Gabby woke to the feel of a hard, cool plastron against her cheek. His breath was deep and even, but Gabby knew he wasn't sleeping. He was lethargic. He didn't want to get up and face the day. Gabby knew his grief. She knew how shocking and unpleasant a death could be. She knew she had to get him up and facing the day.
"You're going to be late." She said.
"I ain't goin'." He replied.
"Yes you are." She answered.
"I can't." He said, his soft voice a testament to his suffering.
"Yes you can." She replied. She ran her fingers over the plates of his plastron, tracing the grooves that allowed the turtles to bend and flex. Her nails tested the hard edges and her finger tips slid gently over each pattern that was as unique as a finger print. "I know it's hard to realize she won't be there at the end of the day. I know it's going to hurt, but there are still people that depend on you. People that also lost last night and you need to be there for them. Share yourself with them and they will be there for you in return. Go there. Do your job. I promise you won't regret it."
Raph sighed. He didn't want to get out of bed. He didn't want to release the warm body next to him. He didn't want to face the wintery sunlight when he felt so dull, but Gabby was telling him he had to, and there was nothing he wouldn't do for his Gabby. He rolled out of bed and readied himself for the day. Gabby followed him out of the room and promised to meet him at the Medical center after breakfast. His face was sad and tired but he still gave her hair an affectionate tug. Telling her without words that he appreciated everything she had done for him.
Raph ate breakfast and walked to the medical center. He stopped at the front door. He didn't want to go in. He didn't want to finish his day without the bright little girl that no longer existed. He felt a hand slip into his and when he looked down he was surprised to see Gracie instead of Gabby.
"I knew Gabby was going to be late." She said in way of explanation. She gently tugged on his hand, leading him in through the door. Nurse Mae met him with a tight and rather unexpected hug that he eagerly returned. Mae felt his pain. Mae knew what it was like to no longer see Julia at the end of the day. When Mae finally stepped back she brushed a stray tear from her cheek.
"Back to it." Was all she said and off they went. Raph found comfort in helping the others. Keeping his hands and mind busy helped but it was the words of encouragement from the patients that eased his grief. It was their gratitude for his presence that lifted his spirit. Every one of the patients had something kind to say about him or about the sweet little girl who had nearly lived in that medical compound for three years. When the end of the day came, Gabby finally met him in the waiting room.
"I thought you were gonna be here today." He said. He was a little hurt that she would be off somewhere else when he needed her support.
"I've been busy." She replied. "Come on, everyone is waiting."
Raph was surprised to find he wasn't the only one following Gabby out of the medical center. An assortment of doctors, nurses, and even patients were following them. They traveled through the forest for a good couple of miles into a clearing he had never seen before. There was a large wooden pyre in the center. Raph had attended a wolf burial before. He knew it was Julia's funeral pyre. He didn't have a lot of time to observe it though. Gabby was pulling him forward to a place off to the side where a lot of people had gathered. As tall as he was, Raph didn't have a lot of trouble seeing what it was.
"I spent all day making it." Gabby said as he looked at the monument. It held all of the pictures from her room in the medical center as well as her stuffed animals and pictures of her and her family. There were trinkets and toys and everything that Julia had loved. Raph didn't have words. He just looked on, tears blurring his vision as he struggled to keep them from spilling over. There was a lone howl and everyone lined the path to the pyre as the two Alphas came forward down the path, followed by the weeping mother who held Julia's frail body dressed in a white gown. Raph saw the confused little boy who kept a hand on his mother's skirts. It was Julia's little brother and he didn't understand. Five years old was too young to understand why his mommy hurt so bad and where his sister had gone. Raph's heart went out to him. He couldn't imagine what the little boy was going through.
Julia's body was placed on the pyre and the Alphas said words over her body. They took the torch and lit the dry wood which quickly caught flame until it was a raging inferno rising high into the dark night. As one, the Thompson pack shifted and sent their mournful cries to the heavens. Raph even heard the shrill cry of the wolf pup tucked between his mother's hind legs. At the sound, his mother turned and began to lick over his head and back. She comforted her child and Raph knew that though she would always miss her daughter, she would survive and go on to raise her son with love and devotion and that gave him a sense of peace. He looked around and he saw what it was to be a wolf. He saw what it was to be a family, to be a pack. Fur brushed fur, tongues soothed, yips and cries and whines echoed through the forest in a symphony of love and support. He looked at Gabby, whose hand was wrapped tightly around her younger sisters. Their eyes were solemn, their bonds echoed with sadness and for the first time he wondered if they had even had a chance to say goodbye to their family and friends who had died the day their pack fell. He doubted Aiden would have allowed a funeral though Raph knew he would have had to burn the bodies to destroy any evidence. Had their family ever had a chance to grieve? He scowled. That man had taken too much from them. Too much.
