Thanks for all the reviews everybody! I'm back with another chapter! Hope you all enjoy this update!
The females in this story are more submissive. Remember, they are based off of real animal interactions. I am in no way a supporter of women being oppressed, this is just a story. Things will be a bit different in Kenzi's story if you stick around for that.
I've had quite a bit of practice in worldbuilding. I started writing when I was a teenager, and I'm 25 now. It can be difficult sometimes. Anytime I add something to the story I try to keep it consistent, and nothing that won't further the plot. Basically, I try and find a way to connect everything in some form or fashion. I have read your story, didn't know it was yours at the time, it has great potential. :)
Cujo still has some issues thanks to Kenzi, hopefully he'll get them worked out. :)
The rumors floating around is that female jackals are "easy." That they are more intense and exciting. That is not true in every case, but to a degree with some of them.
Slavery isn't a usual thing in jackal culture. I guess it kind of was in the case of Golden, but other jackals wouldn't be sold. More kidnapped really. But I don't see Lance doing anything like that with his sisters.
To be honest, I haven't pin-pointed a time for Anahi's birth. She's just been around a really long time. I'd say your estimate is a good one.
Jackals don't truly understand mental health/afflictions, so it would be very difficult to orchestrate something like that. That would be interesting though.
Kenzi definitely has some issues. I think your assessment is pretty accurate though.
Sure enough, once Lori had grieved, she and Creech were finally having pups. She was positively glowing.
Her hand rested on her belly as she felt movement. "Kylie," she gasped excitedly.
The other female turned to look at her with a grin. They were down by the creek, relaxing with their feet in the cool water. "Are they moving again?" She asked.
Lori nodded, grabbing Kylie's hand and gently placing it on her large stomach.
Kylie's smile widened. She felt the pups kicking against her palm. "I'm so happy for you."
She smiled back, "thank you. Me too." They were due any day now. Anahi had told her to stay close to the village, just in case, but it was so hot and the water was so inviting. Besides, Kylie was with her. She trusted Kylie.
"Shall we swim a while?" Kylie asked.
"Think that it'll be ok?" Lori asked.
"Sure." Kylie helped her up, then pulled off her own dress. "If you feel anything though, let me know."
"Ok."
As they swam, Lori did feel a little uncomfortable. She brushed it off, she was enjoying herself.
"Lori?" Kylie asked when she noticed her friend slowing a little, "are you ok?"
"I-I think so." Then she gasped softly in pain.
Kylie hurried to her side, "is it the pups? Are you having them?"
She nodded while holding her stomach.
"We should get back. Anahi will know what to do."
"I don't think I have time."
Kylie let loose a swear.
"Kylie!" She protested. Her complaint was cut short as another pain rippled through her. She whimpered, loosing her footing.
Kylie took Lori by the arm, keeping her from falling. Then she led her to the shore.
"I need to sit down," Lori said once they were out of the water. She started to sit in the grass.
"No, you need to get to Anahi."
"You go get her, I'll wait here."
"I can't leave you out here by yourself," she protested.
"Kylie please," her voice was a whine, "I need some help."
"Maybe I can carry you," she thought aloud.
"That is not a good idea."
"I know, but I don't know what else to do. I don't want to leave you in case something happens, but I don't know the first thing about delivering pups." She pulled on her own ears in somewhat of a panic.
Lori let out a cry of pain and sank down in the grass. "Like it or not, I'm gonna have these pups," she said after she caught her breath. "Either run and get Anahi or help get them out of me. Your pick."
Kylie debated another minute before she finally decided to run and get Anahi.
When Kylie got back with both healers, Lori had already started. "Anahi!" She cried, "Brynn!"
Brynn was faster, so she hurried to get Lori in a comfortable position, even though she was halfway through with the first pup.
Anahi reached her next, ready to help guide the pup.
Everything happened in somewhat of a blur, but soon Kylie found herself holding the eldest pup. Lori was having some trouble with the second, so Brynn had handed him to her so she could help too.
Kylie moved the blanket wrapped around him to look at his face. She was startled. His mouth was crooked and his ears were folded. He whimpered a bit. He opened his eyes, one of his irises was misshapen. He obviously wouldn't be able to see out of it. She held him close, "oh sweetie." Her voice was soft and sympathetic.
