Chapter 19: Stitches for the Soul

Zoe looked towards her mother uncertain what she could do, which her mother motioned for her to take Todd into another room. Zoe understood and scooped up Todd and carried him off into the freezing garage where she sat him on a torn up couch. "Alright, transform. You're not going to hurt anyone in here" she said a lot more relaxed.

Todd growled transforming very slowly, which he screamed in agony. Zoe growled loudly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Stop fighting it already. This ain't my first rodeo pup! Never had a problem when Nate gets like this!" she said firmly.

Todd looked back at her with bloodshot eyes, which Zoe cringed. "Eesh! You're going to end up hurting yourself if you keep this up!" she raised her voice.

Todd growled ferociously. "Why? I'll just fucking heal anyway!" he shouted viciously.

Zoe clenched her fist. "Don't make me knock you out!" she threatened him.

Todd roared out loud and lashed out at her, which he were grabbed by the neck and pinned between the floor and the couch which she had her knee on one hand and her other hand restraining his free hand. He tried to struggle and snarled at her. "Again!? This isn't fair!" he shouted in frustration.

Zoe smirked. "Look pup! I told you this ain't my first rodeo. You aren't going to hurt anyone, so just get it over with and transform already!" she said with confidence.

Todd sighed heavily as he transformed into his anthro form significantly faster and less painful. He lay on the floor restrained looking up at her confused, which she released him and stood back up. "There...doesn't that feel a little better?" she asked with a cocky grin.

Todd glared at her and bared his teeth at her. "I want to kill everything!" he shouted once more.

Zoe stared at him skeptically before she quickly wrapped her arms around him. "Aw...I think you just need a hug" she said before she picked him up and sat on the couch with him on her lap while still in her embrace.

Percy entered the garage where he saw Zoe rocking side to side with the transformed werewolf pup in her arms crying. "Your mom wants to know if you need anything?" he asked as he closed the door behind him.

Zoe looked up at him and smiled faintly. "No, I got it handled...though you could get blankets and a couple pillows. I'm going to sleep next him for the night" she said.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "In the garage? Isn't it too cold in here?" he asked.

Zoe nodded as she ruffled Todd's head. "Toby and Sasha are sleeping outside...It would be weird having him sleep in my room. He can sleep in the hammock, and I'll take the couch" she said while she leaned back into the couch and kicked the foot rest up.

Percy stared at the couch as it looked to have seen better days. "What about the couch in the living room?" he asked.

Zoe laughed. "This is the comfiest couch in the house!" she said before she smirked at him smacking at the armrest. "This is my couch!" she said with authority.

Percy shrugged and turned back. "Alright then" he said as he were about to open the door. He heard growling behind him, which he shot his head back frantically. He looked at them confused until the growling occurred again, which he frowned at them. "Didn't you eat enough?" he asked.

Zoe giggled. "Not really" she said before she waved him off. "Be a good boyfriend and go fetch us some snacks" she said playfully. She smirked as he wondered off before she let out a heavy sigh. "Heh, silly guy..." she mumbled to herself.

Todd crawled over onto the other side of the couch, and Zoe looked over at him cheerfully. "I think your dad is alive. Don't you go and think the worst outcome has happened. Alright pup?" she asked before she nudged him with her foot. "Alright!?" she asked again.

He stared into his lap in deep thought. "How do you know if he's alive?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Tch, I know as much as you know, but I'm just being optimistic about it" she said. He whimpered to himself softly as his stomach growled once more, and she nudged him with her foot. "You better bury that stomach with food or we're going to have some problems Mister!" she teased him.

•••

Meanwhile in the backyard, Toby and Sasha were in a large fifteen person sized tent sitting on a giant air mattress in the cold huddling up together as the mattresses finished up inflating. Sasha remained very quiet, and once Toby tried to move away, she refused to let him leave her side holding onto his arm tightly. She quickly realized what she was doing and released him quickly. "Sorry..." she mumbled before she looked up at him shyly.

Toby walked over to the corner of the tent and started undressing casually. He sat his clothes neatly onto the table where their electronic devices were kept as well as a LED light. "It's alright...I know when I'm needed" he said as he hunched over in the tent. She giggled as he transformed into his therian form, which he nearly took up the whole tent.

"You sure you aren't going to pop the bed?" she asked as she took a good look at him with hunger, and she licked her lips in anticipation. She finished making up their bed and she threw a couple blankets on the bed haphazardly.

He chuckled heavily with his very deep alluring intimidating set of pipes. "Wouldn't be the first time..." he said as he watched her unhitched her bra and liberated her breasts to hang freely. He lifted the blanket off and crawled in carefully. He had not gotten a chance to get settled in before his mate gravitated towards him. He only had enough time to flip onto his back when she grabbed his enormous arm and outstretched it as she settled her body up against his trunk before she pulled his arm over her stomach.

She covered them up with several blankets before she let off a soft sigh of content as the space under the blankets warmed up quickly, and she began to trace her finger over the werewolf's massive chest. "Toby...what does it feel like being in this form?" she asked before she grabbed a hold of his paw and began to feel it up in fascination. "I just can't wrap my head around looking something like this" she muttered. He watched her carefully as she ran her fingernails over the padding in his hand. "Can you feel that?" she asked gently.

He nodded before he moved her hand over his stomach. "Tummy wub, pweese" he said cutely.