Raph, Gabby, and Gracie didn't stay long. They weren't part of the Thompson Pack and were there only to pay their respect to their friend. They decided to head out and let the pack celebrate her life in peace. On their way to the path, Julia's mom stopped Raph.
"I wanted to thank you." She said softly. "You brightened Julia's day every time you visited her. She felt so special knowing an Alpha pair would take the time to play with her. She adored you."
Raph, as always, couldn't find the words, but the ever eloquent Gabby saved him. "She was our favorite part of every day." Gabby told the woman. "It was hard for me to get Raph to go back to the center today. We'll both miss her and we are so sorry for your loss."
The woman eyed them curiously for a minute. She noted the compassion in the voice of the She-Alpha and the tearful eyes and pained expression of the Alpha. She knew how much her little girl had meant to them in that moment and in that moment she saw the strength of the Alpha pair. They would lead well in their time as Alphas. The woman briefly touched both of their arms and then returned to her pack, only to be replaced by the Alpha pair.
"It's hard to lose a member of your pack." Carl spoke with a weariness that was unusual for him. "I hope you never have to experience it, though I know you eventually must. I've seen you bear this tragedy with grace and humility and compassion though, and I must say I'm impressed with you Raphael. You're not the same person you were when you came to us a few months ago. I honestly thought it would take longer for you to assimilate but it's almost as if you were born to be one of us. You have one final station I want you to take up before you start training under me. Starting Monday I want you in the child care center. Children are the future of every pack and they are our greatest joy. I know you were close to Julia. Hopefully you can become close to the other children too."
Raph silently nodded his agreement. The Alphas took their leave and Gabby, Gracie, and Raph walked back home. It had been a trying day and he felt both physically and emotionally wrung out. They didn't run that night. They didn't talk either. Gabby licked over the cracks in his shell for the last time and then curled up next to him in her wolf form. She listened to his steady heartbeat and the sound of the air flowing in and out of his lungs. She jumped a little when Raph started running his fingers through her fur. He had never petted her before. She quickly relaxed though as he gently ran his hand up and down her spine and around her neck and ears. Without even trying, he eased all of the tension from her muscles and the worry and sadness from her mind. All she could think about was the gentle touch. Before she knew it, she was asleep.
Raph was nervous. Other than Julia he had never spent a second with a kid and he was standing in the doorway watching two dozen kids under ten romp around the room. It looked like a war zone and the matronly women at the table watched affectionately. Raph felt a nudge against the back of his shell and he looked down at Gabby who was looking at him like Christmas had come early. She was practically vibrating with excitement. He hadn't realized she loved kids so much. Steeling himself, he stepped forward, approaching the women and introducing himself and Gabby.
"Glad to meet you." The head provider, Pauline said. "As you can see, we have our work cut out for us." Raph watched a pair of five year olds fighting over the same toy. One shifted and lunged at the other and a brawl started, the toy lay forgotten. One of the women headed over and pulled them apart, scolding them as she did so.
"I don't know about kids." Raph told the woman.
"Don't worry. You will." Promised Pauline with a twinkle in her eye. She moved off to supervise an activity and the other two women gathered the younger children to start some arts and crafts.
"We'll start you off with some of the older kids." Gabby said leading him toward a different section of the room where a handful of kids age eight to ten were playing. Gabby brought Raph over and introduced them.
"Hey guys. I'm Gabby and this is Raph. We're here to hang out."
A chorus of hellos was their reply and they went right back to what they were doing. Raph soon found out that the older kids didn't need much hands on help as he thought. They were pretty independent and good at finding their own things to do. He worked on finding out their names like he had done for the patience in the medical center. There weren't as many of the older kids at the center as there were of the younger kids and so he learned their names pretty quickly which helped with getting everyone to behave. There was hitting and kicking and taking other people's things and not a single kid there seemed to feel the need to clean up after themselves so Raph spent the whole day chasing after kids like a maid, trying to clean up after them and keep them off of each other. By the end of the day, he was exhausted but the high fives he had gotten from some of the boys there at the end of the day gave him a strange sense of accomplishment.
