Those Forgotten VII: A Proposal
#7 of Those Forgotten
~~~~~~~
Those Forgotten - At Last
~~~~~~~
Notes: This is the 7th installment of 'Those Forgotten,' There's only 1 more chapter you guys! This chapter focuses on Luke and why he's been acting so weird. It also happens to let the cat out of the bag and you can feel free to yell at me because you're gonna hate me, but oh the irony.
I have two characters on loan from Warrior Scribe, one being the newly named dead hunter, John. The other is Pual (Jean-Paul)
All else is Copyright of "The Copilot"
Edited by Warrior Scribe
All Feedback will be appreciated.
This follows Luke for most of the story, gives him some life.
~~~~~~
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVI254QGSQ4](%5C)
~~~~~~
(Chapter Seven)
~~~~~~
Several hours had gone by since Luke had brought Valentine back to his tent, and people had come and gone to check on the Fox all day. He couldn't resist staring at the fox again and feeling all his worries slip away, just as he had earlier. The fox was smiling again and his head had rolled in it's sleep to face Luke where he sat against the tent wall. The Shepherd didn't know what to do, he was so confused. He loved Shaun, he always had, but this fox, he unsettled Luke.
Luke had waited 6 years after his death for Shaun to come to this realm, wishing to help him move on and tell him that he loved Shaun back, but Shaun's Aunt Jodi had kept him away. Now, after three years of trying to get to him and help him remember his death, to remember him so they could go to heaven together, Shaun falls in his lap only for him to discover that he's already taken. And then, as if to confuse him more, this Fox comes into his life and captures him to the point where he's forced to question everything.
'Do I really love Shaun still?'
'Oh course you still love Shaun, you always will. But you can't have what isn't yours.'
'I'll make him mine, then.'
'Would you really do that to Oren? They're happy together.'
'No. But I want to be happy too, I want to be with him. I love Shaun.'
'Do you really love him, or have you been alone for so long that you're willing to hurt him and Oren?'
'I... '
'Never thought that you would move on. Well, he was and he's not yours anymore and as much as it hurts, that's the truth.'
'What do I do now though?'
'What else is there to do? Move on,' Luke's mind whispered to itself.
Christine watched Luke from the other side of the tent as his eyes drooped while he watched the fox. She could see that he was holding an internal monologue and he had refused to talk. Christine could see right through that facade he had on earlier and she knew that he was hurting, having to watch Shaun and Oren together. She was more or less watching Luke more than Valentine so she'd be able to stop him from doing anything rash. Suddenly, a tear lefts Luke's eye and he looked up at Christine. Before her, Luke started to fade away into nothing, ever so slowly disappearing into nothing. Her mouth dropped open as she watched this when the vulpine next to her started to murmur, scream, then beg.
"No... no, no, no, no! Don't go, not yet! Please, don't go! You don't have to be alone, stay," The fox said, his eyes still closed as he rolled onto his side and reached for Luke.
Luke looked down at the Fox as he faded away and watched that smile dwindle to nothing. The Fox's lips started to twitch and before Luke knew it, the Fox was screaming and reaching for him. Luke looked down curiously at this sight, confused yet again as the the tent became visible through his body. Surely this Fox wasn't begging him to stay, was he? But he was and Luke sat up and crawled to the unconscious, begging Fox, watching how that arm tracked him. This Fox was begging him to stay.
'Move on,' that voice whispered again inside his head.
'No, not yet.' Luke told himself as he gradually rematerialized again. He took the Fox's hand in his and held it as the Fox stopped pleading and crying.
"Thank you," The Fox murmured, still unconscious.
Luke tried to take his hand back but the Fox wouldn't let go, instead clutching Luke's hand to his chest, right over the pink heart in his fur. Luke couldn't help but smile as he sat down on the bed furs with the fox. He gently brushed the fox's cheek fur with his hand and looked up to Christine. She was still in shock but she smiled when she saw Luke. The change in him was like night and day, his tail thumping once or twice against Valentine's bed.
'I have a reason to stay.'
~~~~~~~
Shaun and Oren had finished their little romp and after resting a bit, they decided to go check on the fox from earlier. When Oren showed Shaun the tent, he pulled apart the tent flap and let his mate walk in. Inside, Shaun found Luke sitting cross legged and leaning against the tent wall, a sleep. He was holding the hand of the sleeping fox. Christine was not far off where she sat, her eyes heavy. She yawned and stretched when Shaun came in.
"Hey, how is he?" Shaun asked, pointing at Valentine.
"Oh, he'll be fine. Just kinda watching him," Christine answered, trying to stop her eyes from drooping. The sound of voices woke Luke and he started awake, seemingly unaware of where he was.
"Hi," Luke said as he raised his arms above him in a stretch, still holding the fox's hand.
"Hey, you okay?" Shaun asked.
"Oh yeah, just peachy," Luke answered.
"That's good."
The fox, whose hand Luke was still holding, broke his grip and covered his ears as he moaned.
"Why is everyone being so loud! My head really hurts."
"Sorry," Luke whispered as he stroked Valentine's ears.
"Mmm, keep doing that and I'll have to forgive you. Who are you? You don't smell like one of the pack, your scents are different," Valentine said as he pulled his hands away from his ears and cracked an eye to look blearily around.
"I'm Shaun, this is Luke. We ran into the forest when he heard the gunshots," Shaun said, making the fox wince from the volume of his voice.
"I heard you yelp," Luke said quietly.
"Right," Shaun said. "When we found you, you had tripped your trap and hit your head, knocking yourself unconscious."
Valentine looked slowly at all three of the guests in his tent, his vision becoming clearer. When he could finally see who they were, it took him a bit to recognize them.
"Oh, I remember you guys now, you're Cane's guests, the ones John sent."
"That's us," Shaun replied.
"But why are you all in my tent?"
"Well, Christine over there is a vet, she was playing doctor for you, Luke here carried you the whole way back, and I'm just here to check on them."