She giggled and began to rub his belly rapidly. "You're such a good boyfriend Toby" she said cheerfully. She climbed onto his stomach and lay on top of him crossing her arms over his chest while she gazed upon his yellow orbs flashing a smile of satisfaction and admiration. "You know you look very handsome?" she told him thoughtfully.

He stared at her confused before he cleared his throat. "Uh, thanks?" he said meekly. He wondered if she was trying to distract herself, but he did not want to break her from it if that were the case. "So, how's your muscle spasms?" he asked.

She let off a heavy frustrated sigh. "They just won't leave me alone...It feels like something is scratching at me to let it get out!" she said before she noticed his strange reaction, which she thought about what she said a moment. "Oh, I guess a shewolf is trying to get out isn't there?" she asked.

He nodded slowly trying to repress his amusement, but she giggled to herself and leaned up licking her sharpened teeth before she clamped down onto his neck and dug her nails into his shoulder. He tensed up and growled out instinctively. "You like for me to let her out, sweetie?" she asked. She slinked out from the bed over to her phone which she started playing a Shakira song and started to remove her clothes. "I think rewarding you for saving my life is in order" she said seductively.

He sat up giving her bedroom eyes before his eyes widened as she collapsed onto the floor and started tensing up grunting. "Are you alright there?" he asked concerned.

She clenched her fists and growled out. "I'm fine! I'm just trying to let her out!" she raised her voice.

He cocked his head cutely and scratched the back of his head. "That's not how you unleash your inner wolf" he said awkwardly.

She looked back up at him and gulped with embarrassment. "Oh, I thought I could maybe at least transform a little" she said nervously.

He laid his head down and tossed towards the side facing her. "You don't need to change for me...we've always managed to enjoy each other's company before" he said as he began to rub a spot on the bed. "Besides that, you don't need to transform your body to let out your inner wolf...you can open up the cage in here" he said, which he began pointing to his head.

She frowned. "But how will I know that I let her out?" she asked.

He chuckled to himself. "She's still a part of you, and I'll know when you've let her out" he said before he beckoned her. "I'll have no problem letting her out for you" he said deviously.

She smiled and looked at him with horrendous thoughts in mind. "Oh? You sound awfully cocky for a werewolf...Are you sure you can handle me, big bad? I'm not as docile as I was before" she said.

He growled at her dominantly. "You're still going to come to me!" he said.

She smirked at him and placed a hand over her hip. "Oh yea? Well what if I make you come to me?" she asked.

He sat up and scowled at her playfully. "If I come over to you...it's all over for you!" he said before he got out of the bed. Her eyes grew wide forgetting just how big he was, and she rushed to the exit before she squeaked to him grabbing her by the hips. "Got you!" he shouted.

She looked back at him smirking. "Oh no! What do you plan on doing with me?" she asked.

He growled into her ear seductively. "I told you that it's all over for you" he said before he scooped her up, hauled her over, and dumped her off into the bed.

She looked up at him eagerly as she licked her lips. "Rawr!" she said seductively.

He reached over to turn off the light, and he took in a deep breath. "Alright, here I come little red!" he said in a gruff voice.

She got onto her belly before she spread her legs and lifted her rump into the air. "Please! You need to punish me! I've been a naughty girl!" she begged him before she gasped as a sharp pain coursed through her body as he forced his much heftier lupine shaft inside her body. "Oh god! Toby! It's too big!" she raised her voice as she dug her fingers into the blankets. She pushed back into him and snarled. "Stretch me out! Don't stop!" she raised her voice aggressively.

He looked at her strangely, and he cleared his throat. "Uh...do we need a safe word, hun?" he asked.

She looked back at him as they stopped briefly. "Oh! That's a good idea" she said before she laughed to herself. "How about we use dog commands? Sit means stop, heel means ease up, fetch means to give me more, and good boy means I'm liking it...that should be easy to remember shouldn't it?" she said.

He shook his head at her and laughed. "Well, if you're using dog commands, will you be saying it like one?" he asked.

She smirked at him. "Fetch boy!" she said in a commanding tone before she wiggled her rear.

•••

Meanwhile inside the house, Bernie sat with his mate on the couch talking with Sasha's grandparents while they all drank green tea except Bernie who was drinking yet another beer. Yvonne shot him an annoyed glance before she looked towards the elderly couple softly. "Everything is going to be okay. Your family has all the support they'll need" she said reassuringly.

Aoife tapped her finger against her temple as she leaned against the arm of the sofa. "Yes, but what if the other werewolves get word of what Nathan did?" she asked.

"They aren't going to know!" Bernie bellowed out loud startling them. He frowned and cleared his throat nervously feeling the burning sensation from his mate's laser vision. "I'm going to work around this" he said.

Zoe poked her head out from the garage door, which her mother stood up. "Get back in the garage, your snacks are almost ready!" she said before she turned back to her husband. "Everyone heard what he said at the restaurant. She has the right to worry that much" she said firmly.

Bernie growled out loudly as he rubbed his forehead. "That's probably what Nathan was thinking when he was in that room" he muttered. He went silent in deep thought as the elderly couple sank their heads down low in defeat. "Shit...This isn't looking good" he said before his phone started to ring. He pulled it out and quickly brought it to his ear. "You better have some good news!" his voice boomed.

