Chapter 15: A Caution Step Forward

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh

Yami woke up the following morning incredibly early, the den was still dark and she could still feel the early morning chill. On the one hand Yami was still incredibly proud that she had even managed to fall asleep the night before with the way her mind had been absolutely churning. Pregnant. Atem had informed her that she was pregnant.

Yami sighed as she attempted to shift out of Atem's powerful grasp. She needed to think.

"Where do you think you're going?" Atem's sleepy voice whispered as he tightened his grip around Yami's torso. The motion was one that actual made Yami feel safe and it actually warmed something deep inside her. But Yami pushed that thought to the side. Figuring out the whole pregnant thing was a lot higher up on Yami's list of priorities than dealing with her complicated relationship with Atem.

"Outside to clear my head." Yami replied as she attempted to wiggle out of Atem's grasp again, not being nearly as gentle about it now that he was already awake.

"Not alone you won't be." Atem declared.

"Then maybe I can wake up Mana and have Mana come with me. Or Serenity." Yami argued she was glad that she'd had enough sense to not mention Kisara as a possibility.

Atem snorted, "No, you will not. If you are going to insist on wandering around while you 'clear your head' then I will be accompanying you. Either that or you will be remaining in this den." Atem replied.

Yami harshly drove her able back, nailing Atem in the chest making him grunt although his grip didn't loosen a single iota, "Don't be a dick Atem! Even YOU recognize that there is a lot of stuff that I'm trying to work out. And you being glued to my side will most definitely NOT be helpful with that." Yami growled.

"And you wandering around on your own is going to help you come to some sort of conclusion? Really? That makes no sense. Why not choose to stay where you can get all of your questions answered? As your mate I am here to help and support you. I WANT to help and support you." Atem said.

Yami groaned in pure frustration, "But Atem, that is the whole fucking point! How the hell am I expected to figure out how I feel about this whole mess when I'm expected to stay face to face with the fucking beast that dragged me into this whole fucking mess." Yami said.

Yami suddenly found herself lying on her back, pinned beneath Atem's body starring straight into glaring red eyes, "It might behoove you to remember that I am not the dead wolf that bit you my dear. The wolf who dragged you into this whole mess is dead. I ripped his throat out myself and you watched me do it. Do not blame the actions of that dead wolf on me." Atem growled.

Yami snarled right back at Atem, "No, you may not have bitten me. You are absolutely fucking right that whole mess can and should be laid at Duke's feet. I'm not blaming that on you. But every other fucking thing after IS your damn fault. The fact that we are mates is your fault. The fact that I'm now apparently pregnant is most certainly YOUR FAULT! So, yes you are the one who has dragged me into this whole damn mess." Yami spat.

"And the fact that you are still refusing to recognize your own role in those outcomes is really beginning to get on my nerves Yami. YOU were the one who began to challenge me. You were the one who was flirting with me. YOU were the one who when the full moon rose decided that YOU wanted to mate with me. YOU were the one who dared me to mount you. Not one time have you refused to mate with me. Every single time we engage in the act of mating you are a willing not to mention active participant. So, do not blame this on me as if I have done something wrong because I have not." Atem growled.

Yami opened her mouth to reply as she could feel anger coursing through her veins as she did her best to rise up and challenge Atem. But, she couldn't think of a single thing to say. Atem was...right. She may not have fully realized that she had been flirting with Atem, but that doesn't change the fact that she had been. And as Atem pointed out up on the North Mountain, with the way Kisara had been laughing at her it really wouldn't have taken a lot to ask 'what's so funny?' And deep down she had to have known about the whole thing with Alpha's pants because she'd even blushed when he'd finally given them to her.

So, with that in mind could she really blame Atem? Especially when he himself defines himself as an animal for not exercising restraint during the full moon? It wasn't like he'd gotten her drunk. Or drugged her. Not really. When Yami really thought about it she could remember what had happened, maybe not every detail, no. But she remembered running through the meadow. She remembered the thrill that she'd experienced. The sense of utter and complete freedom she got from running beneath the moon.

