FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Ava's embroidery work had earned her the protection of the Alpha, which meant she'd finally gained some freedom, and I no longer had to watch her every second that she wasn't locked safely away in our home. Still, I found myself worrying about her a lot. I knew Voltas wouldn't go against his word, especially not since he'd made it in front of witnesses, but I also knew that he hated me, and he would do what he could to make my life worse. My life in this pack was a constant reminder that there had been better times.

I'd put off doing what I knew I needed to do for a long time, but it was almost time. I hadn't yet explained to Ava about the Seer, but I knew I should soon. We needed to visit the white wolf. It was clear to me that we couldn't leave things as they were indefinitely, and that meant making a dangerous decision. We would have to stay and hope we were left alone, stay and fight, or risk scooping up everything that we had and leaving the lands of the pack. I wasn't ready to just throw my fate randomly in one of these directions, and that meant I needed to speak to the Seer.

Of course, there was always a price for asking for her information, and depending on how important that information was, the price could be quite steep. She'd been known to demand murder, pieces of flesh, sometimes an eye, or rare botanicals that were dangerous to acquire. She always had a purpose of her own, and to get what you wanted from her, you had to serve her purpose.

My father had taken me to see her when I was little, to ask what my fate would be. It was tradition for my family. Generally she asked for a feasts worth of game, but when it came time to read my future, and my twin sisters future, she'd asked for the life of our mother.

"Deliver unto me the heart of your mate, Galifrey." She'd told my father. "This, or your children go towards a dark fate with no warning." My father had refused, aghast that he would be asked for such a price, and my sister had become the bride of Voltas the next year, at just twelve years old. My father and mother were both dead, and all because my father wouldn't pay the price for knowledge of the future. What a terrible price it had been. I knew, had it been Ava's life I'd been asked to give, I wouldn't have paid that price either.

I returned home from the hunt and walked into my home with a heavy heart. It was forbidden for our pack to visit the Seer, so I knew that if we went it would have to be done in secret. I was worried for our family, but I also knew that we were walking a fine line between life and death by remaining in the pack as we were now.

I shifted from my werewolf form into my wolf form as the door closed behind me. "Ava, my love, we must talk."

There was a shuffling in the kitchen, a soft groan. "Just a minute." Imava finally called back. Ava came to the kitchen doorway a moment later, hand on her lower belly, face pale and slightly pained looking. She made her way to the couch and sat heavily on it. "Alright."

"How are you feeling?" I asked, my other concerns temporarily pushed back for a moment.

"Better now that my stomach is empty." Ava said, tone agitated, and then she laughed a little. "Sorry, it puts me in an off mood." She frowned. "I think things are happened a lot faster than they should, I'm trying to remember what I've been told about carrying children."

"Pregnancies go a bit faster for children of the kin." I explained apologetically. "The press of time is ever upon us, and it has forced me to contemplate doing something I didn't want to do." I took a deep breath and went into an explanation of the Seer, telling her the story of my own history with the woman. "I think we need her advice."

Ava frowned, thinking over everything I'd said. "Of course if that's what you want to do, I'll come with you. I think it's a dangerous game to play though, chasing after knowledge of the future. Your father might have saved some of his family if he'd sacrificed his wife, instead you lost everyone, but what kind of person would he have been if he'd killed his wife like that? I think you might be better off picking a path and sticking to it, and not second guessing yourself because you went to the Seer and she demanded something we couldn't or wouldn't pay. I suppose if you feel stuck, unable to pick a path, then we should see the Seer and maybe she can help you decide."

"I'm worried I'll lose you and the children if I don't make a decision soon, but if I make the wrong decision I'll still lose everything." I growled, frustrated, uncertain. "I don't think I can afford to lose you."

'"And what if she asks for me? Or one of the pups? Will you still be able to turn her down and make a decision on your own knowing it'll probably lead you down whatever big change it is she wants a fortune to tell you about? I just don't want you to have to turn her down and then fight endlessly with indecision, but if you're going to struggle with it anyway, perhaps you're right and we should see what her price is." Ava got up and came to me, sitting down on the floor so she could wrap her arms around my neck and nuzzle her face into my fur, trying to comfort me.

"She can't have you or the pups . . . I, maybe you're right. Maybe I should just choose and hope for the best." I laid my head against her shoulder. Life had been easier when I only had to worry about my own life. I hadn't cared so much for that.