"He's alive, he just can't speak. Anyhow, we've got a huge lead thanks to Nathan's information. We've been able to locate the hunters' homes and confiscate computers, phones, and papers, and my god are these people stocked piled with heavy arsenal. They could have taken out the entire neighborhood if they wanted to. Turns out Toby took the fucker out before he could really bring in the big toys" Don said.

Bernie stared at the whiteboard of contacts on his wall. "I thought as much" he said lowly.

"While we were treating Nathan, we found bite wounds on his neck" Don mentioned.

Yvonne's ears perked as Bernie looked at her shocked. "A bite wound?" he asked.

"That's right, and Nathan said nothing about where he got it from. I suspect his wife bit him in the scuffle they had in the house" Don suggested.

Yvonne frowned as Sasha's grandparents looked up after hearing the mention of a bite wound. Bernie gulped, and he looked towards Yvonne concerned. "That isn't good...he is going to be a huge problem if he was bitten" he muttered into her.

Marty stared at him. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Bernie scowled at him. "I mean his son would be able to have more control of himself than Nathan will ever be. His attitude and ignorance will make him into one of them mindless creatures you see in movies!" he told him before he took another chug from his beer.

Yvonne sighed heavily. "I only hope that that Nathan and Sandy will reconcile before any more anguish and torment go towards Sasha and Todd" she said softly.

Aoife looked into her tea cup and sighed. "I hope so too. This is far too stupid to be a reason to separate. Serves him right for being such an arse to everyone...especially Toby" she said.

Don cleared his throat over the phone. "Bernie...do you know anything about a woman named Amarok?" he asked.

Bernie frowned and let out a heavy sigh. "Where did you cross paths with her?" he asked.

Don was silent for a couple of seconds, which this irritated him immensely growling in frustration. "Well...she shown up barely five minutes after you left the crime scene" He finished.

Bernie finished his bottle of beer before he clanged it against the coffee table. "Well, do you want the long version, or the short version?" he asked.

"Just tell me what I need to know" Don answered.

•••

Meanwhile in the Garage, Zoe finished setting up the hammock off the ceiling, while Percy watched from the couch. Nate sat on a beanbag chair in front of Todd while they had a separate meeting from the adults in the living room.

"Can we all sleep in the garage tonight?" Nate asked.

Zoe looked towards Percy and smirked. "Well, have you spoken to your parents at all?" she asked.

Percy nodded. "Yea, I've been texting them off and on. They know what happened...the werewolf thing" he said.

Zoe stared at him in shock. "Wait! What? They know about your uncle hunting werewolves or about werewolves?" she asked.

Percy nodded. "Both actually..." he said nervously. He looked towards the floor and smiled faintly. "My mom used to be a hunter, but she quit after she had me. She tried hiding it from me until my 16th birthday. That was when my Uncle came and tried pushing it onto me. Said it would make me a real man" he muttered. He looked up at her and grinned. "Mom, kicked his ass. After that she Told me that werewolves were people like her and I...She caught on that you were a werewolf when you trashed my uncle's truck" he said.

Zoe smirked. "Don't ever piss me off" she said with an evil grin.

Nate frowned. "How come your mom changed her mind when your uncle didn't?" he asked.

Percy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know...I guess she was smarter I guess. My Uncle is not too bright" he muttered.

Zoe picked Todd up and dropped him into the hammock, so she could sit beside Percy. "He's very stupid going into Toby's house when there are over twenty wolves in this neighborhood" she added.

He nodded. "Yea, Mom says that if my uncle had a problem with dating you then he'd answer to her...I guess Toby killed him first" he said before he gasped at what he said.

She burst out into laughter. "I hope she's not going to want to settle the score with Toby" she said lightly before she suddenly gave him a cold stare. "...right?" she finished.

He tensed up and nodded. "Oh no...She's on our side. You don't believe me? I can ask for her to come over" he said nervously.

She cringed and crossed her leg over the other. "Eh, we could just skype with her. I don't think my dad wants to deal with anymore hunters or ex hunters for that manner" she said.

He pulled out his phone and pushed video call, which his mother answered the call within a couple seconds. She were a blonde wavy haired woman with runny eye shadow appeared on his phone, and Zoe's head craned over his shoulder. His mother cracked a smile and laughed. "You're unscratched" she said in relief.

He grinned. "Ya, I didn't really see much action...not until Toby flipped the van that is" he said.

His mother shook her head at him. "Hunting the supernatural is very serious business. Now that you saw what it's like for yourself, you know why I did not want to stay in it for long" she said before she sighed heavily. "Thank you for keeping him out of danger, Zoe" she said gratefully.

Zoe forced a modest smile, while a soft nervous laugh came out her lips. "Yea, he was always in my sight. Toby would have never gotten to him" she said.

His mother looked at them for a long time before she frowned. "I think I've met him before...a long time before..." she said as her hand came up to her heart. "I think that was the night we killed his father" she muttered.

Zoe's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "You were there too?" she asked.

His mother's head sank low. "Yea...I was there. I was in charge of burning his home to the ground. I was too out of shape after having Percy to do much hunting. I wouldn't have been able to pull that trigger even if I was in shape. Everything about it didn't feel right...and...It still does to this day" she said.

Zoe looked towards Todd and Nate. "Don't say any of this to Toby! He doesn't need to know about this stuff, nuff said!" she raised her voice.

Nate grumbled. "What are you, my dad!?" he shouted.

Percy's mother sighed. "I don't care if you told him" she said.

Zoe gulped. "Are you kidding? You're lucky Toby didn't go after you when he flipped his shit!" she lectured her.

