I'm updating early! Being stuck at home has given me more time to work on this, so I've been working ahead! Yay!
As for the question on mental illnesses keeping jackals from having pups, mental issues is not something that jackals understand. Therefore, that would not be a valid excuse.
As for Asia being apprehensive about Pierce being around her babies, wait and see.
And yes, each pack has slightly different ways of doing things. I think that answers everything. Hold on to your seats folks, this one's going to be a bumpy ride!
No Spade," Kane insisted for the fifth time, "I'm not going."
"Come on," he protested. "We always go to the waterfall. You've never had a problem before."
Kane turned to glare at him. "Didn't you hear what they announced earlier? They said the water wasn't safe anymore."
He dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand, "they don't know what they're talking about."
"Spade, please listen. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"You're just scared," he snapped while folding his arms. "I'm tired of you being afraid all the time. Especially of stupid things."
Kane's ears went back and his lower lip trembled. "I'm sorry Spade, you know what happened to me."
"You need to stop dwelling on it, it only makes you feel worse."
He sniffled and wiped at his face, "you just don't understand."
An annoyed sigh escaped the black pup. "I've tried Kane."
"You're never going to understand Spade, you can't."
"Whatever."
The gray jackal hiccuped as he tried not to cry. Spade was upset with him, and he didn't like it when the other boy was upset.
"Will you stop?" Spade got closer to him, pulling himself up to his full height.
Kane was reminded just how much bigger Spade was. He cowered down, showing Spade submission. His ears were flat against his skull and his tail tucked as he made himself look small.
"I'm not going to hurt you so quit acting like that," Spade almost snarled the words. He didn't know anything about jackal ranking, so he didn't realize Kane was showing that he was submitting to his alpha. His friend's behavior was upsetting to him. Subconsciously though, he was asserting his dominance.
His voice only made Kane hunker down more. His fur fluffed in fear and he almost whimpered.
Spade rolled his blue eyes, "get up." He flicked Kane's ear, not hard. The last thing he expected was for Kane to yelp. But it wasn't normal. Spade had never heard anyone make that sound before. Kane sounded like he was being murdered. Spade pulled on his arm as he kept making the sound. "Stop it."
Lilly hurried into Kane's room when she heard the noise. "What happened?"
"I'm leaving," Spade pushed past her and left the room.
Lilly would worry about what happened later. Right now, Kane needed her. He was still crying out. She grabbed him in a hug to try and calm him down.
He thrashed in her hold, claws catching her arm. She rubbed his head, "Kane, honey, it's ok. It is ok." Slowly, his cries stopped and he just made quiet sniffles. "What happened?" She asked quietly.
He hiccuped, "Spade got upset with me. I don't understand why, I know he's my alpha, I thought I made that clear."
"Oh honey," she hugged him close. She didn't know how to explain this to him.
He held onto her arm, "I was so scared."
"I think it was just a misunderstanding sweetie," she said gently. "Spade wasn't raised like you."
Kane sniffed. "I just wish he hadn't gotten so upset."
"Sounds like you had a disagreement."
He nodded as he buried his face in her chest.
Lilly rubbed his back, "it's ok. Don't cry. All friends fight eventually. You can make up when you both calm down."
"Ok."
"Keri?" Asia asked as she entered the girl's hut. "Are you ok?" No one had seen her since the night when Pierce had reminded her of her place. That was five days ago.
The girls had brought her food and left it by her door, but they hadn't been able to see her.
"Keri?" Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She saw the other girl curled up on the couch.
Keri lifted her head, "what?" She asked miserably.
Asia hurried over to her and held her close.
Keri started sobbing. "Oh Asia, how could I have been so stupid."
"Calm down, it's ok. You're safe."
"I could've gotten us all killed," she managed to get out between sobs.
"But you didn't. Everything turned out fine."
Keri sniffled, "and the worst part is, Pierce won't want anything to do with me anymore." She started sobbing again.
A sigh. "Keri I think this little obsession is unhealthy."
"Like you're in a position to talk to me," she protested. "You're the only one he's been with. What made you so special?"
Asia didn't take it personal. She knew the girl was still so worked up about the whole thing. For some reason, Keri had in her mind that it was important for Pierce to do this for her. "The only reason I got to go first was because of my heat," Asia said gently.
"So you're having pups now?"
"Probably."
A frown formed on Keri's face. "When do you think he'll come for me? He said he would."
"I don't know. But Keri, are you sure this is what you want? If you want to wait until you're older he'll understand. It's not going to be exactly as you expect."
"Then what's it like? What's he like?" She ignored Asia's question.
She sighed, the girl was just going to have to find out the hard way. Despite her better judgment, she told her about it. How gentle, yet dominant he was. How he held her, how he moved.
Keri's brow furrowed in thought. "Does it hurt?"
Before Asia could answer, there was a knock on the door. No voice was heard. The older jackal got up to see who it was. "It's Pierce," she said while glancing out the window.
Keri hopped up, "let him in." Her voice still held excitement, but there was a measure of nervousness behind it.
