{"sf1_id":779229,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Looking to the Future","author":"StGeorgesHorse","words":2786,"posted_at":"2014-11-07T14:00:00.000Z","tags":["Human","Plot Development","Story Progression","Transformation","Werewolf","recovery","russia"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/779229-looking-to-the-future","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/779229","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=779229\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"#66 of The Moonrise Chronicles\n\nI predict two more chapters before I will leave it on a cliff hanger. For how long? I have no idea.","content":"            It was a week later and the woods\nwere still filled with the cries and roars of mating werewolves. Maggie was\nwondering if he would ever run down. He had eaten well on their way here, and\nit was apparently enough to fuel him for the duration. She remembered, not so\nlong ago, how long of an interval she could survive without eating. She had\nnever burned through calories like he was, but she could go for weeks if\nnecessary.\nMortalia was still resting, happily\nfeeling the changes that came with pregnancy. Maggie had to wonder how he would\nfeel once he was back in his proper mindset. Having one child was already a\nstrain on him, so having more, illegitimate ones could set him on edge. She was\ngoing to have to do her best to make sure everyone kept their mouth shut. Out\nhere in the middle of Russia, things were a little different and the group here\nwas centered on the pack and the feral side more than things like marriage and\nsettling down.\nThat was too bad for them. On the\nother hand, who knew how many males there were available anymore? All that were\nhere were females, except for the young male they had followed to find the\npack.  Maggie wasn't going to judge them\nany more than she wanted them judging her. After all, they were getting good\nuse out of a man that by all rights was hers.\nThe tsarina came out and stood by\nher. \"My god, how much has he got in him?\"\n\"Probably more than any of the\navailable females have in them. Of course, by the time he's done, they'll all\nbe full of him. Are you sure you're prepared to have so many expectant\nwerewolves together at once?\"\n\"You make a good point. I wasn't\nexpecting him to fertilize every one of them.\"\nMaggie grinned. \"That's going to be\nyour problem, not mine. So do we wait a little while longer? Or do we just\nsneak up on him and give him a whack?\"\n\"I don't know. That does seem rude.\nI guess we'll just wait a while longer.\"\nThe wait ended that day. After finishing\nthe fourteenth female to undergo his special treatment, the days of expending\nenergy in a wasteful manner finally caught up with him. Sadly, Maggie missed\nthe only opportunity she really had of carrying out her task.\nCutting into the head of a werewolf\nwas one thing, but cutting into the head of a familiar human; that she could not\ndo. When he had collapsed back against the ground, his body had morphed back\ninto being human again. He looked so tired and helpless that she couldn't find\nit in her to strike him. \nInstead she snuggled up against him,\nignoring the dirty looks from the older females. They could go to hell for all\nshe cared, even if a lot of them were technically her cousins. They only wanted\nhim for his sperm; they didn't love him like she did.\nThe old woman heard the news and\ncame to investigate. \"My dear, what did we agree upon? If you don't act now,\nyou may never have another chance.\"\n\"I don't care! I can't harm him,\nnot even a little.\"\nThat sparked an argument that\nlasted for an hour. It was interrupted by a weak voice. \n                \"Will\nyou keep it down? My head is killing me!\"\n                Maggie\nwhipped around. \"What did you say?\"\n                Edward\nwas rubbing his forehead. \"I said you guys are giving me a headache!\"\n                The\nolder woman looked at him carefully. \"And who are you to complain about me?\"\n                He\nblinked a few times. \"My name's Edward Peterson ma'am, and if it's all the same\nto you, I'd like it very much if you'd keep it down. I think I've been on a\nmarathon for the past week and I feel like shit.\" He failed to notice he was\nspeaking in Russian.