A Shadowed Past

Story by Tygriss on SoFurry

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

#4 of The story of Dusk

Well here we are with part 4, decided it would be better to wrap things up in a final part but it depends really on interest. Writing is good but support is also what helps a writer through.

In this chapter, mysteries surround why there seems to be a barrier around Dusk's mind, preventing her from becoming a shaman with her mate, and why is there gaps in her memories? Read on to find the truth and if her tale has a happy end.


High atop a mountain known only to shamans and the gifted as Spirit Mountain, a black and red furred vixen sat cross legged in a cave decorated with ancient runes all over its surface. Dusk's form was naked save just for her fur and her incredibly thick black and red tipped tail wrapped around her lithe form, keeping her warm like a soft woolly jumper, the brimstone coloured vixen's expression fixed in a state of intense focus.

Inside with her a feral fox of average size sat on its rump facing her, its face in a similar state of focus. But it was no ordinary fox the herm vixen was with. This was her spirit guide. Dusk's life mate and spirit married partner, a mysterious and beautiful smoky grey female wolf, sat a bit apart in the cave. She was acting as an in between link to help attune her mates focus to become a shaman. A trip the wolf felt was needed for the vixen to overcome her tragic past.

Suddenly the trios eyes flew open and Dusk fell forward, her mate just catching her as both shaman and spirit breathed heavily. "Sheliah...did it happen again?" Dusk groaned heavily through tired, half lidded eyes.

Taking a deep breath, the wolf shaman brushed aside her braided mane before nodding to her mate and ran her hands through the vixens fiery mane. "I'm sad to say yes it did," Sheliah said in a weary tone.

"Dusk...there seems to be a powerful barrier of some sort around your mind. It is blocking us from fully interacting with your spirit," Fox said from the side, "do you have any idea at all what it could possibly be?"

This had been the third attempt in three days. The first attempt proved to be quite a struggle due to the overwhelming guilt on Dusk's mind and the hordes of vengeful spirits slain when she was possessed by the demon responsible for her becoming a hermaphrodite. They had to rope Sheliah in to help fend them off whilst Fox tried to guide her though the spirit plane, but things were not going to plan. Shaking her head slowly, Dusk struggled to her feet after what had seemed hours of sitting cross legged on the floor. "No sadly...honestly there are gaps in my memory that seem odd. But...well I dunno, I wish I could be more helpful but the barrier is a mystery to me."

Sighing she let her tail drop to the floor, her darker red nipples hardening against the chill at this altitude. This place known as a focus cave bugged her, it always left a pounding in her skull. Her mate told her it was to amplify ones own spiritual awareness and heighten the sixth sense but so far they seemed to have gotten very little.

Dressing herself back in her own robe, covering her slightly smaller breasts than her mates, Sheliah helped her spirit mate with her own blue robe before wrapping her arms around Dusk's form and pulled her close. "Forgive me my mate...things seem to be going quite the opposite of how I wished," she said in a soft whisper to her ear.

"It might be best that we take a day or twos rest for now," Fox said from the side, looking quite drained herself. "Our power isn't as strong as it used to be...what with the worlds imbalance."

Nodding at her wisdom, Sheliah stumbled out with Dusk into the daylight, both glad to be out of the musty cave after so long inside it. Dusk walked away from her mate though, wrapped up in thoughts, none of which were happy. Sheliah stood there, her fur ruffling in the wind and her heart tugging for Dusk, wanting to do more. They had talked at length before about their pasts, but he had noticed details missing. Gaps in events and a few years forgotten. And what she did right after her mum had died and her dad had cheated, there was a big gap between then and a few months later on.

And then this barrier around her mind...the whole situation was starting to stink and there was little she could do. The mind and the spirit were two different and separate things and there was little she could do to help her for now but be there for her mate.

Tightening her hand into a fist, Sheliah decided the best she could do for her mate was to help take her mind off of all the details, or what was lacking more to the point. Walking up behind Dusk, she wrapped her arms around with the vixens heavy chest resting warmly on her arms. That caught up in her thoughts as she gazed out at the scenery Dusk almost fell over if not for the strong grip the wolf shaman kept on her. "Sheliah?" She said, turning her head in question, but the only response she got was a tightening of her hold, keeping her tight to Sheliah's form so she could feel the warmth and strength of her love for her.

