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thecandywrites · 3 months ago

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Monster March 2025 Day 14- Werewolf

The Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood + The Great Lakes Clan Alliance= The Great Lakes Coalition.

Ok, so, yes, I know, it's now officially April. But listen, I got MRSA and had to be hospitalized for the last two weeks in a Full Contagion Protocol Unit. And obviously, didn't take my laptop. I barely got out of there with my phone. Do I have six blown IV sites? Yup. Did I end up needing a PICC line? You bet. And guess what else I have? Leclercia Adecarboxylata. In case you've never heard of the second, that's becuase it's so STUPID FREAKING RARE that there were only 44 cases known to exist between 1967 and 2022, which is when I found a peer reviewed medical work published in 2022. Now, do I know how many cases there have been since 2022? Nope. Also, I have no idea if those 44 cases were just in the US or in the Whole Wide World. Like, for the Love of Chocolate and all that is Holy, was I like a horrible mass murdering dictator in a past life? Because I'm starting to feel like Karma is coming to kick my ass for their past shit, that I had nothing to do with, but yet here I am, 3 for 3 for 2025. A brain aneurysm and stroke in Januaray, Seritonin Toxicity in Febuary. And now MRSA in March and this stupid freaking rare opportunistic human pathogen that no one has even heard of. I had 4 different medical professionals look at this infection on the back of my head. That because I'm allergic to Penicillin and anything and everything related, as well as allergic to sulfate based antibiotics (Z-pack) that leaves only 4 antibiotics left for me to use. Two are intervenous that have to be administered in a hospital setting (it only took the one to beat MRSA from my immunocompromised ass) and two oral. I had already taken a course of doxycycline, and now I'm on Cipro. And if Cipro doesn't take care of this super rare 44 cases ever recorded opertunistic pathogen bastard, then I get to be resubmitted to the hospital to try the second and last saving grace in antibiotics.

But good news, that once the labs came back with the positive test result for Leclercia Adecarboxylata- Wright State University Teaching Hospital CALLED ME and said, 'can you come in tomorrow? Please? Would a 2pm appointment be ok?" THEY CALLED DIBS on me and this stupid rare opportunistic bastard pathogen. And I'm like 'yes please!' So, just...yeah. Totally fucked up all my Monster March Plans. But, I am damn near the half way point. I can take all of April and May and hopefully not exceed June, but I. WILL. GET. THIS. DONE. SO HELP ME GOD.

As always, huge thanks to @borealwrites for their Monster March 2025 Prompt List. I know I'm late, but better late than never. And dang it, I did not survive three near fatal events just to quit and give up now.

Monster March 2025- Day 14- Werewolf

Sasha and Tristan and their family and friends had all pitched in to help get Tristan’s house turned from a rundown farmhouse into a proper home with some much needed updates and upgrades to bring it into the current decade from the previous, six, possibly seven decades prior that it had been left at before Tristan took ownership of it.

Granted, at first, he found the task of renovating it- daunting. But that was only because before Sasha came into his life, he was thinking about how he was going to be able to do it, all on his own, and with all of his own money, which, before Sasha came along he didn’t think he had that much of to do much with in the first place- and just the thought of doing everything, just for himself? And it seemed, almost… selfish to do such a thing. Especially before Sasha came into his life. Before her, he felt like it would have been a waste, all of that, just for him? Seemed a bit frivolous and a waste.

However such a viewpoint was immediately changed and practically did a 180 upon meeting Sasha. Because once he met her, suddenly, he had a reason to live, a reason to do anything and everything, every dollar was a brick he was going to use to build something truly magnificent for himself and Sasha and their family, when he wasn’t laying literal bricks or planks of wood or tile for patios, wood floors or bathrooms. And everything seemed to finally fall into place and feel right and while he felt like he was wasting away on the ‘family farm’ one minute, he was suddenly, finding himself with nowhere better to be the next- once Sasha appeared. And it turned out that the best place for Sasha and himself was a farm, all their own, just a quiet little drive, practically right around the corner.

And within hours, days, weeks, months, suddenly everything changed, but for so much better. Upon that second, incredibly fateful meeting, with just a few phone calls, immediately improved and solved most of his family’s farm’s problems including most of his own personal ones. But upon meeting Sasha? And then getting to know her, and be friends with her then to court her?

Oh, such things as working on that house to make it a home for himself and Sasha and their family, was a thing that wasn’t selfish at all, it was a necessity. And the sooner he could get it all done, the better. The exterior work needed to be done while the weather was fair, the interior work when it wasn’t. Because of the simple fact that Tristan had found his mate in Sasha and she had found hers in him. So he needed to make this house a home they both would love and grow a family in- his top priority and would be his pride and joy to provide. It was a sacred duty that he felt was owed to such a magnificent mate like his. The gods had been almost too kind to him for having her come into his life, right when he needed her the most, but hadn’t realized at the time.

Renovating a house, not just any house, his house, their house, the house they would make their home with friends? And family? All of whom had even more friends and family? And was just this almost web like series of connections of how everyone knew and worked with everyone else. And best of all, everyone liked each other and everyone got along with everyone else! Which was a rarity. Even in packs, even in clans. But these people, of all kinds, of all races and ethnicities, who were soon very good friends with himself and everyone else and who were also, all ready, eager and able to help? Who didn’t look at this almost dilapidated farmhouse as a lost cause but saw nothing but pure, amazing potential to how it could be improved and renovated to bring it into the current decade, if not a bit in the future so that it would last for decades more? That wasn’t daunting, he was finding, it both a relief and, surprisingly fun!

And was the reason he got out of bed every morning ever since. Because there was work to be done, if not on the farm or in the other business endeavors, then on his house, his home he would share with Sasha, along with lending a helping hand where he could with everyone else, and just that, was more than enough. And especially since he grew up in agriculture, that meant, that he had unique perspective to add to the other projects, about soil conditions, about composting, about where to plant where and why. Which he found he liked to give his honest opinion, even when he felt he wasn’t the biggest or greatest expert, but because he knew quite a bit more than the average person, that made him ‘the expert’ of the group. And Brie did love to learn what she could do to help protect her lilac bushes and other things she had planted. And with just a little fine tuning over last summer and fall, it meant that this spring, everything was showing signs of life and showing that it had the potential to be absolutely stunning once everything was in full bloom, but thanks to Tristan’s family’s agriculture, it meant that both Sasha, Brie and all of their friends would have flowers blooming in their landscaping and gardens, from early spring, to summer to fall. And that all the plants would “get along”. And in fact, help each other. And especially when they used the old ways of planting crops in groups so that the soil wouldn’t get depleted but also, ensure a bountiful crop. Just old school, old fashioned farming, before it was industrialized. Back when farmers could just take one look at a field and know just by what weeds grew, how the soil was, and what to do and how to do it to fix it.

And for that, Tristan- had to reach out to get some more “proper” training with his mother’s parents, Granny Maggie, and his Grandpa Don. Who were more than happy and eager to help him and so tickled that Tristan had not only found his mate, even at a relatively young age, but that Sasha, was practically a wonder and seemed to have such a huge improvement on Tristan and his attitudes and really lit a fire under his ass to get his act together for her. Which, was what usually did it to get wares to get their shit together, was for their forever mate. Their Fated Mate Pairing.

And of course, they too were eager to meet her and happy to give her and their union their blessings as Sasha and Maggie hit it off right away. And it took no time at all for Sasha to admit that two other wares had fallen in puppy love with her before and the disastrous outcomes those had and what packs they had been in, which Maggie practically had a map of the Great Lakes on her wall, where each Pack’s territory was as she was quick to point out where those packs were on her map and what “territories” that were slightly different than counties marked out but she used a red sharpie to circle them and then but an “XB” on them too as Maggie and Don gave each other a meaningful look but reassured her that all of that would be stopped immediately and would be dealt with when and if it ever came up again. Otherwise they were more than sympathetic and empathetic and were actually super delighted with her choice to become a midwife, a career that the modern world was losing and even showed her a plethora of other options and avenues for resources for their renovation efforts as they were eager to set up a “proper account” for Sasha and Tristan in their pack and their own ‘network’ in the “brotherhood” which Sasha came to understand was an alliance of packs, simply known as the ‘brotherhood’, and Sasha was content to leave it at that. Otherwise, Maggie and Don were beyond happy that Sasha and her mother’s line would be making a proper birthing center, catered to the ‘other’ kinds of people, beyond humans and were eager to help out with that endeavor too. Maggie even shared her most prized and precious recipes as Sasha did the same as even Brie was eager to get in on that, as was Zara. And with Zara, she was able to get Maggie alone as Brie and Sasha looked over her recipe book, Zara, was able to discern just who Sasha’s new grandmother in law really was and the two made a deal that would further unite everyone together, both from dishonorable clans, and dishonorable packs. Which Maggie and Don were more happy to make.

And for Tristan, for Granny Maggie to take to his mate so easily and so readily and welcomed her and her family into theirs so warmly and welcomingly, warmed his heart and made him beam with pride. But it also came with his Grandpa Don, asking if Tristan or the family had yet to see any backlash or retaliation since the two became a mated pair. Thankfully, Tristan was grateful that his personal residence had not, nor had the family farm, but the damage already done by the other two wares, in particular, Jake, had become almost unhinged, and seemed to have taken to stalking Sasha, to the point that Tristan had to get her a second phone, and Frank and Renae had to beef up their own security system to keep Jake out of their residence as even a restraining order could not keep him away.

However, where Tristan had felt his presence was that in certain bars that were associated with the Gull Meadow Farms and the Meadow Pack in general had been rather rude and rebuffed and practically insulted him that he would even appear to offer for them to sell the hard cider that the Leduc farm had made with another microbrewery last fall, despite it not only a smashing success, but had even won some awards last year at a microbrewery beer festival. But otherwise, that was it.