Soon, the second pup was here. Brynn and Anahi looked at each other, he was solid black. Even his mane, muzzle, and tip of his tail.
"Are they both ok?" Lori asked as Brynn helped her sit up against a rock. She reached for the one Anahi was holding. He was placed in her arms. She held him to her breast so he could eat.
Kylie came over with the other pup. "Anahi," she said carefully.
The healer turned to look at the pup when she heard the concern in the other's voice. Her heart sunk, he had deformities too. Like his father. She took him in her arms to look at him.
"Is he ok?" Lori asked again. She was worried now.
"Lori," Brynn said gently, "he's ok. But he has some defects similar to Creech."
"Is he going to suffer?" She was so worried.
"Anahi is checking him over, he seems to be strong enough though."
She wiped her eyes, "ok."
"Here," Anahi said as she handed him to her, "see if he'll eat."
It took him a few tries, since he couldn't see out of his left eye. They didn't know that he could hardly see out of the other either. The pup buried his face in his mother's chest, learning her scent.
When the black pup opened his eyes, they were an icy blue. Aside from his strange coloring, he seemed normal.
"What are you going to name them?" Kylie asked.
"Miracle," Lori said while gently smoothing the eldest's fur. "And Splendor."
"Hi Miracle," Zayla said kindly. He was sitting on the porch in the sun.
His ear flicked, and he turned towards her, "hi."
"What are you doing?" Asked Lena.
"Sitting."
"That's boring."
"It's ok. I like the sun."
"Even though you can't see it?" In the time he and Splendor got older, he'd lost his vision completely.
"I can feel it," he replied, "and that's good enough."
Zayla touched his hand, "you are so brave. Your parents are so proud of you."
He smiled in his crooked way. It meant a lot to hear that. He squeezed her hand lightly, "thank you Zayla."
The alpha female gave his hand one more squeeze, "we have a few things to do, but we'll talk to you later."
"Ok. Bye."
After they left, Splendor peeked around the corner of the building and crept up behind Miracle.
"I'm going to tell mama," Miracle said. He'd heard his brother breathing behind him. It was a game they played.
Splendor snorted, then flopped down beside him. "Sure you will." Sarcasm was evident in his voice. "One of these days though, I'll sneak up on you."
Miracle grinned, "keep dreaming."
"Where's mama?"
"Inside."
He nudged him, "want to fight?" They both liked to wrestle around, but only when Lori was elsewhere. She always got so worked up about it. Creech however, encouraged it.
"Ok."
Splendor took his brother by the hand and led him behind the house, away from the windows.
He gave Miracle a moment to get his footing. "Ready?"
"Ready."
They played for a while, using their teeth and claws, but not hard. Now they were laying on their backs in the grass, breathing hard.
"Hey Splendor?" Miracle asked.
He turned to look at him, "yeah?"
"What do you look like?"
"Why?"
Miracle frowned, he picked up on the distress in his brother's voice. Almost like a form of self loathing. "You describe everything else to me, but not yourself," he said finally, "I wanna know what you look like."
"Then ask mama," he huffed and turned on his back again, "she'll tell you."
He touched his arm, "I know. But I want to hear it from you."
"Well I don't want to tell you."
He sensed that Splendor was getting more and more upset. "Why not?"
"You don't understand Miracle!" He shouted. "You'll never understand!"
"I would if you'd just tell me."
"No you won't." He hiccuped a bit, "you don't see the way they look at us."
"Who?"
"The adults." He sat up, claws digging into the dirt as he tried to push back the tears.
"Zayla doesn't. Neither does mama and papa or grandfather."
"They don't count! They have to love us!" He scrambled to his feet, close to hyperventilating now.
Miracle reached for his brother. There was no reasoning with him when he was like this. "Splendor," he said gently, "I'm sorry. I never meant to upset you."
"Don't touch me!" He gasped. "I can't, I can't." His hands went to his throat. He couldn't breathe, he felt like he was suffocating.
