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Chapter 3. A lot 'Moor' to learn.

Cassius launched straight for Balthazar's throat as soon as the circle was clear. His anger clouded his judgement as the burning taunts of the wolf he should have exiled, sidestepped and nipped at his flank as he tumbled past. "Face me Moor!" he snarled, the racist taunt aimed to bite deeply into his opponents soul.

"Ha...You like fighting by chasing and words...you will not exhaust me that way coward." Balthazar spat back.

"Face me then, and I will show you what my teeth can do..."

"You missed your kill yesterday...your teeth are as weak as your courage..."

Cassius charged again, Balthazar again side stepping the amateurish attack but grabbing hold of the Alpha's tail as he passed this time, dislocating it to fall limp on only it's connecting skin, "Submitting already coward?" he taunted as Cassius turned snarling in pain.

Cassius tried to bring his anger under control...he was being played with and he knew it. Worry was now beginning to control his mind as he backed off and looked more carefully for an opening, "So the slave wants to become the master..." he growled.

"I was never a slave Cassius..." Balthazar replied, awaiting the grey wolf's next move.

Cassius continued to circle him, jabbing in with his teeth to take a tuft of hair here, and nick of skin there as each attack was avoided neatly. Balthazar was refusing to attack him at the moment, but he knew he could not take the defensive position himself as the reigning Alpha, as it would show weakness.

"Hairball yet?" Balthazar queried as his violet eyes flashed, another tuft of his thick coat sacrificed for the sake of the jibe, "Maybe you should go join the Werecats in the deep mountains if you carry on like this..."

"Fuck you!" Cassius cried and tried a similar sort of manoeuvre that Millicent had failed with, launching himself high, but protecting his belly as he landed hard on Balthazar's back. He tried in vain to lock his teeth into the midnight scruff, but the writhing mass of muscle bucked under him like a cornered boar, and all he got for his efforts was more hair and a heavy tumble. Before he could recover Balthazar landed on him, pinning him to the dust.

"Submit!" Balthazar growled as he closed his jaws on Cassius's spine.

"Never Moor!" Cassius growled. "Kill me, or release me to continue fighting!" Balthazar shook him like a pup, rattling the teeth in his skull before letting him free, blood dripping from his neck to stain his chest ruff.

"As you wish...try again Alpha..." the black wolf taunted, "To kill you then would be murder; you have not even done more than scratch me yet."

Cassius shook his head to try and clear his brain. A fine spray of blood casting a pink mist from his actions, and he knew he had little time before weakness overtook him. It was time to fight dirty... He feinted left, and then with a strong push from his hind legs launched himself forward on his back, going for a belly strike as his foe was distracted.

Balthazar stumbled sideways as he only just avoided being gutted, but before the grey wolf could recover he spun and grabbed Cassius by the hind leg, this time not holding back as with a splintering crack, he snapped the tibia clean in half with his jaws.

Cassius screamed in agony...he had lost. He knew it as with only three legs he had no chance now. Teeth closed around his balls and sheath and he braced himself for the cruellest bite...

"Submit!" Balthazar barked, muffled by the orbs in his mouth.

"To die slowly from starvation...take my throat changeling Moor!" Cassius yelped through his pain.

"You are an asset Cassius...a foolish and a cowardly one, but an asset nevertheless. The healer you so deride can mend your leg and tail like he did the Alpha bitch's...Submit to me..." Balthazar challenged again.

Cassius growled, thoughts running through his mind as it faded from the pain...There would maybe be another time... "I submit...I submit Alpha!" he declared eventually.

"WITNESSED!" The pack howled.

Balthazar released his grip and stood, shaking himself to settle his pelt as Cassius lay bloody at his feet. "Do you all freely pledge to accept my leadership as new Alpha?!" he bayed.

"WE DO!!" the males all replied.

"Do you all agree the fight was fair and within the laws of Werekind?!" he shouted.

"WE DO!"

"Do you Helewys, Ledrene and Alpha bitch accept me as your Alpha in front of these witnesses?" Balthazar queried, turning to the last obstacle in his path. He knew she could challenge him to fight the change...

Helewys nodded, "I do Balthazar, Alpha," she replied, lowering her head slightly in acceptance.

"Then as my first decree, I pronounce that all discriminations between changelings and Wereborn are to be forgotten. Any who break that rule will be answerable to me in the circle. The packs to the south were at war with the humans and each other when I left with my injured mate four years ago...We need to work together and not against each other if war comes to us. Do you agree to abide by that rule?"

"WE DO ALPHA!" the pack responded.

"So be it..." Balthazar turned to face Ysmay where she was still pressed close to Simeon. "Ysmay, please step into the ring. I would prefer for this to be a private moment for you, but you know that you stepped over the boundary with Simeon in the hut. There is only one way to restore his honour in front of the pack...Submit to me here in the ring, in front of your father and proof will be shown to the other members that Simeon did not break the law himself."

Ysmay glanced at Helewys, who just nodded and turned her head away in disgust. "I do this for you as an apology," she said quietly to Simeon as she stepped over the line.