She remembered playfully challenging Atem to the game of chase. And she loved it. She enjoyed it. She remembered casually calling Atem 'mate' when he'd caught her and cockily daring him to make her his. She remembered all of it. Every last detail.

And no matter how much she might have wanted to paint herself as a helpless victim when it came to Atem she couldn't. Because she wasn't. Nor was she being used by Atem. He again had a point he hadn't forced her into anything. And every single time they had been together she had participated. She might have questioned why she was participating. Questioned why she even wanted to be with Atem. But, the one unquestionable fact that she had been faced with again and again and again was that at the end of the day she had WANTED Atem.

She should have told Mai that the answer to her question on whether or not Atem had raped her as an absolute and unquestionable NO. Because, he hadn't. It really wasn't complicated. Different yes, there was no doubt that relationships with Weres were a lot different normal relationships were. But, on the surface it wasn't necessarily complicated. And the only reason it was 'complicated' at all was because Yami herself had insisted on making it complicated.

"You're right." Yami whispered, "You're absolutely right. You didn't force me into anything. I am the one who made the choice to mate with you. I may not have fully understood that choice but I still made it. And I'm sorry Atem, I'm sorry I accused you otherwise." Yami said.

Atem actually seemed frozen as for several seconds he seemed to just continue to lay on top of Yami, almost gaping at her. It was actually kind of funny. Who'd have ever thought I would leave the mighty Alpha speechless? Yami mused. Yami snorted. "What, I finally admit that you were right and you have nothing to say?" Yami teased.

Atem snorted before Yami saw a genuine smile appear on Atem's face. "Are you saying that you have finally accepted?" Atem asked.

Yami rolled her eyes, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I never said that I was necessarily OKAY with the choice I made. I never said I was HAPPY with the choice I made. All I did was admit that it was a choice that I had made. And, well as my grandfather used to remind me. Actions have consequences. I chose to mate with you. So, now we're married with children on the way." Yami said matter of factly.

Atem rolled his eyes, "Would it kill you to not be argumentative for the sake of it?" Atem asked.

Yami shrugged, "I don't know. Would it kill you to not be a bossy, overprotective dictator?" Yami asked.

Atem snorted before he leaned down, his tongue flicking out to lick the tip of Yami's nose. Yami frowned, "Atem, I get that wolves lick and its just fine. But when your in your human form it is no longer cute or whatever. Its just plain gross." Yami muttered.

Atem snorted once more, his eyes shining with mirth, before he flicked his tongue out once again this time licking Yami's cheek.

"Dick!" Yami growled although there was no anger in her tone. Atem was playing with her and she knew it.

Atem just shook his head, leaning down to lightly brush his nose against Yami's. She had no idea why such a tender, simple gesture made her blush. But it did. "I'll stop licking you beloved if you agree to take back that I am an overprotective dictator." Atem teased.

Yami laughed, "I'm sorry Atem, but I can't do that. For you see my grandfather instilled me with a deep revulsion for lying. I cannot take back a statement that is one hundred percent the truth." Yami replied.

"Oh, and what would your grandfather have to say about your whole 'I'm going to the bathroom' in order to get me to not follow you?" Atem cheekily shot back.

Yami grinned, "Necessary dishonesty needed in order to escape from an enemy encampment and return home." Yami declared.

"Enemy encampment? Really Yami?" Atem groaned, the mirth momentarily vanishing form Atem's eyes.

Yami sighed. She had just been joking around. She truly hadn't meant to hurt Atem's feelings. Yami sighed before she leaned up and allowed her own tongue to flick out, licking up Atem's chin to stopping once she'd brushed across his lips.

Atem snorted, "I thought you said that licking someone while you are in human form was disgusting?" Atem pointed out.

"I did. And it is. Not my fault that you seem to be corrupting me. And turning me more and more into an animal like you every single day." Yami replied.

