Chapter 17 Your Brother is a Werewolf

After they had located and calmed down Todd. Everyone started to head back North towards home. Todd was still filled with many questions that had to be answered about his new life. Ulf left Toby to do all the explaining as he put up his guard remaining aloof around the pup.

"So, am I allergic to Silver now?"

"Nope, silver is okay, but just don't eat too much Chocolate, Alcohol, or Caffeine" Toby explained.

Todd laughed nervously. "Yea..." he muttered before he went into a depression. "This sucks"

"Hey, Wolves love Beef Jerky though. I just love to rip and tear into it. It's like chocolate to humans" Toby said. He sighed. "I could go for some Jerky right now too" he muttered.

Todd laughed. "I actually haven't had jerky that much" he said.

"Trust me you'll have weird cravings for not just jerky...I have eaten dog biscuits on certain occasions..." He said before he blushed as Ulf looked back at him amused.

Todd looked at him grossed out. "Dog biscuits?" He raised his voice.

Toby nodded. "Yea, but that's when I'm really desperate. I'll sneak some of my teacher's dog biscuits and eat them. It's oddly satisfying" he said.

"Feh, you have no taste" Ulf muttered in shame and disgust.

Todd laughed. "Why were you so desperate to sneak doggie treats?" He asked.

Toby sighed. "I usually eat around 11:50 to 12:05, and I get hungry before lunch. That's not usually a good thing for me...or anyone. It's very painful, makes me grumpy, and it makes me less productive you know? I have transformed before because of it. I usually have a snack at the beginning of class before lunch, so I don't end up slipping up. Even if I have a school lunch it's not enough to hold me over either. I have another snack when the last class begins" he said.

Zoe glanced over at him amused. "Did you tell him about our...other werewolf powers?" Toby stared at her not wanting to get too carried away with things, which she beamed with pride and stuck her tongue out. He wished she would accidently bite it as Todds eyes lit up. "You see all of us here are at such high a level that we can do some pretty freaking cool stuff"

"Like what?" Todd asked.

Zoe smirked evilly, and she started to pump up her muscles without transforming. Todd's jaw dropped starting at a body that would put any bodybuilder to shame. "This is a technique called embellishment. See, I can transform certain parts of me independently. I have master transformation" Zoe boasted.

"Have you turned Lycaon yet?" Toby retorted.

Zoe's pride took a hit, and she glared at him. "For your information, I am very close to unlocking that form!"

"So, is Toby using this embellishment thingy right now? Is that why he always looks so jacked up?"

Toby instantly snarled at him causing him to run closer with Zoe before she finally said, "If you have ever seen Toby in his therian form, then you'll know just how huge he could pump up his muscles. You know, he could pop your head open with two fingers...he doesn't need embellishment to do that"

Todd ran closer with her after this. "You're joking right?"

"I can split open a watermelon with my fingers...and crush a coconut. Nothing to it. I bet your head would feel like butter to him" Zoe continued.

Todd squirmed and whimpered before Ulf glanced back at the two of them. They all gulped then Ulf eyed Todd especially. "I would suggest to you to stay at Lily's...Lilian's home. You can unwind there and hang out with Tommy and Phoebe. It would be best for us to teach your folks how to care for our kind"

"Ulf...do you even think that his father would have anything to do with us?" Zoe asked.

"Well see what kind of man he is" Ulf muttered lowly.

"This isn't going to end well" Toby remarked.

They had gotten several blocks away from their house. Zoe split off and went off towards her house. Todd glanced over at Toby curiously. "So, are you going to be my Big Brother?"

Toby rubbed the back of his head laughing nervously. "Sure...I'll be your Big Werewolf Brother"

"Awesome, I'm sure my parents are going to freak when I get back, but with you it will be a lot easier" Todd said relieved to be on good terms with them at least.

"Yea, well...they are going to have to adapt to having a werewolf living in the house. I bet Sasha and Makita are very excited too"

Todd sighed. "How much will I need to eat exactly?" He asked remembering how Toby and Tommy behaved around food.