"Oh, thanks for the concern. But you don't have to be worried, I'm fine," Valentine said as he tried to sit up. The room before him started to swim and he fell back, his head landing in Luke's lap.
"Hey there," Luke said, smiling at the disoriented fox.
"My head hurts," Valentine said, closing his eyes and covering them with his arm.
"Yep, he'll be just fine," Christine said as she got up and dusted herself off. "Someone's gonna have to stay with him though, he needs someone to make sure he takes it easy for the next twenty four hours."
"I'm fine!" Valentine moaned from where he was.
Christine leaned down and grabbed Valentine's ankle where he had been hauled up by the rope and poked his head where he had hit it. Valentine yowled in pain, barring his fangs as he writhed in Luke's lap.
"That's fine, huh?" Christine said, before standing back up.
"I'll watch him," Luke said with a thump of his tail, looking up from Valentine to Christine.
"Fine, he's all yours. Now, I'm gonna go nap and wait for John, he should be arriving soon," Christine said as she walked out of Valentine's tent.
Shaun waited until she was out of ear shot before speaking. "Someone's a bit grumpy today."
"A bit?" both Luke and Valentine said at the same time. They both looked each other in the eye curiously before Shaun distracted them.
"So, I guess you found a place to stay after all, huh?" Shaun said, anxiously.
"Already trying to get rid of me so you can have some time with Oren, huh?"
"Am I that obvious?" Shaun asked, cracking a smile.
"Yes. And as an answer to your question, I don't know, it depends if Valentine minds me staying," Luke said as he looked at the fox.
"Does that mean you wait on me hand and foot?" Valentine asked, his head titling back curiously.
"Well... I guess." Luke answered back with a sly grin.
"Yeah, you can stay," Valentine said, nodding his head and closing his eyes. "Just keep doing whatever you were with the ears, it feels amazing."
"Good, I'll bring you your bags and come get you when they call for dinner."
"Thanks," Luke said as he went back to stroking Valentine's ears. Shaun laughed as he watched the fox's tongue loll out in pleasure before he parted the tent flap and hooked his arm in the Akita's.
"Ready?" Shaun asked.
"If you are, how are they?"
"Just fine and guess what?" Shaun said as he walked away, bumping into his mate as they walked.
"What?" Oren asked curiously.
"We have our tent all to ourselves now."
"Mmm, I can't wait!" Oren said, licking Shaun's ear as they walked off.
~~~~~~~
When Shaun came back some time later, it was near dark and all the wolves had gathered around a large fire. Entering Valentines tent, Shaun found that Luke and Valentine were exactly where they were when he left, only, they were asleep. Shaking Luke's shoulder, he woke the sleeping shepherd.
"Wha? What is it?" Luke murmured, stretching his arms and taking a large intake of breath through his nose as his bones popped.
"Cane's called for dinner, time to get up."
Luke nodded and tickled Valentine's nose, making him sneeze. "Time to get up Valentine, dinner."
Valentine stretched too as he rolled off of Luke's lap and Shaun left the tent to go find Oren. Then Val, being one stubborn fox, tried to stand and instead crumpled to the floor with a yelp. Luke walked over to him and frowned, very displeased with the foolhardy fox.
"Quit staring at me and help me up," Valentine demanded in a huff, holding out an arm for Luke to grab, but Luke didn't pick him up. "What," Valentine said, putting his arm down, Luke only put his hands on is hips.
"Please?" Valentine asked in a sincere voice.
Luke tried not to smile but couldn't help himself, his cheeks pulling into grin. Then he rushed Valentine and picked him up, holding him like a child as he hauled the struggling fox into the air. Laughing, Luke stooped down and walked out of the tent.
"What are you doing, put me down!" Valentine shouted as he struggled and slapped at Luke, so Luke did as he was asked and Valentine yelped in pain as he hopped on one foot, shouting again. "Pick me up, pick me up, PICK ME UP!"
Luke just laughed again and did as the fox asked, putting him back into his arms where he belonged. "Are you ready to behave?" Luke whispered to Valentine's ear.
"Yes," Valentine replied, his ears folding back in embarrassment.
"Good, lets go," Luke said aloud as he walked off to where the wolves were gathering.
There, around the fire, Luke sought out Shaun and Oren and found them sitting on a cut log bench. Walking over, fox still in his arms, Luke took a seat next to those two and set Valentine on the open spot next to him. Slowly roasting over the fire was the now skinned and gutted carcase of deer that Paul had killed earlier, as well as a pot of something else boiling over the flames.
"What are we waiting for?" Luke asked, turning to Shaun. Shaun just shrugged.
"Cane is the Alpha, he and his mate gets first share of the kill," Valentine answered, watching the black wolf as he walked to the fire with a plate. Once there, a smaller wolf took a big knife and proceeded to cut a large portion of meat for Cane before another wolf spooned a generous portion of beans on his plate. His mate, Natalia, was treated the same next, but when Whistler stepped up, Cane stopped him where he stood. Whistler stood there, slightly shocked, as Cane called for Shaun, Oren, and Luke to come up. Luke of course took Valentine with him.
"It's tradition with a pack to feed in order of the rank, as with real wolves, but never before have we had an Alpha male visit us with his pack," Cane said aloud to everyone as he clapped Shaun on his shoulder. "So the next bit of food will go to him and his pack, as they are guests."
Shaun looked around curious before looking back at Cane before pointing at himself with an expression of askance, "Me? But I'm not--"
"Yes, you are. I've never met anyone who was able to challenge my gaze so fiercely, not even Whistler and he's my beta. You are an Alpha of a budding pack, and even now, I can sense the change of the mark within you," Cane said as he moved Shaun's shirt to show the bite mark on his shoulder to everyone. "Now, I said you and your pack get food next, don't make me a liar."
Shaun meekly took a plate in shock and held it up to the shocked wolves serving the food. When their eyes met Cane with questioning, he raised a brow and the wolves immediately cut and served Shaun. Oren followed suit, presenting a plate to the serving wolves who kept looking up at Cane. Cane just nodded again. When Luke came up, he presented Valentine, who was holding both of their plates, and the two of them had to bite their tongue to keep from giggling at their silly game. Whistler, on the other hand, was staring back and forth between his empty plate and Luke with disgust and contempt as anger welled within him.