His mother smiled at her. "He could have...but he didn't" she said frankly. She continued rubbing off her make up when a balding husky built gentleman entered the room, which he looked back and directed the camera towards him. "Percy's fine" she said.

He looked into the phone and smirked. "I thought you were out chasing ghosts, not werewolves" he said cheekily. He sat down slamming his boots to the floor beginning to untie them. "So Zoe isn't some superpowered human after all" he said before he kicked off his boots. "By the way...did you keep yourself away from their blood right?" he asked.

Zoe and Percy's mother both jumped at this thought, which Percy rubbed his arm. "I couldn't really avoid it dad. There were a lot of blood...but I did take a long shower if that helps" he rambled.

"Wait, you're a hunter too?" She asked.

His father smirked. "Well yea! I gotta make a living" he said before he sighed heavily as plopped back onto the bed. "I don't just kill any werewolf if that's what you're asking. Chances are that my targets are already black sheep in your pack...sound about right?" he muttered.

She hesitated and bit her lip. "How do you know when you got the right wolf?" she asked.

He did not say anything, but his wife sighed. "He gets the same chatter as Fred did. He hasn't killed a werewolf in years" she said.

Percy was beside himself. "You're both were actual hunters?" he asked.

His mother nodded. "Yep...although your dad is still a logger by trade" she said.

His father sat back up and snickered. "You should be fine, Percy" he said before he rubbed his forehead. "I would be more worried about hiding this from the rest of the family. I've already gotten the schtick with SAD, and I want you to not admit that the videos are creditable. Just tell them that your Uncle wrecked his van while driving drunk. Do you got that!?" he said firmly.

Yvonne gave a slightly irritated look, but she said nothing. Percy and Zoe noticed it, but his parents noticed the long hesitation. "Did you hear me!?" his father raised his voice.

"I would let us figure this out. SAD has been fucking shit up for a long time now. They can't even figure out what they should do. Sasha has been doing a vlog series about werewolves, and SAM is going to redistribute them if SAD doesn't act fast enough. Maybe we should, you know...let her audience know what happened and what led up to this" Zoe chimed in.

"That fact of in the matter is that you guys can't hide it. It's already out there online for everyone to see" her mother added.

Percy nodded before he looked towards Zoe confused. "So can I stay over here? I guess a lot of werewolves are pissed off at the moment, and I wouldn't want to be outside alone" he said.

Zoe cocked her head. "I can drag you back home. Ain't a problem for me" she said before her head sank low realizing what he meant after she spoke.

His head sank low before his father chuckled. "Must be a lot of werewolves pissed off at you...you sure you want to be pissing of Bernie too?" he asked.

Percy looked up at him oddly before Zoe burst out with laughter. "My brother and his friend are here. There ain't going to be anything past the PG-13 rating here. I was planning on watching a movie" she said as Todd poked his head in.

Percy's mother beamed with amusement. "So does everyone in the house chill out in their wolf forms? Or is it just the little ones?" she asked.

Zoe pushed Todd's head out of the way, and Percy laughed. "Pretty much...everyone whenever they get the chance, right?" he said before he looked towards Zoe.

Zoe nodded before she wrapped her arms around him while transforming into her anthro form. Her mother gasped. "Holy! How can your poor clothes handle all that?" she asked.

Zoe snickered. "That's the miracle of Spandex...and wearing oversized clothes over it. Anything else you want to know?" she said before she lay back onto the couch and pulled him on top of her.

His mother gulped. "I didn't know spandex could stretch that far" she muttered, which her husband snicker in the background. She rolled her eyes at him before she watched her son get his chest groped slowly by a big feminine werewolf paw. "Um, well you two stay out of trouble, you hear?" she warned him before she cracked a smiled. "Love you, buh bye!" she said.

"Love you mom" Percy said before he hung up. He looked back up to Zoe who continued to give a big toothy grin. "You think you could have waited for that?" he asked.

Zoe's grin grew wider still. "Nope...you looked stressed out" she teased.

Percy gulped when Todd and Nate looked at him curiously, but they were not registering what was going on. "What kind of movie are we going to watch?" he asked.

Zoe grinned. "Deadpool...the good one" she answered.

Nate grinned. "Yes! I wanna watch!" he shouted.

"Deadpool?" Todd muttered in confusion.

Zoe pulled out the remote from inside the couch cushion and flipped it onto the menu screen. Percy frowned noticing something odd about her house immediately. "So, I was wondering...why don't you all have smart tvs and smart appliances?" he asked.

Zoe looked over at him amused. "You're a techie and don't know about hacking into computers?" she teased.

Percy laughed nervously. "Oh, I guess you all have to protect yourselves...that kind of sucks don't it?" he asked.

Zoe shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, I don't care either way. It's just a matter of time before the rise of the machine, and we have to serve our artificial sentient mechanized overlords" she said plainly.

Nate smirked. "Who'd win in a fight? Robots or Werewolves?" he asked.

"No one" Percy said simply. They all looked at him funny before Percy thought for a moment. "Well, that's my take on it. I can wager that humans with integrate with technology and become mechanical" he finished.

Zoe cocked her head at him. "I got ya, so you're meaning like cyborg stuff right?" she asked before she resumed looking through her movie databank.

"Yea, only I'm thinking converting all your brain patterns into computer code and make you into a..." Percy said before Zoe laughed.

