Wedded to the Pack Ch. 04

In this chapter, a trap is set to see if it can be discovered who shot Jessica. The shifters spend some time in the Greenbriar household, meeting Joshua's children. A few people try wolf sex with Conor and Brigitte, seeing why it's considered so good, but generally, this chapter does not contain much in the way of descriptive sex. My thanks to JohnnyGalt for his editing assistance, without whom this wouldn't be nearly as clean. This is a copyrighted work and should not be altered, edited, changed, or published or used for any other purpose without the author's express permission, including audio works. Copyright, 2025

Wedded to the Pack, Ch 4

A Trap

I don't know how long I was out, but when I came to, I hurt like hell and there was still gunfire going on around me, though not much. I just laid still and hoped I'd quit hurting. The gunfire eventually slowed, then stopped. Gretchen was lying over me, and I wondered if she was alive or dead. I could feel my chest knitting itself back together.

I groaned.

"She's alive," Gretchen said. She got off me.

"Didn't they use silver?" Sahar asked. "She's not bleeding."

"They did," Conor said. "I smell it."

"Then why the hell is she breathing?" Sahar asked. "That sounded like a.307 caliber sniper round."

"Body armor," Brigitte said. "It stops silver as well as lead."

"Was she the target?" Edgar asked. "Or was it one of us?"

"If they used silver, it had to be a wolf target," Brigitte said. "Silver costs too much to use in normal rifle loads."

"Even with body armor, how the hell is she still alive?" Edgar said. "The body shock alone should have killed her. It had to break every bone in her chest."

"We're used to broken bones," Conor said. "Every time we shift, we're breaking every bone in our body."

"Fuckin' A. What next? Send her to the hospital?" Edgar asked.

"No," Sahar said. "Send her to the morgue."

"What?" Brigitte said. "Why the hell would we do that?"

"Because no one knows what her status is," Sahar said. "They probably think she's dead. They just hit her with a silver rifle round. If not for the body armor, she would be dead. Let them think she's dead."

"What are you thinking?" Edgar asked.

"We don't know who attacked her or why," Sahar said. "The sniper has faded into the woodwork. If they wanted to kill her, and didn't, they'll try again. If they think she's dead, they won't try again, with something body armor won't stop. Maybe a fucking bomb, and more people will die. If Jessica's dead, they accomplished what they wanted, and maybe it's over, or maybe this was just the start, and we need to know who's coming after her, or Weres generally. If they go after the other Weres, we know it's a coordinated attack on shifters generally. If no one else is attacked, we know Jessica was the specific target.

"Weres think that at least one reason people are interested in shape-shifters is they want to know what makes them tick. If that's the case, won't someone want her dead body to carve up? If we send her to the morgue, we can see if anyone shows up to collect her body. That's what I'd do, although I don't have the smarts to set it up."

"You may be right," Edgar said. "Police are on the way. I'll call Joshua and see if he can pull a little magic. When we carry Jessica out of here, there has to be a ton of blood, or whoever is watching won't be fooled."

Edgar made a phone call, stepping away from us.

"Do I get a say?" I asked, finally able to breathe.

"No," Sahar said. "You need to act dead. Not talking or moving helps with the illusion. We don't know who's watching, so act dead."

"We can supply the blood," Conor said, who then cut his arm and let it pour over my torso. Gretchen and Brigitte did the same. Their wounds closed up relatively quickly, and they each had to do it twice to leave a lot of blood on my clothes.

"Am I in sight of the street?" I asked.

"No. We dragged you into an interior corridor," Sahar said, "and returned fire on the sniper across the street. He or she probably left to get away before the police arrived so they wouldn't get trapped in the building."

"Did anyone else get hit?"

"No. We returned fire so quickly. I don't think anyone expected that. We don't usually have so many security here," Sahar replied. "Because we weren't sure of Conor and Brigitte, there were more armed responders than normal."

"So they could still be after Gretchen?" I asked.

"Possibly," Sahar admitted. "We don't know if it was you, specifically, or all Weres they were targeting. You've been making a good case for toning down the anti-shifter rhetoric, making people wonder what all the fuss is about. It could be Jessica herself, or both of you because you've been so vocal, or maybe they don't like the thought of shifters."

"Is there any chance you killed the sniper?" I asked.

"I don't think so," Sahar said. "It would have been an extremely lucky shot. All we had were handguns until the response team got here."

"I need to see the sniper nest," Brigitte said. "I'm a hunter/tracker, and I need to follow, or at least scent the perp's hidey hole. If I ever scent him again, I'll know who the fuck it is."

"Do you have body armor for your wolf body?" Sahar asked.

"Not with me."

"Do you want to chance it?"

"I have to. It's my job."

"Will do. Smitty, send some guys across the street, keep some more here. Keep traffic off the street until the police get here. I'll go with you and carry your clothes and shit," Sahar said.

"Got it," another grizzled guy said, looking a lot like Edgar, not in looks, but competence. He immediately sent three across the street, while a half dozen rifle-armed men were setting up roadblocks on either end of the street in front of the building, and four more remained with us.

"Thanks," Brigitte replied.

Brigitte stripped off and shifted to her familiar red wolf. A lot of the men admired the shapely wolf while she was naked before she shifted. Sahar stuffed her clothes into a trash bag, and they ran across the street to where the sniper had shot from. Conor stayed with Gretchen and me. Edgar returned before they did.

"Okay, the boss will be talking to the police commissioner to set up things with the police," he reported to Conor, Gretchen, and me. "A guy who works for us named Manuel, a former combat medic, will be showing up here in a coroner's uniform with a meat wagon to carry out the body. He can give you a rough exam in the coroner's truck. I've already got guys who are heading to the city morgue to keep an eye on things. We want them in place before Jessica gets there. We're waiting for a detective called Frank Gershon to show up. He's the one who normally shows up when we have a problem."

"Do you often have a problem?" Gretchen asked.

"About a half dozen times in the last ten years, someone has made attempts to shut us down," Edgar replied. "Human trafficking is a huge business, and we are constantly freeing trafficked people. They'd like nothing more than to put us out of business."

"If we're going to pull this off," Conor said, "we have to announce to the press that Jessica was shot and killed. Maybe have Gretchen give a press conference. Before we do that, I need to notify my alpha that it's not true. They've been watching the news, and I don't want to think about what Quinn might do if he thought Jessica got killed. The same with Lenore and Jessica's kids. We don't want them believing their mother is dead either, or her parents."

"I'll call Lenore and Jessica's family," Gretchen said.

"Just tell her to keep the kids away from the news. We want them reacting normally if they get told, not telling everyone their mom is still alive. At least, not until we put this thing together and see if we can catch some rats," Conor said. "I'd like to use a landline for my phone call. I don't trust cell phones for what I need to say."

Edgar led him to a nearby office to make his calls.

When Edgar returned, I asked him, "Where's Beth?"

"Safe room at the moment. The boss wants to make sure nothing happens to her, and the attack was so sudden, we didn't know what it was about."

Gretchen finished her phone call. "Both calls are done," she announced.

Conor returned and he said, "Rene and Quinn know you're okay and to ignore the news. Is Brigitte back yet?"

"Not yet," Edgar said.

"They were only hoping to scent imprint the sniper, weren't they?" Conor asked. "That should have taken thirty seconds or less."

"Maybe they found something else to decipher," Edgar said. "Don't worry, Sahar will protect her."

"Protect Brigitte?" Conor scoffed.

"She's the most dangerous person I ever met, Conor," I said. "If it came down to a gunfight, you'd be toast."

Since he'd helped train me, he took me seriously. "Really?"

"She's already been practicing killing Weres on something called 'Hogan's Alley'. We want her on our side."

"You told me she'd be tough to kill if armed with a silver knife at the dojo. She's better with guns?"

"Best I ever met," Edgar said, "and I've seen the best. I was one of the best. There's not a man who's met her wants to get in a gunfight with her. Fast and accurate."

I held Gretchen's hand with my eyes closed, just waiting.

Five minutes later, they were back. Brigitte was dressed again. Conor looked at her questioningly.

"I've got it. I tracked the scent a couple of blocks up the street, but he got into a car. Went back and checked the nest again, but we didn't want to touch anything until the police do their thing."

The detective, Frank Gershon, showed up soon afterward, looked at my bloody body, and said, "Is she dead?"

"Not yet," I said, opening my eyes, "but we want everyone to think so."

"Christ, how the fuck are you alive?"

"It isn't my blood."

"Whose blood is it, and are they dead?"

"Friends, and no," I replied.

"Frank, call the Police Commissioner," Edgar said. "If you don't recognize the lady, she's the werewolf that's been on the news lately. We know the attack was directed at werewolves because they used a silver bullet, but not whether it was directed specifically at her or shapeshifters generally. We need more information. We think we've got a way to get it, but it involves treating the victim like she's dead and taking her to the morgue. Mr. Greenbriar has set something up with the Commissioner. Best you take your cues from him. We know where the shot came from, and this lady here got the scent...."

"Got the scent?"

