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Episode 4: Bound by Destiny's Wings

"You know what makes life fun? The fact that no matter what happens, no matter how sure_you are you know what will happen, someone, somewhere just finds some_ way_to royally screw you over. Fun"_

Jacques Marquis

Rillotian Comedian

"I kinda find it funny."

Jacob blinked and he realised he was back in that dreaming state where he was on the planes of Bloomcrest. In fact, he was standing on a knoll covered with flowers with Zack standing beside him, a golf club in hand. The winged wolf had a golf ball on the ground and the club ready for a strike.

"Someone like Gale," Zack continued, "who has no relation to you whatsoever, caring more about how things will turn out for you than you do."

"He probably just wants to take over from Balthazar once they execute the bastard," Jacob replied absently.

"Does Gale strike you as that kind of person?"

No... I guess not...

"No... But everyone is a mixture of good and bad, light and dark. Give the darkness an opportunity to come out and it'll consume you."

"Have you been consumed?"

Jacob offered the angel a smirk. "Can't be consumed by darkness if you start off there."

"Oh so it's the reverse for you, then? You're trying to keep in the light. Is it coming out?"

"Nope."

"Funny you should mention that. I seem to recall semen is white in colour and you're been producing a lot of that lately."

Jacob bristled. "Who the hell are you?" he growled, changing the subject abruptly.

"Your guardian angel."

"I never asked for one."

"Like you never asked to be experimented on and reconditioned to think you were evil?"

...

Jacob huffed loudly and turned his head away from Zack.

"Why do you think Gale is going to such lengths to do something you really should be doing?"

He glared at the winged wolf. "So are you, an angel, actually telling me to go on a vendetta against Balthazar and kill the guy in the most excruciating way possible?"

"No." Zack lifted the golf club and struck the golf ball in an impressive swing. The ball disappeared into the distance. "I'm saying that you should probably consider that Gale has a stake in this problem as well. Perhaps instead of dragging your feet about the issue, you should man up push forward on your own."

"Easy for you to say," Jacob muttered, turning his gaze towards the flowery planes of the dream-like Bloomcrest. There was no horizon or a distance. Everything just ended in endless white. There wasn't even a sky anymore. For some reason, Jacob felt that this was the same flowery planes that he had lain in when he had woken up with 'Taylor'.

"Gale's past can be repaired so it's easy for him to say he can make things better," he said grimly. "Just like Pollenburn, you can never truly get rid of all the ashes. They'll always be there to keep haunting us. Even as we build more and more trying to forget what happened, it will always be there in the distance, a permanent stain in our very memories."

"Then make something out of the ash."

Jacob blinked and spun towards Zack. "What?"

The winged wolf smiled at him, hefting the golf club over his shoulder and nodding towards where he had hit the golf ball. "Ash is basically carbon. Carbon is the basis of all life here on Mortaelis. Plant a seed in the ash, add water and watch it grow."

With those words, Zack headed towards the wayward ball. Jacob was tempted to go the other way but his curiosity got the better of him and he followed the strange, winged wolf instead.

"It's exactly what Gale is trying to do not only with Pollenburn but you too," Zack continued. "He found a patch of desolation and planted a little tiny seed in the hope that from that destruction something will rise."

"I could make some gag about him screwing me and putting his 'seed' into my right now but I think that'd be highly inappropriate."

"That and you and Taylor are sort of an item now."

Jacob bristled for the second time. He was quite sure why he was a little scared to have Taylor as his 'boyfriend' but the fear was there. A bit of self-examination led him to realise he didn't fear for himself but rather for Taylor. The young cougar didn't have any way to defend himself... unless seducing someone into sex was a defensive mechanism... Against Unsealed, that was probably not a good idea. Just imagining Taylor getting killed by the Unsealed made the fear explode and cause him to shudder.

"So do you love him?"

He regarded Zack who had this knowing smile that was both irksome and made Jacob blush. "Too early to tell. The sex was good... and he's a good friend."

"Good enough to take him along with you on your many dangerous adventures? Not to mention you haven't even shown him your other side or used the full extent of your abilities." Zack smirked. "Some part of me suspects you let Gale win so easily over you. I mean, despite knowing how strong Gale was, you still didn't let your Animus help you."

"Right," Jacob muttered, crossed his arms. "You keep thinking that."

"I will, thank." The winged wolf started heading down further across the flowery planes. "However, I will tell you now that the seed Gale planted was hope. You know that. But he only planted the seed. Only you can nurture it, give it all the water and sunlight it needs"

"What If I like living in my little world of perpetual dehydrations and darkness?" Jacob blinked and sighed. "Oh I get it," he growled, following after Zack. "You're going to give me some comparison where my life is 'dark' and Gale's little 'gift' is the light that's slowly budding in me right?"

Zack stopped and turned to him, that same knowing smile in place. "Well? Is it?"

...

Damn...

Jacob glanced away, firmly clamping his muzzle shut.

The winged wolf chuckled. "Do you remember what Gale said about his dreams for the future?"

"That he wants Pollenburn to be covered in flowers just like Bloomcrest used to."

"Right..." Zack was smiling but his eyes were filled with sadness as he gazed out into the endless carpet of flowers. "The truth is a terrible thing. Some people would prefer to live in the lie instead of disregarding all they have come to know and love. Gale isn't one of those people. If he sees an injustice or a lie, he'll fight hard to correct it.

"Just like he's doing with you, Jake. He saw that your current path was built on a lie and now he's seeking to make sure the next steps you make is on the path of truth instead of one built upon deceit."

It irked Jacob that Zack was right... and it irked him even more that he actually knew that was the truth... However, he stood by his ideal that regardless of whether or not his foundation was constructed on deceitful concrete, he was the one that continued to build the next floors. They were his decisions and he would continue to live with them.

All Gale was doing was replacing the concrete with a better, more stable substitute. He wasn't taking down the tower that was already built.

"You and Gale are a lot alike, you know," Zack said softly, his smile still present but his eyes and voice now filled with infinite sadness. "Both of you rose from the ashes of destruction... and both of you started walking on a path built by the same man."

Jacob went rigid and spun towards Zack -

... only to have that golf club slam into his face.

****

"Gah!"

Piercing sunlight hit his retinas.

"Double 'gah'," he cursed, blinking the tears away.

Taylor snorted, the cougar still tightly wrapped around him. The night had been pretty cold and chilly, their clothing barely providing that much protection from the elements. Jacob was fine given his thick fur but Taylor's coat was much shorter and it was clear he had cuddled up next to Jacob for warmth during the evening.

A pang of guilt hit Jacob as he wondered if the cougar had actually slept during the night or just shivered away until the sun rose. Taylor's eyes peeled open slowly and they locked gazes. Jacob was instantly lost in his boyfriend's eyes. Like liquid gold...

"Morning," Taylor murmured softly, yawned and curling his tongue.

Jacob bent over and gently kissed the cougar's nose. "Morning." Instincts began taking over. "I need to take a shower."

He heard Taylor groan as he pulled the cougar to his feet and they slipped their clothes back on. Since his clothing was actually made of synthetic metal, the ash and dirt from the ground could easily be brushed off. Taylor's clothes were dirty.

"Ugh... I think I lost a shoe..." Taylor muttered, looking around.

A devilish thought crossed Jacob's mind and he instantly scooped the cougar up in his arms, eliciting a cry of shock form his lover. Taylor instinctively wrapped his arms around Jacob's neck. Jacob cradled the cougar in his arms, grinning broadly as he bent over and licked the young feline from the bridge of his nose to the edge of that forest of brown hair.

"Wow... Never thought you'd be so... affectionate."

Jacob smirked and nuzzled his boyfriend - he still couldn't get over how that word sent chills down his spine that had his cock stirring. "There's plenty about me you don't know."

"Oh?" Taylor asked, returning his smirk. "Like what?"

"Like how fast I can run." Before Taylor could respond, he tossed the cougar into the air. Taylor let out a sharp cry before grunting as he landed securely on Jacob's back, his arms once again around the wolf's neck and with Jacob holding onto the feline's thick legs.

Wow... His thighs are pretty solid...

Jacob made a mental note to explore his boyfriend's body in greater detail later.

"Uh... Jacob, just how fast can you run?" Taylor asked shakily.

He grinned over his shoulder. "Let's just say that I have control over the Elements of Light and Sound. You work it out."

"Uh -"

Before the cougar could even get out his 'oh', Jacob was bolting through the orchard at high speeds. Taylor wrapped his arms around Jacob's neck tightly, fearing for his life to the point where he couldn't even scream.

Jacob couldn't break the sound barrier like Spectre but he was still pretty fast, faster than most other MODD agents and Mortaelians. He decided to make a few laps around the entire property just to give Taylor a bit of a chance to get used to the fact that he had a super-powered boyfriend.

As they zoomed over the planes, Taylor started releasing that scream he was keeping in... Except it wasn't a scream of fright. It was a cry caught halfway between a scream and laughter. Slowly, the cougar's arms released around Jacob's neck and he straightened, spreading his arms out beside him and letting out a joyous cry.

"Woooooo! Yeah!"

Jacob couldn't help but laugh as well. It was odd... The genuine laughter took new meaning now... It was hard getting over the images of himself murdering his father but there was always this little subtitle in the movie that played over in his said that stated 'This is not based on a true story'. His laughter was no longer so tightly tied to those horrific memories that Balthazar had imprinted into his mind. Still bound... but not so tightly anymore.

That meant other things could tie themselves to his laughter...

... like Taylor.

Taylor wrapped his arms around Jacob's neck again, nuzzling his neck tenderly. Jacob slowed down just a fraction. "You can run like this all the time!? How come I've never seen you move this fast!?"

Jacob grinned and lightly pecked his boyfriend's cheek. "I like to keep my abilities under wraps! If I get desperate, then I can run like this. Plus, this sort of speed has its drawbacks."

"Like what!?" Taylor cried over the rushing winds.

"Can't keep this up for long!"

Running at high speeds expended a lot of his energy. While he could keep it up for a good hour or so, he would often need to rest for an equally long time afterwards. Using his speed in battle was a bad move especially if he was left vulnerable afterwards.

"As long as you're not this fast in bed!" Taylor laughed.

Jacob saw the river and grinned. "Aww, cool off."

Taylor saw it too. "Jay! No!"

SPLASH!

Cold, frigid water hit them both and Jacob didn't even mind a large amount driving deep into his nostrils. He released Taylor and spun around in the water, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and gently pressing his lips against the cougar's. For a moment, they shared the same breath before he brought them back up to the surface.

As they broke the surface, tiny droplets of water scattered all around them. Sunlight caught the droplets and cast shimmering, rainbows around them. Jacob quickly gripped the light in his mental hold, seizing them and altering them to his will. He collected all the blues, green, reds together, sorting every colour into streaking beams that flew around them like seven comets of light. Taylor broke their kiss and gawked at the amazing display.

"Wow... How are you doing that?"

Jacob smiled at the amazement of his boyfriend. "Guess you don't know much about the Seals, huh?"

Taylor glanced back at him and shook his head. "Nah. All I know is that they're like tools, somehow manipulating matter and the like."

Taking his boyfriend's paw, he swam towards the shore where they rested against the shallow part of the river, just sitting there half-submerged as the gentle waves lapped at them. "Do you know about the Elements?"

"Erm... You mean Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, Light and Darkness?"

Jacob chuckled. "There are twelve Elements."

The look of confusion on Taylor's face was priceless. "There are?"

"The six you named are the Primary Elements," Jacob answered with a smile. "Each of the Primary Elements has a Sub-Element. For example, Water has the Sub-Element of Ice. Earth has the Sub-Element of Metal. Sound is the Sub-Element of Light. Mind is the Sub-Element of Darkness while Wind has Electricity and Fire has the Sub-Element of Star."

"Right... Star," Taylor murmured, scratching the wet fur on his cheeks. "That always confused me. How is 'Star' an Element?"