Toby paused for a moment. "Well, I usually ate about 6 pounds a day, but now I could eat 6 pounds in one sitting. Actually, I could eat 50 pounds in one sitting if I wanted to" He said as he rubbed the side of his head feeling it sounded like hyperbole as he never had to.

Todd looked at Toby nervously. "I'd bet" he said. He grinned. "So where do you get all this food?" He asked.

"We hunt obviously. It's what we do" Ulf stated sounding rather annoyed at such a stupid question.

"I'm really sore. I don't think I can go any farther" Todd complained.

Toby picked Todd up and put him on his shoulders. "Well, hop aboard the Toby Express. Please keep arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times, and please stay seated in the vehicle until the ride has come to a complete stop" he said.

Todd hesitantly grabbed onto Toby firmly. "Wait, Toby...This is a bad idea!...Whaaaaa!!!" he yelled as Toby shot off like a rocket. Toby weaved dangerously close around the trees, and he ran so fast that bugs splattered into Todd's and Toby's face.

Todd spat the bugs out from his mouth in disgust. "Yuck!" He muttered.

Up ahead a train's horn blared just as they got onto the tracks. He looked down the rails and saw they were running towards the noise. "What are you insane??" he yelled.

Toby laughed evilly to trying to give Todd a good scare, and the lights from the train focused on them as the train rounded the bend. Todd eyes went wide in horror. "Toby?" He screamed looking on either side seeing water on either side as they were obviously on a railroad trestle. He covered his eyes in terror waiting for the impeding collision with the million-pound behemoth, but he felt them go airborne. Toby jumped so high that they cleared the train locomotives and the exhaust from the fan blew hot air at them startling him. He uncovered his eyes seeing Toby land on the trailing locomotive then onto a box car.

"No way, how did you do that?!" Todd yelled as Toby kept running on top of the train jumping cars. Boxcars, Grain Hoppers, Center beams, Tankers and the logs flatbeds, and finally they reached the end of the train where he jumped off the last car. Toby landing on his feet and continued down the tracks all in one fluid motion showing his durability as he absorbed the weight from Todd.

"I thought you knew...good thing I knew I could clear that train or we'd be hamburger meat huh?" Toby said smirking.

"That's not funny Toby!!!" Todd yelled.

Toby felt something wet against the back of his neck. "Did you just piss yourself?" He muttered.

Todd whimpered. "I think I did...a little" He said embarrassed.

Toby's eye twitched. "Oh, great! It leaks" He said as he glared off into space. Toby jumped off the tracks and the fence landing into Todd's backyard. Toby set him down, and he held his hand bringing him strength as they walked in the house through the back door. "Well, we're back" He said.

Todd looked very unsure and worried as his mother came up to Toby and stared him down with her arms crossed before she cracked a smile. "Thank you, Mr. Wolf" She said. Toby blushed and let go of Todd as Sasha entered the room.

Sasha's mother looked at Todd, and her eyes welled up with tears. "Oh, my poor baby! I was so worried about you!!" She muttered giving him a big hug.

Toby heard two clicks behind him, and he turned to see Eric with a gun pointed at Toby's face. Toby's eye twitched as he backed up. Rage was beginning to fill him. "Really! I brought your son back safely, and I get a shotgun pointed at me as a reward!?" He yelled.

"Eric stop! Toby is a good werewolf!" Sasha yelled hugging Toby protectively, and she spun between them. "Please...I love him!" she said lowly. Makita soon took his side as well and growled at him.

Toby blushed before he nodded quickly. "Yea, yea, a good wolf" He said frantically.

"No, he's not! He made me wet myself!" Todd yelled.

Sasha looked back at Todd annoyed. "But you always wet yourself" she retorted.

Todd growled. "No, I don't!"

"What is this? A mutiny? You're all taking his side!?" Eric shouted.

His wife put her hand on his weapon and lowered it. "Eric, Listen to her! She knows him well enough to know he's not a threat. If he wanted to, he'd take us out in an instant. If you did manage to kill him, just remember...they are watching us" she said firmly before she pointed out Ulf standing on the roof of their shed.