She circled Balthazar who was stood majestically in the circle's centre. He was already partly erect, the tip of his maleness glinting with the sweat of the battle fought and won. Her loins ached with the need for breeding as she eventually stopped in front of his huge head and turned tail to him, switching it to one side, "I submit Alpha...breed me for the good of the pack," she declared loudly.

Balthazar dipped his nose under her tail, teasing his virgin prize with his tongue, sampling her readiness and the tastes of Simeon's saliva too...there was no blood though, thank Lupinius. Gently he hopped forward on his hind legs, his teeth closing on her ruff as she leaned back into him... "Ready?" he asked through clasped teeth.

"Yes..." she breathed in need as she felt his tip grace her spade with its touch.

"So be it..." With that declaration, he launched his hindquarters forward like a stag breeding a doe. She screamed under him as he filled her tight passage for the first time, his pointed tip ripping the proof of her innocence from her as it sought her fertile and needy womb. Blood began to leak from around his now fully erect maleness. "WITNESS THE HEALER'S INNOCENCE!" Balthazar bayed.

"WE WITNESS ALPHA!" the pack returned, looking at Simeon as they shouted it.

"Cassius...apologise now!"

The defeated wolf looked up with pain filled eyes, "I apologise for the false challenge healer..." he spat out in disgust.

"Accept his statement healer..." Balthazar stated, pulling free of Ysmay without a further thrust. She turned on him growling in frustration, "WAIT!" he commanded her and she lowered her ears.

"I accept...Cassius," Simeon replied with his head and ears forward.

"Then it is settled. Heal him if you can Simeon...if you can't, take away his pain. Ledrene, I suggest that you help him as he is not able to turn human yet and hands are needed while I take your daughter to my new pad...I will never defile yours as Cassius did. Ysmay follow me into the hut...we shall conclude my duty to you in private." With that Balthazar turned and headed into central hut without a word, Ysmay following on his tail as the pack dispersed to whatever they we doing before the fight.

The sounds of Ysmay's heat being relieved soon echoed out into the village, as Balthazar proved he was a true Alpha in every way.

****

Simeon approached Cassius with caution, "May I examine you...Cassius?" he asked politely, the use of his name, rather than his no longer relevant title foreign to his new training.

"Well if you don't, I may as well be pushed into the river!" the defeated Were growled.

"Stop that now you stupid oaf!" Helewys barked angrily from where had come up beside Simeon, "You want to live or not?"

"I don't want to live if I am to be a cripple Helewys!" Cassius growled back.

"Alpha..." Helewys growled.

"What?"

"I said Alpha...I am now your Alpha, and you will call me such until I to lose my position. We share no love or friendship between each other." Helewys replied.

Cassius looked as if he was about to say something, but pain washed over his features, "Yes Alpha," he muttered.

"Good..." Helewys turned to Simeon, "You and I need another talk I think...but not right now."

Simeon nodded, "Yes Alpha, sorry Alpha..."

"Helewys...we share friendship, and therefore you may call me by my name, unless I say otherwise. I was not expecting him," she gestured down at Cassius with her nose, "To fall to Balthazar, and to be honest I have no idea what the consequences will be for the pack with a Moor leading us...but what is done will be. Can you heal him without him being a cripple?"

"Thank you Helewys..." Simeon replied hesitantly, "I wish I had hands, I cannot as fully access the break with paws."

"Tell me what to feel for," she suggested.

"Knock him out first...beginners tend to cause a lot of pain."

"I can handle it..." Cassius growled, before yelping, his eyes rolling in his head as he passed out when Simeon grabbed the paw on the broken leg in his teeth and pulled it straight.

"Was that required?" Helewys asked with a grin on her muzzle.

"Of course..." Simeon replied looking up, a look of innocence in his eyes, though his lips curled up slightly on his muzzle.

Helewys chuckled, "Shall I maybe go and fetch your knap?"

Simeon nodded and began nosing at the lacerations and teeth marks in the unconscious Cassius' neck. They were still weeping blood, but superficial. Garlic water and gentle care would be all that was needed to stop infection...no stitches. He blushed slightly as he then went down to examine the marks left on his patient's sheath and scrotum, thanking Lupinius silently that they too would not require tending. His leg was a mess though, though unlike Helewys', he would not be requiring stitches, as the skin was only pierced, not torn.

Helewys returned in human form, his knap swinging in one hand. "So what do you think?" she asked.

"I think he may be lucky...but I cannot tell fully. I wish I were like you already!" Simeon complained.

"Patience youngling, trust me when I say that it will hurt a great deal the first time, but you will be able to change back soon. I was frustrated to. What do you need me to feel for?" she asked.

"I need to know if the break is clean...but that will wake him up. You swallowed some opiates to deaden the nerves a little before I manipulated you..."

"And I still nearly howled the woods down...It fucking hurt more than the trap closing itself!" she butted in.

"Did you ever dose a puppy or a child when you were human?" Simeon asked, looking up as she turned away from him.

"I...I did..." she stuttered, suddenly losing all the appearance of Alpha in his eyes as she shrunk into herself.

"Oh...they choked then..." he said, confusing her reasons for withdrawal.

