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Lykos - Lone Wolf

Chapter 12

That evening The Burshans went out hunting with them, the group dividing up with Kyle going off with his parents, while the two mated couples stuck together. Ben and the betas managed to bring down a deer, while the Burshans snagged several rabbits to go with them.

As they cleaned the carcasses, Ben turned to their guests. "So how did you two meet?" he asked.

Elizabeth chuckled. "In high school of all places. We're one of those rare teenage romances that stuck. We had chemistry together, of all things, and we took that as a sign that we were meant to be."

"Have you both been werewolves for long?" Ben asked with interest.

"I was born one," Greg said. "My mother's a wolf, but my dad is human."

"And I was born human," Elizabeth said.

"How were you turned, if you don't mind my asking?" the alpha said.

The she-wolf sighed, turning to her husband. "Through blind, stupid, teenage love," she said heavily.

Ben looked to Greg. "I'm the one who turned her," the older man said heavily. "I wanted us to be together always, with no barriers between us... To be blunt, we got lucky."

"I guess folks weren't too happy with you," Ben said thoughtfully.

A shadow came over Greg's face. "No," he said with difficulty. "My alpha was pretty hard on me... It was the worst beating I'd ever had in my life and it took me days to recover.

But in the end, Carol let it go and accepted Elizabeth into our pack."

"So did you know he was a werewolf before he turned you?" Ben asked the woman.

"For about three months, yes. It was scary when he finally came out to me," she said, paused when she saw Ben grin with amusement, and threw a handful of guts at him in annoyance, making the younger wolf flinch away in distaste. "Not THAT kind of coming out!" she said, half amused despite her irritation, then continued. "I was so scared the first time he showed it to me that I peed myself... Literally," she added with a frown of distaste.

"Well," Greg added with a grin, "at least I knew she wasn't a threat once she did that."

"Shut up!" she exclaimed in shock and outrage mixed with humor, throwing some entrails at him to make him stop. "Grrr!" she growled in a wolven manner, her eyes flashing gold. "I can't take you ANYWHERE!"

"It was a joke," Greg protested.

"It wasn't any funnier this time than when you first made it when I did it," she said, rolling her eyes. "But yes..." she added, turning back to Ben, "I was so in love with him I wanted to never be apart from him... IO wanted to share the moon with him, too," Elizabeth said softly. "I never regretted it, and we've had three wonderful children because of it. I only wish that Alice and Peter had been able to come visit too."

"Who're they?" Ben asked.

"Kyle's siblings," Greg offered. "He's the youngest of the three."

"Alice is too far along in her pregnancy to safely travel and Peter couldn't get the time off from work to come, but maybe we can all come out here in the spring after the baby is born."

"You're more than welcome to visit whenever you want," Ben said, liking the couple. The way they had been so welcoming to him helped to rid him of his doubts and fears in regards to them.

Greg sighed wistfully. "It'll be hard for all of us to be away from our packs, though, so we should keep it a short visit."

Ben frowned at that, but then imagined what it would be like to have his betas away from him for longer than a day. The thought made him feel rather sad, and he realized then that all werewolves must feel that way. The pack was more than simple family... To be separated from them would be rather painful, deep down inside. He got up, washed his hands, and took a tub of meat inside. As he entered the kitchen, he was shocked to see Steve all but screaming into the phone in his human form.

"No Mom!" he said loudly. "I can't come! I've told you several times already and all the guilt trips in the world won't change the fact that I can't come! ...Because I can't afford the ticket, for one thing! ...Well it's nice of you to offer, but even if you did so, I can't get the time off of work!" he said, and from the look of guilt on his face, it was clear that he was lying. "NO, I can't just quit my job and move back there! ...Because I have a life here, is why! ...Then I'll look for a better job; one that makes me more money! ...I'm not moving back to Nebraska! ...Because I like it here in Washington! ...Don't you DARE hold that over my head! I told you I needed to go somewhere different, get out of the Bible Belt! ...Well at least here I won't be lynched for being gay, for starters! ...I never CHOSE to be gay, Mom! It doesn't work that way! ...No I didn't! You don't get it! I've told you this a thousand times already and you still keep treating me like I'm crazy! ...I'll yell if I want to! You're pissing me off!"

He held the phone away from his ear as the woman on the other end of the line yelled at him, telling him how horrible and ungrateful he was and how he was going to go to Hell if he didn't change his sinful ways. Ben crept past him and made his way to the basement freezer, stored away the tub, then came back up the stairs quietly.

"No, Mom! I'm not quitting my job, I'm not moving back and I'm not even coming for the holidays. I like living here, I'm gay, it's not a choice and you have no right to try to guilt me into doing what you want! I'M HAPPY HERE!"

Ben stared at his mate. He'd never seen Steve so angry. Parts of him were shifting seemingly against his will, going from human to wolf and back again in his agitation. The

alpha was worried. He'd never seen his mate act this way before. As he watched, Steve's golden eyes were darkening, turning orange. A sense of alarm shot through Ben as he saw that, knowing instinctually that this was a very bad thing. He rushed forward and took the phone from his mate.

"Steve has to go, he'll talk to you later," the alpha said into the phone.

"~Who is this? Are you one of those deviants who are corrupting my poor, impressionable boy?~" a woman on the other end asked in a hostile tone.

"Wow," Ben said. "That is the single stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life and I refuse to dignify it with a response. Goodbye!" he finished coldly, then hung up. He turned back to see Steve panting heavily, trembling all over as the color of his eyes began to fluctuate between yellow, orange... And red. Ben felt horrified at that... Part of him knew what was happening... Steve was giving in to his rage...

He was becoming a direwolf.

The phone rang, and with a savage roar, Steve brought his clawed hand downwards, ripping the phone off the wall to smash apart on the floor.

"No, Steve! Don't give into the rage! Fight it!" Ben told him.

"Why?" Steve growled, his eyes turning orange and staying that way, slowly edging towards red, bit by bit. "Why shouldn't I? They always do this to me! Treat me like I couldn't possibly do anything right! Like I'll always be an idiot! I aught to go there and show them a thing or two! Beat the shit out of them!"

"NO!!!" Ben shouted, pouring all of his alpha power into the command. "Do not give in! They're not worth the effort, Steve! They have no power over you unless you give it to them!" Steve stood there, panting heavily, has body trembling from stress. "Don't let the love inside you die," Ben pleaded, taking Steve's head into his hands and looking deeply into his slowly reddening ones with his own golden orbs, showing Steve the depth of his love for his mate. "Don't leave me... I need you and I love you. Don't become a monster... Don't abandon us for the sake of revenge against people who aren't worth the effort... Please."

"Ben?" Steve growled in confusion, his brow furrowing in uncertainty, as if seeing him for the first time. "What's happening to me?"

"I think... I think you're losing balance and turning into a direwolf," Ben said softly.

"What?" Steve asked, looking horrified. "No... No! I don't want to become one of those things! Please!" he begged, tears streaming from his still partially orange-colored eyes.

"Help me..."