"That's the technology from Ghost in the Shell..." she interrupted.

"...yes...just like Ghost in the Shell..." He muttered before he looked back at her sternly. "You know, you probably will live long enough to experience it, and I don't think you'd be able to turn into a werewolf once that does happen" he said sternly.

Zoe grinned. "Sure you could. I bet we'd be the first Transformers" she retorted.

Nate and Todd looked towards them and snickered. "Ooh! I want to turn into a Jet" Nate shouted.

Zoe snickered. "You do whine a lot like Starscream" she said as she nudged him with her foot playfully.

Nate scowled at her and crossed his arms over his chest with protest. "I do not!" he whined.

Percy looked towards Zoe and shook his head trying to hold a straight face only to burst out laughing. "Let's just watch the movie!" he managed to say as Nate glared at them.

Zoe's mother shook her head at them smiling before she headed off. "I'm going to go see what your father is up to" she said as she closed the door.

•••

Meanwhile somewhere deep in the vast mountainous forest inside an abandoned railroad tunnel lay a bandaged up Ian in a cot with a woman tending to him. He let out a loud roar as she his bandages. "Damn it! When is this fucking thing supposed to heal?" he shouted.

The woman rolled her eyes. "You got your face almost completely blown off, and you're bitching and moaning about being bedridden for two months? You should be kissing my ass for saving you, you ass! Brain injuries take time to heal. None of your plans have been making much sense" she scolded him before she focused a flashlight into his eye and smiled. "Well, you're up to snuff now" she said as she turned her flashlight off.

Ian jumped out of the cot and stretched. He reached up to feel his face and growled to himself. "Right then...I'm heading back down now" he mumbled. He sniffed the air and growled once more. "Where's Amarok!?" he raised his voice.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "I might have spoken too soon about being up to snuff" she mumbled. She crossed her arms over her chest uncomfortably. "I told you...she's down south. You do remember Phase two part b don't you?" she asked.

Ian scowled at her. "It's been almost a month and she should have gotten it done in a week!" he grumbled.

The woman shook her head. "No, it's been almost three months, and it takes months of research and preparation to make a plan go smoothly. She's more meticulous than you are. Just have a little faith in her. She knows what she's doing..." she answered.

Ian glared at her annoyed. "Just what are you trying to say?" he raised his voice.

A group of werewolves approached them and stared at them. "Hey, he takes a licking and he keeps on a ticking!" one shouted out happily.

Ian looked back at him and smirked. "I've had worse...Took a train head-on once" he bragged.

They snickered and looked at each other. "Oh yea? How'd that turn out?" one asked.

"I don't remember" he said before he looked back at the woman tidying up the site. "Since we've got plenty of recruits that came in, I'm proposing we branch out to Seattle and Vancouver" he suggested.

They looked at him confused. "So you're splitting up your betas?" one asked.

Ian grinned. "Precisely, Amarok already has the Tri-cities to work with" he muttered.

Their eyes widened and gawked at him. "What is she supposed to be doing there? Drum up the sound of war with the Natives?" he asked.

His pack mate rolled his eyes at him. "You're lucky Amarok isn't here to kick your ass" he commented.

Ian smirked. "We always need more recruits, but what I had more in mind was maybe getting a hold of some Plutonium from that Hanford Site" he said with a low purr.

"You think they still have that kind of stuff there? Ain't it a tourist attraction?" the pack mate asked.

Ian sighed heavily. "Hanford is a big place..." he said lowly.

"So what are you going to do with this stuff once you get it?" another pack mate asked.

Ian snickered. "I just want some Plutonium to play with...I don't care what it is really, I just want something radioactive" he said with a big grin.

They looked at each other confused and one cleared their throat. "I think Amarok had a point about him not being right in the head" he muttered before he yelped as he was struck in the head by a large chunk of timber that once held up the crumbling tunnel walls.

"Enough with this horseshit! I'm not going to be putting up with this any longer! Understood!?" Ian shouted. "You are all a bunch of undisciplined wolves. Get out of my sight before I mangle your legs!" he shouted. They ran back out of the tunnel before he looked back towards the woman. "You said she were down south, is she? She did not say anything about why she was going down there by any chance would you?" he asked.

The woman shrugged. "She said something about clearing her head. She doesn't particularly like being around this crowd of wolves" she mentioned.

He raised an eyebrow. "She's gone to see that boy hasn't she?" he shouted.

"Excuse me?" She exclaimed in confusion.

He grumbled to himself as he pointed to his scarred up face. "He's a major reason why I got shot in the first place!" he shouted.

She stared at him for a moment as she threw her backpack over her shoulder. "You were cursing out Bernie's name most of the time. I just assumed it were him that shot you" she said calmly.

He rolled his eyes. "That whelp delayed me long enough for Bernie to show up. He's been taking notes from Bernie's playbook, he is!" he grumbled. He gritted his teeth and growled. "Since he fucked with me, how about I fuck with him!" he shouted.

She glared at him. "So you think this boy is going to make Amarok flip sides? And not the other way around?" she asked as she balled up her fist. "You're going too far out of your way for one insufficient pup!?" she grumbled.

He grabbed her by the throat and looked into her eyes with anger and hatred. "That boy is Steele's son! Don't you dare castigate me anymore! Don't think I'll go soft on you because you're a woman!" he shouted.

