Everything Changes Ch. 03

Time to add to Stephanie's story.

Enjoy,

KemMyst

*****

"Stephanie, I have a surprise for you."

She looked at him, confused and a bit expectant. He stroked her hair, pulled her into an embrace. "It's some distance away and I need you to trust me."

She stilled. Unfortunately for Stephanie, those words were guaranteed to make her suspicious and wary of anything that was to come. "Mate, I wouldn't do anything to harm you. I want to give you something."

"Why can't you give it to me here?"

"Because it isn't here for me to give to you."

She grumbled and sulked but, over the months she had known him, had taken him as mate, he had never hurt her. Even when she had deserved it. So, she sighed and followed him down to the car.

[Cal, I don't know if you'll like what happens after this.]

[Perhaps, Sampson, but doesn't her family, her blood, deserve to know she still lives?]

[I know you think you're doing the right thing for them, but I don't think it will help her.]

[Noted, Sampson. We will be gone most of the day.]

She looked at him, realizing he was talking/sending to someone. He turned to her, smiled, and started the car.

The ride was long, over 2 hours. They started talking of pack matters.

Silence reigned for a time as Stephanie watched the landscape go by.

Finally, he began talking about his time as a pup.

"Hungry?"

She looked at him, heaved a sigh. "OK."

Stephanie wasn't particularly happy eating in restaurants, but he had taken her a couple of times.

They pulled into a small place and were shown into a small room in the back. All the other patrons were in the main room. Their orders were taken.

"Is this the surprise?"

"No. Soon." He took her hand as he heard the door open. "I love you, Stephanie."

Her chest began to heave as she looked at him. He was hiding something. Her brain ran wild, memories, making connections. He had taken her from the den, just like... No.

His grip on her hand tightened.

Panicked, she asked, "What did you do?", as two others entered the room. One stride was measured, confident. The other was slow, tired, halting.

They both looked to the doorway.

Stephanie stood abruptly, knocking her chair over. She backed away. "No."

The old male looked over, trying to focus on Calvin and Stephanie. His eye color was difficult to discern. The eyes were filmed, rheumy. His voice was quiet, trembling. "Lavinia? Child?"

She stood, back against the wall, fists clenched. She was shaking her head.

The younger male led him forward as the older male inhaled deeply. "Daughter?"

She inhaled, as Calvin approached her, and her voice came out on a squeak. "Papa?"

"Oh, child, we'd lost hope. I knew you were dead."

She walked forward, woodenly, as the younger male led him to her. "Papa?"

The embrace was tentative, questioning, before turning fiercer. She looked over her father's shoulder as he shook. "Marcus?"

Marcus closed his eyes and nodded in acknowledgment. "Our little Lala, all grown up. I'm one of Paul's Betas."

"Paul is Alpha now?"

Marcus smiled. "As are you, I understand."

Calvin introduced himself. "Calvin, Alpha of Ross. Stephanie agreed to be my mate several months ago."

"Stephanie?"

***

They split into two groups, Stephanie and her father, and Calvin and Marcus. Vernon told Stephanie that her mother had died about 10 years after she had disappeared. Her older brother, Bruce, was gone as well, leaving a mate, pups, and grandpups. Her little sister, Izadora, mate, and pups, were still alive and well.

Stephanie/Lavinia glossed over her abduction and captivity, telling her father only that she had been taken by rogues. She told him about her time at Wyeth, her training. She told him about Calvin. How he had wooed her.

"Are you happy, child?"

Stephanie ghosted a smile. "Yeah."

He patted her hand. "Good. Good."

Calvin told Marcus that Stephanie had been betrayed to the rogues by a pack member but did not divulge who, even when Marcus pressed. "It is not my accusation to make. I was not there."

"But she told you who it was."

"Yes."

"There is blood owed for this, I want to know who it is."

"You will need to talk to her, if she will tell you. If she wishes vengeance, she is fully capable of taking it."

Marcus paid for exclusive use of the room for the couple of hours they spent there. Vernon extracted a promise from his daughter to visit and they returned to their respective packs.

It was almost an hour on the ride back before she spoke to him. And she railed against him. "Why didn't you just tell me where we were going?"

"You would never have consented to go."

"I.." she shut her mouth. They both knew it was true.

He watched her get faraway after that and they didn't speak of it again that day.