"He did not...though I and the tablets couldn't save him..." Helewys knelt and took Simeon's head tightly in her arms, staring deeply into his eyes, "I do not tell many this... I was on the edge of a sea cliff at this pack's furthest boundaries when Robin found me. I was about to throw myself to God's whim when he changed in front of me and I was given the option of a second life. He must have seen my internal strength or something. I was a tavern wench as you have heard before, and I had buried my six moon old son two days previously. I had nothing to live for. He was the one I dosed, the healer of the port being young, so I paid for the medicine and willow bark the only way I could...it was not enough to save him from the sickness that claimed him though. His father could have been one of hundreds of sailors who patriated the tavern I served in, and was long gone. That is why I was a failed mother Simeon...I have been blessed with eleven fine children since the change here, and more will likely spill from my womb, but my first will never leave my heart. So yes Simeon, I know how to dose someone..."

"I'm sorry..." Simeon said, nothing more could be added.

"It is in the past now, so don't be...just keep my confidence okay?"

"Okay."

"So you want me to dose Cassius with the same pills you gave me?" Helewys queried as she began to gently dig into his knap to find them.

"Yes, but he is heavier than you I think, even though you are bigger than him slightly in the body. So give him three please."

"Bitches that can make Alpha are always bigger than the males...we bear pups easier for starters. Cassius is just overfed...he used his Alpha status to take what he wanted from the larger kills." Helewys knelt and forced Cassius's mouth open, rolling the pills into the back of his throat before pinching his nostrils closed and rolling her fingers down his neck until he convulsively swallowed.

Simeon snorted in amusement, "He is still well muscled though," he commented politely, as he picked up the limp flag of fur between Cassius's splayed legs with his paws.

"Ha! Too well in his head I think."

"Can you feel for a pulse in his tail please," Simeon asked, serious again, "I am not picking one up."

Helewys left Cassius' head and did as bid, "There is none."

"Crap...It was dislocated at the beginning of the fight...that would be nearly a mark ago. I am afraid the cells and vessels will have necrotised..." Simeon muttered to himself, lowering his nose to the flesh and breathing deeply.

Helewys looked at him puzzled, "That did not translate into Lupine Simeon..." she said.

"His tail is dead...I will have to amputate. Could have saved it earlier possibly, but if I leave it, it will infect."

"He isn't going to like that..." Helewys replied.

"He hasn't a choice other than death. Better to do it now at the same time as setting his leg, his breathing has settled into a steady pattern meaning he is too far under to feel anything." Simeon said, "I just wish I had hands so I could do it."

"Would you take his throat if he wakes up and demands it?" Helewys asked carefully.

"Only if he demanded it...I watched Merek ease others into the permanent sleep when they were too injured to heal. I can do that as part of my oaths you know."

"Could you have saved Millicent?" Helewys asked quietly.

Simeon looked away for minute, "As a wolf, no...if I had been human again, she might have had a ten percent chance. You had not damaged her intestines. Gut wounds are nasty only if they damage what is inside."

"I will bear that in mind next time. So what do you want me to do now?" she asked, "I am very much the pupil for the time being."

"Does the pack have any..." Simeon flushed for a second, "Any who were actual seamstresses amongst its members?"

Helewys chuckled, "Afraid not, but my mentor, Robin was a leatherworker."

"Ah...He will know how to use a needle then...are his hands still steady?"

"Yes."

"Good, could you call him and get a hot fire started in the pit as I guess you have no raw spirits around. But first we need to set Cassius' leg before we lose that too."

Helewys nodded, turning as she saw another bitch Simeon didn't recognise heading towards a hut, "Fel...find and request old Robin's presence for me."

"Yes Alpha," Fel replied and trotted off towards the falls.

"What do a need to do with his leg?" Helewys asked.

"I need to know if it is a straight or compound break," Simeon replied, "If the latter, he will lose it. Pull it straight with your hands and align his paw correctly...you should feel a pulse return to his pads."

Helewys did as instructed, a slight whimper escaping Cassius' throat as she did, "Pulse is there."

"Good, means it is still alive. Now run your hand carefully along the line of the bone... are there any splinters, or does it seem to be just a single clean snap?" Simeon asked.

"Mmmm...clean snap, I can't feel any loose bones, and it is aligned properly I think," she answered.

"Well it should heal then. If it is offline, he will limp. Nothing I can do about that once it is set. Can you remember how I bound yours?" Simeon queried as the grizzled wolf who had fetched Merek's payment walked up slowly. He changed human and Simeon assessed him as being well into his latter quadrant of life, his hair and beard was as silver as his coat, but despite the heavy wrinkles that marred his skin, his hands were still steady.

"You wanted me Ledrene?" Robin said with a bob of his head.

"You of all know you don't have to call me that mentor...but as it is, it is the healer that needs your steady hands," Helewys replied with a smile as she began to gently bind Cassius' limb into the splints Simeon had separated out with his teeth as he watched her carefully.

"Yes healer, how may I be of assistance?" Robin asked turning to Simeon.

"Have you ever stitched skin?" Simeon asked gently without taking his eyes off exactly what Helewys was doing, "I am a little disabled at the moment."

Robin laughed breathily, and then broke into a rattley cough that distracted Simeon just enough to look up with concern, "You have bronchitis...or I least I hope that is all it is. How long have you been suffering?"