Closing her eyes shut, Dusk sighed softly and wrapped an arm round the back of her, returning the gesture. The stayed like this for a while with the wind blowing through their hair and fur before Sheliah grabbed Dusk by her hand. "Come on, we need to unwind and get clean. I haven't the strength right now to take us out of these mountains so we will have to wait a while." With that said she tugged the vixen by her hand to follow her.

Shrugging, Dusk welcomed the distraction for now as she was pulled along a rough, bumpy rise up the mountain, having to heft her chest now and then to avoid scraping them against the narrow gaps in the rocks.

Eventually the rise levelled off to a flat piece on the mountain, giving way to a place very much like Stone Henge. "Wow..." Dusk breathed as she looked around with her sapphire blue eyes. "Just..." she trailed off before finding her mates hand gently grabbing her own.

"Breathtaking isn't it my love?" she smiled before leading the way to the centre of the stones. A variety of exotic flowers bloomed all over the space in all manner of shades of blues and whites and reds. All around them towered the stones, seemingly untouched by the elements, each giant slab baring an animal on its stone face.

Out of all the stones, the fox and wolf stood out to her, standing right beside the other. Seemingly in a trance, she walked up to the stones before gently resting her hand on one, then the other. She quickly pulled back when she felt they were somehow warm on this windy, mysterious mountain and found her head was swimming with all sorts of images. Of hunting, of cubs and packs and stars and She shook her head aggressively to rid her head, feeling she would explode from that one touch. "What is this place?" she whispered in awe to her mate.

Chuckling, she came alongside her and held her paw. "This is one of the focal points of Spirit Mountain my love. This is one of two points that keep the gateways open to the guardians and help to maintain balance. It is said once upon a time...there were a lot more and things were not as bad in the world as it is today."

"So...these link right to the spirits themselves huh?" Dusk said, still in a voice of awe.

Laughing softly she nodded, "Yes they do. They link to the most primal parts of ourselves that make us what we are, the part we inherited through our wild ancestors."

Nodding, Dusk was finding it increasingly hard to focus. Her head felt like it was buzzing with sensations. Wrapping her arms around her F-cup chest the herm vixen shivered. "Dusk?" Sheliah said as she only just noticed her mates distress.

Placing her hand on her shoulder she felt her mate was trembling. "Dusk, what's the matter?" the smoky grey wolf asked in concern before her mate whirled around, her tongue out panting and suddenly a very strong scent of arousal hit her nose as her pussy drooled, soaking the robe and hir 9 inch cock had poked through and was steadily dripping pre onto the floor. "Oh dear...Dusk I think the spirit stones have affected you, we'd better get back to the cave and maybe you can calm down."

"Yip yip, no. Needy...mate now," Dusk yipped like a feral fox, whirling round to break her grip before pouncing her, knocking Sheliah off her feet and hitting her head, luckily it was all soft earth even on a mountain like this.

"Nnh D-Dusk, no. There's no telling what might happen in a place like this if we violate these sacred grounds like this," Sheliah groaned, trying to push the desperate herm off of her but to no avail. Normally she would contact Wolf to help her but the spirit had gone silent for a bit whilst he tried to seek answers in his realm after she had relayed the trouble they were having with Dusk. She was on her own now.

A gasp escaped the older wolfs muzzle as without any ceremony or Dusk's usual love or play, the vixen herm's cock had pushed aside the material and straight into her pussy. Sheliah opened her eyes, hoping to see some recognition in her mates eyes, but all she was met by was the witless gaze of a lustful animal. "Ngh, Dusk," Sheliah moaned, wincing at the forced thrusts into her as she felt her own folds moisten from the pre and her own juices.

As their heavy busts mashed together the female wolf found herself surrendering more to her mates forceful mating, her moans answering to Dusk's yips and barks of pleasure. "Okay...I will help you, and hopefully out of this feral state that has gripped you," Sheliah growled in between her moans before digging her fingers into the black and red coloured vixens wet folds.