***

Stephanie's sleep was disturbed for the next few nights. She moaned, she cried, she lashed out. Calvin provided whatever support she desired. He held her, rocked her.

Sex, for the time being, was tabled. Too many memories. He waited for her to settle down. He waited for her.

It was six days later that she rolled back against him during the night. "Thank you for taking me to see my father." She put her hand on his chest and rolled closer to kiss him. [And I'm sorry I've neglected you.]

[I understand, little one, that it would take time to lay your demons to rest again.]

Stephanie looked into Calvin's eyes and smiled. "I think I will sleep better if you touch me."

*****

Emmett sought out his mate. She had been spending a lot of time in their room, working on things for the pack council. It wasn't really good for her, although with her upbringing, it was part of her nature.

But, as a werewolf, and part of the Wyeth pack, she should have wanted the comfort of others. To be closer to someone. Most of the other females, during their pregnancies, craved the touch, the presence of others. She was almost isolating herself.

Lyssa had just been to the library, looking up some things for the council, had spent much of the day there. She had come back with a lot of papers, notes. And, while she had tossed him a quick send when she got home, she hadn't stopped by. Jeremy and Madeline had said she'd gone to their suite.

Her scent, and one other's, led there. The door was ajar.

Emmett pushed it open and found his mate sitting up in the bed, a pillow stuffed behind her, cradling a large book and stroking the small, dark pup that cuddled next to her. Sniffling.

He opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it.

She knew, of course, that he had entered the room. Her only reaction was a slight tension in her body. Emmaline snuggled a bit closer to her.

What he did do was get onto the bed beside her. She sniffed and rubbed a fist over her wet cheeks, her other fingers were twined in the pup's fur. He sidled up next to her and put an arm around her. She was looking at the photo album he had rescued from her house before it had burned to the ground. Pictures of the family she had lost years ago, one of the few remnants of her old life.

Emmett looked at the images on her lap and picked one out. Her, with her brother and sister, wet, giggling. Her brother was slender, blondish, with hazel eyes, early teens. Her little sister's hair was darker, closer to the color of Lyssa's, with brown eyes, lighter than Lyssa's, with green flecks. Lyssa was beginning to fill out, curves, young breasts, and was wearing a bright blue bikini with a small white butterfly on the left side. They were all lightly tanned and wet. And happy.

His voice is quiet. "When was this?"

She sniffed again and her breath came out shaky. "Mom and Dad took us to a waterpark. We had such a good time." She sniffed again and tears rolled down her cheeks. She opened her mouth to speak again and a sob came out. Emmaline whined.

He tried to think of a way to ask the question, but there was no way it wouldn't hurt. [Not long before they died?]

"They never let me see them. The coffins were closed."

He stroked the side of her face with the backs of his fingers. His voice was quiet, calm. "I'm sure they didn't want you to see them that way." More likely their injuries were horrific from the accident they had been in.

He knew she was sad, upset. Emmaline's presence confirmed it. The pack had found the female pup was a bellwether for grief and sorrow. An indication that someone needed comfort. He didn't know the exact nature of her sadness and didn't want to make it worse. So, he held her, pulling her body against him.

It took her a bit to settle down. Emmaline jumped up, licked her face, then jumped off the bed and left the room. "Our little man won't have any aunts or uncles. You've got no brothers or sisters and neither do I."

"Dear heart, he'll have a whole pack to be aunts and uncles. They'll all watch out for him, the females will dote on him, the males will roughhouse with him. Simon and Hannah will slip him tidbits." He chuckled. She chuckled.

That was good.

He sighed and pulled her into his lap, spilling the album onto the bed. He took her face into his hands. "Ah, mate. Remembering the past, mourning it a little, isn't a bad thing. But, we haven't had an Alpha or Beta pup in 20 years. Everyone will be looking after him."

She put her arms over the arms he had around her. Another chuckle from her at that and a relaxation of her body had him feeling better. She rubbed her hand over his arm. "I wish they were alive, sometimes."

"You got a chance to know yours."

She looked up at him, eyes wide, her hand going to his face. "Oh, Em, I'm sorry." He had been a small pup when his family had died.

He put his forehead to hers. "A long time ago, Lyssa."

Her voice was quiet and he could feel her breath against his lips. "How long?" He'd never told her exactly how old he was; it didn't really matter to them. Except for reaching adulthood, they barely paid attention. Slowly, he starts, "A long.." and stops as she gets a funny look on her face. He goes on alert. "What's wrong? Is something wrong?"