"Splendor, Splendor what's wrong? Are you ok? What's happening?" He could hear his brother drawing sharp gasping breaths. Something wasn't right. Miracle crawled over to him, touching his shoulder and lightly shaking him.
Splendor had collapsed on the ground, the air felt like it was crushing him. The world was crashing down around him and he couldn't stop it. Broken sobs escaped him between breaths.
"Mama!" Miracle cried, "mama! Papa! We need help!" He didn't know how to help Splendor. He didn't even know what was wrong with him. "Mama!" He screamed and screamed until his throat was raw. "Mama! Mama!"
"Miracle?"
His ear twitched. That was his father. He could detect the worry in his voice. "Papa," he croaked, "please help."
"What happened?" He hurried over to his youngest and gathered him into his arms. Splendor was still gasping for air, and tears stained his cheeks. Creech's hand gently smoothed the boy's black mane that had fallen loose from its usual braid. "It's ok," he soothed, "it's ok."
The boy's breathing slowly returned to normal. He drew one last sobbing breath and buried his damp face in his father's chest.
Creech softly patted his back. "Are you ok?" He asked gently.
He swallowed, "I don't know. I got upset, then I couldn't breathe, it felt like everything was crashing around me."
"Can you breathe ok now?"
He nodded.
Creech stood up, cradling the boy's small frame in his arms. He reached for Miracle, "take my hand, we need to find your mother."
Miracle took a moment to process the words, he had trouble understanding his father sometimes. Then he reached up and took his hand.
The three males were heading to see Anahi. Lori was with them. She was worrying about Splendor. She kept fussing over him.
"I'm fine now mama," he said while taking her hand with a smile.
She smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze.
"Do we still have to go see Anahi?" He asked. "I feel fine."
"Just to make sure you're all right." She replied.
As they made their way down the path, Cujo was storming by. His fists were clenched and his mouth was in a snarl. He looked so angry.
Lori pulled Miracle out of his way. The pup would've been knocked down if she hadn't. "Be careful Cujo," she pleaded.
He stopped, then turned to glare at her. "He needs to stay out of my way."
"Cujo, you know he can't see," she reasoned gently.
"Oh right," he snapped, "I forgot he's useless. Remind me why he's still here again."
Miracle flinched at the sound of the older male stepping aggressively towards him. Lori pulled him closer to her, "you stop it. What is wrong with you?"
"That's what I'd like to know about them," Cujo hissed.
"What are you so angry about?" She asked firmly.
Splendor tucked himself beside her, afraid. He sensed his life was in danger. He didn't want to die. He cowered under Cujo's intense glare.
"They're both a waste of resources," he snarled.
Lori held them closer, then looked at Creech. Did he sense that Cujo intended to hurt her babies? "You get away from us," she growled while showing her teeth.
Creech stepped forward to intervene at this point. He got between Cujo and his family, "you leave them alone," he growled.
Cujo stopped, startled. He looked down at the pups. Miracle was shaking with nerves, and Splendor was absolutely terrified. He was cowering on the ground, whimpering cries coming from his throat. Cujo swallowed, he could smell the fresh dampness on the black pup's fur. He stepped back, "I'm sorry." He looked at Lori, "you know I wouldn't hurt them."
"No Cujo, I don't know that. Not from the way you just acted." She pulled Splendor into her arms, not caring about the mess getting on her skirt.
Cujo backed up a little more. Seeing Splendor so afraid reminded him of his own childhood. His mother had always towered over him like that. He'd grown used to it, but Creech and Lori's boys weren't. Their parents were never aggressive towards them. "I'm sorry," he said finally.
"You should be," Creech snapped.
As the former rogue went to comfort his boys, Cujo made himself scarce.
"I wanna go home!" Splendor wailed.
"We will," Lori soothed. "We'll get you cleaned up. You'll be fine."
He sniffed, "ok."
Haven folded her arms with a frown. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself Cujo," she scolded.
His ears went back, "I know. I am."
"Why would you think it's ok to terrorize innocent pups? Especially Miracle. The poor thing can't even see."
"I know it was wrong Haven. I was just so angry."
She frowned, "at them?"
"No." He swallowed, "at my mother."