"She's a werewolf too. She could pick him out of a lineup by his scent. After you talk to your boss, I'll take you to the sniper nest and let your crime scene folks go over the scene."

"Why are all your boys here?"

"We didn't know at first that the attack was on the wolves. We have our own enemies. You know that. Only the fact that silver was used made us realize the wolves are involved."

"Why are they here, at Beth's offices?"

"Beth wanted lifelong wolves to get psych testing to see if they were like Jessica and Gretchen, who both tested the same as humans do," Edgar said. "This is Conor and Brigitte, born shapeshifters. Start with your phone call. We'll fill in the rest when you've done that."

He looked at the two tall shapeshifters, sighed, and went outside to make the call. I squeezed Gretchen's hand and closed my eyes again. Before the detective returned inside, Beth was there, although she always had a wall of bodies between her and the outside. She hugged Sahar first, then crouched down by Gretchen and me.

"Are you both okay?" Beth asked.

"Now," I said. "Probably lucky they didn't use a larger caliber round. I think this one broke half the bones in my chest, but it didn't penetrate the body armor I wore, so I'm good at the moment."

"Did you kill the attackers?" Beth asked Sahar.

"I'm good, but not that good," Sahar said. "They shot from over a hundred yards away. I did break the window they shot from, though, so I thought I did a damn good job."

"How did you know which window they shot from?" Gretchen asked.

"It was the only one open in the summer," Sahar said. "Rather obvious, really."

My phone started ringing. "Don't answer that," Sahar said. "Let somebody else answer."

I handed it to Gretchen. "Gretchen Shriver speaking." Gretchen listened to whoever was on the line. "Could you wait a second, Martina? There's been a disaster. Beth was shot, and the police are here. I'll call you right back." She hung up. "It's Martina Hendrix. She wanted to set up some sex with Conor."

"Who's Martina Hendrix?" Brigitte asked.

"She's one of the NBC news people," I said. "She was curious what sex with a lifelong wolf would be like, since I told her it would be the best she ever had during our interview."

"Perfect," Sahar said. "Tell her that Jessica just got shot and killed. That story should immediately hit the airwaves. Tell her that we're concerned about Gretchen's safety too, and her security will be provided by Joshua Greenbriar from now on. Another press conference to be held later tonight, say seven, right here. Edgar, see about acquiring a clear, bullet-proof barrier for her to have a press conference behind. Let's see about getting our windows boarded up until they can be replaced. Beth, you can stay for the press conference to announce that two other lifelong wolves have been tested and you find them normal, but afterwards, I want you home. No arguments. We'll helicopter you and the wolves out after the press conference."

"I go where Jessica goes," Brigitte said.

"So do I," Connor said.

"Fine. You can ride in the meat wagon when they come to pick up her body. Maybe we'll have you carry her out, refusing our assistance. It would explain why she's not in a body bag. Let everyone see her bloody, lifeless body."

My two wolves nodded.

Gretchen called Martina back. She was doing a fairly convincing job of sobbing as she talked. I'm sure being so close to my near-death helped with that.

"Sorry, Martina, but Jessica has been killed. A sniper shot her as we were leaving Beth Wilson-Hafeez's office, where a couple of other wolves were undergoing psych testing, including Conor. The police are here investigating. I'll be holding a press conference again tonight, explaining the whole situation. The other two wolves were here to help protect Jessica after the threats and demonstrations started. Her fiancé will be devastated they couldn't protect her, but we didn't expect a sniper attack. They won't even let her be put in a body bag, and they're insisting they'll stay with her until her body can go home for burial.

"Joshua Greenbriar has promised he'll help with my security from now on. Expect a lot of armed men around the press conference later. I still have to talk to the detective, so I can't answer a lot of questions now. Come to the press conference, and you can get more details. Please make sure this hits the airwaves, so all of our supporters know what happened because of the hate and bigotry."

She hung up before Martina could ask more questions.

"Perfect," Sahar said. "The hook is baited."

Frank Gershon came back in after speaking to the Commissioner. "I'm to extend you every courtesy while still doing my job. What's the fucking plan?"

Sahar and Edgar explained what we had so far, then Sahar went with the detective to the sniper's nest, and he had the crime scene crew get started on sweeping the place.

He came back and questioned the rest of us about what happened. He promised to leave my well-being out of his first report for a couple of days, so we could see if anyone took the bait of my death as gospel. A coroner's van drove up on the scene, and a man in coroner's office uniform came in with Rafael, who'd we'd met before, also in coroner gear, and a gurney and body bag. Edgar and Sahar explained more of the plan to him. By this time, some press had been let within the cordon, but they were still being kept away from the immediate scene, good for the next part of our plan.

Then Brigitte and Manuel (we'd gotten introduced) had an argument at the open window. Manuel was saying that my body should go in the body bag for transport, and Brigitte was insisting I wouldn't.

"I want everyone to see what humans did to this beautiful woman, and mother of four children. We're not going to hide what happened to her, assassinated in cold blood in front of an office where I was undergoing testing. Fuck that. Everyone should see we're not the monsters here. We didn't kill anyone. Humans did.

"Who are the fucking monsters, President Duncan, shapeshifters or humans? See what your policies have done? You're the monster. You and that asshole, Senator Jenkins. Jessica was going to get married last Saturday, a day which should have been filled with joy. Instead, she had to come here and fight for the rights of shapeshifters, and now she's dead. You've created a martyr to our cause, and the cause of shifters. You should be ashamed of yourself, Duncan. You're supposed to be the president for all the citizens. Shifters are all citizens, born here in this country, paying taxes, working. We voted in the last elections. See how many votes you get next election.

"I'm taking Jessica to the morgue and ensuring she isn't cut up by a bunch of fucking monsters who want to see why shifters don't age like humans do."

The reporters behind the barriers started shouting questions.

"We'll be holding a press conference here at seven tonight. If you want your questions answered, come back," Sahar said, coming back inside.

I closed my eyes and let my body go limp, and Conor and Brigitte carried me out to the coroner's van. They hopped in with me, and the van took off while Manuel removed my outer shirt and body armor and checked me over, my bare breasts staring at him.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you. Most people will have gotten broken ribs at least."

"I did have broken ribs," I said. "They've been fixed already. It took a few minutes after I regained consciousness, as I was out for a bit. Probably a fluid shock wave caused that."

"Damn."

"You're dealing with a shifter now," I said. "I'm not a human anymore."

"I was told to bring some raw meat here for you to eat. It was close to supper time, and I understand you're supposed to remain at the morgue to see if anyone shows up."

"That's the plan. Thanks for bringing supper. We'll eat it there."

"You don't cook it?"

"It tastes better raw now. I'm primarily interested in the protein. Fixing my broken bones takes protein."

"Joshua has arranged for a private room at the morgue by doubling up on some of the other spaces. He doesn't want any of the other bodies to sustain damage if there is shooting. I'm going to continue acting as a Coroner's Assistant, along with Raphael here. There are a dozen other guys outside the morgue keeping an eye on things. They'll give us an alert if anyone shows up, then come in behind them. We've got semi-automatic weapons waiting for us there."

"We won't get into trouble for using them?" I asked.

"Not too much. It's like the police detective they sent to handle your case. They know who to send if we have trouble. We've had enough incidents that they kind of expect us to take care of ourselves as the police would have to watch us full time. Not to mention that Joshua has sold the police a lot of equipment at a reduced price, so the city is safer. We've proven ourselves to be reliable and won't go off half-cocked. We've busted a lot of bad guys, including some in uniform," Manuel said. "The feds seem to give us much of the same leeway."

I put on the body armor and clothes again, the smell of the blood coppery in the back of the vehicle.

We reached the morgue, and I was carried inside by Brigitte and Conor, without the body bag, blood all over my clothes. Inside our morgue room, the door was locked, and a TV was turned on so we could see what the news was. The news channels were covering it big time. 'Werewolf shot and killed in an assassination, wolves blaming humans and Duncan's policies.' 'News conference scheduled at seven.' 'Mother of four children, one human and three shapeshifters gunned down on New York Street.' Martina was playing up the shooting big time, saying she'd planned on meeting some lifelong shapeshifters to interview before my death, and now she wasn't sure if they'd be available. She didn't mention she wanted to fuck one.

"That's the lady that wants to fuck you, Conor, to see what werewolf sex is like," I said.

"Nice."

"When she finds out you've only been fucking for fifteen years and a wolf who's a hundred years older would be twice as good, it will blow her mind."

"How old is Conor?" Manuel asked. "How is it possible he's been fucking for fifteen years?"

"He's twenty-two, and he's been able to have sex since the age of seven when he first shifted," I said. "That's when a shifter is considered mature. He looked pretty much like he does now when I first met him at age thirteen. How old were you when you started working as a bodyguard, Conor?" I asked.

"Ten."

Manuel and Raphael looked at each other. "You've worked as a bodyguard since you were ten?" Raphael asked.

"I had a fake ID that said I was twenty-four."

