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Lykos - Lone Wolf

Chapter 18

Marcus descended the stairs nervously later that day, and looked around the first floor of the house. The living room looked like the typical guys' house, with mismatched furniture, a large fireplace built into the wall, and a large entertainment center against the far wall with a pair of long of couches in front of it which seemed to be almost covered in a thin layer of shed wolf fur of various colors. As his stomach grumbled, he felt a strong urge to sniff the air, and he so did so, catching the scents of old and new food coming from the back of the house, so he made his way there, the smell of cooked ham making his mouth water.

He entered the kitchen and paused, seeing Ben standing there, his wolf-formed tail swishing lazing from side to side as he made himself some ham sandwiches. His furry ear twitched as Marcus make the floor creek from his weight, and saw Ben test the air with the canine nose at the end of his short muzzle. "Hey Marcus," he said, keeping his attention on his task, his tail beginning to wag more vigorously in greeting as he finished up and turned to the beta. "Hungry?"

"Star-" Marcus tried to say, opening his mouth, then feeling a mixture of shame and revulsion as saliva dribbled from his mouth. "Ew, gross!" he muttered. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me." He wiped his mouth on his shirt with a grimace.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Ben said kindly. "Just don't dribble all over the floor and it'll be fine. You're half canine now, so you'll tend to drool whenever you get hungry. Just be aware of it to avoid embarrassment. There's plenty of stuff left if you want sandwiches," he said, then took the ones he had made for himself on a plate to the table to eat, taking a 'U' shaped bite out of one of them with his elongated mouth.

Part of Marcus thought that it was rude of Ben to not offer to make some for him, but something inside told him that it wouldn't be appropriate for the alpha to act submissive towards him, so he moved to the counter and scarfed down a slice of ham for himself to take the edge off his hunger before making some sandwiches for himself.

"Drinks are in the fridge. Grab me a Cherry Coke," Ben instructed casually between bites once the beta was finished.

Marcus, feeling compelled to obey, did so, grabbing a regular Coke for himself.

"Come sit down," Ben said gently with a smile, pulling out the chair next to him and patting it in invitation. Marcus brought over the food and drinks, set them down and handed Ben his requested beverage. "Thanks," the alpha said with a smile of genuine gratitude. "So..." he asked as the new werewolf took his seat, "How are you doing? Feeling better?"

"Kind of," Marcus said, digging into his food. Ben's sharp hearing detected the shifting of the beta's stomach, so he let the lesser wolf eat in peace. Once Marcus had finished his sandwiches, he stared at the empty plate in shock. "Wow! I've never eaten so fast before!"

"You have the appetite of a wolf now, so you'll notice some changes. You need to make sure you have meat at least three times a day to keep your hunger and desire to hunt in check, so make sure to have meat at every meal whenever possible. You can still eat fruits, breads, vegetables, and most candy, but meat will be your primary form of food from now on. Oh, you'll need to avoid chocolate from now on as it makes us very sick. You also need to avoid avocados, raw bread dough because of the active yeast, grapes and raisins, anything with hops, including beer because of the hops they're made from, Macadamia nuts, garlic, onions, and... 'Xylitol' I think it's called... It's an artificial sweetener that starts with an 'X'. All of those can make us sick, so avoid them, okay?" Marcus nodded, his eyes wide. "Jack will also need to fill you in on the types of medications you need to avoid from now on. Ones that are safe for humans can be toxic to us, such as pain-killers with nSAIDs or Acecedo-... Something that's in Tylenol," the alpha said, shaking his head in disappointment that he couldn't remember the name.

"Maybe I should write all that down," he said with a frown, then began to feel depressed. "No avocados, really? I love guacamole... Do I really have to give it up?"

Ben nodded. "Sorry, but yes. I had to give up chocolate, which I love, so there's sacrifices to be made for all of us."

Marcus sighed as he took another sip of his Coke. "So," he said, looking at his hands. "What's it like? Being a werewolf? ...Does it hurt?"

"When we change?" Ben asked kindly, and Marcus nodded. "No, quite the opposite in fact. It's very pleasurable... Very arousing. The first time I changed, I blew a load in my shorts while the pack watched me transform," he added huskily. "Trust me... You're going to love changing forms."

Marcus looked up at Ben and saw the look of pleasure in the form of a sly smile on the alpha's wolf-formed face, and blushed. He stared in shock as Ben leaned back in his chair and reaching down, began to rub his groin lewdly through his shorts. "What are you doing?" he asked in shock.

"Just enjoying the moment... Letting you know that I find you sexy and picturing what you'll look like wolfed out." Marcus blushed furiously. "Don't be ashamed, Marcus.

Werewolves don't have the same repressive views on sexuality that humans tend to have. You could start masturbating right in front of me and I wouldn't think any less of you for it. Sex is natural, and there's no reason to feel bad about it. You're very handsome, you know... Luke and Ken are going to love you."

"Really?" Marcus asked, blushing. "What are they like?"

"Luke's an auto mechanic who loves sports and manly things. Ken is Japanese, but his English is so perfect that he barely has any accent at all. He's the one to watch out for, the lousy smart-mouth!" He saw Marcus raise an eyebrow. "I think we'll probably end up taking bets on how long it'll take you to clobber him. Don't mind us if you do, we're all used to it. If you feel the need to beat him up, go right ahead. If you don't keep him in his place, he'll walk all over you. He's not a bad person, but he has a really bad habit of never watching what he says, which gets him beaten up a lot. Seriously, if you feel the need to draw blood to make him realize that you're not to be messed with, go right ahead," Ben said, repeating himself for emphasis.

"Really? What if I break his arm, or something?"

"Don't go that far," the alpha said, "but a few bruises and slashes to put him in his place are fine. Just avoid puncturing anything or breaking more than the skin."

"But I could hurt him!" Marcus said.

Ben looked at him thoughtfully as Steve came into the kitchen in his human form and smiled at them both. "Hey," he said to Marcus in greeting, then kissed Ben deeply. "Hey there, Sexy," Ben said, then looked thoughtful as he stood up to face his mate. "Marcus here could use a lesson in werewolf healing powers, and well... You might want to go on a diet," Ben said suggestively a wicked gleam in his eye, "you're looking a little pudgy."

Steve snarled with an amused gleam of his own, snapped out the claws of his right hand like switchblades, and slashed downwards across Ben's exposed chest, making the alpha give out a snarl of his own in pain as the beta opened up a set of slashes in his skin.

"Are you crazy?!?" Marcus said, rising from his place at the table and taking a step forward. "What did you do that for?"

"Watch my wounds, Marcus," Ben instructed, turning to face him, his face stuck in a grimace and his voice strained. "Watch them closely."

Marcus did as instructed, and as the wounds on the alpha's body that laid beneath the dense body hair pulled themselves closed, he gasped, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open for a moment. "Wow! You're like Wolverine!" he said in amazement.

Steve laughed. "You're not the first wolf I've heard make that comparison... So yeah, but don't go crazy with it. We're more like Wolverine than Deadpool, so no chopping parts of yourself off then thinking your powers will work like Crazy Glue to stick them right back on, okay? It takes time to reattach severed limbs and they need to be carefully sewn on, then left to grow back together for awhile."

"Yeah, good idea," Marcus said, seeing the wounds on Ben's chest continue to close. The alpha went to the sink once they had healed up and washed the blood off of himself before he turned back to his mate for a kiss.

"Wait a moment," Steve said, holding up a hand to stop him. "Am I REALLY getting fat?"

"No, you're not," Ben consoled him with a smile. "I only said that to get you to slash me so Marcus could see the healing in action. I'm sorry I said it and I swear that I didn't mean it."

"You better not have," Steve said teasingly, then stole a kiss before the alpha's ego could interpret the remark as a challenge to his authority, showing that he was teasing as well.

"You're lucky I love you," Ben said, kissing him passionately.

"I love you, too," Steve said, reaching a hand down inside Ben's shorts.

"Whoa," Marcus said, shocked to see two guys going at it right in front of him.

Ben broke the kiss and turned to him. "You like guys, right?" he asked. Marcus nodded numbly. "Well come on over and share in the fun," the alpha added in a husky tone.

Marcus stared to move forward, the sight and smells getting to him as he caught the scent of their arousal, then he stopped. "But Kyle... I don't want to hurt his feelings," he said with a guilty expression. He was unclear in exactly how he felt about the werewolf who had given him the gift of lycanthropy, but still had strong feelings for him.

"Actually," Steve began, then leaned into Ben's ear, covered his mouth with his hand and whispered softly in the other wolf's ear.

"Really?" Ben asked with a sly tone, then glanced at Marcus. He pulled away from his mate with a grin. "Well we can't have that," he said sagely, then with a nod to his mate, the pair of them went over to the stunned young man, took him by either arm, and led him out of the kitchen, through the living room and up the stairs.

"What are you doing?" Marcus asked.

"Just trust us," Steve said cryptically.

They took him to the pack's bedroom where Kyle was reading something on his iPad with a pair of headphones on, nodding his human-formed head to the time of some rock music he was listening to at the same time, the headphones connected to the device. He looked up as they entered, and Steve let go of Marcus, smiled suggestively to Kyle, then went to and out Kyle's old bedroom door and closed it behind himself. Kyle, confused, pulled off his headphones. "What's going on?" he asked nervously.

'Fuck his brains out', Ben mouthed, then ducked back out of the room and shut the door quickly.

"WHAT?!?" Kyle exclaimed in shock, scrambled off the bed, then went to the door and tried to open it, but the knob wouldn't turn. He realized that the alpha was using his superior strength to keep the beta from opening it; in fact, he could smell the scent of the other werewolf just on the other side of the door. "Hey! This isn't funny! Open the door!"