A cry sounded at the intrusion, somewhere between a bark and a moan as though her mind no longer knew what sounds she was supposed to make. Her knot formed inside the wolf, the fact she had forgotten to renew her rune to protect her from becoming impregnated had slipped her mind and as Sheliah furiously finger fucked her feral minded mate, a high fox howl sounded from Dusk as she came, blowing her seed into her mate with such force the smoky coloured wolf could feel each shot hammer at her cervix to gain entrance into her womb.

She felt like Dusk's pussy was trying to suck her paw up as she fucked her deeper and deeper adding two, then three fingers before her female climax triggered not far behind her male orgasam. "Oh fuuuck!" Sheliah howled out along with her mate as she finally came too, spurred on by the furious, frantic thrusting of her mate, hammering the knot against her clit in small bursts.

Her thrusts slowed with her burst of energy spent from a dual gendered orgasam, her cock giving a last few spurts before Dusk's body became limp against her mate. "Dusk, hah, D-Dusk?" Sheliah panted out but her mate was gone. A case of exhaustion brought on from the days attempts at tuning her and the assault on her sexes had caused her to pass out...no. She could sense it, a tugging at her mates spirit. Something was off here amidst this mystical location.

Struggling to calm down, she tried to isolate her body from the feeling of her mates softening shaft in her, or how sticky and good she felt in the afterglow. Eventually her breathing steadied and she was able to clear her head enough to enter the trance needed to walk the spirit paths. Extending her senses she felt for her loves spirit, hoping to find nothing. She was therefore worried when she felt her. "Dusk, what are you doing here?" She said to her, seeing her here was very troubling.

"_Sheliah? How am I here, I thought there was a block or something?"_she said, a touch of panic to her tone.

"The stones have acted as an amplifier, this is not good. If something malevolent is searching for you then you have no defences as you are like this. We need to go now!" Sheliah said, reaching out before a sudden darkness blew her away from her mate. The last thing she heard was Dusk's frightened call for her.

*

Sheliah suddenly bolted upright, "Dusk!" She cried out, just to find much to her surprise that she was back inside her shaman hut. "Wha?" She groaned, sitting up only to find she had a stinking headache. Groaning, she clutched her head and just managed to avoid throwing up. "Ugh...I feel terrible," she groaned before glancing around, "how did I get back to my hut though?"

A sudden soft clack of claws on wood caught her sharp hearing. "I brought you here Sheliah," a familiar voice sounded from her side, though it sounded...weak.

"Wolf?" Sheliah said questioningly, just from looking she could tell he was severely weakened, but his spiritual energy also felt diminished.

"Sheliah...do you have any idea of what you two have done?" Wolf growled at her, his wild brown eyes narrowed at her.

"Wolf...I knew it was dangerous but Dusk seemed in the grip of feral instincts, I couldn't stop her," Sheliah said with a small growl back to him.

They locked eyes for a while before Wolf turned away and sighed. "You are not to blame I guess, we were none the wiser as to it lying dormant still in Dusk," he said in a tone of sorrow.

Suddenly Sheliah had a sinking feeling as to what they was implying. "What?" she growled, her tail batting on her cot hard, her ears going back. "What was dormant?"

Wolf looked away first then back to her, opening his muzzle finally to answer Fox cut him off as she came into view from behind. "That demon that inhabited Dusk before..." she said slowly, "was no ordinary demon. It was the demon...Diablo."

*

"Mmh where...am I?" Dusk moaned as she tried to stagger to her feet, only to find she had no energy to do so. Shaking her head hard, she tried to think what had happened, and why there was no sound, not even the wind. Opening her eyes she looked around only to see she was completely surrounded by darkness, a flash of red running across the covering from time to time.

Managing to sit up, she cried out, "Hello? Sheliah, Fox, Wolf? Anyone here?" but only aching silence greeted her back. This wasn't good, where ever she was this was not a good place to be and her sense screamed danger.

Suddenly the herm vixen felt something brush along her ankle only to find much to her surprise a little chibi looking fox patterned just like her staring right back, only it had red eyes instead of her blue.

