Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 11:29:09 -0500
From: Vic James <vicjames2@hotmail.com>
Subject: Being Pack Chapter Eight

                           Being Pack
                          By Vic James
                      vicjames2@hotmail.com
                   Copyright 2014 by Vic James
                     http://www.vicjames.com


If you enjoy this story or the other stories at Nifty, please
make a donation at: http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html

This story is fiction. None of the characters are based on real
people.
You can see a list of my stories at
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/authors.html#vicjames

This story takes place in the same universe as my stories Plan of
the Shusheen and Son of a Wolf. It takes place immediately after
the events in Son of a Wolf. Plan of the Shusheen explains how
three genetically-engineered shifter races were created.

Warning: this story may contain incest scenes.



                              Eight
    Eddie was unpacking his computer in our bedroom. It was a
really inexpensive model. We were wealthy, but he still bought a
really cheap one. I sighed. I should have told him to buy the
nicest one. Whether he would have wanted to do that, I couldn't
say.
    "Do you need help setting it up?" I asked him.
    "Yeah. I'm not very computer literate."
    "We got them cellphones, too," Luke said.
    "Oh, good!"
    "Are you two planning to continue working?" I asked them. "We
have plenty of money."
    "You have plenty," Dutch said.
    "You are my spouses and this is a community-property state, I
think," I said.
    "I didn't think about that," Eddie said.
    "You are going to have to take the bad with the good," I
said. "Taking money will be the bad. Sex will be the good."
    We all laughed.
    "There are more people than jobs, Dutch," Eddie said. "And
some of them need the money."
    Dutch nodded.
    "You're right. I just always assumed we would keep doing the
same things."
    I realized that they weren't happy taking the money I had
earned. But I couldn't be a billionaire with penniless mates. It
would make me horribly uncomfortable. It was them or me. As with
my parents, I only got to choose who suffered. I couldn't make
everyone happy. Then I had an idea.
    "I know you guys are used to being independent and you don't
want an enormous amount of money from me. Maybe you could do some
of the work on the new house. I have to give you some money; I'm
a billionaire! But maybe would feel like you earned it."
    I could see they were considering it. I looked at Luke. He
gave me a thumbs up sign.
    "Or maybe you could mow the grass and I could lick the sweat
off you," I added.
    They grinned.
    "Would you blow us after each row?" Eddie asked.
    "Of course. Does that mean I have to wait until you finish a
row?"
    We all laughed.
    "I would like that," Dutch said. "I would feel like I earned
it. Would you, Eddie?"
    "Yeah. That sounds great to me."
    I smiled at them.
    Dutch took me in his arms.
    "Thanks for understanding."
    "I love you. I want to make you happy."
    "And I want to make you happy, too. I just wish there was
some way my cock could do that."
    "You know, I think it could do that. I haven't had it in my
mouth for a while."
    Dutch grinned.
    He was wearing shorts, which is what most of the men in the
pack wore. Rince had told me that cold didn't affect Vin-Ta the
way it did humans, so many wore them year-round. It explained why
I seldom wore a coat during winter when I was young. I pushed
Dutch's shorts down. His cock was pointing up at me. It was very
stiff. The head extended most of the way out of the foreskin.
While I looked at it, a bead of precum formed at the end. I wiped
it with my finger and stuck my finger in my mouth.
    "I love your cock, Dutch."
    "My cock loves you right back."
    "What about mine?" Eddie asked.
    "Actually, I'm in love with three cocks."
    They laughed. I remembered Alephin's.
    "Make that four. I forgot Alephin's," I said.
    "He does have a nice one," Eddie said.
    Dutch picked me up and put me on the bed. He straddled me and
pushed his cock down to my lips.
    "Here. Daddy Dutch is going to feed you."
    I grinned at him. I swallowed him and began sucking. He
tasted so good. I fondled his balls and earned a sigh from him.
Someone began sucking me. When Dutch's cream shot into my mouth,
I shot, too. He pulled out, and the mouth let go of my cock.