Asia opened the door. She gave him a soft smile, "hello alpha."
"Hello." He gently returned her smile. "I'm looking for Keri. Is she all right?"
She nudged Asia over, "I'm fine." She flashed him a smile.
His gold eyes looked to Asia, "would you leave us alone?"
She dipped her head, "of course alpha." She gave Keri's arm a squeeze, then she left the hut.
"I'm sorry for how I acted the other night," she said when the door closed.
"Do not worry. I know you have been waiting for me for a while."
"Is that why you're here?"
His ear twitched at the slight apprehension in her voice. "Yes. But also to make sure you are all right."
She rubbed her arm where he had bit her shoulder, "I'm fine."
He came over to her and pulled her sleeve so he could see the injury. It seemed to be healing well. "I am sorry I had to do that to you. But I cannot allow flagrant disrespect for me and my position. Were you not taught about this?"
"No." She looked away, "my parents died when I was young. The girls here took me in. They never taught me about life under an alpha. I guess they thought we would never have one."
"I see." Silence fell over the two. "Well," he finally said, "what would you like to do?"
She looked at him with surprise. He was still letting her choose? Despite what she'd done?
"Do you still want me to have you?" He asked when all he got was a blank look.
She bit her lip, but nodded.
He picked her up and placed soft kisses on her jawline. He felt her squirm a bit underneath him when he got her to her bed. He pulled back, "are you sure Keri?"
She nodded. She couldn't back out after her behavior. Even though she was afraid. She wasn't sure. But she kept quiet and lay there, feeling his touch.
Zayla was worried. Asia had said Keri seemed ok. But she had to leave when Pierce showed up.
She was cooking supper with Asia. Well, part of it anyway. Pierce had taken Kenzi and a couple other girls out on a hunt.
Life in their village had become different, in a good way. Pierce had built walls for them, and they all felt safer when he was around.
Despite the fact that Pierce had left, they hadn't seen Keri. She had to be ok. Pierce wouldn't have left if she hadn't been.
When Pierce and the others came back with their hunt, Zayla pulled him to the side. The girls took the game they'd caught over to Asia. "Is Keri ok?" She asked with worry in her voice.
He nodded. "She was when I left."
"You didn't hurt her?"
Her gave her a look of annoyance and she shrank back a bit.
"What I mean is, it wasn't too much for her?" She asked quietly. She knew it was inappropriate to ask the alpha about these details, but she was concerned for the young girl.
He sighed, "I think she would be able to answer that better than I."
"But you were there. You were the one in control of the situation."
"She asked me if I would leave so she could get cleaned up. I respected her wishes."
Her ears fell back in shame. He had done everything he could to take care of Keri, and here she was accusing him of mistreating her in a roundabout way. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
He nodded. Saying that he would overlook this by the gesture.
She backed away, then went over to Asia. "I'm going to find Keri. You can handle the rest of the food right?"
She nodded.
Zayla finally found Keri down by the creek. She hadn't washed up yet, Zayla could smell that she hadn't. "Keri?"
The girl jumped. Then she turned around to see Zayla. Her face crumpled and she started crying.
Zayla ran to her side and grabbed her in a hug. "What's wrong?"
"I should've listened to you," she sobbed, "I wasn't ready."
She frowned, "did you tell him?"
"No," she whimpered. "After everything I did I couldn't tell him I changed my mind." She held onto Zayla, "it hurt so much."
"Oh honey, I'm sorry." She held Keri close and smoothed her hair. "Let's get you cleaned up."
She sniffed, "ok."
Zayla undressed her and folded her dress while Keri sat on a rock in her undergarments. "Do you want to leave those on?"
She sniffled again, "no."
"Do you need some help getting them off?" She asked carefully. She hoped Keri wasn't as sore as Asia had been.
"No, I can do it." She whimpered slightly as she removed the fabric.
Zayla helped her slide off the rock and she waded into the water. She sat down, letting it ripple around her body. She wiped at her face as Zayla sat on the shore, dipping her feet in.
The older female sighed. She didn't think he'd been rough, there were no bruises that she could see. But Keri was shaken up. Sadness swelled in her heart. Keri should've told him. He would've listened. But she didn't. She let him think she was fine.
After Keri was clean and dressed again, Zayla took her hands. "I'm sorry for what happened Keri, but you can't blame Pierce. He didn't know. I'm sure he asked you more than once if that was what you wanted."
She nodded as tears welled in her eyes, "I know. I should've told him the truth. That I was afraid. But I didn't. Even though he asked multiple times if I wanted him to stop. I said no. Even when he asked at the last moment, I told him it was ok."
"Why didn't you tell him the truth?"
"I don't know." She played with the hem of her dress. "I guess I wanted to do my part to help the pack. The rest of you are going to be mothers. I guess I wanted to because that's what I was supposed to do. Anahi said that it was the only way to preserve our pack." She wiped at her face, "I don't want to be the one that keeps us from surviving. And besides," she added, "the idea was exciting. Having him with me like that. I wanted to experience something the rest of you will. Maybe he would've liked me, maybe he would've loved me."