He pounded on it for emphasis as Marcus stared at him in confusion, unsure of what was happening. Kyle ran to the other door, but he could smell Steve on the other side, and sure enough when he tried the knob, it wouldn't budge either. "Let me out!" Kyle shouted, pounding on the door. "JACK! HELP! THEY'RE BEING MEAN TO ME!!!"

Steve's voice came muffled through the door, imitating a phone operator. "I'm sorry, but the keeper you have dialed is not in the Den for the moment, and is currently unavailable. If you would like to leave a message, please wait for the tone... BEEP!"

"Stop that, you jerk! It's not funny!" Kyle snapped.

"It is to me," came the gleeful, sing-song reply.

Kyle ran back to Ben and Steve's old door and pounded on it. "Come on! Let me out!"

"The only way you're coming out of there," Ben said firmly, "is reeking of spent cum and musk. And make sure you howl when you cum so we know for sure it happened... And no fake howls either! I'll know the difference! That's an order, Beta!" the alpha added through the door, sounding pleased with himself.

Kyle turned to Marcus, looking shocked and embarrassed, but Marcus was too busy laughing to care. To him, the impossibility of the situation was too hysterical. "Don't take their side!" Kyle said in shock.

"I can't help it, it's too funny! I've never been a part of something like this!" Marcus said between laughs.

"Knock it off!" Kyle said, but Marcus couldn't stop himself. Kyle saw that Marcus was still going strong. "I said stop, already!" he said again. Marcus dropped his hands to his knees, still laughing. *He's not listening to me... Is he really free of his enthrallment?* "Please stop, it's not funny to me!"

Marcus laughed for a few more moments before he was able to calm himself down, gasping for breath. "I'm sorry, I couldn't stop myself. I wasn't making fun of you, honest."

Kyle scowled, but said nothing for a moment as Marcus stood there awkwardly. "So what's this about?" he finally asked.

"Well, I think they're trying to get us to have sex."

Kyle's face expressed his conflicted feelings. "That's not a good idea... I mean, how will we know it's not because of your enthrallment to me?"

Marcus frowned. "I AM capable of making my own decisions, you know... Well, at least now I am. I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to make fun of you."

"But you didn't stop laughing when I told you too," Kyle said thoughtfully.

"It was too funny. I didn't WANT to stop laughing. I know it hurt your feelings some, but I couldn't help it. Sorry if I hurt you," Marcus repeated, looking sincere.

"No," Kyle said eagerly, looking happy. "That means you have free will again! It's great! It's... I mean..." He wilted. If he was in his wolven form, his ears and tail would be drooping in shame. "I never meant to enthrall you, honest. All I wanted was to save your life. Please don't hate me for your becoming enthralled to me. I didn't mean it."

Marcus moved over to Kyle and hugged him. "I know," he said softly. "I can see how much it hurt you when I was like that. I can tell how ashamed you were. But I'm me again... At least mostly. I can still feel the effects of it... But I can say no to it now, unlike before. I can make my own choices. The one thing that means the most to me, though, is the fact that you wanted me to be free. You didn't want me to be enslaved to you. You value my independence... That means more to me than anything. Thank you for wanting me to be free."

Kyle pulled back slightly so he could look at the werewolf he had created. "You're welcome," he said, his guilt and shame easing.

Marcus leaned in slowly and kissed him. Kyle shuddered at the tenderness of it, wanting it to go on forever, but doubt crept into his mind and he pulled away reluctantly. "What's wrong?" Marcus asked.

"How do I know this is you doing this and not the enthrallment?" he asked nervously, staring into Marcus' eyes with guilt and uncertainty.

"Because it's my choice to follow the impulse to kiss you. I can say no if I want to, but I don't want to... I've never been like this... With a guy before, I mean. I've been with girls, but it never felt quite right to me... I like them, but in the back of my mind, I've always wondered if it would be better with guys instead... I've always been curious, but I was scared to try... You're really hot, you know... I couldn't ask for a more gorgeous guy than you. I'm not afraid to express this... And if it's the enthrallment, then it's also because I want to do this. I choose to do this. Don't be afraid... I know I'm not." He leaned in and kissed Kyle again, who let him.

Kyle broke the kiss after a few moments as his doubts rose up yet again. "But what if-"

"Seriously," Marcus interrupted, "I'll pay you to shut up," he said, then yanked Kyle's shirt off and started kissing him again. When he reached up and caressed Kyle's left nipple, all thought processes and protests turned into jelly inside the wolf-born's skull and he didn't bother to care anymore.

"Huh," Marcus said, noting the reaction with a smile, "I'll have to remember that one." He led Kyle to the bed and took off his own shirt. The scent of it hit him like a hammer. "Man I need to do laundry..." He glanced at Kyle. "Later, though," he added quickly and pulled the wolf-born down onto the bed. They started making out more vigorously, a cloud of Kyle's scent enveloping the both of them and showing Marcus that this was where Kyle slept. Kyle reached around Marcus' waist with his hand, then dared to dip his fingers under the waistband of Marcus' shorts, ones that he had been 'loaned' by raiding Ken's wardrobe, and slid his palm down around the buttock to cup it gently.

Marcus moaned, never having had a man do this to him before, and he let out a soft sigh of bliss, feeling the sense of pleasure spike within him. The pleasure rose to a pitch within the center of his being, then suddenly he felt something begin to well up from inside of his chest, swelling outward like a balloon, He felt his skin itch, his teeth felt odd and there was a tingling in his fingertips. "What's happening to me?" he gasped, feeling as though he was on the verge of orgasm.

"Don't be afraid," Kyle said softly. "Whenever we get aroused, the power of the wolf manifests within us. Don't be scared of it; it's a part of you now. Let it come out and embrace it. Have you changed before?"

"No," Marcus said, feeling nervous and confused.

"Then I get to be the first one to see it?" Kyle asked eagerly with a smile of excitement. "I want to... I want to see the power of your wolf." He leaned in and kissed Marcus passionately.

Marcus moaned as the sensations grew stronger within him, the muscles of his body surging with power as he began to slowly grow taller and more muscular, his body's muscles developing into a tall swimmer's build. He felt his face pulsing as his teeth grew into fangs and the tongue in his head flattened out, becoming thin, wide and longer as the dexterity of it increased.

His skin itched as new body hair grew in, the same medium brown as that on his head. His lavender-blue eyes bleached out, turning gold as his ears stretched to points and turned furry, the backs covered in light brown fur, while short-haired mutton chops grew down the sides of his face and stubble began to cover his smooth skin. He held up his hand, looking at it in shock as it spasmed and itched, still kissing Kyle, and his eyes widened as he watched the back grow hairy while the fingernails became thick, sharp claws that were translucent brown in color. He felt his palm swell, and turned the hand over as Kyle broke the kiss. Together they watched the palm and fingertips grow leathery pads designed to protect the sensitive surface and giving them a paw-like quality.

His mouth pulsed, then he gasped in shock as the jaws surged forward, the nose darkening and turning upwards as it moved forward above his upper jaw, his mouth and nose region growing into an inch long proto-muzzle before it came to a stop. He went cross-eyed as he looked at the tip, shocked at seeing one of the most defining parts of his body extending so far forward from the rest of his face. He was about to say something when he felt the skin above his buttocks squirm as the bones under the surface shifted. He bent upwards while still on his side and twisted to see a long, thin growth begin to push out from above his ass. He groaned as Kyle helped him lower his shorts to make room, the sexual pleasure focusing on that region, and his eyes bulged as he watched the tail take form. As it grew, light brown fur began to sprout from it, covering the appendage with a fluffy layer of hair. It surged out two feet, then three before it came to a stop. He gasped again as he felt his anus quiver in aftershock. The tail was long, luxurious, and as he experimented with new muscles in his lower torso, making it wag slowly, clearly a part of his body.

Lastly, he felt a stirring in his groin. Shocked, he rose up and desperately scrambled to pull off his shorts to reveal a penis that was swelling and changing, the foreskin restoring itself as the skin on his dick and balls grew furry and swelled larger, the fur matching that on his ears and tail. Marcus stared, his throat locked in shock as he watched the foreskin become a sheath. He reached down and touched it, the fur feeling so soft in his hand, his palm retaining some sensitivity despite the thick pads that had grown upon them. As the new werewolf took his changing shaft in his hand, it stirred, and with a wet, sticky, peeling sound, the penis itself emerged, the head dissolving into a tapered tip, the length of the shaft slick, smooth, and turning from pink to a pinkish red as blood coursed into it, darkening its length with his life's blood as it rose like a sword emerging from its scabbard.

He reached up from the furry base to touch the reddening length, and gasped at how sensitive it was, his clawed toes clenching above the foot pads, his feet having changed without him noticing. As the transformation settled and he took himself into his hand, he lost control and started cumming, the semen starting out as while, but rapidly turning yellow as his new canine sperm replaced the old, feeble human ejaculate gushing forth from the tip of his altered phallus.

Marcus lifted his head and howled for joy, overcome by the pleasure in his body. From downstairs, the answering howls of Ben and Steve joined Kyle's as they all answered the new wolf's declaration of his existence with their own howls of welcome.

Marcus collapsed down onto the bed, panting heavily as he continued to orgasm. Kyle, who had transformed to match Marcus, dove onto his squirting phallus and drank down his new lupine spunk eagerly, making Marcus feel even better. The blonde wolf continued to suckle as the orgasm slowed to a trickle, before it stopped altogether. Kyle pulled off Marcus' shaft, who looked down at it in shock. "A dog dick... I've got a fucking dog's dick," he whispered in shock as he stared at it.

"Wolf dick, technically," the wolf-born said. "You like it?" he asked, reaching to take it in his hand paw, stroking the base of the rigid, yet still not completely erect wolfhood gently, "'Cause I like it." Marcus groaned and spasmed in reaction, bucking his hips involuntarily.