Eric stared back at the cloaked werewolf and gulped. "It's just one"

"Eric, that wolf is one of their most elite Gamma wolves. That costume is not for just Halloween. Don't do something you'll regret" Sasha told him before they watched Ulf pull out a gun from his cloak and aimed it at Eric. Eric could tell that Ulf was wearing a bullet proof vest and zip ties at his hip.

Eric took the hint and completely lowered the barrel to the ground albeit his glance at Toby was with hatred and disdain. Everyone sighed, but Sasha watched her Eric skeptical with his cease fire. "How long did you known that he was a werewolf?" he asked.

Sasha touched her boyfriend's chest assertively. "I've known since we before we even started dating! Everyone knew...even grandma and grandpa know" she said as clutched onto her boyfriend's shirt. "Didn't you say you wanted me to be with a man who could protect me?" she asked.

His eye twitched. "I said a man not a fucking werewolf" he grumbled before he looked towards his son with mixed emotions. "What the hell am I going to do..." he murmured

"Listen, I know it's hard for you to accept, but Todd is still Todd. Just there are a few extra things we must do to care for him. They can help us" Sasha's mother told him.

"They are the enemy! They are attacking children"

"Are you that stupid!?" Toby shouted.

"Toby!" Sasha exclaimed.

"No! Once a Trumper, always a Trumper. Don't bother arguing with a racist. His mind is made up. He ain't going to change!" Toby spoke coldly.

Eric stared him down periodically gazing over at Ulf. "I know what you all are...I know what you all did!" he shouted.

"You don't know a fucking thing about us! You're just a sheep like your facebook buddies!" Toby shouted back.

"Eric! Toby! Please" Sasha's mother called out.

"Sasha! You're not to see him anymore!"

"You're not my dad!" Sasha shouted.

"Sasha please!" Her mother called out to her helplessly. Their family was evaporating before her very eyes. "If you're going to be like this, Eric then...I'm taking the kids someplace else. I'm not going to hear you talk about our son being a monster! Are you going to kill him?"

Eric growled. "What are we supposed to do on Full moons? Chain him up? Lock him in a cage like some monster!?" He shouted turning red.

Toby raised an eyebrow. "Sounds kind of kinky don't yea think?" he muttered before Sasha elbowed him in the side.

"Eric, It's simple. Just send him to Toby's house. It's not like we are without help" Sasha corrected him.

"Uh...oh yea make sure Todd eats plenty I cannot reiterate or stress this enough! He needs to eat like 2 pounds minimum of food each meal. Don't be late or skip them either. I can arrange some food to be brought for him. If he doesn't eat enough, he'll either go the Pica route and eat everything in sight, or he'll go towards the primal route and attack for no reason. Probably something you want to give an excuse to shoot him" he added.

Sasha glared at him. "You have a way with explaining things Toby. You're making Todd sound like he really is a monster" She said.

"You know what I'm like when I have to hold things in. Oh and, werewolves are very susceptible to high amounts of stress, so waving a gun around at me. Isn't the best of ideas. I'm putting a great deal of strength in resisting that urge to express my displeasure to you" he said as he held up an open palm.

He looked towards Sasha as she squeezed his wrist looking into his eyes intensely. She was both in fear of losing him and trying to tug her leash on him in her futile attempts to restrain him. He relented and pretended to relax. "In any case, Sasha's great with werewolves take it from me...she is...very soothing. I bet she could settle a whimpering pup down just by the tone of her voice..." he said.

She blushed. "...Really?" she muttered. She gave him a big hug and pressed her cheek into his abdomen. "You're so sweet" she told him. He defiantly stared Eric down as he reached around Sasha's back claiming her as his own giving a low protective growl. Sasha heard him and slapped at his chest knowing exactly what he was doing without even looking.

When she released him, he glanced over at Todd. He hid his concern, but Ulf called out to him. "Let's go!"

"Welp, it's past my bed time. Todd will be fine for now. Just take note of my tips, and you all should do fine" he said before he ruffled Todd's head and pushed it back as he would with Tommy. "Get some rest pup you're going to need it..."

Todd gulped. "So, am I going to be okay?" He asked. Toby nodded, and Todd frowned. "But what about if I can't eat?"