"Couple of moons, but I am not important. I have never stitched uncured hide," Robin answered with a slight smile.

"You will today, Cassius' tail has got to be amputated and I cannot do it as I am. Have you passed your condition on to anyone else?" Simeon asked, his attention back on Helewys' hands as she worked; though she was silent, she was obviously listening carefully.

"No one else has come down sick around me, though I hardly kiss and make up these days. Would it be unkind to say it serves the bullying bastard right?" Robin asked.

Helewys choked on a laugh as Simeon curled his lupine lips up, "He can still hear you, you know," Simeon pointed out.

"Mmm...rather die with my throat missing than coughing my lungs out."

Simeon looked towards his knap and supplies, sniffing deeply at it to ascertain just exactly what Merek had packed for him...what he wanted was not there. "Helewys, Ledrene, does the pack have a bitch who is a good distance runner?" He asked formally.

"Yes, many...Why?"

"I need something from Merek...I can cure or at least relieve Robin of his symptoms, but I have none in my knap. At least he has not got White-lung...the whole pack would likely be suffering or dead if he had."

"Don't waste your time on me youngster..." Robin said as Helewys started to look around.

"You are never a waste of time mentor..." she turned as Fel came into view again, "You doing anything Fel...I need a volunteer. I am not ordering you as your Ledrene, so the choice is yours."

"Not doing anything at present, Alpha," Fel replied trotting up and taking a good look at exactly what was going on. She was a lean and lanky bitch of indeterminate colour or for that matter age, Simeon noted...about a head smaller than Helewys.

"You know where the human healer resides in Garddetownne?" Helewys asked.

"Yes Alpha."

"Fancy a run out there and back for the healer here?"

Fel grinned, "I think I can manage that...if the healer grants me an evening in my hut."

Simeon looked up sharply as both Helewys and Robin started laughing, "Pardon?" he queried, flushing.

"I think you heard healer," Fel said and rubbed her cheek to his before heading down towards his tail.

"Ah...ah...You could come out with Gregor's group," he suggested hesitantly.

"Nope...I want you alone for the evening, and I don't get along with Gregor, never have done."

"Well I guess...as long as Alpha and Helewys agree to it..."

"I do, and I will make sure Balthazar does too. You are not near cycle are you Fel?" Helewys queried.

"Nope...three moons out by my reckoning...pups can go play with the others for the evening, they are nine moons old after all. Gunther was the father, and you know never came back from his hunt three moons ago..."

"I know, he was a loss to us all," Helewys commiserated.

"To me especially, but the pack goes on. He was hoping to challenge Cassius one day...but anyway, do you agree healer?" she pressed.

"I do..." Simeon said, not moving quick enough as Fel licked his snout from top to bottom.

"Then what do you want?" She asked.

"Mullein...Tell Master Merek that I need two weeks supply as it is out of season. Bronchitis patient...he will give it to you and I will pay for it later." Simeon replied quickly and professionally.

Fel grinned, "You spoke human then, while still a wolf...shows you will change back sooner rather than later. Be back in...oh three marks. Oh, and I will pay Merek..." With that she turned and bounded out of the village in a superb ground eating lope, Simeon's eyes following her swaying hips.

Helewys cleared her throat, "Fel was a bit of a loose tail if you catch my drift Simeon, but she was loyal to Gunther. I tell you that as a warning...she may be looking for another permanent pad warmer."

"You keep referring to pad warmers, I thought that all bitches were essentially at the beck and call of the Alpha male," Simeon asked, slightly confused.

Robin chuckled, "They are, but a pad warming couple could be classified in the same terms as a human marriage. All sensible Alphas will grant boon for a bitch to remain with their chosen mate even through heat, as I did. Fel I fear has got a taste for being provided for by a mate, and therefore her trade to you may have a double meaning."

"Well I can't bloody hunt for myself yet, ne'er mind another. Not that I am interested in a relationship with someone who wants me just for my cock." Simeon grumbled as Helewys finished the final knot in the binding of Cassius' leg. "There were lacerations Helewys, so soak it in garlic water for safety please," he corrected as she sat back on her feet. She did so immediately.

"He will hate that you know...the smell nearly drove me and him mad from my bandage," she said chuckling, "You will be as well off as any Alpha leader, Simeon...you will be paid by those you heal or cure with fresh kills. It could be distinctly advantageous to be your pad warmer."

"Where will Cassius reside now, and who will look after him for the next few weeks?" Simeon asked suddenly, the thought popping into his head, not quite believing what he was hearing, and trying to change the subject.

"Well when you are housed, the sick will stay with you, just as they would in a house of human healing. He is technically homeless at the moment, and I doubt any bitch will take him in and feed him after the way he treated everyone as Alpha. I cannot of course, my place is at Balthazar's side now." Helewys stated.

"There are always the empty huts..." Robin suggested.

"Still doesn't solve the hunting issue," Helewys pointed out, "I can drop my spare catches to him, though I resent it. I should give them to Ptolemy as I instructed the rest of the bitches to."

"I will hunt for him..." Balthazar's voice came out from the central hut, "As the new Alpha, I wish to be benevolent, not cruel like him."