"Oh fuck..." the new wolf gasped. "I still feel horny... How can I still be horny?"

"Wanna go again? That was just a side effect of the transformation, but you haven't had a REAL orgasm yet," Kyle said with a smile.

"REAL orgasm?" Marcus asked in disbelief.

Kyle nodded. "Would you like to mount me?" he asked.

"Mount...? You mean you'd let me fuck you?"

"Why not?" Kyle leaned in close and sniffed Marcus over as the new werewolf did the same, each committing the other's scent to memory. "I can't smell any illness or disease on you and I KNOW I'm fine... Why not?" He got up, went onto all fours and lifted his tail away.

"No," Marcus said, a hand on Kyle's waist.

"Don't you want to?" Kyle asked, looking disappointed.

"No, I do," Marcus said quickly, "But, umm... "I'd rather that we face each other... I'd like to see your face."

"Really?" Kyle said in shock. *The last person willing to do that...* He thought, remembering the kind and gentle face of their recent visitor, the blonde alpha smiling down at him... "Okay," he said, smiling nervously. The rest of the pack never wanted to face Kyle during mountings, feeling that it would send mixed signals to the unmated wolf-born's instincts and cause strife should any jealousy arise because of it. They hardly ever faced him during anal sex, so he had rarely done what Marcus was suggesting. The idea excited him, and he complied eagerly as Marcus approached. He rolled over onto his back, keeping to the middle bed of the three, and looked up at Marcus with a smile as the brown-haired wolf moved forward on all fours, looking rather animalistic in movement and appearance.

Marcus moved up until he was over Kyle, face to face, then went to kiss him, but seemed confused. Kyle solved the matter by taking Marcus' head in his hands and titling it sideways, turning his head the other way, opening his muzzle and bringing them together, giving the sexy snowmobiler his first ever muzzle-to-muzzle kiss. Marcus, it turned out, was a very good kisser, and Kyle lifted his legs, whimpering into the kiss with need. Marcus took the hint, his wolf-formed penis oozing precum, and tried to enter the eager, waiting hole, but kept missing, poking blindly several tiles and smearing pre all over Kyle's hairy butt in random places.

Kyle reached down, took Marcus in his hand, and guided him into place. Marcus, acting on instinct, thrust hard, spearing forward and impaling Kyle with his canine tool, making the blonde wolf gasp in reaction as he hugged him close. Marcus felt the tightness of Kyle's insides around his hyper-sensitive shaft, and bucked his hips rhythmically, fucking him with strong, rapid movements. Using the pressure of Kyle's legs wrapped around his butt, he took that as a sign to fuck him hard and deep, the pair still kissing. Marcus felt wild and untamed, like an animal, and he humped away with feral abandon.

*This is incredible!* he felt, rather than thought. *Who knew sex with a guy could feel like this?* He thrust away, groaning and moaning in pleasure, Kyle making sounds that showed he was enjoying this as much as Marcus himself was. Kyle's insides seemed to grow tighter and tighter as he fucked the werewolf deeply, the anal passage feeling narrower and narrower. Confused, his thrusts faltered, and he pulled out... Or rather, tried to. He panicked as he realized his dick was stuck! He tried again and again, but couldn't pull out.

"Hehe," Kyle said with a canine grin. "Looks like you tied me."

"I what?" Marcus asked in confusion.

"Your knot is fully swelled and you're stuck inside of me," Kyle explained, "See? My knot's swollen too," he added, showing the new wolf his fully erect wolfhood. "Don't worry, after you cum, it'll go down a few minutes later. It's natural for us. Fuck me... I want you to fill me with your cum," Kyle whimpered with need, bucking his hips.

There was no denying how good it felt despite the confusion it was causing, so Marcus shrugged and decided to go for it. He resumed pounding Kyle's butt, enjoying himself. After a few minutes, Kyle's moans became more urgent and suggestive, and he broke the kiss to howl in joy as his penis twitched as he blew his load all over the both of them. Marcus was shocked at the yellow color, wondering if Kyle was pissing himself at the same time, based on the color; but the scent of the cum triggered something inside him, and he came, howling in bliss as he lost his virginity inside the blonde wolf's ass. As he did so, the wolf inside of Marcus stirred further, feeling the final chains of enthrallment snap and fall away, fully freeing him from his submissive attachment to Kyle. The act of mounting the werewolf he was supposed to be submissive towards being the trigger that finally freed him fully from his enthrallment. He still cared for Kyle deeply, but no longer felt the slavish desire to serve him.

They panted as they ended the howl, and Marcus, his body overcome with fatigue, flopped down onto Kyle to rest. "Wow!" he got out between pants. "That felt incredible!"

"You liked it? Good, I liked it too." Kyle licked Marcus' furry ear in appreciation.

Marcus pulled up to look down into Kyle's golden eyes. "Yeah... That was even better than I thought it would be like to be with a guy. Thanks for that." He leaned in for another kiss, then pulled back to gaze tenderly into the blonde wolf's eyes. As he did so, he felt something, an odd new form of connection begin to form between them. It wasn't the enthrallment, but he definitely felt very strongly about the werewolf beneath him. "Hey Kyle? Do you, umm... Have a boyfriend?"

"No," Kyle said nervously. "Why? You want to be my mate?" he asked, feeling the same way. Then he stopped Marcus with a hand under his muzzle as his expression became sad. "I'm not sure that's a good idea... I mean, you were enthralled to me. What if this is just the enthrallment talking?"

"It's not," Marcus said firmly, "I can tell the difference. This is something I'm choosing for myself, not something mind enslavement is making me do. And if you're asking, then yes, let's be mates."

"Really?" Kyle asked, tears in his eyes as he saw the conviction in Marcus' golden eyes. Then he began to tremble. "I... I never thought I'd find you..." he began, then as Marcus leaned down to kiss him, Kyle broke down completely, crying with joy as he kissed his mate passionately, hugging him close with a tight grip and never wanting to let him go.

They held each other, kissing and sharing their love for quite some time, even after Marcus was able to pull free of the warm embrace of Kyle's body...

*****

It was only after a nap and another mating, this time with Marcus being the one who was mounted, being curious about the experience and discovering that he was versatile, a fact that they both enjoyed; that the newly-mated pair exited the bathroom after cleaning up and went downstairs, wearing nothing except pairs of shorts.

They entered the kitchen to find Ben, Steve and Jack sitting at the table, the two longer residents drinking coffee, while the alpha stuck with Cherry Coke. Kyle took one look at the keeper and bristled, his tail flaring and his posture rigid. "He wasn't home, huh?" the blonde wolf said to Steve while pointing at Jack.

The human raised a hand. "I've only been home about ten minutes. Why? What's been happening here? Does it have anything to do with the way these two keep grinning like baboons?" he asked, shooting the two senior-most wolves a dirty glance.

"Hey!" Ben and Steve protested in near unison in outrage at the comparison to apes. They looked at each other and chuckled in shared amusement.

"Well," Kyle hedged. "I suppose you should all know... Marcus and I are mates now."

"Really?" Steve asked, brightening. "Kyle, that's wonderful!" He wagged his gray-furred tail enthusiasticly in reflection of his happiness for his packmate.

"Yeah," Ben added, looking genuinely happy, his nearly black tail wagging as well. "Congratulations."

"Now hold on a minute here," Jack protested. "That's not a good idea... I mean Marcus isn't completely free of his enthrallment."

"Yes I am," Marcus replied. "I felt the last of it's hold over me end when I... Well..." he began, then stopped, blushing with embarrassment.

"When you mounted me?" Kyle asked with a sheepish grin, making his new mate blush even harder as his face went so red that it was a wonder he didn't pass out. He could only nod rapidly in answer.

The human frowned. "I'm still not comfortable with this, you know."

"Well it's as much my decision as Kyle's," Marcus said firmly as he recovered, not liking the over-protective way the human was behaving, "I'm sorry if you don't like it, but Kyle and I are an item now, and it's not really any of your business."

Jack sighed in disgust. "Fine! But if you're going to be a member of this pack, then you need to show my a little respect to keepers like myself, seeing as how I'll BE one of your keepers from now on like I already am for the rest of your pack."

"You respect me and I'll respect you," Marcus stated firmly.

"Fair enough," the human said with another sigh, this time in resignation.

"So you finally tapped into the power of your wolf," Ben said, looking Marcus over appraisingly. "You have a medium build, not as strong as me or Steve, but not as lean as Kyle or Ken... A good complement to Luke, I'd say... You should be able to handle yourself rather well once we have you trained to fight..." He walked over, and as Marcus stood there, looking puzzled, then became shocked as Ben took him into his arms and kissed him passionately. "You're very sexy," he said in a deep, husky growl.

Marcus was shocked. He looked to Kyle, feeling guilty and ashamed; but when Kyle merely smiled at him in an encouraging way, then nodded, Marcus turned back in time to receive another, deeper kiss from the alpha, who squeezed him close with a hand on his ass. "As your alpha, I'd like to tell you how happy I am that you became my beta. I can't wait to officially welcome you into our pack..." He sighed, sensing the conflicted feelings in his newest beta, and decided to go easy on him. The 'official' welcome would need to wait until all of the pack was present.

"Umm... Thanks, I guess," Marcus said nervously.

"Don't be ashamed of sex, Marcus," Ben told him soothingly. You're Kyle's mate, yes, but as a member of a pack, we are all your loves now. I could turn you around, bend you over, then mount you right here and now and no one would mind."

"Actually," Jack said with a strained smile, "I WOULD mind a little."

"You're human," Ben told him in a dismissive fashion; "your opinion doesn't count."

Jack snorted while Steve and Kyle laughed, Kyle barking lightly as a display of humor as his instincts triggered an animalistic reaction in him as sometimes happened.

