"Where did these burns on your hands come from?" Zack had asked June holding them
gently in his.
The silver/gray Big Bad Wolf had replied, "When we revamped the house yesterday, I was
the she-wolf in charge of wiring. I had to work fast so I ended up with more than one
electric shock."
"That isn't fair." Zack said with total honesty.
"Alpha Female wanted the entire house redone in a day for Master, it's what I had to do."
"That still doesn't make it fair."
"Weather it's fair or not it's what Master wanted...what Master wants is what shall happen."
"Hands as beautiful as yours shouldn't have to have been damaged."
"I'm... surprised you were able to pick up on them, I thought my fur hid it."
"It does... but I'm one to keep an eye on detail. And I was able to pick that up soon
enough. I once burned my hands when I was oblivious and stupid with a fire during a
family camping trip. So I know what to look for."
"I prefer to keep it hidden, it's an imperfection."
"It's a badge showing your diligence, you shouldn't be shamed of it."
"I never thought about it that way before." June replied nuzzling his side, "Thank you."
When Nicole and Alexandra had discussed Zack, both Pearl and June looked at each other
in alarm. Pearl calmed herself though, Nicole hadn't even been so much as sniffing in her
direction, 'She's just making wild guesses now. She's being paranoid. There's no way she
can know about me and Zackery. There's just no way.' Pearl thought.
June stayed silent, she had been Dared to defend Zack, but the Dare also included
effectively her not to do anything stupid and defending Zack right after Nicole had said
'he'd likely manipulate someone else' would have been a dead give away.
Pearl and June simply continued their card game. After the incident with Patrick, everyone
had gone back mostly to their tired, lazy, listless attitude of earlier that morning. Everyone
feeling mostly like giant furry slugs.
For June, the Dare now kept her in place to keep Zack's standing from getting any worse.
For Pearl it was... complicated. She had certainly felt Zack's pheromones get the better of
her, and she also knew she had -let- them get the better of her. And every word Zack had
said made sense, at least to Pearl. And he had been so good the night before. Pearl
wondered if she had committed treason with the use of her turn. 'No,' She rationalized to
herself, 'This was for the good of the pack. Zack is our most potent male sans Master of
course. Having his negative standing get worse or not improve is detrimental to the pack
as a whole, and June ratting on me and Zackery would have ruined things for him even
more, and that can't be allowed to happen.'
Pearl breathed in deep, Zack's scent gone from the air, but his image still filled her mind.
+++++++++
Jensen just waved The Dentist's question, not wanting to debate the subject. "Nad noh."
'Not now.'
The dentist said, "I'll... I'll be just forewording the bill to your parents..."
Jensen only nodded, apparently assuring the dentist at the same time that Jensen hadn't
eaten them.
The Big Bad Wolf got out of the dental chair, being careful not to hit the ceiling and ducks
under the doorway and went down the hallway again to the waiting room where Isabelle
was calmly going through several magazines to kill time.
"Everything go okay Master?" The dark brown version of Kaylee asked.
Jensen opened his mouth, but instead just nodded, not wanting to try and speak through
the Novocain.
"That's good Master." Isabelle nodded looking happy. "Are we free to go?"
Jensen nodded again. Isabelle tossed the magazine aside and got up and took Jensen's
arm.
"Next." The woman at the desk.
"That means you Billy."
The mother said getting up and taking hold of her son's hand and taking away the dang
candy already (she hadn't done it before just so he wouldn't cause a uproar again).
"Hey wait." Billy said rushing over to Isabelle again. The mother couldn't believe this.
"Can you ask your boss if you can bite me? I wanna be a werewolf too."
Isabelle looked at Jensen who shook his head. Not wanting the complication of another
new pack member at the moment. Maybe he'd find some replacements if Fran's family
didn't work out somehow, but not now.
Isabelle turned to the boy and actually ruffled his hair which nearly made the mother faint.
"I'm very sorry. I'm sure you'd be a good addition to the pack. But Master doesn't want me
adding random people to our pack. Sorry."
"Ahhhhh." The boy looked quite disappointed by this but reluctantly accepted this. His
mother finally got her senses together at the impossible thing her son was doing and
pulled Billy away.
Isabelle glanced at the boy's full name at the paper work on the desk in case Master ever
changed his mind. Not likely, but a good back up. Isabelle thought, 'If someone is willing
brainwashed, does it even count as brainwashing?'
Jesen began to leave the office and Isabelle loyally followed ducking under the door frame
again and being careful not to break the glass door while exiting.
With that, the two Big Bad Wolves made made their speedy way back to the estate. This
time avoiding the sights.
+++++++++++++
Jack and Marcine were in the backyard still of course. They had been grassing and
enjoying each other, any part of civilization that would entice them to return to being
human become meaningless and forgotten as time passed, leaving nothing but the
indifferent and negative. When they saw the five pups, Martha, and a new four legged
black and gold wolf beast enter the backyard, they didn't even look at each other as they
quickly hid behind the trees.
The wolves sniffed the air and Alice riding the big one pointed right at them.
