Split in Time Ch. 13

"I..." He began and started to cry again, feeling stupid for not putting it together sooner himself.

Amy pulled him close resting his head on her shoulder, Wolfgang rested his head on Ash's shoulder. They let him cry, they had actually spoken about Ash often after the first time Wolfgang met him. Wolfgang could see the potential in the young man, he would be a great leader with the right training and support as he seemed to attract loyalty. Amy however could see a young man who needed love, one day he could be a leader but for now he just needed love, understanding and a family to support him and be there for him. They were still working out the details as to how Ash would be a member of their family, Wolfgang was for adopting him traditionally, already planning for the future. Amy was less certain, after the revelations about her daughters having Ancient characteristics now she didn't want to subject another to it as she wouldn't be here to help him cope. Wolfgang argued that she might not be here to help her daughters, she was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that something she had done in a completely different universe was in effect here and probably every other universe.

When Ash finally started to calm Amy made a hanky appear and pressed it to his nose as he sat up. "Blow." She ordered and he blew his nose, once he had blown his nose she folded the hanky and wiped the tears away.

Wolfgang stroked Ash's cheek, "we are still deciding whether or not to adopt you or foster you but regardless of what we eventually decide, you are in my family, you are my son."

Ash smiled, Wolfgang would never know just how much that statement meant to Ash, how much safer he felt, as he knew that Were protected their children more fiercely than they protected their mates. If anything threatened him Wolfgang wouldn't stop until the threat was gone.

There was a knock on the door and Bastion walked in with Destiny.

"Sorry," Wolfgang said to Ash as he stood, "Yes?" He said to Destiny.

"Ghan sent me, they've made contact with a group of humans and hope you could come and talk to them as they are wary but willing to try." Destiny explained.

"Is the group safe?" Wolfgang asked, going directly to his primary concern which was the protection of his members.

Destiny nodded, "the group is small and according to Crystal, starving. Even if they manage to get strength from the food we've given them they would never find us, their community is about an hour's hard run for a Were from the den." She added.

Wolfgang nodded accepting her report. "Go back and tell Ghan we'll be there in the morning." Destiny nodded and turned with Bastion and left the room.

Amy grinned as Wolfgang sat and wrapped his arms around Ash. "Where were we?"

Thais skipped into the room with a big grin, he hopped into Ash's lap and grinned at his mother.

"It's a boy... this is what you meant, that the next person to join our family would be a boy." Amy asked.

Thais just smiled and refused to confirm or deny.

Wolfgang chuckled, "did you really expect an answer?" He asked.

"No but I know why he is so happy." Amy said, "he has finally got a brother."

Thais held out his hand, his fingers spread wide, "five sisters." He explained. "Welcome to madness." he said then hugged his brother. Amy and Wolfgang chuckled.

****

Amy appeared next to Ghan the next day, Wolfgang was with her as was a woman who carried a doctors bag. "So just how did you make contact?" Amy asked a little unimpressed, they were meant to be taking it very slowly, ease the humans into it not just barge in.

Ghan pointed to Keira, as he was not taking responsibility for her actions.

Amy turned to Keira and crossed her arms.

"I was waiting for Crystal to return after reporting to Ghan that we found a likely group. While I was waiting I heard a human cry out so I went to help. A woman was being attacked by a mountain lion. So I helped her and took her back to her people." Keira explained.

Amy thought about it then shrugged, "well it wasn't a terrible first contact." She admitted. "Where is your healer?" she asked.

"Complaining that he doesn't have what he needs to fix her wounds." Ghan answered and nodded as Blast walked out of his office.

"Well that's why I am here." Eva said as she shifted the heavy pack on her back. "Besides I have more experience with humans since I was a human doctor." Blast offered his hand to Eva who shook it firmly. "My mate and I will be joining this group, I hope that doesn't bother you."

Blast shook his head, "no, in fact I will enjoy the company." He told her honestly.

"I can help improve your skills if you like, I've been trained by Nathanael and have been granted training status, I am also meant to start training Susan." She offered.

Blast smiled and nodded, he knew of Nathanael and had wanted to sit down and pick his mind. Nathanael as an immortal healer had a wealth of knowledge.

"I heard you have a chemist?" Eva questioned.