"That is not normal..." Helewys started.

"It is now, as it was for my...race. The pack will be all the stronger for it. We looked after our sick, not discarded them when they could not look after themselves. I would join you, but your daughter is still in need of me. I have been listening to the conversations though." The disembodied voice of the black wolf said, slightly breathily.

Simeon turned to face the hut and the violet eyes which was all he could see peering from the darkness within, "Your race was human...the sick were thrown to Merek's mercy in the town. How were you any different...Alpha?" he asked as a chuckle sounded in response to the question, and the belated Alpha response.

The eyes vanished for a moment, the low murmur of two lupine voices sounding before the violet ones were joined by Ysmay's directly below them. There was a feminine yip, followed by a slurping as Balthazar rose and trotted outside, his shaft dripping with the fluids of combined intercourse as his knot shrunk. He stood in the sun, all the light being sucked into his pelt.

"This is why healer...this is why the coward you are trying to heal was fighting with his gob and not his teeth at first..." With that, he changed and Simeon's jaw dropped open at the site.

"B...B...B...but...You are a..." Simeon stuttered.

"A Were, healer...I am a Were now, and your Alpha." The huge ebony black human stated firmly, "Before that though I was a Moor...A Negro... A slave... Few here chose to discover my history when I turned up begging for help with my bowshot Mate...the one who changed me...and I loved. I will not love another with my heart, not after cruelly losing two in my life already. This is why discrimination will not be tolerated in this pack," he gestured at his skin colour, "When Ysmay is satisfied and in pup in a couple of days, I would discuss with you and Helewys, to seek your wisdoms on things that have been bothering me since my arrival...And to share some of my history with you. Simeon, you may do as you wish with Fel...though I agree that your heart should not be given to her."

"Yes Alpha," Simeon replied deferentially.

"Yes Balthazar," Helewys also replied.

"Good...then I will return to my more immediate duties then." And with that he turned wolf again and headed back to cool Ysmay's heat for a second time.

"It appears that I will have a loveless relationship with my new Alpha too," Helewys sighed.

"I did not say that...Ledrene...I said that I could not love you with my heart," Balthazar said quietly, as Helewys' ears turned on her head towards the cabin, "The question is if you can see past the colour of my skin..." Ysmay yipped in pleasure then as his duties were resumed.

Simeon observed Helewys in silence as a number if expressions passed across her face.

Her thoughts were broken by Robin clearing his throat, "Should I not be doing what you called me here for?" he asked.

"Ah...yes. What do we do next?" Helewys asked Simeon as she regained her poise.

"Roll him onto his belly please...careful not to disturb his leg as you do so," Simeon instructed, watching as Helewys and Robin worked together. "Robin, in the knap you should find some honed knives, wrapped in a buck skin. Can you shave the hair carefully from around the base of his tail and spine please."

Robin nodded, fishing around for the roll of blades. He selected the largest and did as bid, the grey strands dropping to the floor with each firm stroke of the blade until the pink skin was showing, the colour obviously different where the broken vessels had cut off the supply to the dead tail flesh.

"Good...Now take the finest blade in your steadiest hand. Helewys, please feel two vertebrae down from the dislocated socket, and hold the skin taut there please." She did as bid, Cassius whimpering in his drugged state as some pain slipped through. "Now make a single quick incision, circling the bone please and leaving no jagged edges," Simeon instructed Robin, who after hesitating for a second, performed the surgery cleanly. Black and semi-clotted blood started to run from the wound. "Quickly now Helewys, pull the whole tail free including the two vertebrae you counted out. Make sure as she does so Robin, that you cut the tendons that hold the bone to the muscles."

Cassius jerked under them as his tail was effectively severed from his body, falling free into Helewys' hands. "Good...nice and clean. Robin, douse the wound with garlic water and then using one of the moon-silver needles, stitch it up tight with my remaining catgut. I hope there will be no gashes in the pack until I am able to prepare myself new supplies. The skin should heal together on its own accord if kept sterile...it is unfortunate that the wound is so close to his body's exit port. He will have to groom himself after each...defecation."

"I can prepare rudimentary catgut," Robin stated as he worked as instructed, "Though not of a healer's quality. It is not a dissimilar process to tanning. It would do in an emergency."

"That would be a relief...thank you," Simeon said as Robin sat back to expose a row of incredibly neat stitching.

"Is that everything for now?" Robin asked, as he packed up the needle and knives after cleaning them carefully on Cassius' discarded tail.

"It is thank you," Simeon replied.

"Well in that case I will gather up a couple more of us oldsters and go and steal a ewe from the shepherd's flock. The mutton will feed us, and I will cure the gut for you..." Robin turned wolf again with another rattling cough, before trotting off in the direction of his hut.

"Robin..." Simeon called. The old wolf paused and turned to face him, "Find me in the morning for the Mullein." Robin nodded and turned to resume his trot away from them.

"Will he genuinely live for much longer?" Helewys asked quietly.

"Depends on how much damage is already done. The herb could give him a couple more years if it lifts the affliction from his lungs," Simeon replied with a sigh.