Ben looked Steve deeply in the eyes, and exerted all of his power as he reached into the soul of his mate. ::Let it go... Let go of the hatred...:: he projected. ::They cannot hurt you. You are your own person and don't have to subject yourself to that. You have the power to choose your own life, and that's something they can't take away from you... I love you... I don't want to lose you... Let go of the pain and anger... Let it go and find yourself once more...::

Steve's panting slowed, and the color of his eyes faded from reddish, to orange then back to gold. He took a deep, shuddering breath, and felt his mind and heart steady themselves until he felt completely calm. He felt the darkness that had tried to claim his heart fade away. *I am claw clan,* he thought to himself, *I will control my instincts... I will NOT give in to anger... I will NEVER be fang clan... I could never be happy that way... I could never bear to hurt the people I love... I am a good person and will stay as such.*

To be on the safe side, he also transformed back to his human form to help control his aggressiveness even more. He opened his electric blue eyes to stare into Ben's hazel ones, the alpha having changed back as well, and felt like crying. "I'm sorry," he said as he began to sob. "I'm so sorry... I didn't... I don't want to turn into one of those monsters! ...But you save me... Ben... You saved me."

"Were you really starting to turn into a direwolf?" Ben asked nervously.

"...I think so."

"Why?"

"All I could feel was anger... I've never been so angry with my mom before. She just won't let up on me. If she thought she could do it, I'm sure she'd come here and literally drag me back home with her. She acts like nothing I do or say is right... She's half the reason I left there in the first place. She's been calling more and more often, trying to bully me into going back to Nebraska and won't take no for an answer."

"This is the first I've heard of this," Ben said with a bit of shock. "How long has this been going on?"

"A few months. I finally stopped taking her calls on my cell phone a couple of days ago, so she took to calling the house. That's the worst argument we've had so far. Why can't they just leave me alone," he sobbed.

"They have no right to force you to do anything you don't want to do, Steve," Ben told him gently as he held him. "We won't let them force you to move there."

"I love you guys... I don't want to leave you all... Especially you, Ben. And I don't want to become a direwolf either... I can't believe that it almost happened to me."

"WHY did it start to happen?" Ben asked. "What happened to trigger it?"

"I got angry... All I could think of was going back there and hurting them to make them leave me alone..." He shuddered. "Ben... I wanted to hurt them so bad... I didn't care how hurt they'd get... I didn't care at all. That's what scares me, now that I think back on it. Ben... I don't want to be a direwolf... I don't want to be a monster... I came so close... I'm scared. They just... Won't leave me alone."

Ben knew what to do. "Then we eliminate the threat. From now on, you don't take any calls or text messages or even emails from them. If they try to contact you through your cell, ignore or delete it. If they try calling here, ignore it and let someone else answer the house phone," the alpha said, then turned to look at the shattered phone. "Once we get a new one," he said slowly in hesitation.

Steve chuckled at that as he began to overcome his fear. "I'll pay for it. I'm the one who wrecked it." Ben hugged him in a silent show of support. "Thank you for saving me from myself."

"You're welcome..." Ben said. "I love you," he said, kissing Steve gently on the lips.

"I love you too," Steve nearly whispered.

At the back end of the hallway, near the foot of the stairs, Jack, who had heard everything and acted accordingly, slid the silver knife he was holding back into its sheath with a sigh of deep relief, a measure of shame, and a fervent prayer to the Lord and Lady that he would never need to use it, then walked away to leave the wolves be. the knife had been in case Ben had started to act too aggressively... to show signs of acting like a direwolf. Jack was shocked that Steve had been the one to loose control, rather than his mate.

In the kitchen, Steve Cleared his throat and sniffled. "Ben... There's something more. I think that the reason... the only reason you were able to pull me back... It was because you helped unify me. If the wolf was till a separate consciousness within me... If we hadn't been a single mind, heart and soul... What you did to save me wouldn't have worked. When you reached into my mind, my human side was able to help you reach the wolf in me. Without that shared consciousness, the wolf wouldn't have listened to you and I would've turned. I don't just feel it... I know it. Being unified saved me from the darkness... That and your love and power. Thank you."

Ben hugged him close as Steve began to cry all over again...

*****

Steve wanted to be honest, so he gathered everyone together in the living room and told them what had happened, why, and what had triggered it, along with Ben's recommendations.

"You started turning into a direwolf?" Ken asked, horrified.

"I didn't want to!" Steve replied in a tone of pleading. "It's my parents... You don't know what they're like! They HATE the fact that I'm gay and are convinced that it's either me lashing out at them or that it's just a phase that I'll eventually grow out of! They don't care about my feelings! It's all about how it affects their standing in the community back home... well, my OLD home. They won't rest until I'm back there and under their control. I wouldn't put it past them to try to put me in one of those 'pray the gay away' internment camps, if they had half a chance!" Luke looked revolted at the notion, but said nothing. "Please don't hate me," Steve begged of them all. "I don't want to be a monster and I don't want to be alone, either."

Jessica moved over to him in the couch and hugged him tightly. "It's okay..." she said thickly with tears in her eyes. "It's not your fault. You just need to be more careful from now on now that you don't have any distance between the man and wolf inside of you. You're just more vulnerable to losing control than before, so-"

"NO!" Steve shouted, shooting up to his feet to glare down at the shocked woman, as she sat back up after having been knocked back when the werewolf rose up rapidly. "It's not like that at all, Jessica! Don't you dare try to make this Ben's fault!" he said, jabbing accusory finger at the keeper. "It's MY fault," he added, jabbing a thumb to his own chest sharply, "not his. I'M the one who lost control and it had nothing to do with being unified! My anger came from the human part of me, not the wolf part! I was so angry with them that my wolven aggression fed off of it and THAT'S what made me lose control! I'll tell you one thing right now! If I WASN'T unified, Ben never would've been able to pull me back!

It was only his will combined with my human shame at what was happening to me that my instincts felt, and that was what allowed us both to get my anger under control! If the wolf was still separate within me, it never would've listened to Ben and calmed down! Being unified saved me, not made me go off the deep end! I remember what it was like to be separate wills and I'm sure of the fact that if I had been separate from my wolf, it never would've listened to my human guilt and shame! Don't ever accuse him of being to blame for that again, Jessica!"

The keeper just stared at him with eyes wide in shock, lost for words, and could only nod to show that she understood. "Steve," Jack asked gently. "Are you certain?"

"I am. I can feel it deep down inside. It's only because my wolf and my human sides are now one that Ben was able to calm me down and prevent me from going dire. If it wasn't for that, I'd be a monster right now." He sat down heavily on the couch and hung his head. "It was bad enough being attacked and nearly killed, then losing everyone I had cared for to one of them... I can't stand the thought of being one myself."

Ben rubbed his back supportively. "It won't happen again... We won't let it," he said gently, yet firmly to his mate, then turned to the others. "My orders stand," he said sternly to everyone. "Steve is to have no contact with his family until they learn to stop harassing him and let him live his own life. If we remove the trigger for his pain, he'll be safe. We'll replace the phone and he is not to answer it, or take any calls, texts or emails from his family until they get the hint and lay off of him."

Everyone nodded, seeing the wisdom of the alpha's plan. Steve looked at Ken, who still seemed nervous. "Please don't be afraid of me... Please don't hate me," he begged with tears in his blue human eyes.