She gasped for breath as he released her throat, and she fell to her knees. "...S-S-Steele's son? I thought Peter had him killed!?" she asked. He glared at her and walked off infuriated, which she looked down at the water on the floor. "That explains why Amarok has been acting so strangely" she muttered.

•••

Meanwhile in Bernie's backyard, Sasha laid in bed with a snoozing werewolf resuming to explore her curiosity with the werewolf form. Only she decided to play with his muzzle and tug on his whiskers causing him to open one eye and reached up to grab her hand. "You know that kind of hurts when you yank'em like that" he said.

She blushed and pulled her hand away. "I'm sorry!" she shouted quickly. She felt bad for causing him discomfort and interrupting his nap, which he chuckled to himself and closed his eyes.

"That's some sensitive equipment up there" he said before he flipped onto his back.

She sat up and leaned onto his puffy chest. "So if I were in a lot of trouble, would I go for the nose and whiskers?" she asked.

He snickered at this. "Well, you can also yank on ears and poke out eyes, but doing that should be able to give you a good couple moments to hide. Kicking him in the crotch will give you five minutes at the least" he said.

She nodded before she giggled to herself. "Oh? Five minutes? You say that like you've been hit there a couple of times" she teased before she sat up to gaze upon him once more. "Have I ever told you how freaking huge you are in this form?" she asked. She shivered slightly as the frigid air got to her causing her to lie back down and nuzzle up very close to him embracing him very tightly. "No fair, you get a nice thick coat of fur" she teased.

He slung his arm around her and chuckled wholesomely. "I actually have two coats! Remember?" he said slyly.

She immediately dug her hand deep into his fur where she encountered his ultra-soft downy fur underneath his longer silky fur which gave his spectacular color. She thought back to the conversation on taking turns on grooming each other before it all set in on her, and her eyes got wide as the reality set in. "Oh, my gosh! That's going to be a lot of shedding, hun" she commented.

He snickered evilly. "I know...it's going to happen to you as well" he reminded her.

She blushed feeling self-conscious about the impending ordeal. "Hey! You're the one who's going to be removing all of that fur, mister wolf!" she raised her voice.

He raised an eyebrow. "You think I'm not fair to you? I thought I've been pretty attentive towards you're every needs. Are you having regrets on being a werewolf, Sasha?" he asked.

She stopped realizing she was panicking, and she clenched her fist and swallowed down her initiated human way of thinking. She was a werewolf, and she had to be strong and own it like her friends. "No...I-I-I just...I had no idea...I didn't have a clue on how hard it is. I thought it would be like being human but with the ability to change form. Sure I knew y'all eat a lot, but...I ate two huge freaking plates of spaghetti, and I felt I could eat five more. I thought I had two bites and then I looked down and plate was nearly empty" she said honestly.

He looked down at her inquisitively. "You thought I was exaggerating on things?" he asked.

She blushed and nodded slowly. "I did, but...I mean, you seem so much more normal than I give you credit for a werewolf. I'm just struggling to keep my canine behaviors in check and...I just can't hide it much longer" she said before he sighed heavily.

"Remember what I told you about doing that? Just stop...you're not going to be able to micromanage every behavior and urge that possesses you. If you found a way to do that where it doesn't put more stress on you, please show me" he spoke to her firmly.

She looked up at him and began to tear up. "I think I've made a mistake. I'm sorry, but I just had no idea!" she said.

He looked at her confused. "You're doing fine, Sasha" he said after he reached up awkwardly to pat her on the back the best he could to console her. "Don't second guess yourself. You just had a very bad day today" he said calmly.

She looked up at him shocked. "What do you mean I had a bad day? You're the one whose mom got shot...you got shot...and my dad caused all of it!" she said.

He rubbed her back and closed his eyes. "I'm trying not to think about it..." he said calmly.

She retreated back into his warmth and clutched onto his fur. "I don't know what I could have done without you..." she said softly. "I'm glad to have met you, big bad" she rambled on.

"MmmmHmmm" He muttered before he nodded off to sleep.

She looked up at him with teary eyes and scooted up to plant a kiss into his neck before she slid back down to her nest underneath his armpit. She felt at peace feeling his strength rub off onto her a little, but his words sank in. "Maybe I shouldn't be afraid to let my wolf out a little more...yea, that's what's wrong with me" she mumbled to herself.

She looked back up at him and smiled with satisfaction. "I love you so much big guy" she whispered to him sweetly as she scratched behind his ear. To her surprise, he grunted back, which she took it as him answering her back.

•••

Meanwhile back in the living room, Bernie and the other adults were continuing to discuss their next course of action when Haley and Tyler arrived much to Bernie's surprise. "Haley! What are you doing here!?" his voice boomed.

Haley clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. "Why haven't you been answering your phone!" she shouted out.

Bernie stared at her and thought for a moment before he pulled out is phone. "I guess it died!" he said.

Haley's eye twitched. "The hell it did! It never went to straight to voicemail! Your phone was never dead when I was calling you! When no one is answering their phone, that's when I know there's a problem!" she shouted.

Her mother let out a low heavy semi-frustrated sigh. "You're going to wake up the baby" she said harshly as she pointed towards the stairs. She shook her head and frowned. "Your father has been busy with phone calls. He would not intentionally ignore you...without good reason" she told her calmly.

Haley gritted her teeth and growled lowly. "Do you know what happened to Lilian? I was on Skype with her when those men kicked her door in. I want answers!" she spoke out her teeth aggressively.

