Bash, Volume III (11 page)

Angelica

Friday evening I drove to Sequatchie County to meet the other female wolves who’d be running with us this month. One of the women owned a little over one hundred acres, far from civilization — no roads, no jeep trails, and not really any human trails to speak of either. She asked that if we hunted deer, we bring down only one, but she put no limits on small wildlife.

The first month we’d had seven women, and we all brought food to cook the next morning. Charleen, the property owner, lived in a beautiful old farm house, and you could just tell the huge kitchen was the heart of the home.

This month, our second time running together, we once again arrived early enough we could sit, talk, and get to know one another a little more. Charleen’s property was lined with barbed wire on all sides, with signs posting it as private property every twenty to forty yards where the terrain was suitable for a human. However, we’d still stayed mostly to the center of her property last time, and intended to do so again this month.

Charleen had avoided questions about her past before, but now she told us she and her husband had been part of a Pack in upstate New York, and when he’d been killed she’d needed to leave the area because of “a mess of supernatural politics.” She’d decided not to join another Pack when she moved, but to buy a home and raise her family on land they could run on without being bothered. Her kids were grown now, and only her daughter and teenaged granddaughter came home to run. She said the timing for our little group was perfect because she’s ready for more companionship on the full moon but has no interest in joining a Pack. If she were human I’d guess her age at around forty, but she’d told me she’s sixty-eight.

We’d all brought a duffel or backpack, and we stored our clothes in them, and put them on the floor inside the back kitchen door. With the advent of long-range cameras in satellites, the Concilio wants wolves to
change
under the cover of trees now, so we walked across the yard to the forest before dropping to our knees to let our wolves come out.

With all women and no males, last month our wolves had gotten along wonderfully, with no one feeling the need to fight for dominance. Ten minutes into the run, I relaxed as we all found a rhythm and made our way through the forest at top speed, with all of us once again chilled and not demanding we sort through who was most alpha.

The smells of the forest — the tangy sweet fragrance of the evergreens, the earthy scent of the hardwoods and lichens, the tantalizing smells of small wildlife, and the sounds of deer running away from us in the distance — I was the wolf, and I was at one with the forest. The wolf was part of nature and the cycle of life, and all the human parts of me slid away as we ran under the full moon, its silvery magic influencing the way gravity worked, affecting the sap in the trees, and the minds of every living thing on the planet.

We ran for hours and ate some small game, but didn’t actively seek a deer and none came across our path. We bedded down in an overhang near a creek, and awoke to a rainy, icky day, but I didn’t care in the least. Running in the rain made me feel just as alive as running under the moon had the night before, and the others must’ve felt the same, as we didn’t take the shortest route back to the house. In these woods, we didn’t have to worry about footprints in the mud, and we ran and played and gloried in the cloudy, humid, watery, life-giving day.

When we finally made it back, we
changed
on Charleen’s porch, and then went inside to put our clothes on. The shift to human gave us dry hair and skin, no sense having to run through the rain as a naked human. With the clouds, it was unlikely a satellite could see us, and besides, we were mostly under the overhang.

We all divvied up the cooking duties and it wasn’t long before we had eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, biscuits, and gravy.

As a group, we agreed to meet in eleven days, on a Wednesday evening, at the RTMC bar for dinner. Duke had told me I could invite them, and that we could use the office to talk and eat.

Bash

The control room popped open a corner of the television when Angelica pulled onto the lot. I could see a difference in her energy, just in the way she drove her bike and kicked the stand. I met her outside and she ran to me and threw her arms around my shoulders.

“You look happy,” I told her. “How was your run?”

“It was incredible! With all women, the energy is totally different. I felt it last time, but this time it was even better. I guess I can kind of understand why ya’ll want it to be just the men on the full moon.” She went to her tiptoes and I leaned down to accept her quick peck on the lips.

I’d run night before last, so we hadn’t slept together in two nights. “I vote we spend a few hours in bed, and we have more privacy at your place.”