Ken saw Steve's pain and hated himself for making his pack mate feel that way, so he got up from his spot on the floor, came over, and hugged his pack mate firmly. "I don't hate you, Steve... I love you. We won't let it happen to you... We'll protect you."

The rest of the pack came over for an awkward group hug, made so by the fact that the head beta was sitting down.

The Burshans and the keepers sat there, letting the pack support their mate and show him that they loved him, before coming over to offer their own emotional support.

*****

Later that day, while Kyle's parents were napping, the pack gathered together in their bedroom for some time alone; away from parents and keepers and the stresses of the world. They laid there, cuddling in a huge wolfpile the way Kyle had always wanted, their hands tracing over each other's nude, wolfed-out bodies with slow, gentle caresses. They nuzzled and licked each other, bonding together as a pack in love in a way that Ben had never imagined was possible. He found that he had not merely come to love them as family and pack, but had fallen IN love with each and every one of them. They were all each others' loves now... Steve for his gentle, simple and downhome honesty and compassion, as well as his courage and power; Luke for his raw masculinity, macho confidence and gritty bluntness; Kyle for his puppy-like love, innocence, joy and boundless loyalty; Ken for his unflinching bravery, devil-may-care openness and vulnerability; and Ben for his boundless devotion, unwavering boldness and willingness to be as strong as it took to protect those he loved. They bonded to one another on emotional, spiritual and romantic levels that no human could ever truly appreciate. They would always love one another, care for one another, be willing to die for one another.

They began to lick and nuzzle one another, bathing each other in a tender, nurturing way; cleaning one another like true wolves; showing their love, compassion and support of one another. The attention became more intimate as their passions arose, their canine phalli emerged from their sheaths, and their musk began to fill the air. Love merged with sexual need, and the pack began to mate with each other for the first times since they had gained their alpha. Gentle nibbles, licks, kisses, caresses and light clawings that did not break the skin were given and received as they moaned, murred and growled. They said no words to one another as they mated with each other... None were needed. They communicated through vocalizations of pleasure, through touch, through scent and body language. They fondled and licked each other, Kyle mounting Luke as the others embraced each other and watched them enjoy each other. Once they freed themselves from each other, Ken rolled Kyle onto his back and entered him slowly, moaning and hissing with pleasure as Luke teased his ass with gentle claw scrapes while licking his back, before squeezing the base of his tail where it was most sensitive, making him cry out in bliss. He came, filling the insides of his fellow beta with his essence before he collapsed on top off him, making everyone chuckle as Kyle 'ooph'ed when it happened.

Ben wanted to make this moment special, so he did something that surprised and slightly shocked his pack... He licked Steve from collarbone to chin, then turned away on all fours and lifted his tail away in invitation. Steve's heart swelled at that, making him love his mate even more. For an alpha, especially one as strong and dominant as Ben to offer himself to be mounted was rare. Steve wasted no time and practically jumped onto Ben's back, stabbing his penis into the waiting hole before he began to hum p rapidly with desire. He held back, however, knowing not to go too far in... Until with a growl of need, Ben reached back, cupped his hand around Steve's buttock, and pulled him closer until Steve was in the alpha to the hilt, making Ben murr in satisfaction. taking the hint, Steve gave into the needs of his body and mounted Ben without reservation.

Ben groaned, enjoying the feeling of a hard wolfcock pummeling his insides. After a minute or so, an intense pressure began to fill his insides, and when the swelling became almost too much for him, it stopped. He felt Steve pull backwards, but there was a stab of pain as Ben felt his anus stretched too wide, and he snarled in warning. Steve pushed in and went wild, his hips a blur as he humped Ben rapidly before lunging forward and bit Ben hard on the back of the neck, breaking the skin, but doing no further damage.

Between the burning sensation of the bite and the hard, throbbing knot battering his prostrate, Ben lost it and came, snarling in lust as his penis twitched and danced in the air as his yellow lupine sperm gushed forth in torrent after torrent to soak his arms, torso and the bed beneath him as his hand slaws dug into the sheets, ripping them. Ben was in too much erotic bliss to care. The others came forward, Ken ducking under the alpha to begin lapping at the spewing organ eagerly, while Luke caressed Steve's body and Kyle licked every part of Ben he could reach. Once the orgasm tapered off, Ben's strength gave out and he collapsed forward onto the mattress, splatting down into his own spent seed as Ken ducked out from under him to avoid being crushed when he saw the alpha's limbs begin to tremble from fatigue. They all squeezed close together and soon passed out from a combination of pleasure and exhaustion...

*****

They all awoke later then took turns in the shower to clean themselves up. As Ben got out and dried himself off, he heard the sounds of people talking below. With a bit of concentration, he focused in on the voices and recognized those of Jack and Mitchell down in the kitchen.

"Ben's not going to be happy with this," Jack said.

"Too bad. It's time he learned how things work around here."

"I've tried my best, but with his dominant personality, getting him in line has been nearly impossible."

"That's why I'm taking over as their head keeper. I don't care if Ben likes it or not; he needs to learn his place."

Ben's alpha ego flared up in outrage at the tone of Mitchell's voice as well as his wording. Feeling a surge of anger, he went to the bedroom, threw on a pair of shorts and a polo shirt, then made his way downstairs as the pack scrambled to follow after him, sensing his anger. He took the stairs rapidly to find the two keepers standing in the living room. Mitchell looked at him, saw the swelling outrage on the alpha's face...

And acted like everything was perfectly fine.

"What's going on here?" Ben demanded sharply.

"How much did you hear?" Mitchell asked calmly with a firm jaw.

"Enough! I don't think you get it," Ben said. "I'm no one's slave and I'M the one in charge around here!"

"Among wolves, perhaps, but the keepers are another matter entirely. You may be able to boss werewolves around, but in the end, keepers are the real authority, even over you... ESPECIALLY over you in particular."

Ben growled, growing angry. A human was trying to boss HIM around?!? The gaul! Didn't this man know what Ben could do to him, if he wanted to? *I could snap him in half without even breaking into a pant!* he thought to himself, feeling his muscles swell slightly in anger as the wolf tried to come out. "Who do you think you are?" he asked, his voice full of repressed fury. "I'M the alpha around here! My word is the one that matters! The keepers may protect us, but they DO NOT own us!" His eyes flared gold as the teeth in his mouth sharped into fangs, making it hard for him to keep his mouth fully closed.

"You remember what I said," Mitchell said calmly, unphased by Ben's hostility and words, "about how keepers are wolf wranglers? Well it's true. I let your comment the other day about how you'd basically let us advise you slide at the time, but that's NOT how it's going to work. You may understand the need for keepers in part, but you don't understand all of it. It's about more than keeping you all penned in during the full moon for safety's sake; there's a LOT more to it than that. In the end, the keepers' purpose is to keep the wolves under control AT ALL TIMES!" he finished sharply in emphasis.

"So we're nothing more than your slaves?" Ben scoffed, his ears stretching into points as his body hair thickened. "Or are we merely pets? I thought you said you wanted us to be free! You wanted us to be like everyone else! Was that all a lie?"

"No, it's not a lie..." Mitchell said calmly, showing no sign of concern that Ben was growing more furious and savage by the moment. "We want you all to have as normal a life as possible, but it's not as easy as you think it is. Just look at you! You can barely control yourself! You NEED to be kept under control, Ben! All of you! You're too dangerous to let run around without supervision!"