And while the answer relieved Don to hear, Don still reassured Tristan didn’t just have his Pack to back him up, he had the entire Brotherhood too. Which was a reassurance Tristan needed to have too. Because otherwise, he needed to invest into some really good security measures to keep Sasha safe from her last ex, which was of course readily agreed upon. Especially since Sasha, not only accepted his courting ritual and gifts but had done her own courting ritual, in her own way, because she was only part ware, and had yet to really, fully shift outside of mating, but otherwise had fully reciprocated it. Which was all Don needed to hear that the pair were Destiny Mated. And were as good as married. And that the whole pack, much less the whole Brotherhood would help any way they could, all they needed to know was where, when and how. Which, Tristan had his own ideas on, and that once Don heard Tristan out, agreed to it and made it possible. But that was only if and when Jake was ever stupid enough to make a move against Sasha or Tristan or their family and friends further.

Otherwise, once they had finished their ‘discussion’ outside, and returned back into the house, Don was happy to share the history of the house that Sasha and Tristan were renovating and were happy to share seeds from his own storehouse and cuttings from their own perfectly picturesque farm for Sasha to beautify her home with her parents and her home with Tristan as well.

So with so much support, instead of viewing the whole house’s renovation as an overwhelming problem, thanks to Sasha, and her friends and family who built things and renovated things- for a living, suddenly, it was broken down into individualized parts. And the areas that would need the most work that were necessities to living there, got given top priority. And once it was broken down into smaller, easier to manage, easier to solve, easier to resolve problems with reasonable, logical, and intelligent and insightful solutions, it wasn’t overwhelming at all. It was doable, it was a goal, easily attained when you had a plan and course of action to accomplish it, they just needed to make a plan and follow it, simple as that.

The wiring had gotten redone, because the wiring was showing signs of becoming faulty and faulty wiring could literally equal house burned down to the ground, so that had to be priority number one, they had to make the house safe, before it became proficient. And Frank, of course, helped Tristan with the water heater and the water softener, both “presents” from Wright Plumbing of course. And not just any old model, the newest, latest and greatest, because if Frank was gonna have his pride and joy enjoy her new home with her mate, she deserved to have the best he could give from Wright Plumbing.

Both Kihro and Tristan had become handymen and jack of all trades themselves, through all of this. And while Frank oversaw to the installations of the water softener and the water heater personally and even gave them a new septic system and a new water pump and RO system as well. However, there was a dishwasher that Kihro was able to snag, that he got for free from a very rich family replacing a practically new one with an even newer one that ‘matched the new aesthetic of their newly re-renovated and redecorated kitchen’. And he at least could be “trusted” to install that correctly. And then replace the toilets and bathrooms and install more bathrooms in the place. Because there was only one upstairs and one down and Zara was able to use her priestess of Aura tea reading to tell Frank and Renae that Sasha and Tristan were going to have, no less than 4 kids themselves and would need more bathrooms at the very least. So this older house got to have additions to make room for what Zara predicted for a large family.

Although, Sasha insisted on keeping the deep, claw foot antique bathtub, that once it got a proper cleaning, was practically dazzling. So, she got to have it in her master bathroom, along with a jacuzzi tub, and a walk in shower that even if Sasha shifted into a full ware herself, both her and Tristan in his full ware self could fit in it and still have sex at least a hundred different ways. And the tile got to be replaced, the tile itself that Sasha, Brie and Zara got to do together, was absolutely stunning and gorgeous, it was as if the tiles had been made out of a mix of sea glass and abalone shells. and updated, along with the sinks that were now a double ‘his and hers’ sink. And even a built-in vanity so that Sasha could do her hair and makeup, if she ever saw, or felt the need or had the want or desire to do so, beyond just throwing her hair up into more than a braid or a ponytail.

Otherwise, the wood floors, on the first and second story and even the attic- all of it got resanded, and retreated and even patched up where they were starting to warp, but the repairs were done so well, that no one would have ever known there was a problem there to begin with and was practically seamless and made to look both better than new, yet distinctly old based on the type and color and grains in the wood itself.

But with the wiring fixed, and the plumbing in good working order, now it was time to break it down, room by room.

And besides the master bedroom and bathroom, the next room tackled was the kitchen. Sasha was in love with her vintage but perfectly good working order stove, and while Brie hadn’t been in love with hers, Sasha’s was similar but somehow completely different but absolutely sublime and white, instead of a dark olive green, which Sasha loved, because it would compliment the rest of the white and pastel blues and greens she wanted her kitchen in. They did have to get a new fridge, a white one, and a new washing machine and dryer in their laundry room, with a proper utility tub that was right off the kitchen. But otherwise, the only other work the kitchen needed was actually pretty minor. Sasha also loved and adored the big and deep and two portioned porcelain kitchen sink, which was also an antique and Sasha insisted on keeping it, the plumbing underneath it could be fixed and modernized, but the kitchen sink itself? Needed to stay, so she didn’t want that replaced either. A thing that wasn’t a problem that needed a solution.

But the kitchen cabinets on the other hand, that’s what needed the most attention beyond the plumbing and the electrical work. Because once the cabinets got stripped from their former- very old, and many layers of paint to reveal the wood it covered, was, by a miracle, perfectly preserved by all those layers of paint, and then, they got to be resanded, and stained and finished to look like a whitish- ash gray wood, with new hardware, so that they looked better than new. And because of all the connections to the various builders, Kihro and Brie had made as they were working on their own house, they shared them with Tristan and Sasha as they got to indulge and get new, granite countertops in the kitchen, just like Kihro and Brie had gotten, but a different kind and a slightly different pattern and color of course. But between the white stove, and fridge, that meant that the countertops got to be the jewel of the kitchen and everything around it, meant to complement and play off of that, with all the tile, it was a kitchen worthy of any Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. And one that Tristan, was sure he was sick and tired of the color blue, but considering it was Sasha’s favorite color, he found himself actually really liking what she picked out because Sasha had quite the eye for it. And nearly went berserk at the tile place because she fell in love with just about everything blue and or pearlescent, or mother of pearl. And thanks to his grandparents’ generosity, and because Maggie and Don vouched for Tristan and Sasha and insisted that whatever she fell in love with, and wanted, she was going to have, at cost, and the bill to be sent to Maggie and Don as an ‘engagement present’.

The next big project was that the roof needed to be redone, at least three, if not, four decades prior. Granted it wasn’t leaking and causing water damage, but it was growing moss. Which was really gross to both Tristan and Sasha and were delighted when they got to have a new one, a white one, to compliment the blue of the house. They changed it to a new metal one that would last for decades longer than traditional roofing did. And it was aesthetically, much more pleasing to the eye and really made the outside of the house look so much better. And what made the exterior perfect, was Tristan and Sasha got a sweetheart of a deal on new siding. It was actually siding ordered by another company, that the owners, upon it arriving, took one look at it, instantly hated it and insisted that they ordered the wrong thing because what was delivered- was not, according to the original customer- ‘the right shade of bluish gray’, and demanded that the company fix it by ordering the correct siding the second time around. So that meant, that the company had, an entire house’s worth of siding just…sitting in their warehouse, without a purpose, without a home to be put onto, until Sasha and Tristan happily took it off their hands, and paid for it, practically, pennis on the dollar for it too, and when it was about to be done, they quite literally only had to order just two more pieces of to finish the entire exterior of the house. Which meant that their well saved funds that were reserved for siding- could then be put towards getting all new windows for the entire house too that had a special feature that you could “flip” the slides down to clean both the outside and inside of the windows from inside the room itself. No tall, shaky ladders to climb to clean the upper windows. Especially in the attic.

Plus, another project had an excess of lumber, so they used it to get the barn fixed up to make it safe for Kabluey and Boe, a horse Tristan bought himself to ride with Sasha on, when they would ‘take breaks’ to ride on the many, many trails throughout the area and was a really fun pastime for them both, because, Kabluey was already really well trained, and was a delight to ride. And Boe, had actually been blinded as a colt because his mother delivered him next to a piece of farm equipment that once he took his first steps, ran straight into and popped his left eye. So he was technically half blind, but he was otherwise a sweetheart and managed just fine with just his one eye. And, Boe gave Blue a run for his money, in every sense when they would get to one particular field that had these gorgeous, rolling hills that was basically used for hay, because the terrain wouldn’t allow for any other real crop to grow besides some alfalfa. But they would use that field and race each other on horseback to see who could win. Even though, with Sasha and Brie being so close, it didn’t take much for Brie to talk Kihro into buying them horses too, to keep at Sasha’s farm, ‘because horses were herding animals after all and did best in herds’. So a herd of four, plus a fifth and a sixth, ‘for guests’. Granted they were older, but practically bomb proof and honestly, they got the horses for so cheap, because the day they chose to go to the auction house, everyone brought horses to sell but very few showed up to buy, so all the horses were bought, for, again, practically pennies on the dollar for what they were really worth. Plus it saved the perfectly well trained horses from the glue factory. Which was a win for Sasha and Brie both as Tristan and Kihro just accepted that this was what their lives were going to be like, but it was a great thing that Kihro especially got along great with Tristan.

Granted, Kihro and Tristan both got along with Andy too, but Andy was one of those super sarcastic guys who always had these witty one line “burns” that were just plain teasing. Which honestly, with how hard he could get Tristan and Kihro to laugh, made them work really well together too. Granted, Brie, Sasha and Zara didn’t particularly care for that kind of teasing and would usually just roll their eyes in annoyance before Zara would have to remind Andy that he needed to have his ‘talking to women’ filter in his mouth before he would talk to her or her friends, or he needed to leave them in peace so they could actually get some work done. Which only deepened Tristan’s friendships with Kihro and Andy and all of their friends too and to be invited into their friend circle, was like getting what felt like dozens then hundreds of new friends, which were all across all the other species, which broadened his own horizons and helped them broaden theirs in turn.

But that wait, for Sasha to be 18, and a legal adult so he could propose to her, felt like an eternity, from June to September the previous year. And Tristan, barely, managed to wait for Sasha to be 18 for a whole two days before he proposed, and of course she accepted his proposal. It was at the beach, with all their new friends and family members around them and an impromptu engagement party, which both Sasha’s parents and Tristan’s parents had seen coming since June the year before. And while technically, it was moving a bit fast, for wares, when they found their mate, what seemed like a rushed, spontaneous fling to others, was honestly, just their nature, that once you found your mate, you made them your mate as quickly as possible so you could go on and have your happily ever after that much sooner.