"I'm sorry this is so difficult. It can't hurt just to find out her price, right? Whatever you choose I'll be with you." She kissed my neck and then nudged her nose against the shorter fur on my face affectionately. She sighed and then sat back, giving me a small, sympathetic smile. "I don't know why you decided to go looking for a wife when you did, you get very distressed for us. I suppose if I could help protect us, things would be a bit different." Ava thought a moment. "I know how to use a bow, not particularly well, but I insisted on learning and it was just the right side of acceptable that my father relented. It wasn't a skill he allowed me to take as seriously as the other, now useless ones though." She laughed a little, apparently thinking of some of the things she knew how to do instead.

"Being pregnant you wouldn't be in much of a position to fight anyway, and I wanted a wife because I was tired of being alone. I thought I would find a companion." I smiled, my tongue hanging out. "I didn't know I'd actually find love. That was a pleasant surprise."

Ava laughed and rubbed either side of my head a bit roughly for a moment before she got back up and headed for the kitchen. "You would have rather fallen in love with one of the kin." She said, scolding in a teasing fort of voice. "But now you're in love with me." She said in a sing-song, happy sounding voice. "You can come with me, I'm starving. And I promise, no burning something. I'll make something simple and not experiment." She had gotten better at cooking, though when she moved away from recipes she'd learned things could get hairy again.

I padded after her into the kitchen. "You don't have to go with me to the Seer. I can go myself if you want. Once we're outside the village we'll be safe enough, but Voltas has made it pack law that no one is to visit her."

"If you want me with you I'd like to come, hear what she has to say, maybe help you make your mind up if you'd like that. But if you can get there and back far easier without me, I understand. I don't want to get you caught by Voltas." She answered, setting up to make something for us. "When do you want to go?"

"We'll go tonight, after dark. There are only two men on watch in the evening, and most people will be asleep. I can carry you out of the village, and then we can walk together once we're clear." I told her, worried about what we might hear tonight. The Seer's toll could be anything at all, and the worse it was, the more likely it was that she was hiding information that could be vital to us going forward. "I love you, Ava." I told my wife, wanting her to know whatever else happened, I still loved her.

"I love you too." She said, and flashed me a confident smile.

Darkness fell too soon. We'd tried to relax, making small talk, and spending time in the reading room reading aloud to each other and enjoying the time we had together. The risk to us wasn't lethal at the moment, but we both could feel the tension of what was to come. As the time to leave drew closer, I had Ava bundle up in warm clothes, a cloak I'd had made just for her, and boots made for hiking.

I shifted into my werewolf form and wrapped her tight in my arms. "Hold on tight. I'm going to be running until we get out of the village. The white wolf is up in the mountains. It'll take us an hour or two to get there. I'll carry you most of the way, but we'll walk for part of the distance. I figure you might actually enjoy some fresh air, and some new scenery." Imava nodded her understanding and smiled at me before tucking herself against my body for the run.

I slipped out of my house and put my nose to the air, feeling the passing of the wind through my fur. I shifted directions, heading further back into town. I wouldn't be able to walk directly out of town with the wind direction being what it was. I backtracked slowly until I was sure I was downwind of the guards, and then I started running. Beneath the stars, with the wind in my fur, and stars lighting my way, I felt the true call of the wild.

I felt like I could run forever, and a part of me wanted to do exactly that, but I kept my mind focused on the business ahead and headed for the mountains. After a while I set Ava down and let her walk with me. We walked for over an hour before I picked her up again and proceeded up the mountain path with her in my arms. I climbed for another twenty minutes until we came to the cave of the white wolf.

"This is it." I told Ava as I sat her down.

A voice called from within, surprisingly young sounding. I knew the white wolf must be well into her eighties, but it was said she never aged. "Fenrick, it has been too long. Please, come in. We have much to talk about."

I looked at Ava to see if she was ready for this. "We can still turn back if you want.?"

Ava shrugged. "We came all this way, as I said, we'll see what she says. And the cost." She added the last in a worried mumble. She took my hand and smiled at me, nodding once toward the cave entrance so I might lead the way.

