Disclaimer: I do not own SoN or its characters. I don't own the rights to Christine Warren's Big Bad Wolf or its characters just borrowing the story line.

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Not Quite a Faerie Princess ch.11

Ashley knew the moment she saw Kyla's worried expression that something far worse was waiting for her in the inner office of the club.

"What?" she practically barked out at the poor girl.

"I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you, but 'HE' joined the elders in Jess's office." Kyla frowned as she looked towards the inner door of the office.

"'HE' who?" she asked.

To Kyla's credit she looked right at Ashley when she said, "Jacob"

Ashley raised her eyes to the ceiling and began counting to ten in order to reign in her temper, when that didn't work she counted to twenty.

When she reached a hundred with no improvement, she looked back towards Kyla and breathed out very slowly and then she said. "He's in there with the elders?"

Kyla nodded her head and said "Yes. Billy, Nick, and Gary."

They were the most respected of the pack, each of the men had reached their seventieth year, an age not unheard of but less common in Lupine population and Billy he reached eighty five years and still going. The average lifespan of a male Lupine is sixty five years and the females reach about eighty years.

The only consolation was that fate had balanced things out. Lupines healed quickly. Meaning that they could heal broken bones in a matter of hours and scrapes and scratches in minutes and they had a great immune system that protected them from diseases. The problem was that only five to ten percent of all male wolves only ever lived to fifty-five years of age and if they lived longer then that they were treated as elders and respected among the pack.

The females had it slightly better, because they tended to fight less, unless you happen to be Alpha or Beta of a pack. They usually had fewer challenges and they only advanced as far as their male went, but Christine took control from the last pack leader and the rest of the pack supported her. The elders weren't so happy about that because the majority of them were male chauvinistic pigs, that thought women should know their place, but they couldn't really do anything about it when the pack supported her.

Ashley herself was twenty-six and she felt if she survived the next twenty or so years, it wouldn't be thanks to her cousin Jacob.

The door to the inner office opened and a rough voice called out, "Ashley, we know your out there. Our ears aren't gone just yet. Come inside, we want to talk to you."

Ashley winced as Kyla asked her "Do you want me to page you in about ten or so minutes and make up an emergency only you can handle."

"No", and she shook her head, "not that I'm not tempted," And yes she was, "but I'm hoping this won't take long."

Kyla shot her a skeptical look but said nothing about it. She just watched as Ashley entered the office.

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I entered the office and the elders had taken over the sitting area at the far end of the office, and Jesse was sitting at his desk looking any where but at me. The elders looked relaxed and sharp eyed on the dark leather sofa and one of the chairs.

The 'Brat' was leaning against the desk with a smug expression on his face.

'I hope I don't look like that when I lean against a desk and if I do I'll never do it again.'

Jacob looked well groomed in his expensive suit and styled hair. Worst of all his nails shone with what looked like a manicure. He had the kind of hands that never did a day's work in his life. Jacob felt like he deserved to have what he wanted handed to him on a silver platter, and what he didn't get that way he got underhandedly.

I dismissed him with a glance.

"Gentlemen," I said as I nodded to them while closing the door. "To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

Billie snorted. "No need to charm us pup."

My mouth flinched. Billy was in his eighties but he looked more like he was in his hundreds and his voice was just as gravely. He was sitting in the arm chair with his gnarled hand resting atop a highly polished cane. His hair was still thick and lush but as white as snow. His eyes didn't miss anything even with his age.

I always respected Billy so my self control was contained.

"Maybe not," I said, "but curiosity is right up there. I don't think I've seen all of you at once, since my breaking year was up."

Every Alpha as well as the Beta served their first term under the scrutiny of the elders. The Lupines might take control by force but they expected their leaders to be competent and if they weren't then the elders would demand that said individual step down and if they didn't then they would get the rest of the pack to help said individual to step down and even then it didn't mean they would survive and nine out of ten times they didn't.

"We thought you might like to smooth things out for us." Billy said.

"Yes, and look where that's gotten us with the peanut gallery." Grumbled Nick.

Nick always grumbled. I had decided long ago not to pay him any attention.

I held firm to my diplomatic skills and said. "This is one of our most peaceful and stable periods in the Lupine community."

Kevin scowled. "If you want to look at it that way."

"How else would you look at it?" I asked

"I think what the gentlemen is trying to say dear cousin, is that they have developed some concerns regarding your so called leadership." Jacob spoke up from the desk as he stood up straight with his eyes showing mockery and malice.

My lip curled. "If anyone wants to criticize my methods, he can do so himself," I growled, "From his own lips not standing behind feeble old men."

"More like a few, and I wouldn't really call them criticisms exactly more like a few issues that we thought you might want to pay a little more attention to." Billy spoke up. "More like suggestions." He finished.

I frowned at all of them. What the hell is going on? First I find the women of my dreams only to find out she's human, then she tries to run. And now my cousin had set the pack elders on me. Has everyone forgotten what it means to be Beta of one of the largest packs in the Southern Hemisphere? Hell the world.

I had a tentative hold on my temper but barely. I raised my eyebrow and attempted a look of intrigue. "Oh really" I drawled out.

"We discussed a number of problems we would like for you to put right." Nick said as he took a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. "It is after all one of your duties to help lead the pack in the right direction, and guide them." He finished.

'He's got a freaking' list.' I thought to myself.

"You need to help lead the pack without disregarding traditions." Gary added leaning forward to emphasize his point. "We don't record our histories in books like humans do, so we need to continue practicing them like we always do. Traditions need to be followed."

"We do?" I asked. They all shook their heads up and down. "We don't need to disregard our past to live the future." I said as I stared at them. They shook their heads again.

"You don't care about the past," Jacob snarled, "you don't even know most of the laws."

"I'm not without flaws." I said as I shrugged my shoulders. "That's why I surround myself with knowledgeable individuals that can answer my questions and help me when I need help."

"We're just getting started here pup." Nick said with a snarl

I was willing to let Billy get away with talking down to me because there was no mockery in his voice and I respected him, but I wasn't going to let Nick get away with it.

"I'll hear everything on your list old man." I said as I glared at him. "But it will be a whole lot neater if you remember how to address me. You might be old enough to be my grandfather but I am still the Beta and next in line to be Alpha."

"Only if you defeat Christine in battle." Snapped Jacob. "And I don't see you doing that."

I stiffened as my eyes shot over to Jacob and I unclenched my fist slowly. "There are more important things to discuss here and now then your pithy remarks."

"Some feel your lack of knowledge of customs is a weakness and a lack of respect for our traditions." Gary jumped in. He carefully kept his tone free of blame unlike Nick. "The pack has noticed your ignorance of Common Law. Every time a problem comes up you speak to your advisers to find out what the proper procedure is."

'Please grant me patience.' I took a deep breath.

"First of all I have a deep appreciation for our traditions, hence why ask my advisers to advise me. I availed myself to take criticism and to talk out disagreements with them to come up with the best solutions to the problem then I pick the best choice to fix it." I stared at them. "And I happen to know that the last Beta of the pack didn't know our traditions nor did he care for them. That is why Christine asked me to make the challenge, and I did." I stopped and took a breath and released it slowly then I continued. "If knowing all the traditions and what not were so important then we'd give it to the pack's best lawyer instead of one of the pack's strongest." I was disgusted with my audience. I shouldn't be here defending myself I should be with my mate, and my wolf agreed as it snarled towards Jacob.

"There is also the more serious matter of your relationships outside the pack," Billy said, interrupting my train of thought.

At first I thought they were going to take me to task for my choice of mate then my second thought was 'No One had better try.'

"Before you and Christine took over, the pack's involvement with the Others was at a minimum." Jacob said with dripping sarcasm. "We heard what they said, but the pack always made up their own minds, now we follow Cats, and Night Walkers."

"You honestly think Christine and myself are taking orders from the Council of Others on how to run the pack?"

Jacob shrugged, "You have a close relationship with the heads of Council aka Sean." He said as he smirked. "Of course no one likes to speculate, but given the facts….." he trailed off as he shrugged his shoulders.

'No one likes to speculate, my ass.' I thought. "Did it ever occur to you that we might agree with the decisions of the council and that was why we followed their lead?" I said as I looked around the room. "And that we thought it was in the best interest of the pack?"

"They are not members of the pack." Jacob all but yelled.

"No? Here I thought Vampires and Were Cats were eligible for junior memberships." I snapped back.

"Children!" Billy said as he held up a hand. "Let's not turn this into a argument."

"I think it's a little late for that." I snarled. "I've been accused of putting my friendship above the packs welfare, and I'll be damned if I'll take that kind of insult from anyone."

"No one is accusing you of anything." Gary said nervously, shifting in his seat and licking his lips. "We just thought these were concerns that you needed to know. Perhaps if you put limits on your involvement with non pack members, it might reassure those who worry about your loyalties."

I was still thinking of Spencer and wondering if she was asleep in the bed naked and her luscious body barely covered with a sheet. The first one to suggest that I limit my involvement with my mate would be short an arm.

"My loyalties are with the pack." I said, "My family, and my future. Anyone who has a problem with that….."

"I think the problem is that nobody knows where our future generation is coming from." Billy interrupted, standing up and leaning heavily on his cane. "What kind of future does a Beta have with no mate? Hm?"

"I don't know. Want me to go find one and ask?"

I saw Jacob stiffen across the room, "What's that suppose to mean?" he demanded. "Are you saying you now have a mate? That seems awfully convenient. Who is it? Is it a he or she? Because we all know you don't have any equipment….." he smirked as he looked to my crotch.

I took a step towards him meaning to rip his equipment from his body, but Billy slipped his way in between us. "Well, out with it." He urged. "This is big news."