And especially once Ari was born, in July the year before, that meant that Sasha was officially off the hook with her mom’s maternity care, and could focus more on making this house her new home with her fiance, her mate, Tristan, that even the small amount of ware she still had, was still more than enough to tell her so instinctively anyway. And, she was loving every minute of it, just as much as Brie had had when she was doing the same thing to the house her and Kihro would be moving into as Zara and Andy were too.

The next project was the living room, and then all the other rooms on the first floor, like the dining room and the family room because the downstair’s bedrooms needed it. But the three downstair’s bathrooms had already been taken care of along with the three upstairs, one master bathroom and two more between four bedrooms. All walls in all of those rooms, some with border and wallpaper, several layers thick- got stripped off, down to studs, just to get re-plasterboarded and then get repainted because Sasha wanted her living room to be a purple tinted, taupe toned gray. A very, very specific color. She wanted her bedroom to be painted in this gorgeous light teal color with a darker teal as an accent wall in the bedroom. In fact, every room had an accent wall, except for the bathroom. Which was painted a very light, pastel aquamarine, just so that Tristan would get a break from all the blue in the kitchen.

But with the kitchen being a beautiful hues of blues and teals, that blended with the perfect shade of pastel teals then blended seamlessly into a green dining room, complete with a malachite table, and also blended seamlessly with a blue family room, while that living room was the one “neutral” space in the whole of the downstairs, because the bathroom off the kitchen? Yellow. The bathroom off the living room? Pastel purple. The bathroom between the green dining room and the lovely cool taupe beige guest bedroom, got to be a lovely cool but light beige that complimented the space. And somehow, the way the floor plan was designed and with the flow, it was like, you got to see the natural progression of a pastel version of the rainbow, with bold accent walls to define the other spaces themselves. Their dining room was in a light mint green with an accent wall in a dark forest green pine. That looked divine with that golden wooden woodwork in the floors and chairs and white crown molding in plaster? Oh it might as well have felt like a palace. At least to Sasha and Tristan at least.

Every room got just that extra little touch and little detail, that once you learned how to do it and how easily it could be done yourself once you figured out the process, was a delight to learn and to practice before it was implemented practically perfectly inside the home. And with Sasha, adding just a bit of sparkle glitter to a few walls here and there, it was like the house was becoming a jewel, a true diamond in the rough, surrounded by every other precious stone. Each one, a precious jewel that were finally being cut, shaped and polished and were already glittering and glowing in the light of day and night.

Between the special gray, a true diamond glitter was put into a darker hued gray wall, which only made the glitter stand out even more. Then there was the amethyst purple in the spare bedroom. Emerald Green in the dining room. Sapphire Blue in the Family Room, which he personally, had never thought he would ever think any shade or hue would ever be appealing after a lifetime growing and harvesting and running the blueberry farm. But this shade of blue, with its clearly dark, royal blue, was the perfect middle ground between a true royal blue and a true navy blue. Blueberry blue, but perhaps without the purple undertones, just, the perfect shade and hue of the best blue, which thanks to that glitter in the paint on the darker accent room, made the whole room feel like one big glittering sapphire that was truly breathtaking, Citrine yellow, like summer sunshine, bright and warm like Sasha was, and also like the golden blonde of her hair, made even this small bathroom off the kitchen, that was both accessible by the kitchen and the family room, the perfect compliment to both spaces Even a cute little ruby red accented laundry room to counter and balance that varieties of pastel blues and greens and teals and blues and whites of the kitchen, that made the warm beige that almost had slightly orange undertone of the mudroom, that was the entryway, between the back door of the house that lead to the mud room, with the laundry room immediately to the left and the kitchen to the right, also complementary and a perfect transition.

And even without much furniture, just these changes alone, made it feel more and more like home with every wall painted, every room completed. Steady progress was being made, every single day. Because it was now spring, and officially the off season for blueberries, which were just now starting to grow leaves and bud and bloom. So that meant that Tristan’s full time job was now, making this house his home with Sasha and their future family. And they both poured everything they had into it and yet, lo and behold, his parents, despite, their business, while it was steady and they still, barely, by a miracle, made a profit, that Tristan had no idea his parents had been secretly stowing it away, just for him, just for this, that once he met Sasha and especially once he got the ‘family heirloom ring’ from Granny Maggie, which Sasha felt truly honored and so humbled to accept. Tristan only hoped it be worthy of the wonder that she was. Which, he was relieved to know that it was.

Tristan’s parents surprised him by handing him the nest egg they had been saving up for him. Because they weren’t sure if he was going to go to college or not, or stay or go or just up and go anywhere else to do anything else other than be a blueberry farmer with his life. This was meant to make, whatever future Tristan figured out he wanted or needed, could become realized. And Tristan didn’t need to further his education. He was already learning more by working with Frank and Kihro, Andy and everyone else than he ever would have, even going to any trade school to be a proper tradesman, but he had, somehow overnight practically, turned himself from a farm boy, to a man, who was making his house a proper home for his mate.

And with the connections to the microbreweries and the wineries, that was now, technically his new career, but it was still being brewed quite literally in the winery especially. And still in the development stage, but even if that failed, he still had his acres of blueberry bushes to farm and tend to. Plus with Sasha turning this plot of land into their own homestead farm. He just knew, they would find a way to make ends meet.

Thanks to solar panels, the electricity bill wouldn’t be nearly as big or as bad as it would normally be without them. Because of the remodel, now the farmhouse had proper insulation, no heat made by the heater would be seeping through cracks in walls or around the frames of windows or anywhere else. Thanks to the well, and the water pump, and the septic tank and the leech field, they wouldn’t have a water bill, or a sewage waste removal service. Just a dumpster for trash to be taken down to the end of the driveway every Monday night. Which, right now, with all the demolition, he currently had two trashcans and whole dumpster on site, that he was using to get rid of the waste from all the demolition and then rebuild and renovation. Even when any little scraps of wood could be used for any number of things, At the very least firewood, for a firepit, he put up on the back patio when they would inevitably have company, both with new and old friends.

Plus, between, Tristan, Kihro and Andy, they all agreed that they had found ‘their wright girls’. And went on so many double and triple dates as Zara, Sasha and Brie were all also planning their weddings, of course, because Kihro and Brie had started courting earlier than Sasha and Tristan did, and Zara and Andy beating them all by a whole six months, and it was Zara who had set her date first, and so that left Brie to set her wedding, after Zara’s which left Sasha to schedule hers after Brie’s. But, they would all be getting married, quite literally on the same numbered day, that was a saturday, in three consecutive months, that rarely happened, but just so happened to be that current year, so that the only thing to change in their anniversary dates, was the month, all the other numbers were the same. Plus, Sasha didn’t want to get married before Brie did, and especially not before Zara and Andy did, so they were content to simply be one month later, a full six months from then, in the fall.

But while Brie and Sasha were cousins that acted more like sisters, Zara was just as close with both of them as they were with her, so they made a nice trio. But that didn’t mean that they didn’t each have their own unique tastes and their similar ones too as Tristan, Kihro and Andy got a unique chance to almost compare and contrast how similar yet different their fiances were as Kihro and Andy got to learn more about wares and their culture while Tristan got to learn more about orcs and their culture and found they too had similarities in culture too. But it did boost Tristan’s pride and ego a bit that not only had he proposed with a house, like Andy and Kihro did, Tristan had technically proposed with a house and a horse. Which, totally set up a bar and a standard that had to be met by Kihro and Andy respectively.

Plus, with Kihro, Tristan and Andy also owning motorcycles, meant that the six of them could ride together with their girls riding behind them in the very comfortable touring packs they put on their motorcycles so that their girls not only had comfy seats, but comfy backrests and could just sit back and enjoy the ride, without having to worry about the ride itself having a mind of its own, like the horses did. But it was something that Kihro and Andy were slowly but surely getting used to, at least with the horses thing. Especially once they got proper saddles that actually fit them and the horses they got. Which, Tristan, being a big ware, and just as big and just as strong as Kirhro and Andy, and similar enough in build that they all got draft mixes, because they didn’t want to break some poor little pony’s back trying to ride anything smaller than a thoroughbred or a quarter horse at the very least, bare minimum.

Plus, when the six of them went to the Iron Pony, granted, it was a long, four hour drive that they all had to get a hotel room to stay in overnight just to go shopping at this supposed ‘mecca’ of all things motorcycle. First of all, the girls were used to riding horses and to them, all a motorcycle was, was a mechanical horse in their opinion. You rode it the same way. And plus, the girls had no idea that in the world of motorcycles, there was just so much more than Harley Davidson, or even Indian’s or even Kowasakis. There was so much here, and they had, literally, everything to in enough variety to suit, everyone, no matter their species or their specific needs And, in all honesty, Zara, Sasha and Brie did make really hot biker chicks that almost every guy with a pulse tried to flirt with them as they were trying on various helmets and gear as Tristan had to fight the urge not to shift to show his almost possessive protectiveness, but, Kihro and Andy encouraged Tristan to perhaps be a bit more ‘touchy feely’ ‘arm wrapped around his fiance’ and stay by her side since him finding a new helmet, since he was due for a new one himself, as was Kihro and Andy too, but the boys finding their helmets was a was much easier and faster task for them to do, because they were, quintessentially ‘guys’ who didn’t need all the flashy colors and styles and patterns. They were content with the simple but the thoughtful touches, and the extra safety features and just enough decoration to make them both stand out but blend in at the same time. But, they did get little accents here and there that corresponded to their fiance’s because Andy knew, that whatever was purple, that’s what Zara would be drawn to, so he found a dark royal purple that looked bad ass on his motorcycle helmet. As Zara, Brie and Sasha practically tried on every helmet the store had, and trying to see if the helmet that fit them best came in their preferred colors or could come in any cool or pretty or badass patterns too. But, the hot biker chick thing practically became a super magnet once the three of them got all fitted out with helmets and armored riding jackets and kevlar lined riding jeans that hugged their curves just right and gloves and the most badass biker boots and stuff, each of them preferring their favorite colors. Zara had her purple, Brie had her teal, and Sasha had her blue, bright, royal blue at that -that only made the blue of her eyes practically glow. Which only made her stand out that much more to at least Tristan.