"Keri, if you don't have pups that won't destroy us. There's eight of us that will. One or two litters won't make that much of a difference."
"Two?"
"It is likely that we'll all bear him more than one."
Her ears fell, "oh." She looked back at Zayla's face, "does that mean I have to do it again?" Her voice was a whimper.
Zayla hugged her tight, "no, you don't have to if you don't want to."
She hugged back. "Why do you like it anyway?" She asked.
Zayla laughed lightly, "when you're ready you'll understand." She pulled back.
"By the time I'm ready he'll be old." Her nose wrinkled.
She rested her hand on her shoulder, "there will be other males by then. We'll have had pups and they will have grown up."
Keri smiled at the thought, "then I won't have to share."
Another laugh. "You're right. There won't be any pressure either."
Her ears fell, "at least Anahi won't be disappointed in me. I let him give me pups."
She sighed. That's what all this was about. Anahi's approval. That's what Keri wanted. For Anahi to be proud. Which made sense, she looked up to her a lot. More than Asia.
"Don't worry about Anahi. And you don't know you'll have some." Her hand rested on her shoulder, "come on, let's go eat."
Kane gasped as he realized he forgot to tell Lilly what he and Spade fought about.
"What's wrong?" The vixen asked as she looked up from her dinner plate. Ace, Fortune, Kinnley, and Britany were with them. They hadn't seen Spade since he and Kane's disagreement.
"I forgot. Spade and I got upset with each other because he wanted to go to the waterfall and I didn't."
Ace stood up, "it's not safe out there. They found the poison in that water." He started to turn away from the table when he ran into Jay. Tempest was with him.
"Have you seen Spade?" He asked.
"We've been looking for him," Tempest piped up, "we assumed he was with Kane but apparently that's not the case."
"He got upset with me cause I didn't want to go to the waterfall," Kane told them.
Tempest gasped and covered her mouth. She'd told him to stay indoors until things could be cleaned up. Her eyes watered, "Jay, we have to find my baby."
"I'll go with you," Ace said.
The three jackals were running down to the waterfall. "Spade!" Tempest called, "Spade where are you?!"
Ace gasped as he parted the tall grass where he could see the water. "I see him."
Jay looked over his shoulder. Once he saw his son he pushed Ace out of the way and crashed through the weeds. "Spade!" He shouted, "Spade!"
Tempest's heart dropped. Jay had never sounded so distraught before. She hurried to see what was going on. A black mass of fur was face down in the water. She screamed and shoved Ace down as she hurried after Jay.
She stumbled slightly and fell. But she quickly got to her feet and kept running.
She was halfway there when Jay hit the water. He made sure not to get any in his mouth or nose as he drug the pup to shore.
Tempest reached him just as he set the boy down on the dirt. His waterlogged fur made a wet slap as he was released. "Spade," she gasped as the tears rolled down her face.
Jay put his ear to his son's chest, listening for a heartbeat. Silence. He put his hands together and pushed on Spade's chest, trying to get his heart to start again. After a few compressions, he put his mouth over the boy's to give him air. Spade's chest rose. He repeated the motions.
She watched helplessly as Jay did his best to save their son.
Ace caught up with them. His heart dropped. Spade wasn't breathing. Even though Jay was trying his hardest, they had no idea how long he'd been there. He reached for his aunt's arm.
She grabbed him and cried into his shoulder.
Fear settled into all of them as the minutes stretched on. Finally, Jay let his arms lower to his sides. He couldn't save him.
The cry that Tempest let out was gut wrenching. Ace hugged her tight.
Jay just stared at his boy until the tears blurred his vision. He shouted in agony. His body shook as he smoothed Spade's hair back from his face. He didn't want to believe he was gone. Just this morning he'd been babbling away about all the fun he and Kane had planned. He turned away. He couldn't look at the body anymore.
With an angry shout, Jay buried his fist in a nearby tree. Wood cracked and splintered. He felt some pieces go into his skin.
Ace swallowed. His chest hurt. His little cousin was gone. Kane's best friend was gone. Chaos how was he going to tell Kane? He knew the pup would blame himself, something he didn't need added to his burdens.
As these thoughts were running through his mind, he thought he saw Spade's fingers twitch. "Aunt Tempest," he said while nudging her.
She looked up. Spade made a gasping sound and sat up as he coughed up water. "Jay! Jay!" She cried as she hurried over to her baby.
"Mama," Spade wheezed.
"Shh," she shushed him as she held him close, "it's ok." Her hands smoothed his mane, "mama's got you."
"My head hurts," he whimpered. His words were slurred and sluggish.
Tempest didn't know if it was the lack of oxygen that was causing it, or the poisoned water. He'd gotten a lot of it in his system.
Jay came over and placed his hand on his son's back, rubbing it gently.
"Pa-Pa," his word was interrupted by a hitch in his chest.
"Let's get you to the medical bay," he said softly.