'Damn, I didn't want to talk about Spencer in front of Jacob.'

"You need to have Christine send up a howl, so that we can meet him." Gary said.

I slid a glare towards Jacob, "I believe Jacob has taken care of that for me. Isn't there a howl next weekend?"

Billy waved a hand dismissively. "Bah, that can be rescheduled. Howls are for the Alpha to call and if she calls one to introduce your new mate it'll override the one your cousin sent up, no one will even bat an eyelash." The old man leaned in close to me so he wouldn't be overheard. "In fact, I think this will get all the people back on your side. No matter what promises Jacob made to them."

"Promises?" I asked. I opened and closed my fist, o I so wanted it to be around Jacob's neck.

"He's offered to make us elders members of a council, to be consulted on all major decisions, Privy Council." Billy snorted. "If you ask me the idea stinks to high heaven. You mark my words, that pup is up to no good. He wants to be the next Beta so that he can then challenge Christine for Alpha of the pack."

I grimaced. 'Tell me something I don't know.'

"What's that?"

"Nothing. I'm not ready to introduce my mate just yet." I said in a raised voice so the rest of the people in the room could here.

Gary frowned, "What's wrong with your mate. Are they slow? Deformed? What?" he asked. "The longer you wait the more problems this will cause."

"There is nothing wrong with my mate." I turned back to Billy with a conspiratorial grin. "You know how females are today, they want to be 'dated,' not mated. They think things should be like what they see the humans do on television, pretty words and 'pretty please' and all that."

Billy snorted and shook his head. "I tell you, it was a lot easier back in my day. When we saw the girl we wanted, we threw her down and crawled on top, and if we managed to stay there long enough for a little pig in the blanket, we called it a wedding!"

The older men snickered at this but Jacob looked less then pleased.

"You take my advice," Billy said as he slapped me on the back "Give the girl a day or two, then if she doesn't fall in line, you take her down and have a little fun. If you could give her a cub or two that would be even better." He said as he looked at me then said just so I could hear. "If you need a little help in that area….." he let it trail off as he saw the look on my face.

I maintained my smile but it wasn't easy being treated like one of the guys when you weren't really one of the guys. I would give anything to have little Spencer's running around, but I knew that wouldn't happen anytime soon, especially with my stubborn mate.

I was aware of Jacob's brooding presence as he was swept up along towards the exit of the club with the elders.

Each of the old men stopped to flirt with Kyla on their way out, and Kyla handled them with a breezy charm of a favorite granddaughter, leaving them chuckling on their way out of the club. Only Jacob looked back over his shoulder for a moment before he left.

"Wow." Kyla said as she waved goodbye. "I know looks can't really kill, but I'm not to sure he knows that." She said as she nodded towards where Jacob was before he left.

"I've survived worse." I said.

"That's probably true, but I wonder what had them all worked up?" she asked.

I smiled as I looked at her. "I'm surprised you didn't have your ear up to the door."

"I just poured a drink." She smirked "And I didn't want to waste it."

"Hm, that's rough." I said

"Your not going to tell me anything, are you?" she asked.

"There's nothing to tell that you don't already know. Jacob is just sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, and wanting to get in a controlling position in the pack so that he can challenge Christine and become pack Alpha."

"Well if that ever happens I'm running as far as I can." She said.

"You won't have to run that far." I said

"Why?" she asked as she scrunched up her eyebrows.

"Because the only way he'll ever be able to do that is over my dead body."

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ch.12

Spencer glanced at the clock by the bed and judged that it had been about an hour since she ran bare assed into the room in an attempt to get away from Aiden's slack jawed stare.

"What's happening to me?" It came out muffled due to her having her face in her hands. "I couldn't even keep it in my pants long enough to talk to her." She shook her head. "I can't believe we had sex on the floor."

"Mary, will kill me, if she ever finds out what I did."

"Hey," was said through the door. "you all right in there?"

It was Madison, 'When did she get here, and where is Ashley?' I thought as I stood up and headed to the door.

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"Where is that girl?" Mary asked angrily "She's been missing for two days."

"Technicallys, shes only been missing for one day and twos nights." Glen said from his stretched out perch on the back of the couch.

Mary reached across and raised her hand, "Mother!" shouted Paula as Mary put her hand back down and asked "What?" Glen just ignored both women as he stood up and jumped on his controller for the PS3 that was sitting on the sofa. He was playing World of War Craft with Truman and he was winning. He looked like a blur jumping from one button to the next.

Paula looked at Mary and raised her eyebrow.

"I didn't do anything." Mary said innocently.

"Well be that as it may you almost did and I won't stand for you abusing Glen." Paula said as she patted Glen on the head. Glen stopped what he was doing and glared at her as Truman shouted out in triumph.

He climbed to the back of the couch and stretched out once again. "I's not play no mores." He said as he pouted from his perch.

Paula looked at him sheepishly, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to interrupt your game."

Mary looked on with amusement in her eyes.

Glen looked up and could see that the Queen was sincere in her apology so he jumped onto her hand and raced up her arm and gave her a hug. "I's forgive yous." Then he jumped on his controller once again. "Lets sees yous beat me this time Pukemans." He said as he started his game.

Paula chuckled as Mary followed her to the kitchen.

"Now mother, Spencer is a grown women and she's on vacation. She can take care of herself."

"I know dear, I just worry that your father will find out that I couldn't keep tabs on her or get her to study the laws of the Fae Realm." Mary shook her head as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Well, I haven't seen father going on nearly a thousand years and I don't plan on seeing him anytime soon seeing as he was always to busy for me or my problems even when I was growing up." Paula said "So I don't expect him to stick his nose into Spencer's problems either."

"That's not the way it works dear." Mary said as she reached across and grabbed Paula's hand.

"But why?" Paula said.

"There's a lot riding on Spencer to do a good job." Mary said

"She's so young." Paula said.

"She just seems young dear, she's not much younger then you were when you took over for me. I know you don't plan on stepping down anytime soon, but wouldn't you like to be able to go out and take a real vacation and know that the realm won't fall apart while you're gone?"

"You only retired mother because you had been leading for over ten thousand years and father demanded it. I was the youngest out of all your children and I didn't know better, I thought being Queen would be fun. I didn't have time to make a life for myself to know better. You started training me at an early age and father arranged for me to marry Arthur and look how that turned out." Paula said as she pulled her hand out from under Mary's.

"Dear, he didn't arrange for you to marry Arthur, it was just a coincidence that he took advantage of." Mary said "Has it been fun for you dear?" she asked to change the subject.

"For the most part Mother I have enjoyed ruling the Fae Realm, and what do you mean take advantage of?" asked Paula as she looked across at her mother. "Why would he need to take advantage of our situation?"

"Dear there are some things best left alone, and that is one of them for the moment." Mary said.

"My daughter isn't able to live her life the way she wants and you can't answer a simple question then I will be damned if I'm going to let someone tell her what she can and can't do with said life." Paula said as she stood up from the table. "She can love who she wants to love when she wants to love and how she wants to love." She finished as she stormed out of the kitchen and out to the beach.

"I wish she could." Mary said to herself as a tear fell from her eye, "But there is a darkness coming and we need her to be ready." She said as she wiped her face and finished her coffee, and then went to her room.

Unbeknownst to her someone or two had overheard their conversation.

Glen and Truman looked around the walk way to see if Mary was still there, when they saw that she wasn't they just stopped and stared at each other and then Truman shook his head and then Glen blurred out of the house in search of his Princess.

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Spencer and Madison had decided to go for a walk after Spencer got over Madison being there to keep her from running away.

They were walking along the beach when they bumped into Paula.

"Pa….mom," Spencer started as she looked from Paula to Madison then she introduced them. "This is Madison a friend of…" she stopped. She knew that Paula had known that Ashley was here but how willing would she be to help keep a secret from Mary. Then she decided to play it safe. "Madison….just Madison." She said as she dropped her hand to her side.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Spencer's mom." Madison said with a smirk

"It's Paula and the pleasure is mine." She said as they shook hands.

"If you can't remember the persons name you've been slee….." Madison stopped as she saw the look Spencer was casting her way. "Oh, um never mind." Madison said as she looked down at the sand.

"I'm sorry mom I meant to call." Spencer said ashamed of herself.

"It's all right, I know you can take care of your self." She said as she stepped forward and hugged Spencer to her. "But I will expect you home sometime in the next couple of days so that we can talk."

Spencer stepped back and shook her head yes.

Paula looked at the girl standing behind Spencer and smiled at her. That was when she noticed a glowing about her so she asked. "Dear how far along are you?"

Madison turned red in the face and rubbed her stomach. "About three months," then she looked towards Spencer, "Aiden doesn't know yet so I would appreciate it, if you didn't tell him." She said with concern in her voice.

"No problem." She said. "He won't hear it from me." Spencer said with a smile. She stepped forward and hugged Paula once again. "We need to get going, but I'll be home soon, so that we can talk."

"Yes dear," Paula said as she turned back the way she was going. She got a couple of feet and turned back around just as Spencer released the breath she was holding she said, "Tell Ashley hi for me." Which caused Spencer to choke on air.

Madison was shocked as she started pounding on Spencer's back, "Please don't die on me, Ashley would never forgive me." She said as she continued to pound.

Spencer waved her hands around trying to get Madison to stop "I'm fine, I'm fine." Cough cough, "I'm alright." She said as she stood back up and looked at her mother.

Paula just winked at her and walked away.

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When Spencer and Madison returned to the beach house, I was surprised.

I arrived to an empty house and tried to get Madison on the phone only for her phone to ring on the kitchen counter. My imagination was running away from me so much, that I was considering calling someone back up to find her, just as I was dialing the phone, in walked Spencer and Madison.