"Damn! You've been in the protection business almost as long as I have. I think I have you beat by maybe five years, and I'm near forty."

"And he's still not as good as Brigitte, who's almost seventy now," I said. "She's the senior wolf."

"Almost seventy, and she looks like she's bumping against thirty?" Manuel said.

"That's why we think shifters are being targeted now," I said. "Like they might have some magic elixir to keep you young and healthy."

"But you can't?" Manuel asked.

"Not unless you want to become a werewolf," Brigitte said. "We think our ability to shift is the secret. Every time we shift, we refresh our DNA, rejecting disease, aging, injuries, anything which can make us old and sick. It slows death, but doesn't halt it. Mother Nature always wins. It just takes longer with us."

"Would you allow me to do some testing on you?" Manuel asked. "No knives, I promise."

"When this is all over," Brigitte said. "We're not afraid of x-rays, MRIs, or blood draws, as long as we're not treated like lab rats."

While we watched, we wolves ate raw hamburger while Manuel and Raphael ate sandwiches. After eating, Raphael passed out weapons to all of us, even Manuel. We all got semi-automatic handguns, Smith and Wesson, which Rafael said had seventeen rounds in, and another magazine, and Conor, Brigitte, and Raphael also got an assault rifle which I didn't recognize. Raphael made sure both of them knew how to use it before giving them three magazines apiece for the rifles.

"Do you think we'll need that much?" Brigitte asked.

"Better safe than sorry. I hope we don't use any of it. Jessica, you also need to replace your bulletproof vest. Once you've been shot at, it loses much of its ability to protect you. I brought one of the vests we use. It's a new design one of Joshua's companies came up with. About the only thing it won't stop is a Barrett.50 cal. Will you be fighting as wolves or people?"

"If we're facing firearms, people are better so we can shoot back, especially in a confined space," Brigitte said.

Raphael gave me a new vest and I put it on, replacing my old one. It didn't feel any heavier.

We turned the TV to NBC at the time of the press conference at seven to watch the performance. Gretchen was standing behind a clear, bulletproof barrier for the news conference, as if it couldn't be trusted that she wouldn't be shot either. That was probably true. There were at least a dozen well-armed security guards, some of whom I recognized from Beth's security detail when I visited her. There might have been others in civilian clothes among the crowd or on rooftops somewhere. The news conference was being held on the street where I'd been shot, the broken glass swept out of the building, and the windows boarded up. Beth, Sahar, and Joshua were all behind the barrier with her. Sahar was standing behind Beth, ever alert, her eyes scanning everywhere. They all seemed bulky as well, and I assumed more vests.

Gretchen got the attention of the reporters clustered outside of the bulletproof barrier by tapping on the mike.

As soon as the noise died down, she said, "This afternoon, about three hours ago, my lover and friend, Jessica Hagerty, was shot right beside me, in front of this building, as she exited with me and two other shifters from my pack. The coroner came and took her body to the morgue. The assassin, a sniper, shot her with a rifle from a building a couple hundred yards away. Fire was immediately returned by the security forces Joshua Greenbriar employs to protect his loved ones. One of the shifters shifted to her wolf and followed the scent of the human sniper to a car several blocks away. His scent has been imprinted, and if he's ever scented again, werewolves will get their justice, one way or the other.

"The two wolves sent to protect us have worked as bodyguards in the past, and are both licensed to carry firearms. They are now protecting Jessica's body to keep humans from cutting her up until she can be returned to her home and buried amongst her loved ones, including a previous husband.

"Our friend, Beth Wilson-Hafeez, had just finished administering a wide array of psychological tests to the two lifelong wolves with us, to determine if they differed in any substantial way from Jessica and me, or the human population in general. She had found no major differences between shifters and humans, although she recognizes that four people do not make up the entire population of shifters. We intended to share this information with you folks to let you bring down the hysteria surrounding shapeshifters. Unfortunately, Jessica can no longer do so, having been slaughtered in the prime of her life.

"I say to you all that under normal circumstances, you have nothing to fear from shapeshifters. I don't know who's pushing to claim that we are inhuman monsters, when your own psychological tests show that is not true. Who killed who today? Was a human killed by a shifter, or was a shifter killed by a human?

"I say to President Duncan and Senator Jenkins that their misguided accusations and policies have contributed to today's events. My friend and lover would still be around today if not for their false accusations. Dismiss the warrant for rape against Quinn Whelan, who was scheduled to marry Jessica last Saturday. Now she lies lifeless on a morgue slab guarded by two of her friends. Go back to the 1899 treaty provisions with minor changes for the reality of today. You can no longer hide our presence from the public. Too many people already know, but don't try to turn back time. It will only end in heartache for more people as it did for me today.

"Despite the danger to myself, as evidenced by the extra precautions we've taken today, I will continue to fight for the safety, security, and human understanding of all the shapeshifters affected by President Duncan's press conference proclamation. We are not monsters. The ability to change shape does not make us so. There are a lot of people who have sex outside of marriage. If having sex made us monsters, most of the population of this country would be monsters. Our enjoyment of sex does not make us evil. I willingly have sex with multiple individuals. I am not raped, and I enjoy the sex. So what! Who am I hurting? I'll take questions now. Front row, red dress."

"When you say the assassin will get justice, does that mean that werewolves will kill him?"

"Like any other law-abiding citizens, we would hope justice comes from the justice system. Is President Duncan declaring us to be inhuman monsters mean the police won't investigate crimes against us? I'd certainly prefer the government take action on its own. Will we let ourselves be slaughtered if there's no response to the crimes? I doubt it. We used to help the government track down rogue shifters. We worked closely with a preternatural branch of the US Marshall's Office. Will they continue to let us work with them, or will they want to hunt rogues on their own? I don't see how we can continue to help if we're being treated like the Jews in Nazi Germany. What's the point? Almost all shifters are in hiding now, wondering what kind of policies human political leaders are going to be making after abrogating the treaty. Why? Are we going to work together, or fight for our existence? I can tell you I don't intend being led to slaughter like a lamb. Floral shirt in the back."

"How will Jessica be buried?"

"Like anyone else. She has human parents and a human child. Blue pantsuit, left side."

"Has her child been told of her death?"

"Her caretaker was told. She'll tell the children when she deems it's time, maybe not until her body goes back to Maine. Her parents were also notified. They're grieving for their only daughter. Green shirt on the right."

"Why do you think Jessica was killed?"

"I don't know. Anti-shifter hysteria? Someone wanting to cut us up to see what makes us tick? Was it Jessica herself or all shifters they were after, and Jessica was merely the first? Someone who doesn't want shifters standing up for themselves and protesting government policies? If anyone knows the answer to that question, I'd offer a $25,000 reward if it proves to be true. Tan shirt with green tie."

"Do you think the government was involved?"

"I don't know. It would be rash to accuse anyone without proof. I hope not. I hope our leaders haven't fallen so low that they'd be assassinating American citizens. One more question. You, in front, blue shirt."

"Do you fear for your life, Gretchen?"

"I think it's rational to think that I might be in danger. What do you think? What do you all think?" She gave them some time to ponder her question, then stated, "I'm going to be changing locations. I don't intend to stay at the Hilton anymore. It can't be sufficiently secured, despite the help of Joshua Greenbriar, and my thanks go to him for his help. My things, and Jessica's things," she gave a half sob, "are being picked up now. My future location will remain secret. Beth is going to announce the results of her most recent testing. I hope like hell you listen to what she's saying."

Gretchen stepped back from the mike, and Beth stood up, moving in front of the microphone.

"Hello, everyone. I'm greatly saddened to be standing here today for this purpose. I found Jessica to be a delightful young woman, someone who I was beginning to think of as my friend, and to have her killed in the full flower of her life was devastating to me and so many others. While I know that four people do not give me enough numbers to speak to the totality of all shifter populations, especially any shifters other than wolves, I wanted to say that there is no way that you or anyone could tell wolf shifters from most American humans by their psychology tests alone. There was no recognizable difference between them and humans. I believe all the hysteria about shifters to be bordering on the worst kinds of demagoguery. There is no reason to believe that humans and shifters can't happily coexist, the way they've done for thousands of years.

"The fact that they've lived among us for so many years without us knowing about them, to me, seems substantial proof that they're not a threat, to you, me, or anyone else. Whoever you are, stirring up the hatred against shifters, you are not doing anyone a service. I begin to think that Jessica was right, and this is an attempt to use this hysteria as some kind of tool to demonize shifters so that they can be carved up for their secrets. What if the wolves are right? What if the only way to enjoy what they have is to become a shifter yourself? Do we all give up ourselves to become something else, and then die out because we can no longer reproduce? Some giant tortoises live to be three hundred years old. Do you become a tortoise to enjoy a longer life?

"You need to get real. This craziness is ridiculous. Shifters are not normally a threat to you. If you go around trying to kill them, they will become one. Stop. Now. Before we become enemies. I don't expect anyone rational to allow themselves to be exterminated without retaliation. Thank you. I hope you're all listening to reason. I'm not taking any questions at this time. I wish to grieve for a fallen friend. Please make an orderly exit. This is a place of business and we hope to be open again soon to help the sexually abused and human trafficked people harmed by human monsters, not by shifters."