When Cane heard Whistler growl under his breath, he shot him a dangerous glare, making Whistler huff and cross his arms as he tried to glare a hole in the back of the shepherds head. When Luke and Valentine went to sit, having thanked Cane and the three wolves that served them, Whistler moved in with his plate, salivating at the smell of cooked deer when Cane stopped him again. The brown wolf groaned in displeasure as his shoulders slumped like a child.
"We're missing someone, aren't we? The girl," Cane said.
"Yeah, Christine. Where is she?" Shaun asked, looking around.
"Over here!" Christine shouted, she was running to them, dragging John behind by the hand. Once they got their food, Whistler looked up at Cane and motioned to go for food. Cane nodded and Whistler smiled as he finally got what he wanted. Dinner commenced from there, Luke trying to baby the disgruntled fox, which he refused to set down, and after eating in relative quiet, Shaun's train of thoughts led him to a question he had wanted to ask but had forgotten.
"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you something," Shaun said to Luke.
"What?" Luke answered, trying to stuff a piece of deer into Valentine's muzzle.
"Back when we flew here, you flew the whole way in the Copilots seat. What's all that about? " Shaun asked, watching Luke tense a bit before turning around
"Ah, it's... just a quirk."
"That's a weird quirk," Shaun said, taking a bite out of his deer.
"Yeah, well, there's a bit of story behind it," Luke said, trying to skirt the subject.
"I've got time," Shaun said.
Luke sighed, "Well, you see... a friend of mine that I met in college peaked my interest in flying. We used to sit and day dream about all the places we could visit. Anyway, he used to say that one day he would finally buy the plane of his dreams and we would complete Earhart's journey across the world. He used to joke that I would be his Copilot so I practiced flying on that side of the plane. Then, in the Air force, word got around and they all started calling me The Copilot to rib me. So, heh, I adopted it as a nickname."
"What happened to him?" Shaun asked.
"Well, I joined the Air Force and went off to war. We kept in touch but it became harder and harder, and then I di... well, the letters just stopped and we drifted apart. When I came back, there were a pile of letters waiting for me bound with a big 'I'm sorry' written across the top. They... they were all addressed and stamped, but never sent."
"Oh," Shaun said with a sad frown. "What did they say?"
"Everything. He had fallen in love with me but thought I wouldn't return such sentiments. What he didn't know was, I had long fallen for him too. By the time I returned, he was no where to be found. I always assumed he just gave up on me and moved on with his life, but I still held on to those childish dreams we had, hoping I'd see him once again and tell him I loved him too. That's why I bought Amelia, my plane. I've just never let go of the hope that one day, I'd actually see him again, and we could actually complete that journey," Luke said, whipping a tear away.
Luke was telling the truth and lying at the same time and it hurt him deeply to lie to Shaun as he was the very author of those letters, but it had to be done. Shaun couldn't be allowed to know that he had written those letters and laid them on top of Luke's coffin, not yet.
~~~~~~
The next day, Oren woke up to Shaun playing with his whiskers and let out a loud yawn as he rolled over and stretched.
"Good morning," Oren mumbled, still slightly a sleep.
"Good morning to you too, sleeping beauty. You can go back to bed in a second, I just wanted to let you know where I was going," Shaun said quietly.
"Going? Where are you going, give me a second and I'll come with you," Oren said, trying to open his eyes and failing.
"No, you stay here and sleep. This is part of your surprise, if you go with me, it won't be much of a surprise," Shaun said as he stood up.
"Please?" Oren asked.
"No silly, I'll be back by the time you get up. Whistler, John, Luke, and I are going into town to get what we need for tonight," Shaun said.
"You sure you won't let me come?" Oren asked, his eyes still closed.
"Yes!" Shaun answered.
"Yes, I can come?" Oren asked.
"No! Quit being so stubborn."
"Sorry," Oren murmured, his ears laying flat on his head. "I love you."
"I love you too, so just trust me on this. You'll remember this night forever." Shaun said, leaning down to kiss his mate.
"I can't wait, "Oren said in a dreamy smile, his tail wagging behind him as he fell asleep.
Shaun walked out of his tent and started the walk out of camp. When he reached the clearing in which he had left his car, he found Luke, John, and another man he presumed to be Whistler all standing and ready to go.
"So, where are we going first?" Whistler asked as they all stepped into the car.
"I need to go to an electronics store," Luke said.
"I need to go get some more lights, so I need a hardware store," Shaun said.
"And Christine gave me a list of groceries to get," John murmured.
"Well, I think you're in luck because I know where we can get all of that," Whistler said as he shifted the car into drive.
The drive into town was relatively quick as Whistler knew exactly where he was going. The hardware store came and went, same with the electronics store, but the grocery store was another matter. Christine's list was not complicated, but the sheer quantity that she wanted to purchase was staggering and when they left the store, it was with several empty spots on the shelves and four baskets full of food, not to mention a heavy dent in Shaun's wallet. They had bought so much that they even had to sit with it and the car's suspension was bottomed out comically in the back.
They were stopped at a light and Shaun was actually in the middle of laughing about how much food they had bought when he looked out the window and saw a man dressed in a trench coat and bowler hat standing on the street corner next to the car, watching them. Shaun did a double take and looked at the figure with more detail, his laughter outright dieing right then and there. The man went wide eyed when he saw that he was spotted, Shaun trying to move the bags in his lap so he could spill out of the car. He only got as far as opening the door though, for when he looked up, the hunter had flat out disappeared.
"Shaun, what are you doing?" Luke asked, poking the man on the shoulder.
Turning back around, Shaun saw that everyone was staring at him so he closed the door. "I... I thought I saw something," Shaun said, his mouth dry.
"What was it?" Whistler asked.