Atem snorted once more but said nothing. Yami sighed before she leaned up once again, although this time instead of licking Atem she kissed him. And kissed him and kissed him. Atem for his part allowed Yami to have complete control of the kiss for all of 5 seconds Yami noted before Atem was once more in control as he kissed her.

Atem's hands slipped up under Yami's tank top and began to slide it up, taking their time to slide along Yami's sides as he dragged the shirt up. Atem broke the kiss briefly in order to pull Yami's tank top off and throw it to the side before he dove back in, this tip his lips attaching themselves to her throat as his hands toyed with her breasts.

Yami's own hands had also been worming their way up under Atem's shirt before she grabbed the bottom of the shirt and pulled it up as far as she could manage before Atem briefly paused in his assault on her throat allowing Yami to remove his shirt. Yami's hand buried itself in Atem's hair as he finally finished with her throat before he moved his attention down to her breasts his hands firmly gripping Yami's hips, his thumbs already pushed inside her shorts. Her other hand had slipped down to grab a hold of Atem's ass, almost like she was trying to push Atem closer to her.

She could feel as Atem's hands slowly, yet purposely slipped around her body before he found the front of Yami's shorts and unfastened them. And it was just as Atem was doing that that Yami truly had a spark of what she called insanity and she managed to buck Atem off her.

Atem quirked a brow as he slowly sat up, "If you didn't like it you could have just told me to stop. I would have honored your wishes." Atem said.

Yami rolled her eyes before she sat up and pulled off her own shorts leaving herself nude. "That wasn't why I knocked you off me Atem. Now. Strip!" Yami growled.

Atem snorted but he did do as Yami had ordered and removed the board shorts he'd been wearing. "I've stripped. Now, can we continue with what we were doing before you knocked me away?" Atem asked.

Yami flushed before she slowly crawled over to Atem and placed both of her hands firmly on Atem's powerful shoulders and shoved him onto the pelts as hard as she could so that Atem was lying beneath her. "You know Atem, in the civilized world humans mate in many different ways. Maybe I want to try and change things up a bit." Yami said.

"Oh, and just what did you have in mind my playful mate?" Atem asked. Yami could feel that Atem's body had tensed up beneath her own. No doubt there was not a single fiber in Atem's being that was okay with being on his own back. But, to Atem's credit he had not yet pushed her away. Yami was slowly beginning to come to understand how significant that a gesture like that was from someone of Atem's position. Alphas were never the one's who were on their backs. That's part of what made them the Alphas.

"Well," Yami said before she turned her own attention onto Atem's throat. Kissing and nipping along the muscular column before lightly sinking her teeth into Atem's collar bone as she roughly kissed the spot making Atem groan beneath her his hands resting on her own hips. She could feel his body no doubt subconsciously shifting beneath her. It wouldn't take much at all for him to reverse their positions once more. But, he still hadn't.

Yami pulled away once she was satisfied with the mark she had left on Atem's throat, her hand lighlty tracing down Atem's pecks, briefly brushing over Atem's own nipples. Atem grunted and Yami felt how he squeezed her own ass.

Yami chuckled before she shifted into a more seated position so that Atem's own erect penis was positioned beneath her. "I thought it might be fun if we tried it where I was on top for a change." Yami said before she pushed her body down as she slowly pushed Atem inside of her only coming to a stop once Atem was completely buried inside of her.

Yami groaned at the sensation of being filled. No matter how many times they had done it she still had not fully gotten used to the sensation of feeling Atem's member inside her body. Of feeling him touching her so deep inside her. Every time Atem so much as shifted she could feel different jolts of pleasure coursing through her.

Yami carefully braced on her knees which were resting on the pelts on either side of Atem's hips before she slowly pushed up and off of Atem so that only the tip of his member remained just inside her before she quickly slammed her body down once again completely engulfing him once more.

"Ahh." Yami moaned.

Atem groaned from beneath her, his hands gripping her hips so hard that it was no doubt going to leave some bruises.