I walked into the cave. there were torches burning along the walls, and old carpeting covering the floor. As we sank well into the cave I spotted the white wolf. She was sitting at the back of the cave, just as I remembered seeing her years before with my father. She looked exactly the same, no older, no less keenly aware and sharp. Her eyes were silver like most wolves were cold, and she had blue streaks in her fur, tribal markings that looked as though they'd been painted on, but it would have been impossible for her to do so on her own, and I couldn't smell anyone else around.

"Fenrick, Imava. I've been waiting for you for a long time now." She said, and she glanced at a spot on the carpet opposite her. "Have a seat, and we will talk about the cost for your future." Ava seemed to frown and narrow her eyes a little at the Seer's wording, or maybe the way she said it, but she sat obediently without saying anything.

I led Imava to a place to sit and helped her down, and then I sat at her side. "We've come to . . ."

"I know why you've come." She answered, cutting off my words. "Your pack has become a hostile place. Your family is in danger, and you don't know the safest path forward. There is no easy path, Fenrick. Each way you might choose is fraught with danger, and there is no certainty down any course, but I will tell you which things cannot be changed down the paths you might choose. However, first we must discuss the price." Her silver eyes passed over me, and then over my wife.

"Imava," She said, directly addressing my wife. "I have a gift for you as well, something very important to you, and urgent. I will give it to you, but only if Fenrick pays."

I growled. "What is the price?"

She smiled. "I want a pup."

I stood up growling. "You can't have my offspring."

"You misunderstand me, Fenrick. I don't want one of your children with Imava, I want you to mate me. I want a pup of my own." She said, a soft chuckle behind her words.

I growled, suddenly uncertain. That was a cost I hadn't anticipated. Imava looked shocked too. She turned red and looked down at her lap, brow wrinkled in thought and concern. Ava cleared her throat a little and took a deep breath. "I'm guessing Fenrick would be expected to have nothing to do with this child you want to carry?" She asked, voice steady but a bit on the dark, agitated side.

"I would expect Fenrick to avoid telling my daughter that she is his, but he could see her at times." The white wolf offered. "Of course, doing that would require a change in pack policy. Right now you both are in violation of the orders of your Alpha."

My jaw worked soundlessly. This was a steep price to pay, having a child that I couldn't raise, and being with a woman that wasn't Ava. I didn't want either of these things.

"Think this through carefully. The knowledge I have will change both of your lives, and make a big difference in Imava's life going forward." The white wolf cautioned. "If you leave without hearing what I have to say, there is little future left for either of you. Especially you." She looked at my wife with her strange silver eyes.

"So, you mean to say I'm going to die if Fenrick doesn't impregnate you. I'd also think it has something to do with this 'gift' you have for me, which isn't much of a gift if I have to pay for it now is it?" Imava said, agitation getting a bit of the better of her.

Ava stood up and took my arm in both her hands. She ran them down the length of my arm to my hand and kept her gaze there. "Fen ..." She said quietly. "Do what you think you have to. I'll still love you." She nudged my arm with her nose, and then stepped away. She leaned against the wall, looking out of the cave at the world. "It's Fenrick's body, and his offspring. So I suppose it's more his choice than mine." She told the Seer, voice still dark but with less agitation in it.

I looked desperately between the woman I loved and the Seer. If I didn't do what the Seer wanted, and Imava died, I would never forgive myself. If I did what the Seer wanted me to, I'd live, but I'd forever carry that guilt with me, and I knew it would damage my relationship with my wife.

"I could find you another male who would gladly mate you." I told her. "I don't want this."

"This isn't about want, Fenrick. This is about necessity. Let me tell you about fate, and being a slave to the whim of powers you can't control. When last you came here I asked your father to kill your mother, and if he did so I would tell him what he needed to know. The price was important. A Seer is granted power through the goddess Etria, the Path Maker, and we gain all our insight from her. I can see what futures may be, and which futures will pass no matter what is done. I can also shape the future, but only at junctions that intersect with my own life.

"When your father came to me I asked him to kill your mother, because in killing your mother he would have ended the weakness that caused him to hesitate when he had a chance to slay Voltas. Voltas had your mother by the throat, and your father through dropped his claws and let his enemies men take him to his death, and that was because she still lived. Voltas raped her for two days before he severed her head, chewing it from her body while he was still having her, and she was alive and screaming. Then he took your sister on top of her corpse. I cannot speak of a future that has not been paid for. If I do, then my visions are gone, but my price is always steep, and fair. It gives something to the goddess, because it has to for the information, and in return I give you something to use to go forward." Her words were dark, frustrated. "Now Etria tells me my time is near, my endless youth will be over in less than a decade, and I must create for her a new servant. I must reestablish old bonds, and respark the power of the old blood, your blood Fenrick. This isn't about greed or want. This is the price that must be paid for the information you need."

