. He was trying to be patient with Meg. He'd only learned a few minutes before he came to see the women that Meg was human and rather new to the whole shifter world.

"Oh, said Meg who realized that there was so much she didn't know about Luc. "Is me visiting him going to make him want to shift back?" she asked.

"We don't know. How long have you been mated?" asked the doctor.

"Um, he just gave me this," she said as she touched the necklace. "But, I've known him for a couple of months and we've been living together most of that time."

"Plus with the bear attack, he will probably fret if he doesn't smell she's okay," added Ginny.

"There is that," added the doctor. "By the way, my name is Jeff. Before you ask, yes, I shift and I'm a doctor and a veterinarian."

"Oh, I ... I didn't even think about that. I guess it would be helpful to be both," said Meg.

"It was really difficult to be honest. Especially as my wolfish side kept seeing all the patients as prey," said Jeff.

"Ewww!" said Ginny.

The nurse walked in and gestured towards Jeff. "Sir, Luc is whining."

"We'll be right there," said Jeff and turned back to the women. "He probably smells you and is fretting. Let's go see him and see how he reacts."

They got up and headed back along a hall to a suit of rooms. Luc was in the far left corner on a bed that looked like an elevated dog bed. He had lots of bandages wrapped around his neck and shoulder, but wasn't moving much. He whined louder as they walked into the room. Meg walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and stroked his head and nose.

"Luc, it's okay. We're safe and you're all fixed up," she said softly. She still didn't know what he understood, but figured it didn't matter.

"You scared the hell out of us Luc, but I still love you," said Ginny as she patted his back away from the bandages.

Luc whined again and tried to move towards Meg. Meg looked at the doctor who nodded and she then moved up onto the bed. Luc wrapped around her as best he could with his hurt shoulder across her lap. He sighed. "Soft one safe. Now rest," he thought and then with a shudder went back to sleep.

"Good," said Jeff.

"How is this good? He just curled up and went to sleep on me. What am I suppose to do?" asked Meg.

"Well, I suggest that you curl up and sleep. Just don't lay on his bandages. If you're hungry, we can get you some food. Or, we can spot you if you need to go to the bathroom. However, if you tried to leave, he try and follow. I didn't realize how new your mating was or how attached he was to you. I take it the wolf side of him chose you before he gave in?" asked Jeff.

"Yes," said both women at the same time.

"Not surprised. Never thought he'd ever mate. Stubborn bastard," said Jeff.

"You know him?" asked Meg.

"Went to school with him. We were always best of friends or worst of enemies. Depending on the day or the minute," said Jeff with a smile.

Ginny nodded. Meg sat there wrapped in wolf taking all this information in and trying to make sense of it.

"Are you hungry?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah, it seems like breakfast was ages ago," said Meg. "I take it your hospital food is better than regular hospitals?" she asked wondering what would be on the menu. Kibble? Peanut butter dog biscuits? Raw steak?

"It isn't too bad. Meat for those that want it or can eat it, and we order out for families," said Jeff, knowing what must be going through Meg's head. He smiled.

"Oh, okay. I'd love a salad with chicken on it," she said after a moments thought.

"Grass? You want grass with chicken?" teased Jeff.

"What?" asked Meg, knowing she was being teased, but not understanding the how of it.

"Canines eat grass when they're sick. So eating salad is like eating grass to some of us," he explained as he turned and walked out the door to order Meg some food.

Ginny nodded. Meg just rolled her eyes.

*

Twenty minutes later, the nurse who introduced herself as Michele came in with Meg's dinner. The salad was huge with lots of veggies, a big piece of grilled chicken and three different salad dressings. On the side of the tray were peanut butter cookies and iced tea. Michele brought a tray over for Meg and adjusted it to the right height.

"Thank you. This looks delicious," said Meg as she started to eat.

"You're welcome. If you need anything, just call," said Michele and handed Meg a cord with a call button on it. "And when are you going to eat?" she asked Ginny.

"At home. I've got lots to do and if I don't get moving, I'll be asleep too. You take care of Luc and I'll be back later," she said.

Meg nodded as she had a mouthful of salad. She tried to eat slowly, but she was famished. Between the adrenaline crash, the hike that morning and the drive down the mountain, she had burned up every calorie she had. She finished off the salad and started in on the cookies. She smiled when she saw that they were peanut butter. For a moment she wondered if chocolate ever crossed the threshold, or did it come with a skull and crossed bones poison label. She giggled.

Meg realized she had to get up, and tried to do so without waking Luc. It didn't work. He woke, so Meg hit the call button. Michele came in and worked on keeping Luc in bed. Meg headed for the bathroom. Looking down, she realized that her shirt was spattered with blood as were her jeans. She'd have to call Ginny to bring her some new clothes.

He whined. Whined loud enough that Meg could hear him through the bathroom walls. She tried to hurry up and when she came back in the room, he tried to get off the bed.

"No!" she said forcefully. "You stay on the bed!"

Luc dropped back to the bed. Michele looked from one to the other and smiled.

"I didn't think you had it in you to keep him in bed. I'm impressed," she said.

"Thanks. I may be human, but I'm a real bitch when I want to be," said Meg. Both women laughed.

"I'll bring you a blanket if you want," Michele said as Meg took off her boots and jeans.

"That would be great," she said as she crawled back up to snuggle with Luc.

Michele returned with the blankets and turned off the lights as she left.

Meg snuggled next to Luc and eventually drifted off. It had been one hell of a day.

The wolf sniffed his mate. "Soft one safe. I safe. Hurt," he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

*

Ginny and Duke brought them home three days later. Luc had been allowed to shift the night before. Most of his stitches held and the doctor bandaged him up adequately for a human form. Meg had a bag full of pills. Some for pain and others for infection. They got Luc in bed and Meg looked around trying to figure out what to do. Luc was already drifting off to sleep. Jeff and Michele said he'd do that for the next few days.

"Meg, just go sit with him," suggested Duke. "We brought your camping stuff back and Ginny and Bitty put it away for you already. There is plenty of food in the fridge and we are taking care of the office. Go relax."

"But I keep thinking I should be doing something," Meg said. "What about the car? Do we need to call a wrecker or the insurance agent?" she asked.

"Already taken care of," said Ginny. "Oh! I almost forgot. That bear left a claw in the side panel of the car. Must have hurt like hell when that ripped off," she said as she dug in her pocket. She pulled a huge claw capped with silver out and handed it to Meg. It covered her palm from her thumb in an arch over to her pinkie finger. It was heavy.

"Oh my gods," said Meg with a shudder. She had pocket knives smaller than that claw.

"We notified the park rangers up in that area that a bear had attacked you. They're looking for it just in case. Of course they said there were no grizzlies up there, or wolves, but we both know differently," said Duke.

"Oh yeah," said Meg still holding the claw. She'd give it to Luc when he woke up later.

"If they don't find it, some of us are thinking of going up and taking care of it," said Duke.

"With guns or fangs?" asked Ginny who thought the whole idea was stupid. Leave the damned animal alone had been her thoughts when asked.

"Guns of course. Geeze Ginny, we aren't stupid," said Duke.

The look Ginny shot him said otherwise.

"We've got the office guys looking for another Subaru. We know how attached Luc was to his, but there isn't enough left of that one to make good scrap. I'll let you know what they find," Ginny said.

"Okay," said Meg. She hadn't realized the car was that damaged. Granted, she never really looked at it, but after looking at the claw, she wasn't sure she ever wanted to see it.

"Meg," came a faint call from the bedroom.

"Be there in a second Luc," said Meg.

"We'll be back later. Call if you need us," said Ginny as she propelled Duke through the door.

"Bye," said Meg as she waved and then headed to the bedroom.

*

Luc was sitting up in bed and trying to move to get comfortable. He saw her and stopped. Meg sat down on the edge of the bed, the claw closed in her hand.

"Hey Meg, are they gone yet?" he asked.

"Yes, finally. It's good to be home," she said.

"Yeah, I could hear most of what you were talking about. What did Ginny give you?" he asked.

"Um,..." she hesitated. "This," she said as she handed him the claw.

Luc took the claw in his hand. He turned it over once or twice and then his hand went to his neck. "Damn I was lucky," he said. "We were lucky."

"Yes, we were," said Meg. They sat there for a moment just looking at the claw.

"Do you think we could get me in the shower?" he asked.

"I guess. Can we get the bandages wet?" she asked.

"I don't care. We can always put new ones on. I just itch." said Luc.

"Okay," said Meg and took the claw from Luc.

Luc slowly got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. He got out of his pajama bottoms while Meg ran the shower. When it was warm, she helped Luc into the shower. Then she stripped of and climbed in with him. It took about ten minutes for the bandages to soak off. In the meantime, Meg soaped the exposed bits of Luc.

"I guess you got messy," she teased as she scrubbed his lower back.

"Yeah, sponge baths just don't work well on fur," he said.

"Nope, they don't," said Meg. She started to work on the bandages, not exactly sure if she wanted to see the damage. She hadn't been in the room when he shifted. The first layers peeled off and then the gauze next to the stitches. The first surprise was that most of them were staples and only those near his face were regular stitches. The side of his neck was a series of long rakes running from his earlobe and jaw line back to his shoulder. Nearly his whole shoulder was covered in scratches and gashes that were scabbing up inbetween the claw marks that were stapled closed.

"Oh Luc," said Meg. "Do you want to see it?"

"No, I saw it in the hospital. Ugly mess, but I never said I was a beauty queen," he said softly.

"The doctor said it was close, but I didn't realize how close," she said realizing how near to the jugular the one claw had gotten.

"I almost died. If you hadn't taken over the driving, I would have died," he said turning his head into the water. The water hid his tears.

Meg wrapped her arms around him. "Let's get you out of the shower and dried off. We can bandage lightly and then you need to sleep," she said.

Luc nodded. It took forever to get him dried off. They got his pajama bottoms on and the bandages done up enough that he wouldn't rub his stitches against the sheets. He got in bed and Meg went out to make them something to eat.

She came back with toasted cheese sandwiches, tomato soup in cups and peanut butter cookies. It was painful for Luc to eat, so they didn't talk much while they devoured the food. Meg took the empty dishes to the kitchen and then they curled up in bed. Meg wrapped her arms around Luc as they snuggled.

"You know, this has to be a first," he said.

"Oh? What kind of first?" Meg asked.

"Here we are in bed, alone in the house, and I haven't ravished you," he said in a teasing tone.

"Like you could," she said sarcastically.

"Believe me, if I didn't hurt so much, I would ravish you until you passed out," he said.

"Well, I'll hold you to that. Just remember, when you are healed and the doctor says you can go back to being yourself, you owe me one ravishment, and a total pass out from pleasure," said Meg.

"I promise," he said with a yawn. In moments, they were both asleep.

*

Meg woke to the sound of metal 'chinking' next to her ear. "What the hell?" she thought. Opening her eyes, she saw little bits of metal laying on the bed next to Luc. She picked one up and realized that it was one of his staples. There was blood on the bandage as well.

"Luc, wake up, you're shedding staples and bleeding," she said.





More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 11



"Damn. I better call Jeff. I didn't think they'd start coming out so soon," he said as he sat up and reached for the phone.

"I'll get dressed and start making us some breakfast," said Meg heading to the bathroom. She dressed in record time. Showers were for later. Once she was dressed, she headed to the kitchen. Coffee... Oh did she need it this morning. "Luc, do you want some cinnamon rolls?" she called from the kitchen.

"Yummm! I'd love some and some coffee," he said in a pitiful voice.

"You'll get your coffee. Did you get ahold of Jeff?" she asked standing in the bedroom door.

"Yes, I caught him just before he left for work. He'll be over in about ten minutes," said Luc.

"Okay," she said and headed back to the kitchen.

Meg had just taken the cinnamon rolls out of the oven when she heard the door open. Looking up, she saw Jeff walk right in. This was a habit that she still wasn't use to that Luc and his family thought nothing about.

"Hello Meg, where's the patient?" asked Jeff.

"He's in the bedroom. Just follow me," she said. Meg had Luc's coffee and two rolls on a plate in her hand. She set his breakfast down on the nightstand next to Luc. "Do you want coffee and cinnamon rolls Jeff?"

"I'd love some," he said sitting down on the bed next to Luc. "Now, what the hell have you been doing to my handy work?" he asked Luc.

"All I did was shower and go to bed. I was too tired to even consider ravishing Meg," he said with sorrow in his voice.

"Oh poor Meg," teased Jeff. "Let's get a good look at this mess." With that, he pulled off the bandage. More staples fell to the bed. He picked them up and tossed them in the trash. Then he grabbed a weird looking tool that looked like a cross between tweezers and a staple remover. He started removing the staples in a smooth and efficient manner. "You healed up faster than I expected," he told Luc.

"I was afraid of that," said Luc.

Meg came in with Jeff's coffee and rolls and set them next to Luc's. "Are you taking out all of the stitches?" she asked.

"Yes. If I wait even another day, the skin will have grown over them and that would really hurt," said Jeff as he replaced the staple remover with scissors and tweezers. He began to cut the stitches. "However, what fur-brain here has to remember is that while the skin and injuries are healing on the top, there is still a lot of muscle damage underneath that isn't healed up yet. He will need to stay in bed for the rest of the week and take it easy," said Jeff. He took a sip of coffee and then ate one of the rolls. "Oh this is good. Do you think I can get all of my house call patients to cook like this?" he asked with a smile.

"I don't think so," said Meg with a smile. "Now how am I suppose to keep him in bed?" she asked looking at the two men who were devouring rolls and coffee.

"I've already asked Ginny to bring him some work from the office. She said she has a laptop for him," said Jeff.

"Good. I hurt, but don't think I could just sit here and watch TV all day long," said Luc trying to move his shoulder carefully.

"And before you ask, as long as you take it easy, and don't go for Olympic style gymnastics, you can have sex," said Jeff.

Meg about choked on her roll. Luc smiled.

"You sure know how to make a guy's morning Doc," said Luc. They all laughed.

*

Meg was just finishing up the dishes when Ginny walked in the door. She had two file boxes under her arm and a laptop bag over her shoulder.

"Here, let me help you with those," said Meg. Ginny handed her one of the file boxes.

"Duke packed up the work on his desk. Said he felt like the secretary to the Prime Minister packing up the 'maroon dispatch boxes' while the Prime Minister was off on holiday," she said as they entered the bedroom.

Luc was propped up on the bed and smiled at Ginny when they dropped the stuff on the bed.

"Here's the laptop. It isn't great, but it works. Has a wireless card at least so you can IM the office. If you need anything else, you're doing too damn much," said Ginny.

"Hey! You're not my mom," he teased.

"No, but the doctor put me in charge of making sure you didn't overload yourself," she snapped back at him. "Call me if you need anything Meg," she said and headed out the door. Meg and Ginny had already plotted ways to keep Luc occupied, but not overworked.

"Do you want my help setting up stuff?" Meg asked.

"No, I think I've got it. I won't do too much this morning. I want a shower and maybe,..." he trailed off.

"Just let me get some work done and then we'll see about that playing around," said Meg.

She went to work cleaning up the house while Luc got his office set up on the bed. Once the dishes were done, she started on the laundry. When she came to the bloody clothes, she just stuffed them in the trash. While the last load washed, Meg made lunch. Tomato soup and toasted cheese sandwiches. She took the food in on a tray and headed for the bedroom. When she walked in, Luc was staring at the laptop, and he looked gray.

"I see I've arrived just in time," said Meg.

"I'm exhausted and all I've done is read through the stuff that I missed while I was in hospital. And this typing with one hand is driving me nuts," said Luc. He shifted the stuff aside so that Meg could set lunch down. "That smells so good. Not enough protein, but it smells good."

"Not enough protein? Do I need to feed you raw steak?" she asked as she started to eat her lunch.

"That'd be nice, but I don't expect it. We do need more protein than most people when we are hurt or injured. I'm surprised that Jeff or that nurse Michele didn't say anything," said Luc slurping his soup.

"Michele did say something about keeping you well fed, but I didn't interpret that as meaning lots of meat. I'll go shopping later," she said and finished up her sandwich.

They sat quietly while Luc finished eating. Meg took the dishes and washed them up. When she came back into the bedroom, she could see that Luc was looking better.

"You feel like taking a shower? You're still bloody from Jeff taking out the stitches," said Meg.

"I thought you'd never ask," he said and put away the office stuff.

He got out of bed a few minutes later and they headed for the shower. Meg set the water and let him get in first. She grabbed the shampoo and washed his hair and let the soap run down his body. She then ran her hands gently over his scars and tender flesh. Luc flinched once or twice as she hit a raw spot. Running her hands down his body brought another reaction. She giggled as his erection bobbed about with soap bubbles on the end of it.

"You know, Jeff did say we could have sex," he said softly.

"Are you sure you're up to it?" she asked.

"We can always give it a try. If it hurts too much, we just stop," he said. His hands ran up her arms and then down her sides. She felt so good in his hands.

"Okay, Let's get rinsed off," said Meg.

They rinsed off and Meg helped Luc dry. His erection bopped her on the shoulder as she dried his legs. Meg moved her head and kissed the head of his cock. That pulled a moan from Luc.

"Hurry up and dry off," he said.

Meg smiled. She finished drying off and they headed for the bedroom. Luc dropped his towel on the floor next to the bed and climbed in the bed.

Meg snuggled next to him, running her fingers up and down his chest. "Are you sure you're up to this?" she asked again.

"Logically, no, physically, yes," he said as his erection thumped against her stomach. Luc pulled Meg to him and started kissing her. Meg's hands roamed his chest and avoided the injured area. Her hands worked down to his cock and she teased the skin just under the head of his cock with her fingertips. Luc moaned in pleasure.

"Dddon't stop," he moaned.

Meg wiggled down until she could take his cock into her mouth. She licked and sucked until pre-cum leaked across her tongue. She loved having him in her mouth. Luc grabbed at her hips and she moved until he could run his fingers up and down her pussy. She was wet from the shower as well as excitement. Luc stroked her lips and moved deeper inside her as she became more excited.

It was Meg's turn to moan. She knew that the reverberations on his cock felt good. Another drop of pre-cum melted across her tongue.

"Meg, oh,... that feels so good. I..." he failed to finish as she moved her tongue across the head of his cock in a circular motion. He reciprocated by rubbing her clit until she squeaked with pleasure. Meg moved off of his cock and straddled Luc. She guided him into her pussy and slowly sank down on him until he was nested all the way into her. Then she rocked slowly back and forth.

"I have missed this," she said.

"Ummm," Luc groaned. His hand moved from her breasts to her hip. His left hand lay across her thigh. He loved touching Meg.

Meg increased the pace as she felt her orgasm building. Luc was close as well. His hand gripped her hip and he began to stiffen. Meg felt the heat build and then Luc shuddered. She stopped instantly.

"Luc, are you okay?" she asked.

"I was almost there and then the muscles clenching hurt," he said. The disappointment in his voice was palpable. "I,.." he started.

"Wait just a second, Luc," she said. Meg gently got off of Luc and moved back down by his hip where she wrapped her lips around his cock once more. Starting slowly, she built up speed as she brought him back to the brink of orgasm. Pre-cum dotted her tongue and then she felt his body stiffen again on the brink of orgasm. Meg wrapped her fingers around the base of his cock and worked them in concert with her lips and tongue. Luc placed his good hand on the back of her head as the orgasm ripped through him.

"Ohgods, ohohohaaaaaghhhh,....." he moaned as the pleasure of release rolled him.

Meg swallowed the cum and then sucked and licked him until there was nothing more to lick. She then grabbed the towel he'd dropped on the floor and finished cleaning up him and her face.

Luc lay there with a glazed look on his face. As Meg snuggled up next to him he smiled.

"That was wonderful," he said. "And once I find my extremities, it's your turn."

"Hmm, ravishment?" she asked. "Or just pleasure?"

"Pleasure to start with with and we'll work up to ravishment," he said. Turning so that his good hand could reach Meg, he walked his fingers down to her clit and began to stroke her from clit to opening. His fingers dipped in and tickled just right, which brought moans to Meg's lips. Then before she could catch her breath, he worked back up to her clit and stroked until she began to orgasm. She was almost there when he stopped.

"Wwwwhy did you stop?" she gasped.

" I wouldn't want it to be over too soon," he teased.

"You,.." was as far as she got because his fingers tapped across her clit again. Meg arched and this time he didn't stop until she shuddered in orgasm. As she melted into the bed, he wrapped his arms around her and they slept.

*

Meg woke up a few hours later and grabbing a bathrobe, went to make coffee and grab some cookies. She also got his pain meds. It was hours past when he should have taken them, but sleeping in his arms after sweet sex was so nice.

Luc was trying to sit up as she came back into the room.

"Here's the pain pills," she said handing them to her with a glass of water.

"Thanks," he said and took the medicine. "Want to watch a movie?" he asked. "I'm not up to much more."

"That sounds good," she said and when she came back in with the snacks, she had a handful of movies. They settled on Fierce Creatures and snuggled under the covers to giggle over the antics of John Cleese, Kevin Klein and Jamie Lee Curtis.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 12



Not exactly a quiet chapter. I had trouble deciding where this one was going. Thanks to my partner for all of his help and the sheep.

*

"Damn laptop!" came the cussing from the bedroom. Meg walked towards it to hear more cussing stream out of Luc's mouth.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Stupid Windows program keeps freezing up on me," he growled. "Damn machine will work, or it will find itself in the trash can," he growled complete with sub-vocals. Meg shivered.

"Luc, the computer won't react to sub-vocals," she said in a teasing voice.

"Damn well ought to!" he said still growling. He was punching the keys with his right hand as the left still wasn't up to typing. "Grrrrrrr,......."

"Luc, what's going on?" she asked again. This time she sat on the edge of the bed. Duke had been by that morning with more paperwork and had taken some back with him.

"I'm trying to load this program and the damn thing keeps freezing up on me. It shouldn't. There is enough memory and I just ran all the virus programs, but it won't work," he said.

"I have a question for you," she said.

"Ask," he growled sub-vocally.

"Stop that!" she said. Her arms were covered with goosebumps and the hair on the back of her neck was beginning to raise.

"Sorry, it just pisses me off and I'm frustrated," he said.

"Okay. Why are you using Windows when most of the office uses Linux?" she asked.

"Because this forgotten pile of junk never got the upgrade to Ubuntu. That's why," he said rather forcefully.

"So instead of growling at silicon and plastic which doesn't respect your sub-vocals, why don't you just save off your work and install the latest edition of Ubuntu?" asked Meg.

Luc looked at her like she'd just slapped him with a wet washcloth. He slapped his palm to his forehead. He set the computer aside and leaned forward to hug Meg. It was still awkward trying to use his left arm, but it was getting better.

"Sorry about the sub-vocals. Would you please get the terabyte for me? I will save my data and then send this operating system to virus hell and upload the Linux distro that will work. And may I have a cup of coffee?" he asked as he let go of Meg.

"Of course," she said giving him a kiss on his forehead. She found the terabyte and took it and the power supply to him. Then she went back to her own computer for a bit. By noon, she had caught up on her own work and decided that lunch was next on the agenda. Luc must have gotten the new operating system up and running as there had been no more cussing or sub-vocals from the bedroom in over an hour.

Meg was in the kitchen when she heard the door open. Looking around she saw a blur of pink and blue backpacks take the turn to the bedroom with Ginny following behind. Heading to the bedroom, she got there just as Sara and Joe landed on the bed.

"Unky Woffy Luc!" they sang as they landed on their uncle.

"Hello you two," he said trying to move the laptop out of the way.

"We came to sees you!" said Sara. Joe nodded in agreement.

"Well, it's good to see you," Luc replied. "Hello to you too Ginny."

"Glad to see you are on the mend," Ginny answered.

""Would I dare do anything less?" he asked nodding his head towards Meg.

"No, and if you didn't, I'd help her throttle you," said Ginny.

Luc smiled. "Now, how are you two doing," he asked the bouncing children.

"Anty Ginny said the beaw twided to kill you, an An... umm Meg saved you and bwought you home," said Sara.

"Yes, Meg did save me by driving very fast and calling Aunty Ginny," said Luc. Suddenly, he figured out what Sara had stumbled over. "And, for your information, you two can start calling her Aunty Meg."

Sara and Joe looked over at Meg. Sara stood up on the bed and looked at Meg's neck. Meg realized what she was looking for and bent over. Sara touched the necklace and smiled.

"We's gots a Anty Meg," she sang in a sing-song voice as she bounced on the bed.

"Take it easy Sara," said Ginny. "Your Uncle Luc still doesn't feel all that good. Look at his neck and you can see where the bear got him."

Sara stopped mid bounce, remembering that they were suppose to be there to cheer up Unky Woffy Luc. She walked over to him and took a good look at the scars which were bright pink compared to the rest of his skin. Joe looked too, and then turned a little green. He sat down and patted Luc's leg.

"Po Unky Woffy Luc," he said softly.

"Uhuh, Dat musta been a mean ol nasty beaw," said Sara. She kissed a dirty finger and put it near one of the bigger scars on Luc's neck.

"It certainly was," said Luc. He reached over to the nightstand and picked up the claw that Ginny had given him. "He left this behind stuck in my car," he said as he handed it to Sara.

Sara took the claw that covered her little hand. She paled as she turned it over in her hand and touched the tip of the claw. Then she handed it to Joe. He held it like it was going to bite him. Then he gave it back to Luc.

"Dat claw is vewy scawy Unky Woffy Luc," said Sara.

"Not as scary as the whole bear," he said.

"Did you two forget something?" prompted Ginny.

"Oh! We's bwought you a pwezzie! Two pwezzies!" exclaimed Sara as she reached for her backpack. "Shut youw eyes," she admonished Luc.

Luc closed his eyes. First thing he felt was a slightly warm plastic bag. It smelled good. He opened his eyes and found a bag of peanut butter cookies in his hands.

"Thank you! Did you two help Ginny make the cookies?" he asked.

"Solda and Bitty helped too," said Sara with a smile. Joe nodded. He never did talk much around Sara.

"Ah, then they must be good. Shall we try one?" he asked. The two children nodded. Luc gave everyone a cookie.

"Shut youw eyes again," said Sara.

Luc dutifully closed his eyes. Sara pulled a tissue wrapped object out and put it in his hands. Luc opened them and saw the package. He unwrapped it to find a plush sheep.

"Um... Thank you?" he said rather puzzled.

"Squeeze it!" Sara and Joe shouted.

Luc squeezed the sheep. From inside the sheep came 'baaah, Beeeeeh, baaah, Beeeeh'. Everyone in the room laughed.

"You get cookies and Woffy gets a sheep," said Sara. "We gots it from da pet stowe," she explained.

"They think of everything don't they," said Meg trying to stop the giggles which kept bubbling to the surface.

"Oh yeah. Neither of them would come without a present for both sides of Luc's nature. I think we spent half an hour in Pet-Co while they figured the best present. The sheep won, and I have to admit that it is a riot," said Ginny.

"Unky Woffy Luc, tell us da stowe of da beaw," said Sara. Joe nodded.

"Okay, snuggle in with me and I'll tell you all about it," said Luc. Both children snuggled next to Luc. Joe had the sheep tucked under his arm, careful not to squeeze it.

Ginny and Meg waved bye and headed out on the front porch. They closed the door and sat down on the chairs on the porch.

"How are you holding up?" asked Ginny.

"I am ready for a bit of a vacation," said Meg. "I have just a touch of cabin fever. First the hospital and now the house."

"I thought you might feel a bit stir crazy. It happens to the best of us and you haven't had much time to relax since the attack have you," Ginny asked.

"No, and I realized that full tilt when Luc was growling at the computer today," said Meg.

"He was growling at the laptop?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, complete with sub-vocals," said Meg. "What on earth possessed you to give him a laptop with Windows on it?"

"Well, I knew I had to put some rocks in his feed, or else he'd be at the office by the end of the week. So, I gave him the only laptop that hadn't been updated," said Ginny.

"It worked. Is everything okay at work?" asked Meg.

"Sort of. Duke is trying to be top dog. So is Kevin," said Ginny.

"Oh god," said Meg.

"Yep, the only thing worse than testosterone poisoning is testosterone poisoning in an alpha male," she said.

Meg shuddered. Duke wasn't the most stable individual she'd ever met. He and Penny were still fighting. Plus, he flipped back and forth over her living with Luc. When he'd seen the necklace on her the first day he'd brought files over, he'd about blown a gasket. Yelled and screamed at Ginny about how Luc was wrecking two lives once he'd gotten outside. Meg had been very glad that Luc had been way too out of it to hear a thing. The next day he was fine.

"Is this going to be an issue when Luc goes back to work?" asked Meg.

"I hope not. There is a reason Duke normally doesn't work at the office. He's about as stable as a shaken can of pop. Kevin on the other hand is feeling responsible and doesn't want Luc coming back to a mess," said Ginny.

"Ginny, what does Duke do normally?" she asked.

"He usually does outside work, like trenching cable and that kind of thing. Stuff that keeps him away from people," said Ginny.

"Ah. Okay. Is he the kind of shifter that is more wolf than person?" asked Meg who was trying to understand the various dynamics.

"Not really, if he was just a human, he'd be bi-polar. However, Jeff has never been able to find a combo of medicines that work on both sides of his nature. It's why his relationship with Penny is so fractured amongst other things," said Ginny thinking about the latest argument which had been about furniture of all the stupid things.

"That explains a lot. I never know where I stand with him," said Meg.

"Just remember to channel that inner bitch," said Ginny. "Keeps all those wolves in line."

Both women laughed. Ginny looked at her watch. It had been about fifteen minutes since they'd come out onto the porch.

"How do you feel about running around town for a while?" Ginny asked.

"I guess. Shall we go get the kids?" said Meg as she stood up.

"I'm hoping that they've fallen asleep," said Ginny as a sly grin played across her face.

"What?" asked Meg.

"They woke up at 5am, and I kept them up all morning with making cookies and shopping. I fed them just before we came over. So, between being full and tired, I figured that the minute they stopped moving that they'd fall asleep," explained Ginny.   Meg raised and eyebrow over Ginny's plans and then tiptoed over to the bedroom door. Looking in she found all three of them asleep. Luc had tucked them in under the top quilt. Sara was curled up under his left arm and Joe was asleep across his stomach. Luc looked like he had tried to stay awake, but fell asleep with his head lolled back against the pillows. The sheep was tucked up against his head. Meg suspected that had been Sara's doing.

Ginny tugged on Meg's arm and nodded her head towards the front door. Meg nodded and turned towards the front of the house. She grabbed her handbag and locked the door as they left.

They took Meg's little Dodge Neon. It was a fairly quiet car and they headed downtown. First stop was the shopping mall. Meg had a destination in mind, and it was the first time she'd had a chance to even think about going shopping.

"Where are we headed?" asked Ginny.

"The Silver Lode," said Meg.

"Good choice. The owner isn't a shifter, but his one assistant is and makes most of the necklaces for the families in the area," commented Ginny.

"I wondered when I finally found the receipt in Luc's clothing. I hadn't been sure about getting Luc a necklace, but the more I thought about it, the better I liked the idea," said Meg.

"You'll need about a 26 inch chain to fit Luc right. Maybe even 28 inches," said Ginny as they left the car and headed into the mall. The Silver Lode was near the middle of the mall. When they entered, Ginny asked for the assistant. The girl at the counter nodded and went to the back of the store. A moment later, a tall sandy haired man stepped to the counter.

"Hello Ginny, how's that no good piece of bear bait doing?" he asked jokingly.

"He'll live. Surprised the hell out of him with that claw," she replied.

"Oh, you are the one who capped the claw," said Meg.

"Yes, and you are?" the man asked.

"Margaret Stewart," she said and extended her hand. He took her hand and gave it a firm shake.

"And I am Andrew Davis, silversmith. I take it that you are the reason Luc Moreau was in here sweating over which necklace to choose?" he asked.

"Yes, and I want to pick out one for him," Meg replied.

"Come this way. I have a number of acceptable choices," said Andrew.

Meg and Ginny walked over to a table and sat down while Andrew picked up two trays from a showcase off to one side. He sat down across from them and showed them the first tray.

"This is the more masculine line. Well constructed and yet stylish," he said. The tray held a number of chains similar to the one Meg was wearing, but nothing struck either woman as anything special.

"Then there is this line. A bit more conservative," he said. Once again, the chains were similar. Long braided bands with a buckle at the clasp end. Meg fingered one or two, but nothing met what she had in mind.

"Last but not least are these," he said and put the tray before the women. Meg and Ginny looked at the tray. There were braids as well as links on this tray. Two were patterned. Meg picked up the narrower of the two and realized that the pattern was made up of tiny wolf paw prints. The last one on the tray was a braid that literally flowed when Meg picked it up. It was beautiful.

"I really like this one, but do you have different styles of buckles for the ends? This one is really square and it just seems to clash," said Meg.

"I do indeed," said Andrew. "Something I think you will like. I've been working on it in hopes that Ginny would bring you into the store." With that, he got up and retrieved a small box from behind the curtained off area. He set it down in front of Meg.

Meg opened the box and inside was a buckle end. Rounded and the 'pin' was a small claw. She smiled.

"You made this for Luc didn't you," she said.

"Guilty are charged," said Andrew with a smile. "After setting the real thing in silver for Ginny, I couldn't resist crafting a buckle end to match. My only fear is that you wouldn't come in and that I'd have to call Ginny. However, I am very happy to be able to share it with you," he finished.

"Would it take long to set it to this chain?" Meg asked pointing to the one she had liked. "And, just how much will it cost?"

"I can have it done in an hour baring interruptions. The price is $275," he said.

Meg nodded. She'd seen the receipt for her necklace and while it was more expensive, it did have a buckle that no one else would. She dug her credit card out of her wallet and handed it to Andrew.

"I'll pick it up in an hour or so. Thank you Andrew," she said.

Andrew ran her card, gave her a receipt and headed towards the back to work on the necklace.

"Where to now?" asked Ginny.

"Food! I'm starved. You arrived with the kids just before lunch," said Meg.

"The food court is that way," said Ginny as she steered Meg down the mall.

*

After a lunch of shrimp and salad, Meg and Ginny hit Victoria's Secret, Delights, Hot Topic and the Import Shop. Each woman had a handful of bags.

"Not bad for just over two hours of shopping," said Ginny. She'd gotten some new undies, a nightie that was more sheer than not and two new shirts. One of them said, 'Forget Princess, I want to be a Werewolf!' the other which was for Luc said, 'Never Moon a Werewolf!" Meg had teased her about them and Ginny had explained how the recent werewolf/vampire craze had really made life easy for all the shifters. Meg conceded and found a teeshirt for herself. It said, "Sorry, I only date Werewolves". That one had cracked both of them up, and they couldn't wait for Luc to see it.

"We didn't do bad at all. I really like the new undie/bra sets I got. Three for $30 was a great price. I love the tee shirts you got too," said Meg. She'd gotten new jeans, a flannel shirt for Luc, the undies and bras as well as a silk nightie. It was cut like a flannel shirt and had a plaid print on it.

"Shall we go pick up the necklace and head home?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, but we have to stop at the grocery store. Someone was complaining that there wasn't enough meat on his plate earlier," said Meg.

Both women giggled and headed back to the Silver Lode. When they got there, Andrew was behind the counter. He smiled at them and reached down for a package.

"I've got it here," he said and opened up the box for them to inspect it. It was gorgeous. Meg handed it back and he arranged it in the box. Then he wrapped the box up in tissue and placed it in a bag.

"May the winds be favorable and the hunting good," he said softly and then headed back into the shop.

Meg looked at Ginny with a puzzled look on her face.

"Just one of those "greetings" that some people give others, if you know what I mean," said Ginny. "Andrew is as close to a priest as any of us would recognize. He usually officiates at ceremonies for those that want them."

"So, I just got blessed?" asked Meg as they walked to the car.

"Yeah, you did. Which brings me to a question I've been itching to ask. Are we having a big ceremony or a dinner party?" asked Ginny.

"A dinner party," said Meg. "We already decided that before the bear attacked," answered Meg. She didn't get any farther, because her cell phone rang. It was Luc.

"Hello," said Meg as she hit the speaker button.

"Unky Woffy Luc says to tell you dat da sheep is gonna get et if you don huwwy up and get home," said Sara.

Meg and Ginny laughed. "Let me talk to your Unky Luc," she said.

"Ohhhhkay," said Sara and handed the phone to Luc.

"You left me all alone," he said trying to evoke pity.

"I did not. You had two fierce pups to protect you and a sheep. What more did you need?" asked Meg.

"Well, you could have told me you were going. I woke up about five minutes ago and there was no one here except us," he said still trying to sound pitiful.

"We came in to tell you and you were asleep. So, we went shopping. We are headed to the grocery store and then we will be home," she said.

"Okay. Don't be too long," he said and ended the call.

Meg looked over at Ginny and laughed. They put their bags in the car and headed for the grocery store. Thirty minutes later they had raided the meat counter, bought eggs, bread and more coffee. Ginny added a box of maple cookies and Dr. Pepper to the basket. It had been Meg's turn to smile. Luc tried to hide his Dr. Pepper habit, but it never worked. They arrived home to find two little faces pressed up against the glass. As they grabbed the groceries, Sara and Joe came out to help. Luc stood in the door and directed traffic.

"Did you spend every penny you had?" he asked looking at all the bags.

"No, just most of it," teased Meg.

"I could return this," Ginny said as she waved a bottle of Dr. Pepper in front of Luc's face.

"I think I'll just shut up now," he said and took the bottle.

"Good move. How does it feel to be up out of bed?" Meg asked as they put groceries away.

"Better, but I'm not ready to run a marathon. I wear out in about five minutes. Hell, Joe is stronger than I am," he said. At this, Joe curled his two little arms up to show everyone his muscles. Not to be outdone, Sara did too. It brought smiles to everyone's face.

"Meg, I know you invited us to stay for supper, but I think I'll take the two kids home. Luc looks wiped out," said Ginny.

"Are you sure?" asked Meg. She had made the same assessment of Luc once he'd sat down in the chair, but didn't want to be rude to Ginny.

"Absolutely sure. This way, Sara and Joe can tell all the news to Isolde, Jack, Ivan and Bitty. It isn't every day that Unky Woffy Luc finds a mate," she said with a smile.

"Oh, hadn't thought of it that way," said Meg. She wondered how the rest of the family would react with this happening so soon after Duke and Penny's break up. Especially as that wasn't going as well as expected from what Ginny had mentioned over lunch.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 12



"Yeah, the confirmed bachelor finally gets tripped," said Luc from the table.

"Watch it buster, or she'll give you back to that bear," said Ginny teasing him.

"You know, that would save on meat," said Meg.

"Noooo! Not da beaw! He gets a tummyake if he et Unky Woffy Luc," said Sara with a smile.

That made everyone laugh. Five minutes later, Ginny had the kids packed up and in the car for the trip home. Meg and Luc stood in the door and waved goodbye.

*

Meg wrapped her arm around Luc as they headed back into the house. He had put on a good show when Ginny and the kids were leaving. He slumped against her once they were out of sight.

"Meg, this being wiped out after ten minutes on my feet sucks," he said.

"I noticed. Let's get you back to bed," she said. "Then I'll show you what I bought."

"Okay, and can I have a cup of tea? I'll share the last of the peanut butter cookies with you," he promised.

"Sounds good, but get in that bed," she said as she headed to the kitchen.

Luc got into bed and tried to adjust the pillows. He leaned back only to have the bed erupt in 'baaaa, Beeeh, baaa, Beeeh' noises as he squished the sheep that Sara and Joe had brought him. He started to giggle.

Meg could hear the noise in the kitchen and giggled. That sheep was a riot. She was looking forward to when he shifted again and the wolf got to play with that toy. She got the tea ready and headed for the bedroom. She handed Luc his tea, set her own down on the nightstand and went to get her bags. Ginny had hidden them when they came in the house earlier.

"Hell, I thought you bought out the town with the groceries. I didn't see those bags," he said as Meg sat down on the bed.

"You weren't meant to see them," she said. She reached into the first bag and pulled out the teeshirt that Ginny had bought him. "Here is your prezzie, as Sara would say," she said and handed it to him.

Luc took it and read the front. "Never moon a werewolf?" he said.

Meg smiled. "You should have seen the one she got."

"Oh, what did it say?" he asked.

"It said, Forget Princess, I want to be a werewolf!" she said. Reaching into the bag again, she pulled out her shirt. "And I got this one," she said showing him the shirt that said, 'I date werewolves'.

Luc started laughing. He fell to one side and the bed started to 'baaaa, Beeeeh, baaa, Beeeeh' again. That started both of them laughing.

Once Meg caught her breath, she then pulled out the silk nightie in the style of a flannel shirt.

"Hmm... I look forward to seeing that on you," he said.

"Well, what about these?" she said and held up the three bra and pantie sets.

"Damn woman, you're going to kill me before I get a chance to heal," he gasped.

Meg laughed and noticed that her little show and tell had given him an erection. "I'm glad you approve of my selections," she said as she tossed them across his lap.

"You are so mean," he said.

"Well, I got some boring stuff too. Jeans, and a flannel shirt for you and some other bits and pieces," she said as she took stuff out of the bags and dropped them on the bed.

Luc looked at all the stuff and wondered how she and Ginny had managed to do so much in the three or four hours of shopping. "Wow," is all he could say.

"I did get one other thing," she said softly.

"Oh?" he asked. " Wonder what she's being hesitant about," he thought.

"Yes, I got something you might like," she said and pulled the tissue wrapped box out of the last bag.

Luc looked at the package and he took it from her hand. It was heavy. "May I?" he asked.

Meg nodded.

Luc unwrapped it and when he saw the box, he knew what was inside. He opened the box and blinked when he saw the clasp at the end of the chain. He picked it up and it flowed like water in his hand.

"Meg, you didn't ..." he started.

"Yes, I did. I looked at all the boring ones and then Andrew showed us that chain. Then he showed us the buckle he made just for you to go on the end of it. He's the one who silvered the claw too," she said.

"I love you," he said. "You really must have impressed Andrew. Otherwise, he'd never have shared one of his creations with you"

"That's what Ginny said. He even did some sort of blessing when I paid for it," she said.

"Wow, I guess we better invite him to dinner when we plan things out," said Luc.

"Definitely. Ginny wouldn't settle for anything less than a dinner party," said Meg. She took the chain from him and put it around his neck. It lay across the scar and down onto his chest. Then she kissed him.

Luc wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. Slowly they fell to the side. The pillows under them began to make a very familiar 'baaaaa...Beeeeh, baaaa.... Beeeeh' sound. To say that it broke the mood was an understatement. Both of them giggled as they untangled their arms and sat back up.

"I am putting the sheep on the dresser," said Meg.

"Thanks. I know the kids were trying to be kind, but the whole 'baaa, beeeh' thing gets old after a while," said Luc.

Meg nodded. After she put the sheep on the dresser, she gathered the new clothes up and put them in the laundry. Then she came back and sat on the bed. Her tea had gotten cold, but she drank it.

"You tired enough to want to go to sleep?" she asked.

"I was thinking a movie would be nice," he said. "Sex would be wonderful, especially in that little nightie, but I just hurt too damn much," he thought.

"How about Ironman 2?" she asked.

"That would be great, but we don't have it," said Luc.

"Yes we do. I got a copy today," she said as she pulled it out of the last bag.

"What's taking you so long to load the movie then," he said with a smile.

Meg laughed and shredded the shrink wrap and then got the movie into the DVD player. She grabbed the remote control and crawled into bed next to Luc. As she leaned back, she paused for a moment. When the pillows didn't baaa, she settled down and turned on the movie.

*

Friday rolled around and Luc was getting restless. He had almost full range of motion and was down to aspirin for pain. The only thing he hadn't done was shift. Jeff had told him he had to stay home until he could shift. He'd tried, but the pain kept him from being able to shift. "Dammit!"

Pacing up and down the living room, he waited for Meg to get back from work. She had gone into work on Wednesday. Ginny said she needed the help and Meg had a client to visit this morning. He heard a car pull up and looked out the window. It was Kevin. "What the hell is he doing here?" Luc wondered as he opened the door.

"Hi Kevin," said Luc.

"Sorry to bother you Luc, I know you're suppose to be resting, but..." was as far as he got.

"Come inside before you tell me your woes. I think I will need to sit down for this," Luc said. The two of them sat down in the living room. Kevin pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. It was a list.

"Luc, Duke is driving everyone crazy. He's contradicting things you have set up, fought with Ginny, pissed most of us off, and today he started hollering at Meg," Kevin said. He hadn't wanted to mention the last bit, but knew he needed to do so.

"What the hell has crawled up his ass?" asked Luc, trying not to growl. His neck started to pull as he tensed.

"Not certain, but I think he decided that if you hadn't started dating Meg, you wouldn't have gotten mauled by the bear and therefore Alpha Wolf Tech wouldn't be in chaos right now," Kevin said. "This is a list of the stuff he's been saying or doing that is pissing the rest of us right off." Kevin handed the list over to Luc.

Luc took the list and read it. He nodded over some of it, like he expected it while other bits made him growl under his breath. "I take it that Duke is transferring all of his anger about Penny onto Meg," he said quietly.

"Yes. Ginny ripped him about it today. When Meg showed up, he went off on her and while she stood up well to it, we got in there as fast as we could. He was beginning to shift and Ginny hit him in the ear with the canned air," said Kevin.

"Canned air in his ear?" asked Luc trying to figure out how that would stop Duke.

"Yeah, believe me, she's deadly with that damn stuff. Blasted him right in the ear canal and nearly gave him frostbite. Couldn't hear out of it for over an hour," said Kevin.

"Hmm,... I'll have to remember that for later," said Luc.

"Once Ginny got his attention, she hauled him out of the office, took his keys and told him to go pick a fight somewhere else far away from work, town and even the county," said Kevin.

"So why are you here if Ginny took care of him?" asked Luc.

"We both figured that Duke would show up here. We wanted you to have both sides of the story, knowing full well that Duke wouldn't provide it. Plus, the last thing I wanted him to do was ambush Meg after work. You're in no fit shape to protect her. Ginny said you haven't shifted again yet, so I decided to take first watch," Kevin said.

"When is Meg due home?" asked Luc looking up at the clock.

"Ginny was going to keep her there until I had time to come talk to you," answered Kevin. "Peter from the warehouse was going to follow her home."

"Okay, I'm not happy about this," said Luc.

"I knew you wouldn't be, which is another reason I'm here," said Kevin.

"You are about the most neutral shifter at work, aren't you," said Luc.

"Yeah... me, the beta," Kevin said with a bit of disdain.

"Hey, not everyone can be an alpha," said Luc. "Hell, I'm glad I don't have to deal with issues at work, because you are there. You're dominant enough when needed, and I appreciate that too," said Luc.

Kevin just sighed and fell back against the couch cushion. He wasn't sure which he hated most, politics or pack issues. Either way, they drove him crazy. His cell phone chirped. Opening his phone, he read the text message, replied and sent it. "Ginny just asked if we'd had time to talk. I told her we had and she's sending Meg home," he said.

"Okay, I think I'm going to get dressed. If this is headed where I think it is, there are going to be too many people here to be sitting around in my sleep pants," said Luc.

"I agree. I had hoped we'd avoid this, but Duke is such a loose cannon lately," said Kevin.

"Be honest, when hasn't he been a loose cannon?" asked Luc.

"When he was actually in bed with Penny screwing like coyotes?" said Kevin.

Luc smiled, nodded and headed for the bedroom. He got dressed slowly and carefully. Duke was being a right pain. While very beta when all was well and right in accordance to his universe, Duke tried to be an alpha in all the wrong ways when things were chaotic. Like now. That list Kevin had brought wasn't bad. For the most part, the bits that Duke was complaining about were things he never dealt with in any way shape or form. The unfamiliarity with the business was Duke's downfall. Duke didn't know that Ginny handled all the dispatching as well as ran the front office. Nor did he understand that Peter ran the warehouse and Kevin managed shipping and receiving with Peter. Somehow, Duke had gotten it in his head that Luc did all of this, and that the interplay of people was in fact chaotic. Luc knew from the IM chats and other bits of information from Ginny that things were really rather quiet. The only real chaos was Duke interfering.

Luc walked back out into the living room to find Kevin watching out the front windows. He walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"How soon until Meg should be here?" Luc asked.

"In a few minutes. I figure that if Duke was heading this way, he'd get here early," said Kevin.

"I agree. At least I don't have too many shrubs or trees to hide behind," said Luc as they stood there waiting.

"No, that is a good thing. No parking garage either. Is that her car pulling up?" Kevin asked.

"Yes," said Luc as he looked out. "I'm going to go out to meet her. This way the door will be open and you can be ready too."

"Okay, I'm not exactly comfortable with this, but it will work," said Kevin.

Luc nodded and slowly walked out to meet the Neon as it pulled up in the drive way. He waved at Meg, and she waved back. Looking around, he didn't see anything. So far, so good.

Meg was curious as to why Luc was outside. She was about to ask him why when he opened the door.

"Meg, come into the house as quickly as possible," he said quietly. There was a sub-vocal quality to his voice that Meg noted.

"Okay Luc. Let me grab my bag and we will get inside and you can explain this," she said. She reached over and grabbed her laptop bag and stood up out of the car. She heard a noise behind her and tried to turn.

"Watch out!" Kevin hollered from the doorway. He was out and moving as fast as he could towards the car.

Meg felt the car slammed into her and the scrape of claws on metal. Then she felt Luc shove her back inside the Neon and slam the door. The top of her car started to cave in with the weight of whatever had attacked them. There was a thump, and then what looked like a large dog slid off the side of her neon. Watching from the inside, she saw Kevin tackle the sandy colored animal. Meg realized a second later that it was a wolf. Kevin didn't shift, but he and the wolf were locked in battle. The wolf grabbed at his ribs and bit. Kevin grabbed the wolf by the ears with one hand and thumped it around the snout and jaws with the other. The wolf let go and went for Kevin's hand that hit him. Kevin delivered another punch to the wolf's skull right between the eyes. The wolf was stunned for a moment and then lunged for Kevin's throat. Kevin blocked the attack with his fist. By this time the wolf was trying to squirm away from the hold Kevin had around it's middle. Peter from work appeared from the other side and waded into the fight.

Meg looked to where Luc had been a minute ago and saw his body pressed up against the door. "Good! At least he has the brains to stay out of this fight!" she thought. Looking back at the fight, she saw Peter pull a thick baton from his back pocket and hit the wolf. The wolf went limp, and collapsed on top of Kevin.

"Stay put," said Luc as he walked away from the car door towards the limp form of the wolf and the two men. She didn't move.

Luc helped Peter heave the wolf off of Kevin. There were some bites and his shirt was torn, but he didn't look too bad. Peter grabbed the wolf by the scruff of the neck and started dragging him to the back of the house. Luc helped Kevin to the door of the house and then came to get Meg. He opened the door and held out a scuffed and bloodied hand to Meg. She took it and they moved quickly into the house.

"Who in the hell was that?" she asked once they were inside and the door was closed. She was shaking with adrenaline and noticed that Luc was going very pale. "Luc, sit down," she said, all concern transferred to him.

"I'll be okay. Go see to Kevin. He's in the bathroom," he said as he reached for his phone.

Meg nodded and headed to the bathroom. When she got there, Kevin had the remains of his shirt off and was trying to mop up the blood with a wet washrag.

"Here, let me help," she said. He nodded and she took the washrag from him and started to clean up the deep gash on his side. The teeth grazed over the ribs before biting into the softer flesh near his stomach. It wasn't bad, just bloody. She rinsed the washrag and repeated the process over his other scrapes and bites. His hands and arms were covered in scratches and teethmarks.

"Ow!" hissed Kevin as she worked on one deep bite.

"Sorry," said Meg and tried to be more gentle. There was a flap of skin that tore and no way to clean it gently. It was just an ugly bite. She finished and looked into the medicine cabinet. Nothing. Then she remembered, the box under the sink. Meg pulled Luc's first aide kit out from under the sink and found what she needed. She remembered how fast they healed, but still, some of those bite marks were going to hurt for a few days.

"I've got the antiseptic to put on these bites and then I'll bandage the bigger ones," Meg said to Kevin.

"Fine," hissed Kevin. "Just hurry up and finish before I loose any more blood."

"Hey, I got most the bleeding stopped," she said. "Besides, once I get you cleaned up, I have Luc and Peter to see to."

"Shit, " Kevin said with an intake of breath as the antiseptic cream stung. "Didn't think Luc got hurt," he said through clenched teeth.

"He hurt his hand from what I could tell. Don't know if he caught it in the door or what," Meg said as she wiped her hands off and started to apply bandages. She tried to be gentle, but knew that it hurt Kevin. "Who attacked?" she asked.

"That was Duke," Kevin said as he watched Meg wrap his ribs with sport tape over the bandages. He winced as she snugged it up. "Careful, I think I cracked a rib or two."

"Probably, considering the way you landed and rolled about," said Meg. She stood up having finished with the sports tape. Kevin looked a bit chagrined with bright pink sports tape wrapped around his ribs. She smiled. "Now let's see how the others are and I want some explanations," she said walking out with a fresh washrag and the first aide kit.

They found Luc and Peter in the living room. Duke was nowhere to be seen, so Meg figured that he must be locked up somewhere out of sight. At this point, she really didn't care. Peter was cradling his hand and an arm. She didn't see any gaping wound, but she knelt beside him first. She knew that if Luc was badly hurt, Peter would have said something.

"Okay, what's wrong?" she asked Peter.

"I think I dislocated my shoulder when I threw Duke in the cage," he said. His voice was thready with pain. "He woke up and got aggressive," he gasped.

"Um, I don't know how to put a shoulder back in," Meg said. "Should we call Jeff?"

"Already have," said Luc. "He's on his way as well as Ginny and about half the family," he finished. Luc didn't sound happy.

"And how is your hand?" Meg asked.

"Just scratched from punching Duke in the nose," Luc said and held up his hand. It was already scabbing over.

Meg nodded and wiped at it with the washrag since there was nothing she could do for Peter. When she was done, she took the kit back to the bathroom. She heard the door open as she turned back to the living room. Jeff walked in followed by a few people she didn't know. Ginny was the last one in and closed the door. Jeff went straight to Peter and started working on his shoulder. Ginny walked over to where Kevin and Luc were sitting.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"On the back porch," said Luc. He pointed towards the back of the house even though he knew she was familiar with the house.

Ginny nodded and two of the men followed her. As she got close to Meg, she stopped. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Meg nodded. "Just confused and coming down off the adrenaline rush," she said.

"Get some food for you and the guys. I'll start some coffee when I'm done with numb nuts," she said with sub-vocals coloring her tone. Ginny was pissed.

Meg nodded and proceeded to grab crackers, and cookies out of the cupboard. She went into the living room and handed out snacks. Kevin took a handful of crackers and Luc snagged a couple of maple cookies. She put the rest down on the table and then went to answer the door. There were more people at the door that she didn't know.

"Hello?" she said looking at a tall man.

"Hi, I'm Sandy. You must be Luc's mate," he said and held out his hand.

"Yes, I am," said Meg still confused.

"My son here will answer the door for you," he said before she could say anything. A smaller version of Sandy stepped in behind him and smiled up at Meg. "Let's go see Luc," Sandy said and prompted Meg to head into the living room.

Meg went in and sat down next to Luc. Sandy followed, said hello and then seated himself next to Peter who had his arm wrapped mummy style against his chest. Jeff was checking her handy work on Kevin in another corner of the room.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 12



"Are you okay?" Luc asked quietly.

"Yes, just a little shell shocked and confused. What the hell happened? Why did Duke attack us?" she asked.

"He attacked you," said Luc. "I think he just lost it, but we will find out in a few minutes."

"Okay, so what's with all the people?" she asked next as she cuddled next to Luc.

"This is family and pack business. Everyone here is related to either Ginny, Duke or me," Luc said. "Guess you could call it a trial. I'll explain in more detail later."

"Oh," said Meg. She looked around the room at the people packing into the 12 x 15 space. Some moved chairs or tables out of the way. She found herself thinking that it was a good thing Luc didn't have much in the way of living room furniture. There must be thirty-five or forty people in here by now. Meg realized that there were family resemblances in the crowd. Some had the dark brown hair that matched Luc's. Others looked more like Ginny. Just when she thought that there wasn't room for one more person, Sandy's son came into the room and found his dad. He whispered something in his ear and then sat at his dad's feet.

"We're all here Luc," said Sandy.

"Alright. Inside or outside?" Luc asked looking around at the people gathered in his living room.

"Not sure," said Sandy. "Lots of injured people and I'm not sure Duke will behave himself inside."

People nodded and murmured in agreement. Luc took a deep breath and gaged how he felt. Looking at Peter and Kevin, they nodded. Luc stood up slowly and headed towards the back porch where Peter had locked Duke up in the kennel he'd used for his husky a long time ago. Meg wrapped her arm around his waist. She knew he was too proud to let anyone else support him. Instead, it looked as if he was protecting her. The rest of the people followed Luc out to the back yard.

Sandy's son ran around and out the back door first. When Luc reached the back porch, he saw that the boy had found lawn chairs for the injured. Luc sat down gratefully. Looking across the patio, he could see Duke passing back and forth in the cage. When he saw the people filing out of the house, he snarled.

"Who will speak for Duke?" Luc asked. He looked around and saw that most of the people were not making eye contact with him. This wasn't looking good. Ginny looked at him and shook her head no. Finally, one of the cousins stood up.

"Don't really want to, but I know it needs done," said the cousin. The cousin and Jeff went to talk to Duke.

Luc nodded. He shifted in the chair, and realized that there was no comfortable position. He looked around and saw that everyone was watching him. "This afternoon, Duke attempted to attack Meg. This was after he tried to pick a fight with her at work. Over the last few weeks, he has fluctuated between being nice, ignoring Meg and being downright aggressive towards her. His list of complaints included loss of revenue, chaos in the office and general disorganization caused by her presence. He further stated that if she wasn't around, I wouldn't have been injured and that Alpha Wolf Technologies would not be in chaos. He complained to Kevin and Ginny," he said. Luc took a deep breath and tried to ease the ache in his shoulder.

"Duke should have come to me with his complaints. He didn't, even though I saw him frequently when he delivered papers from the office. He had ample time to as questions, or discuss issues with me. He chose not to. It is true that the business has been a bit short handed and for the first day or two after the attack, life was hectic. However, there has never been the chaos that Duke chose to see other than in his own mind or caused by his own hand," said Luc. He looked out over the group gathered. Most were nodding their heads in agreement. No one disagreed.

"It is true that I was injured while out with Meg. However, it might have happened regardless of who I was with. The important bit is that Meg had the presence of mind to take matters into her own hands and get me safely to help. Without her, I would be dead," he said as he took Meg's hand in his own. "The real issue that I see is that Meg is human. I believe that Duke is transferring his frustrations and anger over the situation with his wife Penny onto Meg. His attack of my mate breaks our rules. Does anyone want to speak?" Luc asked.

A hand went up in the back of the crowd. Luc nodded and gestured for the man to step forward.

"Are you two really mated? Or is this a last minute thing?" he asked.

"We were waiting for me to finish healing before we made the big announcement and invited everyone for dinner, but we are mated," Luc said and pulled the chain out from under his shirt. He knew that Meg's was visible to most of the people.

"Oh, Okay. Good enough. Let me know when it is," said the man as he stepped back into the crowd.

"Luc, we all know he's crazy as a loon. Whacha gonna do?" asked another man.

"You know the rules," said Sandy before Luc could answer. There were more murmurs and nods across the room.

"Duke is my brother. I know him best of all, and he's gone over the edge," said Ginny stepping to the front of the crowd. "We are all sorry that his marriage went off, but it isn't news to any of us. The events of Bitty's coming of age were just a repeat of history. Duke and Penny are both coyote crazy. Right now I'm doing my best to hold those children together and give them some kind of life. However, he had no right attacking Meg," she growled sub-vocally. A shudder went through the people.

The cousin and Jeff walked back over to the group of people. Behind them, the wolf was pacing the length of the dog run. The two men stopped in front of Luc.

"Luc, I've checked him out as best as I could. No one's home," said Jeff. The sadness in his voice hushed the low chatter.

"It's how I see it too," said the cousin. "He wouldn't talk. Just growled and slobbered like a dog with rabies. I can't defend someone who won't help himself. Sorry Ginny," he said turning to her.

Ginny nodded. She went to stand next to Luc and turned to face the crowd. "Way I see it, Duke needs to be put in the care of Jeff here up in the mountains. Maybe he'll come to his senses, maybe he won't. At least up there, he won't hurt anyone else," she said with a heavy heart.

Luc stood up slowly and wrapped his arms around Ginny. He hugged her and then turned back to the rest of the people. "Jeff, will you take charge of Duke?" Luc asked.

"Yes, I will take responsibility for Duke," said Jeff.

"Ginny, will you take charge of the children?" asked Luc.

"Yes, I will take responsibility of the children," said Ginny.

"Does anyone wish to challenge me?" Luc asked.

Meg was trying to follow this and had figured out the 'trial' part of what had gone on. This last bit confused her. Luc was going to have lots of explaining to do afterwards. She looked around at the people present and watched as a huge man stepped forward.

"Luc," said the huge man.

"George," answered Luc.

"Anyone wants to challenge you will have to go through me first," said George who scanned the crowd as he talked. No one said a word.

"Thank you George," said Luc. He breathed a sigh of relief and then taking Meg's hand in his, he addressed the crowd once more. "For the records keepers, gossips and anyone who just might be curious, Margaret Stewart, is our mate." "There, now it's official," he thought.

Meg looked up at Luc and then out at the crowd. There were smiles and then the sound of people clapping hands. "oh geeze! I think I just got married. Too late to back out now," she thought as a smile played across her face. She wasn't sure of the protocol, but she reached up to Luc and kissed him. Luc took her in his arms and kissed her. Whistles, clapping and a howl or two erupted from the crowd. Next thing she knew, there were people clasping her hand, patting her on the back, introducing themselves and in general welcoming her to the family.

Luc bent down to Meg's ear after a few minutes. "Get me back in the house. I'm about to collapse," he whispered.

Meg nodded. She thought about things for all of two seconds and then looked for Sandy. She didn't know him, but Luc seemed to respect him. "Sandy, would you give me a hand please?" she asked.

Sandy turned around and saw that Meg was helping Luc stand. He could see and smell that Luc had over extended himself. "Sure Meg," he said and moved to Luc's other side. Between the two of them, they got Luc into the house and on the couch. "Should have seen he was wiped out," he said softly to Meg. "Anything else I can do?"

"Um, yeah. I have no idea of any of the protocol. Ginny is busy with Jeff and Duke. Help?" she said.

"No problem. You just sit next to Luc and soak up the handshakes. I'll take care of this," Sandy said and began to talk to various people in the crowd. Soon there were three women heading to the kitchen and two men along with Sandy began to clear the dining room table. People were coming and going with bags and boxes. Meg watched with fascination as Sandy took over like the head chef in a hotel kitchen.

Luc sat and tried to keep from passing out. He was starving, exhausted and overwhelmed by all the people in his house. Peter and Kevin didn't look much better. The three of them were enthroned in chairs or on the couch. He thought of asking Meg to help him to bed, but there were so many people coming up to congratulate them on their mating or to offer condolences over the attack, that all he could do was breathe, shake hands and nod.

Sandy moved to the middle of the room and called for everyone's attention. "There is food on the table! Come and eat!" he said in a voice that didn't need sub-vocals. Then he turned and took plates from one of the women who had disappeared into the kitchen earlier. He walked over to Luc and handed plates to him and Meg. "Sorry this turned into such a circus, but look at it this way, you've gotten the majority of the people taken care of when it comes to the dinner," Sandy said and winked at Luc.

Luc smiled weakly. Leave it to Sandy to see the good side of a horrid situation. He dug into the food. Sandy brought plates to Peter and Kevin as well. In a matter of a few minutes, everyone still there was eating. When Sandy brought dessert, Luc realized that the crowd was finally thinning. Sandy must be funneling them out the back door. Luc was grateful. He'd owe Sandy one hell of a favor. George too.

Luc went to put his coffee cup on the table and realized that he could barely move. He'd stiffened up. "Meg," he said trying to get her attention softly.

"Yes Luc?" she asked.

"I need to get to bed, but I don't know if I can stand," he admitted.

Meg nodded and looked around for Ginny, Sandy or Jeff. There weren't too many people left, but she didn't know any of those in sight. "Just a second Luc. I think we're going to have company for the night too," she said pointing at Peter and Kevin who had both fallen asleep.

Luc smiled. He handed his cup to Meg as she headed to the kitchen. In the kitchen, she found Sandy talking to George. She walked up to them and waited for a break in conversation.

"What can I do for you Meg?" asked Sandy.

"I need to get Luc to bed, and Peter and Kevin have passed out in their chairs. I'd like to get them all horizontal, but I can't do it by myself," she said.

Sandy and George smiled. "Don't worry, we'll take care of them. Just show us where to put them," said George.

Meg smiled and turned back towards the living room. George had a voice that sounded like he always spoke in sub-vocals. Deep and rumbley. She went and opened the guest room door and then turned on the light. Meanwhile, George had picked up Kevin like he was three. He was at the door before Meg could turn the bed down.

"Just put him here," she said. "I can't believe he's so heavily asleep."

"Between the pain killers Jeff gave him and healing trance, I'm not surprised," George said.

"Healing trance?" asked Meg thinking she vaguely remembered Luc talking about it.

"Yeah, we go to sleep, heat up and heal. Works great for minor things. Makes the human doctors think we're dead 'cause our heart rate drops so low," he said as he put Kevin down. "I'll put Peter on the other bed and then we'll get Luc."

"Okay," Meg said and turned down the other bed. Now she understood why Luc had so much space for guests although he lived alone. First the kids, and now these two. George put Peter down who was half awake. They covered him up and turned out the lights.

Luc had fallen asleep. Meg touched him on the shoulder and gently woke him up. He blinked and saw George and Meg standing over him.

"Now, do you want carried or just helped to your bed?" asked George quietly.

"Just help me stand up," said Luc.

Meg took the injured side and George helped Luc stand. George and Meg moved Luc through the crowd to the bedroom. Luc leaned on George while Meg fixed the blankets. Luc crawled into bed and sighed.

"Thanks for everything George," he said.

"Don't worry. How often do I get the chance to defend my big brother?" George said.

Luc smiled. "Yeah, not often I guess. You and Sandy were a lot of help today. Thanks," said Luc.

Meg took in this new information with a bit of astonishment. George was a baby brother? She and Luc had lots to talk about. "I'll be back as soon as I get the rest of the guests out the door," she said to Luc. He nodded and curled up on the pillows.

Meg closed the door and went back to the kitchen. George, Sandy and the last of the people were in there cleaning up. "Okay, I don't mean to sound ignorant or rude, but who is everyone? And how are you related to either Luc or Ginny?" she said to the five people in the room.

"Meg, I'm sorry, I took it for granted that you'd know at least some of us," said Sandy.

"No, Luc and I have had a few lapses in details. Family being one of them," she said.

"Okay, I'm Alexander Moreau. Luc is my younger brother. This imp is Jesse. He's nine," Sandy said as he rubbed the top of the boy's head.

"I'm Luc's little brother and one of a set of twins," said George.

"There are two your size?" asked Meg.

"No, I'm a fraternal twin. Ysabel here is my other half," said George pulling an average sized woman to his side.

"Hello," said Ysabel holding out a hand to Meg. "Nice to meet you at last."