Beth sat down and squeezed Gretchen's hand while the security folks started clearing the street. Manuel turned off the TV before the talking heads came on to dissect the story.

"I thought that was pretty powerful," I said to the others. "I hope it does some good."

"Good how?" Manuel asked.

"Generally good," I said, "but specifically good in making whoever was behind this think my body is in the morgue protected by two more shifters and we'll be an easy target if they want shifter bodies to dissect. That's the main reason we're doing this, to put a face on our enemies. The worst thing that could happen is no one coming, because we won't know who our enemies are."

"If they are coming, when?" Manuel asked. "What do you think, Rafe?"

"Well, after dark would be my guess, when most of the building is empty," Raphael said. "Are you guys any good with those guns?"

"Not Sahar good," I said. "I've never seen anyone Sahar good, but I worked Hogan's Alley with her, and I held my own against human targets. Conor and Brigitte are both better than me. They've both worked as bodyguards for people, and Brigitte has led Were hunting parties after rogue shifters. We'll be okay."

"Yeah, no one is Sahar good," Raphael admitted, "as much as it galls me to say so. I was in the fucking SEALs, and she's got me beat. Got everyone else beat. No one can touch her on Hogan's Alley."

"Have you practiced against the shifter targets with silver bullets?" I asked.

Conor and Brigitte looked at each other.

"Yeah. I haven't made it through the scenario yet, but I've tried it."

"They're practicing against shifters?" Brigitte asked.

"A computer program," I said. "Preparation if it turned out shifters were like movie portrayals of werewolves, something to be feared. Sahar is determined she'll be prepared for any enemy she might have to face in order to protect Beth. It's why I know she's so deadly. There's a flaw in the program, though."

"What flaw?" Rafael asked.

"The targets all move at human speed, not at wolf speed."

"Why are you telling him that?" Brigitte said.

"Because if they aren't trying to help us, we're already dead."

"What if it turns into all-out war?" Conor said.

"Then I say we try to remember who our friends are, and hope they remember us as friends as well, because without human allies, we're vastly outnumbered. We signed the fucking treaty in the first place because we were. Even if every shifter in the country bit ten humans, we're still vastly outnumbered, and they can't shift until a full moon. We don't have tanks and planes and high explosives. We need allies, and at least they're trying to help. Sahar didn't have to show me the program. She could have left me in the dark. She did it because she trusts us, so I'm going to trust her. I definitely want her on my side. I wouldn't tell anyone else, but I trust these folks."

"Did you tell Sahar?" Raphael asked.

"I was still considering if I should say anything, and I got shot soon after. I wouldn't have said anything except you worked your asses off trying to protect us after I got shot. That made me feel like I could trust you. I feel like we need to trust someone at this point or we're already history."

******

Around nine, since we had outside help, including a state-of-the-art drone, Raphael suggested we try to sleep as much as possible, with only one person on guard duty for two hours at a time.

"Like I said, if someone's really coming for us, it will probably be the wee hours of the morning." He pulled an earbud out of his ear. "This is how the outside will contact us. They do a comm check at a quarter past the hour. Just reply 'signal clear,' in a low voice, but otherwise stay off the net. I suggest Jessica and Manuel take the first two watches in any order since they've done this stuff the least, and we're least likely to have anyone approach for the next four hours. Brigitte and Conor take the next couple of watches in any order they want, and I'll take the last. Stay in your gear with a round in the chamber while you sleep. We want the lights out in here anyway, and the less sound we make the more likely that someone will come, if they are. Jessica, do you want to go first?"

"Sure."

"Take the bud, pass it to Manuel after two hours. Don't stay in the middle of the room. Find someplace comfortable on the side. I suggest we lay these big metal tables they use for autopsies on their sides and sleep behind it, a little extra protection. If we get word someone is coming, don't talk, just shake the others awake. We want everything quiet in here. No one else in the morgue is supposed to come in this room under any circumstances until at least ten tomorrow morning, by which time we'll have left, so if anyone comes in without word from the outside, assume they're a bad guy and shoot. They know there are two shifters in here, so they'll probably start the assault with a flash/bang. Here's some ear protection for the bang," He handed us some plugs. "If they do anything but start shooting when they come in, close your eyes for the flash, because you know it's coming."

"Roger," Brigitte said. "I'll take the fourth watch. Conor, you take third."

He nodded. We laid the tables down and Manuel and Raphael got behind one and Brigitte and Conor behind the other. I got behind a cabinet where I could still see the door and settled in for my watch as the others got comfortable and closed their eyes. I guess I was a little nervous, but not scared. I'd worked hard to learn self-defense for years, expecting possible trouble from rogues, who were inherently more scary than these guys might be, so figured this would be better than the attack on my home where I lost Sean. At least I didn't have to worry about children this time around.

I got my first comm check within minutes of when the others settled in, so Raphael heard me give the reply and gave me a thumbs up before he closed his eyes. As he said, my watch was pretty quiet. I got two more comm checks before I woke up Manuel and handed him the earbud. He took my place and I snuggled in behind Brigitte and closed my eyes.

Connor taking over woke me a little, but I was able to fall back asleep without too much trouble.

Around three by my watch, Conor shook us all awake. "Trouble coming," he whispered.

We all took cover where we could, putting as much protection between us and the door as was available. With rounds in the chambers, we didn't even need to make noise prepping the weapon, just take it off safety for the rifles. The handguns didn't even have one of those except the trigger itself.

Soon, we heard the latch jiggling, and finding it locked, they just hammered the door open with some kind of battering ram. As Raphael predicted, a couple of flash/bangs came through the door first. I closed my eyes until they went off, then opened them and started firing into the doorway, as did the others. They were firing as well, and the noise was awful, but ten seconds after they started shooting, people seemed to be dropping in the back and I could hear shooting out in the hallway, the cavalry we were promised. Everything was over in five minutes, with only one of the bad guys standing, his hands up in the air.

Sahar said, "Raphael, I'm coming in, don't shoot."

"Okay. Safeties on."

She stuck her head around the door. "Everybody good in here."

"My ears are ringing still, but I think I'm good," I said. "Anybody hurt?"

"I took a silver round through the arm," Conor said. "I'll need attention."

"Manuel, you got that?" Sahar asked, stepping through the door and kicking the standing attacker down to his knees.

"I've got it."

"We've got two wounded out here as well. Nothing too bad. They already got painkillers, but they need bandaging up. Brigitte, I'm going to question this asshole," she said. "You want in on his questioning?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Cuff the fucker," she said, tossing Brigitte some cuffs. "We need to leave before the police get here. As we leave, tell me if any of these assholes is the sniper."

Brigitte slapped the cuffs on him, and she and another one of the cavalry frog walked him out of there, following Sahar. I heard her say none of the dead was the sniper. Edgar and a couple of others were outside the door, checking and counting the dead bodies. The two wounded were helped into the room, and Manuel started working on Conor and the other two. Edgar came in.

"Okay, here's the story. You were attacked by nine men, all of whom died in the attack. You don't know where Brigitte went. She had pack business to attend to."

"What about the one Sahar took?" I asked.

"He won't survive Sahar's questioning. There were just nine, and they're all dead. That's all the police will find, and that's what you'll say. If there was another one, he must have gotten away, because we think we killed them all."

Connor and I looked at each other and then nodded.

"Just nine. Got it," Connor said. "Any idea who they were?"

"Not a clue. None of them have ID's, but I'm guessing a merc group, or some kind of private army. They were well-armed, had good equipment, and were well-trained. The police will have to get ID's the old-fashioned way, by fingerprints, DNA, or whatever. They'll figure it out. We're hoping the other guy can say who hired them, but unless he was in the chain of command, he might not know. Too many guys just follow orders without asking why. Are you ready to get out of here as soon as Manuel has everyone patched up?"

"Don't we have to wait for the police?" Conor asked.

"The police can question you at Joshua's estate. We killed most of them anyway as they were bunched out in the hallway."

I looked around the room. There were lots of bullet holes. We were lucky only one of us got wounded. Conor would end up with a permanent scar, but other than that, we were damned lucky.

Edgar noticed me looking. "Joshua will make a big donation to get the place fixed up. Leave your weapons here for the police. Leave your armor on."

Manuel finished up his patch jobs before the other two went to the hospital. Conor, Raphael, Manuel, and I went outside, got loaded into a big van, and hauled away. It took about an hour to get to where we were going, a big estate out on Long Island. When we got there, Gretchen, Beth, Joshua, and Miranda were up waiting for us. There were armed men everywhere, and high walls around the estate except on the Sound behind the house, where there were lower walls, so the view over the water wasn't spoiled, but more armed men were patrolling.

Gretchen came running up to me when I got out of the van and gave me a huge kiss and a massive hug.

"Are you okay?"