"SUPERVISION?!?" Ben roared, the transformation finishing rapidly in his fury as his tail grew out and began to thrash around wildly in anger, every hair on end in agitation. "WE'RE NOT CHILDREN OR PETS YOU CAN CONTROL! YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT!!!"

"We have every right!" Mitchell said coldly. "Just look at you! You can barely control yourself right now, and all because I won't let you play king! What are you going to do, Ben? Are you going to rip my throat out because I won't submit to you?" Ben snarled in rage, but held his place. "Do you want to fight me?"

Ben growled, his tail still flared out and thrashing, every muscle in his body tense. "I'm not a bully or a murderer... Even if I could safely fight you, you won't last ten seconds!"

"Try me," Mitchell said simply, his eyes narrowing.

Ben scoffed. "Fine! I'll try to make it something of a fair fight if you insist so much," he said, pulling in the power of the wolf as he started changing back to his human form.

"Don't insult me!" Mitchell snapped, showing the first sign of irritation. "I don't need a handicap! If you're going to fight me, then do it with everything you've got. Fight me as a wolf!"

Ben hesitated. "You're insane! I could rip you apart without even trying!" he said, unable to believe how reckless the human was.

"Don't assume I'm helpless against a werewolf, Ben. Fight me with everything you've got. But let's take this outside." With that, the keeper went out the front door and down the steps. "You want to fight me or not?" he called out behind himself when he saw Ben pause.

Full of rage, Ben let the power of the wolf back out in full and followed after him. Kyle hurried forward and tried to block his path. "Alpha, please! He's a KEEPER! You can't fight one of them, it's wrong! Standing up for yourself or your pack is one thing, but attacking a keeper? Please don't do this! It's wrong!"

"Bullshit it's wrong!" Ben barked. "I'M the alpha here, not HIM! It's time he learned that!" Ben said. He didn't care who or what Mitchell was, all he knew was that his status as the most superior person around was being challenged and he refused to back down. His ego refused to let that happen.

"He's a KEEPER!" Kyle repeated, seeing that the alpha didn't understand. "We don't have the right to question them! You don't understand!"

"I understand plenty!" Ben snapped. "He comes along and tries to take our keepers away from us and you're going to just LET HIM?!? I'm not giving them up without a fight! I chose for them to remain our keepers and that's the way it's going to be! This asshole has no right to change things around without my permission!" He had meant to say 'our consent', but the ego of his dominant alpha instincts rephrased his words to fit with what he really thought. This man was threatening his authority and needed to be shown how things were around here.

"Alpha... Ben, please!" Kyle pleaded.

"Get out of my way, Kyle," Ben said, not wanting to hurt his beta, but unwilling to back down.

"Kyle," Mitchell said calmly. "Let him through." The keeper knew that this had to happen. As long as Ben thought he was in charge, he would never go along with the keepers' guidance and fight them fang and claw every step of the way. This battle HAD to happen, and the sooner, the better... That was why he had said the things he had to Jack, knowing Ben would hear; he had needed to goad the werewolf into a challenge to teach him a valuable lesson.

"DON'T ORDER MY BETAS AROUND!" Ben roared, furious at the human was usurping his command over his pack. He took a moment to calm himself down. "I'm not letting him do this to us!" he said, even though his instincts tried to change the last word to 'me'. "Step aside," he ordered, gently pushing Kyle out of his way before he stormed down the steps to follow the keeper.

Everyone gathered together on the porch to watch, the pack with dread, and the rest with resignation. "This is going to be bad," Ken muttered darkly.

*Ben,* Steve thought to himself. *This won't end well... I wish you could understand. The keepers aren't the kind of people you can dominate!*

Ben, however wasn't concerned; he'd eliminate the threat to his authority here and now. He had no intention of causing serious harm to the human, but a well controlled show of force would be enough. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stare the man down. Mitchell was somehow able to resist the power of the alpha's will, so he would need to win through a careful application of physical power. To him, the main issue, the thing that offended him most, was the fact that Mitchell had assumed that he could make whatever changes he wanted to in their lives and they were supposed to like it and accept it without complaint.

*He's treating us like children, for all his talk of treating us like people. Well I'm not letting him walk all over me OR my pack! If he thinks he can usurp my authority, then he has another thing coming; I'm not letting him get away with this! Besides, he's the one who challenged me and I refuse to back down!*

He took a fighting stance before the keeper, who squared himself. "Well, Ben, whenever you're ready." The werewolf snarled and charged in, then stopped next to the man, his clawed feet kicking up a shower of snow as he came to a stop, and threw a hook punch with calculated force. Werewolves were much stronger than humans, so he held back to avoid causing any serious damage. This was about his right to lead, not beating a helpless human to a bloody pulp.

Mitchell saw the move and blocked it. Unlike most people, the keeper was trained in the martial arts, so he had experience in fighting. As the werewolf continued to attack him, the human became thoughtful. *Strange... He's not fighting like a typical wolf. He's actually controlling his instincts... Using them without giving in to them. Most wolves would just try to punch, slash, grapple or bite, but Ben's using martial arts as well. Every move he's making is calculated,* he thought, dodging a well-aimed and well-timed punch to the face. *I've never seen a werewolf who fought with this level of skill before. I can see why he beat Berke so easily, not to mention Monica.*

But still, it was clear that Ben was holding back considerably. Mitchell was offended at that, and backed away. "What's wrong, Ben? Afraid to get your claws bloody? Or are you just too scared of a human to fight for real?" Ben snarled, but said nothing. "Come on!" the keeper said, dropping his guard. "I'll give you a freebie. Stop insulting me and hit me already, you coward!" he snapped.

Furious, Ben rushed forward, aiming for the keeper's chin. Just before the blow struck, something invisible slammed hard into the werewolf's stomach, making him falter and double over in a combination of pain and shock. Stunned and confused, he looked up into the human's eyes with an expression of bafflement as Mitchell raised his closed hand, snapped the fingers open several inches from the werewolf's face...

And a blast of invisible power slammed into the werewolf with the force of a wrecking ball, sending him flying backwards and off of his feet to land hard on his back, before he slid several feet, the force of the blast causing his body to dig a trench in the foot-deep snow. He came to a stop, hurting all over. It took a moment for his insides to heal enough to allow him to rise, and he sat up, staring at Mitchell with his proto-muzzled mouth hanging open in shock. "What the fuck?" he gasped.

"I'm nowhere near as helpless as you think I am, Ben. Now get up and fight me for real!"

Ben snarled in answer, got back up and charged at the keeper...

But he only made it three feet before another burst of power sent him sprawling back to slam into a tree, which drenched him in a mini avalanche of snow as it was jarred loose from the branches above. Shaking it off in indignation like a dog, Ben growled and began stalking towards him cautiously. Mitchell gestured again, and caught the alpha in the side as he saw the move and tried to dodge it, sending him sprawling once more. Ben stood up, his hand claws gouging the snow as he rose to his feet slowly and he moved over behind a tree to shield himself from another attack. The keeper flicked his hand casually, and a mild impact to the tree the werewolf was hiding behind caused snow to rain down onto the alpha, making him snarl in outrage.