"Nice to meet you," said Meg shaking her hand.

"And I'm Marie, Ginny's and Duke's sister," said a short gray haired version of Ginny.

"Nice to meet you as well. Now one more question, if no one minds," said Meg. "Just how are the two families related?" she asked pointing from Marie to the rest of the people in the kitchen.

"Well, once upon a time, one of the great-great aunties sorta jumped the fence with one of the great-great uncles. I think our side was the aunty and Luc's was the uncle," started Marie. "They had three children and then he got himself shot. Hunter I think. So she went back to her family and remarried. So, if you go back far enough, we are all related. However, to be totally clear you'd have to ask the current crop of great aunties as to the how," she finished.

Meg just blinked. Looking around the room, everyone was nodding like this was common knowledge. "Okay. That explains a bit more as to why Sara and Joe call him Unky Luc," said Meg.

"And with that, we all need to go home and let you sleep. Plenty of time for family stories another day," said Ysabel. She gave Meg a hug and then headed out the door. The rest of the people followed suit with George last.

"You need anything, you call," he said and pointed to a phone number written on the dry-write board.

"I will. Good night George," she said.

George hugged her and headed out the door. Ten seconds later and the house was silent except for the sounds of snoring coming from the bedrooms. Meg dropped her clothes to the floor and crawled into bed with Luc. It had been a very long day.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 13



Luc woke in the middle of the night stiff and achy. "What the hell?" he wondered. As he tried to stretch, he remembered. Duke, the attach, Meg and the family meeting. "Damn, what a day," he thought. Luc went to roll over, but Meg was snuggled up tight to his right side. Luc scooted back, stretched a bit more and then curled up around her. He was back asleep in a moment.

Meg woke up wondering who had turned up the heat. She tried to roll over and realized that Luc had shifted in the night and had pinned her under the covers. "Oh great. I need to go to the bathroom," she thought. Meg tried to wiggle out of the covers, but it didn't work.

"Luc, wake up Luc," she said to the wolf curled around her. She started to shake his neck, but realized that even in wolf form, he was missing fur where he'd been injured. The other thing she noticed was that the chain she'd given him fit without being too tight. She smiled.

"Come on Luc, roll over, play dead, do something, but let me up," she said as she shook his back near his hips.

The wolf raised his head and looked at his mate. "Soft One?" She was yapping at him. He yawned, and then sniffed. "Soft One needs up?" he thought. Soft one not safe," the wolf thought as he sniffed the air again. "Two others in house," he smelled. The wolf stood up and let his mate out of the bed and followed her into the little space. He sat in the doorway and watched.

Meg was glad when Luc got up off of the bed. She wasn't too thrilled by the fact that he followed her to the bathroom. She could tell he was on guard by the way he kept sniffing the air. "Wonder if he smells Peter and Kevin in the guest room?"she thought.

"Come on, move out of the way," she said as she tried to go back to the bedroom. Meg went to grab her clothes, and Luc blocked her way. He was herding her back to the bed. Looking over at the clock, she saw that it was 8:05 am. "Well, I guess I can go back to bed for a little bit," she said to herself. Once she got back in bed, Luc wrapped around her and put his head on his tail. There was nothing to do but go back to sleep.

*

Meg woke much later to the sounds of clattering noises coming from the kitchen. Luc was still shifted, but she figured she could get off the bed without waking him. Meg was half way off when he woke, looked at her and jumped off the bed.

"Okay, I get an escort," she said to herself as they walked out of the bedroom. The wolf preceded her just enough that he could see ahead. He sniffed and headed towards the kitchen and the noises.

Peter was trying to find a coffee filter when he felt the wolf enter the kitchen. He went very still, because while not loud, the growl was there. The wolf sniffed him and then bumped his hand. Peter relaxed. Then he noticed Meg standing in the doorway.

"Do you have any clue to what his problem is?" she asked pointing to the wolf who was sniffing every corner of the room.

"Not exactly, but I can guess. This is the first time he's shifted since the surgery, and now he's checking his territory. Way too many unusual smells and he probably remembers the attach yesterday. So, he's guarding you too. Knowing Luc, he was damn frustrated yesterday about not being able to keep you safe. Plus, he probably feels guilty about Duke losing his mind. So, we have 'the big bad wolf' checking out the world and planning to keep it safe," said Peter.

"Great. Is Kevin still asleep?" she asked working her way to the cupboard where the filters were kept. She handed one to Peter who finished working on the coffee.

"Yeah. He's shifted too. Hope you don't mind fur all over the covers," said Peter.

Meg laughed. "Right, like I'd have a choice?" she said pointing to Luc sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Peter realized just what he had said and laughed.

The wolf looked from the man who smelled like a wolf to his mate. "Soft One is safe with him," he thought. Standing up, he nosed past his mate and headed towards the other scent in the house. There had been lots of two legged wolves in the house. He reached the place where the other scent was strong, but he couldn't get into the space. He stuck his nose next to the floor where there was a gap and sniffed. "Wolf asleep. Hurt. Safe for Soft One," he thought. Walking back to the kitchen, he sat watching his mate and the man. After a minute, he headed for the back door. Pawing the handle, he let himself out. More scents. He covered the yard in a few strides.

Meg watched Luc check out the back yard. She giggled when he stopped, sniffed and then peed on a few spots.

"What are you laughing at?" asked Peter.

"Oh, just himself checking the peemail," she said.

"Peemail?" he replied. Then he thought about it and started to giggle too. "Guess we do check things out just a bit differently on four legs."

"Yeah. That nose in the crotch thing is right disturbing when it is just a dog. However, when you know that it's a shifter, it takes on a whole different perspective," said Meg.

Peter nodded. His girlfriends over the years had made a list of things that you really should remember when around humans. Crotch sniffing was a real no-no.

"Anymore of that coffee?"Kevin said as he walked slowly into the kitchen.

"Sure, let me get you a cup," said Meg. She reached around Peter, grabbed a mug and poured Kevin a cup. "What do you want in it?" she asked.

"Just black coffee," he said holding out his hand for the cup.

Meg smiled. She understood that whole 'gotta have coffee before I'm made to think' look that Kevin had.

"I see that Luc shifted again," said Kevin. He was watching Luc checking out the back yard.

"Yeah, maybe things will get back to normal now," said Peter.

"Nah, Ginny would still find things to yell at us for," said Kevin.

"That's why I work in the warehouse," replied Peter.

Meg smiled. She was getting to know her fellow co-workers better and it helped her understanding of them as people and shifters. The idea of a pecking order had a whole different meaning when people had two natures. Now she wanted Luc to shift back so she could talk to him about everything that went on yesterday. She looked out the window and saw that he was headed back into the house.

The wolf came inside and found Soft One and the other two in the kitchen. He hurt and went to lay down on the big soft spot that smelled like Soft One.

"Well, I guess Luc may not be joining us for breakfast," said Peter as he watched the wolf head back to the bedroom.

"Or, maybe he's going off to shift privately?" suggested Meg.

"Could be, but from what I see, it looks like he is getting back into bed," said Kevin peering around the corner.

"Oh," said Meg. She wondered if she should follow, and decided to drink her coffee first.

*

The wolf jumped up on the bed and then smelled something. Cubs had been here. He sniffed around the room, and found a bag. The crumbs in the bag were good, as he licked the last of them up. Then he sniffed again. Walking over to the side of the room, he smelled the cubs scent on a small furry thing. He sniffed it. It didn't smell like food, but it looked like food. He took it gently in his teeth and grabbed it to bring it down to his feet. As his jaws squeezed it, it began to make a noise.

"baaa, Beeeh, baaaaa, Beeeeh," squeaked the toy sheep.

The wolf dropped it in surprise. It continued to make noise, and he hit at it trying to kill the noise. It didn't work. It just continued to make noise. He hit at it again and it didn't stop.

Meg and the two men heard the toy sheep go off, and headed for the bedroom. They stopped in the doorway and laughed. There on the bed was Luc, the huge wolf with a toy sheep going 'baaa, Beeeh, baaaa, Beeeh' under his paws. Every time it made noise, the wolf slapped at it with his paws as if that would kill it and make it stop.

"Oh, my god!" laughed Meg. She was laughing so hard, that her sides were hurting.

"I wish I had my camera," laughed Peter.

All Kevin could do was laugh. He'd never seen such a ludicrous sight in his entire life. Better yet, it was Luc/Wolf that was the focus for the laughter.

The wolf looked at Soft One and the two-legged wolves who were making as much noise as the thing he had grabbed. He gave up trying to hit it and shoved it off to the floor and put his head down on his paws.

"I do believe that he's embarrassed," said Meg, trying to stop the laughter.

"I agree," said Kevin. "I can't wait to tease him about this."

That statement sent Peter and Meg into another round of giggles. The thought of teasing Luc about the sheep was just so perfect. Meg looked back at the wolf and realized that he was beginning to shift back into human form.

"Guys, would you give me a few minutes. He's shifting," she said.

"Sure, I think I'll see what I can cook for breakfast," said Kevin.

"Me too," said Peter. "Maybe make another pot of coffee."

"Okay, thanks guys," said Meg smiling as they literally ran for the kitchen. She moved into the bedroom and closed the door. She knew that Luc wasn't body conscious, but still didn't think he wanted an audience. She sat on the bed and waited for him to finish shifting.

Luc opened his eyes and stretched. His vision still wasn't perfect, but he could see Meg sitting on the edge of the bed with a smile on her face.

"Hello," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"Um, a little sore and confused," he said trying to get everything settled and into place.

"Did you enjoy your walk and the sheep?" she asked.

"Walk? Sheep?" he asked. Then he began to connect the feelings his wolfish side had been projecting with the look on her face. "Oh no, he didn't," Luc said looking around. There on the floor was a rather soggy chewed on stuffed sheep.

"Yeah, you did," said Meg with a smile on her face. "In fact, you squeaked it a number of times and Peter, Kevin and I just couldn't stop laughing."

Luc blushed. It was especially prominent in the areas with fresh scars. He just rolled onto his stomach and buried his face in his hands. "Oh gods," came the muffled statement from the bedding.

"It's alright. We didn't video it or anything. Hell, we didn't even get pictures," said Meg. She couldn't resist teasing him.

"Well thank goodness for small favors," said Luc in a 'trying to be peeved' voice. He was still so embarrassed. He got up off of the bed, picked up the sheep and dried it off. Then he stuck it up on a high shelf with some philosophy books.

"I think it will be safe up there," said Meg with a smile.

"Yeah. Nietzsche on sheep. An interesting thought. I'm going to find my sleep pants and then I want some coffee," Luc said as he looked under the covers for his sleep pants. He found them at the bottom of the bed. When he held them up, Luc realized that they were shredded. "Damn, I shifted in them," he said.

"Well, grab a pair out of the dresser," said Meg.

"But these were my favorite pair," Luc moaned as he wadded up the flannel sheep print sleep pants.

Meg started to laugh. "Is that because you could dream of eating sheep at night?" she teased.

"Oh you brat!" Luc said tossing the shredded pants at her. He pulled another set with moose on them out of the drawer and slipped them on.

"By the way, who bought you the sleep pants?" Meg asked noticing a theme.

"Umm... Ginny. She has this weird sense of humor," said Luc. He was blushing again as he pulled a teeshirt over his head.

"I rather like her sense of humor," said Meg as they walked to the kitchen.

Peter handed Luc a cup of coffee and made room for him at the table. Kevin was cooking bacon and eggs on the stove. The smells were beginning to permeate the kitchen.

"Meg, where is the garlic powder?" Kevin asked.

"Um... I think it is to the right of the stove in that little cupboard," she said. "I still have trouble remembering where everything is."

Kevin smiled as he found the garlic in a glass container. No wonder he hadn't been able to smell it. He added some to the eggs along with pepper and a bit of salt. "Meg, if you'd get some plates out, I have breakfast ready," he said.

Meg smiled as she moved to get the plates. She loved the fact that the male shifters she knew all cooked. She understood that it was more of a defense against starvation than domesticity, but it was still cool. She handed the plates to Kevin who quickly piled eggs, bacon and toast out of the oven onto the plates. Everyone sat down at the table and dug in.

"Are there seconds?" asked Luc.

"No, but give me a minute and I'll make more eggs," said Kevin. "Oh, and you'll need to go shopping. Between last night and this morning, we stripped the fridge."

"Not surprised. I remember food being brought in, but there were a lot of people here last night," said Luc.

"Yes, there were, which brings me to a lot of questions," said Meg.

"Good luck," said Peter looking at Luc. From the look on his face, he figured that this was going to be an unpleasant discussion.

Kevin was cooking eggs and didn't say a word. Luc got up and poured coffee for everyone before sitting back down to address Meg's questions.

"So, where do you want me to begin?" Luc asked.

"Let's go with the easy one. Duke. Where is he? And what was that bit about a place up in the mountains for him?" she asked.

"First off, we have our own rules. Family rules, pack rules," Luc started.

"I figured that out when Bitty's thing went wrong and when I took you to a shifter hospital and not the local ER. Quit stalling," said Meg. She wasn't pissed or angry, but she didn't need the obvious pointed out either.

"When one of us screws up badly, there are usually two options. First off, you get yourself killed or are killed in a fight. Second one, is you get sent to the equivalent of jail. Duke got sent to jail. No parole, no shortening of sentence, no death sentence either. Jeff runs the facility up in the mountains," said Luc.

"Okay, so how is it that no one notices a prison for werewolves up in the mountains?" Meg asked.

"Well, you wouldn't, because it is right in the middle of a wolf sanctuary," said Peter.

"What?" asked Meg.

"You know the wolf sanctuary up next to the national forest?" asked Kevin who loaded Luc's plate up with scrambled eggs and toast.

"Yes, I've been up there a few times with friends," said Meg. Then it dawned on her. "They aren't all shifters are they?" she asked.

"No, in fact, most of the ones the public interact with are real wolves or wolf hybrids. However, did you notice how there were fenced off areas farther back?" asked Luc.

"I sorta remember thinking that there was a lot of pens and fenced off areas that we couldn't get to..." her voice trailed off as she thought about the layout of the wolf sanctuary. "Oh! I get it. Most of the shifters live in fenced off areas away from the public."

"Exactly," said Luc. "Most are so far gone that they never shift to human form. The ones that do have a cabin with basic necessities. However, they are behind fences and the biggest deterrent isn't the other shifters at the sanctuary, but the ranchers around the area."

"Okay, why? What am I missing?" asked Meg.

"Simple. Most of the ranchers would shoot a wolf on sight and the nearest bit of civilization is over an hours drive away. So, if they did escape, they'd need to either steal a car and clothes, or go out on four legs. If they were seen crossing a ranch, they'd be shot," explained Peter.

"Oh geeze," said Meg. "So that's where Duke is?"

"Yes, Jeff left with him yesterday and he will be in the innermost areas for a long time. Jeff has been known to tranquilize some of them until they adjust. Others seem to come to an understanding that they screwed up and others, well..." said Luc as he made a hand gesture of shooting something off in the distance.

"You know, in some ways, that seems really barbaric. Then again, at least they are outside instead of in a 6 x 6 foot cage," said Meg. "Are there many of them up there at the moment?"

"No, only one or two besides Duke. A few try to starve themselves, but that really never works. For the most part, we shifters are rather law abiding," said Kevin.

"Oh?" said Meg rather sarcastically. "You mean to tell me that you guys are saints?"

"No, but our penalties for screwing up when caught are a bit more severe," said Luc. "No one wants to go to a human jail, so people tend to be a bit more honest. Those that screw up face family or pack judgment. Rape and murder have one penalty. Death. What we are on the whole is fast justice. Often brutal, but no one languishes in jail for years on end."

Meg thought about it. "Then how do you deal with humans that hurt pack members?" she asked.

"Often the same way we do with shifters. Or, they get turned over to the human court system, and get locked up as insane. 'I killed a werewolf. Of course it was my wife, but...' gets you sent to the loony bin by a judge," said Peter.

"I can see that. Goes back to the whole 'my uncle is a wolf' business. No one would believe the guy, and justice would be served, because a nut case like that would be locked up forever," said Meg.

"For the most part. The ones that don't,... well... usually get killed or they kill themselves," said Luc.

"Alright, I think I get Duke and his punishment. Now, for the family and pack thing," said Meg. "Am I right in thinking that you are the boss or leader of the pack?" she asked wishing there was some other way she could have said that right as it came out of her mouth.

All three of the men snickered. Peter rolled his eyes and Kevin stared at the ceiling. Luc cleared his throat. "Um..." he started.

"Well, are you or aren't you. Rather simple question," she said. Meg had had a bit of time to think about things and some bits only added up one way. Now all she really needed was Luc's side of the story.

"You aren't making this easy," he said.

"No, but then again, I never expected to end up as part of a werewolf trial either. Quit stalling," she said with a smile in her voice.

"Okay, I'm the head of my family. And,... my um, my branch of the family is the biggest in the area," he said. He grabbed his cup of coffee and drained it. "Why in the hell is it so hard to explain to her?" he wondered. "It isn't like I'm some kind of royalty, but damn... Oh hell."

"That makes sense of a lot of things I've been wondering about," she said.

"Like what?" Luc asked.

"Oh, how a fairly young guy has such a good business, or how everyone turns to you when something happens. And it really explains yesterday," Meg said.

"No, not really. Whenever the pack or a family member is wronged, they are the ones in the hot seat. They 'rule' over the procedure. This time it just happened to me and I happen to be the head of the family," he explained.

"So, how is it that you have older siblings that aren't in charge, but you are?" Meg asked. She was thinking of Sandy when she asked this.

"Well, some are dead or shifted or didn't want the job. It isn't so much by birth order, but by ability and some days I swear by who didn't say no fast enough," Luc said. He got up and got more coffee.

"So Sandy didn't want the job?" Meg asked.

"Sandy had the job right up until Jesse's mom died," said Luc.

"Oh," said Meg.

"And before you asked, she got hit by a car," said Luc. "Some idiot in a Land Rover was busting around the farm they lived on and thought he hit a wolf or German Shepard. At least the idiot had the brains to come to the door and admit they'd been trespassing. Luckily, they left the body and Sandy was able to pick her up," finished Luc.

"Oh damn," said Meg.

"You see, if we die, we tend to shift back to human form most times. The last thing Sandy wanted was to have his wife's broken body on display," said Kevin.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 13



"I can understand that. Poor Sandy," said Meg. "How old was Jesse?"

"He was three. He knows what happened, and he and Sandy are each other's shadow," said Peter.

"I noticed that last night," she said. "So, Sandy had the job, gave it up because of the death of his wife. So, you were next in line to get it?" asked Meg.

"Nope, It was going to go to Ginny, but she didn't want it. Since our families are sort of related, she and her siblings were in the running too. Duke was unstable, Marie is a bit of a recluse, so then it fell to me," said Luc.

"And I take it that George did the challenge thing in case someone didn't agree with your choice of punishment for Duke?" Meg asked.

"Yeah. Normally, I'd have had to fight if there had been a challenge. Being injured got me out of that. And before you make a mistake, Ysabel is the more deadly of the two. She may look all petite and sweet, but she has the temper to match George's size," said Luc.

"Ooh, I never would have thought of that," said Meg. "So, George is a gentle giant, and Ysabel is a terror on four legs?" asked Meg.

All three men in the room nodded their heads.

*

A few hours later, Luc and Meg stood in the shower. Peter and Kevin had left after cleaning up the kitchen. Meg ran her hands up Luc's side and touched lightly around the scar tissue.

"You sure you're feeling up to sex?" she asked.

"Look down," he said with a smile. His erection was bobbing against her leg.

"Oh my, I guess you are at least interested," she said with a bit of sarcasm.

"Interested? Only interested? It's been ages since we've really had sex," he said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Shall we finish up here?" Meg asked with the soap in her hand.

"No, I'm voting for toweling off and coming back to the shower after a rollicking good time," said Luc.

"Okay, just this once," said Meg. She was as horny as he was but while she wanted to bounce his bones silly, she didn't want to hurt him.

"You!" said Luc with exasperation. He turned off the water, grabbed his towel and tossed hers at her and climbed out of the shower. Thirty seconds later both of them were on the bed kissing and fondling one another.

"My, my you are wet," he said. His fingertips stroking inbetween her legs and teasing her lips.

"Oh gods am I, and it isn't all from the shower." She tried to grasp his cock, but he moved away.

"Not yet, it might go off, and then where would we be?" he said. Luc knew his control was very thin. It had been way too long.

"Oh I think we'd be back in the shower and heading out to do some shopping," said Meg. "I could always talk about my sister coming over for dinner, if that would help."

"Damn woman, do you want me to be limp for a week?" he teased her. Meg's sister was the one woman on the planet that irked him just by breathing. He wasn't sure if it was the nasal voice tone, the 'I'm superior' attitude or the whole woman. First time he'd met her had been one time too many. He and Meg had a tactical agreement that they'd never invite her sister anywhere they didn't have to.

Meg laughed. Part of her would love for Luc to shift in front of her sister. Another part never wanted to be in the same room ever again. Therefore, she couldn't resist teasing him.

"Well, if it was limp, things would last longer," she said.

"Noh," said Luc, his voice muffled as he began to lick her clit. "Like being harrd."

"Oh," moaned Meg as he worked his tongue up and down. She realized that he was beginning to shift just a little as the fingers he worked into her pussy went from just tapping her g-spot to tickling her cervix. It felt so good, she shivered. "Don't sttop," she muttered.

"Noh, I like this," he said still nose deep in her crotch. She began to arch and he stopped just before she came. He started again and stopped despite her protests.

"Luc," she said with exasperation. "Quit teasing me!"

"Okay," he said and flipped her over on her knees. With a swift thrust of his hips, he entered her pussy and drove home deep. "Oh...my," he gasped. He stayed there for a second and then started up a slow rhythm. He really did want to last more than a moment.

Meg gasped when he entered her. She could tell he was shifting more and more as he literally filled her. It felt so good to be stretched and filled. His slow strokes were driving her nuts. She tried to bounce faster and he held her still.

"Noh, go slohhh," he said his jaw beginning to shift. His hands held her hips tight as he increased the thrusts.

Meg felt that thrill of being held tight by Luc. She could feel the claws poke her ever so slightly as his hands held onto her. The slow strokes sped up and she felt herself floating away with pleasure.

"Oh lucccc, ohmyoh,... ohohohoh," she gasped as he stroked faster and faster. Their hips smacking together sounded like someone clapping. Meg felt the heat of orgasm rip though her as she came with Luc's cock bouncing against her cervix. The pleasure soaked her bones as she came and came.

Luc felt Meg's orgasm wash over her and rode the pleasure she shared with him. He thrust hard and deep, and then came for what seemed like hours. He stiffened and held her tight to him until the pleasure faded. Letting go of her, he withdrew and gasped as the nerve endings along his cock triggered micro orgasms.

"Oh my," gasped Meg as she melted to the bed.

"Oh my is right. Way too long since we've had good sex," Luc said. "I think my balls melted."

"Why?" she asked trying to get her brain online.

"Cause you're sitting in a puddle. Then again, you came so hard, maybe it isn't all me," he said.

Meg nodded. Feeling around for one of the bath towels, she tried to mop up. It wasn't working. She was soaked in cum. Finally, she just stuffed the towel under her ass and grabbed the covers. "Shower later," she said.

Luc nodded. He fell asleep with Meg wrapped in his arms.

*

The wolf licked the back of Meg's neck. He'd wrapped himself around her and was keeping her warm. He nuzzled her neck again and inhaled her scent. "Soft One, good scent," he thought and went back to sleep.

Meg woke up. She'd been dreaming... an X-rated version of Little Red Riding Hood that was very explicit. She stretched and tried to clear the fog of the dream from her head. Luc was still in wolf form, which was probably why she'd had the dream. Sex had been oh so good last night. Meg smiled and hoped that he'd feel good enough for a repeat of that tonight.

She stretched again and the wolf began to wake up. Rather than staying in that shape, he shimmered and soon a naked Luc was next to her in bed. She pulled the covers up over the two of them.

"Good morning," she said.

"Oh yeah," he yawned. "Last night was great, and I slept well. You?" he asked.

"Last thing I remember is grabbing a towel and pulling up the covers," said Meg.

"Uhuh," Luc agreed. He had started to shift right about then and didn't remember much at all. There were days he wished there was a better connection between his two halves.

"So, what's on the agenda today? It's 8 am," said Meg.

"I don't know about you, but I think I want to go to work," said Luc.

"Now that's a novel idea," said Meg. "That should cause Ginny all kinds of tizzies and hiccups in her little universe." Meg smiled. She knew that Luc was anxious to get back to work. The big thing was whether or not he had healed enough.

"Well, I really don't care. If she wanted the shop, she should have taken it first time round. Let's shower and get going. I've had enough of staying home," said Luc. He got up out of bed and headed for the shower.

"I know, but then again, she didn't expect you to get chewed by a bear," Meg reminded him.

"I know, I'm only grousing because I have been home for so long. Let's go to the office, and see how things go," he said as he started the shower.

"Okay," said Meg as she climbed in beside him and started to clean the remnants of last night off her skin.

*

An hour later, Luc and Meg walked into the offices of Alpha Wolf Tech. The phone was ringing and Ginny had a look on her face that would have sent clients running for the nearest storm shelter. Luc grabbed the phone and answered it.

Ginny gave Meg a look of sheer joy. She motioned Meg off towards her office. When the two women reached the office, Ginny shut the door behind them and leaned against it.

"Thank god you got here when you did. That phone has been ringing off the wall, and I needed three hands today just to keep up," Ginny said.

"Has it been this bad the entire time Luc was down?" asked Meg. Thinking back, she didn't remember it being that busy last week when she was in.

"No, it is like the customers knew Luc was planning on being here today. Oh, and we have three contracts waiting for outside work," said Ginny.

"Outside work?" asked Meg.

"Trenching," said Ginny. "All the stuff that Duke use to do and now can't."

"Oh shit. Who else can do the work?" asked Meg.

"Sandy, Luc and maybe a few others, but the first two are not available," said Ginny.

Meg understood why Luc wasn't available, but not Sandy. "Why not Sandy? Or George for that matter?" Meg asked.

"George doesn't fit in the cab. Sandy on the other hand has work. He's helping me with the kids and running that grocery at night," said Ginny.

"Oh, I had completely forgotten about the kids. Are they coping okay?" asked Meg.

"Yeah, Joe and Sara asked for their dad, but he's been gone so much of their life, that him being gone now isn't anything new. The big issue though is that Bitty has a new boyfriend, and I don't trust them as far as I can spit," said Ginny.

"Oh?" asked Meg.

"Most shifters are a horny lot. Teens are worse. Two sets of biology both striving for the same thing," said Ginny. The frustration was bleeding through.

"I never thought of that. Is she on the pill?" asked Meg.

"Like those things work! She's had the shot and carries condoms, but still..." Ginny trailed off.

"Have you talked to her about it?" Meg asked.

"Oh yeah. Gave the lot of them the talk. Enough so that the pre-school teacher called me and asked why Sara was trying to show her classmates about 'comdumbs'," said Ginny.

Meg started giggling. Ginny joined in and the two of them were still laughing when Luc walked in the room after bumping Ginny off the door.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Sara talking to her friends at school about 'comdumbs' during recess," gasped Ginny.

Luc blinked, thought and then he started to giggle as well. After a moment, they all caught their breath. Luc sat down on the edge of Meg's desk and just shook his head.

"Condoms eh, who's gone into heat?" he asked at last.

"Bitty, and 'Solda isn't far behind," said Ginny.

"Oh, and with Duke gone,..." Luc trailed off thinking of the various ramifications. "Who's watching the kids?"

"Sandy. He works nights and has the time to do it," said Ginny.

Luc just shook his head. His first day at work was turning out to be more than he expected.

"Well, we have to hire someone to do trenching and some other rough out work," he said.

"I know, three jobs at last count," said Ginny.

"Make that five. You walked away from the desk for ten minutes," said Luc. "Do we have anyone in the family capable?"

Ginny thought for a moment. A few came to mind, but most were either too old or not experienced enough. "Not off the top of my head. Let me call Ysabel and see if she has any ideas," she said.

"Okay, because we both know that Jeff would have a fit if I climbed in the trencher," said Luc.

"Not just Jeff," said Meg. Ginny nodded in agreement. As far as they were concerned, the only place Luc was allowed was under their observation.

"Fine. Ginny, find me someone. Human, shifter, I don't care. I have to have someone to get these jobs done. And yes, I took a look at the board. Not bad really, but we are at least two weeks behind where I'd like to be at this point in the month. At this rate, we will need one tech and one outside man," he finished.

Ginny nodded and headed back to her desk to start making calls.

"So, what are you going to do with your day?" asked Meg.

"I'm going to attempt to straighten my office up and stay out of Ginny's way. And you?" he asked in return.

"Well, from the looks of it, I've got two clients to send information to and then crunch data for one of your jobs. I got caught up last week with most of the backlog. Oh, and there is a new client to contact on Wednesday," she finished.

"A new client?" he asked.

"Yeah. One of the universities in the area needs employment data cross referenced to businesses in the area and the availability of employees," she said.

"How long will that take?" Luc asked.

"Depends on how many variables there are. Maybe a week, or maybe ten minutes," she said. "However, nothing is getting done with you sitting on my desk."

Luc sighed, blew her a kiss and headed for his office.

*

"I have three interviews for you starting at 2pm," said Ginny as she walked into Luc's office. He had papers piled all over and tools stacking up in a corner. She didn't think she'd caused this big of a mess, but...

"Okay, but could we use the conference room rather than here?" he asked.

"Sure. What's with the grand shuffle?" she asked pointing to all the piles.

"Well, I started filing bits and pieces and then realized that certain things didn't make sense, so I started to re-arrange things," he said. "Then there were all the tools and,..."

"You got carried away?" Ginny asked with a smile.

"Guilty. I've had way too much time to think, and now that I can actually do something, I'm trying to do it all at once," he admitted.

"It's okay. I'm headed to the Quick Stop. Do you want a Dr. Pepper?" she asked. It wasn't even lunch time yet, but she could see he was dragging.

"I'd love one. Oh, and some beef jerky bites too," he said fishing in his pocket for his wallet.

"Put your money away! My treat. See you in fifteen minutes," she said and headed out the door.

Luc looked around at the piles again and wondered if this had been such a good idea. He really did need a new filing system, but now he wasn't so sure. Maybe what he really needed was another filing cabinet. Heading out the door, he saw that Kevin's office door was open.

"Hey Kevin," Luc called from the doorway. "Do you have a spare file cabinet?"

"Hey Luc, good to see you at work. File cabinet? Um... No, but there might be one in the warehouse. I'll call Peter," he said and picked up the phone. "I'll get back to you in a few minutes," he said.

Luc nodded and headed back to his office. More space was always a good thing. When he got back to his office, he started tossing things like junk mail and catalogs that were over six months old. That quickly took care of three piles.

"Hey you, " called Ginny from the door. In her hand was a Dr. Pepper and a bag of beef jerky nuggets.

"Ginny, you are a lifesaver," said Luc as he took them from her.

"I'll remember that," she said as she headed off to drop other snacks to Meg and Kevin.

Luc sat down and opened the jerky. He had eaten half a dozen pieces before he realized just how hungry he was. Looking up at the clock, it was only 11:45am. "Damn! I'm starved," he thought. Taking a swig of Dr. Pepper, he ate another piece of jerky and then went back to sorting papers.

"Luc, Kevin said you needed this," said Peter.

Luc looked up to see Peter standing in the hall with a file cabinet on a dolly.

"I sure do. Put it over by the closet," said Luc and moved to clear a path. Five minutes later and the file cabinet was in place and ready for use.

"Thanks Peter," he said.

"No problem Luc. How's Meg doing?" he asked.

"She's doing okay. Work is keeping her busy," said Luc.

"Good. I was hoping that everything this weekend didn't weird her out," Peter said. He'd had his fair share of human girlfriends, and some just didn't cope as well as others.

"No, she is handling it pretty well. It feels good to get back into a normal routine too," said Luc.

Peter nodded in understanding and headed out. He had new space in his warehouse and didn't want it filled up with boxes by the time he got back. UPS was due in by 1pm.

Luc began to fill the file cabinet with all of last year's files and tools only used for certain jobs went in the bottom. This gave him plenty of room in the file cabinets behind his desk for this years files and his various tool bags. He had one for networks, another for PC repair and a third for wiring. He almost had his desk clear when a scent caressed his nose. He looked up to see Meg standing there with a bag in her hand.

"Lunch time," she said with a smile.

Luc sniffed again. "bacon, mushrooms, goat cheese, lamb,..." he thought. "Bingo Burgers?" he asked tentatively.

Meg nodded. "I figured that you'd forget lunch. Ginny's snack an hour ago barely lasted for me, and you're still healing," she said as she put his lunch down on a clear space on his desk.

"You're right. I think I inhaled the jerky, and I don't even remember when I finished the drink," he said as he grabbed a couple of fries and the spicy catsup.

Meg smiled and settled in one of his customer chairs. She had a lamb burger as well. The little burger place was fantastic. All organic, very clean and fast service. Plus, they served lamb. She held her burger over the container because it was so juicy it was dripping. She looked up to see that Luc was dripping all over the end of his desk, as he ate. She tried not to giggle, but couldn't help it.

"Noht one johke abowt woofin' my food," he said trying to talk around a bite.

Meg just laughed. They finished their lunch and when the last bite of burger and sweet potato fries was gone, Meg grabbed the clean wipes from one of the tool kit bags and handed it to Luc. He took a few and started to clean up the drips on his desk.

"That was heavenly," he said. "At least now I won't try and eat the job interview candidates."

"Ginny found some already? That was fast," said Meg.

"I think she's been thinking about this for a while and just waited until I came into work. Duke was useless for a long time before he attacked you. So, I don't think it was so much a matter of finding them, as making them wait for a call," he said.

Meg nodded. She suspected that Ginny sandbagged a lot of things and would dole them out to Luc as he could handle them until he was totally healed. "You want help?" she asked.

"No, I'll... Wait, you were the HR officer,..." he started as the gray cells started firing in rapid succession. "Um... I'd really like you to be here, especially as I think one or two of the techs are human," said Luc.

"No problem. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to," said Meg. With that, they headed to the conference room and set things up for the interview.

*

The last candidate walked out of the office at 5 pm. Meg was exhausted, and Luc was gray around the eyes. It had taken a lot more effort that either one of them expected.

"Can we wait to sort them out until tomorrow?" asked Luc. "I'm worn out."

"Sure. I've kept notes. I can't believe she found six people for us to interview. Did she prowl the universities?" Meg asked.

"I don't know. However, we have some tough choices to make," said Luc.

"Yeah, but the only choices I want right now are whether to eat in bed or not," said Meg.

"How about take out and we eat as soon as we get home. Bed as soon as we throw out the trash?" suggested Luc.

You're on!" said Meg. Grabbing her briefcase, she headed for the door. All the other offices were dark and quiet. They hadn't noticed Kevin or Ginny leaving for the day. Once in the car, they headed for the Mandarin Coin. Chinese fast food sounded too good to pass up. Their order was ready in ten minutes and they headed down the highway with delightful smells filling Meg's little Neon.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 13



Pulling up in the driveway, they noticed a car parked on the side of the house. Traffic was usually too busy to park there, but someone had.

"Luc, whose car is that?" Meg asked.

"I don't recognize it," he said and got out of the car cautiously. He sniffed the air, but didn't recognize anything out of place. "Let's get in the house," he said and headed for the door. He went to put the key in the lock and realized that it was open.

"Meg, go back to the car," he said quietly.

Meg nodded and backed up. After the other day, she didn't want to risk anything. Luc quietly opened the door and slid in. She heard some noise and then the houselights came on. Luc motioned to her from the door and she went inside.

Once she got inside, she saw Bitty and a young man sitting naked except for some bedding wrapped around them sitting on the couch. The two of them looked very chagrined.

"I take it that you've called Ginny," said Meg.

"I was just about to," said Luc. He walked off to the kitchen to make the call. Meg sat the food down. They'd have to reheat it by the time this situation was over.

Luc walked back into the living room. He sat down with a heavy sigh. Bitty and the young man fidgeted.

"Bitty, I know you just turned eighteen, but what the hell were you thinking?" Luc asked. "And I hope young man that you're eighteen," he growled sub-vocally.

"Yes sir!" the young man squeaked.

"Um, Unky,... you know,..." Bitty started to stammer.

Luc just gave her a look that stopped her cold. "Ginny will be here in a few minutes. She's going to chew your asses, so I don't have to. We'll just wait," he growled again. Looking over at Meg, he gestured to the bag with food.

"You want to eat now?" she asked.

"Yes. By the time Ginny gets done with these two, our food will be cold and I probably won't feel like eating," Luc said.

"Okay, but could you tone down the sub-vocals?" Meg asked as she handed him his food.

"Sorry," he said and took the container and chopsticks. He looked at them and went to the kitchen and returned with a fork. "Paws, not fingers," he said as he sat down to eat.

They ate in silence while the two teenagers sat waiting for Ginny's arrival. Luc finished first and sat back just watching the two of them. Meg ate what she could and then took the leftovers and garbage to the kitchen. She put on a pot of coffee, because she had the feeling it was going to be a long evening. The coffee had just started to brew when the door opened and Ginny walked in the house. She looked at Bitty and the young man and then sat on the couch.

"Are you stupid?" she asked directing the question towards the teens.

"Aunt Ginny, we..." Bitty started.

"Don't Aunt Ginny me. I want to know why you two thought it was okay to break into a person's house, have sex on their beds and in general disregard my requests to be open and honest about relationships," she said. The sub-vocals nearly rumbled the floor.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry about all of this, but it was my idea to go have sex," said the young man.

"Don't lie to me. I can smell it. What is your name?" growled Ginny.

"Mark Sampson, ma'am. I go to college with Bitty and we really like each other," he said.

"I don't care how much you like her, the rules were explained to her and she broke them. What's your parent's phone number?" demanded Ginny. She was on a roll and neither Luc or Meg were getting in her way.

"Um... Its 354-4004," said Mark.

Luc dialed the number into his phone and walked out of the room. Meg sat a cup of coffee next to Ginny and then retreated to her corner of the room.

"Bitty, you know the rules. You broke them. More seriously, you broke into your uncle's house. Now, we are just going to sit here and wait until Mark's parents get here," she said and sat back with her coffee.

"Can we go get dressed Aunt Ginny?" asked Bitty.

"No. You just sit right there," Ginny said.

Luc walked back into the room and took a sip of the coffee Meg had set on the table. "Your parents will be here in about twenty minutes," he said. "By then, I hope that the two of you have something to say worth hearing."

The five of them sat in the living room in silence. Bitty started to cry, but stopped when Ginny cleared her throat. Bitty wrapped the sheet around herself a bit tighter.

Mark just sat there, wondering what kind of a family this was, and how he got mixed up in this. "Geeze, all I wanted was to get laid, and now I have all this shit to deal with. Damn!" he thought to himself.

A knock on the door broke the silence. Luc answered it and brought Mark's Dad into the room. Both men sat down. Mark's Dad just shook his head at the sight of the two nearly naked teens.

"Hi, I'm David, Mark's dad," the man said and waited for someone to explain what was going on.

"Hello, I'm Ginny, Bitty's aunt and this is her Uncle Luc and his wife Meg," said Ginny. Everyone nodded hellos and waited for someone to speak.

"So, what do you have to say for yourselves?" asked Ginny.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry. We shouldn't have broken into Bitty's uncle's house. I wasn't thinking," said Mark.

Ginny nodded and looked over at Bitty.

"Uncle Luc, I'm sorry I used the spare key and figured I could use your house as my own. If I wanted to have sex, I should have been honest with Aunt Ginny and talked with her about things instead of going off stupid," Bitty said.

"That's a good start," said Luc. "Now what are you going to do to fix this?" he asked.

"I'm never going to use the spare key unless it's an emergency, and probably won't get to see Mark again," said Bitty in a quiet voice.

"I'm gonna start thinkin'... um... gonna just shut up, because I really screwed up," said Mark.

"You two are both eighteen, right?" asked David.

"Yes," the two answered at the same time.

"Fine. Go get dressed and we adults will have a chat," said David. "Don't come back in until we call you," he added as the two headed off to the guest bedroom.

As soon as the two had left the room, Luc and Ginny both covered their mouths to suppress the giggles. David was smiling too, and just shaking his head. Meg looked on in amazement. She had no idea of what to expect, and laughter wasn't an option she'd thought about.

"Oh, the looks on their faces!" said Ginny quietly.

"Was it me, or was Mark about to say he was going to think with his head?" asked David.

Luc nodded. "It was almost telegraphed on his forehead that he wasn't going to think with his dick ever again," Luc said trying not to laugh. At that point, all the adults were laughing.

"So, as the only non-parent here, what are we going to do with them?" asked Meg.

"Well, what they haven't figured out yet is that the real 'crime' was breaking and entering. Legally, they are both adults and can screw their brains out if they want," said Ginny. The two men nodded.

"Okay, so what kind of punishment are we handing out to two very naïve teens?" asked Meg.

"Well, first off, they can't see each other for a... a week. That way they can cool off those hormones," said David.

"And, if they want to date, they have to clear it thought us?" suggested Ginny.

"Yeah, and I think they should have to take care of Joe and Sara for the next few weekends," suggested Luc. "Plus get the 'lecture' about birth control from each set of parents."

"Sounds good to me," said David. "How much longer should we make them sweat?"

"Oh, give um ten more minutes. Want another cup of coffee?" asked Luc.

David nodded and the two men walked out to the kitchen.

Meg just sat there stunned. "Ginny, were we that stupid as teens?" she asked.

"Oh probably. We were just smart enough not to get caught," she said with a smile. "The big problem though is the one we will discuss once Mark and his Dad have left," finished Ginny.

Meg thought about what Ginny had said and realized what she was talking about. Meg just nodded.

*

Twenty minutes later, Mark and David had left and Bitty was once again in the hot seat. Meg and Luc went out to the kitchen while Ginny read the riot act to Bitty about being irresponsible with human dates.

"Oh gods, I hope I'm never at the end of her displeasure," said Meg as the sub-vocals rumbled through to the kitchen.

"Been there. Survived it. It wasn't a pretty occasion," said Luc. "However, I bet Bitty will never just go off on hormones again with a human boy. Too much of a risk."

"How so?" asked Meg.

"Well, first thing is that she didn't discuss things with Mark first. The boy hadn't a clue as to what Bitty is. Next, she's still really wobbly on shifting. Since they didn't talk, what do you think would happen if they were mid-stroke and all of a sudden she shifted?"

"Um,... been there, scared the hell out of me," Meg said.

"Exactly. Now think of you were the man..." Luc said. "We had a girl shift first time she had sex. Boyfriend beat her up. She was a mess, but so was he, because the wolf defended herself," said Luc.

"Oh shit!" said Meg. "What happened?"

"Kid went to the hospital and it was a real good thing they'd both been smoking pot. Doctors figured he got some bad pot and had a hallucination. Luckily, the girl had shifted back, and she was pretty beat up too. Both sets of parents settled out of court and the girl and her parents moved two states over," said Luc.

"Oh hell," she said. Thinking about everything that could have happened hit her hard and fast. "You were damn lucky."

"Thank god it wasn't any of my immediate family. However, Bitty should have known about it," said Luc.

"Maybe her mom didn't tell her," said Meg.

"Maybe," said Luc. "Here comes Ginny."

"We are going home now. Sorry about all of this," Ginny said as she hugged Luc.

"Shit happens. Or should that be hormones happen?" said Luc.

Both women nodded. Ginny hugged Meg goodbye and then headed out the door. She collected Bitty on the way.

"Alone at last," said Luc.

"Yes, and what do you have in mind?" asked Meg.

"Well, as much as my hormones would love to romp your body, I am exhausted. A rain check on the sex and a good night cuddle instead?" he asked.

"You've got a deal. While your sub-vocals do the whole turn on thing most times, Ginny's do not. In fact, they do just the opposite," said Meg.

"Not surprised. Its female to female. No hormones to pull it the other direction," said Luc.

"Hm, hadn't thought of it that way. Still, snuggles and cuddles sound just about perfect," said Meg.

They turned out the lights and headed to bed.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 14



A new chapter at last. Between holidays and the beginning of the new year it was a real challenge to find time to get this all written! As always, thanks to my partner for inspiration, funny lines and editorial help when needed. Hope you enjoy this latest offering. More soon!

* 

Luc woke up to see Meg staring at him. "What's the matter Meg?" he asked.

"Did you know you use sub-vocals when you snore?" she asked.

"Huh?" replied Luc.

"When you snore, about half the time there is a sub-vocal that goes along with the snore," said Meg. "It woke me up and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get back to sleep."

"I'm sorry Meg," he said and looked over at the clock. It was 3am. "Did the snores upset you?" he asked.

"Well, at first I felt antsy. Then I realized that I was... um... sort of horny," she said.

Luc smiled. "Well, we can fix that," he said and moved to take her in his arms. "I may hurt, but I can certainly make her feel better." he thought.

"Okay, if you feel up to it," she said.

"Let's play with you and see how things work out," he said. Before she could answer, he kissed her and then ran his hand down her back and cupped her ass. His fingertips moved down to just tease the insides of her thighs.

Meg moaned. She loved the feelings Luc stirred in her when he touched her. She rocked back and his left hand moved between her legs stroking her lips. She tried to push against them and he held her tight with his other arm and kissed her. She smiled and wiggled, but he held her tight. Slowly, he brought his left hand up to her clit and slid his fingers down through the wet folds of skin to the opening of her pussy. She was dripping wet. His finger slipped in easily and was followed by another. His thumb brushed her clit as he worked his fingers in and out of her. Luc's mouth covered hers in kisses, as she moaned again.

Luc's fingers picked up the pace and he could feel the orgasm building. Meg's muscles clenched his fingers in a pulsing rhythm as the pleasure built. Keeping his fingers deep inside of her, he stroked the g-spot.

"Oh ggggggooohhhhhds," Meg groaned.

Luc smiled and ran his thumb across her clit. Meg arched in pleasure and he changed up the rhythm of his fingers to a fast pace. Meg shuddered as the orgasm rolled through her. As she gasped for breath, he flicked her clit bringing her to another orgasm.

"Ahhhhh!" Meg gasped as her body bucked with pleasure. A sharp intake of breath marked the last orgasm and then she melted to the bed.

Luc moved his hand out of her sopping pussy. She'd come so hard that the bed was soaked under her. Her breath was coming in little panting gasps as she slowly came back to consciousness. He brushed the hair out of her face and smiled.

"Oh... Luc," she whispered.

"Feel good?" he asked.

Meg nodded. "But,... you... not fair," she mumbled.

"Meg, I hurt way too much at the moment, but that didn't mean I couldn't make you feel good," he said.

"But," she tried again to protest.

"No, curl up and let's sleep," he said. "You can make me howl in delight later."

"Oookay," she said sleepily.

Luc cuddled her with his right arm. His left and the neck felt as if it were on fire. He'd overdone it at work and even this small act of pleasure had him hurting. Curling up around her he felt himself shift.

The wolf sniffed their mate and ran his tongue over her hip. "Soft One very sleepy." He curled up around her tighter than he had been and went to sleep. "Soon," drifted the thought through his head as he too fell asleep.

*

Luc and Meg had made it to the office with minutes to spare. Ginny had just unlocked the door. They both knew if they were too late, she'd call Jeff and have him checking on Luc before they finished coffee. Neither one of them wanted to put Ginny under any more stress than she already was. The day after the incident with Bitty, they had been an hour late. When they arrived, Ginny was shouting at Kevin until he had hid in his office. When they'd tried to explain why they were late, she'd threatened to send Luc home and call Jeff. Ginny had made it clear that if Luc wasn't up to working, then he needed to just go away and leave her to deal with the office.

"Morning Ginny," said Meg.

"Morning," said Ginny as she grabbed for the phone that was ringing already. "Alpha Wolf Technologies, how can I help you?"

Luc and Meg waved and headed for his office. Luc shut the door behind them and headed towards his desk.

"Is there anything we can do to take the strain off of her?" Meg asked.

"Yeah. Get her the hell out of the office and find someone to take her to bed!" said Luc. He was trying to find the paperwork for Calvin Johnson, the new shifter they'd hired to replace Duke.

"Did I just hear you right?" Meg asked.

"Yes. Last time she got this crabby, we hunted high and low for an old flame to stop by and fuck her brains out. Just because she's older than us doesn't mean she doesn't get horny," said Luc. "It's about the only way to cool her down."

"Oh," said Meg. "I just figured that finding someone to help with the work load was the issue."

"It is to some degree, but the rest is all just too many damn hormones in that house of hers. Bitty, 'Solda, and then Ysabel and Sandy have been around a lot too I found out. All of them unattached. All of them horny. It's like a damn soup over there," said Luc.

"How can you tell? You haven't even been to Ginny's lately," said Meg.

"No, but I can smell it. It came with Ginny the other night and this morning it is as thick as a pea soup fog around her," he said.

"Oh geeze," said Meg. "So who do you call? A werewolf dating service?"

Luc laughed. He shook his head. "No, I'll call Sandy and see if he can find one of her former lovers and see if they are available." He snickered again.

"What are you laughing about?" Meg asked.

"The thought of a dating service for shifters. Arrrrowls.com or Hunka-hunka-Furry Love.com or better yet, Howling Delights.com," he giggled. They were laughing so hard that they missed the knock on the door at first.

"Hello? Ginny sent me down here for some paperwork," said Calvin from the door.

Luc looked up, "Sure, come on in, I have it right here," he said and held out the paperwork to the man.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was so funny?" asked Calvin.

"Meg and I were making bad jokes about dating services for shifters," Luc said with a chuckle in his voice.

"Ah, I take it the boss lady out front needs a good romp in the forest?" said Calvin.

"That's an understatement." said Luc. Meg just nodded.

Calvin smiled and walked over to a chair to look at the paperwork. He pulled a pen out of his shirt pocket and started filling out the forms.

Luc picked up the phone and hit the speed dial for Sandy. Meg blew him a kiss and headed for her own office. "Hey Sandy, this is Luc. Um, we have a bit of a problem here at the office," he started. "Yeah, guessed you'd have noticed. Any ideas?" he asked. He listened for a few minutes and wrote down two numbers. "Thanks Sandy. I'd appreciate it," he said and hung up the phone. He sat down and booted his computer while waiting for Calvin to finish the paperwork.

Calvin stood up and brought the papers over to Luc. "Here you go Luc," he said.

"Thanks. Do you go by Calvin or Cal?" he asked.

"I prefer Cal. When I hear Calvin, I keep looking over my shoulder for my mom," Cal said.

Luc laughed. "I know the feeling. When you hear your entire name, it just makes your hackles rise," he said.

Cal nodded. "Hey, I know you don't know me very well, but I have a cousin that lost his mate a few years ago. He's sorta in the same state that boss lady is and well,..." he trailed off.

"The boss lady is Ginny, and she'll rip your head off and shit down your neck if she hears you use that phrase. As for your cousin, is he nearby?" asked Luc. "God this sounds lame, but if it works, I'll give the guy a raise!" he thought.



"He's suppose to come visit next week. You could meet him then and see if Bos- I mean Ginny might like him," said Cal.

"Sounds like a plan. Now let's show you the warehouse, let you meet Peter and see how well the backhoe likes you," said Luc as they headed out of the office.

*

Luc entered the warehouse with Cal only to see Peter pacing back and forth between two stacks of boxes.

"Peter, what the hell are you doing?" Luc asked.

"There's a cat in here, and the last thing I want is piss all over my inventory," called Peter as he moved fast to the left. He thumped a box hard and out shot a silver tabby. The cat headed off across the parking lot and out of sight.

"That was a pretty good shot there," said Cal.

Peter looked around and saw a man in his mid twenties standing next to Luc. The jacket and work clothes made him think this might be Duke's replacement. "Hi, I'm Peter, the warehouse foreman," he said.

"Cal, Cal Johnson, and I guess we'll be working together," he said as he held out his hand. The two men shook hands and sized each other up.

"Where'd Duke leave the backhoe?" asked Luc.

"Round the corner out back," said Peter. "It was acting up last time he used it, but I'm not sure how much that was Duke and how much it was the backhoe."

Luc nodded as they headed outside. He opened the door to the cab. Keys in the ignition. Luc hopped in and started it up. It died. Luc pulled out the choke and tried again. It died. Luc checked the oil and fuel levels and tried a third time. It caught, ran for a few seconds and died again. "Dammit!" said Luc as he climbed out of the cab.

Cal had already lifted the engine cover off and was looking at the engine. "Geeze, what he do to this thing?" he asked. Luc looked over his shoulder. The wiring harness was covered in tarry goo. Hanging just off the edge of the oil filler tube was the oil cap. Oil had burped everywhere. Other things were messed up too that Luc could see.

"Cal, can you fix this?" he asked.

"Yeah, general mechanics license. Where are the tools?" he asked turning back to the building.

Peter was headed towards them with a tool box. "I'll get it fixed," he said.

"Peter, give Cal a chance," said Luc.

"It was my responsibility, I'll fix it," said Peter. His body posture was beginning to go defensive. He knew he should have checked on it a week ago, and kept putting it off.

"No, Let Cal fix it," said Luc with a touch of sub-vocals.

Cal backed off and Peter's shoulders slumped. He put the tool box down by the backhoe and headed back to the building.

"Um, Luc, I didn't mean to start any trouble," said Cal softly.

"You didn't. Just do your work and remember who's boss," said Luc. Luc then headed back to the warehouse. He found Peter and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, cool the temper Peter," he said.

"Sorry boss. Just that I should have taken care of it and..." Peter trailed off.

"It's okay, just let Cal get his feet wet. You can see who's got the bigger set of balls later," said Luc. "Besides, we may need all the males we have if Ginny rips our heads off."

"Don't I just know it. She chewed my ass for a whole hour the other day. Surprised I have anything to sit on," said Peter as he pointed at his ass.

Luc nodded. "I have a few numbers to call, and Cal there has a cousin."

"Here's hoping," said Peter.

Luc smiled and headed back into the office building.

*

When he got to the office, Ginny had a stack of messages for him to return. She was holding court in the front office and Luc had no plans of disturbing her. He looked towards Meg's office and saw the door closed tight. What a day, and it was only 10:45am.

Luc went back to his desk and started working on the messages. He called the numbers that Sandy had given him only to find out that one guy was married and the other out of town. Here's hoping Cal's cousin isn't a washout," he thought.

Luc got lost in the paperwork and startled when Meg walked into his office. "Hi Meg," he said.

"Hi yourself. You so engrossed in paperwork you didn't hear the fight?" she asked.

"What fight?" asked Luc.

"The one Kevin said was going on out in the warehouse," said Meg.

Luc stood up and looked out his window. He didn't see anything. "Would you care to go outside with me?" he asked as he headed to the door.

"Sure, as long as we go out the back way and can avoid Ginny," she said.

Luc nodded and headed out the back door. Meg followed and soon they were in the warehouse. They looked around and no one was to be seen. A few boxes were out of place, but no fight. Luc headed back towards the backhoe. There they found Cal and Peter both looking worse for wear working on the engine.

"Is everything okay you two?" asked Luc.

"It is now," said Peter. As he turned to face them, they could see he was sporting a black eye and he had a bloody lip.

"Yes sir," said Cal. When he turned to hand a wrench back to Peter, Luc and Meg could see that Cal had a black eye, his nose was swollen and both sets of knuckles were scraped up.

"Geeze!" said Meg. "What the hell set you two off?"

"Oh, the normal thing. Who has the bigger set of balls, who's faster, stronger, bigger. All the normal stuff," said Peter.

"An don't forget who's got the best mechanical skills," said Cal.

"Yeah. You fix the damn machines, and I'll deal with the inventory," said Peter.

"Sounds good to me," said Luc. "Glad you two got things worked out fast. Oh, and Cal, don't forget to call that cousin."

"No sir!" said Cal from the depths of the engine.

*

Two days later, Luc came back from a client to find Meg out at the front desk. No Ginny either.

"Okay, why are you babysitting the phones?" he asked.

"I got tired of Ginny growling and yelling at everyone so I sent her home," said Meg.

"Um... how did you do that?" asked Luc as he looked over his mate.

"I just remembered what she told me and started channeling that inner bitch. She had Kevin in tears and she broke the phone when she slammed it down. So, I came out and told her to go home. She didn't want to and I said if she wasn't gone in five minutes, I was calling Jeff and was going to ask him to bring the tranquilizer gun. She started to yell at me and then just shut her mouth and went home," said Meg.

Luc tried not to laugh, but the giggles leaked from the corners of his mouth. Then the belly laugh started. "Oh Meg, let's never fight," he said between laughs.

"Nope, don't even want to go there," she said.

Kevin and Cal came around the corner to see what the noise was. They smiled when they realized that it was Luc laughing.

"Damn that sounds good," said Cal.

"Yeah. I've had just about enough of Camp Hell this week," said Kevin.

Luc looked at the two of them and nodded. "If we don't get her laid soon, one of us is going to have to kill her, and I think that responsibility just went to Meg," Luc said.

"Oh no, not me. She's scary enough unshifted. As it was today, her eyes went yellow and she started sprouting ears. Ginny didn't back down until I picked up my cell phone and the can of condensed air," said Meg.

"Damn," said Luc.

Kevin and Cal just nodded.

"When is that cousin of your's due?" Luc asked Cal.

"In two days. I tried to soften the ground a bit, but if she's acting like that, nothing will get him to even talk to her," said Cal.

"I know. Just wish there was a way to get through to her that she's being a bitch in more ways than one," said Luc.

"Um... How about I ask her to take me shopping?" asked Meg. "Maybe if she can get away for a bit it might help. Tomorrow is Saturday. Can you get Sandy to watch the kids?" asked Meg.

"I like this plan," said Luc. He pulled out his phone and called Sandy. Twenty minutes later everything was arranged. As everyone left the office, Luc locked the door and they headed home.

*

"What on earth are you going to go shopping for?" Luc asked as they climbed into bed.

"Well, we have this dinner party that we are suppose to hold. I figured if I started planning it, she'd want to be involved," said Meg.

"True. I can see you two being gone all day for that," he said. "Have you called her?"

"Yes, while you were cooking our steaks. I was going to tell you and then the work call came in," she said.

"Yeah. There are days I hate forwarded calls. Then again, St. Mary's doesn't get rewired every day and it isn't Margaret's fault that they forgot about the Cat5 cable ends," said Luc as he pulled Meg to him. She smelled so good tonight, that he felt himself shifting in anticipation.

"No, and it gives you a reason not to be here when Ginny shows up," said Meg. Luc's fingers running up and down her side were making her horny.

"Yesh," he said as his jaw shifted. He nuzzled her neck. "Yuh shmell soh goohd,"

"Did I spill steak sauce on me?" she asked. She hadn't seen him this interested in her scent in a long time. Not since the last time she'd made hamburgers and wiped her hands on her jeans.

"Noh, juhs yuh," he said. Sniffing and licking down her neck, he kissed and bit.

"Watch the snacking!" she teased. The bites didn't hurt, but made her so wet.

"Meh noh schnakkin'," he said as he flipped her over and licked down her spine. He nipped her ass and she squeaked. He licked the spot and then rubbed his fingers between her legs. Luc's fingertips stroked her lips and slid slowly between them until she gasped.

"Oh my..." Meg started. Her words went away with a sharp intake of breath as he touched her clit at the same time his fingers in her pussy found that g-spot. Meg's hips bucked.

Luc growled softly against her shoulder as he moved in behind her. His cock bobbed against her ass. Meg wiggled to move the head of his cock between her legs. His fingering of her had her hot and ready faster than she expected. He moved closer and slid his cock up and down the wet folds of her lips. Then he slid slowly into her pussy.

"Geeze!" gasped Meg. She swore he was bigger than normal. Then again, it had been a while since they'd made love with him shifted. She had forgotten how nice it felt to be filled like that.

Luc wrapped a hand around her hip and gently started to pull in and out of her wet pussy. When he was certain that she was fully ready for him, he grabbed both hips and started to increase his rhythm. It felt so good. He shifted a bit more which made his cock stroke her cervix with each thrust.

Meg gripped the sheets and pushed back against Luc as he increased his rhythm. It felt so good. Their bodies smacked against each other with almost enough noise to drown out the groans of pleasure.

Meg could feel her orgasm building. Luc sensed it too, and reached a paw around to stroke her mound and clit. When he touched it, she bucked hard as the sensations rolled through her. He did it again and then felt his own orgasm rush up his body. Grabbing her hips he pounded into her. Luc's balls slapped against her ass and then he froze as the orgasm ripped through him.

"Arrrrrrrrgggggghhhhhh," he moaned. He felt the knot being squeezed as Meg orgasmed. Each pulse of her muscles brought him again and again.

"Oh-oh-oooooh," moaned Meg. If Luc hadn't been holding her hips, she would have melted to the bed.

Luc's cock pulsed once more and he finally had enough muscle control to lower them both to the bed on their sides. He pulled her close to him and then tried to grab the covers.

"Let me get those," said Meg softly.

"Noh, Cahhn't leh go," said Luc.

"What?" said Meg as she started to pull away and then realized she couldn't.

"Nohht," said Luc.

"Not able or..." Meg paused and tightened her pelvic muscles. "Knot!" she thought. "You're knot formed?" she asked.

"Uhuh," said Luc as he felt himself shifting more as his body relaxed.

"Oh," said Meg. "We're stuck for a bit?"




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 14



"Uhhhhuh. Sleehhhp," said Luc. In a moment he was shifted and curled up around Meg. "Soft One smell goood," the wolf thought as he drifted off.

Meg curled as close to the wolf as she could and went to sleep.

*

Ginny arrived at 10am. She looked like she was ready for a battle instead of a shopping trip.

"Are you ready?" Ginny asked.

"Just a moment. I want to get the list I wrote up," said Meg. She grabbed her list, jacket and handbag. "Let's go," she said and headed out the door. They took Meg's Neon. If Ginny got pissed off, she didn't want to be stranded.

"Let me see this list," said Ginny as Meg pulled out of the driveway. Meg handed her the list. She and Luc had planned the meal and as much of the sundries as possible. Ginny looked it over and then put it down. "I guess we are headed to the Mall?" she asked.

"They have the party store and some of the catering supplies I want. Plus, I need to stop by and see Andrew at the Silver Lode," said Meg.

"Why?" asked Ginny.

"Well, I have a snag on my chain. Seems Unky Wolfie chewed my chain," said Meg.

Ginny laughed for the first time in ages.

They got to the Mall and headed to the Silver Lode first. Andrew was at the counter when they walked in.

"Hello ladies, and how are you today?" he asked.

"Fine," said Ginny although the smile was a little tight on her face.

"I have a snag on my chain," said Meg. She took it off and showed Andrew where Luc had nicked it.

Andrew shook his head. "Going to have to give that boy a teething ring," he said jokingly. Ginny and Meg laughed. "I'll have this fixed in about thirty minutes. Come back on your way out," he said.

"Alright Andrew. Thanks," said Meg as they turned to leave the shop.

The two of them headed for the card shop first to pick up invitations. After that, they talked to the caterer at 'Lunch is on Us' to arrange for various chaffing dishes and the cake. At the party store, they picked up balloons, silly party gifts and the paper products.

"I don't know about you, but I'm really hungry," said Meg.

"Yeah, that Chinese place down in the food court smells really good," said Ginny as she lifted her head sniffing the air.

"Chinese it is then," said Meg as they headed to the food court.

*

Forty-five minutes later, the two women gathered their bags and headed back to the Silver Lode. A twenty-something woman was at the counter. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, I left a chain with Andrew to be repaired," said Meg.

"Oh yeah, He got it finished and I'll go get it," she said. She headed to the back of the shop. She reappeared a minute later with Meg's chain in her hand and a box. "The chain is fixed, and there's no charge," she said handing it back to Meg.

Meg slipped it over her head and then looked at the box the woman was handing her. "What's in the box?" Meg asked.

"I don't know. Andrew said it was a present for Luc," she said and walked off to help another customer.

"Hmmm, guess we'll have to wait until Luc opens it," said Meg looking at the nicely wrapped box.

"Yeah. Let's go to the grocery and get the rest of this stuff ordered," said Ginny.

*

They left the Mall and headed for the little Italian grocery store that did deli orders and made things like handmade ravioli. It always smelled so good in the shop that Meg was tempted to lick the walls. Mrs. Giovanni took their order, and gave them each a piece of tiramisu as a treat. Meg and Ginny headed for the door licking their fingers and waving goodbye.

"The cocoa on top isn't going to make you sick is it Ginny?" asked Meg.

"No, just give me the burps for a while," said Ginny. "Where to now?"

"Not sure. I want to buy a nice dress and some sexy undies," said Meg. "We probably should have done that at the Mall, but I forgot."

"We could go to Carter's over by the box stores," suggested Ginny.

"Hmmm, haven't been there in ages. Yes, let's go." said Meg as she started the car and backed out of the space.

*

Carter's had just the right undies for Meg and a little black dress that would fit the occasion. Ginny found some new undies too which she finally bought after Meg teased her into it. They headed home and had just gotten all the bags in as Luc arrived home.

"Looks like you two had a good time shopping," said Luc.

"Yes, and I'm off home to see what trouble those kids got into this time," said Ginny. She grabbed her bags and headed out the door. "Bye Meg, and thanks for the lovely day," she said.

"Bye Ginny," said Meg with a wave.

"Wow, did I forget deodorant?" Luc asked.

"No, but that was amazing. She was really civil for most of the day. A little touchy around Andrew, but otherwise she was fine," said Meg.

"Ohhhkay," said Luc.

"Okay what?" asked Meg.

"Okay as in she really needs to get laid if she gets grouchy every time she's around a male shifter," said Luc.

"Oh," said Meg. "Want to see what we got?" she asked. Luc nodded and they started unloading the bags. The dinner was in two weeks. When they got to the box from Andrew, Luc looked at it puzzled.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Andrew said it was for you," she said. "His assistant gave it to us, so I couldn't ask him."

"Hmm," said Luc. He took the package and read the label. "To Luc, Use it in good health, Andrew". Luc tore through the wrappings and opened the box. Inside was an ivory colored ring about three inches across with a silver handle. Luc picked it up and started laughing.

"What's so funny Luc?" Meg asked.

"Oh, it's just Andrew's way of telling me to be careful," he said and handed the piece over to Meg. "It's a teething ring."

Meg took it and started to laugh. "He said something about a teething ring when we dropped off the chain. I never expected him to actually give you one," said Meg.

Both of them collapsed to the bed giggling.

*

Tuesday morning, Cal stuck his head into Luc's office. He didn't say a word, just smiled and gave Luc a thumbs up sign. Luc nodded. It was the prearranged signal that Cal's cousin Patrick would be coming by some time today. They had decided on silent communication because Ginny seemed to hear everything said in the office lately. It had brought most conversations to a halt, and Luc had had just about enough. He really hoped that Patrick and Ginny hit it off. The phone rang and Luc answered it as Cal headed out the back way to the warehouse.

"Yes ma'am, we certainly can install new Cat5 cabling at your flower shop. Cost is by the foot, and whatever supples on top of our minimum hourly. Yes, that's right. Just one minute," he paused and then wrote down the address. "One of our techs will be out to you in 45 minutes," he finished and then hung up the phone.