I hurriedly put my phone back in my pocket and walked over to my mate and kissed her hard on the mouth. My wolf and I both agreed that we were gone way to long for our likings only to arrive at home and her not to be here almost caused us to go off the deep end.

I pulled back and rested our foreheads against each others and looked into Spencer's eyes which were unfocused. Then I looked down to her lips and she had a cute little smile on them. "Hi," she breathed out.

"Hi." I said back. "I missed you."

"Missed you more." She said back.

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"Well if you don't mind I'll be leaving now." Madison said but we just ignored her as we stared into each others eyes.

Spencer bit her lip as she looked into Ashley's eyes and noticed that they were glowing and felt the heat they were radiating on her skin. Ashley stepped back and looked Spencer up and down she was wearing a pull over shirt that showed off her midriff and a pair of her work out shorts.

Ashley growled in appreciation as she stepped forward and ran her fingers across Spencer's stomach.

Spencer couldn't help the shiver that ran over her body at the contact of Ashley's hand scraping across her stomach. She stepped back to give her self some breathing room. She looked at Ashley and noticed the disappointment in her eyes.

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'She's upset and doesn't want anything to do with me.' I thought as she pulled away from me. 'What woman wouldn't be after what you did and then you just left without an explanation.' I said as I chastised my self in my head.

"Ashley?" Spencer said as she brought me back to the present. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing." I said when her stomach let out a rumble. "Well I guess we should get you something to eat." I said with a smile as I grabbed her hand and led her to the kitchen. The kitchen that I don't ever use, the one with the all but empty fridge, and the bare cupboards. "Would you mind going out and grabbing a bite or calling in and we can watch a movie?" I asked but in reality I was asking lets go back and finish what we started. I don't think she caught on as she answered that she would like to stay in.

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After we finished eating and watching a movie, a movie I couldn't even tell you the title of, I decided that I needed to get home and talk to Paula, and Mary.

"Ashley?" I asked to get her attention.

"Yes." She answered.

"I need to be going…." I said as I started to rise from the couch, "…I" that was as far as I got because Ashley grabbed my hand and pulled me into her lap.

"You aren't going anywhere," she grumbled and I noticed that her eyes were glowing once again. "We're not nearly done yet."

I couldn't help it as I thought about the ache between my legs that that simple statement caused.

"We've got a lot of things to talk about and not a lot of time, so you need to listen."

She said with so much authority that I just snapped my mouth shut and shook my head yes, then I asked. "All right. Can I get off your lap first?"

She looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes and tightened her arms around me and shook her head no. "I know you ran out of here so fast when Aiden appeared that you didn't get to hear what was going on….."

I scowled at her and crossed my arms over my chest and blushed. "Do you have to bring that up?"

Ashley looked at me quizzically. "Well yes, why wouldn't I?"

I had to grit my teeth so I wouldn't snap at her, really Aiden got to see me in all my glory for the first time and it was so embarrassing only for her to bring it back up.

"Because I find it humiliating to be caught doing…." Here I just wave my hands from her to me. "…only for Aiden to walk in and see us doing…." Waving my hand again 'When did I become such a prude that I can't even say s.s…s..s..well you know.' "…but I guess I'm just funny that way."

She chuckled at me and I couldn't stop my fist as I swung it at her, why did she have to make fun of me. Before it could impact against her chest she caught it. "Ah, I understand." She said.

She raised my hand to her mouth and nibbled the backs of my knuckles, which only made me angrier. Damn her for still being able to arouse me even with the embarrassment of Aiden catching us still fresh in my mind.

"You're not being funny." I seethed

"I wasn't trying to be." Ashley replied as she released my hand and pulled my shirt to the side at my neck to examine the reddish bruise where she had nibbled me earlier and it was still red, I had noticed it when I cleaned up in the bathroom, it looked worse then it was. "I forgot about your quirk."

"Quirk. What quirk?"

She traced the faint marks left by her teeth. "Yes, quirk. It's easy to forget your human…" she stopped and smelled me. "when you smell so damned good, but then you get all embarrassed about something perfectly natural, like nudity or sex, and it all comes back to me. You people are weird like that."

"Weird?"

"Weird." She replied leaning forward to lick at my mark with her tongue which nearly made me swallow my own. "Lupines aren't embarrassed by our bodies. We come in this world naked, the only reason we wear clothes is because it gets cold out, unless we are in our wolf forms all the time, and as for sex, it's just stupid to be embarrassed about something so natural to all living things. Not only that but it's a lot of fun." She stressed this by pulling back and wiggling her eyebrows. "How else are we suppose to bring the next generation into existence if we don't participate in sexual activities, unlike some people who happen to be ashamed of sex." She finished as she looked at me.

"I'm not ashamed of sex," 'uh, I knew I could say it sex, sex, sex, sex', "I just don't like being seen right after having sex and being naked and all that." I finished

Ashley slid her hand under the elastic band on the shorts I was wearing and she cupped me, then her fingers gently parted me and entered.

"That's alright baby," she purred as she closed her mouth around my ear and tugged slightly. "I don't mind being private with you. In fact, I like the idea of keeping you all to my self." Which caused an arousal to spread through my body like a wild fire.

Hadn't she said that we needed to talk? I moaned, because I won't be able to concentrate if she keeps touching me.

I grabbed her wrist and pulled hard, but she stayed buried between my legs, and then she slid one finger deeper to press against my opening. I whimpered and bucked into her strong stomach as she penetrated me.

"Shh," she said as her finger went deep and rough, "It's alright, I just want to touch you. It's been so long since the last time I touched you."

I bit back a moan, my nails digging into the leather upholstery of the couch. A couple of hours was her idea of a long time. If Ashley kept this up I would be dead before the end of the day. "H..h..h has it?"

"Yes it has. You were so tight the last time for me that I'm afraid I might hurt you if I don't keep you nice and relaxed and open for me." She said as she withdrew her finger and suddenly thrust back in with two fingers and then withdrew again only to thrust back in with three fingers that stretched and filled me. My head fell back and a moan left me as I clamped down on her fingers.

#################################################

"No, no, sweetheart, I said relax." I said as I scraped her lightly on the inside with one of my nails and she gasped. "Let go for me, Spencer." I said as I continued to work her. "Trust me. I'll always take care of you." I said

"Ashley!" she screamed out

My fingers thrust hard and deep, my thumb teasing her most sensitive parts as I drove her closer and closer to the edge. She shuddered and whined helplessly as I brought her against me and I leaned forward and whispered in her ear "I'll always take care of you, and make sure your safe and secure, and oh so wet."

She bucked against me again in attempt to get me to move my fingers again.

"My sweet Spencer." I softly purred/growled out. "Such a pretty girl to have fallen into my clutches."

My hand closed tightly around her thigh and shifted it to the side, spreading her against me. My wolf was in a frenzy I could barely keep it reigned in. My teeth elongated and I nuzzled her neck once again.

"My very own Little Red Riding Hood, you didn't know what you were getting in when you agreed to stay here did you?" I husked into her ear.

I continued to keep my fingers moving as her eyes rolled back into her head and her body begged for release. "That's too bad, because once the wolf has a pretty girl she's never letting her go."

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My body was at a breaking point. It was so bad I was ready to shove my own fingers down my shorts just to finish my self off, but she caught my wrists with her free hand and held them captive. I moaned and pressed myself against her fingers harder.

"A wolf never shares." She growled out. "No one else will ever touch you the way I touch you, and if they try I will kill them." I heard the violence in her tone, but with what she was doing I didn't really care.

"And the reason for that Spencer Marie Carlin," she continued turning her head so that her lips brushed against my eyes, "is because. You. Are. Mine."

She emphasized this by shoving her three fingers deeply inside me, and then holding them there while my orgasm consumed me. I fell to pieces and became a boneless puddle just verily staying on her lap, I would have fallen if she hadn't of held me up. Then she captured my mouth in a searing, possessive kiss.

I tore my lips from hers after a few seconds trying to catch my breath. I leaned my head against her shoulder trying to take in all that had just happened. Ashley cradled me to her tenderly and released my wrists while I wrapped my arms around her neck. I felt when her hand slipped from between my legs and left me cold.

She petted my head and I found it soothing.

"I'm your what?" I asked into her neck.

"My mate." She said which caused a huge smile to form on my lips. "Now I need to tell you why Aiden interrupted us." She said as she let her hand wander to my stomach up to my breast and cupped it. She continued to fondle it as she began talking again.

"Now if you would stop and let me explain." She said.

"Wait a minute who stuck who's hands down whose pants, Missy?" I huffed out against her neck.

She took her hand off under my shirt and clamped it over my mouth. "As I was saying," she continued. "Aiden needed to tell me about some trouble that came by the club and wanted to talk to me about pack business. Normally I wouldn't worry you with it, but I can't predict what might occur next, and I don't want you to be caught off guard."

I leaned back and arched an eyebrow.

"There is an upstart in the pack who wants my position, and unfortunately he's my cousin Jacob."

I started listening when she started talking about the trouble within the pack. I didn't remember anything like this the last time so I stopped and listened closely.

"He thinks he'll make a better Beta then I do, but I know that's not the real reason behind him wanting to be Beta." She said as I looked at her. I already knew what was next.

"You have to be a Beta before you can challenge the Alpha for control of the pack, not a Gamma which is what Jacob is…." She took a breath. "He impregnated an Omega and he thinks he's all that now."

I snorted, I mean who does he think he is. He ain't nobody and if I could find him I'd make him a nobody….only I have to get my powers back. The very same powers that my grandmother made me leave in the Fae Realm. I can't even refuel my batteries so to speak so for all intense and purposes I'm human.