"Just peachy. Even the ringing in my ears is gone," I said. "Conor got shot in the arm, but the rest of us holed up in the morgue weren't hit at all."

"Where's Brigitte?" Gretchen asked.

"She had something else to do," I said. "We'll see her later."

Gretchen gave a big hug to Conor too, then we walked into the house where food and rest awaited.

******

I was curled up naked between Gretchen and Conor when Beth came in and told us the police were here and needed to speak to Connor and me. I checked the time, a little after ten. Conor and I got up to speak to them, donning some clothes. Everyone else was dressed as well. Frank Gershon was waiting with a couple of uniformed officers in a sitting room. They all had some coffee and sweet rolls. Joshua, Edgar, and another fellow Joshua introduced as an attorney, was there.

"Jessica, Conor, the officers would like to speak to you one at a time. If you wish an attorney present, Mr. Hamilton will accompany you."

"I don't believe I need an attorney, thank you, Joshua. Why don't you start with me?" I said. "I believe I got more sleep than Conor did. He might need to have some coffee to wake up."

Mr. Hamilton told me to record my interview, and I told him I would.

Frank and one of the uniformed officers led me to what I assumed was someone's office, either Joshua's or perhaps one of the women living here. I sat down. Frank pulled out a recorder and turned it on. He stated the date, time, and place. I set my phone to do a recording.

"What would you like to know, Detective?" I asked.

"Can you describe what you've done since you were shot at yesterday?"

"Of course. As you saw, I was loaded onto the coroner's van where I was checked over by Manuel, one of Joshua's employees, who I believe used to be a combat medic. He said he couldn't find any injuries. When we reached the morgue, Brigitte and Conor carried me in like I was dead, hanging limp in their arms, still all bloody. We locked the door, then Conor, Brigitte, and I all had some raw hamburger, and the two humans, Manuel and Raphael, had sandwiches while we watched the news reports about my shooting. After eating, Raphael issued all of us handguns, and the three most experienced people rifles. He warned us that unless they came in the door shooting, to expect a flash/bang, so he gave us earplugs and told us to close our eyes as soon as the door opened.

"At seven, we watched the press conference, then Raphael explained what we needed to do if someone came in to get my body and trying to kill the other two wolves. He said no morgue personnel should try to enter that room until around this time this morning, and if anyone else came in, we could assume they were bad. He had an earbud in his ear that allowed us to hear if anyone showed up outside, where they had folks waiting and watching.

"Figuring it would most likely be really late before anyone showed up, I took the first watch, and other than a couple of comm checks, it was quiet. Manuel took the second watch, and Conor the third. Brigitte was going to take the fourth, and Raphael the fifth since they were the most experienced and it was anticipated any potential attackers would come sometime after three. In actuality, the guys showed up just before Conor's watch ended, and he woke us up and told us the bad guys were coming. We took what shelter we could and waited.

"Someone quietly tried the door, and finding it locked, they smashed the door in. No one was shooting, so I closed my eyes, and two flash/bangs went off, then I opened my eyes and started firing into the open doorway. Then I saw men in the back start dropping and heard more firing in the hallway. Everything was over in five minutes. As far as I could tell, all the bad guys were dead. Edgar said there were nine, and sent us here for our protection."

"How many times did you fire?" Frank asked.

"I can't be sure. Less than one magazine as I didn't reload."

"Where are the guns?"

"We left them at the morgue. Edgar said the cops would need to see them. I assume whatever law enforcement showed up there has them."

"How many of your people were shot?"

"Two of the outside force were wounded and Manuel fixed them up before sending them to the hospital for further evaluation. Conor got hit in the arm, and Manuel stitched it up and he came here with me."

"Why didn't he go to the hospital?"

"Because other than a permanent scar, he'll be healed. He can't get an infection."

"Where did Brigitte go?"

"She said she had to take care of something. She didn't say what. Perhaps to speak to our Alpha, but I'm not sure. You'll have to ask her. There have now been two armed attacks by humans on shifters. It doesn't look good for us unless we see some arrests being made for the attacks. That may have been what prompted her to leave, but she'll be back as she still intends to be our primary bodyguard. By the way, as she left, Brigitte scented the dead, and none of them was my sniper, so he's still out there. Edgar sent us here for our protection and to get some rest and food. That's all I have."

"Why did you allow yourself to be used as bait?"

"Shifters need to know who's trying to kill us. Information is gold when your enemy is nameless and faceless. They need to be brought out into the light so we know what their objective is. If it's random hatred, we can't do much about it but try to educate everyone, but the bunch last night weren't random haters, like the sniper could have been. Someone paid good money for them, and we need to know who. Hopefully, you can find out."

"I guess that's it. Send Conor in."

"You got it."

I got up, turned off my recorder, and directed Conor to the room. Mr. Hamilton listened to my interview, nodding when it was over. He didn't say anything but seemed happy with the statement.

"Would you like more food?" Beth asked. "It's been several hours since you ate."

"Sure. Lots of protein, please."

She led Gretchen and me to a dining room where they had lots of breakfast meat and scrambled eggs prepared in food warmers. We were just finishing up when Conor joined us. The bandage was off his arm, nothing but a puckered scar now.

"You're lucky you didn't get shot in the face, spoiling your rugged good looks," I said.

"I thought we were all rather lucky," Conor replied.

"Luck and good friends," I said. "We'd be dead if it were just us."

"You're right. Thanks, Beth," Conor said. "I'm glad you're on our side."

"You're welcome."

"Are we going to hold another press conference telling everyone I'm alive now?" I asked.

"I don't know," Beth said. "That's above my pay grade, a tactical decision best left to the tacticians. It might help some if you remained dead for a short while, but the full police report will need to get filed eventually, so it will come out. I imagine Master, Sahar, and Edgar will have a better idea than I do when we want you alive again. It will probably need to be coordinated with the city government. The attack on the morgue has been on the morning news already, but they haven't said a lot about the participants yet. We'll have to see."

"Did you record your interview, Conor?" I asked.

"I did. Mr. Hamilton is listening to it now."

"Did the police leave?" Beth asked.

"As soon as they grabbed the last of the sweet rolls," Conor said. "It's a good thing I eat meat."

Beth laughed. Edgar and Joshua joined us a few minutes later.

"You did good," Edgar said. "Perfect interviews. I couldn't have done better myself."

"Jessica was wondering when she was going to tell everyone she was still alive," Beth said.

"Another day, I think, unless it comes out sooner. I'd like to arrange for a hidey hole for the shifters before we spill the beans. Maybe do another interview with that Martina person at an undisclosed location. She seems to be on your side."

"Why not keep them here?" Beth asked.

"Because if they're here, this place becomes a target. Any place, no matter how well defended, can be destroyed with time for planning and resources. Ask Mahmoud. Ask the Russians in Ukraine. Drone attacks, some kind of short-range missile, even a large enough armed force can do it. They can stay here a short time, but unless the boss wants to see his family and home at risk, they need to go before anyone finds out they're here. If the government is involved, it wouldn't even take long to set up the attack."

"Is the government involved?" Joshua asked.

"Possibly. Those guys that hit us this morning were Firebrand Security. Sahar got that information. They have a lot of government contracts like Blackwater back in the day, but they also do business with corporate interests, and the informant didn't know who hired them, only that they were supposed to kill anyone there and grab any bodies. We've got a couple of hackers working on penetrating Firebrand. They've got tight security, so I don't know how that will turn out, but we've got other options I'm exploring."

"Could I buy them?" Joshua asked.

"You and Thornhill together maybe. I don't think you could do it yourself. They're pretty big. You might want to start buying up some stock, but I'm not sure you could get a controlling interest very quickly. That might take months."

"I'll let Bill know to start buying small blocks of shares. It gives us options for the future."

"Yes, sir."

"Have you got anyplace to exercise?" I asked. "I didn't get any yesterday. I need to run. I'd like to run as a wolf, but you're too open here."

"Can you do a treadmill as a wolf?" Beth asked.

"If someone sets up the machine for me, I could," I said.

"Have you got two machines?" Conor said. "I could use a little exercise myself."

"Sure," Beth said. "We often have several people working out here. I could probably use some myself. Sahar will probably bitch at me if I don't."

Beth led Conor, Gretchen, and me to their gym set up. Joshua and Edgar followed, still talking about what they were going to do with us. They had a lot of equipment, everything from rowing machines to stair climbers to free weights. They also had a Hogan's Alley.

"Who designed Hogan's Alley?" I asked.

"A couple of my mates and me had the idea," Edgar said. "Joshua's engineers put it together."

"How do you do on the Werewolf scenario with silver bullets?" I asked.

Gretchen looked at me shocked. I forgot she didn't know. Beth looked a little embarrassed, as did both Joshua and Edgar, although not quite as embarrassed.

"About fifty percent effective, I guess," Edgar said a few seconds later.

"Show me," I said.