Blast nodded, "he has a very small lab and his greatest achievement is growing penicillin and tetanus, we are actually lucky to have him as he was one of the original researchers during the second world war. He grows small amounts in shallow dishes. He also makes herbal remedies, willow bark tablets for pain and fever and more although he got all those recipes from Ghan."

"So, are we going?" Wolfgang asked playfully glaring at the two healers.

Keira nodded and they left the caves they now called home. Twelve heavily packed sleds were waiting for them outside. "So how are the children settling?" Keira asked, everyone Amy had rescued had been slowly but surely blended into the pack, had been fostered into families and groups.

"They've settled," Amy answered. "It was an adjustment but they've settled."

"It's always an adjustment for humans coming into a pack, more so after the life they lived." Keira said as she took a rope to one of the sleds, Ghan took the other.

Others grabbed ropes and they started to move. Two hours later they made it to the settlement and were greeted warmly, the children even came out and walked alongside them.

Amazing what a full belly can do. Amy told the group.

Blast immediately went to take Eva to the shack Ashley was in the day before.

"We moved Ashley to a different house last night. We were careful not to bump her." Melanie said as she came forward.

"This is Eva, before the madness she was a human doctor." Blast explained.

"Thank you for coming." Melanie said with a smile. "Was?"

Eva smiled, "I let my mate turn me when we went to ground and was retrained to be a Were healer. But I am finding my knowledge in treating humans to be of more use lately." She said pleasantly.

"This way." Melanie said.

"Good and when we're done with Ashley I would like to give everyone a physical, see how you are." Eva said as she followed Melanie.

"Come on, let's unpack these sleds." Amy said.

"Alpha." The pack answered and went to work, Amy rolled her eyes at Wolfgang, who grinned. Sacks of flour, oats, corn and corn meal were stacked neatly in front of the communal kitchen as were sacks of dried meats, sausages stored in barrels of fat, wheels of hard cheeses, and smaller bags of salt and some spices. Clay pots full of honey were carefully unpacked from their padded places among blankets and clothes.

A woman walked out and offered hunks of a flat bread to the pack. Everyone accepted the offer with a smile and nod of thanks. The woman blushed as she offered pieces to Amy and Wolfgang, the fact that they weren't unpacking made her think that they were the Alphas Keira had talked about yesterday. "Sorry, we've pretty much forgotten how to make real bread." She explained.

Amy smiled, "it's okay. If you like I can show you how to make bread." She offered.

"Really?" the woman asked with a hopeful smile.

Amy nodded, "Amy," she said as she offered her hand to the woman.

"Trisha," she said as she took Amy's hand.

"Well Trisha if you have a note book I can give you recipes for what we have given you." Amy offered.

"Please, I had so many difficulties last night, I didn't know what to do with all the food. I managed to bake the loaves that were given to us, some were burnt but I did my best." Trisha explained.

Amy nodded and glanced around, her eyes focusing on Bastion as he had come purely to appease curiosity and to supervise the unloading of the food. "Bastion." She gestured and he came. "Lead the way." She invited Trisha who nodded and walked them into the kitchen.

Wolfgang chuckled then turned his attention to his pack members. "See what needs to be done." He told the waiting people who nodded and turned to the one building that didn't seem to be in use.

"We had to stop using that building," Michel said as he came to stand beside Wolfgang. "The roof was damaged in a storm, we don't have the equipment to patch the leak."

"We might be able to make it water tight again." Wolfgang answered.

****

Wolfgang sat with Michel and Melanie later that day, cradling a cup of herbal tea. Keira smiled as she watched Ashley being supported into the room by Eva. Ashley was brought over and sat carefully down as Eva turned to Melanie, "she'll be fine in a week or two but she has to take it easy." Eva explained as she sat. "Some of your people have rickets, they need to spend more time outside, I want to splint that little boys legs to slowly straighten them out."

"Will he be okay?" Melanie asked.

Eva nodded, "we got it early in all of them. Now that they are eating properly the malnutrition most of you suffer from will clear up."

"If the merks don't take what we have." A younger man muttered as he sat over his stew.

"If you like we can show you how to hide your food to keep it safe." Wolfgang offered. "There are many tricks we can show you if you like."