    "Damn, your cum tastes good, Dutch," I said to him.
    He grinned.
    "Turn around, will you?" I asked Dutch.
    "Uh. OK."
    I pulled his cheeks apart and began rimming him.
    "Oh, fuck!"
    "Does it feel good?" Eddie asked him.
    "Have you never been rimmed?" Luke asked Eddie.
    "No."
    I heard Eddie moan.
    "Fuck! It's incredible!" Eddie said.
    Luke had to be rimming him. I wasn't through with Dutch. I
reached around and stroked his cock while I rimmed him. Dutch
bent down and swallowed my cock. I kept licking his ass. Dutch
was very good at sucking. I pulled away from his butt and cried
out as I came. He swallowed my load. As I came down from my
orgasm, I went back to rimming him. He lowered his butt, so that
he was basically sitting on my face. I didn't mind, though. All I
could smell was Dutch and he smelled great.
    "Rim Luke," Dutch said.
    "OK."
    Dutch climbed off me.
    Eddie was standing, with Luke kneeling behind him. There
wasn't an easy way to get to his ass.
    "You two need to get in bed," Dutch said to Luke and Eddie.
    "Eddie, you get on your stomach."
    Eddie did. Dutch pulled Eddie towards the bottom of the bed.
Luke got on the bed on his knees. He pulled Eddie's cheeks apart
and began rimming him. I could get to Luke's ass, standing on the
floor. As I began rimming Luke, Dutch knelt behind me and rimmed
me. It was wonderful. Sex with three mates was better than sex
with one. After rimming me for a while, Dutch began sucking me.
After I came, I pulled away from Luke's ass.
    "I want to suck Eddie," I said.
    Eddie flipped over on his back. I got up on the bed and began
sucking him. Eddie's cock wasn't as big as Luke's or Dutch's. It
had a beautiful shape, though. As usual, Eddie came fairly
quickly. I sensed he was unhappy about that. I kept sucking him,
and before long, he was shooting in my mouth, again.
    "Two orgasms are better than one," I said to him, grinning.
    "I wish I knew why I come so quickly with you," Eddie said.
    I didn't know.
    "You fed me two loads, so it is a good thing as far as I'm
concerned. And it means you can have more orgasms in the same
amount of time."
    Eddie nodded. "True!"
    I looked over and saw Dutch was sucking Luke. I grinned at
Luke and he grinned right back. There was a smell in the room. It
was unusual. I sniffed my arm. That wasn't it. I noticed the
dried semen of my mates was falling off my arm in flakes.
    "I smell something," I said.
    "It's lust," Eddie said. "The room reeks of it."
    "Yup," Dutch said. "That, wet asses, and jizz."
    "After we finish this, I want you guys to reapply your
special sauce to my skin."
    "You got it!" Eddie said.
    "You could probably use a booster 'shot'," Dutch said.
    I laughed.
    "Let's do it now," Eddie suggested.
    We cleared the remaining things off the bed.
    "There is something I want to do," Luke said. Will you two
shoot on Tom's cock?"
    "Sure," Dutch said.
    Dutch and Eddie kissed while they stroked themselves. Luke
ran his hands over both of them.
    "They are so hot," I said to Luke.
    "They are. We are very lucky. For a sex addict, this is
heaven," Luke said. "We can have orgies for hours, every single
day. And with people we love."
    I nodded, grinning.
    Dutch and Eddie were soon shooting on my cock. I groaned. It
felt incredible. Each spurt made my cock harder.
    "Wow!"
    "You like that?" Luke asked.
    "It feels great!"
    When Dutch and Eddie were through, Luke licked it all off me.
I came while he was licking. After that, we took a break. Luke
got up on the bed with me. Dutch sat in a chair, and Eddie in
another. Dutch patted his lap while he looked at Eddie. Eddie got
up and sat on Dutch's lap. Dutch wrapped his arms around Eddie.
It seemed kind of submissive on Eddie's part. I knew they hadn't
fucked each other, but seeing them like that, made me wonder
whether Eddie had ever wanted Dutch to fuck him. I decided to
ask.