Yami paused for only a few moments before repeating the motion again. And again, each time pausing that little bit less as she attempted to find some sort of rhythm as the two moved together. Because Atem was moving too. Once he'd seem to fully understand what it was Yami was trying to do he had begun to move with her. As she would go to push back down Atem would thrust up a the same time creating that much more force as they moved. And causing a powerful pleasurable sensation with every thrust.

"I'm getting close." Yami groaned. And god was she.

Atem chuckled, "Perhaps you have had enough of torturing us both my dear." Atem said.

Yami locked eyes with Atem's amused, lust filled ruby ones. "Oh, and are you saying you aren't enjoying this?" Yami asked breathlessly.

"On the contrary beloved. I am enjoying this very much. What I am saying is that perhaps you have gotten enough of torturing us both and you would permit me to finish this." Atem replied as he thrust up against Yami again making her once more see stars.

"Fine Atem." Yami consented as she felt another powerful thrust connect that one spot within her that left her utterly and completely breathless. "Oh god." Yami moaned.

Atem smirked before in one single swift motion Yami found herself flat on her back, her legs wrapped tightly around Atem's waste as he began a relentless pace that left Yami utterly and completely breathless as Atem reasserted control. It took him less than a minute to bring them both to their ends. With Yami screaming his name, no doubt loud enough for the entire pack to hear her.

Atem for his part grunted Yami's own name, his voice deep and gravely and the sound of Atem growling out her name as he spilled his seed into her body was a new experience for Yami, since never before had Atem vocalized his release. Normally he chose to bite her instead.

Once the two had finally come down from their highs Atem leaned down and kissed Yami. The kiss was light and oh so tender. The kind of kiss that Yami remembered reading about in romance novels the kind where it was so sweet and so full of love.

Yami blushed as the kiss broke. She honestly didn't know what to think about the way Atem had kissed her. It was without a doubt the first time he had ever kissed her like that. As if she didn't have enough stuff to be trying to figure out now she was going to be obsessing over interpreting that kiss and if it meant anything at all.

It certainly didn't mean what it did when it was described in books because one thing Yami did know with absolute certainty was that Atem did not love her. Yami mentally frowned, she had no idea why recognizing that fact, that simple fact that she knew had to be true in her mind hurt for some reason.

Atem lightly brushed his nose against Yami's as he settled down on top of her. Yami rolled her eyes, of course. How could she forget. They had to lay like this for an hour at least before Atem would finally get off of her.

"Do you have any questions about what we discussed last night?" Atem asked suddenly.

Yami sighed. Did she have questions? Probably. Although she knew better than to voice the question that seemed be right on the tip of her tongue why did you kiss me like that? She knew Atem was talking about the fact she was pregnant with puppies. Logically speaking she really should have questions about that.

"How many pups could I have? You said I would have a least 2. But, how many is it possible to have?" Yami asked as she forced the kiss to the back of her mind to try and focus on the conversation she was having right now unless she wanted to make an utter and complete fool of herself and blurt it out.

Atem paused for a moment, frowning slightly as he contemplated the answer. "As I told you last night litters of puppies have at least two pups in them, although litters of up to six are common. The largest litter I ever can recall even being mentioned was a litter of twelve pups. But, that was by a Were in a different pack. I don't know for certain if that is even true or not." Atem replied.

Suddenly pushing the kiss to the back of her mind wasn't so difficult. The realization that she could possibly give birth to up to twelve. TWELVE freaking children. Talk about terrifying. Utterly and completely terrifying.

"Twelve? Are you serious? Please tell me your joking." Yami said, her voice coming out almost as a whimper.

Atem shook his head, "No, I'm not joking beloved. But large litters like that are not common. My mother's own largest litter had nine pups and her other litters were all smaller than that." Atem said.

Yami groaned, "You know, if you are trying to reassure me Atem, you really are not helping. Telling me that large litters like that are uncommon to only then follow that statement by pointing out your own mother had a litter of NINE!." Yami muttered.

Atem shrugged, "You asked. But, don't worry about it Yami. You will be fine. Trust me, I'll make absolutely certain of it." Atem vowed.

