FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 43: The New Alpha

Nathanial panted heavily in the darkness as he leaned against the shower wall, a dull ache radiated from his tail-hole and his neck. Geoff stopped growling as he released Nathanial's neck from the rough mating bite and began licking the fur where he'd bitten. Nathanial's penis twitched as another glob of semen dripped out and fell to the floor. "Gods, Geoff, you took me like we hadn't had sex in a month, not less than half a day. It felt great, but I'm going to be feeling it for hours."

Geoff whimpered slightly as he continued to bathe Nathanial's neck. He paused after a minute, "Sorry, I hope I didn't hurt you, but working out usually gets me really horny. Just wait until tomorrow afternoon, after my first foot- soccer match, here. I'll probably fill you to bursting." Geoff slid his paws around to rub along Nathanial's stomach as he resumed bathing the bruised neck.

Nathanial laughed, "A warning or a promise?" Geoff just chuckled, "Both, I guess. This is going to delay my supper preparations, but it's worth it."

The door opened and Nicholas walked into the bathroom. He left the door open to let some light in, "Hells, Nats, wake the neighbourhood, why don't you? There's no way the construction guys didn't hear you howl." He poked his head into the shower, it looked like he was just in his underwear, "I thought you wanted to start supper soon. You aren't like Micah to pop off from a fully swollen knot."

Geoff growled, "Pup, would you and Micah stop dropping in on us during or right after we have sex?"

Nicholas scowled, "Hey, you were the one poking at my cock when I was tied with Micah, I'm just talking to you."

Geoff's growl deepened as it grew louder. Nathanial cut them both off, "Nick, I've told you many times to knock before, well knock and wait for an answer before walking in. Geoff, calm down. Now, why are you in here if you knew we were having sex? What's so important it couldn't wait for us to get out of the shower?" Nathanial felt the first hints of suspicion, he narrowed his eyes in concentration as he examined his brother.

Nicholas' eyes widened and backed up a bit, "Oh, um, I-I didn't think it'd upset you, Nats, I'm sorry. I just wanted to warn you that you were being really loud. Dad'll be home around quarter to six, he called and said he was sneaking out a little early."

Nathanial frowned, and Nicholas stepped back another pace, a small whimper escaping from him. Nathanial pointed a finger accusingly, "You were drawing power from us, weren't you? And from your own arousal. That's why you barged in, not because of what you said. You thought I wouldn't get as mad as I would if you barged in while we came."

Nicholas' eyes grew wider as Nathanial talked and started shaking a bit. Geoff growled, "Power? You mean like a Spirit, a... sex Spirit, in this case? Or more like... oh, gods. A Succubus." The fear in his voice was obvious.

Nathanial could feel all of Geoff's muscles tensing up and saw the white fur turn black as he manifested. Nathanial shook his head, "Stop it, Geoff. Don't you dare hurt my brother. I'm sorry, Nick, I'll talk to him. Now, get out." Nicholas turned and ran, closing the door behind him with a bang. "Calm down, Geoff, he's still Nick. He was... altered, or something, by the Succubus. It wasn't something he wanted. Yes, he draws power from sex the way you draw power from the dark; I'm pretty sure it doesn't hurt anyone. And, yes, he can use Demon magic; that's why we needed Liam to examine him before those Investigators came over. He's still Taint-free. It looks like there's something in our family that makes us really resistant to it."

It seemed like Geoff tried to scramble away from Nathanial at that, his knot tugged painfully at Nathanial's hole, "Y-you, too?!"

"Shh, shh. No, please, calm down. I can't use Demon magic, nor can Micah. Dad can, but doesn't. It scares him too much, he has a blood phobia and he draws power from blood." He reached back and rubbed his paw along Geoff's head. He intentionally tried to change the subject, "Sex Spirits? Are there any?"

Geoff shook his head, "N-no. I don't think so, not that I heard of. As far as I know only the Death and Death subtypes share power sources with Demons." Geoff's penis slid out of Nathanial with a soft 'pop', neither had noticed how rapidly he'd deflated from the stress. Nathanial clenched up to try to keep Geoff's seed in him.