Edgar looked at Joshua and Beth, and they both said to go ahead. He set up the equipment for a house clearing exercise of Joshua's mansion. I recognized it. He grabbed one of the rifle weapons and 'loaded' it, slapping the bottom of the magazine and pulling back the charging handle to arm it. He glanced at me again, then started the program. Shifter humans started appearing, and as they appeared, Edgar shot them. One to the head, or five to the body, most to center mass. Where he got into trouble is on the reload, as the wolves kept coming faster than he could reset the gun. He got halfway through before he died.

"Your program is flawed," I said. "I noticed it when Sahar showed me yesterday."

"What's wrong with it?" Beth asked.

"You're assuming that all shifters will come at you at human speed in human form. Some of them will come as wolves, and they'll be a lot faster, more agile, and a smaller target. Conor, strip off."

Conor didn't question me. He took his clothes off and stood there like the otherworldly demigod he was.

"Conor, go down to the opposite end of the room, and I want you to shift, then come running full speed for Edgar. Edgar, using your finger, try to shoot Conor as he's coming at you."

Edgar nodded, and Conor went to the other end of the big room, taking up half of the basement.

"Are you ready?" Conor said.

"I guess," Edgar said, waving a finger around.

In a second, Conor shifted to his wolf and streaked towards Edgar full speed, but zigzagging from side to side. Edgar tried to aim, but Conor was moving so fast, he couldn't get his finger lined up. Conor barreled into Edgar, knocking him on his ass, then stood over him, licking his face. He then shifted back to his human body and helped Edgar get up.

"If it turns into a war," I said, "not all shifters will be human and armed with weapons. Some will come as wolves, and you need to be prepared for that. Your program is flawed."

"Fuck!" Edgar said. "Why the hell are you telling me this?"

"Because we need friends, and you should know what the eventual battles will look like if it turns into a shifter/human war. No one will like the results. I'm sure humans would eventually win, but a lot of good people will also die. A lot of my friends and family are human. Do you think I want that? People need to wake the fuck up. Try putting that into your program and see how well you do."

"Uh, why are you erect?" Joshua asked Conor. Conor's large cock was rock hard and jutting out of his pubes like a steel pole.

"Beth and Jessica are both aroused and I scent them, plus Beth is close to ovulating and it makes her smell even better to a wolf. Don't worry, I can ignore it."

"I told you that wolf nudity led to more sex, Joshua," I said. "It's why we're sexual creatures. We're nude so we can shift, and aroused because we're nude. Hence why most wolves fuck four to six times a day and get so damn good at it."

"Are you aroused and about to ovulate, Beth?" Joshua asked.

"Yes, Master."

"Would you like to fuck Conor?"

"If you'd permit it, Master, although Sahar isn't here to give permission."

"I'm confused about that," I said. "If you're Beth's Master, why does she need Sahar's permission to have sex?"

"It goes back to her slave captivity," Joshua said. "There was a lot of emotional and psychological damage, and she was practically raping anyone who expressed any interest in sex with her, plus she kept begging for you to piss in her mouth and eat your shit. Sahar was able to work most of that out of her, but to keep her from descending into total promiscuity or from killing herself for feeling so out of control. Beth had to be hypnotized to feel ill if she thought of sex with anyone but myself or Sahar. Sahar is with her more, so she was given the ability to give her permission to have sex with others so Beth doesn't feel sick. The more she thinks of it or gets closer to it without Sahar's permission, the sicker she feels."

"So you feel sick now?" I asked.

"A little nauseous, but not ready to puke sick. It never gets that bad. It starts uncomfortable, and gets worse, a reminder not to let myself go. It's not that big a problem, because my sexuality belongs to Master anyway, and I need Master's permission for sex or to orgasm, so even if I'm not with him, I'd text for permission and then Sahar could give it to me."

"Would you fuck me as my wolf?" Conor asked.

"I'm not sure," Beth replied. "It's so far removed from anything I ever imagined."

"Would you feel sick if you thought of fucking his wolf?" I asked. "Or is it only humans that make you ill?" She'd had oral wolf sex with me, but Sahar had given her permission before she left the room.

"Not sure."

"Conor, shift to your wolf again," I said.

Bang, it was done. His pink cock was out of the furry sheath about six inches, still erect and leaking precum.

"Look at him, Beth. Imagine his cock inside of you, his knot filling your pussy." I paused for several seconds. "Do you feel sick now?"

She turned to look at me, then Joshua. "No. I don't feel ill at all."

"Switch back to human, Conor," I said.

Bam, a second later he was standing there, still fully aroused, his cock tip wet with his arousal.

"Imagine his human cock filling you up, you riding on that magnificent prick. How do you feel now?"

"Nauseous. It's only his human form that makes me feel ill."

"That's interesting," Joshua said. "How do you think Sahar would react to you fucking his wolf?"

"If she walked in on it, I'm sure she'd kill him without even thinking about it, almost instinctually. If I told her I was going to do it, and she didn't watch, she might be okay with it. Seeing it, I'm not sure. I'd have to talk to her about it."

"I told Conor and Brigitte Sahar's story so they wouldn't shift too suddenly in front of her," I said. "Keep that in mind, Conor. Her first sexual experiences were getting raped on a stage by animals for human monsters. She may react badly to your wolf, especially as you're male."

"If she's due home soon, it might be good for Beth to leave the room. I'm sure I'll remain erect as long as she's here. Her arousal and near ovulation are driving my need."

"You can't control it?" Edgar asked.

"I can't control my erection. I can control my actions. I would never fuck anyone without their permission. I'm not a rapist. Maybe I'll forget running as a wolf and put clothes on."

"Maybe I will too. I don't want her walking in without advance warning," I said.

That's what we did. Gretchen, Conor, and I worked hard for a couple of hours, some of it sparring, which Edgar watched, especially because he was seeing a male wolf spar for the first time. He was amazed at how hard we went at it, how many broken bones we suffered, and still kept going. Conor was even better than the last time we fought. It took both Gretchen and me to have any chance at all. He was getting closer and closer to Quinn's skill levels.

At 1:30, we were told to get ready for a light lunch at 2, so we had time to shower before eating. When we entered the dining room a few minutes early, we saw and met Joshua's children for the first time, although he wasn't there.

"Jessica, Gretchen, and Conor, I'd like to introduce you to Master's children," Beth said, standing behind them. "This is David," her hand on his shoulder, "age 17, about to graduate high school. He's Miranda's boy. This young lady is Sarah, my eldest, age 16 going on 30..."

"Oh, Mom," Sarah said.

"Don't 'Oh, Mom,' me. You know it's true, but I love you anyway." Beth kissed her cheek. "This next young lovely is Leah, another one of Miranda's girls, age 14, and Francesca's eldest, Jacob, also 14, a few months younger, and Belle's eldest, Ruth, age 13. This is my second child, Abraham, age 12, and Francesca's second, Naomi, also 12. This precious young bundle of giggles is Shiloh, age 6, Belle's youngest, and this little demon is Ishmael, 5, who is the only one of these children that isn't Master's, but he is Sahar's, so that makes him one of ours." She kissed the top of his head.

"Who is Ishmael's father?" I asked.

"After Sahar's slavery, she couldn't have sex with men for quite some time. Finally, she met a very kind and submissive male who Sahar felt comfortable enough with to finally allow her to have sex with men again. He was her first, post-slavery. When she decided to have a child, she asked him to be the father, and he agreed. His name is Richard, and he resides here in New York, although he's in California about a third of the time with his employer."

"Do the children know what happened to Sahar during her slavery?" Gretchen asked.

"They do not; only that it was very, very bad."

"I would assume that the children all understand the various relationships involved?" I asked.

"They do. When they seem old enough to understand, we tell them. Ishmael learned about a year ago, although he's known his mother and I are married since his birth. Children, I want to introduce you to Gretchen Shriver, Jessica Hagerty, and Conor. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your last name, Conor?"

"Devereaux."

David said, "Gretchen Shriver and Jessica Hagerty? Maman, are these the werewolves that have been in the news?"

"That's right. All three of them are wolf shapeshifters. There's another one who'll be arriving soon with Sahar."

"Cool," Sarah said. "Can we see them shift?"

"In order to shift, they have to be naked, so if they want to shift for you, which is up to them, only David and Sarah may watch. I think you're both old enough to handle that."

"Beth," Conor said, "that little problem that cropped up earlier would still exist. Sarah is on the same cycle as you are."

"All of the children have seen nudity at one point or another. For the younger children, it's been accidental, but once they start staying up past eight or nine, it became more intentional. We felt that if we tried to hide things, became secretive, it would be a puzzle the children would want to solve. Don't make it a mystery, and it won't be so mysterious. I'm afraid the four oldest have witnessed sex at some point or other, as they don't always follow directions explicitly. They've come into Master's playroom without knocking. All of the older children know the human reproductive system and how it works. It won't shock either of them too much."

We nodded. Kind of like explaining our new wolf bodies to our children.

"I thought Jessica got killed?" David said.

"That's what everyone was supposed to think," Beth said. "It was sort of a trap we arranged to find out who was shooting at the wolves. Jessica was wearing body armor, so she didn't die."

"Who was shooting at her?" Sarah asked.