Luc gathered his tools and headed for the front door. As he passed Ginny, he waved and disappeared as quickly as he dared. He knew that the customer management system would let her know where he was going. Meg could tap into it too if she needed him. Meanwhile, he was off to do what he enjoyed; doing tech work.

*

Thirty minutes later, Kevin left on a job as well. He had a computer client in one of the suburbs that kept getting hacked. He had what Luc called a little black box solution for this business. It was a tailored router and firewall. He went out the back door to avoid Ginny. He was still on her shit list for reasons he had yet to figure out.

Meg had shut her door when Kevin left, knowing that she was the only one in the main office and while her workload was light today, the last thing she wanted was to be interrupted. She was crunching data for a state job. Her frustrations with economists that don't understand the formulas behind their data had reached a new high.

Peter and Cal were working in the loading bay when a beat up Subaru pulled up. At first Peter thought it was Luc coming back, until he noticed that it was a lighter shade of green than Luc's.

"Hey Cal. I think your cousin is here," he said.

Cal looked up. "That's him. Now we see if there's fireworks or a dog fight," he said. The two of them watched Patrick walk into the office.

"Did you ever tell your cousin what's going on? That we're trying to set Ginny up with a date 'cause she's crazy in need of a fuck?" asked Peter.

"Sorta. I didn't want to say too much. Just that our receptionist was a nice gal and that maybe he'd like to meet her. Plus, dammit Patrick, how long has it been since you've been laid?" said Cal.

Peter smirked. They moved to the corner of the yard that was just out of sight from the front office, but close enough to hear if Ginny exploded in a ball of fury.

*

Ginny looked up as the door opened. She could see it was a man, but the way the late morning sun hit the door, all she could see was a silhouette. Once he got to the desk she'd be able to see his face. "Can I help you?" she asked.

The man walked up to the desk and stood relaxed with his hands in his pockets, "Yes, I'm here to see Cal Johnson," said the man. His voice was deep and he smelled delightfully of shifter.

Ginny took a good look at the man. "Sure, he's probably back in the warehouse. Just a moment and I'll go get him. May I ask who you are?" she asked.

"My name's Patrick Dorret. Cal's my cousin," said Patrick.

"I'll be right back," said Ginny. She got up and headed to the back of the offices to call Cal through the back door. It gave her time to compose herself. She hadn't had a man or shifter affect her so strongly in ages. She reached the back door and after opening it and not seeing either Cal or Peter, she called out. "Cal! You have a visitor!"

"Tell him I'll be there in about five minutes. I have to finish up here first," said Cal from across the bay.

"Alright," said Ginny and she headed back to the front office. On the way, she checked her appearance in the reflection off of Kevin's office door. Yes, she looked okay and then she headed back down the hall.

"Cal will be here in just a minute," said Ginny as she sat back down at her desk. "What brings you here?" asked Ginny. She was curious as hell and wondered if Patrick was single or not.

"Oh, I came down to visit my cousin, and maybe look for a new job," said Patrick. "And you are?" he asked.

"Ginny," she said holding out her hand. "Pardon my manners, it's just been an odd sort of day," she said apologetically. "Gee, and can I blush like a school girl or what?" she thought feeling the blood rush to her face.

"It's alright. We all have off days," said Patrick. "Hmmm, could she be the woman Cal mentioned? Not bad looking... wonder what's really going on?" he wondered. "Seems quiet around here. Much business lately or is it slow this time of year?" he asked.

"A little slow and two of our techs are out of the office. Plus, it's almost lunch time. Any later and the only one in the office would have been Meg," said Ginny.

"Ah," was as far as Patrick got before Cal walked into the room.

"Hey there Patrick!" said Cal as he grabbed his cousin and gave him a combination hug and pat on the back.

"Good to see you Cal. Work must be good, you smell like a grease monkey," teased Patrick.

"Yeah. Had a dust up with Peter the first day, but we soon worked out the pecking order," said Cal.

"Okay, and who's the boss?" asked Peter from the doorway.

"Ginny of course! She's the Alpha bitch in this company," said Cal with a smile. "And if I live through the next 60 seconds, I'll be amazed!" he thought.

Ginny smiled. "I certainly am and you'd better not forget that," she said. "Now are you taking an early lunch to show Patrick around town?" she asked Cal.

"No, wish I was, but there's a shipment from Wintronics due in any time now. Too big for just Peter to unload and stock. How about you take him to lunch? Meg'll watch the phones." said Cal. "Please oh please let this work!!!!" he thought.

"Well, um," she hesitated.

"In all honesty, I did arrive early. I'd be pleased if you'd accompany me to lunch Ginny," said Patrick. "Right phrase, so this is the one Cal is trying to set me up with. Might as well see how it goes," Patrick thought.

Ginny hesitated for just a second. "Oh, Okay. Cal would you let Meg know to listen for the phones?" she asked as she stood up and grabbed her coat and handbag.

"Sure Ginny. Have a good lunch you two," said Cal as he and Peter headed back to the warehouse.

Ginny nodded and headed out the door with Patrick. "I take it you're a steak on the rare side kinda guy?" she asked. Her nose told her he was a shifter, but she still asked to be polite.

"Yes, and I hope you know a really good place for a meal," he said. "I feel half starved. Breakfast was about five hours ago."

"Oh geeze. I know just the place. It does organic hamburgers and lamb burgers to order," said Ginny.

"Lamb?" he asked.

Ginny nodded.

"Then what are we waiting for?" he asked as they headed for her car. A minute later, they were out of the parking lot and heading down the street.

Cal and Peter watched from the loading bay. Tentative smiles crossed their faces.

"What big order from Wintronics?" asked Peter.

"Oh, the one I fabricated an invoice for yesterday with Luc and stuck on Ginny's desk," said Cal. The two men laughed.

*

Luc watched as Ginny's car turned into the parking lot just as he was locking the door. Meg was standing next to the car watching.

"Where have you been?" asked Luc as Ginny got out of the car. He watched a man get out of the passengers side of the car.

"Um... Cal's cousin came by and Cal had to work, so I took him to lunch and then we talked and I drove him around town and well,... I lost track of time," she said.

"Hi, I'm Patrick Dorret," Patrick said as he walked up to Luc. "You must be Luc Moreau, Cal's boss." He shook Luc's hand with a firm grasp.

"Yes, I am. Nice to meet you. This is my mate, Margaret Stewart," he finished as Meg walked up to the two me.

"Just call me Meg, and ignore him if he starts growling and getting all protective," said Meg. She'd realized that Patrick had to be a shifter by the graceful way he walked and the easy way he had about him. He moved like Andrew and Luc.

"Nice to met you Meg. Ginny and I have been talking about how you saved Luc from being grizzly bait," he said.

"Ah, no family secrets eh?" said Meg.

"No, none at all," said Ginny.

"So, are you going to show him where Cal lives since Cal left about twenty minutes ago?" Luc asked.

"I guess I am," said Ginny. "Sorry about dominating your afternoon Patrick," she said to him.

"No problem. That was perhaps the best lamb burger I've had in ages," said Patrick. "Plus, the conversation was delightful."

Ginny smiled. "Shall we go?" she asked. "I promise to drive slow."

"Okay. Just give me a minute to get the car started," said Patrick as he headed off to his Subaru.

Luc headed for his car and Meg followed. Both of them buckled in and watched as the two cars left the parking lot.

"YES!" shouted Luc the moment the two cars disappeared out of sight.

"Good grief! Think you were loud enough?" Meg asked.

"Maybe," Luc said with a smile. "I think that the cousin is going to work out," he said as he leaned over and kissed Meg.

"You're awfully certain after meeting the man for five minutes," she said.

"Ah, but you see, I have a nose. A nose that smells all sorts of lovely things like pheromones. Ginny's all said 'YES' and so did his. I'll be surprised if Ginny makes it to work in the morning," he said. "Plus, he drives a Subaru."

"What?" asked Meg wondering where the kind of car a person drove fit into this mix.

"Yeah, a Subbie! Haven't you noticed that most of us drive them?" Luc said with a smile.

Meg thought for a moment. She started counting cars on her fingers. "Am I the only one in this company that doesn't drive a Subaru?" she asked.

"Yes, and that is why I said he was a good match too," Luc said.

"But, is this a local phenomena? Or is it some planet wide conspiracy?" she asked.

"Just local, but it's a good sign," he said.

"So, you think they'll jump each other that fast?" asked Meg changing the subject.

"Yes, I do. It all depends on how well Cal handles things this evening," said Luc.

"Cal? Not Ginny or Patrick?" asked Meg.

"Yes. Cal has to make it easy for Patrick to be with Ginny without it looking like he asked his cousin to come by just for Ginny," he said.

"Okay, I can see that," she said. "Since we aren't chaperoning them, how about we go home and see how some of that lingerie I have goes over with you tonight," Meg said.

"I like that idea. Lamb burgers for dinner first?" he asked.

"Definitely!" said Meg.

Luc started the car and headed for their favorite burger joint.

*

Ginny drove away from Cal's house as Patrick parked his car and headed inside. She pulled out into traffic and headed home feeling happier than she had in a month. "Damn he smells good and pushes all the right buttons," she thought as she shifted in her seat. "Wonder if he'd be interested in sex?" Ginny's thoughts were interrupted by a honk from the car behind her. She looked up to see that the light had turned green. She headed home.

Pulling into the driveway, she saw that George was there, but Sandy's car was gone. She grabbed her stuff and headed inside. She dropped her bag by the coat rack and hung up her jacket. She could hear a little bit of noise, but no kids. Walking into the living room, she saw why. George was racked out on her couch covered in a mound of small children raptly watching a Pixar movie.

"Hey George," she said softly.

"Hi Ginny. The kids and I are watching Cars," said George. "Sandy went out with a friend and Ysabel went shopping with 'Solda and Bitty."

"Okay. Has everyone eaten?" she asked.

"Yahuh, Unky Gee made us sanwitses," said Sara. Joe and Ivan nodded.

"Okay, then I'm going to go shower," said Ginny.

"Enjoy," said George as he and the kids turned back to the movie.

Ginny walked into her bedroom, gathered her sweat pants and a teeshirt and headed for the shower. Dropping her clothes in the hamper, she looked at herself in the mirror. A few wrinkles, gray hair, a little saggy around the breasts, but not bad. Ginny turned the shower on and stepped in when the water was hot.

The water felt wonderful, and as she brought her hand up to her face, she caught a faint whiff of Patrick's scent. "Damn, that man smells good," she thought. Grabbing the shampoo, she started washing her hair. Once that was finished, she turned the shower head to pulse and let it hit the tension spot between her shoulder blades. The knots slowly worked loose. The water began to cool off and she turned off the water and grabbed her towel as she got out. Ginny thought she heard the front door open and close as she got dressed. She wondered if it was Ysabel and the girls back from shopping or Sandy. She grabbed her comb and headed out to the living room to see who it was.

"You look comfortable," said Patrick who was sitting on the end of the couch.

"I.. um... I," Ginny stuttered. "George, why didn't you tell me we had company?" she asked as she felt the blood rush to her face.

"You were in the shower," said George. "Just relax, we've been having a nice conversation."

"And Sara here has told me all the family secrets you forgot over lunch," Patrick said with a smile.

"Okay, I'm going to go change clothes and we'll start this over," said Ginny as she tried to walk slowly back to her bedroom. "Oh gods! Hair tangled, in sweats! Geeze!!!! No wonder I haven't had a date in ages!" she thought in a panic. She stopped mid room and tried to work the comb through her hair. She swore there were more tangles than hair. "Maybe it's time for a haircut," she thought.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 14



"Here, let me help with that," said Patrick as he walked up behind her.

"Um, wha?" said Ginny absolutely gob smacked to see Patrick in her room.

"I said let me help," he said with a smile as he held out his hand.

Ginny shut her mouth and handed Patrick the comb. She turned so that he could work the tangles out of her hair. He was gentle and in a few minutes he handed her the comb.

"There, all untangled," he said. As she turned and started to speak, he put his hands on her shoulders. "Now, before you get all tongue tied, relax. I don't care what you're wearing or that your hair was tangled. I came over to see you," he said.



Ginny looked up at Patrick and could see in his face that he meant what he said. "See me? I just left you at Cal's. And," she started trying to order her thoughts and all she got was more confused. "What about visiting with your cousin?"

"To be honest, I can talk to him later. I had a great time this afternoon. Best in some time, and you'll probably think I'm a rushing, but you smell so damn good," he said. Patrick brought his nose down to her hair and inhaled. Then he moved to her neck and that spot just behind her ear. He inhaled again and then kissed her earlobe.

Ginny moaned as he moved his kisses to her throat. "Pppatrick, you barely know me," she said.

"Granted, but I've been alone for too long and you are the first person in a long while that's sparked anything," he said. He went back to kissing her neck.

"I'm umm, Oh damn that feels good," she gasped as he nipped her collarbone.

"Ginny, I want you," he said as he brought his head up and looked her in the eyes. "You smell good, and your scent tells me you want this as much as I do. Do you want me?" he asked. "If not, I'll leave and go back to Cal's and play poker."

Ginny looked up at Patrick. She took a deep breath. "Oh my gods he smells good!" she thought as the scent rolled over her senses. "Yes," she said. "But what about George and the kids?" she said as she realized that her bedroom door was still open.

"George and I had a little chat while you were still in the shower. He'll take care of the kids. He also said have fun and don't over think things," said Patrick.

Ginny giggled. That was George alright. She raised her face to Patrick's. "Two legged or four legged?" she asked.

"Two for as long as we can," he said.

Ginny smiled. "Then we need to close the door," she said.

Patrick let go of her long enough for Ginny to close the door. She barely turned before he had her in his arms again. He pulled her to him and started to kiss her mouth. He nipped at her lips and as she opened her mouth, he licked her teeth and then tongue. Ginny responded with kisses and nips of her own. Her hands went to his waist and started to pull his shirt up.

"No, not yet. I get to undress you first," he said as his voice grew hoarse.

"But,..." she started.

"No, you first," he said as he grabbed her teeshirt and pulled it off. Her nipples crinkled up as his fingertips teased and caressed her. Slowly, he backed her onto the bed. Ginny sat and Patrick moved between her legs tipping her over onto her back as he kissed her mouth. His hands pulled and tugged at her nipples and then caressed her breasts. Ginny moaned and felt herself growing wet. She ran her hands through his hair and across his back. She could feel his muscles ripple beneath the shirt. She wanted to touch his skin, and yet he held her in place as he kissed and nibbled down her throat to her breasts.

Patrick couldn't get enough of her scent, and as he touched her she smelled better and better. Down her stomach he nibbled and kissed until he was right at the waistband of her sweat pants. With one hand on her breast, he reached down and pulled her sweat pants off. She was naked beneath him and the scent from between her legs was intoxicating. He moved down from her stomach. He buried his face between her legs and let his tongue lap the moisture gathering on the edge of her lips. Then his tongue buried itself in her pussy and then flicked up to tag her clit.

"Oh god," Ginny moaned. She moved to touch more of him and was held still by a hand on her hip.

"Wait," he said softly with subtle sub-vocals. Then he went back to flicking his tongue across her clit and down into her pussy.

Ginny stopped. His voice sent shivers across her skin. She felt the beginnings of an orgasm begin to rip through her as his tongue was joined by his fingers. The orgasm built fast and then whipped through her.

"Ohgodohgodohggggggggoddddddd," she gasped as she tried to arch up off of the bed. Patrick's hold on her lightened as she collapsed back to the bed. He stood up and as she caught her breath, he stripped off his clothes. Ginny sat up partially.

"Stop," Patrick said. Ginny froze. It was like his voice was hardwired to her nervous system. "Scoot over on the bed," he said and as Ginny moved, he crawled onto the bed. Patrick made himself comfortable on the pillows and then held his hand out to Ginny. She took it and he pulled her close to him. They snuggled for a moment and then Ginny's hand drifted towards his cock which was bobbing against his stomach. Before she touched him, she looked up at his face. Ginny understood this game, and it it was making her so wet. Ginny gave him a questioning look and Patrick nodded.

It was her turn to make him feel good. Ginny put her hand on his hip and then leaned over to kiss the base of his throat. Working her way down, she got to his belly button before his cock began to bob against her ear. She smiled and moved her hand from his hip to his balls.

"Uuuuhhhhhhh," Patrick moaned as his body shuddered.

Ginny smiled. She lifted his cock so that she could continue kissing her way down. At the base of his cock, she licked and then blew across the wet skin. Patrick shuddered again, and his hand moved to the back of her neck. Ginny took the hint and licked her way up to the top of his cock. It was wet with pre-cum. She licked and blew air across it.

"Gggginny," he growled softly.

She took him in her mouth and began to move slowly up and down the length of the shaft. She moved faster as his hand moved from her neck to the back of his head. She almost lost her mouthful as he reached between her legs and began fingering her pussy and clit.

"Ummmph!" she gasped, and then went back to laving his cock with her tongue.

Patrick took a deep breath to steady himself. The last thing he wanted was to explode in her mouth. It had been way too long and he wanted to enjoy this. As she came up, he held her shoulder. "Wait a moment Ginny," he said.

Ginny stopped. Between sucking on his cock and her own growing orgasm from his exploring fingers, she was shaking. Patrick got up on his knees and was turning Ginny almost before she could draw a breath. Patrick grabbed her hips as he moved between her legs. Ginny tilted forward as she felt the head of his cock graze her opening. She rocked back and Patrick thrust into her.

"Ohhhhhhhh," Ginny moaned. She almost orgasmed right then. He fitted beautifully. She ground against him as he grabbed her hips and began to thrust. Patrick's rhythm increased. His arms moved up until his hands grabbed her shoulders. He thrust hard, feeling his muscles shifting and a knot growing as his orgasm began to rip up his spine. Ginny orgasmed as she felt him shift. It triggered her own shift and as the orgasm washed over her, his jaws wrapped around her neck and she felt him bite down as he came.

Patrick felt as if he came forever. He felt Ginny shift as he bit her. He couldn't disengage. The knot that had formed wouldn't let him. Instead of fighting it, he relaxed as the pleasure washed over the two of them. They collapsed to the bed in bliss. 



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 15



In spite of the desire to sit all day at the computer and write chapter after chapter, I find it takes me about two weeks to write one long enough. Maybe I need to give up the day job? Oh wait, I am the boss. Hmmm. Bribe the Muse? No, that doesn't work either. Oh well... Here's the latest chapter. A few twists and turns, but my partner laughed at all the right spots. Hope you enjoy it. 



It was dark. Ginny woke up flat on her stomach. She tried to roll over, but realized that Patrick's leg was across her hips. His arm was across her shoulders and her hair was tangled around his hand. She couldn't move. 

"Patrick," she said softly. "I need to get up."

Patrick mumbled something and scooted Ginny closer to his body. He might not be awake, but his erection was thrumming against her hip. Ginny tried moving again, and the result was a sub-vocal growl. 

"Patrick, I need to get up," she said a little louder. She also tried nudging him with her ankle. 

"Wha..? Oh. Ginny, did you say something?" he asked half asleep.

"Yes, I need to get up for a minute," she said. 

"Oh, okay," he said and moved off of her. It took a second to untangle his hand from her hair and then he pulled back the covers so she could get up.

Ginny headed for the bathroom. She was back in a few minutes and crawled under the covers.

"Here, let me warm you up," said Patrick.

"Oh yes. Never realized how cold a person could get in just a few minutes. Normally, I don't feel it, but the weather must have changed in the night," said Ginny.

Patrick cuddled her close. "No idea. It's still dark," he said. "You know, I'll be right back." Patrick got up and headed to the bathroom. Ginny giggled. He was back quickly and dived under the covers. 

"Clouds rolled in during the night. It might even snow from the smell of it," he said.

"Ugggh. There are days I wonder why I live in a four season climate," she said.

"Hmmm, because we all know how miserable wolves are in humid hot climates?" Patrick asked as he kissed her neck.

"Probably," Ginny said as she snuggled closer to Patrick. "Don't stop, that feels good."

Patrick obliged and nibbled harder. He could feel Ginny's skin flush with goosebumps. His erection bobbed against her ass. Moving ever so slightly, he bit her neck at the spot where it met her shoulder. Ginny arched her back and he slid his cock between her legs. 

"Ohhhh," Ginny moaned. She wiggled back against him as she felt the head of his cock nudge the opening of her pussy.

"Grrrrrrrr," Patrick growled against her neck. His teeth held her tight, and that excited her wolf. Ginny started to shift and he growled harder. Patrick was half shifted and pulled the two of them to their knees and with a swift push, seated himself deep inside her. 

Ginny, still wet from earlier moaned in pleasure as he stroked in and out, picking up the pace. She heard the bed groan with the additional weight of the two of them. "If it breaks, so be it!" flashed through her brain as Patrick released her neck and grabbed her hips as he moved faster. As things shifted on Ginny, his thrusts felt better and better. Her orgasm built until she couldn't hold on any more. The claws on her half shifted hands dug into the bedding as wave after wave of pleasure rode over her.

"Arrrrrrrhhh," Ginny howled as she shifted totally at the peak of orgasm. Patrick shifted too, leaning forward and biting the ruff at her neck as his orgasm took the last of his control. Again, the knot formed and the two of them collapsed to the bed panting. Patrick put his paw across the top of Ginny's front shoulder. "Mine," he thought as they drifted off to sleep.

Patrick woke up later feeling cold. At some point, they had shifted back to human form. What was left of the covers were on the floor. Tentatively, he rolled to get them and realized that the knot had relaxed and he could actually reach the covers. He pulled them up and snuggled next to Ginny. Looking at the clock, he saw it was 5:45am. Yawning, he went back to sleep.

*

Ginny woke to the sound of knocking. Opening her eyes, she realized that someone was knocking at her bedroom door. 

"Hullo," she said sleepily. She pulled the covers up farther until they were under her chin.

A little dark head peeked into the room. "We haz waffuls," said Sara. 

"And coffee," said George who was standing behind her.

Ginny smiled. Turning to Patrick, she nudged him gently. "We have company," she said.

Patrick woke up, blinked and realized that the room was being invaded by three small children and George carrying a huge tray. He could smell coffee, waffles, bacon, and fruit. "I think I've died and gone to heaven," he said.

"Wait until you've eaten the waffles. I had help this morning," said George looking sideways down at the kids. "And before you panic, I've already called you out for the day at work."

"Work? Oh gods!" said Ginny as she looked over at the clock and realized it was 9:23am. "But,..." was as far as she got before she heard Patrick's sub-vocal growl behind her head. 

"You'd better sit up and get ready for food," said George. "The kids have been pacing in front of the door for thirty minutes wanting to wake you up."

Patrick sat up and pulled the pillows behind him and Ginny. As he did that, he noticed the shredded state of the covers. He grabbed Ginny by the hips and pulled her back quickly.

"Oh!" gasped Ginny as she was pulled back. "I would have sat back on my own."

"You look funny Aunt Ginny," said Sara. Yer hawr is all stiked up and you needs a baf," she finished. Ivan and Joe standing behind her just nodded.

"I guess I do. That's what I get for going to bed with wet hair," said Ginny trying to salvage some shred of dignity. 

George brought the tray over and set it down across the bed and their laps. "Better eat before it gets cold," he said.

Patrick grabbed the syrup and poured some over his waffles. He handed the syrup to Ginny and then ate a bite of waffle. Three little sets of eyes watched as he and Ginny began to eat. He took a sip of coffee to clear his throat. "Now, who made these waffles?" he asked looking at Ivan and Joe. Both little boys pointed at Sara and George.

Patrick nodded. "Ah, then it is you I have to blame for such a wonderful breakfast?" 

"Yous don't blames peoples for good breakfastses!" said Sara. "You thanks them!"

Patrick smiled. "I stand corrected," he said. "Thank you for the wonderful breakfast. And what did you two boys do?" he asked.

Ivan and Joe blinked. Sara looked at them with that 'and why haven't you spoken' look.

"Well," Patrick said with ever so soft a sub-vocal push in his voice. 

Ivan screwed his eyes shut and elbowed Joe in the ribs. Joe blinked. "We made the coffee," he whispered. "An Ivan got the cups and silberware," he finished. Ivan nodded rapidly, never opening his eyes. 

"Thank you boys. Now off you go and watch cartoons while we finish our breakfast," Patrick said once again with a soft sub-vocal push. All three kids shot out of the room like their tails were on fire. George leaned against the door jam and laughed. Ginny snickered and almost spilled her coffee. Patrick just smiled.

George left the two of them to finish their breakfast and went to clean up the kitchen. A quick look in the living room let him see that the three children were following Patrick's orders. Bugs Bunny was on and three little faces were enraptured with the cartoon. 

Just as he finished the prep dishes, he heard the shower start. George dried his hands and went to grab the breakfast tray. He knocked and no one answered, so he entered the room. The tray was on the edge of the bed which was at a tilt. He snickered. Then he noticed the state of the sheets. Long claw marks had torn the bottom sheet. Plus one of the pillows seemed to have burped stuffing across the far corner of the bed. He smiled and gathered up the tray. After he took it into the kitchen, he grabbed a clean set of sheets out of the linen cupboard and went back to the bedroom. 

George stripped the bed and put a couple of books under the corner of the bed where the leg had given it's all in the name of lust. He'd tease Ginny about that later. There was no hope for the pillow nor part of the mattress. He put two bottom sheets on the bed to cover the damage and quickly remade the rest of the bed. He gathered up the torn sheets and the dead pillow just as he heard the shower stop. He closed the door and headed back to the kitchen and the phone. 

*

Patrick and Ginny had barely managed to keep their hormones in check in the shower. All it took was one touch of a soapy washcloth to bring his erection bobbing up against Ginny. She smiled down at him and then started washing him. 

"This has to be the best shower I've had in ages," he sighed as her hands explored his body with the help of the washcloth.

"Glad to know my techniques for washing squirmy little pups works just as well on older dogs," she teased.

Patrick laughed. "Yes, I guess they do. Those three were a riot this morning with breakfast. Is Sara always the ring leader?" he asked.

"Always. That girl has Alpha Bitch etched in her bones," said Ginny. Her hands moved down his legs and then back up to cup and wash his balls and cock. The soap slid down his erection in parody of semen. Ginny smiled.

"Do you encourage Ivan and Joe to talk?" he asked. Ginny's attentions to his stomach and ass were making conversation difficult.

"All the time. We even put Sara in a different school, and yet when they are home, she's the boss," said Ginny. She stood up and handed him the washcloth.

Patrick soaped up the washcloth and started running it over Ginny's breasts. He was enjoying how her nipples responded to his touch. "Any reason why those three are so tight?" he asked. 

It was Ginny's turn to have trouble talking. "Ppprobably because their mother Penny was too wrapped up in the older children and Duke's an idiot," said Ginny at last. 

Patrick moved the washcloth between Ginny's legs and washed slowly. Ginny moaned. Patrick smiled. He washed her back and ass then put down the washcloth and moved Ginny under the water to rinse her off. "So how long have you and George been parenting them?" he asked. 

"On and off since they were born," she said. "You know, you sure are nosy."

"Yeah, I like to know the people around me and why they act the way they do," he said leaning down to kiss her. They kissed until the water began to run cold. Ginny turned it off and as she stepped out she grabbed two towels. She handed one to Patrick and then wrapped herself in the other. From a hook, she grabbed one for her hair. 

"Which brings me to a question," she said.

"Yes," said Patrick.

"Is this one hell of a good scratch of an itch and one night stand? Or, are you interested in something more?" she asked.

Patrick looked down at Ginny standing there with her hair turbaned in a towel, another one wrapped around her body and her hands on her hips. He didn't dare say how much she reminded him of Sara, but he smiled. "Let's go sit down in the bedroom," he said.

They dried off and headed to the bedroom. Ginny was surprised to see the damaged sheets gone and the bed remade. 

"Wow, did the wee pups do that or George?" asked Patrick.

Ginny looked at the corner of the bed that had sagged earlier and saw the text books under the mattresses. "George. The kids wouldn't have used text books," she said.

Patrick looked and nodded. "Damn, I knew the sex was good, but didn't realize we'd broken the bed," he said. Turning to Ginny, he took her hand and brought her around to the head of the bed. They crawled in and she snuggled up to him.

"I have to admit that when Cal called me a few weeks ago and asked if I wanted to come out here to job hunt, I turned him down," Patrick started.

Ginny began to interrupt and Patrick silenced her with a look. 

"Then he said that not only was there work out here, but there was a woman I had to meet. Said I'd be crazy to not come out. Oh, and when was the last time I'd had sex? As I mentioned, I lost my wife a few years ago, and I had sort of crawled into myself," he said. Ginny nodded but didn't interrupt. 

"Then I got to thinking. No mate, no work, what the hell. I'd been living with friends, so all I had was already in storage. I called Cal and said I was thinking of coming out. He said about time, and gave me the address to where he worked. When I got there, I just about turned around until I got in the door. I couldn't see you at first, because I was still sun blinded. I could smell you though. All I could think was 'please let the smell match the woman' and then I could see you. 

"And how disappointed were you?" she asked. 

Patrick sat up and took Ginny by the chin. "Stop that," he said and the sub-vocals rolled over her skin.

"Uhh..." was all Ginny got out.

"I wasn't disappointed, because I wasn't sure what I was smelling was you. And in all honesty, you're not a disappointment. Yes, you're hair is gray, and you are older, but that is not a reason to be disappointed. Hell, we're probably about the same age," he said.

Ginny pulled her head back and looked at him. "No way," she said.

"Ginny, I'm forty-eight," he said.

"Okay, I'll just shut up," Ginny said. 

"From that reaction, how much older am I than you?" he asked. When she didn't answer, he gave her a look. 

"Two or three years depending on where your birthday falls, she said. 

Patrick smiled. "Now that you're surprised, I'll tell you the rest of this story," he said. Ginny just nodded. 

"You were nice, and I realized that it was you I was smelling. When Cal walked in, he let me know that you were the woman he was talking about. While hesitant, going to lunch with you was one of the best things that had happened in ages. You smelled delicious. You have a brain, wit and I felt alive again," he said. "When I got to Cal's, the first thing he said was that he hadn't seen a smile on my face for a long time. Then he asked why I was still there and gave me your address. The rest you know."

"Yes, and at this point, I'm a little pissed. Cal set us up?" she asked. The muscles under her skin started to tense.

"Ginny, stop that," he said with sub-vocals for emphasis. "He did some match making. Him and Luc and everyone in that office, because they care about you and were tired of seeing you torn up and overwrought. Lack of sexual release when you're drowning in pheromones will drive you crazy."

Ginny was still not very calm. She couldn't decide if she wanted to beat Cal, Luc and Patrick or thank them. "But..." she started.

"But nothing. You were crabby and bitchy when I walked in and by the time we came back from lunch, you were happier than you'd been in weeks from what I could tell. So was I. So just put all those plans of killing the lot of them on hold," he growled. 

Ginny nodded. He was right. She did need some sexual release. Too much stress, too many teens and no one to cuddle with. "Okay, they did some matchmaking and I won't kill them. However, you never answered my question. Is this just a good scratch of an itch for us or is it more?" she asked afraid of what his answer might be. 

"I came out here expecting a one night stand. It isn't what I found. We are both a little rough around the edges, but I'd like to see how things work out," he said. "What do you want?"

Ginny didn't realize how hard she'd been clenching her jaw until she relaxed it upon hearing his words. "I... I want to give this a try. Beyond the sex, George likes you and the kids responded well to you," she started.

"Oh?" he asked.

"Yes. If they didn't like you, they wouldn't have made you breakfast. George wouldn't have made it comfortable for you to stay the night either," she said wondering how she was going to explain that. Or how their acceptance of him was more important than she would like to admit.

"What do you mean? George is your brother isn't he?" Patrick asked.

"No, he's Luc's brother and sort of the family enforcer until Luc is healed. If he had decided you didn't fit in the pack dynamic, he'd have made some excuse to get you out of here," she said. 

"Ah, I understand. He's the pack guardian. Big son of a bitch too," he said with a smile playing across his face.

"Oh yeah. I'll explain more of what went on not too long ago, but you have the right idea. He's also sort of distantly related kin, which is why he's helping me with Duke's kids," she said.

Patrick nodded. "Something else you need to know," he said as his hand played across her neck to the bite mark on her shoulder.

"Yes," Ginny said. "Careful, that's tender."

"I bet. I sorta chewed a bit more than I meant to," he said apologetically. "That leads me to where I was going though. My wolf claimed you last night when we shifted. We don't communicate very clearly most times, but that bit came through loud and clear," he finished.

Ginny's hand moved up to the bite and touched it. She remembered more of what went on last night and deep down inside of her where her wolf slept, she felt contentment. She looked up at Patrick with eyes gone yellow with a slight shift. "Sounds like they decided before we even got a chance," she said. "Guess we'll just have to see how this works out."

Patrick nodded and pulled her into his arms. 

*

Luc walked into the bedroom with a very smug look on his face. He leaned against the door and waited for Meg to look at him. She was still getting dressed for work.

"Well, who was on the phone?" she asked as she hunted under the bed for her shoe.

"George," 

"And what did he want?" she asked. She stood up and put on her shoe. As she did so, she made eye contact with Luc for the first time since he'd entered the room. "Oh shit," she said as it dawned on her exactly why George had called. 

"Yup, they did it. I think you owe me $5 and a blow job," Luc said with a grin.

"Dammit! You'd think I'd learn by now," Meg said with a sigh. "How about I buy lunch today?" 

"Sure, but I'm still holding you to the blow job," Luc said with a smile. "Let's get to work. We mice have to play while the cat's away."

Meg laughed and grabbed her coat and bag. It had snowed in the night and Luc was dusting the car off while Meg locked the door. 

When they got to work, everyone was smiling. George must have been very busy on the phone. The news of Ginny and Patrick's date had spread like wildfire. There were doughnuts and a bouquet of beef jerky on Ginny's desk. 

"Luc, there must be thirty or forty sticks of different kinds of jerky in this vase," Meg said.

"Yeah, pretty impressive. I only had about twenty in mine," he said as they headed to the coffee machine.

"What? You... When did you get a vase full of jerky?" she asked.

"After my second date with you," he said as he poured them each a cup of coffee. 

Meg just looked at Luc and shook her head. Even after all this time, Luc and shifter issues still caught her by surprise at times. She took the cup of coffee, grabbed one of the doughnuts and headed for her office. At least today would be quiet. No growling or co-workers hiding in her office. Meg turned on her computer and got to work. She had just finished her email when her phone rang.

"Hello, Oh hi Angie! What you up to?" asked Meg. She noticed Luc standing at her door and held up a hand for him to be quiet. "Sure, come by the office. Do you have the address? Oh yeah of course you would. See you around noon," said Meg and hung up the phone. 

"What was that about?" asked Luc.

"Angie. Remember her from my old office?" asked Meg.

Luc nodded.

"Well, seems like they pissed her off one too many times and she quit. She was calling to ask me if I knew of any job openings," finished Meg.

"Hmm," said Luc sitting down on the edge of Meg's desk. "Do we want another receptionist or secretary? Especially if Ginny is going to be busy for a little bit?" he asked.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 15



"Huh? Do you think that Ginny will be out more than a day or two?" asked Meg.

"Never know. She might. Or, she might be back tomorrow. We just have to play it by ear and see what happens. I know Cal said that Patrick was looking for work, but I don't know what he does. There are just too many variables," said Luc. 

Meg thought about it for a moment and nodded. "So, it might not be a bad thing then if we had at least a temporary receptionist? When Ginny comes back, she could concentrate on other things and leave Angie to answer phones and such?" asked Meg. 

"Sounds good to me. You do realize that when you talk to Angie that you are going to have to explain about shifters?" said Luc.

"What? Why can't you do that, or why can't we just not say anything?" asked Meg.

"To prevent the same reaction you had in the middle of sex. Honesty is the best course. If she wants the job, you have to let her know. It will be easier coming from you than from me. Then if she doesn't pass out or laugh herself silly, call me into the office," he said.

"Damn you're too rational for this early in the morning. You're right. Well, she'll be here in a couple of hours. Let me get to work so I can take her to lunch," said Meg.

Luc smiled, blew her a kiss and headed back to his office. On his desk were a couple of notes from Kevin. Apparently, he'd been catching the phone. Looking at the pencil scratches on the paper, he gave up trying to decipher them and headed to Kevin's office. "Maybe Angie will be just the right answer!" he thought. 

*

Kevin popped into Meg's office. "Hey Meg, you have a gal waiting for you in the front. Seems a bit nervous," he said.

"That'll be Angie. Thanks for letting me know she was here. I'll be right out," said Meg. She grabbed her handbag and coat and headed for the front. Angie was trying to pace, peek around and pretend not to all at the same time. Meg smiled.

"Hey there Angie!" she called as she entered the reception area.

"Hi Meg!" said Angie. She moved towards Meg and the two women hugged. "It is great to see you. I've missed our lunches and just, well, um, missed you period."

"Same here Angie. I figured we'd go to lunch and talk. Sound good?" Meg asked.

"Sure. Where are we going?" asked Angie. 

"Hmmm, too cold for salad. How about Roberto's for chile and tortillas?" asked Meg.

"That sounds good. My car is just out front," Angie said.

They headed out for lunch. As the door shut, Kevin and Luc met in the hall. 

"How did she check out with you?" asked Luc. He knew Angie from before and found her acceptable, but he needed to have the input of others. He knew Kevin was a good judge of character. 

"She's a bit nervous, and I can understand that. It isn't every day you have to go begging a job from a friend. Otherwise, she seems fine. Think Ginny will take to a non-shifter running the front desk?" asked Kevin.

"Once she remembers Angie and realizes that she should have hired a receptionist about six months ago, yeah. Between the kids, Duke and now Patrick, she won't have time to breathe let alone try to run this office the way she has. In spite of things, business is picking up. If Patrick is any kind of computer tech, I'll be hiring him as well. If not, I'm going to be advertising for a tech. Chances of that one being a shifter are 50-50. Our days of being a small family business are about over," said Luc.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Which reminds me, you have a call to be at in twenty minutes," said Kevin.

"Damn! Thanks Kevin," said Luc who went to grab his tool bag and his coat. 

*

"So, you finally had enough of the old fart?" asked Meg.

"Did I ever. I swear they wanted me to do twice the work, and no extra pay. After a week of overtime, I said enough. They didn't listen, so I gave my notice. Gave them the time sheet with the vacation time worked out and explained that I had two weeks of vacation time coming to me with pay. I packed my desk after collecting my check and left," said Angie.

Meg about choked on her smothered burrito. "Oh god! I can just see them turning purple."

"It was so worth it. Now, tell me about the job you think might interest me," said Angie. 

Meg explained the business, and how the IT work meshed with what she was doing. Angie nodded. They paid for their lunches and headed back to the office. Once at the office, Meg gave her a tour of the building and then they went to Meg's office. Meg closed the door.

"So, if it is alright with Luc, would you be interested?" asked Meg as they sat down.

"Yes, I would. I have to admit that I'd rather work with someone I know than start all over," said Angie. 

"I know. It makes life so much easier. Now, I have one other thing about the job to discuss with you," said Meg. 

"Okay," said Angie trying to figure out what they had left out of the discussion.

"You'll probably think I'm nuts, but most of the people who work here are shifters," said Meg.

"Huh?" asked Angie. 

"Shifters, werewolves," said Meg. "There, the word is out. Now for the hard part." she thought.

"You're pulling my leg! Is this some kind of joke to see if I have a sense of humor Meg?" asked Angie. 

"No, I wish I was joking. However, there really are such things as werewolves. Only they don't eat people or bite them to turn them into werewolves. It's genetic," said Meg. She remembered her own shock and hoped she could get the information across to Angie without coming off as a kook. 

"Right. You work for werewolves. Um, just because the business name is Alpha Wolf doesn't mean you have to pretend," said Angie. 

"You know, Luc said this wouldn't be so easy," said Meg.

"Meg, I think you've watched too much TV lately or read too many books. Werewolves aren't real," said Angie. 

"Yes, they are," said Kevin from the door. 

Angie turned around to see the man who had greeted her earlier in the day. "So, are you one? Or is this just Meg's fantasy and joke to pull my leg?" Angie asked.

"I'm a shifter. Everyone here except you and Meg are shifters. I will shift for you if you require proof," he said.

"Oh yeah, but isn't the full moon a week or so away?" asked Angie. She really did think that this joke was going a little far. "Why on earth was Meg doing this?" she wondered.

"It doesn't have to be a full moon Angie," said Meg. 

Angie blinked. Meg sounded serious.

"How body conscious are you Angie?" asked Kevin.

"Well. Um, I don't parade around nude, but. Why?" she asked.

"Reason I ask is that I don't want to shred my clothes. So, I need to undress before I shift," explained Kevin.

"Meg, what in the hell is this stuff about? If you didn't want to give me a job, all you really needed to do is say no. It would have been a hell of a lot kinder," said Angie who was getting more upset by the second.

"Oh hell," said Kevin as he kicked off his shoes and then shifted. 

Angie screamed. Meg moved to her side and was torn between trying to comfort her friend and not laughing about a rather large wolf tangled up in shredded clothes. Laughter won as Kevin shook and while the shirt and most of the trousers fell off, the belt and underwear were still in place.

She was laughing so hard that Angie stopped screaming and took another look at Kevin. As she watched Kevin try to bite the belt and bikini briefs off of his hind end, she too started to giggle. About this point, Meg's office door burst open and Cal and Peter ran in.

"We heard screams..." was as far as Peter got when both of them saw Kevin. Cal started laughing and Peter just whooped. By this time, Kevin had the belt stuck bandoleer style and the undies were shreds with elastic holding them around his hips. 

Cal took pity on Kevin and undid the belt and pulled the underwear the rest of the way off. Kevin shook himself again and then sat looking at Angie. The giggles slowly settled down.

"Angie, I'm sorry we upset you, but," started Meg.

"No, it was my own fault. You can take the girl out of the Midwest, but not the Midwest out of the girl," she said trying to explain her reluctance to believing Meg without seeing things. "I just thought this was all some elaborate prank to not hire me," she finished.

"No, it wasn't. It was an honest attempt to explain how life is around here. You had to know what kind of environment you would be working in," said Meg.

Angie nodded, still looking at Kevin. She finally collected herself and stood up. Walking over to Kevin, she held out her hand. Kevin sniffed it and then sat still. Angie touched his ear and then his head like you would a dog.

"He likes scratched behind the ears," said Cal. 

"Cal!" said Meg. "You are such a brat!"

Cal smiled. "You have to admit that this is the best laugh we've had in weeks, besides Ginny," he said.

"I know, but Kevin just shredded his clothes, and the last thing he needs is for you to pull funny jokes at his expense," said Meg.

Peter nodded. He agreed with Meg, but oh how he was going to tease Kevin. There was ammunition in this situation for weeks.

"Meg," said Angie turning back to her friend.

"Yes, Angie," said Meg.

"He's real," Angie said as all of what had just happened sunk in.

"Yes, he is. And when he shifts back so that he can drive home, he'll be naked," said Meg.

"Nah, he's got his belt and his shoes," teased Peter.

"Peter!" said Meg almost at the same time that Kevin growled. Angie stepped back from Kevin.

Peter put his hand up in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, he won't be nude. I know where his spare stash of clothes is in his car. I'll go get them." Peter then turned and left the room followed by Cal and Kevin.

Angie sat down still trying to take everything in. It took her a few minutes to compose herself. "Mmeg, when did you find out that Luc was a shifter?" she asked.

"In the middle of sex, on that first camping trip. I screamed too, and climbed a tree," Meg said. "Luc and I had a talk and he finally convinced me that he wasn't going to eat me, nor was it contagious and I fell out of the tree and into his arms."

"Oh god!" said Angie. "And this is real? Not some magic trick or fancy holograph trick? I'm not dreaming?" 

"No, you aren't," said Kevin from the door. 

Angie jumped. "Oh! Kevin, I am sorry I didn't believe you. Sorry I caused you to destroy your clothes," said Angie.

"And I'm sorry for laughing, but it was the undies that got me," said Meg.

Kevin blushed a bit and went to pick up his shoes and what was left of his clothes. He tossed some of them in the trash. "Yeah, I forgive you ladies. I know it isn't easy. Not from this side either. Both my parents are shifters and the first time I discovered that some people don't shift it really threw my world into a spin. Even worse on my first non-shifter date," he said.

"I never thought about that," said Meg. "I guess it would be a bit unsettling."

"It was. Put me off sex for months, because I was afraid I'd hurt someone," said Kevin. 

"Mentally or physically hurt them Kevin," Meg asked.

"Both. Mostly physically though. Luc is real gentle isn't he," said Kevin.

"Yes, but I never thought about it in terms of trying not to hurt me," said Meg.

"Well, you know we are strong, so think about how that would be if we got carried away during sex," said Kevin.

Meg thought about it and nodded. "Yeah, I see," she said.

Kevin walked over to where Angie sat. "So, are you running away from the prospect of a job with a bunch of werewolves, or are you going to join us?" Kevin asked Angie. 

"You aren't afraid I'd run off and expose your secrets?" Angie asked.

"No, who'd believe you?" asked Kevin. 

"What?" asked Angie.

"If you went to the papers, or the news stations, who would believe you?" asked Kevin softly. He could see Angie thinking it over. 

"You're right," Angie said after a moments thought. "And the woman who's job I'm taking over is a werewolf too?"

"Yes. Does that bother you?" asked Kevin.

"No, not really. It explains the peanut butter dog biscuits in the jar and the vase full of beef jerky though," Angie said. "Are you sure you want to work with me?" she asked Meg and Kevin.

"Angie, I wouldn't have offered you the job if I didn't think you capable of the work," said Meg.

"I think if you can cope as well as you have with the shock we've just given you, you'll do just fine," said Kevin. With that, he walked out of the office.

Angie just blinked. She couldn't figure that last statement out. "Meg, why did he say that?" she asked.

"He was being honest. Remember, they've dealt with people finding out for a long time. Plus, just because they are in human shape, doesn't mean they don't use some of the wolf's senses," said Meg.

"Huh?" asked Angie. Now she was totally confused.

"He could smell that you weren't really afraid. Get use to the idea if you decide to work here that they use their noses as much as we do our eyes. Oh, and go light on the perfume," said Meg remembering her first non-camping date with Luc. 

"Oh! Oh that makes sense. They really aren't afraid of being found out?" she asked as her mind ticked over things she was trying to grasp.

"No. Not really. I asked the same thing. Over the centuries they've figured out some pretty good strategies. They have their own doctors and hospitals. They try and avoid certain professions and laughter saves a lot of trouble. Like Sara. Just wait till you meet her. She's a little whirlwind on two legs with a cute lisp and the tactics of Patton. If she walked up to her teacher and told her that Unky Woofy Luc was a werewolf, the teacher would laugh. Why, because she's a kid. If an adult finds out and goes to the papers, the shifters treat it like it was some stalker nuisance. Worst case, they move," said Meg as she tried to condense months of conversations into a few minutes.

"Wow. I have to admit that I really did think you were trying to blow me off at first," Angie said. "If the offer is still open, I'd like to start work as soon as you need me," she said. "What the hell, it can't be any worse than those idiots over at the office who think they are Brad Pitt," she thought. 

Meg smiled and came around the desk to hug her friend. "That would be in the morning or now, your choice."

"It's only 2pm. Let me get use to the office and I'll officially clock in tomorrow morning," said Angie.

"Alright. Let me show you the hallowed office of Ginny. By the way, she is the toughest of the bunch around here," said Meg. "But canned air is your friend," she finished as they walked down the hall.

"Canned air?" asked Angie.

"I'll explain," said Meg as they reached the desk. 

*

Luc came back to the office ten minutes before closing time. He wondered how things went, and was pleasantly surprised to see Angie sitting behind the desk, answering the phone and looking right at home. He nodded at her and headed to his office. After dropping his tool bag, he walked to Meg's office.

"How did it go? Did you tell her?" he asked quietly. 

Meg smiled and held up Kevin's shirt that he had thrown in the trash can. "She didn't believe me and thought I was trying to brush her off in a rude way. Doing sort of a bait and switch routine. Kevin shifted, she screamed and then we talked some more. When all was said and done, she was fine. We owe Kevin a set of clothes and Cal and Peter will probably never let him live down the belt and undies situation," she said.

"What?" asked Luc.

"I'll explain it all over dinner," she said as she closed down her computer and grabbed her stuff.

"Okay. Guess I can call Ginny in the morning and let her know that she can take a break if she needs it," said Luc as they walked out of her office.

"Sounds good," said Meg. When they got to the front office, Meg reintroduced Luc and Angie. 

"Nice to see you again," said Angie. "Thanks for the job as well."

"You're welcome. You understand that if you have any questions or issues that you can come to me or Meg," he said.

"Oh yes. I'll probably have lots of questions until I learn your system. I see you use Linux and Ubuntu and I'm coming from a Microsoft centric office," said Angie.

"Oh yeah, yes. What I meant was though if you have any questions about us," he said.

"Oh! Yes. Sorry. I'll ask. Can't wait to meet Ginny and Sara," said Angie with a smile.

Luc laughed. "You'll do just fine. Just keep the jar full of biscuits and the canned air nearby and you'll be fine," he said.

"Meg explained about the canned air. Never would have thought of that. My biggest issue now will be explaining to my poor little dog why I've been 'hanging around' with other dogs when I get home," she said smiling.

Luc and Meg laughed.

*

Meg turned out the light and crawled into bed. It had been a long weird day. As she snuggled next to Luc, she let out a long sigh.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing really, just a long day," she said.

"Granted, but you seem rather quiet. If you're not up to paying off your debt, we can just snuggle," he said.

"No, I want to give you a lovely blow job, but I was just thinking of the day. I never would have thought Angie would think we were trying to scare her off rather than hire her," she said.

"Well, you have to understand that we're a rather honest and simple bunch," said Luc.

"No you're not!" said Meg. "How on earth do you figure that?"

"We are honest. Simple not in stupid, but in lacking convoluted thinking and the like. You and I would never have thought about making up a plan as complicated as an interview and then scare tactics to save face. We simply wouldn't have offered her a job," he said.

"Okay, on that front you're simple. As for the rest, there are days I wish there was a book on shifter and human relationships," she said.

"Me too. Maybe you should write one," he said as he pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips. "Right now, I have this lovely bit of anatomy that's wondering where your mouth is," he teased.

"Oh you!" she said and reached down to tickle his cock.

"Aaaah!" he gasped. "Careful."

"Oh, I will," she said as she moved under the sheet to pay off her debt.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 16



The stars must have been just right, or I managed to figure out just the right way to hold my tongue, for I've had almost a week to do nothing but write stories! Thanks go to my partner for listening and laughing and letting me know when things work. He also said 'about time!' for part of the story. I hope you enjoy it.

*

"Who was on the phone?" Patrick asked Ginny.

"It was Luc. He called to let me know I could take my time getting back to work," she said.

"Oh? There has to be more to it than just that," he said.

"Yeah, A friend of Meg's needed a job and they've hired her for the moment to catch the phones. Seems Luc got tired real fast of Kevin's sloppy handwriting," said Ginny.

"Are you upset?" asked Patrick sitting down next to Ginny at the table.

"No. Luc did it so that we could have more time," she said. "And when I go back to work, Angie, that's the woman, will stay on as a receptionist. I'll have more time to do dispatch, orders, paperwork, and the like," she said. "He said he knew I was doing too much and that was part of what was making me crabby. That between work, the kids and everything, I needed a break."

"I agree with that. Plus to be honest, I want to spend some time with you. Just you. No George, no kids, nothing but you," said Patrick. He took her hand in his.

"We can do that soon, but Luc and Meg's dinner party is in less than a week. She'd have a fit if I disappeared before that got done," said Ginny.

"How tied into this event are you?" he asked.

"About as tied as you can get. I'll need to call her later and we will squeeze in another setting for you," said Ginny.

"Okay. In the meantime, I need my stuff from Cal's house and I wouldn't mind a bit more of a tour around town," said Patrick.

Ginny nodded and they got ready to head out. While Ginny was dressing, Patrick called Cal and let him know that they were headed his way. He hung up just as Ginny came out of the bedroom.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes, let's go before the rest of them figure out we're leaving," she said nodding her head towards the back of the house where George and the kids were cleaning.

Patrick smiled and they headed out the door.

*

Once they left, Ginny made a leisurely tour of the city. Then they headed to Cal's. After picking up his things and making a few arrangements, Ginny directed him to the Mall.

"I have to pick up a few things and see if Andrew has my present ready," said Ginny.

"Who's Andrew?" asked Patrick as they parked the car and headed into the Mall.

"He's our local silversmith. His shop is right over there," she said pointing to the Silver Lode. They walked in and Ginny looked around. Andrew was nowhere to be seen, so she asked the girl behind the counter if he was in. She nodded and turned towards the back of the shop and called for Andrew.

A moment later, a man appeared. Ginny pulled Patrick forward to introduce the two men.

"Andrew, this is Patrick," she said.

"Nice to meet you," Patrick said holding out his hand.

"I'd heard that Ginny had met a gentleman," said Andrew as he shook Patrick's hand firmly. "Glad to see she has good taste."

"Oh Andrew!" Ginny said blushing. "Do you have my order ready?" she asked.

"Not yet. I still need to finish the final polish. Could you pick it up later?" he asked. "Perhaps Patrick could wait while you find a dress for Meg's party," Andrew suggested. He gave Patrick a conspiratorial wink.

"But I have a dress," said Ginny.

"And if it is the one I think it is, you've worn it to every family occasion for the last six years," said Andrew. "If I see that blue suit one more time, I swear I'll split every seam right there at the dinner table."

"You wouldn't!" said Ginny. "I,... I like that suit!"

"Get a new dress woman," Andrew said with a heavy hint of sub-vocals.

Ginny blinked. "Fine. You two can just sit here and talk, and I'll be in Kohl's," she said and turning on her heel, left the shop.

"Andrew, what was that about?" asked Patrick trying not to laugh.

"That was me handling a situation. George called me about ten minutes ago and said if Ginny showed up here, to force her to buy a new dress. So, I obliged. Plus, it gives us a chance to get acquainted," said Andrew. He gestured for Patrick to follow him to the back of the shop. "Now before I forget, here is her order. It's already paid for. I've had it done for two days, but it was a good excuse."

Patrick smiled and set the box at his feet. "Now you get to answer my question. What are you to Ginny that she responds so fast to you?" he asked.

Andrew leaned back and relaxed in his chair. "Once upon a time, long ago, we were lovers."

"And," Patrick said trying to find out what happened.

"We meshed well as humans, but as wolves, it was fun. It was playful. It didn't work. She wanted a mate and babies at that point. I wasn't ready for that and later I understood why. We just didn't fit," Andrew said with a sigh. "I'm the pack's shaman as well. That was another reason our relationship didn't work. She didn't want the responsibility that went with being my mate."

Patrick shook his head. "Yet from what I can tell, she has all the responsibilities and just not the title now," he said. "There are days I do not understand women."

"Oh, I agree. Ginny is the matriarchal wolf in the pack. Luc may be the head, but when it comes to family matters it's Ginny they turn to. Which leads me to another question," said Andrew.

"Yes," said Patrick wondering just how fast the news had traveled.

"Does your wolf recognize Ginny as a mate?" Andrew asked. "Do you intend to make her your mate?"

"Yes, and it is my intention. It's been a whirlwind romance to say the least and I have to admit I'm still trying to catch my breath," said Patrick. "I've gone from widower to lover to mate with the potential extended family added in less than 48 hours."

Andrew smiled. "George filled me in a bit. Plus, you smell of an honest shifter," he finished. "I have something for you then if you want it." Andrew stood and pulled a box from a drawer. "I made this for Ginny a long time ago. If you're serious, I'd like you to have it."

Patrick nodded as he took the box and opened it. Inside was a silver chain with tiny Art Nouveau roses decorating the length of the chain. "Um, Andrew, are you sure? Don't you have a lady friend you'd like to give this to?" he asked.

"No, I lost my heart a long time ago. I have the occasional lover but nothing serious. Besides this was made with Ginny in mind. She should have it, and I can't think of a better point in time for her to receive it," Andrew said. He slid the chain into a velvet bag and handed it back to Patrick.

Patrick took a long look at Andrew. "Thank you. What do I owe you?" he asked.

"You owe me to love that crazy woman with all of your heart and keep her from killing all of us when she stresses," said Andrew with a smile. "Otherwise, nothing."

"Andrew, that isn't fair. You're an artisan and deserve payment for your art," argued Patrick.

"Make her happy where I could not," Andrew said and stood up. "Now you'd better get moving and make sure she buys something nice. Kohl's is down the left past the popcorn store. Oh, and her favorite color is dark green."

Patrick knew from the look on Andrew's face that there was no arguing with him. He nodded, put the bag in his pocket and picked up her order. "Will you be at the party?" he asked.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Ask Luc when you see him to show you the bear claw," said Andrew as they headed back to the front of the store.

"Bear claw?" Patrick asked.

"Have Ginny tell you the story," said Andrew and disappeared into the back.

*

Patrick left the shop and headed towards Kohl's. He could have followed Ginny by scent alone, but it was nice to have some directions. He found her coming out of the dressing room with two outfits in her hand.

"So, which one are you getting?" he asked as she almost walked past him.

"Oh! Patrick, you startled me. Um... I really haven't found one I like," she said trying to put what she had in her hands on the rack for the clerk to return.

"So, are these the only two you have tried on?" he asked looking at the dresses. His nose told him that she had also tried on a green dress stuffed to the back. He pulled out all three and looked at them. The first one was plain. Straight body and no real fit. A sack with an expensive price tag. The second one looked like the kind of dress you'd wear to a funeral. Dark blue with a severe cut and no decoration. He put those two on the rack. Then he looked at the green one. It was softer, both in cut and fabric. A layer of some semi sheer fabric over a darker under dress and subtle lace around the collar.

"Ginny, what size do you wear?" he asked.

"A sixteen," she said. "Damn! Why did he have to see that one?" she thought.

"Oh good. This is a sixteen. Go try it on. This is a really nice dress," he said and held it out to Ginny. When she didn't want to take it, he gave her a look that sent shivers down her spine.

"Fine," she said and took the dress into the dressing room.

"I want to see you in it," he called in after her.

"Just a minute," she called. "Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!!!" she thought to herself as she slipped the dress on. She had tried it on first, fell in love with it, but couldn't bring herself to spend the money. She did up the back and headed out to the lobby where Patrick waited.

"Here it is," she said and did a quick turn and tried to head back to the dressing room.

"Wait a minute. You barely gave me a chance to see you let alone how the dress looked," Patrick said with a subtle sub-vocal growl.

Ginny stopped in her tracks and turned around. She knew Patrick was taking a good look at her in the dress, but still couldn't see how she could afford it.

"Looks good to me. What do you think Ginny?" he asked.

"Well, it's nice, but I don't know if I'd get more than one wear out of it and it's a lot of money for just one occasion," she said rapidly.

"Do you like it?" Patrick asked looking her straight in the eyes.

"Yes, but..." was as far as Ginny got.

"Good. Go get changed and we'll pay for the dress," Patrick said. The sub-vocals in his voice brooked no disagreement.

Ginny changed clothes and came out with the dress in hand. Part of her was ecstatic while the other panicked about money.

"Do you need shoes or tights or anything like that?" he asked.

"No, not really," she said.

"Okay," he said. "Then it's off to the lingerie department and the shoe department. I learned a long time ago that 'not really' means yes." He took the dress and steered her towards the lingerie section.

They looked through the bras and panties, but Ginny didn't stop for more than a moment . They moved onto the hosiery section. Ginny found a couple pairs of hose and a pair of tights that matched the dress and was trying to decide between them when Patrick just took all three packages in his hand and smiled at her. She started to say something and just shut her mouth.

At the shoe department, it was more difficult to ignore the nice shoes. Ginny had a weakness for shoes. Patrick didn't know it yet as he hadn't seen the inside of her closet, but they were her one vice. There were two styles she liked. Mid heel in one style and the other was a neat flat.

"Are you going to try one of those pairs on, or are you just going to drool on them?" Patrick teased her.

"I'm trying to decide," she said.

"What size?" he asked.

"An 8," she said not really paying attention to Patrick.

Patrick grabbed a size 8 off the shelves in both styles and handed the boxes to Ginny. "Here, try them on," he said.

Ginny blinked, took the boxes and sat down. She tried on the mid heel style first. It was nice. She slipped on the other shoe and took a short walk. "These are doable," she thought. Sitting down, she slipped off that pair and tried on the flats. They were comfortable, but not really dressy enough. She looked over to the shelf and tried to decide between black, dark brown, and sort of an oxblood color in the mid heel style. She took the oxblood down and tried them on. Before she could say anything, Patrick held the dress to her to check it against the shoes. They complemented the dress beautifully.

"Will those do?" he asked.

"Um, yes," she answered deciding not to fuss.

Patrick put the shoes in the box while she got her own shoes back on. He was already heading towards the check-out area before Ginny got the last one tied.

When they got to the cashier, Patrick paid for everything before she could get her wallet out of her handbag. He handed her the bag and they left the store.

"Patrick, you didn't need to do that," she said taking a softer tone than she had previously.

"No, but I wanted to. Now, do we have any other shopping to do in this place or can we go get something to eat?" he asked.

Ginny thought for a moment. "No, let's go eat."

Ginny headed for Roberto's. She was in the mood for green chile and tamales. Patrick's nose scented the food the moment they stepped out of the car.

"This another one of those best kept secrets like that place we ate lunch the other day?" he asked.

"Yes," said Ginny as they walked in and found a booth. Ten minutes later, they were eating salsa and chips while the waitress took their order to the kitchen.

"Now Andrew mentioned something about a bear claw and said I should ask you to tell me the story," said Patrick.

"Oh. Yes. That fits in with why George is around too," started Ginny. "A month or so ago, Luc and Meg went camping and this bear attacked Luc," she started.

*

Patrick and Ginny got home three hours later. Ginny had told Patrick the entire story of the bear attack over lunch. Patrick was amazed that Luc and Meg had survived the attack. It also raised his opinion of the two of them. Meg showed a lot of strength for a human. They stopped at the Italian market and picked up some of the food that she and Meg had ordered earlier. Plus Ginny got a few items they had forgotten. After carrying in the packages, Patrick helped her put most if it away. George walked in as Ginny headed off to the bedroom to hang up her dress and put away her shoes.

"Did you get the message from Andrew?" George asked quietly.

"Yes, and that was a real struggle. Damn she can be stubborn," said Patrick. "We got a nice green dress, shoes and hose. She looks gorgeous in the dress."

"Good," said George.

"George, why is she so reluctant to spend money on herself?" Patrick asked. He started the coffee machine and then sat down at the kitchen table.

"For the same reason she forgets to relax. Too many responsibilities and no one to share them with. She provides for Duke's kids. Almost always has, and while we try to help, she is reluctant to take any money. It's real easy to say that Ivan needs socks or 'Solda needs money for school, and deny herself to make ends meet. Luc raised her salary, but she still operates like she's broke. It's part of the reason I moved in to help. I contribute to the household and she doesn't have a say in it," said George.

"Okay. Thanks. By the way, I met Andrew. Very nice man," said Patrick.

"Yeah. He's still in love with Ginny, but they just don't match," said George. He got the two of them a cup of coffee and sat back down.

"He gave me something to give Ginny if I wanted," said Patrick and started to pull the pouch out of his pocket.

"Wait, itty bitty roses?" George asked.

"Yes, how did you know?" asked Patrick.

"Andrew and I have been friends for a long time. He showed it to me once. She's never seen it. So if he gave it to you, he must trust you a lot," said George.

"I don't see why," said Patrick. "We just met."

"Andrew isn't always in this world if you know what I mean. After he and Ginny broke up, he went off studying and came back a bit spooky. So when he sees something we tend to believe him. Thought Meg was wonderful right off the bat too. Blessed her when she came in," said George.

Patrick just nodded. He'd had an auntie like Andrew. She'd walk in and hand you the thing you needed five seconds after you thought about it. Ginny walked in before either of them could say another word.

"Patrick, we were so busy figuring out what I could wear to the dinner, I forgot to ask if you have anything to wear," she said.

"I do. I brought my interview clothes with me because Cal said there was work here," said Patrick.

"Oh," said Ginny. "Well, there goes that plan," she thought. She figured she could at least pay him back by making sure he had a nice outfit.

"Patrick, what line of work are you in?" asked George. He was curious as to what kind of clothes would work for a job interview as well as a dinner party.

"Promise not to laugh?" Patrick asked.

Ginny and George both nodded. She realized that that was one thing neither of them had brought up in conversation.

"I"m an economist," he said a tad chagrined .

"What?" said George.

Ginny got a funny smile on her face trying not to laugh. "It could have been worse. He might have been a lawyer or a stock broker," she said.

Patrick stuck his tongue out at her. "Funny..." he said.

"Okay, humor me. What exactly does an economist do?" asked George.

"I study data about the economy and write policy for businesses. I analyze all sorts of trends from what people buy to how the job market works in an area and what needs done to fix a problem," said Patrick.

"Sounds sort of like what Meg does," said Ginny.

"From what he's saying, Meg's job is the one that provides him with the information he needs to make the decisions or forecasts," said George.

"Sounds like I need to chat with Meg," said Patrick. "Especially if she's doing data collection."

"Where do you look for jobs?" asked George.

"Banks, economic development groups, investment companies and that kind of thing," Patrick said.

George nodded. "You should be able to find a decent job," he said. The back door slammed behind him and the three little cubs poured into the kitchen.

"Wez hungreeee!" they all said at once.

The adults just laughed.

*

Meg was almost asleep when Luc came to bed. It was nearly 2am. He snuggled in close and spooned up behind her. She felt his erection thrumming against her ass.

"Meg," he whispered in her ear.

"Yes Luc," she yawned sleepily.

"Are you too sleepy for a bit of fun?" he asked. They'd been cleaning house all day and trying to get ready for the party tomorrow night. It had been a couple of days since they last had a chance for a bit of sex.

"Sorta, but I think I could be persuaded," she said.

Luc ran his hands up her back and then all the way down past her ass. He gently massaged her skin for a few minutes, each time bringing his fingers closer and closer to her pussy.

"Oh that feels good," she said. She rolled over so he could do the same to her chest and stomach. Luc obliged her and once again worked his way closer and closer to her pussy. His cock bobbed against her hip and Meg couldn't resist reaching down and stroking the silky head.

"Yyou know, that's very dis-ssstracting," he moaned against her neck.

"I hope so. You teasing me is just as frustrating," she said.

Luc smiled as his fingers reached her pussy and plunged in to stroke over the tip of her clit and down inbetween her lips. She was wet and growing wetter.

"Oh, that is so much better," she gasped.

Luc reached down and sucked her nipple into his mouth. He timed this with his fingers driving deep into her pussy. Meg arched and gasped. She also never let go of his cock as she caressed him. She stroked up and down, catching the bit of pre-cum that had formed on the tip and rubbed it across the head with her thumb.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 16



"Meeghh," Luc gasped in response.

It was Meg's turn to smile as she stroked up and down. Luc had enough. He let go of her nipple, flipped her over onto her knees and drove into her sopping pussy. He was half shifted and worked to keep control while he wanted to drive as deeply as he could into Meg. She was hot and slick and it felt so good.

Meg was surprised by the sudden change of position, but loved the way he felt inside of her. She could tell by his size and the fur tickling the back of her thighs that he was shifting. His hands gripped her hips to steady himself as he increased the rhythm of his strokes.