"Thanks, I agree." Ashley said. "You see if you want to be either the Alpha or the Beta of a pack you have to defeat the previous one in battle, but the only problem with that is Jacob knows I can beat him." Here she stopped in thought and then continued. "So like the coward that he is he decided to use manipulation and deceit to get what he wants, instead of a challenge because he knows he won't win. He wants to point out all the things he thinks I'm doing wrong. I think he wanted me to step down when the elders showed up like they did, but I only pissed him off more as I mentioned I had a mate."

She pulled her hand away from my mouth. "And this is where you come in." she said "There's an old Lupine tradition that says only Lupines with mates can be Alphas or Betas of their pack. Jacob thinks because I didn't have a mate that he could use it against me. My pack is all about Mates and procreation so it might have worked only…." Here she stops and looks me in the eyes. "I have you."

"You have me?" I asked as she went on as if I hadn't said anything at all.

"I hadn't meant to make an announcement so soon," she leaned forward and until I could feel her breath against my face. "I knew you'd need some more time to get use to the idea, and I didn't want you to feel pressured."

"The news was a big blow to Jacob." She continued. "It shot his whole plan to hell, which pissed him off, and I don't want you to get caught in the middle, and I can guarantee the pack is already talking and it's just a matter of time before Christine finds out and arrives on our doorstep wanting and explanation of why I didn't tell her first."

"What about Jacob can he find a different way to unseat you?" I asked as I leaned my head on her should and nuzzled her neck again.

"Well…" she gulped "he'll have to find some other way because his old one on longer applies. I have my mate now. I have you."

It took a moment for the rumble of her voice to vibrate through my eardrums but when it did I bit her.

Hard.

"Shit." Ashley said as she jerked her head away from me. "What the hell?" She asked

"Now you're my mate." I stated as her eyes turned a shade of golden green and she bared a set of fangs as she pushed me onto the couch and straddled me as she grabbed my wrist and put them above my head, then she grinned at me.

She descended towards me and our lips collided in a fierce kiss that left both of us breathless.

#########################################

ch.13

I pushed Spencer onto the couch and straddled her as I grabbed her hands and forced them above her head. She just grinned at me, and she had a little blood at the corner of her mouth. I rumbled in appreciation. It was all I could do to restrain the wolf inside me as I leaned forward and licked all the blood from her mouth, and then I brought our lips together in a fierce yet demanding kiss that left both of us breathless.

I pulled back with every last ounce of strength I had seeing as all my instincts had me fighting to take what was mine, Hell even Spencer had claimed me as her mate. I need to make sure that she understands the importance of this. I took a deep breath which was a mistake as I smelled her and it stirred the beast in me, it was warm, rich, sweet, and it had an undertone of earth. It stirred memories, memories that I couldn't bring to the surface.

My wolf gave a gentle growl, it was frustrated and I couldn't figure out how or why I had these memories, memories of Spencer in a shower, in a glen in a park in Manhattan. I see her stepping into a pulsing light; I shake these images from my mind as I look down at her on the couch below me with a questioning look on her face. These are part of my dream and I need to wake up. I need to focus on the reality here in front of me. I reach around and pinch myself and as I do this I flinch. I'm not asleep, but why do I see her there…why? How did my dream become reality? How did I become so lucky?

I look back down, I don't care, I love her. 'I love her.'

I froze, wanting her was one thing, lusting after her sweet round butt and her luscious body was okay as well. More then okay. But why did my heart have to go and do this to me? I would have been happy with trust respect and friendship.

Spencer cleared her throat and started wiggling beneath me. I got off her and sat on the couch. I couldn't tell her that. We haven't known each other that long. Yes the mating call was strong, but you didn't have a choice who you mated with. It happened and if you were lucky love came later. I rubbed my hand over my heart, I couldn't tell her that I love her. She wouldn't understand that. She's...pause for dramatic effect...human.

I started to panic, I wanted her, I needed her, she is my other half. I couldn't lose her. Not now. I closed my eyes and rubbed my hand over my face. If she could come to terms with the way we mated maybe I could get her to understand the rest of it.

"Why did you stop?" Spencer asked as she rubbed my arm. I opened my eyes and turned towards her.

"You smell." It wasn't the smartest thing to say, but I couldn't think of anything else to say.

Spencer's eyes narrowed into thin slits as she replied. "I smell?" she growled, "Are you telling me I stink?"

"Not stink, smell." I tried to clarify.

"The difference being?" she asked as her lips went thin and straight.

I had to push forward. I needed to explain something I never had to explain before, something I never even defined before, it's hard, very hard, and my wolf wasn't happy. It kept growling that she was our mate and that was the end of it, but if I wanted this, and I did, then she deserved the courtesy of me trying to explain it. Besides if we were going to live the next fifty or sixty years together, I'd do well to keep her in a good mood. I looked to her and she definitely wasn't in a good mood right now.

"Lupines have a strong sense of smell." I said as I tried to take her hand in mine, it didn't work as she pulled it away form me and crossed her arms over her chest. "Better then humans," I continued. "better then even a dogs. Everything around us has it's own unique scent, and a lot of our customs are built on this fact. It's ingrained, so to speak. We're born smelling, even before we open our eyes."

Spencer's mouth softened.

"We use that sense of smell when we mate. It tells us who is our mate and who is not." I looked into her eyes. "You smell right."

"What smells right?" Spencer asked.

"You do." I replied.

She still looked confused with her head tilting to the side looking at me.

"You need to understand, Lupines mate for life, which even wolves don't always do." I said as I ran my hand through my hair.

"So you're trying to explain…." Here she paused. "…why my smell makes us mates?" she asked as she tilted her head.

"I can't really explain that, it would be like trying to explain why plants try to reach for the sun. All I can really say is you smell different. "Let me try it this way, other women smell like sex, they smell available. Like a dark musk and perfume. You smell like earth, vanilla, sweet like honey."

She rolled her eyes. "And this makes me stink?"

"No!" I was getting frustrated. I softened my voice. "It makes you irresistible." I husked out.

########################################

Ashley shot forward just as she finished telling my I smelled irresistible. My eyes widened in surprise as she was leaning so close to me that our noses were touching. She held my gaze with hers as she leaned her forehead against mine.

"If you could smell your scent the way that I do, you would understand. It's all I can do not to just take you again right here." She said as she began to rumble in her chest.

My lips parted to reply to her when I noticed her eyes start to glow as she looked down to my lips, then she leaned forward and traced my mouth with her tongue.

I gasped, my body was ready to react again instead of just sitting here listening. I wanted her, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I needed to tell her. That she needed to know that we have already been mated. Then she took my bottom lip in between her teeth and started nipping and tugging, and then sucking it into her mouth before releasing it.

"No one else smells like you." She murmured, as she cupped her hand around my neck. "No one ever has, and no one ever will. You are sex personified and YOU ARE MINE." She said as she crashed her mouth to mine. She pulled back and continued. "You smell damp." She said with a smirk. "So damp and sweet, that I could devour you and still not be satisfied." She licked my lips again.

########################################

My first instinct was to seduce her until she forgot why I said that she smelled, but as I reached for her I couldn't ignore that she needed to understand. Was this what love was, would I just ignore the laws of physics and the pack if only to make her smile?

I brought my hand forward from behind her neck and rubbed my thumbs gently along her curving jaw and down to the neck of her shirt and back up to her jaw.

"How do you feel about me?" Spencer all but moaned out.

"You know." I said

"No." she said. "You've said I'm your mate, but that's not what I'm asking, I'm asking how do you feel about me?" Spencer asked.

My mouth opened to deny that fact but she was right, I had just admitted to my self that I loved her, but was she ready to hear it. I guess I could make a case for the fact that we'd only known each other for a couple of days, or for the fact that I hadn't realized how I felt until only a few minutes ago. Would she even expect that? Would she even believe me?

Humans could be so confusing.

Human, I reminded myself. They had their own thoughts on love, they wrote books and made movies about it, and half of it was such B.S.

If I told her would it make her run? 'No' growled the wolf, 'She mated with us.'

"I feel a lot of things for you," I started "You make me smile, and you make me laugh and you sure as hell make me frustrated." I watched as her shoulders slumped. "I've enjoyed every minute we've spent together and that I want to spend a lot more with you. Maybe even more then a lot." That so wasn't what I wanted to say. "I….I love you."

Spencer's mouth curved into a lopsided smile and her shoulder hitched up in a small shrug. My heart melted at the sight of her and my tongue ached to explore her entire body. I grabbed her around her waist and pulled her into me. "Can we go pack your bags now that that's over?" I asked.

She laughed.

"What if I'm really really persuasive?" I asked as I lowered my mouth towards hers. "Can we go pack your bags then?"

Spencer laughed and tangled her fingers in my hair.

"Let's see how persuasive you can be." She said as she pulled my lips the rest of the way and kissed me.

############################################

ch.14

I was in the bathroom when I heard something over by the window scratching on it. I walked over to the window, but I didn't see anything as it was dark outside. So I pressed my face up to the window pane and then I jumped back, it was Glen as I had my face up against the window he pressed his face up to it on the outside. He looked like a demented demon with his tail swishing behind him and his little pointy horns on top of his head as he smiled at me with his fangs showing. I should have known it was him, but I had all but forgotten that he was here along with my mother and grandmother.

'Grandmother…..what am I going to tell her?' I thought as I put my hand to my heart.

I decided since Ashley was called away once again, at the wrong moment, something about pack business that I needed to go and face the music at the beach house.