Shrugging, Jacob said, "It's in reference to the power of the cosmos. I've seen people with control over Star call down solar flares from the sun, alter starlight, summon comets and even create gaseous nebulae. It's linked with Fire because... well... Stars are really just big balls of flaming gas."

"So why is there an Elemental Lord of Star while the other Sub-Elements don't get them?"

Again, Jacob shrugged. "Don't really know. But the youngest Elemental Lord is Rocky Groundwater and he was instated just seven years ago. Maybe they're still finding the right people for the right Elemental Seals."

Taylor nodded in understanding. "Okay... But you don't have a Seal, do you? You have a 'Brand'?"

Jacob pulled up his left sleeve and activated his brand, the tattoo-like star appearing against his black fur. "Yep. Don't know where it came from or what it really is but it gives me powers similar to the Seals. I can alter matter as well except unlike a Seal, I don't draw my power out of nothing. I need to expend my own energy for that."

"You don't really think that the Seal's powers are really unlimited, do you?"

He gave his boyfriend - that tingle again - a smirk. "Got any evidence to the contrary?"

"I don't know," Taylor said with a shrug. "I just don't think that Seals could really be as powerful as everyone makes them out to be. I mean, all that power to alter matter has to come from something, right?"

Jacob inclined his head to the side and slid closer to his boyfriend. "Well, that's because you don't know how the Seals work. From my understanding, all existence is made up of three components, the Mind, Body and Soul. Living beings have a combination or all of the three. Mortals like us are lucky to have all three and that's what separates us from a rock or a speck of dust. Some would argue a 'Soul' is what made us grown into bipedal creatures that can build metallic jungles as opposed to the ferals."

"You're sounding kind of religious now..."

Jacob snickered. "Would you believe I'm actually an Ascensionist?"

Taylor pulled back in shock. "No way! And you're gay!?"

He snickered again. The Church of the Ascension was one of the more popular religions on Mortaelis. Used to be the most dominant in the world until it became fragmented by several 'spin-off' religions like the Transcendents or the Empathic Church. Simply put, there was one God - named Valinus - who presided over all existence and 'it' - for the Church clearly stated that God 'had no gender but was all genders' - had angels to help guide its creations to Heaven. However, five angels rebelled against it and gave mortals 'gifts' that would shame them in God's eyes so that the attention of the Divine could be turned back to the Angels.

Abaddon the Angel of Creation gave mortals the knowledge on how to construct and build, steering them into jealousy and avarice as they struggled for resources to build bigger, better devices than their peers.

Lilith the Angel of Manipulation gave mortals the gift of guile that was supposed to help them all 'convert the unbelievers' but really it only weakened their hearts and faith in God. This ensured that all mortals could manipulate others with mere words or their actions, potentially weakening all mortals.

Tiamat the Angel of Alteration split the mortals into different races so that they could no longer be a single, united people and war amongst each other. With division, faith in the Divine faltered.

Hades the Angel of Destruction introduced the concept of death to mortals, taking the souls of mortals and plunging them into the depths of Hell. Fear of this punishment drove mortals further and further to defy the will of the Divine as they voraciously sought to extend their own lives at the expense of others or to live their current existences to the fullest again at the expense of others.

Lastly, Destiny the Angel of Connection closed the Doors of Heaven permanently, forever denying mortals the paradise that Valinus promised them and condemning them either to roam the lands forever as ghosts or to suffer in Hell.

According to legend however - and how the Church of the Ascension described the Seal War - God sent down an unnamed Angel to give mortals the knowledge of the Seals, essentially the power of God itself. The Seals were supposed to be used to open the Door to Heaven so that mortals could once again return to the Divine.

Of course, with all the 'gifts' granted to them, the Seals became an object of power and a great war was fought for control over them. Interestingly, in the Graveyard of Doors at Hox where the climactic end of the Seal War occurred, there were twenty-four doors standing arrayed in a circle that became known as the Final Gate.

Twenty-three of the doors stood at the lip of a crater while at the very bottom of the crater stood an enormous, pure-white door. Ascensionists believe that door was the Door to Heaven and if the other twenty-three doors were opened, the Door to Heaven would finally be free for mortals to walk through again.

Of course, Ascensionists also believed that airbags were evil, anything remotely phallus-shaped - like a carrot or a cucumber - couldn't be eaten whole or raw since it had to be cut up first, no book could be thicker than the Ascensionists' Apocrypha - which was only 365 pages long - and gay sex was a form of recreational evil brought on by Hades' gift of Death.

"I'm not sure I actually believe in the Divine," Jacob said with a shrug. "And I definitely don't believe in the whole 'gay is evil' thing. But I do believe that airbags are evil."

Taylor blinked at him. "You do?"

Jacob gave his boyfriend a wicked grin. "You wouldn't believe how many people I've killed with an airbag."

The cougar shuddered.

"Back on topic, though," Jacob continued. "The way a Seal actually controls matter is that it binds the 'Body' of the matter to itself and thus allows you to manipulate it. So think of the Seal like a big machine. Say you want to turn the water here into ice. The Seal will funnel the water on a conveyor belt into the machine and then you tell the Seal what you want to happen to the water and then it spits it back out the other end."

"I'm guessing that not all Seals are that easy to explain, huh?"

"Nope," Jacob answered with a shrug. "Some Seals are really restricted in their powers like the Lock Seals. All they do is prevent you from opening a door. Other Seals - like Gale's - have a broader scope and can manipulate their chosen field in weird and wonderful ways. My Brand is sort of the same but I have to funnel my own energy into manipulating the object I'm targeting. Seals are like big templates that you just force things through. My Brand is like an extension of my will and requires effort to make the changes."

Taylor nestled in against Jacob's shoulder, resting his head on the thick muscle there. "Sounds like your Brand is kind of a cheap version of the Seals..."

That felt like an insult but Jacob let it slide because something about those words rang true. His Brand was a faulty version of the Seals... so why did MODD want it so much? Why would Balthazar want his Brand if it was inferior to technology they already possessed?

He pushed the thought out of his mind. Gale and whoever else he'd be working with could worry about the politics. They just needed to tell him who to kill and he'd do it. Ultimately, he wanted that ticket out of Rillotia and all his crimes absolved.

And he wanted Taylor to come with him.

Wow... I want Taylor...

In the back of his mind, he could actually envision himself and Taylor roughing it in some forest, trekking through the desserts, hiking through dangerous mountains and dressing like the locals in several exotic locations. It filled him with excitement and a sense of urgency. He couldn't wait to start their new life together.

Seriously, sleeping in a new bed after having steaming hot sex with the cougar was making him hard.

Spectre suddenly appeared, collapsing beside him, tongue lolling and looking incredibly exhausted. "Goddamnit! You know I can't fly as fast as you can run in this form! Why didn't you wake me!?"

_I'm not your alarm clock,_Jacob mentally replied with a smug edge.

Spectre rolled his eyes. "So what did I miss?"

I'm about to ask Taylor out on a date.

"Wha -?"

"Hey Tayl, you've been grilling me all morning," he said, turning towards the cougar. "Can I get a few questions in?"

Taylor chuckled softly, purring as he rubbed his cheek against Jacob's shoulder, one arm tightly wrapped around Jacob's chest. "My past isn't as interesting as yours."

"Wasn't gonna ask about your past."

The cougar stared at him suspiciously. "What then?"

Jacob decided he'd try his paw at the puppy-dog pout. He tilted his head to the side, lowered his ears and jutted out his lower lip, trying to make his eyes a little watery.

"Will you go on a date with me?"

****

There were three primary problems with taking Taylor out on a date.

Firstly, Jacob had no money. He was pretty sure he knew where to get some but in broad daylight, going into the Boswin Mansion to steal more money was suicide... well... perhaps for the people inside and Jacob wasn't opposed to fulfilling that fantasy of his where he cooked the Boswins on a spit.

Secondly, he had no idea where to take Taylor. Pollenburn was completely new to him despite having stayed in the area for a few days. It was big enough to have some pretty nice places to eat but he wanted to treat Taylor to something memorable, something classy and out of this world.

Thirdly...

... Taylor said 'no'.

Jacob was a little heartbroken when the cougar rejected him but Taylor explained that he wasn't really a 'public dating' sort of person. He was still quite 'homo-conscious' as he put it. Fully accepting he was gay but unwilling to flaunt it in front of everyone.

That said, that put a big requirement on their date.

No, Jacob wasn't going to give up.

He pondered just pestering Taylor with 'Will you go on a date with me?' throughout the entire day but decided that probably wasn't going to work.

So, he decided to outsource.

"Ahem."

Joanna looked up from where she was milking a cow. "Oh! Hi there wuffie! What's shakin'?"

Jacob took a deep breath and held it for a good two seconds before he finally said, "I asked Taylor out on a date."

The vixen's emerald eyes went wide and her paws tightened around the cow's udders, making the poor dairy cow moo in protest. She apologised to it, gave it a few pats before leaping to her feet and grabbing Jacob's paws in her milk-soaked, gloved paws. Jacob winced at the contact.

"That's great!" she cried, practically bouncing on her feet. "Oh! You have got to try out this place right next to the hospital! It's serves great stuff and the atmosphere is to die for! And you can take him to the local gym! You have got to know by now he loved muscled hunks like you!" She winked and nudged him playfully.

"Yeah... Small problem with that," Jacob muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "He said 'no'."

Strangely, Joanna got a calculating look on her face as she crossed one arm across her chest and rubbed her chin with her other paw. "Hmmm... I would've been surprised if he hadn't at least put up some resistance. He's a quiet little kitty..." She clicked her fingers, spraying Jacob with a bit of milk, causing him to growl lightly. "I've got it! This afternoon, take him to the Bloomcrest Ruins!"

"Why would you take a date to somewhere so depressing?"

"I'm trying to be his boyfriend not his therapist," Jacob muttered.

Joanna grinned at him sympathetically. "Oh honey, you're not his boyfriend."

Jacob bristled slightly. "Oh yeah? We had sex didn't we?"

She kept that grin as she shook her head. "Jacob, sex doesn't make a relationship. In this modern world of ours, sex is kind of just a thing you do when either your hormones are too high or your brain is in your crotch. We sort of... devolved. Back in the primitive ages, our species just had wanton sex everywhere. We were little more than animals. Then, in the middle ages, sex was like marriage - goddamn sacred. Now... we're pretty much back to being animals.

"Just because you had sex with Tayl thrice doesn't make you his boyfriend."

"She's right you know..."

But he did_say 'yes' to coming with me... That has to mean something, right?_

"It means that he's willing to give you a shot, Jake. Doesn't necessarily mean you're already_his boyfriend..."_

That only filled him with more determination.

Then I'll do what I can to earn that right.

"So exactly how am I going to woo him by taking him to the depressing ruins which is basically a glorified funeral pyre?"

She reached over, pinched his cheek and gave it a firm twist. He pulled away with a snarl. "It's so adorable how you're so innocent to all this."

"What?"

"For someone so evil you really can't see where I'm going with this?" she asked, arms crossed and a big smile on her face. Her long, bushy, red tail was swaying back and form in a mesmerising dance.

"No..."

She clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes. "Honey, you just invite him to the Bloomcrest Ruins because no one is there and he'll think it's not a date because you wouldn't take anyone to some place like that!"

"So why am I taking him there then?"

"Because you'll catch him off guard when you lounge around until it's time for dinner and take him to Pollenburn to the nearest Kwik-E-Burger."

Jacob recoiled and stuck out his tongue at the mention of the disgusting, fatty, oil-soaked fast food chain. "What!? Why there of all places!?"

"They do have good salads..."

How would you know? You've never eaten there.

Which reminds me... How do_you eat?_

"You don't want to know."

"God you're dense today," Joanna sighed, rapping his forehead with her knuckles. "Again, it's a disguise! You would never dream of taking a date to a fast food restaurant but Tayl loves the Triple Angus Burgers that are served there!"

"He loves those things and he looks like that? What? Did he have his arteries replaced every year or something? Those things are so oily they could provide enough fuel to fly from here to Oxis!"