Bernie looked at her gravely. "Lilian is going to be fine but..." he said before Haley shrieked.

"Oh no! Don't tell me her pups didn't make it!" She interrupted.

Bernie jerked his head and scowled. "What? No! The pups are fine...they are in Neo-natal care" he said. He stared into the floor before he got up to grab another beer from the fridge.

"But what!?" Haley raised her voice.

Bernie stopped and stared at her intensely before turned back towards the fridge opening it. "Nothing, it's nothing for you to be worried about" he said before he grabbed onto a beer bottle. He tapped it onto the counter and leaned against it. "I'd rather not have this news to spread. The situation is resolved. Toby killed them all, end of story" he said before he ripped the cap off.

Haley's eyes widened. "Toby killed all of them?" she asked very impressed.

Bernie nodded and closed his eyes wearily. "Yes...these people were the ones who killed Steele. There was nothing I could do to stop him" he said.

Haley began to smirk evilly with satisfaction. "You're telling me that you couldn't do anything to stop him?" she scoffed. She laughed to herself and crossed her arms over her chest. "You just wanted to see them die just as much as anyone else" she said.

Bernie's eye twitched before he growled lowly. "I didn't get there in time!" he raised his voice. He took a couple of gulps from his beer then walked over to the couch. "In case you haven't figured it out yet, you cannot stop a wolf when they're like that. Once they you in their jaws, they are going to tear you to shreds before anyone can get to them!" he said as he sat his bottle on the coffee table.

There were a knock on the door, which Bernie raised an eyebrow and got up from the couch. Yvonne nodded slowly before a big smile crept upon her lips. "Haley, from what I've been told, Toby and Zoe were awesome. Your father thinks they are ready to bear more gamma responsibility" she said.

Haley looked towards her father who stood very quietly, but he gave a soft smile confirming that Zoe and Toby did in fact receive recognition and high praise from the alpha. He turned to the door as the knock grew louder, which he flung the door open glaring at whoever attempt to wake up his son upstairs.

Clare and Kari looked up more intimidated at him than usual, which Clare broke the silence. "We need closure" she said before she rubbed her arm shivering. "We just watched him slaughter a bunch of people..." she said before Bernie raised an eyebrow opening the door wider and interrupted her.

"So you come closer to the werewolf to seek closure?" he muttered with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yea? Is that a problem?" Clare interjected as she copied him by putting her arms over her chest. "You guys are our friends. I'm not afraid of you either!" she said.

Zoe came out from the garage to greet them, which she pushed her mountain of a father aside effortlessly. "Hey, what's up?" she asked.

Kari was silent as she stared off in a traumatized gaze, but Clare was weary. She dropped her arms to the sides before she reached over to nervously rub her upper arm aimlessly. "We saw what went down...is everyone alright? What about Toby and Sasha?...and Percy" she asked.

Zoe frowned. "They all are fine...but this thing is a lot more complicated than you think" she said before a low growl came from the back of her throat. "It turned out that Percy's stupid uncle was the one responsible for killing Toby's dad. He fucked with Sasha's dad's head to get information from him. He forced Percy to join him once they figure out that Toby wasn't there, and after all of this, Sasha's dad hung himself" she muttered.

Clare looked into her eyes and frowned. "I see...so how's Sasha and Percy dealing with this?" she asked.

Zoe lead them into the garage, which Percy were sitting on the tattered couch with to werewolf pups eating popcorn. "Sasha's doing the best she can, and Percy never really liked his uncle" she said.

Percy nodded as he yanked his bowl from Nate's paws. Kari stared at the Percy's surreal interaction with two transformed werewolf pups before she looked over at Zoe remembering that these people were just like her. "Um, I don't want to intrude, but...and we stay and watch movies with you?" she asked.

Zoe snapped out of her irritated state of mind, and grinned widely. "Wow, I never had this many human friends over but sure. Hope you don't mind our couch. We've made sure to break it in" she said.

Kari raised an eyebrow. "We aren't going to turn into a werewolf if we get poked by a spring will I?" she asked.

Zoe snickered to herself. "Just don't get poked by a spring then" she remarked before she looked at Kari oddly. "Seriously! It's fine! There aren't any springs in the cushions" she said before she looked over at Percy. "Have you gotten poked?" she asked. Percy shook his head before he smacked Nate's paw away once more.

Clare sat down on the end of the couch and kicked up her black leather-knee high boots onto the coffee table. "Kari, you need to calm down. These nice werewolves are giving us great hospitality and you are just being a rude worry wort right now" she said.

Kari crossed her arms and pouted. "I'm not being a rude worry wort, I'm just being mindful" she said.

Clare smirked. "I'm pretty sure Zoe would put our safety in mind. She knows more about lycanthropy than we do" she stated before she looked towards Todd sympathetically but she chose not to spoil the mood. "You know Zoe...I was sure that Sasha's little fan club was just going to be a dud, but you know what?" she asked before a smirk crept upon her lips. "I'm glad joined it. I feel better about being different than everyone. Life kind of gets pretty boring when everything is the same" she said.

Zoe snickered to herself. "Yea, I was worried about you guys finding out about us, but I guess if you joined the club, you were open to the supernatural to begin with, am I right?" she said.

Clare smirked at her. "I kind of had a feeling you and Toby was different...who knew you actually were werewolves" she said. Kari cleared her throat roughly in protest before Clare glanced over and rolled her eyes. "Come on...you thought that Toby was a kitsune!" she remarked.