She nodded, and let me hold her as she told me, “I need to start staying at my place. Night before last, in your bed here all night by myself, knowing you wouldn’t be joining me partway through the night kind of highlighted how silly I’m being. It’s way past time for me to get over it. They caught me when I wasn’t paying attention. They won’t do it again.”

I pulled my key out of my pants pocket and told her, “I’ve already put a change of clothes in my saddlebags.”

Traffic was light, and following her was a treat, even if my wolf would’ve preferred to lead. I kissed her the second our helmets were off, and smelled her arousal. She didn’t know it yet, but I’d planned a few days of orgasm denial, and I was going to have
so
much fun teasing and tormenting her.

I also worried about her having another nightmare, though.

I’d smelled her terror and panic when she’d had the last one and I didn’t want her to have to go through it again. Or me, for that matter. It killed me, knowing this was a battle I couldn’t fight for her.

We weren’t going to go running back to the compound again if she had one, though. We were going to face it head on. Legally, Pickering and a whole bunch of other officials were in deep shit, while Angelica and the MC were in good shape. Her dad had told me she’d had nightmares after killing the man when she was twelve, but she’d remembered them, and he thought if she was having issues dealing with killing the five Disciples now, it would bother her whether she was at home or the compound.

So logically, we needed to make her feel more secure at home. The complex didn’t allow bars on the windows, but I’d had Brain install a top of the line security system over the past couple of days, and I showed it to her as we entered the front door.

“Code is one-five-three-two, it makes a little triangle, and the numbers can’t be tied to anything personal.” I handed her a card that explained the zones, and how to turn off or on specific features. “You’ll want the motion detector and heat sensor on when you’re away, but off when you’re home. There’s an option to pick up motion everywhere except the master bedroom and bathroom, and there’s another keypad in your bedroom so you can make use of it.”

“How much did this cost?”

“Brain got it through Drake, so we got a substantial discount on the hardware, and then he did all of the installation. You won’t have to pay a monthly fee because the feeds go to the RTMC control room instead of the alarm company’s offices. As my ol’lady, and the spot I’ll be sleeping when I’m not at the compound, you’re entitled to free monitoring.”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“Nope, and now I want your naked ass in your bed.”

Angelica

Three hours later, I was so pissed at Bash that thoughts of caving his skull in were beginning to sound reasonable.

A little light spanking, lots of tongue, some fingers, and then he finally fucked me, but he did my ass and he never got anywhere near my clit.

Still, I could’ve come a thousand times — okay, maybe three or four dozen times — except every time I got close, he fucking backed off until it went away.

I was so damned close when he came in my ass, but he held my hands so I couldn’t play with myself, and then wouldn’t even let me pull my legs together, or dry hump him while he recovered from his orgasm. He walked me to the bathroom with him, bent me over the tub, cleaned me up, and then put fucking boxing gloves on my hands, so I couldn’t play with myself.

“You know I can
change
my hands and get them out, right?”

“If you do anything to intentionally get yourself off, you’ll feel my belt thirty five times. If it’s an accident, we’ll deal with it another way, but if you do it on purpose, you’ll pay. The gloves are so you don’t play with yourself in your sleep.”

Steaming mad, I told him, “I didn’t agree to this.”

“I’m aware.”

“Then take these off my hands and leave me the fuck alone so I can get myself off!”

He gave me a cocky-assed grin and said, “I’ll get you off Sunday night, and it’ll be the best orgasm you’ve ever had. You’re stuck with me until then, though, and I’m going to keep you on edge every minute I can.”

I could still get myself off with the gloves — there was enough padding I could dry hump them, press them into my clit and get enough sensation. Though, I mused… boxing gloves are made for hitting, aren’t they? I looked at him a few seconds, debating, and then decided to go for it. He wanted to be a bully and force rules on me I hadn’t agreed to? Then he’d better be prepared to deal with a pissed-off girlfriend. He’d put boxing gloves on me, so I’d box. Dammit.

I looked to the door quickly, like I’d heard something, and when he looked, I punched. I got three hits in — two of them fucking
solid
, and then backstepped when he reached for me, then faked with another punch and kicked the shit out of his knee.