"I feel ... funny."

"Where? What? Should I get the healers?"

She took a deep breath. "Stop." she said, calmly. He had panicked when she'd gotten nauseous and thrown up once before.

She pulled his hand to her belly and closed her eyes. He closed his, also, and concentrated. He centered his focus on that palm and felt ... little movements. Little pushes. He whispered. "Is that him?"

She whispered back. "I think so."

"What does it feel like to you?"

"Little .. ripples, I guess."

He twisted her, wrapped her legs around his waist and crushed her against him. As he kissed her fiercely he sent, [We have our own family now, sweetheart. And the pack around us.]

When the kiss broke, and she could breathe again, she looked around the room and said, "I'm hungry." An inhale, exhale. "And then I want to go out for a run."

*****

The second pack council meeting went a bit better than the first but was still a bit acrimonious. Half the packs had chosen representatives, others were still sorting it out. This was the first item on Lyssa's agenda.

"How we respond will depend on who gets discovered, because the pack that is found first will probably get the worst of it. Is there someplace we can go if things get really bad?"

There was a short discussion about abandoning their compounds before there was overall agreement that they would fight to stay in their homes.

"Do you really think they'd try to kill us?"

"We're stronger than they are but there are more of them. A lot of them will be afraid of us. Some will want to study us. Some will want to use us. Some will want to be us. And some will want to fuck us."

The room erupted at the last statement, some sputtering, some shaking their heads.

Lyssa let it go on for a minute or two, thinking of another option in the meantime. [Alright, now.] All eyes returned to her. "That's the fewest number of people, but it's true. There are some humans who will want to have sex with us for the novelty of it. And, on the other end are those who will want to hunt us as if we were another rare predator."

Juliet Severn asked, "What do you mean by use?"

"What would you think you might do with a group that is stronger, faster, sees, smells, and hears better?"

She watched the thoughts flicker through their minds.

"Bloodhounds. Surveillance. Security. Conscripts. Something like slave labor."

Helen, an elder of the Gates pack, spoke up. "Now that we've determined the possibilities, what do we do? Is there anyone who would be on our side?"

"There are groups who help and protect pure animals. The ASPCA, PETA. The National Wildlife Federation. Greenpeace. Perhaps we can garner some sort of support from them. Our problem is that we are thinking beings who function, as they do, within their world. Pure animals are protected by humans for their own good, usually because they can't protect themselves."

"The packs, however, own property, businesses, employ people, pay taxes. We're like humans in most ways. And it's the 'most ways' that make it hairy."

A few chuckles went up at the unintended pun.

"This is why we need some legal advice. We'll want to maintain our lifestyle, the hunting, punishments, etc. like a sovereign state or, oh, an embassy or something, so that we obey human rules outside but can do what we need inside."

Stephanie interjected. "Is there a way we can set ourselves apart in their legal system?"

"Some groups have special provisions. Some religious groups. The Amish. American Indians."

"Then, we apparently need something along those lines."

"OK. Yeah. So, no lawyers in any of the packs?" Heads shook. "Damn, that would really help. We need to be able to talk to one without.. tell them about us without them revealing our secret."

The room erupted again. Keeping secret of what they were was deeply ingrained in the core of their being. Most of the arguments were aimed at her, since she had brought it up. She would have to look into that aspect more. There had to be a way. There had to. She had to find it, for all of them. She caressed the small bulge in her belly. Yes, all of them.

"Well, OK." They all look back at her. All those eyes. She still couldn't believe they were all looking to her. "I could use some help looking into how we can get some legal help."

The brown eyes of Helen looked up at her. "I'll help."

"Thank you. I would also suggest that everyone look at strengthening their boundaries."

"And why is that?"

"Whoever is discovered first will be a target and, if it's one of us, it could be all of us. Some fanatic is liable to come with guns or explosives to try to kill us."

"Which means we should also have a warning system. If something happens to one pack, the others need to be warned so they can prepare."

Lyssa watched and saw understanding and acceptance on most faces.

"Alright, I hope the remaining packs will have their representative picked for the next meeting. And we'll discuss then some possibilities for telling someone about us so we can get some sort of legal protection in place."

"This is something we'll vote on?"