"Ooooohhh," she moaned as she felt her orgasm began to roll over her. She arched back against him as he drove in. It felt so good as she came and came.

Luc felt his own orgasm begin in response to Meg's orgasm. "Arrrrrrrrhhhhhhh," he growled as he orgasmed. The two of them melted to the bed. Luc reached down and pulled up the covers. His hand traced across her nipples as he let go of the sheet.

"Oh!" Meg gasped. She was still hypersensitive from the orgasm. As her body tried to settle down, Luc brought his hand around to her clit and just barely touched it. Meg gasped again and Luc couldn't resist bringing her to another orgasm.

"Llllluuc!" Meg squeaked as she came.

Luc laughed and then wrapped himself around her as he shifted. "Soft One sleep good," wolf thought. "Soft One smells sweet," he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

Meg went to roll over, but Luc's paw was across her hip, pinning her to the bed. Light was streaming in the window and she struggled to see the time. Finally, she got free enough to see the clock on the dresser. 9:05am. "Damn!!! Ginny would be here in half an hour!" she thought.

"Luc, I have to get up. We have to get up!" she said shaking the wolf wrapped around her. Even after all this time, she didn't have a good way of waking Luc up when he was in wolf form. She grabbed his ruff and shook him again. "Luc, wake up!"

Wolf opened one eye and looked at Soft One. Too noisy. He tried to put his paw across her to make her go back to sleep. Soft One grabbed his ruff again and squirmed out from under his paw. "Soft One anxious," he thought. He sniffed her as she got out of the bed. He inhaled her scent that was so good. He put his head back down on the bed while his mate went and got all wet.

*

Meg got showered and dressed in record time. She had just started the coffee when Ginny, Patrick and Ysabel walked in the front door.

"Meg, you up yet?" Ginny called.

"Just! My lovely wolf didn't want to let me up this morning," said Meg.

Ginny and the other two followed her voice to the kitchen. They set down various packages and then Patrick went back out for more.

"Is he still asleep?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah, and still in wolf form," answered Meg. "He was being very protective this morning. In fact, he's been really protective for the last week or so," she finished.

"Hmm, maybe it's just the whole thing of the dinner," suggested Ginny. She grabbed cups for coffee and was closing the cupboard when she heard Patrick calling quietly from the hall. Ginny and Meg looked out to see Patrick standing very still while Luc still in wolf form regarded him warily from a doorway.

"Ginny, Meg, someone, please come get the bags," Patrick said softly.

Meg went to his rescue and handed the bags to Ginny while she stayed beside Patrick. Luc wasn't growling, but he wasn't letting Patrick pass either. Meg put her hand out to Luc and placed it on his shoulder. That seemed to settle things a bit and Patrick slid past Meg and into the kitchen.

"Luc, go shift back and quit hassling Ginny's mate," Meg said. Looking towards the kitchen, she saw Ysabel hold out a rolled up newspaper to her. She shook her head. However, Luc looked towards Ysabel too and she shook the paper at him. Luc turned and headed back to the bedroom.

"Sorry about that Patrick. Like I said, I'm not sure what's come over him lately, but when he's in wolf form he is so protective," said Meg.

"It's okay Meg. I'm new to the area, and sort of a double threat I guess. New male and new mate to someone dear to him," Patrick said.

"Shoulda hit him with the newspaper," Ysabel said as she grabbed a cup of coffee and a pastry from the bag Patrick had brought in. That made them all laugh.

"Let's go get the rest of the stuff," said Ginny and the four of them headed out to the car. Each of them grabbed a couple of bags and headed back into the house. Meg went first, just in case Luc was still prowling. Instead, she was pleasantly surprised to see Luc sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and a pastry.

"About time you decided to join us," Meg teased.

"Sorry about that. Sorry Patrick," he added as Patrick came into the kitchen. "I'm not sure what set him off, but damn he's been possessive lately."

"Not a problem Luc. Like I told Meg, I'm new and the two wolves haven't really had a chance to meet nose to tail. Face to face is fine in this form, but you know that our other halves don't always agree with us," Patrick said.

"You got that right," said Ysabel.

Ginny laughed and nodded as she stuffed perishables in the fridge and freezer.

*

Soon the house was buzzing with activity. Patrick and Luc set up the tables and chairs in the living room. They moved furniture and cleaned up anything that had been missed the day before. Meg, Ginny and Ysabel worked on the food. The menu was protein heavy with a beef rib eye roast going in the oven to slow cook. Ginny had coated it with a mixture of horseradish, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Ysabel had filled a crock pot with a veggie mix to steam slowly. That would be turned it on around 2pm. She also set up the rice cooker but didn't add the water. That would be done closer to dinner time. Then it was time to set up the relish trays. Ginny and Meg helped with those. Pickles, fresh veggies, dips and sauces went onto trays and into small bowls. It was orderly chaos.

"Hey Meg, where do you want this flower arrangement?" asked Patrick. He was standing in the kitchen door holding flowers that had just arrived.

"I, um... I don't know," she said and walked out to decide a place. It took a few minutes, but they finally decided to clear the fireplace mantle and set it there. Meg looked at the clock as she went past. Noon. Her stomach was growling.

"Hey Luc, how about you and Patrick go grab us some lunch?" Meg asked. "I'm starving, and I'm sure the rest of you are hungry."

"Sounds good. Pizza okay?" he asked.

"Sure!" replied Meg. She headed back to the kitchen as Luc and Patrick headed out the door.

*

The women worked on salads until the pizza arrived. Stuffing the last of the cling film covered bowls in the fridge, they all sat down to eat. Soon the only thing left were three empty pizza boxes and a few crusts.

"That hit the spot," said Ginny.

"Oh yeah. I'll still have room for supper though," said Luc. The roast was beginning to smell really good.

"Is there anything else left to do?" asked Patrick.

"No, most of it is last minute stuff, so I guess you can all head home," said Meg. "The bakery will deliver the cake at 5pm. Be back by 5:30pm and we should be fine. Dinner is set for 6pm."

"Alright," said Ginny. "See you then."

The three of them left to shower, take a break and change clothes. Luc picked up the trash and when he came back in to the living room, Meg was still sitting at the table.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, guess I just ate too fast. My stomach's a little off," said Meg.

"Why don't you go lay down for a bit and I'll finish setting the tables," suggested Luc.

"Are you sure?" Meg asked. The thought of a nap sounded wonderful.

"Yes. Go rest. I know how to set a table and I'll wake you in time to shower," he said.

"Okay," said Meg. She kissed him and headed off to lay down. "Maybe it was too much coffee this morning, or just stress," she thought as she lay down on the bed. She pulled the quilt on the end of the bed up and over her. She was asleep in less than a minute.

*

Luc got the tables set, decorated the sideboard where the food platers were going, checked on the roast and started the rice and veggies. He sat down for a few minutes with a soda and tried to think if there was anything he had forgotten. Looking at the clock, he saw it was 4:15pm. It was time to wake Meg. She'd kill him if he let her sleep any longer.

"Meg. It's time to wake up," he said softly.

She blinked owlishly and stretched. "So soon?" she asked.

"It's nearly 4:30," he said.

"Oh damn. Did you put the rice on?" she asked as she got up and folded the quilt.

"Yes, and the veggies too. Go shower and I'll wait for the cake," he said.

Meg headed for the shower and got out in under ten minutes. Wrapping herself up in her towel, she used the hair dryer. Once her hair was dry, she got dressed and then worked on her makeup. Just as she finished the last bit of eyeshadow, she heard the doorbell. "That must be the cake,"she thought. She washed her hands, and slipped into her shoes. A quick glance in the mirror and she liked what she saw. Auburn hair with just a touch of curl, little black dress with just enough curve to the neck line to show off the chain Luc had given her and a pair of amber earrings that set off her eyes. She smiled and headed to the kitchen.

"Luc, your turn for the shower," she called as she walked into the kitchen.

"Okay. Cake's here," he said and pointed at the cake set on the table.

"Oh that's beautiful. Can you put it on the sideboard?" she asked.

Luc moved the cake, gave her a kiss and headed for the shower. Knowing his family, they'd be here in fifteen minutes. He was surprised to see his clothes set out for him. He smiled.

Meg grabbed an apron and started finishing up the preparations for the dinner. She set out the salads, relish trays, and various sauces and dips. The timer on the roast went off just as she set down the last bowl. Grabbing the pot holders, she eased it out of the oven and onto the counter. It had to cool for a bit before it could be sliced. She checked on the rice and veg before she opened the wines to breathe.

"Meg! We're here," called Ginny. She swept into the kitchen wearing a floaty green dress that astonished Meg.

"Ginny? Um what did you do to Ginny and who are you?" she teased.

Ginny laughed. "It's all Patrick's fault," she said. "He bought the dress,"

"And who is taking my name in vain?" asked Patrick.

Meg turned to see Patrick. "My god you clean up well," she said. "I've never seen a suit look that good. Ginny, I'm surprised you let him leave the bedroom," Meg teased.

"It was a close thing, believe me," said Ginny. She smiled at Patrick. She had been gob smacked when he'd walked out of the bedroom all dressed up. 'Solda and Bitty had whistled and even Sara had said how 'pwitty' he was.

"Now, what's left to get ready?" asked Patrick.

"Can you carve the roast?" asked Meg.

"I certainly can," he said and took the carving knife she held out.

"Why don't you check on Luc and then greet your guests while we finish up," said Ysabel.

"Okay," said Meg and she handed Ginny her apron and went to find Luc. He was just fighting his tie when she walked into the bedroom. He was growling.

"Here, let me help," she said. In a few seconds, she had his tie in place and added the small wolf's head tie pin to hold it in place.

"Thanks. I hate these things," he said gesturing to the tie. He picked up his suit jacket and slipped it on. "How do I look?" he asked.

"Like a wolf is suit clothing," Meg teased.

"Funny, very funny. Let's go answer the door," he said as the bell rang again.

*

Twenty minutes later, Luc's house was full of family and friends. Angie arrived with a case of nerves, but Meg introduced her to George, who stepped in as friendly native guide. Sandy, Kevin, Marie, Cal and Peter all arrived at once. Jeff came with his wife, who Meg recognized as one of the nurses who worked at the clinic. Others she recognized from the night Duke went nuts. Soon, there was barely room to move. Andrew and the girl from the shop were the last to arrive. Ginny nipped out of the kitchen and got Meg's attention.

"We're ready in here, have Luc call everyone to the table," Ginny said.

Meg nodded and after a bit of a wiggle through the crowd, delivered the message to Luc.

"Can I have everyone's attention? I have it on good authority that dinner is ready," he said.

Everyone quieted down and moved to the tables. Ginny, Ysabel and Patrick brought the last of the food out and set it on the sideboard.

"Luc and Meg get to go first. After that, it doesn't matter," said Ginny. "However, anyone pushing or shoving will be smacked with a rolled up newspaper!"

Everyone laughed. However, they knew Ginny far too well to piss her off. In a few minutes, everyone was seated at the table with plates of food. Luc and Sandy were filling people's glasses with wine or handing out beer per request. When everyone had a glass of something, Sandy stood up.

"As the oldest member of the family, it is perhaps my duty to say a few words," he started. Laughter cascaded up and down the table along with a few silly remarks. "In all honesty, we never thought that this day would come. Luc settled down, finally owning up to his responsibilities, and making an honest woman of Meg here," he continued. "However, the important part is that we are family. We've had our ups and downs lately. Luc scared the shit out of us all, not only by dating, but by trying to shred a bear while still driving." He paused for the laughter to settle down. "Now before the food gets too cold and Ginny whips out that rolled up newspaper she fondles constantly, I'd like to toast Luc and Meg and their newly minted relationship," Sandy finished saying as he raised his glass.

"To Luc and Meg," rang around the room.

"Enjoy the feast," said Ginny as Sandy sat down.

Dinner conversations flew across the table. Laughter with Luc at the butt of the jokes was the common topic, and at one point, the sheep that the cubs had given Luc was brought out as a centerpiece. Soon there was very little food left and Ginny and Ysabel started to clear the table of the main dishes in order to serve dessert. Not only was there the lovely cake, but coffee, sweet liquors and champagne. Patrick helped open the bottles and when everyone had a glass, they stood and toasted the couple again.

Luc smiled and took a sip of his champagne and then stood to help cut the cake. Meg in her warped way had insisted that the top of the cake have a howling wolf. After cutting a slice, each fed the other a piece and managed not to smear half of it across their faces.

"Ah Luc, you're suppose to cover her in frosting and then lick it off," teased Kevin.

"No! She's suppose to drop a piece down his..." started Peter who got thumped by Ginny who was handing out cake.

"Oh you bunch are just sad that we actually cooked the roast," teased Meg. Laughter broke out across the room. She was relaxed for the first time all evening and feeling very good. The party was going so well.

"Now, although it isn't tradition, I have a present for the couple," said Ginny. She retrieved the box that Patrick had picked up from Andrew. She set the box down in front of Meg, for her to open it.

Meg looked from Ginny to Luc. Luc shrugged his shoulders and gestured for Meg to open it. Meg undid the ribbon, tore the tape tab and opened the box. Nestled in tissue paper was a thin silver rod. Puzzled, she lifted it out and as she did so, Meg realized it was the top bar of a scroll. Hanging from the bar was a piece of silk with Luc and Meg's name on it and today's date. From the bottom hung another bar covered with stylized wolf prints and and foot prints giving the impression that they were walking side by side. Meg held it up for everyone to see and tried very hard to hold back the tears she felt forming.

"Oh, Ginny. It's so..." Meg was lost for words and hugged Ginny. Meg then turned to Andrew and blew him a kiss. "Thank you too. It's beautiful," she said.

George then stood up. "The pups sent a present. They knew they couldn't come, but deputized me to bring it to you," he said. He handed over a bag colored by the little ones with wolves and a tent on the side.

Luc took the bag and opened it up. First there was a bag of peanut butter cookies shaped like dog bones. Then there was a bag of Hershey's Kisses with a label that read 'For Aunty Meg'. That brought a giggle from the room. Last but not least was a rolled up newspaper tied with gold ribbon. Everyone laughed when they saw that. "Thank the pups for me George," said Luc amidst the laughter. George nodded.

With that, everyone settled down to cake and drinks. Ysabel and George started clearing the table of dirty items and Ginny worked on the dishes. Patrick brought in the last tray of stuff and motioned for Ysabel and George to leave him alone with Ginny for a moment.

"Ginny, can I give you a hand?" he asked pointing to the dishes.

"Well, you can dry them in a minute," she said.

"Okay, I'll do that. Plus, I wanted to ask one other thing," he said standing just behind her.

"What?" she asked trying to blow a curl of hair out of her eyes.

Patrick pulled the pouch out of his pocket, and removed the chain. He stepped forward and as he brought the chain down in front of her eyes, he asked "Would you be my mate?"

Ginny dropped the plate she had in her hand and just stared. Before Patrick could question the silence, she whipped around and hugged him soppy soapy hands and all.

"I take it that is a yes?" he asked as he wrapped his hands around her.

"YES!" she hollered loud enough for most of the dinner part to hear and come rushing into the kitchen to see what was happening. They arrived in time to see a rather crumpled Patrick clasp the delicate chain around Ginny's neck.

"You realize that doing this today doesn't get you out of holding your own party," teased Meg.

"Oh shush!" said Ginny smiling through the tears of joy. Everyone laughed. The bunch moved back out into the main area and another round of toasts went up for Ginny and Patrick.

"Gee, So much going on, that I don't think I've spoken publicly like this since I was mated," teased Sandy. "Congratulations Patrick and Ginny. And heaven help you when she gets grumpy, because we all know she's the boss."

Patrick stood up with his arm wrapped around Ginny. "Thank you for the welcome to the family, the pack. I must admit that it has been a whirlwind romance. I never thought I'd find another mate. However, I must thank the instigators of this little plot, Cal, Kevin, Peter and Luc. Oh, and the bear that precipitated the crisis in the first place. For without that, I never would have visited my cousin, nor found a mate that is almost the perfect match," he finished.

"Hey there!" started Ginny as if to start to disagree with his assessment.

"I'd like to point out before my dear sweet mate here chimes in on our joy, that according to George, I have managed to do what none of the rest of you have ever accomplished. I rendered her speechless, and got her to buy a new dress," he said with a smile.

Ginny blushed as the room broke out in laughter. She smiled, made a curtsy and then turned to Patrick and stuck out her tongue. More laughter erupted. Luc topped off everyone's glass and another round of toasts went up before people settled back to chatting and snacking on cake, cookies and other treats.

"Where did you find the time to get this?" Ginny asked Patrick as she sat in his lap.

"That day you stormed off to find a dress. Andrew and I had a lovely chat and I got this," he said leaving out most of the details.

"You know we were lovers," she said quietly.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 16



"Yes, and he still loves you. I think he always will. However, he also understands that he is not the one for you," Patrick said.

Ginny nodded. "I love him too, but not as a mate. This is his work isn't it?"

"Yes. He made it for you," Patrick said as he looked around for Andrew. "Perhaps you should thank him personally."

"Yes," said Ginny as she got up. She walked over to Andrew and tapped his elbow to get his attention.

"Hello Ginny. Congratulations," he said with a smile in his eyes.

"I wanted to thank you for the chain, and for... for being you," she said taking his hands and pulling him down for a kiss.

"You're welcome Ginny. How could I do any less? You will always be my first love and that is a place no one else can take," he said.

Ginny dropped his hands and hugged him. "Love you too," she said softly.

*

Across the room, Jeff and his mate Martha were congratulating Luc and Meg. Martha hugged Luc and then Meg. She looked at Meg puzzled. "Meg, can we chat for a moment privately" she asked.

"Of course," said Meg curiously. They moved down the hall away from the main party.

"Meg, how are you feeling?" Martha asked.

"Well, a little drunk, tired, but much better than I have been, why?" Meg asked.

"You haven't been feeling well?" asked Martha.

"No, as I said, stressed, very tired and the last week or so my stomach has been upset, why?" asked Meg.

"Well, I'm not absolutely certain, but if my nose is right," was as far as Martha got before Meg's mouth dropped open.

"No..." Meg started. She was thinking furiously about when her last cycle had been. "Oh gods! I must be at least two months gone," she said at last. She leaned against the wall.

"It happens to the best of us. We get so wrapped up in things we don't even notice," said Martha. "Come by tomorrow and I'll run a test, but my nose says you're pregnant."

"You know, that would explain why coffee keeps turning my stomach. Do I dare tell Luc, or should I wait until after I come in?" Meg asked.

"Let him know. He'll wonder why you're coming down to see me anyway," said Martha. "Oh, here he comes. Wait till after the party," she said and turned to meet Luc and Jeff.

"So, what are you two plotting?" asked Jeff.

"Take over of the world, dog collars for Luc, oh, and a big fancy surprise party full of lace, feathers and toys for Ginny," said Meg with a wicked smile.

Both men laughed and the four of them walked back to the main room.

*

An hour later, the only people still there were Patrick and Ginny. Meg was making coffee and Ginny was ordering the two men around to finish the final clean up. Meg stood beside Ginny as she watched the guys replace the furniture.

"May I see your chain?" Meg asked Ginny.

"Of course," she said and turned so that Meg could get a look.

"That's beautiful. George was telling me about it when we were putting the food away. I didn't know that you and Andrew had been lovers," Meg said.

"It was fun but it didn't work. Besides, that old joke about everyone is the same height in bed?" Ginny said.

"Yes," said Meg.

"Wrong. I'd cuddle up to Andrew and my knees just about came to his waist," Ginny giggled. That made Meg laugh too.

"Are you happy?" Meg asked.

"Yes," said Ginny. "Never thought I'd be this happy."

"Neither did I," Meg said. The two women hugged and finished watching the men sort out the room.

After coffee, Patrick and Ginny headed home. Luc closed the door and turned off the porch light. He wrapped his arms around Meg and gave her a hug.

"This went well," he said as they headed for their bedroom.

"Yes, it did. I had my doubts, but it all worked out," she said.

"I'm also happier than hell that Patrick asked Ginny to be his mate," said Luc as he flopped on the bed. He kicked off his shoes.

"Talk about a surprise," said Meg.

"Oh yeah. This was an evening of surprises. Ginny dressed up, the food, your cake topper, Sandy's jokes and then Patrick's surprise," he said.

"Don't forget the presents, Ginny's chain and one more," she said crawling on the bed next to Luc.

"One more what?" asked Luc.

"One more surprise," she said.

"What?" Luc asked propping himself up on his elbows to be eye to eye with Meg.

"Unless I totally messed up, we are going to be parents in about seven months," she said softly.

Luc was stunned. His mouth opened, closed and then he was up off the bed pulling Meg with him in a tight hug.

"Luc, I need to breathe," Meg gasped.

"Oh! Sorry Meg," he said letting her down slowly. "I just..." he couldn't finish, but instead took her in his arms and held her.

"I have an idea," said Meg.

"Yes," he said.

"Let's get out of the party clothes and snuggle up in bed," said Meg.

Luc nodded, and when Meg stood up to undress, he took over. She smiled as he undid the zipper and slid her dress off. Standing there in her stockings and undies she couldn't help but tease him with a cheesecake style pose.

Luc laughed. He tossed her dress on the chair and went to finish undressing her when Meg's hands started on his shirt buttons. When they were all undone, she pulled his shirt down until it caught on his elbows. Then she started on his belt and trousers.

"Hey, what about the shirt?" he asked. "I can't move my arms very well."

"I know," she said with a smile as she unbuckled his belt and unzipped his trousers. Before he could do anything else, she slipped her hands in and catching everything, pulled his clothing to the floor.

"Um, I thought we were going to snuggle," he said, his voice raspy as she stroked his cock and cupped his balls.

"Yes, but you started undressing me and I just couldn't resist," she said. Meg knelt and took his cock in her mouth. Luc gasped. Meg didn't manage more than a lick or two more before Luc stripped off his shirt and took her by the shoulders.

"Lllet's get in bed," he said trying to speak as she played her tongue over his cock.

"Okay," Meg said crawling up on the bed. She lay back and Luc gently peeled her thigh high stockings off of her legs. Then he kissed his way across her breasts. With his teeth, he pulled the straps of her bra down and then grabbed the center front of the bra. He growled a little and shook his head until she sat up. He unhooked her bra and then kissed her breasts.

Meg gasped as he sucked on her nipples. "Sensitive!" she thought. Luc smiled and after kissing her nipples he worked his way down to her undies. Grabbing the edge of the lace in his teeth, he tugged them down. Once past her knees, he pulled them off and tossed them on the floor. Then he went back to kissing his way between her legs. She smelled good. Tasted good. His tongue played across her clit and his fingertips caressed her lips and then moved slowly, gently into her pussy.

"Luc, don't be such a tease," she moaned.

Luc smiled. He liked this game. Tongue, fingers and just a little shift to reach just the right spot. Meg couldn't reach him to touch either. She was all his. His fingers hit that g-spot deep inside and she arched off the bed. Luc's tongue lapped circles around her clit until she gasped and came hard.

"Ohhhhhhh!" she shuddered and melted to the bed.

Luc moved up between her legs and went to kiss her when Meg took his cock in her hand and pulled him towards her. Luc smiled and knelt. Pulling her up off of the bed, he lifted her until she could settle on his cock. He lowered her slowly until the two of them were one. Meg wrapped her legs around him and started rocking back and forth. Luc supported her ass with his hands and held her tight against him. They rocked back and forth for a few minutes until he could feel his orgasm building. He tried to keep the slower pace, but in the end he grabbed her by the hips and bounced her up and down until their mutual orgasm froze them in place.

Meg collapsed against his neck, panting in emotional release. "Oh. My. God," she gasped as ripples of of pleasure moved through her.

Luc lifted Meg clear and the two of them crawled under the covers. "You know, I was afraid at first of having sex, but then I realized I was being silly," he said.

"It's alright. I figured if last night's romp didn't disrupt things, nothing would," she said with a sleepy smile.

"Oh yeah," Luc said. "G'night Megh," he whispered as he felt himself shift.

"Night, Luc. I love you," replied Meg.

"Ruve yhu tu," said Luc, his jaw shifting faster than he could speak. In a moment, he'd fully shifted and curled around Meg. "Pups!" thought the wolf. He buried his nose next to her stomach and bumped it slightly. Then he went to sleep.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 17



I would like to apologize for the long delay since the last installment. Life attacked in a big way and I had one hell of a case of writer's block on this piece. I seriously considered ending the story. Every time I pulled it up, I just sat there. I wrote other things, some very good. However, I just couldn't move forward. Then one afternoon, I had a scrap of story hit my brain. So I started writing. I realized that it had been nearly a month. Gads!!!

About the same time I started to write again, little voices began to drop queries in my email wondering if I had somehow vanished. No, I had not. I appreciate those voices from the wilderness. Special thanks to GiftySands for supplying a lovely line which I borrowed. One of my character issues had been Angie, and the line was perfect.

So, here is the next chapter. I've already started on the next one as the creative juices are flowing. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter. My partner is smiling again too as he has been enjoying this series even though I snitch bits of his life to add a slice of reality.

*

Luc headed off to work alone on Monday. Meg was headed in to see Jeff and get conformation on her pregnancy. He was humming away as he parked his car. He also hoped he could keep quiet until Meg arrived. Angie was waiting at the door for him. He unlocked it quickly and let them inside.

"Remind me to get you a key," he said to Angie.

"Okay. Where's Meg this morning?" she asked.

"She had an appointment first thing and will be in around 10am," said Luc.

"Alright. My questions can wait until then," she said.

"Is it anything I could answer?" Luc asked.

"Um, well..." Angie started and then went all shy.

"Oh, never mind, I'll let Meg answer those kinds of questions. Do you have any about the office," he asked smiling and wondering what Angie wanted to ask.

"No, I think I have it all in hand," she said. "Plus Ginny said she'd be in today to show me a few things."

"Okay. I'll be in my office," said Luc and headed down the hall. He got started on the list of things from Friday which included a few phone calls.

*

"Morning Angie," said Kevin as he came in the door.

"Hello Kevin," she replied. "You have two appointments scheduled. I put the notes on the computer for you. "Thanks. I could get use to this," he said and went to his office.

Cal and Peter walked in just as Kevin headed down the hall. They waved to Angie and headed back to the loading dock. Angie waved and then started working to make the space her own. She set the stuff that she knew was Ginny's on her desk and started to arrange things. The two women had chatted briefly about this at the dinner party. Between answering the phone, and moving things, time passed faster than Angie expected. The door opened and when she looked up, Ginny and Patrick entered the office.

"Morning Angie," said Ginny and looked over at the reception area Angie was setting up. "Hey, this will do."

"I put your vase over on your desk," said Angie with a smile.

"Vase?" asked Ginny. She looked to where Angie pointed and then started to giggle. "Oh god. Those guys! Don't know whether to kiss them or kill them," she said.

"Just thank them. You can kiss me," teased Patrick. "Besides, I like beef jerky."

That made Ginny and Angie laugh. Patrick walked down to talk to Luc while the two women figured things out. The last thing he wanted to do was get in their way. He walked into Luc's office and found him talking on the phone. He waved Patrick towards a chair.

"Yes, I understand. We'll be out as soon as possible. No, no extra charge, but this time you need to make sure the password stays in secure hands. No, you can't trust certain individuals. Yes. Goodbye," Luc said into the phone.

"Oh boy, that sounds like a real winner of a client," said Patrick.

"Special case. Business exec gave his piece of ass his password and now has an entire business system from the server on down with a virus and from the sounds of it, a root kit," said Luc. "Oh, and he tried to blame us."

"Some people shouldn't be allowed anything more than pencils and paper," said Patrick. That made both men laugh.

*

Meg was waiting in the exam room. She hated physicals. The room is always too cold to be sitting in a paper gown. She grabbed her sweater and put it over her shoulders. The door opened and Jeff walked in. He saw her wrapped in her sweater and frowned.

"It is cold in here isn't it," he said.

"Yes, exam rooms are always cold," said Meg.

"Not all of them. Mine should be warm. Cold shifters shift. Stay here a second, and I'll be right back," he said. He disappeared out of the door and a second later Meg heard the heat kick on.

"That should be better. Monday morning hick-up. No one turned the heat on. Sorry about that," he said. "Now if you'll lay back, I'll check you out."

Meg laid back and put her feet in the stirrups. She stared up at the ceiling and started to giggle. On the ceiling were pin-ups of good looking men and one in the same position she was with a look of horror on his face.

"So, you like the pictures?" Jeff asked as he checked her out.

"Yeah, that's pretty good. Much better than counting holes in the acoustic tile. So Doc, am I pregnant?" she asked.

"Yes and we have one last test to do," he said. With that, he stood up and went over to another machine. He grabbed a paddle and a bottle of gel.

"What is that?" Meg asked.

"Ultrasound," said Jeff.

"Don't I have to have a full bladder or something?" she asked.

"Normally, but I'm not looking for sex or details. I'm looking for heartbeats," said Jeff as he lifted her gown, smeared her stomach with gel and put the paddle on top of the gel.

"Heartbeats? Not heartbeat?" said Meg.

"Your hormone levels are a bit high for a single baby. So, I'm looking for heartbeats," Jeff said.

"Twins? You think I'm pregnant with twins?" said Meg a bit panicky.

"Settle down, lots of women have twins," he said. "Hold still." He moved the paddle to the left a little. "Yes, there it is!" Jeff said with a smile. He pointed at the black and white image and two flutters on the screen. "Two heartbeats Meg. Congratulations."

"Oh boy... puppies," she said with a bit of sarcasm.

Jeff just smiled. "Could be worse. Could be quads or more like a real canine," he teased.

Meg blew raspberries at him as he wiped the gel off of her stomach. "Luc will be over the moon literally for the next week," she sighed.

"Yes, and now we know why he's been so protective of you too. His wolf probably knew and just didn't communicate it," said Jeff.

"Oh shit, I didn't think of that," said Meg. "Can I get dressed?"

"Yes. Martha will have some prescriptions for you for vitamins and such," he said.

"Huh? Won't the ones I take now be okay?" asked Meg.

"Maybe. Shifters tend to need more and pregnancy really drains a woman. I like to err on the side of caution. Martha will have some other information for you too," said Jeff.

"Okay," said Meg as she got dressed. "Oh boy will this rock Luc's world." she thought. Once she was dressed, she went out and got the information and prescriptions from Martha.

*

Meg drove up to the office and saw Patrick's Subaru in the parking lot. "Good, I can tell most of them all at once," she thought. She grabbed her briefcase and headed into the office.

"Hello Angie," she said as she got into the office. "Hi Ginny, where's the guys?" Meg asked.

"Down in Luc's office. They ran away from the estrogen out here," said Ginny.

"Okay, let's join them. You too Angie," said Meg with a wicked smile on her face.

"What are you up to?" asked Angie.

"You'll just have to wait a minute," said Meg as they headed to Luc's office. She walked in and saw that Luc was talking on the phone. What she didn't know is that he'd been on the phone for the last twenty minutes. Every time he hung up, it rang again. Patrick was sitting back munching on a piece of jerky and trying not to laugh.

Luc looked up, saw Meg and smiled. "Yes ma'am. Our service does include wiring the computer to your modem. No, no problem. We will be there sometime this afternoon, Glad to be of help," he said and hung up the phone. "If that rings one more time, I think I'll throw it out the window," he said.

Meg laughed. "Well then, my news should make your day," she said nonchalantly.

"And what news is that?" Luc asked. "Oh please let it be that she's pregnant!" he thought.

"Oh, I'm having puppies," she said and sat down on the edge of Luc's desk.

Everyone in the office just stood there. Luc finally found his voice. He was expecting her to say that she was pregnant, but her use of the phrase 'puppies' had him flustered. "Puppies? As in plural?" Luc asked.

Meg just nodded. "Twins," she said softly.

Luc came around the desk and swung Meg into his arms. He tilted his head back and howled. The sound of it echoed through the office. Patrick joined in and the noise brought Kevin, Cal and Peter running.

"What the hell?" asked Peter.

"We're having puppies!" shouted Luc.

An hour later, seated around a table they were chatting and enjoying coffee. Meg was eating a piece of lemon meringue pie and listening to Ginny and Patrick's travel plans.

"George has volunteered to stay with the kids and Ysabel is going to help. When we get back, Patrick has a couple of job interviews lined up," said Ginny.

"You gonna be able to do all that in two weeks?" asked Cal. He was still laughing at the idea of Ginny being a relative. Granted, his joke about 'taming the shrew' earned him a smack up side the head and the right to pay her bill.

"I think so. If nothing else, we get a chance to be alone. Something I don't think Ginny's done in years," said Patrick.

"I have too!" said Ginny. "I've showered alone for as long as I can remember," she protested.

That made everyone laugh.

"By the time we get back, George has promised to fix up the house too. Paint, rearranging a few things and make it better for us to live there with the kids. With 'Solda and Bitty almost grown, they don't need to share rooms with the likes of Sara or Ivan," said Ginny.

"And we get to turn the guest room into a nursery," said Luc. He was still utterly gob smacked by the idea of twins.

"First though, we've got some work to do. Otherwise, we will all be in the doghouse," said Angie. She'd been keeping an eye on the time and knew that Luc and Kevin had thirty minutes before appointments.

"Geeze, and I thought Ginny was a stickler for keeping on time," joked Kevin.

"And now you know why we hired Angie," said Meg with a smile. "No rest for the wicked."

Laughter broke out again. Cal grabbed the bill and paid everyone's tab.

*

Ginny and Patrick had their bags packed and sitting by the door. She was taking a last look around and checking the list she'd written on the dry write board. She added a few things and then went to find George. He was out back with Sara, Ivan and Joe.

"Hey George," she called from the back door.

"Yes Ginny. Are you ready to head out?" asked George.

"Just about. Patrick is making a few last minute calls and then we are out the door," she said.

"Good. I think you going on holiday is a great idea. Now when you get back, if we can just get Luc and Meg to take a break," he said.

"Oh, she'll take a break soon enough," said Ginny.

"Yeah, I am so happy to hear that she's pregnant, and with twins," he said with a huge smile playing over his face.

"Luc was a riot. Talk about moonstruck," added Ginny. "Here is the list of stuff that we discussed. Things in red have to be done. Things in blue would be nice," Ginny said.

George looked at the list. "I'll get as much done as I can. You just go have fun," he said.

"I plan to," Ginny said with a smile.

*

Twenty minutes later, Ginny and Patrick were headed out of town to Spoon River, a little resort area up in the mountains. Luc had suggested it. He and Meg had stopped there on the way back from time to time after a drive in the mountains.

"So, tell me about this bed and breakfast Luc suggested," said Patrick.

"It's called Spoon River B&B, but it is the restaurant across the street that Luc said we'd like. It's called the Dog Bar," said Ginny.

"What?" asked Patrick.

"You heard me. From what they said, people actually bring their dogs with them. Sort of a local color place with good beer and great pizza," she said.

"Sounds good. I'm looking forward to some time up in the mountains away from people. This resort may just be the right thing," said Patrick.

"I hope so. You've made me realize just how much I need to get away and relax," said Ginny. "Oh gods do I need to get away!" she thought.

Patrick nodded as the road demanded his attention. It wound up into the mountains and over a gentle pass followed by another pass, full of switchbacks and truck runoffs. The view was getting better and better. Ginny would occasionally point out a hawk or deer. Otherwise the only sounds were the engine of Patrick's Subaru gearing to climb the road. Time as a vital concept ceased.

"I think that's our turn," said Ginny after a long bit of silence. She pointed to a small sign.

"I see it," said Patrick as he hit the blinkers and then turned. "Just twelve miles to go."

Ginny smiled. It had been nice to just sit quietly, basking in the scenery. She watched as the cabins began to play peek-a-boo between the trees. Then rustic buildings reminiscent of a western film set mixed with modern signs crowded an intersection.

"Here's our turn," said Ginny pointing to the left. "The B&B is down on the left according to Luc."

Patrick hit the turn signal and after the semi truck passed, he pulled onto the dirt road. Forty yards down on the left was the Spoon River B&B. He pulled into a spot under a ponderosa pine and turned off the engine. "Shall we?" he asked.

Ginny got out of the Subaru and stretched. The smell of pines, dirt and clean mountain air hit her nose. She inhaled deeply. Her scalp itched with the urge to shift right that moment and run up into the hills. She turned to see Patrick scenting the air as well. She smiled at him.

"You wouldn't think the air could smell so good would you," she said.

"Yes, but it has been way too long since I was in the woods. Let's get checked in and then see the sights," he teased. The stretch of road inhabited by the town probably took up a whole two city blocks.

Ginny laughed. "Sights? Wow... Three restaurants, two tourist shops, a hotel and the Dog Bar. Yeah, heavy civilization up here," she joked. They grabbed their suitcases and headed inside. The B&B was a huge multi-story log cabin. The lobby looked like a cross between Little House in the Big Woods and a chintz snowstorm. Behind the desk was a tiny woman with a sunburned face and a shirt that complimented the fabrics.

"Howdy folks, What can I do for you?" she asked. "My name's Sam. Short for Samantha, but no one calls me that up here. Not unless they want punched," she said with a smile.

Patrick and Ginny smiled at the feisty old woman. "Dorrit, reservation for two?" Patrick said wondering where that printout with the reservations had gotten to. Checking his pockets, he found it folded up. "Here's our reservation."

The woman took it and looked it over. "Ah yes. Got a call about an hour ago. Do ya know a man named George?" she asked.

Ginny and Patrick nodded.

"Well, he went and upgraded your room. You have a real nice place all to yourselves now. Not exactly the bridal suite, but just as spacious. He said not to fuss, otherwise he'd send Sara up to you," she said with a smile. "Follow me." She grabbed a set of keys and headed off down a hall. Her cowboy boots clumped across the floor, and then up a flight of steps.

Sam moved much faster than Ginny expected for someone her age. "Damn short and damn fast!" she thought.

At the end of the hall, Sam opened a door and ushered them into the room. It was dominated by a huge four poster bed on one side and a fireplace on the other. A dresser, a few chairs and an armoire completed the room. One door lead off to a balcony and another was probably a bathroom or closet.

"Think this'll do ya?" Sam asked.

"This is fine," said Patrick.

"This is wonderful," said Ginny putting down her suitcase.

"Well, if you need me, I'm downstairs 'till nine," Sam said. "After that, I'm in my room."

"All right. Thank you Sam," said Ginny. She closed the door after Sam left and walked around the room. The balcony looked out onto the main road on one side and met the hill on the other. The ground was only about a foot lower than the decking planks. The other door lead to a bathroom done up in moose and coyote motifs. The bathtub was an old clawfoot that must have been six feet long.

"Patrick, come see this tub," said Ginny.

"Wow," he said looking in over her shoulder. "Think we can fit it in our luggage and take it home?" he teased.

"Well, maybe. Depends on how well it folds," she teased back. "Better than that though is the fact that we can leave the room via the balcony."

"I saw that. I was worried about how we were going to exit unseen," he said.

Ginny laughed. "You mean you didn't want to walk out in the woods and get naked, shift and then hope like hell you remembered where we left our clothes?" she teased.

"Right. I've never done that, Ever! And don't you believe a word about any such incident that my lying cousin Cal may have told you about," Patrick said laughing.

"I think we all do it, just most of us pretend that it never happened," she said as she dropped her clothes on the floor.

"And what do you plan to do all 'nekkid' like that for at least an hour until our B&B mom goes to her room?" Patrick asked smiling at Ginny.

"I plan to take a long hot bath," she said and headed for the bathroom. She turned on the taps and started filling the tub. She turned to get her cosmetic bag from her suitcase to find Patrick standing in the doorway naked and 'happy' to see her.   "Why Patrick, what a big um.. 'nose' you have," she giggled.

"All the better to tease you with," he countered. "Is that bathtub filled yet?"

"No, give it a few minutes. It is really deep," she answered as she scooted past him. She found her bag and headed back to the bathroom to find Patrick stretched out in the tub. She smiled.

"Hey, can I play with you boat mister?" she asked.

"Any time you want. Just climb aboard," he replied.

Ginny crawled into the deep tub. She sighed as she relaxed in the deep water. "Oh this feels good," she said.

"I agree," Patrick said as he turned off the water which had begun to lap the overflow drain. They sat facing each other just letting the heat of the water soak into them. Ginny's eyes started to close and Patrick reached for one of her feet.

"No going to sleep on me!" he said. "We've got mountains to run and deer to hunt tonight."

"Stop! You're making my mouth water," said Ginny as she rubbed her eyes.

"Then don't get sleepy on me," he countered.

Ginny leaned forward and sat on Patrick's lap, adjusting things as she went until he was nested inside her. "Then let's have a little fun before we go," she said rocking back and forth gently in the water. The wave motion felt good against her skin and his cock was rubbing all the right spots.

"I like this idea," he said and moved so he could rock with her. It didn't take long before he felt himself begin to hit that sweet spike of pleasure. He grabbed her hips and pulled her tightly to him.

Ginny loved the way he made her feel and clenched her muscles around him as she rocked back and forth. It had been a long day and she could hold back no longer. "Ohhh," she gasped as her orgasm rocked her. Her fingers grasped his shoulders. Patrick arched up in the water as he orgasmed deep within Ginny. The two of them collapsed back into the tub and floated for a few minutes.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 17



"That was worth the mess we are going to have to clean up," gasped Ginny.

"Huh?" asked Patrick.

"We slopped water everywhere," she said with a giggle.

"Oh," said Patrick trying to sit up enough to look over the edge of the tub. He finally sat up enough as Ginny moved off of him. The rug was soaked and pools of water were everywhere. "Damn, we came so hard we soaked the bathroom," he said with a giggle.

They both laughed.

*

A little while later, two large wolves leapt the balcony and ran into the woods. They disappeared quickly in the shadows and snowbanks. Sam watched from her apartment window. She smiled and closed the curtain. "Shifters," she thought as a smile played over her face. "Leastwise, these two ain't actin' arrogant. Some just think people won't know what they are. Shit!" Sam picked up her list of chores for the morning and added extra bacon, sausages and eggs to the breakfast menu. She knew those two would be hungry even if they did catch a bit of wild game during the night. Turning off the lights, she headed off to bed.

*

Luc and Meg had gone out for dinner after seeing Angie out the door. It had been a busy day and neither of them had felt like cooking. Luc still had that silly grin on his face as they walked into the house. He stopped and sniffed the air.

"Meg, hold on a second," he said and walked into the living room without turning on the lights. He had smelled something strange when he walked in the door and didn't want to risk Meg to any kind of an attack. "Roses?" he thought as he walked farther into the living room. Flipping on the light, he looked over to the dining room table to see it covered with flowers, cards and even a few gifts. His laugh brought Meg in from the front porch.

"Oh my god! How did they get in?" asked Meg.

"George probably, considering that the biggest bunch of flowers is from him," Luc said as they looked over the cards and flowers.

"I can't believe the affection and just everything," said Meg. She opened a small box and inside was a picture frame edged with puppies in silver. Love Andrew said the card.

"I told you that you were loved," he said kissing her on the forehead. "Plus, they never thought I'd ever find a mate or have pups."

"Well, there is that," she said. "How about we finish opening these cards and then head to bed. I don't know about you, but I'm tired."

"Sure Meg," said Luc. "I could go for a long snuggle with you."

"Okay, and before you get all squicky on me, I already asked Jeff about making love. His answer was 'when it starts hurting, stop'. So don't try going all noble on me, because to be honest I've never been so horny in my life," she finished with a smile.

Luc hugged her and then picked her up. He headed for the bedroom.

"What about the cards?" asked Meg.

"In the morning," he said. Luc put her on the bed, and turned off the overhead light. He left the small lamp on the nightstand on and after undressing himself began to undress Meg. When he had her naked, he started kissing her. First on the lips and then down her neck to her collarbone. He nibbled across it and then down to her breasts. Meg was melting under his kisses.

Luc moved down her breasts to her belly. Just under her belly button, he sniffed deeply and then kissed her from hip to hip. Slowly, he moved down to her pubic mound and kissed until he could smell her scent.

"Too tired?" he asked.

"Not now," she replied and opened her legs for him to lick and caress her pussy.

Luc's tongue ran up and down her lips which opened up for him. His tongue flicked her clit, and as she rose to meet his tongue, his fingers slipped into her pussy. She was wet. Wet enough that her juices dripped down her ass. He licked and sucked until Meg moaned. He knew she was close to an orgasm and slowed enough to bring her hips up to meet his cock. Luc entered her slowly and gently. He knew in his head that they'd played rough and hard just the day before, but in the back of his mind was the knowledge that she held their pups in her womb. Cradling her ass in his hands, he moved in and out of her.

"God Luc, I'm not made of spun glass," she groaned as the orgasm that had been building hung just out of reach. "Please," she asked as she grabbed his forearms.

Luc smiled and increased his rhythm. He didn't hold back, but didn't allow himself to shift much either. He could feel her muscles tightening around his cock and his own orgasm wasn't far off. He moved slightly, and with one hand on her ass and another on her arm, he moved them until Meg was sitting across his lap as he knelt in the bed. Meg wrapped her legs around him. The change in position rubbed all the right spots and within moments, Meg felt the orgasm wrap around her.

"Ohgods!" she gasped as Luc held her hips tight to him. Pleasure burned through her brain and before it stopped, Luc came hard. His hands partially shifted and she felt the prick of claws across her hips as he buried himself deep inside.

"Arrrr," he growled and then wrapped his arms tight around Meg. He held her close as the aftershocks rocked through them. He went to kiss her and realized his jaw had shifted just a bit too much. "Rrove youh soh muhhtch," he said softly in her ear.

"I love you too," Meg said kissing him.

Luc lifted her off of his lap and then the two of them snuggled into bed. He started to pull the sheets up over them and then shook. He shifted and as the bed groaned, the wolf wrapped himself around his mate. "Mine," he thought as he drifted off to sleep. "Soft One safe, pups safe."

*

The two wolves ran across the clearing chasing the rabbit. The smaller wolf darted left and cut off the rabbit's escape. The larger one dashed around the sagebrush and with a snap of his jaws, caught the rabbit and snapped it's neck. He ripped and shredded the rabbit as his mate padded up to where he had collapsed. He reached into the carcass and flipped the innards at her. She daintily ate the heart and liver. In a few minutes, all that was left of the rabbit were a few bones and scraps of fur.

The wolves loped down the hill towards the noise and smell of the buildings. Even this late at night, there were things moving in and around the buildings. He stopped and raised his head. Sniffing the air, he smelled rotten berries and meat. Growling softly, he turned towards his mate. She stopped and sniffed the air and then lowered herself to the ground in a crouch.

Out of the scrub oak came a bear. It was thin and it's coat was ragged. Hibernation had ended too soon for this bear. He was on the prowl for a mid-winter snack. He too sniffed the air. Scenting the wolves, he headed back for the garbage bins that had tickled his nose earlier.

Running down a dry creek bed, the wolves stayed away from the bear. Back up into the hills for another run to the fence on the building they had jumped. He cleared it first and then his mate. He pawed at the lever style handle and the wolves entered the room.

She sniffed the room. Her tail wagged to show him that all was safe. Then she shifted.

"Oh that was a good run," she said as she stretched. Looking down at her skin, she found a few new scratches and picked out a cactus spine or two. "Damn cactus."

"Well, at least your nose didn't hit it first," said Patrick. He had shifted back and then locked the balcony door. He had headed for the bathroom after pulling the curtain closed.

"No, I just hit the damn thing with my hip. Need any help?" she asked as Patrick stood in the bathroom trying to pick the last spines out of his nose.

"Yes, can you get that one?" he asked pointing to a piece near his eye.

"Bend down," she said.

Patrick sat on the edge of the bathtub and let Ginny poke and prod until she had the offending bit of plant life in her fingers. "There," she said. "Now just enough time for a quick shower."

Patrick picked her up as he stood and moved the both of them into the tub. Five minutes later and they were out of the shower and headed for bed. As they fell asleep, they shifted once more. Curled nose to tail, they dreamt of chasing rabbits.

*

Ginny was the first to wake as the sun streamed through the window. Patrick hadn't pulled the curtains tight last night. She went to stretch and a heavy paw dropped across her shoulder. She tried to move it off, but he put it right back.

"Patrick, I need to get up," she said softly.

The wolf growled as she moved his paw off again. Ginny tapped his nose with her finger. He blinked and woke up. Shaking his head, he looked at Ginny with a half grin o his face. "Come on, shift so we can get breakfast. Can't you smell it?" she asked scooting out of bed before he could paw her again. She headed for the bathroom.

Patrick was sitting on the edge of the bed when she came back into the room. "Sorry about that Ginny. My other half is still really protective, and I guess it was just the strange smells that had him on edge," he said apologetically.

"No worries. Just get dressed. That rabbit was a snack, and I'm starving," she said looking around for her clothes.

"Okay," said Patrick. He was in and out of the bathroom in a few minutes. He'd even brushed his hair and teeth.

"Damn, I knew I forgot something," said Ginny as she smelled the toothpaste. Buttoning up her shirt, she headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. It was bad form to smell of blood at breakfast, and her morning breath was nasty this morning. She grabbed the clog of hair out of the tub drain and then the two of them headed down for breakfast.

They followed their noses to the dining room which was off to the left of the check-in lobby. Seated around a few tables were other guests. Some looked and nodded hello's as they entered. Others were engrossed in their food or the new on the TV.

Patrick was the first to lift off the covers on the chaffing dishes. To his delight there was bacon and ham in one section and sausages in another. The next one held eggs and the last one held pancakes. Syrup, salsa and shredded cheese were at the end of the table. On a separate table was yogurt, cereal, milk and fruit. Patrick and Ginny helped themselves to the meats and eggs. Ginny got one pancake as well. Each one was as big as a plate, and she figured she'd share it with Patrick.

They sat down their plates and then got coffee and orange juice. Five minutes after they had started eating, Sam came into the room. She checked the dishes, chatted with some of her guests and cleared a table someone had left. Then she walked over to Patrick and Ginny.

"Sleep well?" she asked.

"Sure did," said Patrick. Ginny nodded as her mouth was full.

Sam smiled. "Glad to hear it. Enjoy that breakfast. Lots of sausages left and some ham too," she said with a wink. Then she walked off to the next table.

Patrick about choked on a bite of egg. Ginny smiled. "Before you ask, no she isn't one of us. However, I suspect she knows what we are," she said softly.

Patrick swallowed. "You sure?" he asked. He was not use to people knowing about shifters with the same ease that Luc and the pack was in this area. He sniffed, trying to catch a whiff of Sam's scent, but all he could smell was sausage and eggs.

"Yes, almost positive. Think. Heavy duty beds, levers instead of knobs on the doors, and the meat. How many places do you know that have that amount of protein available for breakfast now?" she asked.

Patrick thought about it. The bed hadn't squeaked or groaned. Levers were the norm from what he could see and he had been astonished to see all the meat in the chaffing dish. He was just about to say something when Sam came back their way.

"Oh, before I forget, I have two kinds of cookies in the hall cupboard in case you need a snack. Chocolate chip in the round bin and peanut butter cookies in the square bin," she said. "Oh, and juices and soda in the fridge next to the cupboard." She smiled, patted Patrick on the shoulder and walked out of the dining room.

"Yeah, she knows what we are," said Ginny.

"And your reasons?" asked Patrick.

"First off, she didn't say what color the bins were, but the shapes. Second, she was very specific as to which was which. That, and the smile. Makes me wonder just how many shifters do visit," she finished.

"I don't know, but we have a schedule to keep unless you intend to abandon it on the first day," said Patrick.

"Nope! Just let me finish this food and we are out to explore," said Ginny. She dug into her eggs with gusto.

*

Meg had been working steadily when she heard a knock on the door. She looked up to see Angie standing there with a bag in her hand.

"Hungry?" Angie asked.

"Yes! Oh gods, it's 1pm?" asked Meg as she looked at the clock.

"Uhuh. I remember when my sister was pregnant. If she didn't eat, it just made her morning sickness worse. Didn't know if you were having any, but I knew you needed to eat. So, I had Kevin pick us up some lunch," said Angie as she sat down across from Meg. She took out cheeseburgers and onion rings for the two of them. Drinks were in the other bag.

"I've had a little, but nothing bad. This smells so good!" Meg said snatching up an onion ring. "Oh, Luc said you had some questions for me?"

"Umm, yeah," said Angie blushing slightly. She walked over to the door and closed it and then came back to her seat. "I have some questions about... about shifters," she finally said.

"Okay, what do you want to know?" asked Meg.

"Oh god, I can't believe I'm asking this," she said and then paused. "Um... are they different than humans?" she said.

"Well, yeah, they shift," said Meg teasing Angie.

"Geeze! You know what I mean!" said Angie a bit exasperated. It had been difficult enough to ask Meg and being teased wasn't helping.

"Yes, I do. I just couldn't resist. In all honesty, they are like any other guy. Unless they shift, the only thing you might notice is that they don't each chocolate and they are a bit stronger than they look," said Meg. "At least as far as I've noticed. Who had your eye?"

"Oh..." she started and then rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "George," she said softly.

Meg blinked. "I could have sworn it was Kevin you were looking at," she said.

"Him? No! He's gay. Or at least bi," said Angie.

Meg's mouth dropped open. "I... I never... How did you find out?" she finally asked.

"Meg! How could you miss it? The nice clothes, really nice undies, the way he is nervous around us and fine around the guys. Plus, I asked him. He only goes out with women so his mom doesn't bitch," said Angie. She was amazed that Meg didn't know this bit of information.

"I'm gob smacked. I never even thought about it. I figured he was just buddy buddy with the guys because they are all shifters," said Meg. "What else do you know after less than a week on the job?"

"Kevin is buddies with the guys because they are shifters and they help him confuse his mom. Cal, Peter and Andrew are all straight. Cal is dating a cousin he knew from home. Peter has a mate who is human shy. She is more wolf that human is what Peter says," Angie ticked off her fingers as she thought. "Andrew still loves Ginny, but knows it will never work, and is very happy Patrick loves her. Ysabel has more boyfriends than sense and George is lonely," she finished.

Meg was stunned. She chewed her bite of burger and tried to think of what to say. She swallowed and took a drink. "So you are thinking of dating George? Has he asked you out?" Meg asked.

"Yes and yes. At the dinner party. He talked to me in the kitchen when we were getting everything set up. I like the way his voice makes my skin tingle," Angie answered.

"Subvocals. They um,... They will more than make your skin tingle," said Meg. "So, you really want a dating 101?"

"Yes. George called again this morning to see if I'd like to have a date. I didn't want to be rude or ignorant and..." she trailed off. "You see Meg, ever since you told me I've been wondering. Wondering just who was and wasn't a shifter. I was thinking that I could run into them at a mall, or get my hair done by a wolfie hairdresser!" Angie said with a giggle. "I know it sounds silly or obsessive, but I just couldn't stop thinking about it. We all dream about such things and reading all the latest books and such makes it so interesting," she said.

"I know! I was the same way after I first started dating Luc. Never told him, but I kept trying to find ways to identify who was a wolf and who wasn't. Never worked," Meg admitted.

"So, what's it like in bed with Luc?" asked Angie. She blushed bright red.

"To be honest, the first time he shifted, he scared the hell out of me," said Meg.

"I remember you telling me about that, but what's the sex like?" Angie asked.

"Very nice. I don't know if it is just because he's been brought up differently, or what, but damn it's nice," said Meg thinking about last night. She told Angie a few details as they ate.

"Mmmm, maybe it's worth a chance then," said Angie when Meg finished.

"I'd give it a try. Have to admit though that George's size, just the sheer bulk of him, is a little intimidating to me," said Meg. "Just be careful."

"He's tall and such, but that doesn't bother me. Thanks for the chat. I have a phone call to make," said Angie as she gathered up the trash and headed out the door.

Meg sat back in her chair and smiled. "I can't wait until Luc gets back to the office!" she thougth.

*

The museum was interesting. Lots of ranching and coal mining displays. Ginny was amazed at the photos of women in corsets, long dresses and tiny heeled boots doing everything from ranch work, teaching and climbing mountains. She walked up to where Patrick was looking at a gun display.

"I can't imagine working in the clothes the women had to wear back then," she said.

"Nor can I, but just think of how difficult it was to be a shifter back then too. No wonder we tended to live in isolation," he said.

"Gods! Some days I can barely get out of my bra fast enough. Can't imagine trying to get out of a corset!" she said.

"No, and I bet if we dug up family photos, we'd find lots of women with no corsets," he said as they moved down the aisle to the next display.

"You are probably right," she said. "Wonder if more of us were killed then by accident than are now?"

"I wouldn't think so. No cars, or nosy doctors. Better yet, no military trying to round us up for test studies," he said.

"What?" asked Ginny,

"I'll tell you more in the car. Here comes that little docent again to tell us how he worked some piece of machinery for the fifth time," said Patrick.

"How are you doing folks?" asked the docent who must have been in his eighties.

"Just fine. Almost done. Thank you for a lovely tour sir," said Ginny.

"Well, glad to be of assistance. I grew up in these mountains and I like being able to share with people who come to the museum," the docent said.

"Thank you again," said Patrick. The two of them shook hands with the docent and then headed out the door. The docent waved from the doorway of the museum.

"Patrick, was there anything odd about that old man, or am I just going ditzy?" asked Ginny.

"No, nothing wrong with your senses. If I am correct, somewhere back about two generations there is a wolf in the woodpile. He's a null. One of those non-shifting wolves. You know, like that cousin you told me about," he said. "Probably an eighth shifter or less."

"You know, you're right. Poor old guy probably wonders why he was always stronger or faster than his peers," said Ginny.

"Exactly. Genetics are interesting when it comes to a null. Wonder if Dr. Jeff keeps records?" mulled Patrick.

"No idea. Now what was this about military and test studies?" she asked as they headed over a pass to the next museum.





More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 17



Patrick sighed. "I wasn't always an economist. I enlisted when I was eighteen. Stooooopid idea! I made it through basic and then got asked if I wanted to do special ops. I agreed. The idea of being a Ranger sounded good. I started going through the training and about half way through, they send you out on a survival trip. A week in an area you aren't familiar with and you have to get from point A to point B," he said.

"Okay, so how was that a bad thing?" she asked.

"I came back eight pounds heavier," he said.

"So? Why was that a problem?" she asked.

"Most guys come back starved. Ten pounds less, and looking like shit. So, they figured I cheated some how. They sent me back out again, and this time, I had a buddy. We had to survive together," Patrick said. He turned onto a side street following the signs to the fort they were going to visit. He parked the car and turned to face Ginny.

"I take it you didn't starve," she said.

"No, but about an hour into the hike, the buddy, a sargent stopped me and said that we needed to talk," said Patrick.

"Okay, quit with the suspense," said Ginny.

"He looked at me and said, 'Grunt, are you a shifter?' I was rather startled and started to deny it. Then he growled at me sub-vocally and let his eyes shift from gray-green to yellow as I stood there staring at him. I answered 'YES SIR' about two seconds later," said Patrick.

"Shit! That must have been one hell of a shock," said Ginny.

"It was. We sat down and talked for most of the afternoon. He said he had thought I was a shifter, but coming back fat had been a big give-a-way. He got assigned to me and figured we'd better talk before the rest of the military found out," he said.

"Before the rest found out?" asked Ginny.

"Yes. Apparently there is a whole sub-culture of shifters in the military. Most of them are special ops. We tend to survive better. Most try to avoid being discovered. Otherwise, there are those sections of the military that want to test us like we are guinea pigs. He'd been poked and prodded and had made it his mission to help shifters avoid detection. He said he had a 70% success rate," said Patrick.

"Did you get out after that?" asked Ginny.

"No, passed the survival course and became a good troop. Learned to pass for human. Served eight years and then got out. Sarge had shown up at my door one evening. He was in civvies and had that haunted look to his face you see from people that have PTSD. He'd come to warn me that the military was now doing blood work to try and isolate shifters. He'd been in the 'Land O Sand' and had avoided it, but heard that those found were being sent to a base in Georgia for further tests. He'd declined his next chance to re-up and retired. He suggested that I do the same. I let him stay with me for a few weeks, while I checked things out," he said.

"What did you find out?" asked Ginny. She had heard some odd stories from time to time but had dismissed them.

"Sarge was right. I got called out on a routine mission and came down on the wrong part of my foot. Twisted my ankle and nearly dislocated my knee. I ended up in the hospital. I thought I was having a lot more blood work than needed, and made a note of the techs. When Sarge came to see me, I gave him the names and he did some checking," said Patrick who stopped to take a drink from his water bottle.

"And, what happened?" asked Ginny.

"Well, he and this doctor I'd never seen before came into my room the next afternoon. Asked all kinds of questions about pain levels and my knee. I thought things were a bit odd, but I wasn't sure what was going on. I just kept answering questions. The doctor excused himself and Sarge watched to make sure no one was headed our way. Then he told me that the doctor wasn't a shifter, but he was on our side. He pulled a bag out of his pocket and it was full of blood ampules. They were labeled with my name, rank and data," said Patrick.

"Geeze!" said Ginny. "What happened?"

"Two days later, this general came in and told me that I was getting a medical discharge. Too much damage to my knee. I'd barely walk, and was of no use to my unit anymore. I signed some papers and less than forty-eight hours later, I was a civilian," said Patrick.

Ginny just sat there and blinked. First the thought of Patrick as a ranger and then the rest of the scenario had left her stunned. "Did you ever see Sarge again?" she asked.

"Yes. He picked me up from the hospital and helped me hobble around while we did the discharge paperwork. The doctor had put a cast on my leg to help the illusion that I was more injured than I really was. After I was fully discharged, Sarge helped me move to a city far away from the base. Two whole states away in fact. Then one night while we were watching a football game, the doorbell rang. I answered it and there was the doctor," said Patrick.

"What?" asked Ginny.

"He asked to come in. We were a bit concerned as I had not given a forwarding address when I left. The doctor handed me a huge package. It was my full medical records. Told me he'd been purging files as often as he dared. Said he'd been doing it for years. When I asked how he found me, he just smiled. Sarge didn't know either. The doctor shook our hands and said his goodbyes," said Patrick.

"Okay, that qualifies as just weird. I can see the military trying to use shifters as super troops, but the doctor was strange. Why would he stay in the military if he didn't like what they were doing?" she asked.

"Not sure. However, about a week before Sarge left for parts unknown, we were watching a documentary on the Civil War on DVD. It was all about battlefield hospitals. I was getting a drink when Sarge yelled. I ran back into the living room wondering what was the matter. He was pointing to the TV. I stopped the program and backed it up. Froze it where he said and it was my turn to freak. There on the screen were a bunch of doctors standing in front of a hospital tent. In the middle was the doctor. Our doctor," said Patrick.

"No. You're pulling my leg," said Ginny.

"Nope. It was him. We found more pictures because we couldn't believe it either. From what we could tell, this guy had been a military doctor for about 150 years. Change of hair color or style and change of service. In each and every one of them though, the eyes and the little scar by his mouth were the same. We never spoke of it again, but we figured he must be some kind of 'other'. We know there are fairies, so who's to say there aren't other things that go bump in the night?" finished Patrick.

Ginny nodded. Goosebumps trailed down her arms. She thought about it for the moment and just shook her head. "Wow. Shall we go visit this fort? See if we find your doctor?" she asked as they got out of the Subaru.

"Yes, see the fort that is," teased Patrick as they headed for the entrance.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 18



Hope you enjoy this latest chapter. This one was easier to write, because I've been thinking about these sections for a while. Just wasn't exactly sure where to fit some of these pieces in. I've had one section rattling around in my head for weeks. And yes, before you gnash teeth, I'm already working on the next chapter! My dear lovely partner is frothing for me to tidy up a few things and get back to the story. I keep telling him if he'd wash the dishes, I'd write... :)

* 

Angie was anxious. George had said he'd pick her up at 7pm, and it was ten minutes past the hour. "Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe the car broke down. Maybe I'm just not really his type and he was just leading me on," she thought. "God, I am so nervous!"

Five minutes passed before headlights slew across her driveway. George stood up out of the car and headed for the house. She met him at the door.

"Angie, I am so sorry that I am late," said George.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I was ready to leave when I heard giggling in the back of the car. Sara, Ivan and Joe had hid back there thinking that they could go on our date," he said.

Angie broke out in giggles. She'd met the imps the day after her talk with Meg. George had thought it a good idea that she be introduced to the children. Bitty and 'Solda had been polite. Sara and the two boys had been curious that George would want to date someone so much littler than he was. It had been an interesting afternoon. They'd howled, pack hunted her around the yard and told every family secret they could think of including the fact that Meg was pregnant.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Yes, I am. Where are we going to eat?" she asked. George had promised dinner and a movie. Everything after that was optional.

"I thought that Chinese place on 5th sounded good. They make a fantastic Orange Peel Beef," he said.

"Oooh, that sounds good," said Angie. She grabbed her coat and they headed for George's car.

*

The Wonderful Temple was just that. George had ordered appetizers and Orange Peel Beef for the two of them. Jasmine tea steamed in the little teapot.

"This is heavenly," said Angie.

"I agree. Ysabel brought me here a few weeks ago. I've been looking for a reason to come back here ever since," he said.

They finished up their dinner and George handed Angie her fortune cookie. He cracked his own open and ate half while he read his fortune. He smiled.

"What does it say?" asked Angie.

"Great fortune comes to you in small packages," said George as he smiled. "What does yours say?"

"Love is an unexpected surprise to enjoy," she read. "Did you bribe them to give us these fortunes?"

"No, I didn't. Mine would read more like 'love is a cracker jack treat' or something like that," said George. He was a little flustered. "If you're ready, the theater complex is just around the corner."

"Yes, I'm ready to go," she said. Angie stood up and George helped her on with her coat.

George paid the bill and they headed for the theater complex. George had bought the tickets online so that they didn't have to wait. They had agreed on The King's Speech, although Sara and the boys had told them they should have gone to Rango.

It didn't take long for them to find seats. George took Angie's hand in his as they settled into watch the movie.

*

"That must have been so frustrating to be unable to talk," said Angie.

"I agree, but at the same time we struggle with it all the time," said George as they walked back to the car.

"What do you mean?" asked Angie.

"When we shift, the jaw, lips and even vocal cords change shape. If we are inbetween wolf and man, we often get a bit stuck. Right head, wrong vocal cords. Trying to go one way or the other can be a real pain and frustration," he explained.

"Oh! George, I'm sorry, I was insensitive. I shouldn't have suggested this movie. I'm so sorry," said Angie. "Oh god I screwed up!" she thought.

"Stop. You did nothing wrong. You had no way of knowing. Hell, the only one of us you've seen shift is Kevin," said George with a little more force than he expected. The last thing he wanted was for Angie to feel guilty about anything, especially a movie.

Angie blinked. She stood there for a moment trying to collect herself. George sounded so fierce for a moment that she shivered involuntarily.

George stopped, looked at Angie and then realized that he had scared her as the scent of fear touched his nose. "Angie, I... I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?" he asked. He held out his hand to her.

Slowly, Angie took his hand. It dwarfed hers. She'd never seen puppy dog eyes on an adult, but she could see that he was earnest about not wanting to scare her. She moved forward and pulled the hand she held around her waist and put her free arm around him. They stood there for a moment just holding one another. Neither one of them moved. Angie went to look up at George and realized that she barely came to the bottom of the pocket on his shirt. She started to giggle.

"Angie?" George asked wondering what was going on now.

"I just realized how small I really am in comparison to you," she said. "I don't even reach your pocket," she said giggling.

