It went down just as Gabby had planned. She and Gracie were just chilling in her room, waiting. They were going to have to put up a real fight because these betas didn't know this was a staged thing. They were going to come in, talons ready. Gracie and Gabby both changed as soon as the door burst open and Gabby used her mind to put as many of them down as she could which really was most of them. Gracie skillfully incapacitated the rest, only gaining a few shallow wounds to her extremities. They grabbed the stuff they needed and they fled. Again, Gabby used her evasive techniques to keep them off of their trail and buy them time. Then she headed for Raph who had a sack over his shoulder with supplies. Without a word, they ran. They went deep into the forest, to the very southern boarder of the territory. It took them an entire day to get there without stopping to rest. There was a cave Dain had told them about. It was hidden behind a waterfall and was a favorite getaway of his and his mates that very few people knew about. It would hide their scent and conceal any noise they would make as well as shelter them from the elements.
Gabby stood next to the pool the waterfall fell into. Her ears were perked forward and she listened for any sign of life. She sniffed the wind and with a huff she slid into the water, swimming straight for the waterfall. To prevent leaving a scent trail they would swim directly through it. The water pounded down on her back, pushing her under. She thanked the gods that she had inhuman strength because she would not have survived it otherwise. She struggled through and finally the pounding water calmed and she was able to break the surface, panting for breath. Her sister emerged behind her in a similar state of breathlessness immediately followed by Raph who seemed unfazed. She stared at him as she panted.
"I'm a turtle. I do good under water." He said defensively.
With a huff, both Gabby and Gracie shook out their coats and shifted into their naked forms. They had removed their pendants before swimming to prevent shifting human and getting their clothes wet. They toweled down and dressed quickly and then went about exploring their settings. Dain had done a lot to spruce up his little retreat. Wood furniture was set up here and there as well as a king sized bed and a lot of comfy rugs. There was even a hearth for a fire. She wondered where the vent for the smoke let out and decided it would be safer not to light one.
"It's been a long hard day. We should get some rest." Gabby said as she pulled a couple of the plush rugs to the front of the cave. "I'll take first watch." She shifted wolf and then laid on the little bed she had put together, her ears forward, her eyes staring through the small opening in the side of the waterfall. She knew they would make it here eventually. She hoped her little trick would be enough.
Raph climbed into the king sized bed. It was comfortable and Gracie climbed under the covers with him in her wolf form to keep the cool damp of the cave at bay. It may be summer but they were underground and that made it chilly. Raph could handle the cold but he liked having the warmth of his furred friend. He snuggled her close, pulling at her ear affectionately. She was like the little sister he never had, or even knew he wanted. He had never counted on having girls in his life. When April had stumbled in on them it felt more like a bad joke. It had hit Mikey pretty hard but Raph had always known that no human would ever shack up with one of them. They were too different, too big, too wrong. For years he had to live with that until these firecrackers had fallen into his life. He felt the fur of Gracie's tail brush over his leg as she twisted and curled herself around him, her head resting across his chest. She flicked out her tongue, brushing the scarification on his shoulder.
"What does it mean?" She asked mentally as her tongue flicked out and touched it again.
"Beast." He answered.
"Why didn't you just get it tattooed on?" She asked.
"I don't like needles very much." He replied.
"So you're okay with someone burning the hell outta your skin but you're not okay with getting a needle put in you? Pretty sure a needle would hurt less." Gracie said.
"The pain doesn't bother me." Raph replied.
"Then what?" Gracie asked.
"Every time I see one I feel like I felt when I was a baby. When they were makin' me what I am now. I was scared then. It hurt. The pain don't bother me anymore but the fear is still there."
She squirmed, trying to press closer, so he wrapped her up in a tight embrace with his chin resting on her head. "I love you, Raph. We all love you."
Raph gave a soft half smile that she couldn't see but she could feel through their bond. "I love you too, Gracie. I love your whole family. I'm glad you came into my life no matter what happens."