Yami snorted, "Oh, and is the part where you suddenly reveal that you are a trained Obstetrician." Yami grunted.

Atem frowned, "An Obste-what?" Atem asked.

Yami sighed, "You know, an Obstetrician. A doctor who takes care of a woman during pregnancy and delivers her baby." Yami said.

Atem sighed, "I have no idea what you are talking about. Weres don't use whatever those are." Atem said.

Yami suddenly felt the beginning of true panic grip her at her very core, "Wait, are you saying that there won't be a doctor here to help me? That I'm going to have to deliver an unknown number of puppies by myself?" Yami sputtered.

Atem gave Yami another one of those weird tender smiles of his, "I assure you that despite the fact that you will not have a human doctor here to aide you during the birth of our pups you will not be alone. I will be right there by your side. And together my mate we will get through this." Atem said.

Yami rolled her eyes, "And isn't that dangerous? Have you never heard of people dying while giving birth because it does happen Atem." Yami growled.

"Shhhh," Atem soothed as he pulled Yami closer to him, nuzzling her face with his own. To Yami's embarrassment she didn't even realize that she had started crying. "I could tell you that I have never heard of a female Were die while giving birth to pups. But, I get the feeling that would not reassure you." Atem whispered.

"You're right. It won't." Yami whispered back.

"And yes, I may not be an obewhatever. But, I will be by your side and you have my word Yami. We will get through this together. I will not let you die. That is a promise. A promise as both your mate and your Alpha. You WILL get through this alive." Atem whispered.

And as Atem has done several times before despite it not making one once of logical sense his words and actions seemed to have a way of managing to calm Yami down. Because deep down she trusted that Atem would keep his word and that he would, somehow...although how precisely she was more than a little foggy on...he would get all of them through this.

Yami was actually disappointed when the time finally came for her and Atem to part. But Yami would not voice that disappointment aloud and as soon as Atem climbed off of her she immediately went over to the duffel bag and pulled out a fresh set of clothes for her to wear. Although, first she was going to go down to the creek and get herself cleaned up because Were or not she was not going to walk around the clearing all day smelling like her and Atem had fucked.

"Alpha?"

Yami jumped at the unexpected question before she dove quickly under the pile of pelts.

"Wait outside for a moment. We're in human form and my mate still needs to dress." Atem growled.

"Of course Alpha. I will wait until you are ready." The wolf replied, Yami honesty had no idea who it even was that was outside.

"It's alright Yami. No one is going to walk into our den without first announcing themselves. They would face me in combat if they had." Atem stated.

Yami peeked out from her hiding spot in amongst the pelts before she reached out and grabbed for her dirty tank top. No way was she putting on clean clothes without bathing first but she also wasn't shifting or walking to the creek in the nude.

"I'm going to go and take a bath in the creek." Yami said.

Atem sighed. "Can you perhaps wait until I find out what it is that Marik wanted to discuss with me before you leave? If its possible I would like to accompany you to the creek and back into the clearing." Atem said.

Yami shrugged."I guess that would be fine." Yami replied.

"Good, wait here. I will be right back." Atem said as he tugged back on his pair of deerhide pants that he always wore before shifting and trotting out of the den to talk to Marik. Yami sat somewhat patiently on the pelts while she waited for Atem to return.

Atem, thankfully, did not make Yami wait for too long before he came trotting back inside, "Marik wanted to know if I was ready to head out or if I had needed more time. So, once you are finished taking your bath in the creek I will be leaving. I probably will not be back until almost sundown. I need to go and try and deal, peacefully if possible, with the invading wolf pack from the East." Atem said.

"If possible?" Yami asked as she headed out of the den, with Atem trotting in wolf form beside her.

"Yes. If we cannot resolve the matter peacefully then we will use force. A lack of prey in their own territory does not justify them invading my own territory and killing two of our pups. No, if they will not listen to reason then we will make them listen." Atem growled.