Marcus, feeling a sense of excitement and an odd draw to the strong werewolf holding him, leaned in for another deep kiss, their proto-muzzles interlocking as their tongues danced, Ben's determined to be the one in control of the dance itself. Ben pulled away with a lustful growl of appreciation. "I can't wait for us to have a one-on-one mating," he said, trembling with excitement. "But," he said, calming himself down. "We should let you check in with your work. You've been away for a few days now and I don't want-..." He trailed of at the beta's expression of shame as Marcus hung his head. "Oh shit, I'm sorry. I just assumed you had a job," Ben said, in embarrassment.

"I did until a week ago when the medical supply office I worked for laid me off. They said there wasn't enough work to go around, but I know they just wanted to cut back on expenses so the damned CEOs could take another trip to Paris or something," he finished bitterly. "I was going to go out looking for a new job on Monday."

"It's okay, Marcus," Ben said soothingly. "There's no shame in being laid off. We'll find you a new job."

Marcus nodded. "I should still check my messages," the brown-haired wolf said.

"I'll get your phone," Steve said, "We had an extra charging cable that fit it, so I plugged in for charging in the living room."

He dashed out and returned a few moments later with the phone in hand. "Thanks," Marcus said with a smile before Steve snuck a quick kiss from him, then Marcus powered on his phone and saw that there were several messages from his brother. He was just pulling up Brad's number when said sibling beat him to the punch by calling again. "Hey, Brad, what's up? ...Well, I was kind of occupied for a few days... Yeah, I'm sorry... What is it?... You WHAT?!?" he said, looking shocked. "Are you fucking kidding me?!?" he asked in shock, his new tail flaring in agitation. "...Well I feel honored that you'd bother to tell me at all!" he retorted sourly. "...Oh come on, Brad! We both know we barely talk at all and every time we try, it turns into an argument!...What about my voice? My voice is fine! I just-"

He stopped, seeing Jack wave at him frantically, then pantomime having something wrong with his throat. "I uh," Marcus said uncertainly. "I have a sore throat," he said, earning a nod and a thumbs up from the biracial man, using the excuse to cover for his now slightly deeper, growling tone of voice. "But still, your timing is lousy! ...Because I just got laid off from work, is why! ... Gee, you're all heart! You know this is exactly why we never get along! For a big brother, you sure act irresponsibly sometimes! ...Yes you do! Look, you suddenly decide out of the blue to move to Florida and leave me high and dry! Some brother you are! ...Damned right I'm pissed off! Now where am I supposed to live, huh? Did you even think about that?!? ...I'll yell if a damned well want to! I'd never do something like that to you, regardless of how good the surfing is there! ...Fine, then, see if I care!... Whatever, Brad! At least you can meet my new m-" He paused to rephrase what he wanted to say... "Boyfriend when you get back! Goodbye!"

With that, he hung up, fuming... Then realized what he'd just said, and slumped back against the counter top with a stunned expression. "Oh fuck... I just came out to my brother..." he gasped. "What was I thinking?!? ARGH!!!" he cried in frustration and embarrassment, burying his face in his hands. "Why did I tell him that?!?" he exclaimed, his muzzle poking out from between his hands. "I'm such a retard!"

"What happened?" Kyle asked, moving to the side of his mate and rubbing his back in a comforting manner.

Marcus dropped his hands, looking disgusted. "Well, my selfish, self-centered, asshole of a brother let his old college fraternity buddies talk him into moving down there. He already has a job and is getting a place, so he's basically ditching me so he can have fun in the sun and forget his responsibilities... Namely his half of our lease! We still have eight months on it, for crying out loud and I couldn't afford it on my own even IF I still had a job! Now I need a new apartment AND a new job!"

"Move in here," Ben said firmly.

"What?" Marcus asked in shock. "I can't just bum off of you guys like that!"

"You're one of us," Ben stated firmly in a tone that brooked no argument. "I won't have my beta wondering where he'll be sleeping and a pack is always there to support their own in times of need. You're moving in here... Consider it an order from your alpha. Besides, you need to learn about being a werewolf and learn to control your powers and instincts. Having you here under the same roof as the rest of us will make the training a lot easier."

"I don't know," Marcus said, not wanting to disobey the alpha, but not wanting to be a burden on everyone, either.

"Oh come on," Kyle said gently. "We don't mind at all and you can share my part of the pack's bed. It'll be great."

"Well... I mean you guys don't really owe me, or anything..." Marcus hedged.

"It's not about owing anyone," Ben said, stepping forward and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You're a part of our pack now... Pack is family and lesser romantic loves combined. Let us help you, Marcus... If you don't want to feel like you're taking advantage of us, you can help with the chores until you find a new job, deal?" He saw that his beta was still doubtful, so he moved in close and squeezed the reluctant beta's crotch, growling in a tone that was demanding, lustful and comforting all at once.

Marcus moaned and swayed on his feet, his penis rising from his sheath at the attention. "Oh fuck..." he gasped, swept away by the growl of his alpha, finding himself wanting to submit to the power and insistence of the canine-voiced command. "I'll start packing," he said softly.

Ben growled possessively, leaned in, and drove his tongue down the beta's throat in a gesture of fierce passion and approval...

*****

Kyle, Ben and Steve drove Marcus over to his apartment. The wolves were all in their human forms, which they'd all turned to once they had taught Marcus how to change forms at will and the higher ranking couple followed Marcus and Kyle in the van the new addition to the pack drove; an attached trailer the snowmobile had ridden on trailing along behind it. Ben and Steve followed in Steve's SUV so that they could bring over as much of Marcus' stuff as they could. They arrived at a rather seedy-looking apartment complex in the bad part of town. "You actually live here?" Steve asked nervously as they got out of their vehicles.

"The rent is cheap, so long as there's two people paying it," Marcus said. "Mom and Dad meant well, but they apparently didn't realize just how expensive a double funeral was, so most of the moderate inheritance we got went to cover their final expenses, along with Dad's credit debt. He wasn't the most reserved when it came to managing his money. I spent mine to get the van and Brad bought the snowmobile and trailer. At least we own them outright. I wish he'd been more practical, but I was the one who wrecked it joyriding, so I'm not one to talk," he finished with a sheepish expression.

He led the way to the second floor of the building, where they passed an open apartment with music blaring, the wolves wincing at the volume of the stereo as some woman sang in Spanish on the album that was currently playing. They reached the next apartment and Marcus let everyone in quickly, their ears ringing. "Fuck!" Marcus exclaimed, his ears hurting. "How loud did she have that cranked up?"

"Your hearing is more sensitive now," Kyle explained, "it probably sounds louder because your hearing is better than before... At least I've heard that human-born wolves get increases in their senses. I wouldn't know."

"What do you mean?" Marcus asked.

"It means I was born a werewolf, whereas the rest of you were born human, then were turned into werewolves by other wolves. All the werewolf stuff that's new to you and Alpha Ben is stuff I grew up with."

"Really? That's kind of cool, actually."

"Really?" Kyle asked with a bright smile, which faltered as the smell finally hit him.

"Yeah," Marcus said, stealing a quick kiss without noticing the way Kyle's enthusiasm had suddenly taken a nose-dive.

Ben and Steve, however, hadn't been paying attention; they were too busy staring around in horror at the disgustingly filthy apartment, hands over their noses. Everything, both possessions and garbage, were strewn across the apartment's living room, dining room and kitchenette, making the place look like either a storm had hit it, or the city dump was helping to pay the rent in exchange for storage space. Ben had never seen so much clutter before in his life. The sight was bad enough, but the place stank horribly as well, assaulting the sensitive noses of the werewolves without mercy. Even Marcus himself was looking rather uncomfortable, thanks to his newly heightened sense of smell. The place stank like a garbage dump that had been rotting in the sun for the last several weeks.

"Why does it smell so much worse?" Marcus asked. "It never smelled this bad before!"

"As a werewolf," Ben answered, "ALL your senses have increased, including smell, so now your nose is stronger and more sensitive than before."

"Well," Marcus said, looking rather uncomfortable, "we should start collecting my stuff. I'll need my clothes," he said.

"Will they still fit you?" Kyle asked, wincing and trying to ignore the mess and smell. "You're a little larger than before," he said, beginning to feel slightly faint.

"They should be okay," Marcus said. "I always buy over-sized clothes because I like a looser fit."

"Man this place reeks!" Ben exclaimed, feeling ready to throw up. "Let's open some windows, or something!"

The betas complied eagerly and soon the fresh air provided the semblance of relief. They entered a bedroom that smelled strongly of Marcus' former human scent... Among less savory smells... To find the place a mess. "Sorry," he said, looking embarrassed. "I never was one for cleanliness."

That much was obvious. His clothes were scattered everywhere, the bed was just a bottom sheet with the covers all but literally wadded up, and there was the various scents of food in various stages of decay as well as the smells mice and roaches. Marcus practically lived like a rat, and the alpha stared around in utter revulsion. Steve picked up a pile of dirty clothes and several slices of dehydrated, week old pizza fell out of the mass of garments. The head beta, however, REALLY turned green when he found a moldy, half-eaten yogurt container the hard way by nearly stepping on it. Kyle yelped as he made an unnamed discovery in the closet that he refused to speak of as he trembled in shock with wide eyes.

Ben took a deep breath and nearly passed out from the stench. While a human could, possibly, handle the smell, a werewolf could not, and he practically broke the window to get it open that much sooner. "This place is disgusting! How can you live like this?" he asked sharply of his newest beta.

"Well," Marcus shrugged. "I don't spend much time here... I mostly just come home to sleep."

"That still doesn't explain how filthy this place is," Steve added, looking around with revulsion.

"Mom was always a neat freak," Marcus explained. "After she and Dad died," he said, his face falling, "it just didn't seem to be important anymore how clean the place is."