George looked down and realized that she was right. He started giggling too. After a minute, he let go of her long enough for the two of them to walk to George's car.

"So, where to now?" he asked as they pulled out of the parking lot and into traffic.

"How about my house?" Angie asked. "Your's is a construction site and full of small children."

"Your house it is," said George.

*

They pulled into Angie's driveway and parked the car. Angie had forgotten to turn on the porch light and was having trouble seeing the lock.

"Let me have your keys," said George.

"Okay, but I don't know how you'll do any better," said Angie.

George took the keys and let his eyes shift just enough to see the lock. His night vision was superb and he had the door open in a few seconds. They went inside and Angie turned on the lights just in time to see that George's eyes were more yellow-gold than the blue they had been earlier that evening.

"Oh," she gasped softly.

George blinked hard a time or two and when he opened his eyes, they were their normal blue. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, but I can see better as a wolf," he said.

"It's... it's okay. I just didn't expect it. I'm still so new to this whole thing that to be honest, I don't know what to expect," she said.

"You okay with this?" he asked pointing to his eyes.

"Yeah, it just startled me," Angie said. Taking off her coat, she draped it over the back of a chair and then went into the kitchen to make coffee.

George followed her and watched as she set out cups after filling the coffee maker. He wasn't sure if he wanted to start the conversation he knew was needed. "Damn this is difficult!" he thought. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat which made Angie turn around.

"What is it George," she asked.

"Would,... would it help if you saw me shift? If you knew what I looked like as a wolf and not just a man?" he asked.

Angie thought about what he said for a second and then nodded. "Let me get our coffee and then we can go back into the living room," she said. She turned her attention to the cups and poured the coffee. She knew that George liked his sweet while she took hers black. When she was done, they walked into the living room.

George looked around the living room. He wasn't sure how body conscious Angie was and didn't want to just flash her. He moved behind the couch and used it as a bench to lean against and started to take off his clothes.

"Oh! I'd forgotten about that bit," squeaked Angie. "I'll turn my back if you want."

"Angie, it doesn't matter to me. It's what you're comfortable with," said George.

"Oh, Okay," she said and concentrated on her coffee but didn't turn her head. She wanted to see him shift, and if she was nervous about him being naked, she'd miss the change.

George undressed quickly. The couch just covered him from the waist down. He took a breath and then shifted.

Angie thought she was ready for the whole man melting into wolf thing. What she wasn't ready for was having the couch shoved over nearly two feet while George changed from a large man to an even larger wolf. He was huge! Beautiful too. Tentatively, she reached out a hand to touch his head that was well over the back of the couch. She had just touched his head and began to stroke his ears when the floor began to creak.

"What?" was all Angie managed to say before the wolf scrambled for the area beyond the couch as the floor under him cracked and fractured. His forepaws grabbed the back of the couch which fell with him as he fell through the floor. Angie screamed and tried to leap clear of the disaster as her couch partially covered the hole that the wolf had fallen through. She heard the thuds of wolf, wood and plaster as he hit the floor in the basement. An indignant yip came up through the floor.

"Oh George! Are you okay?" she called looking down into the hole. When she heard nothing, she headed for the basement stairs. She flipped on the light as she ran down the stairs to where the wolf was trying to stand up amidst the wreckage from above. As he shook, dust and plaster bits went everywhere. Angie was trying to check him over to see if he was hurt. While she didn't see anything, her left hand came away with blood on it.

"George, where are you hurt?" she asked trying to find where the blood was coming from. The wolf was whimpering. His thick fur had saved most of him, except where something had scrapped his ribs. Angie found the cut which wasn't bleeding badly, but was still deep enough to worry her. "Stay put George. I'll go get the first aid kit," she said as she ran off to the bathroom.

Angie was back in a few moments with a washrag and a towel as well as a first aid kit. "Hold still," she told the wolf as she tried to wash away the blood. It wasn't bleeding hard, but sort of pulsed, which made her think it was nastier than she could see. Holding the towel over it, she wrapped it in place with the ace bandage from the kit. Then she pulled a blanket off the shelf and after putting it on the floor away from the wreckage, coaxed the wolf to lay on it.

"Stay put," she told the wolf. "I'll be right back." Then she headed upstairs to call the only person she could think of, Luc.

The wolf lay on the blanket trying to breath. One moment he was shifted and sniffing to see that the little female was fine and the next, he was falling. Something sharp had poked him and it hurt to breathe. Hurt too much to shift and let his other self deal with things. He wanted to get up, but he knew that the little female had wanted him to stay where she'd put him. "Little female smells good, is good. Must be good," he thought.

*

Luc heard the phone ring and grabbed it just before Meg did. They had just crawled into bed for a bit of fun and they had ignored it the first three times it had rung. "Hello, Luc speaking," he said into the phone. He listened for a moment. "We'll be there as fast as we can. No, just stay with him," he said and then hung up the phone.

"Who was that and why are you getting dressed?" asked Meg.

"Get dressed. That was Angie. George shifted for her and the floor broke. He fell into the basement and punctured something. Bleeding in pulses. Grab your cell phone and call Jeff as soon as we are in the car," he said as he pulled on the last of his clothes and headed for the car.

Meg was seconds behind him. She buckled in as he pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street. She dialed Dr. Jeff's number, the private one. It rang twice. "Doc, this is Meg, George shifted at Angie's house and went through the floor. He's hurt. Angie said he was bleeding with his pulse. Yes. Just left the house. Um... 1256 W. 181st Street. Blue house. Yes. See you there," she finished and hung up her phone.

"I take it he'll meet us there?" asked Luc as they rocketed down the nearly empty late night streets.

"Yes. How on earth did George fall through the damned floor?" asked Meg.

"Some of us get bigger, some of us get heavier. George does both. You think he's impressive as a human, you should see him in wolf form," said Luc.

"Oh," said Meg as this percolated through her brain. "And he's your little brother?" she asked.

"Yes. You should have seen Dad. Medium sized man, but the biggest wolf I knew of before George started shifting. He was probably just too damn heavy for the floor. Or there was a weak spot. We won't know until we look. Meantime, we have to get to George," he finished as he got onto a main boulevard.

"Angie must be frantic," said Meg. "I know how I felt when you were hurt."

"You think she's that attached to him?" asked Luc.

"Yes. She may not know it, but I've never seen her look at anyone like she did the night of the dinner party and I've known Angie for years. Saw her go out with guys, but never look at them like she does George,' said Meg.

"Oh boy," said Luc as he negotiated the sparse traffic. He knew he was almost there, but the car seemed to be crawling along. One final turn and he was on 181st Street. Angie was standing on the front porch as they pulled up in front.

"Meg, you wait at the door for Jeff, and I'll go with Angie," said Luc. He kissed Meg on the forehead and followed Angie around the damage in the living room to the basement stairs. As he reached the basement floor, he saw George laying on a blanket that looked the size of a postage stamp in comparison.

The wolf looked up at the two of them and whimpered. Angie moved to the wolf and sat down beside him taking the huge head onto her lap. The wolf whimpered but relaxed.

"Oh George. What the hell did you do?" asked Luc quietly. He took a look at the towel around the wound and saw that blood had nearly soaked the towel. He held the paw the wolf had tapped him with and put the other on the wound, applying gentle pressure. Luc had no idea of how long Jeff would be and this didn't look or smell good to him.

"You doing okay Angie?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. A little freaked out at first, but I called you as fast as I could. If he fell through the floor, there was no way he'd get up the stairs, so I knew I needed help. Plus, I didn't know the number for your doctor," she finished. She was running her fingers through the fur on the top of the wolf's head. A head that nearly covered her lap.

"You did the right thing Angie. Jeff will be here soon and he'll see to George," said Luc.

"Okay. Why didn't George shift back to human form?" asked Angie.

"He probably hurts too much. It sort of makes our brains forget thinking logically," he said.

The wolf whimpered as Luc said this. Angie patted the wolf on the head and murmured to him.

"I'm going to see if Jeff is here," said Luc. He was loath to take pressure off the injury, but he knew that Jeff would have trouble finding the staircase. "I'll be right back," he said as he headed up the stairs.

Luc got to the front door just as Jeff pulled in next to his car. Jeff grabbed his medical bag and headed for the front door. "Where's George?" Jeff asked.

"Follow me. He's lost a lot of blood," said Luc.

"Damn. I was afraid of that when Meg said it was pulsing," said Jeff.

"Yeah. He's on the floor down here," said Luc and let Jeff go ahead of him down the stairs. Meg and Martha followed them down the stairs.

"George, This is Jeff. No Biting!" said Jeff as he knelt next to the huge wolf. "Angie, let me know if it feels like he's trying to lift his head."

"Oh, Okay," said Angie not totally understanding why she'd been asked that.

"If he lifts his head, he might be trying to bite Jeff," said Luc when he saw the puzzled look on her face.

Angie nodded. She wrapped her arms around the wolf's head gently. She'd be able to tell if he so much as twitched a muscle.

Jeff smiled at her and then looked to the wolf. The towel was soaked and a puddle was forming on the blanket. He cut the bandage and looked at the wound. He counted the pulse under his fingertips and the blood seeping from the wound. "Damn!" he thought.

"Martha, hold this to the wound," he said handing her a corner of the towel. Martha took it and pressed against the wound. This freed Jeff up and he grabbed a needle and a bottle out of his case. Filling the syringe, he grabbed the fur around the scruff of the wolf's neck. He injected the fluid into the wolf and then started to get equipment out of his bag.

"Jeff, what's going on?" asked Luc.

"He has a puncture. I don't have time to get him to my clinic. I've got to act now," he said. He checked the wolf's pulse again and then began to cut fur from around the wound. He sliced open the wound area and reached in to where the bleeding was emanating. Whatever had punctured George was small. However, it had nicked muscle and a bit of the diaphragm. Jeff opened the wound a bit more and then reached for his suture kit.

Ten minutes later, Jeff was sewing up the last layers of skin. He'd sewn up the damage and was now ready to bandage the wound. Martha handed him things without a single clue that Luc could figure out. Jeff started to wrap bandages around the wolf and realized it was impossible. He stuck medical tape to the fur and skin the best he could. After one last injection, he stood up.

"Damn, what the hell did he do?" Jeff asked.

"He shifted and fell through the floor," said Angie. "He was really wobbly and that's when I found he was bleeding. I tried to stop it, but I couldn't."

Jeff nodded and went to look at the mess where George landed. After a moment, he found a long nail covered in blood. "This is what got him," Jeff said. "At least it wasn't a splinter. Metal is a far cleaner wound. It nicked muscle and his diaphragm. Good thing he's so damned big. If it had been anyone smaller, we'd have punctured a lung."

"Jeff, will we have to move him?" asked Luc.

"No way we can. If he shifts, he'll rip open the wound. He will break the stairs in this form. Just look what he did to the floor. You must have some sort of rot or termite infestation there. My guess would be water damage though. He was just too damn big for your floor. He's going to have to stay in your basement for a few days if you don't mind Angie," said Jeff.

"Oh, I don't mind. I've got plenty of blankets. Just let me know what to do," Angie said.

"I'll leave you a list, and Jeff will have things to add to it I'm sure," said Martha.

Angie nodded. She looked around and was trying to decide where to start. Then something crossed her mind. "We must not call Ginny. If she finds out, she'll be back here so fast that Patrick won't even have time to blink," she said. "Oh, and the kids. They mustn't know either. They'd spill the beans in a second," Angie added.

"She's right," said Meg. "We have to get things organized as to why George isn't home tonight. Have to do it fast and get the word to Ysabel."

"Easy enough done. Just tell Ysabel that George is spending the night at Angie's." said Luc. "It won't be a lie, and she'll just assume that George is having a grand time. I'll get Cal and Peter to go over and help with the construction work on the house. We'll get them to fix your floor too. We can all just keep up the illusion that George and Angie are having a lovely time," he finished.

"Um," started Angie.

"Don't worry Angie. No one will know a thing until we tell them. If they get too nosy, we tell them the truth. This is George we're talking about and we can explain the deception," said Jeff. "I know this isn't how you wanted the evening to end, but it will give you two more time to decide how you really feel about each other."




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 18



"But what is George going to think of this?" asked Angie. She was torn between being worried and upset and it showed on her face.

"Angie, from the way he was cuddled up with you even though he was injured, he likes you a lot more than you may be giving him credit for," said Martha.

Angie took this all in and blinked. She was just about to say something when the wolf moved. She was down next to his head before anyone else could move. "You hold still. Don't you move," she said in a stern voice. She petted his head and put her hand down on his head right behind his ears. He stopped moving. She looked up to find all of them smiling at her. "What? I've had dogs before," she said. That started them all laughing.

"You know, she almost has the sub-vocals right. Good hand position too," remarked Luc.

"You'll do just fine," said Jeff. "Now tell us where the bedding is so we can make him comfortable."

Angie gave directions and in less than an hour, the mess was cleaned up, the floor blocked off where George had fallen through and the wolf was in a nest made up of pillows, and blankets. Angie had made up a pallet for herself as well. Every time she moved too far away, the wolf whimpered.

"I'll check on you in the morning," said Jeff.

"Me too. I'll be by before work," said Meg. "I'll sit with him while you shower and get some breakfast."

Angie smiled. "That would be nice. At least I have a bathroom down here. My keys are in my handbag. Take the front door key so you can lock up," she said.

"We'll do that. If you need us, call," said Luc.

After hugs and goodbyes, the four left Angie and George for the night.

Angie made herself comfortable and then reached out to touch the furry head. "You know, this isn't the way I had intended to spend the night with you," she said. "Now I know how Meg felt when Luc got all chewed up by that bear. Makes me want to thump you and hold you all at the same time."

That said, Angie pulled her blanket up around her shoulders and cuddled next to the wolf's back.

The wolf hurt. Each breath poked and pulled. He could smell the little female next to him. She'd tried to help him and got the others. He wanted to thank her, but all he could do was whimper. "Little female sweet, warm." he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

*

"Patrick, I can't seem to raise anyone at the house," said Ginny.

"Maybe no one is home," he said.

"No answering machine either," said Ginny.

"They probably have it disconnected in order to paint or clean," said Patrick. "Just stop worrying. If something had gone wrong, they would have called us."

"Or, maybe not figuring that I'd head home," said Ginny. She felt something was wrong and couldn't get a handle on what it was. Maybe the run tonight would make her feel better. They'd had two long days where they'd fallen asleep before they could go out for a bit. Their vacation was half over and while they hadn't exactly kept to the schedule, they had gotten a lot done. Patrick had opted for a mellow day so they wouldn't be so tired. After breakfast they took a short drive and came back to have lunch at the Dog Bar. It had been great to see all the people there and the dogs. Most of them stayed out on the patio, but a few of the dogs knew just how to sneak into the main dining room. She and Patrick figured that they must be regulars, as they knew right where the kitchen was and how close they could get before being hustled out of the area. Pizza and beer for lunch had been good.

Ginny tried the house once more. Still no answer. She changed her tack and called Meg. Meg picked up on the first ring. "I was beginning to wonder where you were," Ginny said into the phone. "No, we're okay. Just hadn't heard from George in a few days and was a little worried." Ginny paused for a few minutes listening to Meg. "Okay, Glad to hear things are going well. Talk to you later. Love you," Ginny finished.

"So, do you feel better?" Patrick asked.

"Sorta. Apparently George and Angie really hit it off. Plus, Cal and Peter have been called in to do some of the work since George has been 'busy'," Ginny said with a smile.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," said Patrick. Angie is a sweet little armful and I bet George is keeping her close."

"I just hope we don't have to get another receptionist," joked Ginny. That made them both laugh.

*

Four hours later, the two wolves slipped over the railing and down into the forest. There was plenty of game out tonight. The smaller of the two caught the first rabbit. The next rabbit was almost gone when it began to snow. The flakes were fat and heavy as they drifted to the ground. By the time the third rabbit was eaten, there was a good inch on the ground and the going was getting sloppy.

The larger of the two wolves nipped at the smaller one and then headed back to the village. They raced long and hard as they headed back. Once when going through a small meadow, they spooked a herd of elk. Neither wolf wanted to tackle such large prey tonight, so they plowed through the startled animals and burst out the other side of the meadow before the initial bugling had even died down. They were running hard now with snow and mud flying behind them.

The two wolves slowed as they passed behind the outer buildings. The big male jumped over the balcony railing first. He shook snow and mud from his coat. Mud and slush went everywhere. Nosing the handle, he entered the room and waited for the female before shifting.

She jumped with one paw landing on the rail. She hadn't gotten enough of a push off and had to compensate. The mud on her paws greased the rail and instead of landing on all four paws, her back foot slipped and she came crashing down on her nose and head. She was out cold.

Patrick watched the whole thing happen in slow motion and while he moved as fast as he could from wolf to man, he wasn't in time to catch her. He checked for a pulse, and after finding that, lifted her gently and put her on the bed. He'd figure out how to explain the muddy sheets later. Once he'd closed the door and drawn the curtains, he went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel and washcloth. The wolf had blood running from her nose. It didn't look broken, but he wasn't sure. There is a lot of bone there and he wasn't sure how it translated when she shifted. He put the washcloth under her nose and started trying to dry off her fur.

"Ginny, Can you hear me? Ginny, Can you shift back? Come on girl," he said close to her ear. He shook her gently and then went back to drying her off. He didn't feel any broken bones under the fur, but her coat was so thick it was difficult to tell. "Ginny, wake up. Ginny, come back to me," he said again. When she didn't respond, he checked her skull and found a bit of swelling next to her eye. "Oh Ginny, you are going to have one hell of a concussion," he said to himself.

Looking around, Patrick decided that he'd get cleaned up. He was still spattered with mud and blood. He grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. He had barely turned off the water when he heard Ginny moan. He grabbed a towel and headed for the bedroom. Ginny had shifted back and was sitting up in bed holding her head between her hands.

"My head hurts," she whimpered.

"You knocked yourself out," Patrick said. He took her head in his hands and did a quick assessment. "How does your nose feel?" he asked.

"Like I used it to stop a train," said Ginny.

"Well, it isn't too swollen. Not sure if you broke it, but it isn't crooked. You have a hell of a bump on your head too," Patrick added as he just barely touched the swollen skin.

"Ah... oh, don't," Ginny winced. "Would you help me into the shower? I want to get all of this off of me." There were mud and blood spatters everywhere.

"Of course. I just got out of the shower. Let's just take it easy," he said as they stood up and headed towards the bathroom. They didn't get two steps before Ginny crumpled. Patrick picked her up and saw that her right foot was swelling at the ankle.

"I didn't even feel the ankle," Ginny said.

"I'm not surprised. Between the nose and the head I'd be amazed if you felt a train hit you," Patrick said.

"Gee, thanks," said Ginny.

"Hon, you got hurt. Some of them are going to fade in comparison to others. Let's get you cleaned up and then I'm going to see Sam," he said.

"Oh, no, don't bother her," Ginny tried to protest.

"Ginny, you're hurt. I can't fix this with a kiss and a bit of water. So just shut up and deal with the fact that you aren't in charge at the moment," Patrick said as they stepped into the shower. He held her up as she rinsed off. It only took a minute and then he had her back out and sitting on the edge of the tube.

"I can dry myself," Ginny said.

"No. I will do this. I don't want you bending over and making your head pound," said Patrick in a voice filled with sub-vocals. She was hurt and there was no way she was going to make matters worse by being proud.

"Okay," said Ginny.

When she was fairly dry, Patrick carried her to a chair and grabbed a teeshirt and panties for her. He helped her dress and then stripped the top blanket off the bed. He tossed it on the floor and then put Ginny in bed. Then he got dressed.

"Stay put, or you will not like the consequences," he said as he left the room.

"Okay," said Ginny. He was still using sub-vocals and the rumble made her wince. She tried to get comfortable on the bed.

*

Patrick headed downstairs to Sam's room. He knew it was nearly 5am, but Ginny needed aspirin and ice for her head and ankle. He knocked on the door and waited. He knocked again and finally heard someone moving on the other side of the door.

"You better have a damn good reason to wake me up twenty minutes before my alarm is gonna to go off," said a rather grumpy and sleepy Sam through a partially opened door.

"Sam, I'm sorry to wake you up, but Ginny had an accident. She slipped on the balcony and hurt herself. She has a bump on her head and sprained her ankle. I would have waited..." was as far as he got.

"Just shut up a second. Let me get dressed. Do you need a doctor or a vet?" Sam asked.

Sam's question brought Patrick to an abrupt halt. He blinked and then his brain kicked back in.

"A... a doctor would be just fine. Thanks Sam," he said.

"There are extra blankets in the hall closet. Grab a few and toss the dirty stuff down the chute next to the laundry bin. I'll take care of that stuff later. Meanwhile, get back to Ginny. I'll be up in a few minutes," she said.

Patrick nodded and headed back upstairs at a run. He grabbed two blankets and was back in the room in under a minute.

"Sam's calling a doctor and I brought up some blankets," said Patrick

"Okay," said Ginny. "I'm sorta cold."

Patrick wrapped Ginny up in the blankets and waited for Sam to arrive.

*

Sam called Doc Rogers. Then she headed up to their room with a hot water bottle, ice in a bag and some water. She knew Doc would have a fit if she gave Ginny anything else before he'd looked her over. The door was open when she got to the room, but she still stopped and knocked on the door frame.

"It's me, Sam. Can I come in?" she asked.

"Sure Sam. I have Ginny in here on the bed," called Patrick.

Sam walked in and stopped. Ginny had a knot the size of an orange on her head and her eyes were showing bruises. "Oh my. What on earth happen? You get in a fight with an elk?" Sam asked.

"No, her paw slipped on the railing and she face planted on the deck," said Patrick.

"Oh damn. Which paw?" Sam asked.

"My right one," Ginny said softly. She pulled the blanket away from her foot.

Sam gently poked at it and checked it out as gently as she could. "Yeah, you twisted that a good one," Sam said. "Now, did you bust your nose too?"

"I don't think so," Ginny said. "My head hurts though."

"Well Doc Rogers will be here in a few minutes," Sam said. "And before you panic, he's treated shifters plenty of times. I swear that damn bar across the street attracts them like flies." Sam put the ice on Ginny's ankle and gave her the hot water bottle to snuggle.

"Not surprised. The food's good and the name is a tease," said Patrick. "So, what gave us away if you don't mind me asking, because you certainly weren't surprised."

"Hon, I been running this place for nearly thirty-five years. Ain't a lot that I haven't seen to be honest, and I'm not the kind to get my feathers ruffled. This has always been a real remote spot, and I think I'd been open a whole week afore I saw my first couple sneak out and shift inta wolves. A real nice newly wed couple from back east. Next morning at breakfast, I asked him to come into the office for a minute. Scared as hell I was, but figured I better see if I was crazy. I wasn't. We had a nice long talk. He's the one that helped me fix up the rooms to be more shifter friendly," she said. "As to what gave you away? Just the way you handle yourselves, and after a while, you just sorta know. Plus, ol' Buster sorta whined when you came in."

"Buster?" asked Patrick.

"Yeah. He's an old wolf. Lives here and he hangs out near the kitchen. He came here four or five years ago. Decided he was gonna kick off out in the woods. Even left me a note telling me what to do with his stuff. Three days later, this big ol' mangy looking husky thing scratched at the back door. I didn't know what to think, so I gave it some water and a blanket to lay on. Ten minutes later, there was Buster, sitting on a chair wrapped in a blanket," said Sam.

Patrick took this information in and just blinked. "What happened then?" he asked.

"We talked. He was old, tired and wasn't coping well in human form. Had trouble changing. His ears and whiskers don't always go back. So, we came to an agreement. Buster can live here and acts as sort of a guardian. 'Specially at night. He gets room and board. I made him up a real fine place to stay outside when he wants and he has a room too. Most days, he stays on four legs," said Sam.

"When this is all over, I'd like to meet Buster," said Patrick.

"Fine. I'll bring him up. Now I'm wonderin' where Doc Rogers is," said Sam. She walked over to the door and out into the hall. "Doc, I said we'd be up here," she shouted over the railing.

There was some mumbling out in the hall and then footsteps on the stairs. A moment later, a rather sleep older gentleman in jeans and a flannel shirt walked into the room.

"Howdy, I'm Doc Rogers," he said holding out his hand to Patrick.

"Hi. I'm Patrick and this is Ginny," he said and pointed to Ginny on the bed.

"Well, let's get a look see at you," said Doc. He put his bag down on the bed next to Ginny and began to check her out. Patrick and Sam watched as Doc checked her eyes, examined her nose, ankle and the bump on her head. He also checked her ribs and other leg.

"You sure made a fine mess of yourself," Doc said.

"Yeah. Is my nose broken?" Ginny asked.

"Cracked, but not broken. You're gonna have a nice bruise on your face, but you shouldn't have too black of an eye. There's a bit of concussion which will make you feel like hell, but the worst is the ankle. Not one hundred percent sure, but I think you tore a tendon and maybe cracked a toe or two when you slipped," Doc said. "You're gonna have to stay in bed today and maybe tomorrow. At least until your head stops hurting. Don't fuss, otherwise I'll have Patrick there growl at you," he finished with a smile.

Ginny just shook her head. "Tag teaming me eh?" she said.

"Sure will ma'am," said Doc. "Do you have a primary doctor I can call?"

"Yes, his name is Jeff Hayes. Here's his number," said Patrick handing Doc a business card.

"Oh yeah. Had to call him a few years back about another patient," said Doc. He stuck the card in his pocket. "Now, I'm going to wrap your ankle and give you some pain killers. Stay in bed as best you can and don't go getting all antsy. Sam here will get Patrick to bring food up and we'll get this taken care of now."

"Okay. It isn't like I'm going to go anywhere. I just feel so damned stupid for slipping and bashing my face," said Ginny. "Oh, and I do better with just aspirin. The rest of the stuff just makes my stomach ache."

"Okay, Aspirin it is," said Doc as he wrapped her ankle and put the icepack back on it. "Try not to blow your nose if you can avoid it. We don't want that crack to become a break."

Ginny nodded. She took the aspirin that Sam brought to her with some water.

"I'll let you know what Dr. Jeff has to say," said Doc.

"Would you do us a favor and ask him not to tell the family?" asked Patrick.

"Afraid they'll laugh or come get you?" asked Doc as he smiled.

"The latter," said Ginny. "Laughter I can cope with. Last thing I want is Sara, Ivan and Joe sing-songing 'Aunty Ginny fell dowwwwwwn!" as they bounce on the bed.

That made everyone laugh.

Doc finished up and then he and Patrick headed downstairs.

"Is there anything you need?" asked Sam.

"No, I just want to curl up and hope my head feels better. I'm so sorry about this mess," said Ginny trying to apologize.

"Don't worry. Things happen. You need anything, just holler," said Sam as she headed out the door and downstairs.

*

Doc was just finishing up a phone call as Sam came into the lobby of the bed and breakfast. He had a smile on his face.

"Doc, what's so funny," asked Sam.

"Patrick, don't listen okay," said Doc with a wink.

"Okay," Patrick answered puzzled.

"I just talked to this Dr. Jeff. He said good luck and that it must be one of them weeks for accidents. Said he was just on his way to see a fella named George who fell through a floor who didn't want his cousin and her beau to know that he got hurt," said Doc Rogers.

Patrick tried not to laugh. The smile was the first crack, and then the giggles started. "So that's what Ginny was feeling!" he thought.

"What's so funny about a guy falling through a floor?" asked Sam.

"Well, George is a big man. Over six feet and probably 250 pounds if not more. As a wolf, he tips the scales at probably 1000 pounds or more. I'm guessing he shifted at his girlfriend's house and the floor was rotten in a spot and he went through it," said Patrick.

"Oh god!" said Sam. "That was the George that upgraded your room?"

"Yes. Now two of them are confined to bed. What a riot!" said Patrick. "And don't worry. I won't tell Ginny. She'd do her best to pressure me into going home and I'm not doing that."

"Good. Glad to know you have a good head on your shoulders," said Sam. "You done here Doc?"

"Yes Sam. I'm going to go back and have breakfast before I head into the office. If Ginny needs anything, just holler," Doc said as he headed out the door.

"That reminds me, I promised you something," said Sam. "Follow me."

Patrick followed her down the hall and past the kitchen. They went out a door onto a private patio. Sam stopped right as they got out the door and put her hand up to stop Patrick from walking any farther as well. Patrick saw what looked like a split level dog house big enough for a small pony in one corner of the yard. As they stood there, a nose peaked out and then withdrew.

"I don't know if Buster will shift back to human or not," whispered Sam. "He's getting real stiff and it don't go well for him."

"I can understand that. Some days it doesn't go well for me and I'm not that old," Patrick said softly.

A moment later, a large wolf walked down the ramp and across to the patio where Sam and Patrick stood. He sniffed, walked around the two and then rubbed up against Sam. Then he just sat there and looked at Patrick.

"Sam, do you know how much he likes you?" Patrick asked quietly.

"No, I just figured he liked it cause I take care of him. Nothing special," said Sam.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 18



"No, he likes you a bit more than that. I think if he was twenty years older, you'd have yourself a lover," he said.

"Oh your just teasing me," Sam said exasperatedly.

"No, ask him yourself next time he shifts," Patrick said. He got down to eye level with the old wolf. "You really should tell her you know," he said and stood up.

Buster just looked at Patrick and then sneezed.

"I better get back to Ginny," said Patrick. With that, he turned and headed back inside.

*

"You should see the old man," said Patrick to Ginny. He's got an apartment from heaven for an old wolf. Plus he almost drooled on Sam when he came out."

"Drooling? Maybe he's just lost too many teeth," said Ginny.

"No, this was devotion. You'll see," he said. He was cuddled around Ginny. She was wrapped up in blankets and was doing her best to go to sleep for a bit. It had been a long and painful night.

*

It was nearly noon when the phone rang. Luc picked it up on the third ring. "Hello, Alpha Wolf Tech, how can I help you?" he said. Having Ginny and Angie gone was driving him nuts. He and Kevin took turns answering. "Oh! Hi Patrick, how's the trip going? Good. We're a little busy, but doing okay. Yes, it is. Oh, you heard about George? Well, don't tell Ginny. Oh good. What?!" exclaimed Luc as Patrick proceeded to tell Luc what had happened. Ten minutes later, Luc hung up the phone with a smile playing across his face.

"Meg!" he called out. "You aren't going to believe this!" he shouted as he headed down the hall to tell her what Patrick had told him. That one call had made his day.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 19



No matter how hard I try, it still takes about two weeks to write a chapter. This is a short one to keep you going! I had planned to make it longer, but I have a business conference next week. My partner is still laughing about the cookie jar. Hope you enjoy this installment! 

*

Angie woke up on the love seat. She had been reading a book trying to relax. The light was still on and her book was on the floor. She wasn't sure why she had woken up so suddenly. Then she realized why. The wolf wasn't snoring. She looked over to where his pallet was and realized that George had shifted. Angie felt the blush rise in her cheeks at the same time she couldn't take her eyes off of him. Muscular and tanned from the waist up. "Farmer's tan," she thought. The bandage hung loosely against his ribs. Her eyes trailed down his body. "Oh my. Very nice," she thought as she looked at his cock. She was smiling as her eyes went back to his face just in time to see him blink as he woke up.

"Oh!" she gasped as she blushed a deep red. "I...um... I" she stuttered.

"It's okay Angie," said George sleepily. He reached for the blankets and found a corner to pull over his lap. As he did so, he brushed the bandage off of his wound and winced. 

"Here, let me help you," she said as she moved off the love seat to help him. 

George took her hand in his and held it to his chest. She turned to face him and was almost nose to nose with him. Angie stopped. "I'm okay Angie. Just stiff. If it bothers you that I'm nude, I'll cover up more. It doesn't bother me," he said quietly. He didn't move off of the blankets.

Angie blinked, then swallowed trying to find the words spinning through her brain. "Okay," she said at last. 

"Sit down next to me and tell me all that's happened. How long have I been out and who started to make those repairs?" he asked pointing to the ceiling. Angie snuggled in close to him as he moved to sit up. George wrapped his left arm around her. 

"Well, once you fell, I called Luc who called Jeff. Luc and Meg arrived just before Jeff and his wife Martha. Jeff fixed you up. A big nail drove in under your ribs and tore muscles and your diaphragm. Jeff did sort of field surgery on you to fix you up and he gave you a shot that knocked you out for most of the day," she said ticking things off on her fingers. "It's been about twenty-eight hours since you fell through the floor. It's about 5am right now. Cal and Peter came over and put a chunk of plywood over the hole until they can fix it. I've been cuddled up to you most of the time unless I've gotten something to eat. And, I was trying to read my book and must have fallen asleep on the love seat," she finally finished.

"I can tell you were snuggled up to me," he said. "I can smell you on the blankets."

"Well, at first if I tried to leave, even to go to the bathroom you whined," Angie said.

"I hurt, and wanted someone near me. Someone I like and trust," said George softly. With that, he slowly wrapped his right arm around Angie and pulled her close. Angie looked up at George. "I'd hoped that we might have a lovely evening and end up sort of like this if all went well," he said. "I didn't expect to end up naked in your basement because I fell through the floor."

Angie smiled. She had wrapped her arms around George's chest as best she could. "I agree. It wasn't the most romantic way to get a man naked and in my embrace," she said. 

That made George laugh. He stopped after a second and put his hand to the injury on his right side. "Oh, laughing hurts," he gasped. "Damn."

Angie pulled out of his embrace to check his injury. Jeff had put several stitches in to close the wound. With the bandage off, she could see them. "Hold still," she said. 

George did his best to hold still while she clambered over his lap to look at his side. He tried to look at it. He stopped quickly as it hurt to twist. 

"You're okay. All the stitches are still in place. He was afraid that when you shifted that they would be too loose. I'm suppose to call him too," she said and started to stand up. 

"Wait Angie. I want to get off of this floor. Is there a bed or couch big enough for me to lay on down here?" he asked pointing to the general area of the basement.

"Not really. I don't think he wanted you going up the stairs until he checked you out," she said. "Why don't you sit down on the love seat and I'll go call him." 

"Okay, I will. And a bathroom?" he asked. 

"Just through that door," said Angie as she pointed to a door about fifteen feet away. "I'd help you up, but I wouldn't know where to begin."

"Oh.. oh don't make me laugh," said George. "You? Help me up? Oh.... ouch..." he gasped. He started to stand up slowly and then stopped for a moment. 

"If you're nervous about seeing me naked, you might want to close your eyes. I'm not body shy," he said.

"Um... I just... just didn't know," said Angie. "Never did turn down a chance to see a naked man though." The blush was creeping up her neck in spite of her words.

"Good," said George who let the blanket fall as he stood up. He braced against the wall with his left hand as he stood. Stretching carefully, he stood for a moment before walking to the bathroom. 

"I'll put the blanket on the love seat," she said as she watched his ass all the way to the bathroom. Once that was done, she looked around for a moment. "I'm going upstairs to call Jeff," she called as she headed upstairs.

*

Jeff arrived an hour later. He knocked on the door, but when there was no answer, he let himself in. As he headed towards the basement he could hear conversation and smell coffee. He smiled. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he found George sitting up drinking coffee and Angie nibbling toast.

"Glad to see that everyone survived," he teased.

"Yes, we did. I hear that I didn't even try to bite you this time," said George.

"That's due to Angie holding that head of yours for me," said Jeff. "Now let me see this wound." Jeff put his bag down, and began to poke and prod at the stitches and surrounding area. George winced a time or two and almost growled at one point. 

"George," said Angie softly as she put a hand on his left one. George looked at her and stopped growling.

"You know, if you're this good with all shifters, I may hire you away from Luc," said Jeff.

That made Angie giggle. "Oh, I don't think so," she said rather embarrassed. 

"I'm not joking. You have a good touch. If you ever change your mind, I could use the help," said Jeff. "George, you'll be just fine in a couple of days. Just take it easy. If it hurts, stop."

"Okay Jeff. No one told Ginny did they?" George asked as Jeff stood up.

"No, we all decided that wasn't a good thing to do," Jeff answered. He smiled to himself thinking about Ginny concussing herself up in the mountains. "You can tell her all about it when she gets home at the end of the week."

"Can I work on the houses?" asked George trying to rearrange the blanket over his lap. 

"As long as it doesn't hurt. Cal and Peter have been doing stuff over at the other house under the supervision of Ysabel and the kids. And for the record, they all think you just had way too good a time over here and didn't bother to come home," said Jeff with a smile and a wink.

"Oh god!" said George. It was his turn to blush.

The sight of George blushing made Jeff laugh. He waved as he turned and headed up the stairs. He was out the front door in less than a minute. 

*

"I'm never going to live this down. Neither the truth or the perceptions," said George as he relaxed on the love seat.

"You? What about me?" asked Angie. "Cal and Peter snickered for the entire time they were here putting the plywood over the floor. Luc had that twinkle in his eye too. I have to work with these people every day!" said Angie getting agitated. She'd been scared, worried and this last bit of teasing from Jeff and George's worrying about things just pushed her over her limit. 

"Angie, settle down," said George when he realized that she was getting really upset. 

"No dammit! I've had a real rough two days and ..." was as far as she got. George stood up and stepped towards Angie. She started to back up and before she could do anything, he picked her up and went back to the love seat. He kept her in his arms even after he sat down. Balanced on his lap, she was eye level with George. He kept his arms wrapped around her so she couldn't swing at him.

"Put me down!" Angie said getting more and more upset.

"No, we are going to have a talk. I'll hold on to you until you settle down. It's up to you how long that takes," said George. His voice rumbled with sub-vocals.

"You'll let me go now and stop growling at me," said Angie. She tried to move and realized that there was no possible way to do so. "I'm not a five year old and you can't put me in time out!"

"To be honest, you are acting like Sara and I won't let go of you until you settle down," George growled. 

"I... I am..." she started to say as she got a good look at George's face. 

He knew from the look on her face that his eyes had shifted ever so slightly. However, he wasn't letting go of her. It took a moment, but she settled down. When her breathing slowed, he lightened the hold he had on her but didn't totally let go.

Angie took a deep breath and tried to relax. "Okay, I did just have a melt down. I've been stressed and worried and didn't know what to do," she said.

"I know. It's okay. That was what I was trying to tell you when I picked you up," George said. "Can we talk now?" 

"Yes, but you don't have to let go of me. I realized that once I stopped fighting, that your arms felt good around me," she said.

George smiled and pulled her close so that her head rested on his chest. He move a few strands of hair out of her face and then leaned down and gently kissed her on the forehead. Angie responded and turned her face up towards his and reached to kiss his lips. George brought his lips down to hers and they kissed. Angie broke away a few minutes later.

"Everything okay?" asked George.

"Yes and no," said Angie.

"Huh?" asked George.

"Your kisses are lovely, but you keep poking me," she said.

"Poking you?" George asked puzzled. 

"Yes," said Angie and she slid her hand down to her hips where George's erection was thumping against her leg. "With this."

George laughed. "Well, At least we know I'm alive," he teased. "And that I find you attractive."

Angie blushed and nodded. "Ummm," she started.

"Do you want me to grab the blanket?" he asked wondering if she was embarrassed by his nudity or the erection.

"Nnno," she started. "I, um... Oh god! I'm so bad at this," she said quickly.

"Angie, what do you want?" George asked. He knew his erection bobbing against her leg wasn't helping matters, but she smelled good and their evening had been interrupted by the accident. He liked her and wanted to get to know her better.

"I,..." Angie started and then took a deep breath. "I'd like to go upstairs to my room," she said quietly.

"Okay," said George not certain where this was going.

"With you," she said and then blushed a deep red.

George smiled. "Let's get me up the stairs first. And then we'll take things slowly if that's alright with you," he said.

"Okay," said Angie as she got down off of his lap. 

George stood up slowly and then they moved to the stairs. He knew he was still a bit heavy, but not as heavy as his wolf was. Stepping up with his right foot pulled a bit, but he kept going. The stairs didn't creak too much and in a minute they were up in the kitchen. 

"My room is this way," said Angie. She took his hand and lead him to her bedroom. She opened the door and George got his first look into the room. 

"Angie, you surprise me. I figured you were a four poster bed kind with lace everywhere," George said.

"No, I'm the 'gotta have my nest' kind. I like my comforts, but I'm not a froufrou type of woman," said Angie. The bed was a platform styled bed covered with quilts and pillows. Jewel tones ruled without a drop of pink anywhere in the room. She dropped his hand and went to turn down the top quilt. "Go ahead and get comfortable," she said. "I'll be right back." 

"Alright," said George as he watched Angie head off into another room he suspected was a bathroom. Moving a few pillows and pulling the quilt up over his lap took a minute. Then he sat there waiting for Angie to return. He looked around the room, taking in the books on the shelves and the little personal touches on her nightstand and dresser.

Angie walked back into the room wearing a pale gray bathrobe. "I sort of leveled the playing field," she said as she crawled under the quilt. 

George smiled as he pulled Angie into his arms. The soft material brushing against his skin didn't help, and he felt himself stiffen again. "Yes, but I think you're still overdressed," he said softly.

"And you're still poking me," she teased back. 

George cupped her chin in his hand and brought her face up to his so that he could kiss those lips once more. Angie melted up against him and brought her arms around his neck. As they kissed, his hands roamed up and down her back. She was soft to touch, but there were muscles there too. His lips moved to her ear and then down to the point where her neck joins her shoulders. George's kisses turned to gentle nips and kisses.

Angie felt goosebumps cascade over her skin as George began to nibble down her neck. She lost all sense of time and just enjoyed the sensations. She could feel all the tension and fatigue drain away. As his hands cradled her ass and pulled her up against his chest, she arched back and let his kisses trail down onto her breasts.

George inhaled the scent of her body as he kissed the space between Angie's breasts. He kissed left then right, not knowing how far he should go or how fast. The material of the bathrobe was between his lips and her nipple. He brushed his lips over it. 

"Oh," gasped Angie. "Do that again."

George smiled and kissed her nipple. Moving slightly away from it, he blew across it and then took nipple and bathrobe into his mouth, licking her nipple through the material.

Angie inhaled sharply. The sensations running through her body felt so good. Just when she thought it couldn't get any better, he moved to her other nipple. This time, he nosed away the bathrobe and put his lips on her bare nipple. As his tongue flicked across it, she gasped. George then moved his right hand down her thigh and caressed up and between her legs. Lost for a moment in sensation overload, she wasn't sure which way she wanted to move. 

"Just stop thinking," George whispered as he took his lips away from her nipple. 

"But,..." Angie started to say as his fingertips began to roll her nipple back and forth.

"Do you want to stop?" George asked. 

"No," Angie said hoarsely. She moved so that she straddled George's left leg. This brought her breasts closer to his mouth. 

George took the hint and sucked one nipple and then the other while his fingers played with her breasts. Latching on to her left nipple, he brought his hand down Angie's side, opening up her robe. Stroking her side, he slowly worked his hand down to her ass. She didn't flinch when he brought his hand up between her legs. George stroked her lightly and realized she was soaking wet. His fingers slid up and down her soft folds and gently into her pussy.

"Oh!" Angie gasped softly. "Oh my, oh!"

"Like that?" George asked as he moved to stroke her clit.

Angie gasped and wiggled in his grasp. "Oh George," she said softly as his touch brought her closer and closer to orgasm. 

George could feel her building to release and increased his strokes against her clit. It didn't take long before she stiffened in his arms and cried out as she orgasmed. Angie melted against his chest as she relaxed.

"Enjoy that?" he asked as she blinked owlishly at him.

"Oh yes," she said. "But what about you? You're still poking me," she said with a giggle in her voice.

"Well, what do you want to do about that?" he asked. 

Angie smiled and wiggled out of his arms. Undoing her bathrobe she took it off and dropped it to the floor. Turning back to George, she smiled. She ran her fingertips over his cock and watched as it bobbed and danced under her touch. George groaned. Angie brought her hand around it and then kissed the top of his cock.

"Ohhhh," moaned George. He arched his hips towards her face and smiled when she took him in her mouth. She bobbed up and down, licking and sucking his cock. "Angie, if... if you keep that up, I'm not going to last," he said.

Angie gave him one long lick and then kissed the top of his cock. "I want you inside of me," she said as she straddled George's lap. She knew he was bigger around than she'd encountered before, but that intrigued her rather than scared her. She moved so that the head of his cock was lined up with her opening and rocked back and forth as it slowly slid in. 

George realized that it was a tight fit and tried to hold still as Angie moved back and forth. He grabbed her hips to help steady her. It felt so good that he wanted to drive in deep, but knew he would hurt her. She rocked back once more and he felt himself slide in as she became wetter.

"Oh George," Angie said in a whisper. "So full..." 

"Uhuh," he nodded. It was his turn to have his brain melt. She was so tight and it felt so good. His hands went from holding her hips to helping her pump up and down on his cock. Their pace increased and he realized he wouldn't last much longer. Too much sensation, and too much anticipation.

Angie rode up and down George's cock. Her body delighted in the sensations he was pulling from her and she felt her orgasm burn it's way up her spine. She gasped as she came. 

George felt Angie's orgasm pulse around his cock. He couldn't hold back any longer. His orgasm thundered through him. George's hands froze on her hips as he felt himself pour into her. He arched off of the bed, growling in pleasure as he came.

Angie slowly felt herself come back to earth. She melted against George's chest and felt his arms wrap around her. She could feel her muscles contract around his cock every few seconds. Feeling far too good to move, she just lay there.

George moved Angie's knee away from his side. She had bumped it at the very last, but he felt so good that he didn't care. He loved that she had curled up on his chest. He pulled the quilt up over them and wrapped his arms around her. They were asleep in moments.

*

Ginny started to stretch as she woke up. Curled up in a nest of pillows, she was feeling cramped.

"Ginny, hold very still," Patrick said quietly in her ear. 

Ginny froze and then slowly opened her eyes. There at the end of the bed was a very large and shaggy wolf. His head was resting on the bed and he was watching them. Ginny could hear him wheeze as he breathed. His muzzle was gray and his eyes had that cloudy look to the edges of them. 

"Buster?" Ginny said softly. 

The old wolf wagged his tail slowly. Ginny moved and brought her hand near to him, even though she knew he'd already scented her. He nuzzled her fingers and then slowly crawled onto a corner of the bed. Turning around a few times, he settled down and curled up nose to tail. He snored.

"I guess it's a good thing this is a king sized bed," said Patrick. 

"I wonder who he is, and where he comes from," said Ginny. "He's got to be lonely. Especially if he's willing to come curl up on the bed."

"Or, he figures he'll give me a bit of a break watching you," said Patrick.

"Why do you figure that?" asked Ginny.

"Well, because he nudged me first and then went around to your side of the bed," said Patrick.





More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 19



"Oh. Then I guess you'd better go take your break. Grab us some food and talk to Sam about Buster," suggested Ginny. 

"Will do. You hungry for anything?" Patrick asked. He had that look on his face that told Ginny she'd better eat.

"A sandwich? Peanut butter cookies? Oh, and iced tea or lemonade would be great," said Ginny.

"Okay. I'll be back in a bit," he said. He grabbed his shoes and headed out the door. 

*

Sam was in the lobby when Patrick got downstairs. She was cleaning up a pile of papers.

"Sam, can I get something for us to eat?" asked Patrick.

"Sure. Wondered when you two would wake up," she said. "Come into the kitchen and help yerself."

"Thanks Sam. Oh, and I have a question for you," he said.

"What about?" asked Sam.

"Buster. He showed up in our suite and 'relieved me' for a while. He's sleeping on the end of the bed with Ginny," Patrick said. "Do you have any more information about him?"

"Lemme see," Sam said as they walked back to the kitchen. "I've got his stuff all boxed up and in the attic. I remember his last name was Walters and he came from Montana. He said this place reminded him of home."

"Did he mention any family?" asked Patrick as he got sandwich fixings out of the fridge.

"No. Said he had no 'next of kin' when I asked what I should do if he passed away. Asked to be cremated and left me the money for it. Gave me money for his keep too, but I don't care about that. This place generates more than enough cash for me and Buster," said Sam.

Patrick smiled. "Do you have any peanut butter cookies? Ginny asked for some," he said.

"Sure do. Buster would howl if'n I didn't keep plenty to hand," Sam said. She reached into a cupboard and pulled out a container full of cookies. She put twelve on a plate and gave it to Patrick. "Four of those are for Buster. Word a warning, don't get between him and his cookies," she said with a wink.

"Never. Thanks Sam," said Patrick. He headed up to the suite with the food and drinks on a large tray. 

Ginny had dozed back off. The sound of the tray scuffing on the table woke her up. Buster was still sleeping on the foot of the bed. The bed canted from his weight. 

"How long have you been gone?" she asked.

"About twenty minutes. Chatted a bit with Sam while I made the sandwiches. She said Buster here came from Montana and said he had no kin. Makes you wonder just how old he is," said Patrick.

Ginny nodded as she took her plate from Patrick. She half expected Buster to wake up as the food scents wafted by, but he didn't. She watched Patrick set four cookies on the table. "Are those for Buster?" she asked.

"Yes. Sam loves the old wolf, even though she'd never say it outright," said Patrick. He took a big bite of his sandwich. The two of them sat in silence while they ate. Patrick took Ginny's plate and placed it on the table with his own. 

"I'll take this downstairs and be back in a few minutes," he said.

"Okay. I'll be here," said Ginny. 

*

Patrick was just heading upstairs when Doc Rogers walked in. He waved and waited for the doctor.

"How's my patient?" Doc asked.

"She's doing well. We just ate," said Patrick as they walked up the stairs. "We have company too."

"Oh? Family?" asked Doc.

"Not exactly. Buster came up to watch Ginny so I could get our dinner," said Patrick with a smile. They walked into the bedroom as Buster finished the last cookie and licked the table for crumbs.

"I see," said Doc Rogers. "How ya doin' Buster?" Doc said to the old wolf. 

The wolf ignored Doc. He gave Ginny a glance and then walked slowly out of the room.

"Well, I guess I know how I rate," said Doc. Patrick laughed and Ginny giggled. 

Doc sat his bag down on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?" he asked Ginny as he started to check her over. 

"Tired, stiff from being in bed all morning and my head and nose still feel like I got hit with a sledge hammer," said Ginny.

"How's the ankle?" asked Doc.

"It throbs, but I haven't been out of bed, so I'm not sure how it's working," she said.

"Well, let's give it a try," suggested Doc. He held out his hand to Ginny. She scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up on her good foot. Patrick came up on the other side of Ginny and stood by as she put weight on her foot. 

"Ow!" said Ginny and immediately took all the weight off the foot. "Nope, that isn't ready for a romp around the room."

"Didn't think it would be. I've got some crutches in the car. I'll be right back," said Doc. He left the room. 

"Patrick, would you carry me to the bathroom?" asked Ginny.

"Of course," he said as he picked her up. 

*

Patrick had just put Ginny down when Doc came back. Crutches under his arm and a brace of some sort in his hand.

"I figured you might need this too," he explained. "Only for when you are up and about."

"Okay," said Ginny. She held still as Doc Rogers fitted it to her foot. Once he got it to where he thought it should be, he handed Ginny the crutches. 

Ginny took them and then did a turn about the room. Clumsy, and awkward at first, she got the hang of it quickly. 

"Haven't been on crutches in years," she said. "Sort of like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget."

Doc laughed. "I brought you more aspirin and some cream for the scratches on your face," he said. He put them on the table.

"Thanks Doc. What do we owe you" asked Patrick.

"Sam's got your address. I'll send you a bill when I get 'round to it," said Doc. "Usually do my billing at the end of the month."

"Okay Doc. Thanks," said Ginny. 

Doc nodded, packed up his bag and left.

Patrick sat down next to Ginny. "So, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" he asked.

"Curl up and watch a movie, or take a nap," said Ginny.

"What? No wild screaming sex?" teased Patrick.

"No, I'll save that for tomorrow," she said as she hit him with a pillow. 

*

Luc closed the office early. Between him and Kevin, they'd gotten everything done by 2pm. Meg had stayed home today as the morning sickness had turned into afternoon sickness and was threatening to become all day sickness. Jeff had been by to check on her and said it was normal. Luc still wanted to get home and hold Meg in his arms. He stopped by the flower shop and got a bouquet of roses, daisies and baby's breath. 

When he went into the house half an hour later, there was no one in the living room. He didn't hear anything, so he walked quietly to the bedroom and peeked in. Meg was curled up asleep on the bed. Her book had fallen to one side. Luc backed out quietly and went to find a vase for the flowers. He put the flowers in the vase and placed them on the dining room table. Then he headed for the bathroom to shower. 

Luc dropped his clothes in the hamper and climbed into the shower. It had been a hectic few days and he enjoyed the hot water flowing over his head and neck. The heat of the water relaxed the tense muscles. Luc soaped up the loofah and started to scrub when he heard the bathroom door open. He peeked out the curtain to see a very sleepy Meg standing there.

"Hey beautiful. How are you?" he asked.

"Sleepy. Why didn't you wake me when you came home?" she asked.

"Because you were sleeping," he said. 

"How long have you been home?" she asked.

"Fifteen or twenty minutes. Not very long," he said. "You want to join me in the shower?"

"Yeah," she said. Meg undressed and got into the shower. The water cascaded off of her breasts and down her stomach.

"Is it my imagination, or are you already getting bigger?" asked Luc.

"I think I'm getting bigger. My bras are tight and my jeans don't feel like they sit right," said Meg. 

Luc bent down and kissed her nipples. Then he ran his hands down her sides and over her lower abdomen. "Just a little baby belly," he said. Then he kissed her navel.

"Oh Luc," said Meg softly. His caresses were making her skin break out in goosebumps.

Luc ran his hands over her body, touching and loving her with his fingertips. His body responded to her little moans. "Meg, are you up to a bit of loving?" he asked as he cuddled her to his chest.

"In the shower?" she asked. 

"Yes. The water feels good, and the touch of your skin under my fingertips is enticing." 

"Okay," she said with a smile. "I do feel better than I did earlier."

Luc smiled and went to his knees in front of her. He raised her one leg to the edge of the tub and started to lick her clit as the water ran down their bodies.

Meg arched forward as his tongue teased her. She grabbed his shoulders to steady herself. As she began to orgasm, Luc slid two fingers into her pussy. 

"Oh my," she gasped. "Oh, oh, oh..." 

Luc smiled and then stood up. He turned her around and Meg leaned on the wall. Her gag reflex was so sensitive, that neither of them thought about her returning his kisses. He guided his cock between her legs and into her pussy. She felt hotter than the water as he slid into her.

"Uhhh," moaned Luc. Holding her by the hips, he slowly built up a rhythm. Meg leaned against the wall and moved with Luc. They were working on perfecting slow lovemaking. Moving too fast made her queasy at the moment and they were both too horny to give it up. Luc's suggestion that they give up sex until she was over the morning sickness had sparked an argument. Slower sex had been the compromise. 

It was Meg that increased the pace and Luc responded. He wrapped an arm around her and reached down to stroke her clit. The combination of sensations sent Meg over the top and orgasming in seconds. Luc held her as his own orgasm built. He moved faster and as Meg spasmed with aftershocks, he felt his own orgasm burn it's way up his spine. 

He moaned as came. Being in the shower kept him from shifting. Luc braced himself against the wall as his knees went weak as the orgasm faded. 

Meg disengaged and turned around. She wrapped her arms around Luc and kissed him. "That felt sooo nice," she said.

"Yes, but if we don't get out soon, the water will be icy," said Luc as he noticed the drop in temperature.

"Yeah, we'd better," said Meg. "Plus, I feel hungry."

"Hungry? That's good," he said. They rinsed off and got out of the shower. Ten minutes later, dressed in bathrobes, they walked to the kitchen. Meg stopped short as she saw the flowers.

"Oh Luc," she said walking over and inhaling the scent. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said with a smile. Wrapping his arms around Meg, he kissed her. 

Meg kissed him back and then wiggled out of his arms. "Dinner," she said and headed for the kitchen. 

*

George woke up uncertain of where he was. It was dark, but it wasn't his room. He reached out to find the end of the bed only to discover warm flesh. "Angie," he thought. She was asleep. He got out the other side of the bed careful not to wake her. He headed off for the bathroom. When he was finished, he headed for the kitchen. He was hungry. 

The kitchen was far enough away from the bedroom that he felt safe turning on a light. He found bread, peanut butter and grape jelly. Luckily, Angie was a logical person and it only took him a few seconds to find a knife. George started eating while he made coffee. He made a second sandwich and then looked for cookies. In the corner, there was a ceramic cat. He took off the head and inside were cookies. Gingersnaps. George smiled and grabbed four.

George had just poured coffee when he heard footsteps behind him.

"I wondered where you went," Angie said sleepily.

"I needed the bathroom and I was hungry. So, I came out and made a few PBJ's," he said.

"I see that. And you made coffee," she said.

" Yes. Here's your cup. I was going to bring it to you, but you came to me instead," he said as he handed her the cup.

"Uhuh," she answered. She sipped the coffee and then reached for the sugar. She added a spoonful and stirred.

"By the way, I love your cookie jar," George said.

"Oh? Why?" asked Angie.

"For the bizarre fact that I get to rip the head off of the cat to get a treat," said George with a smile. 

Angie started to giggle as she thought about it. George joined in too.

*

George sat while Angie made herself a cheese sandwich. He was relaxed and felt better than he had in years in spite of the stitches in his side. He smiled as Angie sat gingerly in the chair. They'd made love three more times after they woke up from the first time. 

"What are you grinning about?" asked Angie.

"You. Sitting on that chair. You. Giggling like mad as I made you come with my fingers and tongue. You and the way you turn all pink when you blush," he said softly.

"Oh," said Angie as she blushed. "Anything else?"

"Yes, Do you want any cookies?" he asked.

"Yeah, a few," said Angie.

"Oh good! I get to rip the head off the cat again," George said with glee as he got up to get the cookies.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 20



This has been a hectic month and oh did I get distracted. I have a new series, non-werewolf, that I'm working on as well as Buster's story! Yes, I did listen. It isn't ready yet, but figured I had better get everyone back from their various romps. This is a very busy chapter.

Thank you to all who read and comment. I appreciate what you have to say. Thanks too, to my very patient partner. He sits on tenterhooks, as do all of you and points out errors or ideas for me when I get stuck. Better yet, he often provides characteristics for some of my characters. Enjoy!

*

Ginny woke with a start. The room was way too quiet. The moonlight was coming in the window. "Damn! Patrick left the curtain open," she thought. She rolled over to try and go back to sleep, but it wasn't working. Ginny grabbed her crutches and headed for the bathroom. The clock on the desk said 4:28am.

"Should I stay up, or try and sleep," she wondered as she headed back to bed. She climbed back in bed and tried to relax. They should be heading home tomorrow, but Ginny didn't want to go back on crutches if she could help it. There was no way to live down her magnificent faceplant. She still had bruises and scratches around her face, and the ankle... There was no hiding that. Ginny snuggled down under the covers and tried to go to sleep.

4:39 am.

4:56 am.

5:03 am.

"I'm giving up!" she thought. Tossing back the covers, she hobbled over to her clothes and threw on a skirt and teeshirt. Ginny grabbed the velcro strapped boot and got it on her foot. Settling onto her crutches, she headed down the hall. When she got to the stairs, she used the banister and one crutch to get to the first floor. Then she headed to the kitchen where she could smell Sam cooking breakfast.

"Do you think there might be a cup of coffee for me?" Ginny asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Yes. Already poured you a cup," said Sam. "I heard you thumping down the stairs."

"Sam, you are a treasure," said Ginny.

"Now don't go getting any wild ideas. Have yer coffee, but crack that three dozen eggs inta that bowl," said Sam pointing to the eggs and bowl.

Ginny sat down her coffee and pulled up a stool which she perched. A few minutes later, she was scrambling them for Sam who had the pan almost ready.

"I never realized you started cooking this early," said Ginny as Sam took the eggs.

"Well, most times I just do the baking, but I figured you lot would be hungry. Rabbits just don't fill up anyone," said Sam.

That made Ginny laugh. It was true, and the guys would be hungry. She just wondered when they'd be back. She looked up at the clock. 5:28am.

"They'll be back soon. Buster don't like being out once dawn is here. I think he figgers he'll scare folks away. Most of 'em that see him think he is just one big ol husky and don't care," said Sam.

"You're probably right. Grammy always said to get home before dawn," said Ginny.

There was a clatter on the back deck that startled both women. Sam walked over and peered out the window. "Yup, it's them. I'd better get these eggs done," she said and went back to the stove.

Ginny looked around to see if there was anything else to be done that she could manage. Finally, she just poured Patrick a cup of coffee. It was sitting waiting for him when he walked in the kitchen door with Buster about three minutes later.

"Ginny, what are you doing down here," he said with a touch of a growl to his voice.

"Woke up and couldn't sleep," she said. "And don't you go growling at me. Either one of you."

"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't come down the stairs by yourself," said Patrick.

"I did just fine. No falls. So just quit," said Ginny. "Bossy boots!" she thought.

"Alright," said Patrick in a way that Ginny knew she had lost a battle. He picked up his coffee and sat next to Ginny.

Buster walked over to Sam, rubbed up against her leg and headed over towards the back door. She stopped scrambling eggs long enough to let him out. Buster went out and up into his backyard abode.

"You two had a good time?" asked Sam.

"Pretty good. Didn't catch a damn thing, but we had a good run. We walked most of the way home," said Patrick.

"He gonna last much longer?" asked Sam.

"I don't know. Buster might last years or go tomorrow. He tried to shift at one point, because I think he wanted to talk, but he couldn't," said Patrick. "I had an uncle who went the same way. Over the years, he shifted back less and less until one day he just couldn't."

"Will he when he dies?" asked Sam.

"I have no idea. Once again, some do and some don't. Even seen a few go the other way," said Patrick.

"Me too," said Ginny. She thought about her cousins that had died young and two of them were curled up nose to tail on their own beds.

"Well, here's yer breakfasts," said Sam as she put platters of eggs, bacon, sausages, fried potatoes and toast down in front of them. "I'm gonna take Buster's out to him." She walked out the door with a plate filled with eggs and sausages.

Ginny and Patrick dug into the food. Once the door was closed, Ginny turned to Patrick. "How long does he really have?" she asked.

"Hon, I'd be surprised if he makes it to tomorrow morning. We ran maybe two miles and it literally took us the rest of the night to walk back. If I'm guessing right, he's close to 100 years old. Maybe older. Not in the best of health either. He has a smell about him when he pants. Not sure if it is just bad teeth or something else. I went to Buster's room before we went out for a run and there are WWI & II medals in one box. There are some old black and white photos of him and a couple of people. All dressed in 1930's style clothing," said Patrick.

"How did you manage to go to his room?" asked Ginny.

"I just flat out asked Sam. I wanted to know who I was running with, and I was curious if I knew his family. I don't. I didn't pry much further, but it looks like it was Canada rather than Montana he was from," said Patrick.

"Why do you say that?" asked Ginny.

"Because there was a maple leaf flag in a couple of pictures. People went back and forth all the time before 2001. Especially, where there was more forest than farms," he finished.

"That's true. My grammy came from up there. She was born in Alberta," said Ginny. She finished the last of her toast and pushed her plate forward.

Patrick took both of their plates to the sink. He looked out the window and saw Sam sitting next to Buster as he ate. "She's gonna miss him when he goes," he said.

"Yeah. She was up worrying about him just like me," said Ginny.

"Not worried about me?" Patrick teased.

"No, you can take care of yourself. Buster's an old wolf. Besides, the bed was too damn empty," said Ginny.

Patrick smiled and got them some more coffee. "So, how's the head?" he asked.

"Better. No more ringing in my ears and my nose doesn't feel like it is going to fall off if I sneeze. The ankle still feels like a wreck and hurts," she finished up.

Sam came back in with an empty place and after putting it in the sink she pulled apple cinnamon muffins out of the oven. "Nearly forgot about these!" she said.

"That's what I was smelling," said Patrick. "Glad they didn't burn."

"Nope, and you can have one after it's cooled," Sam said popping them out onto a cooling rack. "Buster ate well. He's sleeping now," she said as she pulled another pan out of the oven.

"Good. I'm going to take Ginny back up to our room. You need any help?" asked Patrick.

"Nah, don't forget to take two of those muffins," said Sam as she popped two new pans of muffins into the oven.

Patrick took the muffins on a place and he and Ginny left the kitchen. When they got to the stairs, he stopped Ginny. After setting aside the crutches and muffins, he picked her up and carried her upstairs.

"You didn't have to do that," she said as he put her on the bed.

"No, but I wanted to. Back in a second with the crutches and muffins," he said.

Ginny had barely had time to get comfortable, when Patrick came back into the room. He curled up on the bed with her and they ate their muffins.

*

"Peter, you need to sister that joint," called George from across the basement.

"I see that, I need to measure it first though," said Peter. He didn't mind George supervising, but today he couldn't move fast enough to please him. Cal was upstairs trimming up broken floor boards.

"Alright. Sorry, I'm just getting anxious. Ginny is due back soon and I want both houses done before she gets back," said George.

"Do you think she'll go for the idea?" asked Peter.

"I don't know. Angie still hasn't really gone for the idea either. She's just hmmming and hawing. I'm just afraid that if I ever shift here, that I'll go through the floor again," said George.

"Don't blame you one bit. No way to know that the floor joists were water damaged. Hell, that one over there might have gone with just Angie's weight," said Peter pointing to a repair over by the corner of the basement.

"Well, we'll just have to hold our breaths and hope that both of them go for the idea of switching houses. It'll give Ginny and Patrick a bit of privacy and I can keep an iron fist on the three pups," said George.

"Those three are a handful," Peter said. Sara is a one pup wrecking ball and Joe and Ivan do whatever she tells them too."

"They sure do," said George. He handed Peter the piece of lumber he'd just cut to sister the joint.

Angie came down the stairs a few minutes later. "Are you guys breaking for dinner?" she asked.

"Is it 5:30pm already?" asked Peter.

"Nearly 6pm," said Angie.

"Hell! I'd better go. Lisa will be wondering where I am," he said as he handed the hammer to George. He was up the stairs and out the door in less than a minute.

Angie watched him go and then turned to George. "What was all that about?" she asked.

"Lisa is more wolf than human. Human features, but the wolf is more in charge. It makes life difficult at times. She doesn't cook well and if their daughter needs help with her homework, she has to wait for Peter," he said.

"Oh, never thought of that. I know that Meg mentioned that some don't survive shifting or never come back after the first time, but I never thought about someone being more wolf than human," she said.

"It happens. Most of the ones I know have a really strong partner. Shifter too. Never known one that married a human. The ones that don't, tend to fade back into the forest or the wilderness," said George.

"Makes sense. Do you want to come up for dinner?" she asked.

"Yes! I've been smelling it and trying not to drool on the saw," said George.

Angie laughed and they headed upstairs.

*

"Luc, I'm going to have to go shopping!" moaned Meg from the bathroom.

"Now? Today? Next week?" he asked as he poked his head in the door.

"I wanted to wait until Ginny got back, but I'm not sure I'm going to manage. I can't zip any of my trousers or jeans. My bras don't fit either," she said as she took off a pair of blue jeans.

"Meg, I don't care what you wear to work, as long as your comfortable," said Luc.

Meg turned, and put her hands on her hips. "I appreciate that, but undies just isn't going to cover it," she said standing in nothing but bikini panties.

Luc laughed. "How about your black leggings, that teal blue tank top with the built in bra and one of my white linen shirts over the top?" he asked.

Meg thought about it for a moment and smiled. "Thank you!" she said as she went to find the clothes.