Toby gave off a low frustrated sigh obviously tired. "You have a mouth and paws don't you? You can eat"

"Ulf...can Toby stay the night here...just in case?" Sasha asked.

"No!" Eric protested.

"If there's a problem call him...you already know this"

Toby left them, but Ulf remained behind to express his feelings to the family. "Your son is a werewolf now, Mr. Thomas. It cannot be changed. The only thing you can do now is to put aside your preconceptions and continue to treat him as a son. I don't want him to end up like Toby. Unlike him, Todd has not been exposed you our ways...our culture"

He looked back towards her mother. "If you cause him to hate himself, he won't be motivated to improve himself. We will help train Todd with controlling his inner wolf to his best of his abilities, but...Most thralls refuse to accept their wolfiness and that's the first mistake, and...that's how...you create a monster" he said before looking at the ground. "I've spent twelve years trying to undo what his human grandmother did to him. I'm not impressed with your actions Mr. Thomas. To treat us like this after wasting three hours out of our hunting time to track down _your_son...I wouldn't have stopped him from turning that gun of yours into a suppository. The Alpha saw what you did through my mask...We all did" he finished.

Sasha's mother clutched her hand over her chest. "Please, my parents are coming over. My parents are retired agents with the Supernatural Affairs Ministry. They are very excited their granddaughter is dating a Wolfgang. Maybe they can tell Eric about you all...the truth this time"

"Hmph too bad, if only he knew what greatness that name carries. We Coopers may have dominated the west, but we didn't come anywhere close to saving the world...twice" He told them before he looked at Sasha sternly. "They have told you, haven't they?" he said.

"Um...something about Nazis creating supersoldiers and a Soviet-Canadian Shield War?" Sasha muttered.

"That's kind of right...they can tell you more" He said before he let out a deep yawn before he pulled out his phone. Todd slowly walked up the stairs to his room, and he watched carefully before he looked back at his parents remembering something. "I'll get you the food you will need for tomorrow. Just wait a sec" He said.

He ran out and dashed back to the house. Lilian was on the couch sipping a wine cooler where she looked up at him. "So, I take it you find Todd?" she asked.

He stopped and looked at her giving a quick nod. "The father isn't taking it well as expected"

"Yea well...I suspected that their marriage was on the rocks to begin with" Lilian told him.

"She threatened to take the kids away. Pretty sure they'll divorce" He told her as he opened the door to the garage.

She followed him inside had hung by the door looking down at him longingly. "Wacha doin?" she asked cutely.

"Just getting Todd supplies for tomorrow. You know this is real fucked up that he's going to have to deal with a hunter for parental guidance" He rambled on.

"Oh...right..." She said lowly before her eyes wondered to the bottle. He slowed down and looked back at her. "...That's probably a good idea. They'd go bankrupt trying to feed him" she said. She flicked the bottle into the recycle can. She farther processed an observation she made earlier. "Come to think of it, Sasha's father isn't that spectacular of a hunter. His deductive skills are as sharp as a feather" she said.

She looked up at him and smiled seductively. "Speaking of having another mouth to feed" she said as her voice turned sultry. "I wanna try for one"

He looked at her oddly poking his head out of the freezer door. "Really? Now?" he asked.

She picked out another wine cooler and tore off the cap. "Yes now..."

He gulped and could tell the shewolf was dead serious. She licked her lips and shifted her hips. "I've been waiting for hours for you to get your ass home. You better hurry" she told him.

He bit the inside of his cheek as he pulled out a huge amount of meat and kicked the door shut paying extra care not to break it this time. There was still a very loud slam, and the Freezer shook knocking against the wall. He carted the food through the living room with a few sausage links dangling behind him.

She looked at him and chuckled. "I find it ironic that Sasha's brother became a Thrall instead of her becoming one. Those two are so close together after all" She said.

Ulf looked back at her sternly. "Is she pregnant?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's pregnant"

"And you want another pup?"

"Yes! Quit stalling!" Lilian raised her voice before she went back inside.

Ulf rushed outside and brought back the meats where Sasha's parents were at the door looking down the cul-de-sac at him in disbelief.