"There they are, among the tulgey foliage."
"Doesn't look tulgey to me." Responded Mr. P.
"The trees are thick there and it is shaded and somewhat dark, so tulgey fits if I do say so
myself." Alice responded.
"They haven't attracted any new deer yet." Bart said disappointed.
"Well it has been less dan twelve hours since der transformation was finished." Jenny said,
"Their musk was specially made ta attract dem though, so am sure we'll be seein' more
soon enough. It's not like we're gonna burn through our bank account in a week just
feeding the pack and paying the utility bills."
Bart nodded.
Alice happily waved at the deer and pointed standing up on the giant wolf. "Please go that
way Mr. P!" Alice ever so gently kicked his sides.
"Please calls me Grandpa." Mr. P said as he got closer, he deer began to inch away.
"It is okay!" Alice waved again, "This is Mr. P! He's okay!"
Jenny sighed, "Dey can only communicate with other deer now remember Alice? Yer just
sayin' a bunch of meaningless sounds to'em."
Mr. P stopped as Alice started. "Oh... I see. I remember now." Alice sat down back on Mr P.
"It seems that I have done things in reverse in the outside world, acting as though it was
the mirror world. I have acted first, and thought second, when you are supposed to think
first, then act. For now that I think about it, I see they are now wandering around in big
black boxes, unable to have conversations with anyone else. And few things I dare so say
are little good without conversations. If I was a deer, I would deeply apologize for that
part of the transform now."
Bart and Jenny looked at each other, the older siblings feeling nervous. "We better go see
how the shadows are doing. Don't wanna get left behind by our own shadows after all."
"Yer right." Jenny answered.
"Shadows?" Mr. P asked.
"Just some people we Dared to do what we'd do whenever there was business that needed
doin', since we can't go outside as wolf kids and expect everyone to see Mr and Mrs Smith."
The siblings actually shuddered at how they had been married not three days ago.
"Mr. P." Martha's heads asked at the giant wolf two hands at her sides and the top ones
cupped together, "Can you watch over Alice, Kevin and Marcy while I keep an eye on Bart
and Jenny?"
"We don't need lookin' aftar." Jenny said, then Martha's left head looked at her while the
right head kept looking at Mr P. That was all Jenny needed to end her protest.
"Of course I can, I'll protect them with my life."
"Very good." Martha bowed.
"I wanted ya to chase rabbits with again." Kevin lamented to Bart.
"Next time we're outside I promise." Bart assured.
"Just be aware." Martha said to Mr. P, "After all, you only have two eyes."
"Alice will be right with me so that'll leave me one eye each for Marcy and Kevin."
"I see." Martha bowed again and took the two pups hands weather they wished it or not
and led them back inside.
++++++++
Jesen and Isabelle returned to the estate without fan-fair, merely observing the long but
steady process of junk and furniture being sold via ebay and what not as the UPS and
FedEx drivers only gave passing looks at Jensen and lingering looks at Isabelle's chest.
The moment they were inside the household Isabelle said at once, "I'll go get you some
fluids Master!"
"Flueids?"
"Well, I've had a capping twice before, and I know that you shouldn't be eating anything
sticky so to be better safe than sorry I'll see what I can find!" With that Isabelle was off like
a shot to the kitchen.
Speaking of which, it was now afternoon easily and Jensen hadn't had anything since
breakfast.
He returned to the tea room where he found Grace and Hope talking to Kaylee about tiny
details of something but they stopped the moment they picked up his scent. The two
entourage stood right behind Kaylee.
"Master?" Grace said innocently, "Where is Isabelle?"
"She's getting some something to drink... she over reacted, is overreacting to my capping."
"EVerything went well?" Kaylee asked.
"Yes. The dentist was actually -surprised- to see that I was the way I am, but he did his
job all the same."
All three she-wolves let out a sigh of relief. "That's good news." Kaylee said for all of them,
"I was worried someone was going to call the zoo."
"No one has yet, so there's no reason for anyone to now. Now let's get lunch started it's
already late."
"Of course Master!" Kaylee said... she made to call for Pearl... then realized that was kinda
silly cause then Kaylee could just call for everyone to have lunch as well.
Isabelle arrived with a strange mix of something or other in her paws a moment later
having track down her Master by scent. "I'm sure you're going to love it Master! And-"
"Isabelle, tell everyone it's lunch time." Kaylee interrupted.
"Yes Alpha Female." Isabelle almost shoved the drink into her Master's hands and took off
like a shot.
+++++++
Isabelle went every which way like lightning almost, sadly she didn't know the house as
much as the staff so she kept running into dead ends and bumped a few times into the
walls. She did however manage to relocate the males and females dens, declare it was
lunch time, totally forgot about the pups and shadows, leading Jensen to wonder where
they were when it was feeding time (as well as forgetting the twins hanging out in the
Master bedroom).
Making Isabelle meekly admit she had forgotten them, getting a quick tongue lashing from
Kaylee that would have made Jennifer proud, and madly began to search for them again,
this time finding them in the offices, and in the backyard, and the noise Isabelle made was
enough to clue in the twins to the event.
