Shifters Pen

19

Several weeks had passed. I watched as Luke killed himself writing letters to people. He even pulled Kevin aside one night, and apologized for dragging him into this situation. Kevin said he was sorry that he didn’t stop him. He had known he should have, but didn’t. I tried to imagine what it would be like being the pack leaders at 20. Not good. But after that the alpha and beta grew even closer, if it were possible. Clearing the air was a healing thing.
  4 of the 7 skinwalkers had told me what they did to be put in Shifters Pen. It all involved curses and murder of multiple people. Che cried as he told me what happened. One of his children grew deathly ill, and he knew a way to save him. It involved taking the life of another though. He had done it, and screwed up the first time. He hadn’t properly measured ingredients, and the curse wound up killing his son. He couldn’t accept it. He ran out, and killed again, taking the soul of another for his son. But now his son was dead. He became an undead, like a zombie. Che tried everything to fix him, but he couldn’t, and Hades caught him. “I killed people to try and keep my son alive, and then to bring him back. I am a selfish bastard.”
  He had tears running down his wrinkled cheeks. I hugged him, feeling that butterfly sensation in my tummy. “Che, you are a father. I haven’t even seen my baby, but the things I would do for it are frightening. You had knowledge, and you used it to try to save your son.”
  “I killed though. I killed others to save him. That’s evil.”
  I blinked, “Was it evil when Luke and the werewolves killed the guys in the shower?”
  He frowned, “Of course not!”
  “But they died. Luke was saving me from being raped.”
  Che shook his head, “Those men intended to hurt you. The people I killed were completely innocent. They hadn’t made my son sick. They hadn’t hurt my family. But I took their lives.”
  I hugged him, “I think you have punished yourself more than you deserve. I love you my friend. I bet that your family misses you, and loves you too. Underneath the man who controls the weather patterns, knows curses, and can shift into so many animals is the man who is a healer, and husband, and father. Under all that is a good man, a really good man, who knows he made a mistake, and just told me so.” I kissed his cheek, “I want you to get out of here Che so we can fly as eagles together on the breeze, in the sun. I am still going to need you when I get out of here. I have so much to learn.”
  And now I was 17 weeks pregnant. According to my book the baby was about the size of a pomegranite now. I was supposed to be pregnant for 40 weeks. It felt like forever. I was finally able to eat a little bit more. I could eat chicken and noodles. Bread was still not on the menu, but I was happy to have anything to eat besides vegetables.
  On the full moon this past time I had gone looking all over the yard. Luke told me my wolf was trying to find a suitable place for a den to nest in. As if giving birth wasn’t complicated enough now I had to wonder what would happen if I gave birth as a wolf.
  I shook my head. Luke had been called to the parole board room. If the pattern followed the usual one then I would be next. The sign flashed for me to report to the parole board. The door opened and I headed out. Luke gave me a smile on my way to the board. He was moving to the 4th test. I smiled, happy for him. He had been in knots wondering if he would make it past the 3rd test.
  I knocked and entered the room. Thetis said, “Greetings Lucy Merit. Please, have a seat.”
  Elea asked, “How have you been since our last visit?”
  I felt a bit hollow still, “I was raped by a wendigo, but my pack saved me.”
  Hades sat straighter, “When was this?”
  “About a week after your last visit.”
  Hades smiled, “I will have some fun with him. But later. You seemed to have figured out the 3rd test very easily. Men usually struggle with it for years before doing what you advised your mate and friends to do. It is part of the healing process.”
  Elea glanced down the table at the lord of the underworld, “Took the words right of my mouth.”
  Thetis shook her head, exasperated. “Do you feel you owe any apologies?”
  I sighed, “I have apologized to the living.”
  Hades asked, “And what about the dead?”
  My eyes teared up as my parents came to mind, “Can I apologize to them? Would they hear? Or do you pass the message on? How-how does it work?”
  He held his hands out, “Just talk as if they are here.”
  I felt the chill up my spine and the warmth of his hands around mine. “Mom. Dad. I am sorry I didn’t visit you more often. I miss you so much. I’m sorry you aren’t going to get to meet Luke or the baby in this life.” I squeezed Hades warm hands as if they were my fathers.
  When I looked up I didn’t see the face of Hades, but my dad. He smiled softly, a goodbye, until later. It was more than I got in life. I tried so hard not to cry, but it happened, and Hades was back. “Thank you Hades. You didn’t have to do that.”
  He rolled his shoulder as if it was nothing. “Honestly you are my favorite inmate here. Has Nostradamus given you anymore trouble?”
  I grimaced, “No, but I kinda caused him some trouble.”