The vixen nodded solemnly. "I know. I personally hate them but Tayl can't get enough of them." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the thing about Tayl is that after the third burger -"

"Third!?" Jacob blanched, thinking of the three huge slabs of oily meat barely compressed together and with bits of sauce, salad, onions and tomatoes fit between them all somehow caught between two sesame buns... Seriously, if allowed to stand long enough, it was actually possible to watch the oil seeping into the buns...

"Yeah, I know. After the third, he falls into a food coma. He'll be completely submissive. Then you start the real date."

"Wow... She's evil. I like her."

Jacob regarded Joanna curiously. "What exactly did you have in mind...?"

"Glad you asked!" She grinned, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Okay, first you take him to the lakeside. I bet all the lights from Skystorm Tower and the starlight would make that place really beautiful. Christy and I will get a nice picnic set up for you. Wine and everything! Oh, he likes red, by the way. No more Triple Angus Burgers, I promise."

"Can you bring breath mints too? Those burgers stink."

She winced and nodded consolingly. "Amen. I'll bring you some mouthwash too if you need it. Anyway, after that and some romantic chatting, Taylor will be completely under your power so you can either take him back to your cabin for some lovin' or back to the orchard where you two cuddlebuddies spent 'fertilising' the trees with your seed."

Jacob leapt back in horror, his mind racing. "How did you know about that!?"

"You howl very loudly, wuffie."

He wasn't so much as embarrassed as he was annoyed that whenever he had sex, Joanna seemed to be there...

Wait...

"You took pictures, didn't you?"

The vixen grinned. "You two make such a great couple." Then her features saddened a little. "About time. Taylor deserves someone like you..."

"What? An insane, blood-soaked, berserker with a penchant for making off-topic remarks that result in fragments of humour and social commentary?"

Joanna gave him an exasperated look and he returned it with an innocent smile and a shrug.

"Jacob, despite how 'terrible' you make yourself to be, I know you're really not like that inside. Your actions speak a lot louder than your words."

"You mean me stealing from the Boswins and then attempting to run away from this place after leaving it in such a desolated state?"

She sighed heavily and poked his nose, making him recoil and twitch. "I know what you really did, Jacob. You were the one that told Gale about where Shana and Darren were. You saw that with Gale around again, you could safely leave. You also didn't engage Gale in Pollenburn because you knew that the battle between you two would've hurt a lot of people and especially those people in the hospital.

"You may say that you don't care but really, you do. It's what makes you such a hero."

Jacob scowled. "I'm no hero."

She smiled and patted his head. "You keep thinking that. Just take care of Taylor for me, alright?"

He blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"He's going with you, isn't he?"

How does she know all this stuff!?

Is she a mind reader!?

"Nope. Just and older, wiser queen."

"It's good for him," Joanna said, looking out the barn window. "Taylor... Taylor has many faces, Jacob. Even though he feels most at ease when around us, I know the face he puts on is still a mask. When he's around you, he seems to discard all masks and be his true self. I don't know if it was the fact that he could be himself out here and if and when he got back he'd be that same old, dreary, preachy homophobe he was... but you're good for him."

Spectre cocked his head to the side. "I think it's something to do with the two of you being polar opposites. You're impulsive and a little reckless given to thoughts of insight but really_you make things up as you go along... and Taylor is more reserved and conscientious of his actions and thinks things through. I would argue that you're bringing out the more impulsive in him and he's starting to make you think about a future..."_

"You mean I'm corrupting him," Jacob said in reply to both Spectre and Joanna.

Spectre sighed and just snuggled in around his neck.

"You could say that," Joanna chuckled. She regarded him with genuine eyes like sparkling emeralds. "Just please promise me that no harm will come to him."

Her words touched him... It was starting to become clear that Joanna was like a mother to their group. Being the oldest of them, she clearly had more wisdom and insight than the rest. Christy was the touchy-feely, impulsive, hormonal fashion designer with no sense of personal space, Kerry was the reserved but highly opinionated vegetarian and Taylor was the morphing, enigma that could change his personality to whatever he wanted.

But that made Jacob doubt... Was the Taylor he knew the real Taylor...?

Hell... was he being honest with his boyfriend-to-be...?

Were they even going to be boyfriends?

_"Depends... You might not want to be totally honest with him,"_Spectre warned.

Why not?

"Let's see... How do you think Taylor will react when you say, 'Hey hon, I have this imaginary winged wolf on my shoulder that no one else can see that gives me advice and occasionally_tells me to burn things'?"_

...

No comment.

"I can't promise that, Joanna," he said grimly. "My road is pretty dangerous but I will promise you that I'll do everything in my power to protect him."

God... It feels like I'm asking Taylor's parents for permission to date him...

... On that note...

"Hey, Taylor never really talks about his parents... I heard they're pretty accepting of his orientation..."

Joanna shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Tayl doesn't talk about his past that often. Remember, to us - well, to most of us anyway - he was painfully straight. I suspected of course but he never came out to us."

Right... Right... Forgot about that...

"Thanks for the help, Joanna. I'll be sure to show Taylor the time of his life."

****

Bloomcrest was just as dark and depressing as the last time Jacob had visited but now that he had spoken with Gale, there was a different edge to the atmosphere. The Flower Memorial actually seemed to radiate a bit of hope and the bouquet that Gale had left there two days ago seemed to be like a splash of colour in an otherwise bleak canvas.

The winds picked up and kicked some of the ash into Jacob's face. Thankfully, he was wearing his sunglasses again so it was easy to avoid getting any in his eyes. Taylor wasn't so lucky.

"This place is kinda depressing..." Taylor muttered, spluttering and rubbing the ash out of his face.

"No arguments here..." Jacob answered, regarding the desolate ruins. "Can't help but wonder what kind of weapon they used to bring this place down..."

Bloomcrest had to be quite a big city at one point. A simple fire wouldn't have caused the amount of devastation that they were wandering in now. Jacob was both awed and a little intimidated at the power MODD really possessed for it was corporation that purged Bloomcrest... not the Rillotian government.

"In fact..."_Spectre began softly. _"It was MODD that instated the quarantine and it was MODD that took care of all the survivors..."

Jacob was starting to suspect there was something else to these ruins than a tragic outbreak of a plague.

"I feel like I'm standing in some post-apocalyptic nightmare..." Taylor admitted, shivering a little. "The ruined buildings... the ash... these stray newspapers fluttering everyone." He kicked one such newspaper from his leg. "I wonder why people didn't do anything to try and salvage this place..."

"They sort of did." Jacob turned back in the direction of Pollenburn. "They built a town nearby consisting of the survivors of the tragedy that took place here. These ruins are meant to be a reminder of what happened and the people that they lost." He glanced back towards the grim, Flower Memorial. "But a future built on the ruins of destruction's passing is unstable at best."

Taylor gave him a curious look. "Where'd that come from?"

"Personal experience. My past was royally screwed up. Totally desolate. I didn't build anything on it. I just found another plot of land and started building from there. Just like the people of Pollenburn."

"The people of Pollenburn didn't move too far and they didn't forget," the cougar pointed out.

"Their mistake."

Jacob smiled inwardly. The plan was working quite well. Taylor was probably a little depressed right now and caught off guard.

Perfect, time for the second stage.

He glanced at the sky. The sun was starting to drift towards the horizon so it would be a perfect time to grab some dinner.

"Don't you think you should just come out and be honest with him?"

Weren't you the one that said you liked Joanna's plan? And didn't you say I shouldn't be honest with Taylor?

"I said I liked Joanna_not her plan. A relationship built on deceit is just as bad as a future built on the ruins of destruction. And you know, there are some things even husbands and wives keep from one another."_

I'm not lying to him. I'm just... being tactful...

"Right..."

"I wonder what Bloomcrest looked like before the Plague..." Taylor said.

"It was beautiful."

Both of them froze as Gale walked down the street and came to stand beside them.

Uh-oh...

"Gale..." Jacob murmured softly.

"I thought I might find you two here," the chimp said with a faint smile. "It was either here, the river or the hospital to visit Darren." Turning to the Flower Memorial, he said, "One day, I'm going to bring the flowers back..."

"Was it really as the old brochures said?" Taylor asked. "Flowers as far as the eye could see?"

Gale laughed. "Well... As far as the forest and mountains. The flowers never grew past that."

"What kind of flowers were they?"

"All sorts of flowers. Roses, tulips even some orchids here and there. It was really beautiful."

I know...

Jacob recalled that dream-like Bloomcrest and had to admit there was a bit of serenity in it. A... 'haunting beauty'.

Shaking his head free of the thoughts, he turned to Gale. "Why were you looking for us?"

Gale's expression darkened. "The Boswins."

That was all that needed to be said and Jacob sighed heavily. "What did they do this time? Poison the livestock? Salt the earth? Send beef jerky to Darren?"

"Worse. Apart from Leonardo's testimony, there is nothing tying our Tribal to the Boswins. No one, not even the people that Leonardo claimed to have worked with, is willing to admit that they worked alongside one another. All evidence against the Boswins is non-existent. The only evidence that does stand is that Leonardo attacked the McLeod farm. He's been taken to the sheriff's office to be deported back to Oxis where he'll await whatever judgement his tribe has for him."

Jacob couldn't say he was surprised. Sending the Tribal to attack the McLeod was a pretty sleek gambit and using Leonardo against the Boswins was a bit of desperation on their part. He should have expected the Boswins would've severed all ties with Leonardo especially considering they did the same to those drunks who shot Darren.

That didn't stop his frustration however. He took grim pleasure in imagining making bacon out of the Boswins...

"That's bullshit!" Taylor exclaimed angrily. "Leonardo clearly stated he was sent by the Boswins!"

"Funny thing about that," Gale sighed. "He says it but no one is there to support his claims. His word means nothing without solid evidence or at least mounting testimonies."

"So he's just going to take the fall for the Boswins just like those drunks that came to the farm and put Darren in a mini-coma!?"

"Unfortunately..." Gale's eyes revealed his own frustration. "I believe Leonardo... Tribals do not lie. Especially not ones from the White Fang Tribe. They are extremely honourable and very honest to the point of being tactless."

True that...

"That's not fair! Leonardo was just here looking for something as part of his Pilgrimage! The Boswins used him!"

"There's nothing we can do, Taylor..."

Jacob sighed and crossed his arms. "This is why I hate the judicial system. Evidence is everything and it always takes so damn long to find it. Then even if you think it's enough, the opposing party comes up with some forged documents that counters your evidence and you're back to the losing team." He locked gazes with Gale. "If I didn't know you'd kick my ass, I tell you now I would be marching straight into Boswins Mansion and executing my own little 'Purge'."

"Glad to see I'm keeping you on the good side of the law," Gale muttered. "I'll try to do something to keep Leonardo out of trouble... I don't want to see what'll happen if he gets sent back to his Tribe without fulfilling his Pilgrimage."

That piqued Jacob's interest. "What will happen?"

The chimpanzee winced and shook his head. "Nothing good. The White Fang Tribe is the most open of the Tribals to Rillotians and MODD. They suffer a lot of criticisms from the other tribes because of it to the point of war. That said, if we end up prosecuting Leonardo and sending him back, relations between the two bodies will be severely strained. Worse, I know that the terms of a Pilgrimage are either the completion of the set task... or death.

"Should Leonardo return to the White Fang Tribe without his task completed... he'll be killed... Best case, exiled. They wouldn't accept him as one of their own. He won't be part of their tribe anymore. Either way, it'd be bad for him."

Jacob mulled that over... He couldn't say he felt sorry for the ignorant pup... but he wasn't one to go wishing the shattering of a reality to anyone. Death, maybe. Slow, agonising torture, definitely. But a shattered world... absolutely not. If the foundations of a person's world were destroyed, that person was worse than dead.

They were empty.

And if Leonardo went back to his Tribe knowing he had failed... the poor kid's reality would be broken. Spending a good portion of your life being someone and then being told you weren't that someone was enough to break anyone's reality_..._

Oh wow... Close to home...

Jacob resisted pressing a paw against his chest.