"Well be that as it may, there's no fucking way you're living like this at the Den," the alpha said firmly. "I may not be a neat freak, but this place is a biohazard! You'll be keeping your things much neater than this at home! I don't mind a little clutter, but this place is downright poisonous!"

"It's not THAT bad," Marcus protested.

Kyle leaned back against the wall and felt a greasy smear touch his bare elbow below the sleeve of his white howling wolf t-shirt. He recoiled in disgust and bumped into Steve, who brought his foot down on a second unfinished and mold-growing yogurt container, the decaying contents gushing all over his foot. "All over my shoe!" he nearly shouted, looking ready to vomit. He then proceeded to hop to the bathroom. "Oh fuck! It smells even worse in here!" he called out in a mixture of panic and revulsion. They heard him growling in frustration as he fiddled with something.

"If you're trying to turn on the fan in there," Marcus called out to him, "it's broken."

Steve groaned in agony and turned on the tub faucet to wash off his shoe.

The rest of them, meanwhile, grabbed any article of clothing that didn't hiss at them and try to escape when they reached for it and threw them out into the hallway. Once the clothing was out, they focused on his important paperwork, which was one of the few portions of his possessions that didn't need to be burned for health reasons, as well as his selection of entertainment and electronic items.

Once the room was as cleared as a lack of a flamethrower could make it, they moved on to the kitchen, which was, horribly, even more vile. Ben reached for the light switch, his nose picking up the scents of multiple insects and decaying food... And when he turned on the light, several sections of the walls literally scattered, fleeing for darker, safer locales. The alpha turned several interesting colors as his eyes bulged in shock, half from the vast amount of bugs, and half from the stench. He backed out of the kitchen, trembling. *I'd rather face a direwolf than go in there,* he thought, being completely serious. The double sink was piled to the point of toppling over with dirty dishes, the table was covered with trash, the trashcan in the corner was covered with refuse as well, and the recycling bin next to it contained enough scrap to cover the Golden Gate bridge from end to end. The counter tops were a veritable alien landscape of foreign, unnamable shapes and masses that defied classification. Ben felt his pupils contract, as if desperate to spare his sanity by making it as hard to see as possible by squeezing entirely shut. He wasn't entirely sure if it was his imagination when the refrigerator wiggled, as though something trapped within was trying to escape.

Marcus walked past him and entered the kitchen, slowing only from the heightened sense of smell his new olfactory powers provided him, then began removing boxes of food from the cupboards. "Absolutely not!" Ben stated firmly, looking horrified. "You can take a few dishes, but ZERO food leaves that kitchen. It's probably all infested and I refuse to allow it in the Den!"

"But these haven't even been opened!" Marcus whined, holding up shrink-wrapped containers of mystery food that looked as though they had been scavenged after a flood in a fetid swamp.

"I don't care!" Ben growled "We WILL NOT have anything from this kitchen that's not replaceable leaving it, nor will anything that bugs can hide inside of come with us! Furthermore, we're fumigating every last thing that you're taking from here. I don't care how it smells afterwards, but there will be no bugs or other pests moving with us, is that understood?" he said grimly, staring at the beta with an unforgiving glare.

"Yes, Alpha," Marcus said, sounding defeated and dropping his gaze to the floor in guilt.

"Is there anything in there that's irreplaceable?" Ben asked sharply, still feeling angry.

"Well," Marcus said slowly, looking into the kitchen and doing a mental inventory. "Nothing really, I suppose."

"Then the kitchen is off-limits," Ben stated firmly, starting to calm himself. He wished he could meditate, but that involved deep breathing exercises that were a guaranteed death sentence in such a toxic environment as the inside of Marcus' apartment, even with his supernatural healing powers.

"Okay," Marcus said sadly.

"Focus on anything from the living room you want," Ben said as Kyle, standing at the entrance to the hallway, shook open a large trash bag to hold the clothes. "Shake out every piece of clothing thoroughly to make sure there's nothing hiding in them," the alpha instructed.

"I can just smell-" Kyle began, sniffing a pair of loose-fit jeans, went through a rather interesting spectrum of never before seen colors, and changed his mind. "Shaking them out will be better, yeah," he wheezed as Steve emerged from the bathroom to help him, looking rather pale as he appeared.

It took two hours to get the stuff bagged up and down to the van, Steve not wanting to risk any critters infesting his SUV, and they headed back to the Den, stopping at a grocery store to buy a few bug bombs and insecticides to fumigate everything they rescued from the nightmare that was Marcus' apartment in order to protect the Den from infestations. Marcus dwelled again on just how much worse his apartment had smelled than before, and said as much to his mate, who rode with him.

"Apparently humans have a much duller sense of smell than werewolves do," Kyle said, rolling down the window so that he could breathe, Marcus following suit. "I love you, but promise me you won't let the Den get like that. I can't live in all of that the way you did."

Marcus sighed. "I guess I did so because it wasn't worth caring about. Nothing really seemed to matter much anymore after my folks died. Brad and I got the apartment together to save on expenses, but we've been drifting further and further apart. His wanting to move to Florida without really caring about what happened to me is proof of that. It's like we're not a family anymore... Like our family died with Mom and Dad," he said sadly.

Kyle saw how hurt his mate was and reached over to take his hand. "You're not alone anymore. You have me and the pack. We're your family now, along with our keepers and all the rest of our community."

"Thanks," Marcus said, stopping at a light and leaning over to kiss him tenderly...

*****

The tool shed became decontamination central, with everything Marcus owned that would be damaged by the insecticide carefully sniffed over to make sure there were no hidden critters along for the ride while the rest was blasted with insect-killing chemicals and would be left sitting for three days to air out afterwards before being allowed into the house. Once the bug bombs had been activated, they made their way inside for a group nap, Marcus grumbling at how everyone else wanted to sleep, but the rest of the pack that was home were insistent. "Oh come on," Kyle begged. "It'll be really good for you and you can start adding your scent to the bed more thoroughly."

"Wasn't two loads of cum and musk enough of a good start?" Steve asked slyly, making the lesser pair of mates blush as Ben smiled in amusement.

"I meant NON-SEXUAL scents," Kyle replied, glaring at the head beta and sticking his human-formed tongue out at him.

They made their way upstairs to the bedroom, stripped nude and climbed into bed. Ben and Steve took their usual bed while Kyle pulled Marcus down onto the middle one. "Do the other two guys sleep there?" Marcus asked, indicating the empty bed on the end.

"Yeah, go ahead and sniff it over so you know what they smell like," Kyle instructed. Marcus did so, taking in a scent that screamed of machismo mixed with the inside of an auto-shop, while the other, accompanying scent had a pleasant spiciness to it that smelled strongly of various types of foods.

He rolled back over to Kyle's side once he'd had his fill and memorized the scents. "I hope they act as nice as they smell," he said gently with a slight smile, looking forward to meeting them when they got back.

"You'll like them," his mate said reassuringly, "and I know they'll like you, too."

Just then, Ben's phone rang, making him groan and get up to get it off of the dresser. His and Steve's dressers being the only ones allowed in the room, which only had enough room for the two, by way of the privilege of rank. Ben grabbed his phone and sat on the corner of the bed. "Hey! It's Ken!" he said happily before answering. "Hey there! We were just talking about you! What's up? ...Really? That's great! When will you land? ...Around eight o'clock at night. Is that our time? ...Good. Hey, hold on a sec..." He turned to the others, smiling. "Good news! They're coming back early and will land at Sea-Tac around eight p.m.! Say Marcus, is that van of yours up to a trip to Seattle and back?"

"Yeah, it runs fine," Marcus said, then his face fell. "But the gas is-"

"On us," Ben said firmly. "Let's take it so we can all travel there and back together. That way you'll have plenty of time to get to know them."

"Umm, okay," the young man said, feeling nervous, but eager to meet the people he would apparently be sharing his life with. "Sounds like fun."

"Hey," the alpha said into the phone happily, "Marcus owns a van so we'll drive out there to meet you and you can get to know him on the way back... Nonsense! We'll come get you. We'll leave here around, what?" he asked the other three wolves in the bedroom. "Six o'clock?"

"We'd better leave around five thirty," Steve said, "in case there's traffic."

Ben nodded. "Hey Ken, is Luke there with you? ...Put him on with you," he said, then tossed the phone to Marcus. "Say hi."

Marcus nervously caught the phone and held it to his ear. "Umm, hi, this is Marcus."

~"Ooooh, you sound cute!"~ a voice with a mild Asian accent said. ~"So how old are you, Stud?"~

Marcus blushed. "Well, I'll be twenty three in about three more months," he said bashfully.

~"College-bait, huh?"~ asked a second, manly voice that reeked of machismo over the phone. ~"Well I'm Luke and this is Ken, and we can't wait to meet you. Steve told us that Alpha Ben helped break you free of your enthrallment, so congratulations on that!"~

"Thanks, but it was really Kyle who helped me break it's last hold on my mind after Alpha helped me get rid of most of it. It was really creepy being like that, but at least I'm not drooling all over Kyle's feet anymore... Unless he's into that kind of thing," he teased, his old, wicked sense of humor starting to return and making Kyle gasp in shock.

~"Well, he IS awfully kinky, so be careful,"~ Ken replied with a laugh.

~"So how many times have you done it with the guys?"~ Luke asked. ~"You'd better have some energy left for us when we get there!"~

Ben, who's sharp hearing caught the remark, talked loudly to be heard. "Hands off, Beta! I get him first after his mate! Alpha's privilege!"