    "Eddie, have you ever wanted Dutch to fuck you?"
    "No," Dutch said.
    I frowned. Why had Dutch answered?
    I looked at Eddie. He shrugged.
    "I've thought about it," Eddie said.
    Dutch looked surprised.
    "Why didn't you tell me?" Dutch asked.
    "I'm not saying I wanted you to fuck me. I'm saying that if
you asked, I probably would have let you, just to find out what
it was like. Alephin fucked me, of course, but he is the Alpha
and my wolf was mostly in control."
    "Oh. I understand. Will you let me now?"
    Eddie sighed.
    "If you love it and I don't, I may spend the rest of my life
doing something I don't enjoy, just to make you happy. I want to
make you happy, but not that way."
    "OK."
    "Do you think you would like to have Alephin give you a
facial?" Eddie asked me.
    "Why? Do I look bad? It's probably just dried cum on my skin.
Buy why would Alephin do it?"
    They looked confused. Luke clarified.
    "The kind of facial they mean is having cum shot on your
face. You would close your eyes and Alephin would cover your face
with his semen."
    "Oh, god!" I cried out. My cock started shooting, and no one
was touching it! It bounced up and down, shooting cum on me and
the bed. Some hit one of my eyes.
    Luke grabbed and swallowed my cock.
    "I think he likes the idea, Eddie," Dutch said.
    I laughed as I came.
    When I was done, Luke licked the cum out of my eye socket. I
would smell like Alephin. I wanted that! Suddenly, I felt myself
changing. I jumped off the bed. I looked down and saw wolf paws.
I began howling. It wasn't intended, I just did it. It was the
first time my wolf had done something on his own. Then Alephin
walked into the room. He was smiling. My wolf cowered though. I
crawled on my belly towards him. It felt very strange to me. My
wolf feared Alephin, while I liked him very much, even loved him.
    Alephin bent down and rubbed me. I whined in pleasure.
    "Stand up," Alephin commanded.
    I did, transforming into a man, as I did so.
    "What was the howling about?" Alephin asked.
    "Eddie asked him if he would like it if you gave him a
facial," Dutch said. "He seemed to like the idea."
    Alephin chuckled. He took me in his arms. I wrapped mine
around him.
    "Your lust for me excites me tremendously. I could smell your
desire for me in the living room. You need me and my cock, and
you shall have what you need," Alephin said.
    I groaned.
    Alephin thrust his tongue in my mouth. I held him even
tighter as he kissed me. It was incredible. I felt Luke's cock
enter me. He thrust a couple of times before pulling out. I
continued kissing Alephin. Or perhaps Alephin continued kissing
me. He was in control, just as I knew he should be. Another cock
entered me. It had to be Dutch.
    "You better not fuck him right now. You've got a hair trigger
with him, Ed," Dutch said.
    "Shit!"
    I ran my hands over Alephin, feeling his muscles and hair. He
kissed me harder. My hands roamed over his muscular body.
Alephin's erection was pressed against my belly. I began rubbing
it with my body. Dutch was inside me, and that was very nice, but
I wanted Alephin in me. I craved it. Alephin began grinding his
cock against me. I felt wetness and I was happy I had so excited
him. Alephin pulled away. He began sucking and biting my neck and
the shoulder near it. It was painful and incredibly arousing, at
the same time. He bit, hard. I cried out and came, shooting jizz
between our bodies. Alephin chewed at my neck. My orgasm went on
and on, for as long as he bit me. He took my hand and placed it
on his cock. The Alpha's cock. I shuddered. The Alpha wanted me
to have it. I was very happy. I felt the beginning of a change.
Dutch pulled out of me. My wolf wanted to howl, no doubt.
    "Do not shift!" Alephin commanded.
    He spun me around. I cried out as the Alpha buried his cock
inside me in one swift motion.
    "You do not want my baby!" Alephin said.
    I nodded as he began to fuck me.