\n                Maggie\nsquealed with joy. He shoved her away. \"God Mags, didn't you hear what I just\nsaid? I feel like...\"\n                She\ndumped him onto his back, grabbing his hand and slipping her ring on a finger.\nShe turned to the old woman. \"Give me yours; quickly! Hurry!\"\n                She\nslipped it off and handed it over while she searched for the last female to\nhave his ring. This too was placed upon his fingers. He stretched, cracking\nnearly every joint in his body. After a few moments he stood, staring at his\nsurroundings. \"Where the hell are we?\"\n                Maggie\nwas dancing around howling to beat the band. \"Oh my god, you're back!\"\n                He held\nout a hand and grabbed her. \"Where the hell are we?\"\n                \"Somewhere\ndeep in the heart of Mother Russia.\"\n                \"I\nthought we were in St Petersburg.\" He scratched his head and looked around. He\nnoticed the pack of werewolves around \nhim and the blatant fact that they were female didn't escape his notice.\n\n                \"Do I\nwant to know why I have no memory of this place?\"\n                Maggie\ntook him by the hand. \"Remember the wolf sanctuary in New York?\"\n                \"Barely.\"\n                \"Well,\ntry not to dwell too hard on this either. Let's just say that these fine ladies\nwore you down to the bone. If they hadn't, we might have had to have taken\ndrastic measures to get you back.\" She swung the ax around in her hand.\n                \"You're\nkidding... right?\"\n                \"No\nactually. We were going to try and get it out of your head.\"\n                He was\nrubbing the scar on his forehead. \"Get what out? Did something crawl into my\nbrain?\"\n                \"Crawl.\nNo. Someone put a bullet in your head. A silver bullet.\"\n                He\ngrasped the importance of that last bit. \"Silver? Who the hell was trying to\nkill me, the Lone Ranger?\"\n                Maggie\nchuckled.\"You really don't remember, do you? We were at the bar in St\nPetersburg...\" She trailed off to see if he would recall the incident.\n                He\nwinced for a moment, still thinking about the bullet. \"If it's silver, then I\nhave to be dead, don't I?\"\n                Maggie\nkicked him. \"No. Well, yes. To be honest, we have no idea why you're still\nalive. If I believed in a god I'd say it was divine providence.\"\n                \"I seem\nto remember sitting in some place...Da Vinci maybe...eating and drinking vodka and\nhaving fun. Then...\" His face went dark. \"Then the gunfire. I don't get it. Why\nis everyone trying to kill us?\"\n                Maggie\nput her hand on his as the fur began to sprout. \"FATHER!\"\n                He\njumped. \"What?\"\n                \"Relax.\nIt's over. If you go turning back into a werewolf again, right now, there's no\nguarantee we'll get you back. Then I will have to use this ax.\"\n                He was\nrubbing his head. \"I don't understand. How long was I out?\"\n                \"I\ndon't know, but you've been a raging feral for weeks.\"\n                \"Weeks?\nSeriously? Did I do anything bad?\"\n                Here\nwas the moment of truth. But the old woman made sure it remained the truth. \"You\nhave been kept busy breeding my family. You're blood comes from good stock,\nthough I was apt to follow my own opinion of you rather than that of your,\nuhm...partner.\n                He\ngroaned. It seemed that the cat was out of the bag. \"Uhhhh.   How much does she know Mags.\"\n                \"More\nthan you do.\"\n                He held\nout his hand to the woman. \"Hello ma'am. I'm sorry for any trouble I may have\ncaused you.\"\n                She\nextended hers daintily. But when he held it there was an electric shock that\nran through her body. She stiffened, as did he.\n                They\nwere locked for the better part of two minutes, unspeaking and unmoving. Then,\nwith a mutual sigh, they relaxed and fell apart. \n                \"Oh\nmy...\" That was the tsarina.\n                Edward\nwas patting himself down. \"Why do I feel a body full of bullet holes all of the\nsudden?\"\n                The old\nwoman looked at him. \"Those are mine. I still remember that day like it was\nyesterday, yet it was in nineteen eighteen. Why do I remember battling a\nmonster? And getting stabbed through the chest?