Ben paused after he shook the snow off of himself, then ran to another tree and slammed into it on his own, bringing more snow down on top of himself and making Mitchell frown in confusion for a moment, before a small, dark blur hurled itself at him from the downpour of snow. He lifted his hand in reflex, and the rock stopped inches from his face.

He sighed in relief. It had been a sneaky move, not to mention a smart one; the werewolf had already figured out that he couldn't get close enough to the keeper to hit him, so had switched tactics. But still, if his reflexes weren't as sharp as they were, or if Ben had been closer to him, the stone would've scored a rather painful blow. "Cleaver, Ben, but not good enough," he said, letting the rock drop to the ground.

Ben rose up from a crouching position and threw a large handful of snow mixed with rocks at the keeper, who stopped the mass with a gesture before flinging it right back at his opponent. Ben dropped sideways, dodging the reflected volley, flicking his hand forward as he hit the ground...

And Mitchell gasped in pain and shock as another stone struck him hard in the ankle, making him cry out in agony as he dropped to his knee, clutching at the wounded extremity. As he did so, he kept his eyes on the werewolf, which was the only thing that helped him see the next stone flying at his head in time to dodge it physically by moving his head to the side to evade the projectile.

Out of ammo, Ben scrambled up quickly and charged forward, hoping to get close enough to land a blow, but Mitchell pushed through his pain to lash out with his power, knocking the wolf onto his back once more, then pinning him there with a continuous display of telekinetic force. He got up and limped forward to stand over Ben, who was snarling and trying desperately to free himself. Standing on his good ankle, Mitchell lifted his free hand and made a raking, upward pulling gesture with the palm facing the ground...

And roots burst up out of the frozen turf to wrap around Ben like the tentacles of an octopus, pinning him to the forest floor so thoroughly that he could barely budge a muscle. The werewolf snarled, roared in outrage, and tried with all of his might to free himself, but he couldn't get enough leverage, and finally slumped in defeat, panting hard and rapidly in exhaustion.

Ben let out a sound that was half snarl of rage and half groan of despair. "You have no right!" he said, emotional pain thick in his growling voice. "You talk about freedom, but you come in and act like we're your slaves, humiliating me in front of my pack and stealing our keepers away without even asking us! You don't have the right to treat us like this!"

Mitchell saw the grief on the werewolf's face and felt pity for him. "You're not slaves, Ben, and I'm NOT stealing your keepers away from you. Jack and Jessica will remain your keepers under my supervision, but I will be your head keeper from now on. Is it fair for you to treat me like your slave? Because that's basically what you're trying to do. You may not mean it that way," he said, seeing Ben try to protest, "but that's the way it comes off to me. Keepers HAVE to be the ones with the final say. Just look at you... You may be at one with your instincts, but it isn't natural and it affects your judgment. Rather than try to get clarification on my intentions, you saw my actions as a threat to your authority and became enraged. The wolves here are more bestial than those of other areas... That proto-muzzle of yours isn't something all wolves manifest all of the time, you know. I guess it's the way the ley lines affect the beast in werewolves here that causes it, but it's just a guess on my part. The wolves here are a little more feral because of it, and the muzzle shows that. That extra feralness also affects your judgment and makes you go more off of instinct than reason.

"Werewolves NEED the guidance of keepers, and we only get heavy-handed when the wolves give us no other choice. I don't like having to do this to you, Ben, but it's the only way to get it through to you that the keepers are not people you can control like other werewolves. To be honest, I would much rather be your friend than your master, and humiliating you is something I do NOT enjoy, nor is it a thing I want to do. You need help controlling yourself. I still want to work with you and I still want you to become Head Alpha, but you can't treat me like a king treats his subjects. It won't work that way... It CAN'T work that way.

"We don't do this for the sake of power or control... We do it because we HAVE to. We do it to keep you all safe. Your instincts cloud your judgment and make it easy for you to make mistakes that could jeopardize all werewolves. You understand part of that, but you fail to realize that you need an objective, outside perspective to help you stay under control. We do this because we love you and want you to be safe. I wish you could see that."

Ben wilted at that. "If you knew what it was like for me growing up," he said heavily, "then maybe you'd see why I act the way I do. I won't be swept under the rug or held underfoot. Did it ever occur to you that I might ACTUALLY know what I'm doing?" he asked curtly.

"I could ask you the same question," Mitchell said calmly, trying not to wince at the pain in his ankle. *At least he didn't break the bone,* the keeper thought to himself.

Ben mulled that over. "Fair enough," he admitted with difficulty, "but you need to take our feelings into account. I won't be treated like a slave or a pet. I'm still a person with rights and feelings and that also applies to ALL wolves! If you can't treat us with dignity and respect, then I don't see how this will work."

Mitchell nodded. "Keepers are NOT the enemy Ben. The first keeper was brother to the first werewolves... They were family. I, like all other keepers, protect your kind out of love. To us, the wolves are family. I hope that in time, you will understand that and come to think of me as being family to you. No superior; no inferior; just family." He sighed. "You haven't seen how most keepers behave, so I can understand why you'd think that way. For the record, I DO respect wolves and treat them as equals as much as I can, but I won't be walked all over by your kind any more than you want to be treated the same. We need to work together for everyone's' sake." He sighed. "I'll make you a deal. If you promise to get our input on anything affecting wolves outside your own pack and let the keepers have a say in it, then we'll do the same to you whenever WE do something that affects the wolves."

"Sounds reasonable," ben admitted slowly. "Fine," he finally said with resignation.

With that, Mitchell spread his fingers, and the roots withdrew back into the ground, freeing the alpha. Ben got up slowly and went to look Mitchell in the eye, but felt a surge of concern when he tried. As much as he wanted to, he COULDN'T meet the keeper's gaze. The highest he was able to look was the human's nose. He felt humiliated and disturbed by that for a moment before he understood. Mitchell had proven himself the stronger of them, and Ben's instincts forced him to show the proper respect by not challenging his gaze. He sighed with a heavy heart, finally understanding how me made everyone else feel. Part of it irked him, but he understood his place now. Mitchell could force Ben to do whatever he wanted, but was willing to work with him and let him continue his mission to be Head Alpha. It was more than he had a right to expect.

"Deal," he said, and shook Mitchell's offered hand. "How's the ankle?" he asked with a trace of genuine concern. "I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?" he asked, trying to mask his pain over his defeat.

"I don't think there's any permanent damage... That was a pretty sneaky move you used there."

"I didn't want to use cheap tactics, but nothing else was working," Ben admitted with difficulty.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Ben. Keepers who are fully trained have abilities far beyond those of werewolves. I didn't want to do that to you, but it was the only way to get you to respect me and see that I can't be dominated. It's nothing personal. I want us to be friends... Is that alright with you?"

Ben nodded with a heavy heart at that, though it did help to hear. "Here," he said, taking the keeper's arm and wrapping it over his shoulder. "I can carry you back."

"No thanks," Mitchell said with a chuckle, feeling grateful. "I'll keep what dignity I have, if it's all the same to you."

"You're bleeding... I can smell it," Ben said with concern.