Her face softened. Then she sat beside him, "it's not their fault she caused so many problems."
"I know."
Her heart cracked in her chest for him. He sounded so hurt. She touched his arm, "I'm sorry she hurt you so badly."
"Is it bad that I miss her?" His voice cracked with vulnerability.
"Oh honey," Haven pulled him into a hug. She didn't understand his attachment to someone who abused him, she never would, but she would always be there for him. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"It's just not fair," he whimpered. "Why did she leave me? Why was she so selfish?"
"I don't know, but you didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve you."
An anguished sob escaped him. "But it hurts so much."
"I know it does. I know." Haven listened quietly as he told her about the things she'd done to him. Every hit, every shout, every scolding. All the pressure she'd put on him to be future alpha, and how every time he got upset with her she would tell him how much she loved him. He'd always forgive her.
It hurt Haven to hear, but he needed this. He needed to grieve. He needed to release the pain. She let him rest his head on her lap and cry as long as he needed to.
Riker was out of breath once he reached the top of the sand dune. There was the oasis, so Dalia's pack wasn't too far. He wasn't going to stay, he just wanted to see her. Just for a minute.
After he caught his breath, he kept going. When he reached the village, Dalia wasn't by the well. It was Darren.
He looked up, "you're back."
He nodded, not quite making eye contact.
"Where's Nova?" He asked after looking around.
His chest heaved, "he's gone."
A nod. "So is mother."
Silence.
"So why are you here?" Darren asked as he leaned against the well.
Riker gripped the strap on his bag "I wanted to see Dalia."
He scoffed and shook his head, "don't know if you should."
"Why not? Where is she?"
"She's inside." He gestured to the wall, "with her pups."
His eyes widened, "are they... is she..." he didn't know how to word the question.
"They're yours," he answered.
Riker felt strangely light headed. Relief and irritation rushed through his chest. He didn't even know why. It was strange. He was a father. Who probably would never see his pups. But he was ok with that. He didn't want to confuse them. "How many?"
"Only three lived." He sighed, "Dalia was really tore up for a while. She seems to be doing better now."
He swallowed. "Oh." He didn't know what else to say.
"Our healer said since it was such a large litter it took her too long to have them. But it's common for at least half of the pups born here to not make it."
It was then that Riker understood how truly lucky it had been for all his brothers to survive. "How many did she lose?"
"Seven."
Ten. She would've had ten if they'd all made it. His heart hurt in his chest. "But she's ok?" He heard himself asking.
Darren nodded, "she's fine. My sister is a very strong woman."
His fingers flexed a little, "yeah."
"I'll see if she wants to see you," he said finally. "Wait here. I'll be back."
It took a bit, but he finally came back, "she'll see you. Come inside."
Riker felt the pack's gaze on him as he followed Darren. Everyone seemed cautious. He figured that was due to the fact that there were more pups here than before.
When the entered Dalia's home, Riker's ears met the whimpers of little pups. He smiled. Dalia had all three of them in her arms.
She tore her gaze away from them. "Hello Riker," she said with a smile.
"Hi."
"Come say hello."
He was at her side before he knew it. Three black and white bundles of fur were snuggling against her.
"Two boys and one girl," she said while tucking their blankets over them.
He just watched, taking them in.
"Darren told me about the rest," he murmured.
Her face hardened, "I don't want to talk about it."
He nodded.
"So are you staying this time?" She asked.
"No."
"Why are you here then?"
"Curiosity," he confessed.
She frowned. "Do you even care about them?" Dalia knew that was a lot to expect of a rogue, especially one like Riker, but she wanted to know.
He swallowed, "I don't know."
"I see."
Silence. "I don't want anything bad to happen to them if that's what you mean," he said after a moment.
Understanding crossed her features, "you don't want to get attached."
He nodded, a small shame burning in his stomach.
She touched his arm, "Darren will let you stay if you want."
He felt torn. A part of him wanted to stay with his pups, but he didn't want to give up his life out there.
"It's ok. I understand. But don't come and see them. I don't want them to get attached to you if you won't be here."
"I know. I won't."
She smiled, "but I'm glad you got to see them once."
He nodded with a slight smile, "me too."