  Hades dark brows went up curiously, “Do tell.”
  So I told about the confrontation in the cafeteria and how since then the vampires had sort of split into 2 or 3 groups. One group was the vampires older than 500 club. They all hung out with Nostradamus. Then there was was the vampires who still respected Nostradamus, and were willing to listen to him, but were still working to move up a level. “And the last group calls Nostradamus a piece of crap who is going to get them killed with shitty leadership, and they have written him off. There’s 150-200 vampires in that group.”
  Elea said, “You really stirred them up, didn’t you?”
  I shrugged, “They deserved to know. And Nostradamus had pissed me off.”
  Elea asked, “And how is your skinwalker training going?”
  I smiled. “As far as I can tell it is going just fine. I am loving being a bird and flying, even though it's an enclosed area.” I told them about the animals I was able to turn into. “Che says we should probably stick to mammals soon. He worries that I might try to lay an egg or something.”
  Thetis smiled. “Who is Che?” She held out her hands to do her weighing thing. I gave her my hands.
  I smiled, “He's named Frank Begay, but he's really old so we, the skinwalkers, call him Che. It means grandfather. He is the one teaching me, mainly.”
  She was curious, something rare for a Goddess. “How does he do the weather portion and curses?”
  “Well, he says to learn the curses I have to learn all the herbs and stuff a medicine man would learn. That takes years, and we don't have those supplies here, and I already have healing power from being a Luna. I really don't want to know curses.”
  Hades asked, “Don't you think they might come in handy some day down the road?”
  I shook my head, “No. I don't want to know that. Everything I have heard and seen shows me that the curses would just land me back in here. Plus cursing isn't my style. If I go after someone they will know what hit them.”
  Elea laid her hands above mine and Thetis’. “And the weather part?”
  “I can't see the weather to be able to say if it's working or not. But I am a pregnant woman. It's damn near impossible to control my emotions sometimes. Especially when I think about when I was-,” I drew a shaky breath trying to close off the memory of being raped.
  Elea squeezed my hands. “It has been difficult then.”
  A tear fell. I hung my head. “Did he break me? Am I always going to cause dangerous weather because of flashbacks and nightmares?”
  Hades chuckled, “Our definition of always is very different.”
  The looks Thetis and Elea cut his way made the god of the underworld lean away from them. Elea said, “You are not broken. You just have a lot of healing to do. Healing of the sort that a bandage won't help. It will take time.”
  “Will it keep me from leaving here if I- if I can't control those emotions?” This was my secret fear. I was good at shifting. But the weather. How could I learn to control it if I couldn't see it? It was related to my emotions, which were all over the place lately.
  Elea was thoughtful a moment. “Hades, weigh in here.”
  Hades leaned in and placed one hand above Elea's and one below Thetis’. He closed his eyes. He sniffed and moved back. Elea did the same. Thetis was the last to silently release my hands.
  Elea said, “Here, you have people who can train you, and who care about you. When you leave you may not have that.”
  Hades said, “You would have to learn to face the storm alone. It will not be easy. You would have to live somewhere very remote.”
  Thetis nodded, “Or have a trainer with you until it is under control.”
  My fear was real. “So I could leave here alone? What about Luke? Can't we leave together?”
  “Everyone leaves here alone. You will be returned to where you were picked up from,” Hades said.
  I would be returned to the rubble that was my parents store. Luke would go to Illinois. “Oh.” We would be apart for a time.
  Elea nodded, “Scary, huh? But what is scarier being alone for a bit, or having a baby as a werewolf-skinwalker in here?”
  She made a very good point. “I can handle it on my own for a bit.”
  Thetis nodded, “Good. Then I vote that you continue practicing keeping a level temper, and move on to the 4th test.”
  Hades agreed, “And if Nostradamus so much as looks at you funny let me know. When are you due?”
  Elea and Thetis were listening. They wanted to know too. I sighed. “I don't have a calendar, but to the best of my knowledge 40 weeks from February 9 to the 11th-ish.”
  Thetis said nothing, bringing up a calendar on the screen. Hades had a smirk and glint in his eye. I supposed even gods were men in their own way. Elea was already counting the weeks. “November 15. And you are currently 17 weeks along. It's June 8, if you have lost track of the date.”
  Hades peered at the calendar. “It's going to be close if we can't schedule our meetings well.”
  Thetis was frustrated. “Don't think I don't know you are talking about me you jerk.”
  “Hey, I only have billions of mortals who I am in charge of sucking souls of into the underworld on time. I don't see why you can't handle a few courtrooms.”