Gabby had heard the whole conversation and her heart ached with love for the two people who lay in the bed. She reached her mind out, stretching it hard to reach Donnie. She could tell he had recently woken again and he was having a quiet conversation with his father about what had transpired. She sent a strong pulse of love to the turtle, realizing how close she had been to losing a brother. He paused in his conversation with his father to feel what she was feeling and then he smiled and opened his feelings to her, and in that very moment, she felt their bond strengthen. It was done growing. She didn't know why his was first or what drove the final connection but she couldn't tell the difference between his bond and a family bond any more. She had become a true She-Alpha to him. With a flash of happiness, she withdrew from him and touched Splinters bond. His had always been a solid bond, ever since she first noticed her bonds to the turtles. Splinters hadn't needed to grow because it had always been a mature bond. She wondered about that now as she assured him they were safe and well. She thanked him for his advice and then returned to her own mind where she contemplated how drastically her life had changed. She had lost a brother and a father to Aiden and in Splinter and the turtles she had gained that and more. She had lost a home and now she found that home was wherever Raph was. She had her freedom stolen only to relish it all the more as a She-Alpha. She wondered to herself if she could go back and change the past, would she? She couldn't truthfully answer that question. She lay her head on her paws and kept watch into the night.
Dawn came quickly and found Gabby in her human form nestled on top of Raph. His hard cock was pressed against her belly but by now she figured he probably had a boner every morning. Still, she couldn't help but remember the way his hand had felt against her most sensitive skin. It was a sensation she had never felt before, even at her own hands. It was raw and powerful. She ran her hand up his side, feeling his muscles there tense, telling her he was awake. She slid herself down just a little, dragging herself along his hard length. He let out a groan and he saw Gracie's head come up from where she had taken over the watch from Gabby hours before.
"You're sister is still here ya know." Raph said as he stretched, his joints popping and muscles flexing.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She said, feigning innocence.
He rolled his eyes and pushed her off of him, much to her surprise. She sat up and stuck her tongue out at him. He just reclined into the pillows, hands behind his head, and gave her his best cocky grin.
"Anything last night?" Gabby asked Gracie.
She quickly shifted Human, stretching and groaning herself. "Nope. I'm sure they'll be by today. We should probably only communicate through our bonds until they send for us. That way we won't be heard by any search parties."
"Good idea." Gabby replied.
"So what technique are you needing to practice here?" Gracie asked. Gabby told her exactly what happened in the raid and how she had taken Raph into her mind, how he had helped her in her time of need, and how their entire beings had been laid bare before each other. "I found out he loves me. Of all the things that I could have taken away from that experience, that was the one he had been focusing most on. Turns out he found out I'm in love with him too."
"So are you guys a couple then?" She asked.
"We haven't had that discussion yet." Gabby replied. "There's just too much to be done right this second. Knowing Raph, he won't let it go for long before he lays it down straight. You know how he is."
"He's perfect for you." Gracie smiled softly at her sister. "Don't fuck it up."
"I'm still scared." She admitted.
"Why? You and him are the most natural thing in the history of natural things."
"I've never even been in a relationship before. What if I don't know how to be a girlfriend?"
"You've been acting like his girlfriend since you came here. Trust me, nothing's going to change. Well, you're finally going to get laid."
Gabby gave her the stink eye and Gracie's eyes twinkled in good humor. Gabby's face went serious. "What if Aiden takes him from me?" She whispered in her mind, as though thinking it too loudly could make it come true.
"You won't let that happen. Either of you. If this year has taught me anything it's that you two protect your own, no matter what. He'll be there, Gabby. He'll always be there." Gracie said. Gabby gathered her sister into a tight hug.
"What would I ever do without you?" She asked.
"Crash and burn." Her sister joked. Gabby wondered if Gracie knew how close to the truth that was. "Now let's get to this whole mind melding thing."