"What if he fulfilled his Pilgrimage before he got sent back?" he asked.

"He'll probably get a tongue lashing, nothing more," Gale answered. "Why?"

Urgh... I can't believe I'm even entertaining this thought...

"It's kind of sweet that you're willing to sacrifice your dignity to save the reality of another."

Just be quiet. I don't want to talk about it.

"How soon will they deport him?"

Gale shrugged absently. "There's going to be a trial some day soon. No doubt they'll find him guilty. Deportation will occur the day after once all the transport papers are done. The White Fang Tribe doesn't have an embassy or representative here in Rillotia so Leonardo can't even claim diplomatic immunity."

Sighing, Jacob said, "Guess that's another few days we have to spend here..."

"What do you have in mind?"

He shook his head and glanced towards Taylor. "Nothing. Hey, did you want to grab dinner?"

Taylor blinked. The sun was setting. "Yeah... Back to the farm?"

Jacob smirked. "Actually, I had somewhere else in mind."

The cougar whimpered. No doubt with Gale around, the poor feline couldn't openly reject an invitation to a date from Jacob because of his fear of open gay relationships.

I guess there's a good thing about having Gale around...

"Why don't you join us Gale?" Taylor suggested eagerly. "A good meal will get your mind of things."

What!? No!

This is meant to be a day just between us two!

"I'm sorry Taylor..." Gale sighed. "The McLeods are the only family I have left. I can't just forget their problems... I really thought we had them with Leonardo."

Yes! Go and plot! Forget about the two of us for now!

Spectre giggled. "There goes that great plan you and Joanna cooked up."

"You'll get other chances. As long as the McLeod farm continues to stand, they'll keep trying to take it. With you guarding them, they'll try sneakier approaches and making sure that they sever all ties with whoever they're sending. They won't dare to attack openly. All we can do is wait."

Wait 'separately'.

Gale sighed and nodded. "You know... I think you're right. I think I will take you up on that dinner. Where are we going?"

Wait... I think there's still some way I can salvage this...

"You've got that 'I'm going to do something crazy' look in your eyes again..."

It's not crazy. Evil yes.

Jacob told them both that it would be a surprise and they took off for Pollenburn, Gale flying and Jacob carrying Taylor again. They made their way to the small Kwik-E-Burger in town, the familiar silver 'K' standing proudly amongst the otherwise rural surroundings. The instant they stopped and Jacob pushed open the door, Taylor zoomed through and was eagerly waiting in line, bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation.

"I'm not a big fan of fast food to be perfectly honest," Gale murmured, wincing at the smell of oil and highly processed meat in the air.

It was worse for Jacob who - being a canine - had slightly more sensitive senses than Gale. He had seen quite a few canines just jump into Kwik-E-Burgers and ravage the oily meals but he found the highly recycled air and foods soaked in oil so disgusting that he could actually feel his arteries getting clogged up.

"Neither am I... But Tayl loves the Triple Angus Burgers here." He shrugged. "But you know, there's an awesome cafe just down the street. You probably want some alone time to think about your family. We'll catch up with you once Tayl is done stuffing his mouth with heavily processed meat."

Jacob was praying Gale would turn away in disgust and take that as a cue. Sure this was just the 'fake date' but he really wanted to spend some quality time with Taylor. He feared that with Gale being present, he wouldn't get to slip in some of the clever remarks he had stocked up so that later, he would say something that would get Taylor to remember those remarks and realise what they really alluded to.

Gale visibly gagged as they stepped into the restaurant and watched from a distance as Taylor wantonly orders about five of the Triple Angus Burgers. Two were in Extra Large meals. "Urgh... I think I'm going to be sick."

"Aw... That's too bad," Jacob replied, trying to sound really sympathetic. "Cafe is still there."

"No... I think I'll be fine," the chimp answered, rubbing his stomach. "I think I'll just go for a salad."

Things only got worse.

"Oh my god! It's Gale Winthrop!"

Uh-oh...

Everyone in the store - except for Taylor and the people at the counter - suddenly spun towards them, eyes wide and for some unexplainable reason, each of them suddenly had a notepad and a pen in their paws.

"Jacob... Run."

Jacob instantly dove behind Gale and shoved the chimp towards the crowd. "Take him! He's the one you want!"

Lightning-fast, he bolted right out of the Kwik-E-Burger. Gale was right behind him. Despite the fact both of them had supernatural speed and strength, the crowd still managed to catch up with them! It was surreal! Like something out of a cartoon!

Jacob leapt over a car and the crowd practically crushed it as they crawled all over it and scrambled after him. He wasn't even the one they were after!

"You know this is a terrible start to our working relationship!" Gale laughed, zooming right beside him.

"Let's get one thing straight!" Jacob shouted as he somersaulted over a second car. When he landed he said, "This 'relationship' is built around convenience! You want something and I want something. Because of that, it works! Oh your fans are nuts! Why the hell are they following me!?"

Gale threw his head back and laughed. "I may be the superstar everyone loves but you're the idiot who's dumb enough to be running right next to be instead of taking some back alleyway out of here! And didn't you notice the 'STFU' T-shirts some of the girls are wearing?"

Jacob glanced over his shoulder and his jaw practically dropped to the ground when - true to Gale's word - there were several women with 'STFU' printed on their shirts. It wasn't a brand or a crude slogan either. It actually said 'State Temporary Farmer's Union' beneath the acronym.

"You actually made that damn organisation!?"

"After what you said yesterday, how could I not!?" Gale laughed. "It's a brilliant idea! I don't know why no one ever thought of it before!"

"Aw... STFU."

"See you at the farm!"

Jacob bolted towards a back street, leaving the crowd behind. The crowd stormed past, completely ignoring him. It was like Gale was a superhero or a rock star! It was probably a dumb idea to actually walk into a public restaurant with him though he really should've known better. Funny thing was, the crowd had grown exponentially.

"You know... That might be your future."

What!?

"Think about it. You have powers on the level of the Seal. After you beat Balthazar, people will grow to accept you. They might start seeing you for the misunderstood soul that you really are and with the number of things you did over the years, people will start realising all those people who claimed you saved their lives and beat back terrible Unsealed weren't crazy after all. All those stories will be collated and you'll be the superhero that was a hunted and shunned because of some untrue slander. You might even get a book deal!"

Jacob suddenly felt sick.

"Oh god... If I start wearing a cape and my underwear over my pants, shoot me."

"I would but I don't have thumbs."

He decided to double back to the Kwik-E-Burger. The crowd had managed to chase them for five entire blocks! Getting back was simple since the streets were practically abandoned but he was disappointed when he didn't find Taylor there. It hadn't been that long since he fled in terror from Gale's groupies.

Unfortunately, he wasn't much of a hunter. An escape artist, yes, but a hunter... Leonardo was probably better at that than he was and that was just downright depressing. He tried scouring the town for his boy - no, Taylor wasn't his boyfriend - but couldn't find the cougar even as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop at high speeds.

Suddenly, his plan for a romantic evening went right down the drain.

Some scant hope remained as he headed over to the lake. Sure enough, he found the picnic set there waiting for them just as Joanna promised but there was no Taylor. It had been a little stupid of him to think and hope that the cougar would somehow miraculously be there.

There was no use letting the food go to waste however and he was feeling quite hungry.

With the sun well below the horizon, the lights from Skystorm Tower illuminated the night sky, casting a golden halo from its tall spire that was reflected against the lake's mirror-like surface. It was indeed quite beautiful as Joanna had suspected. Almost like a golden flame was surging out of the ground and a beautiful, silvery mirror mirrored its dazzling image as well as the carpet of stars high above him.

He ate the sandwiches that were kept in the basket for them. Not really at all that romantic but it was the thought that counted. No doubt neither he nor Taylor would've actually cared about the meal.

"Gah..." he muttered, setting down his half-eaten sandwich. "Look at me... I can't believe I'm actually disappointed that I didn't get to go on a 'date' with my 'boyfriend'."

Spectre sniffed the sandwich beside him and poked it with a paw. "What's so hard to believe? Everyone needs companionship. You and Taylor make a nice couple."

"It's not just that. I mean, why now of all times? There have been plenty of attractive men that I've encountered over the years. I'm pretty sure more than one of them was trying to hit on me."

"You mean like Albert?"

"Yes... I mean like Albert," he grumbled. "Which reminds me, I've got to get a letter to him soon. Anyway, why am I so emotional all of the sudden!? I mean, geez, I actually wanted to go on a date. I don't even know the first thing about dating! I never had a dad to tell me how to date or a mom to tell me to use protection!"

"Not that you do..."

"Not the point," he sneered.

Spectre sighed and leapt up onto the basket, sitting down and regarding him intently. "What do hear my thoughts?"

"Does it matter? You're going to tell me anyway."

"You've spent a long time being alone Jacob. All your relationships are always on a short-term basis. Go in, save them, shoot the bad guys and run away never to be seen again. You keep telling yourself that you've built a new life free of destruction but in truth, you've become the destroyer_."_

"What!?" he growled, spinning towards his Animus.

Spectre remained strong, staring at him with those piercing blue eyes. "You're finding new plots of land to build your future, alright, but those lands are always_occupied. You're building your story on the foundation of other's and what you're doing is you're wrecking_ their_buildings. You're making an unstable floor that more floors will be built upon._

"And you know what will happen once there's too much weight on that floor? It'll crash down and take the entire building with it! Everything from the top down even if you only started building halfway.

"That's finally starting to catch up with you. I'm not sure what made you realise this but you do know it now. The reason you're so emotional is because you're building a stronger foundation now. Don't screw it up by going back to your old ways."

Jacob scowled and gazed back towards Skystorm Tower. "What if I'm not ready for a relationship? Never been in one before. Hell, my relationship with my dad wasn't even that great..."

"Actually... It was. Those things you remember aren't true. Just what Balthazar put in your head."

"Right... sorry... It's hard to forget that kind of thing..." he murmured, rubbing his temples. "Still... I don't have these sort of life lessons... What if I royally screw up with Taylor... I mean, what exactly is acceptable in a relationship?"

"Oh god..."_Spectre winced. _"Jacob... I'm just a spirit. I am in no position to give you 'The Talk'. Maybe you should ask someone with more experience."

"Like who?"

"I dunno... Joanna?"

...

As much as it sickened him to acknowledge it, Spectre was right. Joanna was indeed a fountain of wisdom when it came to relationships... at least from what he saw. Sure she had an annoying tendency to be there whenever he made love to Taylor and take pictures but her advice was sound... and she did care for Taylor so that was a good thing...

"Alright... I guess this date is screwed up anyway..."

"Well if it isn't Mr. Jacob Reaper!"

That familiar high-pitched, irritating voice made the fur on Jacob's neck stand on end and his tail fluff out. He turned around and grimaced when he saw the two Boswin girls. Rising to his feet, he stared at the two impassively. He was sure this visit was not coincidence. Plus, Caroline used his full name... which usually meant...

"I found an interesting fact about a certain other famous wolf named 'Jacob Reaper'," Caroline continued. "Would you like to hear it?"

Jacob tossed up the idea of confessing or somehow avoiding the question. Then again, he could always kill the two like he always fantasised...

"I dunno. Does it have something to do with STFU?"

Caroline ignored him, twirling her parasol in her hands. "Apparently, a certain Jacob Reaper killed his own father and escaped from a mental asylum not too long ago. He has your exact features. Wouldn't it be horrifying if that same Jacob Reaper appeared in our little town? Imagine the search parties, the ANVIL troops and betrayal those who have gotten to know him would feel."

Shows what you know...

"On that note," Jacob replied with a wicked grin, "it would be such a pity if a certain two ladies were suddenly found dead with their corpses bloated from the late water."

Caroline gave him a creepy, benign smile and lowered her parasol. Jacob saw that the device actually had markings on it... A Seal. Like all Seals, it had the three rings of arcane runes but the symbol placed over the rings was one depicting three snowflakes connected by curling lines to make it look like the three were spinning around in a cyclone. The Seal began to emit a faint, light-blue glow.

