Title: Wolves Mate Forever
Author: Pentagramy
Pairings: Kai-Takao, Rei-Max
Warnings: Female!Max and Female!Takao
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to lay claim to Beyblade, I don't have the papers. And I'm kinda scared of working with devils. (lawyers) So I don't own anything.
Note: Summary: Takao is a wolf. Kai is a wolf. Rei is a wolf. Max is a wolf. And, against what people think, wolves don't always mate forever. Female!Max and Female!Takao.
She was hunched, butt in the air, tail wagging, jaws apart… Her muscles were tense, wound up with some she couldn't say, lest she be given away. Leaves shhh-ed in the oddly cold spring night. Away—quite far away—the adults frolicked. She paid them no mind.
She knew, because the air smelled funny like it always did, tonight she has to stay away from some—most—adults. She didn't know why, but she obeyed her mother. Her thick, shaggy black-blue coat glistened with some excess water from the stream she just ran through.
Her rare blue orbs shone in excitement. The adults had left her mind's train of thought. She'd outrun him! The biggest pup in the pack right now! She'd outrun him! Her jaws parted wider in a triumphant, haughty-like grin. That'll show that strong, shaggy-coated, crimson-eyed… She blushed and trotted back to the stream.
Now she was hotter than before her run.
But he was there suddenly, in front of her. He was almost over twice her size, she was suddenly aware of as he crouched low. He was growling at her, you little insolent pup. She flushed and looked down at her paws. What was she to say to the Wolf Prince of their pack? Sorry?
It wouldn't work.
Suddenly he was on her, rolling her, smelling her, nipping her, licking her, moving her. She couldn't breathe a second. Finally, she gasped out:'Kai!' as he straddled her and left his muzzle buried under her neck fur.
He stopped and growled, 'what?', like she was much smaller, and had just bit someone's tail hard.'Kai!' she gasped again, moving out slowly from under him and turning around to face him, lightly stepping slowly back toward the stream, stomach practically dragging on the ground. She sighed then, and rolled over to expose her sensitive belly to him in submission.
He grinned, trotted up haughtily as she had grinned, licked the belly he said belongs to him lovingly, and let her walk home with him—though, that didn't mean she didn't carry her tail between her legs. When she got home, her mother was there, sitting on a rock. Her mother was beautiful—and people said she was going to look just like her!
The she-wolf rose to her full height, the tips of her ears a little shorter than Kai's shoulder. He turned a bit to her, nipped her ear that had been brushing his shoulder and smiled, lowly growling in his low-high pup growl, 'Next year, Taka, next year.'
He strutted away.
Takao came to her mother's rock and leaped upon it, letting her mother see her skills at the heights. Her mother seemed thoughtful for a moment, sky blue eyes, so much like her own, thinking. 'Maybe,' she said softly in her motherly voice, just as Takao's brother and father strolled into their tiny family clearing. 'Just maybe…'—her eyes met her mate's—'Kai will be right. But hopefully not—and hopefully yes. I'm not sure, daughter.'
Takao blinked, shrugged one shoulder, and burrowed into her mother's side for sleep. Hopefully Hiro would let her sleep next to him again—her mother seemed to cry when her father settles next to the she-wolf. But that can't be true—they're mates! Still, she liked Hiro's warm and comforting, older-brother side more than her mother's sad, lonely one.
But it was her Way of the Pack, sleeping next to Hiro. She hoped her mother understood.
Takao laughed wildly, her chest heaving in the heavy breathing. Rei, another wolf, chased her relentlessly. She continued laughing, howling and yelping, till the older boy got tired of their game and simply tackled her. She laughed more, panting.
'That was great!' she told the black furred boy. 'Amazing run, Rei!'
The big wolf laughed at this. He was her size and half of her. But she was a tricky and clever runner. Using the earth against her, the wind and sky, too... Definitely a smart puppy, she was. 'Was' being the key world. She was a she-wolf now, he had to remind himself.
She was too old to roll in the dirt with, without wanting puppies from her. With her beautiful rare blues, her shiny coat, her strong muscles, and her smell. Oh god! That smell! Rei couldn't wait till she was ripe enough, hot enough, to ask if he wanted to dance the mating dance with her. Or, perhaps, he'd ask her. No! It was far too dangerous a plan.
Kai would rip out his belly's insides, snarl into his open stomach, and never trust him again. It wasn't a fait to look forward to. However, if Takao was asking, that would be different.
That would be safer than simply asking her. Everyone knew she was Kai's until he asked her to dance the dance, and she denied. She would always be Kai's. And everybody knew it.