They both turned to look at Raph who was pulling fruit out of his pack. He threw them some bananas and after they ate, he and Gabby squared off. This would be their first attempt at consciously mind melding. Gracie shifted wolf and returned to her watch post. Gabby breathed and tried to remember what she had done to draw Raph into her own mind. She reached for his bond. He waited as she struggled to pull him in. He felt it but it was like she couldn't break whatever it was that held him in his own body. She growled and strained harder until she was panting. She quit trying, frustrated. "I don't understand. It was so easy in the raid."
"Do you really want me in there again? Maybe you're blocking yourself. You were in danger in the raid. You were in pain and you were desperate. Maybe you gotta need me like that?" Raph mused.
Gabby thought long and hard until she just couldn't think. She couldn't understand. Fear began to rise. If she couldn't do this they would die. Through her fear she felt her bond with master splinter twinge. Calm radiated down it and she almost gasped out loud. How could he reach her so far away?
"Balance." The word was faint, like it came to her from a dream. She inhaled. She exhaled. Meditate. She needed to meditate. She needed to do something that would ground her mind and calm her fears. She crawled between Raph's spread legs and put her back to his chest. She rested there, listening to his strong heartbeat and feeling his lungs as they filled and emptied. Raph knew what she was doing and so when her eyes closed, he closed his eyes too and focused on himself. He focused on his breaths and on stilling each muscle. He focused then on the girl in front of him and on their bond. Gabby followed his lead. Her cloud of fear dissipated and she began again to draw on his consciousness. She felt the bond widen for a minute before it reformed to its original state. She started to get frustrated again.
"Just try again." Raph said calmly.
She centered herself and tried again, and again, and again, and again. Each time she tried she racked her brains about what it would take to get him in her mind. Finally she closed her eyes and stopped thinking so hard. She reached for him, using what techniques had seemed to produce results and she thought of how much she needed him, of how he completed her and her family, and she felt the bond flex and then he was there. His body had gone limp behind her, leaning up against the couch he had set his back to. She kept her eyes closed, just being with him, feeling his feelings. It was a strange feeling. It was like everything that was Raph was swirling around everything that was her. She would catch a flash of a memory here and there, but when she opened her eyes, it was like his mind faded a little bit. Like it took a back burner to her surroundings.
When Gabby opened her eyes, Raph could see as though he were looking through his own eyes. He could feel her muscles move as if they were his own muscles. He could feel her skin and the way the draft caught the fine hairs on her arms. It was a sensation he'd never felt before. Her hand moved and he could feel the difference between his three fingered hand and her five fingered hand. She stood carefully and he was surprised how different it looked when standing a foot shorter than he stood. She turned and looked at him, slumped forward, and he saw himself through her eyes. Her mind went all soft and glowy when she looked at him.
"Can you move my body?" She asked him.
Raph pushed forward as she relaxed her control. He willed her hand to move as he would will his own body and he was surprised how easy it was. He tried stepping forward and stumbled when he stepped too far. He was used to having longer legs and a much heavier body.
"I'm going to shift. Let's see if I can hold on to you through it." She said. He agreed and then he felt her. It was her wolf side, her animal, and it stirred something in him. It was something he had always known was in him. It came out when he was fighting or during mating season. It was the animal in him, maybe a little less present in his life than it was in hers but still there. It pushed forward and suddenly he was in the body of a hybrid. The height was more to his liking though without the shell and extra muscle she was still light for what he was used to. He felt her large ears swivel and felt how sensitive her hearing was like this. He felt the strange protrusion of her tail. Then she sniffed and catalogued some of the scents. It was amazing what she could pick out. The smell of the water and the rocks. Who knew rocks had a smell? She could smell just a hint of Dain and his mate and Raph's scent was closest and strongest. He could tell how much she enjoyed it.
"That's how I smell to you?" He asked.
"I told you the day you dragged me off to the lair that I though you smelled delicious."
"You promised not to bite." Raph chuckled as the memory flashed in both of their minds.
"I said 'yet' I believe. I never said I wouldn't eventually." A little thrill ran through her and with their minds melded, she couldn't hide it from him.