Lyssa nodded. "Yes. I think it needs to be a unanimous vote."

There was grumbling, everyone worried about exposure.

"Thank you for coming. I should have the video conferencing set up for the next time."

Stephanie stepped up as the others were taking their leave. "Madam Beta, how are you?"

"Pretty good, Stephanie, um, Madam Alpha. How are you?"

Stephanie's green eyes flicked to Lyssa's brown and she looked down again. "Calvin said I should do this, that it was important."

[You just need to make a decision and stick to it, as long as it feels right for the pack.]

Stephanie's eyes crawled back up and held Lyssa's. "How is the pup?"

Lyssa's hand slid to her belly. "Good, so far."

Stephanie searched Lyssa's eyes. "I'm glad. I want to start studying healing again."

Lyssa was surprised. "Again?" Stephanie nodded. "How is Calvin?"

A rare smile graced Stephanie's crooked lips. "Good. I should go home."

"Sure. It's good to see you happy, Stephanie."

Stephanie nodded and walked to the door.

***

Emmett found her, later, in their suite, looking at the video camera. She had her chin on her crossed arms, staring at it.

"Nothing?"

Lyssa sighed heavily and her eyes slid up to him. Her mate. Chocolate brown eyes in a strong face. The contrast of his grey hair, a medium charcoal, longish. The dark blue t-shirt was tight across his chest, his muscular arms were tanned. His waist, narrower to the top of a pair of dark jeans. She looked at the button on his jeans and licked her lips.

Her voice went low and husky. "Unbutton the jeans and turn around."

Smirking, he undid the button and reached for the zipper. "No." He turned around and she paused to admire his nice ass, encased in denim.

He heard her get up from the chair and thought he heard her soft footfalls as she approached him. It took willpower to stand still, to not turn and face her. Where would she touch him?

Even expecting it, he jumped slightly as a hand caressed his ass. [Nice backside.]

[Got somethin' else nice up front.]

[Do you now?] She leaned up against him, her face against his back and her hands slid around his waist. They traveled upwards, fingers stroking, and she pulled herself tightly to him for a moment before finding and tweaking his nipples.

Damn. His cock had jumped and was now nestled uncomfortably in his pants.

She stopped and her nostrils flared. "Why do you smell like Madeline?"

Emmett was confused. "What do you mean?"

She walked around to his front, leaned in, and inhaled. "I smell Erich's mate on you. What have you been doing?"

He reached for her and she backed away, growling. "Sparring, Lyssa. You know she's working on her fighting, just like you."

Lyssa crossed her arms and grumped.

He reached for her again and she backed away. His face fell. He couldn't understand why she was so upset and it really bothered him that she was retreating from him. "Lys, sweetheart, it's never bothered you before."

"I don't like it."

[Madam Beta?]

Lyssa's head whipped around. [Yes, healer?]

Natalie hesitated, feeling the annoyance in Lyssa's send. [It's time for another check on you and your pup.]

Emmett looked at her. Her response was brusque, one word. "Check-up."

What could he do? She was quite annoyed with him. He dropped the volume of his voice as she headed for the door. "Can I come?"

Taking a deep breath, Lyssa turned around. She saw the hurt in his eyes. She took another breath, letting it out shakily. "Of course."

Emmett followed her down the stairs and watched Natalie examine his pregnant mate. "Good. Everything looks good. Keep up with the protein and fats. And you're taking vitamins?"

Lyssa nodded. "B vitamins, mostly."

[Healer, do you know why she would be upset with me for having Madeline's scent on me?]

Natalie hesitated. [Her sense of smell has changed. You may wish to speak to the Madam Alpha.]

"Don't talk about me while I'm right here." She still sounded grumpy.

Lyssa was released for another month.

Emmett grabbed her as she resisted him and kissed her. "Ah, mate, I'm glad you're both doing well."

She squirmed, trying to get out of his arms. "Don't touch me when you smell like her."

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and talked into her hair. "Lyssa. Lyssa. I was sparring with Madeline. You know that." Lyssa was silent, unmoving. He felt her breath pass over his chest, the slight bulge in her belly pressed against him. "You know, you haven't been practicing lately. You should have a session."

Lyssa was taken aback. "But I'm pregnant."

"And that's why you should do it. Your tactics change because of it. You still have to be able to protect yourself.." Emmett's hands slid to cover her belly "and our little man. You can't..."