"Oh, hey there little fella," she said, scooping down to pick him up, only for it to skip away from her with a grin on its face. "I guess you're not too keen on being held huh...?" she said, shaking her head again. Why couldn't she think clearly right now?

It skipped away a bit before looking over its shoulder, "Follow," it squeaked out to a stunned vixen.

"Did...you just talk?" she said after coming out of her shock. "Are you a spirit, is this the spirit realm?" she said, panic rising in her at the thought of been stuck here.

The chibi fox simply grinned wider and hopped another step, repeating for her to follow. "Hey, hey wait up!" Dusk cried, staggering to her feet and giving chase.

*

"Diablo...you mean one of the most fearsome of all demons? The demon of the underworld? That Diablo?!" Sheliah said, growling and flexing her trimmed claws as if wishing more than anything to rip their throats out.

"Granted he was weakened...but I thought I had got rid of him for good after exorcising him from Dusk. I am sorry I didn't inform you Sheliah..." Wolf said with his own ears back and head low. "Even spirits are capable of mistakes though, I thought there was no more danger."

"Hah, Wolf," Fox snorted. "You always were the arrogant sort," she said with a haughty look about her.

"Fox I'm warning you!" Wolf growled, drawing himself up to square off at her. "Just because we are weakened doesn't mean I will pull any claws if you are looking for a fight," he growled, hunching low looking ready to spring at her.

"Oh yeah, bring it on you arrogant flea bag!" Fox spat back before Sheliah drew herself straight and howled, "ENOUGH!!" The pair of spirits froze and looked at her, looking herself like a demon ready to strike out at them.

"You two will quit your bickering and take me to rescue my mate this instant!" she growled at the pair before taking a few deep breaths. "Now...tell me. One at a time," she said to the pair, stressing each word to them.

They looked at each other before Fox grinned to Wolf, "No wonder you have taken a shine to her, not many could silence two riled spirit animals."

Bowing his head respectfully to his charge, Wolf sat up straight on his haunches, "Forgive me Sheliah, things have been tense since you were out," he said in a deep, sincere voice. "When we found you Sheliah, you were teetering on the edge of the mountain, in danger of being blown off the tops to your death and out cold. We both came as soon as we felt a weakening in our spiritual energies only to see you and the spirit stones surrounded by the same energy we felt from Dusk when we exorcized her. The demon we know as Diablo had somehow survived, either inside Dusk, in the spirit realm or...half and half. He is now using the combined energies from the stones to come back...and who knows what will happen to Dusk."

*

After only a short walk, Dusk stumbled across more of the little foxes, six to be exact. They all seemed to waiting be expectantly for her all wearing that same grin. "Um h-hello, what is going on here?" Dusk said, feeling apprehensive with their presence.

"Don't worry," one said in an almost sing song voice. "We're your own spirit guardians," another said. "But first we need to rid you of your bad energies," a third squeaked to her.

"B-bad energies?" Dusk stammered before the darkness around her shifted and suddenly she found herself in a glade.

"Don't worry, we have set you in a more fitting location for what we have to do," they said as one voice. "But first we must make your body fitting to be drained."

By now Dusk's head was growing foggier and her thoughts felt impaired. Shrugging, feeling like she was in some drunk mist she shivered before she felt something happen to her. Looking down she...found she was staring at the floor? Twisting around she found that she was now a feral fox again, like she and Sheliah had that spirit marriage ceremony. She tried to take a step forward only to moan and topple sideways.

Craning her neck, she was startled to see she had breasts still. Not just her original pair, but almost twice the size and she had six! "W-what is the meaning of this?" she moaned out, they felt so full of something and the plump nipples felt so sensitive.

The six chibi foxes grins only widened before they all got in position. "Don't worry, they are full of that bad energy, but we will help you" they said as that same one voice.

Another voice seemed to try to talk to her, telling her this was wrong and that she needs to run, but an overwhelming need to suddenly feed these kits overrode that little voice.

As they lined their little muzzles up with her large nipples, she had a moment of apprehension. "Um, so what will happen once you get this bad energy out of me? Will I turn back into a normal female?"

"Don't worry, just leave everything to us," they said as one and before she could say anything else they all latched onto her tits and sucked.