"You want to bite me?" He asked, curious.
She was embarrassed now but there was really no point in denying it. He could feel what she was feeling. "Don't you wanna bite me?" She asked.
Raph thought about it. He knew that a wolf claimed a mate by marking them with a bite and the bite had to be returned to set the mating bond. He never really thought about it though. Now that he was he couldn't help but imagine her skin between his teeth, his tongue tasting where her neck met her shoulder. "Maybe."
Gabby shifted wolf then and Raph was surprised that the way she thought changed a little. It was like the beast in her had more control and she reacted based more on instinct and external stimuli than on logic and emotion. Those other components were still there, just a little less than in her human form. She moved and it was a really trippy experience for him, running around on four legs.
"Do you think you could put me back?" Raph asked, suddenly uneasy without the structure of his own body.
It was a lot easier putting him back. All she had to do was let him go and they were separate once more. They grinned at each other. They were due for a bit of luck. They practiced throughout the next five days and it became second nature for Gabby to draw Raph or Gracie into her mind. In the long hours in between practice sessions, they practiced meditation or had conversations. Gabby was surprised Raph didn't bring up their relationship status. She didn't dig for the reason why though. She didn't really want to have the conversation anyway. He seemed to realize the poor timing of it.
On the fifth day in the cave, Gabby was checking in with Saffron and finally got the word to come home. Aiden was about to come charging in to find her and they couldn't have that. The three packmates quickly packed what they had brought and ran for home. The trip took even longer than the trip out there, taking almost 2 days, but they finally made it back. Dain met them as they came through the door.
"I'm glad you made it. Aiden's messengers have been promising violence if we didn't produce some results soon." He said. "You guys need to get cleaned up. I'm calling a meeting and we'll go over the plan. We could be marching out as soon as tomorrow."
"Thank you, Dain." Gabby said. "For everything."
"Just tell me you got it together out there." Dain said. She nodded and relief spread across his face. "Good. Just be ready. We need to bring these people home."
They watched him walk away and then they immediately headed to their rooms for proper baths. Food was waiting for them when they got up there. Gabby jumped into her shower and washed away all of the sweat and dirt of their forest travels. She was exhausted. It had been a hard trip back. She sat on the floor of her shower and just let the water run over her body, soothing her. When Raph came in, that was how he had found her. Her wet hair obscured her face, her head rested on her knees and her arms were loosely crossed in front of her shins. He brushed her bond and she looked up, her dark eyes tired.
"Come eat." He said.
With a sigh, she stood up and shut off the water. She stepped out of the shower and toweled off. She dressed and then went and sat with Raph, grabbing for some food. She was starving.
"You told me to get you home safe and sound. I did." Raph said as he watched her tear into a fresh roll.
She looked at him as she chewed. She had been dreading this conversation. It made things too real but now she couldn't deny him or herself any longer. "I'm still scared about this Raph." She hedged.
"I'm not." He replied sliding a little closer. "The only thing I'm afraid of is being without you. I want you to be my girlfriend, Gabby."
Gabby swallowed nervously. "Okay." She said.
Raph dipped his head and claimed her lips in the kind of kiss that melts your heart and makes your insides all fuzzy. "Okay then." He said, resting his forehead against hers. He had a soft smile playing on his lips and she couldn't help but revel in the joy of that moment. She took his face in her hands and kissed him again but harder, more desperate. She was his and he was finally hers and they could be going to battle the very next day. She separated from him just long enough to climb over him, straddling his lap as she brought her lips to his. He held her close, wanting to feel her body against his. She let out a breathy sound. He smiled and rolled so she lay pinned under him, his lips still moving with hers. She moaned and he pulled away, chuckling.
"We still have a meeting to go to." He reminded her.
She huffed. "They're going to be able to smell you on me." She informed him. The thought pleased him to no end.
"Good." He said. "Maybe that will keep their minds from going places they shouldn't."
"Everyone will know about us. Whatever spy's Aiden has hidden will know and they'll tell him."