But while each of them had their own tastes in motorcycles too. Andy owned a car and a truck and was getting Zara an SUV. And it actually made Tristan feel a little better about his own truck because Kihro’s truck and Andy’s truck were similar in that they were older, a little rust here and there, a little paint chipping, but were otherwise, mechanically sound too. Plus, Tristan was tall and well built and practically looked like a human skin toned orc without the pointy ears or tusks most of the time. While Andy had a bit more flab, because he graduated a couple of years ahead of Zara and had started working at a computer repair shop, until something better came along, or until a better job became available. But Andy also had a lot of heft to him too. Because Andy was a linebacker and played highschool and varsity football and because of his size and his strength, he was the quarter back’s favorite blocker to have in front of him because Andy could handle three offensive linemen all by itself, and while he may have an office job and growing a beer keg of a belly, he was still built and strong as an ox and the largest of the three of them. But the football thing was only when he wasn’t also a hockey player, or a wrestler, because he may be big and strong but the dude was also crazy, almost stupid amounts of fast.

But the one thing about Andy that floored everyone, once they found out, was that Andy was also a very avid golfer. Both Kihro and Tristan though- thought that Andy might be the only orc who was into golf.

But Zara didn’t mind or care, she did like to go to the driving range and just hit a bucket of balls as hard as she could, which, Brie and Sasha did find fun, especially when they would go to this multi layered driving range that had its own bar service and restaurant service for each ‘suite’. Which ended up being more fun of a triple date than everyone except Andy thought it would be. Especially since the place also had a pool table area where an array of pool tables were set as they totally made it a boys vs girls thing, as Tristan, Kihro and Andy were absolutely shocked and flat out amazed that Zara, Sasha and Brie could shoot pool better than they could. The reason that the guys didn’t think- to take into consideration- was that all three of the girls- were math nerds. And all three of them totally used geometry, known as “Inside English” to sink those balls into the holes, or, at the very least, put their balls right in the way of the boy’s shots or made their shots nearly impossible to make. And so they spoke in geometry equations, which to the guys, was like they were speaking in a completely different language practically- to keep the guys from catching on that the reason they were beating them, round after round was because they were just using math. And the guys were just ‘eye-balling it’. It also helped that Zara, Sasha and Brie also, when it was any of their turns, they had the other two to ‘double check the math’ to make sure they were seeing each shot correctly.

And it was almost driving those boys crazy, because, .Kihro was mostly used to using a measuring tape and figuring out angles for pipes to be laid in at. And could do quick calculations and measurements. But that was as far as he really needed to go with math. For Andy, while Andy was into computers and programming, that was all ones and zeros and commands, otherwise most of his math skills was all in bytes of data or rams or hard drives. Or wires or other hardware or software. Tristan was used to working with acers, or bushels, pecks, half pecks, for food with his background, and with the house, was learning to appreciate a good measuring tape and a level, even a laser one, the more he used them.

But, for Zara and Brie being LMT’s and knowing pharmacology, it was all milligrams and dosage vs. body weight. But when all three of them were in high school, they had, quite literally, taken every math class, consecutively, in their freshman, sophomore, junior and senior year. Because all three of them could go from advanced algebra, to geometry to trigonometry to calculus, without breaking a sweat. Heck, Brie actually had fun with her TI82 calculator and coming up with her own formulas just to see how pretty she could make the graphs. And Sasha was a nerd for advanced algebra and liked to come up with impossible to solve equations to stump her fellow students and her teachers. While Zara, adored geometry and especially the golden ratio and ‘divine mathematics’ where art and math met. And loved to do math matrices, just for the fun of it, so all three girls were practically math wizards. Another thing all three girls were also getting into was learning how to play chess too. Which was something that Tristan, Kihro and Andy all found rather intimidating.

‘Maybe it was their teenage years doing shopping and figuring out sale prices’ was the only line of reasoning that guys could come up with- that explained each girl’s affinity for math. They quite literally played seven rounds of pool and the boys lost seven rounds of pool. While they had beaten the girls as far as yards they got their golf balls to go, those girls wiped the floor with them in pool. But while the guy’s pride and ego took a hit, they were at least, very gracious losers. Which was only a sign of their own good character as well.

But, that also meant that the girls got to get a very special treat, Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake. Because that was the one dessert, all three of them loved and adored and practically wanted a layer of their wedding cakes to be a cheesecake, granted different flavors but cheesecake nonetheless. Hell, Brie didn’t have a graduation cake, she had a variety of graduation cheesecakes, as did Zara and Sasha too. And it was actually really nice to go and all six of them get a different flavor of cheesecake and get to try bites of the others as Sasha was in heaven with her tiramisu cheesecake. Because as much as she loved blueberries, she was adamant that a layer of their wedding cake had to be tiramisu.

Otherwise Sasha didn’t waste any time in planting a new ‘homestead’ farm on a plot of land and basically got to have the garden of her dreams, because, thanks to Tristan’s connections with other orchards and other vineyards and greenhouses so that everything that Sasha had planted at her parent’s house, she got another set of everything plus some new things she hadn’t known existed. And Tristan was all too happy to build her a greenhouse of her dreams, and helped Kihro build his green house along with helping Andy build his greenhouse for Zara, because orcs, of all kinds, loved gardening and food, anything and everything to do with food, which was why there were also a lot of farms, vineyards and orchards that belonged to various clans. And the clans themselves, had something of an Alliance. Which was, that a ton of clans, for the sake of peace in ‘modern civilization’, all these clans could have sister clans. You get enough of those and you have damn near a whole network of clans, and it was known as The Great Lakes Clan Alliance. Which, once Sasha realized that Kihro and Andy and Zara were all into- that’s also how she got to replace everything and then some, because the Great Lakes Clan Alliance, stretched from Pennsylvania, to Ohio, to Michigan, both the UP and LP, to Indiana, to Illinois, to Missouri, to Wisconsin to Minnisota.

And Tristan got help from Kihro and Andy to help him build Sasha her chicken coop, but because she officially had a farm and not just ‘backyard chickens’ that were allowed in cities and suburbia, that meant that Sasha’s chicken coop was practically a Chicken Palace. And that also meant that Andy and Zara, Kihro and Brie could afford to buy meat chickens, or at the very least, dual purpose ones, to have their own chicken supply and supplemental egg supply too. So that meant that while Zara and Brie were both brooding chicks for their backyard chickens together, Sasha was brooding an army of chicks for her ‘Chicken Palace’.

In the city, depending on the township, the county, the zoning, the limit of backyard chickens was between 6-18. But with farming, there were no limits. So Zara and Brie both got hens of all kinds so they would get a rainbow of different colored eggs, and having a varied flock so that they could differentiate the different chicks as they grew and were having fun teaching the chicks, their names. Sasha, while she did have her favorites, instead of getting one chick of that variety, she could afford to get at least a dozen of that variety. Which meant that the barn officially had a line of brooders, to keep the meat chickens separated from all the other varieties of the dual purpose breeds of chicks. But, they all did, do their best to name them all, as Sasha had to exhaust a few baby name books, but with Brie and Zara’s help, they all used wax worms as rewards to train the chicks, to know their name and come when they were called. Plus, all three of them got to have ‘a guard goose’ for their flocks too, along with turkeys, named after the major holidays that they would be butchered for, along with guinea hens and pheasants too. But, that also meant that Sasha also got her own flock of turkey chicks too for not just her extended family but for Zara and Andy’s, for Kihro and Brie’s families and clans too. Which, Sasha and Tristan were compensated for, not just to buy the chicks but the clans that Kihro, Andy and Zara were in, could afford to pay Tristan and Sasha to brood and raise and feed all of these flocks of birds for them. But, they would come to butcher them and then distribute them accordingly, which was a relief to Tristan and Sasha. So that meant that a pasture, that the Chicken Palace was built onto, got separated into three ‘lots’ all of them fenced in, so that each couple and each clan would know which birds were theirs and each lot got it’s own chicken palace in addition to Sasha’s private one. So four chicken palaces in total.

And because Sasha’s house had its own little pond, she also got to have ducks too, as Kihro joked to Tristan that, all he needed was sheep, goats and a pig and a couple of cows and they would have a full and complete farm.

But as tempting as that was, especially to Sasha, Tristan tried to reason with Sasha that she should focus on raising the chicks of all the varieties first, to make sure that they could sustain that before they move onto other livestock. Which Sasha, upon looking at her barn, half of which had turned into its own chicken nursery full of brooders, agreed that they had neither the time, nor the energy to do much else than what they had already taken on.

But because Andy was in IT, he saw to it that both Brie’s house as well as Sasha’s house, had the best internet possible along with setting up their computers and laptops and helping Zara, Brie and Sasha begin their work on The Wright Birthing Center, and the computers and other tech equipment they would need for such a venture. Which, thanks to this huge network, ‘The Wright Birthing Center’- was actually, being built on a lot, that all three couples all pitched in on to buy the plot of land, that was centrally located between Kalamazoo, Portage and Paw Paw. That all three of them could get to easily and serve a lot more people.

And between Tristan and his friends and family, and Kihro and his friends and family and Andy’s friends and family as well as everyone he had become friends with in all of these projects. Kihro started a new business. He had to use his wife’s maiden name for it, because Wright Plumbing was practically a household name. So, Kihro started - The Wright Building Works Inc. that Kihro started with the other builders he got to work closely with, he could still be the assistant manager of the downtown branch of Wright Plumbing, but also be the CEO of The Wright Building Works Inc. And especially, since working on Sasha’s house, that was what it took to get the idea, brainstorm it with everyone, before Sasha and Tristan, and Brie and Zara and Andy’s help, he took the proposal to present it to Brie’s Father George and Sasha’s dad Frank and all the Partners and Managers with Wright Plumbing, because he was going to essentially, be hiring all of their apprentices, as his own team of plumbers at least, and he wanted to make sure, ‘to not take out of someone else’s refrigerator- without asking’.