"O-ohh my...fuuuuuck!" she barked out in a shrill voice at the feeling, instantly cumming from her feral vagina. The feel of six little muzzles on her now overly sensitive tits blew her away with the feeling as her feral pussy spurted juice onto the fake ground.

Not letting up on her trembling mounds, the kits continued suckling, her giant breasts slowly shrinking in size as they drank from the now bespelled vixen. "Oh...yes. Drink up kits. Drain me and then we can do...something," she breathed, completely in their control now.

If she had any of her senses left though, she would have felt the tug on her life as the kits set about draining her spirit and life force from her body.

*

A flash and Sheliah appeared just outside the cave of where they had tried to initiate Dusk in as a shaman and failed due to an alien block on her mind. "This is the best you could do?" she thought irritably through her link with Wolf, though it felt noticeable fainter now than she was used to.

"I'm sorry Sheliah, I dare not take us any closer than this. I can already feel the ominous energy surrounding the stones trying to sap my strength. Once you are in you will be alone as any mortal. I don't know what you plan but...be careful Sheliah."

"Great," Sheliah thought sarcastically as she cut their connection. In truth the wolf shaman wasn't defenceless, otherwise she would be a victim as well. She bore around her neck an amulet infused with Wolf's own energy she had syphoned over the years, thinking she never knew when she would need the extra power. And a knife with a curved tip usually used for cutting roots but, as she knew from a once accident, also deadly.

As she made her way to the spirit stones, an increasingly ominous wind blew her way, making herself want to curl up inside and shrink away from whatever she found on top.

What she found at the top was a dome of energy. A swirling, pulsating dark dome with flickers of red running through it. Her senses screamed to run, she knew she would probably die but... "I will not let it come back, and I will not let it take the life of my mate," she growled, slowly approaching it.

Suddenly she felt it through their bond. Her mate's life was trickling away inside there. "No!" She growled out. Throwing caution to the wind, Sheliah threw herself at the dome, passing through as her pendent glowed and took the brunt of the energy sapping dome.

She saw the spirit stones from the inside, the animals etched in them glowing an ominous dark colour. In at its centre lay a mass of fur. Taking a few steps closer, she saw it seemed to be six small fox kits...and they were feeding from her mate? No...these were the remains of Diablo. She could see her mate Dusk in a feral form, she seemed to have breasts but they were tiny...and she was hardly breathing now.

"No...No!" She cried out, running towards the group to interrupt the feeding. But suddenly one broke away from Dusk whilst the rest finished feeding on her, suddenly turning into a miniature demonic looking winged bull and flung itself at her, knocking her backwards before going back to help finish the dying vixen off.

"N...no. Leave her alone..." Sheliah growled, shakily standing back up, but with every rush towards Dusk another would peel off and charge her. "Please...stop it..." Sheliah cried, tears forming in her eyes. More than the bruising from the numerous hits she could feel the pain as her mate died.

She tried to summon upon her shaman training to shift form into a wolf for more speed and power, but to her dismay the negative dome had cut off all ties from the spirit plane and she was powerless.

As she lowered her head, tears rolling down her eyes, she cried and hoped the demon revived would finish her off quick. She couldn't live knowing she had failed and let her mate die like this. That she had failed in both her duties as a shaman, and as her spirit mate and lover. A sudden squeal caused her head to whip upwards as an orange glow seemed to pierce through the darkness of it all. "Wh-what?" She hiccuped as standing before her seemed to be the ghost of an orange fox.

The mini foxes had all changed into small winged demon bulls and all were riving in pain from the presence. " What are you waiting for? Kill them quick!" he said in a distinct Asian accent.

Sheliah quickly recovered her wits before grabbing her curved dagger and launched herself at the squealing mass. One, two, three, four, five. She killed them all with quick, decisive slashes to the throats, each vanishing in a furious squeal of pain and leaving a brief glimpse of parts of Dusk's life before the life force returnedto their owner. The dark dome vanished with the only remaining miniature demon looking around with fury in its eyes before trying to flee. "Oh...no...you...DON'T!" Sheliah howled. Finally able to summon upon the strength of Wolf, she ran and flung her clothing off, turning into a smoky grey feral wolf and launched herself at the fleeing demon, feeling it die under her jaws with a satisfying shriekbefore dissolving. As the energy flowed back into Dusk, Sheliah caught a glimpse of images, of blood soaked paws and her crying.