"You have got to be joking that's enough to last us for a week!" Her mother yelled.

"Trust me this is barely going to last you a day" He said.

Sasha's parents looked at him like he was insane. "You're pulling our leg" Her mother said.

"I'm afraid not" He told her carefully avoiding mentioning that the meat was also for Sasha and her unborn. "Just thaw these out. We eat more during the winter, so just letting you know in advance okay?" He said.

Ulf carrying the meat into their kitchen, and he set the meats on the table as Sasha mother walked in. She started helping him put the meat into the freezer, and she smiled warmly. "I'm glad to have you all around" she said before she laughed to herself. "I had a feeling that I would have a son-in-law that was supernatural. Once she got into those Monster girl dolls, I realized this" she said.

"Son-in-law? You feel that strongly" he inquired.

She nodded. "Well of course...She's been very much into the supernatural since she was three years old" she said before she blushed. "What I mean to say is..." she said as she looked up to see Sasha running downstairs nervously showing her a positive pregnancy test.

"Mom...what am I going to do" she asked. She was shaking terrified with this confirmation.

Ulf did not flinch to the news instead he finished stalking the fridge. Before he closed the door, he finally said to her calmly, "I brought extra meat incase you wish to follow through with it"

Many emotions were hitting her like a ton of bricks as her head spiraled trying to type a coherent text message to Toby. "I need you, right now" --Sasha 1:45

Ulf headed out the front door and stopped to look at Eric who sat in his chair on the porch staring out onto the cul-de-sac. He got up and stomped his way to his truck and drove off. Ulf ran his fingers over his temple and rubbed it. He could hear Toby sneaking into the house from the backdoor.

•••

Toby came into the scene seeing Sasha in tears and her mother eyeing him like a hawk. Sasha showed him the test, and he stared at it before he sighed heavily. "I had a feeling" He muttered. He crossed his arms over his chest and thought to himself over it. "Do you remember what my mother told you?"

"Yes...I know. I want to have this pup with you...but...I dunno" Sasha muttered.

Toby leaned into the counter and ran his fingers through his hair. "I know...if things aren't the way that they are right now. I don't want to die leaving you saddled up with a pup"

"Toby, don't say that...you aren't going to die" She told him before she bit her lip. "I want this"

"What did your mother tell her?" Her mother asked.

"She told me if I was turned into a werewolf while pregnant then the baby would..." Sasha tried to explain before her mother interrupted.

"I see"

"Toby can you please stay the night?" Sasha asked him.

Without even answering, he walked up to her and wrapped his arm around her. She leaned up against him and walked with him upstairs. Once he got into her room, she tugged at his shirt. "Can I cuddle with your Therian form tonight?"

He took his clothes off where she came over to him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Good night Toby" She said blushing.

Toby's heart pounded like crazy, and he smiled. "Gute Nacht" He said. He blushed. "Ich liebe dich" He muttered. She looked at him oddly about those last words and she pulled out her phone and repeated those words into it using a translation app.

"I love you" The phone said back, which her heart pounded so heavily that it felt like it was going to burst from her chest. She smiled quickly and wrapped her arms around him as he transformed between them. "I love you too, big bad"

•••

In the middle of the night while Toby was sound asleep. Sasha was on her tablet doing some research when her friends popped up on the skype. Terra called her on video call, which Sasha accepted the call. Her heart was still fluttering with the delight after her lovers words. Terra noticed this and beamed with satisfaction.

"How's wolf boy?" she asked.

Sasha smiled awkwardly. "Mom and Dad know" she said amused.

Terra stared at her in horror. "What!? How did they react?" she shrieked.

Sasha laughed lowly. "Dad pointed his gun at him, what else did you expect?" she said. She sighed. "Mom and I had to stop them from going at each other's throats" she said.

"Wow! You must really love him to do something like that" Terra teased.