"It is all I can ask that you try...Come, you go rip up some ferns for a sleeping pad, and I will carry him to one of the empty huts near the falls. Meet me there." She heaved Cassius' limp body up into her arms and walked off towards the falls as Simeon wondered yet again at her strength...he would not have been able as a human to even shift a canine the size of Cassius, and he wondered just how strong he too would be after he regained the ability to change back at will.

****

Fel was as good as her word...she loped back into the village with the supply of Mullein hanging in a bag around her neck...and the taste of Merek on her tongue less than three marks later. Gussalen, the serving wench that had replaced Simeon was still not in any mood to thank the old healer for the saving of her life...albeit with the loss of her mobility. So without the selfish bitch's knowledge she had slipped stealthily up to the house of healing and attracted Merek's attention through the window.

He had left his preparation room and strolled down to the privy as if answering a call of nature...only step past it and into the edge of the woods where she had changed human and presented to him Simeon's request. She smiled to herself as what she had hoped for had happened, her sweat soaked fur and breasts from the run, enhancing her natural pheromones had left Merek in need of payment...and she had happily provided him with it. He wouldn't go for intercourse though with her being part animal, so a blow was what she gave, even if it just left her wanting relief more. Simeon had better provide her with that relief!

Following her nose, she found Simeon and Helewys in one of the spare huts near the falls, tending to a fire and new bedding as Cassius lay snoring and tailless to one side of the building. "He is going to hate that..." Fel commented.

"Either that or die of infection," Simeon commented, "I couldn't save it."

"I reckon there will be more than one circle scuffle when he recovers enough, as the other males...and not a few bitches will tease him over his loss." Fel chuckled.

"Those that do so will answer to me," Helewys threatened.

"Yes Alpha!" Fel responded, dropping into a submissive position.

"The pack must stay united, as is Balthazar's decree. Bullying of Cassius' type is no longer going to be tolerated...much as I would like to tease him myself over some of the things he has done to us bitches in the past," Helewys commented, with a slight grin that allowed Fel to stand again.

"Is that the Mullein?" Simeon asked.

"It is...Merek was paid in full for it." Fel commented, changing human to remove the package from around her neck.

"Did you take more gold for him then...I didn't see you..." He was stopped as Fel approached him and knelt. Her human lips wrapping around his lupine ones in a sloppy, doggy style kiss that involved her tongue. He slipped his between her lips and the taste of salt was picked up before she broke her hold and sat back. "Ah..." he said. He knew what that taste was from the times he had answered the calls of his teen body alone...and now of course from cleaning the bitches after intercourse.

"He was more than satisfied I think..." Fel said cheekily, "It is now up to you to provide me with my satisfaction in return."

Helewys chuckled, "How long will he sleep?" she asked, indicating Cassius.

"I doubt we will have to worry about him before morning," Simeon replied.

"Good...then I will meet you here in the morning in case he turns vicious. It is time for me to join my daughter and do my duty for the new Alpha." Helewys turned wolf again and left the hut.

Simeon watched her go, "She is a wise Alpha," Fel commented.

"You could be too..." Simeon replied.

"Ha! Look at me Simeon...I could never be Alpha...I am of the Beta class. How old do you think I am?" she asked turning to him.

"I am not very good at gauging Were ages..." Simeon deferred.

"I am fourteen, in my peak, and Wereborn...My current pups are my 11th litter. It hurts so much every time one of them goes out on hunt and never comes home, as my pad warmer did. Now come, you owe me that favour..." She turned and left the hut, still in human form as she walked back towards one of the others he had yet to visit, with him following on her heals like an obedient pup. The Beta class had not yet come up in his teachings by Gregor or Ysmay, but he had noticed that a few of the bitches that had joined him in the woods with Gregor were noticeably smaller than others, as were some males around the pack.

Fel stepped into her hut, allowing him to follow before she drew a canvas sheeting across the entrance, "I prefer privacy for some things," she commented as she stoked the fire with a few logs, "You eaten today?"

Simeon shook his head, "Only a rabbit leg this morning," he replied as she went to a wooden chest at the back of the hut. His nose picked up the scent of clotting blood as she removed a hare from the storage container.

"Here, caught that this morning. You will need your energy with me tonight," She threw it to him.

"Can we cook it?" Simeon queried hesitantly.

"No need, it is only twelve marks old...nice and gamey when raw," Fel replied, sitting cross-legged on her pad, "Go on..."

Simeon hesitantly took a bite, the blood washing over his tongue as he fought his gag reflex...It actually wasn't too bad once you got used to it, though he doubted that he would try eating his catch raw when he was able to turn human again. The sounds of bones crunching filled the hut as he made short work of the meal, Fel's face a grin as he bolted it down, "Told you," she said.

Simeon nodded as he finished up the last roughage, "So what do you want of me tonight then?" he asked.

"I want of you, what any bitch would want of you. Only I am a little different in my tastes. How do you feel about me staying in human form while you mount me for the first time...?"

Simeon looked up sharply, "I thought you were Wereborn," he said.

"I am...but Gunther was not. He assured me that I was tighter in human form, and I can assure you that a knot feels extraordinary if I am not as a bitch...So are you agreeable?" Fel teased, turning to kneel in an all fours position on her pad.