I wasn't looking forward to that, but I decided to do it any ways and if Glen was here Paula must need to see me. He tried to explain what he heard but I really wasn't listening.

We made it to the beach house, an empty beach house.

We looked around and didn't find anyone. I looked at my phone and saw a lot of messages on my cell phone that I didn't answer. So I decided to listen to the voice mail and it wasn't pretty. Mary was all mad and demanding where I was. She wanted to know why I wasn't home and studying. I just shook my head as the phone calls continued like that until I came to Paula telling me to enjoy my time with Ashley and that she would take care of Mary, and she continued with that she was taking everyone back to the Fae Realm. She then continued and said that Glen would fill me in on what he had overheard in the kitchen and to tell him that it's not nice to eavesdrop on people. I just smirked and looked at the little imp sitting on the counter swinging his feet forwards and back nibbling on some food that was left there. I knew that he wouldn't listen to anything I said about not eavesdropping seeing as I depended on the information that he gets and shares with me from time to time so I'm not complaining. Now I would just like to know what Mary was talking about earlier here in the kitchen that he had over heard.

Then my phone came to the last message, it went through to my greeting and then I listened to it, but there was nothing there, just a few seconds of silence. I closed my voice mail and looked to the received phone calls for the last call. It was unavailable. Who would call and not leave a message? And it was weird because this is a Fae phone only Fae or whoever I gave it to has the number. I decided to let it go and erased all the messages.

I looked around and then I wondered what I was doing here, when I could be waiting for
Ashley at her place.

Then I started remembering what we did last night and a smile formed on my lips. Ashley can be very persuasive when she wants to be. Then a frown started to creep its way up on my face, she still hasn't given me the mate bite. Then my paranoia kicked in, maybe she didn't want me to be her mate. Maybe even right now she's with someone else.

'No' I said to myself as I shook my head. I believe in our love and I believe in her. She said this was it for her, no other would ever do. My smile came back.

########################################

I had been home for a couple of hours and Glen was sound asleep in the bedroom, when there was a knock at the door. "Package for a Spencer Carlin." someone hollered through the door.

I figured Ashley had something delivered since she knew I was going home to talk to my mother.

I opened the door to a messenger in the doorway looking at a clipboard in his hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. "Are you…" he looked down once again. "A Spencer Carlin?" he asked.

I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips. "That's me. Do you know who sent it?" I asked, but before he could give me an answer the clipboard and bouquet went crashing to the carpet, sending sheets of paper and shards of wet glass all over the place. I couldn't even make a sound as the messenger had his hands wrapped around my throat and was dragging me out of the beach house with his inhuman strength. Strength that matched the glow in his Lupine eyes.

I was confused and slightly scared and it warred briefly in my head before my adrenalin kicked in. It didn't matter why I was being attacked by a Were, what mattered was that I get away. I threw up my hands and tried a spell, a spell which didn't work. 'Damn, I forgot about that.' So I did the next best thing and went limp in my attackers' hands.

For just an instance the attacker was surprised and he released his hold on me slightly. I then slammed my forehead into the bridge of his nose with all the strength I could muster. I heard a loud crack. Hopefully I had busted his nose. I know it isn't much against a Were, but it was enough to give me a little more air.

He roared and used his grip around my neck to swing me around and he slammed my head into the corner of the house.

##########################################

Glen came storming out in all his six inch glory with fury in his little heart. He saw his princess being attacked and he saw raw hatred for the Were causing her pain. "Whats yous thinks you doings to Missy Spencer?" he roared. "Takes yous hands off hers." He said as he raced up the Were and grabbed him by the ears. "Yous takes yous hands off hers or I's is going to rip yous ears off." He said as he twisted with all his might.

A normal being would have just laughed at what he saw, but Glen was a lot stronger then he looked and when he took a bite and tore off a piece of ear the Were let out a loud roar and let go of Spencer and started slapping his head trying to get Glen to release him. Glen obviously thought of himself as a far superior imp as all he did was switch ears which just caused the Were to try and grab him once again turning in a circle trying to get him off.

Spencer took a needed gulp of air and looked around for anything she could use as a weapon. She took her fist and connected it with the side of the Were's face.

All the punch succeeded in doing was making the Were cranky, he grabbed her by the throat once again and squeezed. Glen raced down his arm and took another bite. It happened so fast that Spencer didn't know what happened, one minute she was up in the air the next she was about ten feet from where she started landing hard in the sand.

She looked back and saw the Were slam the back of his head into the house trying to get Glen off of him. Then the Were roared in pain and stumbled forward and cocked his head to the side like he had heard something and he took off.

########################################

I walked over to Glen as he laid on the ground unmoving. I reached down and cradled Glen in my hands and rushed him into the house.

I looked him over as he started moving around. "Be still you crazy imp, and let me make sure you're alright."

Glen looked up at me in concern. "I's alright Missy Spencer." He said s he slapped my hands away from him. Then he raced up my arm and tilted my head to the side looking at my neck. "That mongrels left marks on yous." He growled out.

I just chuckled, who would have thought that little Glen could take on a full grown Were?

Then I started laughing out loud. Glen just looked at me like I had lost my marbles, so I straightened up and asked "What?"

"We's need to tell someones." He said

"Who would we tell?" I asked

"Doggies." He said with a head nod and crossed his arms.

I agreed with him and tried calling Ashley, but I didn't get an answer. She must still be busy so I decided to call Kyla, but my hand froze what will I tell her? I'll tell her the truth, I thought.

"Hello" Kyla answered.

"Kyla?" I asked.

"Yes?" she asked, I guess no one but pack is suppose to have this number.

"Hi, this is Spencer." I said

"Ashley's Spencer?" she asked

"Yes."

"How are you doing?" she asked

"Fine, thanks. I was calling to see if maybe you knew where Ashley was?" I asked.

"Yes, she's in a closed door meeting, at an undisclosed location." She said

I told her what went down and she agreed to come and sit with me until Ashley was able to come.

########################################

"There's no need to cause all this trouble." I said as I winced at Kyla and Madison.

"No trouble." They both said as they looked around the house. "Ashley would kill us if something happened to you on our watch." Kyla finished.

"Yes, chica, don't give us any problems, because I don't want to deal with a pissed off Beta." She said with a smirk thrown in for good measures.

"But you really don't need to worry…."

"Nonsense." Kyla said.

"But…" I tried again. I felt kind of foolish now that it was all said and done and I didn't want to be a bother to them. Then I stopped and thought about, right now I can't take care of myself. Paula's gone and so is my chance of getting some fairy dust so that I can use a little bit of my powers. "Okay." I said as they both smiled at me.

"Good." Kyla said.

"Let me call and see if maybe I can get….." before I could finish that sentence someone reached over my shoulder and grabbed my phone out of my hands.

"No need, I'm here now." Ashley husked into my ear as she shut my phone.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I turned around and looked at the one person I needed most.

########################################

"What am I doing here?" Ashley asked angrily. "What am I doing here?" she asked again. "You think you getting attacked isn't reason enough for me to be here?" She glared at Kyla and Madison. "Why didn't you contact me?" she growled out.

"I tried, I was told you were in a meeting and couldn't be interrupted." Kyla said as she stood up to come and stand in front of Ashley. I thought they were going to go at in my house, Ashley was just that angry as she glared at them.

"When I hear that my mate has been attacked in her own house, you don't think I would rather be here?" she yelled. "Where else would I be?"

I walked in between them to try and take some of the heat off the other two who looked like scolded puppies.

I looked at her with hope as I reached out and touched her arm.

Ashley bared her teeth at her sister and Madison who lowered there head to the ground.

"How did you know I was attacked?" I asked

"Aiden called." She said "He was screening my calls and thought I should know."

"Why would he think that?" I asked dumbly, I already knew the answer and Kyla and Madison snickered behind me.

"He's my best friend and for the moon's sake he knows what you mean to me." She replied as she looked lovingly into my eyes. "And besides the Other community is a relatively small one, I'm positive everyone that was in that club the other night saw us leave together and that we winded up at my house and haven't been separated except for today." She took my hand into hers and continued. "I'm sure everyone put one and one together and got two, you're my mate." She released my hand and turned away from me. "I shouldn't have left you alone."

"You didn't just leave me, I knew you had business to take care of. I wanted to come home." I tried to reason with her. "You didn't need to rush over here." I finished in a small voice.

Ashley turned back around and gently traced my bruised flesh with her fingers.

########################################

Spencer flinched at that small jester, it infuriated me. Several bloody and gruesome images came to my mind that I could inflict on the man that did this to her. All I had to do was find the bastard, and then I'd rip him to pieces.

"Yes I did." I said as I tried to sooth her as I took her hand in between mine and I felt her tremble. "Where ever my mate is, that is where I need to be. Especially when she's hurt, I shouldn't be any where else."

Spencer's eyes were hazy from shock, and I felt a sharp stab of pain knowing that I wasn't here for her when she needed me. I should have insisted that she stay at my house where she would be safe. She was the most precious thing in my life and I needed to take much better care of her.

I made a decision and scooped her up in my arms and turned to leave the house.

"Now waits just a minute doggies." Some little thing came out of a back room and started attacking my leg. I started shaking it trying to get it off of me.

"Stop!" Spencer shouted as she struggled to get out of my arms. "Don't hurt him."

My eyes narrowed as I glared at a little demon looking thing glaring at me from the floor and I growled at it as it growled back showing it's little canines back at me. I stopped trying to get it off of me, and stared at it. I couldn't hurt it as my mate had asked me not to.

"Spencer is not your responsibility little…what the hell are you?" I growled out.

"I's be Glen, Missy P….Spencer's protector." The little demon said as it puffed it's chest out and pointed towards his chest.