Nathanial turned around to hug his boyfriend, but stopped when Geoff flinched away, "Geoff?" Geoff didn't answer but started to frenetically scrub himself. Nathanial growled in frustration and grabbed Geoff, one paw holding onto his scruff and the other wrapping around his back, holding him close and trapping his paws between them. Geoff struggled in panic, but Nathanial held him firm, "Stop that this instant! Look at me!" Nathanial snarled, trying to lock his eyes on Geoff's. "Don't try to run away from me, you big fuck-head! Talk to me." Geoff vanished from between his arms and Nathanial fell forward with a yelp. He noticed that the darkness folded itself the way it usually did whenever Geoff used his powers. Nathanial cast his senses out but he couldn't find him, not even at Geoff's house. Nathanial shut off the water and cast his fur drying spell. This was something new; Geoff probably couldn't go very far, so it looked like he went to the Plane of Darkness. He opened a portal and stepped through, but Geoff was nowhere in sight. "Shit! Snow!" Snow appeared beside him and sat down. "I need your help. Can you track Geoff?"

*Yes.* Snow sat there unmoving.

Nathanial felt a surge of anger, but controlled it, "Will you track Geoff? Please?"

*Perhaps. You are ours. Don't betray us as the reborn one tells you to.*

Nathanial snarled, his voice crackled with fury, "I am not yours. You've been feeding off me for a long time, and it's now time for you to start paying your tab, or I'll cut you off. I'll make a deal with you, and work with you, but I'm not yours. I'm free to make any other deals I see fit." Snow got up and faded into the landscape. "Fine! I'll find him myself!" He cast his senses out, the landscape seemed to shift slightly as his pack moved off. He could see many creatures moving around, now. It looked like his pack kept them back whenever he dropped in for a visit. "Fuck, fuck, fuck! That damn fucking bastard! Think." He couldn't sense Geoff anywhere. He examined the motion of the various creatures, they seemed to still be avoiding him. 'Where is my pack going? They're going in the same general direction a lot of other beasties are.' He cast his senses out, but it was too far. He cast Ella's scrying spell and sent it out. Geoff was on a flat slab of rock, like a small mesa. Nathanial could see one of those giant worms that he almost fed his father to heading toward it. It looked to be almost forty feet (twelve metres) long, and it could easily swallow Geoff whole. There were also several giant muzzle-less Fur-like things and other less intimidating creatures on the move. Geoff was fighting off a much smaller Shadow Mastiff, it was barely half the size of Snow, but Geoff was still struggling to keep the creature off him. It was slipping into the darkness and reappearing elsewhere to snap at Geoff. It also looked to be using its fear inducing bark to keep Geoff off balance. Nathanial opened a portal and jumped through, landing just behind Geoff. His pack appeared around the edges of the mesa, and sat there, watching. Nathanial put a ward over Geoff's mind to block the fear effects of the barking, but Geoff still looked terrified. A surge of anger tore through Nathanial as he grabbed the dog as it appeared close to Geoff and yanked out as much power from it as he could, the same way he drained Ahmed, just more violently. It seemed much of the power was Geoff's. The dog yelped and collapsed, as it struggled to flee its new foe. His eyes narrowed and a vicious snarl leapt from Nathanial; he lifted the dog in front of him and stared into its eyes as he used his telekinesis to snap its neck. Dropping the corpse, Nathanial turned to Geoff. His boyfriend was bloody, weak, and still looked panicked. Geoff was slowly backing away from him, his paws held out in front of him like he was trying to ward off a threat. Nathanial shook his head, "Faelen would kill you for this."

Geoff was looking at Nathanial and the dead dog, "N-Nathanial! H-how?"