"Nothing. It was nothing," Shaun answered back sheepishly. "The lights green."
~~~~~~
Shaun, Luke, John, and Whistler arrived back and found several volunteers to help unload the car and bring the supplies into the empty cabin. They stacked the food and placed everything where it needed to be before being shooed out of the cabin by Christine and Natalia. Hours passed and the sun set before the girls left the cabin to call everyone to gather by where they had erected their barrier. Shaun grabbed Oren, Natalia grabbed Cane, who grabbed the pack, Christine grabbed John, and Luke went into Valentine's tent and walked out with the fox, giggling in his arms. They then gathered all around the barrier that had been erected to block everyone's view of what was being done. Shaun walked in front of everyone and stood there with Oren as Cane and John walked off.
"Okay, are you guys ready?" Shaun asked the pack.
"Yeah!" The group of wolves replied, buzzing with energy and excitement.
"Cane, John... cut the lines," Shaun said as he hugged Oren to him.
When the barrier dropped, the whole pack kind of murmured quietly as they walked to the back of the cabin. The only thing that had changed from before were the benches and tables that had been brought out of the basement, as there were none before. It was a major disappointment to everyone, but Shaun kept beaming.
"Are you ready for part of your surprise?" Shaun whispered to Oren.
The dog turned, "You mean this isn't it?"
"No silly."
"Yeah, I'm ready," Oren said excitedly, his tail moving so fast that his rear was moving with it.
"Okay," Shaun answered. "Whistler, do the honors please!"
"Right'o!" the wolf shouted back from right behind the house. There was a loud click as Whistler threw a switch.
Suddenly, the area was bathed in soft warm light and with a click, the Jukebox began playing music. Christmas lights, paper lantern lights, spots lights, all strung through the surrounding trees, as well as lights within the cabin, all came on at once. Mean while, Shaun had walked over to a pile of wood and lit it with a match, starting a huge bonfire. The whole pack gasped in amazement, including Cane, as they looked up and turned in circles where they stood, staring at all the lights. Oren did the same, he had never seen such a light display.
"Surprise," Shaun said as he walked back to the Akita and kissed him on the nose.
"Shaun, it's beautiful! You did all this?" Oren asked, looking around in wonder.
"Well, not all of it. Luke fixed the Jukebox, Whistler and I hung the lights, and Christine got Natalia and John to help cook."
"You guys did so much, why wouldn't you let me help you?" Oren whined.
"Because, it was to be part of your surprise. If you helped, it wouldn't have been a surprise. Come on, lets go have fun!" Shaun said, taking Oren by the hand and running off.
~~~~~~~
Luke and Valentine where sitting on a cut log that had been made into a make shift bench around the bonfire, munching on some party favors when someone tapped them both on the shoulder. Turning, Luke was greeted by a young tan wolf.
"Hi," the teenager said.
"Well, hi to you too," Luke said with a grin.
"I'm Nate, nice to meet you," the young wolf said, holding out a hand.
"Luke, and likewise. Can we help you?"
"Oh, I just wanted to see if you or A.J. wanted some punch, do you?"
"Sure, I'll take some," Luke answered.
"Me too, thanks," Valentine answered.
"Okay, I'll be right back," Nate said before he ran off.
Luke and Valentine watched him run off. "A.J?" Luke asked, turning to Valentine.
"Yeah, Nate uses my real name. He thinks he's being funny."
"He's a cute kid," Luke said with a smile.
"Yeah, he is," Valentine said, making a sad face.
"Are his parents here?"
"No parents, he was as orphan. They're alive somewhere down there," Valentine said, looking at the ground.
"So, no one came back for him?" Luke asked shocked, Valentine just shook his head sadly.
When Nate came back with the drinks, Luke and Valentine had to force a smile until Nate started to joke around and act like an over grown puppy. His antics made Luke laugh so hard, he fell off the log he and Valentine were sitting on. All three of them got real quiet for a moment before they burst out in fits of hysterical laughter.
"Here," Nate said as he laughed. "Let me help you up."
"Thanks," Luke grunted as Nate helped to pull him back onto his log.
"Your welcome."
Suddenly, the music stopped and looking up at the main deck, turned stage, Shaun was standing up there. Make shift stage lights clicked on and Shaun walked front and center with a microphone. Everyone except Valentine, Luke, and Nate gathered around the stage as Shaun got ready to speak and hushed whispers passed through the crowd. Shaun brought the mic up to his mouth and, in his best movie announcer voice, started talking.
"In a world where a pack of werewolves were partying deep within the hills of Canada, it all came to a stop so one man could say on word... karaoke. That's right karaoke." Shaun dropped the voice and started talking in his normal voice. "Our friend Luke back there has modified this old jukebox so that we could have a karaoke night, so, who' first?"
Several wolves scrambled to go up on stage and sing for fun and Shaun passed off the microphone to Whistler, who had volunteered to run the stage. Karaoke went on for about an hour and everyone had a great time, Shaun even started a duet with Oren but it fell apart with the two of them laughing and kissing. When Shaun broke the kiss, he turned to Whistler and said, "Now please." The wolf nodded as he killed the lights out over the trees and brought all attention to the deck turned stage. Taking the microphone up near his mouth, Shaun got down on one knee in front of Oren.
~~~~
Luke was sitting with Valentine at one of the benches, trying to keep the injured fox occupied. When the lights died, they had been in the middle of a small argument.
"No, you go have fun, I'm fine," Valentine was saying.
"I know your fine, but I don't want to go. I don't know anyone else. Besides, I have to take care of you," Luke said, leaning in.
"No, you don't, I'm not your boyfrie... what happened to the lights?" Val asked, forgetting what he was saying.
"I don't know," Luke replied, looking up curiously.
"Oh Luke, look at the stage!" Valentine said eagerly.
When Luke turned around, his heart plummeted to the ground and his spirit shattered. Up on stage was Shaun, his Shaun, and he was down on one knee in front of Oren. The Akita had his paws up to his face in shock as Shaun started to talk.