Luc smiled. Meg was getting big. Jeff kept reminding her that twins take up twice the room and need twice the nourishment, but it didn't always sink in. Meg came around the corner wearing the outfit he'd suggested. She looked beautiful.

"Ready to head in?" he asked.

"Might as well. I have those two data bases to finish up, clients to bill and a phone to answer if today is anything like the rest of the week," she said.

Luc nodded as they headed to the car. After a slow three weeks, business was ramping up. He couldn't decide if it was linked to the weather or tax season or some totally random factor. When they got to the office, the phone was ringing and the answering machine showed five messages.

"I'll deal with this until Kevin gets here," said Meg who answered the call.

Luc nodded and headed for his office. His private line had eight messages. He started listening to those and writing down numbers and notes. Meg walked in five minutes later with her own list. He took it, read it and crossed three numbers off of his list.

"It is going to be busy today. Call Cal and Peter and have them come here first. They can head over to do the house work after lunch," said Luc.

"Alright. Oh, and Angie said she'd be in today. I think she feels guilty for spending all the time with George," said Meg.

"Women!" said Luc half joking as he rolled his eyes. He started making calls and shooed Meg out with his hand.

Meg went to her office. She got her packages ready to mail out and then settled in to work on the data bases. Working with Calc, she soon had data flying everywhere. She didn't even notice Angie knock on the door.

"Hey! Did pregnancy make you deaf?" teased Angie as she walked into Meg's office.

Meg looked up startled. "Oh! Angie! I didn't hear you," she said. She got up and hugged Angie, as she hadn't seen her since George had fallen.

"Wow! That bump is pretty big for three months," said Angie. "We going shopping soon?"

"Yes. As soon as Ginny gets home," said Meg. "Then the three of us are leaving the guys to fend for themselves while we spend their money."

"I like that idea," said Angie.

"Figured you would. I can't run around like this for six months," said Meg referring to her outfit.

"It isn't too bad. You look cute in Luc's shirt," said Angie.

"I may look cute, but I can't wear this every day," said Meg. "What's in the bag?"

"Wondered when you were going to notice this," said Angie. She held up a bag from the local bakery.

Meg took the bag and inside were three chocolate glazed doughnuts. "Angie, you are a saint," she said.

"No, just smart. And before you ask, Kevin and Luc have theirs already," she said holding up her own bag of pastries.

"Yummm!" said Meg pulling a doughnut out and biting into it. "Thish ish hebben." Meg sat back down at her desk and Angie pulled up a chair. They both ate doughnuts until there was nothing left except sticky fingers.

"So, how are you enjoying George's company?" Meg asked.

Angie just smiled.

"Oh no, you don't get to just smile at me," said Meg. "Spill the beans!"

"Okay. You told me enough about Luc when you two started dating. George is... um... very nice in bed," she said with a smile.

"Not fair!" said Meg.

"George is sweet, gentle, considerate, attentive, and..." Angie paused. She looked to see if the door was closed, which it was. "While not hanging down to his knees, oh my god he's got girth!" she said all in a rush.

Meg looked at Angie, who was gesturing with her hands. "And you can walk?" Meg asked.

"Amazingly, yes!" said Angie who broke into giggles. That got Meg laughing as well.

Luc stuck his head in the door, took one look at the women and retreated.

"What the hell are they laughing about?" asked Kevin as Luc headed for his office.

"Chocolate doughnuts, coffee and I suspect men were involved, but I'm not asking," he said smiling.

"Nope! Not going there. Cal and Peter said they'd be here in fifteen minutes," said Kevin.

"Good. I think we will need all the testosterone we can muster today," Luc jested.

*

Saturday dawned cool and cloudless. Patrick carried the last of their luggage downstairs. Ginny was waiting for him at the top of the stairs. She was still on crutches, but Doc Rogers wouldn't give her the go-ahead to do without them. Plus, Patrick had caught her wincing when she tried to walk. At least most of the bruises and cuts on her face had healed. Sitting out on the balcony for the last two days enjoying the sun had helped as well.

"Alright gorgeous, time to go," said Patrick. He picked her up and carried Ginny downstairs to where Sam, Buster and Doc waited. Patrick put Ginny down and Doc handed her the crutches.

"Now don't you forget to have that looked at by Dr. Jeff when you get home," said Doc.

"Don't worry. He won't let me forget," said Ginny pointing her finger at Patrick. "Thank you for everything Sam."

"You're welcome. You just get home safe and let Patrick take care of things," said Sam.

"I will, don't you worry. She's stubborn, but I'm meaner," Patrick said with a grin. He crouched to say goodbye to Buster. "Take care old man."

Buster slowly wagged his tail and made a growling sing-song noise deep in his throat. Ginny reached over and scratched him under the jowls.

"Goodbye Sam. Bye Doc. Keep in touch. If you need us, call," said Ginny.

"We will. Drive safe," said Sam and Doc at the same time.

Ginny got in the Subaru and Patrick stowed her crutches in the back. They backed out and headed down the road. In the rear-view mirror, they could see Sam and Doc waving. Patrick pulled out onto the highway

"Glad to be heading home?" asked Patrick.

"Yes. I miss the kids and I want to sleep in my own bed," said Ginny.

"What? You'll miss waking up with Buster on the end of the bed? We could go back and get him," teased Patrick.

"Just shut up and drive. Not only do I want to sleep in my own bed, I want to have sex!" said Ginny. Every time they'd tried to have even a bit of time, Buster seemed to show up like magic.

"Yeah, I could go for just a little recreation myself," said Patrick. "Did you call Luc or George?"

"I tried. George was over at Angie's and Luc's phone went to voice mail. I'll try again later," she said.

*

George was getting the last of the furniture where he wanted it. Bitty and 'Solda had gotten their room done first thing that morning. Joe, Ivan and Sara were still fighting about what went where when Angie walked into the house.

"George, do you need a hand?" she asked over the din.

"Please! I am about to go nuts," said George. The pups had been hyper all day and their attention spans were about a second long.

"Attention! Anyone not quiet in ten seconds will be sent to the bath!" Angie hollered over the noise.

The pups stopped and looked at Angie. None of them had expected her to growl at them. They stood there and blinked.

"These are the new rules. Boys to the bunks. Ivan on top, Joe on bottom. Sara on the single bed. Blue dresser for Joe. Brown dresser for Ivan. Green dresser for Sara. Any toy not in the right toy bag, box or bin in thirty minutes gets thrown away. Am I clear?" Angie said loudly and forcefully.

Three little heads nodded and then began moving things and picking up toys at a rapid pace. George and Angie walked towards the kitchen. When they got there, George shut the door and proceeded to laugh. Angie smiled. Ysabel walked in a moment later and just looked at the two of them.

"Where on earth did you learn to deal with children?" Ysabel asked.

"I had little brothers," said Angie. "They were terrors. Drove my mom crazy. We had an aunty who was in the Navy in WWII. Charge nurse. She came over one day and did what I just did. Oh my god did we move fast. My brothers lost shoes, jeans and Lincoln logs the first day. They had to earn them back by doing extra chores. None of us ever were that lazy again when Aunty came to visit. After she left, they slacked off, but I learned that doing the same thing had a great reaction. They did what I told them to, so I capitalized on it," said Angie.

"You'll fit in just fine," said Ysabel. "Have we heard from Ginny or Patrick?"

"Yes, they called and left a voicemail on Luc's phone. Said they'd be home tonight," said George.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 20



"That explains the expedience of the furniture shuffle then," said Ysabel.

"Yes. I'd like to have it all done by dinnertime," said George.

Angie stuck her head out of the kitchen. "Twenty-five more minutes!" she called down the hall. "Now what needs done in here?" she asked.

"Well, let's start with lunch," said Ysabel. She pulled out bread and sandwich fixing and the two women started on lunch while George tossed laundry in the washer.

*

"Who was on the phone?" Meg asked.

"It was Ginny. The message said they were on their way home. Should be here by this evening," said Luc. "Now where were we?"

"You were kissing me from my toes to my... Oh yeah, right there," Meg gasped. Luc was licking her thighs and working up to her pussy, which was still damp from her morning bath. Meg curled her fingers in Luc's damp hair, and pulled him closer.

Luc shifted his tongue just a little and after flicking her clit, he slid his tongue in and out of her pussy.

"Mmmm," Meg moaned. She squirmed as he kissed and licked her right up to the brink of orgasm. "Oh, don't tease," she said.

"Ah, but I like to tease," he said. Luc smiled and knelt between Meg's legs, letting his erection graze her lips. "I like to make you crazy with need too."

Meg wiggled out from under Luc and moved so that she had his erection in her hand. She stroked him softly and slowly while keeping herself away from his fingers.

"Okay! Tttteasing is bad when you're horny," gasped Luc.

"Yes, and now you must satisfy my lust," Meg said with a wicked grin. She let go of him and knelt on the bed with her hands on her hips.

Luc growled playfully and grabbed Meg, turned her around and almost before she had herself braced on the bed, he slid into her hot moist pussy.

"Oh... damn," Meg groaned.

Luc moved slowly in and out of her pussy, with his hands gripping her hips. Learning to be gentle was frustrating. He had to make sure he didn't shift too much. Still, it felt so good to make love.

Meg's breasts bobbed in rhythm to Luc's thrusts. Her nipples just touching the sheets. It made them rock hard. Luc grew, pushing deeper inside of her as they both came closer to orgasm. Meg pushed back against Luc with every thrust. She could feel him tap her cervix which felt so good.

"Lluc," she gasped as every nerve in her body started to vibrate.

Luc could feel her orgasm flow as he held her hips tight to his body with each stroke. Meg came in waves and just when he thought he couldn't hold back any longer, his own orgasm boiled up his spine. "Urrrrgh!" he growled as his body surrendered to the pleasure. He couldn't move because of the knot that had formed.

Meg couldn't move, wrapped up in his arms, so she just relaxed. In moment, Luc rolled so that the two of them were still spooned together on the bed. He ran his fingertips over her clit and shared in the orgasmic spasms as she came again and again.

They almost had one eye per socket when the phone rang. Luc picked it up, and saw that it was George. "Hello George," he said. Luc listened for a moment and walked towards the bathroom. "Yeah, we'll be over in a while. No, we just got up," said Luc with a smile directed at Meg. "Bye."

"What did George want?" asked Meg.

"George wants us to bring lunch and help do a last check on both houses. I said I would," Luc said turning the shower back on.

"Ah, Alpha of the pack giving his final approval over his underlings?" Meg teased as she snuck around Luc and climbed into the shower.

Luc laughed. "No, more like make sure there are no paint brushes or holes in the wall that he missed," he said. "Alpha of the pack? Where'd you get that dreck?" he asked.

"I was cruising the shelves at Barnes & Noble. You wouldn't believe the stuff people are writing. Werewolves, vampires, demons, all living with the 'mundane population'. That means boring by the way, because only things that go bump in the night have great jobs and sex lives," she joked she ducked under the water.

"Well, you gotta admit that you have a biased viewpoint," he said scrubbing her back for the second time that morning.

"Right. I've had both kinds of lovers, and that makes things unbiased in my view. You could have had the littlest cock in the world, and still beat out some of the guys I dated. It isn't how well hung you are, but how you deal with people, and that's a function of brain, not bod," said Meg. "And the way you handle yourself around people is just plain sexy."

Luc smiled and reached around to soap her breasts and belly. Meg leaned back and enjoyed the touching. They rinsed off and got out of the shower. This time they got dressed rather than climbing back into bed.

Meg wore a pair of denim leggings, a black tank top and one of Luc's flannel shirts. Luc grabbed jeans, tee-shirt and a flannel shirt. After a quick breakfast, they headed out to run a few errands and pick up stuff for lunch.

*

"I can't believe how hungry I am," Meg said snacking on dried fruit on their way to Angie's and George's houses.

"Jeff said it would get worse. I remember Penny when she was pregnant with Bitty. She looked like a stick with a basket ball attached and the appetite of a small nation," said Luc as they navigated traffic. "Unless it was popcorn. Even the smell of it on people's fingers made her heave."

"Ugh. I feel that way about oatmeal right now," said Meg.

"Ah, that explains why we haven't had any. I didn't even think to ask," said Luc. He signaled and then turned into the driveway of Angie's house where Cal and Peter were cutting lumber for something.

"We brought you lunch," said Meg as they got out of the car.

"How are things going?" asked Luc.

"Well, to be honest, Angie should sell this place and get a new house. One with George proof floors," said Peter.

"That bad?" asked Meg, who remembered how happy Angie when she got the house.

"Yeah. It's okay for humans, but any shifter is going to feel nervous about the floors. Just too many soft spots," said Cal.

"Oh, have you told her that?" asked Meg. "She loves her house."

"We did. George did. Angie said she'd think about it and about the trade idea. Neither Ginny or Patrick are as heavy as George. So, it might work for them," said Peter.

"Is the house livable for right now?" asked Luc.

"Yeah. Today we are just adding a few braces. Otherwise, it's good enough to put on the market," said Cal.

"Okay. As soon as you two are done here, head over to the other house," said Luc as he and Meg got back into the Subaru.

"Will do. See you in a few hours," the two men called as the car pulled out of the driveway.

*

Luc and Meg pulled into George's driveway twenty minutes later. As they got out of the car, the three pups poured out of the house. Sara wrapped her arms around Meg and rested her head on the baby bump. Ivan and Joe hugged Luc.

"I can hears them," said Sara.

"You can?" asked Meg trying to walk into the house.

"Uhuh. Theys wiggly," said Sara. Sara opened the door for Meg and then waited for Luc and the boys who were bringing in all the bags.

"Hello! Anyone home or did the children eat you?" Meg called.

"Back here," called a voice.

Meg put down her bags and headed for the room the noises issued from. She found George, Angie and 'Solda trying to figure out where to put things.

"Here, let me help," said Meg. Everyone turned to Meg and there was a brief flurry of hugs and hellos. Meg took a good look at the refurbished bedroom. They had changed the closet around and widened the bathroom door.

"Put the bed there," she said pointing. "Dresser over there and the nightstand on the left side of the bed."

George and 'Solda did the heavy lifting and Angie moved the nightstand.

"Now why didn't we think of that?" said Angie as she looked at the room which all of a sudden worked.

"Because we've been playing musical furniture since 8am, and we're all blind," said George.

'Solda giggled and snuck out of the room. She headed for the kitchen where she could hear the little ones and Luc talking.

"I agree. How are you feeling Meg?" asked Angie.

"Hungry, but alright. And I'm beginning to understand that I'm going to be hungry for a while," Meg said. That made everyone laugh. Angie walked over and gave Meg a hug.

"Did Cal and Peter give you the news about my house?" Angie asked softly.

"Yes. I had the same kind of adjustment when I started dating Luc. I couldn't understand why he didn't like spending the night in my apartment until we broke the bed. Then I was all for moving out. The idea of going through the floor was uncomfortable. Especially as Luc tends to shift as he falls asleep," said Meg.

Angie nodded. "If Ginny and Patrick don't want to swap, I will probably sell my house. I adore George, and don't want to sleep in the basement the rest of my life," said Angie.

George blushed a deep red. "Um... Can we finish up so we can have lunch?" he asked as he put the rugs back on the floor.

"Yes," said Meg and Angie at the same time.

*

Ginny woke up just as Patrick pulled into the driveway. She stretched and tried to figure out who was here by all the cars in the driveway.

"This is some home coming crowd," said Patrick.

"Yes, and here I was hoping to sneak in," said Ginny. "If I count it right, there are at least a dozen people here."

Patrick nodded. "Now wait for your crutches, or I will carry you in over my shoulder," he said firmly.

Ginny started to protest and stopped. Over the last couple of weeks, she had discovered just how 'alpha' Patrick was. At least with her, and while it didn't rankle, it took getting use to. The last one to be that dominant was her grandfather. Patrick brought her crutches around and handed them to her just as the door opened and everyone poured out. Sara, Ivan and Joe headed the pack and almost knocked Ginny over in the effort to hug her.

"Wat happened Awnty Ginny?" asked Sara.

"I fell Sara. We'll tell you all about it when we get inside. If I'm on my feet too long, Uncle Patrick there will growl at me and I don't want that. Do you?" Ginny asked the three pups.

"No!" said Ivan and Joe at the same time. Sara started to say something and Patrick growled softly at the same time he smiled. Sara blinked and ran in the house with the bag she'd been given to carry.

Everyone greeted the two of them and helped in bringing in the bags. Ginny navigated the doorway and got inside. She was astonished by the change in the house, even though all she could see was the living room and dining room. She started to head further in, when she heard Patrick growl behind her. This time it had none of the joking that had been present when he growled at Sara. Ginny sat down.

"Ginny, what on earth did you do?" asked Meg. In the full light of the living room, Ginny's bruises and scrapes were visible.

"I slipped, fell and face planted on the deck. Broke my nose, blacked my eyes and screwed up my ankle," she said.

"I heard all about that from Doc Rogers," said Jeff as he came out of the kitchen. "I had a busy night that night."

"What? Did Doc keep you on the phone longer than he told us?" asked Ginny totally confused.

"No, but I had to tend to someone else that fell and hurt themselves, which made for a a very busy time," said Jeff smiling.

"Who?" asked Ginny as she looked at the faces of everyone in the room. George turned beet red. "George? What happened?" asked Ginny.

"I... um... fell through the floor at Angies," he said at last.

Ginny looked at him and then at the others. Then it dawned on her. "All of you knew?"

"Some of us knew," said Luc. "As leader of this pack, I get told all sorts of things. Best part is that each of you told someone not to tell the other so that they wouldn't worry," he finished.

That made everyone laugh.

"So, instead of fixing up just one house, we had to fix two," said Peter. He stood over to one side, with his arm around his wife Lisa.

"Worst part was waiting for George to heal so we could work in the basement," Cal teased. George reached over and thumped him on the head.

"Yes, but we got all the work done," said George. "Which brings us to a question."

"And that would be?" asked Patrick.

"Are you and Ginny invested in living here? Would you want to check out Angie's house, or do you two want a house of your own. Reason I ask is that there is no way I can live at Angie's. Even thinking of shifting makes the floors creak for me," said George.

"I hadn't thought of that," said Patrick.

"Neither had I," chimed in Ginny. "Could we wait to decide until we've had a chance to see Angie's house?"

"Oh! Of course," said Angie. "Men! Make her think she has to move tonight? After just getting home? Give her a chance."

"Angie, I didn't mean she had to move this second," said George softly.

Ginny smiled. She liked seeing the tender side of George. Better yet, she liked seeing Angie handle George so well.

"Peetzas ready!" called the three pups from the kitchen.

Angie looked past George at the three of them and cleared her throat. "What do you say?" she said firmly.

"Dinner is ready," said Sara, Ivan and Joe all together.

"Thank you. We will be there in a minute," said Angie who turned around quickly so that the three wouldn't see her smile.

"You know, that was even better than seeing George put in his place," said Ginny with a smile on her face.

Angie smiled. George blushed.

"Let's go eat," said Meg. "I'm starving."

Jeff looked at Meg. "I take it you aren't skipping meals?" he asked.

"No, I haven't. I've been eating like a pig, and I'm still hungry," said Meg as they all walked to the table. She gave Ginny a hug as Patrick helped Ginny to the table where Bitty and 'Solda waited to serve dinner.

"Okay, just checking," said Jeff.

"Don't mind him," said Martha. "He just worries too much some times."

"Martha, if you hadn't told me I'd be so hungry, I'd have thought I had something wrong," said Meg. "Oh, and Ginny, as soon as you can walk, we need to go shopping."

"I noticed your wardrobe had taken a Luc-ish style to it," said Ginny with a smile.

"Oh yeah," said Meg.

Pizza, beer and salad was passed around the table. The conversations mellowed as people ate.

"What was this about an old shifter?" asked Luc.

"His name is Buster, and he lives at the Bed & Breakfast. To be honest, I don't think he'll last a month," said Patrick. He explained a bit more and the rest of them listened.

"Did you ever find out who his family is?" asked Ysabel.

"No, but that would have taken longer to go through his stuff than I had the other morning," said Patrick.

"Hardest part is going to be Sam. She's rather attached to him and will miss him when he passes," said Ginny. Patrick nodded.

"I'll talk to Doc Rogers and make sure he's ready for Buster's passing," said Jeff.

"Good idea," said Luc. "Might be startling if he shifts back."

*

Ginny looked around her room. It was beautiful. Patrick had carried her while they had the grand tour of the changes in the house. Now they were alone in their room for the first time.

"They did a great job," said Ginny.

"Yes, they did. And our decisions on what happens will wait until tomorrow. Tonight, I want to ravish you," he said huskily as he held her in his arms.

"Ravish me?" Ginny teased. "But I'm injured."

"Oh. Well. If you hurt too much, I'll just sleep on the couch," Patrick replied. He let go of her and started to head out of the room.

"One step further and I'll kick you with my bad ankle," said Ginny.

Patrick turned and smiled a wicked smile. "Glad to know that you don't hurt that much," he said. He walked back over to Ginny and started taking off her clothes. She started to help.

"No," he growled. Ginny stopped. He had her undressed and helped her on the bed. Then he undressed. As he got onto the bed, he cuddled Ginny to him.

"Too many nights without being inside of you," he said.

"Far too long," said Ginny. She reached over to stroke his erection that was throbbing against her thigh.

Patrick reached between Ginny's legs and wasn't surprised to find her wet. His fingers slid across her clit and into her pussy with ease. Ginny groaned with pleasure. Patrick fingered her until she began to moan and press against his hand. He pulled her up on her knees and moved between her legs, careful not to bump her ankle. Patrick guided his cock between her lips and deep into her pussy. Hot, moist and so tight, he clamped down on the sensations running through his body so as to not come right then.

Ginny gasped at the sensation of having Patrick buried to the hips inside of her. Slowly, he began to stroke in and out. His hands on her hips felt good. She tried to speed up and Patrick held her, keeping to the slower pace.

"Patrick," she moaned.

"Nnno, not ggoing to rush," he said through jaws partially shifted. "Want to last."

Ginny felt his hand shift as the nails became claws and held her even tighter. She knew she didn't dare shift as that would stress her ankle. Patrick's fur on his stomach tickled her back and she arched against him. Other things had shifted, and she was enjoying each stroke of his cock as it nudged her cervix.

Patrick brought his hand around to stroke Ginny's clit. She moaned and bucked hard against him. It was Patrick's turn to moan as her muscles tightened around his cock and the last of his control slipped. Pounding harder, he felt his balls slap against Ginny's thighs as he leaned forward. Ginny wriggled in pleasure as her orgasm hit. Patrick rode the wave of her release and then biting down on her shoulder, let loose his control. It felt as if he came forever, and the knot that had formed held them tightly together.

Ginny lowered herself to the bed, and Patrick followed. He was half shifted, and it was difficult to fit on the bed. Patrick curled up around Ginny.

"That was so nice," Ginny said softly.

"Nihsh?" said Patrick. "Ohnly nihsh?"

"Very, very nice," she said

"Noh, tha wa-shh ver ghud," said Patrick. With a glint in his eye, he brought his hand up to Ginny's ribs and started tickling her just at the base of the short ribs.

"No! Patttttrick, no!" she gasped. "Nnnot there,"

"Yesh," he said. He kept tickling her there until her foot started to shake. Held together by the knot, she couldn't get away. Just as she began to kick, he stopped and moved his fingers to her clit. Patrick started to stroke her clit almost as fast as he'd tickled her ribs. The result was amazing.

"Oh! Oh, stttop," said Ginny as her body switched sensations from tickle to orgasm.

Patrick grinned and his fangs showed. Just before she came, he switched back to her ribs, and repeated this until Ginny's body couldn't process the signals. She started to orgasm as he played with her clit, and when he switched to her ribs, her body carried right on until she shuddered with pleasure. Her muscles clamped tighter around the knot sharing her pleasure with Patrick.

"You... you bastard," she gasped.

"Myh pharrunts marrheed evehn-chulee," he said.

"Oh," Ginny started only to be stopped as Patrick repeated his little trick of tickling her ribs and then stroking her clit. He was enjoying mixing her body up on sensations. He enjoyed the way she shared her orgasms.

"Ohhhhh," Ginny moaned as he started up a third time. By this point, it only took one or two switches for her body to hit overload. Patrick took advantage of this and when his fingers switched from ribs to clit, he sucked her nipple into his mouth and nipped it gently.

"Ah!" Ginny squeaked as she orgasmed hard enough to soak Patrick's hand and the bedding under her ass. She went limp in his arms as she passed out.

Patrick smiled and pulled her tight against him. With all the extra orgasms, it would be hours before his knot subsided. He smiled. He felt good. Good to be inside Ginny. Good to be home. As he fell asleep, he could hear the giggles and squeaks that could only be George and Angie having the same kind of fun down the hall.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 21



This was a very difficult chapter to write. Lots of ups and downs. My partner is still nashing his teeth. I appreciate all of the comments and the support from my readers. It's kept me going on what originally was a single chapter short story.



Ginny, Angie and Meg had decided to take a late lunch and go shopping. Jeff had finally cleared Ginny to walk without crutches as long as she took it easy. It had been a long two weeks. They stopped at the Burger Joint first where they enjoyed organic lamb and beef burgers with home made fries. 

"I never would have known this place existed if it hadn't been for you," said Angie.

Ginny nodded. "Goo tuff," she said around a mouthful.

Meg giggled. She just kept eating. 

"I figured we'd go to the 5th Street Mall across town and see what clothes we can find for Meg," said Angie. "The stuff we got last week isn't going to last much longer from the looks of it."

"No, and I'm four months along and look like six," said Meg.

"I'm just glad Jeff and Patrick decided I wasn't confined to the house. I've been bored stiff," said Ginny. 

"I bet. Still can't believe that you fell like that," said Meg.

"I can't believe that George went through the floor and speared himself on a nail," said Ginny.

It was Angie's turn to nod as she chewed. She swallowed. "Then there he was naked and gorgeous, and I was scared to death to touch him for fear of hurting him," Angie said. "I know that it's stupid thinking I could hurt him, but..." 

"No, not stupid at all. It's the little things that we don't think about that kill us. Nails, mud and broken hearts," said Ginny. 

Meg nodded. "You forgot worry, complacency, stress, and lack of sex," she finished.

"Oh yeah! Sex. Damn! I'm not sure which was worse. No sex because of my ankle and my nose or no sex because Buster was on the end of our bed," said Ginny. "I thought Patrick was going to explode."

"He told Luc the same thing. Only that it was you who was going to explode," said Meg. I can't eat another bite. Are you ready to go shopping?"

The other two finished up their food and the three of them headed to the 5th Street Mall. 

*

"I couldn't," said Angie turning a bright red at Ginny's suggestion that she buy a very sex dress and undies to go with it.

"Why not? George would love it. Then you could tell him what you've decided about the house," said Ginny.

"Ummm, I don't know if I should mix up sex with business," said Angie.

"Always the pragmatic one eh?" said Meg. "I think you should mix the two. What better way for him to know you're alright with all of this?"

"Well,..." she started looking back at the dress. It was drop dead gorgeous and on sale. In all honesty, she'd probably never get out of the house or the bedroom wearing it. It did do a nice job of accentuating all the right curves.

"Red or emerald," Meg asked Angie.

"You aren't helping!" Angie squeaked.

"Yeah right. Listen to you who talked me into not three but eight outfits," Meg rebuffed. "The least you can do is buy a dress and some undies that will make George drool."

"Oh hell, if all you wanted to do is make him drool, just walk around naked. No, you want him to fall down because his hard-on outweighs his ass," teased Ginny. 

"Fine! Fuck me Red it is then," said Angie. She was still blushing when they got to the lingerie department. She'd already cleaned out most of what Sara called 'granny panties', but it was still difficult to buy the silky and lacy bits people said were undies. Ten minutes later she had two bra and pantie sets and four pairs that sort of match the bras. One set was emerald green to be the tease under the dress. 

Ginny had bought new undies and bras as well. They figured that if one of the guys was going to have a melt down, all three deserved to be brainless. Her stuff was a bit tamer except one set in bright green. She was looking forward to seeing Patrick drool. 

They took their purchases to the check out and then headed to one more shop in the mall. The baby store. 

*

The women got home in time for dinner. George and Luc had cooked, so it meant that everyone was having rather rare steak off of the barbecue. Luc had added salad and French bread with garlic butter.

"About time you women got home," teased George.

"We'd nearly called the cops," said Patrick.

"Oh shush. Do you want to see what we bought before or after dinner?" asked Ginny.

"Is it child safe?" asked George.

"No. So, I guess that means later. Let's eat and then we'll do a fashion show," said Meg.

The men dished food out and soon everyone was eating and talking about the day. Luc had a client decide that the new router/server combo they were working on was a viable option. George had worked on the garden and Patrick had checked in on his first client. He'd landed a job at an investment firm which did private consultations for economic clients.

While George washed dishes, Patrick and Luc put the pups through the bath and then into bed. The women found outfits to show off. Meg of course had the most. When the guys were sitting down with coffee, Meg began to show her clothing off. 

Three business outfits, three casual outfits, one rough and tumble one and the stunner. Meg loved it when Luc wasn't the only one to stare as she showed off the midnight blue summer dress. The neckline showed her cleavage and the peak-a-boo slit emphasized her legs.

"I think we'll have to let the ladies go shopping more often," said Luc as Meg came to sit in his lap. 

"Just wait till you see the undies," she whispered in his ear.

Then it was Ginny's turn. She had bought a business suit that had a plunging neckline relieved on only by a bit of lace. Under it she had the bright green bra and panties set. 

Patrick wolf whistled. When Ginny came to sit next to him, he peeked down her shirt and saw the green lingerie. "Honey, I hope you don't intend to show that to anyone besides me," he said softly.

"Well, I could if you wanted me to," Ginny teased. Patrick shot her a dirty look which made her smile.

Angie stood in the shadows, just out of sight. "George," she called.

"Yes Angie, come on out," he said.

"Before I do, I want you to understand that I've decided to sell my house. We'll put it on the market tomorrow and I'll live with you while we build a house," she said.

"Okay, but you could have told me that over dinner," George said.

"No, we ladies decided that you needed to understand down to the tips of your toes that I mean it. That house has been my baby, and it's hard to give it up. However, I love you," she said and walked out into the living room wearing the fitted red dress that Ginny and Meg had talked her into getting. The heels that they found matched and while the other two women had shown off their clothes, she had done her makeup and hair. She was stunning.

George sat there with his mouth open. 

"Wow," said Luc. 

"You're beautiful Angie and that dress highlights it all," said Patrick.

Angie looked at George. "Don't you have anything to say to me?" she asked.

George stood up, picked Angie up and kissed her. "You are the most beautiful woman in the world and I am so lucky that you are mine," he said. He kissed her and headed for their bedroom.

"Well, I thought the dress might have an impact, but wait until he gets to the undies," said Ginny.

"Oh yeah. We'll hear that whoop over at our house," said Meg. "They are emerald green, and mostly lace. Angie filled lace."

"Oh god," said Patrick. "Can we go check yours out?" he asked Ginny.

She smiled and walked to the bedroom. Patrick waved to Luc and Meg who were laughing and trying to get up off of the couch so they could go home.

"See you tomorrow!" called Luc.

"Only if he's got a serious case of impotency," called Ginny.

Luc and Meg laughed as they headed home.

*

George set Angie on the bed. He went down on his knees and gently took off her shoes. Then the stockings. He stood her up and after admiring the dress once more, he unzipped it. Angie shrugged her shoulders and the dress slid to the floor exposing the emerald green panties and bra.

"Oh..." was all George said as Angie slowly turned in a circle. His erection hurt, it was pressing so hard up against his zipper.

"George, why are you still dressed?" Angie asked as she stood poised like a coy model.

"I... um... I..." he stammered. He undressed so fast, he swore buttons flew. When he was naked, Angie walked to him and wrapped her arms around him. His erection bumped her bra. She smiled, bent down and kissed the head. 

"Aaaaangie," George moaned. 

She rubbed her hands down his hips and then as far around his muscular ass as she could go. She almost managed to kiss his erection again when he growled, picked her up and put her on the bed. Slowly, hook by hook he undid the bra. As her breasts came free of the silk and lace, he kissed each nipple until they stood out in little hard peaks. Then he peeled the lace undies off of her and dropped them next to the bra. Kneeling between her legs, he shifted his tongue slightly and after flicking her clit, he tongued her pussy until she giggled and squirmed in delight. 

George laid across the bed and Angie took as much of his cock in her mouth as she could. Once it was wet, and he was groaning, she straddled him and worked his cock into her pussy with slow rocking motions. When he had filled her, George moved in and out of her pussy, guiding her hips to move to just the right spots. 

Angie moaned as George made her feel so good. She could feel her orgasm building and knew that it wouldn't take much more to send her over the edge. She felt George's hands move up to her breasts and cup them in his hands. He rolled her nipples lightly between his fingers. He held one breast and put his other hand on her ass as his own orgasm rolled up his body. 

"Aaaaah," he groaned as he came. Angie rode the surge of his pleasure and came seconds later. She felt so good, she couldn't stop orgasming. A few moments later, she rolled off of George and cuddled next to him.

"I... still swear you share your orgasms," she gasped as aftershocks rolled her body. 

?Maybe, I don't know how I do it though," he said softly. He reached over to the side of the bed and reached into a basket and grabbed a towel. He handed it to Angie. "I know you'll need this," he said. 

"Oh yeah. I already have a puddle under my hip," she said. The one thing that amazed her was the volume of cum. Granted, George was a big man, but still. He left her swimming in it. If she stood up without a towel, it ran down her legs and puddled. She'd asked Ginny and Meg about it and discovered that Luc and Patrick were the same way. A "shifter" thing. Meg was the one who told her to keep a supply of towels next to the bed. She dried herself off enough to get to the bathroom and was back in bed in two minutes.

"If you guys are so fertile, why haven't you taken over the world?" Angie asked.

"Simple. High teen mortality rate," he said softly. "We have more shifters die between sixteen and twenty-four than the average human. It evens out."

"Oh. Never thought of it that way," said Angie. She had cuddled up to him and he wrapped her in his arms like a plump teddy bear. 

"Good night George," she said.

"Ni-hght," said George. He was half shifted as he fell asleep. 

The wolf snuffled her neck. He knew he was too big to ever truly mate with her, but she was his. He curled around her and cradled her on his body. "Mine," he thought as he snuffled her hair and neck again before sleeping.

Ginny's bright green undies set had been a hit. Patrick was still being gentle as they had sex, but mid-stroke, he shifted and so did she. He bit the fur on her neck to hold her tight to him as his hips pistoned his cock in and out. As the knot formed, he howled his release and she accompanied him. Panting, they dropped to the bed. The knot would hold them tight for at least an hour. 

The smaller of the two wolves enjoyed the mating pleasures. Her mate was very dominant, and she felt safe with him. "Safe," was the last thing that crossed her mind.

Luc and Meg took time to wash and dry her new clothes. Then they headed to bed. It had been a long day, and while Meg wanted to have sex, she just couldn't keep her eyes open a minute longer. Luc held her and stroked her growing stomach. They still hadn't felt a kick, although Sara said she had. Luc shifted and curled around her.

The wolf was trying to be gentle as he put his head on his mate's stomach. Putting his ear to her skin, he listened. The swishing noises didn't make much sense to him, but it was different than the blood just under her skin. "Pups!" he thought as his tail thumped the bed in joy.

*

Sam heard a noise. She wasn't sure what it was, but it had woke her up. She grabbed her robe and headed for the hall. There in the hall was a man slumped over on the floor. "Oh God!" she thought, wondering which one of her guests had fallen. Then she realized as she knelt next to the man that he was naked. "Buster?" she asked.

"Help me up," he said in a whisper. He was wiry and frail. A very old man. Sam helped him to her room and set him on the bed. Then she grabbed a cover and wrapped it around him.

"Buster, whatever made you shift back?" she asked.

"Wanted to tell you goodbye and that I love you for all you did for me," he said. 

"Oh Buster, you didn't have to do that," Sam said with tears beginning to run down her face. 

"Seeing those two, I wanted to come back and talk. Now it's almost too late," he said. His voice was so soft, Sam could barely hear him.

"No, it isn't. It's never too late," said Sam. 

"I..." Buster started and then was wracked with a cough. It shuddered his whole body. "I want you to send my stuff to those two young wolves," he finally got out between coughs. 

"You mean Patrick and Ginny?" Sam asked.

Buster nodded. He coughed and wheezed. 

"Let's get you comfortable," said Sam.

"Okay, never thought I'd end up in your bed," Buster said half joking.

"Oh you!" said Sam. A smile broke thought the tears still streaming down her face. She turned because she heard a noise. There in the doorway stood one of her guests.

"Is everything okay?" asked the man.

"Yes, just an old friend not feeling well," said Sam. 

"I'll call a doctor if you want," the man said.

"No, no need, I'll call Doc Rogers in a minute once I get him settled," said Sam.

"Are you sure? It's no problem," he said again.

"I'm sure. I don't want any fuss. I'll call the doctor in a few minutes. It ain't like he's gonna do more than hold his hand anyway," said Sam getting frustrated. 

"Okay," said the man and went back down the hall.

"Damn tourists," mumbled Sam.

"Sam, my name is Brian Davy. Don't think I ever said," said Brian.

"You told me once, but told me to call you Buster. Never explained that," she said. "I'm gonna call Doc and I'll be right back." 

Sam headed down the hall to the phone. She got there just in time to see the guest hang up the phone. "Now what in the Sam Hill did you do?" she asked. 

"I called the ambulance since you weren't going to. That man could die because you didn't do what you should have," he said righteously.

"That man in there is old. He isn't worried about dying. Now get out of my way so I can call Doc," said Sam. "Oh, and pack your bags. Get the hell out of my Bed & Breakfast!" she said. Then she called Doc Rogers. After a few minutes, she headed back to the bedroom and Buster.

"That idjet called an ambulance. I called Doc and he'll try to cancel it, but we may have a few more people than I expected," she told Brian.

"No hospital," he said.

"No, I understand. Won't let them take you. Now, I'm going to get some pajama bottoms on you afore Doc gets here," she said. She turned to a dresser and pulled out a pair of pajamas that had belonged to her husband. She'd kept them all these years and never knew why. Now she had a reason. Between the two of them, they got the pajamas on and Brian back under the covers.

Fifteen minutes later, Sam heard car doors slam and people coming into the B&B. Brian was almost asleep. She went out to meet whoever was heading her way. It was Doc Rogers and the paramedics.

"Now you young men just go back to the fire house and pester some motorist," said Sam. "Doc can take care of Brian just fine. He don't want to go to the hospital so you ain't needed."

"Oh come on Sam. You know the rules. We have to hear it from the patient that he doesn't want help," said Matt. His buddy Dave just nodded.

"I tried the same thing Sam. Didn't work for me either. So let's go see Brian," said Doc.

"Fine. Just don't startle him none. He's asleep," said Sam.

The four of them walked down the hall to Sam's room. The two paramedics walked straight over to the bed and without thinking, started checking Brian out.

"Hey! I said leave him alone!" cried Sam. "He's asleep!"

"Sam, we gotta do our job," said Dave. He said it loud enough, that it startled Brian.

"Who? Wha!" Brian called.

"Sorry Brian, these idjets can't listen. I said you were sleeping, and that you didn't want to go to the hospital, but they can't listen," said Sam.

"Mr... um.... Brian, now we are hear to help you. We'll take you to the hospital and get you fixed right up," said Matt who was trying to take Brian's blood pressure.

"Get that thing offa me! I am not going to the hospital. I want to stay here at Sam's. If I die, so be it, but get away from me!" shouted Brian as he ripped off the pressure cuff and threw it in Dave's face.

"I told you to leave him alone," said Doc and Sam almost at the same time.

Dave turned to Sam and started pushing her out of the door. "Sam, I think you aren't the best person to have around at the moment and you are upsetting the old man," he said as he tried to shove her out the door.

There was a growling noise and then a high pitched girly scream behind Dave. Dave turned to see the old man seemingly start to shift into a wolf and Matt pass out on the floor. The 'wolfman' was heading straight towards Dave. Dave let go of Sam, and ran for the door screaming at the top of his lungs.

Doc and Sam ran towards Buster/Brian and caught him as he fell off the bed.

"Oh Brian," cried Sam. She and Doc put him back on the bed. Brian was half shifted and seemed even frailer than he had moments ago. Doc checked his pulse and when Sam looked up at him, he just shook his head slowly. The Doc dragged Matt out of the room and threw all of the paramedic gear out in the hall. He shut the door and locked it.

"I love you Sam. You remind me of my daughter," gasped Brian. He coughed and wheezed. 

"Oh Brian," was all Sam could say as the tears rolled own her face. She curled up on the bed beside him and held him. Brian coughed again and shuddered as it subsided. Sam just rocked him slowly back and forth. His breathing became shallower and shallower until it was just a rattle in the back of his throat. 

"Doc? I think he's gone," said Sam. 

Doc came over and checked Brian's pulse. Nothing. He checked again. Nothing. "He's gone," said Doc. "I'll make out the death certificate."

Sam still held Brian in her arms. "What are we going to do with them? And how are we going to deal with Betty Jane, the coroner?" she asked.

"I'll deal with Betty Jane. As for them, they saw and old hairy man. That's it. Now cover him up, because I think we are going to have company. I hear sirens," said Doc.

Sam nodded. She kissed Brian on the forehead and covered his ears with his hair the best she could. Then she pulled the sheet up over his face. "Goodbye Brian," she thought to herself.

No sooner did they get things set when someone hammered on the door. Sam walked over and unlocked it. At the door was Matt, Dave, the guest who started all the trouble, and Sheriff Dobbs.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 21



"Um, Sam, um... These men say you won't let them in to treat a patient. And, they are saying he's some sort of wolfman. Do you have any idea what the hell their talking about?" asked Sheriff Dobbs.

"Yes, I do. One of my oldest friends fell ill, and this nosy bastard came in just as I was trying to get him to bed. He called the paramedics and I called Doc Rogers here. He's Brian's doctor. Now Brian didn't want to go to the hospital to die, and told these two yahoos to leave him alone. When they didn't leave, he got upset. He got more upset when they tried to push me out of my own room. They panicked and made one hell of a scene. 

"Okay, and what about this old man Brian being a wolfman?" asked the Sheriff.

"Well, Brian is a furry kinda guy. A lot of those Canadians are that way. He growled at them and then coughed and fell out of bed. So if that makes them think he's a wolfman, it ain't my fault," said Sam.

"And how is Brian doing?" the Sheriff asked Doc.

"He died about fifteen minutes ago. Might have made it long enough to call his family if these two shits hadn't harassed him," said Doc. He scowled at the two paramedics.

"Hey man, we were just doing our job," said Dave.

"No, you were interfering with a man's right to die peacefully," said Sam. Now get out of my place!"

The two paramedics grabbed the last of their gear and headed for the door. Matt turned around. "What about Betty Jane?" he asked.

"I've already called her. She'll bring the morgue wagon and we'll deal with him," said Doc.

Matt nodded and walked out. 

"I still need to see the body," said the Sheriff.

"Come on in," said Sam. She wasn't happy and felt no problem in letting everyone know it.

Sheriff Dobbs walked over to the bed. He pulled down just enough of the sheet to see Brian's face and then let the sheet fall. "Sure hairy enough. Musta been a shave twice a day kinda guy," was all he said. He tipped his hat to Sam and Doc. "My condolences." 

The Sheriff left the room and soon it was just Sam and Doc. Sam looked around. "How long till Betty Jane gets here?" she asked.

Probably two hours. She's gotta put on that fright face she calls makeup and then wake up Teddy to drive the hearse. Why?" he asked.

"I've got a phone call to make," said Sam.

"Can't it wait? It's 3am," said Doc.

"No, not with those two idjets spreading rumors and such. Plus, maybe they know a place to take Brian so there aren't no photos or autopsies," said Sam.

"Then what you waiting for?" asked Doc. 

Sam went and got the phone and brought it back to her room. She dialed Ginny and Patrick's number.

*

Patrick heard the phone and tried to ignore it. Ginny woke up and got the phone. "Better be important if you're calling at 3:05am!" she thought. "Hello? Oh Sam!" she said.

Patrick woke and sat straight up when she heard Ginny say Sam. He listened as Ginny talked. He nodded and went to get his own cell phone. He took it out to the living room and called Dr. Jeff. He explained what he'd heard from Ginny and then rang off. When he got to the bedroom, he found Ginny crying. Patrick took her in his arms and just held her. He knew he'd get the whole story when she stopped crying. 



Dr. Jeff called a friend of his who ran a family mortuary less than ten miles from the B&B. He arranged for them to pick up Brian from the B&B. Then he called Doc Rogers and let them know what was going on. Then he went back to sleep. 

"So, she got him back in bed, and he told her that he loved her. That she reminded him of his daughter. Then he died," said Ginny still crying. By this time, Patrick, George, Angie and Ginny were sitting in the kitchen. "Oh, and he said we were to have all of his stuff." 

Angie wrapped her arms around Ginny and the two of them cried. Patrick motioned to George. The two men walked over to the far side of the kitchen.

"Are you thinking there is going to be trouble?" asked George.

"Depends if those two paramedics decide to make trouble," said Patrick. "We just need to be ready. It's happened before, and with all the books out about shifters and vampires, who knows what will happen."

"Yeah. My Gran said there was a horrid time when she was a child. Whole families moved in the middle of the night just so that people would leave them alone," said George.

"Well, I just hope no one gets any pictures," said Patrick. "From what Ginny said, he partially shifted to protect Sam."

"Shit," was all that George said.

*

Doc found Sam in the kitchen of the B&B. She had locked the room where Brian was and had come to make coffee. "Sam, Dr. Jeff sent a funeral home that deals with good people," he said not wanting to be overheard saying the word 'shifter' as the paramedics were running their mouths about wolfmen and werewolves.

"When will they be here? Betty Jane is due any time. 

"They called and said they'd be here in about five minutes," said Doc.

"Good. Patrick and Ginny will be up in the morning. Said they were coming up with friends," said Sam.

"Okay. Here's hoping that Matt and Dave don't turn this into a circus," said Doc.

"They better not. Else, I'll let Patrick eat them," said Sam.

Doc nodded in agreement. 

*

"Sam!" called Betty Jane. She was looking around the lobby and didn't see anyone. "Sam?" 

"Back here dear!" called Sam. She had just taken the coffee cups back to the kitchen. She walked up to Betty Jane and then they headed to Sam's bedroom.

Doc was sitting in front of the bedroom door. The two men, Donald and James, from the funeral home were there too. 

"Howdy Doc," said Betty Jane. She nodded towards the two morticians. "Shall we get this show on the road?" 

Doc stood up and unlocked the door. They all walked into the room and Betty Jane did what was required under the law. "What time did he pass?" she asked. 

"About 3am," said Sam. 

"Okay," she said and walked over to the table to fill out the death certificate. "I take it you'll hold on to this?" she asked Sam.

"Yeah, at least until we go through his papers and see if there is any next of kin," said Sam. "You two ready to take care of him?" she asked the morticians.

"Yes ma'am," said Donald, the taller of the two. 

"Then get going. It's been a long night for all of us," said Betty Jane. "I'll send Steve over to steam clean the mattress if you want or haul it off." 

"Thanks Betty Jane. I'll walk you to the door," said Sam.

"Good. You can tell me why those two idiots were talking about werewolves," said Betty Jane as they walked towards the front door.

"You have as good an idea as I do. Just 'cause some old man is a little furry and they startle him awake doesn't mean he's unnatural. I think they're just pissed that I didn't let them haul the poor old guy off to the hospital to be kept alive and run up bills no one can or will pay," said Sam.

"Agreed. Some people should just be allowed to die. That man musta been at least 100," said Betty Jane.

"At least that. He's got pictures of him in a WWI outfit in his room," said Sam. 

"Oh my. Hope you find some relatives to give that stuff to," said Betty Jane.

"That's what I'm going to do later today. After everyone's gone, I'm taking a nap!" said Sam.

"Don't blame you. If I hear those two idiots running their mouths, I'll smack 'em for you," said Betty Jane. "Bye!"

"Bye dear," said Sam as she closed the door. She wrote a note and stuck it on the bulletin board stating that the kitchen was available for whoever wanted to cook. Then she headed back to her room. 

Donald and James had just left her room as she came around the corner. Donald continued down the hall with the gurney. James came to talk to Sam.

"We'll cremate him and have his ashes ready for pick up in a day or so. I'll call you," he said.

"Thanks James. Was there much... um... mess?" Sam asked.

"No, I don't think the poor old man had eaten much in the last day or so. Steam cleaning will be real easy. Plus, we got here quickly. If you have any questions, just give me a call," James said and handed her a card.

Sam thanked him and went into where Doc sat in her room. He was holding the death certificate and starring off into space.

"Wool gathering?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Too damn early to be up," he said. "I'm going home to take a nap. I suggest you do the same."

"I am. Going up to #5 and locking the door. I only have three guests and left them a note to fend for themselves for breakfast," said Sam.

"Good. See you later," said Doc and he left the room with her. 

Sam locked the door and headed up to room #5.

*

Patrick, Ginny, Luc and Meg were in Luc's Subaru. George and Angie were following in George's F150 Ford Truck. They'd packed and left by 4:30am. No traffic at that hour of the morning made for quick travel. Luc signaled the left hand turn that lead up to Spoon River. Once they turned off, Luc slowed down to look for an out of the way parking spot near the Spoon River B&B. Good thing too, as there were a bunch of cars out front. Luc passed them by and turned where Patrick pointed to a fenced off entrance about a block down. George followed.

"Damn, what a mess," said Patrick.

"What in the hell is going on?" asked Meg.

"Probably those two paramedics stirring things up," said Ginny. "I'll go in the back and see if I can find Sam. Ginny headed through the back yard and paused for a moment to look at Buster's empty backyard retreat. "Hmmm, may have to do something about that," she thought.

She opened the door to the kitchen and peeked in. A sleepy looking Sam stood at the stove. Ginny walked over and hugged her.

"Sam, I'm so sorry," she said.

"Me too," said Sam. "Where's the rest of your bunch?" Sam asked.

"Outside waiting to see if I could find you. Let me go get them," said Ginny.

Sam nodded, wiped the tears from her eyes and went back to making chile. A few moments later, in walked one of the biggest men she'd ever seen followed by Patrick and three other people.

"Sam, this is George Moreau and his girlfriend Angie, and Luc Moreau and his wife Meg," said Ginny.

Patrick walked over to Sam and wrapped her in his arms. He lifted her up and just hugged her. 

"Damn it's good to see you two, but what a mess," said Sam. "Now put me down and explain who's who before the bunch at the front desk get past Dotty."

"Who's Dotty?" asked Ginny.

"She's the little gal I have to do the rough work when things get busy. She don't talk much, but she works like no other. She's holding down the front desk. I shut down the B&B except for those already here and you bunch. So right now she's trying to tell everyone else where they can get rooms," said Sam.

"Why? Are the two paramedics still saying Buster, um Brian was a werewolf?" asked Patrick.

"Yes, Idjets. Betty Jane don't believe them, and we got him off to that funeral home right quick, but those two have mouths. My big worry is when they notice that Buster is missing," said Sam. "Now who are these people to you Ginny?" 

Ginny could see that Sam was trying to change the subject. "Luc and George here are brothers and my oh so many times removed cousins. Angie and Meg are new to the family and don't..." Ginny left the unsaid hang in the air.

Sam nodded. "Nice to meet all of you. Ginny, I gave you your same rooms. Didn't know how many were coming, but there are two more rooms down that same hall. Keys are in the doors," she said.

"Okay, Luc and I will get the bags," said Patrick. "George, I need to talk to you," he said and gestured for George to follow. The three men left the kitchen.

"Sam, where's a bathroom?" asked Meg. 

Sam really looked at Meg for the first time. "Oh! Honey! Right down this hall," she said. "When are you due?"

"In about five months. It's twins, so I'm huge," she said as Sam showed her where the bathroom was. 

"Oh my. Luc's a lucky dad. Come back to the kitchen when you're done and I'll have some iced tea for you," Sam said.

"Oh, that sounds good," said Meg. 

Sam headed back to the kitchen. Ginny was keeping an eye on the chile and Angie was washing up some dishes.

"Now you two didn't need to pitch in," said Sam.

"Oh yes we do," said Angie. "We've been up as long as you, only sitting in the car and moving feels good. Besides, we'll 'disappear' faster if we're seen to be helping you rather than sitting on our asses."

Sam laughed. "You'll do just fine," she said. Sam got out the iced tea, poured four glasses and sat down for the first time in an hour. "It has been a long day and it's only noon."

"I agree," said Ginny. 

Patrick and Luc entered the kitchen with the luggage and kept going. Sam looked around for the other man and didn't see him. She set more glasses out for tea, and was about to ask Ginny something when the two men came back.

"Sam, I need to talk to you for a minute," said Patrick.

"Okay, what's up?" Sam asked.

"Well, we know what's going on out front, and as soon as they see Buster's old house outside, they're going to get curious," he said.

"Yeah, I was trying to figure out how to cope with that," she said.

"We've already figured out how to do that. What I need from you is to come out to the backyard and don't be upset," Patrick said. 

"Okay," said Sam and they walked out the kitchen door. When everyone had joined then, Patrick put his hands on Sam's shoulders. "Buster!" he called. 

After a moment, the dog house shook, and slowly out walked a huge 'dog'. He was scruffy and slow, but when he came over to Sam, he rubbed up against her hand and sat next to her.

Sam started crying, and Patrick put his arms around her. "Oh..." was all she could say for a moment. Then she bent her head down to 'Buster's' and whispered, "George?"

'Buster' thumped his tail. Then he walked over to his bowl and flipped it with his paw. 

"Oh! Water!" said Sam and filled the bowl. Everyone, including 'Buster' went inside once he'd had his drink. 

Sam hugged Patrick. "Damn good thing you warned me. Otherwise there'd a been two funerals," she said trying to dry up the tears. 

"Well, we all noticed the empty dog house and knew that would give them ammunition. Now we can produce 'Buster', and in a week, he can either come home with us, or pass on," said Luc.

"You're a fast thinker Luc," said Sam.

"Well, it helps when you run your own company," he said.

"Yes, and soon you're going to have your hands full too. Congratulations," Sam said.

"Thanks. I just hope I survive," he said.

"Luc, you'll do just fine," said Patrick. "What he didn't tell you is that he's the head of this crazy family."

"Oh, an alpha....." started Sam.

"In fact, the name of our company is Alpha Wolf Technologies," said Luc as he blushed.

"And he's a very good boss to work for," said Angie.

"Oh hon, how are you gonna cope with... um..." Sam tried to ask diplomatically.

"Knowing him, he'll come up and sleep with me. No problem, Sam," said Angie. 

Sam nodded. 

*

Luc and Patrick walked into the lobby of the B&B. Dotty looked exhausted.

"Dotty, take a break, we'll help out," said Patrick.

Dotty smiled and ran. 

Luc looked around at all the people still milling in the lobby. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. The sub-vocals were subtle, but made everyone snap around.

"I'd like anyone who isn't already a guest to depart. There has been a death in the family, and we'd like time to grieve in private. There are other hotels in Spoon River that would be glad to have your business. However, this establishment is closed until after the funeral. Do you understand?" said Luc.

"You don't have any right to kick us out!" yelled one man. "That old man was a werewolf, and we know they're hiding something. The damn dog disappeared and they have to be one in the same!" 

"The dog disappeared?" asked Patrick.

"Yeah! Everyone says you never saw the dog and the man together 'cause they were the same person. So don't go trying to tell us he wasn't a werewolf," said the man.

"So, just because a dog disappeared and an old man died who needed a shave and a haircut, you're saying that he was some kind of supernatural being?" asked Luc.

"Yes! And the owner of this place knew it! She tried to kick the paramedics out before he shifted on them and then wouldn't let the sheriff or the coroner see the body. They just whisked it off in the middle of the night to hide the facts! Won't tell us where they took it either!" the man said loudly.

"And what was that dog's name?" asked Luc.

"Aw, everyone knows the dog's name is Buster. Big old smelly looking husky thing," said another man.

"Sort of like that dog over there?" asked Luc pointing to 'Buster' who had decided to watch things from the hall.

"Um, yeah," said the man looking a little shook by the sight of the dog lounging in the hall.

"Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe the dog was inside? Or, that he was asleep in that fancy dog house of his outside? Or do you always jump to conclusions?" asked Patrick.

"Well, they said it happened and I've never known them to make things up like this," said a woman.

"Ma'am, it was 3am. They got woke up and put out on a call. They nearly scared an old man to death by trying to do vitals on him and pushing his best friend out of the room. They made it up because they screwed up. Brian wasn't a werewolf, he was just a very old and rather hairy man," said Luc. 

"I still say there's something fishy going on! How on earth did 'family' show up so fast? Especially when he didn't have no family that I ever heard of," said the first man.

"Well, we were up here a few weeks ago," said Patrick. "We were visiting Brian then and my wife is related to him." "Here's hoping Ginny will forgive me for that little white lie," he thought.

"Yeah right. Just more lies," said the man.

"ENOUGH!" shouted Luc this time, heavy on the sub-vocals. "I give everyone three minutes to leave the premises. After that, I'm calling the sheriff."

Everyone was so shocked, that they left. Luc locked the front door and Patrick turned the sign to Closed.

"That should take care of that," said Luc as they walked down the hall towards the kitchen. Patrick nodded and was still trying to get the goosebumps to go away.

*

"You said what?" asked Ginny,

"It was just a little white lie," said Patrick. You yourself said you had a grandma from Canada. What's the possibility that you are related? Pretty damn close? Sort of like you are to Luc?" 

"Well, okay. That reminds me. We need to go through his stuff and find his real relatives," said Ginny.

"Why don't you and Meg go do that while the men and 'Buster' go take a look around," said Angie. "I'll help Sam."

"Is that alright with you?" asked Luc. Angie was right. A walk with 'Buster' would help squelch a lot of things.

"Don't forget to have him go by the Dog Bar for a slice of pizza," said Sam. "When he was feeling good he'd go by and they'd always give him a piece."

"Good idea. We'll be back soon," said Luc as he, 'Buster' and Patrick went out the back door.

Sam turned to Ginny. "Here's the key to his room. Go through the stuff and figure out what you need to keep or toss," she said.

Ginny nodded and headed down the hall with Meg trailing behind her.

Three hours later, Ginny was pouring over a diary. Meg had laid down on the bed and taken a nap. Ginny was shaking her head, not able to believe what she was reading. "Damn! Patrick didn't lie!" she thought. She re-read the family tree in the back of the diary again.

Me and Natalie

(1916) Jenny and?

(1931) Lizzybit and David

(1948) Margaret and Jonathan 

Ginny had found the family tree first as there had been a bunch of pictures stuck in the back of the diary. She glanced at the writing when the name Margaret jumped out at her. Margaret and Jonathan were her parents. That made Buster her great-great grandfather. 




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 21



Buster had somehow lost track of the family prior to her birth or that of any of her siblings as none were listed. She'd been going through the other boxes first. Lots of pictures, a uniform with more ribbons than tunic and lots of memorabilia. There was also a picture of a young woman with a baby on her hip wearing Roaring Twenties style clothing. The writing on the back was smeared, but Ginny could make out " ta l e n J n" She was looking at a picture of her great-great grandmother and her great grandmother. 

Patrick came to check on Ginny and Meg and found Ginny surrounded by photos. She had a small leather bound book clutched in one hand. 

"Ginny?" he said softly. "Is everything okay?" 

"Yes. You didn't lie," she said.

"What? What do you mean?" Patrick asked.

"Today, you told that crowd that it was a family funeral, and that I was related to Brian. You were right," Ginny said quietly.

"I... How?" asked Patrick.

The noise had woken Meg up who stretched and yawned. "Yeah, how Ginny?" she asked.

"This is his diary. Up until about 1950. It shows his family and it shows a woman named Margaret who's married to Jonathan being born in 1948. That's my mom and dad," said Ginny.

"But that could be anyone," said Patrick.

"Yes, but my grandparents were Elizabeth and David. That's why Bitty is Elizabeth," said Ginny. Then she handed the diary with the names and dates to Patrick.

"Oh wow," said Patrick.

"There are other things too. Some of these pictures I remember. My mom and grandma had copies," said Ginny.

Patrick didn't know what to say except to walk around and hug Ginny. 

They gathered up all of the photographs, and repacked the boxes. Ginny held onto the diary. She wanted to finish reading it.

"Let's go get something to eat," said Patrick.

"Okay. I totally spaced lunch. Plus I want to hear about your trip out with 'Buster'," said Ginny.

"So do I," said Meg.

The three of them locked the door and went to find Sam.

*



Over dinner everyone talked about Ginny's find. Since they were in the dining room, George had shifted back and joined them. 

"You should have seen them at the Dog Bar. Those two paramedics had them convinced that 'Buster' was dead and gone. So when he showed up for pizza, they just about shit," said George. "It's good pizza too."

That made everyone laugh.

"So, if Brian is Ginny's great-great grandfather, that makes him Luc's and George's great-great uncle or something like that," said Meg.

"Yes. Jenny had a couple of sisters and brothers and one of her sisters ran off with an uncle of Luc's," said Ginny. 

"You know, if'n I didn't know better, I'd a thunk I was in the twilight zone," said Sam.

"Dee dee Dee dee," sang Patrick who then smiled at Sam.

Sam smiled. She was glad that they were here to help her. It didn't take away the pain, but it certainly helped to ease it. 

"I talked to Doc Roger's friend who's the pastor of the local chapel and he said we could hold a service there tomorrow if we were up to it, or day after. I called the funeral home and they said everything would be ready by 10am tomorrow," said Patrick.

"We are doing two remembrances aren't we?" asked Luc.

"Of course. Just need to get the public one done first," said Ginny. "Besides, George is going to have to be 'Buster' for the first too."

"Yes, and I'd really like to render tribute if I could," said George.

Everyone nodded.

"What do you mean by two services?" asked Sam.

"First one is for people. Second is for shifters and family," said Luc.

"Oh," said Sam.

"You'd be welcome at both, because you were his family for so long," said Patrick.

"Well, but I..." stammered Sam.

"Sam, if you weren't at the first, he'd come back to haunt you!" said Ginny only partially teasing.

"Fine. Just tell me what's expected," said Sam.

They discussed plans while they ate. 



*



Donald and James from the funeral home brought the urn with Brian's remains to the B&B the next morning at 10am. Sam invited them to the service at 2pm, and they said that they'd try to be there. She thanked them again and asked if there was any charge as money had been left for cremation. 

"Ma'am, I knew Buster and I'd feel bad to charge for his cremation. There was hardly anything left of him. Give the money to a charity or something," Donald said.

"Are you sure?" asked Sam.

"Yes. We talked about it. Plus, with all the hassle those idiots are causing you, I couldn't bear to charge you," Donald said. 

"All right, but if I find out you shorted yourselves, I'll be after you," she said.

"Don't worry Sam," said James as they walked off. What Sam didn't know is that Luc had paid for the cremation on the condition that James and Donald never say anything about it.

Sam waved them off and locked the door. Then she went to lay down until an hour before the first service.

*

The service was a typical non-denominational funeral. Ginny had hung up his WWI uniform on a hanger and put out pictures of the family on the altar. 'Buster' sat at the back, and howled a time or two until patted by Patrick. 

Outside, the paramedics were still trying to raise a stink, but it wasn't working out so well. Especially as 'Buster' came out of the chapel and growled at them as the family followed behind. Luc and Patrick took point and made sure that no one bothered any of the women, who hovered around Sam and protected her from reporters, and curious people in general. 

At the door of the B&B, Luc stood outside until everyone was in. Then he waited, as he knew the crowd would try and interrupt things.

"I don't know what your problem is, but it is time to leave us alone. Sam has a business to run and my cousins and I need time to grieve. I suggest you all go home and watch TV if you want to see supernatural beings," said Luc.

"I still say you're hiding something!" said the arrogant man from the day before.

"You really should think before you open your mouth. If Brian was a werewolf and we're all related to him, shouldn't you be afraid?" said Luc. 

The man stammered and then turned and walked off in a huff.

"I guess one werewolf was okay, especially if he was an old man, but the idea of a hotel full of them was just too improbable," said Patrick. 

The two men laughed and went in to join the rest.

*

Late that night, Patrick checked around before the family exited the B&B. All of them were dressed in dark clothes. Ginny walked with Sam, while Patrick and Luc guided Meg and Angie. Shifter night vision made flashlights unnecessary. George in the guise of 'Buster' followed behind, keeping a nose out for anything unusual. After about a mile, the forest behind the B&B opened up into a meadow. George loped around the meadow, came back and shook his head at Luc. Then he nosed a pack from Angie and disappeared for a few minutes. He came back dressed in jeans and a shirt and stood with Angie.

Ginny set the urn down in the middle of the meadow. She had the picture of Brian with his wife Natalie and propped it in front. Luc got out the glasses and the bottle of Canadian Whiskey he'd bought in town. He stepped up next to Ginny.

"We gather under the moon, in the woods and beneath open skies to honor a man who thought himself forgotten. Brian Davy had seen a lot in his life. He survived wars, and difficult times. He knew love and family. Some of that family is here tonight. Family by blood and family by choice," Luc said. He opened the whiskey and poured a shot into everyone's glass. When that was done, he set down the bottle.

"To Buster, my great-great uncle whom I knew as Buster," Luc said and took a sip of the whiskey.

"I didn't know the man, but heard of him through my cousin and her mate. I've slept in his house, and spent time with his family of choice, Sam. To Buster, my great-great uncle," said George who then took a sip. 

"I knew him as Buster. He kept my mate company while I was busy and we took many a walk and run under the moon. He was a good person and I will miss him," said Patrick and he sipped his whiskey.

"To Buster," said Angie who sipped her whiskey.

"To Buster, great-great uncle to my mate," said Meg who took a sip of whiskey.

"I first knew him as Buster. He'd sit on my bed while I recovered from a concussion. He kept my mate company on runs in the forest. After he passed, I learned that he was my great-great grandfather and his name was Brian Davy. He was a good man who went to war and used his abilities to keep his buddies safe behind enemy lines. The love of his life was Natalie. They had five children together. I'm still learning about him. For whatever reason, he lost track of his family, or his family lost track of him. He came to the mountains to die, but instead found a new family. He passed with family around him. To my great-great grandfather Brian," said Ginny. She took a sip of her whiskey and turned to Sam.

"I...um... I met Brian years ago, when he came here thinking he was going to die. Instead, I gained a friend and companion. In my way, I loved him as family. As he wanted, I called him by his nickname, Buster. I will miss him," said Sam with tears streaming down her face. She took a shot of whiskey.

"To Buster," they all said and finished off their whiskey. Then, as each one shifted just a bit, a chorus of howls began to fill the night air. Angie, Meg and Sam listened to the sing-song vocals, Ginny was higher pitched, while George made the ground rumble or so it seemed. After a couple of minutes, it slowly died down. Off in the far distance, two more howls cascaded across the hills. Then there was silence. 

Ginny picked up the urn, opened the top and stood off to one side and slowly poured the contents out. The breeze caught the ashes and tumbled them across the meadow. When two thirds of it was gone, she put the top back on and gave it back to Patrick to put in the pack. 

Luc took the whiskey and after raising it to the sky, he poured a libation out on the earth. Then he capped the whiskey and put it in the pack as well. 

"Let's go home," Luc said.