~"Mate?!?"~ Ken gasped. "Oh shit! Kyle snagged himself a mate?!? SERIOUSLY?!?"~

~"Oh man!"~ Luke added, ~"it's about time. I've always felt so bad for him. Well from the bottom of my heart, Marcus, thank you. It means so much to us to know our packmate finally has a guy of his own! We always felt guilty being romantic around him, even though he's never said anything about it."~

Marcus was so touched at how the two men over the phone seemed so welcoming and grateful to him that he was flattered. No one, however, seemed as touched as Kyle, who had heard the words of his packmates. "Well," Marcus said, "he means so much to me... And since you're both on the phone... Kyle," he said, turning to his mate, "I love you," he said.

~"Awww!"~ the pair in Japan said in unison over the phone. ~"STEVE!"~ Ken shouted. ~"Take a picture of them kissing! I want to see it!"~

The head beta got up, grabbed his phone, and readied the camera. "Okay guys, you heard the audience," he said cheerfully.

Kyle and Marcus grinned. "I love you too, Marcus," Kyle said, then they kissed.

Steve took the picture. "Now hug and face me," he instructed, which they did, and the head beta took a second picture. "Ken! I'm sending the pics now!"

~"...Got 'em!"~ he said. ~"Oh fuck he's gorgeous! Dude, get ready because we are SO fucking your brains out when we get back!"~

~"Definitely!"~ Luke added with enthusiasm.

"AFTER we give him a formal initiation into our pack, that is," Ben corrected.

"~"Let's masturbate to these pics before we head to the airport,"~ Luke said.

~"I SUPPOSE that would tide us over until we get our hands on the real thing..."~ Ken said thoughtfully. ~"Well we can't wait to see you so we can do more than get off to pictures of you..." A woman on the other end of the line began yelling in Japanese about something. "Oh come on, Mom!" Ken replied in English for the Americans' benefit. "He's part of our pack now, of COURSE we want to fuck him! ...OW! OW! OW! Okay! Okay!"~

~"We'd better go,"~ Luke said with a sigh of resignation. ~"His mom isn't so keen on sex talk. See you guys tomorrow night your time!~"

"Later!" the quartet said with amusement before they hung up.

Ben took his phone back, looked at the remaining units of time left and winced. "I'm glad we don't make international calls often. I used up a ton of minutes on that overseas chat," he muttered.

"You know..." he speculated. "You should get a new phone. Something made this century?"

"Tracphones ARE made this century!" Ben defended testily.

"At least the camera works good," Steve said, waggling his eyebrows at the alpha.

"You asking for me to take a pic of you?" Ben asked with a sly smile.

Steve wilted. "Didn't you see it?" he asked.

"See what?" Ben asked in confusion.

Steve looked put out. "Don't you ever go through your album?" he asked, sounding hurt.

"No," Ben said. "I hardly ever use-... What did you do?" he asked slyly, pulling up the folder of pics and scrolling through the few pics to the last one taken and smiled. "You dirty little hornball." He leaned in to kiss his mate with a grin.

"Took you long enough to find it," the head beta mock-pouted.

"Sorry," Ben said sincerely, kissing him again.

The phones were put away and they all climbed into bed. They were all asleep within moments, smiling happily in their sleep at the prospect of being a complete pack again very soon...

*****

The full moon was high in the nighttime skies, and Ben breathed a sigh of satisfaction, feeling as though he was back to the way he belonged. He dropped his gaze to take in the beauty of his lupine body, running his claws through the lush dark fur he had grown, and then looked over his pack with love and lust at the sight of them all. Marcus stood there, looking down at himself in wonder, his fur being an odd light brown in color and making him look more like a coyote than a wolf. Still, Ben found him beautiful and claimed him, mounting the beta eagerly. Once they had all finished their matings, Ben barked in command, and they took off, running into the night.

They dashed under the trees, around bushes, and felt the freedom of the night, barking and yapping in joy...

Until a fierce, monstrous howl erupted from somewhere ahead of them, and they skidded to a stop. Ben's eyes narrowed, feeling an odd connection to that howl, which sounded as though it had been made by a creature that was only vaguely wolf-like. The howl itself was filled with rage, pain, and above all, hatred.

Ben growled savagely. He was unable to think of how the direwolf had gotten inside the barrier, but he didn't care. All he knew was that this was his chance to destroy the monster who had created him. Ben loved what he was now, but refused to let the thing that had changed him draw any more blood. He heard Marcus whimper, and turned back with concern to see Ken and Kyle each licking one of his ears to comfort the frightened beta. He growled to Marcus, telling him to be brave.

Steve growled as well, but in a tone of deadly desire, staring in the direction the howl had come from, his fur bristling as he dropped to all fours. Ben barked in command, and they took off in pursuit of the source of the howl. They heard other howls, the packs responding to the threat, and poured on the speed as they howled in response, letting the others know that they were on the way to help.

As they got closer, they heard yelps of pain and fear, and entered the clearing to hear a yelp that turned into a canine cry of agony... Just before the direwolf tore Wallace in half with its powerful jaws, the front and back halves of the beta flying apart. They saw Berke fly into a rage and lunge at the monster, only to be slashed viciously by the direwolf's foreclaws and go down. Ben looked around to see that three other wolves were already dead: Lance, Parker and Kali were already laying lifeless, slaughtered by the monster they had fought.

Ben roared in fury and lunged for the beast as Berke went down, determined to make sure the hideous creature died by his fangs and claws, and as he reached the monster, no longer caring what happened to him, he was struck hard by the beast and sent sprawling. Steve and Kyle rushed in, tearing at the thing, but it reached out its mouth with frightful speed, took Kyle by the neck in its misshapen jaws...

And bit the hapless werewolf's head from his body, before flinging it away.

Ben laid there on his back, numb with shock... He saw the head come to a stop, a sad, shocked look on the face of Kyle's severed head, which drooped to an expressionless mask as the life drained out of it...

And felt a fury unlike anything he'd ever felt before consume him. He no longer cared about anything other than making the direwolf pay for what he had done, and in his grief and rage, threw himself recklessly at the monster, tearing away at it until the thing knocked him down onto his back, then slashed Luke across the back of the neck, severing his spine and killing him instantly. The thing turned, rose up high on it's hind legs as it glared down at Ben with a hateful, maniacal grin, and brought its front paws down onto the Head Alpha's chest, crushing it inwards before the hideously oversized jaws opened wide, lunging for his head and biting down hard enough to crush his skull in a single bite.

Ben bolted upright, his throat locked in his wolf-formed body, unable to scream or yelp in fear. He looked around wildly, his eyes bulging in fear, but there was no sign of the direwolf, no wooded sanctuary, or even the light of the moon. In fact, it was just after sunrise, judging by the light that came in through the windows. He was alone in the pack's bedroom, and realized that he was the only one left upstairs. He sat there, panting rapidly as he awoke from the nightmare, unable to shake his fear.

Feeling a sense of panic, he threw on a pair of shorts and hurried downstairs to find Kyle and Marcus cuddled up together on the couch, watching the early morning news. The smells of cooking food coming from the kitchen told of the head beta's efforts to make them all breakfast. Ben saw Kyle and felt a wave of relief wash over him, one that he quickly squashed down so as not to alarm his betas.

"Alpha?" Kyle asked, looking up at him in confusion. "Are you okay?"

"I, uh..." Ben faltered, "I'm fine. I guess I'm just not fully awake entirely yet is all. I need to finish waking up all the way, I mean," he said, feeling as though he was babbling. "I uh... I forgot something upstairs," he said, then hurried back up to the second floor. He went to the bedroom and snatched up his phone, then texted rapidly.

>How are things there? Miss you guys<

He waited a minute, than two. "Come on!" he growled softly, yet desperately, clutching the phone so hard he nearly broke it, his knuckles white, ears perked and tail fur flared in agitation.

Finally, the answer came. >Almost done packing. Can't wait to see you guys and meet Marcus! :) < Luke's reply read.

Ben let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, feeling as though he wanted to sob with relief. >Get back safe. Love you guys. Hugs and Licks<

>We miss you guys too. See you soon. Hugs and licks from both<

The alpha was tempted to contact Berke and ask if everything was okay, but if his own betas were alright, then his brother's pack was obviously fine too. Ben set down the phone, walked to the bathroom, and locked the door behind him as he turned on the shower...

Then he changed and sat in the tub in his human form, trying hard to stop trembling at the nightmare as the water poured down onto him from above...

*****

The next evening, they were just approaching the city limits of Seattle, the three wolves telling Marcus more about themselves along the way, when Marcus sensed an odd tension come over them. "Is something wrong?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah," Ben said grimly. "We're almost at the airport."

Marcus frowned. "But we want to be here to pick up Luke and Ken, right?"

"Yes," Steve answered, "but the airport itself is the problem."

"Why?"

"Remember a few weeks ago," Ben said, "when there was that mass attack on airports and a lot of people died?"

"The mass terrorist attack? Yeah... But terrorists are no match for werewolves, right?"

"They weren't terrorists," Ben said grimly. "They were werewolf hunters."

"WHAT?!?" Marcus said, nearly going off the road in shock until Kyle helped him get the van back under control. "You mean werewolf hunters are real?"

"Very real," Kyle said grimly. "And for the record, almost all of the victims of the attacks were werewolves."

"Oh shit..." Marcus said, looking shocked.

"When we get to the airport," Ben said, his tone making it a command, "stay close to us and don't wander off. We'll get the guys and leave as quickly as we can. I don't want to be there any longer than normal. Resist the urge to sniff them over until we're back in the van and away from the airport. Don't do anything wolf-like until we're safely away from there."

"Okay," Marcus said, now starting to feel nervous himself. *Hunters are real? I'm not ready for something like this!* he thought to himself in a panic, radiating the stink of fear.

Kyle felt the strain of his alpha and head beta, but as Marcus wasn't connected to them yet in the way the California wolves had taught them, he could only rely on Marcus' body language and pheromones. "Just stay close to us and everything will be alright," he said soothingly.

"Yeah," Marcus replied nervously...