I heard muscles and ligaments tearing, heard his cry of pain as he went down, and I turned my back on him and stalked into my living room, too pissed to feel guilty. I
changed
my hands, let the gloves slide off, and shifted them back until I had fingers to wiggle.

I smelled him
changing
in the bedroom, and he was in wolf form when he walked into the living room. His body language was relaxed, and I didn’t smell anger coming off him, so I sat in my chair, tired, and told him, “I didn’t agree to this.”

Surprisingly, he put his paws in my lap, rubbed his head against my face, then licked my face, gave my ear a small nip, licked it, and then jumped up into the chair with me. He used the bulk of his body to push me to the side of the chair and make room for him, and he finally got comfortable, his head on my leg.

“This your way of us not talking about it?”

He lifted his head, looked at me, and put it back down.

I was still frustrated as hell, but no longer horny, and not of a mind to jill off. I reached to the side table and picked up my e-reader, and read for maybe twenty minutes before sleep hit me enough I thought I could drop off. I was
still
frustrated, still wished I was horny and could get myself off, but too pissed off to really get myself there again. Bash followed me into the bedroom and jumped up on the bed.

“You gonna sleep in wolf form?”

He ignored me as he got comfortable, and I sighed as I slid between my sheets.

As I turned the light out, I told him, “You’re an ass, but I still love you.”

Bash

I’d had the idea of sleeping with her when I was wolf, in the hopes of waking her before her nightmares got too bad. I hadn’t brought it up because I wasn’t sure it would work, and because I had major plans to put her through orgasm denial, and I needed to be human for that.

But, since I’d had to
change
to heal my knee, I decided to stay in wolf form and see if I could smell the nightmare while she was having it — should she have one.

I wasn’t terribly pissed at her for striking back. I’d denied her orgasms on the premise I was bigger and stronger than her, and there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about it. Turns out, I needed to be more careful around her when I went all he-man on her in the future. She faked me out because I didn’t expect her to physically fight me. I really should’ve known better, and now that I did, I’d be ready for it next time. I looked forward to denying her tomorrow, and showing her I was man enough to follow through with it.

Whatever she’d read had helped her wind down enough to get sleepy, so now it didn’t take her long to drop off to sleep.

When we’re both human, I’m behind her, but tonight she was behind me, her arm over my body, her fingers buried in my fur. Her hand had become slower and slower petting me, until she’d dropped off, and I listened to the rhythm of her breathing until I, too, dropped off.

I awaken easily when in human form, but I’ve grown used to having Angelica in the room, so the things she does aren’t as likely to wake me. However, as a wolf, the slightest change registers in my head, and I sleepily decide whether it needs attention or not before waking.

When her scent changed I knew it immediately, and
changed
to human as I woke — she needed my hands and arms now, and my voice.

“Princess, we’re in your bedroom and you’re safe,” I told her as I rubbed her arms and kissed her cheek. “I need you to wake up and look around. C’mon, Angelica, you’re safe, we’re good.”

She came awake with a start, her pulse racing, her eyes wild, and once again I smelled the stench of terror — sweet when it came from someone I was torturing, but I never, ever wanted to smell it coming from my Princess.

“Tell me,” I ordered, hoping to get the contents of the nightmare from her before she forgot it.

“I was back in the van, hogtied while the driver drove erratically and threw me around the back, so there wasn’t anything I could do.”

“You killed them. They’re dead. They can’t hurt you again.”

She nodded and took several deep breaths, forcing her body to calm down with sheer willpower.

“That’s why you slept with me in wolf form — so you’d know I was having a nightmare.”

“Yeah.”

“How am I supposed to be pissed at you when you go and do something nice?”

I chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

She put her face in her hands. “How do I stop having the nightmares? Like you said, they’re dead, and I can’t kill them
again
!”

“Did you see their faces in the dream?”

“No, it’s a replay of what really happened, but the erratic driving just goes on and on and on, without stopping.”