    I do not want Alephin's baby, I kept repeating to myself. The
pleasure was intense, though. I had trouble concentrating on it.
Alephin pushed on my upper back. I bent over. He grabbed my hips
and began a fierce fucking. His body slapped against mine. I
looked at my mates. Eddie and Dutch were kissing. I motioned to
Luke. He brought his cock to my mouth. I swallowed him, while
listening to the sound of flesh slapping flesh-Alephin's against
mine. I held onto Luke's thighs. Luke began shooting in my mouth.
I gulped down his spunk. Alephin sped up his thrusts. He pulled
me up, just as Luke was finishing. Once I was upright, Alephin
wrapped his arms around me.
    "You don't want a baby. No baby," he said, right before
groaning.
    "No baby, no baby, no baby," I kept repeating.
    He fucked me for several minutes.
    "I should have waited longer, but you are just too sexy, too
horny for me, and too eager to please me. And my mate," he said
in my ear.
    "Aw! Aw!" Alephin cried out as he ejaculated inside me.
    I went into a strange state of euphoria at that point. My
skin tingled everywhere his body touched mine. The smell of my
Alpha surrounded me completely. I could feel every spurt of semen
inside my body. I had never felt it when Luke bred me. My
shoulder throbbed where he bit me. I could feel his cock
throbbing inside me to the same rhythm. I was barely aware of it,
but I came again. Someone swallowed my cock.
    "You are mine, little wolf," Alephin said into my ear.
    "Yes, Alephin. Thank you."
    My head fell back against him. He licked my ear.
    "You are precious to me, little wolf. I will breed you every
day," he said.
    Alephin licked a line along my jaw to my ear. The tingling of
my skin continued. I shuddered at the thought of daily breeding
by the Alpha. I was truly accepted into the pack. I couldn't
imagine there were many members of his pack he bred daily. I felt
precious. He started to pull out of me.
    "No! Please!" I said.
    He chuckled. I was pleased when he pushed his cock back into
me.
    "How can I cover you with my semen if I don't pull out?"
    I shuddered and came again. My cock was in Luke's mouth.
Eddie was on his side, on the ground, sucking Luke. Alephin
pulled on a nipple with one hand, while the other caressed the
front of my body. I tilted my head back and he kissed me. I had
never known such pleasure. The Alpha's erection was completely
buried inside me, while his tongue was in my mouth. His roving
hand gave me enormous pleasure, too, as he caressed me. He pulled
his mouth from mine.
    "I love you, pup," he said to me.
    "Oh, Alephin! I love you, too!"
    "Good. We will make love every day. I'm glad you chose to
live next to me. If you need me more than that, tell me."
    "Rince won't mind?"
    "No. You impressed Rince a great deal. We have already spoken
of it. He is very excited about the new pack hospital you are
paying for. He told me you were worried about having my baby when
you may not have full control of your body. Another, lesser
person might have tried to use bearing my pup to come between
Rince and me or boost their standing in the pack. I am certain
that never occurred to you."
    "It didn't."
    "Try not to get pregnant, but if you do, you won't displease
me."
    "I will try not to. If I were Rince, I would not want someone
else having your baby. I don't want to make him unhappy."
    "We both know that. Just do your best. If you become pregnant
with my baby, I will blame myself for not waiting longer to breed
you. I won't blame you, my precious pup. I had to have you."
    I sighed.
    "Kneel in front of me," Alephin said.
    I pulled my body off his cock and turned around.
    "Oh, fuck!" Eddie said.
    I felt Eddie's tongue enter my asshole. Alephin must have
really loosened me. He moaned as he licked my insides.
    "Can you taste Alephin's load?" Dutch asked him.
    Eddie just moaned and kept his tongue moving inside me.