One of Wolfgang's men walked forward. "Alpha... that unused building, the frame is metal and the walls are stone plastered, we can remove the tin roof and thatch it. The tin can then be used to patch leaks in other roofs."

"How long will it take?" Wolfgang asked.

"About a week to gather the materials and a day to do it." He guessed. "However it will take time and lots of fire to dry it out before the spring."

Wolfgang nodded. "Co-ordinate with Michel to get it done, show them how to do it so they can take over the up keep. You and a team can start tomorrow, anything else."

"They go to the river to get water, there is an old well, we can fix that too." He added.

Wolfgang nodded. "Focus on that for now, find out what needs to be replaced to make it work."

"And don't forget to make it look like it's not in use." Amy added. "I'm sure they don't want the Merks to realise they are improving the camp. The merks might decide to stay."

Melanie smiled at Amy who seemed to know the hardships they faced and was doing her best to meet their needs and keep them safe at the same time. Wolfgang's pack member bowed his head and smiled as he was offered something to eat, a little break would do him and his team good.

"Is there anything else we can help you with?" Wolfgang asked.

"You are doing a lot already." Melanie complained.

Wolfgang smiled, "it's the only way to stop the violence."

"Keira said that." Melanie said in a leading manner.

Amy nodded, "our plan is to make friends with the same people the merks recruit from. It might seem selfish but in the end it's the best for both of our races. This war will not end if we don't start trying to be friends."

"And what happens when the merks come to 'recruit' how will your friendship help us then." The young man asked.

Amy thought for a moment, she knew the young man, if taken, would do what he had to, to survive and she respected that. "I don't know." She told him honestly. "I know what I ask is big, if they take you, you will do what you have to survive, we respect that. All I can hope is that you aren't taken."

"Mathew!" Melanie hissed at him.

"No... he is right to question," Amy said as she stood and glanced around the room. "He is around the right age that merks take from, I wish I could tell you I have the answers, that we will protect you. I can't... we don't know what is going to happen." She focused on Mathew. "But we have to start somewhere."

Mathew watched her thoughtfully for several long moments then he nodded. He respected her honesty and could see what she was trying to do.

Amy sat with a little smile and waved off Melanie's attempt to apologise for Mathew's manners. "It's okay Melanie, he is the one who has the most to lose in this, he'll make friends of Were and if the merks take him he will have to kill those he knows mean no harm to him in order to survive."

"Well at least the merks won't kill him on sight," Ashley said. "They won't care if it was a real mountain lion, that I was scratched by something which could be a Were is a death warrant."

"We'll keep an eye out." Ghan said, "by the way, there are some plants which will annoy the dogs, so they won't smell Were. Those same plants if boiled down to a syrup can ease coughs and fever." He added as an afterthought.

Eva leant around Ashley to address Ghan directly, "I am going to have to pick your mind, where did you learn that?"

"Born during the last ice age," Ghan explained with a shrug, "knowing plants was a part of survival. The berries the bush has are a good source of vitamin C." He added. "But can only be eaten when ripe."

"We'll find them and plant them around the town." Melanie promised.

"There are other things we can teach you, how to set traps, better hunting techniques, if you like." Ghan added.

"Thank you." Melanie said accepting on behalf of them all. By the sounds of what Wolfgang and his people were willing to teach them it meant independence for them. They would be able to support themselves and be confident that they wouldn't starve even if the merks cleaned them out. It was an act of true friendship.

****

Susan woke slowly, her arms tightened for a moment but her glorious mate was still delightfully in her arms. She wondered for a moment what time it was but didn't care, if she was needed they would be woken. Destiny shifted and pressed her face to Susan's neck. Destiny yawned and opened her eyes, she smiled at Susan for a moment. They were both curious as to why Amy had asked them to come back to the central den yesterday after meeting the settlement Keira had made contact with.

"Morning." Destiny said to Susan with a smile.

Susan smiled, "how can you tell it's morning."

"Inbuilt clock." Destiny moved to straddle her mate, she was surprised by the turn in her life, she had gone from not knowing who her maker was and being a very unusual Vampire to knowing her maker, finding out she wasn't actually a Vampire and finding her mate all in the span of twenty four hours. Destiny licked her lips as her eyes focused on her mate's neck.