"You'll be careful though, won't you?" Yami asked.

Atem lightly bumped his head against Yami's side, "You worry too much my mate. I assure you, I am not a helpless pup. If the wolves that we are dealing with won't listen to reason then they will come to see that I am more than capable of defending my own territory. Between myself, Marik, Akefia and Malik we should be more than able to deal with any threat from the other pack." Atem explained.

Yami frowned as they came to a stop beside the creek before she stripped out of her clothes and slipped into the crisp water. "You aren't taking Seto with you?" Yami asked.

"No, I am not. For two reasons. The first reason is that in his current mindset I honestly don't know that Seto could deal with the other pack peacefully. And secondly, I need someone to be in charge while I am away for so long." Atem explained.

Yami sighed as she turned her attention onto getting herself clean. She had been bathing for a few minutes before she thought to ask what was probably a ridiculous question. "Shouldn't I be the one whose in charge while your away?" Yami asked.

Atem snorted, "Once you are more adjusted no doubt you will be the female who is in charge of the pack even while I am present. There are things that you will deal with that are not my responsibility to oversee. Kisara has filled this role to varying degrees. Perhaps after a few more moons you'll be adjusted enough that we can go over everything that you need to be overseeing yourself. Come winter it is my hope that you will be able to fully take over as the Alpha female of this pack."

"But even so, I'd never be the one in charge of the pack?" Yami inquired.

Atem sighed, "Had we not been dealing with a known threat and you were fully adjusted I would feel comfortable leaving the pack under your watchful eyes while I took Seto with me if I was only going to be gone for a day or so. Given our current situation and your own lack of adjustment I cannot leave any one else in charge while I am away. This is in no way a slight against you." Atem said.

"No. No, Atem I get it. To be perfectly honest I wouldn't have the first idea of how to go about looking after the pack." Yami said.

"Perhaps after the next full moon I will start to include you in more of my own role as well as explain your own responsibilities to you." Atem said.

Yami smiled before she climbed out of the creek, "I'd like that Atem. I really would." Yami said before she quickly dried off and pulled on her clean clothes.

Atem snorted but said nothing more before he rose to his feet and once again trotted back to the clearing at Yami's side. "I'm not going to confine you to the den while I am gone, however under no circumstances do I want you leaving the clearing. Yesterday more than anything highlighted how dangerous living as we do can be. Feel free to do some sewing with the ladies or to visit with Kisara. I will see you when I get back." Atem replied before leaning back on his hind legs so he was practically standing his front paws unexpectedly landing on Yami's shoulders.

Yami quirked a brow, "And just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Yami asked.

Atem snorted once more before his tongue flicked out a few times licking Yami's face. "Kissing my mate good-bye of course. And since I've returned to my true form you can't even complain about it." Atem replied.

Yami rolled her eyes, "And you couldn't have possibly shifted for three seconds you ass?" Yami inquired doing her absolute best to ignore the fact she could feel her cheeks heating at the gesture.

"No time for that." Atem replied before he slipped back onto the ground before bounding through the clearing, momentarily joined by three other wolves before heading out towards the Eastern boundary.

Yami headed briefly into the den to toss her dirty clothes in a pile of stuff that she was eventually going to have wash...somehow before she grabbed Atem's pants and slung them over her shoulder and headed back out into the clearing.

It was still mid morning yet it appeared that Serenity and Mana were already all set up and had begun their own day of sewing.

"Morning." Yami greeted before she took a seat beside the pair.

"Good morning." Serenity greeted.

Mana smiled, although the smile was a strained one no doubt brought on by the member of their little sewing group that was clearly missing. "We haven't seen you in a few days. Where did you and Alpha disappear off to?" Mana asked.

Yami snorted, "Atem and I spent some time together in Domino." Yami said, her cheeks once again blushing. She really needed to stop getting so embarrassed when it came to discussing her and Atem's...mating.

Serentiy smiled, "That must have been nice. Did you have a good time?" Serenity asked.