    Dutch knelt behind Alephin. Alephin groaned. I assumed Dutch
was rimming him. Eddie stopped rimming me and stood. He began
sucking one of Alephin's nipples. I groaned as Luke's cock
entered me. My head fell back against him once his cock was
deeply embedded in me. He pulled out of me, and slid his tongue
inside me. He lapped, while I groaned from pleasure. Luke moved
under Alephin and tried to suck his balls. I gasped when I saw
Luke's erection covered with Alephin's cum. My attention was
brought back to my Alpha when Alephin began stroking his
wonderful cock. It was pointed at my face. I licked my lips while
I watched the head of his cock slide in and out of his foreskin.
Or so it seemed from where I was kneeling. I leaned forward and
kissed the head. I gave the underside of it a couple of quick
licks. Alephin sighed.
    "My cock is yours any time you need it, Tom. Even if it is
ten times a day."
    I looked up at him and grinned. He chuckled.
    "Isn't sex wonderful?" the Alpha asked me.
    "It is! I'm new to it, but I love it!"
    "Do you want my spunk, little wolf?"
    "Yes, Alephin. It is inside me. I want it on the outside,
too."
    Alephin reached over and rubbed the spot where he bit me. I
felt a tingle like an electric shock as I had another orgasm. My
dick just started shooting. I guess it hit Luke, but I was
looking at Alephin's erection and had no desire to look at
anything else. I had no idea why, but Alephin's fingers on the
bite gave me an orgasm. He pinched the bite. It hurt, but my
orgasm intensified. I groaned, with my mouth open, as the first
burst of semen shot out of Alephin's cock. It went right into my
mouth. I swallowed as his hot sperm began splattering against my
face. Alephin took my hair in one hand, as he fisted his cock
with the other. He tilted my head back, using his hand. He coated
my neck and under my chin. I closed my eyes and felt semen
hitting my eye sockets. The smell was heavenly. One spurt covered
my nostrils. I sniffed without thinking, and his spunk entered my
sinuses. I sniffed until my nostrils were clear, swallowing it,
just as though it was mucus. I loved the smell of my mates'
spunk, but Alephin's smelled even better. I thoroughly enjoyed
the sensation of his hot, wet cum hitting my face. I planned to
ask my lovers to do it, often. Alephin turned my head by twisting
my hair, although not painfully. He coated both sides of my face
thoroughly. I felt his warm spunk dripping off my face and onto
my chest. He pushed his cock into my mouth and fed me several
spurts of semen. I was as contented as a baby must be when
drinking milk. When he stopped coming, he pulled out of my mouth.
He put his hands under my arms and pulled me up.
    "I would kiss you but I don't want my spunk on me."
    The others laughed.
    "Tom sure seems to like having it on him," Dutch said.
    "I do! And in me, too. How about later?" I asked.
    "It's a deal. You should have a happy secure wolf, now, Tom."
    I nodded.
    "I'll see you later, pups."
    Alephin left the room.
    I looked at my mates. They all seemed happy. I walked over
and shut the bedroom door.
    "Does Alephin breed many people every day?" I asked.
    "Not that I know of," Dutch said. "He has sex regularly with
people, like Joyce, when they ask, but this sounded like more
than that."
    Eddie nodded his head.
    "He seems to really like you. He said you are precious to
him."
    I smiled.
    "Do any of you want to fuck me?"
    They grinned at me.
    We spent the evening having sex. I was deliriously happy. I
remembered to not wish any of their babies. I reminded myself to
ask Rince whether I needed to wish for no babies every time I had
sex.
    All four of us slept in the same bed. Fortunately, it was
king sized. It was a little crowded, but I didn't mind. Luke
wrapped his arms around me. Dutch had his arms around Eddie.
Eddie and I faced each other. Eddie had a moustache. I felt it
while he smiled at me. I leaned forward to kiss him. I fell
asleep kissing him.
    I woke during the night. I needed to use the restroom. I
carefully got out of bed. None of them seemed to wake up, which
was surprising. I walked into the bathroom and relieved myself.