Sasha smiled happily, but she felt Toby stir and his snoring ceased. "Yea, I really do. I've been thinking what it be like to have him as a husband <blushes>. Be careful, my mom might find out if we talk out loud"--Sasha 2:05

":o You really are thinking about that!?" --Terra 2:06

Sasha gulped. "Is that too soon!?" --Sasha 2:06

"If you really feel that way about him, and he does the same way to you, then it's up to you two to unite and bask in each other's aura" --Terra 2:06

Sasha blushed. "I really do think he's the right one for me. Though we might have basked in each other's aura too much already and a tiny aura popped up" --Sasha 2:07

"I noticed. I was wondering why Clare teased you at the party. Being a succubus, she might be jealous" --Terra 2:07

More club members came online and joined the video conversation. "Hey" she said greeted them.

"What's up?" Tim asked.

"Todd's a werewolf now" Sasha blurted out.

"What!?" they all shouted.

"Did big bad do this?" Percy asked.

Sasha laughed. "Of course not! I was making out with him the whole time when this all went down!" she said before she blushed slightly.

"How is Todd?" Rea asked.

"He's doing fine, but dad got his ass chewed out by one of the Gamma wolves" Sasha said.

Rea's eye's widened. "Whoa! Really? Is he hurt?" she asked.

Sasha laughed. "Lol, not literally. I'm pretty sure Zoe's dad would hurt him badly if he got in though" she answered.

"Gamma?" a newcomer asked.

"Okay, so there are several classes. Classes? I'll call them classes. Okay, so there's the Alpha who are top dog. The Elders consult with the Alpha and pick out talent. Beta who are in control of smaller area. There are the Gamma wolves who are like the werewolf police/military. The Delta wolves are highly educated like Doctors, Teachers, Scientists, Engineers, and...hackers. Then there are Epsilon they are average. You don't want to call anyone of them Omega though. I'm still like trying to figure out more about them, be what I know about this wolf that scolded my dad is rumored to torture werewolves...probably some humans" she said.

Kari and Clare both joined the chatroom

"Looks like you're getting in deep with this werewolf stuff..." Percy added.

"Sasha, I'm really worried about you. I don't know what's going on, but people are talking over here. Something big is happening is it?" Tim asked.

Sasha frowned. "I can't really tell you too much, I'm still trying to understand it all myself. Apparently, this thing with the wolves has been going on for two hundred years maybe more. I can tell some of the wolves are protective over me already, and there are literally hundreds of them...in one family" she said.

"Jesus! For real?" a newcomer asked.

"I can attest to that. They always start so young too" Clare chimed in.

"You know if I didn't see that video, I would have thought you were making this all up. Just stay close to big bad and Zoe. They are more than capable in keeping you safe" Terra said.

"Um, we can hold our own, thank you very much!" Kari protested.

"Can you imagine the furry little werewolf puppies that Sasha will give birth to?" Tim teased.

Sasha huffed. "Hey! I think they would be cute! Too bad they aren't able to transform until puberty"

"Wait, what happens when a child gets bit?" Tim asked.

"Todd almost died on that account that his brain was literally being fried, so...I would say probably children would not survive an infection" Sasha stated.

There was a creak at the door, and Todd poked his head in. "Sasha?" he asked.

Sasha looked at the door and frowned before she sat her tablet down. "What is it Todd?" she asked.

He frowned. "Are you going to be a werewolf too?" he asked.

She blushed. "Um...Toby and I am going to have to be with each other for a little longer, but yea...I have a feeling that I will be a werewolf eventually" she said as she rubbed her shoulder nervously.

He whimpered. "Is mom and dad mad?" he asked.

She gulped. "I think they are more worried than mad at you" she said.

He started to tear up. "What's going to happen to me?" he asked as Makita licked at his hand.

She got out of bed and walked over to him. "Hey, we've got Toby, his mom, his pack, and even Zoe and her pack...They won't let anything bad happen to you" she said as she hugged him. "Just relax...you aren't going to be left to fend for yourself" she said. She did her best to soothe him by rubbing his back gently.

"I'm hungry..." he said.

She laughed softly. "Good thing they all brought you some food then, huh?" she said before she took his hand. His claws touched her delicate flesh as he held onto her, and she gulped as they walked towards the kitchen. "So has mom and dad been treating you differently?" she asked. He looked up at her sad and nodded slowly. She sighed heavily. "They just need to get used to you" she said as she opened the freezer.