Kihro, expected criticism, he expected others imputing bad motives, but what he didn’t expect was to have none of that, because, with Sasha’s ability to form and maintain connections, Brie and Zara, obviously using the name themselves, even though, once they would be married, they technically would lose, but, thanks to Brie and Sasha and Zara, all crunching the numbers and doing a full on ‘overhead’ vs ‘expenses’ and ‘labor’ and ‘insurance fees’ and salaries. The cold hard numbers proved that the business model could not only work, but succeed exceedingly well.

Brie and Sasha didn’t even need to ask or request ‘a favor’ for Kihro to be heard out about it. But they all sure were behind him and encouraging him. And after the presentation, what Kihro got, was a standing ovation and an overwhelming approval and his father’s blessing, his father in law- George’s blessing as well as Sasha’s father, Frank’s blessing and Zara’s father’s blessing too. All of them wanted to be partners with Kihro, on The Wright Building Works Inc, and at the bare minimum, give him ‘seed money’ to make it a reality, which Kihro, for the first time, happily and graciously accepted. And they all even chipped in to make The Wright Building Works Inc. its own fully fledged business. Which, as a gift, Kihro’s dad Kidron, Brie’s dad George and Sasha’s dad Frank as well as Zara’s- all pitched in and instead of having another satellite office of Wright Plumbing, signed over the lease of a huge building, that used to be a Super Kmart, but because Kmart itself was going under, they were grabbing up those properties to grow into their own mega branches, because their current ones, were just too small, but with just this one, quite literally, the best one that was situated close to where The Wright Birthing Center was being built- over to Kihro to make it the base of The Wright Building Works Inc Headquarters. And gave Kihro more than enough capital to hire everyone he had made such close friends with, full time, with benefits, including all of the apprentices, who were more than ready to no longer be working under their fathers but be the recognized tradesman that they had become since.

So while all the work on his own house, Andy’s house and Tristan’s house were all practically done ‘at cost’. Kihro also, put it into the business model, a clause that any employee of The Wright Building Works Inc., who had the same circumstances, could enjoy the same treatment and the same perks. That’s what got him the flood of resumes. And the flood of employees. It wasn’t hard for him to hire all the HVAC techs, or electricians or carpenters or others who specialized in drywall and then roofers, painters, you name it, they had it, but, he kept the same rule that had served Wright Plumbing very well, that someone had to ‘vouch’ for you to be accepted. So Kihro could vouch for the very people he got to work with, who he got to hire, but then, it was them, who got to vouch for all the others so that they got the best employees so that Kihro wouldn’t have to worry about too much turnover.

And a friend of Sasha’s, Amber, was in school to be an architect, and one of Brie’s friend’s Carmen was becoming a designer of both homes and interior design. And those two together, they teamed up and their first official project The Wright Building Works Inc, at least the facade, the waiting room, the consultation rooms and other offices. But the second job was doing all of that and more for The Wright Birthing Center which was rather fitting. As even Andy volunteered to be their IT Assistant Manager, for the practice. Especially since he was already the It Department Manager for The Wright Building Works Inc. Which was awesome and with Zara and Brie being in massage class together, it wasn’t hard for them to find other LMT’s who would want to be pregnancy massage specialists too, of all species, of all kinds, just as much as The Wright Building Works Inc got, and they got not one or two, but five OBGYN students who were due to be licensed just as The Wright Birthing Center would be built and finished.

A lot was happening, all at once it felt like but it was all new and exciting and everyone involved was eager for everything to be successful.

But, especially with Tristan, he had followed that initial connection that Sasha had first set up and Tristan, Gabe and their dad, Chuck partnered with both a microbrewery and a winery to make blueberry hard cider and blueberry wine, which was proving quite successful. And quite literally, all the excess blueberries that didn’t sell, instead of it going to waste or rotting, it all got put into that venture instead. And so for the first time in Leduc’s 70+ year history, the Leduc farm as a whole- had very little fruit loss, not to mention, all of their crops picked. And by now, the hard cider was ready and was selling out, in every place that took it on and Tristan got orders for more, once this year’s crop of blueberries would come in, because while Gabe would be taking over Leduc’s to keep the family farm going for another generation, Tristan would be taking all of it’s excess for this venture.

Tristan was so happy he could have something of his own, not full on- blueberry business, but adjacent to it. And he got to plant all the new varieties on his own fields, once the winter wheat had been harvested, and then got repurposed into a proper blueberry field, planting all of his and Sasha’s favorite varieties that they would be doing their own cross breeding with each other to make new varieties of, granted, when they would produce fruit that summer. Along with a vineyard that Sasha planted so that they could actually make their own wine at home, ‘home brew style’ and start to experiment with Leduc’s other fruit farms, especially the strawberries and the melon farm, and the other orchards and vineyards of course, which Kihro and Andy were all too eager to help with and especially to taste test it all.

All while Zara, Sasha and Brie were all happy to help each other plan each other’s weddings along with their own. Zara and Andy’s wedding invitations had been done in purple, Brie and Kihro’s invitations of course were in teal. But Sasha and Tristan’s was similar, but blueberry blue and suddenly, it was like the guest list for all three weddings doubled, if not tripled, because Zara, while she was paradise orc herself, she was from a different clan than Kihro was, but her fiance Andy– was in Kihro’s clan and the two clans were sister clans and part of the Great Lakes Clan Alliance, plus, Kihro and Andy were friends, so of course both clans were invited to her wedding. And because Zara viewed Sasha and Brie like sisters, the invitations also invited Sasha and her whole family outside of Brie and her family and Tristan and his whole pack too. Because they were all officially part of the “Wright Family” too, even though Zara’s last name was technically Wainwright. But they were all bridesmaid’s, if not the maids of honor for each other’s weddings. Because Zara and Andy were getting married a month before Kihro and Brie were getting married. So it would be Zara and Andy’s wedding in August, then Kihro and Brie’s wedding in September, and then Tristan and Sasha’s wedding in October, which was officially when all the growing and harvesting seasons were done. But it was practically going to be a year of weddings, practically weddings every other weekend. Because between Zara’s other friends, Brie’s other friends and Sasha’s other friends. There were going to be 23 other weddings between January and December, and it felt like there was a wedding nearly every other weekend. And one was even a double wedding! And every wedding that the three couples had, practically all had the same guest list as Tristan and Sasha extended the invitation to Zara’s Clan and Andy and Kihro’s clan too as even others from the other weddings were eager to go to their weddings after their own. So then, the guest list officially quadrupled, if not quintupled as Zara, Brie and Sasha, because their weddings were later on, had to move to the largest venue in the area to fit everyone. But because of Zara’s and Andy’s and Kihro’s clan ties, the funds for their weddings were also supplemented as Tristan and Sasha found themselves and their families practically adopted by the other clans, because Sasha was a part of Brie’s family so of course, the invitation to invite Sasha and Jake into the clan was practically a given.

However, there was still one problem. Jake. Who was beyond pissed that Tristan not only courted Sasha but proposed to her and she accepted and he heard that they had gotten a house and were renovating it? And were having a little ‘hobby farm’, but especially since her fiance was getting into the hard cider business, granted, not the same microbrewery, but a competitor to both him and the brewery in question. But clearly, Jake viewed Tristan as a threat on all fronts and threats needed to be eliminated.

The problem was, was that every time he had a lead on anything, the smell of another ware pack was unmistakable to him and to ‘intrude’ onto another pack’s territory was usually cause for a rift, if not a war. But it would figure that Sasha, only being part ware, would marry a human looking guy, whenever Jake saw him at a distance, but he was usually always accompanied by orcs, so that was also a no-go for any confrontation whenever he did see him. But just looking at Tristan’s older and beat up truck, compared to his brand new and flashy and had so much aftermarket upgrades, it was practically a tank. As he began to wonder if Tristan was somehow a human toned orc halfling himself. And he just so happened to be deep into another ware’s territory. But probably, Sasha wasn’t ware enough to realize it, and neither was Tristan, as far as he could see anyway.

Sasha and Tristan, Brie and Kihro and Zara and Andy were actually out on a triple date, on their motorcycles and it was the first warm spring day of the year, so they were eating outside, on the balcony and Jake, quite literally recognized Sasha and pulled into the parking lot, saw that it was the three couples, and he was tired of watching without taking more actions, so he called his friends his fellow packmates and told them to meet them at this restaurant, because his mate, Sasha was about to make the biggest mistake of her life and marry some loser who wasn’t even ware, that he knew of anyway. And that he needed to “save her”. And so he sat in his car and just watched the three couples eat and drink and talk and laugh as his rage just grew in size and severity until it was pure fury. It took about 20 minutes for his friends to come, and within 30 minutes, most of the pack showed up to support Jake. And that's when they all came in, walked right past the hostess and marched straight to the balcony and Sasha’s face paled when she looked up and saw Jake, with pure fury burning in his eyes as he was already starting to shift before she grabbed Tristan and Brie at the same time as terror filled her being as they looked at her in alarm before they followed her line of sight.

“Oh shit, that’s Jake. And his pack. Oh shit! Kihro, call your clan! Zara, call your clan! Andy, I’m gonna need you to be Tristan’s body guard, do not let them get toTristan. Otherwise, Tristan, you need to call your pack right now! Because Jake is here with back up.This is gonna be a bloodbath and one hell of a brawl, I’m calling the cops.” Brie instructed before both Kihro and Andy sent a mass text, as did Zara and Tristan before Jake opened the door from the restaurant to the balcony.