"I'll be fine," Mitchell said simply. As Ben helped him back to the house, the keeper didn't want to admit that Ben had come fairly close to beating him. *If my reflexes were any slower, I'd be the one who lost,* he thought to himself. But his victory was assured, and the alpha was now submissive to him as was proper. Mitchell resolved to be heavy-handed only when necessary in regards to the feelings of his newfound friend...

*****

Ben took his defeat at the hands of Mitchell pretty hard. He didn't want to sulk over it, but his alpha ego had been wounded and he wanted to sit in the pack's bedroom and lick his proverbial wounds. The pack found him sitting against the backboard about an hour after his fight with Mitchell with his knees tucked up under his chin, his ears drooping and his tail and arms wrapped around his legs, staring off into space with a sad look in his golden eyes.

They gathered around him, wanting to make him feel better. "Don't be sad, Alpha," Steve said gently.

"Yeah," Ken added. "We don't think any less of you."

"I'm not so sure I have the right to BE an alpha, especially after getting my tail handed to me by a human of all people."

"Don't say that," Luke said, shocked at Ben's words. It was natural for a wolf to be moody after losing a fight, but the alpha's behavior was concerning to them.

Kyle hugged him and licked his bare shoulder consolingly. "Please don't be like this. It's only natural to lose to a keeper. They're way more powerful than we are."

"Jack and Jessica aren't," Ben sulked.

Steve sighed. "Jack's strengths are in making potions and medicines. He's not good at most magics and can't use combat magics at all. As for Jessica, she's only been training to become a keeper for six months and has barely begun to learn any magic at all, from what I understand. Mitchell's on a way higher level than them. I've seen him fight wolves before and trust me, he went really easy on you."

Ben shot his mate a dark look. "That's not helping," he grumbled.

Steve frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Ben? ...Have you ever lost a fight before?"

The alpha shook his head. "Not since I stopped training with the officers on the bases," he said.

Now everything made sense to the pack. It was only natural for him to feel bad about his first defeat... Everyone felt bad after their initial loss. "Well you did really good," Ken said. "If he wasn't quite as good as he is, I bet you would've beaten him."

Ben's ego edged a little bit away from the black pit of despair at that and the tip of his tail twitched slightly as his mood began to lift ever so slowly. "Maybe," he hedged. He knew, however, that trying to challenge Mitchell would be a waste of time for two reasons. First, he knew that if Mitchell really was even more powerful than he'd already demonstrated, Ben would never be able to beat him. Second, his alpha will was now broken in regards to the keeper. Challenging him felt wrong as he knew he no longer had the right to try. "I still say it's cheating, using the Force to smack someone around like that," he pouted.

To his annoyance, the betas all found that comment funny, but he didn't have the energy to do anything about it... And maybe in a strange way it WAS somewhat amusing. "It's telekinesis, not the Force," Ken said with a smile. "Don't feel bad; Mitch's the best at using it of anyone I've ever heard of, and I'm from a long line of keepers."

"You are?" Ben asked, perking up slightly in interest, his ears lifting slightly as he realized he still didn't know very much about the lowest of his betas. Ken nodded. "If you're from a keeper family, then how'd you end up a wolf?" Ben asked.

With a look on Ken's face of a grimace on his proto-muzzle and his eyes wide, he answered. "Through a dumb-ass dare. One of my best friends Kogi was born a wolf and we were joking around and he kept outrunning me whenever we jogged together; he said I'd never be able to keep up with him , even if I was a werewolf to, so I said 'Prove it.' When he balked, I said he was more chicken than wolf, so he bit me to prove me wrong." He rolled his eyes. "We got in SOOOO much trouble for it! My parents grounded me so hard that I thought I'd never see daylight again! Then Auntie Ino said I was a bad influence for my lack of discipline and talked my parents into moving here to America so she could keep an eye on me. That was four years ago."

"How old are you now?" Ben asked.

"Twenty one now, but my birthday is in March."

"We'll have to celebrate," Ben said thoughtfully, eager for something to get his mind off of his defeat at the hands of their new keeper. Everyone sounded eager for that, especially the wolf in question, so the mulled over ideas on what to do. as they did so, Ben found his sadness and shame fading away as his instincts pushed the incident into the past where it belonged. Wolves were creatures of the present, and he was soon feeling much better than before.

Finally, Ben asked the question that was on his mind. "So you guys still want me as your alpha, even though I lost?"

Luke scoffed. "It was one loss and that was against the second most powerful keeper around here. We don't think any less of you, Alpha."

"Yeah," Ken said. "There's no way you would've beaten him if he really cut loose, so no worries."

Kyle nodded and licked the side of Ben's face supportively, but said nothing. The gesture said it all. Steve smiled at him. "It doesn't matter how many times you're defeated Ben. You could lose every fight against other people you get into and you'll still be our alpha."

The others voiced their agreement at that, making Ben tear up. "Thanks guys... That means a lot..."

*****

Jack sat back in his work room and surveyed his handiwork. "How does that feel?" he asked.

After the battle between the keeper and the werewolf, they humans had tended to Mitchells' injury as they shared with him everything they knew about Ben, including the conversation they had overheard him have with Steve in the basement. 'That's what he must have meant by me not understand what he's been through... No wonder he feels an intense need to overcompensate for his insecurity by behaving overly aggressive.'

The keeper tested his ankle by gently moving it around. There was a twinge of pain, but it was a lot better than he'd worried it would be. "Better," Mitchell admitted, examining the healing bruise on his ankle from Ben's well-aimed rock. Soon, he would be able to walk normally on it, thanks to Jack's skill with medical magics. "You always had a special knack for the healing arts."

"It's about all I'm good for," he grumbled in response.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Jack. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses; there's no shame in admitting that there are things you can't do."

Jack scoffed. "I can barely do anything!" He paused, looking around at the soft white glow coming from the walls. "Are you sure they can't hear us through this?"

"Very sure," Mitchell said with a nod. "We could be screaming at the top of our lungs and the wolves won't hear so much as a whisper."

Jessica looked at the silence barrier, feeling impressed. "I wish I could do something as fancy as this."

"Be patient," the senior keeper said with a small smile. "You're still learning. I'll take over some of your education to cover the things Jack can't teach you."

"Like everything!" Jack said resentfully.

"You're taking this far harder than you should," Mitchell told him with a frown.

"Easy for you to say; you're not the one who was demoted." Jack had never been one to sulk before, but he couldn't help himself. He felt like a failure for not being able to bring Ben under control.

"You're not demoted, Jack. There's no shame in needing help in dealing with a strong-willed wolf like Ben. He's the strongest-willed werewolf I've ever met, in fact. It takes talents you lack, so that's why I took over has head keeper for the pack. You have nothing to be ashamed of, so stop pitying yourself. When it was just the four of them, you and Jessica were enough, but now that they have a powerful alpha in their pack, the dynamics have changed, requiring a stronger set of skills than you possess."

Jack snorted. "Oh please! I barely make potions and help erect the barrier during Moon Nights! I can't use any combat magic, couldn't hit a pressure point the size of a house and can't even fight worth a damn! All I AM good for is research and potions-making! Throwing herbs into a pot and bringing them to a boil is hardly enough to make me a halfway decent keeper! I... I'm basically useless," he said heavily, slumping back in his chair in defeat.