I stepped back, shocked at her words. If she wasn't lying, then what she said meant that she was little more than a slave to the information given to her. It was almost pathetic. I turned back to my wife. I approached her and put a clawed hand on her shoulder. "I love you, Ava, and I don't want to lose you. But I won't go forward with something like this if it is going to destroy you. What would be the point in saving anything, if I lose everything in the process?"

She was tense under my hand, and she took a moment to speak. "It won't destroy me." Ava finally said, voice strained. "Just if you're going to, let me know so I can step out." She added more quietly.

I sighed and put my arms around her, always somewhat surprised by how she seemed to almost vanish when I did so. "I can't lose you." I nuzzled the top of her head. "You can wait outside the cave. I'll come get you when it's finished." Ava left then, without saying anything else.

I walked back into the cave, feeling like someone had a fist around my heart. "Alright. I'll pay your price. Let's be quick about it. I want the information I came for, and I want to be done with this."

The Seer looked a little tense herself. "Alright. Good. I only ask that you try not to hurt me. I've never been mated." She got up and padded to a small room off the main one. There were blankets in a pile. This was clearly where she slept. She walked to the middle of them and bowed her front legs before letting her tail lay to the side.

The male part of me responded even as the emotional part of me hurt. I thought about being rough with her, making her pay for this humiliation, but I didn't think that was right. It was best to just do it as quickly as possible and be done with it. I walked up behind her, letting instinct take a hold of me enough to make my cock slide from my sheath and swell.

She looked over her shoulder at me, a bit of fear in her eyes, and I wanted to yell at her not to look at me like that. It wasn't helping things. I pushed my cock against her sex. The tip slipped into her and she whimpered, but I couldn't push any further into her. She was completely dry. I growled and pushed harder, thinking if I could get started we could make it work, but this just pushed her forward and caused me and her more discomfort.

"You're dry." I told her. "We can't do this like this."

She snarled a little, looking back over her shoulder. "I don't want this. How am I supposed to be wet?"

I growled and leaned down behind her. I pushed my snout into her sex, and she was right. There was no smell of arousal at all. I pushed my tongue against her, and she jumped a little, so I grabbed her hips with my claws and held her in place. I began to lick at her sex, pushing at her canid opening with my tongue, and lapping at the more sensitive places as I worked. At first she was completely stiff, but after a few minute I could hear her breathing getting a bit deeper and she was relaxing into it. Just a couple more minutes passed and the smell of arousal struck my nose as her wetness began to coat my tongue. I pushed a finger into her. It didn't go in easily at first, but inside she was wet, and I used that to lube up the rest of her. Soon she was breathing hard, and my finger was moving easily inside of her body.

I moved behind her and pushed my shaft tip against her opening. It was warm and wet this time, which sent a primordial urge to breed through me. I stifled the lust and pushed inside of her carefully. This brought out more whimpers, and at one point she tried to claw her way away from me, but held her in place and began to work myself inside of her body.

After a while the whimpers turned into pleased growls, and yips of pleasure. I felt her body tense up around mine as she came, which triggered my bodies response to orgasm, and I did, filling her up as well as I could. I held myself deep and tried not to weep as I lost myself in this stranger who I felt nothing for.

We parted quickly once the deed was done. Normally I would lick a female clean after finishing, but I didn't bother with her.

"Thank you." She said, expression uncertain.

"I'm going to go get my wife, and then we can talk." I told her, and headed for the door of the cave. When I stepped outside Ava wasn't there, though I could still smell her nearby. I tracked her down. She'd probably moved further away to avoid the sounds of our sex. I felt guilty and ashamed of what I'd done. I just hoped the information we gained would be worth it.

"It's done." I told Ava, crouching down next to her, pushing my head against her. I desperately wanted her not to reject me.

She was sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees. She turned her face from me, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. Her breathing was unsteady. She took one arm and hand off her knees though and put it around me, rubbing a bit tentatively at my fur. Ava cleared her throat a little. "Did you get the information?"

