The world was spinning. Leo had definitely had too much to drink. He sat on the couch, his head tipped back, trying to keep himself from throwing up.
"You okay?" The soft feminine voice came from beside him. He tensed, ready for her to start in on him but she waited patiently for his answer.
"Spins." He finally replied.
Riley looked at the turtle in blue. His eyes were staring up as though if he turned his gaze anywhere else, the world world would fall apart. She herself was barely holding on. Her body tingled and her head swam. At lest her vision wasn't too effected. She stared at his face, taking in his strong jaw line, the bright blue eyes, and the sensuous curve of his lower lip. She wanted a taste.
"You've been quiet tonight." Leo commented, trying to keep his mind off of his churning stomach.
"I'm not always annoying." She replied. "Just to you."
He frowned, still not moving his gaze. "Why?"
"Tryina get to your beast." She said. His frown deepened but he said nothing. In her drunken state, her adopted mother's words came back to her and quick as a snake, she was up on her knees straddling his lap.
Riley's face appeared in his vision as she loomed over him. Her hips and stomach were pressed against the upper part of his plastron and her hands rested on his powerful shoulder. On one side, her fingers traced the line of a tendon in his neck. His eyes focused in on hers.
"What-" he started but she brought her lips to his in a fiery kiss. Leo couldn't even breathe. He'd been kissed before but the way her soft lips moved against his and the way her tongue darted out to taste him was almost enough to sober him up. Until he smelled her arousal at any rate. He had noticed his much sharper sense of smell since the Great One had blessed them, and now he thanked his lucky stars because there was no better smell than the warm white chocolate scent that was coming off of her. He made a noise he had never made before, another noise he wouldn't have been able to make unless he could change his vocal chords like a shifter. A deep churr rolled from his chest as his cock hardened.
Riley pulled away a bit, eyeing him nervously. The noise he was making wasn't a growl, she had already heard that before, but it was still deep and kind of rumbly and she wasn't sure what it meant. His eyes opened as his hands came up to wrap around her hips. They were flecked with green, the deep forest green of his dragon. Her heart leapt but the sound of her brothers voices returning from the kitchen had him thrusting her off of him, rising, and staggering out of the room. She beat a hasty retreat as well, hoping the scent of her arousal would dissipate a little without her there. She went to her room and locked the door. She quickly undressed and crawled into bed. She found her own release that night, as she always did, but her mind replayed the cool flesh of Leo's hands gripping her hips as she ran her lips over his. He had lost control tonight. He had been out of his mind drunk, but that was two incidences in one day. She was willing to bet that if she had run, the predator in him would have burst free to hunt her. Her body thrilled at the thought.
Leo woke with a pounding headache from the craziest dream. He dreamed he was chasing the white wolf through the snow covered forest. He knew that if only he could catch her, her could have her. He stretched, the vividness of his dream fading, though his arousal was still sharp, and four legs moved. He froze and looked down, realizing he was in his dragon form. Joy rocketed through him but then he was suddenly Leo again. Plain old boring mutant turtle Leo. He sighed as he sat up, the bright light of the morning blazing in through the tall windows in the upstairs living room he had run to when he had needed to retreat. His stomach dropped as he remembered his tormentors lips on his, her body pressed close, and the delicious smell of her arousal. No wonder he'd had that dream. He took another deep breath, squinting against the bright light, and stood. His stomach churned but he'd be alright. He just really needed some water. He quietly wandered downstairs to the kitchen. He was the only one awake. He slammed a glass of water, and then another. He quickly made himself some toast. He buttered it and ate it over the garbage, not wanting to get crumbs everywhere or dirty a plate. When he'd finished, he turned to check on his pack only to jump a foot. A woman he knew to be Margie was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, silently watching him.
"Congratulations." She said, her face passive.
"For what?" Leo asked.
"Your first shift." She replied. "Even if it was in your sleep."
He frowned. She must have seen him in dragon form on the couch before he woke.
"It doesn't count if I'm sleeping." He replied.
"Sure it does. It means your beast is strong. It pushes out when you let go of your inhibitions." The woman twittered as she moved into the kitchen, filling her kettle and starting the stove.
"Then why did I change back right away." He asked.
"Not right away. Only when you realized you were in dragon form. You changed back because you were afraid and when you're afraid you like to organize every aspect of yourself into nice neat little boxes. Get all your ducks in a perfect row, so to speak." She said as she gathered her tea mug and some cream and sugar.
"I wasn't scared, I was happy that I had been able to change." Leo said.
"It is possible to be happy and afraid all at once. Ever been kissed by someone you really like? Overjoyed that they like you enough to kiss you, terrified you're going to mess it up." She sighed. "Oh to be young again." Leo wasn't sure if she was talking about her past or if she knew what had happened between him and Riley last night. The witch seemed to know everything that went on in her house. "Tea?" She asked him as the kettle began to whistle.
