Over the next few weeks, Ylwa collected the pelts from all of her kills, and soon had enough to put together a shelter. She put it right next to her aunt Ralfina's and began assisting her full-time after that. She enjoyed learning which plants could be combined with other plants to make useful potions, which ones were harmful, and which ones canceled each other out in such a way that they made nothing.
By four months after her adventure, Ylwa had accepted her new role in life. Hunting had become less comfortable, and she could see herself not wanting to do it at all any more if she continued to grow heavier. Based on her size, Ralfina had told her that she might be expecting twins, not a highly uncommon occurrence among werewolves. Ylwa had not told Ralfina this, of course, but she had begun to sense two heartbeats within her shortly after she had received the news that her life would be changing for the next few years. Just as Ylwa had grown comfortable with her new life, and even began to look forward to meeting these likely two children that she was expecting, she received news that an unexpected visitor had come calling.
"Your mate is here." Eyulf, twin of Eyolf, informed Ylwa harshly.
A wave of panic came crashing into Ylwa, and her knees threatened to give way. "I don't have a mate." she declared decisively.
"Well, we found some guy poking around the woods near here. We were going to drive him off or kill him, but he insisted that you would want to see him." Eyulf paused. "I didn't tell him that you were expecting his pups. You should go see him. He's northeast of the camp." he said flatly.
Ylwa's heart began racing and threatening to burst right through her chest. She didn't want to see him. She thought that part of her life was over, and she was happy about her new position working alongside Ralfina. Does he know about the pups? Did he do this on purpose? The bastard! Ylwa was now angry enough to face him without showing weakness. She resolved not to tell him that there were two pups on the way if he couldn't figure it out on his own. She marched determinedly towards the area where she supposed that a few guards were waiting with him.
As Ylwa approached the clearing where, as she had correctly supposed, he was being guarded by three sentinels, she slowed and peeked from behind a tree, hoping to gain the advantage by being the one who controlled when this encounter would happen. He was chatting in a friendly manner with a couple of the pack members who were guarding him, but exuded an air of being uncomfortable and nervous. Her hate for him quickly dissipated and she suddenly felt like bursting out in tears, feeling bad for the rough treatment that he had surely experienced in trying to come and see her. He seemed so sincere. He always had. Ylwa rushed in to his rescue. She informed the males who were keeping an eye on him that he was not a threat. They disappeared between the trees, but she knew that they would be watching from a distance.
Ylwa rushed towards him, but stopped short an arms-length away. Sensing her fragile emotional state at the moment, he took a step closer to her and almost gave her a hug, but quickly pulled back uncertainly and instead laid a large hand gently on her shoulder. Ylwa dropped all pretenses and gave him a hug, nearly in tears as she asked, "They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"No." he responded, then after a pause, added, "I didn't think you would want to see me."
"I didn't." Ylwa told him, and then they both stood there in awkward silence for a moment.
"Well, I came to see you because Accaila told me that you were in heat when we mated, and so you were probably going to have my pup. I came to see if she was correct" Jergen said bluntly. Accaila, Ylwa had learned, was the female that had been accompanying Jergen when they met.
"Yeah…" Ylwa replied. Another long pause.
"So you are?" he said, looking down to study her protruding stomach.
"Yeah." Ylwa said begrudgingly.
"Oh." Jergen said uncomfortably, and then led her over to sit beside him to sit on the boulders that he had been leaning on before she walked into the clearing. They sat in silence for a few moments, eventually broken by Jergen's "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?!" Ylwa exclaimed. "Sorry for using me and then leaving? Sorry for my pups? Because I love them and am looking forward to meeting and raising them with or without you!" Ylwa was about to continue on to ask him if he was apologizing for being a sorry excuse for a human or a werewolf when something clicked inside of her brain and she realized what she had revealed and stopped mid-stream of scathing comments. Jergen was just staring at her, eyes wide and mouth agape.
"Them?" he asked.
Then it was Ylwa's turn to be taken aback. She sat frozen as he had just a moment before. As a response, she snarled viciously at him and then got up and started stalking back towards the camp.
"Wait!" he said. "Ylwa!" She didn't even slow. "I want to stay here with you… with your pack." He said. She paused her onward march, stopped, and slowly swiveled around to look at him.
"I have gotten permission to take an extended absence. They don't need me right now at home. I want to be here with you, and with our pup...s." He said.