Sharp pain suddenly erupted from Jacob's shoulder.

A long, blade of ice had erupted from the centre of the parasol and bit into his flesh, just scraping the bone.

He didn't even flinch.

"Jacob Reaper is a common criminal," Caroline said haughtily. "He has no Seal. My sister and I do."

Dorothy just let out a deep guffaw.

Jacob shrugged and pulled up his left sleeve, flexing his bicep for the two girls. There was a slight jerk of interest from Caroline's eyebrow but that quickly faded when Jacob's Brand began to glow against his fur. The Seal on Caroline's parasol abruptly shattered like glass and the icy blade crumbled to the ground.

The pig let out a horrified, high-pitched cry and staggered back into her sister's arms.

"Jacob Reaper doesn't need a Seal," Jacob answered darkly, pulling back his sleeve. Even as he spoke, his wound began to heal. The blood was still there and the material was broken but that didn't matter. All he had to do was throw a bit of electricity into it and it would repair itself soon enough.

The two girl's looked terribly horrified... well... Caroline did. Dorothy just looked totally idiotic.

"Y - You are him!" Caroline screeched. A grin split across her face. "Wait until Gale learns about this! He'll hunt you down and skin you alive!"

Jacob really tempted to tell the girl that Gale knew... but if he did, the girls would somehow find some way to have Gale get caught in the fallout of the revelation. Besides, secrecy of Jacob's existence and alliance with Gale was pivotal to bringing down Balthazar.

Again, the temptation of killing these two was rising...

... but Jacob wasn't really in the killing mood at the moment.

"Squeal little piggies," he growled threateningly. "And remember... STFU."

The girl turned and hurried back the way they came, Dorothy carrying Caroline.

Something bad was about to happen... He could feel it. The Boswins were closing in. Whatever they were planning, the people in the crossfire would get severely injured. People like Shana, Joanna, Kerry, Christy... and Taylor...

He had to get them out.

Jacob turned towards the farm. Once Spectre was wrapped securely around his neck, he bolted at high speeds back to his temporary home. His feet were barely touching the ground and he kicked up a large cloud of ash as he zoomed across the Ashlands.

Despite his speed, it took him a good thirty minutes to get back to the farmhouse and all the lights were out. For a second, he feared that everyone had already be kidnapped or killed in their sleep. The mental image of Shana lying on her bed with her throat slit struck fear in his heart. Quickly, he snuck to the back of the farmhouse and climbed the drainage pipe, peeking into Shana's room.

She was lying on her bed, back towards the window... but she was still...

...

Then she breathed.

Jacob let out a soft sigh of relief and slid back down the pipe. He checked on the others as well, grateful that everyone was a sleep... even Max. He returned to his own cabin. Taylor wasn't present yet and that worried him but he guessed that the cougar would eventually make his way back. Probably found another Kwik-E-Burger and started scoffing down more Triple Angus Burgers.

Just the thought made him shudder.

But the other thought of watching Taylor burn those calories actually aroused him a little.

Sighing, he collapsed onto his bed, detecting the strong scent of his and Taylor's sex on the sheets. As much as he would have wanted the evening to be truly magical, he took both Spectre and Joanna's advice to heart. He and Taylor weren't boyfriends... They were barely 'friends'.

He had to be patient...

On the plus side, they would have plenty of time.

Who knew, perhaps with the numerous times he'd save Taylor in the future, they'd eventually go steady.

His mind wandered to the Boswins however...

They knew his secret... but they didn't know that Gale was supporting him...

There would eventually be a confrontation... but that wouldn't be until either the morning or the day after. The Boswins were probably going to collect evidence - collect translated to 'forge' - to pin countless crimes on Jacob. However, they would present the evidence to Gale and since Gale knew the truth, he could easily dismiss the evidence as false.

If all worked out, they might actually have the Boswins now...

Forged evidence would be their downfall...

Hopefully.

The door sprang open slowly and Jacob sat up, reflexes ready to draw his swords.

Taylor stumbled in and belched a little loudly. Jacob winced. He could smell the Triple Angus Burgers from where he lay.

"Oh... Hey there, Jake!"

He winced at the nickname. "I told you not to call me that..."

Taylor gave him a stupid grin and staggered forward drunkenly. He practically collapsed against Jacob with that same idiotic smile on his face as he began shamelessly kissing Jacob's cheek. "Aww... Don't be like that, babe. You know you like it."

"No, I don't," Jacob replied, trying to push Taylor off but the cougar was surprisingly very clingy in his drunken state. Funny thing, he couldn't detect any alcohol in Taylor's breath. "Only my dad and mentor call me that, remember? And honestly, I can't imagine myself having molesting me like you do let alone having sex with me."

He stuck out his tongue and shook his head. "Ergh... I would never have sex with my dad..."

"I can be your daddy if you want," Taylor snickered, licking Jacob's cheek.

"What is wrong with you?" he growled, pushing Taylor away roughly. "Are you drunk?"

The cougar began giggling as he dropped onto the floor. "Nope! Just full."

"Wow... someone actually got drunk from eating too much..."

"You're kidding me, right?" Jacob said, leaning over the edge of his bed. Taylor was sprawled on the floor, snickering away like a fool. "You seriously get this tipsy after eating five Triple Angus Burgers!"

"Nine_!"_ Taylor corrected, spreading out his palms. Jacob couldn't help but smile as he reached over and bent one of Taylor's fingers so that they now showed the correct number. He chuckled when Taylor regarded his paws in awe.

"Wow... So Joanna was right. Food makes you completely submissive."

"And horny!"

Taylor crawled back onto the bed, wrapping his muzzle around Jacob's and pushing the wolf down onto the bed. Jacob pulled away and gagged, the taste of those oily pieces of beef still in lingering in Taylor's mouth.

"Oh god... That's stomach-turning... How do you manage to stay so fit?"

That goofy grin returned to Taylor's muzzle as he sat on Jacob's chest and poked the wolf's nose playfully. "Want me to tell you my secret?"

"Sure."

The cougar gestured that Jacob come closer. Rolling his eyes, Jacob bent over so that his big, triangular left ear was right next to Taylor's muzzle.

There, the feline whispered his big secret.

"Sex."

First, he wasn't sure if he heard right but then each of the letters in that three-letter word began processing in his brain. Pulling away, he stared at the - somehow - completely inebriated cougar. "What?"

Taylor pressed himself against Jacob, nuzzling him. "I have sex every morning and every night... Well... Not really. I masturbate if I'm not with someone. Ten minutes of sex is about the same as one hour of exercise."

"Where'd you get that statistic!?"

Taylor suddenly pulled himself up and plunged his tongue into Jacob's muzzle, not even bending into a kiss. He reached behind Jacob's head, pulling their lips together and relentlessly assaulting Jacob without restraint.

Jacob had to admit... he loved it.

There was a wild, untamed passion in the kiss that send his inhibitions flying. Some part of his brain - which was quickly shrinking by the second - recognised the same stimulation as the one he got from Leonardo. Just the thought of having reckless, savage sex - that freedom and lust - drove him over the edge. He didn't even care anymore that Taylor's breath stunk of highly processed beef.

Then a thought occurred.

He pulled away for a moment. "Hold that thought."

Taylor whimpered as Jacob grabbed a pillow and pushed open his window. He glanced downwards and, sure enough, there was Joanna and Christy - camera in hand - looking up at him. Joanna had a stunned looked on her face like she was caught in the headlights of a speeding truck while Christy just had this cheeky smile that told him she was not at all ashamed.

"Camera," he demanded, holding his paw out.

"Aww..." Christy whined, handing over her camera.

"You'll get it back after I plant my seed Taylor's hole."

The two girls snickered and giggled even louder when Taylor came up and wrapped his arms around Jacob's neck.

"He's mine!" the cougar snarled.

"You heard the man," Jacob said, swatting at the two with the pillow in his paw. "Go away!"

Joanna and Christy were both laughing as they fled the scene. They would probably be back but Jacob guessed there was a chance they wouldn't now that he had exposed them.

Turning back to Taylor, he said, "Now, where were we?"

"You were about to do some farming?"

"Oh yeah."

He shut the window and pushed Taylor back onto the bed, twisting his head to the side so that he could get full coverage of the cougar's face when he planted his kiss. Taylor did the same and suddenly, they were lathering each other with kisses, their lips meshing against one another and their tongues exploring one another's muzzles. Jacob was a little surprised at the roughness of Taylor's tongue but found he couldn't get enough of it. He kept diving back for more as he quickly undid the two leather straps crossing his chest, freeing his coat.

He removed his coat swiftly, tossing it to the side while keeping his muzzle firmly planted against Taylor's. When it came to his shirt, he had to pull away however as he slipped it over his head. He could feel Taylor's paws run over his abs, bringing him to the brink of being reduced to his puppy-like state but he was grateful that the cougar didn't go that far.

One his shirt and undershirt were off, he went to work removing his pants. Taylor took over instead, his paws moving surprisingly quickly and deftly. Jacob dove for the cougar's neck, tracing a line from the feline's jaw line all the way to his left shoulder.

Then his lips came across something smooth... There was a rather large gash on Taylor's right shoulder.

Huh...?

"Hey Tayl... What's this?"

Taylor blinked. It seemed that he was partially out of his drunken stupor. "Oh... that..." he sighed. "Remember how I told you that when I went out into the big bad world, I went back into the closet?"

"Yeah..."

"I got that as a memento."

It's a rough world...

"Want me to kiss it better?"

Taylor smirked at him and they locked lips once more. Jacob could actually feel the cougar's heart pounding against his chest. His arms were wrapped tightly around that firm, athletic body and he took pains not to crush the much smaller feline. Taylor had his pants pulled off soon after and he relished the feel of his cock sliding up under Taylor's shirt and rubbing into the cougar's abs.

He felt Taylor start to reach for his own shirt and he pulled away.

"Something the matter?"

Jacob shook his head and just grinned. "No. Just remembered something you said. You like muscles right?"

Liquid-gold eyes gazed hungrily at his body for a few seconds before a reply came. "Uh-huh..."

He bent over and pressed his nose against the cougar's. "Then let me show you how big I can get."

"You can get bigger!?"

Snickering, Jacob straightened and slipped off the bed, standing tall, proud and completely erect. "Something I didn't wanna show Gale mostly because my clothes would've ripped and I honestly don't like fighting in the buff."

"Whu...?"

Jacob took a deep breath and reached for his Brand with his right hand, the symbol glowing brightly against his fur. He pooled his reserves into the symbol, pushing his strength into it and at the same time feeling the Brand grow in power. There was a strange, tingling heat erupting from the symbol as the white light slowly began to grow, its strands crawling across his form.

His left bicep suddenly made, bubbling sound as the flesh expanded and the muscles ballooned out to epic proportions. The shoulder it was attached to followed and the bones lengthened to made the size more proportional. His forearm followed as did his paws. The light from his Brand crossed over across his chest, making a large eight-pointed star right across his chest before continuing across his other arm. He felt that tingling heat rise and pool across his pecs, building each of them to match his biceps. Each of his abdominal muscles popped to become larger, giving him a highly defined six pack as his Brand crawled across his nether regions.

Like a million, tiny tendrils of flame, he felt the Brand's power seep into his very core, building his entire body as filling with a rush of power he hadn't felt in a long time. It was completely overwhelming and arousing. It was like stretching old muscles, the blood flooding into each of his larger veins. He couldn't help but groan as his right arm grew to match his left and his spine cracked loudly as he shot well past seven feet in height.

There was no denying he was aroused by the experience. Precum squirted out of his lengthening cock and his balls felt so much heavier as his Brand crawled across his groin and onto his thighs, ballooning those muscles to the point where they were rubbing against one another. His legs lengthened to add more to his height. His mind was a little hazed over by the growth and the fact that he had a hot cougar in bed gawking at him.