"It is morally wrong..." Simeon started.

"It is not...You are the beast, I am the human. Present any dog in the Townne with an ass like mine, and he would take advantage. You should see what the shepherds get up to with the ewes in the fields to!" Fel interrupted.

"Oh very well...but won't I hurt you with my claws and teeth?" Simeon protested.

"I like it rough...just grab my hair not my neck. Now come on!" Fel exclaimed as Simeon moved up behind her.

He plunged his nose under where her tail would have been, his tongue drinking as deeply from her spade as it would have done if she had been in bitch form. She squealed under his touch, the human exclamations coming from her throat now seeming alien to him as he was so used to provoking lupine yips and growls. He worked his nose deeper, breathing in the scents of her arousal and sweat from her run...something primal stirring deeply within him as his shaft slipped from his sheath in readiness for the main course. His teeth nipped at her clit, and he found his mouth flooded with her essence for the first of many times that evening.

"Lupinius you are good at that...the gossip amongst the bitches was not idle," Fel panted.

Simeon grinned, cleaning up the aftermath of her orgasm as the sweet tastes washed the hare's blood from his mouth and throat. He hop-stepped forward, his considerable lupine weight landing on her hips, shuffling a little until her ass cheeks fitted comfortably within the concavity of his stomach, "Let us see if what the bitches also talk about is true then," he whispered before he grabbed a hold of her hair and pulled tight.

His pointed tip caressed her, teasing her as he was dead on target, "Fuck me you animal!" Fel shouted.

Simeon chuckled, as with a strong switch of his hips, he drove himself home and clear in a single wall splitting thrust. God she was tight...he wondered if his girth and length were doing her damage as she squealed in ecstasy under him, thrusting back at his crotch to take ever last inch of his maleness. "Fuck!" she exclaimed, her walls clamping down in an attempt to hold him as he started to pull free again.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Couldn't be better...now claim me as your bitch healer...fuck me until I can stand no more!"

Simeon was a little worried at her choice of words, but his feral brain kicked in and he began hammering her into the pad, "I...I...I...C...C...Can...Can...Can...Cannot...Cannot...be... Your... pad-warmer," Simeon warned with each thrust.

"Why not? I will give you everything you could possibly want sexually," Fel gasped out as the breath was driven from her body, her third orgasm clamping down upon him.

"I do not love you..." Simeon replied flatly.

"Love will come with time..." Fel protested, "I am not pleasing to you?"

"You are very pleasurable to me Fel...but I am so new to the pack I cannot possibly know who I will love yet, if anyone," Simeon stated as his knot began to swell.

"Then will you promise to come to me when you wish company of an evening...or until you find who you are looking for? I love having the attentions of an Alpha male again," Fel gasped.

Simeon paused, his strokes broken, "Alpha?" he queried.

"Of course...you are as big as Balthazar, Gregor, Cassius, Robin and the other Alphas...you are an Alpha, not a Beta class wolf like me...now come on!"

"I would never want to be Alpha though..." Simeon said aloud as he thought over her comment.

"Then don't challenge...you are the third most important wolf in the pack now with an Alpha that is sympathetic to your abilities in charge. You could be quite happy as you are for the next thirty years with the right bitch on your pad..." she hinted.

Simeon shook his head, "That was not what I wanted..." he said as he began to lock within her.

"You never wanted to be a Were either...now you have the chance to be something you could never have been amongst the humans...respected." Fel started to shift forward slightly, stopping the tie as she prepared to give Simeon something no other bitch had yet.

"Am I too big?" Simeon asked as he felt her shift.

"Not big enough...!" and with that she pulled off him before dropping her hips without warning, and rammed herself backwards onto him with a scream of pleasure.

It took Simeon a moment to realise just what she had done, the much tighter tunnel gripping him to such an extent that he couldn't move. His knot was expanding exponentially as the matter was suddenly no longer in his control, the ring of contracting muscle holding him tight to her ass like a freshwater whelk in the burbling stream. "AH!" he howled as he hit full orgasm, flooding her bowels with his seed as she screamed and sprayed his back legs with her own orgasmic flood from her now gaping and empty vagina.

"Told you I had kinky tastes!" Fel exclaimed as she milked him, collapsing flat to the pad, "Just don't try and turn the tie when up someone's ass!"

"You...you..." Simeon exclaimed as he was being drained.

"Kinky bitch?!" she suggested with a giggle, "Welcome to the brown side...you can see why tail play can be very enjoyable. Most males love it when their bitches submit to it."

"And the bitches?" Simeon asked as he spooned his lupine body around her, still tied far too tightly to consider anything else for the moment.

"Each to their own...I suggest you ask first though. Of course as you have already worked out, some males love being the bitch too...like Gregor."

Simeon snorted, "You don't need to tell me that...he is a lewd, ignorant bastard at times who has been trying to get under my tail since I arrived."

"He is also likely to be Alpha one day...Is this not enjoyable?" Fel asked, turning her head to kiss his lupine nose.

"Very..." Simeon replied...knowing it was the whole truth.

"Well Gregor is teaching you to fight, yes?" Fel asked.

"Ah ha..." Simeon nodded.