  Elea said, “Whereas I agree that we don't have as much on our plate as you Hades you should also realize that we don't have the power you do. We aren’t a first tier.”
  Hades rolled his eyes, “Fine, you two pick the schedule for this, and remember that I won't be the one who set the date, or who fucks it up.”
  The two Goddesses debated for a bit, then landed on, “August 3rd.”
  Hades asked, “You're sure?”
  They nodded.
  “Okay.”

  I waited for her. The meeting had been nerve wracking as they read the letters I wrote, and questioned me. The hardest part had been when Hades brought up the souls of Thomas and Mike McCain. Thomas actually apologized to me for killing my father. He was glad I was going to give his family some closure. Mike apologized for killing a person. He said he was happy in the underworld, and at peace.
  Those words meant so much to me. I was forgiven. They weren't in constant torment. I was helping them. It felt good. I felt good.
  Lucy took a while to return, but when she did she smiled. “It's June 8 today. Baby is due around November 15. The parole board is supposed to be back August 3rd.”
  We had been counting weeks, but no one really knew what the date was in here. There weren’t calendars, or sunsets. There were guesses. Knowing the date, and how far off made me happy. Happier. Only one thing could make this better.
  She smiled softly, approaching me, “Why, whatever is on your mind Alpha Luke?” Her hand stroked my chest next to the zipper of my jumpsuit.
  I rumbled, wanting to rip off her jumpsuit and make love to her. But I didn't dare make a move. Since she was raped I had been very careful to let her be in complete control of our intimate activities. But, oh I wanted her so bad! “What does my Luna wish?”
  She leaned forward and nipped at my jaw, kissing my neck. “Your Luna wishes to taste every inch of you.” She slid my zipper down and I came out of my clothing quickly. Taste. Was she going to-
  Her lips found mine and we kissed deeply. Then she trailed her lush lips down my chin and throat, holding my shoulders. It took all my restraint to not grab her as her tongue made a lazy circle around my pectoral muscle, and she kissed me. It went straight to my balls. She smiled, knowing how I felt. Such a tease. I was going to die as she nibbled down my belly.
  Her hands traveled down my arms to my ass. I was more than ready for her. She smiled at my erect penis, then slowly licked the precum off the tip. I hissed in pleasure, nearly exploding then. Her eyes met mine, asking if this was okay.
  Yes! My soul screamed for her to take me and to hurry up before I died. I nodded my head slightly and stroked her hair as her lips went around the head of my penis. She moaned in pleasure and I growled mine. It went straight to her core. Her warmth was amazing. Then her tongue slid down and around my length. I panted, wanting to fuck her mouth so bad.
  Her hands pushed on my ass, pushing me deeper into her mouth. She moaned and I felt it all through my body. “Do you want me to fuck your mouth baby?”
  She nodded, her eyes glazed over with lust. And that was all I needed. I thrust my hips forward, feeling her tongue caressing me. “Oh Mother Moon! Yes!” She sucked on me then and I felt like I would explode. I didn't want to come in her mouth. I wanted to come in her vagina. I wanted to give her as much pleasure as she was giving me.
  And she knew. But she wasn't ready for a penis there yet. There was hesitation, nervousness. And I was so close, so close to coming, and wanted her to come with me. Wanted to please her.
  She trusted me. She just wasn't ready yet. She lay down on the mattress, still very much dressed and said, “touch me.”
  It wasn’t nearly as fun with the clothes on, but it was a step in the right direction and better than nothing. I massaged her breasts, her ass, her thighs. I gently cupped her mound. She was hesitant only a moment. Then unzipped her jumpsuit, shimmying out. I kissed her softly and lay on my back, wondering how far we would go.
  She eyed my penis and licked her lips. “Oral only.” I nodded, and she straddled my head for me to taste her while she lowered her mouth back down to my penis. So satisfying! She tasted amazing! And her pleasures echoed my own in a rising heat and frenzy until we both came.
  I cuddled her afterwards, “I love you so much.”
  She hummed happily, “I love you too Luke.”
  My mate. My love. My luna. My reason for being. And we were going to get out of here. We would have days in the sun, and nights under the stars.
  I would get her help from the pack. Or perhaps the Navajo people would be able to help her deal with the rape situation. They knew about skinwalkers. Surely someone knew about skinwalkers and was a therapist.
  One thing at a time. Pass test 4, whatever it was. Then pass test 5. Then leave. Then get a job. Then a place of our own. Maybe the baby will be born in there somewhere. Become a dad.
  My chest swelled with warmth at the thought. I cupped the tiny bump that was my baby. Did it get better than this?