"The first one we still don't know for sure, but the ones who attacked the morgue early this morning were all private contractors who could have been hired by anyone," Beth said. "Sahar and the other shifter are looking into that. It's why they aren't here now."

"Are they going to be staying with us?" Leah asked.

"If we did, we'd put all of you in danger," I said. "Your father and Edgar are looking for somewhere else for us to stay, someplace secret. It's part of the reason we haven't announced I'm still alive. They may come after me again. We'll probably tell everyone tomorrow after we have somewhere else to stay."

"You have children too, don't you?" Sarah said.

"I do. Would you like to see pictures?"

"Please."

I pulled out my phone and pulled up pictures of Matthew and Elizabeth. "This is my son, Matthew, and like your mothers, I am a submissive, and I had a co-submissive named Lenore. She had a child with my husband named Elizabeth, so like you, I consider her to be mine as well. Lenore got pregnant again just before my husband was killed, a shifter child, and is due to have her baby very soon, any day now really. I don't know how that's going to work out either at the moment. I'm sure she'll get help with the child, but it should go to the pack to be raised."

I pulled up the pictures of my three shifter children. "This is Francois, age 7, Bernadette, age 6, and Siobhan, age 3."

"Francois looks as old as David," Sarah said.

"Yes, he does. Shifter children mature much faster than human children. He's getting fairly close to his first shift. It could happen at any time. When he shifts for the first time, he'll be considered an adult and begin having sex. He'll be roughly the equivalent of an 18-year-old. I hoped he'd be able to go to college, but I don't know what's going to happen now. He would have been given a government ID saying he was eighteen under the old treaty. He's in hiding. All of my shifter children are in hiding now. The same with Gretchen's four children. Francois' father is the same as Conor's father. They're half brothers, just as most of you are half siblings."

"Can we see pictures of your children, Gretchen?" Leah asked.

"Of course."

She showed them pictures of hers, two boys, two girls. "Ivan is a little bit older than Francois," Gretchen said. "He may have shifted already. I don't know. He lives in Wisconsin with his pack. He's gone into hiding as well. Just as wolves couldn't raise human children, humans can't raise puppies either. They grow too fast for them to be perceived as normal children."

"Do you have children, Conor?" David asked.

"Not yet. I've been given mating privileges, but none of the women I mated with had one of mine."

"What do you mean they weren't yours?" Sarah asked. "I don't understand."

"We have to have sex with human women as a wolf to have a shifter child. We paid women to have sex with us, but several males are given the opportunity to mate. We believe that the strongest, most virile males will provide us with the best, strongest puppies. Anywhere from six to twelve wolves will mate with a female during her ovulation until she conceives. The father is identified with DNA testing. I haven't been a father to a shifter. I've helped some human women conceive human children, but they're not considered mine."

"If two shifters mate in their human form, they have human children," I said. "If they mate in their wolf shapes, they can only have real wolves as children. If a wolf in human shape mates with another human, they have human children. Conor has helped childless couples conceive in that way. Brigitte, our other pack partner, had a human child that way, and she's being raised by my parents, because wolves can't raise our human children. My mother was also born to a human woman and a wolf in human shape, although neither she nor I had any special abilities."

"Why not? Why can't you keep the children?" Leah asked.

"Secrecy was the main reason. Kids can't keep secrets, and our existence was secret. Plus, human children might be harmed by puppies because puppies can fix themselves if they get injured, but human children can't, so puppies, as we call the shifter children, would hurt their human playmates accidentally, and especially because they're growing so much faster. Another reason is because my children, my grandchildren, and even my great-grandchildren might die before I die now, which was also related to the secrecy issue. I couldn't be sitting around the house looking years younger than my children or grandchildren. People would know I was different, and the secret would be out.

"In fact, Conor, Gretchen, and I were just sparring in your dojo before lunch. We each suffered a number of broken bones when we did. Look, ma, no broken bones. We're fixed. We're afraid that's why some people are after wolves, to see if they can do the same thing for humans."

"But they can't," David said. "You think the only way to live long and repair yourself is because you're a werewolf. I heard that on the news."

"That's right. Every time I shift, my body has to remember its other form, and when I do shift, it rejects flaws that might be cropping up, such as disease or genetic mutation. The first time I shifted, it took over ten minutes for the changes to occur, because my wolf body was new. It didn't know what it was supposed to be. Now, each time I shift, I get faster and faster because it remembers my other form better. Conor, who's been shifting for fifteen years, takes under a second. Gretchen and I are still new wolves, and it takes over ten seconds of the most agonizing pain you can imagine. Conor's pain is as great as ours is, but only lasts for a second instead of ten or twelve. Once the change is complete, the pain stops."

They brought in the food, sandwiches, chips, and salads for the children, a little raw hamburger for us. Beth told us not to eat too much as we'd have a big dinner around seven.

The kids thought it was amusing that we three wolves carved up our raw hamburger and ate it with a fork.

"Is there any meat you particularly enjoy?" Beth asked.

"Venison," Conor said. "We live in an area where we can hunt our own deer. There's nothing like hunting your own food."

"Does it have to be raw?" David asked.

"Rare works okay," Conor said. "Never medium or more. It doesn't taste very good if it's cooked too long."

"Do you eat vegetables?" Leah asked.

"Not as much as you should," I said. "Our bodies need a lot of protein in order to shift from one form to another. I used to love vegetables, but they taste more bland now. We have different taste buds, I think, to ensure we eat the kinds of food we need to eat to be healthy. We also exercise a lot to make up for the fat and protein we mostly eat, so we don't get fat. As a human, I used to run ten miles most days. As a wolf, I usually run twenty or more. Not so much since I got to New York, but I did go running with Sahar in Central Park a few days ago."

"Who's taking my name in vain," Sahar said coming through the door with Brigitte.

"Mommy," Ishmael shrieked, climbing off his chair and running to her. She swung him high in the air while he squealed in delight, then she bombarded him with a dozen kisses all over his face.

"Hey, munchkin! Have you been a good boy today, or do I have to paddle your bottom?"

"I've been good."

"That's my boy." She gave him some more kisses.

"We expected you earlier," Beth said.

"We made a stop at the police station to give our statement about this morning. Plus, Brigitte needed to talk to her pack alpha. We didn't want to suggest a lie was told this morning."

"How's Rene doing?"

"Glad you're not dead, Wolf Daughter, and his son only took a wound to the arm. Quinn says hi, and to be more careful or he's going to tan your hide."

"I can hardly wait," I laughed. "My bottom feels neglected."

"How does your recuperative ability affect your punishments?" Beth asked.

"Master can beat me black and blue, and a minute later I'm fine. It hurts like hell when it's happening, but realistically, almost nothing hurts worse than a shift, so it's all relative, but it won't harm me. I probably don't need a safe word anymore."

"Sahar, love, Jessica pointed out that our Hogan's Alley scenario is faulty," Beth said. "You're not as good as you think you are."

"Do tell? In what way?"

"We'll show you later," I said, "although you'll have to give up your weapons for us to show you."

She nodded. More ground beef was brought out for Brigitte, and Sahar began dishing up some food, and Brigitte got introduced to the kids.

"Are you a wolf too?" Shiloh asked.

"I am, sweetie."

"You don't have big teeth like a wolf."

"Sometimes I do. Other times I don't. Did you know I have a little girl about your age?"

"Jessica said you did. Her mom is raising her."

"That's right. Her name is Kathleen. She's named after Jessica's grandmother. Since Jessica's parents were going to raise her, we wanted her name to remain in the family."

"Do you see her very often?"

"I used to see her once a month or so. I don't know what's going to happen in the future and how often I'll get to see her. Everything is so mixed up right now."

"Do you fear for your life?" David asked.

"If you're smart, you always worry if you're getting shot at. It makes you more careful."

"By the way, children, Brigitte is almost seventy years old. She's old enough to be your grandmother," I said.

David exclaimed, "No way! You're gorgeous."

Brigitte changed her voice. "Afraid so, sonny, but I'm glad you think I've still got my looks," in a granny voice. "I was born in 1980, making me 69 years old. I'm older than Jessica's mom and dad."

"And you had a baby?"

"I can have a baby until I'm around 250 years old, pipsqueak."

"What's your driver's license say?"

"That I'm 29," normal voice again, "but it's a fake driver's license because I couldn't go around saying I was 69, or people would have known something was up. If the government was still giving out fake IDs, I might have to get another one in ten years or so, but it seems like that's not going to happen anymore." She changed her voice again. "Maybe I'll get to act my age now, you young whippersnapper, get a walker and an oxygen bottle or something, check into an old folks home."

David laughed. "When will I start to catch up to you in appearance?"

"You'll pass me in apparent age in fifteen years or so. After that, you'll start looking much older. In eight years, you'll appear older than Conor. His apparent age and calendar age are just about aligned, but he'll look pretty much like he does now for another ten or fifteen years. By that time, he'll be forty or so. Then he might have to worry about what his current ID says. He might look a couple of years older."

"That's unreal," Sarah said.