"Are you about finished?" Jessica asked irritably with a clenched jaw. "If you want to wallow in self-pity, then you're an idiot! How do you think -I- feel?" she snapped. "I don't even understand a fraction of keeper lore and skills and you don't see me whining about it!"

"She has a point, Jack," Mitchell said. "Indulging in self-deprecation is counter-productive. If I were you, I'd focus on my strengths and build up an arsenal of potions and powders to compensate for my limitations. In other words, stop bitching and start brewing!"

The biracial man sighed as he saw the wisdom of that. "You're right... I'll start making up some things in the morning."

"There you go," Mitchell said with a smile of encouragement.

"Well," Jack said with a wistful smile. "It looks like your plan worked. He took the bait and lost. Now perhaps his ego will be in check, seeing as how he's now submissive."

"In regards to me, yes," Mitchell said, "But he'll most likely still try to stonewall the two of you at every turn. You both have to develop methods of enforcing discipline to get him to respect you."

"How?" Jack asked explosively.

"We'll work on that together. I know a good variety of training methods; perhaps I can squeak some defensive magic out of you yet. As for Jessica, I'll need to do some tests to see just how much magical potential she has before we decide in a training regimen for her."

"And in the meantime," Jack said thoughtfully, "I suppose there's always Ben's tazer..."

*****

It was about an hour later and Jessica left the work room in time to hear the scrambling of claws as someone left the kitchen quickly. The woman also hear a strange sound accompanying it... An odd double sound of something light and with a rough texture sliding against the inside of a box. *What the-* she began, but was interrupted by a painful jab of something rough against the soul of her bare foot. "Ouch!" she exclaimed, then lifting her foot, she found a large crumb sticking to the bottom of her foot... One she both recognized and hated. "KYLE!" she shouted angrily. "I SAID NO MORE MILK BONES!"

There was the sound of rapid footsteps coming down the stairs as the front door was throw open, and Ben emerged in his wolfman form, looking ready to kill. "Was someone yelling about my treats?"

"YOUR treats?" Jessica exploded as she came out to the living room. "I already-"

Ben cut her off with a snarl to silence her. "I already know about the crumbs and I'll eat them carefully! Now where's Kyle? He better not be stealing my stuff!"

"He took off," Jessica snapped, waving a hand at the wide open front door.

Ben stormed over to it. "I'll rip his face open for this!" the alpha snarled as he reached the doorframe. In the distance, he could see Kyle several yards away, poking his head out from behind a tree.

"I CAN SEE YOU!" Ben shouted after his beta in outrage. "BUY YOUR OWN FUCKING MILK BONES!" Kyle responded by yelping in fear and ducking back out of sight behind the tree. The alpha trembled in anger, his tail bristled and rigid in agitation as he growled.

"What's all the shouting about?" Mitchell asked in an annoyed tone as he came out, still limping slightly from the fading pain of his injury. He saw the alpha's posture as he stared perfectly still, staring unblinkingly at a tree outside the open door with an expression of blatant hostility. "Ben? What's going on?"

"I'm waiting for my beta to get back in here so I can clobber him!" was the terse reply, the werewolf not turning his attention away from his target. His tail thrashed once to vent some of his frustration. "I licked it!" he growled. "I licked that box to put my scent on it and he STILL took them anyways! Those are MY treats!" Ben said in a furious pout. Mitchell sighed with resignation. It was bad enough that werewolves, like other canines, could be highly possessive of their food, but this was a bit overblown as far as he was concerned. "Ben..." he said with annoyance and exasperation, "you can always buy more."

"That's not the point!" Ben growled. He saw Kyle peek out from behind the tree tentatively, but it was the flash of the red box in his grubby little paw that made Ben snarl and prepare to charge off after him. Mitchell scowled at the overly instinctual behavior and reached out with a gesture as he saw the wolf ready himself to take off. Ben tried to start running... But his feet wouldn't move. He snarled in shock and outrage. "Let me go!" he roared furiously, realizing instantly what was being done.

"Not happening," Mitchell said firmly. He pulled his hand backwards, and Ben yelped in shock as he slid backwards across the floor like he was standing on ice and someone had just shoved him gently. He came to a stop near the fireplace, weaving unsteadily on his feet for a moment before he regained his balance and looking very put out as he recovered from shock. The keeper walked to the doorway. "Kyle, come in here!" he called out. The beta hesitated. "I said come!" Mitchell called out, but still Kyle hesitated.

Grumbling to himself, the human reached into a pocket and pulled out a long, thin chrome whistle, brought it to his lips and blew hard.

Ben yelped in shock at the loud, piercing whine that stabbed into his brain and he covered his ears in shock. It wasn't the pitch of the sound that had hurt him, it was how loud the sound was that make him react in pain. "What the fuck is that?" he exclaimed loudly to be heard over the din.

"Dog whistle," Jessica replied offhandedly. *Maybe I should get one of those for myself...* she thought privately.

Kyle had also reacted with discomfort, but seeing the no nonsense look on Mitchell's face, came back to the house with his head hung, ears folded protectively and his tail between his legs. Mitchell put the whistle away as Kyle came up the steps. "Get in here," Mitchell said firmly. "Give it!" he ordered, holding out his hand as Kyle obeyed.

Looking hurt, Kyle handed over the box. "You know full well that if someone marks something as theirs," Mitchell said sternly, "you aren't allowed to take it. I know your parents taught you that stealing is wrong."

"But I like them," the beta said softly in a timid tone, trembling slightly in fear of the keeper's disciplinary behavior.

"You have a job, so you can buy your own," Mitchell said flatly. "Now," he said, taking a deep breath as he felt a twinge of pain in his ankle. "You owe Ben an apology."

"Sorry, Alpha," Kyle said meekly, looking at Ben's feet.

Mitchell released the alpha from his control. "Now put this back where you got it from, Kyle," he said, handing the box back to the beta.

Kyle went to the kitchen with the others following him. Greg had just come in from outside, took one look at his son, and sighed, but said nothing. Feeling even worse as he saw that his father knew he was in trouble, the beta opened the cupboard and set the box back as Ben watched. Then Ben got a good look at the shelf, grew angry all over again as Kyle turned back to him, and with lightning fast reflexes, swatted him across the face with his claws. "WHY ARE THERE ONLY TWO?!?" Ben said, seeing that one of the boxes was missing. "WHERE'S THE OTHER BOX, KYLE?!?"

Suddenly, a blast of force to the head sent him staggering, leaving him with the taste blood in his mouth. "NO!!!" Mitchell said sharply. The keeper scowled, hating the fact that he had to treat Ben like a dog; but if it was the only way to get through to him, then so be it.

The alpha snarled, but looked no higher than Mitchell's nose. "He's MY beta and I have the right to punish him for stealing from me!"

"You are letting your instincts control you, Ben! It's just food! You can easily get some more!"

"You're buying it!" Ben told Kyle grimly. "BOTH boxes!"

"Yes, Alpha," Kyle said submissively as the wounds on his face began to close.

"And if you have to have them so desperately, then from now on you eat them at the table!" Jessica added. "I'm sick of stepping on crumbs all the time!"

"Okay," Kyle said so softly that the humans barely heard him. He looked to his dad for support, but the parent only shook his head.