"Luc, who were the other two howls we heard," asked Sam.

"Donald and James most likely," said Luc.

Sam blinked. "Oh," as it dawned on her. "I didn't know."

"No, most times you never would. We try to keep quiet," said Luc as they walked down the mountain. 

"Okay. I won't tell," said Sam.

"I know you won't. Besides, you're family," said Patrick from the other side. 

They walked down into the area behind the B&B, with George as 'Buster' trailing behind. No one was around, and they got inside without incident. It was late and they all headed to bed.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 22



A happier chapter at last! This one had to wait while we were gone on vacation. Where you ask? Up in the mountains of course. Coyotes yipped in the distance and I thought about the story and dealt with computer withdrawl for five days! However, the resulting rest proved good. I worked on this story and two other series. For once, you readers will get this before my partner does. He's been busy with computer projects. Enjoy the story and please comment. I like to read what you think of the story. Plus, sometimes what you comment about appears in the story...



Luc woke up early. He heard some sort of noise and couldn't figure it out at first. Then it hit him. "Growling? Who the fuck is growling?" he wondered. Luc grabbed his jeans and headed downstairs towards the noise. It came from the backyard and Buster's house. There in the back yard were a bunch of reporters huddled together in a corner and 'Buster' leaning towards them in a menacing way. He was growling.

"Hey Buster, settle down!" he hollered as he approached. "What set you off boy?" Luc looked at 'Buster' and then he noticed the net shredded under 'Buster's' feet. Shreds of it hung from 'Buster's' fangs. Luc turned to the crowd of reporters. 

"Alright you idiots, what in the hell did you think you were doing?" he hollered, his voice heavy with sub-vocals. 

"None of your business!" one hollered from deep in the corner.

"We were just looking at the dog and he attacked us!" said another.

"Bullshit," said Luc. "Unless he's grown opposable thumbs, 'Buster' doesn't use nets to catch or attack reporters. Plus, if he really wanted to hurt you, do you think that any of you would be alive?"

"That...that thing is a werewolf! It needs to be hauled in, dissected and studied," said another man in the huddle.

"Right. You know, you guys aren't too bright. How does one become a werewolf?" he asked as he stroked 'Buster's' head.

"We all know that one! You get bitten," said one of the reporters.

"Okay, so you idiots were going to tackle 'Buster' here and haul him off for science and none of you were worried about getting bitten?" asked Luc. "Stupid idiots!" he thought.

"Well, um... Joe here had a tranquilizer gun, but it didn't work," said the reporter.

"You shot Sam's dog with a tranquilizer dart?" asked Luc.

"Yeah. See, it's right there!" the reporter said pointing to a red fletched dart.

Luc looked down and saw that the dart had lodged in 'Buster's' collar. He plucked it free and put it in his pocket.

"You have really bad aim. It hit his collar. Now, to be honest, from the looks of this thing, it's Bear tranquilizer. You'd have killed him. Then I would have gleefully shot your ass full of this shit and left you to survive," Luc growled. The force of the sub-vocals rattled the fence timbers. 

"Need any help Luc?" asked Patrick as he walked up behind Luc.

"Yeah. Call the Sheriff. I'm not letting them out of here until the Sheriff takes all of their names and hopefully arrests them for trespassing," said Luc.

"Sounds good to me," Patrick said. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. "Yes, can I speak to Sheriff Dobbs? Sure. Yeah. Tell him we have some trouble down here at Sam's B&B. Thanks," he said and hung up. "Dispatch will get him here as soon as they can. I think the poor man is still in bed."

"Thanks Patrick. Would you clear the rest of the net off of 'Buster'? These idiots thought that they'd haul him off to be a lab rat toy," said Luc.

"Idiots. He's just a big husky wolf hybrid," said Patrick loud enough for the reporters to hear. "He certainly isn't a werewolf you idiots!" he hollered directly at them. "And if I was Catholic, I'd be saying three hail Mary's for that lie," he thought.

The two men stood next to 'Buster' who had finally stopped growling. The reporters were still huddled in the corner. Luc and Patrick could hear the sirens getting closer and soon saw the flashing lights on top of Sheriff Dobbs SUV. 

"What in the hell is going on here?" asked Sam coming up behind the two men and 'Buster'.

"These fine upstanding citizens were trespassing and planning to kidnap 'Buster' here," said Luc. "Luckily for them, 'Buster' cornered them and woke me up with his growling."

"Ah, and you two called Dobbs?" asked Sam.

"Yes," said Patrick.

"Good, 'cause I've had just about enough of this shit," said Sam. In the week since Brian's funeral, there had been reporters and all sorts of kooks showing up. Sam still had the B&B closed down and at this rate she was getting peeved.

Sheriff Dobbs got out of his SUV and made his way over to them. "What in the hell is it this time Sam?" he asked.

"Trespassers and dog thiefs," said Sam. "They snuck onto my property, through a closed gate marked 'PRIVATE' and tried to steal my dog." 

"Here are bits of the net that was on 'Buster' as well as the tranquilizer dart they fired at him," said Luc.

Sheriff Dobbs took the evidence and then looked over at the eight men boxed into the corner. Anytime one of them moved, 'Buster' growled. He shook his head as he keyed his mike. "Jeff, get your ass down to Sam's. I gotta pick up for you. Yeah, eight stupid reporters," he said. Then he turned back to Sam. "I take it you want to press charges?" he asked.

"I certainly do. I've told them to leave me alone more than once. This time, they can go to jail," she said standing there with her fists on her hips. 

Sheriff Dobbs nodded. "Boys, I hereby deputize you. There are some of them zip strip handcuffs in my car. Go get some and lets truss up these turkeys," he said.

Luc smiled and Patrick went to get the cuffs. 

"I'll be in the kitchen working on breakfast," said Sam. "Come on in and eat when you're done."

"I won't turn that down," said Dobbs. 

*

Forty minutes later, the reporters were stuffed into an SUV and were taken to the county seat about twenty miles away. They'd been arrested for trespassing and attempted theft. Best yet, the local paper got the scoop, as all the big city reporters were amongst the arrested. 

Luc, Patrick and the Sheriff went into the kitchen where everyone else had already started eating. Angie served them up and then went back to her plate.

"Sam, how much longer are you going to be able to keep closed down?" asked Meg.

"Not sure honey. This stuff just jerks my chain. You'd think by now it would be old news," said Sam.

"It would be if that one guy would just shut up," said Patrick.

"Well, he got his ass arrested today," said Dobbs. "I'll make sure he does at least a month down in the county jail. That way maybe he won't come back."

"Will Sam have to do much to keep them in jail?" asked Angie.

"No honey, the judge is a good friend and he'll make sure that everything goes smooth. Besides, his son is one of the paramedics that messed up in the first place. That boy still ain't sitting easy," said Dobbs with a smile.

Everyone laughed.

*

The court took all of fifteen minutes to decide on the fate of the eight reporters. The charges were loss of revenue, trespassing, attempted theft of a dog, and general nuisance. The sentences handed out were $1000 fines and thirty days in the county jail. Three of the reporters tried to buy their way out and got hit with an additional week in jail. 

Sam, Luc and Patrick walked out of the court room with smiles on their faces. The judge had read the reporters the riot act about making up fantastic stories and causing good people grief. They were almost back to Luc's Subaru when the bailiff caught up to them.

"Sam! Sam! Slow down!" he was hollering.

"What is it Mike?" Sam asked as the three of them stopped in the middle of the parking lot.

Mike caught up with them and after he caught his breath, he handed an envelope to Sam. "Judge wanted you to have this," he gasped. 

Sam took the envelope and then opened it. Inside there was a check. The amount read $7500. Sam turned back to Mike. "Mike, what on earth?" she asked.

"Judge figured out what you'd lost because of all this. Our court costs are only $250, but he done doubled it. Then he added all the other stuff in and said this was to make up for all the hassle," Mike said.

"But I can't take this," Sam protested.

"Judge said if you fuss, and he knew you would, he'd let those assholes go," said Mike. 

Sam uttered an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Tell the Judge thank you and I'll see him at the B&B for breakfast on Sunday," she said as she tucked the check into her pocket. She waved goodbye to Mike and got into the car with Luc and Patrick.

"What was that all about?" asked Patrick.

"The judge done fined those reporters and paid me for the trouble they caused. Let's go to the bank before I get stupid," said Sam. 

*



Sam, Luc and Patrick walked back into the B&B with grocery and shopping bags. Angie, Ginny and Meg were sitting in the kitchen drinking iced tea. 'Buster' was laying across the door into the main part of the B&B. 

"What took you so long?" asked Ginny.

"Well, we got an unexpected bonus," said Sam.

"Oh?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah. The court fined the reporters and paid Sam for lost revenue," said Patrick.

"They did?" asked Angie.

"Yes, to the tune of $7500," said Luc. "So, we did some grocery shopping and Sam spent some money on herself."

"Only after you two threatened to growl at me," said Sam.

"Did you use sub-vocals on her?" asked Meg.

"Just a little," teased Luc.

"Luc..." started Meg.

"Hold on Meg! They just talked me to death until I admitted that there were a few things I could use," said Sam laughing.

That made everyone laugh. 

"What did you buy?" asked Ginny.

"Well, enough steak to make George happy and lots of chocolate for Meg," started Sam. "Then I went to Big R and got new jeans, a couple of shirts and a pair of boots," she finished.

The women oohed and ahhed over the stuff and the guys put the food away. Sam hadn't joked about the meat. Patrick stacked steaks in the fridge and roasts in the freezer. Luc handed Meg and Angie chocolate and gingersnaps to Ginny. 

Sam went to put laundry in the washer and when she came back, they all sat and talked about the court case. George had shifted back so that he could be part of the conversation. When Sam got to the part where Mike had run over to give them the check, George stood up for a moment and then came back to where everyone was seated.

"Sam, I have a question to ask you," he said.

"Go ahead George," said Sam.

"These guys will be in jail for a month, and then what?" George asked.

"I hadn't thought about that. Guess I figured they'd just move on," said Sam.

"Well, Angie and I have been talking and I made a decision. I have an offer for you Sam," George said.

Sam looked from Angie to George and couldn't figure out where this was going. "Okay, what is this offer?" she asked.

"You're going to need Buster around for a couple of months. Once those reporters get out, most are going to disappear. But a few are going to come back to see if Buster is still here and if there is a story," he said.

"I can see that," said Sam.

"So, Angie and I talked and if you're willing, I'd like to stay on for a while. Angie too. I'm not ready to be separated from her for more than a few days to be honest. She can help around the kitchen and stuff. You can take it easy for a bit and I'll work on being an old dog. Then in a few months, Buster can pass on too and you can be left in peace," said George.

"I can't ask that of you," said Sam.

"No, but we can offer. George is between jobs and while the company can use a good receptionist, Ginny can cope and we figure it would probably be good if 'Solda or Bitty learned a skill or two," said Angie. 

"I agree. We talked about this while you were gone Luc," said Ginny.

Luc turned to Patrick. "I knew leaving them alone was dangerous," he said to Patrick.

"Like you didn't know they'd plot to rule the world. Steal someone else's bone," laughed Patrick.

"Geeze, I'm the CEO, and my receptionists rule the office," said Luc.

"You bet your ass," said Meg. "As it should be. I think it's a great idea. Plus it will give Angie's house a chance to sell so they aren't packed into Ginny's house."

"I'd forgotten all about that," said Sam. "I accept." Sam held her hand out to George to shake on the deal. George wrapped her up in his arms and hugged her. Angie moved in and hugged Sam as well. 

"Now, which one of us is cooking?" asked Patrick holding up a pile of steaks. "Not sure about anyone else, but I'm starving."

Sam smiled and tossed her barbecue apron to Patrick. Patrick snagged it and turned back to the stove. Ginny started to make a salad and Luc and Meg went upstairs for a bit. Sam turned to George. 

"You gonna be okay with this?" she asked quietly. 

"Yes Sam. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't. At first I thought that I could just go home with the others at the end of the week. After the reporters showed up, I knew I couldn't. So, Angie and I talked. The best solution was for us to stay," he said.

"Alright, but if it ever gets to you, you just tell me," Sam said.

"I will. Oh, and one other thing. No wages," he said. 

"But..." Sam started.

"No Sam, and that was my condition," said Angie. "We figured that by being here we're costing you a room. We won't take from you twice. You won't let us pay you now which isn't fair either."

"Well, you're family. How could I?" said Sam.

"Exactly. So, if we don't pay for our rooms, we don't get paid wages," argued Angie.

Sam thought about it for a moment and realized that Angie was damn smart. "Fine. It's a deal," she said and they shook on it. "Now let's see if we can get this place cleaned up a bit. We have a business to run."

*

Saturday morning came far too quickly. Luc and Patrick packed the Subaru while Meg and Ginny said their goodbyes. Kisses and tears were exchanged and finally Angie, George and Sam waved as the Subaru pulled out of the driveway and down the road. 

Luc waved out the window and then concentrated on driving. Cal had called Friday night. Work had been steady, but there was a wave of stupidity flowing through town. He'd gotten to work to find the sign defaced and some windows broken. Luc hadn't said anything in front of Sam or George, but he suspected that someone had traced them from the B&B to work. 

"So, what's got you all riled up?" asked Patrick.

"Someone playing stupid tricks at work. Cal and Peter are doing repairs today and I'm not happy," said Luc.

"We can tell. Stop growling at all the cars," said Ginny.

"Sorry. It's just after all that's gone on you'd think that people would just let it go," said Luc.

"Hon, they won't. It's just too damn interesting," said Meg.

"Why do you say that?" asked Luc.

"Well, have you looked at the best sellers list in the paper lately?" she asked.

"No," said Luc.

"Well, there are three books that have been at the top of the list for fifteen weeks. All of them to do with vampires, werewolves or other supernatural beings," said Meg. "To be honest, two of them are my favorite authors."

"Yeah, in spite of the whole bite and turn factor, some of those books are really hot," said Ginny. 

"Yup, Sex sells," said Patrick. He'd picked up one of the books Ginny was reading the other day and had been surprised at the level of sexual content.

"So, this is about voyeurism as much as anything?" asked Luc.

"In a way. People want to see things that frighten or fascinate them and the more 'out there' it is, the better they like it. Sex is good. Naughty sex is better. Naughty sex with vampires and werewolves is hot," said Meg.

"Oh god! You mean they want to see shifters fucking?" asked Luc.

"Not only see it, but do it. There is a whole group of people called Furries who dress up and pretend to be shifters and have sex. Or, at least cybersex," said Meg.

"Where in the hell do you women find out about this type of thing?" asked Patrick.

"Patrick, we do more than shop online," said Ginny with a giggle in her voice.

"What!!!" said Patrick.

"As one of the family guardians, I check out what's new and kinky on a regular basis and see how it relates to us. Furries and shifter groupies are just one of the things I've run across," said Ginny. Meg nodded her head in agreement. 

"So, what's getting repaired and what are you doing to solve this?" asked Patrick trying to change the subject.

"Two broken windows, paint splashed on our signs and Peter is hiring a guard service with dogs for a few days. Last time this happened we did this and it helped," said Luc.

"Dogs? Why not a few shifters?" asked Meg.

"Because last time they tranquilized one of us and tried to haul him off to a lab. This way, they get 175 pounds of pissed off guard dog," said Luc.

That got everyone laughing. 

*

Late that afternoon after dropping Meg and Ginny off, Luc and Patrick showed up at the office to see how things were progressing. The windows were fixed and Cal was picking up the last of the paint smeared rags.

"Hey Luc! Good to see you," said Cal.

"You've been busy," said Luc looking around.

"Yeah. Peter is back in the warehouse with the dogs having a little discussion with them," said Cal.

"That should be good. I take it the guard dogs took exception to Peter?" asked Patrick.

"Probably. His scent is really heavy, and probably made the dogs nervous," said Luc.

Cal nodded. "Damn things pissed themselves," he said. "That so didn't make Peter's day. Upset the handler too. He took two of them back and brought three others. One wouldn't come out of the cage and the other two rolled on their bellies. We explained that Peter has a wolf at home and the guy nodded like he understood."

"I was afraid of that, but glad that Peter had the sense to come up with something," said Luc. "Now what got done to the signs?" 

"Some of it was just paint thrown over the lettering. Others were things like 'were' added to Alpha Wolf and 'Shifter!'," said Cal. "All the usual stuff. The brick through the window threatened to burn us out and shoot us with silver bullets. I took those to the police."

"Thanks. After all the stuff up in Spoon River, I had hoped it would be quiet down here. How many other companies with the word 'wolf' in them have been hit?" asked Luc.

"Forty-seven," said Peter coming up to the front of the building. He had two huge dobermans by his side on a leash. "Let me introduce you to Buttercup and Fezzik." 

Luc, Cal and Patrick turned to the dogs and let them sniff their hands. Buttercup wagged her tail and Fezzik rolled over on his back waiting to be petted.

"Are you sure these will do the job when we leave?" asked Luc. "I think I've seen more aggressive kittens."

"Oh, they'll do the job. They have a phrase trigger. Once you say that, they're on duty," said Peter.

"Okay, so let's put them in the warehouse area and put them to work," said Luc. "It's been a long day and I want to go home."

The men walked around to the entrance of the warehouse and Peter let the dogs off their chains. He locked the gate and then said, "As you wish." The two dogs looked at him and then started prowling the yard.

"I take it the handler liked the Princess Bride?" asked Patrick.

"Oh yeah. He even looks like Cary Elway," said Peter.

"That's a riot. Now, other than filling out police reports, playing with puppies, cleaning up paint and repairing windows, how's work been?" asked Luc as they went into the main offices to close up.

"Steady. All our regulars still calling in. A few new jobs and a couple of nosy inquiries," said Cal. 

"Oh, and don't forget the goth chick that wanted a job," said Kevin as he came into the main lobby.

"What?" asked Luc. 

"We had this goth chick in full leathers and lace and a foxtail come in asking for a job. Said she'd do anything, as long as she could work for the company," said Kevin. "It was obvious she thought we were werewolves ala some of the novels that are out."




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 22



"So how did you get rid of her?" asked Luc.

"Well, I did the who 'queerer than thou' thing and said that we really were looking for a pretty boy as we had all the bitches we could handle," said Kevin. "It took her all of about thirty seconds to leave once I started blowing kisses at Cal."

Luc laughed while Patrick shook his head. The rest were laughing too.

"Oh, and she slugged her boyfriend when she got out to the car. We were watching through the windows. We figure he put her up to it," said Cal.

"People are really stupid some times," said Peter.

"Yeah. Shall we grab pizza and head over to my house?" asked Luc. "Then I can catch you up on all that's been going on in Spoon River.

Cal and Peter looked at each other. "Deal!" they said.

"I'll get the beer," said Kevin.

*

Luc closed the door and turned back into the house. The pizza and beer party had helped everyone get back into the mindset for the week. Everyone was caught up and understood what had gone on in Spoon River as well as in town. No surprises and hopefully no more hassles. Granted, Luc wouldn't be surprised if Buttercup and Fezzik got something to eat in the next week or two. He'd called a few of the other 'wolf' named businesses and talked to them to find out what kinds of attacks they'd suffered. All of them were dealing with the same kind of situation; broken windows, paint smears and weird people trying to get hired. They'd exchanged phone numbers and email addresses to keep in touch. 

As Luc checked the back door and turned the phones to 'do not disturb', he heard Meg in the shower. He walked quietly into the bathroom and watched her shower. He only stood there a minute before stripping off and getting in behind her.

"Oh! Luc! You startled me," said Meg.

"Sorry, but I couldn't take just watching you a second longer," he said pulling her into his arms.

"Ah, lusting after the pregnant woman eh?" she teased.

"Yes. I love the way your breasts have grown and the curve of your belly makes me want to touch you and pet you until you melt in my hands," he said running his hands over her body.

"Well, wash my back and then you can have your wicked way with me," Meg said.

Luc obliged Meg and washed not only her back, but all of her. Especially her breasts and belly. He cleaned up quickly as Meg dried off. By the time he'd dried off, Meg had settled on the bed to put lotion on her legs and feet.

"You know, I never thought I'd miss seeing my feet," she said.

"Meg, you're almost five months pregnant with twins. What did you expect?" asked Luc as he took the lotion from her and started rubbing it on her belly.

"I'm not sure what I expected. I just got so big so fast, and some days I feel like a blimp," she said.

"I love every inch of you and want to touch you all over," he said as he pushed Meg back onto the bed. He put more lotion on his hands and proceeded to massage it into her breasts and belly. He pinched her nipples and delighted in the way they perked up. Pregnancy had turned her nipples a deep rose color and she had a fine line of hair growing down her belly to her pubic bone. He worked lotion into her skin all the way down until he reached her mound. 

Luc set the lotion aside and with his tongue lightly caressed her lips and clit. Meg squirmed.

"Lluc, don't start something unless you plan to finish it," she said not knowing how tired he was.

"Oh, I'll finish this," he said and continued to lick, nibble and bite her from clit to pussy and back up. Meg moaned and wiggled under his touch. Encouraged, he slid two fingers deep inside her as his tongue played with her clit.

"Oh!" Meg gasped. 

Luc let his tongue shift just a bit and alternated his tongue with his fingers. He felt her muscles clamp around him and increased his pace. Meg grabbed his head and pressed tight against him as her orgasm rolled over her. 

"Ohhhh," she moaned. "Oh god that felt good."

Luc looked up and smiled. "You feel up to a little reciprocation?" he asked. Her morning sickness had made going down on him an issue.

"Hmmm, I'll give it a try," she said as she got up on her knees and moved to Luc. He had reclined on the bed and let her move to where she was comfortable. 

"Oh," Luc gasped as Meg's mouth moved over his cock. She licked, sucked and nibbled him until he began to twitch in her mouth. She still couldn't take him as deeply as she had, but it felt good to have him in her mouth. She wasn't surprised when his fingers found her pussy and stroked her up and down the slick folds. She moaned against his cock which made him twitch even more. She sucked and licked for a bit longer until Luc's fingering of her had her gasping.

"Oh I can't take anymore," Meg gasped as she moved to straddle Luc. She guided his cock into her pussy and slowly rocked back and forth. Their lovemaking had taken on a much gentler rhythm. He didn't shift while they were making love and she controlled the positions. After a few minutes of rocking back and forth while Luc played with her breasts, Meg felt the heat of orgasm being to build. All of her muscles began to clench.

Luc took his clues from her and slowly increased his pace, stroking quickly. Meg grabbed him by the shoulders as her orgasm ripped up her spine and shattered her control.

"Oh! Oh! Ohhhhh," she moaned.

Luc felt all the muscles clench around his cock and before Meg could stop, his own orgasm ripped up his spine. He felt like he came forever. Slowly the two of them rolled to their sides. Meg curled up in Luc's arms and began to drift off to sleep.

"Luc! Did you feel that?" she said softly.

"Huh?" he said.

"Give me your hand," she said. Luc gave her his hand and she placed it on her stomach down next to her hip. She held it there for a moment and then there was movement.

"Meg? Was that the babies or gas?" he asked.

"Babies," she said. 

"Do you think we bothered them with our lovemaking?" he asked.

"No, they didn't start kicking until just now," she said.

Luc wrapped her in his arms, hand on her stomach feeling his cubs beneath her skin. If a wolf could purr, he would have. Instead, he went to sleep with a smile on his face.

*

"I don't care if they have press passes. They trespassed on my business property," said Luc growling through the phone. Everyone in the office could feel the sub-vocals. This was the third time in as many days that they had called the police to arrest trespassers trying to get a story on werewolves. "For the record, they got themselves bitten by two guard dogs named Buttercup and Fezzik. They were hired from Dread Pirates Guard Service. If you want to come down, please be my guest," he said and slammed the phone into it's cradle.

"Luc, want me to take care of things while you go cool off?" asked Kevin from the door.

"No, but I'd like you to help Ginny finish packing up Meg's office. I refuse to have her down here while this stupidity is going on," said Luc. He was still growling. 

"All right. We'll have the stuff moved by noon," said Kevin. It was only 9:30 am and Luc had been on the phone since 6am, when the two reporters had decided to brave the warehouse. Yesterday had been rough and the day before crazy, but this was the end. He'd ordered Meg to stay home and that had caused a fight. Ginny was growling under her breath and Cal and Peter were mopping up blood and trying to settle the two guard dogs down. 

Kevin went down to Meg's office and helped Ginny pack it up. Luckily Meg already had her laptop at home. They got the files and papers boxed up and loaded in the back of Kevin's van. He checked with Luc and then headed for Luc's house.



*

Kevin pulled up outside the house and started grabbing boxes. He knocked on the door and no one answered. He knew that Luc said she was home, so he cautiously opened the door. "Meg? Hey Meg, it's Kevin. You home?" he called softly in case she had taken a nap. He walked in with the first boxes and still didn't see Meg. He headed towards the kitchen when he heard crying coming from the bedroom. He found Meg curled up on the bed with her arms wrapped around a pillow.

"Hey Meg," he said as he walked over to the bed.

"Hhhi Kev," she sniffled. 

Kevin sat on the bed and did what he would with any pack member. He wrapped his arms around her. Meg dissolved in his arms and cried. "It's okay Meg. We all have fights and Luc is just super stressed and he didn't mean to take it out on you," he said.

"I... I know, bbut this, this was our first real fight an..." she broke off to blow her nose.

"He's worried about you and is just trying to keep you and the babies safe," said Kevin. 

Meg nodded. "I kkknow, but I just can't seem to sstop crying," she snuffled against his chest.

Kevin just rocked her and held her. After a bit, she settled down. "Meg, go take a shower and I'll bring the rest of the boxes in out of the car. Then I'll take you out to lunch. Okay?" he asked.

Meg nodded. Kevin helped her up off the bed and headed for the bathroom. Kevin got the boxes and brought them into the dining room. He heard the shower running and walked outside with his cell phone. He called Ginny. He let her know what was going on and explained that he was handling it. Then he grabbed the last of the boxes and headed inside. 

He had everything unpacked by the time Meg came out of the bedroom. She was dressed in a summery top and a pair of yoga pants. Her face was still a little puffy, but she looked much better.

"I have everything set up for you," he said.

"Thanks Kevin. Thanks for everything," Meg said.

"You ready for lunch?" he asked.

"Yeah. Can we go to the Mall as well?" she asked.

"Sure. We can go anywhere you want to," said Kevin.

"I've got my keys, lets get out of here," she said. 

*

Two hours later, with full stomachs, and enough shopping bags to make Kevin wonder if they would all fit in his car, they headed home. He'd called Ginny and given her an update when Meg headed for the bathroom for the third time. Ginny told him that Luc had settled down and appreciated what Kevin was doing. This whole mess was just stressing Luc to his limits.

"Home?" asked Kevin.

"Yeah. I think I've worn you out," said Meg.

"No, Go shopping with my mother in November, when she's doing her last minute holiday shopping. Then you're tired," said Kevin.

That made Meg laugh. "I think all mom's are that way," she said.

Kevin nodded. "I love the things you found today. You still haven't found out what sex the babies are?" he asked.

"Nope and I don't want to know. Sara of course says there is one of each, but I'm not betting on our little psychic," said Meg.

"Nope, but she's damn accurate at times. Don't know if it is intuition or scent though," he admitted.

"Me either," said Meg as they pulled into the driveway of her house. It took them ten minutes to get everything in and unpacked. Kevin helped her put some of it in the laundry and the rest in the nursery. Luc had given up his office for a nursery as it was closer than the spare bedroom. Meg had been decorating it in greens, and forest tones. No pinks or blues. 

"Thanks Kevin. I should let you get back to the office before Luc rips your head off," said Meg.

"To be honest, I called Ginny a while back and let her know that I'd taken you shopping," said Kevin.

"Oh good. Now to wait until Luc gets home," said Meg a little apprehensively.

"It will be okay. He isn't mad at you, just being over protective. If you were my mate, I'd be the same way," said Kevin who gave her a kiss and then left. 

*

Luc stopped at the flower shop to pick up a dozen roses. Then he stopped by the Chinese place they both liked and picked up the order he'd called in thirty minutes before. He pulled into the driveway to find the lights on in the living room and Meg sitting at the table with her papers scattered around. She was humming away under her breath to Maroon 5 and didn't hear him come in.

"Oh! You startled me Luc," she said.

"Sorry Meg," he said and handed her the roses. 

"Oh, they're beautiful," she said as she set them on the table. 

He set the food down on the table and then took Meg in his arms. "I'm so sorry I displaced my anger on you. I was worried and concerned and I was being over protective," he said to her.

"And I over reacted and the hormones just took a ride and I'm sorry too," she said.

Luc kissed her and held her in his arms. "Plus, Ginny has been yelling at me for at least the last three hours reminding me that I'm an ass. I swear that my ass is at least three sizes smaller for all the chewing she did," he said.

That made Meg giggle. She disengaged from the hug and looked at Luc's ass. "Yup, at least two sizes," she said. That made them both laugh.

"We better eat this before it gets too cold," he said gesturing to the food. Meg smiled and went to get plates. They dived into egg rolls, orange beef, stir fried rice and fortune cookies.

"What does yours say?" Meg asked Luc.

"Your family will benefit by your wise judgment," said Luc. "And yours?"

"Perfection comes from working hard. Joy is doubled by perfection," said Meg. "Are you sure you didn't plant these?"

"No! Little Ma looked at me and just picked those two out," said Luc.

"Weird. Take the dishes to the kitchen and I'll show you what Kevin and I bought today," she said.

"Okay. And yes, I thanked Kevin for coming to your rescue. I was upset and so mad and just wasn't thinking about anything except eating reporters," he said.

"I hear Buttercup and Fezzik got a couple of bites in," she said as she showed him blankets, booties and little sleepers.

"Oh yeah. And that's another reason I don't want you around the office for the moment. We had to bring the reporters in and Buttercup came tearing into the office. I'd have killed the reporter and the dog if you'd have gotten hurt," he said.

"I understand. It's just been a very rough couple of weeks. Is this ever going to settle down?" she asked as she put the last of the purchases away.

"I think so. George called this afternoon and said that things have been much quieter. Only one incident and that was someone local. He took care of it," said Luc.

"Good. Are you going to be able to cope if they don't come home?" she asked.

"Why do you say that?" asked Luc. 

"Well, I just have this feeling that Sam is going to want company. In spite of all she said, she and Buster were an item for a long time. Even when George stops playing Buster, she's going to miss him. Plus, didn't you notice how much more relaxed George and Angie were up there?" Meg said.

"Now that you mention it, yes. Hmm," he said as he thought for a moment. "You know, I think you're right. Plus, Ginny and Patrick have the house under control and plenty of room. I guess we'll see what happens when the sale on Angie's house goes through," said Luc.

"Did they get an offer?" asked Meg.

"Yeah. That call came in today too. It's why George called me," said Luc.

Meg nodded and stretched out on the bed. She was full and the day had been exhausting. Luc curled up next to her and put his hand on her stomach. He waited and after a few minutes, he felt the kicks. They looked at each other and smiled.

"Meg, if Jeff says it's okay, and the world doesn't end, would you like to go camping one last time before you're too big to do so?" he asked.

"Yes!"



*

Friday finally arrived. Meg went to her doctor's appointment and Luc headed to work. He got there to find Buttercup and Fezzik wagging their tails at the warehouse gate. Luc walked up to the gate and spoke the off duty phrase and then walked in the gate. Buttercup sat waiting for her treat and Fezzik sat right next to her. Luc realized that he'd actually miss these two when this was all over. It wasn't often that he had been so comfortable with a working dog. Far too many of them cowered at the scent of him.

He headed to the office to find that Cal and Peter were already unpacking the latest order from their supplier. New routers and servers for an office complex. Kevin was handling the phones and when he got to his desk, there were maple doughnuts in a bag waiting for him.

"Thank you Ginny!" he called towards her cubbyhole.

"You're welcome!" she hollered back.

Luc ate his doughnuts and drank his coffee while reviewing the papers from his lawyers. The two reporters that got bit had tried to sue. Luc provided his lawyers with all papers as well as the video of the two reporters in the warehouse. The reporters had dropped the suit. 

"Luc, you have those two installations at 10am," Ginny said as she dropped the paperwork on his desk. Luc smiled, gathered his gear and headed out the door at 9:40am.

Meg sat up and straightened her clothes. "So, how are the kids?" she asked Jeff. 

"They're doing great. Growing well and sounding healthy," he said.

"So, can Luc and I go camping?" she asked.

"Well, if you were doing the whole RV thing in a national park, yes. However, I know where you two like to go. In all honesty, I'd worry myself sick until you got home. Picnic, but no overnight unless you are somewhere more civilized. Sorry Meg," he said.

Meg sighed. "Okay. Have to admit that the idea of sleeping on the ground didn't exactly thrill me as much as I want to get out of the city. That trip up to Spoon River made me realize how much I had missed camping," she said.

"I understand. Civilized camping, yes. Rough camping, no. Do you need me to thump it into Luc's head?" Jeff asked.

"No, but don't be surprised if you get called," said Meg.

"I won't. See you in two weeks," Jeff said and opened the door for her.

*

Luc was disappointed when he got home, but they planned a picnic. Saturday dawned early and Meg got the fried chicken, biscuits and coleslaw out of the fridge and placed it in the cooler with the water bottles. Luc packed what he called his daypack. He had more emergency stuff in there than most people took on a week long backpack, but to be honest he was taking no chances. He also had Patrick's 9mm. 

They were packed and on the road in thirty minutes and out of town less than twenty minutes after that.

"You know the last time we were on this road, I was out of it and you were driving," said Luc.

"I know. I thought about that," said Meg. 

"Well, hopefully that bear has moved on or didn't survive the event," said Luc.

Meg nodded and watched the scenery. The Subaru climbed higher and higher into the mountains. Around 10am, they reached the lower campground. Meg headed for the outhouse and Luc looked around.

"So, do you see a place you want to eat, or do you want to go higher?" Luc asked.

"If you drive slow, can we go higher?" she asked.

"Tell you what, we'll go as high as you feel comfortable," said Luc.

"Deal!" said Meg as they climbed back into the car.

*

Thirty minutes later, they were up in the meadow that they'd camped in months ago. Luc spread a blanket out and they had their chicken picnic. Meg was stretched out on the blanket relaxing and enjoying the sun as well as the breeze when Luc touched her shoulder.

"Look very slowly to your left," he whispered.

Meg slowly moved her head and for a minute, she didn't see a thing. Then out of the low bushes, she saw movement. She and Luc held absolutely still. Finally, a wolf cub appeared, and then another and another. Three of them played at the edge of the meadow for probably ten minutes and then there was a sharp yip. The three little cubs sat up and then out of the shadows appeared their mother. She was lean from nursing. She looked right at Luc and Meg then disappeared with her cubs into the bushes with her babies.

When they'd gone, Luc turned to Meg. "That was cool!" he said.

"Do you think that was our little wolf who bumped the tent?" Meg asked.

Luc sniffed the air, thought a moment and then nodded. "I think so. That was so neat. Are you done with the chicken?" he asked.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 22



"What?" Meg asked wondering what he was thinking.

"I'm going to give it to them. She's a little lean," he said.

"Go ahead if you'll think they'll eat it," Meg said.

Luc just gave her this dumbfounded look and then laughed. He scooped up the chicken and headed towards where the cubs had first appeared. He was back in a few minutes.

"I found the den and left the chicken nearby. They'll find it," said Luc. 

"Shall we go?" asked Meg. She was getting uncomfortable and the ride down would be bumpy.

"Yeah. We can take a drive instead of a hike if you'd like," he suggested.

"That would be great," said Meg and gave him a kiss. 

They packed up and were almost done when Luc nudged Meg and pointed towards the edge of the meadow. Meg turned to see a wolf cub run across the edge of the meadow with a piece of chicken held high as his litter mates chased after him.

The two of them laughed and got in the car for the drive home.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 23



For those who have missed the inner voices, they're back, with an explanation. It will all make sense as you read on. The next chapter may take a week or so. I'm also writing on Buster's story and a few other stories. As always, please comment and I hope you enjoy this installment. 



 "News Journal and Reporters Fined $15,000,000 for Fallacious Journalism!"  read the headline in the morning papers. Luc smiled and Ginny literally bounced with happiness as she flitted around the office. She even brought in maple doughnuts for everyone. Hopefully now they could all breathe a sigh of relief. The intense media attentions were wearing thin on everyone. Especially the shifters. None had dared shift for fear of some idiot with a camera lurking in the bushes. Now, maybe they might relax.

Luc had left the courthouse the day before with a feeling of grim satisfaction. At the suggestion of one of the lawyers, all the companies with 'wolf' in the title joined together to file suit against the reporters and the newspapers who had perpetrated the break-ins, vandalism and stories to stir people up. It had taken a month, but today saw all of the victims earn a final reprieve. The newspapers and the reporters got reamed. Fines, injunctions and a few got jail time. They were the reporters that had gotten caught on the security cameras at Alpha Wolf and two other companies. 

Each of the companies got a payment for damages. Luc put part of his towards paying for the rental of Buttercup and Fezzik. The rest he put in the bank. Now to get back to work without worrying about what was lurking in the bushes or painted across his signs. He reviewed his schedule, grabbed his tool bags and headed out the door.

"See you later!" he hollered to Ginny as he left.

"Bye!" she called. "Don't forget the picnic tomorrow night!" 

"I won't!" he called back over his shoulder.

*

 

Angie and George were sitting on the back porch of the B&B. They had 'buried' Buster on Friday. After a month of 'Buster' getting more and more fragile, they had faked a trip to the vet and had him put down and cremated. At least that's what they told everyone. A few had brought flowers by for Sam. A couple had offered Angie and George a free beer in honor of 'Buster'. Otherwise, it had gone without a hitch. No reporters, no newspapers, nothing. The court case Luc had just finished up helped immensely. 

"It's going to be nice to sleep with you all night long," said George.

"Yeah. And it will be nice not to have to sweep wolf fur out of the bed," Angie teased him. 

"Bigger question is what now?" asked George.

"I'm not sure. I know what I'd like to do, but is it fair? Is it the right choice? Or, are we just avoiding the inevitable?" Angie asked.

"I don't know," said George as he stretched out on the deck. He was sore and tired. He'd spent the afternoon removing Buster's house. He'd taken it apart rather than destroy it and had stored most of it in the shed where Sam kept the snow plow blade, the snow blower and the gardening tools. The corner looked empty.

"You know, the more I look at that corner, the more I think it needs a tree or landscaping of some sort," said Angie.

George blinked to wrap his brain around the total change of subject and looked over at the empty corner. "Hm... I think you're right. Guess we'd better ask Sam," he said.

"Ask Sam what?" said Sam who'd walked up behind them just then.

Angie turned around and smiled at Sam. She was holding up better than any of them had expected. "I told George that the corner of the yard needed a tree or a bit of landscaping," she said.

Sam thought about it for a moment. "Yeah. One of those Canadian Maples," she said and walked back into the house.

Angie and George looked at each other and laughed.

"Shall we get in the truck and head down to that landscape center, or go clear into the city?" Angie asked.

"Let's go clear into the city. That will help us with the other decision too," he said.

Angie thought about it for a moment and then nodded in agreement. They grabbed their things, got a shopping list and money from Sam and headed out.

 

*

Meg felt like a whale. She was trying to get things ready for the picnic and felt like she was moving through molasses. Finally, she gave up and sat in the chair to catch her breath.

"Ginny, how do women cope?" she asked.

"I don't know. Never made it that far, nor had twins. I do know that we've always had family around to help," said Ginny.

"I appreciate it. If it wasn't for 'Solda helping around the house and Bitty at the office, we'd all be in trouble. I don't know if I'm going to make it another 2-3 months though," Meg said.

"You'll be fine. Mom always said this point was the roughest. Halfway despondency she called it. Plus, all the tension of the attacks and the court case has had everyone on edge. When was the last time that Luc fully shifted?" Ginny asked trying to change the subject just a little.

"Oh geeze... I think the last time was just after Buster's funeral. What's that, over two months ago if not longer?" said Meg.

"Exactly. None of us have. We've been too wary and nervous to even dare shift. And, to be honest it puts us all on edge. You may not shift, but haven't you missed waking up wrapped in that big old furball?" Ginny asked.

"Meg thought about it. "Yeah, I have. You must feel like part of you is caged," she said.

"Oh yeah. It shows up in dreams. If we wait much longer though, some of us will go crazy. It is part of the reason we use to live far away from people," Ginny said.

"I can understand that. What did people in the military do though? People like Buster?" asked Meg. They'd been sorting some of Buster's stuff. Boxing and preserving things as well as reading the diary.

"We've been fighters for a long time. Berserkers were most likely shifters. Battle rage and all that. As for modern military... Don't laugh, but a lot of them were in K-9 corps. Only thing is, one shifter would be the handler and the other would be the dog. Others went crazy. If you go through the records and look at cases where someone slaughtered people with their bare hands, you probably have a shifter who lost it. Or, someone who walked out of a battlefield with his uniform shredded, bloody and dazed, but not a mark on him, he probably shifted mid battle and when he came to, didn't have a clue," said Ginny. 

"Okay. Some of that makes sense. I can see the whole K-9 thing too. Have you found what Buster did yet?" asked Meg.

"No. He had two sets of diaries. I'm only in the first one as he wrote in the Metis dialect," said Ginny.

"Okay. At this picnic, I take it that since it is up on Jeff's land that most of you are going to shift?" asked Meg.

"Yes. Jeff has something like 500 acres. Heavy forest. It's registered as a wolf rescue, so no one thinks twice about seeing wolves running. I know I'm looking forward to it," said Ginny.

"And us mere mortals will just sit around?" asked Meg.

"Meg, you'll get to meet most of the wives and kids as well as some you already know. I think that there are five or six pregnant, so you'll feel right at home. Don't worry about it," said Ginny knowing that Meg was nervous. It was the first really big celebration she'd been at since meeting Luc. 

"I've been trying not to worry. Will Angie and George be there?" Meg asked.

"No. They have their hands full up at the B&B, and to be honest, I don't know if they will come home," said Ginny.

"You think they'll stay?" asked Meg.

"Yeah, I do. George has never been comfortable in the city. And you tell me, have you ever seen or heard Angie happier?" asked Ginny.

"No. Even with the house sold and money in the bank, they haven't moved.," said Meg.

Ginny nodded and finished up the salad they'd been making. She put the lid on the big plastic bowl and then stuck it in the fridge. Ginny quickly wiped down the counters and got them both a glass of iced tea. They had almost finished when Luc bounced into the kitchen. He was dressed in old jeans, flip flops and a worn teeshirt.

"You ladies ready to go?" he asked.

"No, but lets do it anyway," said Meg.

They packed up the car and headed for Jeff's.

 

*

Angie and George stood back and looked at the small landscape they had created. Two maple trees, shrubs, bark mulch, flowers and a couple of rocks. Last of all, a small plaque. It read:

This garden is in honor of Brian Davy and Buster. 

 Sam's Best Friends

 

 "I think it's time we let her come out and look before she explodes," said Angie.

"I agree. Plus we all need to talk," said George.

Angie nodded and George went off to get Sam. He came back a moment later and Sam took a good look at the garden she had only seen from the window. It was full of local flowers and shrubs. The two trees which would flame red in the autumn were the only foreigners. Then she saw the plaque and the tears began to run down her face. 

"Oh you two," she said.

Angie wrapped her arms around the older woman and held her while they both cried. George stood behind the two of them with an arm around each. After a moment, Sam looked up at George.

"Thank you George. Thank you for everything," she said. "Couldn't have done it without you."

"You're welcome," said George.

"And I take it you two will be off back to the city in the morning?" said Sam.

"Well, that's up to you," said Angie.

"What in the hell kinda answer is that?" asked Sam sounding more like herself.

"When we went to the city the other day, we had a good look around. Did some shopping and a lot of thinking. We decided that we really didn't want to be city dwellers anymore. So, Will you let us partner with you on the B&B?" asked George.

Sam looked up at George and blinked. It was the last thing she had expected to hear out of those two. "Um..." she stuttered. She sat down on one of the benches in the garden.

"Why George, I think you rendered her speechless," said Angie. "Sam, I've got $150,000 in the bank from the sale of my house. We are willing to invest $75,000 in the B&B. We'd like to help run it just as we have been doing and most of all, we want to give you a vacation. You need a break too."

Sam blinked again. "Angie, I don't know what to say," she finally said.

"It's simple. Yes, you want two crazy people as partners, or no, you don't," said George.

Sam thought for a moment, started to speak, and stopped. She looked from Angie to George and back to Angie. "You mean this don't you," she said.

"Yes, we do Sam. I bet you haven't left this place other than to shop in twenty years," said Angie.

"Thirty-seven to be exact. Are you sure? Are you damned sure you want to do this?" asked Sam.

George knelt down next to Sam. "Yes. We've been talking about it and checked with our banker and lawyer too, before you ask. We've looked at your books while we were doing up the monthly bills. You own everything free and clear, there are no hidden debts, and you actually make a profit. It is a good investment for us and we like it up here," said George.

"If, just if I took you on as partners, what kind of changes would you make?" asked Sam.

"To be honest, add an elevator to the top floor. Mainly for ease of cleaning, but also for the occasional guest. I'd strengthen the floor in the back bedroom and add a better bed. Other than that, maybe build a small cabin at the back of the property," said Angie.

"And who'd that be for?" asked Sam even though she knew it would be for them.

"For you Sam. So you could have a bit of privacy," said Angie.

Sam's jaw dropped. "You'd wha?"

"We'd build you your own cabin so that you could have some privacy while we could live in that back bedroom and keep an eye on the daily business. You'd have your choice of whether to work or not and if you didn't want to, you could sit and read your westerns to your hearts content. Or, you could invite that dear gentleman who keeps showing up at dinnertime for dinner," said George with a smile. 

"I... I um. Well um," said Sam totally flustered. She hadn't thought of having her own place. She'd thought they'd want one. "Are you damn sure you want to do this?" she asked again.

"Yes!" said Angie and George together.

"Fine. It's a deal," said Sam and held out her hand. "And how soon are you two kicking me out?" asked Sam.

George laughed. "Sam, we aren't kicking you out. You can go on vacation anytime you want. Bigger decision is where do you want to go?" he said.

"Aw hell! I don't know. Where would you go?" asked Sam.

"I don't know, but we got you a bunch of brochures while we were out," said Angie.

"You were damn sure I'd go for this cockamamie idea," said Sam.

"No, but we figured if you wouldn't let us buy into the B&B, that we could at least get you to go for a vacation," admitted Angie.

"Alright. Let's go get some papers signed," said Sam.

 

Two hours later, Angie and George were partners in the business with Sam. Sam had tickets to Fiji and New Zealand for a three week vacation and a rush order in on a passport. While George went to the lumber yard to order supplies for the construction work, Angie and Sam headed back to the B&B to make a list of what Sam would need for the trip. Sam wasn't due to leave for three weeks, but Angie knew they'd be heading to the city to get Sam something other than cowboy boots, jeans and flannel shirts.

 

*

 

Ginny sat the salad and bread down on the table and helped Meg find a seat. The picnic area had twenty tables with lots of people milling around. Luc brought Meg a glass of iced tea and then started bringing people over to introduce them to Meg. The smell of steaks, hot dogs and sausages floated in the breeze. 

Another very pregnant woman came over and sat down next to Meg. "Hi, I'm Gina, my mate is Dave over there cooking at the barbecue," she said.

"I'm Meg, Luc's mate," said Meg.

"When are you due?" Gina asked.

"Not soon enough. I'm having twins," Meg said.

"I'm due next week. I'm so tired," Gina said.

"Me too. Is this your first?" Meg asked.

"Nope. Third. Or, I should say second pregnancy, third child. I did the twins thing first time around. They're over with the rest of the kids," Gina said pointing to a large play area with probably sixty kids and fifteen adults watching them. 

"Oh god. Did you deliver early or on time?" Meg asked. 

"Late. Three days, but it felt like three months," said Gina. "What I'm really looking forward to is shifting."

"Oh... that's right. You shouldn't when you're pregnant. I'm not a shifter," said Meg.

"I know. I can smell the difference, but it doesn't matter to me. I'm just hoping that they cook enough food before they all shift and go for a run. It's been so hectic that even those of us not involved in that court case have been wary," said Gina.

"And we've been at the center of it," said Meg quietly.

"Oh Meg! I didn't mean to make you feel bad," said Gina quickly.

"No, but ... does this sound dumb, I miss Luc's wolfish side. I miss the furry warmth and even the sex," said Meg thinking that she sounded really dumb. Sex should be sex, but sex with Luc shifted was different. 

"That's what my girlfriend says. She's married to a shifter but is like you. I like sex, but furry or not, it seems the same to me," said Gina.

They chatted for a few more minutes when Luc came up with a plate of food for both ladies. "Here you go," he said with a smile and walked away.

"Thank god!" said Gina. "I think I could eat a whole cow at this point."

"Where would you put it?" asked Meg thinking about how she was hungry, but didn't have room for a big meal.

"I wouldn't have room. But I'd gnaw on it all day long," she said with a giggle as they started to eat.

Luc came back with his own plate and joined them. Forty minutes later, everyone had been fed. Jeff got up and started talking.

"Hey everyone! Glad to see you. This picnic should have happened ages ago, but as we all know this has been one hellish summer. A bower has been set up for the people to chill out in while the rest of us go for a run. As your doctor," he started and had to pause because everyone started to laugh.

"As your doctor, I suggest waiting a few minutes before you go off running. There is plenty of food and dessert left. Some of the parents have opted to babysit so that others may run or relax. There is a tent off to one side with genealogy information with a new list of people related to Brian Davy, also known as Buster to some of us. He died a few months ago and shed some light on such families as Ginny's and Luc's. There are also plenty of baskets and bags for clothing on the other side of the pavilion. Enjoy yourselves and watch out for traffic!" Jeff finished. 

People began to move. Some stripped off where they stood while others at least got out of sight. Within minutes, there were wolves everywhere. Nose bumps, tails wagging and hijinks.

"Meg, I'll be back in just a bit," said Luc as he pulled off his shirt.

"Luc, go run. Really run. It's been way too long for you especially. I'll be fine," said Meg as she kissed him.

Luc smiled and dropped his jeans to the ground. He put them in a bag next to Meg's feet and then shifted. 

Wolf sniffed his mate. "Smells okay," he thought. "Pups okay." Wolf rubbed his head against his mate, licked her face and headed for the trees.

"Gaaaah! That is the only thing I don't like," said Meg to Gina as she wiped slobber off of her face.

Gina laughed. "I shift and I don't like it in this form," she giggled. That made both of them laugh. "Shall we move over to that bower Jeff talked about?" she suggested.

"Sounds good. I'll be there right after I visit the little blue house in the forest," said Meg heading for the porta potty.

 

*

 Wolf ran hard. "Too long," he thought. He ran up behind a pair of wolves. The female smelled of Ginny's perfume, but he'd know her anywhere. He nipped at her heels. The bigger wolf running with her grinned as the she wolf tried to turn herself inside out to bite Wolf. The three of them tumbled in the undergrowth.

 The wolves ran. Some in packs, others alone. They hunted and chased the wildlife in the area. All of them stayed clear of the triple chain link fence where the real wolves and those shifters who'd lost their minds lay. A few wolves curled up and slept in the leaf mold on the forest floor. Most of them ran, played and a few mated. One sat picking cactus out of a front paw and another one scared a skunk. He rolled and tried to scratch his face off to get rid of the stench. The rest of the wolves steered clear of him as he ran alone.

 As darkness fell, some returned to the picnic area. While some remained on four legs, others shifted back. People felt their loved ones snuggle next to them as they slept in tents or the bower. 

 Others stayed out to run under the moonlight. On the top of a hill, Wolf sat and howled. He waited, and in the distance another howl answered him. A few minutes later Wolf heard a third howl as it passed along the hilltops. Soon others joined him and they all howled their throaty song.

 

 

 Wolf returned near dawn. He'd had a very long run and was tired when he got back. He snuffed his mate and their pups. "Safe," he thought. His mate's belly moved as he nudged her over just a bit so he could lay down beside her. Wolf put his nose against her belly and felt the pups move. "Soon," he thought. 

 

 Meg woke up briefly when Luc came in. He hadn't shifted back, and while it was good to feel his furry body next to hers, he was hot. She turned so that her back was to him and went back to sleep. 




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 23



 

*

 

George and Angie left the airport terminal after dropping Sam off. They headed to Ginny's house to pick up a load of furniture and clothes. Ginny and Patrick were waiting for them to help load the truck. In fact, there was a moving truck in the driveway.

"What the hell?" said George under his breath.

"I don't know," said Angie. They both got out of the truck and walked over to where Ginny and Patrick were standing with grins on their faces.

"What's with the truck?" asked George pointing to the moving van.

"Sam called and suggested that we have everything ready for you," said Patrick. "So, Luc, Cal, Peter, Kevin, Ginny and I loaded up everything from Angies storage unit and all of your stuff and we're just waiting for you."

"So that's why she was smiling so much when we said we were on our way here," said George.

"Yes. You pulled a few on her and it was her turn to do it to you. That way you'd be back up to the B&B faster too," said Ginny.

"Unky Geworge! Unky Geworge!" cried Sara and her brothers as they mobbed him at the knees.

George picked Sara and Joe up and hugged them while Ivan snuggled with Angie.

"And how our my three favorite wolf pups?" George asked.

"We wants to come visits you!" said Sara. The two boys nodded.

"When we have all the construction done, Unky Pattie and Awnty Ginny will bring you up," said Angie mimicking the children's names for Patrick and Ginny.

"Yeah!!!!" the three of them said and then wiggled out of their arms and back inside.

"You know, I miss them and yet I don't!" said George.

"Oh yeah. We had the big seasonal picnic a few weeks ago and while it was good to run, it took some of us three hours to round up the pup pack that decided to go 'splorin'," said Patrick. The adults watching the children hadn't seen Sara, the boys and a handful of their friends creep out. Patrick and Luc had finally found them down by the river. No one was hurt, but they all got a long lecture on how to stay safe. Patrick swore he had more gray hair from that than anything else.

"Feel good to shift?" George asked noticing that they both looked more relaxed than the last time he'd seen them.

"Damn right!" said Ginny. "You?"

"Yes. Two days after we buried Buster I went for a long run. Those fast shifts back and forth wear you out far more than one big shift. Plus, I'd had to act feeble. Now however, I go for a run about twice a week. And, we reinforced the floor in the back bedroom of the B&B. I will enjoy my bed tonight. I can shift and not worry about it snapping like a toothpick," said George.

That made everyone laugh. 

"'Solda is watching the kids and we're going to go up with you to unpack. Cal and Kevin are already on their way. Luc was going to come, but Meg isn't feeling up to the trip," said Ginny.

"How much longer does she have?" asked Angie.

"Well, she passed the seven month marker, and the doctor said every day is a bonus from this point on. The twins are huge. So, she nibbles, moves around as best she can and 'Solda helps around the house. The nursery is finished and if Luc gets any more twitchy, Jeff is going to sedate him," said Ginny.

Angie laughed. "Are you going to ride up with me?" she asked Ginny.

"Sure. Let's go and leave these two to drive the big truck," said Ginny. 

Angie got the keys from George, kissed him and got in the truck. They were on the highway in twenty minutes.

 

*

George and Patrick pulled up to the gates of the B&B around sunset. They got out of the cab to find Angie, Ginny, Cal, Kevin and some others eating barbecue and drinking beer.

"I hope you saved us some," said George.

"Plenty on the grill and beer in the fridge," said Angie. 

"Hope the meat isn't too overdone," said Patrick.

"It isn't. Sheriff Dobbs called us about ten minutes ago and said he saw you make the turn. That's when we put your steaks on. They should just be ready," said Ginny. 

George and Patrick ate and after a beer, they began to unload the truck. The last thing out was George's bed. The frame was massive and instead of empty space under the box spring, there were slats with an inch between each one. 

"You know, I think you could park a tank on this bed," said Cal. He was teasing George, but admiring the bed at the same time.

"Yes, and next time you break your bed because you shifted in your sleep, just remember that it will never happen to me," said George with just a hint of sub-vocals.

Cal laughed and they started moving it into the bedroom. Ten minutes later, it was set up and Angie and Ginny started to make the bed. 

"I never thought I'd miss a piece of furniture," said Angie. "But after months of sleeping nearly alone for fear George'd crush the bed, I'm happy to see it.

"I know what you mean. Mine is a version of this one. Too many broken box springs for me not to do it," said Ginny.

"Did George design it?" asked Angie.

"No, this design has been around for hundreds of years. You can see examples of lighter models if you look up Viking beds. Ours just don't have the fancy posts," Ginny said tucking the last corner of the sheet into place. 

"Okay. Now to see if we can get anyone to go to bed," said Angie. She was looking forward to going to bed.

 

*

George came out of the bathroom and flopped on his bed. "Ah, it has been way too long," he said. Angie giggled and he scooped her up and pulled her close. 

"You're in a good mood," she said.

"Of course! I have my bed, my woman and I even have a lock on the door so that no one bothers me while I ravish her," he said kissing her all over. Angie giggled and enjoyed the kisses. George sucked a nipple into his mouth and tongued it until Angie gasped. He ran his fingertips across her belly and then down between her legs. She was soaked. They'd tried having sex on the B&B bed, on the floor and even outside. It just hadn't worked very well. 

Angie reached down to stroke George's cock. The size of it still amazed her after all this time, although she had gotten use to his girth. George moaned as she touched him. She wiggled around on the bed and took his cock into her mouth as best she could. 

"Oh," moaned George. He didn't move for a few moments, just savoring the feel of her mouth on him. Then he gathered a few brain cells and started moving his fingers in and out of her pussy. She wiggled and moaned, which vibrated against his cock. A few more groans like that and he wasn't going to last. 

Angie tasted the pre-cum on her tongue. She would have smiled had she been able. She kissed his cock on the very tip and then tried to turn around so that she could mount George. He held her by her pussy, his fingers still plunging in and out making it hard for her to think or move.

"Gggggeorge," she gasped. "Let me,..."

"Noh, Whhant to try," he said. With that, he turned Angie until she was on her knees. 

She braced herself as George came in from behind. Even though she was soaked, with juices running down her legs, it took a thrust or two for George to 'seat' himself deep in her pussy. They'd talked about this and yet George never said when he would try shifting or not during sex. They had set up a safe word though in case he was just too big to handle. His hands felt so good on her hips She felt lightheaded and all the edges were going soft as George stroked in and out of her pussy. It felt good.

"Ahhh," she moaned into the pillow under her head.

George shifted just a little more. He'd realized that he grew longer but not much more in girth when he shifted. He moved his arms down to the sides of Angie's hips, pinning her in place, while not scratching her soft skin. He increased his pace and it felt so good. Angie moaned again under him.

"Ruh ohkhy?" he tried to ask, nearly too shifted to talk.

"Yes, Oh gods, Oh," she squeaked as she started to orgasm. Her muscles clenched around his cock. 

George shifted full on and felt the knot form. He stroked faster now, his own orgasm so close.

"Oh! Oh! Oh gods!" moaned Angie. "So full! Oh myyyyyyyy!" ran the thoughts across her brain as she orgasmed. 

Angie's orgasm sent him over the edge and he came hard. It seemed like it took forever before his balls stopped pumping. Angie was still coming, and he rolled them over on their sides and wrapped his forelegs around her while he gently nipped her ears. He tried to shift back, but his body wasn't having any of that yet. 

"Ggeorge, I... I can't move off of you," she said at last. George just snuffled her. He couldn't talk. She had tried and every time it was like she was held tight by his cock. It also sent her into another cycle of orgasms. Then it dawned on her what had happened. 

"George, did a knot form?" she asked.

George licked her ear. 

"Oh! We did it George!" she gasped. She had wiggled too much and her body obliged her with another orgasm. "Oh myyyy."

After a few minutes, they both fell asleep. 

 

Wolf held his soft mate next to him. The knot joined them and throbbed nicely. He felt good. "Mine. Mine," he thought as he went to sleep.

 

 At some point in the night, the knot relaxed. All the cum that had filled Angie began to depart as did George's cock. It woke Angie up, and she realized what had happened. When she went to get up, George, still in wolf form growled in his sleep and pulled her closer. Angie gave up and slept in a puddle.

 

*

"Run?" the she-wolf danced back and forth on her legs next to her mate daring him.

 "Chase!" Wolf thought as he lunged after his mate. She ran and he followed.

Two wolves ran in the woods outside of the B&B. They'd run for hours and finally stopped in a meadow. After a moment, Ginny and Patrick sat on the grass watching the stars. They'd made love earlier and while the knot hadn't kept them long, it was getting close to dawn. 

"Need to go Gin," said Patrick.

"I know. Make love to me when we get back?" she asked as she shifted to wolf form again.

"Yes," said Patrick and soon the two wolves were running down the mountain.

 

At the back door of the B&B were a line of hooks. On the hooks were bathrobes. Angie had George put the hooks up when she realized that it would be easier on the shifters. Patrick and Ginny grabbed their robes and headed for their room. Anyone seeing them would assume they'd come from the hot tub George had installed on the deck outside.

They barely got in their room before Patrick pounced on Ginny. He pulled the collar of her bathrobe down so that her arms were pinned. Then he tossed her on the bed and began to nibble up her thighs.

"Ppppatrick, untangle me!" she said.

"No. I like you this way," he said as he moved up her thigh. She tried to struggle and he grabbed her bathrobe tie and snugged it tighter. She was very snuggly pinned down. Then he went back to nibbling up her thigh until he reached her pussy. He licked and sucked at her lips, clit and the opening of her pussy until Ginny bounced on the bed in orgasm. 

"Oh damn," she gasped. "Patrick, let me up." 

"No, I'm really enjoying this. Maybe I ought to tie you up more often," he said.

"Patrick, come on," she said. 

He ignored her and nipped her lips. She gasped. He repeated it and added a lick to her clit. Ginny squirmed. She also got wetter. 

"You like this," he said.

"What? No I don't," said Ginny.

Patrick laughed. "Your mouth says no, but this pussy says yes," he said.

Ginny stopped protesting for a moment, and listened as Patrick ran his fingers in and out of her pussy. Then he held his dripping fingertips up for her to see. She rolled her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. 

"See, I didn't lie," said Patrick as he moved inbetween her legs and slid his cock into her pussy.

Ginny moaned. It always felt so good when they made love. She hadn't realized what she was missing until Patrick showed up. The only lover she'd ever felt this good with had been Luc, and that had never felt right in her head. They had decided that business was more important than sex. However, with Patrick, it was the other way around. There were days when they were both late because they'd been making love until the wee hours of the morning. Even more embarrassing were the days the knot wouldn't relax and they'd be stuck in bed when one of the kids knocked on the door. Ginny swore that 'Solda or Bitty purposely sent the little ones to wake them up on days like that. 

Patrick still didn't untangle Ginny from her bathrobe. However, he leaned down and bit her nipple that peaked up out of the fabric. 

"Ahhh!" gasped Ginny. The combination of pain and pleasure sometimes just did it for Ginny. That was another thing that Patrick brought to their sex lives. Neither one worried about breaking the other. Their wolfish side played in bed as much as they did. 

Patrick pulled out, flipped Ginny over and drove back into her. As they both started to shift, he undid the tie of her bathrobe. He'd learned quickly not to destroy clothes. Especially Ginny's clothes. That had been a very expensive lesson. Fun, but costly.

Ginny wiggled out of the bathrobe as best she could because Patrick didn't stop. He leaned over her and bit the back of her neck. It sent shivers down her spine and they shifted all the way. Forelegs braced against her back legs gave him the leverage he needed. They exploded in orgasm and collapsed to the bed. Curled up tight to accommodate the knot, they went to sleep as the sun began to fill the room.

 

*

Wolf curled up around his mate. "Soft one sleep, pups no sleep," he thought as he watched her belly move. Wolf put his nose on her belly and the pups kicked harder. He jerked his head back in surprise and lay back down next to his mate. He watched the pups play under her skin until he fell back to sleep. 

 

*

 On the other side of the world, Sam was relaxing under an umbrella reading the latest Peter Bowen mystery. She smiled at the waiter that brought another iced tea and sat it next to her. She'd had a lovely time swimming in the ocean and walking around the various markets. She still couldn't believe that she was here in Fiji. At that moment, her hat blew off and she ran to catch it. The bandanna wrapped around the brim had been Buster's. Sam had almost caught it when a tall slim man picked it up. 

"Hey! That's my hat. Would you give it back please?" she asked as she ran up to him.

"Oh, Ever so sorry, I just saw the hat blowing," the man said. He looked at the hat and turned it so that it would sit correctly on the woman's head. Then he lightly placed it on her head. "There you go ma'am."

"Thanks," said Sam and she walked back to her book. 

The man went to rub his nose and the scent from the hat hit him. "Buster?" he thought. He watched the woman walk back to a sun chair and made a note of the hotel it was sponsored by. This was an unexpected mystery he needed to follow up.



More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 24



Life intruded in such an way that this chapter too far to long to write and I apologize. Since last I wrote, I've traveled nearly 3500 miles and moved house. Even my partner wondered if I'd ever get it done. However, In a very odd way, my life has been paralleling Ginny's. My life turned upside down and two sweet mischievous little pups to deal with on a daily basis. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Lots of twists and turns.

*

Sam sat eating her dinner under an awning watching the sun set. She had just finished her salad when she heard someone come up beside her.

"Would you mind if I sat with you?" he asked.

Sam looked up to see the man who had rescued her hat from the wind. He was nice looking, and about her age. There was also something familiar about him that she just couldn't put her finger on.

"No, not at all. Please join me," she said. "I'm Sam."

"Lewis. Nice to meet you," he said.

"Thank you again for rescuing my hat this afternoon. Have to admit though that the damned bandana means more to me than the hat," she said.

"Oh?" asked Lewis as the waiter brought him a dinner salad.

"It belonged to a dear friend of mine who passed a few months ago," Sam said.

"I understand," said Lewis. "Bloody hell! The old man must have been nearly 120!" he thought. "A lover?"

"No, just a very dear man who was rather misunderstood," said Sam.

"How was he misunderstood if you don't mind me asking," said Lewis.

"Well, I need to explain a few things first," said Sam between bites of seafood pasta. "I run a B&B up in the mountains. One afternoon, this older gentleman showed up asking if he could have a long term agreement with me for a room. We talked and I agreed. You see, I think he expected he would die rather soon. He spent most his time up in the mountains and only came home late in the evenings," said Sam.

"Okay, so what happened that changed things?" asked Lewis. He'd ordered his meal and the waiter had motioned that he'd be right back. He was listening very closely to what Sam was and wasn't saying.

"Well, for one, he didn't die. By then, I was use to his comings and goings and so I just continued to let him rent the ground floor room. Wasn't like anyone was using it," Sam explained. She had this feeling that she knew the man sitting across from her, but couldn't shake it or explain it.

"That was nice of you," said Lewis. "So this man became a friend and then what?"

"Well, I had a couple visiting and she fell and broke her nose and twisted her ankle. While she was convalescing, they got to know the old man who would sit with her when her mate... um husband couldn't," said Sam. "Shit!"

"That was nice of the old man. Why didn't the couple just go home?" he asked. "And she just slipped up and now is frustrated with herself. Hmmm..." he thought.

"Well, their house was being worked on and there really wasn't anywhere to go," said Sam.

"And after this couple did go home? What happened then?" Lewis asked. He poured Sam another glass of wine from the carafe on the table. "Please don't stop talking!"