As was quickly becoming tradition Alice led her mother and auntie into the mirrorverse
after Darla had brought the large package of meat for the whole pack (with a good supply
being delivered each day thanks to the shadow's online ordering).
Mr. P's bulged of course at the sigh of Alice leading the twins INTO the mirror and actually
felt the cold glass surface to make sure it was solid and was surprised to see the living
glass girl inside the mirror now blond and wearing a victorian era dress along with the
twins.
All the she wolves however and the males were confused by the presence of the wolf that
was practically as big and bad as Jesen but went on four legs and had gold mixed into the
same shade of black.
June and Pearl did their best not to intentionally sit right next to Zackery. Pearl did make a
few glances at him, but all the she wolves Nicole included brushed this off as her 'shame'
at having mated with him. Almost no one noticed Pearl slightly rubbing herself looking at
him, June managed to nudge her to stop before anyone else caught on.
"Everyone!" Jensen declared, "This my Great-Grandfather. My children has re-christened
him 'Mr. P' he is not technically part of the pack, but he is my litter's protector and
guardian besides Pack Omega and also STILL my great-grandfather and will be respected
as such. And he will be given full range of the house and only the pups or myself and my
mate may order him to relocate himself. Is this heard and understood?"
"Yes Master." All the wolves declared.
Roger chomped through a bone next to Megan, "Now we have another weirdo in the pack."
Megan nudged him, "Roger!"
"Omega, Alice, and now gramps there. We're getting weirder and weirder."
"And you don't think we weren't weird before?"
"Point." Roger crushed the cow bone into nothing.
"You feelin' okay kid?" Sarah asked Ulysses, the lavender and purple wolves sitting on the
floor next to each other by chance.
"I'm... I'm okay... I guess I just feel sorte, left out... the other guys don't look at me, and
I'm no good to any of you, and the pups ignore me, I'm body."
Sarah hugged him, "No such thing as nobody kiddo. Don't ever think that understand?"
"... okay." Young Ulysses said enjoying the hug.
Maxine actually had her face -buried- in the meat in front of her, and she looked up at
Millie and Robyn saying, "Come on girls, dig in!" Her face all bloody.
"We're wolves, not moles sugah." Megenta Robyn replied.
"Uh... I'll eat it one piece at a time ..." Orange and white Millie replied.
Lunch came and gone, sadly, by the time Mr. P remembered what he needed to speak to
his great-grandson about he was already surrounded by the she-wolves being petted. And
Jensen, Kaylee and her clink, and twins had retired to figure out how they'd go about
recruiting Julie's family into the pack in the next couple of days and had strict orders not
to disturb sans a visit from the police of course (yes, Jensen precisely included that
instruction remembering the incident with Kaylee, Frank and Daryl).
With that, the pups returned to outside or the office along with the shadows, and Mr. P
following his duty as did Martha. And things returned to the lazy afternoon it had been
before.
On the roof top, where no one could hear or smell them, June and Pearl looked at the sky
and the clouds passing.
"Wants me to use my turn to make Nicole apologize to Zackery?" June suggested in a
whisper just in case.
Pearl thought for a few minutes before answering, "No, Nicole -never- flip flops. It would
make everyone suspicious, and the 'always have' clause ... well, I think messing too much
with reality in of itself can't be a good thing. We've all had our old lives erased, I'd rather
we not go around mixing things up more. And it's bad enough I had to use my turn to
make you forgive Zackery. That was just to keep Zackery from getting in more trouble."
"Think we can seed that Zack isn't such a bad, er, that is, not such a selfish wolf among
the others without tipping off Nicole?"
"If she begins throwing her weight around again, I think I'll go see Kaylee and tell her so,
Master strictly forbid a pecking order among the lesser pack, so Nicole will have to face
being a hypocrite for kicking Jesen for comparing himself to the others or back off."
"Until then we just keep an eye on Zackery making sure he's healing properly like Master?"
"Yes... he's still good stock, that should be a decent enough excuse for Nicole unless she
really does get paranoid and just accusing us out of hand. We're all Zackery has right now,
his old friends aren't interacting with him anymore they're so fixated on Alpha Female, we
can't abandon him."
"I don't intend to." Said the Dared June.
The pair calmly watched the sunset in silence. It was beautiful.
++++++++++
Julie sighed, her going through police records on-line had turned up nothing, both the
hard copies and on-line. She wondered about hiring a detective at this point.
"It's a pretty sunset mom you should watch." Said Abbey.
The fraternal twins were right outside her door.
"In a minute dear." Julie excused herself, "Just checking up on Daddy."
"He's okay, Alice said he is."
Julie shook her head when Abbey had left, leaving her girls to their fantasies.
Julie looked at the card of the fortune teller. Two nights she had been without her
husband. This would mark three this evening. 'I'll try the FBI one last time tomorrow...
after that... what do I have left to lose?'
++++++
Martha danced in front of the sunset for the pups and Mr P., Alice doing her best to mimic
her movements, the sunlight fracturing every which way through Alice's glass body and
tail.