“Who do you think you are, you motherfucking asshole, trying to marry my mate?!” Jake yelled accusingly as he pointed to Tristan as Sasha, who was already breathing heavily and too frozen in fear, because she didn’t have anything that would be considered a weapon other than the steak knife that wasn’t even that sharp on her plate on the table.

“Who the fuck do you think you are- to be calling my friend a motherfucking asshole?! You’re a giant hypocrite, because you’re a motherfucking murderer!” Zara yelled as she immediately took out her pocket knife, flipped it open and had it in her hand, ready to stab him, as did Andy and Kihro, as she and Andy and Kihro all stood up and formed a wall between Sasha, Brie and tried to shield Tristan. But while they were defensive and ready to fight to the death to protect each other, from Jake and his pack, so be it.

But Tristan had been fantasizing about when and if this was ever going to happen and what he was going to do about it. And, thanks to some food old fashioned teamwork, with surprising allies he hadn't known he had already made. But the bottom line, was, if Jake ever showed up. He had enough on this motherfucker to put him in prison for life.

Tristan and his friends and allies had a plan. And now was his chance to make those fantasies become reality. And to set this plan in motion and set the perfect trap for Jake to fall into.

So when Tristan saw Jake coming, he didn't feel fear, he was relieved and delighted. And Tristan couldn't help but smile as he gave Sasha’s hand a comforting, reassuring squeeze.

“Sweetheart, can you give me your phone please?” Tristan requested of Sasha, in the most loving, tender, and most calm, cool and collected tone he had- which caused Brie and Sasha to slowly turn their heads to look at Tristan like he was insane as even Brie was surprised at Tristan’s composure.

“Do you trust me?” He asked Sasha, in low, soft, but supremely gentle tone that matched all the love, adoration, gentle reverence coupled with confidence in his eyes and in his small but gentle grin before she nodded and handed him her phone, which he quickly typed in the code to unlock it and then got into her picture gallery and brought up every picture they had put into a special folder in her phone gallery - of all the damage Jake had done, and every animal he had slaughtered in retaliation of Sasha’s refusal of Jakes courting ritual for the last year and a half, because Jake, would not take the hint and just kept leaving ‘courting gifts’ at Sasha’s parent’s house, granted in the middle of the night. But with each and every single one, Sasha made a point to put them with the garbage cans on garbage day. Which only hurt and infuriated Jake that much more and instead, he tried to target all the same people that Lance had done before. And then some.

Tristan then gave Sasha his phone and had it speaker phone so that his parents would be able to listen to what was about to go down, but had muted themselves to keep from being heard as they too were calling in the calvary of their own, while Brie was doing the same thing to all of her friends and family, that Sasha was in danger, and texted what was happening once she got off the phone with 911 who were already sending a few police officers to this scene.

“So, you’re Jake Lautner, I have heard quite a bit about you, your reputation precedes you. You're a ware from the Meadow Pack right? But your family specifically owns and operates Gull Meadow Farms right?” Tristan asked casually as he casually got up and stood to his whole 6’3” height and smirked when Jake and those with him, all dwarfed Tristan, Andy and Kihro as he came around Andy, Zara and Kihro and put himself in front of them to see Jake face to face and while his facial expression was seemingly pleasant, the look in his own eyes had the burning rage in Jake's start to drain and started to be replaced with fear. Because if Tristan was this big and massive in human form, his ware form must be absolutely gigantic. Because the moment he came around and they smelled and sensed that Tristan was a ware too, specifically from that other pack that was in Paw Paw, which they could sense, by the sheer amount of scent markings, their territory tripled their own. And those that came in with Jake, began to lose confidence in their own ability to fight for Jake's claim on Sasha. And if Sasha, only being part ware accepted Tristans’s courting to the point of becoming engaged and was about to be married. Maybe Jake's claim wasn't Destiny Mate, maybe it really was just Puppy Love that Sasha truly didn't reciprocate.

But Jake was undeterred. His packmates outnumbered Tristan and 3 orcs. This was still a fight he could win.

“That’s right! And it's the biggest and baddest Pack in both the lower and upper peninsulas of this state.” Jake proudly bragged with a smirk.

“Right, well, my name is Tristan Leduc, you may have heard of my family’s blueberry farms in Paw Paw. But do you know why Paw Paw is named Paw Paw?” Tristan asked.

“Because another, obviously much smaller pack is in it? I’m guessing? Cause I've never heard of a Pack called. Paw Paw. How retarded would that be? ” Jake sneered with a haughty laugh as those with snickered with him. But all Tristan did was grin even wider and broader which began to really unnerve them because obviously Tristan knew something they didn't.

“Another Pack? Yes. Smaller? No. Not really. Obviously, you’re a ware, and I’m sure you can tell that Sasha and I are wares too. But I’m from the Eagle Lake Pack, a brother pack to 28 of the 30 packs just in the Lower Peninsula of this State, who are also brother packs to the 19 of the 21 Packs in the Upper Peninsula. Not to mention the other 20 brother packs of the 24 packs that are in Pennsylvania, 64 of the 67 packs in Ohio, 46 of the 48 packs in Indiana, 67 of the 71 packs of Indiana, 80 of the 82 packs in Wisconsin, and 138 packs of the 145 packs of Minnesota. But you may know our Brotherhood of Packs as The Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood. Which, I know, your pack is not a part of. So if you really, want to have a fight with me, know that I have 470 Packs, that are in that brotherhood alliance with mine. So, tell me, just, how big is your pack that you think that the Meadow Pack is? Is it big enough and strong enough to take on all 470 packs that make up The Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood- all by themselves?” Tristan prodded as he took just a single step forward and Jake and all of those with him took at least 2, if not 3 steps back.

“All because you fell in Puppy Love with My Mate, which ours isn’t Puppy Love. In fact, it’s the Destiny Love. Because Sasha, still has more than enough ware in her to recognize me as her mate, when I recognized her as mine. Which is why we are engaged and why we are getting married this fall. But, you and your pack, are not invited, just for this reason. Because, so far, in the last year and a half, of you forcing a courting ritual onto Sasha who has refused you as her mate, refused to have any kind of relationship with you whatsoever, and refused your courting gifts, that you still pushed onto her anyway. But because she refused your unwanted and frankly, troubling, obsessive, aggressive advances from you, in retaliation, you’ve killed off, 184 chickens, 287 dogs, 198 cats, 54 pet birds and parrots, 23 snakes, 37 reptiles, 19 hedge hogs, and 45 chinchillas, again, all in retaliation of Sasha’s refusal of your courting advances to the point that you even killed off every pet of everyone she has ever reached out to for help. Not to mention- the hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage you’ve done to property too, not just Sasha and her family’s property, but all of her friends and family member’s property too, when you killed off their pets. The very solid and irrefutable proof of which, I and my pack and the entire Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood have as well. Because when Sasha accepted my courting gifts and ritual and in fact reciprocated it, she and her family were immediately welcomed into the Eagle Lake Pack and the Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood too. Which- the Brotherhood itself has hundreds of law firms who have been desperately wanting to sue you for, to get Sasha and her friends and family the justice they deserve and charge you with animal abuse and animal cruelty and destruction of private property. Which is actually so big that it’s actually now considered a Class Action Lawsuit, against you- and your entire pack, the Meadow Pack. Especially your Pack’s Alpha who should have never allowed such crimes and atrocities to happen in the first place. But, because you killed off 810 pets and livestock in total, not to mention the trauma you inflicted on those innocent families, which are owed recompense and restitution for. Which is why the Meadow Pack was excluded from the Brotherhood, because of your behavior. You alone, your actions cost your whole pack the chance to join the Brotherhood, and to be disqualified with your monstrous and malicious behavior.” Tristan very calmly leveled with Jake in a calm, neutral expression as he stared down at Jake who was only 5'8”. And because Tristan had worked on the family farm all his life, whereas Jake never did on his own, it meant that Tristan was practically a mountain of muscle himself, and the same size and height that Kihro was. And only a few inches shorter and than Andy who was an even bigger orc, the largest any of them had ever seen and he even looked mean, looked like he ate nails for breakfast, kind of mean and touch.

All while Zara, Kihro and Andy grinned smugly as Jake and everyone with him, their faces dropped and changed from anger to horror and then looked angrily at Jake, as they all morphed back to their human looking selves.

“Wait, so you’re telling me, that when we applied to the Brotherhood, and were rejected over “Misconduct” and “Corrupt Leadership”, the misconduct was all Jake? And the Corrupt Leadership was because Jake’s father is currently the Alpha of our Pack?” Bret asked in both shock and horror and disgust, because he hadn’t known just how badly and how much destruction Jake had done to try to force Sasha to be Jake's mate.

“Yes. And you’re all about to be arrested because you knew about Jake’s misconduct and condoned it and never reported it. And instead, either ignored it, or assisted him in his misconduct and his destruction of property and his murdering of over 810 pets and livestock animals. Which is considered an Obstruction of Justice and Co-Conspiratoring. And the Alpha, instead of disciplining Jake for his misconduct, encouraged it and turned a blind eye to the collateral damage.” Tristan calmly replied just as the cops came, sirens blaring and came upon the scene.

“We need to go, now!” Bret urged Jake.

“No, none of you are going anywhere, you all came here with ill intent and premeditated attempted murder of me specifically. All of you are going to be arrested. And I, the grandson, of The Grand Alpha Female and of The Grand Alpha Male of The Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood, has given me permission to speak for the Alliance on their behalf, at their request, and we will be pressing those charges against you, both for Sasha and her family, and on every other victim’s behalf as well as the The Brotherhood’s behalf and the law firms, because the Brotherhood hired several of them to represent Sasha, the Eagle Lake Pack and the entire Brotherhood in this case, will see you in court. The cops are just right there and all the exits are locked. And the only way any of you are leaving here, will be in cuffs. Try to run and you will add evading and escape to your charges too.” Tristan very calmly and rather aloofly informed them.