"Well, he began to decline very rapidly and he died in my arms. The paramedics got all upset because I wouldn't let them haul the old man off to the hospital. They made a real stink of things. The young couple who'd become friends came up to help me with all the details. They had really liked the old man. When we went through his stuff we discovered that he was a relative of the woman," said Sam.

"Now that is extraordinary!" said Lewis. "I have cousins?!" he thought.

"Yes it was. It was a little rough after he died, what with the paramedics making such a fuss. The young couple and another couple who are friends of theirs helped me run the B&B. In fact, the second couple have gone in as partners with me," said Sam.

"Now that is some turn of events. Are you comfortable having two near strangers running your business?" asked Lewis.

"Well, I was a bit nervous at first. However, the two of them have been of such help and I don't mind a bit," said Sam. "And that's the absolute truth even though I didn't realize it fully until just now. Funny that. And why on earth do I feel like I know this man?" she thought.

"And you're so comfortable, that you've gone on this grand vacation?" he asked.

"Yes. I haven't been away from the B&B in thirty-seven years. Angie and George are very good at handling the B&B. Figured it was time I saw a bit of the world," said Sam. "Now, I've done all the talking, tell me a bit about yourself."

"Well. um... I'm a businessman from Canada. Logging, paper products and such. And I have to admit something. I feel a bit of a bastard. Um... Oh hell. You'll either believe me or you won't," he said. "I haven't been totally truthful."

"Lewis, what's going on? What do you mean I'll believe you or I won't?" asked Sam trying to figure out if he was a nutcase or if she was in danger.

"I... oh hell. Pardon my language, but the last thing I expected out here in the middle of the Pacific was to pick up a hat with that scent on it," he said. "Here's hoping she knew what Buster really was," he thought with trepidation.

Sam looked at Lewis and blinked. "Scent?"

"Your hat. That bandana. Buster wore that bandana didn't he?" Lewis asked feeling totally exposed and ready for her to scream any second. He really didn't know of a better way to try and explain things without revealing too much. He just wasn't good at this sort of thing.

"Buster? You know it was Buster's?" Sam asked going pale under her newly acquired tan.

"Yes. How could I not know my great grandfather's scent?" Lewis said quietly hoping that her question meant that she did know what Buster was and wouldn't scream.

Sam just sat there dumbfounded. Then she took a better look at Lewis. She realized why he looked familiar. He looked like Buster in those photos. She also wasn't sure which one of them was more scared. "Lewis, if you hadn't used the name Buster, I would have thought you some kind of scam artist. However, not once this evening have I mentioned his name or nickname," she said.

"No, you didn't. You were very careful to not say his name," said Lewis.

"There's also only one way you'd recognize a scent after all that time. And yes, I know," said Sam.

Lewis drew a deep breath and relaxed just a little. "I'm sorry for not being more open with you, but I was curious and nervous all at the same time. You have no idea of how difficult life can be for us at times," he said.

"Lewis you don't know the half of it. Let's get away from all these people and I'll tell you what really happened. Oh, and about your cousins Ginny, George, Luc and their partners," said Sam. She motioned for the waiter, signed her check and the two of them took their glasses of wine and headed out to the beach to talk.

*

"Who was on the phone?" asked Angie.

"That was Sam," said George as he crawled back into bed. They'd been making love when the phone rang.

"Oh? What did she have to say? Everything all right?" asked Angie.

"Yeah. Everything is very alright. She's met a man, and they are headed for New Zealand together," said George.

"Wait a minute. She met a man and is going on the rest of her vacation with him and you aren't twitching? What in the hell is going on?" asked Angie as she sat on his chest and grabbed his shoulders like she could actually affect some change by shaking him.

"Hold on! Don't kill the messenger! His name is Lewis and they've hit it off well and have been talking pretty much for the last forty-eight hours," said George dragging it out.

"What?! Come on George! Who is this guy?" asked Angie. "And what are his motives for chatting up our Sam for that long a period of time?"

"Angie, his name is Lewis Davy. He's Buster's great grandson and he recognized Buster's scent on Sam's hat bandana," said George waiting for all the implications to settle in.

Angie finally heard everything George had said. "Oh. My. God." was all she said.

"Now, when she calls next, she said she'd give us more details. From what I understand though, when she comes back in a month, we'll have a new cousin to get acquainted with," said George.

"Okay," said Angie as her brain twisted and turned.

*

Ginny was running the front desk. 'Solda was helping Meg nearly full time at the house and Bitty had run off with some guy she'd met at the picnic and not been home since. She expected Bitty to turn up pregnant when she did come home.

"Patrick, could you give me a hand?" she asked. The client list had grown after the court case and with Meg pregnant, Patrick had been taking her workload of clients.

"What do you need?" Patrick asked as he came out of the back offices.

"I need a schedule for our techs and a hiring strategy because Luc has been gone more and more as the babies get closer to their arrival," she said. She wasn't upset over any of this, but it was getting difficult to find enough people to do the work. Luc worked at home in the mornings to be with Meg and did jobs in the afternoon. Kevin was stretched thin and Cal and Peter seemed to live in the warehouse. They'd also given up and bought Buttercup and Fezzik outright from the security firm. When the dogs had gone back, they'd been sullen and refused to work. The handler had tried everything and just turned up one day at the office with the dogs in tow. He'd explained what was going on and Luc, Cal and Peter had gone out to the van.

The minute the dogs heard the men's voices, they went ballistic. They were so happy, that the tail wagging rocked the van. When the two dogs were finally let out, they literally crooned. Luc settled on $1000 per dog. Everyone, especially Buttercup and Fezzik were happy at long last.

"Let's go to lunch and see what we can work out," said Patrick.

"Lamb burgers?" asked Ginny.

"Is there anything else worth eating?" teased Patrick as they headed out the door.

*

An hour after their lunch, they had a plan. Using the families list that Luc and Dr. Jeff kept, they put out a call for all under employed computer techs. If they were lucky, they'd have a pool to choose from in a few days time.

Ginny had just gotten back in the office when the phone rang. Ginny picked it up as Patrick passed her heading to his office. She blew him a kiss.

"Hello, Alpha Wolf Tech, how can I help you?" she said in her best office voice. "Oh hi Angie, what's going on?" Twenty minutes later, she hung up the phone and walked down to Patrick's office. She leaned against the door with a stunned look on her face.

"You'll never believe what Angie just told me," she said.

"What?" asked Patrick looking at Ginny who was leaning up against the door frame looking stunned.

"Well, Sam called last night," Ginny started as she sat down in a chair opposite Patrick's desk.

*

Meg woke up feeling odd. She wasn't sure what was going on, but the babies felt like they were running laps. She tried to get comfortable, but it didn't matter which way she turned, it didn't feel good. In the end, she gave up and went to take a shower. Standing in the warm water helped. The babies settled down. Meg got out and dried off. She felt like a whale and she was just over eight months.

"Luc, could you come here?" she called knowing that he was working in the dining room.

"Just a second Meg," he called as he put the phone down. Angie had just called him and told him the most amazing news. He wanted to share it with Meg, but he needed to see what she needed first. Luc walked into the bedroom to find Meg standing there with a towel around her body, and a puddle at her feet. "Oh God!"

"I just took a shower and then all of a sudden, I wet myself, but..." was as far as she got. Luc helped her to the bed and grabbed the phone.

"Jeff, I think her waters broke," Luc said. He nodded as he listened to the doctor, and then hung up the phone.

"Jeff said to dress as comfy as you could and then we're to head to the hospital," said Luc.

"I have a nightie right over there," said Meg. She pointed to a creamy lace and blue silk gown.

Luc grabbed it and helped her put it on. She slipped her feet into thongs and Luc grabbed some towels for her to sit on in the car.

Luc got Meg into the Subaru and headed out. "You feeling okay?" he asked.

"Achy. And the babies have gone from moving a lot to really quiet," she said.

"Okay. We'll be there in about fifteen minutes," he said.

It took twenty. Luc was growling by the time they got there. He swore that they hit every red light. He helped Meg out of the car and into the hospital. He tossed the keys at a kid working valet and followed Meg and a nurse.

Jeff caught up with them as they headed up to a room. Meg got onto an examination bed and Jeff and the nurse checked her out while Luc paced. Jeff caught his eye and then looked over towards a chair. Luc sat.

"Okay Meg, I guess these babies decided to arrive a little early. Your waters did break and while you aren't feeling any labor pains right now, you may very soon. Get comfortable and we'll monitor you from time to time," said Jeff.

"Am I going to have the babies naturally?" Meg asked.

"I don't see why not. They're in place and everything looks fine. If you want any painkillers, just holler," he said and smiled as the nurses came in to attach monitors and bring in extra pillows.

"Honey, you just relax. Birthing babies is hard work. Rewarding, but hard work. Sleep while you can and if you're uncomfortable, move around until you are. If you want a soak, we have a birthing pool," said one nurse.

"Thanks. I'm just nervous," said Meg.

"We all are," said the second nurse. "Especially the dads."

Meg looked over at Luc who was tapping his fingers on his leg trying to sit still.

"Luc, call Ginny and Angie. Let them know what's happening and cancel your appointments for the afternoon," she said.

"Oh. Yeah. Forgot all about that," said Luc. "I'll be just a second." He stood up and left the room to make his calls.

Meg got settled in and then tried to rest. She wasn't really sleepy, but she knew this was far from over.

Ginny picked up the phone. "Alpha Wolf..." was as far as she got before Luc's voice and message interrupted her. "Oh! Oh god! Oh my!" said Ginny. "Yes, we'll take care of things! Love to you both!" she said and hung up the phone. She ran down to Patrick's office.

Patrick wondered what was going on that had Ginny running. "Gin, what's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing! The babies are coming!" she said much louder than she meant.

Patrick smiled. "Guess we'd better take care of things and clear the deck then," he said. "Did you get a chance to tell Luc about Sam?"

"Yes, but I don't know if he had time to tell Meg. Apparently her waters broke about the same time we hung up," said Ginny.

"Oh. Okay. This is one hell of a day then," said Patrick.

"I agree. Now where is that list of techs?" she asked.

*

Luc called Angie and let her know the news. Angie promised to call Sam and let her know. He walked back into the room in a daze. His pups were coming. He felt elated and confused all at the same time. Meg was trying to nap, so he decided to relax in the chair. It was a big sturdy one, so he wasn't too worried as he felt himself shift as he too fell asleep.

"Pups!" Wolf wanted to howl with joy. He walked over and sniffed his mate. She was asleep and the pups were quiet. He walked out of the room and checked the hall for danger. He didn't find any, but this wasn't his den. Not his territory. He nosed his way back into the room and curled up on the floor. "Pups!" he thought again as he went to sleep.

*

Ginny and Patrick cleared the work roster and closed down the business for the week. They both knew that work would be the last thing on anyone's mind. Then they headed to the hospital. Cal promised to feed Fezzik and Buttercup. Peter and Kevin headed over to give 'Solda a hand to make sure the house was clean and ready for their return after the babies were born. Ginny had also promised to call Sam, Angie and George the minute there was any news.

"Where are you headed?" Ginny asked Patrick when they didn't turn towards the hospital.

"Our favorite burger joint. I'm picking up food for Luc. You and I both know he has totally forgotten about eating. Last thing we need is a worried hungry new father," said Patrick.

Ginny nodded and laughed.

Forty minutes later, they pulled into the hospital parking lot. Ginny grabbed the bag full of burgers and they headed inside. It didn't take long to figure out where Meg was. Luc was outside the door pacing.

"Hey Luc, how is Meg doing?" asked Ginny.

"She's dilated and Jeff is checking things out. I got told to leave the room," said Luc.

Ginny looked at Luc. "Were you growling?" she asked.

Luc went red around the ears. "I can't help it!" he said.

"Dad was never good around Mom when she was in labor either," said Patrick. "How about you eat some of this food we brought you." He handed the bag to Luc.

Luc looked into the bag and smiled. "Oh man, just what I needed," he said as he sat down and started to devour a burger.

"Figured you might be hungry. We've got work taken care of and 'Solda's cleaning house with Kevin and Peter. Oh, and we've called all the gossips so that they will pass out the news as it happens," teased Patrick.

Luc laughed around a mouthful and nodded. He knew that once a few people knew, the whole pack or family would know in minutes. He finished off the first burger and started on a second one.

Ginny slipped into the room as Luc ate and Patrick kept him occupied. She waved at Meg who was holding onto a nurses hand as Jeff was poking and prodding.

"Don't just stand there," said Martha from the other side of Meg. "Come hold her hand while I get some circulation back in mine."

Ginny laughed and walked around to the far side. "How's it going Meg," she said.

"Tired. Felt better, and oh do they mean labor when they call it labor," Meg gasped. She panted through a contraction.

"Good work Meg," said Jeff. "Keep it up and you should have a baby in about three more pushes."

"Go get Luc," said Meg. There was no way he was going to be out in the hall no matter how much he growled.

Jeff nodded and the other nurse let go of Meg's hand and went to get Luc. Luc and Patrick came back in with the nurse. Luc took Meg's hand and held it. Patrick stood off to one side and waved at Meg. She nodded a hello and went back to pushing.

"Good thing she's not a shifter. As hard as she's been squeezing my hand, I'd have broken fingers," said Ginny.

"Hon, I worked maternity in regular hospitals for years. One gal broke her husband's arm she squeezed so tight," said Martha. "Broken fingers are nothing."

Jeff nodded. "Get fingers caught between things all the time," he said. "Meg, Push. I can see the first one's head."

Meg drew as deep a breath as she could and when the next contraction came, she pushed. Luc stroked her head and was murmuring something to her and Meg nearly curled up with her knees to her nose as she pushed.

"Ahhhhh!" came a muffled cry from Meg.

"Keep going!" said Jeff.

"You can do this Meg," said Ginny. She felt a bone pop in her hand.

Martha moved in quickly as Jeff guided the first baby into the world. A quick shift of the hands and the baby slid free of Meg. Jeff clamped the cord and then put the baby on Meg's chest. The baby cried softly.

"This one is a girl," Jeff said. "Next one in about two minutes."

Meg looked down at their baby. She kissed the bloody little head. Luc sniffed the baby and then touched her back. Then Meg felt the next contraction.

"Martha," Meg squeaked.

"Hold on a second," said Martha as she gathered the first baby up and took her off to be weighed and measured. She also took a glance at Jeff who was ready for the next one.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 24



"Push Meg. We're nearly done. Just push," he said.

Meg nodded and pushed with the contraction. This was the hardest thing she had ever done. Exhausted and exhilarate all at the same time. She felt that burn as the head pushed through the birth canal and then the relief as the baby was born. She closed her eyes as she heard the baby cry. Tears ran down her face too.

"And this one is a boy," said Jeff. He placed the baby on Meg's chest as he had the first one. Meg opened her eyes, and kissed his head. Luc sniffed the baby and then took the blanket from Jeff to wrap him up. He carried the baby off to where Martha was making his daughter fuss and cry.

"Now let's tend to you," said Jeff. "We have two afterbirths and then you are all done. Both babies look healthy."

"Oh good," said a very exhausted Meg.

Ginny kissed Meg on the head and then walked over to where the babies were being tended. "Patrick, can you massage my hand?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," said Patrick. He started working her hand and quickly realized that she had a broken metacarpal. He pulled and tugged it back into place. As he did so, Martha looked over and nodded.

"You okay?" Martha asked.

"Yeah. Didn't think she was that strong," said Ginny wincing.

"She is. Luc has a real prize in that woman," Martha said. "Same with these babies. Almost four weeks early yet good weight and very healthy. I was afraid we'd have to put them in the incubators, but so far, no reason to."

Ginny smiled. Patrick was gently rubbing her hand to ease the pain.

"Do you have names for these babies?" asked Martha over her shoulder.

"Yes. Linsey and Elliot," said Luc.

"What kinds of names are those for babies?" asked Patrick.

Ginny laughed. "They're the names of the mountains they climbed when they first met," she said.

"You didn't!" said Martha.

Meg and Luc just nodded. They had talked for hours about names. Family names, favorite names, names to avoid and finally they decided on variations on two of the mountains they climbed on that first camping trip.

"Well, it's better than what my mom did after the sixth baby," said one of the nurses.

"Oh?" asked Meg who was finally relaxing.

"Yeah. Septem and Octo is what she named them. She just ran out of ideas," said the nurse.

"Oh god! Those poor kids," said Patrick.

"Yeah. Sep didn't have it so bad being a boy, but Octo is still pissed at mom thirty years later. She changed her name to Olivia at school and refuses to answer if mom calls her anything else," said the nurse. That made everyone laugh.

"Well, Linsey weighs 5lbs, 1 oz. and is 18 inches long. Elliot is a bruiser at 5lbs, 2.5 oz. And 19 inches long," said Martha. She had both babies partially cleaned up and wrapped in warming blankets. She walked over and put the babies in Meg's arms. Then she motioned for everyone else to leave the room and let the new parents have some time alone.

Ginny kissed Luc and Meg and then the babies. Patrick did the same. "We'll make all the calls," said Ginny.

"Okay. Don't be surprised if my Mom screams and my sister hangs up on you," said Meg. Her family hadn't taken to Luc and his extended family very well. Meg hadn't been surprised, and didn't expect much out of them.

"Alright. They're first on my list. We'll check in with you in the morning," said Ginny as they headed out the door.

Luc looked down at his two babies. Elliot was dark like him while Linsey looked to be a redhead. He touched the babies and then stroked Meg's face.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"That's a stupid question," she said laughing softly. "I've just given birth to two babies after nearly fifteen hours of labor and you ask if I'm okay?"

"You know what I mean. I know you hurt, but are you okay?" he asked again a little lost for words.

"Yes. I hurt and I'm happy and I love you and our babies so much," she said.

Luc tried to figure out how to wrap his arms around everyone. It wasn't elegant, but he managed. Then the two babies started to nuzzle Meg.

"Um, Luc, would you get Martha?" Meg asked. "I'm not sure how to start this breastfeeding."

"I'll be right back," he said and ran for the nurses station. He came back with Martha in tow and in a few minutes, both babies had figured out how to latch on. Martha gave Meg some further instructions and then left the two new parents alone again until the next micro crisis.

*

Angie's cell phone rang. Sleepily she reached over for it. It was Ginny's number on the Caller ID. "Babies!" she thought.

"Hello?" she answered. "Oh Great!" she shouted. "Yes. Wonderful. Give them our love and we'll see them soon. Yes, I'll tell George. Thanks! Love you!" Angie said and closed her cell phone.

"Two healthy babies, Elliot and Linsey," George said having heard most of the conversation.

"Yes. Born about an hour ago. Both just over five pounds and no need for incubators even though they were early," said Angie as she snuggled back into the covers.

George smiled and wrapped Angie in his arms. While there were no babies in their future, there were plenty to love and take care of in the family.

Sam and Lewis were having a late night cup of tea when Ginny called. "No, don't worry. I wasn't asleep anyway. Lewis and I have been sittin' here talkin'," Sam said as Ginny apologized at the other end of the line. "So, tell me everything," said Sam. She sat and listened for a few minutes. Sam nodded a few times and then listened again. "Okay. Well give everyone my love and I'll see you in a week or so," Sam said and hung up the phone.

"I take it that the babies have arrived?" said Lewis.

"Yes. A boy and a girl. Elliot and Linsey. Both about five pounds and healthy as can be," said Sam with a grin on her face.

"Well, this deserves more than a cup of tea," said Lewis. He stood up and walked over to the small bar area in the room and poured two whiskeys. He handed one glass to Sam and then they raised them.

"To newborn pups and long lived families," said Lewis in a toast.

"To Meg and Luc," responded Sam. They clinked glasses and drank the whiskey. As Sam put her glass down, Lewis did something he'd wanted to do for days and hadn't had the courage to do. He pulled Sam into his arms and kissed her. To his surprise, she kissed back.

*

"Wez has cuzins?" shouted Sara, Joe and Ivan the next morning when Ginny and Patrick told them the news.

"Yes. Linsey and Elliot," said Patrick.

"Yeah! Lidze and Elot!" shouted the three of them as they bounced around the kitchen.

Ginny just laughed and shook her head. Patrick rolled his eyes and hoped that the three of them would settle down soon.

After the three ran outside to play, Patrick poured himself a cup of coffee and one for Ginny.

"Have you called Meg's family yet?" he asked.

"Just about to. I'm going to try the sister first. Should be fast and easy," said Ginny.

Patrick nodded and sat down to watch.

Ginny dialed the number. "Hello, This is Ginny, Luc's cousin. Meg and Luc had twins early this morning and I..." she said stopping in midstream. "Fine. I won't," she finished and hung up. "That has got to be the rudest woman I have ever talked to in my life!" said Ginny. "No wonder we've never met her."

"Oh?" asked Patrick. He'd heard exactly what the woman on the phone had said and it didn't take good hearing as she had been shouting.

"Yeah. Here's hoping mom is better," said Ginny as she dialed. "Hello, This is Ginny, Luc's cousin," said Ginny as she started to hold the phone away from her ear. "Yes, they had the babies. Yes, everyone's okay. No, I don't know when they'll be home, but I'll call as soon as I know if Meg doesn't call you first. Okay. Yes. Sure. Okay. Bye," said Ginny. She put the phone down and rubbed her ear.

"Well, Meg did say she'd probably shout," said Patrick.

"I think I've heard calmer Jack Russell terriers," said Ginny.

Patrick laughed. "Do you think she'll fly out to see her new grandbabies?" he asked.

"Oh yes. That's why I have to call her when I know they'll be home," said Ginny.

"That will be interesting. I take it she doesn't know?" asked Patrick.

"Nope. Neither the mom or the sister know. And before you ask, I have no idea why the sister is such a bitch. Meg said she's always been like that," said Ginny.

*

Three days after the babies were born, Luc brought his new family home. Jeff had wanted to make sure there were no problems since the babies were early. There weren't. While Linsey and Elliot were a bit small, they were healthy.

Luc opened the car door and helped Meg up. She was still sore and felt a bit off balanced. Now she carried the weight of the babies in her arms. Each of them took a baby and they moved inside.

"Oh my god," said Meg as she walked into the living room. Everywhere she looked there were flowers, cards and gifts. "I... I thought this was all over with the baby showers?" she said looking at the gifts as she walked slowly into the room.

"So did I," said Luc. "Let's get you and the babies settled and then we can figure all of this out."

"Okay," said Meg. "I just want to curl up on the couch and nurse them."

"Whatever you want," said Luc. He was still amazed at the babies. The first night after they were born, he'd shifted and howled his delight until Martha threatened him with a rolled up newspaper. Then he curled up with Meg and the babies and slept.

Meg settled on the couch and after a moment had both babies nursing quietly. She knew she'd have to start feeding them in shifts as they got bigger, but for now it was easy. Her milk had come in that morning and it felt very good to let the babies nurse.

Luc brought the rest of the stuff into the house and almost had it put away when the doorbell rang. He tossed Meg a receiving blanket to cover up with and answered the door. He opened it to find a woman he'd never seen, but recognized as Meg's mom at the door. Behind her were Ginny and Patrick.

"Hello," he said as he realized that he didn't know the woman's name.

"Hello. You must be Luc. I'm Anna," said the woman and held out her hand.

Luc took the hand, shook it and then pulled Anna into a hug. She smelled okay and she didn't flinch. "This might work out alright," he thought. "Hello Anna, come see the babies. Meg is in the living room.

"Thank you. Your cousin Ginny is a nice woman and her husband Patrick is a dream. So nice of them to pick me up from the airport and call me too when the babies were born," Anna rambled on. "Oh hello Meggie," she said as she walked into the living room. "Feeding those babies? Good thing. Breast milk is best milk you know. You and your sister were breast fed. Three years each. Although I can't see why she didn't turn out as well as you. Oh well, I'll have Luc show me to the guest room while you finish feeding those babies," Anna finished.

Meg just smiled weakly and nodded. There was no way to get a word in edgewise and she knew it. At least her mom was talking fairly quietly.

Luc looked shell shocked, but showed Anna to the guest room with Anna still talking ninety miles an hour. Ginny and Patrick came in carrying luggage and more presents. Patrick followed Luc down the hall and Ginny perched on the couch.

"Is she always so talkative?" asked Ginny exasperated.

"No, sometimes she talks even faster," said Meg.

"She hasn't stopped talking since the moment we picked her up at the baggage claim," said Ginny. "I've heard all about all of your childhood ailments, your life from birth to about age four and we were just starting on why your sister is such a failure to her when we pulled up here."

"That's mom. My sister Jo and I are almost five years apart. It might as well be fifty. With different parents. I'm auburn, she's blonde," started Meg.

"Yes, and she's fat, lazy, works too much at a stupid job, her husband's a jerk who takes advantage of her and the three grandsons are worthless piles of snot, just like their father," said Ginny as she ticked the list off on her fingers.

"You've got it," laughed Meg. The sound of her voice woke Elliot who had fallen asleep nursing. Meg put him back to her breast and he started to feed again. "Worst part is that I think Mom really tried to do her best by Jo, and Jo turned out rotten in spite of all of her best efforts."

"I understand. One of those you say white, she says black, you say yes, she says no types of situations," said Ginny.

"Yes. Contrary to the last hair on her head. Mom treated us exactly the same... thank you Dr. Spock, and yet we are totally different people," said Meg. Linsey was fast asleep and Ginny took her out of Meg's arms and tucked her into a Moses basket next to Meg. "Thanks. Oh, and before they get back, I'm sorry about your hand," said Meg.

"It's okay. I healed. And if you don't mind me asking, who ratted?" asked Ginny.

"No one. I felt it break. I didn't know I was that strong," said Meg.

"Neither did I. Patrick set it for me and it just aches a bit," said Ginny.

The voices which had gotten a bit quite for a few minutes were getting louder. Anna came back into the living room still talking with Patrick and Luc trailing behind her. She did drop her voice to a whisper when she saw that the babies were sleeping, but she was still talking.

"Oh Meggie, they are so precious," said Anna. "I can't wait to see them in a few months when they've lost that Winston Churchill look. All babies look like him you know. Can't help it. All that water, squished up in a ball for nine months and of course most as bald as a billiard. Now where did you pick those names from?" she asked turning back to Luc. "Luc here said something about a camping trip you went on and two mountains?"

"Yes mom. Mountains," said Meg.

"Oh, that is just so sweet and sentimental," said Anna. "We were going to use our initials to make yours and your sister's names, but it just didn't work out, so we named you after my mother and your sister after your father's great aunt. Then again, I should have known your sister would be trouble. That aunt was a pain in the ass too."

"Meg, Andrew's here, and there will be others arriving," said Patrick from the door of the living room.

"Thanks Patrick. Hello Andrew," Meg said as the tall silversmith came into the room.

"Hello and congratulations," said Andrew. "I have a present for you." He handed Meg a box.

Meg carefully took the box and opened it up. Inside were two beautiful silver cups. Each one had a wolf print on it and then the baby's name. Meg smiled and blinked back the tears. They were beautiful.

"Oh thank you Andrew," she said and blew him a kiss.

Andrew bent over and kissed Meg on the cheek. "You are so very welcome. The babies are beautiful and deserve beauty in their lives," he said. "Blessings on you and yours."

"Meg, are you going to introduce me?" asked Anna.

"Oh. Yes. Mom, This is Andrew Davis. Andrew, this is my mom Anna," said Meg.

"Very nice to meet you," said Andrew.

"Nice to meet you and those are a very lavish gift," said Anna.

"How could I do any less for Luc and Meg?" asked Andrew in a very soft voice.

"Oh," was all that Anna said.

Just as Meg realized that Andrew had somehow stopped her mother's constant jabbering cold, other people began to arrive. Ysabel came in with three very somber pups. Sara, Joe and Ivan had never been as quiet. They came in, said their hello's and handed Meg a package.

"Its pwesents for ouwr new cuzins," said Sara almost at a whisper.

"Thank you," said Meg. She opened the present and found two small baby sheep and a package of peanut butter cookies.

"The sheepz iz for Lidze and Elot and da cookies is for Unky Wolfy and you," said Sara.

"Thank you again," said Meg with a smile. Ysabel ushered them out to the back yard and came back inside to see the babies and chat with Meg.

"What on earth did you do to them?" asked Luc munching on a cookie.

"I threatened to lock them up in a dog kennel if they misbehaved," said Ysabel smugly.

"What?" said Anna rather aghast.

"Mom, once you get to know those three, you won't think that is such a bad idea," said Meg. Everyone around them laughed and nodded.

Next in were Sandy and his son Jesse. Kisses and greetings were exchanged. Marie came in with Jack, 'Solda and a very pregnant Bitty. Standing in the doorway was a very chagrined young man who was obviously Bitty's new mate. The teeshirt didn't hide the hickies and teethmarks.

Cal, Peter and his wife Lisa, and Kevin were the last ones in the door. Meg watched as food was laid out and opened a steady stream of presents as they were handed to her. The babies slept on in their basket oblivious to everything.

"Have you noticed anything different in the last thirty minutes?" Patrick asked Luc as they set up the table.

"No," said Luc after a moment.

"Ever since Andrew walked in, Anna has been nearly silent," said Patrick.

"You're right! Oh god, don't let her be attracted to him," said Luc.

"No, I don't think it's that. Andrew has on what I think of as his 'preacher look' today and I think she's reacting to it," said Patrick.

Luc looked and then nodded. "Wonder if I can get him to visit at least once a day while she's here," said Luc.

"None of us will be that lucky. However, she's the only non-shifter who doesn't know about us in the room," said Patrick.

"Does everyone know that?" asked Luc.

"I think so. However, it might not be a bad idea to figure out a way to explain things. Much better now than in fifteen years when they shift for the first time," said Patrick.

Luc nodded. That was not going to be a good discussion. He went back in to help Meg to the table.

"Luc, have you noticed Mom?" she asked before they got two feet from the couch and Anna.

"Yes. Patrick and I were discussing that. We are going to have to tell her if she is around a lot," he said.

"I know. I've been trying to figure out how, but I'm stuck," Meg said.

"Me too," answered Luc.

*

Two hours later, Ginny and Marie were washing up dishes while Meg nursed the babies in the bedroom. Sandy, Luc and Patrick were picking up the living room and dining room while Anna organized the cards, and made a list of the presents and who had given them. She'd been oddly quiet even after Andrew had left.

"Do you think it will last?" asked Ginny.

"The quiet?" asked Marie.

"Yeah. That was just weird the way she went from talking ninety miles an hour to nothing in a blink of an eye," said Ginny.

"Agreed. Guess we will just have to wait and see," said Marie. "Now where do these dishes go?"

Meg had almost nodded off when she felt a light touch on her shoulder. She looked up to see her mom standing there.

"Is everything okay Mom?" Meg asked.

"Yes, but I have a question for you," said Mom.

"Okay," said Meg wondering what her mom wanted to ask.

"That man Andrew, he's some kind of priest isn't he?" Anna asked.

"Yes Mom," said Meg.

"And what is he?" asked Anna.

"He's a silversmith who has a shop at the local Mall," said Meg not wanting to think where Mom was going with this conversation.

"I know that. What is he? He moves like he's loping or like all his bones and ligaments are covered in WD-40," said Anna.

"Um... Mom, Are you sure you want the answers to these kinds of questions?" asked Meg.

"Yes. I'd ask Luc, but I don't know him very well and I'm not sure he'd answer me," said Anna.

"Of course I'd answer your questions," said Luc from the door. "What do you want to know?"

Anna looked up startled. "Umm, well. You know I read a lot. Lots of books and while some of them are fiction, I know that not all of them are really fiction. Some of them are reality written in a way that people will think it is fiction and not be afraid. And you see, I read a lot of books about vampires and werewolves and I figured out a long time ago that somethings like that are probably real. In the mean time though you just live your life and you fantasize that this guy is a vampire or that woman shifts and you have all these things going through your head and then you read more books and it reinforces the idea that those kinds of creatures are out there even though you keep telling yourself it's all fiction," Anna said pausing for a breath.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 24



"Yes," said Luc wondering just how long it was going to take her to get to the point. Until she did, he didn't dare jump in if he could skirt the issue. Plus, the babies were getting restless and he didn't want to be in mid discussion when they woke up.

"Then my daughter gets married. You do call it married don't you? Because you never did invite me to a wedding, but you live together and work together. And there's your company too. Is it just coincidence that it's called Alpha Wolf? There was all that stuff in the press a while back about some poor old man dying and all the press and the companies and supposedly they were all werewolves and while that was just so weird, I didn't really think to call and ask, because of course you just don't call up your daughter and ask if her husband is a werewolf just because there were really convincing articles in the newspaper now do you?" Anna asked.

"Yes, maybe, no and no," Luc said trying to answer all of her questions.

"Well, I try not to stick my nose in my children's lives. At the same time, I had to come see the grandbabies. These are Meggie's first babies and I just had to come see them. That of course got me thinking about all the books I read and those stories in the papers and I was ready to think it was all just the crazy thinking of an old woman. Then you see someone like Andrew," Anna said.

"What about Andrew?" asked Luc. He was beginning to get an ice cream headache and had this terrible urge to shift, split all his clothes and scare the hell out of his mother just to shut her up. Instead, he smiled and waited.

"Well, he doesn't move like anyone I've ever seen before. His aura... It is so different. I wasn't sure if it was just because he was some sort of holy man or priest or what. So I started looking at all of you. Patrick moves the same way. So does that Ysabel. Then I began wondering if Meggie and I were the only humans in the room, because if you're some sort of thing, then the babies would be too," said Anna.

"Okay, so what exactly do you want to know?" asked Luc.

"Are you human?" Anna asked.

"I consider myself human," said Luc knowing he was skirting the issue.

"Let me try this again. Are you a werewolf or a vampire?" Anna asked.

"I'm not a vampire," said Luc. Part of him was enjoying teasing Anna after the overdrawn and verbose ramblings.

"Luc! Quit teasing!" hissed Meg.

"Alright. Anna. I will answer your questions. Sit down and be quiet," said Luc.

Meg adjusted herself to nurse the babies both of which had managed to stay asleep during her mother's ramblings.

Anna sat.

"Yes, there really are werewolves and vampires. I'm a werewolf. You were right in that you and Meg were the only regular humans in the room. It's genetic and doesn't always breed true. However, it is likely that the babies will be shifters. Now, besides Andrew, what tripped your curiosity?" Luc asked.

"There wasn't a drop of chocolate in the room. No candy, not cakes, no cookies, nothing. It's just un-American not to have chocolate at a celebration. Then those three darling children came in and gave 'Unky Wolfy' peanut butter cookies. That's when I really started to wonder," Anna said.

Meg was trying very hard not to laugh while she nursed.

"Any questions?" asked Luc.

"No, not at the moment. I also realized that it wouldn't matter if you were or not, because even if I went screaming from the room, no one would believe me," said Anna.

"That's true. It's what saves them especially when Sara or Ivan make a comment at school. No one believes them," said Meg.

"Anna, you are very calm. Surprisingly calm. Any particular reason?" asked Luc.

"Well, I was panicked. Then I thought about the fact that my Meggie is a very good judge of character. If she loved you enough to live with you and have your babies, you couldn't be all that scary or nasty. So, I relaxed. It was just the curiosity of sitting there and wanting to ask questions that was driving me crazy," said Anna.

Luc smiled, walked over to Anna and gave her a big hug. She hugged him back.

*

"Well, that went better than I expected," said Meg.

"Oh yeah. I kept waiting for her to scream, but she was right. If you loved me, then she really had no reason to worry," said Luc.

"And she will probably wig out the first time she sees you all shifted," said Meg.

"Maybe. We'll see how she reacts tomorrow morning, because we are sleeping with me curled up around you and the babies tonight. I've been holding off shifting for way too long," said Luc as he started to shift.

"Too long?" Meg teased as she moved to the center of the bed with the babies.

"Yesh!" Luc said through a jaw half shifted.

Meg smiled and watched Luc shift to wolf.

Wolf jumped up on the bed and wrapped himself around Soft One and the pups. He snuffed each pup and locked their scent into his head. Now he could never lose them as long as he could scent them. He licked Soft One on the face and watched her giggle. Soft One curled up around the pups and then he curled up around her.

"Safe. Pups here, Soft One here, Safe in my den," he thought. Wolf sighed and went to sleep.

*

Sam was nervous. She'd been gone for over a month and was bringing Lewis home with her. Angie and George were meeting them at the airport and from there they were all going to Luc's to see the babies. The plane rolled to a halt and the stewardesses were helping everyone to deplane.

"Come on Sam. It will be just fine," said Lewis.

"I hope so," said Sam. "It's just..."

"I know luv. I get to meet cousins that I never knew existed," he said. He handed her her carry-on and then grabbed his own. They headed out of the plane.

Twenty minutes later, they'd passed through customs and were headed to the Baggage Claim area. Lewis saw a mountain of a man standing off to one side. He stopped and nudged Sam.

"Is that George?" he asked pointing to the man.

"Yes and that's Angie next to him," she said.

Lewis looked over at the petite woman. "And their mated?" he asked.

"Yes. Apparently they are a good fit if you know what I mean," Sam said with a smile. She and Angie had chatted one afternoon and the giggling hadn't stopped for hours.

Lewis just shook his head as they walked towards the couple. He still wasn't use to Sam's openness. It made him smile and blush at the same time.

"SAM!" the couple shouted when they spotted her. Within seconds, Sam was engulfed in two sets of arms.

Lewis stood there waiting for Sam to reappear. She did for about five seconds and then it was his turn.

"Hello Lewis," said George as he extended a hand.

"Nice to meet you," said Lewis and took the hand. George's hand engulfed his and then George pulled him into a bear hug. Lewis gave as good as he could, but he was no match for George.

"George, if you break him," Sam started to say.

George let go of Lewis and laughed. "I won't break him," he said to Sam. "Nice to meet you Lewis."

"Good to meet you at last. I've heard a lot of stories from Sam," said Lewis.

"And before you two start talking, I'm Angie. The mate of this over sized mountain of flesh," said Angie.

Lewis turned to see a smile on the face of the smaller woman. He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "So very glad to meet the mate of such a cousin. I hope he is deserving of you. If not, I would gladly make amends," said Lewis with a wry smile on his face.

"Oh my. One with manners. How did you get so lucky Sam?" Angie teased.

"I'll blame it on Buster," said Sam. That made everyone laugh.

Suitcases claimed, they headed for the car. George had borrowed a car from Patrick. There was no way he'd pick up two people in the truck. There were days he swore he barely fit.

"Patrick trusted you with his Subaru?" Sam asked as they arrived at the car.

"Yes, and I've promised to be good and not bring it back too dented or broken," said George with a sigh.

"He nearly violated all the agreements when a truck changed lanes in front of us on the way here," said Angie.

"I didn't hit anything, so just relax," said George as he put the last of the luggage into the back. "Let's get to Luc's before dinner is ready. Sandy promised to barbecue."

*

They talked in general all the way from the airport. George and Angie were anxious to hear Sam and Lewis' stories, but they didn't want them to have to repeat things either. George swore he could smell the barbecue a mile out from Luc's house. A few minutes later they pulled in front of the house. It took George a minute to find a place to park as the street was full on both sides. The smell of barbecued meat wafted across the yard.

"I swear that I've been smelling this for the last ten minutes," said Lewis.

George smiled and nodded. "Sandy is a master with his sauces. You'll meet him in a few minutes," George said.

"Are all these cars family?" Lewis asked looking at over fifteen cars parked in front of the house or in the driveway.

"Yes. Just immediate family. If we had the whole pack here, we'd need the local community center and then some," said George. "I promised Sam that we'd be a more intimate group tonight."

"You do realize that this is probably more family than I've met in the last forty or fifty years," said Lewis.

"How on earth did you manage that?" asked George as they walked across the street.

"My mum ran away with me. Didn't let me know what I was until I suddenly shifted as a teen. Rather a shock it was," said Lewis.

"Geeze!" said Angie.

"Once you're over the shock, you can tell us all about it," said George as they walked in the door.

Inside there must have been twenty or more people. Sam was engulfed by another couple and Lewis stood there stunned. He could feel that most of the people in the room were shifters. Probably more than he'd ever seen in one room. A tall dark haired man with an air of authority walked up to him and held out his hand.

"Hello, I'm Luc," he said.

"Lewis. Lewis Davy. Nice to meet you," Lewis said. "So this is the Alpha Sam spoke of," he thought.

"Lewis, Welcome to my home. This is my mate Meg," Luc said as he started to take Lewis around the room to meet people.

"Hello Lewis. I bet this is all very confusing to you," said Meg. She had Linsey in her arms while Elliot slept next to her. At two weeks old, the babies had gotten into a routine that let Meg nurse just one at a time.

"Yes Meg, it certainly is confusing. Congratulations on your fine babies," Lewis said.

"Thank you. You'll get use to us. I know it took me a while and I'm not a shifter," Meg said. "You can imagine our surprise to hear about you."

"Indeed. I was rather shocked myself," said Lewis.

"They didn't even tell me until a day after the babies were born. Luc totally forgot for some strange reason," said Meg with a smile.

Lewis nodded. Then the couple that had greeted Sam walked over.

"Lewis, this is my erstwhile cousin Ginny and her mate Patrick," said Luc.

"Hi Lewis," said Ginny as they hugged.

"Hello Lewis, it is amazing how much you look like Buster," said Patrick.

"That's what Sam said. Said it had been driving her crazy trying to figure out where she knew me from," said Lewis. Sam walked up to him gave him a hug and then went to go see the babies.

"We'll talk later. I have Buster's diaries and all sorts of stuff you might want to see," said Ginny.

Luc then walked him around and introduced him to everyone in the room, along with familial information and what each one did for work. They were just heading outside to meet Sandy when he walked into the kitchen to announce that the meat was ready.

"Hey Luc, is this Lewis?" asked Sandy.

"Yes. Lewis, this is Sandy my brother," said Luc.

"Always good to meet family," said Sandy extending a sauce sticky hand.

"Yes, Nice to meet you," said Lewis. "Or should that be nice to meat you?" he laughed as he pulled a sticky hand away from Sandy.

"On this occasion, both," said Sandy with a grin. "Shall we eat?"

The table groaned with food. Platters were filled with ribs, burgers, pork chops and sausages. Bowls of salad and breads were scattered along the table. Drinks were passed up and down as well as food. Desserts were piled on a separate table, and not a drop of chocolate to be found much to Anna's amusement. The day after their discussion, Meg had told her mom about her secret chocolate stash when life just demanded chocolate. Conversations were all over the place as Lewis got to know the double handful of cousins.

"So, how is it that you didn't grow up knowing that you were a shifter?" asked Sandy

"My mum. Apparently Da didn't have the talk with her. So, the moment she found out, she ran. Had me about six months later. Since she didn't know it was genetic, she figured that I was safe. Right up until the point I got upset one afternoon and shifted," said Lewis.

"I can't imagine growing up and not knowing," said Ysabel. "You're Canadian, but where did you grow up?"

"Vancouver. I have to admit that there were lots of odd things that really made sense after that first shift," said Lewis.

"Like what?" asked Ginny.

"Like why I was stronger than most of my friends, or why chocolate made me so sick or better yet, why I couldn't do a vegetarian diet," said Lewis.

"Oh shit! Your mom was a vegetarian?" asked Cal as he speared another sausage.

"Yes. The only time she ate meat was when she was pregnant with me. The minute she had me, she lost all cravings for meat," Lewis said.

"You must have been one sickly kid," said Peter.

Lewis nodded. "Dietitians, hospitals, blood work and protein shakes. Of course the first one she got me was chocolate," he said.

Luc about choked. "Oh god. That stuff is bad enough going down. I don't even want to think of the results," he said.

"It was nasty. However, I started cheating. I was starving and by that point I was old enough to understand that something was wrong. I walked past a sandwich shop one afternoon and bought a hamburger. First one I'd ever had. I think I ate six before I left," said Lewis. "Felt better than I ever had and from then on I stopped by at least once a day."

"Why didn't you tell your mom you wanted to eat meat?" asked Anna.

"Well, first off she wouldn't have bought any. By then she had remarried and her new husband agreed with her and I would have been worse off for it if I had made a fuss. So, I walked instead of taking the bus and used the money for burgers," said Lewis.

"So what happened the first time you shifted?" asked George.

"My mum and I had a fight. I'd found some papers about my real father and asked about him. She didn't want to talk and when I pressed, we argued. Then I got angry in a way only teens can and the next thing I knew, my clothes were too tight, my face hurt, the room was too loud and too bright. Apparently, I screamed and then dropped to the ground," said Lewis.

"Then what?" asked Meg.

"Well, I sort of knew that something had happened. It was like watching things in a dream. I tried to get away, but my step-dad locked me in the shed," said Lewis.

"Good grief!" said Patrick and Ginny almost at the same time.

"Well, think about it. One minute you're arguing with a teen and the next minute he starts getting bigger and finally shifts into a huge wolf. My stepdad had grabbed his belt and wrapped it around me and put me in the shed. They were scared to death," said Lewis.

"So what happened after that?" asked Luc.

"Well, they called someone and the next day, the door opened and this old man stood there. He called me by name and told me to come out. Once I was out of the shed and had a drink of water, he told me to shift back. Think about being a two legged beast and not a four legged beast. Five minutes later, I sat shivering on the grass and he threw a towel over me," said Lewis. "And that is how I first met Buster."

"Oh my god," said Sam. "Did he take you home?"

"No, but we went on a long trip that summer and I learned to deal with my dual nature. Buster had been called because he was the closest family member that would come near my mum. My Dad had died in an accident and my grandfather Henry was nowhere to be found. The rest of the family told Buster that if I died, it wasn't any great loss," said Lewis.

"That was rotten of them," said Kevin.

"Agreed, but think how things were back then. My mom was raising a stink and they didn't even know I existed," said Lewis.

"Okay, I can see that. We've had a few like that in the family. Troubled teens dumped on us. That's why the prenuptial agreement got written. It doesn't stop it, but it certainly helps," said Kevin.

"So how did that long trip go?" asked Patrick.

"I met my half brother Mark and his mom Jane. Both shifters. I met a few other family members and Buster and I spent a lot of time out in the woods. He'd been living pretty wild in some old cabin and when summer was over, he dropped me back at my mum's house," said Lewis.

"Did you see much of him or the others over the years?" asked Angie.

"Buster came by at least once a year and Mark came to visit once. That didn't work out too well as my mum overreacted. Otherwise, I didn't see any other shifters," said Lewis.

"How lonely," said Andrew. He'd been watching Lewis and his interactions with the rest of the family. "So, how do you feel about finding that you have more cousins than you can shake a dog bone at all in one spot?"

"It's a bit mind boggling. My lumber company has fewer people in it," Lewis said with a smile. "I like it though."

"How do you manage?" asked Lisa. It was the first time she'd spoken all evening.

"We work hard. I'm the only shifter, but the men are strong and determined," said Lewis. "We get the work done and take turns going on vacation. It's also remote enough that if I need to shift, I can and no one knows."

Lisa nodded. She and Peter lived on the edge of town so that when things got too much for her she could shift and run.

"Sam told us about how you two met. I'm surprised that you recognized Buster's scent after all these years," said Luc.

"To be honest, I have a blanket of Buster's back at my apartment. When he disappeared a while back, I went to his cabin. The blanket was one of the few things that was salvageable. The wildlife had gotten into the cabin. So, I took it home. He's the only real family I had in so many ways and that blanket was a way of keeping a piece of him. Especially after my mum sent me packing when I turned legal age," said Lewis.

"Well, I can't wait to go through all the stuff that we have of his," said Ginny. "There are so many people I don't recognize. Do you speak Metis?" she asked.

"A little. Buster didn't speak anything else when we were in the woods. I grew up speaking English, and had to learn it quickly," said Lewis.

Ginny nodded.

*

Hours later, the last of the people headed home. Ginny and Patrick gave Lewis a hug as they left. Angie and George were off to a hotel with Sam and Lewis. Luc waved from the front door and then turned to check on Meg and the babies.

"Sleepy?" he asked.

"Yes. This was a very long day," said Meg. She had just finished nursing Elliot and put him in with Linsey to sleep.

"I agree. What do you think of Lewis?" he asked.

"I think he is going to have a very difficult time going back to Canada," she said. "He relaxed and was enjoying all the family dynamics."

"Yes, he was," said Luc.

"Plus, he's in love with Sam," said Meg with a smile.

"Are you sure?" asked Luc.

"Yes! When we were cleaning up, Ginny, Marie, Angie and Ysabel were chatting and wondering about the two of them when Lisa walked up. She said we were missing all the pheromones Lewis was pouring out," said Meg.

"Is that why Ginny came out and bumped into Lewis?" asked Luc.

"Yes," she said.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 24



"What does Sam think about Lewis?" asked Luc. He had obviously missed more than just a bit of what had gone on in his own living room.

"Well, she likes him a lot. However, I think the both of them have been holding back to see how he reacted to all the family. You know you lot are not the easiest to get along with at times," said Meg with a smile.

"Yeah," he said thinking about Duke. "We can be a little rough to get use to."

Meg nodded. "Come to bed. We can snuggle while the babies sleep," she said.

Luc nodded. He dropped his clothes, shifted and curled up around Meg.

Wolf snuffled his mate's neck. She smelled of their pups. He sighed. "My Soft One," he thought and then drifted off to sleep with her cuddled to his neck.

*

Ginny arched as Patrick bit her neck and slid deep into her. They had shifted as soon as they'd made sure the children were asleep. Patrick's thrusts were rapid and made Ginny squirm with pleasure. She dug into the carpet with her claws as Patrick came hard. They howled their pleasure and then collapsed to the floor.

An hour later, Ginny woke up. "Patrick, do you want to move to the bed?" she asked.

"Um... I'm sort of stuck," he said with a grin.

"All knotted up and no where to go?" she teased.

Patrick bit her.

"Ow!" she said half jokingly.

"Pull the blanket down and we'll snuggle until we can move," he said.

Ginny grabbed the coverlet and pulled it over them. "So, what do you think of our new cousin?" she asked.

"He'll do just fine as soon as he figures out that Sam won't leave her B&B," said Patrick.

"You think so?" asked Ginny.

"Yes. From what Lisa told all of you in the kitchen and what my nose told me, he's head over heels in love and so is she if she'd just jump over her own shadow," said Patrick.

Ginny nodded. "We better get some sleep. They're due here around noon to look at the stuff," she said.

"Alright. Then stop talking," he teased.

Ginny punched him.

*

Angie and George collapsed on the hotel bed. They were exhausted. In the morning they were heading back to the B&B. Sam and Lewis would follow in a few days.

"I like him," said Angie.

"Yes, and he'll get use to us," said George.

"He'd better," said Angie.

"Oh?" he asked.

"I told you he was in love with Sam. The two of them just glow," said Angie. "So he'd better get use to us."

"I still say we'll have to see," said George.

"You're just too damn cautious," she said.

"Yes, and what's wrong with that?" he asked.

"Well, nothing I guess. I just want the two of them to be happy," said Angie.

"I agree. Now let's get some sleep. I don't dare shift," said George.

"Oh well," said Angie. "We can have some playtime tomorrow night then," she said.

George smiled and curled up around Angie.

*

Sam closed the door after Lewis had kissed her goodnight. She was trying to relax after a very long day. She was glad things had gone so well though. Everyone had liked the presents she had brought and the babies were adorable. She liked the idea of being a grandma of sorts. Dropping her clothes on a chair, she got into the shower. It didn't take long to rinse off. She dried off and put on her nightie. She barely had her hair brushed before she thought she heard a knock on the door. She peered out the peep hole and saw Lewis standing in the hall. She opened the door.

"What's the matter Lewis?" she asked.

"Um, May I come in Sam?" he asked.

"Of course," said Sam. She opened the door wider and then shut it after he came though. He walked past her and then sat on an empty chair. Sam perched on the end of her bed. She waited for him to speak.

"Sam, I want to thank you for everything you've done," he said. "Why is this so difficult?" he wondered.

"Lewis, I couldn't have done anythin' less," she said wondering where he was going with this.

"I want to explain something to you," he said. "I feel very awkward."

"Well then, just spit it out," Sam said.

"I have so enjoyed our time together and getting to know you and now your family," he started.

"Lewis, they're your family," she said.

"In many ways, they are more your family than mine. I just happen to be related," he said. "But back to the point. I have been trying to decide what I'm going to do after this. I have business in Canada, and..." was as far as he got.

"Well, ifin' you have to go home, just go," she said. "Damn!"

"Sam, wait. I think I'm saying this all wrong," Lewis said as he realized that Sam was getting upset.

"Spit it out then," she said. She really was confused as to where he was going with all of this after the day seemed to have gone so well.

"I... um... I wanted to meet the family and see how they were before I said anything," he started.

"Before you said what?" Sam said getting more aggravated by the second.

"I wanted to see if they'd be alright with me before I... I said I think I've fallen in love with you," Lewis said softly.

Sam sat there with her mouth hanging open. "You... you needed their approval? You love me?" she asked almost not daring to believe what he was saying.

"Not their approval, but I didn't want to complicate things by walking in a total stranger and telling them that I wanted you to be a part of my life," Lewis said as he stood up. "Am I... have I totally misread your feelings for me?"

Sam walked over to Lewis and took his hands in hers. "No Lewis, you didn't misread me at all. I'm just so use to being independent that I was scared to death to think that you might be interested in this crusty old broad," she said.

Lewis pulled her into his arms and held her close while they kissed. He held her close for a few minutes and then looked down at her face. Sam looked up and relaxed.

"Sam, would it be presumptuous for me to ask if it was alright for me to spend the night?" Lewis asked.

"I thought you'd never ask," she said with a smile. She let go of him and turned down the bed. She crawled under the covers and patted the bed next to her.

Lewis undressed down to his underwear and then crawled into bed. Sam was giggling.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Well, your underwear look like Speedos and I can't believe I'm in bed with the possibility of having sex with someone after all this time," she said.

"First off, they aren't Speedos. European underwear aren't the same as those horrid things American men wear. Second, it has probably been as long for me as it has for you. Probably longer. As you know, I never married. Relationships, but no marriage," he said.

"Okay. Shall we see if the plummin' still works?" she teased as she turned off the lights.

"Yes," he said and pulled her close. He could feel his cock harden as he felt her breasts touch his chest.

"Well, that still works," teased Sam. She trailed her hand down his hip and brought it to rest on his cock.

"Oh," Lewis gasped. "Calm!" he thought trying not to explode just from a touch.

"Liked that eh?" she said softly as he brought a hand to her breast. It was her turn to gasp.

"Yes. I think we have too many clothes on," he said as he slipped out of his underwear.

Sam pulled her nightie off and snuggled next to Lewis. "You smell like a mix of chocolate and cinnamon," she said as she put her face on his chest. "Funny 'cause you can't eat the damn stuff."

"Yes," he said. A lot of us smell like that. Pheromones or some such." Lewis slid his hand between Sam's legs. She was damp, and he stroked her slowly trying to keep his own emotions under control.

"Oh," squeaked Sam. "I'd forgotten how good this could feel," she thought. Her hand went back to touch his cock which was hard and bobbing against her leg. The tip of his cock was damp and he moaned as she gently caressed him.

Lewis slowly fingered her and when she was wet enough, he moved between her thighs. Hesitantly, he slid into her. It felt so good that he almost forgot to breathe.

"Lewis," Sam gasped as he slowly moved in and out. She shivered as sensations long denied flooded her. She grasped his sides.

Lewis knew he wouldn't last long, but held off as long as he could. Finally he couldn't cope any longer and increased the rhythm of his strokes. A moment later, he came hard, gasping and moaning. Then he realized that Sam too was moaning.

Sam felt him come and then amazingly, she started to orgasm as well. Every muscle in her body froze with pleasure. As she felt she was melting into the bed, Lewis shuddered and then withdrew. He pulled her close and put his hand between her legs once more.

"Lewis?" she asked wondering what he was going to do.

"I... I didn't last very long, but I want to see your face as you orgasm once more," he said. He wiggled his fingers against her clit and watched as she arched in pleasure and came. Then he cuddled her to his chest and they went to sleep.

Deep down inside of Lewis where wolf and man melded, two voices echoed the same thought. "Yes..."

*

George knocked on Lewis' door to say goodbye. No answer. "I guess he must be in the shower," he told Angie.

"Okay, we'll come back after saying goodbye to Sam," she said and they headed down the hall. Angie knocked on the door to Sam's room. "Sam? You up? We're leaving," she said. A muffled noise came from the room and then the door opened.

"Oh! Angie. I didn't realize it was so late. I...um... overslept," Sam said.

Angie looked at Sam. Her hair was ruffled and the bit of nightie she could see was inside out. "You okay?" she asked.

"Couldn't be better. Just overslept," said Sam.

"Okay. Well, we tried knocking on Lewis' door to say goodbye, but he must be in the shower because he didn't answer," said Angie.

"No, I didn't answer because I'm not there," said Lewis from behind Sam. He'd pulled on his pants and stood behind Sam.

Angie blinked. Then she blushed. "I...um... Oh my god! I'm so sorry I...we interrupted you," she stuttered.

Behind her George was laughing. He'd smelled Lewis the moment Sam had opened her door. That made Sam and Lewis laugh as well.

"We'll see you in a couple of days," said George. "Don't wear him out Sam. Lewis, I think this calls for a 'welcome to the family' as well."

"Thanks George, but that's up to Sam I think," Lewis said. He still couldn't believe his good fortune.

"Now what did I say to you last night?" Sam said as she turned to Lewis.

Lewis smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Yes, I think a 'welcome to the family' is in order. We'll see you up at the B&B," Lewis said.

The four of them said their goodbyes and while Sam closed the door, Angie and George headed for the car.

"Oh my!" said Angie as they climbed in the car to head over to Ginny's to pick up their truck.

"Oh my indeed. I'm just surprised it took that long," said George.

"Why do you say that?" asked Angie.

"Well, I suspect that Lewis wanted to make sure that the family approved of him before he dared tell Sam that he loved her. If he felt we didn't like him, he would have been polite and distant and they both would have been unhappy," he said.

"Yeah, but still. If they love each other, what does our opinion matter?" Angie asked.

"I could be lame and say it's a shifter thing, but to be honest, if a new wolf to the pack doesn't have the pack's approval, most times they will leave. He's an old style wolf and he wouldn't go against the pack regardless of how much it pained him," said George.

Angie thought about it and nodded. Then she grabbed her cell phone and called Ginny.

*

Ginny rolled over and untangled herself from the comforter. They were still on the floor and she tried to figure out where her cell phone had landed. She grabbed it and answered.

"Hello?" she said still half asleep. "What! Oh damn! Yes. I'll make coffee. Hurry up! I want all the details," she said and then hung up the phone. Then she got up and scrambled for a quick shower.

Patrick rolled over and wondered why his mate was acting like her tail was on fire.

"Get up and dressed!" she shouted from the shower.

"Why?" he asked as he stumbled into the bathroom and crawled into the shower with Ginny.

"Because Angie and George will be here in ten minutes," she said delighting in dragging out what Angie had told her.

"So, they're just picking up their truck," said Patrick.

"Just wait," she said and got out to get dressed.

"Dammit Woman! Tell me what's going on!" he said as he too got out of the shower.

"No! Get dressed," she said and went off to make coffee. She got out cups and then waited.

Patrick leaned against the door dressed in a teeshirt, jeans and barefooted. "You're not going to tell me are you," he said.

"Nope," she said smugly.

"Damn," he said.

They heard Angie and George pull up five minutes later. Before Patrick could open the door, Angie came walking in with a big grin on her face. George walked in behind her.

"Okay. Ginny won't tell me what's going on. Will you?" Patrick asked George as Angie and Ginny giggled like teens.

"Maybe," said George with a huge grin.

"What on earth could be so entertaining?" Patrick asked. This was getting old really fast. "A clue?" he asked.

"Well, I guess you could call it a family matter," said George as he took a cup of coffee from Ginny who was still giggling.

"Family matter?" Patrick said trying to figure out what on earth was going on. "Family..." he started and then it struck him. "OH! Oh my god! They did?" he asked

Ginny and Angie nodded and George laughed and nodded.

"How? How did you find out?" Patrick asked.

"We went to say goodbye and Lewis didn't answer his door. We figured he was in the shower so we headed to Sam's room. When we got there, she looked um..." Angie searched for a metaphor.

"Well loved," said George. When she opened the door, I could smell two things. Sex and Lewis. Sure enough, about a second later, he appeared behind her. Both of them were grinning so hard that they could have lit up a room," he finished.

It was Patrick's turn to laugh.

*

By the time that Sam and Lewis arrived at Ginny's, Angie and George were long gone. However, the welcoming committee of Sara, Ivan and Joe were waiting at the door. They didn't know why the adults were all so happy, but they had caught the flavor of the emotions. They were bouncing up and down. After they'd met Lewis and Sam and given them a 'prezzie' of peanut butter cookies they were sent outside to play.

"Damn they're rambunctious," said Sam. She was worn out and happy and very relaxed. After Angie and George had left, she and Lewis had gone back to be to play for a while.

"Yes, and I hear that they aren't the only ones," said Patrick with a smile.

"Um," was as far as Lewis got. He blushed and then smiled when Patrick wrapped him in a hug that would break ribs on most people.

Sam laughed which started Ginny laughing. Ginny hugged Sam. "Are you happy?" she asked.

Sam nodded. She looked over at the two men. "Now I told George he couldn't break Lewis, so don't you go tryin'," she teased Patrick.

"I wouldn't. George would break me. So, shall we have some coffee and go through the boxes? Ginny has been going crazy trying to figure out the diaries written in Metis," said Patrick.

"Yes, I'd love to see Buster's things," said Lewis as they moved into the house.

On the table were boxes of things. The smell of Buster hung in the air as Ginny opened them.

"Oh my," said Sam softly.

"What is it Sam?" asked Ginny hoping that seeing the stuff wasn't upsetting her.

"The boxes... Buster's stuff. It smells just like Lewis. That chocolate cinnamon scent," she said. "No wonder you knew it was Buster's bandana."

Ginny sniffed the boxes and then Lewis' neck. Then she smelled Patrick as a puzzled look came over her face. "You're right. They do smell alike. Patrick has ever so slightly a different scent, but Buster and Lewis do smell alike," she said. "You okay Sam?"

"I am. Better than I've been in a long time. Let's look at these things," she said.

*

"Lewis and Sam are headed for the B&B in the morning," said Luc to Meg. He was holding the babies as she showered before bed. "I still can't believe the giggly call the other morning though. You'd have thought that Ginny was high or something."

"I know. Still have to admit it was funny. Sam all disheveled and Lewis grinning like a school boy when they answered the door. I hope they make a good time of it," she said.

"So do I. Sam deserves some happiness. And to have two wolves love her so much is so very special," he said. Elliot looked up at him and yawned. Linsey was still asleep.

"Lewis deserves a happy relationship too," said Meg. "He's had a rough time of it and all of a sudden, he has family and a mate and..."

"He hasn't declared her his mate yet Meg," Luc said.

"No, but do you think it will take long?" she asked.

"Probably not. He still has to see where she lives and face the ghost of Buster," said Luc.

"Hadn't thought of it like that," said Meg stepping out of the shower. She grabbed her towel and started to dry off. "Still. Sam loves him and he loves her. They'll get it figured out."

"I'm sure they will," Luc said as he watched Meg get dressed. Her breasts were heavy with milk and they enticed him. "How long did Jeff say we had to wait?"

"Another two weeks at least. I have to finish healing up," she said. "You aren't the only one who's horny."

"I know. It's just been so long," he said. He felt his cock stir and took a deep breath to calm down.

"You know that once the babies are asleep, we can play around a bit," she said letting her hand trail across his cock as she picked Elliot up out of his lap.

Luc groaned. He had been trying to restrain from even thinking about sex, but it wasn't working. "You sure?" he asked.

"Yes Luc. We can't have full blown sex, but I'm certain I can kiss you until you explode," she said licking her lips. "And then you can press my buttons until I drool."

"You're on," he said and carried Linsey as he followed Meg into the nursery. Meg changed Elliot and then sat down in the rocker to nurse him. Fifteen minutes later, it was Linsey's turn. Luc changed her and they traded babies. He put Elliot in the Moses basket in the crib and waited.

Meg finished nursing Linsey and tucked her in with Elliot. They had tried to put them in just the crib, but it was too big and empty. So they had compromised by putting them in the Moses basket and that in the crib. They turned on the baby monitor radio and then headed for their room.

*

Luc held Meg in his arms and cuddled her against him. The feel of her naked skin was almost too much for him. His cock throbbed and bumped against her thighs. Meg smiled and then after kissing his lips, she kissed her way down his body until her kisses reached the head of his cock. As her lips wrapped around him, he moaned. It felt so good. The last few weeks had been so busy with family and babies that no one had a chance to think let alone feel horny.

Meg bobbed up and down on his cock, licking, sucking and caressing it with her mouth. Her breasts swung against his stomach. Her nipples were so sensitive that they crinkled up hard. Luc's hand on the back of her head as he guided her mouth felt nice. She'd missed sex. She swore that she felt every thrust in her mouth in her pussy. All kinds of sensory tingles flooded her senses.

Luc couldn't hold his hips still. He started thrusting in time with Meg's motions and it felt so good. The feelings in his balls intensified and he could feel himself beginning to come. Holding Meg's head in one hand and her ass with the other sent him over the edge as she sucked and licked.

"Oh ggggggg..." he moaned as he came.

Meg felt the orgasm start deep in his balls and yet was still amazed at the volume of cum that poured into her mouth. She swallowed and sucked until he shuddered and shivered and there was nothing left. She turned and looked at Luc.




More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 24



"You have one of those grins on your face just like your son after he nurses," she teased.

"Mmmmmm," Luc hummed. He was floating. Then he felt a drip on his stomach. He opened his eyes and realized that Meg was leaking milk. Before she could do anything, he sat up and wrapped his mouth around the leaking breast. He sucked softly at first and delighted in the feel of milk pouring into his mouth. After a few sucks, he moved to the other breast.

It was Meg's turn to moan. Luc's mouth on her breasts felt so different. She felt like her nipples were hardwired to her clit and she felt herself begin to orgasm for the first time in ages.

Luc was enjoying her breasts when he heard her moan. He stopped. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yes! Don't stop," she said as she lay on the bed so that he could touch her as well as suckle.

Luc realized what was happening and obliged Meg. He sucked lightly and played with her clit. In a matter of moments, Meg felt that rush and arched off of the bed in orgasm.

"Oh..." she gasped.

Luc licked the last of the dripping milk from her breasts and then cuddled Meg close to him. It felt so good to hold his mate.

"That was unexpected," said Meg.

Luc nodded and held her close. "Guess I'll have to restrain myself," he said.

"Huh?" asked Meg.

"Well, I wouldn't want to starve the babies because I drank all their milk," he teased.

Meg started to giggle and Luc joined in laughing.

*

A few hours later Luc had shifted around Meg and the babies. They had woken up soon after Meg had showered for the second time that night. She nursed them while Luc showered again as well. They had played and cuddled with their babies and then as they fell asleep, Luc shifted. Meg fell asleep almost as quickly as the babies.

Wolf looked at the three of them asleep. "Love pups. Love Soft One. So good to love. Pack," he thought. "New pack, lots of pack. Good." He put his head down next to Soft One's and went to sleep.

The end of More Than Just A Fairy Tale

* *

And before you gnash your teeth, cry or grab pitchforks, I'm working on Buster's story and have another one in the wings as well.

Jaisen