Afterwards, I looked at myself in the mirror. The night before I
had shifted into Luke and Alephin. I remembered the photo of the
statue of Michael, the Archangel. I closed my eyes and pictured
him. I felt very strange. Something happened, but it seemed to
take a long time. During that time, my center of gravity seemed
to change. When things seemed to stop, I opened my eyes. I gasped
as I looked at a live Michael, the Archangel. I had wings covered
with white feathers and I was even wearing the same garment that
was on the statue. I tried to move my wings. They spread out at
least seven feet on each side of me. One wing knocked something
off the back of the toilet. I tried to fold them and they
collapsed again. I stared at myself. I wondered if I could fly.
The bathroom wasn't big enough for me to try it in there. Or was
it? I moved diagonally to the bathroom and extended my wings,
again. They didn't hit anything. I tried to flap them. Flapping
them made a little noise. For some reason, I didn't want anyone
to know I could do that. I worried about keeping secrets from my
mates. It seemed wrong. But if no one knew I could fly away from
danger, they wouldn't expect it. I wondered if I should be so
paranoid. It wasn't normal, but I had never been normal. I kept
flapping, and I felt the pressure on my feet lessen. I had a
feeling I could fly, if I needed to. I closed my eyes. The statue
of Michael had him holding a sword. I pictured the sword in my
hand. I felt something. I opened my eyes. My right arm was
thinner, and there was a sword extending from my hand. It was
attached to my hand, part of my hand. I lifted the sword. For
some reason, the artist had painted Michael's sword green. The
one extending from my hand was green, too. I lifted it up to my
eyes. It didn't seem like metal, which made sense. It also wasn't
sharp. I looked carefully at the surface. It looked like green
skin. It was fine for show, but useless as a weapon. I closed my
eyes and pictured a sharp, steel sword. I felt something. I
opened my eyes and watched the sword change. It became shiny and
the color was right. I looked at the edge. It was sharper, but I
didn't know if it could be used as a weapon. I almost laughed.
What did I know about using swords? Especially ones that were
part of my arm! If I had to run from danger, I would probably
trip over the stupid thing. I certainly couldn't drop it on the
ground. I imagined my hand without the sword. I saw it shrink
back into my arm, as my arm grew thicker. When that was done, I
shifted back to my normal shape. I was hungry, again. I left the
bathroom. Luke was standing next to the bed.
    "I'm going to get something to eat," I whispered.
    He got up and joined me. We waved at a guard outside our
bedroom door. He followed us to the kitchen. I found the same can
of peanuts. Luke opened the refrigerator.
    "What were you doing in the bathroom? It was kind of noisy."
    "I was practicing shifting into different shapes."
    "Oh! That's a good idea!"
    I felt bad. I wanted to tell Luke. But part of me insisted on
secrecy, a fearful part of me. Then a thought popped into my
mind. My mates could take care of themselves, but maybe not if
they were trying to protect me. I felt better, even though I knew
with absolute certainty that I was a coward.
    "We should hire a cook for the new place," Luke said.
    "That's a good idea. We can give someone a job and eat better
at the same time."
    He nodded.
    "I love being close to Alephin, but I would feel better it
was our food in the fridge," Luke said.
    I nodded.
    "I feel strange about eating anything. What if they are
planning to eat it and find it gone? I feel guilty for eating
these peanuts!" I said. "I feel like we are stealing them!"
    Luke chuckled and nodded.
    He moved his chair next to mine and put his arm around me.
    "I was thinking we could have Eddie and Dutch take care of
the house. I mean be in charge. They can hire the help and
oversee them. Besides a cook or two, we will need maids, pool
cleaners, gardeners, and probably more." I grinned at him. "And
we can sneak off for sex." He wiggled his eyebrows. I laughed.
    "Is any of this bothering you?" he asked me. "All of these
changes, I mean."
    "Just my parents. Otherwise, I'm very happy. I'm starting to
understand why a clean break was needed. Even if we remained
living in Gatlinburg, they would notice in a few years that we
weren't aging. And I think it's better that they think I'm dead,
rather than never seeing me again and wondering why I stopped
loving them."
    Luke nodded.
    "Do you ever miss your family?" I asked him.