Mana snorted, "Forget having a good time. What I want to know is how you managed to convince my brother to set a single foot in Domino City? When he was a pup he swore that he would never, willingly, wander into Domino City in his weak human skin. So, what's your secret?" Mana asked.

Yami couldn't help but laugh, "Believe it or not it was actually his idea that we go. I most certainly wasn't going to say no." Yami said.

Mana proved that she could do an excellent impression of a fish, she just sat next to Yami openly gaping at her as she seemed to struggle to find some words. Yami laughed harder. Serenity even giggled.

All three were caught off guard as Kisara plopped down on the ground beside Mana, sticking her with a needle as she did. "Ow! What was that for?" Mana shouted as she rubbed at her sore thigh.

"You were gaping like a fish and I didn't want you swallowing another wasp so I figured it would be a good idea to snap you out of whatever you were shocked by." Kisara replied. All three women could clearly hear the false cheer Kisara had put into her tone.

Mana pouted, "We were only pups and I believe it was your idiot mate who had dared me to keep my mouth open to see if I could get a wasp to fly in." Mana grumbled.

Kisara just shook her head fondly before she turned her attention onto some new pieces of fabric before grabbing some grey material and beginning to measure out fabric using her arm to measure.

Yami watched Kisara work in amazement she was the only one Yami had ever seen make clothes from scratch, everyone else typically worked on repairing clothes that had already been made. "Is it hard, making clothes from scratch?" Yami asked.

Kisara shrugged, "I suppose it was difficult at first but with practice you can get good at it. I've been doing it for awhile now. I started making them for Seto because he dealt a lot more with the human world than anyone else really did so he needed to have clothes that would allow him to fit in. And then, well with Mokuba and Noa..." Kisara trailed off as her voice cracked before she cleared it, "It was a skill that I needed so I worked very hard at it." Kisara finished.

Yami bit her lip before she awkwardly set Atem's pants aside. This was probably an outright terrible idea but Yami decided to just plow right in before she chickened out. "Maybe, you could teach me since I really need to learn now." Yami said slowly.

"Planning on getting Alpha to spend even more time in his human form are you?" Mana inquired which had Yami rolling her own eyes before she poked Mana with the needle.

"No, well...maybe, but I bought him enough clothes that he should be good for awhile. But, that's not what I meant." Yami said.

"Then what did you mean?" Kisara inquired.

Yami bit her lip before she blurted out, "Last night Atem told me that we're going to have puppies. So, I should probably..." Yami trailed off with a shrug, her eyes drifted down to her lap. That was probably the absolute dumbest thing that she had ever...

"Your having pups! That's wonderful news!" Kisara squealed.

"Congratulations." Serenity said.

Mana actually threw her arms around Yami's shoulders hugging her. "That's amazing. I'm so happy for you both." Mana practically sang.

Yami blushed, "I know that I probably shouldn't have said anything...given..." Yami trailed off awkwardly.

Kisara rolled her eyes, "And I thank you for the consideration. Truly I do, but this is happy news. And to be honest, after yesterday this pack could use some happy news." Kisara said before she turned her attention onto the other two, "Well, I don't know about you but I think us four will have our work cut out for us. There is a lot of stuff we'll need to get ready for the new pups." Kisara said.

Mana grinned, "I can't wait to see them. They'll be so tiny." Mana cooed.

Serenity nodded, "And they'll be coming just before the winter. We'll have to make sure there is plenty of things to keep them warm." Serenity said.

Kisara nodded before she started digging through the different fabrics, "We should probably start with making some blankets. There is no such thing as too many blankets." Kisara said before she started shoving fabrics in Yami's direction, "Pick out what you'd like so together we can get started."

Mana nodded, "That's right. You'll come to find out that we are a tight knit community. You aren't going to have to do this on your own. We're all here to help you." Mana said.

Yami nodded, "Well, okay then. Let's get sewing." Yami declared as she grabbed some nice soft blue fabric out of the pile.

