Dominant Species Ch. 51-54

The full effect of the mating bond kicked in. Her mind was overwhelmed with the different sensations; her own pleasure still washing over her, his pleasure and love and pride in her, and the celebration of the Pack as they realized their Alpha couple had completed the mating. It was all too much for her after just completing the fevers, and she passed out on him.

Reggie was over the moon with happiness as he held his sated mate in his arms. He had never dreamed that a mate would be such a deep and fulfilling connection. He lightly stroked her back as he thought of how lucky he was to have such a beautiful, strong and worthy female by his side. He still couldn't believe what he had been told about what happened in the near battle, how her wolf had come forward in full Alpha power before she had even changed. If it hadn't, the end would have been tragic. Now, things were good and only getting better. His Pack had rapidly grown and was going to become even stronger as additional humans were changed. He had solidified their alliance with the North Fork Pack, and in a few weeks he would make that alliance regional. Werewolves, he thought, were going to be the savior of the new world.

He waited a few minutes until she began to snore lightly, then he gently rolled until she was laying on her back. He got off the bed and tucked her in. He didn't want to leave her, but he knew she needed rest before she finished the change. Walking to the mirror, he examined the claiming bite she had given him. It was another first, a mating bite before she even changed. How strong must her wolf be to push forward enough to be able to do this? He shook his head and walked into the bathroom attached to the room. Taking a quick, very cold shower, he cleaned the evidence of their lovemaking off before getting dressed again. With a last look at his sleeping mate, he stepped out into the corridor.

Tom was waiting for him. "How's the Luna doing, Reggie?"

He smiled. "She's fine. She needs to rest though."

Tom moved his shirt aside, checking out his mating bite. "She got you good, but that isn't a human bite!"

"She did something else I didn't think possible; her wolf came forward and shifted her mouth in order to claim me. I don't think it will be long until she competes the shift." His pride in his mate was evident to all as he moved through the clinic, accepting congratulations and speaking with his Pack members new and old. He checked in with Marcus, who was in Mitch's room with Luna Kelly. "Doc, how's he doing?"

"A lot better now, Alpha. He's lucky he got here, the blood loss almost got him. I got him sewed up and we had a few volunteers give transfusions, so he should be fine. He will wake up in a few hours and the Luna can take him home." He gave his brother in law a hug. "Congratulations on completing the mating, Reggie. Josi is a jewel, she'll be an amazing Luna for our Pack."

"I think so too." Marcus left to check on other patients, so he sat down in the chair opposite Luna Kelly. "Kelly, did you find out what happened to Mitch out there?"

"Yes, before we got too far away from North Fork Calvin linked me with what he had. Silvia had decided to leave for Missoula to check on her family. Beta Donald is her mate, but she wasn't ready to face that yet."

Reggie nodded, he knew how much the woman and her family had been through on the road- being raped, losing her husband in front of her, and being rescued by a werewolf. "I imagine so, she has a lot to get her mind around right now."

"Yes, but we consider her Pack already so we didn't want her out alone. She wouldn't allow Donald to escort her, so we sent Mitch along on the pretense of reaching out to some of the Montana packs. Donald followed along, staying out of sight. They got through the mountains before two men ambushed them just as they were entering the valley. Silvia shot one man, and Donald took out the other. It was bad- they shot out the front tire, then shot Mitch as he was getting out." She clenched her fists in anger. "I'm getting a little tired of my Pack mates getting shot at."

Reggie nodded. "I know, that's part of what I want to talk about when we have the Alpha Summit. Right now, I'm focusing on securing the Pack territory, but soon we will have to move out from there."

"What are you thinking?"

"We can't have anarchy, and we can't allow bad men to terrorize the good ones. Face it, Kelly, we ARE the government now. Only a Pack is strong and organized enough to provide safety now. We have to use what we have to make our neighbors safe." She nodded as he continued. "It's important for other reasons as well. I figure 90% or more of the population is now gone, along with all the cattle, deer and other animals. Winter will be coming soon, and without planning now the remaining people will die before spring. What I want to do is expand out. Those good people still out there, offer to bring them in, as humans or wolves, provided they respect the Pack structure and laws. If they are good people and don't want our help, respect that. Bad people- well, those we need to eliminate. We can't keep looking over our shoulders for the next threat to come."

"It's not just people though, is it?"

"No, Kelly, we need to consolidate supplies before they are lost or stolen. Humans tend to stockpile as they are inherently selfish, not having the Pack first. We need to collect everything that will be helpful to us with the Packs. Food, medicine, clothing, fuels- everything. My plan is to send teams out to do what we have already done in this town- find and organize anything that can help us survive in the future."

They talked for a few more minutes, then Josi's plea broke into his mind. "Reggie... It's coming... help."

Reggie jumped to his feet. "Josi's changing." He tore out of the room, Kelly following behind, as they went back to her room. When he opened the door, she had tossed aside the sheet and was curled up in pain on the bed. There was a loud snap as a bone moved, and she let out a scream. Reggie was instantly at her side, encouraging her while avoiding painful contact.

Her wolf was stronger and had already pushed forward a few times, so her change was much more rapid than normal. In just a few very painful minutes, Josi lay in wolf form on the bed. "By Luna, you're magnificent," Reggie said. Her wolf was larger than normal, befitting her Alpha status, with a deep chest and strong legs. Her fur was an inky black, with a white patch on her chest and at the tip of her tail. Reggie picked her up and set her on the ground, putting her head in his lap as she recovered from the change. He couldn't stop petting her neck and ears as he spoke to her over the bond. Finally, she stood up and walked around the room, getting used to her new form.

"It's after dark now," Kelly said. "Why don't you take her for a run?" She yipped in agreement, so Reggie took his clothes off and shifted into his coal black wolf. Kelly chuckled looking at them, they looked like twins with their matching white patches on their chests. Reggie was larger, her head came up to his shoulder, and his white-tipped ear made it easy to tell them apart. Reggie rubbed his neck into hers, walking down one side then the other, laying his scent thickly on her as she stood still. When Kelly opened the door, Josi jumped forward in excitement. She opened the front door of the clinic and the two headed out of town for the woods above.

Two hours later, Mitch was loaded into the back seat of Silvia's convertible and Marcus was saying goodbye to Luna Kelly. She had just buckled up when two large wolves appeared by her door, the smaller one putting her front paws on it and leaning in to lick her face. "Couldn't you just change and say a normal goodbye?" Josi yipped and shook her head no, she was having too much fun in wolf form to change now. "Fine then, take care of that man. Visit anytime, I'm sure your friends would love to see you."

She drove off, and when she was gone the two went to the park and laid together in the grass. "Come on, love, we should change back soon."

Josi chuffed. "You know you can lick yourself in wolf form, right?" He nodded. "I don't need you, now that I can do this I may never leave my room!"

He jumped on top of her, forcing her head down with his grip on her neck as his body straddled hers. He aligned his body to hers and plunged in, his front paws holding her hips in place. "I don't think your tongue can do THIS, love."