"Don't worry, Marcus," Ben said from the seat behind the driver's where Marcus was piloting the van; the alpha reaching forward to rub his right shoulder comfortingly as he smelled the beta's rising fear in the air, "We won't let anything happen to you and I'll start training you how to fight. Have you had any form of formal fight training?"

"I was on the high school wrestling team," he said.

Ben sighed in disappointment. "Wrestling won't be enough. I'll train you to be one of the best fighters around, I promise." The thought of being able to defend himself made the beta feel better, but the alpha's follow up question confused him. "You don't still have the singlet from back then, do you?"

He heard Kyle snort in repressed amusement. "Um, no, sorry," Marcus answered. "Why?"

Ben sighed with regret. "Never mind; it was just a thought."

"More like 'just a fetish'," Kyle said quietly in amusement, making Marcus blush. Admittedly, the tights had indeed been a bonus of being on the team, and he thought he could catch a rather pleasant musky smell coming from the seat behind him, that made his pants stir. He recognized it as the same smell Kyle had made when he had become aroused during their lovemaking. *Is he really getting off on the thought of lycra-clad wrestlers? ...Well, he wouldn't be the only one,* Marcus thought bashfully, remembering how the team uniform of body-hugging spandex had been the major selling point for him joining the team in high school. *I wonder what he'd look like in one...*

"...-Said, Earth to Marcus!" Steve was saying. "You're about to miss the turn off!"

"Oh, right!" the lesser beta said quickly, turning to make sure he took the correct fork in the network of ramps as they reached the airport. "Sorry," he added, feeling his face burning. He glanced over to see Kyle grinning at him in a knowing way. "Shut up," he said in annoyance, feeling worse for having been caught fantasizing.

They parked, got out and huddled close together. "Calm down, everyone," Ben said tersely. "Your tension feels like sandpaper."

"Sorry," Kyle apologized.

"It's all right," Ben said, calming himself. "The bond just takes some time to get used to."

"Bond?" Marcus asked.

"We'll tell you later," Ben said, looking around for the slightest sign of trouble. "Luke and Ken will take part in it too. They were away when we learned how to do it."

"Do what?" Marcus asked, thoroughly confused.

"Later," Steve said consolingly.

They made their way inside and Steve pulled Marcus close. "If you hear any sudden, painfully loud and high-pitched sounds, try to avoid showing that you can hear it. Try to act like it's not there and casually try to see if everyone around you can hear it too. If they can't, it means a hunter is trying to make us reveal our presence using ultra-sonic frequencies, so do your best to pretend the sound doesn't exist, alright?"

"Are we really in danger?" the young wolf asked nervously.

"Hunters are everywhere," Kyle said. "We have to be careful any time we're in public, even in crowded places like this. Hunters no longer seem to care about public safety or concealment. Just stay with the pack and we'll protect you."

Marcus swallowed nervously, too afraid to answer. Kyle pressed as close to him as the wolf-born could, offering the comfort of his presence, which eased the new werewolf's fears to a degree.

They made their way in as far as visitors are allowed, entering the roughly boomerang-shaped airport on the third floor and waited for their loved ones to arrive. A few minutes later, the pair appeared with Jessica, waving and smiling while glancing around nervously. The pack hurried over to hug them in greeting, the pair sniffing Marcus over covertly as they hugged him.

"Nice to meet you," Jessica said with a tired smile, looking very worn out.

"Same here," Marcus said. "Are you okay?"

"Just tired from the trip. I think I could use a nap on the way home."

"Sounds good," Ben said tersely after a quick hug. "Let's get out of here. I don't want us to be here any longer than is strictly necessary."

They made their way back to the van, stowed the luggage behind the back bucket seat, and headed out, Kyle being the one to drive with Marcus' permission so that Luke and Ken could get to know their new pack mate. Ben rode shotgun and Steve sat with Jessica in the third row of seats, the keeper putting in a pair of earplugs before falling rapidly into a deep sleep. The woman was incredibly tired, as she had remained awake to guard the sleeping wolves on the plane, the earplugs thereby allowing them to talk without disturbing her, while Luke and Ken sat on either side of Marcus in the middle row, sniffing him over and petting him with interest.

"Hey there," Luke said huskily, pulling Marcus to him for a passionate kiss.

"Hi," the new beta said breathlessly as he was released. He felt Ken pull on him, turned, and was kissed with equal enthusiasm by the Asian wolf.

"Nice to meet you," the Japanese werewolf said with a sexy smile.

"Same here," Marcus said with an awkward smile, liking the two of them instantly. "You both smell really nice," he added.

Ken leaned in and took a deep sniff. "So do you."

"Tell me about it," Luke said, shamelessly burying his head in the new beta's crotch to drink in the faint tang of musk there.

Marcus gasped in pleasure and felt his mouth begin to stretch forward. "Whoa! Don't change here!" Ken said with alarm.

"Oh! Sorry!" Marcus exclaimed, feeling embarrassed as he fought to control his power. His mouth retracted until he looked entirely human again.

"Take it easy on him, Guys," Steve said soothingly in a quiet tone so as not to disturb Jessica's slumber. "Marcus is pretty new to all of this and is still learning how to control his wolf."

"Sorry," Luke said with a smile that showed his lack of sincerity. "We just can't help ourselves."

"Well no mounting him until we formally initiate him into the pack," Ben stated firmly. "Also, there's something new we have to share with you. Remember how I told you about our recent visitors?" he said, making sure Jessica was truly asleep before he mentioned the bond.

"The pack from California?" Luke asked. "Yeah... Sorry we didn't get a chance to meet them."

"They said they'd come visit next time they're in the area, unless we make a trip down there first, so you'll meet them eventually. Anyways, they taught us a way to be linked together on an empathic level. The three of us already did it, but the rest of you need to be included in the link. That way we'll always be connected."

"Like telepathy?" Ken asked.

"No," Ben said, shaking his head. "It's more of an emotional link. We can share each other's senses to a degree when we're together, but it can also act as a danger sense when we're apart. If one of us gets into trouble, the others will feel it. I like the idea of us being connected that way."

"Besides," Kyle said from the driver's seat, "it makes sex a blast!"

"How?" Luke asked.

"It's like you can feel what everyone else is feeling. It's incredible."

"Oh fuck," the mechanic said with interest. "Let's do it now!"

"No!" Ben countered. "Much as I love your enthusiasm, Stud, it requires a concentrated effort on the entire pack to trigger it and that's something that will have to wait until we get home."

"Okay," the mustached man said, looking disappointed.

"I'm kind of hungry," Ken said. "Can we stop somewhere in the way home?"

Steve shook Jessica awake. "Hungry?" he asked loudly to be heard through the earplugs.

The keeper shook her head. "Get what you want, I'm fine," she said sleepily before she quickly drifted back to sleep.

"I think I saw a Denny's on the way out here," Marcus said thoughtfully.

They drove for a hour and stopped at the remembered Denny's on the way, Jessica able to wake up enough to have a salad while the guys settled on meaty dishes with Kyle treating his mate, before they made the rest of the trip home without incident. They pulled up to see Jack coming down the steps to help carry in the luggage. He hugged his cousin first. "Welcome home," he said gently.

"Thanks," the woman said. "It's good to be back. If I never smell fish again it'll be too soon."

"Not ALL Japanese food contains seafood," Ken said defensively.

"Enough of it does to ensure I've had my fill of it for quite awhile," the keeper said dryly. "No offense to your mother's cooking, but I think it'll be some time before I'm up for more seafood."

Ken stuck his tongue out at her, but she'd already turned away to trudge her way up the stairs. "I could use a shower," she said.

"Go ahead," Steve said. "We'll put your stuff in your room for you."

"Thanks," she said with a yawn, making her way to the first floor bathroom with her body care kit under her arm.

Once the luggage was all gotten to the appropriate rooms, Ben looked around and saw that all of his betas were rested enough for what he wanted to do. The returned couple had rested on the plane and everyone else was still fresh enough that he felt no guilt at asserting his authority. "Alright betas, it's time to make this pack whole and recognize our newest member. Let's go."

Recognizing the authority of his tone, they all complied, Marcus feeling both eager and nervous all at once.

Ben led the pack outside and into the woods, returning to the site where he had first claimed the rest of the pack as his own. They arrived, the weather cool but not cold as the day had been unseasonably warm. Ben looked up to see that the sky was clear and the gibbous moon, mere nights from being full, hung low in the sky. If not for the lower temperature, moon phase, the snow on the ground and the presence of Marcus, it would have been identical to the night Ben had assumed his role as alpha of their pack...

It was as perfect as possible.

He stood with the moon behind him, facing his betas. "Remove your clothes," he told them all. "We are animals and will behave as such for this sacred occasion."

Marcus stripped nervously, sensing the excitement of the pack. Once they were all naked, Ben released the power of the wolf, reveling in the lustful euphoria that filled him as the lupine might filled him and altered his body to it's wolven form. The pack followed suit, Marcus realizing that he should follow their lead and changing, gasping in shock and bliss at the incredible sensations that filled him. Once they had transformed, Ben looked to him.

"Marcus, step forward."

He did so, trembling from both the cold and from nervousness. He saw Ben standing there, naked and erect in his wolfman form, looking like something out of myth. He looked briefly into the eyes of the alpha and felt the power and authority that radiated from the strong werewolf, feeling humbled and fearful, his ears flattening and tail tucking between his legs reflexively as he dropped his gaze out of respect for Ben's authority.

"Do not be afraid," Ben said in a firm, yet gentle tone that comforted the beta. "I will not harm you. Marcus Silvers, I h-"

He was interrupted by Ken's snort of repressed mirth. Ben snarled at the lowest beta, silencing him, before turning back to Marcus with a snort of disgust at the interruption.