    "A little, but we were never close. My parents were not as
dysfunctional as yours, but my father was--is a workaholic. His
job is the most important thing in his life. My mother is a
social butterfly. The last few years, I didn't speak to them
often. Usually just on holidays. My sister is a crusader. She has
causes. She's always battling a disease, or poverty, or promoting
Meals on Wheels, or blood banks, or children's literacy. That
makes her happy and I can appreciate that. She's trying to help
people. I don't know how much actual good she is doing, she is
kind of combative. I was her cause, for a while. Her plan to get
me to stop drinking only alienated me. But it is what she wants
to do. I spoke to her even less often than my parents because
that was all she talked about-what crisis she was working to
eliminate and what she wanted me to do about it. She'll be fine
without me."
    I leaned my head on him, and I guess I fell asleep. I woke
when he put me on the bed. He lay down next to me and pulled me
close. I snuggled back against him.
    The following morning and afternoon, the four of us spent
making love and getting to know each other. That afternoon, we
sat in the backyard, under an enormous pecan tree, watching the
children play. There were two tire swings handing from the tree.
The kids were too young to use them, but I knew they would enjoy
them when they were older. Each child had a couple of women
supervising their play. They were volunteers who wanted to help
take care of the children. I remembered Rince saying that our
kids would belong to the pack. We would never have to worry about
babysitters! Rince sat next to me.
    "I'm going to make a terrible father-or mother," I said to
him. "I have zero aptitude. My people skills consist of hiding.
That's it!"
    Rince laughed.
    "You aren't that bad. You have months to learn, and you
aren't out here hoping a webworm will drop on you, are you?"
    "No. I know I have to learn, but if a baby cries at night,
what do you do? Ask it to stop?"
    Rince laughed.
    "I would try that first. It may not work, but who knows?
Besides, Eddie knows a lot about taking care of babies. He
babysat for a while. And you can have as many nannies as you
want."
    "I hadn't thought of that. The nannies could do the dirty
work," I said.
    We could pay them, and give even more pack members jobs.
    "We'll pay the nanny per poop," Luke said. "And per tinkle,
of course."
    We laughed.
    "I don't want them to turn out like me," I said.
    "I do," Luke said.
    I smiled at him.
    "What I mean, is socially clueless. I went through entire
days without saying a word. I liked it. I know it isn't normal,
and I want normal kids."
    "You keep assuming you are defective," Dutch said. "You
aren't. You were surrounded by humans and it made you
uncomfortable. There are a lot of people in this pack like you.
When they have to go into town for a doctor, they are doubly-
terrified. That is why people are so excited about Tom Black
Hospital, here at Techupawa." He kept talking, but my mind stayed
on 'Tom Black Hospital'. They were naming the hospital after me?
I was glad it wasn't the Tom Black 'Memorial' Hospital.
    "He's right," Rince said. "It wasn't you, it was them. If you
had grown up here, you would have had a completely different
childhood. You seem to do fine around Vin-Ta."
    I supposed he was right. I was an abnormal human, but not an
abnormal Vin-Ta.
    "Is that the name of the hospital, or was that a joke?" I
asked.
    "That's the name. What else would it be called? Your money is
building it," Rince said. "It's traditional."
    I shook my head. It was bizarre. I only had the money because
I agreed to have someone's baby. That reminded me of Hephin.
    "I haven't seen Hephin today."
    "His pack is having a picnic at one of the lakes."
    I smiled.
    "Oh. That sounds nice."
    "He will probably be by this evening."
    "Is he OK with me, Dag, and Dag's baby?"
    "Yes. Hephin isn't upset, anymore. You know, he was much more
upset with Dag than you. Dag told you--a stranger--that he wanted
another child, but he hadn't told Hephin. Then he asked you to
bear it, without asking Hephin to do it. It was a complete
surprise to him. But, like I said, he's over it. Dag explained to
Hephin why he did it and Hephin seems to understand."
    Off and on, all day, I wondered about the angel wings. I
really wanted to find out if I could fly. I didn't want to do it
outside where anyone could see. I decided I wanted to stop being
paranoid, at least with people I really trusted. I decided to
share one of my secrets.