He let go of her hand and sat at the table. He looked outside through the blinds, and he looked over the fence into the forest and saw a pair of yellow eyes peering back at him. He yelped. "Werewolf!" he yelled.

She looked back at him closing the microwave door. "Where?" she asked before she pushed the button. He pointed outside, and she walked out the sliding glass door looking around. She saw nothing, and she looked back at him noticing he had shift slightly. "There's no one here...you silly pup. That was your own reflection" she said.

A cloaked masked person appeared behind her. Todd shrieked, and she saw the reflection, and she immediately turned throwing a punch at the person. The person caught her fist before she looked at the mask. Todd quickly ran back and hid behind the corner watching nervously as his sister handled the trespasser. He whimpered pathetically and stayed perfectly still.

His sister gasped. "Oh, you're a Gamma...I'm so sorry about trying to punch you" she apologized.

"It's alright, I thought you we sent you a text" The Gamma said. The voice was encrypted and sounded very distorted.

Sasha shook her head. "No, my phone is upstairs charging" she said.

She looked at the tall gamma from head to toe, which she said saw wide hips as well as long black hair with a familiar blue highlight. "Zoe? You're a Gamma?" she asked in disbelief.

Zoe giggled as she let go of Sasha's fist. "Yea? You got a problem with that?" she asked as she placed a hand on her hip.

Sasha rubbed her sore hand. "Man, I can see why you're a gamma...well...first hand" she said laughing uncomfortably.

The tall female gamma laughed at her joke. "I'm the Strongest of the Females of course. I think I'm rubbing off on you" she boasted.

Sasha made a face at her and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why are you scaring my brother?" she asked.

Zoe sighed. "My father told me to help keep an eye on your family until he was done with whatever he was doing with mom...Don't make me think about it either" she said before she gently pushed her back inside. "Go back inside, there's been a thrall sighting in the Sherwood Forest. We think they may be that priest again" she said before she shut the door.

"But Toby's inside, why can't you got and catch...wait! Are you even a gamma?" Sasha protested.

"Okay, I may have taken one of my brother's cloaks. I just needed to get out of the house" Zoe said finally coming clean. "Also...congrats"

Sasha blushed and bit her lip. "Why are you congratulating her?" Todd asked.

"It's none of your business!" Sasha snapped at him.

"Uh, yea...so...sorry...just a habit we have" Zoe muttered sensing the sensitivity of the subject. "Have you spoken to Gwen?"

"No, I have not spoken to Gwen!" Sasha grumbled.

"Okay, okay! Yeesh"

Todd wondered back into the kitchen and looked at his sister curiously. "Do we need to get Toby?" he asked.

Sasha walked over to the microwave after hearing it beep for the umpteenth time and sighed heavily. "No, let him sleep" she said pulling out the meat. She set the meat in front of him and smiled. "Eat up" she said.

Zoe watched as he began to tear into the food, and he soon stared at his empty hands shocked at how quickly he finished it. He let out a deep yawn before he looked up at his sister groggily. "G'night" he said before he picked up his plate.

She smiled warmly. "G'night, wuffboy" she said ruffling his head playfully.

He smiled happily setting his plate in the sink, and he was about to leave for his room when Makita whimpered looking up at the sliding glass door. There was a light tapping on the glass, before his sister opened the blinds seeing with a bigger male Gamma beside her. She opened the door, and Makita poked her head out. "Yes?" she asked.

"Turn the TV on channel 2" the big Gamma said with a very masculine voice. Not even the voice encryptor could hide it.

Sasha gulped. "Would you like to come in? Maybe tell me what else is going on?" she asked.

He nodded and walked in which Zoe had her arms crossed over her chest. "What is it now, Beo?" He turned on the TV, and Sasha and Zoe looked at the TV screen in dismay.

A breaking News Banner appeared on the bottom of the screen with pictures of Graffiti on the buildings saying "The new age is at hand!" and "Tic-tock! Time is running out!". "If you're just tuning in now a 15th building has been discovered with another disturbing message this time at Beaverton Transit Center. The FBI has confirmed that the messages were written with human blood" the news anchor said.