Grinning, he reached up and pressed his paws against the ceiling, arching his back and showing off his growing frame as pound after pound of rock-hard muscle piled onto him. Thick veins criss-crossed across his thighs, biceps, forearms and calves. His feet grew to become more proportionate with his body and he felt his skull stretch a little as well. The blood pumping up from his expanding neck filled his head with a big of erotic euphoria and he was caught in the daze.

He quickly lowered his arms as the transformation reached its apex. A pair of bright, white wings sprang from his back, hovering just a few inches from his flesh. They weren't the traditional wings but more like a pair of large symbols shaped like wings. Light erupted from his paws, springing forward and forming two, large swords - much larger than Radiance and Requiem - and appearing similar to the wings in that they were actually like physical symbols shaped like swords.

It took a few seconds before he could pull his mind from his eighteen-inch cock which had practically soaked the carpet beneath him in his precum. Another reason why he didn't like fighting in this form. It was goddamn arousing to change and it didn't leave him with much other options but to paw off after changing. And it made a mess.

Shaking off the sexual haze, he dismissed the two blades in his hands, letting them slide back into is paws. He spread his wings, their tips brushing the ceiling as he did a double-bicep pose just for Taylor.

"Whatcha think?"

Taylor drooled...

... and let out a feral roar as he pounced.

"Whoa!"

Jacob - now an eight and a half foot wolf of more than four hundred pounds of pure muscle - was thrown to the ground by a cougar who was about a third of his weight!

He wasn't sure if he should feel embarrassed but when Taylor started savagely suckling on each of his abs, he didn't care. His Brand glowed against his jet-black fur and his golden crests, casting the darkened room in its eerie yet soothing glow. Jacob swept Taylor up in his enormous arms, letting the cougar ride in the cleft between his cock and rock-hard abs as he carried him over to the bed and gently deposited the feline on the sheets. He pressed his body up against Taylor, the bed groaning against his weight, his feet actually hanging off the edge of the bed.

"My god..." Taylor breathed. He was hyperventilating, his cock pressing hard against his trousers. "Jay... You are the sexiest guy I've ever seen... How is this possible...?"

Jacob shrugged and smirked. "Well -"

All explanations were cut short as Taylor grabbed the sides of his head and pulled into a new, deep, passionate kiss.

Taylor pulled away, wild lust in his eyes. "I don't care. Just fuck me you stud!"

"Uh... Don't think I'll fit..."

Taylor hurried to rip off his pants. "I don't care! Just stick that cock in me!"

Jacob grinned but swore to himself that he would be careful. The last thing he wanted to do was to severely injured Taylor. He bent down and kissed Taylor gently but the cougar had been reduced to a lustful animal and pulled away from the kiss, licking and kissing Jacob's huge neck and running his paws all over Jacob's body.

Jacob was quickly losing himself in the moment as well, he was panting heavily and his entire body was shaking with anticipation. He wanted to remove Taylor's shirt - his mind told him to remove Taylor's shirt - but his cock drove him to impatience. Taylor spun around, lifting his tail and quivering with delight.

Jacob wrapped his arms around the cougar, one arm around the feline's waist and the other close to his chest. Taylor instantly seized the arm nearest to his head, taking the muscular forearm and gripping the strong muscle there with both his paws, massaging the steel-cord-like muscles. He found a large, pulsing vein and ran his sandpapery tongue across its length, making Jacob shiver as he guided the tip of his jet-black cock into the waiting hole.

"Aaaah!" Taylor cried as his ass was forced wider than it had ever been before because of Jacob's massively increased girth.

"Tayl..." Jacob murmured worriedly. "Maybe we should -"

"No! Jay... I want you in me! So bad!"

That pet name battered at Jacob's mental defences. He would severely injure Taylor if he stuck his entire self inside the cougar but his need was growing with every passing second. It didn't help that Taylor was worshiping his muscles, running his gorgeous tongue up from his forearm to his biceps, kissing the muscles there.

He tried to resist... tried to make the right decision...

But the animal won over.

He growled deeply and bent down low, holding Taylor tightly and snarling in the cougar's ear. He pushed himself inch by inch into the cougar. A large spurt of precum erupted from the feline's cock. Jacob guessed he had just hit Taylor's prostate. The ensuing moan of utter bliss was evidence enough. He wrapped his wings around them, cocooning them in a safe embrace of light as he began thrusting into the cougar. He was nowhere near fully in but it was enough.

Taylor's athletic body was pressed hard against Jacob's godlike chest, his short-fur rubbing against Jacob's thick, golden crest. Jacob recalled his note to explore the cougar's body more. Slowly, he ran his enormous paw across the cougar's chest, closing his eyes and trying to 'see' the feline just with touch alone. He bent down so that he could run his tongue all over the cougar's face, tasting the lust and smelling the spicy, chilli-like scent of the feline beneath him.

His paws found the cougar's firm pecs - nowhere near as large as his. His palms found the fleshy nubs which were Taylor's nipples and he gave them a firm tweak, causing the cougar beneath him to shudder and moan lustfully. Satisfied, he pulled his paw further down, rubbing against the defined abs and brushing against the sleek, precum-coated cock. He gave that hot, steaming rod a few strokes before letting his other arm start exploring.

Taylor's thighs were incredible. He could feel their strong, firm shaped tighten and relax with each of his wild thrusts. He found a nice cleft between two muscles that firmed up nicely whenever Taylor tensed from his thrusts and he ran his paws up and down that crevasse. It seemed to get deeper and deeper, wider and wider with each passionate second.

The heat was building in his groin and Taylor was reaching near-volcanic temperatures beneath him.

"Oh Jay... Jay! I... I..."

Jacob silenced him with a firm kiss, their muzzles meshed together. Taylor's hot breath funnelled into him, urging him to keep pushing forward... to keep pushing himself in...

But he couldn't!

He was too big for Taylor!

Taylor threw his head back. "Jay!"

That did it.

Jacob let loose a feral growl and pushed himself further into the cougar, feeling the molten muscle of the feline wrap tightly around his eighteen-inch cock, pushing his knot straight into the cougar's ass. The animal completely took over as he thrust wildly, grunting and panting between each thrust. He was drilling into the cougar, his world becoming a blur of motion, passion and mounting ecstasy.

Taylor just seemed to get hotter and hotter beneath him and there was nothing more he wanted to do than to douse those flames with his seed. He seized Taylor roughly, pulling him close and turning onto his back so that the cougar was suddenly on his chest, never stopping his thrusts for a second. Furry sacs filled with cum slapped against each other as his pace rapidly quickened, the bed shaking with every motion.

Cum began rapidly pumping up his cock and he let loose a powerful roar.

CRRRRACK!

BOOOM!

The bed collapsed beneath him just as he climaxed, spraying his cum endlessly into Taylor.

The sexual haze didn't end.

The instant his roar died down, he spun Taylor around, once against sandwiching the cougar between his enormous body and the mattress. A thought occurred to him and he clamped his jaws firmly around Taylor's shoulder, biting down hard enough to apply pressure but not hard enough to tear the skin.

A mating bite.

He felt Taylor orgasm at that point, cum seeping into the mattress just as Jacob's own began pouring out of the cougar's ass...

His breathing became less erratic... and the haze of lust began to fade... Horror suddenly filled him as he realised he had just hilted into the cougar! He had stuffed his eighteen-inch cock into the one person that would've been a constant in his life when that same person could barely take his twelve-inch member!

"Taylor!"

Strangely... Taylor had a look of bliss on his face. "Oh god Jay... I... I... Aaaaaargh!"

Taylor suddenly arched his back. Red flames erupted from all over his body, surging across his fur. Jacob gave a cry of shock and tried to pull away but as reminded a little painfully that he was tied with the cougar. The flames didn't burn however. All the fire suddenly began collecting towards Taylor's right paw.

Jacob watched in total awe as the flames transformed into a big, bright, red symbol hovering right above the back of Taylor's paw. It appeared like a sharp diamond with two wings pointing in opposite directions. Slowly, the Brand pressed itself against Taylor's creamy flesh... before abruptly growing and spreading all over his body.

"Oh no..."

"J - Jay... Wh - What's happening t - to me!?"

Jacob couldn't answer as he watched Taylor's body - his beautiful, perfect body - suddenly become encased in brilliant, red light. The Brand spread all over the cougar's body, building muscle, burning all fat and stretching old flesh into a new, more powerful form. Taylor's voice deepened into a ferocious, feral tenor. His pecs gained mass and definition, pushing hard against his flesh and fur. His body tore right through his shirt, ripping it at the seams.

His form stretched upwards, shooting past Jacob's own eight and a half feet, beating him by an entire foot. Trim shoulders broadened and packed on the muscles with wry, lean muscles bulged with thick veins pumping across their forms. Taylor's abs ballooned out but still remained at their regular six-pack. His cock stretched and widened, squirting fresh amounts of precum as his balls refilled.

Those beautiful, luscious, broad thighs suddenly became bigger, that crevasse Jacob loved becoming a defined valley populated by countless rivers of veins and short, soft fur.

Jacob was suddenly hard again.

To top it all off, Just like Jacob, Taylor's body was covered the power of the Brands but they were bright red and looked more... fiery and wispy instead of sharp and angular like Jacob's. Flames gathered around Taylor's paws and two, large circular blades of red light appeared, looking like stylised chakrams in the same diamond shape as his Brand.

Taylor instantly dropped the weapons, the glowing red chakrams vanishing.

Both of them were breathing hard, Jacob utterly awed that Taylor was actually taller than him.

He let out a little whimper.

"J - Jacob...?" Taylor whispered, slowly turning his head. His eyes were absolutely beautiful and glowing. "What... What happened...?"

Jacob took a second to take stock of the situation. "I... I think I just Branded you..."

"I... I didn't know you could..."

Jacob swallowed hard... unsure what this all actually meant. "I didn't either..."

Okay... first step...

He tried to pull out of Taylor but he was still firmly planted into the cougar... still horribly hard too.

"Oooh... that feels good..." the cougar purred. Suddenly, he grunted. "Aw damn... I'm hard again..."

Jacob gave Taylor a sheepish grin. "Erm... Something about this form... We're kinda... really hormonal..."

Taylor returned the grin... only it was a little predatory. "Great... I wanna try out this new body."

Interlude: Burning Winds

"No man is an island. If anyone claims they are, then they're idiots. Who the hell_would want to be an isolated piece of rock floating in the middle of the ocean!?"_

Wendy Chi

From her acceptance speech for an award from the Musical Union's Talent Expedition (MUTE)

Did I mention I loved muscle?

Did I also mention that I loved muscle growth?

What about how I dearly wished I could be a huge, muscle hunk?

Well, as of last night... Wish granted, baby!

Booya!

I still couldn't believe what had happened to me! I actually couldn't see my head from the bathroom mirror if I stood right in front of it! And I had to duck under the door!

I ran my paws over my now body... My paws! They were as big as dinner plates!

Needless to say, I was completely hard.

I had to stand with my back pressed against the wall so that I could see myself completely when I flexed. I was such a stud. Okay, I wasn't as built as Jacob who was a lot more muscular than me but I was like a supermodel! A nine and a half-foot supermodel with killer abs, huge thighs and pecs that I could actually bounce! I couldn't do that before!

God, I wish Jacob would finish his shower so I could 'thank him' again.

I really didn't care that this form heightened my arousal and hormones. Jacob barely managed to explain - between my kisses and worshiping of his godly muscles - that our 'Brand Forms' had heightened metabolisms and heightened bodily functions. That meant we digested food quicker, we regenerated way faster and when it came to hormones... we produced them at a crazy rate. That explained the reason why we were fucking each other's brain's out all last night with only twenty-minute gaps between each... and the mess we made.

There had to be at least fifty gallons of cum in the bedroom.

Of course, he did explain that there was a drawback.

Obviously, our Brand Forms were addictive and the longer we stayed in them, the harder it would be to shift back. Granted, we didn't expend any extra energy to actually stay in them but neither he nor I could actually walk around with glowing symbols all over our bodies being way taller than your average giraffe.

Plus, the sex was good.

No, not just good... It was the best sex I've had my entire life!