Zoe laughed. "Kitsune? Man, we're too big for those little rapscallions. Like nearly a whole two feet taller...well not yet anyway" she said before she pointed to herself. "Doctor said I'm supposed to be over seven feet tall when I'm fully grown" she said proudly.

Percy gulped trying to imagine Zoe being much bigger, which she was already at an impressive size for a teenage girl, but she glanced over at him and winked. He blushed and coughed on a piece of popcorn, which Clare looked at him amused. "Looks like you've been keeping the big girl very happy. What's your secret?" she teased him.

Percy's eyes widened and his heart pounded inside his chest. Zoe looked at Clare amused and sat down beside her. "Well, he's not a very stubborn guy, and he's very good with his hands" she said.

Clare snickered and looked towards Percy's mortified expression. He held his hands up and flailed them about. "We've not done anything like that!" he shrieked.

Zoe looked back at Clare evilly. "Yes, we have...he's just too afraid daddy might hear" she said before she looked back at Percy who was now almost completely red. She looked at him seductively and slapped him on the back. "I can't believe you're still shy about this!" she raised her voice.

Clare looked at her curiously. "So have you two been?" she asked before Zoe looked at her oddly.

"We've only been to third base...I know he wants to go farther, but his uncle had been fucking with his head that it's been hard for us to get any more intimate with each other" Zoe whispered into her ear.

Clare looked over at Percy briefly. "So are you planning to..." she asked before she got interrupted by Zoe.

"No, no! Just kissing...Might do more if we're alone. I'm sure Toby's already blown Sasha's mind again" Zoe whispered back.

Clare frowned. "Sasha's changed a lot since she got with Toby. She's been attached to him like a conjoined twin...she's hardly been around you know" she said.

Zoe nodded. "From what I got is that Toby's her first actual boyfriend...The best thing we can do is just give her advice" she muttered before she looked towards Todd. "Also, almost her entire family was turned into werewolves. I don't think that kind of stress was good for her either...meh, she's getting things figured out. She's pretty smart. Toby doesn't make you stupid for long" she said before Clare snickered.

Clare sighed heavily. "I don't know what she sees in him...but she seems to be too happy" she said.

Zoe looked back and her and smirked. "She's gotten to know the real Toby. That stupid jock thing is for show, but deep down he's a cunning lackadaisical werewolf who's wasting his potential!" she said.

Clare smirked. "So I'm guessing him being lackadaisical is what kept you from a relationship with him then?" she asked.

Zoe nodded. "Kinda that, but he's sort of been changing also...I've never seen him so aggressive and vicious before. I couldn't believe that were Toby that were taking out those guys without any hesitation...I mean even before then with that jock I thought he were having a bad day, but...I think Toby's actually growing a pair of balls" she said.

Clare raised an eyebrow. "So, him showing aggression is a good thing?" she asked.

Zoe crossed her arms over her chest. "He's a freaking werewolf, Clare! He's not a snuggly plushie you cuddle up to every night...well...maybe for Sasha, but still, he's got feral built in him. And I'm glad he's showing his authority! He's the true Alpha of the clan after all" she said.

Clare, Percy, Kari, and Todd all looked over at her in shock. "Wait, Toby's the true Alpha?" they muttered.

Zoe nodded. "Yea, Not to oversimplify everything, but Toby were voted to be the next Alpha. Even though Toby was like six years old. It was just to piss on Pete's hopes to become the Alpha. Since Pete disappeared, my dad took charge, and dad's been really pushing for Toby and I to get more training. Though...Toby's been garnering all of the attention lately, thanks for our help" she said.

Percy stared at her in disbelief. "Wait! You're saying that the werewolves hated this Pete guy so much, that they voted for a six year old child to lead them?" he asked.

Zoe smirked. "Well, Pete pushed the issue along so much that the Nobles and Betas just to show him that they weren't going to allow him a lifelong alpha status. They would have voted dad in if he weren't too busy trashing his liver...though he was technically the alpha anyway" she said.

Todd looked at her oddly. "Trashing his liver?" he asked.

Clare smiled at his innocence. "She means her dad was drinking a lot of alcohol...a lot of it" she told him. His eyes widened before he nodded catching on with the slang.

Zoe tapped her finger to her chin and thought for a moment. "I'm fine with him being relaxed, but I just can't tell when he'll take things seriously and drop the charade" she said.

Percy cleared his throat. "Maybe Sasha's giving him the incentive?" he added.

Clare smirked. "Well, I think it may be more than that to be blunt" she said.

Zoe nodded. "Yea, there's some really bad shit going on with the werewolf community right now. I think that letting up on your investigations would be best until this blows over" she added.

Percy snickered. "Nah, we're just going to investigate you. I think we are mature enough to handle investigating werewolves. Ghosts are not as thrilling once you've encountered a dozen or so. Meeting my first werewolf was a lot more exhilarating. Maybe we can join in on Sasha's vlog project" he said.

Zoe laughed. "Good thing your parents aren't hunting us good wolves then, huh?" she asked.

Percy nodded. "Yup" he said.

Clare glanced over at Percy. "Oh, so you aren't a wimpy hacker after all. You've been holding out on us!" she teased him.

Kari shivered. "So how bad has things gotten?" she asked.

Zoe paused for a moment before Percy chimed in, "...It's gotten so bad that my stupid uncle probably doomed the human race"