Nathanial opened a portal and extended his paw, "There are a lot worse things on their way, we've got to go." Geoff shook his head but walked through, careful not to touch Nathanial. Nathanial brought the corpse through and closed the portal as he focused and gathered as much power as he could to completely block himself off from the Plane of Darkness. The dark in the room became cold, alien, and a little frightening. His attention was brought back to the bathroom when Geoff jumped out of the shower, heading for the door. Nathanial used his telekinesis to shut the door and turn on the lights, "Sit the fuck down, you stupid little shit-head!" Geoff whirled around to stare at him, his eyes were still wild and unfocused. "Do you have any idea how much that hurt? How scared I was when I couldn't find you? How dangerous that was? I really should call Faelen and your Dad over so they can light into you, too!" That got Geoff's attention, piercing through his panic. "Why do you always try to run away from me when something you don't like happens? You say really nasty things to Faelen, too. Why won't you just talk? Find out what's really going on before lashing out at us."

Geoff lowered his head in shame, "I-I'm sorry. I do do that, so does Mom. I try not to, but I just can't think clearly when I'm taken by surprise. Da would kill me for this." He looked around, "Why the lights?" Blood slowly dripped from his legs, arms and back onto the floor.

Nathanial looked away as he shrugged, "I, um, just didn't want to try to talk to you in the dark. I wanted to be able to see you clearly. I guess I should turn them off so you can heal. Anyway, this isn't about me, as such, why were you in such a panic? Why were you afraid to touch me?" He extended his shield to keep Snow and his pack from feeding on Geoff's fear. He felt the faint sensation of something trying to find a way through his barrier, he let it get partway through before snapping it back out.

Geoff shivered and rubbed his arms before sitting down on the toilet lid. "I-I'm not sure. It's just the thought of Demons and their Taint, it's..." He shuddered and made scrubbing motions with his paws on his legs. He looked completely unaware of what he was doing.

Nathanial walked over and put his paw on Geoff's shoulder, Geoff jumped and pulled back. "Geoff. Let me give you your power back, first. Besides, I'm not Tainted. Nor is any of my immediate family." He took the power he stole from the dead Shadow Mastiff and pushed it into Geoff. Geoff shuddered and gasped, his wounds almost instantly regenerating. In a second or two he was fully healed, "Liam confirmed it, and the pain of the potion he gave us should be proof enough for you. You saw Nick and Dad take it. You know what it did to them, and while you didn't see how Liam reacted when he found out they can use Demon magic, you can be absolutely certain Liam hates the thought of it even more than you do. They-aren't-Tainted." He gently shook Geoff as he emphasized the last three words. "Those bloody Investigators were looking for an excuse, any excuse, to take any of us in to... wherever they take people, and they couldn't find anything." He could feel three of his dogs trying to find a way through the barrier, he felt his anger building as the coppery tang of Geoff's blood continued to make his nose twitch. He cast his senses out to the Light entity, *Hi.*

He felt it's surprise, *Hello? You're... the Dark One I spoke to? You're... different. Much less dark, you feel vaguely similar to a Mage.*

Nathanial gave a start, making Geoff look at him curiously, he raised a finger, asking Geoff to wait. *I... am a Mage. I always have been. I was hoping to borrow a little Light power. I've placed a barrier between me and my pack of Shadow Mastiffs, they're trying to break through it, so I was going to lace it with some Light magic to, um, 'electrify' it. Give them a zap.*

He could almost feel the entity raise its eyebrows, *Your Shadow Mastiffs? I'm not familiar with these mastiffs, but you claim to own some outer-planar creatures? Mages, if that's what you are, do not own us, quite the opposite.*

Nathanial felt himself snarling again, *No one owns me. I said 'my' to separate the ones I've bonded with from all the other ones. I thought it was a mutually beneficial arrangement. I can call on their help and they get to continue feeding on my fear, like they've been doing for the last decade or so. They refused to help me, so I've cut them off.*

He could feel the disapproval radiating off the entity, *They broke an agreement? Disgraceful, but not surprising. They are creatures of the Dark. They can never be trusted. What did you ask them to do?*

*Help me find my boyfriend. He's a Dark Spirit.* Nathanial made his tone very dry.