"There are a few wolves alive today that were born before we became a country. Most of them are related to American Indians. There weren't a lot of any other races in this country until after the 1700s," I said. "Most of the wolves in Canada are still related to the Indian nations, as most wolves abandoned the more populated areas the Europeans moved to."

"And you've met other Were animals?"

"Bears in Wisconsin and Maine and jaguars in Mexico," I said. "Brigitte's job, at times, has been to hunt other Weres down who were violating the treaty. That was mostly other wolves, with some bears thrown in. Those are primarily what's around where we live. Most of the other kinds of Weres are out west, and there aren't a lot of them left. It's even harder for them to find breeding partners than it is for wolves. Because wolves are pack animals, they could pool their resources to pay for women to have puppies. Other animals couldn't. Before they started paying, they'd try to find girlfriends who'd agree to have sex in their other shape. It wasn't very successful, even for animals that look fairly familiar."

"What's it like having sex with a wolf as a wolf?" Sarah asked.

Sahar picked up Ishmael, and I could tell she was uncomfortable with the question, holding him close.

"Very different, but not bad. They're competent lovers even as a wolf. If they weren't, you wouldn't be able to get a woman to have more than one puppy. Gretchen and I both signed up for four."

"You only have three," David pointed out.

"One was killed when my stomach was sliced open. It's why my future mate had to bite me, to make me a shifter to save my life. Even that wouldn't have worked if it hadn't been a full moon that night. I'd have died before I could shift, even receiving medical care from trained medics. They would have needed a hospital, and I was hundreds of miles from any hospital. I can't have any more puppies unless we figure out how to keep men aroused while they're having sex with a wolf. It's easier for male wolves to have sex with human women. Wolves have sex with both human and wolf shapes all the time. Both are arousing to a wolf. Men, not so much. I think it's the teeth primarily that throw them off their feed, but we just don't look like what they're attracted to."

"So it's true that your arm was bitten off, Gretchen?" Sarah said.

"This one," she said, raising her right arm. "I had to shift six or seven times a day for over two weeks before I could get it back. Every time I'd shift, I'd get a little bit more, and every time I had to shift, I was in agony. It's still painful. The only thing that makes it better is I get faster each time I shift. Instead of ten minutes of bones breaking in every part of my body, it's only ten seconds."

"I've seen some of your artwork in some of the New York galleries," Sarah said. "You're very talented."

"Thank you."

"You're just like regular people," David said. "Why all the hysteria?"

"Sometimes, when people want to mistreat another group of people, they need to demonize them, make them less than human. Stupid, or different, or ungodly, or no better than animals. It's what they did with black slaves. They were too stupid to be educated like whites and if not kept under control, they'd resort to their jungle instincts and rape all of the white women. Being no better than an animal is fairly easy to hang on us, because we look like animals at times. It doesn't mean we aren't rational, thinking, feeling, or loving, but folks will blame everyone who doesn't look like them for the problems that they have. Can't find a job, blame illegal immigrants, have a terrorist attack, blame all the Muslims. Crime goes up, let's blame the black people or the poor. Instead of blaming the individuals responsible. Blame everyone that looks like the bad guys. It makes it easy to pick out and pick on your enemies. Everyone who looks or acts slightly different from you is bad, and you should hate them. That's where we're at now. Until humans get a chance to know us like you are, we're the enemy. It makes it easy for those who want to keep things stirred up."

"She's right," Beth said. "You know many good people of all nationalities, religions, and races. You know there are good ones and bad ones of every type. For every bad Muslim, there's a Sahar, or Maahnoor, or Farah. For every bad black person, there's a Henderson, a Jake, or Angelique. You can't lump people together and ever be fair to the good ones. Everyone should be judged by their own deeds, and not the deeds of someone else."

"I was raised to dislike the Jewish people," Sahar said. "The Jews were somehow responsible for all of the poverty in many of the countries in the Middle East. We wouldn't all be poor if it weren't for the Jews, or the Americans for stealing our oil. It was our own leaders selling the oil, and getting rich like kings, but no, it's the Americans and Jews' fault. Then I met your father, and he is one of the best, kindest, and most honorable men I know.

"I thought for sure I was going to have to kill him to get away from him so I wouldn't be enslaved again. Your father gives me a better knife, and has his men train me to use firearms. I'm bewildered. Why is this man helping me when I'll have to kill him? I hated all men. I could not stand the thought of another man ever touching me.

"I was on a ship full of men, ready to kill them or myself if one of them laid a hand on me. As rough and deadly as most of them were, they were the gentlest, kindest men I ever met. They treated me better than my father did when I finally saw him again. I know that Beth and Joshua had a lot to do with that. They made sure everyone treated the freed slaves like crystal goblets. My judgement was clouded by my experiences, and I had to realize that there are good people in this world of all races, creeds, genders, and cultures, and that even the roughest men on the outside can be pussycats on the inside."

"Why did you start having sex with men again?" Leah asked.

"That's easy," Sahar laughed. "Any woman willing to join Beth and her Master in bed got to spend more time with Beth. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with the love of my life and future bride, so I figured I'd have to learn to have sex with Joshua. Ishmael's father was the right man for the job. He was so gentle, so kind, so good, I never once felt like I'd have to stab him. He let me tie him up so he couldn't touch me until I was ready to be touched." She laid another kiss on Ishmael's cheek.

We all had to laugh at that, including all of the older children.

Joshua and Edgar joined the party shortly after the laughter died down.

"What do you think? Pretty much normal folks, aren't they?" Joshua said.

"Can we keep them?" Leah said. "I think they're amazing."

"I'm afraid not. They all have families and lives to get back to, and as much as I hate to say it, having them stay here puts a big target on our happy home until we know who's after the wolves and why. I can't endanger any of you, but fortunately, we found someplace to stash them where they should be safe. Access to them will be controlled by Edgar, and only those willing to be blindfolded during the trip will be allowed to see them. We'll get them moved after lunch tomorrow. That should give us time to get everything set up."

"Maman said that only David and Sarah get to see them shift. I want to see it too. I'm only sixteen months younger than Sarah. I think everyone down to Naomi should be able to watch. I think it would be educational."

"What do you think, Jessica? What's your opinion?"

"I haven't even let my own children see me shift. For one thing, it's still painful for so long, we tend to scream a bit, and sometimes that turns into a wolf howl mid-shift. That can be scary for the younger kids. Naomi is twelve, isn't she?"

"That's right," Joshua said, a half smile on his face.

"That's about the age that kids start to enjoy scary movies, but they can still have nightmares when they see them. Beth said they've all seen nudity, and even erections, which are likely under the circumstances. It should really be up to their parents, but I'd warn them that it might be very scary to them, and they could have nightmares. If they really want to see it anyway, maybe leave it up to the older ones to decide if they want to see it that badly."

"When do you think you'll let your own children see you shift?" Beth asked.

"Probably between eight and ten, depending on maturity level when it's time. They already know I can shift, just not what it looks like. The puppies have already seen me shift, but it's an everyday occurrence to them. It's only Kathleen, Matthew, and Elizabeth that haven't seen a shift. All of my human friends and relatives saw it after they signed a government NDA, and Gretchen and I informed them we'd been changed to shifters. At the time, our shifts were still taking over two minutes, so it was pretty rough for everyone."

"Is that the first time your parents knew you were now a shapeshifter?" Beth asked.

"They were told within a couple of days, before I even got home, because they already knew about shifters. Most of the others in my life didn't, only the women who'd chosen to be breeders. Not even their families, or in some cases, their husbands, knew they were mating with werewolves. They were just told we were providing surrogacy services for infertile couples and getting paid for it."

"When were your parents told you were a shifter, Gretchen?"

"Not until after my first shift, about nine days after I lost my arm. Although I knew I would probably shift, I guess I was in denial until it actually happened because I didn't feel anything happening. I told them then."

"And what do you think about the children watching?"

"I guess I'd say no if it would take longer than it did, and really, if only Conor and Brigitte shift, it will be over in a second, and they won't scream like Jessica and I might. That probably wouldn't be that scary for them."

"That's true," I said. "Gretchen and I shifting would be scarier. Brigitte and Conor would be a piece of cake except for the nudity. If you don't have a problem with that, it might not be that big of an issue. If I'm down to two seconds or less, I might let my kids see it earlier."

"Beth, would you like to change your mind?" Joshua asked. "I'll leave it up to you since you set the age limit initially."

"I like the idea that Connor and Brigitte would be so quick. Watching Gretchen and Jessica the first time was rough on me, but if it's just those two, all the way down to Naomi may watch, if they want to."

"I'll concur. You get your wish, Leah, but don't come whining to us if you have a nightmare."

"That's fair," Leah said.

"Brigitte, we'll discuss your future living arrangements a little later, since you're the top bitch in charge."

"Thanks so much for your help, Joshua."

"You're welcome. It's been my pleasure, actually. I thought I'd seen just about everything there was to see. Shifters have managed to throw me for a loop, and that doesn't happen very often."

******