"Marcus Silvers," he repeated firmly, speaking in formal tones as his erection arose in anticipation. "I formerly accept you as my beta and welcome you into our pack. A pack is more than friends, more than family. We will always be here to support you and to love you. We will bare witness to your triumphs, sooth your wounds when you fail, share your laughter, love and anger. We were five, but now we are six. We welcome you. I, as alpha, accept you as my beta. Your ranking is as second lowest beta, for now."

He heard Ken's sound of protest and ignored it.

"As you are still new to being a wolf and finding yourself, your final rank will be up to you to decide. I will not interfere except should Ken best you. His lack of discipline does not warrant a higher rank than that of lowest beta, and if he were wise, he would see the truth of that."

Ben saw Ken hang his head as he realized that he WAS the least deserving of rank. He felt a sense of shame at that realization, and didn't try to protest further. Luke leaned over to lick his ear sympathetically, easing his gloom somewhat. He licked back in gratitude.

"However," Ben said with a feral grin, showing his fangs, "should you try to challenge me, I won't go easy on you. I refuse any role beneath that of Head Alpha of the region, and alpha of this pack. It's nothing personal, but I refuse to submit to ANY wolf, regardless of how I feel about them personally... And I DO love you, Marcus." he said gently. Marcus gulped and nodded before the alpha continued. "I will love and protect you. I will fight for you. I will die for your sake. I will teach you to be strong and how to fight as I have done for your fellow betas. Who is your alpha, Marcus?"

The new wolf stood there, drinking in everything Ben had said and feeling shocked. Ben was like a big brother, the way his own biological brother had never wanted to be, In that moment, he fell in love with the alpha. It wasn't as strong as his love for his mate, but he finally began to see in Ben what Steve and Kyle, as well as Luke and Ken, did. Marcus knew he would never want anyone else as his alpha; the strength of Ben's conviction and all he had done to help the beta already had proven that. He was still slightly afraid, remembering the terrible power of Ben's will, but now he saw the depth of the stronger wolf's love and compassion as well. In that moment, his loyalty to Ben became complete.

"You are my alpha. You, Alpha Ben," he said firmly and with all of his heart.

Ben growled possessively, took Marcus into his arms and kissed him passionately for several minutes before he spun him around and pushed him to the ground. Instinctively knowing what was expected of him, Marcus lifted his tail away and growled in a mixture of pain and pleasure as the alpha claimed his ass, mounting him swiftly and roughly like a beast of the wild, biting the back of Marcus' neck as he leaned over his back.

Ben didn't cum, however, and released him after a few moments of humping. Remembering what he was forgetting, the alpha turned the beta around and squirted precum onto his proto-muzzle, marking the wolf as his own. He leaned down and with a hand under Marcus' shoulder, guided him back to his feet.

The pack all looked on Marcus, their pack mate, with love and pride, accepting him as one of their own. All eyes turned to Ben, who drew in a deep breath, the betas following his lead...

And they howled in unison, declaring the solidarity of their pack to the world.

In the distance, a few other howls called out in welcome, and Ben thought he recognized, after a minute or so, the welcoming howl of his brother, a tone of inquiry in the end of the howl. Ben howled back. 'Come later,' he said. Berke howled in agreement, and then there was silence.

It was about then that their bodies realized that they were standing naked in the snow in the middle of winter, and the cold began to make them shiver. "Okay, enough bonding," Ben said between shivers.

They dressed quickly, then headed back inside, the entire pack back together at last, and now one member stronger to boot...

*****

They got back inside, still in wolven form, then the returning betas unpacked and they all had a snack. Sleepiness overcame them all and they headed up to bed. Ben's phone buzzed, indicating a missed message, and he saw it was from Berke.

>Who's new?< it read.

>New beta Marcus. Meet him tomorrow night?<

A few minutes later... >Sounds like a date. Is he hot? ;) <

>Very :) '<

Ben chuckled as he put away his phone. "Oh boy, my hornball brother wants a turn at your ass," he said slyly to Marcus, "so we'd better get our shares first." He yawned before he could continue, however. "Umm, let's have a pack-wide mating later... After we nap. But seriously, welcome to our pack, Marcus. Your brother may only care about himself, but we will never abandon you, we promise. We're your family now and we love you," he said, leaning in for a kiss with the newest beta. He was shocked, however, as the beta began to tremble shortly after the kiss began and pulled away with concern. "You okay?" he asked gently.

Marcus shocked everyone by starting to cry. "What is it?" Kyle asked, holding him close. "What's wrong?"

Marcus sniffled. "I never thought I'd have anyone treat me this way again," he said thickly. "When Mom and Dad died, Brad and I just started to drift apart, caring less and less for each other... It was like we were strangers, and no matter how hard I tried to keep us together, we just grew more and more away from each other. I had hoped that living together would change that, but it didn't help. Brad doesn't love me anymore. He doesn't even care enough to try..." He broke down completely then, and the rest of the pack gathered close for a group hug with him at the center.

"Hey," Ben said gently as they pulled apart to give Marcus some air, "We're your family now and we love you. Werewolves are very loyal to those they care about and we won't abandon you. I, too, know what it's like to be cast aside by relatives. We are not like that... In fact... Screw it. I think you need this right now... You need it to help you understand... Everyone up," he ordered gently, rising to his feet. "Everyone form a circle around me and place your hands next to each other on my torso."

Steve and Kyle understood, but the other three complied, feeling puzzled. "Everyone close your eyes," Ben said. "Imagine the power of your wolf reaching out through your right hand and into me, then through my body and into the left hand of each other beta. As you do so, imagine receiving the power of everyone else's wolf into your body through your left hand. Do this until we are all filled with the wolf of everyone else."

Feeling curious, they did so, Ben serving as the vessel that channeled the power of their wolves and adding his own to the mix. Each of them felt the power of each other member of their pack enter into them, linking them to one another. It was as if their hearts and souls were brushing together, remaining separate beings, yet touching with an intimacy that defied description. As the process became complete, their breathing involuntarily matched, as did the beating of their hearts, until all six werewolves had the same single heartbeat, the same breath. As that happened, they all suddenly became aware of each other member of their pack. They could feel what the others felt, sharing an empathic bond that was forged between them all in that moment. They shared their emotions and could feel every sensation, both physical and emotional that every other member of the pack felt. In that moment, the bond between them as a pack took on a newer, stronger level.

They shared the wonder of the moment, knowing then that no matter the distance between them, they would always be connected to each other in their hearts and souls. Ben stood in the center, the pillar from which they drew their strength and the lynch pin that held them together as a strong and stable pack. They each felt his strength, power and love for them all, as well as the fierce pride and need to be acknowledged that drove him as a person. Marcus experienced the qualities of his alpha as though they were his own, the only difference being that he could tell that what he felt in that moment was Ben, his alpha, rather than himself, for no one else he sensed within the core of his being felt like this. He next felt the strength and jovial compassion of Steve, who was as gentle as he was strong. He felt the macho confidence and determination of Luke, the wolf's soul screaming of being that of a virile, studly auto-mechanic. He felt the flippant cockiness that was Ken. And lastly, he felt the fierce and overwhelming loyalty and devotion of Kyle his mate, washing over him.

They each felt the qualities of each other, including the fun-loving drive to live life to the limits boldness of Marcus. They shared a sense of joy and wonder, loving each other as they saw the truest, strongest and weakest, qualities of one another. In that moment, they accepted each other as they were and gave each and every one of their pack mates a promise of love, loyalty and togetherness that they knew no one could ever take away from them. As that happened, the pack bond became complete, binding their souls together.

They all literally felt Ben open his eyes with their own senses, and while they did not see through his eyes, they felt what he saw in each of them and the pride in, deep love for, and fierce devotion to each of them the alpha felt.

Marcus basked in the feelings, having never felt more wanted and loved before; feeling an emotional wish that it would go on forever.

"It WILL go on forever," Steve said gently, sensing the wish as strongly as if it had been his own, and in a way, it was.

Marcus smiled at him, then turned as he felt Kyle's desire and kissed him passionately as Luke rubbed the new beta's back gently. "Oh fuck!" Luke whispered in shock. "I can feel them kissing!" He pulled his hand away and the sensation stopped. Curious, the mechanic touched Kyle's shoulder, and the kissing sensation returned. "Touch them," he said to the others. The other wolves compiled, and shared a sense of wonder as they experienced both sides of the kiss in a way that was almost as if they were a physical part of it themselves.

They pulled away, giving the pair a moment of privacy until the kiss ended. "Now do you see, Marcus? Can you feel the love we have for you?" Ben asked him gently with a smile.

"I can," he said. "Will it always be like this?" he asked.

Ben shook his head. "What we're all experiencing now only works in close proximity. The farther apart we are physically from each other pack mate, the weaker the connection between us will get. But if any of us is ever in danger, the strength of that sensation will reach us wherever we are, no matter how far away we are from the one who's in danger. Also, you can automatically close us out and dull what we experience if you want to, should you want some personal privacy or alone time with one or more of us without forcing the others to share it when they aren't expecting it. The bond will always be there, but you can control how much you get from and give to us. Just reach out to us with your heart whenever you want to share with us. The rest of the time, the bond will be weaker and what we give to and receive from you will be lesser. Think of it as another form of communication... At least that's the way it feels to me."

"Is this what those California wolves taught you guys?" Ken asked.

"Yep," Steve said. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Totally!"

Just then, they sensed Steve's fatigue, which became infectious, making everyone yawn. As the grogginess began to spread through the pack, they saw that there was a downside to the pack bond as well, but as they realized that some of the tiredness they felt was their own, they figured it would be best to get some rest. They climbed into their beds after a last welcome home kiss to Luke and Ken, then settled in for a good few hours of rest, the pack taking comfort in the presence of one another as they fell asleep one by one, joyful to be a whole pack once more...