It felt like the entity was blushing, *I... see. Doesn't his presence harm non-Spirits? I don't pay much attention to your plane, but I thought there was a reason Spirits only mated with Spirits.* Nathanial gave him a very quick run down, *Intriguing. It explains much. Certainly, I will make a pact with you. I will continue to draw on your feelings of love, and you may call upon me and borrow my power. I may refuse a request if it violates my code of honour, so be warned.*

*Thank you, I agree, but does it hurt? What happens when my emotions are fed on or drawn on?*

The entity 'shrugged', *Nothing. No more than drawing on sunlight harms your sun. We are just making use of psychic energy that would otherwise go to waste.* Nathanial sighed in relief. *Good day.*

That was an obvious dismissal, *Good day.* Nathanial felt a little 'tug' inside himself. The light felt... nicer, like the dark used to. He drew on a little Light energy and fed it into his barrier, just a very small amount, and felt his pack scurry away from it.

He focused back on Geoff. He looked tired, the fight must've taken a lot out of him. Geoff stifled a yawn before asking, ""What was that all about?"

"I was talking to the Light entity. I've made a formal pact with it. I sealed my pack off from us, so they can't feed on our fear anymore, to teach them a lesson. They were still trying to get through, so I borrowed some Light energy to make the barrier give my dogs a jolt when they tried to get through it."

Geoff nodded as he leaned back, blinking sleepily, "Okay."

Nathanial sought out Nicholas. He was in his room, curled up under his blankets, *I'm going to start cooking, soon. You should get dressed. When Faelen and Liam are done, make sure they have towels, and they know to cover up on their way to the shower. Supper should be ready shortly after six.* Nick nodded and crawled out of bed. Geoff was looking worse, making Nathanial worried. He turned off the lights and checked Geoff all over, but all of his wounds were healed. He was about to yell for Liam when he felt his pack throw themselves at his barrier in a panic. He dropped it and they came tumbling into the washroom, piling up in the confined space. Geoff sat upright in surprise, looking completely fine again. Several of the dogs were bloody, it looked like they were in a fight. Nathanial opened the door to the washroom and turned off the lights in the main room. Nathanial barely registered the sound of Liam howling in ecstasy.

Three-quarters of the dogs slipped out of the washroom, Snow limped over to Nathanial and placed his head against Nathanial's side. His ears were back, his tail was curled up between his legs, and their 'voices' betrayed their reluctance and shame, as the whole pack seemed to speak as one, *Thank you.*

Nathanial was still angry at him, *Who owns whom?*

Snow dropped his head even further, *We are sorry, Alpha.*

Nathanial put his paw on Snow's head, *What happened?* He felt relief at the sight of Geoff fully alert and acting normally. He wondered a second as he noticed the darkness felt... proper, again. Comfortable.

Snow huffed. The pack seemed to act as individuals, but they spoke as a single entity, *You left and sealed us off from you. We were left on the mesa with many hungry foes congregating. We are strong enough that few wish to challenge us, one on one, but with that many foes, we could not concentrate our attention. Fighting broke out. We could not flee through your barrier and we were surrounded. We underestimated you, Alpha. We thought you were a Mage.*

Nathanial shook his head, *I am a Mage.* Snow met his eyes for a second before the whole pack slipped back into the darkness.

Geoff shook his head, "What was that about?"

Nathanial answered, distracted, "They were left on that mesa in the middle of enemies and unable to escape after I cut myself off from them. They can only use their bond with me to travel between planes. The pack has acknowledged me as their alpha. I don't want to be an alpha, but I thought they should realize that they don't own me. They said I wasn't a Mage."

Geoff started drying off, but stopped when he noticed the blood, "I'm bleeding?" He sniffed, "Apollo save me! That's a hells of a lot of blood!"