“Okay, so we figure out a way for you to take control in that situation. We’ll get you some training, and then throw you in a van with some tough guys, and keep doing it until you can take control.”

“Who the hell can train me for that sort of thing? Could
you
gain control?”

No one was going to kidnap me, because no one wanted me pissed at them when my fist was within striking distance of their face. That wasn’t what she needed to hear, though, so I told her, “I’d get it eventually, just as you did, because in the end you killed them. But, the point is, you need to know how to survive those first minutes, and I know someone who might be able to teach you. I worked with him on a project last year — his name’s Ranger, and I don’t know if he was an Army Ranger, or something else, but he works for Drake Security now and he has lots of interesting skills. I’ll give him a call in the morning, see if he’ll help.”

“Bethany’s Ranger?”

I kissed her nose with a smile. “Sometimes I forget how tight our little community is. Yeah, Bethany’s Ranger, which reminds me that Mac might be able to help, too.”

She looked at the clock, and my eyes followed to see it was a little after four in the morning. “I’m awake,” she said. “How about an early morning run?”

“I’ve
changed
twice since the last time I ate. I need food.”

“I have some steaks in the freezer, but it’ll be faster to go somewhere. Waffle House is the only thing close that’s open this time of the morning, though.”

* * * *

We arrived at Bethany, Mac, Ranger, and Jonathan’s house at two o’clock. I’d gotten my Princess horny and on the edge of an orgasm seven times so far today, and then worked it each time so there was no happy ending. The last time was just before we left to come here, and I knew the ride on the back of my motorcycle had kept her revved up, so we’d stopped for ice cream on the way. I didn’t want her putting out arousal pheromones to the two wolves and the leopard about to have their hands on her while they taught her self-defense skills.

The men had built onto the back of the original house, and I was impressed with their workout room and sparring space. I was also a little surprised Jonathan was the one doing the actual teaching, but I sat with Bethany and drank the lemonade she offered, and watched.

I heard Mac telling Angelica that Bethany knew what the three of them shifted into, but she’d have to tell Bethany what she was before they could teach her. Angelica rolled her eyes at him and turned to us to say, “Hey, Bethany, you’ve figured out I’m a wolf, right?”

“Yeah. Your dad probably is, since he’s RTMC President in Atlanta, which means you probably are. Good to have it confirmed, though.”

Angelica turned back to Mac, who stepped away as Jonathan said, “Okay, Bash says you’ve already had training in how to avoid being thrown into a van in the first place, but you had temporary brain damage from the fumes in the nail place and weren’t paying attention. So, most importantly, try not to get captured, so you don’t have to deal with the trouble of escaping. However, if they do manage, and the driver takes off so you lose your equilibrium, the first step is to anchor onto something. Grab a seatbelt, or an oh-shit handle, or anything attached to the van. From there, use your legs to kick, or your spare arm to hit. So, first off, I’m going to toss you towards the weights on the mat, and you’re going to anchor yourself to whatever is closest and then kick at the heavy bag we’ve brought to the edge of the mat.”

They worked with her for thirty minutes in the room, and then we took off in a van. I drove, Bethany rode shotgun, and the rest of them were in the back. An hour later, everyone back there was bruised and beat to hell, but Angelica could fight them off two at a time with fists and feet while I was driving like a bat out of hell on curvy damned roads. Three at a time and they could easily subdue her, but when only two of them engaged, she might not be able to subdue them, but they couldn’t easily subdue her either. And, if they’d been human she’d have easily killed them.

She had her belly band on, and we put a practice gun in it and let her get the muscle memory to hold on with her left hand and draw with her right when the van was all over the place. She quickly decided the guys were right, and aiming was next to impossible. If they were on a crowded street then she ran the risk of a stray bullet hitting someone else when she missed her target. But if they were in the sticks, a crazy woman firing a gun is a good reason to abandon ship.

The four of them
changed
to heal as I drove us all to a restaurant, and I paid for dinner as thanks to them for helping us out.

“I know there has to be an interesting story behind the four of you getting together,” Angelica said as the waiter brought us our appetizer. “Three guys and one girl? I have a pretty good idea how the fun parts work, but how does the rest of the relationship work?”