Leo accepted a steaming mug and they sat together at the table. "I've never let that part of me control my life." Leo explained. "It just felt too wild and I didn't want to end up…" He trailed off, trying to put into word what he had always felt would happen if he let that other part of him out.
"Like your brother, Raphael?" She offered.
Leo chuckled. "Well that's one way to put it."
"Raph is a special case. He has a very dominant beast and unlike yourself he never had the patience to try to control it, he just let it take over whenever he was angry or upset or scared. He struggles with it now. Riley's told me he's prone to accidental shifting when he gets too stressed, especially if Gabby isn't with him. Your relationship with your beast would be different, Leonardo, if you would only give him a chance. Your brothers have learned balance with their beasts and neither of them are off their rockers or overly emotional. The beast is you, Leo, and you are the beast. You don't need to fear it."
Leo sipped his tea and pondered her words with a scowl. What did she know? Did she have an animal living inside her? He was distracted as Saffron and Donnie walked in, both yawning.
"We gotta get back, Leo." She said. "I'm sure the builders are here and started already." Saffron said.
"Ronnie's right." He sighed to the older woman. "Thank you for the tea." He stood and put his half empty mug in the sink. The soft grey eyes just smiled at him behind her cup.
They went outside to the car, a hungover Jayden in tow. "Where's Mikey?" Leo asked, looking around.
"I'm sure Melody will bring him home." Saffron said. "We gotta get moving." They piled into the SUV with tinted windows and drove off.
Mikey awoke when the sun was beating down on his face through a gap in the foliage. He lifted his head and shook it out, making the ears he wasn't used to flap. He looked around, his brown eyes alert. He had chased Melody around all night in a merry game of hide and seek and though they had collapsed in a pile together and fallen asleep on the forest floor, she was nowhere to be seen. He inhaled deeply, trying to catch her scent, which still lingered where her fur had been touching him. He stood up, stretching like a dog, and then followed her scent. He walked for a little way and then stopped dead. She was in human form, her clothes piled on the shore of a spring that welled up into a little pond and a stream. She was swimming. Naked. He quickly shifted and called out, not wanting to startle her. She waved him over.
"You sleep okay last night?" She asked, her body gliding gracefully through the extremely clear water. "I know it can be weird waking up in your animal form."
"I slept great. You really wore me out. Are all cats as good at hide and seek as you are?" He asked. She just grinned and have a little shrug as her feet settled on the rocky bottom.
"Are you going to come swimming?" She asked.
"I, uh, actually gotta get going." He hedged. He didn't want her to know he had a boner.
She grinned. "I'll bring you back." And before he could so much as blink, she was walking out of the water, revealing her gloriously naked body. Her breasts had to have been even bigger than Gabby's with an ass to match. Her stomach was soft and a little rounded. Mikey had always had a thing for thick girls. Her curves made his mouth go dry. He couldn't move a muscle as he watched her put her clothes back on. She finally came to walk past him, pecking his cheek before moving on. Mikey turned and watched her go, shocked. Then he realized he was supposed to be following her and hurried to catch up. He watched her shift a few feet ahead of him and he quickly followed suit, chasing after her the whole way back to the mansion.
Melody and Mikey both shifted when they got back, noticing that the SUV the turtles had come in was gone.
"Guess you're lucky I'm still here." Melody said as she slid into the car. He climbed into the back seat, hidden by the tinted windows.
"I had a good time last night." Mikey said, feeling a little bit awkward.
"Mmmm." She hummed. Mikey thought he heard a little bit of a purr in there but he thought maybe he was imagining things. She was so confusing and hard to decipher sometimes. Even though she felt like part of the pack, she had always been mostly quiet, preferring to observe rather than be the center of attention. The few times he'd been able to drag out her more playful nature, he'd had the time of his life though. He knew there was a lot under that quiet, inquisitive face she put out there. Her playful boldness that morning had been enough to prove that. He was going to crack her shell, if it was the last thing he ever did.
The week had passed mostly smoothly as August faded into September. The Alpha House had been finished and oh what a house it was. Four flours, including the basement, and huge ceiling to floor picture windows gave a lot of space and a lot of light. The very top floor was designed only for the Alpha pair. It held a stone and wood luxury bathroom attached to a master bedroom large enough to throw a party in. One wall had huge windows looking out on the private lake and another wall had a bay window with a reading nook, as they had discovered Gabby loved to read though she didn't get the chance often in the war.