Nathanial raised an eyebrow, and drew out the first word, "Yes...? You were beat up pretty bad." He pointed at the corpse in the shower, "It was stealing your energy and giving you some nasty bites. No, that wasn't one of mine. I stole its... her energy and killed her. You healed right up when I pushed all of that energy back into you, but you're probably a little weak, still. Oh, um, I think cutting you off from the Plane of Darkness isn't good for your health. You looked like you were dying before I dropped my barrier. At first I wasn't sure if it was your wounds or what, but you bounced right back after I let my pack through." Nathanial started to get dressed, "Rinse off, I'll start cooking." He moved the corpse into the corner by the shelf. "Liam will probably be delighted to get his paws on that. If you can, clean this up before it stains." He wiggled his fingers at the pools of blood and water all over the floor.

---

Geoff looked at his fur and the bloody water on the floor. Cleaning up the floor wouldn't help if he kept adding to it. He sighed and climbed back into the shower. 'I really hope Da doesn't find out about this or I'm off the team for sure.' He quickly scrubbed the blood out of his fur, noting with dismay that some patches were dyed a very pale pink. Those would wash out after a few shampoos, but he wanted to clean the floor up, with a strong bleach, before Faelen...

"Geoff!?" Damn. Faelen must've smelt the blood when he opened the bedroom door. A manifested Faelen slid into the bathroom, shock painting his face as he took in the blood, the dead dog, paw prints from Nathanial's pack everywhere, and it looked like he even noticed the pink patches of fur. The many pink patches.

"Hi, Faelen. What's up?" Oops, wrong tactic. Figurative thunderclouds rolled across Faelen's face, and Geoff winced as his bodyguard opened his muzzle to unleash his thunder and lightening.

Liam stepped around the broad Wolf, placing a paw on his soul mate's chest, "A Shadow Mastiff? It looks like a small one, at least compared to the ones I have seen. You do not appear to be in pain, but this is most definitely your blood. Should you still be in any danger, Nathanial would have informed us. What happened?" Faelen looked ready to explode, but he kept quiet.

"I found out some stuff about Nick, and the other Marks. I..." He lowered his head in shame, "Lost control. I hurt Nathanial." Faelen's anger vanished, replaced by horror as he looked at the paw prints and the dead Mastiff. He opened his mouth, Geoff guessed he was going to ask where Nathanial was, "His feelings, he's fine. I ran away, again." Faelen's expression became ominous, once more, "I know, okay?! Nathanial already gave it to me. He tracked me down in the Plane of Darkness, I don't know how, and saved me from that." he pointed at the corpse, "I couldn't think straight, or fight properly. He saved my life. He said there were lots of worse things after me, too. He got into a fight with his pack over something, they call him their alpha, now. He also said something about making a formal pact with this Light entity of his. I'm sorry, Faelen. I'll... do whatever you want, just don't tell Da. He'll pull me off the team, and you, too."

Faelen growled fiercely, his muscles rippled as he struggled to control himself, "You fucking idiot!" He hissed. "I don't give a damn about football! The only reason I play is because of my duty to you! If you don't care about me enough to let me do my job, why the hells shouldn't I let Conor pull you off the team? It'll make my job that much easier, even if it looks like I can't let you out of my sight for a few minutes. Get this cleaned up, Mr. McDougal, and don't talk to me. Stay where I can see you." Geoff opened his mouth to apologize, but Faelen's lips pulled back into a snarl as he carefully enunciated each word, "Shut the fuck up. Don't say one fucking word." Geoff went to assume a submissive posture before realizing he was already cringing with his tail curled up between his legs, with both his paws holding onto the end of it.

Faelen climbed into the shower and turned it on, Liam looked at Geoff and shook his head. Geoff couldn't tell if it was in disappointment or sympathy. He found some bleach and a mop and started cleaning up the floor, feeling Faelen's eyes on him the entire time. They got a very fast shower, finishing up just as Geoff finished cleaning the floor and drying his fur. Liam glanced from Faelen to Geoff before saying, "Let us get dry and dressed, Faelen, then go see Nathanial. I would like to hear the full story." Faelen just growled.