I flexed my bicep again, getting totally turned on at how my veins popped out against my short fur.

The shower stopped running - it wasn't big enough to fit both of us - and Jacob stepped out. He was back to his normal form and I was a little disappointed. Yesterday, I was a bit of a prick for rejecting his offer to go on a date. I really didn't see us as 'boyfriends' yet. We barely knew each other.

But now...

Yeah, I could see it happening.

"Aww... You changed back..."

Jacob didn't look that happy and that killed my libido. "Taylor... This is serious... You should change back before anyone notices..."

"Too late!"

Both of us froze and spun towards the bathroom window.

Christy had her face practically pressed up against the window which would actually be impossible to reach unless she was standing on someone's shoulders... I guessed she was using Joanna as support. Then I realised that two of my best friends were seeing me as a nine and a half foot feline with a sixteen-inch member that was fully erect and dripping precum.

I grabbed a towel and tried to hide myself but it didn't even fit around my waist!

Jacob sighed heavily and strode up to the window. He bashed the window with a fist and I watched as Christy recoiled and fell backwards, probably landing on Joanna. There was a lot of yelling.

"I should've expected those two would be snooping around," the wolf growled. "Thank god I confiscated their camera..."

I vaguely recall that event. When I'm in my food comas, it's hard to tell what was real and what wasn't. I really should stop eating so much. But I guess with a body like mine, that really didn't matter anymore.

It was every muscle-fetishist's dream come true!

I could barely contain my excitement. I wanted to jump Jacob and make him transform. I just loved the way his muscles grew! It looked so good on him!

"You should change back," Jacob told me grimly. "It's easy. First make yourself flaccid, stop thinking sexy thoughts and then relax. I usually find a cold shower helps me."

So that was why he took cold showers. Not only was it a major libido killer but it would help him 'cool off' so to speak. I was simply brimming with energy. It felt like I could run halfway across the country and not even get winded!

However, Jacob was right... I needed to change back.

Whatever boat he was in, I was on the same one now. He was the expert. I needed to follow his lead.

"Okay..."

I turned towards the shower. Not surprisingly, the remaining water was still pretty cold. I grimaced and put my foot into the stall. I was a little surprised when steam rose up from the contact. Was I really that hot?

I chuckled a little at the pun and turned on the shower to a nice, warm heat. It did help me relax a little and I fought hard not to think of me and Jacob, our huge bodies pressed against one another and Jacob's monster of a cock in me. Okay, I wasn't trying that hard but I could still feel myself relax and by body slipping back to its original shape.

Bit by bit, the Brand began shrinking back towards the source on the back of my right paw and I slowly shrank back down. The showerhead actually towered over me again. In my Brand Form, it barely reached my chest and my head was actually towering over the stall walls. It would be hard hiding something like that.

Once I was back, I cleaned the dried semen from my fur with some soap. Only then did I really realise how much there was. Yeesh, we were monsters last night.

Finally done with my shower, I stepped back out and found Jacob had finished dressing himself and was staring glumly at the wall - he still couldn't look at his own reflection. I wondered what was on his mind but decided he'd come out with it eventually. I don't think he's the type to abandon me now that he practically made me like him.

I stepped into the fur-dryer and let it dry me off. With my short fur, it was easy to get dry and not get a lot of frizz. It gave me time to think about... well...where I would go now. Obviously, I couldn't just go back to my original job. Seriously, if Jacob's Brand gave him control over Light and Sound, I probably had similar powers too. I could probably make my life a lot easier.

That... and I owed Jacob.

He Branded me... gave me this gift. I couldn't just turn around and leave him... Not that I wanted to. He gave me something special last night... Not just the Brand... but he gave me a mating bite... That meant something to me. Granted, a lot of wolves have given me that bite but it was always because of the sex. Jacob bit me after he shot his load... which meant that he gave it some thought...

"You alright there?" I asked.

Jacob glanced at me and surprise filled his features. His lips moved, mouthing 'wow'.

"What?" I asked, reaching for my hair. "Did I miss some cum or something?"

"No..." Jacob murmured. He swallowed a little. "It's just... You look amazing..."

"Huh?"

"Look at yourself in the mirror."

Confused, I turned towards the mirror... and gasped.

I never really thought of myself as good looking before, maybe 'appealing' but never good looking. The cougar I saw in the mirror wasn't me. He was drop-dead gorgeous. My topaz eyes were actually glowing a little, almost golden in colour and my brown-hair got this light, golden dusting in them like I had spent a lot of time in the sun and they were naturally bleached. My body was also a lot more defined. Before, I was pretty athletic but the guy in the mirror was damn hot. Firm muscles bulged out from beneath my short fur, the lines and curved clearly defined. My fur also looked so shiny that it looked like a bit of glitter had been put in it. I think I was a little taller too.

I leaned over to the mirror, touching my face and my firm pecs... I simply couldn't believe the guy in the mirror was me.

I turned back around to face Jacob and realised that some of the qualities I possessed was reflected as well in Jacob. His eyes were like sparkling sapphires, his golden hair and chest-fur were just that, golden. And the rest of his jet-black coat was simply beautiful. His face was simply... there was just no words for it.

"Did the Brand do this...?" I asked softly.

Jacob shook his head helplessly. "I'm not sure... I've never Branded anyone before. I didn't even think I could Brand anyone..."

Then I realised that he wasn't depressed because he had ruined my life... No... he was just shocked that there was someone else out there like him! That he wouldn't have to be alone anymore!

"Come here," I said gently, wrapping my arms around his waist. I rested my head on his shoulder, nestling in against the crook of his neck. Yep, I was definitely taller. Before, I could only reach his shoulder. "You're not alone anymore, Jay... I'm gonna be right here beside you..."

He made a weird sound... I think it was a sob but it sounded more like a car motor dying. "Thanks, Tayl... I was... I guess I was worried you'd run off after this... I mean, I practically condemned you to being an outcast, you know..."

I pulled away and lightly kissed his lips. He melted in my arms. As I licked his nose, I said, "Jay, you didn't do anything wrong. You didn't know." I unwrapped my arms and danced away from him, grinning broadly. "And besides! This way, I can defend myself now! I mean, your Brand grants you powers right! That means I can fight now too!"

Jacob blinked. He probably didn't realise this fact. He mirrored my grin. "Hey... You're right!" Then his tone turned serious. "But we gotta train you first. You might hurt someone if you're don't control your powers correctly."

I gave him a mock salute. "Yessir!"

He snickered. "Come on, let's start today. We also got to tell Gale what happened."

I agreed with that. Obviously, Balthazar would be after me too now. Honestly, that scared me a little.

I've never had an entire super-corporation after me before...

With all their guns... Three whole major divisions with who knows how many more subdivisions...

... powerful Seal Bearers like Gale...

Not to mention all the Unsealed in the world...

Okay... So I was really scared.

But I took comfort in the fact that Jacob would be there beside me and Gale too...

It was a little weird... Now that I was back in my 'original' form, I felt so restricted. I wasn't exactly the epitome of 'honest'. There have been times I've lied to save my hide and I'm ashamed of those times but I always knew that I had to do it... Like it was part of me... like the lie became part of who I was. In a way, that was true when it came to who I was back in the big city.

But only now did I feel the weight of those lies. I really wanted to go back to by Brand Form because only then did I feel free... like all the lies were gone.

I picked up some of my spare clothes from the bedroom, trying hard not to think about what happened in there last night. I didn't trust myself not to transform in moments of arousal. Wasn't that how these things usually worked? I get horny or stressed and I turn into a raving sex monster?

The floor was splattered with our cum and there was a lot of our semen on the walls. Even some on the ceiling. It was hard not to think of sex while in that room. We spent a good thirty minutes scrubbing our seed off everything. We got Christy and Joanna to bring us some sponges and a bucket of soapy water in exchange for Christy being my fashion designer as well.

I couldn't wait to see what she had in mind for me. If she made some clothes half as awesome as the ones Jacob had then I was officially stoked.

Once we got the room to the semblance of cleanliness, we headed outside and grabbed some breakfast. Christy and Joanna had this creepy 'I know something you don't know' look and kept whispering to one other and snickering while they thought neither Jacob nor I were looking. Max, Kerry and Shana remained oblivious, thankfully.

"Are you going off to visit Darren today?" I asked Shana.

She smiled at me and shook her head. "No but thanks for asking dear. I've shirked my duties long enough and you all have been very sweet to take care of the farm in my stead. I'll get back to work today. Besides, Darren will be heading to his operation later today. You all have a break while I get the farm back up and running."

"No need to stress yourself." I reached over and patted her hand. "When will he be ready to come back?"

"In a day or so."

"That's good to hear."

After breakfast, I headed out to one of the spare paddocks that weren't used since most of the livestock had been killed over the past few months. I was surprised that the farm could still hold up on its own. There was a bit of joy in me in realising that if Jacob hadn't come around, the farm would probably go under and Shana would be forced to sell to Boswins.

Having never met the Boswins, I really couldn't make judgements... but considering what they had done... yeah, I had grown to despise them a little. What they did just wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to Shana, it wasn't fair to their workers and it wasn't even fair to the people they used as patsies!

I personally couldn't wait to use my powers against them... but then I'd be taking the law into my own hands. As much as I liked Jacob, I wasn't about to go doing anything crazy like him. If the Boswins attacked or did something, I'd be there to defend Shana. I'd be a defender not an attacker.

"Ready to begin?"

Jacob stood beside me.

I nodded firmly, grinning. "Where do we start?"

"First of all, we've got to work out what your Element is."

That filled me with excitement. I was half drunk on sex and food last night but I could still clearly remember the flames that seemed to course through my veins.

"Fire, I think," I said excitedly. The thought of throwing fireballs everywhere and controlling flames was really getting me revved up. I wasn't a pyromaniac but when I saw flames, I was really fascinated by it.

"I suppose so," Jacob chuckled. "Okay, now that you have an idea, let's see if you can manifest it. All you have to do is channel your strength though your Brand and just think 'fire'."

Now, I had no idea how to 'channel' my strength but I decided to just trust my instincts. I took a few steps away from Jacob and held out my paw face up in front of me. I closed my eyes and thought 'fire' hard. There was a strange, tingling sensation that ran down my arm and seemed to focus a lot on the back of my paw.

When I opened my eyes, there was a nice little, naked flame sitting on my paw.

"Holy shi -!" I cried and flicked my paw, sending the flame scurrying to the ground. The grass began to flare up. "Oh -!"

Jacob draped his coat over the flames, suffocating it. With his coat being fireproof, it was logical.

"Come on, that didn't burn," he accused.

No, it didn't.

But it was still weird holding a tongue of fire.

He stood behind me and wrapped one arm around my chest. I shuddered in the contact, an involuntary purr leaving my throat as I instinctively nuzzled his beautiful chest. Gently, he took my right paw and held it out in front of me, facing the distance.

"Alright. Now just focus," he told me, his sexy voice making it hard to just do that.

I pushed aside my hormones and focused, again letting my instincts take over. I heard a sudden whoosh and glanced back towards my palm. My jaw dropped open when I saw the huge ball of flame in my palm, seemingly sucking in all the air around me.

"Whoa!" I laughed.

"Hmmm..."

I closed my paw and watched the flames dissipate. There a was a bit of exhaustion that washed over me like I had just sprinted for a few metres but nothing major.

"What's wrong?" I asked Jacob.

"I think I finally understand why MODD wants the Brands," he said softly.

That was something I was wondering myself. If the Brands were inferior to the Seals, why would MODD want them? According to what MODD claimed, the Seals drew their power from nothingness and they would never have that power source exhausted. But the Brands required my energy to use its powers.

"Why?"

"You've never wielded a Seal or been taught how to wield one, right?"

I shook my head. "No. Why?"

"And yet you picked up on how to use the Brand so easily."

I blinked and shrugged. "Maybe because I'm a natural...?" I offered lamely.