I wanted to lick her face, normally a comforting gesture, but I didn't want to touch her with the tongue I'd just used for other things. I pushed my head against hers. "No, she can't tell me your information without you there, and I just needed to be away from her for a moment. My first thought was you as soon as I could get away. We have to go see her when you're ready."

Imava cursed quietly, a long string of bizarre curses at least half of which I'd never heard before. "Fine." She finally said, a moment after she was done with all her cursing. She took a deep breath, letting it out in a sharp breath, her face agitated again. "Fine." Then she turned and started heading back for the cave.

I sighed. She had every right to be angry. I just hoped it wouldn't eventually drive us apart. I was beginning to wonder if my guilt would. I got up and followed after her, back into the cave. When we got inside it was exactly as it had been when we'd first entered. The Seer was sitting on the same spot on the carpet like what had happened was just some piece of an imaginary thread of reality that could be snuffed out.

"There are three paths ahead of you. You can stay and try to live beneath the Alpha, you can leave and try to find a new place for yourselves, or you can fight and try to take the Alpha." The Seer leapt directly into things this time.

"Should you choose to stay and try to live beneath the Alpha, he will come one month after your pups are born and take Imava for his own, but not before he kills each of your pups in front of you. You will try to fight him back, but it is uncertain whether you will live or die. Imava will be killed trying to help you."

"Should you choose to flee, your babies will die, and Imava will be injured to the point that she will need constant care, and never be able to give birth again, but you both will live, though it will be far on the outskirts of wolven lands, and you will live in constant fear. The Alpha will never stop searching for you."

"Should you choose to fight, there will be a great war in your pack. Lines will be drawn, many will die, and when the smoke clears the winner is uncertain. Imava will live, and at least one of your children. Your fate is less certain, Fenrick. In some strands you are gravely injured and die shortly after battle. Imava becomes the first human Alpha, and raises a male heir who becomes the next wolven Alpha. In some you come out strong, and are later betrayed and killed. There is one strand where you survive and win the battle, the clear victor, and the pack submits entirely to you. It's impossible to see an exact outcome to this. There are still too many variables."

She looked to my wife next. "Imava, there is a glade next to a large mossy stone with water running swiftly nearby. Your brother is there. His horse broke it's leg while he was searching for you, he's alone and lost, and he will be dead in a few days if he does not get help. Even now a kodiak male stalks his trail."

"Is that everything?" Ava asked, her face a bit like the mask she wore for visitors we didn't know well but without the smile, though her voice remained pleasant.

"That is everything." The white wolf said.

I got up and turned to leave, waiting for Imava to join me. I knew where this glade was. I'd been there before. It was a long way from where we were now, almost in the opposite direction that we'd come from the village. We'd have to move fast. He might die of exposure in a day, but a kodiak bear would take his life much faster. The rest of what she'd said could wait to be considered more closely.

Ava walked past me out of the cave, posture stiff, and when we got outside I could see her eyes were narrow as she chewed over what the Seer had said. "I wonder which fool of a brother of mine it is, my guess would be Emmet or Anthovis." Ava sighed. "I hope it's not Anthovis, I'd feel obligated to help him but he'd do something terribly stupid I'm sure. Emmet is at least charming when he's stupid."

"It's almost a full day's trek moving at normal pace to the clearing." I told her. "If you get on my back I can run on all fours and we can be there in six or seven hours."

Imava went around to climb onto my back. She had yet to look me in the face. "Oh good, you know the place. I had no idea, of course."

It hurt to feel the rejection, but I supposed I deserved that. Obviously what I'd done at hurt her, so it was only fair that she be allowed to hurt me as well. Still, the information was worth it. I now knew how to save my wife and most of, if not all of, my pups. I'd have to fight Voltas. That was clear. Whatever outcome came from that, Imava would survive.

As Imava took her place I set myself at a slow jog until she was settled, and then I broke into a full run, pushing everything I had into covering the miles. The terrain was rough, and the added weight didn't make it easy, but I promised myself that I wouldn't stop running until we'd found her brother. Four hours into the run my breathing was ragged, my chest heaving as I strode forward. The distance would have been rough by myself at a full run, but I was exhausting quickly.

I ignored the burning of my muscles and pushed myself onward. I'd made better time than I'd thought. "Just . . . another . . . hour." I gasped the words between breaths. Imava and I hadn't spoken at all on the journey.