Sheliah reverted back to her normal self, feeling the life flow back into Dusk's body before grunting. Falling onto her hands and knees, her bare ample chest swaying with the motion, she staggered up onto her feet before looking around. There huddled into a ball was her mate Dusk. "Dusk, DUSK!" Sheliah cried out, running towards her. Flinging her arms around the vixen. Feeling her shaking violently, she brushed a hand over her head"shh its okay Dusk, everything is okay," she said in a soothing voicebefore she found herself pushed away.

"Sheliah...it isn't the fact I almost died..." Dusk said, her face fur tear streaked. "In fact I wish you'd let them. Sheliah...I remember everything now. I was never born here, my father was Asian and my mother American and I...was an assassin, a ninja. Sheliah...I killed my own mum...with these hands."

*

Needless to say Sheliah was stunned at her mates revelation, but she refused to talk about it whilst they were both cold and weak here on this mountain. Summoning Wolf to their side, they were brought back to her mansion where she lay Dusk down to rest. Laying her nude form on the queen sized bed, she made to leave the large, spacious bedroom they shared only to find the vixens hand on her tail. "Sheliah...please wait," Dusk said, hardly above a whisper.

With both love and concern for her, Sheliah knelt at the bedside and held her mates paw in her own. "What is it my love?" the smoky furred wolf said in a tender tone.

Sitting up slowly so her back was against the headrest, Dusk stared at her mate with a mixture of emotions, pain and doubt were the most evident though however. "Back when...before I was put under that powerful memory lock. I had a target, I was not given the details just that the target was a threat to the clan. I was told to kill as efficiently as possible with little evidence remaining, so I threw a couple of miniature bombs in the car I had identified and...they were right. It was a threat to them."

Dusk trailed off, clutching at her chest as painful emotions caused her to hiccup, Sheliah held the distraught vixen's hand in her own, brushing her fingers through the fur on her back gently as she patiently waited for her to compose herself. "When I found the wreckage...there was little left to identify. But...there was tattered corpses along with the wreckage so I started to pick through, bagging up as quick as I could. Then...I found it. My dad had married a cop and there I found the charred remains of my mothers head. My dad had always being careful to keep his secret life hidden, but the clan he served were becoming worried and wanted her gone, believing my dad would honour the old codes and understand why. He didn't..."

Dusk gave a shuddering breath as fresh tears streamed down her face fur. "Dusk my love...enough. Please rest," Sheliah said, trying to push her down onto the mattress but to her surprise she had her hand pushed aside.

"No...I need to...otherwise I will never rest," she said with a soft fox growl before straightening herself in bed. "I was destroyed inside...I hadn't seen my mum in a year. She was married to her job more than my dad but I knew she loved me. But she had been busy on a big case and due to the danger, she had to have protection. Feeling torn from within I blundered around the streets, not caring who saw me until I found my way to the clan headquarters, only to see my dad there cutting down the last of the members. "Dusk," he told me in a dead voice, all bloodied and cut, "Daughter. I am sorry...I had no idea the clan would take such action. They chose you purely out of spite, wishing to see our family torn apart for the danger they felt they had been put in. But now...they have sealed their own doom." "With that, he collapsed onto me, bleeding out as I cried and cried, unable to feel anything but unending pain and sorrow. But before he died...he whispered an ancient incantation into my ear to save me, to spare me from all the scarring...to change my memory and shield my mind, and then the rest is as it has been."

Dusk sat there shaking, looking a complete mess as she seemed unable to stop the flow of tears. Sheliah stared on dumbfounded, what could she hope to do for her compared to the weight of the pain that was crushing her love? "Comfort her, you idiot," Wolf rebuked her.

Berating herself for allowing her loves emotions to begin drowning reason out of her mind, Sheliah sat next to the sobbing vixen. "Dusk...I can't tell you what to do, or how painful all this must be. I can only assume it is destroying," Sheliah said in a calm voice, pulling Dusk to lay next to her on the bed and held the vixen to her chest.