"And we'll face that head on." Raph replied. "I'm not waitin' any more. I'm not lettin' him or anyone keep us apart.
He spoke with such conviction that Gabby couldn't help but believe him. With a smile she arched her back, pressing her body against him as well as she could in her position. With a groan he claimed her lips again, his tongue stroking against hers. When he finally pulled back she was breathless. It wasn't like she had never been kissed before but it was special with Raph.
Raph smiled down at her. "We gotta go." He said. He couldn't help but smile wider as she huffed her displeasure. He pushed himself off of her and she scrambled up after him, following him out the door. They met up with Leo, Gracie, and Melody in the hallway and headed in to the room full of Alphas.
Everyone looked to Raph, though many were skeptical. Not a wolf, not a seasoned Alpha, yet he had been at Carl's side every step of the way for months. He had been part of the strategists and one of the lead Alphas when it came to executing a plan. He had to be. All of their plans required Gabby's presence in case Aiden arrived. Many of the older and more experienced Alphas in the room resented him for that. Many thought he didn't belong. Raph knew what kind of opposition he faced. More than once an Alpha of one of the allies spoke out against his position. Each time he had invited them to challenge him for the right to his pack. One Alpha took that opportunity and only a few minutes into the fight he backed away, unwilling to lose his pack to the more skilled turtle. No one had challenged him since.
Raph looked around the room, his intense hazel gaze meeting each of the Alphas present. The room stilled as his silence dragged on, bringing every wolf in the room to high alert.
"Aiden wants my pack mates in exchange for the Alphas and the Alpha Mother who's my pack too. We were forced to run when Dain the coward ordered the capture of my She-Alpha and her second. Gabby and Gracie took the time they needed to decide what to do for themselves and they have come to a decision." Raph said. He turned to Gabby. They had known going into this meeting that it would have to sound like they were really willing to turn themselves over. Any spy of Aiden's would report back to him if they knew it was all a ruse.
"Gracie and I will return ourselves to Aiden." Gabby said to the silent room. "We will exchange our lives for the lives of our mother and our friends and hope to escape again someday."
There was a bit of an uproar as Alphas, She-Alphas, and various other friends and acquaintances voiced their displeasure with losing their only defense against Aiden's considerable powers.
"Enough!" Raph roared and he shot to his feet. He leaned forward, his fists pressed into the table in front of himself his considerable muscles flexing as he glared the room into silence once more. "This ain't your decision. Gabby and Gracie are free to do what they think is right. They want to save their Mom and they want to save the resistance. We'll find a way to get 'em back. Until then, we'll go through with the exchange. I want all of our troops ready to move by sunrise tomorrow. If we don't bring a show of power, there will be no reason for Aiden to keep his word and return the prisoners alive. I'm willing to bet he'll bring an army of his own."
There was a collective murmuring in and among the crowd. There was clearly a bunch of unhappy opinions but Raph had left no room for argument. He turned and left the room, closely followed by Dain, Melody, Leo, Gabby, Gracie, and Jayden. The went into a side conference room. It was safe there. There were no cameras and the room held only one small table for ten. No one would be able to hear them through the walls. They were in complete privacy.
"So what's the real plan?" Jayden asked. He knew his friends and he knew they wouldn't take this laying down.
"We're gonna take as many of 'em out as we can." Raph said. "We're gonna go as far as we can to get The Alphas and Brandy back . Gabby and Gracie are gonna have to get close enough for him to release the prisoners and then we attack. It's going to be messy. We're going to lose a lot of people but hopefully with the new training we can beat them back and get Brandy, Carl, and Jerry back without losing Gracie and Gabby."
"Isn't that a little on the risky side?" Jayden asked.
"If you got a better idea I'm all ears." Jayden remained silent. "We've barely been avoiding open warfare for the last few months. It's time we took our stand." Jayden nodded as did the others in the room. "Alright. Let's get this plan together and quick. We need our rest if we're gonna pull this off."