'Rei? Rei?' she panted, trotting up to him with bouncy, skipping steps. 'What's wrong, Rei? You're not paying any attention to me!'
Rei smiled a wolfy, teeth-filled smile. 'I know!' he responding. 'I didn't want to listen!'
Takao growled, her fur bristling. 'Why not! No one likes to listen to me anymore!'
Gold eyes blinked. He could think of a reason for that—a reason that was walking, tall and proud, into the clearing with a small bitch towing behind him. The bitch yelped, and Rei turned his grin toward the female. His back-up plan, if Takao decided she did want to dance with Kai.
Max.
Max, a blonde, beautiful, small, strong, and family-oriented bitch with blue orbs and a wonderful breeding—or, so they say. A great she-wolf to pant after, though Rei wasn't really panting too much. The black furred male grinned, wagged his tail, and thrust his head in Kai's direction.
'Talk to him,' he said, laughing. 'He'll listen, I'm sure.'
Takao growled again. 'Maybe I will,' she fumed, shoving her head in Kai's mighty chest. 'Let's go, Kai.'
Sometimes, Takao would still growl. Sometimes, Takao would still run. Sometimes, Takao would still laugh. Sometimes, Takao would still have fun. Sometimes, Takao would still play. Sometimes… but not much anymore; she never did much anymore.
Since mating with Kai, dancing the bitch's dance, and baring pups, Takao rarely did anything. But she repeated things. She always repeated herself. Mating Kai again, dancing the bitch's dance, bare more pups. Always a repeat.
And never anything new. Eight pups in total with six of them fully grown. Two to her first litter, one that survived her second, two in her third litter, one surviving her fourth, two in her fifth. But she was pregnant with her sixth litter now, so she'd probably have another by time next season came.
Kai wanted at least a four-pup living litter. Best she could do was a seven-pup dead litter, with one two survivors. All of her pregnancies, Takao could only expect one pup to survive—because in all of her pregnancies, most died.
And Kai was frustrated, Takao could tell. Only eight puppies, but she'd had four pregnancies. It only took a year for a puppy to grow, so obviously, she wasn't too old. She was only five. But still… Takao groaned into her paws, her tail wrapping around her side. Heavy paws fell on the stone. Wide shoulders and muscles limbs sat in front of her. A low rumble emerged.
'Takao.'
'I don't want to talk,' Takao mumbled. 'No talking. Ever again.'
'Takao,'her mate growled. 'You're queen bitch. Start acting like it.'
His mouth gripped her tail. She winced, waiting for what was about to happen. His teeth sunk in suddenly. 'Ah! Kai! Ah! Let go! We'll talk! We'll talk!'
Kai growled in satisfaction. 'Max had her fourth litter.'
The she-wolf whimpered. 'How many did she…?'
Crimson eyes felt like they were piercing her pelt. 'Seven. All seven survived, and are nursing healthily.'
'Oh.' Takao sighed, whining in her throat softly. 'I'm so…'
'Save your useless excuses,' Kai growled, stomping out of their cavern. 'There's no excuse for your horrible breeding. Why was I stuck with you?'
Takao breathed her apology as her youth sweetheart left. 'I'm so sorry I'm so useless.'
And she wondered why her mother only had two pups. But… Her father always encouraged her mother, always supported. 'But you did choose me, Kai. I just wish I could help that.'
Kai howled into the lonely night. Seven years. He'd had that girl at his side, faithfully, for seven years. And he just… let her slip away. How had he not noticed the tears in her eyes? The rips and cuts in her heart?
No tears had been cried for her, except Rei's. His wise, dulled eyes stared at his Alpha—Kai—as though he were poison. He took on a howl of sorrow, of a lost, lonely mate. Kai couldn't bear to take up that howl. The dead mate's howl of sorrow. All he could think about was how that would make her dead finalized.
So he didn't take up the howl. He just took Max, who had five, live, healthy pups. Unfortunately, somehow, they all had black-blue fur, sky or midnight blue eyes, and happy, lively energy. The name Takao seemed to be etched in all their coats. And they—Kai and Max—couldn't wash the name off their fur, no matter how hard they tried.
Soon after Takao's dead followed Rei's. And their next litter was black furred, calm, healthy pups with golden eyes. The name Rei was etched into the fur. And, again, they couldn't clean the name out of their coats.
Rei and Takao, Takao and Rei. They were stuck to Kai. Takao never really left Kai's side, and Rei never really left Takao's.
And their messed up little love square showed future generations:
'Wolves don't always mate forever, Takao…"
-Ryuuko, Takao's Mother
Pent: Okay, slightly sad ending. It was originally to be happy, but I wanted to go in the sad direction. Oh well.