The guys looked at Bethany, and she grinned as she said, “Gen’s brother has two boyfriends and a girlfriend, and the four of them live together.”

Angelica nodded. “Yeah, I’ve met Frisco and his… people. The guys are all bisexual, though, so they do each other as well as Cassie, but your guys don’t act like they’re….
together
, like that.” Somehow, she managed to ask it so it wasn’t rude or inappropriate, and I have to admit I’d kind of wondered how it worked in a relationship, too. I mean, I’d handled multiple guys on one girl plenty in bed, as well as more than one girl with just me… but a
relationship
? No way could I share Angelica full-time. Not even with Dawg. He was our friend with benefits, and my best friend, but that was it.

“No, my guys are all straight,” Bethany answered, “but the point is, I’d been saying I wanted my own harem for a while, kind of teasing, but not really — because the idea really did turn me on. So, I’m out with Gen and Cassie one night, when these three walk in, and I say something about how if I was building my harem, I’d start with them… and I had
no idea
they could hear me.” She shrugged. “They all asked me to dance, one at a time, and they started telling me they wanted to see me kissing the others as I went back to the dance floor with a different one. It just kind of snowballed from there, I guess.”

“Well,” Angelica said, lifting her glass to them. “More power to all of you, for making it work. You seem happy.”

So, I didn’t get my answer as to how it worked, but I didn’t really need to know. Angelica leaned into me, enough I knew she wanted a connection, and I put my arm around her as Mac put his around Bethany, sitting across from us, and said, “I’m happier than I ever thought I’d be with someone.”

Jonathan was on Bethany’s other side, and they held hands a few seconds before letting go so they could either get a bite or a drink. Ranger was sitting on the other side of Angelica, and I noted enough movement I figured they were touching feet below the table.

All of this happened in a matter of seconds, and Bethany practically glowed with joy. I didn’t have to understand how it worked to see how happy they were.

“Thanks for letting me borrow them for a little while today,” Angelica told Bethany. “I can’t tell you how much better I feel, knowing I can defend myself in that particular situation if it happens again.”

“I’m glad they could help. They make me practice with my gun, and I carry the heavy-duty pepper spray they gave me, but otherwise, I’d be pretty much helpless until they rescued me, if anyone grabbed me like that.”

Ranger chuckled beside us. “Don’t let her fool you — for a human, she can kick ass when she needs to. We work with her on her reflexes, teach her how to be aware of her surroundings, and now that we know nail salon fumes make you stupid, we’ll make sure one of us escorts her to get her nails done.”

“It wasn’t the fumes!” Angelica said with a laugh. “I was just in girly mode and not paying attention. The
one
time I focus on walking in the stupid flip-flops instead of my surroundings, the bad guys grab me. It was just great timing on their part, shitty timing on mine.”

I ignored my phone the first few short vibrations, letting me know I was getting texts, but finally looked to see what was going on, and discovered the MC had decided to throw an impromptu party. I read through everything as quick as I could, and told the table, “The MC’s apparently decided to throw a last-minute party this evening, if ya’ll want to come you’re more than welcome. Duke’s there with his Duchess, and Gonzo’s stopping to pick Harmony up to bring her, since Brain’s already there.”

Bethany looked at Ranger with a smile, clearly wanting to go, and he glanced at Mac and Jonathan before looking back to her and saying, “Sure. We’ll drop everyone off at the compound, and then Bash and I can run by the house for his bike, and I’ll get our car. We can take the van back to Drake Security tomorrow.”

When Ranger and I returned to the compound, most of the ol’ladies were doing shots, with their men sitting off to the side, drinking beer and watching them with huge smiles. Brain watched Harmony, Tiny watched Sheila, Duke watched Gen, and Mac and Jonathan were watching Bethany… and all of the men had almost goofy looks on their faces.

Last year, I’d have made fun of them. Now? I knew I had the same goofy look as I watched Angelica pouring shots and lining them up for the other women.