“Plus, my clan accepted his pack as an honorary sister clan, so we too, in a manner of speaking are part of that Brotherhood too because I don't know if you've heard, but The Great Lakes Clan Alliance is in a cross species coalition with The Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood. And since I too am the granddaughter of The Great Lakes Clan Alliance Chieftess, and have been requested and appointed to be The Great Lakes Clan Alliance Speaker, we too will be pressing charges on our Clan’s behalf and the Alliance’s behalf. We have already given every assistance possible to The Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood in every way, shape and form when I met both The Great Alpha Female and The Great Alpha Male of the brotherhood myself.” Zara added as she gestured to herself and to Kihro and Andy as they all closed their pocket knives the moment the cops were pulling up and put them away in their pockets and simply stood there with their arms crossed. All of them - exceedingly proud of Tristan for handling this so exquisitely well.

“You mean to tell me, because you had Puppy Love, and couldn’t take no for an answer, that all of us, are going to jail over you and what you’ve done?!” Nathan snarled angrily at Jake who flushed and suddenly found he was unable to speak to defend himself or his actions because Tristan turned Sasha’s phone to show- Jake, in his ware form, mauling a dog to death in it’s own backyard as his packmates also saw it and knew, Tristan had Jake at least, dead to rights.

“Yeah.” Tristan confirmed with a nod.

“But…but…we didn’t know! We didn’t know he was killing pets! Or even livestock or destroying property! All he had us do was not use Wright Plumbing. That’s all he told the Meadow Pack!” Caleb stuttered in a panicked voice as he looked worriedly from Tristan to the police who had called in backup and had the entire patio surrounded. And the restaurant had pushed Jake and all those that came with him to the patio and locked the doors once they saw Jake and his Pack come into the restaurant and knew shit was about to go down as the patrons were encouraged not to get up or move from their seats, or if they had to use the bathroom to go to the bathroom but not come out again until it was over as every child in the restaurant was actually hiding under the tables in fear after most parents didn’t even do that, they just grabbed their kids and left to the safety of their vehicles once Jake and his crew passed them.

Then Tristan tilted his head but kept his searing eye contact locked with Jake's.

“Officers, I am Tristan Leduc, grandson of The Grand Alpha Female Maggie McGriffin of The Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood, as well as The Grand Alpha Male, Don McGriffin and also the elected spokesperson for the Brotherhood in this matter. This is Jake Lautner, 2nd son of The Alpha of the Meadow Pack, Michael Lautner, all of these guys are wares and the members of the same pack, the Meadow Pack, and they all came here to kill me, over my fiance, Sasha Wright, because she chose me as her mate, and had in the course of the previous year and a half, almost two years actually, before Sasha and I ever met and started to court each other, and both before and after we got engaged last summer, over the last two years Jake Lautner had forced a courting ritual onto Sasha Wright which she refused, of her own free will, because over the last two years, Sahsa and I have collected irrefutable evidence that Jake Lautner and others in the Meadow Pack, killed 810 pets, some of which were owned by my fiance, Sasha Wright. And in retaliation of her refusal of his overly aggressive and obsessive and coerced courting gifts, caused three quarters of a million dollars worth of damage to Sasha Wright’s family and friends property. Sasha Wright and her family are members of my personal pack, the Eagle Lake Pack, and this matter has reached The Council of Alphas for The Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood, and the Brotherhood as a whole, wishes to press charges of aggravated assault, premeditated attempted murder of myself, and everyone in my pack and in The Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood, along with 810 counts of animal abuse and animal cruelty and The Brotherhood currently has a Class Action Lawsuit with over 9 firms, ready for court, at your earliest convenience.” Tristan addressed the police officers just on the other side of the patio’s fence before turning to fully stare down at Jake that while his body language was relaxed, he had a righteous anger blazing in his own and knew that even if it was ware to ware, Tristan would still have Jake beat.

“And I’m Zarasashasabine Wainwright, granddaughter of Stasi Wainwright, who is also on The Council of Clan Chieftesses for The Great Lakes Clan Alliance and I too, have been selected and elected to speak on the Clan’s Alliance’s behalf as well. Also, I'm a Priestess of Aura at the Sinai Temple, my Holy Mother is Olga, Head of the Rushaka Order who is The High Priestess of the Sinai Temple and The Rushaka Order of Aura, and Her Holy Mother herself anointed me to be The Order’s Spokesperson in this matter as well. And before you arrived I had put myself between these persons who, had you not arrived when you did, they would be guilty of murderer of myself and those with us and their target, Tristan Leduc. So, as a Priestess of Aura and The Holy Anointed Speaker of the Holy Rushaka Order, as well as The Speaker for The Great Lakes Clan Alliance, I too wish to press charges for both- against them, for the premeditated murder against myself as a Priestess, and The Holy Rushaka Order and The Great Lakes Clan Alliance’s behalf as well. Especially since I would have been defending the chosen spokesperson of the Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood myself. And I know that it is a Federal and International Crime to even attempt harm upon any persons within any given Holy Order, since The Holy Rushaka Order as well as The Great Clan Alliance also have a copies of all the undeniable and irrefutable evidence of the crimes committed by Jake Lautner and others in the Meadow Pack- towards Sasha Wright and her friends and family. Especially since Sasha and her family along with Tristan Leduc and his family are also under The Holy Rushaka’s Protection, along with The Great Lakes Clan Alliance’s protection. And I can confirm that for a fact, both The Holy Order And The Great Lakes Clan Alliance also have copies of ALL the evidence all the damage and the suffering Jake Lautner and the Meadow Pack inflicted, I too wish to press all those same charges previously stated by the Spokesperson of The Great Lakes Pack Brotherhood as well as the charges that were incurred before your arrival, towards me, as a Holy Anointed Priestess of Aura of the Holy Rushaka Order and The Holy Anointed Speaker of the Holy Order as well.” Zara added with a smug smirk as the eyes of Jake and those with him nearly popped out of their heads as Tristan tried not to smirk too smugly to see them practically shrink and slink backwards until their backs hit the door and wall of the restaurant.

“And I’m the Assistant Manager of the Downtown Branch of Wright Plumbing and CEO of The Wright Building Works, and as you heard, Jake Lautner, who is the son of the Alpha of the Meadow Pack, I can show proof that everyone in the Meadow Pack have purposefully sabotaged and destroyed their own plumbing and tried to pin the blame on us, even though we have solid, irrefutable evidence of our own innocence. So there is at the bare minimum, slander, defamation and libel for both businesses.” Kihro added with a smug grin of his own.

“And that business is a business that our fathers are partners of.” Brie added as she gestured to herself and Sasha as she held Sasha’s hand as she then gestured towards Zara.

“And I too have other charges I wish to press, sexual assault of a minor, attempted rape of a minor, and aggravated assault of a minor, because he did those things to me when I was only 16 and a half and then a few months into being 17 and I too have solid evidence and proof, in the form of a rape kit and photographic evidence and video evidence and other recordings.” Sasha finally spoke up, as her own fear morphed into courage to see and hear and realize that Tristan had been preparing for this, ever since she first told him about Jake.

And for Sasha, to finally see the rage in his eyes turn into fear, she knew now- was the time to speak up and finally find her own voice that Jake had tried to silence before. Now. Now she would speak and it would be heard and finally be taken seriously.

Jake now looked petrified as those with him, all nearly shit bricks, because all of that was ‘go to prison’ charges.

“And his entire pack knew of it, encouraged it and then ignored the evidence and denied any responsibility and instead turned a blind eye to it and never disciplined Jake Lautner for his misconduct or his crimes and refused to report them.” Sasha added as she leaned back so that Jake and those with him could see her and see the courage and righteous anger blaze in her own eyes. As Jake, could tell, with just that look, Sasha wasn't scared of him anymore. And she now had a force greater than he realized behind her and he was as good as dead.

“Uh, actually, uh, um, for-for the record, none of us knew what Jake had done or did, before just now when we were made aware of it. This is the first time I’m hearing of any of these crimes, that I’m sure Jake is guilty of, but I too would like to press charges on my own behalf and my family’s behalf, because we honest to any and all gods we all believe in, did not know about any of this until just now.” Bret and Nathan and the others all tried to excuse.

“Bullshit, I came to your Pack Meeting Hall and pleaded my case and it was dismissed by the entire Pack.” Sasha hissed.

“So obstruction of justice, on all counts for every member of the Meadow Pack. Got it.” The officer nodded as he wrote that down too.

“No, Sasha, please, no, I’m begging you, I didn’t know, none of us really knew what Jake had really done, we weren’t in the Pack Hall that day, I swear.” A lot of them tried to plead to Sasha.

“Ok, to prove your innocence, give the police officers your phones-unlocked so that they can use your phone’s own GPS to prove you weren't there. But whoever doesn't hand over their phones will have to be presumed to be guilty.” Sasha specified as they all seemed to hesitate.

“Well, the fact that you're not handing those phones over is proof enough for me, cuff em’.” The Sheriff ordered.

“No! No, no, here, here's our phones. Take them! Guys! Hand over your phones now!” Jake commanded before they all gulped but obeyed and handed the phones over.

“Now, here's where I get to call bullshit on your innocence, because I know, for a fact that the Meadow Pack’s Main Hall has cameras inside and outside the building, I’m sure, the date of which the Pack was gathered in the Pack’s Hall, was caught on their own camera footage and from there, you will be able to see exactly who was and was not there on this date and at this time.” Sasha reminded them as most of them scrunched up their faces, knowing, they were effectively fucked. As she got up and wrote down the date and time along with the address of the Pack’s Hall, and with the charges, they had more than enough to get a search warrant and because the officers had the guilty parties phones, they had no way to send a message for the footage to be destroyed before they could get to it.

“Thank you so much for coming and keeping this situation from escalating into unnecessary violence. I have every faith and trust that you have the situation under control from here. Now, if my fiancé Sasha and our friends could please leave, and the others that have been trapped on this balcony with us, could leave in peace, we would be most appreciative.” Tristan finally turned to the Sheriff as the other cops readily stepped over the railing around the courtyard and were already in the process of zip tying everyone because they didn’t have enough cuffs to go around, but Jake, no, he had the Sheriff himself cuff him and force him to sit on the ground with his pack mates as a van soon appeared to take them all to jail for processing.