If you left the master bedroom, you walked out into a hallway and the first door on the left was a smaller warm and cozy den, with their own personal entertainment center full of games, movies, and a computer on a desk off against the wall. The next door, which was on the right, was the second door to the master bathroom. The three doors after that were extra rooms, set up as guest rooms now, but intended for use as nurseries and children's rooms in the future. The next door down was a meditation room, and then, at the end of the hallway, there was a room that held a large hot tub, a stone platform complete with stairs encasing it. Gabby had been adamant about it and they knew why. The number of times they had walked in on Raph burying himself inside of her on the ledge of the very similar hot tub at the last compound was a little bit obscene.
On the other end of the hallway, the stairs led down to the second floor. This floor held a kitchenette, a couple bedrooms, the laundry room, a huge living area, and a couple bathrooms. People could come there and relax.
Another set of stairs led down to the first floor, where a large, warm entryway split off into a huge kitchen which connected to a dining room with a huge oak table. The entryway also gave direct access to a good sized den with a fireplace and then a hallway led off to conference rooms they would be using this floor for business and high ranking meetings that would need the relatively intimate space the Alpha house alone could provide. Larger meeting and classrooms were going to be built in the red center.
The basement was something Raph had requested and the other turtles had latched onto like leeches. A turtle man cave. It reflected a bit on the lair they'd had to leave back over half of a year ago. It was the only floor that didn't match the rustic homey feel of the rest of the house. It had brick and cement walls, cement floors, and a couple arches that led off to a couple different rooms, including Donnie's personal lab, a weapons room, and a meditation room besides the main hang out space. They all couldn't wait til Raph got back so they could start decorating it, bringing a little bit of New York City back to the Minnesota Country.
The towering walls of the four story rec center were now standing as well. This building was made of brick and cement and could hold all of the pack within a hundred miles in case of a disaster. It was the only building on the premises besides the medical building that didn't have a rustic feel to it. That's not to say some of the rooms inside of it wouldn't have that rustic, homey feel, but the outside screamed strength and durability.
Leo was more than happy with the progress. It meant he had one less thing to worry about. Other than the building project, he was managing all the wolves inside of the Minnesota state line, as Raph hadn't returned to dole out those wolves to other Alphas yet. Every question, every problem, every challenge had to go through him. Luckily he had an email set up but he spent a good part of his day meeting with concerned pack members wanting to know what would be done with them or their family or their children. Leo assured many of them that they would have some say in what happened to them. Jayden even stepped in to do some meetings with pack members because there were just too many.
On the up side, Riley hadn't shown up for days, seemingly tired of torturing him. While he could say that was an immense relief and it had improved his mood immensely, he wasn't sure her absence was quite as complete as it seemed. He'd been dreaming of her every night. Her wolf would stand before him, all white fur and silver eyes. He knew she was waiting, always waiting. He would wake up, restless and antsy before he wrestled his unruly emotions back into line and go back to sleep.
He had tried every day that week to shift again. Multiple times a day he tried with no success. He had never in his life failed to master something he had put his will against. He was beyond frustrated, though you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at him. As always, he kept his physical bearing under control.
Mikey, on the other hand, was showing his frustration by being surly with his brothers, and even Saffron. The usually social and friendly turtle had taken to going off alone and had been rather short with his brothers. Melody had returned to her territory the night after their hide and seek match and hadn't been in touch with any of them. She wouldn't answer texts or calls, and seeing as Mikey was trying to get to know her better, he was beyond frustrated.
That's why, after yet another week, when he heard someone approaching him in the woods he let out a warning growl in his chest.
"I know you're not growling at me, Michelangelo." A stern but familiar voice said. Mikey whipped around to see Gabby looking down at him, hands on her full hips, eyebrow raised. Raph stood a few feet back, his arms crossed, but there was a smile playing around the toothpick in his mouth.
"You're back!" Mikey cried. All frustration momentarily forgotten, he leapt to his feet and rushed forward, wrapping Gabby up in a big bear hug. When he set her down, he bumped fists with his older brother. "What's good, bruh?" He asked.
"Been waitin' on you, knuckle head." Raph answered. "We wanna see the house but it's hard to do it all together when your brother's missin'."
"Dude. It's so awesome. C'mon! C'mon!" He had Gabby's hand and was pulling her forward eagerly. He hadn't realized how much he missed those two. They seemed to have an ability to bring everyone together. They were the rock the pack leaned on and when they had to be separated from them, things just felt a little off.
Mikey hauled the two all the way back to the compound. The huge rec center was over half done. The equipment hadn't been brought in and the water and electricity weren't on yet but people were working in the interior on the lower floors as the builders were working frantically to finish the top floor and the roof. Because it wasn't quite done, Mikey skipped stopping to let them look up at it. He just dragged them forward to where the other brothers and Saffron stood waiting.