"Protector?" I asked as Spencer started to squirm in my arms yet again.

He shook his head up and down and then I glanced to Spencer who was avoiding my eyes. "Spencer?" I questioned.

"We need to talk." She said as I set her feet down on the floor. "Glen could you give us a moment?" she asked as she looked to the floor.

"Yes Missy Spencer." He replied as he blurred out of the room.

"What are you?" I questioned.

"I told you we needed to talk." She said as she stepped away and wrapped her arms around her waist as if to protect her self from me. It broke my heart that she felt she couldn't confide in me.

"So….." I didn't know what else to say.

She turned towards Kyla and Madison. "Do you mind giving us a moment?" she asked.

They looked towards me and I nodded that it was okay for them to leave.

########################################

After Kyla and Madison left I didn't know where to start. So I started from the beginning and told her all about me being a Fae.

"So…..you're a Fairy Princess?" she asked with a smirk. "A real Princess?"

"Don't call me that." I grumbled.

"Why? It's what you are." She said.

"I know that, but I don't like to be called Princess." I said. "I don't like to be treated like a Princess and I don't like people to make such a big deal out of it."

Ashley smiled at me, but I could tell she was thinking of what to say. "I have a suggestion." She said.

"Okay." I said, I knew this is where she said that she didn't want anything to do with me.

"What if we went back to my place and talked some more, and got to know one another better." She said.

"I know you weren't exp…." I stopped. I couldn't have heard what I heard. She still wanted to spend time with me. "You mean, you still want me?"

"Of course, I still want you." She said as she shook me a little bit. "You little idiot, your mine and the sooner you get that through your head the sooner we can move on with this…." She stopped and waved her hand between us. "relationship." She tilted her head. "In a way this might make it easier for the pack to except you." Then she continued. "How will the Queen handle this?" she asked worriedly

"She already knows." This time I smirked at her.

"Isn't she mad at me?"

"Mad at you?"

"Yes, for killing Author?" she asked

I had forgotten that we hadn't met in this time line and that she had to take Author out on her own. I blinked before answering her. "No, she appreciated the help in getting rid of an unwanted problem that was trying to take over the Fae Realm." I said.

"So…..I don't have to be looking in the shadows for something to jump out and attack me in revenge for his death?"

"Well, Glen may jump you on occasion, and I might jump you as well." I said as I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

She stepped forward and gathered me into her chest and then turned and started to lead me out the door. "Glen, I'm taking her to my house…..stay here." She said as she gathered me in her arms and carried me across the sand to her house.

########################################

Spencer awoke and she was in Ashley's bed. She looked to the clock and it said 8, but it didn't specify am or pm. She looked out the window and noticed that it was night time. It took a minute for her to remember how she had gotten there in Ashley's bed. She remembered being attacked, she remembered her talk with Ashley and telling her about the Fae Realm. Then she remembered Ashley trying to relax her and keep her mind off the attack. She told bad jokes and ran her a hot bath to help sooth her sore body, then she rubbed lotion all over her body until she was just a blob of goo and then she carried her to bed and tucked her in. But it didn't explain where Ashley was at now.

She decided that she needed to get up and go find Ashley and see what she had gotten into while she was asleep. She sat up with a groan and got up and went to the bathroom to empty her bladder. Ten minutes later she felt lighter and better, she had brushed her teeth and washed her face. She came out of the bedroom and found Ashley at the table going over some paper work.

Aiden was standing over by the sink drinking some coffee and Kyla was sitting next to Ashley at the table.

Spencer cleared her throat and Ashley looked up at her.

########################################

"How are you feeling?" I asked Spencer after she cleared her throat.

"Not bad." She said a little hoarsely, as she reached up to skim her bruises with her hand. "My neck looks like heck, but the bruises will fade in a few days." She said and then continued. "All in all it could have been worse."

I scowled as I stood up and crossed over to her and drew her to me. "Don't say things like that. This was plenty bad enough."

"Right," she murmured, as she laid her head on my shoulder. She could have leaned against me for the rest of our lives and it still wouldn't be long enough. "Gotcha, no speculations of further harm. I think I can handle that."

I pressed a kiss to her head. "That's my girl."

Aiden cleared his throat behind us, "Ashley," he said as he looked down to the phone in his hand. "It's for you." He said

"I thought I told you I'd be taking the rest of the day off.

"You did, but…..I think you need to know what Madison just heard."

"Madison?" I asked.

He shook his head yes.

I stiffened, this couldn't be good news, I took the phone out of his hand, "Madison?"

"Yes." She answered.

"Is this about our little problem."

"Yes, it's Jacob." She said

I swore under my breath. "Jacob…well let him know I'm not interested, unless he wants to admit that he had something to do with the attack on Spencer."

Spencer flinched.

########################################

I flinched when I heard Ashley mention her cousin, it never even occurred to me that he was behind the attack. When it happened I didn't even have time to think, and if Glen hadn't of been there I might not be here now. That thought process made me shiver.

"Are you cold?" Ashley asked as she hugged me to her tighter.

"No, just thinking." I said.

"Well don't that's what I'm here for." She said as she kissed the top of my head.

It didn't make any since to me, why would he attack me? And why now? I mean I wasn't attacked the first time around. What's going on?

"You know he won't admit that." Madison said, "I'm sure he'll crow it from the rooftops if he gets to become Beta. But I'll have to say he has a set of balls on him if he wants to go into the howl with you after he had some one attack your mate. But you know and we know that that won't happen…..If you think about it, it's kind of ingenious, I mean he can make it look like there's more then just him after your position. Either way he's already spread the word to the pack that this Friday night there will be a mate hunt."

Ashley swore again, something soft and extremely violent.

"He can't do that," Ashley growled. I could feel the anger vibrating off of her. I knew that no matter how angry she was she wouldn't hurt me so I circled my arms around her waist and rubbed her back. "He's already called a howl…against every one of our customs. Now he thinks he can call a mate hunt as well? That little shit needs to be taught a lesson."

"Then what better way then at the hunt." Aiden said as he rubbed his hands together.

"The females are already arriving, and from what they tell me, the males who have been out of town are on their way back. There's not much we can do to keep it from happening now." Madison said.

"Shit" Ashley said.

"Yeah, pretty much." Madison said.

There was a momentary silence during which I could feel Ashley try to gain control. I hated to see her like this, because it wouldn't help matters if she went off half cocked. I raised my hand that I had around her waist and began massaging her shoulders with a slow, soothing motion. It worked it seemed to calm her down some.

"Okay, so did you all come over here to ruin my day?" she asked as she turned towards Aiden and Kyla. "Or do you have a suggestion for how we should deal with this?"

"I don't think we have much choice but to go along with it." Kyla said "If you try to call it off, it will look like you couldn't control Jacob well enough to keep him from issuing orders without your or Christine's consent…and if you let it go but don't participate, you get the same problem, plus the pack will wonder if Jacob has a point and Breeder's Rights should be invoked."

"Translation, I'm fucked either way." Ashley said as she slumped into the chair at the table.

"Sounds like it chica." Came from the phone still in her hand. She looked at it as if she forgot Madison was still on it.

"Fine," Ashley said "Madison, keep your ear to the ground." She said as she hung up the phone. "Aiden, go keep an eye on Madison."

"Kyla…" she started.

"Don't Kyla me." Kyla said. "Your Beta and I'll do anything you want, but I'm your sister first and I want to be there for you."

"Fine," Ashley said. "We'll go ahead with the hunt. I'll just need to make sure I catch the right prize. That should take care of Jacob and his plans, right?" Ashley asked as she looked at Kyla

"You could say that, although the damn things have changed, thanks to persons whose names I won't mention." Kyla said with a smirk of her own.

Ashley's lips twisted into a smile "Now it looks like I'll be giving lessons in cultural anthropology."

I frowned as I listened to the conversation between both sisters.

"Well, you have fun with that. Things look to be quite tonight, so I'll do my best to keep the idiot stuff off your back for the night." Kyla said

"You couldn't have thought of that….I don't know fifteen minutes ago, before you got here?"

Kyla just laughed and saluted Ashley as she turned and left the house.

"I don't think I even understood a tenth of what you said during that whole conversation." I said "Was it suppose to be that way on purpose?"

"Don't worry what you missed, I can fill you in on." Ashley said as she drug me onto her lap.

"What parts didn't you understand?" she asked

"First there was some news then it ended with cultural anthropology.,,,,," I let it drag out waiting for her to pick up the conversation.

Ashley smiled at me as she lifted me up when she stood up and walked over to the couch and sat down. "You didn't get any of it then?" she asked

"No…..I got some, like you think Jacob attacked me, but he arranged a meeting of some sort that he didn't have a right to." I said

"Close, it's more about why he arranged the meeting more then the way he did it." She said.

"I assume this has something to do with what you told me the other day about Jacob trying to take over as Beta?" I asked.

"Very good, I'm also sure that's why he arranged for you to be attacked…If he can take you out of the picture, it would only boost his chances to take over as Beta."

"Why?" I asked

"Because only mated Lupines are suppose to be Beta or Alpha of a pack." She said.

"I got that, but you've been Beta for awhile now, and you never had a mate."

"When Christine took over the pack it was unheard of for a woman to do that, she proved them wrong. She didn't have a mate but she had me at the time. When I came up and took over as Beta there were rumbles among the pack that a male should have been Beta, because I couldn't possibly do a good job. I proved them wrong."

"Right, where do I fit in this scenario?" I asked.

"By my side." She said "As my mate. Jacob just found out this past weekend that I found my mate. I didn't tell him who you were, so someone else must have let it slip, or he had some one keeping an eye on my place."