"Oren, we've both been hurt, we've both been alone, and we've both been lost, but I want to fix that. Oren, from the very minute I first found you, I knew that I was in love with you. I know that we've only known each other for a short period of time, but I've never felt more complete. You gave me a reason to live. Now, my Aunt gave me these rings, she said they belonged to my mother and father and that one day I would meet someone with whom I'd want to spend the rest of my life with. Oren, you make me so happy and I love you with all my heart, so I have one very, super important question. What I'm asking is, will you marry me?" Shaun said as he opened a little ring box in front of the Akita.
Shaun tiled the microphone up to Oren and all that was heard were a few muffled words, so Shaun took the microphone back with a laugh. "Was that a yes?" Shaun asked and Oren nodded, holding his hand out for Shaun to place the ring. Taking his fathers ring out of the box, having saved the biggest ring for the biggest of the two, Shaun placed it over Oren's ring finger and clasped the box shut before stuffing it in his pocket. Shaun then got up from where he stood and leaned in to give Oren a tender kiss as the Akita slid his arms around Shaun's waist. They kissed until they needed to come back up for air, so taken in their revelry and joy that they forgot where they were.
When they broke their kiss, Shaun brought their foreheads together and whispered, " I love you." Oren replied the same, his tail wagging as he choked back tears. It was then there came a loud, uproarious cheer from all the wolves down below. Shaun then led Oren down the stairs to where everyone was, clasping hands tightly as they descended into the crowd of clapping cheering wolves. Shaun couldn't count the times he was patted on the back or met with crying, shrieking girls telling him how lucky Oren was.
"You're so romantic, my mate doesn't even pull the tent flap aside for me anymore," one wolf commented, making Shaun chuckle.
"I'm not romantic," Shaun replied before he stopped to look Oren in the eye. "I'm just in love."
"Well, you get awfully romantic when you're in love. Guess it's a good thing I'm a sucker for romance. I love you," Oren said, kissing Shaun again.
Three girls let out simultaneous shrieks of "Awe" before turning and smacking their mates on the arm, "Why don't you tell me things like that anymore?!"
Shaun and Oren laughed as they walked away, the lights coming back on. Suddenly, Cane's voice was on the microphone. Turning to see what was happening, Shaun and Oren watched as Cane spoke. "Congratulations, this is the first day of the rest of your lives. Enjoy it." With that, Cane set down the microphone and set the needle on an old record player. There was a bit of static at first but gradually, a slow melodic tune with heartfelt lyrics began to gently drift from where Cane stood. From there, Cane held a hand out to Shaun as if to signal to take it from there as wolves parted and made a circle around them.
"How did he do that?" Oren asked, amazed that Cane had found a record player and record in an amazing amount of time.
"I don't know, do you know how to dance?" Shaun asked, grabbing Oren's hands and placing them on him before hugging him close.
"No," Oren answered, shocked.
"Well I'll lead then."
Cane smiled and descended the stairs to his mate where he took her by the hand and walked next to Shaun and Oren. There, he turned to her and embraced her with a smile as he too started to dance. Slowly, wolf turned to wolf, mate to mate, and gently embraced each other as they too joined in the slow dance that had started. Even those without mates got in on it. Whistler was sitting on stage watching when he felt a light tap on his shoulder, behind him was the girl that he had been dreaming about and she was holding out a hand for him to take.
"Dance?" She asked as he stood up.
"I would love too," he answered as he took her hand and embraced her.
~~~~~~~
"That was so romantic, I can't believe he did that, that was so amazing," Valentine was babbling as he looked at where Shaun and Oren had been moments before, but he stopped dead when he saw the way Luke was looking at the ground. He looked confused, like he was distraught over something, but at the same time, kind of relieved.
"Hey, you okay?" Valentine asked, reaching across and putting his hand on top of Luke's. The shepherd paused, his breathing even stopped, as he looked up. His fur was wet with tears, but he was smiling. A genuine smile, not forced or fake, but a true, goofy, shepherd smile.
"I've never been better," Luke answered back to the fox. Valentine smiled and accidentally left his hand where it was, right on top of Luke's. Then the music began and Luke's ear twitched.
"Look, everyone's starting to dance. Care to join?" Valentine piped up, bringing Luke out of his little musically induced trance.
"Absolutely," Luke answered with a big, punch drunk smile. "But what about your ankle?"
"You can carry me, can't you? You've been doing it all day."
~~~~~~
Now the whole pack was dancing, every single wolf paired with a partner as they danced slowly to the peaceful classic. Shaun danced with Oren, leading the way as they leaned into each other, Shaun's chin resting on Oren's shoulder, and Oren's muzzle nestled in the crook of Shaun's neck. As Shaun twirled slowly with his mate, his eyes caught with Cane's and he received a wink from the big wolf before his eyes also caught John and Christine's, they gave a nod and a smile which Shaun returned. Then the song started to wind down and snow began to fall from the sky, landing on Oren's nose and making the dog go cross eyed to watch it melt away.
When the song did end, Shaun gave Oren a big squeeze before whispering in his ear, "I love you so much, thank you for saying yes."
Oren answered back, "I love you too," licking Shaun's ear in his customary sign of thanks.
When they broke their hug, they kissed until they ran out of air again, and when they did, their ears were assaulted by cheering, yet again. Shaun and Oren stood side by side, grinning from ear to thinking the applause was for them, but it wasn't. Standing close by were Christine and John, as well as Luke and Valentine and both pairs were locked in a deep kiss, seemingly trying to outlast each other. Christine broke her kiss first and Luke broke his not seconds after, a goofy smile taking his muzzle again as he looked at the fox in his arms. Shaun couldn't help but clap for them too.
Now that it began snowing, the temperature started to fall and the wolves rapidly became chilled by the falling ice, so the party ceased and everyone split back up and went to their tents. As Luke walked with Valentine though, he saw Nate all by himself just kind of standing where he was with a drooped tail, reluctant to go back to his tent, so he changed course to go talk to him.