Ylwa hesitated at this unexpected turn of events. Before he was swearing that he would never leave his false family, and now he was begging to become a part of hers. She spent a moment running options and possibilities through her head.
"You can stay," she said, hoping that she wasn't breaking some rule by allowing his presence in the pack's daily activities, "…but you are NOT living with me!" she snarled and began walking back towards the pack's central location.
He caught up with her and walked silently at her side for most of the trip back. Rezso was waiting for them as they neared the campsite, flanked by one of the sentinels that had taken it upon himself to supervise Ylwa and Jergen's encounter. As they neared, he stepped into their path and glared intimidatingly at Jergen. "You can stay here with your female and your pups, outsider, but we WILL be watching you, and if you step out of line, or so much as THINK about betraying us or our location to anyone, Ylwa, your offspring, and your pack will never see or hear from you again. Do you understand?" he growled.
Jergen, who seemed genuinely surprised at being treated in this manner, just stared with a blank expression at Rezso before saying, "Yes."
"Good." Rezso said, and gave Ylwa a look that she couldn't decipher before stepping aside to allow the two to pass. He followed them at a distance as they approached the pack's main living area. Ylwa, not wanting to have to explain anything to anyone, stalked directly into her tent on the outskirts of the camping area. Jergen, following behind her, lifted up the flap of her tent and prepared to enter, where he was met with a solid wall of hostility.
"Get out!!! I said you weren't living with me!" Ylwa shouted at him.
"Where am I supposed to live then?" Jergen asked.
"I don't know. Wherever you feel like living, I suppose." She said.
"I want to live here." he said, and placed one foot inside of her tent.
"Get out!" she snarled threateningly. "I'm sure you'll figure out something." She could feel the presence of several pack members gathering about to stare at the newcomer, and even more were drawn by her not-so-subtle display of aggression. As he backed out, she heard Ralfina begin speaking reassuringly to Jergen and shooing the nosy onlookers away. She heard their voices drift off towards Ralfina's tent, where she was undoubtedly going to offer him some breakfast while explaining the ins and outs of pack life to him. He needs pack life explained to him, Ylwa thought. For someone who came from a pack, he certainly seems clueless.
That evening, Rezso insisted that Jergen hunt with himself and a few of the other strongest males in the pack. Upon their return, Ylwa did not see Jergen, but Rezso came stalking resolutely over to where Ylwa was gathering flowers for potion-making with Ralfina.
"I don't like him!" he declared. "Did you know that his so-called "pack" is mostly humans?! And I can see that he has no respect for authority! I can see why his pack leader "didn't need him for a while". If he were mine, I would have beat him into submission a long time ago."
"Why don't you?" Ralfina interrupted. She had silently appeared behind Ylwa while Rezso was on his rant. "If he is so insubordinate, why don't you show him why you are pack leader, instead of biting Ylwa's head off for it? She is not responsible for his behavior."
Ylwa could smell a pang of something… was it uncertainty? as he considered the prospects. "He is a full-grown male. By this age, he has already made up his mind how he is going to treat authority. And Ylwa is responsible for his behavior coming into our lives, though. If it weren't for her, he would not be here right now. She is young and ignorant. We should never have let you go out on your own at that time." he told Ylwa. "From now on, any time that you wish to go out hunting, you must have an escort with you to supervise your encounters."
"Rezso, please reconsider. That is a heavy burden to lay on our Ylwa. She has always been a loner." Ralfina pleaded.
"Obviously not enough of one." he said. "Otherwise she would not have associated with the rabble she brought into our lives."
"Rezo, that is enough." Ralfina said, gently but firmly, as she laid a hand on Ylwa's shoulder.
"It's fine." Ylwa told Ralfina. "I have no interest in going out hunting any more anyways." Rezso just snorted and then departed in the direction he had come from.
"I haven't seen him get this worked-up over a newcomer in a very long time. Also, he has never hesitated to punish any male that stepped out of line when necessary before, no matter the age. It would appear as though he sees a strength in your Jergen that he fears may overcome him if they went at it. This is a very good sign for your pups, if either should happen to be male." Ralfina grinned at Ylwa. "Mother of the pack leader is always a good position to be in. I would know. I have been there before." Ralfina said.
"I am glad to hear that." Ylwa responded, but said no more for the rest of the night.