Each day that week, Raph watched a different age group. Seven and six year olds loved playing games and were so high energy but Raph loved their eagerness and their creativity. Five and four year olds did a lot of arts and crafts and playing on the slides and read books and all of them wanted Raph's attention. He thought they were adorable. Raph was mostly in a panic when he was with the two and three year olds. They were so tiny and they seemed not so coordinated and they cried a lot more but he got through it. Gabby was there the next day when they laid a newborn infant in his arms for the first time. Pauline instructed him how to hold the head and support the body and as she backed away, leaving Raph holding the infant independently. The little boy looked into his eyes and smiled. Raph couldn't help but smile down at the little bundle. It was a strange feeling having something so small and helpless in his arms. He felt like he would break the thing if he moved. He looked over at Gabby who beamed with pride. Raph had come so far from the gruff and moody person he had been. He was becoming an Alpha.
When Sunday finally came around Ralph relished his day off. As soon as the sun came up, he began working on Gabby's carving. It was almost done and be would be able to finish it that day if there weren't any interruptions. He looked at the piece. It was a beautiful whitetail buck, head turned and ears forward. He had been very careful, wanting to produce his best work for his she-alpha. All he needed to do was finish the antlers and put a couple coats of stain on it and it would be finished. He worked diligently and after nearly two hours of meticulous carving, he applied the first coat of stain. With a smile, he got up and headed for the kitchens where he knew he could find food and also his youngest brother who had really taken to the kitchens. He could use a good training session and he wanted to check in with master splinter as well.
Gracie stood in the forest in her wolf form. Her ears were forward and her body was tense. There was a rabbit up ahead and she wanted it bad. She slowly stalked forward until the rabbit bolted. She took off after it, the snow crunching beneath her feet. The beginning of April had brought warmer temperatures and while the snow hadn't melted away, it had softened and then frozen again in the night. Gracie ignored it though and she closed in on her terrified prey. With a leap, she grabbed the rabbit and ended it with a quick shake of her head. She tore in to her fresh kill, loving her freedom and her ability to stretch her legs and do something for once. She consumed her kill and rolled around in the snow to clean her fur. This was the life. This is what they needed.
Hunger satisfied, Gracie decided to do some exploring. She had been feeling restless lately but she chalked it up to the fact that spring was coming. She had always loved spring. She wandered around for a while, sniffing here and there and occasionally digging into the slowly softening ground. She meandered until she found a beautiful secluded stream with a pool that was fed by a frozen over waterfall. She was sure it was an excellent swimming hole in the summer. After a while, she grew bored and returned to the compound. She didn't want to shift back to her human form so she stayed a wolf as she wandered through the halls of the compound, looking for something to satisfy her restlessness. She just about jumped out of her skin when a cold nose slipped under her tail and nudged at her swollen pussy. A sharp lance of pleasure drove through her and then realization dawned on her. Her first heat had started.
Gracie stood face to face with the weary male. He was interested but he was a Beta, and not the strongest of them. Trying to breed the Storm female would be tricky but she was young and maybe that would be enough. He sniffed at her face, licking her and nuzzling her fur. Her scent was driving him crazy with need but he knew she would need persuading. She relaxed marginally and he nipped at her playfully. She pranced in response, her tail wagging, spreading more of her tantalizing heat scent through the air. The strange male continued to play with her like a puppy and she found herself more and more excited. He managed to swipe his tongue over her sensitive flesh and she flagged her tail to the side, instinctively inviting him in. The male mounted her from behind and she stood for him, her mind lost in her heat. She felt the pointed tip of a wolf cock against her untouched pussy and she tensed in anticipation. There was a sudden and vicious growl and the weight of her partner was gone. Gracie turned around to see Jayden towering over the other male. Her pussy clenched at the sight and her tail wagged at the arrival of a stronger and better male.