“I’m sorry Sasha,” they all timidly tried to apologize.

“It’s far too little, and far too late for apologies now. Now, you get to live with the consequences of your actions and I get to live in peace without fear of you and your pack.” Sasha rebuffed them as she readily got her gear back on, as did Kihro and Brie and Zara and Andy before they simply left a few hundred dollars on the table to cover the bill and stepped over the fence and then lended a helping hand to their fiance’s to get out of there too before they walked over to where their motorcycles were as Sasha requested, via the Cardo system, to stay and watch to make sure that Jake and his packmates were all arrested and loaded up before they would follow them- down to the police station at least, to make sure their charges were pressed, on all parties’ behalf as Andy was all too proud to simply hand over a flash drive that had all of the irrefutable evidence of Jake’s crimes on it over to the police as evidence of their claims and charges as Sasha got twice as much paperwork to do, because as a Priestess of Aura, there was a special set of paperwork to fill out for herself and The Holy Order and special charges she could press too, to add to the class action lawsuit too.

“Teamwork makes the dream work.” Tristan grinned once they were all done and all of them drove to their own homes.

“So Granny Maggie and Grandpa Don huh?” Sasha asked Tristan once the other two couples split off and they rode to their home in Paw Paw.

“Yup.” Tristan confirmed with a nod.

“I just wish I knew why this kind of thing keeps happening to me.” Sasha sighed tiredly as she let her head rest on his shoulder as her arms wrapped around him.

“Do you want the honest answer or the polite answer?” Tristan asked.

“The honest one.” Sasha frowned.

“Because your mother is from a ware from the Arctic Tundra, which are the epitome of survival of the fittest. And so, from a full ware’s perspective and senses, even though you’re only part ware, that’s still more than enough to give off the pheromones that you’re practically a goddess walking among mortals. Honestly, I’m shocked you didn’t have at least ten times the list of your exes. Most wares, when they get a whiff of you or your sisters, they’re primed to be Alpha Females in any pack they find worthy of their presence.” Tristan answered.

“That’s why Autumn’s phone is constantly buzzing and dinging from texts, because everywhere she goes, she turns every ware’s head in her direction. She just thinks that because we’re from the Arctic Tundra, that we’re fresh meat in a sense. Now, all the attention makes sense. But the other wares must be able to sense I’m only part ware, not full ware like her, is that why they all flock to her and I get left with the worst of them?” Sasha asked.

“No, Lance was the Grandson of the Alpha for the Black Water Pack. Jake was the son of the Alpha of the Meadow Pack, you still got the best of the best. But especially once your family was accepted into the Eagle Lake Pack and the whole Brotherhood, now Autumn is getting flooded with suitors. Poor girl.” Tristan specified

“She’s a tease and a flirt, I feel sorry for them, the hoops they’re gonna have to jump through just to get her attention are far too many numerous and they’re all on fire. And it’s a circus on all it’s own.” She admitted.

“You know, not once in our courting or engagement, have you asked where I ranked in my pack.” Tristan noted.

“Because that rank bullshit doesn’t matter to me. You’re my mate, no matter where you rank on the pack hierarchy in your pack, you’re mine, and I’m yours, that’s all that matters to me. But with the grandparents you have on your mom’s side, now I’m not too surprised. And that whole meeting with them, at the time seemed cryptic, but now, it all makes sense, why Zara would pull them aside and talk to them privately. And she’s been giddy about it ever since. Yet another example of my ignorance.” Sasha pouted.

“Well, just so you know, my mother is not the Alpha Female of the Eagle Lake Pack, and neither is my Dad. So I’m not an Alpha’s son, just the brother of the Alpha Male’s and his mate.” Tristan offered with a small smug grin.

“Tristan Leduc, is your brother Gabe and his wife the Alphas for the pack?” She asked.

“Yup.” Tristan confirmed.

“Hey, at least you’re not the entitled son of one, just the humble brother of one, that’s already too much and more than enough for anyone. And again, none of that matters to me. All that matters to me is that you love me and I love you.” Sasha insisted.

“I know. That’s why my grandparents are insisting on waging this war with the Meadow Pack in your behalf. Because when you tried to speak out, and got dismissed. That was more than enough cause for them. And with the mountain of charges that just got dumped on Jake and his pack, now you never have to fear for your safety, at least from other wares, from now on.” Tristan vowed.

“I’m gonna hold you to that.” Sasha grinned.

“I’m hoping you’ll hold me to a lot of things, walls, beds, desks, tables, chairs, benches in our bathroom…” Tristan began to list off before he pulled off the highway and drove them home as Sasha pinched his side that was ticklish.

“I would have appreciated knowing about your connection to the Brotherhood and that you already had a plan for this, because here I’ve been dreading what would happen to you if Jake and his pack came upon you when you least expected it. I have no doubts he would have killed you.” Sasha admitted once they pulled up the long driveway.

“Well, now you don’t have to worry about anything except what kind of furniture you want in our house. Cause the renovations are nearly done, just some baseboards for the floors and one last good, final clean up and we can start moving more furniture in and lay down a rug or two. I would hate to get claw marks in the wood.” He offered as he drove into the garage and turned off the motorcycle so Sasha could get off and get her helmet off and other gear.

“What did you have in mind?” Sasha asked.

“Well, the Brotherhood does have quite a few connections to furniture outlets and furniture stores.” He offered.

“Why do I get the feeling the Brotherhood is gonna have a heavy hand in our relationship?” Sasha asked with a frown.

“A hand of support and help, that’s all. Nothing more.” Tristan reassured her.

“How do any of these people who have helped us, make a living if they’re always doing “favors” for us? Especially when we can’t return them?” Sasha asked.

“They’re not favors in need to be returned. Just gifts for two Destiny Mates who found each other. Every couple in the Brotherhood gets this treatment.” Tristan reassured her as he got off the bike and took his helmet off as they both took off their gear and put it away in that part of the garage.

“I feel like I got a million dollars worth of tile and granite and stuff just for the house.” Sasha frowned with a pout towards it.

“No, not even close. We were still way under budget. So, about that furniture, I have magazines that came in the mail today just for us. In all of the magazines, whenever you see the price, reduce it by 75% and that will be the real cost of the furniture, unless you want to go and feel things out yourself and see it and touch it in person.” Tristan offered.

“Ok, that does sound fun.” Sasha admitted.

“But first, the chicks in the brooders need to be checked on and you need to check on the horses too. Get them in the barn and all that.” She urged him before they both walked towards the barn as Sasha knelt and cooed to the incubators full of chicks that were growing like weeds and already trading out their fluffy down for adult feathers as their feet seemed to double in size practically overnight as she was so pleased when the chicks saw her reaching in to check their food and water, they practically flocked to her hand instead of running away from it. Working with them, all day, every day to socialize them was really working out so well. And she couldn’t help but think over the days events, what had been a great day for riding, turned into a nightmare at dinner, turned into divine justice shortly after, and not a single punch was thrown and not a single drop of blood had to be shed either.

“Sasha? You ok?” Tristan asked as he put Blue in his stall but paused to see Sasha still at the same incubator, holding a chick in her hands and it was her sniffling that caught his attention.

“Yeah, just…with how oblivious I can get, I’ll just need you to keep looking out for me is all, because clearly, you saw tonight coming from the start and you already did something for when it would happen. And you were prepared and had all your ducks in a row.” Sasha noted as she put the chick down and then picked up a baby duck to pet it and love on it as her tears came down from her eyes.

“I should have told you about what Zara and myself and my grandparents put together so that you didn’t have to live in fear any longer than you already had. But I didn’t want you to start a fight either. I just wanted to know that if Jake wanted to start something, we would end it, together.” Tristan offered as he knelt next to her and reached out to sit next to her before she put the duck down back into the brooder before climbing into Tristan’s lap.

“This is the last time you will keep anything like that from me. I keep no secrets from you, you can not hold secrets from me, ok? Cause while the ware in me says you’re my mate, if you keep secrets from me and make me wonder and anxious about what you’re keeping from me? That shit will kill this relationship in its tracks, right here and right now. I can’t…I can’t do that.” Sasha insisted as fresh tears came to her eyes and went down her cheeks.

“Agreed, well, this was it. This was the only thing I’ve been keeping from you. But otherwise, you know everything else. But, now you can fully relax and feel and know that you are safe. Because if I can’t protect you all by myself, we still have our families, and the pack and the Brotherhood, and that whole Clan Alliance and the Holy Rushaka Order too. I mean, I could always arm the house with missile launchers and AK47’s, just to be safe.” Tristan reminded her with a small, hopeful smile.

“No, what I’m more afraid of, is the rift this put between us, all this time. You need to mend the rift before it’s a chasm Because I need to be able to put my complete faith in you. And have no doubts about anything between us.” Sasha reminded him.

“Ok, well, do you have any ideas of how I can try to do that?” Tristan asked.

“Not right now, I’m still struggling with the plummet from the adrenaline rush from the confrontation, because I genuinely thought he was going to kill you and I was too frozen in fear to move or do anything about it and I felt totally helpless until you took over the situation and I never want to feel like that again. If you have a plan for something, or a contingency plan, you need to tell me so that I don’t have to worry.” Sasha insisted.

“Of course. Well, my contingency plan right now, is to get you into the house so you can rest, let me refill the waterers and feed for the chicks and pack up the horses. And if you don’t like any of the catalogs that are on the breakfast bar, I’ll take you to any and every furniture store in a 500 hundred mile radius until we find the right things for our home. How does that sound?” He offered.

“Sounds like a great plan.” Sasha nodded as he gently kissed her tears away before kissing her soundly before she got up and off of him before she went inside to look over those furniture catalogs. Tired but still curious to see what they would have where she found a sharpie marker so she could mark her favorites in all of them.

#Monster March 2025 #Monster March #Monster March 2025 Day 14- Werewolf #Kabluey #Continued!

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