    "Is there a large room with a high roof and a mostly empty
floor, that's private?" I asked Rince.
    Rince frowned.
    "What about the basketball court?" Dutch suggested.
    "How long do you need it?" Rince asked. "And why?"
    "I would rather not say why, but you can watch if you want.
It should only take a few minutes."
    I had clearly mystified all of them.
    "Is something going to happen there?" Rince asked.
    "Yes."
    "Should Alephin be there?"
    "If he is free, and he wants to watch."
    Rince shook his head. He pulled out his cellphone. He called
Alephin and asked him to meet us there.
    "Mrs. Lewis, we are going to leave for a little while," Rince
asked.
    "All right, Rince."
    "Let's go," Rince said.
    Luke brushed my shoulder. I looked at him.
    "A webworm fell on you."
    Rince and I laughed.
    We walked into the house, and out the front door. Howard and
another man accompanied us. The gym with the basketball court was
not far. When we got there, I asked the other guard to wait
outside. We walked into the empty building. A minute later,
Alephin joined us.
    "What is going on?"
    Rince shrugged.
    I stepped out of my shorts and pulled off my T-shrt. I closed
my eyes and pictured Michael. I heard gasps as I felt my body
changing. I opened my eyes. My mates, Alephin, Rince, and Howard
were staring at me with their mouths open. I realized I was
missing the sword. I pictured it, and watched it extend out of my
hand. I tried to flap my wings. The wings hit the ground, but I
felt myself lifting. A few seconds later, my feet left the
ground. Once I was a couple of feet in the air. I stopped
flapping. I dropped abruptly on the floor. I changed back to my
normal shape.
    "I found out I could do that," I said to them.
    None of them said anything.
    "What's wrong?" I asked.
    "Uh. Nothing. It's just not every day you find out your mate
is an angel. Literally," Luke said.
    "I don't understand why I can fly," I said to Alephin. "I got
the shape from a picture of statue of an angel, but why can I
actually fly? Angels are fictional, but I'm functional."
    Alephin shook his head.
    "I have no idea. I've never heard of anything like this, Tom.
I know people of the other race can change into other shapes,
like wolves or other people, but you are far more capable. More
powerful. After all, you can change into a small tree, and now
this."
    Alephin shook his head.
    "I haven't been this amazed for a while. I thought male
pregnancy was odd, but this is odder."
    "Maybe angels aren't fictional," Rince said. "That would
explain it. Maybe what people thought were angels were actually
shifters created by the Shusheen."
    Alephin nodded.
    "Or possibly even the Shusheen. We don't know what they
looked like. Maybe they looked like angels."
    "Angels were supposedly around before people," Howard said.
"Supposedly, God made them before humans. The Shusheen were
around before the Vin-Ta."
    Alephin nodded his head.
    "Maybe that is what they looked like. Maybe they told those
first Vin-Ta they created that they weren't gods, and that is why
we don't think of angels as gods."
    "I wonder if our baby will be able to do that," Luke said.
    "He would be a little cupid," I said, grinning.
    "I suppose you could change into a bird, as well," Rince
said.
    "How strong was that sword?" Howard asked.
    "I don't know. But it looks like skin up close," I said. "I
doubt it is anywhere near as hard as metal."
    Howard and Alephin nodded.
    "Are you able to change into other shapes?" Alephin asked.
    I closed my eyes and pictured Joyce. I opened them after I
changed.
    "You are very good at that," Alephin said.
    I closed my eyes and pictured the big, granite rock. I felt
the change. I immediately shifted back to my normal space.
    All of them were staring at me, again.
    I was famished and my stomach growled.
    "It makes me extremely hungry, though. I need to eat, badly."
    "I'm not surprised," Alephin said. "Let's keep this to
ourselves for now. Howard, I want you to begin thinking of how
Tom can use this ability in an emergency. Dag will need to know,
too. His baby may have Tom's capabilities. Let's go to the
canteen and get you some food."


    If you enjoyed it, please let me know.