"What does he get out of having me….murdered or kidnapped?" I asked.

"He gets to throw me back to being mateless. Cause me intense pain, spoil any chance of me ever being happy, and he gets to step up as my successor, because he already has an Omega with child." She snarled.

"That makes no sense." I said as I hugged her to me. "Getting rid of me only hurts you temporarily, once you find a new mat…..

"Stop…there won't be a new mate ever…." Ashley said "You are my one and only mate. You are apart of me and your not interchangeable. You think fate works that way 'just in case' huh, your it for me, if you die I die. Do you not understand that?"

"I….." I didn't know what to say. I mean what else could I say, yes but I always assumed that if something happened to me she could go on. Now I look upon her exchange for my life with new understanding. She was giving up her life for mine. She knew she would never have a chance at love with someone else and she gave that up so that I could live. It brought tears to my eyes.

"You are my mate." She said with such force that it almost frightened me. "So you need to get use to it, or I won't be responsible for what happens on Friday night."

"What happens Friday?" I asked with trepidation.

"Was that a part of the conversation you didn't understand?" she asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Why don't you explain it to me." I ground out. "Then we will see if I can handle being your mate on the job."

Ashley's eyes narrowed. "You better be able to handle it because that is the only way you'll survive come Friday, because we're going to a mate hunt, sweetheart, and if they think we're not mated in any way then your going to get a lot closer to a lot of Were's that you don't want to."

I stiffened "What are you talking about?"

"A mate hunt is a way for my pack to form breeding pairs. Since you're a woman and I'm a woman, I'll have to fight them off, seeing as I'm beta and unmated in most of the elders eyes….with you there…." She stopped as she ran her hand threw her hair. "Any way the females get a thirty second head start and then the breeding age males are sent after them to hunt them, I will run with the males." She wiggled her eyebrows. "And do you know what happens when one gets caught?" she all but purred

I shook my head even though I could guess

"She gets taken."

I wasn't aware of the pressure building up around us, call it sexual tension, but it circled us as Ashley explained the hunt. I looked at her and she was wound tightly. I needed her to claim me before then, and if I had anything to say about it, it would be sooner rather then later.

I darted forward quickly and took her mouth in a heated kiss. She soon took over as she ripped my clothes off of me and straddled me on the couch like a predator looking at it's prey.

"A mate hunt can end in two different ways either as a mated pair or in death, because when a male makes the hunt he's in rut and he's no longer controlling the animal instinct in him. He's letting the animal take control. He takes what he wants, how he wants. There's no flowers, no chocolates. There is only animal instinct. It takes over. It's not about taking a mate, it's about breeding."

I froze the open savagery she described seemed so foreign to me, it fascinated me as well as frightened me.

"But deaths are rare." She finished. "They only happen when more then one male is interested in the same female. Do you know what happens then?" she asked

I whimpered beneath her.

"If she's fast enough, she might run again until another male catches her. But if she's hurt or to tired to run again, or if one of the males who caught her is the one she wants, she just lays there and watches while they fight over her. Some Were's are more aggressive then others."

I trembled again, trying not to picture the forest and the smell of the rich earth around us as Ashley takes me. Marking me for all to see.

"Then whoever wins gets to hear his new mate's pleas for mercy. All he wants is to mate at this point. To claim what is his. His beast is in control, not the man, and the beast aren't known to be gentle. They're rough and fast and frantic, and they claim her over and over until the sun comes up and dispels the hunt. By that time she may or she may not be able to walk, but it won't matter, because the winner will have her declared his mate, and he'll have as long as he wants to work off the hunt lust. I hear it can take up to a week or two, on average."

I closed my eyes and shuddered.

"Hmm. Was that arousal or fear?" she asked as she inhaled deeply and nuzzled my neck and licked the skin. "They live for one thing and that is to mate, the only prey they won't go after is the kind that has already been taken." She licked a path across my throat to the spot she left before on the other side and up to my ear. She tugged lightly and swirled her tongue along the outer edge, and breathed out. "I have a feeling you would be very sought out. If the hunters thought you were worth the chase."

A powerful shudder ran up my spine, "What happens if I already have a mate? Isn't your responsibility to protect me? To make sure no one else touches me, even if you have to chase me again?"

"Ah, does that mean you can see some advantages to being my mate?" she asked

"I never said I wasn't your mate, you're the one taking your time." I said as I arched my eyebrow. "I am no ordinary human, I am a Fae, I can handle it."

Ashley smiled down at me. "We really have no choice but to join the hunt on Friday." She explained, sounding as if she regretted putting me through it. "Not only would sitting out give Jacob more ammunition for his challenge, but it would be a breach of tradition in the eyes of the elders and the pack. The Alpha usually leads it but seeing as Christine is indisposed at the moment if will fall on my shoulders."

"Even if you already have a mate?" I asked

"Even then. My Omega will lead the females into the forest and then runs for as long as she's in the mood or before she decides to let her Beta catch her again."

"And the Beta only hunts for her own mate?" I asked

"Of course. Lupines mate for life."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "So we're in this together. If you run, I run."

Ashley nodded. "But if you go in as my mate, I can keep you safe."

"I'm not a Were, will you be able to hunt me?"

Ashley raised her eyebrows. "Why not? Lupines are predators. We'll hunt anything that runs away."

"And I really have to run from you? Even though I might not mind getting caught so much?"

She smiled and eased herself down onto the sofa beside her. "Even then. Unfortunately, because we haven't made any public announcement, I'm not officially mated by pack standards. Which means I have to participate in the hunt. And since you're my mate, you're the one I really want to be hunting."

"After what you just told me, I would have to be completely out of my mind to go wandering in the woods alone in the dark full of horny werewolves. You do understand that don't you?"

She smiled and kissed me lightly on the head. "Certifiable." She said.

"I need you to understand something." I said.

"What's that?" she asked

"I'm yours, but this hunt is nothing but a glorified excuse for rape, so you're going to have to cut me some slack if I don't express any excitement for the tradition."

She grimaced. "It's not my favorite, either, and you're not going to hear a lot of regret in my voice when I tell you it's one that's been fading from use over the last few generations, thanks in large part to Christine. Were's may be traditionalist but we do live in modern times. Our females value their independence as much as the next, be them human or what ever. Very few of them are much more enamored with the idea of the hunt than you are."

"Does that mean you can work on changing it?" I asked with hope.

"I'm sure if we put our heads together we can accomplish anything." She said.

I smiled as I leaned over and kissed her, after a few minutes I pulled away and burrowed into her chest.

"What is it, baby girl?" she murmured, stroking my hair tenderly.

"I'm nervous." I said

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I wrapped my arms around her and cuddled her close to me. "Aw, I'm sorry." I murmured into her hair. "I know and I wish I could tell you not to be. Shh…..I'd never let anything happen to you."

I felt it when she melted into me and her arms wrapped around my neck and she started trembling.

"I'm scared," Spencer said her voice a whisper. "But the worst part of all this is I won't be able to help, I have no power here."

"I'm sorry, I should have realized how hard this is on you. It's not fair, I know." I said

She looked up with her big blue eyes, her lush, kissable lips trembling, I hated myself because there wasn't anything I could do to make this go away. I didn't have a choice, and I would be damned if I gave her up in addition to my place in the pack. I brushed a kiss across her forehead and massaged her scalp.

"Why does this have to be so hard?" she asked

"Welcome to real life." I said.

"I suppose we'll just have to find some way to adjust." She said "I guess I can run in the forest on Friday and let you catch me."

"Look on the bright side." I said as I sat up in a sitting position "When I catch you, I'm going to make you scream with pleasure."

"Sure, that's what they all say." She said with a smile.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this. I wish it was already obsolete, but it is what it is, and I can't change it, and non participation isn't really an option for us." I felt her restlessness as she pulled out of my arms and stood up to walk to the window.

"So I guess I'm going even if it kills me." She said

"I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know." She said quietly.

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ch.15

I was nervous and I didn't like the feeling of being a caged rat, given it was a very nice cage one where Ashley was, but a cage none the less. We had spent the last couple of days getting to know each other, Ashley for the first time and me for the second time.

Ashley wouldn't let me out of her sight for a second, unless Aiden or Kyla was with me. It was all I could do to convince her to let me go to the bathroom on my own, but since the mate hunt had been called she was afraid that Jacob would do something to hurt me.

Today Ashley and some of her trusted pack members were at the club to discuss the Jacob situation and their plans for the upcoming mate hunt. I of course was left with Kyla and Madison and a few other women that had arrived for the mate hunt as well.

I felt Kyla tug on my arm and I looked up at her as she rushed over to greet me. "Omega" she said as she turned me to face the crowd of women. "Everyone has been waiting to meet you. Can I introduce you to them?" she asked.

Why couldn't she just use my name, if it wasn't princess then she used Omega, was it too hard to say Spencer. "Sure." I replied since I couldn't think of a good reason to disagree and sighed.

"This is Shelly Allen," Kyla said as she introduced a tall woman who looked capable of taking a WWE wrestler on and she might even win. "She's a police officer in San Francisco." Kyla finished.

"It's nice to meet you," I lied, it was awkward, what should I do? Should I shake hands or let them bow down before me? I don't know. So I just smiled and hoped Ashley wouldn't take to long.

Shelly just stared at me as Kyla frowned and started to growl, I looked at her in shock. I got a bigger shock when I saw Kyla's lips twist and bare her teeth in a snarl.

"I just introduced you to your Omega," Kyla snapped, her voice gravely in anger. "Be careful you don't offend her with your bad manners."

Shelly glared her eyes, and bared her own teeth in a sneer and replied. "My manners are fine for meeting a human," she hissed out. "It takes more than you calling her by the title to make her my Omega. She's human. The fact that Ashley is fucking her does not make her my Omega."