"Fen, don't hurt yourself." Ava said, her voice a whisper because of the breeze and the fact she was behind me as I ran. Her hands were holding me quite tightly, with good reason, but she nudged her nose into my back gently. "Please don't hurt yourself, we have time."

I allowed myself to slow, and then to stop as I slumped to the ground, gasping for air. "Alright, a quick break. I'll be ready to go again soon." I said, the words coming out in growling gasps. My lungs felt like they were full of acid.

Ava came around to my front and took my head in her hands. She scratched behind my ears and pressed the side of her face against mine, which left my snout resting alongside her neck. "It's ok." She nuzzled her head against mine, voice soothing. "What is this? Are you trying to make it up to me?" She didn't wait for an answer, and I was busy breathing anyway. "Yes, I'm hurt Fen. I didn't want ... I want ..." She sighed. "I understand you had to do it." She pushed further in against me, wrapping her arms around my back and pressing her face into the fur at my neck.

"I know it won't ever go away, Ava. I feel guilty. It was a terrible experience in many different ways, one that I want to forget, but one that will haunt me for a long time. It's the first time I've ever mated against my will, and I didn't like it, but I suppose with our first time together I have nothing to say on the matter." I let out a quiet whine. The guilt was eating away at me.

Imava let out a big sigh and got up to pull my head down against her chest. She rested her chin on my head. It was a bit of a submissive posture for me, but it put my head against her soft, warm, comforting breasts. She ran one hand over my neck and upper back, the other along the back of my head. "You can still feel hurt by something even if it's similar to something you did to someone else, and you've said yourself that you weren't in your right mind at the time, with me. In the years to come, it won't go away, but it'll become just a little, dirty piece of the story we don't like to talk about. One event, among tons of others. I'm hurt right now, and maybe we'll talk about all my feelings on the matter, maybe we wont. You're hurt right now, and I can't exactly fix it all for you. You have to learn to live with it in your own head somehow. But we can get past it and be happy together I think." She kissed the top of my head.

I sighed and pushed my head against her. "Alright. I love you, Imava." I told her, my breath slowly coming back to me. "I don't know how to feel about any of this, but that will never change."

Ava leaned back to smile shakily at me, her eyes a bit sad for me. "You're so ... tender, really." She pet my head as she spoke, and I realized at least some of her sadness was for me and my guilt over the whole thing. "I love you too, Fen." She leaned in and pressed her nose lightly against mine. It was an expression she didn't use often, but it felt very loving. Thankfully I didn't smell or taste of the Seer anymore, as far as I could tell

"We should get going again. I don't want you brother to come to any harm." I said, getting up again with a grunt. My body was still tired, but there was further to go yet. I could relax on the way home.

Ava frowned as she stood and kissed the side of my snout again. "Ok." She said and went around me to climb back up onto my back.

The man we came upon was like Ava in that he had her dark brown hair, though his was curly to her luscious waves. Imava was just a little taller than most human women I'd met, but her brother was nearly as tall as one of the kin. He wasn't slender exactly, but his height made him seem a bit thinner of frame despite the obvious strength in his muscles. He was shirtless, washing down his sweat coated brow and chest. I spotted him before Imava did, and before he noticed us.

I carefully placed her on the ground. "I should probably stay back until you've talked to him. I don't think my sudden appearance will do him any good." I offered as I slipped into the nearby tall grass, crouching low amidst the plant life. I could be nearly invisible if I wanted. The sun had only been up for a few hours now, and it was still low enough that there were long shadows to cling to.

Ava walked toward him. "Emmett!" She yelled, sounding a bit agitated instead of excited.

He jumped and the turned, grinning. "Ima! Oh gods, and you look alright! How do you look alright? A bit underdressed, but not like you've been out in the wilderness for a month."

Ava walked up to him and punched him hard in the arm. "You oaf! What are you doing here?"

Emmett laughed and rubbed his arm. I could see he had a good gash on his side, not life threatening in itself but the scent of it made him easy to track, for me and things with less kindness in them. "I came to save you from Hell! Just like in that song, I'd ride over the mountains, save you from the beasts there whatever they are, and then bring you back over! Of course we'd have to beg the sun to let us pass back through but I was sure I'd be let back if I brought a beauty like you back with me."

"Em. You're insane." Imava said laughing. "Look, you're hurt, and we have to be getting home. I'm hungry and exhausted ..."