\"\n                He\nsmiled weakly. \"That would be me.\"\n                Maggie\nwas totally confused. \"What just happened?\"\n                \"I'm\nnot sure dear. Obviously some sort of memory exchange.\"\n                Edward\ngrabbed Maggie. The same thing happened. When she came away she was in tears.\nShe could even say it. He could. \"I love you more than you know Mags.\"\n                \"Even\nafter everything that's happened?\"\n                \"You\nbet! Oh, and since you brought me some clothing, do you think maybe I can get\ndressed?\"\n                \"Now\nhow did you know that? Oh,rightttttt...\"\n                But he\nwas looking around him. Then he eyed the females again, the ones he had been\nmating with. \"Mortalia, Natasha, Maria, Naryana, Anna, Dominika, Elena, Zhanna,\n...\" He was naming them all in line.\n                Then he\nturned, suddenly realizing something. \"Your Maggie's great aunt, aren't you?\"\n                \"Yes.\"\n                \"And\nthese are your progeny. How did you have so many?\"\n                \"I've\nhad a lot of time on my hands young man.\"\n                \"Hmmm.\nI bet you did.\" Then he stopped. \"Why do I suddenly remember a bear?\"\n                Maggie\nguffawed. \"You had one as a pet for a short while.\"\n                He\nfrowned. \"Yes I did. The poor thing. And the men...\" \n                Maggie\nheld her tongue. This wasn't going to be pretty. \"I killed the men, didn't I?\"\n                \"Yes.\"\n                \"Well,\nI suppose it's no great loss. I feel worse for the bear than I do the men. The\nbear was doing what he does best, but the men, they were out only for their own\nsick pleasure. They never stood a chance, did they?\"\n                \"No.\"\n                \"I\nshould have left one alive; to run back and report the monster in the woods.\"\n                \"It's a\ngood thing you didn't. Then there would have been more men and more killing.\nLet the matter drop.\"\n                He scratched\nhis head. \"And who is little sister?\"\n                \"Me.\nThat's what you started calling me.\"\n                \"I did?\nYes...I did. Leonardo!\"\n                \"What?\"\n                Edward\nwas rubbing his chest. \"That son of a bitch is brilliant. I'm so going to kill\nhim when I find him again.\"\n                Maggie\nwas now one step behind the conversation.\"Father, Leonardo is nowhere near\nhere.\"\n                \"He's\non the same planet isn't he? The son of a bitch either got lucky or knew what\nhe was doing.\"\n                She was\nlooking at him like he was crazy. \"What's going on?\"\n                He\npicked her up. \"Nothing! Everything! Can't you see it?\"\n                \"See\nwhat?\"\n                \"Everything!\"\nHe stopped. He sniffed the air. \"There are eighty seven weres in the area, and\nforty three true wolves. There is only one other male besides myself, and I\nseem to remember him from before. Eight of the fourteen females I mated with are\nnow carrying my cubs. This woman wants to have an army to fight the threat that\nlurks back in St Petersburg. That priest at St Catherine's...\" \nHere he squinted, concentrating, \n\"...is dead. The men from the bar...\"\nHe concentrated again, \"... one lives and the other has expired. The living one\nis in the hospital under police protection...but they will not succeed in keeping\nhim alive. His boss will get to him...through a window.  The bar is under reconstruction...and your\ngrandmother is living in Pittsburgh. My parents...are living in Chicago. What?\"\n                He\ndropped to the grass. \"What the hell am I saying?\"\n                Maggie\nhad to push her jaw back into place. \"I'd like to know too!\" She looked to the\ntsarina. \"Is what he said true?\"\n                The old\nwoman looked ill. \"Yes. Whoever is trying to kill me has been getting closer. I\ndon't wish to hide behind my family, but they are all I have on my side. But\nhow did he know this?\"\n                Edward\nwas holding his head. \"The pope has closed down the cardinal's league for good\nand is wondering how we are getting along. He is sitting down to a simple meal\nof fish and bread. I like that man. He's not pretentious.