Shelly turned and stormed away, she didn't have to hit me in the head for me to figure out that she just insulted me. 'Big Time.' , and I definitely wasn't the type to just stand back and take it.

"You may be right. Sleeping with Ashley doesn't make me the Omega," I agreed as I raised my voice so it could be heard, as the crowd gathered around to listen. I waited until Shelly turned around to finish. "After all, it obviously didn't do much for you."

Hit, mark, score. One point Spencer, zero point bitch. Shelly's face turned bright red. Not only was she a cop with an attitude she was a woman with a jealous streak a mile long. What was she a scorned lover or what?

I straightened my clothes and then continued. "There's a difference between you and me. Would you like to know what that difference is?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Every one standing around was looking around and shaking there heads up and down. "The difference is Ashley may have fucked you once upon a time." I ran my eyes up and down her body clearly insinuating that I couldn't understand what Ashley saw in her. "But I'm the one that is her mate."

"Bitch!" Shelly yelled.

If she had attacked before she yelled she might have had a chance to actually attack me, but as it stands all she managed to do was hit the wall where I was standing and her hand went through the wall, and she was overbalanced and she fell forward into it as well. I slid out of the way before she even finished the word. Then before Shelly could attack again Kyla and Madison was standing before me with there own teeth bared.

"Back Off." Kyla growled, and I had to look twice to even see that it was Kyla standing before me.

Wedging my hands between my two would be protectors I parted them and made my way between them and stepped forward and looked Shelly in the eyes.

"Be careful who you call a bitch." I warned, so what if my knees were knocking, appearances were all that mattered. "Only one of us gets furry, and believe me it sure ain't me."

Shelly growled and took a step forward. Kyla and Madison started forward once again, but I held them back with a wave of my hand. I planned on being Ashley's mate so I needed to make a point, and so what if it was a bad situation, to prove that I could handle it without someone jumping in and always rescuing me.

"Let me make this perfectly clear, Shelly," I snarled "The fact that I'm not a Were has not escaped anyone's knowledge." I said as I waved my hand around to everyone here. "If it doesn't bother Ashley then it damn well shouldn't bother you."

"It's my business when she parades you in front of the pack like you are equal to us." She snarled. "It's my business that your weak and pathetic, and in the pack a weak Were is a dead Were. Ashley shouldn't be parading you around as an Omega and a leader because you are nothing but a weak pathetic human and you couldn't survive a tug a war with a pup let alone a full grown Were."

"I don't have to be as strong as you." I stood up straight and looked around the room daring anyone of the women to challenge me. Right now they may be able to kick my butt to kingdom come, but it didn't mean I had any intention of cowering in front of them. "I am the Beta's mate. That makes me Omega whether you like it or not. I don't care if I fight you and can't win, because if you lay a hand on me Ashley would rip out your intestines and feed them back to you. So tell me again how I don't deserve to be Omega."

Shelly met my gaze for a full minute, then swallowed what looked like a bitter pill and looked away, my knees almost gave away with relief.

"Very good." I nodded. "I'm glad to have met you, Shelly. Now get out of my way before I forget to be a gracious winner."

Shelly stormed out of the room as if she had a corn cob shoved up her ass, but at least she left. When the door closed behind her I took a deep breath and released it.

"Well," I said as I turned , to look at Kyla and Madison who both had a smirk on their faces. "That was fun; now let's get to know everyone else."

Several hours passed with all the women regaling me with stories of past mate hunts.

"So wait, she wasn't kidding when she said that her cousin could make her step down if she didn't take a mate? Just from not having a mate that can produce pups? Really?"

Madison just shrugged. "It's tradition, that's just the way things work in the pack."

"Yeah, but that doesn't make it any less insane." I said.

"Well you got to realize that things weren't so easy for Lupines in the past." Kyla said. "Now we are integrated into humanity albeit in secrecy, but not that long ago they chased and burned us at the stakes for being disciples of Satan." She said.

"I thought only witches were burned at the stake?" I asked.

"Actually most witches were hung, and Lupines burned or beheaded, or shot with silver bullets." Kyla said a little uncomfortable with the topic.

"Yay," I said sarcastically.

"Exactly," Kyla said "So you see why we have to have strong leaders to make sure the pack survives, to keep us from dying out, it became a pretty high priority." She said. 'We would only be apart of faerie tales if it wasn't for breeder's rights." She finished.

I figured that was true, but what place did it have in the twenty first century? "Do Breeder's Rights apply here?" I asked. "I mean with Ashley calling me her mate, and me not being a Were?"

Kyla looked slightly aghast. "Of course it's true! Lupines don't lie about their mates. The bond is sacred."

"I didn't mean that I thought Ashley was lying." I said as I held my hands up. "I was just asking about Breeder's Rights and how they apply to me." I said then I leaned over and whispered, "I mean with me being Fae."

"Well, biologically you are a different species; however, you share an almost identical number of chromosomes and such a large statistical percentage of mitochondrial DNA that you can produce a viable offspring. In fact, empirical evidence would seem to support the hypotheses that the offspring of a Lupine-Fae union may even have a more vigorous reproductive system than either of its respective parents, due to the introduction of new forms of DNA, so I see no prob…"

I stared at her with an arched eyebrow.

"I mean that it can be done….." here she stared at me. "…..if one of you had the ummmm…..right equipment." She finished.

"Princess," Madison said getting my attention off of Kyla. "Princess ignore Kyla she just likes to use big words that the rest of us don't understand, and she doesn't realize that she does it. What matters is that Ashley and you can adopt or even one of you can have in-vitro fertilization process."

"Yes." Kyla jumped in excitedly. "We can get some one to volunteer their sperm and I can perform the procedure." She finished by rubbing her hands together and all but jumping in place.

She just seemed a little to excited for my liking. "Oh." I mean what else could I say? "Then what your saying is that I could get pregnant by a Were donor?" I asked.

Kyla shrugged. "Sure." She answered.

"So has it happened before? I mean are there any little Fae-pines or what, running around?" I asked.

Madison grinned. "Not so much." She said as she shrugged her shoulders. "I think Kyla was giving you the theoretical data, not a case study, although that's what she made it sound like." She looked down. "But I've never personally met a what did you call it, a Fae-pine? But I have heard stories of a pup's talents being able to leak into the mother such as a human. She can sort of borrow the quicker reflexes and the better eyesight thing while she's pregnant." She said as she looked up to me smiling, "Isn't that wild? I mean can you imagine a pup with Lupine abilities mixed with Fae." She finished in a whisper so that only I and no one else around could hear what was being said.

"Yeah, wild." I said with widened eyes.

"Mind you, it's only conjecture on my part." Kyla said, "But due to the physical connection between mother and pup, it does make a sort of logical sense."

The repetitive use of the word pup had my face pale. "Would I have puppies?" I asked.

Kyla saw Madison's smile and she chuckled. "No, so you can calm down. Lupine pups look just like human babies. We have to learn to shift, some pups learn it early like seven or eight, but most come into their abilities around puberty." She finished as she rubbed her tummy.

That was so reassuring seeing as Ashley and I didn't really talk about this the first time, seeing as we thought we had all the time in the world. "Okay, that's slightly less terrifying."

Kyla looked at her as if she was handed a key to the city. "So you're okay with it then? You don't mind having babies and staying with the pack?" she asked with a gleam in her eyes.

"I'm not running away screaming if that was what you're asking." I said.

Madison rubbed her hands together. "We got about three more hours to wait. So is there anything else you want to know?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, right. The mate hunt. About that…."

Kyla crossed her arms over her chest. "What about it?"

I sighed, how was I suppose to explain to someone that running through a park with a pack of wolves after me didn't get my juices flowing?

"Okay I know this is an old tradition, but it's really not something I can even conceive happening. I mean I'm very uncomfortable even with the idea, it might even be terrifying if I thought about it."

Kyla nodded. "I'm sure it could. When you think about it, the Were's will be in rut, they won't be in their right mind they'll be running on instincts and your not a Were but a Fae, well not really even a Fae more like a weaker version which almost makes you human, and you'll have all these Were's running after you an….."

"Kyla," Madison snapped. "You are not helping." She said as she turned back to me. "It's the scientist in her." She said as an explanation as she shrugged her shoulders.

Kyla blushed like a teenager. "Oops, sorry."

"Spencer, you have nothing to be afraid of, Ashley will protect you. You won't be in danger. None of the males will even look at you if they value their lives." Madison said.

"Ashley would kill them before they even touched you." Kyla said as she patted my knee.

Somehow I needed some more reassurance. "What if something goes wrong? What if Ashley gets hurt or distracted? What then?"

"It won't happen." Madison said "She won't allow it."

I laughed, "I don't think fate cares what Ashley wants to happen or what she will 'allow' Luck isn't something that I'm use to relying on."

Kyla blinked at what I said and her brows furrowed, and I looked over at Madison and there was confusion on her face. I just shook my head, they honestly couldn't fathom the idea that what ever obstacles that were thrown at Ashley, that they wouldn't bow down before her.

Kyla shrugged and looked back to me. "But Spencer," she said slowly and deliberately with a tone that mothers admonish their young with. "Ashley will protect you. You just have to trust her."

"I do", I said slowly as I shook my head, "with my life." I said just as slowly. I believe in Ashley and I believe in our love. I know she is it for me and I'm it for her. I square my shoulders and stand a little straighter with pride and courage. I know she will be there for me no matter what, but I can't help thinking that I want Ashley to be the Big Bad Wolf that she is and make everything all right.

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There you go. Please review folks I would appreciate it.