Clutching onto her fur, Dusk gave a shrieking cry into her chest, the sound and intensity causing the older wolf to flatten her ears and her own eyes to tear up at the pain in the voice.

Giving her a few more minutes to calm down, Dusk's breathing became less erratic and started to eventually slow into more even breaths. Eventually she shifted her body to tilt her eyes up at her love, sore from all the crying and looking completely lost. "Sheliah...my life is a lie...I don't know what I should do. Even before I was possessed I was a killer...I..."

Suddenly Sheliah slapped her muzzle, silencing her. The vixen just froze with her head to one side. "Dusk, I will tell you what matters right now," she said in a low, serious tone before pulling her muzzle round to look her squarely in the eyes. Her gaze looked fearful for a moment. The blue orbs quivering in their sockets before the slap finally seemed to register. "You will go back to how things were with us, living with me as your mate. Nothing about our time was fake in the least, and I love you as much as I ever did and if you choose to throw your life away, be sure I will be behind you because I can't imagine a life without you."

"Sh-Sheliah..." Dusk hiccuped as she met her violet purple eyes, feeling a wash of calm flow into her from her spirit mate.

Rubbing at where she had been slapped Sheliah suddenly felt very guilty about it but Dusk seemed to pick up on her feelings and cupped the wolf's muzzle. "Don't worry about it Sheliah, I know you did it to snap me out of it. I would have ended up destroying myself if I had gone on like that for much longer."

Seeking her hand out, Dusk leaned up to kiss Sheliah. It was a long, lingering, heated and wet kiss from all the turmoil but it was filled with the love she had for her. Pulling away, she rested her head on Sheliah's breasts as the wolf gently ran her hands through the brimstone coloured hair.

Time seemed to stop still as the two just let the others presence soothe and drown out the rest of the world. But eventually Dusk sighed, knowing there were things left unresolved in Japan. "Sheliah...I need to investigate what happened to my father, and to my mother. I need to pay my respects and get answers."

"Dusk...you're not going to seek revenge?" Sheliah said in a worried tone, sitting up so Dusk rolled off to the side.

"No...but I need to make sure the past doesn't come back to haunt me or you again. I need to make sure there is none of that clan left to chase me and endanger you. No I won't kill anyone, just spread word where it is needed that the entire clan died and that I had my head cut off and dropped into the ocean were no one will be able to find proof. Besides, they won't even recognise me now with my changed look."

*

A week later the phone rang "Hello?" Sheliah said not recognising the number that flashed up on the small screen.

"Hey love, guess who?" Dusk's voice came from the other end.

"Dusk?" Sheliah gasped in surprise before quickly taking her gardening equipment off from tending to her exotic herbs and sat on an old, comfy chair.

An excited yip came from the other end, Dusk had agreed not to phone because of the cost but damn it she needed to hear her mates voice. "Its good to hear you again Sheliah," Dusk was unable to keep the purr out of her voice at talking to her love after two weeks apart.

"Oh Dusk, I have been so concerned about you but this call alone must be costing you a fortune," she said and suddenly grew concerned. "Is everything okay?" she said with her wagging tail hanging still.

"Don't worry Sheliah, things are fine. I visited my parents grave and recited some verses I remember, wishing them peace in the next life. And I also found out a will was left in my name, but it did take some convincing I was the heir. Good news is we are slightly richer so you can relax about cost. And don't worry, the benefactor knew about my father's involvement with the clan and have given me their word they will take the fact I survived to the grave with them."

"I'll consider myself rich when you are back home and in my bed," Sheliah purred into the phone, making the younger vixen giggle on the other end. "Also...there is one more surprise for you when you get home before we begin your initiation into the world of shamans," the smoky grey wolf said softly, her hand drifting over her belly with a tender smile on her muzzle.

"_Oh? Can't wait to see it!"_Dusk said excitedly on the phone.

"No, neither can I," Sheliah whispered, imagining hir face when shi got home, a grin creeping to her muzzle.

The end?

Let me know if you wish for a part 5. Working with Dusk as a character has been really fun but the way life has been and lack of support it has been hard to keep writing.