"Don't look to me for salvation, Kyle. You know what you did was wrong. Ben may have overreacted, but he has a right to be angry. You need to stop being so greedy when it comes to food!" Greg said sternly.

"Yes, Dad," Kyle said softly.

Mitchell turned to Ben. "Come with me," he said firmly. The werewolf hesitated, but didn't like the thought of another burst of telekinesis or a second shrill blast from the whistle, so he grudgingly complied as the keeper took him into Jack's work room.

The werewolf was curious as he had never been allowed into the room before, and he started sniffing around eagerly, taking in the scents of various herbs, plants and chemicals. "Sit down," Mitchell said after letting Ben get his olfactory fill. "Ben," he said slowly. "You have a serious problem... You're letting your animal instincts dominate your behavior far more than is healthy. You need to learn to control your wolven impulses."

"I'm half animal now," Ben said with mild annoyance. "I'm supposed to be embracing my instincts, not repressing them."

"There's embracing them, which is healthy, then there's overindulging them with is not healthy and is also exactly what you're doing. I know that not having any separation between man and beast within you makes it more difficult to avoid acting on instinct, but you MUST learn to rule your instincts, rather than let them rule you the way you're doing. It's not healthy and it creates a dangerous risk of losing control."

"I AM in control!" Ben snapped, growing irritated.

"You're not in as much control as you think you are. Your animalistic impulses are blinding you to that fact. Just look at what happened a minute ago. Kyle stole your food so you slashed his face open for it?"

"He's a werewolf," Ben said in the tone of someone walking to a mentally challenged person, "he can heal! It's not like I did it to a human, who can't heal from injury the way we can! Besides, Kyle knew what he was doing was wrong!"

"True, but it was still an overindulgence in instinct on your part. You have GOT to learn how to maintain control of your wolven side, Ben! It's dangerous to give in too fully to your instincts... If you go too far, you can end up a direwolf!"

"That won't happen!" Ben said firmly.

Mitchell shook his head. "It can and WILL happen if you don't learn how to maintain discipline within your mind and heart. It can happen far more easily than you think. Just look at what nearly happened to your mate; Steve became so worked up and began to give in to his aggressive tendencies that it started to turn him. Yes, you saved him, but that's beside the point. I'm going to work with the both of you to help you each gain control over yourselves. You HAVE to do this Ben; I know you don't want to turn into a monster."

The alpha sighed. "Is it really that easy to lose it?" he asked nervously, his ears and tail drooping with concern.

Mitchell sat down to ease the pressure on his ankle with a sigh. "I heard of an incident that happened recently in Colorado at a university. A wolf from here in Washington was attending classes there when he inadvertently infected a human and turned him. When the initiate refused his advances and became mated to a human instead, the sire went to the human and tried to bully him into breaking up with the initiate. When the man refused, the wolf lost control and stabbed him in the stomach with his claws. Realizing what he had done, feeling guilt and shame over his actions, as well as letting the wolf take control, he transformed into a direwolf." He saw the look of shock on the werewolf's face. "It can happened that easily and quickly. Fortunately, the human survived and they were able to help the wolf before the change became permanent, but it was a very close thing. Ironically, the three of them ended up forming a small pack of their own after the incident, and are one of the closest-knit packs keepers I know have ever heard of."

"Man," Ben said thoughtfully. "He must have really had the hots for her."

"Her?" Mitchell asked, then smiled with amusement when he realized that Ben had missed his reference to the gender of the changed person. "No, the initiate is a man... They're a gay pack, much like your own."

"I thought we'd be a rarity; gay werewolves."

"Not as rare as you think," the keeper said with a smile. "But seriously, Ben. You MUST learn to control yourself. Becoming a direwolf is very easy and can happen incredibly quickly. You owe it to everyone to get your instincts under control... Don't let them rule you the way you're doing."

"But I like being like this," Ben said softly. "I never really enjoyed being human. I feel more in touch with everything being like this."

The keeper looked at him with a sad smile. "You don't have to give up anything, Ben. All we ask is that you control your instincts."

"How?" Ben asked, looking nervous and helpless.

"Through meditation. It will help to still your mind and bring your aggressive tendencies under control. Have you ever meditated before?" Ben shook his head. "It's all about focusing the mind on a single thing to build up a strong mental discipline. Once you do that and practice it for a few minutes each day, you will be more in control of your animalistic impulses." He went to stand, but a mild twinge of the ankle made him reconsider. "Do me a favor and bring Steve down here. I'll teach you both how to meditate."

Seeing that Mitchell was truly trying to help him and remembering what had nearly happened to Steve, Ben went to bring his mate down to the work room to begin their training...

*****

"Do you really have to go?" Kyle whimpered. "It's not even New Years yet."

Elizabeth felt heartbroken to leave her pup and hugged him tightly. "I know, Dearest, but we miss our pack. It's hard to be away from them for so long... You understand."

"I know," Kyle said, letting out another canine whimper, "but why can't you all move back here?"

"This region has too many packs as it is, Kyle, and we're well established in our new territory. But don't be sad; we'll come visit in the Spring after your nephew is born. You'll get to meet him and see your siblings, too."

"Yeah... I suppose," Kyle said slowly, feeling less sad at the thought of being able to see all of his family together again soon...

Greg, meanwhile was shaking Ben's hand. "Thank you for doing everything you can to help Kyle look out for himself. to be honest, I was rather worried. If it wasn't for his pack, we would've tried to talk him into coming back with us."

Ben nodded. "You're welcome. Kyle's got a good heart. He's greedy and impulsive, true, but very loving and loyal. You guys raised a great kid."

He could tell from the way Greg was blushing and smiling at his tail would be wagging if it was out. "Thanks... And thank you for treating me and my mate as equals despite our lesser status."

Ben scoffed. "It'd be rude to do that to you. Thanks for coming to visit, and know that you're welcome anytime. You guys DO own this place, after all."

The couple said their goodbyes and left, making Kyle feel sad despite having his pack to comfort him...

*****

"Ten! Nine! Eight!" the pack and their keepers said with excitement, even Mitchell and his wife Helen, counting down the end of the year. "Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!" they all cried out as the ball at Times Square in New York landed, signaling the end of one year and the beginning of the next as two thousand and fifteen began with the usual flourish.

No horns were blown for the sake of the wolves' sensitive ears, but champagne was drank after a round of glass-clinking in celebration. On the TV, the crowds of New York were shown celebrating, including a young keeper in training named Fletcher, but as none of the pack or keepers knew who he was, the significance of the young man passed without notice to them as the camera swept past him.

Kisses were shared among the pack, and even Jessica held her peace at the open displays of affection among the wolves.

"Well, now all we have to look forward to is the full moon," Kyle said.

"Argh! Why does it have to be on a Monday?" Jessica groaned.

"I'm sure Alan will let you have the day after off," Jack said, "unlike my employers," he finished with a frown, thinking of the bank he worked at as a teller.

"Nervous about Moon Night?" Steve asked Ben.

"A little..." the alpha admitted.

"Don't worry," the beta said, cuddling up close to his mate as Ben wrapped an arm around his shoulders, "We'll be there to help you through it. Trust me, you're going to love it!"

Ben sighed at that, hoping Steve was right...