"Hey," Luke said from behind Nate, making the wolf whirl around.
"Hi!" Nate said, excited that he had someone to talk to.
"Aren't you cold, you should go to your tent. Who are you staying with?" Luke asked.
"Jean-Paul, but he's got a girl with him at the moment, if you know what I mean," Nate said, his muzzle twisted into disgust. "I'm probably just going to go sleep in the basement, like usual."
"Oh, okay," Luke said, getting ready to walk away until Valentine pinched him. When Luke looked down, the fox was giving him 'that' look, the one that said, 'come on!' So Luke sighed before turning back to Nate, who was sulking again.
"You know what, we have space in our tent. Why don't you stay with us tonight?"
"OKAY!" Nate answered back, enthusiastically following Luke and Valentine.
~~~~~~
When Luke arrived back at Valentine's tent, he let Nate run in first and dive on the bed furs. Then he stepped behind the dividing wall with Valentine. There he stripped off his clothes and changed while talking to the fox in a hushed tone.
"I had intended to see if you were up for some fun tonight, but I guess letting Nate stay is a bit more important."
"Yeah, it is. He's a good kid, I'm glad you called him along," Valentine said as he brushed out his fur.
"You told me too," Luke said as he pulled on some plaid pajama pants.
"Did I? Silly me," Valentine shot back with a sly fox grin.
"Well, there's always tomorrow, right?"
"Maybe," Valentine answered, holding his hand out for Luke to help him hobble back to the bed.
When they rounded the wall, Luke nearly dropped the fox at what he saw. Laying on the bed fur, spread eagle and pawing himself furiously was Nate. When Luke and Valentine walked in, he looked up at them with a huge puppy smile before speaking.
"You don't have to miss out on the fun because of me, I'm more than game."
"Y-you could hear us?" Luke asked as he Valentine down on the bed furs, far from Nate.
"Yeah, I'm down for having fun."
"But, but your only a teenager! We... we can't do that!" Luke shouted.
"What, why not?" Nate said, not stopping.
"Because, it's... it's just not right!" Luke stammered again as Nate stopped pawing and sat up, his bright red length now pointing at Luke.
"I may be a teenager, but I know what I want. Besides, consent here in Canada is 16, I'm legal."
"Barely," Valentine mumbled.
"You're not helping!" Luke shouted. Valentine mouthed a sorry as he looked the other way.
"Please?" Nate asked, his hands clasped together with his best puppy dog eyes.
"No!" Luke shouted.
"Come on, you know you want to," Nate said as he reached out and ran a finger up the underside of Luke's tent. The shepherd gasped and humped the air in front of him momentarily.
"I know Valentine sure does," Nate said as he sat back on his ankles.
Luke turned to look at the fox who was looking a Nate in utter disbelief at ratting him out. Valentine's vulpine cock had long slipped from its fuzzy holder and he had pulled his loin cloth to the side and started pawing himself. Luke couldn't help but stare at the fox as his libido kicked in and clouded his mind as his penis left his sheath, rubbing against his underwear. Valentine gave Luke a flirtatious look and Luke tried to fight off his arousal, but it over took him.
He quickly stripped off his clothes and quickly joined the bed furs, crawling to Valentine on his hands and knees. He met Valentine with a kiss, passionately pulling the fox's muzzle to his and smashing his lips into Valentine's. The vulpine moaned and tilted his head into the kiss, opening his muzzle for Luke to deepen it. Luke gladly accepted the open invitation and snaked his tongue into Valentine's muzzle, beginning a battle of tongues. Luke pulled back from his kiss, smiling as he stared at Valentine. Suddenly, they were interrupted by whining and looking to the side, they found that Nate was furiously pawing himself.
"What about me?" Nate asked, his ears falling back as he pawed again. Valentine pushed Luke up and away and winked at him as he crawled next to Nate, making out with the young wolf. Nate momentarily forgot that he was pawing and reached his hand to cup Valentine's head to his as they made out. Luke slowly crawled up between Nate's legs, feeling a bit left out, and took a tentative lick of Nate's penis, making the teenager gasp in his kiss and shoot a streamer of pre up onto his chest. Luke then withdrew, trying to analyze the taste and, deciding he didn't mind, lent in and gave another lick to Nate's overly sensitive shaft, another streamer of pre flying across his stomach. From there, the elder shepherd attacked Nate's arousal with a flurry of licks, sometimes licking from his balls all the way to the tip of his shaft.
Soon, Valentine left their kiss and smiled seductively as snaked his way down Nate's body, going far lower than Luke, and lifting up one of Nate's legs to give himself access to the wolfs rear. Once there, Valentine dove in with fervor, spreading Nate's perfect ass and digging his muzzle into the young wolfs virgin pucker, beginning what Nate was sure to remember as the best rim job of his life. The fox's tongue bathed Nate's rear first before Valentine pushed his muzzle as far as it could go, forcing his tongue past Nate's anal ring and loosening the poor pup for what was to come.
Luke felt Valentine's head bump repeatedly into the bottom of his chin and looking down, he noticed that the fox had stepped up his game, taking Nate one step up the ladder to release. Not to be out done, Luke quit licking Nate and quickly seized his shaft and shoved it unceremoniously down his muzzle, taking Nate right into his throat while running his tongue rather passionately along the underside of his shaft. Luke's muzzle was instantly flooded with pre at an overwhelming pace and he had to gulp repeatedly to keep any from spilling out of his muzzle.