"No offense, but I think it's a little more than that," Jacob said with a smirk. "Trust me, I never was exposed to a Seal even if my dad was a top Seal researcher and yet, I managed to train myself how to use my Brand with just as much ease as you do." He rubbed his chin, turning his sparkling, blue eyes to the distance. "I think it's because the Brands are easier to use... More instinctive than the need for knowledge with the Seal...

"Plus there's no inherent risk of becoming an Unsealed from the Brands."

That was true. I hadn't thought about transforming into a terrible mindless creature that only wanted to reproduce by infecting others...

Wait...

"So when are you going to teach me how to fight?" I asked eagerly. I took a few steps away from him and pulled off my shirt. It felt a lot tighter now than it did before. I could actually feel the edges of my shirt brush against my hard abs!

"Easy there," Jacob said with a smile. "You haven't even figured out your secondary Element yet."

I threw my shirt to the ground. It was very rare that I felt pumped to do any sort of sport. I wasn't a sporty person. I just liked working out in the gym which gave me my physique. But right now, I was eager to wrestle Jacob to the ground... and maybe relieve him of his clothing so we could have some hot, muscle growth sex...

"Secondary Element?" I asked, trying to hide my erection by casually adjusting myself.

"I can control Light and Sound, remember? I already figured out your secondary Element. Can you?"

I wasn't sure if I should be insulted that he knew more about me than I did but hell, he was the master of the Brands after all. "No clue."

"It's Wind."

Uh-oh...

When anyone thinks 'Wind' they automatically think 'flight'. Most people who control the Element of Wind can fly. Gale can fly and he's not a flying monkey. The problem with me, however, was that I hate heights. Despite being a feline, I was not a cat who liked climbing trees or even getting on a plane. Going to Central was a big 'no-no'.

"Erm... Jay... I hate to tell you this..." I blushed and turned away from him. "But... I hate heights..."

I expected him to laugh. Most people did. When they realised just how terrified I was of heights - seriously, a second storey building was too much for me - they usually called me a 'scaredy cat'.

"What's that got to do with anything?"

Colour me surprised.

"Huh?" I asked, turning back towards him.

God... his eyes...

"Tayl," he said, giving me a warm, understanding smile. I instantly called that 'my smile'. "Just because you control the Element of Wind doesn't mean that you have to fly or even get off the ground. For instance, the Boswins all have Seals with Wind as an Element."

"You know they can't fly?"

"Of course, they're pigs."

I didn't get that at first but then I recalled the old saying, 'When pigs fly'. I wasn't sure if he was joking and making fun of me or being utterly serious but I instantly loved him for trying. Maybe - just maybe - I'd be comfortable going on a date in public with him...

... probably from the next town... when there wasn't anyone I knew around for miles...

"So I can control Wind too, huh?" I asked. I made a whimsical gesture and watched as the winds kicked up and followed my gesture. A grin crossed my features. Jacob was right.

"Now there's a big problem there," Jacob said grimly. "See how easily you did that without even focusing? You can't do that in public? The Brands give us a lot of unrestrained power. Imagine what would happen if you just exhaled and suddenly blew fire at someone. That's a big drawback from having power that's so instinctive. You have to control your instincts."

I realised he was right.

I had picked up on using the Brand so easily because the Brand was tied closely to my instincts... If I didn't control myself, I could easily burn this whole paddock down... or worse. That thought killed my libido and I was suddenly very serious about my training.

We spent most of the morning trying to keep myself focused. Jacob had me do mundane tasks like running laps around the paddock and jumping over a few obstacles me made out of pure light. At first, I found it hard to keep my entire body from bursting into flames the instant one of those obstacles came hurtling at me or keeping my feet on the ground when I ran. Seriously, it was like my body wanted to fly.

However, I had spent a good portion of my life forcing my instincts and hormones down, claiming the opposite of who I really was so I managed to control myself fairly easily. Jacob looked very impressed. He even gave me a kiss to 'congratulate' me.

When lunch time came around, Shana left us to head over to the hospital and Jacob and I returned to the paddock afterwards for more physical training. For the first half of the battle, Jacob taught me some basic martial arts moves to keep me well defended. Apparently, it's nothing like in the movies and I ended up on my back more often than not. My new body was up to the challenge however. I didn't regenerate as fast as Jacob - who, in his Brand Form, was nearly invulnerable - but I could get back on my feet fairly easily.

In the second part of the day, we both stripped down and transformed. God, changing back into my Brand Form felt like I was stretching for the first time in a long time. It felt so good! I even let out a loud roar as I reached my full height and rolled my shoulders. Jacob and I wrestled a bit and I had a bit of trouble keeping my erection down. Having Jacob's body pressed up against mine was pretty damn distracting.

I was also a little clumsier in my new form. I couldn't move as fast as I could in my original form and Jacob told me it would come in time.

At the same time, Jacob was taking down notes on the similarities between our abilities. Obviously, I was faster, stronger and more durable than we were before I got my Brand and that helped Jacob document exactly what kind of powers the Brands gave us. Regeneration was also another thing except it obviously came at varying degrees since Jacob's regeneration practically gave him invulnerability. It would take about five minutes before a deep cut would heal from me. If something cut him, his body would actually start healing around the weapon before it was even pulled out.

My Brand Form was also a little more focused on speed than his. He was more of a balanced fighter, emulating both the speed of Light, the wide-range of Sound and also taking into account that by adjusting varying concentrations of both, he could become a heavy-hitter or a quick-striker with no real specialty in any. Mine was more a close-combat form and I could attack way faster than he could.

The only thing was, he had range on me. My fireballs were slow. His laser blasts were blindingly fast.

By the time it was almost dinner, we were both exhausted... and laughing.

I never thought I'd have so much fun fighting a guy and I knew this was nothing like the real thing but I didn't mind training with Jacob. Especially since it ended with him tackling me to the ground, his shorter - but much more muscular - body over mine. He leaned over and kissed my lips tenderly.

I couldn't believe how lucky I was.

"So that's it for today...?" I asked softly, holding him tightly against my chest. I could feel his heartbeat.

"Well, we could always go for some 'endurance training' back at the cabin."

I snickered. I liked the sound of that.

"Oh! One last thing!" Jacob leapt off me, leaving my naked body feeling a little cold. But he was grinning so I knew this would be good. "I'm not sure if you have this but I've got a little guardian... a friend I can summon when I need help."

I raised an eyebrow and sat up. "Really?"

"Yeah. Here, let me show you."

Jacob's left arm began glowing and he gripped his left shoulder with his right paw. The light from the symbol on his arm focused into a single ball of light which he promptly grabbed. He threw the ball straight upwards, shouting, "Spectre! You're up!"

I watched the little, white comet zoom into the sky and suddenly explode to make a huge, glowing symbol that looked a lot like Jacob's Brand. There was a mirroring comet suddenly zooming in from above the symbol. The comet smashed right through the symbol, shattering it into a thousand pieces like glass.

My jaw dropped as an enormous, white wolf with black, feathered wings flew in right beside Jacob, standing right next to the wolf. It was a beautiful creature especially in its white and gold armour. It had the same, sapphire-blue eyes as Jacob.

"Whoa..."

"Tayl, this is Spectre," Jacob said, petting the eight-foot tall, feral wolf. "He's been with me from practically day one."

I stood up and offered my paw to Spectre. "Pleased to meet you, Spectre."

The creature stared at my hand... then bent his front knees... bowing to me!

I was thrilled.

"And he can talk too!" Jacob said, nudging his friend with a grin. "Come on, Spectre! Say 'hi'!"

But Spectre just gave him a puzzled look.

... I did too.

"Say 'hi'," Jacob repeated, losing his mirth slightly.

Spectre gave him a look of canine confusion with a faint, confused whimper.

"Say 'hi', damnit!" Jacob roared, throttling the wolf.

I had to step in to prise them apart.

"I swear! He can talk!" Jacob exclaimed hysterically. "He even appears outside of me calling him! He's like my little shoulder angel!"

Okay... I was officially scared.

I stared into his eyes... It genuinely seemed that he believed Spectre could talk... but from what I saw, Spectre was just like one of those video game 'summons'. They don't really talk... They're just there to help with battles.

... and my boyfriend thinks he can talk to that summon...

I froze for a second...

Was Jacob going to be my boyfriend...?

I decided that would be something I'd think of later... My experience with boyfriends wasn't exactly that great.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?" Jacob accused.

"Just a little," I chuckled. I punched his shoulder playfully. "But that's why I love you."

Of course, I didn't mean I loved him. I just... love-liked him.

He understood that... right?

Sighing, Jacob rolled out from beneath me. "Well... I guess you don't have your own little guardian on your shoulder but you might as well try summoning your Animus if you have one... It's kind of the same as transforming except instead of pooling all your energy into the Brand and letting it spread, you pool your energy and then push it out into the world."

I understood that, surprisingly.

Again, I trusted my instincts as I got up and did as he told me. I vaguely wondered what would happen if I kept pushing energy into my Brand even if I was already in Brand Form but I guessed that if Jacob didn't know, it wasn't worth trying.

I pushed my power into my right hand, sort of like I was forcing my blood all into that one place. I could feel the power growing there and before it spread all over my body, I visualised pushing it through my pores, out of my skin and past my fur. I watched as a sphere of swirling flames appeared against the back of my hand.

A single name sprang from my brain.

"Prometheus."

The ball instantly zoomed away from me, spinning wildly to a clear space where it evolved into a huge, pillar of flame. The flames didn't burn the grass to my surprise but really, I didn't care that much. I was too mesmerised by the burning display.

Slowly, an arm began emerging from the torrent of fire... following by another... and another... and another! My jaw dropped open as the flames exploded away with a loud whoosh and the creature - Prometheus - landed on the paddock, causing the ground to shake. The massive creature was about twelve feet tall, extremely muscular and had a digitagrade stance despite its distinct bipedal form.

Its entire body was covered in thick, crimson fur with its crotch and chestfur being a brighter orange like flames. I noticed that the creature was distinctly lion in form. It even had a tail that had a little tongue of flame on its tip. It had four, enormous arms, each one possessing a spiked wristband. In the two lower hands, it hand chakrams similar to the ones that I held when I shifted into Brand Form and in the two upper hands, he held a sickle and a hammer. The creature's eyes were the same golden coloured like mine and his lustrous mane waved in the wind like real flames.

"Whoa..." was all I could say.

"Pssst..." Jacob hissed. "Say something..."

I was paralysed in both awe and fear... Prometheus was huge and could easily crush me with its hands! Plus, I couldn't help but think what that crotch fur hid...

I willed myself to move and I bowed shakily towards the creature.

I held my bow for what seemed like an eternity, feeling Prometheus' golden eyes staring straight at my, burning holes in the back of my head. Then I heard the creature move and I glanced up to see my Animus bowing towards me as well...

A sigh of relief escaped me and I could feel my legs wobble a little.

Jacob clapped my shoulder happily. "Welcome to the club!"

I grinned at him and took him in my arms, nuzzling his neck softly. "Thanks for having me, Jay..."

He snickered and my feet were suddenly taken out from underneath me. My head banged against the soft grass but any pain was forgotten as he wrapped his lips around mine. His paws roved my body, squeezing my muscles and making me feel like the luckiest guy on Mortaelis.

I was just about to turn my head to the side to allow more room for our muzzled to mesh when something caught my eye... It was a little... white... dot that slowly drifted from the sky... I wouldn't have noticed it otherwise if it wasn't passing Jacob's black fur. It landed squarely on my nose.

"Jay... Mrrrmph..." I pushed him off slightly. "Hold up..."

"Sorry," he murmured, smiling bashfully. "Did you wanna head inside...?"

"It's not that," I said, sitting up and sliding out from underneath him. I held out my paw palm up... More of those white flecks landed on my palm. "It's snowing..."

"What...?"

We both looked upwards...

... no doubt about it... It was snowing!

But it was just reaching autumn!

It was too early for snow and Pollenburn was way too close to the tropics to snow...!

We exchanged glances...

... and turned towards the farmhouse at the same time.

Jacob got to his feet. "This can't be good..."