The scent was driving Jayden crazy. He had followed it to its source and, to his delight, found it to be the feisty and beautiful Gracie of the Storm pack. Jayden knew this was her first heat by the way she was acting. Most girls would have remained in human form and immediately headed for the denning rooms. Gracie didn't seem to have that need as a pregnancy resulting from a first heat was almost unheard of. Jayden knew he could breed her with almost no consequence. His mind flashed to his friend and her Alpha, Raph. Would he be angry? Would Gabby? The lesser male quickly fled as his better contemplated what to do and Gracie approached and nipped at his face. Jayden growled but that only seemed to excite Gracie more. Her scent was all around him. It was overpowering and his cock began to protrude from its sheath. Still he didn't move, still he contemplated. Gracie, however, seemed to be unstoppable. She was all over him, rubbing and sniffing and nipping him. She noticed his cock protruding from his sheath and she ran her tongue over it, causing his hips to jerk forward. With a growl he turned and buried his muzzle in her pretty wolf pussy. She trembled as he lapped at her flowing juices and she whimpered and held her tail to the side, begging to be mounted. Jayden couldn't contain himself any longer. He mounted her and lined himself up. A few soft thrusts coated the tip of his cock with her juices and then he thrust hard, impaling her on his thick wolf cock. She yelped at the harsh intrusion as her virgin pussy was stretched. He was pounding into her like an animal, rutting at a pace that quickly replaced her pain with pleasure. She felt his knot begin to swell and his thrusts shortened as he pinned her in place. It was more than anything she had ever imagined. She felt her orgasm build and, with a particularly violent thrust, Jayden sent her over the edge. She howled her release as her walls milked ropes of cum from Jayden. He stilled inside her, quickly dropping from her back and turning so his knot was wedged at her opening, keeping his seed locked inside of her. Every once in a while, his cock would jump, causing her walls to pulse around him. At this rate, they would never untie. Slowly Jayden softened until her was able to pull free. Gracie yelped in pain as he left her body. Then two figures came around the corner and Gracie's stomach dropped. It was her Alphas.
Gabby had gotten there too late to stop the breeding. She had scented her sister at the entrance to the compound and immediately called for Raph. A first heat was a delicate matter and the odds of an Alpha challenge against Gabby was extremely likely if she went alone. She needed Raph there to subdue Gracie and run off any interested males. By the time Raph had gotten to her and they had tracked Gracie down, the wolf they recognized as Jayden was pistoning in and out of her. Gabby had to stop Raph from going over there and ripping the two apart.
"It's too late." Gabby said into his mind. "His knot will already be too big to separate them." She didn't need to look into his mind to see how angry he was. His expression said it all. He knew a male looking to breed with a female of another pack needed permission, and Jayden had overlooked that. The fact that he was a good friend of Raph's made it worse.
Gabby wanted to join Raph in his anger towards the pair but she understood. She had been so busy with Raph and getting him trained up as an Alpha that she hadn't paid close enough attention to the rest of her pack. She should have seen the signs of Gracie's heat well before Gracie was far enough gone to lift tail for any male to walk by. Gracie didn't know what to do. She didn't know what it felt like. She tried to explain to Raph that this was an extreme situation. That the needed to handle it calmly. He took a deep breath and she relaxed a little. Hopefully this wouldn't be a big blow out. She shifted to her wolf form as she saw Jayden finally slide out of her sister. She moved forward, Raph at her side.
Gracie growled, scare of what her sister would have to say about this but she got no aggression in return. Gabby kept her dominant posture but she soothed Gracie with her mind and encouraged her to come to her. Gracie made a few tentative steps forward and then hurried to her sister's side where she apologetically licked at her chin and pressed in to her side. Gabby checked her sister over, making sure she wasn't harmed by the rough breeding. She sniffed at her hind end, scenting blood, she lapped at the bruised flesh. Raph's jaw dropped as he watched Gabby lick her sister there.
"I'm healing her. This isn't weird for us." Gabby told him. "You just worry about Jayden."
Raph pierced Jayden with an angry stare. He had shifted to human and stood naked in front of him, waiting for his verdict.
"That's my packmate." Raph said pointedly. "You had no right to her without coming to me first."
"I'm sorry, Raph. I lost my head." Jayden said.
"You're lucky I don't kick the shit out of you right here." Raph growled. "If it wasn't for Gabby I would. As it stands, you and I are going to go a few rounds tomorrow in the training room."
Jayden couldn't believe he was getting off so easy. It wasn't like Raph to hold back his anger when it was well deserved.
"I'm going to have to talk to Carl." Raph said. He watched fear flit across Jayden's face but he only nodded. "Now leave before I decide you need some sense knocked into you right now." Jayden didn't need to be told twice. He quickly shifted back to wolf and headed for the Alpha wing of the compound. Knowing Jayden, he was off to have his own talk with Carl before Raph could get to him. Jayden wasn't a bad guy and he was always good for owning up to his mistakes. Raph let out a long, exasperated breath before turning to look at his two pack members who were cuddled together. His expression softened and he knelt down, running his hands over Gracie's back. He could smell her now. The pheromones were enough to make his cock twitch but he had stood strong throughout Gabby's entire heat and this wasn't as bad as that yet.
"You okay, champ?" He asked her. She nodded and then left her sister's side to cuddle Raph and lick him in apology as she had done with Gabby. He put his arms around her and rested his chin on her head, reassuring her that he wasn't angry with her. He gave her a pat and then stood. "Let's go pick a denning room for you." He said.