\"\n\" My poor little Alpha has been\ntowed. I can't say I blame them. They towed the Fiat too.  Leonardo's boat has been confiscated. The\nmaster is in bed...with Emile! Why those kinky little bastards! I may have to\nshow them a thing or two when I get back.\"\n                Maggie\nslapped him. \"What the hell are you saying?\"\n                \"It's\neverything I can see. I can see anything I want to. I can see...ten, forty six,\nseventeen, twenty three...\"\n                \"What\nthe hell are those numbers?\"\n                \"The\nwinning numbers in the upcoming  New York\nstate lottery.\"\n                Maggie\nwas flabbergasted. He had gone from almost a mindless to feral to a psychic in\na single stroke. \"Ok smartass, how old am I?\"\n                \"You\nwere born on May thirteenth...\"\n                \"Well?\"\n                \"I\ncan't see that! That's strange. Ask me something else!\"\n                \"Who is\ntrying to kill us?\"\n                \"A\nboy.\"\n                \"What?\nI think you're just still addled.\"\n                \"No, I\nsee a boy, only not a boy.  Yet he's a\nboy and he is very angry.\"\n                The old\nwoman paled. \"You can't be correct.\"\n                \"I\ndidn't say I was. I'm telling you what I see. I see a boy. He's sitting in a\nbasement right now, under the pale illumination of a bare bulb. He is yelling\nat someone.\"\n                 Maggie was left wondering about him. He was\neither very much a seer or he was totally off his nut. He seemed to have avoided\nanswering about the year she was born, and she hadn't missed it. And her\ngrandmother; alive in Pittsburg? What was he babbling about?\n                \"Father,\nwhatever are you going on about?\"\n                \"Area\nFifty One doesn't have aliens. But it does have all of the newest technology\nwhen it comes to the aero-flight industry. There is a ring in an egg.  There is a population of Tasmanian\nTigers, though they are in still in danger of extinction. One can find the needed answer on Fangboner Road. The Bermuda Triangle doesn't exist. There are nude\nphotos of Princess...\"\n                \"Father!\"\n                \"What?\"\n                \"A ring\nin an egg?\"\n                \"Yes.\nOne of Leonardo's rings resides in an egg when it isn't being worn.\"\n                The\ntsarina grabbed his arm. \"What kind of egg?\" Her hand was trembling.\n                \"A\nbeautiful egg that opens from the top, and sits on a wire frame. It is made of\ngold and enamel, with intricate decoration all around it.\"\n                Maggie cudgeled\nher brain for an answer. The old woman beat her to it. \"One of the Faberge\neggs. It has to be the one that was made for grandmother. It has been missing\nfor decades. So who has it?\"\n                Edward\nshrugged like it was common knowledge. \"Maggie's grandmother. Your sister,\nAnastasia.  It was handed over to her by\nGregori Rasputin when he sent her on her way to America in nineteen twenty\ntwo.\"\n                \"Where\nis Rasputin?\"\n                \"Dead.\"\n                \"Where\nis...\"\n                The old\nwoman lofted the ax. \"Stop. Something is wrong. You cannot have all of this\nknowledge.\"\n                Edward\nstepped back a little. \"What knowledge?\"\n                Maggie\npoked him. \"Don't be funny. You've been spouting off like a fortune teller for\nthe past five minutes.\"\n                \"I\nhave?\"\n                The\nfemales looked at each other. Maggie spoke first. \"Do you have any idea what's\ngoing on here?\"\n                \"Maybe.\nIt happened to Gregori when he was wearing the family rings. Everyone thought\nhe was crazy. He told father there would be a revolution, but father didn't believe\nhim. Look where that got us.\"\n                \"Are\nyou saying the rings can given the kind the ability to see into the future?\"\n                The old\nwoman carefully pulled the rings off his fingers.\"Edward, what do you see now?\"\n                He\nrubbed his head. The scar was gone. \"I see that I am still standing here in\nthe wilds, totally naked, talking to an old woman and a girl while being\nsurrounded my wolves and werewolves. I getting chilly and I'm hungry. So if you\ndon't mind I think I'm going to take a nap now.\" \n                He\ndropped to the ground in a dead faint."}