"Then when you pin him into submission for the first time...take his tail. He will not refuse."

Simeon chuckled, "You mean make him the bitch?" he asked.

"Would serve him right...he has laid getting on every bitch in the pack bar his mother, and at least six of the Beta males. Alpha on Alpha should produce interesting results for him...you are the best endowed member of the pack you know." Fel commented.

"So the others tell me...Sleeping around does not appeal to me though..."

"Great! Take me as your pad-warmer then!" Fel teased.

Simeon started laughing and nipped her human nose, "No!" he retorted.

"Can't stop a bitch from hoping..." Fel replied with a grin.

Simeon chuckled and laid his head down next to hers, "Keep your nose out for another, and if we don't find another through love and not lust, we will see in a year or so."

"Promise?" Fel asked.

"I promise..."

"That is all I can ask then," Fel replied and closed her eyes to nap off the knot within her.

****

Helewys walked into the Alpha's hut, glancing over at the sleeping Ysmay and Balthazar, "She sated for the moment?" she asked as she collapsed onto her pad.

"Yes..." Balthazar replied with a yawn.

"And you?" Helewys asked, tipping her head on one side.

"If you are in the mood..." Balthazar replied, "I was not going to push you."

"I have just come out of a hut filled with more pheromones than a pack of cats in a nip patch...If you are up to it, I wish to consummate our relationship as the two Alphas tonight.

Balthazar chuckled, "Fel laying it on thick then?"

"You could say that...I am surprised that Simeon didn't end up with a fifth leg!"

Balthazar laughed, standing and stretching, "I hope she doesn't break him...I have heard some things about her habits. Not that she would give me the time of day with my skin colour."

"So have we all...speaking of the other subject, are you going to use your new position to take advantage of the other bitches now...as you have been denied so long?" Helewys asked cautiously.

"Only the ones that do not have pad-warmers...I will not father pups where there is a loving relationship already. Two doting parents are better than one, and we need to at least double the size of the pack in the next couple of years. I have a few ideas over our losses, but I would discuss those with you and Simeon together. I will use my right with the virgins of course, and the unattached bitches. Do you want to do this with her here, or would you like me to request that she goes back to her own pad for the night?" Balthazar asked, nosing towards Ysmay.

"In privacy I think...for our first time."

Balthazar nodded and bent over Ysmay, whispering sweet nothings in her ears until her eyes opened, "Would you do me the service of leaving my Alpha and I alone for the night...I will cool your heat again in the morning," he said quietly.

"Yes Alpha," Ysmay replied, stretching as she stood up. Her haunches were sore but satisfied for the time being, her belly swollen with the Balthazar's offering to her shrine of fertility. She limped slightly as she left the hut and turned to enter the one shared with her brother...though Gregor would now have to move out as she was expecting the Alpha's pups.

Helewys turned and presented herself to Balthazar, "You do know that it is unlikely that Ysmay will take your place as Alpha," he said as he mounted her quickly and efficiently.

Helewys looked over her shoulder at Balthazar as he cooled her need with his haunches, "What makes you say that...you think she is sterile?" she queried as she whimpered, his first thrust rubbing her in all the right places.

"No...but on our first mating, it was not my name she called out as she orgasmed...her heart is already taken I fear," Balthazar replied, his tired loins starting to swell prematurely. He redoubled his efforts to make sure that Helewys would not go unsatisfied.

"She called out a Beta's name? I did not know she was developing feelings for another wolf..." panting as she was pounded harder and harder.

"No, an Alpha's..."

"Then what is the issue? If they become pad-warmers and she displaces me, well he can attempt to displace you." She yipped as his knot swelled fully within her, his thrusts getting shorter and shorter as her peak drew closer.

"The Alpha in question would be a disaster for the pack...When the time is right I will step down anyway with just a cursory fight. I am nearly twenty six, so have maybe four years before I am a liability to the position." He made one final thrust, driving her over the edge, her walls trying to milk him for what little he had left to give as he dry orgasmed after the four times with Ysmay.

Helewys panted heavily as Balthazar turned the tie and settled ass to ass with her, "So who then is she falling for?" she queried.

"Simeon."

"Oh...oh dear..." Helewys replied worried, "Can we split them?"

"You could order her away from him as Ledrene, but I don't think it wise as she is likely to disobey. She is young, and it could peter out in the fullness of time. He is considerably older than her, don't forget."

"Only in years, she is more than mature enough. So what do you suggest? She is the only one of my pup bitches that has the potential to challenge me," Helewys asked concerned.

"So far..." he grinned at her, tugging at the tie as she returned the grin.

"The only way it would work is if Gregor took Alpha position when she took mine...she would not mate with her brother," Helewys mused.

"And there you have the same solution to the conundrum I came up with...that is of course if anything happens between them." Balthazar replied firmly.

"Then I guess that we should just wait and see..."

"I think that course is the wisest then. There will be a lot more potential Alphas in the pack soon if my theory is correct, but that is what I wish to discuss with Simeon present. Now I suggest that we sleep. I have no doubt that Cassius will need you in the morning, and I know that Ysmay will need me. Goodnight Ledrene..."

"Goodnight Alpha..." Helewys replied and closed her eyes.