Nathan was on a wholly different plain of pleasure that he never knew existed. He knew his paw, hell, he even knew his own muzzle pretty well, but this was totally different. This was ecstasy. Between the assault of Luke's tongue and Valentine's passionate rim job, he thought things couldn't possible get better. That was when Luke suddenly swallowed his shaft. Instantly, his mind went wild as his cock was engulfed in damp warmth, his cock head rubbing against the ridges on the top of Luke's muzzle. Between Valentine's recent discovery of his prostate, and the undulation's of Luke's muzzle, Nate could only stave off his orgasm for so long before he let less his first load with another into Luke's unprepared muzzle with a howl
Luke went wide eyed as his maw was suddenly filled with wolf spunk and he pulled off Nate in his shock, earning a jet across the side of his muzzle before he clamped back down and milked Nate for all he was worth. Valentine kept his ministrations on Nate's prostate going as he felt it contract rhythmically under his tongue, pulling his tongue out of the youth's rear when his body slacked and he fell back to the bed furs, covered in sweat and panting rapidly. Nate's eyes were lidded in afterglow, turning to watch Luke lick his chops and try to get a string of cum off his muzzle. The fox giggled and lent in, licking it right off and murring at the taste.
"That... was amazing!" Nate panted as he lifted his head just a bit.
"Hmm, that was only the beginning, we're no where near done just yet," Valentine said, chuckling at Nate's shocked expression as he crawled between Nate's legs and pressed his rock hard foxhood into Nate's saliva slicked rear. Valentine only had to give a slight push to get Nate's rear to give and he slid in about half way with no difficulty. Once he got past where his tongue had been, however, things changed drastically. Now, Valentine was in no way packing a sledge hammer, but he was above average for a fox of his size, being as his length was 8 inches long, and Nate was a virgin, so it did make things a little harder on the little guy as he tried his best to take all of the fox.
When Valentine bottomed out, it was with a shuddering breath from the fox as he held his instincts at bay and a sharp gasp of pain from Nate. Luke hated to see the lone teenager's face scrunched in pain, so he crawled up the tan wolf and licked him tenderly between his ears, trying to comfort him. Nate's pain ebbed away slowly and he let slip a moan as he clenched down on Valentine, signaling that he was ready. Luke smiled at the teens perseverance and kissed him on the nose as Valentine pulled out and slid home with a slow thrust. Nate gasped and moaned repeatedly with each thrust, his moans growing louder and louder as his prostate, already hypersensitive from Valentine's earlier stimulation, was assaulted yet again, but he opened his clenched eyes to see where the weight on his stomach had come from.
Looking up, his view was obscured by a slightly up turned tail and massive back, a proper etched black in the fur across the shoulders of the shepherd sitting on him. He was momentarily marveling the huge remnant of tattoo when he felt something slide into his sheath all the way down to his knot and give it a tickle. He gasped, tensing as his hips thrust up on instinct. That finger quickly withdrew and Luke grabbed the sheath, placing something large, hot, and wet at the entrance to the fuzzy tube.
Nate was about to ask what he was thinking when Luke suddenly slid his huge cock all the way in, hilting his monstrous ten inch length into the teenagers poor sheath, stretching it to the limit. Nate threw his head back in a silent howl of both pain and pleasure as his sheath was stretched and his whole shaft, down to his knot, hell, even further than that, and a far further than he though possible, was pounded and squished into submission by the foreign object that had found its way in there.
Nate moaned loudly as he was assaulted in an area he never dreamed about, in a way he would have never imagined, while simultaneously being ridden by Valentine. Luke pulled out just a faction before thrusting home, grinding against Nate's shaft while trying to build his pace to match Valentine's. Nate's cock started to swell in his sheath as he tensed up beneath Luke, the pleasure being too much for him after being so recently assaulted. Suddenly, Nate's shaft pulsed and jerked as he came quickly, his shaft throbbing and growing in its fuzzy holder and forcing Luke to pull out with a groan of displeasure at losing his tight little hole.
Luke's shaft slipped out from the rosy, stretched lips of Nate's sheath and slapped up against his stomach, flinging Nate's cum all over and letting it flow like an uncorked bottle. Valentine murred as some landed on his muzzle and he licked it up, watching Nate's cum ooze out as the tip of his shaft poked out, but he kept his thrusting composed and constant. Valentine was so busy concentrating on fucking Nate as the pup whined beneath him that he hadn't even noticed that Luke had disappeared.
Luke's hands found themselves on Valentine's hips, holding the fox's rear in place as he quickly yanked the fox's tail up and placed his huge cock at Valentine's rear, slick with Nate's cum, before he quickly pushed in. Valentine gasped in rapture as he suddenly found himself quite stuffed, his prostate being stroked swiftly as Luke hilted him. Instinctively, Valentine slammed home in Nate as he shuddered and clenched down on the huge cock that was rammed in his rear. All three canines shuddered and moaned in pleasure, thoroughly enjoying their positions.
Valentine took a deep breath and tried to relax himself to ease the sting of being filled so quickly by Luke. Nate's cum did make the entrance a lot easier, but, it had been a long time since Valentine had taken anything in his rear, let alone a monster like Luke's. After a moment, Valentine clenched down on Luke again, pushing back to show that he was ready to go. Luke licked at Valentine's ears and neck, making the vulpine shudder and whine as he pulled out half way and thrust back in, bumping a forming knot against Valentine's stretched ring.
Valentine too began to thrust again into Nate, though a bit faster, as lust over took him. Valentine's pace quickly accelerated into a feral pounding, thrusting back onto Luke's cock and forcing it deep into him as it stroked over all his pleasure spots, before thrusting roughly back into Nate. The noises within the tent grew to an all time high as Nate squealed from being pounded to what was soon to be his third orgasm, Valentine growling and growling louder, and Luke moaning quietly as the fox bounced back between him and Nate.
Suddenly, Nate tensed, his back arching as he screamed in ecstasy, his shaft only half erect, but spewing cum all over his belly. Valentine's growl ended in a gasp as Nate spasmed and clenched down on him, his silky passageway suddenly becoming so much tighter than he could stand. Valentine pulled out one more time, pushing back so hard that he forced Luke's knot into his own rear on accident, earning a yelp from the both of them, before thrusting home hard Nate, knotting him too. Suddenly, three howls filled the air of the tent, alerting other neighbors partaking in the same activities, to their going ons as three knots swelled to their maximum and cum was spilled between the three.