"I'm pretty sure home is that way. Or that way." Emmett pointed first to the kins' lands, then toward the human ones.

"Well you're actually right I think, but by mistake. I mean my new home. Let me introduce my husband to you." Ava walked up to her brother and took a dagger from his belt and a smaller knife from his boot.

"Hey what's that about? I thought you were going to hug me!" Emmett complained.

"I'll give them back after you haven't attacked my husband." Imava said, stepping back from him a few paces. She looked back to where I was hiding. "His name is Fenrick."

I emerged from the grass and came forward, making a point of hunching a bit so I wasn't standing at my full height. I could have shifted to my hybrid form, but then I would have looked like a slightly crazy naked man with a large amount of body hair, and that probably wouldn't have helped much.

I plodded into the clearing calmly. "I'm Fenrick." I reiterated.

Emmett's eyebrows went up and his mouth fell open. He stumbled back a pace, then caught himself from falling in the stream. "Uh, oh. He's uh, Ima he's naked." Emmett finally stammered.

Ava snorted at his reaction, amused. "Not the first trait I thought you'd latch onto, but alright. He's a very good man, Em." She added the last in very serious tones.

"Man?" Emmett said, not sounding sure.

"Yes. And before you ask, yes I can see he has a wolf's head. I'm not delirious."

"Am I delirious then?" Emmett asked, rubbing the side of his head as though it might have betrayed him.

"No. Come on, get your things and we'll start back." She tossed his weapons to his feet and then walked back to me, smiling a little. Apparently Emmett was enough to distract her temporarily from everything that we'd learned from the Seer, and what the price had been.

She walked right up to me though and hugged me, which I hadn't fully expected. "How far is it to home?"

"About two hours of hard walking. Would you like me to carry you? In your condition you shouldn't be putting too much strain on your body." I reminded her, running a claw gently across her belly. If she was ready to forget about the events of earlier today, I was as well.

"I'll be alright, if I get tired I'll let you know." She said, rubbing her hand over my chest briefly.

Emmett put his shirt and weapons back on, then slung a small pack and a bow over his shoulders. He came up to us not fully sure of me, but willing to trust his sister. "Well, hello Fenrick. I'm Emmett." He said, giving me a broad smile.

"Nice to meet you Emmett, when we get back to the village, stay close to us or someone might eat you . . . or attempt to have sex with you and then eat you." I warned him, thinking it was only fair to let him know ahead of time.

"Try to ... alright." Emmett said, giving Ava a look. She shrugged at him, and we started off.

The walk home was pleasant and gave me some time to recover from our rough trip out to pick up Emmett. Imava and Emmett spent most of the time talking about their life before I'd taken Ava, which made me feel keenly out of place. Even worse, it reminded me that I couldn't provide Ava with any of the finery that her family could.

When Ava had told me she'd stay with me, she'd done so assuming she could never go back to her family, but now here was her brother, Emmett, and he wanted to take her home. She had a real chance to return to her own kind now, and to live a much easier and care free life. She wouldn't even have to deal with the Seer's prophecy anymore. I wondered how that would change things. I wasn't going back to the Seer to find out.

I thought of other things as we walked too. The Seer had said she'd carry a daughter that would be mine in blood. I would be allowed to see this daughter, but I couldn't raise her in any way, or let her know that I was her father. That thought cut deeply. Offspring were important to me. I wanted them to know me and to be a part of my family. I held no love for the Seer. I didn't hate her, couldn't, but I also didn't really want to be around her either. Still, it would pain me to know I had a daughter I'd never get to love and raise.

I would have liked to talk of these things with Ava, but I didn't think she was ready to speak of what had happened with the Seer, nor was she in the mood with her brother here. So I trudged quietly behind them, only talking to direct us towards home.

We reached home near lunch time and I escorted us back to my house, keeping a protective eye on Emmett. Many eyes watched him enter, interested to see what the new human would bring to the pack. Coming in with me certainly didn't win him any points in popularity. Even those who actually liked me were afraid to admit to it. It would make their life difficult.

Once home I set to work on clearing up my book room so that Emmett would have a place of his own to sleep for the night. I left Emmett and Imava to themselves, feeling strangely alone again, worried that I was on the verge of losing my wife. Worried, but at the same time maybe a little happy for her. She would be better off with her family, I reminded myself.

I certainly wouldn't be better off without her, though.