XXXXXXXX

Atem and the other Weres quickly made their way towards the Eastern boundary. Atem came to a stop, puzzled when they had made it all the way to the base of the Eastern Mountain and there hadn't been a single wolf sighting.

The last time he and Seto had been out they'd had no difficultly tracking down the invading wolves. Hell, they'd practically stumbled on them and the other wolves had made it plain that they had no reason to hide. Claiming they'd had as much right if not more so to the woods than the Weres had.

"Fan out. They should be around here somewhere. Howl when you find them." Atem ordered before he began to bound up the Eastern Mountain. It didn't take him long to reach the peak and Atem glanced around to see if he could catch a glimpse of a hunting wolf pack in the open meadow not far from the waterfall which made up a portion of the rive which passed over the Eastern Mountain.

From his perch Atem could clearly make out a couple of doe that were picking their way through the meadow and over towards the river to get a drink. There weren't any wolves that he was able to see.

"ANY LUCK?" Atem howled.

"NO ALPHA!" Marik howled back.

"NO LUCK WITH ME EITHER ALPHA!" Malik howled.

Atem waited for several moments for Akefia to reply. When he didn't Atem howled again, "AKEFIA! ANY LUCK?!" And again Atem waited for Akefia to reply. This time however Akefia did not leave him waiting for long.

"ALPHA YOU NEED TO COME AND TAKE A LOOK AT THIS!" Akefia howled.

"ON MY WAY!" Atem howled back before he quickly began to descend the mountain, Malik and Marik were waiting for him at the base of the mountain and they silently fell into step beside him before heading to the south where Akefia had been looking.

It didn't take the trio long to reach Akefia. "What is it? What did you find?" Atem asked.

"This way Alpha." Akefia barked before he turned and ran back into the woods with Atem and the others hot on his heals before he suddenly skidded to a stop. Not far past the river there was a dead animal. And it looked like a dead Were.

Atem frowned as he trotted closer to the dead animal and briefly sniffing him. "This kill is still fresh. Probably was killed right around night fall." Atem said.

"But what killed it Alpha?" Malik asked.

Atem nudged the dead Were with his snout, turning the corpse onto its back revealing that the animal had been completely eviscerated.

"Do you think it was a hunting accident?" Marik asked as he came to stand beside Atem.

Atem shook his head, "No. For starters what was this Were even doing in our territory? It isn't one of ours and the other territory is 60 miles from here."

"That's not the only thing I wanted you to see Alpha." Akefia said.

Atem turned to where Akefia was looking a blood covered hunting knife on the ground. Atem frowned, "There was a human here? A human who encountered and killed a Were." Atem said before he turned his attention onto sniffing the ground before he felt that the situation was worse than he had thought. There were three different blood scents in this area. The dead Were. Another Were which took off to the North, injured. And a human who left the fight bloody and heading to the South towards Domino City.

"What do you want us to do Alpha?" Malik asked.

Atem straightened up, "For now I want you and Marik to head back to the clearing. Have Seto get in contact with Ishizu. Tell her to be on the look out because there might be another human that was bitten by a Were, assuming the human didn't drown while attempting to cross the river while wounded. Akefia you and me are going to venture into the Wolf pack terrority to the East of our, see if we can find out what exactly happened that had them clearing off." Atem said.

"Do you want me to tell Seto about the Weres?" Malik asked.

Atem nodded, "Yes. Its for the best that Seto has all the information at his disposal. I also want the pack on high alert. No one and I mean no one is leaving the clearing alone until we figure out what the hell is going on here." Atem growled.

"And, what about the human Alpha?" Marik asked.

Atem snorted, "What about him? They are more than likely dead somewhere in this forest. Yes, that might be a problem and people might come looking. Or they survived and were bitten. We don't know. And unless Ishizu calls us we are going to just assume they are dead. I'm more concerned about the wounded Were that's in our territory." Atem said.

"Right." Malik replied before he and Marik took off heading back towards the clearing whereas Atem and Akefia headed east to find the wolf pack that had invaded their territory.