Susan chuckled and sat up, they had developed kind of a routine in the mornings, starting with a light feeding for Destiny, then breakfast and finally reporting for whatever duties their Alphas had for them. Destiny had found that she didn't need to drink much of Susan's blood to sustain her and control her thirst, so she took a little each day to prevent a longer feeding and weakening her mate, however briefly, just in case. They kissed deeply for several long minutes, gently stroking each other. They broke the kiss reluctantly, Destiny licked her lips again as her thumb and forefinger captured Susan's chin and gently tilted her head up slightly and to the side.

Destiny trailed her lips lightly over Susan's neck, she enjoyed the anticipation almost as much as making love to her mate and even supping on Susan's endorphin rich blood wasn't nearly as enjoyable as doing this, building the tension before she finally broke Susan's skin. Susan squirmed a little but let her mate have her away. Destiny's lips came to the sweet spot where the blood ran close to the skin. Her fangs extended as she hovered over that spot for a moment then bit down.

Both sets of eyes closed in pleasure as Destiny's fangs retracted to let the blood flow, she knew she had limited time before Susan's body healed the wounds. She sucked deeply and Susan moaned, the taste of Susan's blood was as beautiful and precious as the blood of her maker, only a thousand times more addictive. Susan quivered, she loved the feel of Destiny's fangs sinking into her flesh and the feeling of pleasure as she drank she was providing what her mate needed to survive and it brought her joy. Just as those wounds healed Destiny's fangs returned and bit down letting more blood flow.

The door to their room opened just as Destiny's fangs bit in for a third time. Amy groaned as she leant on the door frame and waited for Destiny to finish her feed. She was getting used to walking in on Destiny necking her best friend who was more a sister to her than a friend. Destiny pulled away from Susan's neck and licked the traces of blood from her skin.

Both women then turned to Amy. "You know if you quit walking in on us you wouldn't see anything you didn't like." Susan snapped a little.

Amy chuckled, "that's not it... it just takes some getting used to, the whole, Vampire biting a Were and both living to tell the tale."

"Weren't you the one who told me I wasn't a vampire?" Destiny said as she got to her feet then walked off the bed.

Susan watched her go for a moment before turning to Amy. "So... what's on the books for today?"

"I want you and Destiny to be sentinels near that Village we've befriended, be on the lookout for Merks. If you see them going near the settlement go straight to Keira, she has message globes that will inform me, from there we'll coordinate a plan of attack." Amy explained. "Susan you are also meant to start your healer training with Eva." She added.

Susan nodded and got to her feet, then went to get dressed.

"So we're going to protect them?" Destiny asked as she started to lace her boots.

"Yes..." Amy said firmly, she was going to make a stand with this group, their first friends should be spared the fate and bother of Merks even if it meant around the clock protection. "There are several other teams going to be doing the same thing, come to the map room and I show you which sector I want you to keep an eye on."

Destiny and Susan nodded as Amy left them to get organised.

Twenty minutes later they joined Amy in the map room, the pack kept very accurate maps of its territory and a little outside it, the maps were always getting updated. The main map covered the floor and was maintained and updated by elemental magic, walkways kept people from walking over the magical map. Destiny and Susan walked across a walkway to the platform where Amy was.

Amy gestured to the copied map which was theirs to take with them. She then pointed to the area she wanted them to patrol. "I want you to patrol here." She explained then turned her attention to Ash who had been trying to remain invisible.

Ash smiled a little at Susan then nodded slightly to Destiny. He didn't fear Destiny but he still was thoroughly intimidated by the gorgeous woman. He took a deep breath and approached, he had been acting second in charge back before Amy entered his life so he knew how merks worked. "Don't just pay attention to the main road, they will send advance parties through the forest to cut off anyone trying to run." He explained with confidence.

Amy smiled slightly as she watched Ash explain standard tactics used by Merks. In the short time Ash had been at the caves he had made an impact on many of Wolfgang's Betas. Wolfgang had seen what the Merks had seen in Ash the first time he met Ash, a natural leader, or he would be with the right training. Wolfgang had handed him over to Sammy for Beta training and Enforcer training, also to pick his mind about everything he knew about the tactics of Merks.