They started to get dried, Geoff just stood and waited. Faelen pointed out the door, Geoff stepped out and walked to Nathanial's room. Micah and Nicholas were sitting at the coffee table in the entertainment area, doing their homework, but they pointedly didn't look over. The three of them got dressed in silence and Faelen made Geoff walk in front of him up to the kitchen. Nathanial was working on several different recipes at once, and merely shook his head as they came in. Geoff was about to say, 'you heard?', but glanced back at Faelen and kept silent. Faelen sat at the counter, with Liam beside him. Geoff went to sit down, too, but Faelen snapped, "On the floor, mutt. By Nathanial's hindpaws, if you aren't in his way. Wolves with no self control are no different than ferals, and Nathanial saved your life, making him your owner. Or your alpha, since he seems to be the alpha for a lot of other four-leggers. Heh, I like that." Geoff hesitated, glancing over at Nathanial, but Faelen yelled, "On the floor, NOW, mutt!"

Geoff whimpered, but sat by Nathanial's hindpaws. Nathanial pet him on the head and scratched his ears, "Stay." Geoff's heart sank, he thought Nathanial wasn't mad anymore. Nathanial started filling Liam and Faelen in, it sounded a lot worse than he thought it was, from what Nathanial was saying. Geoff leaned against Nathanial legs, Nathanial reached down to scratch his ears again, "I need to move around, boy, go lie down." He pointed to the corner by the stairs, Geoff's eyes widened as he stared up at his boyfriend. "Go." *Faelen is pissed, Geoff. With good reason. Play along for now and let him get it out of his system before your dad gets here, or it's going to get a lot worse.* Geoff whimpered and started to get up, but Faelen cleared his throat, loudly. Geoff flushed in anger and embarrassment, but crawled over to the corner and lay down. Nathanial walked over to the stove and began working there. "Liam, you saw the corpse downstairs?" Liam nodded. "Take it if you want. I brought it back in case you did. So, about drawing and painting?"

Liam shook his head, "It is complicated. My... trick, if you wish, is my memory. I do not touch the canvas until I have completely mapped out what I wish to paint. I can spend dozens of hours just staring at the canvas while planning. I take the general idea I have and slowly work through all of the variations I can think of, altering the thickness of one line here, changing the curl on a wave there, add so on. I can look through tens of thousands of variations, remembering the detail of each one, until I find the proper combination that shows what I wish my painting to say. Without the memory of an Ancient One this is useless for anyone else. Then it is merely transcribing what is in my mind to the canvas. The act of painting takes very little time. That is how I finished those paintings of you, Faelen, so quickly. I already had the image I wished to paint in my mind. " Geoff lifted his head up in surprise, Faelen hadn't mentioned any paintings to him.

Nathanial smiled, "I'd like to see those sometime." Faelen blushed, "Or are they... private?"

Liam smiled, "Three portraits, one nude." His smile faded as he blushed, "They are... emotive. They say... much of what was going through my mind after our first date." Nathanial's face showed his understanding. Geoff suppressed a whimper; he hated being trapped here, ignored and unwanted, unable to participate.

Nathanial put the food from two of the woks in serving dishes and put them in the oven to keep warm as he started two more dishes and set some oil in a pot on the back burner to warm up. "Dad will be home in roughly ten minutes and supper will be done in, oh, say fifteen. Why don't you two call your homes and let them know?"

Geoff reached for his phone but saw Nathanial slightly shake his head. He suppressed a sigh, and looked at Faelen's back mournfully. 'I said I was sorry. I didn't mean to run off, I... panicked. The Taint scares me. Fighting Demons is one thing, but the Taint lurks hidden and you can't fight it. I've always heard about how so many non-Spirits consider me, well, any Dark Spirit, just a step away from being a Demon, and how the Taint can turn people. I... don't want to become a Demon. I don't want to hurt the people I care about. I don't want to hurt you, Faelen.'