Leo was glad to see Raph. He knew it meant he had managed to direct and set up new territories out east alongside the Thompson Alpha. It also meant there was less people in their pack, less people to pull their focus in so many different directions. Really, though, Leo had just missed his brother. Despite their differences, Raph was his best friend. He was glad to see Mikey acting more like Mikey too. The last week had been hard with the most unfazeable of them acting so strangely.
"Seriously, guys." Mikey whined as Gabby and Saffron squealed and wrapped each other up in a tight hug. "I'm dying to show you this place. Can we go?"
Saffron stuck her tongue out at the turtle but then smiled indulgently as she disengaged from Gabby.
"Alright, orangey." Saffron said. "Lead the way."
Mikey lead them forward like an over eager puppy. If he'd been in his dragon form, his tail would've been wagging.
Raph could almost feel his heart physically swell in his chest as he walked in. Modern was great. He loved modern. However, the rich warm wood with the stone accents coupled with the up to date technology, appliances, and furniture screamed home and comfort. He couldn't have hoped to even dream of a home so well suited to him and his Gabby. He looked down at her, a full foot shorter than him, with her warm chocolate eyes sparkling with tears. He brushed her hair back, letting her know he was with her without intruding in her moment. He looked over and realized Saffron's hand was in hers and her blue eyes also sparked with tears. He realized that they were coming home to a compound that was theirs and theirs alone for the first time since their pack was overthrown by the False Alpha, Aiden. As he took everything in, Leo was talking to them about what they were seeing. Everything from the features of the kitchen to the kind of hardwood floors and even to where they had made small adjustments to the building plan. Raph couldn't have been more proud of his brother. He had paid a lot of attention to this project and that showed how much he cared.
The group moved to the next floor and then the others were left there as Saffron led them up to the Alpha floor. When she showed them the master bed and bath, they were ecstatic. When she showed them the den, they were happy. She showed her two of the three bedrooms and then walked her down past the third bedroom to the hot tub room where she could almost see Gabby swoon. Then she led them to the third bedroom.
"Raph, would you mind waiting out here? I decorated this room special and it's something I want me and Gabby to do together." Saffron said.
"Yer killin' me, Ronnie." He groaned, but he settled against the opposite wall so she took that as a green light. She covered Gabby's eyes with one hand and then opened the door with the other. She guided her in and faced her toward a wall. When she withdrew her hand, Gabby froze in shock. The entire wall was a collage of pictures.
"Where did you get these?" Gabby asked, her voice quiet, breathless even.
"I went to the old compound." She admitted. It had been abandoned for years, ever since Aiden had turned his gaze east.
Gabby's hand touched the smooth glass that covered a picture of her mom, dad, sister, brother, and herself. Her fingers traced to one of her uncle Tim and her sister fishing for trout. The next picture showed her and her siblings all proudly holding up little brook trout. She stepped back, her tears falling freely as she saw pictures she had thought long gone. She noticed there were a lot of more recent ones too. Her and Gracie making funny faces in her room back at the Thompson Compound. That must've been after Raph had broken her leg and she literally could do nothing but stay in her room. Gracie had made it her personal mission to keep her entertained. There was a picture of the turtles in the entertainment room, laughing and cheering as they played video games. There was a very recent picture of Gabby, obviously naked though none of her private areas were showing, with her arms resting on the platform of the hot tub at the last compound they had taken before killing Aiden. Her hair flowed around her and her head was resting on her arms. Her dark eyes burned with passion. It must have been that picture that Raph had taken. He would never admit it to anyone outside the family, but he loved photography, and he was really good at it. Again, her eyes wandered, this time landing on a picture from behind of Raph and Donnie sitting side by side on a long bench at the Thompson compound. In their wolf forms, Gabby and Saffron rested their front legs and their big heads on their lovers laps. Gabby knew Gracie had taken that picture. Another picture caught her eye. It was the boys with Master Splinter in the lair. They were eating breakfast but you could tell Master Splinter was saying something and they all were listening intently. She stepped back and took in the largest picture, set in the middle. It was all of them. They were at Raph's first hunt. It had been taken sometime after he had returned. Their spots of honor were all filled. Ten chairs held ten Storm members and each was as happy as they could be, talking among themselves and among the other members of the pack.
"It's beautiful." Gabby said, sliding into her friends outstretched arms. They cried together, grieving still for all they had ever lost. When the tears had slowed, Gabby called Raph in and together they looked over a few of the pictures there, Gabby pointing out her old friends and family and Raph pointing out good memories they'd had together in the last eight months. Saffron stood in the door until they turned to come out, not wanting to leave the turtles waiting downstairs.
"Welcome home, Gabby." Saffron said.
Gabby lit up her world with a dazzling smile. "You too, Ronnie."