The three canine's stood tensed for minutes before their body's relaxed, the flow of cum from their cocks slowing to a dribble as their afterglows faded away. Valentine fell over Nate as the pup wrapped his legs around him, panting and holding himself up by his arms, his eyes closed in joy as his tongue lolled out. Luke lent forward and wrapped his arms around Valentine, pulling the fox up and against his chest as his cock throbbed in his rear. Luke had every intention of licking Valentine's ears, as he seemed to enjoy that quite a lot, but he could only manage to pant hotly in them, making the fox flick them as he shuddered in Luke's lap.
~~~~~~~~~
Half and hour passed like that before Valentine's knot deflated enough for him to pull out of Nate, but Luke's refused to go so quietly, fighting to stay forever with in the fox's rear. Nate had already taken his freedom and rolled over onto his side, but Valentine could not relax so comfortably. Being the gentle giant that he was, Luke hugged him close and used his body to hold the fox. Minutes passed in this embrace as fox and shepherd felt their eyes grow heavy, but Luke had to talk.
"Is he asleep?" Luke whispered to Valentine, trying to not wake Nate.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he is," Valentine answered right before Nate snorted in his sleep. "Definitely asleep."
"Good," Luke said, holding Valentine tighter. "You know, I always wanted to have a kid, but I never thought that he'd want to have sex with me." Resting his muzzle in the crook of his neck, the shepherd nuzzled there and inhaled Valentine's spicy scent. A few more minutes passed in a tense silence before Valentine spoke up.
"Luke can I ask you something?" the fox whispered.
"Anything," Luke rumbled back, nearly asleep himself.
"It's about Shaun. You were in love with him, weren't you?"
"Yes," Luke answered. "How did you know?"
"You looked like you were about to have a break down when he proposed," Valentine said, pausing to sigh. "Luke, I know what this place is, I know how this place works. I've watched people come and... take... others. They just disappear and no one remembers, no one seems to notice. You came to take Shaun back to heaven, didn't you?"
"Yes," Luke said as his shaft slipped put of the fox's rear before turning the fox around so he could look Valentine in the eye. "How long?" Luke asked in earnest.
"How long what? Have I known I was dead or have I been waiting here?"
"Both," Luke replied with a sad breath.
"I've known I was dead from day one and I've been here with the pack for 12 years."
"12 years without moving forward?"
"Yes, I've been waiting for something."
"What?"
"I'll let you know when I find him."
"Anyone in particular?" Luke asked as he laid Valentine down, curling up behind him.
"No, just someone."
"Oh," Luke mumbled. "Me too."
"What? What about Shaun? You came back for him, didn't you?" Valentine asked, a bit shocked.
"I did. I waited six years for that man to come here, and three years following that before I could even see him. All of that for me to find that he moved on, that he has someone else now."
"So, what are you going to do?"
"I'm not sure, all that I know is that he's not mine anymore, he's Oren's."
"So, why are you still here?"
"Yo... you don't remember?"
"Remember what?"
Luke rolled the fox over, his eyes darted back in forth as he examined Valentine for any sign this was a bad joke, but he could tell immediately that it wasn't.
"I... I'm here because... because I... I... W-well, I don't know why I'm here," Luke said, lying to Valentine.
"Well, you tell me when you know," Valentine said as he tucked his head in tight to Luke's chest. "Alright?"
"Alright Luke said as he fought back the tears.
'You're here because of him! Just say it already!'
'But, he doesn't remember and he was unconscious. What if it wasn't me?'
'Who cares, you'll never know if you don't say it!'
'But-'
'SAY IT!'
'No!'
'Why'
'I... I'm scared.'
''Quit being a pussy, you love him. Don't risk losing him, don't let him end up like Shaun.'
That last thought stabbed Luke's mind and echoed into it's every corner. He was doing it all over again, he was chickening out on telling someone that he loved them, just like Shaun. He was going to let another opportunity slip through his fingers all because he was afraid to say 5 simple words, 'I'm here because of you.' It was then that Luke knew he had to do it, he had to tell Valentine. His muzzle opened for him to speak but a snore reached his ears first. Looking down, Valentine had already fallen a sleep using his chest as a pillow. Luke didn't have the heart to wake him up, the fox was smiling. That smile widened when Luke stroked one of his black ears in a tender manner.
'I won't let this slip by, I will tell him. Valentine, I love you.'
That moment, Valentine let out a murr and his smile got bigger as he hugged the burly shepherd, almost like he knew. That cemented it for Luke, he would find time to tell him tomorrow.
~~~~~~~
As they slept, they failed to wake as a black wolf walked into the tent and pulled a fur over all three of them, whispering in Luke's ear. "Sometimes, things don't turn out how you planned, for your plans and his rarely are one in the same. Sleep well shepherd, life will be so much better for you from here on out," Cane said and he kissed Luke's forehead and left the tent, walking out into the snow.
~~~~~~~
This meeting was in an endless room of white,
no end in sight.
But people gathered 'round
and let the issues bound
for there were things that needed doing
and doing, were they done.
"You were careless, he saw you," Micheal said, turning to the dead Hunter.
"I know," John replied. "I was hoping to see my brother."
"And you, why are you still here. You know he's not in love with you anymore," Micheal said, turning to Luke.
"I... I know, but I'm not ready to go yet," The shepherd said, lowering his gaze to the ground.
"Why?" Micheal asked, confused by this admission.
"I... I..." Luke stammered, he was caught and he didn't know if he would be torn away.
"Valentine," Cane answered from another place in the room as he appeared.
"Is this true?" Micheal asked, facing Luke again. Luke only nodded, his gaze fixed on the ground.
"As you wish, you shall stay longer," Micheal said, waving a hand at Luke who disappeared. Luke nodded as he faded out of the room and back to his bed, no memory of this little meeting.
"Their time is upon us, your family is coming home," Micheal said turning to look at Jodi, George, Cane, Christine, and the hunter. "Shaun, Paul, and John are all coming home. Your son too," Micheal said, turning to a man and women who were dressed respectively in a white coat and nursing scrubs. "Oren will follow too."
~~~~~~~~