Sasha gasped. "That is horrible! Is Ian doing this?" she asked.

He sighed in exhaustion. "No, but I think his minions have a hand in the killings no doubt"

She gulped. "Shouldn't you tell Toby this? This is kind of important don't you think?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I don't have enough information to give him that he doesn't already know. I just wanted to know what the public knows so far. He'll find out what happened in the morning; I don't want him to lose sleep over this" he said before he looked towards Sasha. "Oh, and congratulations"

Sasha growled to herself. "What did you tell everybody!?" she raised her voice at Zoe. Beo pointed to his nose, which she grumbled to herself lowly. "Of course"

"You know Sasha...this isn't as bad as you think. We all knew this was bound to happen. You know cause he's big and hunky...and big" Zoe explained.

"Zoe, Toby's mom has been lecturing all of us on not being a statistic and get preggers at 17"

"Eh, what are you gunna do? It's not like he'd be some deadbeat omega. None of us would allow any wolf to abandon family obligations. I think you could do it, nuff said"

"Zoe, please...you all think that pups are all something to celebrate, but..."

Zoe made a face before Beo shut the TV off. "You can go back home" he said.

Zoe sighed and crossed her arms over her chest in a huff. "Fine" she said before she left the house. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sasha" she said before closing the door behind her quietly.

He sighed heavily as he turned his attention towards her. "I'm sorry...It's breeding season. We forget that you humans are so wrapped up on going out on your own and night life. You wouldn't understand what it's like to be hunted down every waking moment of your life" he said.

"Don't assume what I don't know! I want my pups to have a stable future. I don't have any of that right now"

"Hmph, or so you think. Do what you want with Steele's grandchild"

Toby had come downstairs and could pick up with how upset Sasha was. He went to her side and wrapped an arm around her. "I don't know why you're all up in arms about this. I'll have plenty of pups with her. She doesn't have to have one right as soon as she gets one" he defended her.

Beo snorted. "You should have a lot more pride in your bloodline. You have no idea what power it has"

"I know just what power it has, Beo. You don't need to remind me. Jean has told me everything. So, she can do this when she's ready"

"Has he? Have you told her that we're on a verge of a major conflict? You know, the kind that can get many of us killed?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's going to be a war, Toby. I don't know why you don't get it. This is not going to end well"

She looked towards the floor in dismay. "I really hate being a burden. Having a baby would make this worse than just me being human" she said.

"You're not a burden"

"Talk to Gwen...at least talk to Lilian" Beo told them before he opened the door.

After Beo left, he went upstairs with Sasha. Again, she made him transform into his Therian form once more as she slowly sank back into his fur. "You know, you've always made me feel very safe. Knowing a pack of werewolves have my house surrounded...who care about me. It's kind of nice" she said, which he tried to hide his titter, but he could not.

"Well, you are a part of the pack after all"

She put her finger up to her lip at tapped it several times. "One more question..." she requested.

He stopped and looked back at her. "Yea?" he asked.

"So, is this all the equipment you have for Gamma duties? Just the cloak and mask?" she asked.

•••

The next day there was a knock-on Lilian's front door. Toby was in the bathroom taking a shower reflecting on what could might be his future with his girl, Sasha. His mother was downstairs serving breakfast to Tommy and Phoebe before she opened the door. She saw who was there, and she gasped. "Oh Randall, Gwen...please come in!" She said excited. In Gwen's arms was a relatively large newborn resting peacefully.

Randall and Gwen both came in although Randall had to duck out of reflex like Toby would. They entered before Randall snickered to himself. "So, has anything new happened?" he pried.

"Oh, you know...Toby's grown about a couple inches since you were here last and..." she said before she set down a pitcher of iced tea and cups on the coffee table as they all sat around the couch. "So, how did you all deal with Jack when Selene first got pregnant?" she said.

Gwen glanced over at her husband who did not seem to have much grievances over the subject. "Oh, um? Fairly well oddly enough" she asked.

"Well, up until Covid and the fire. That made things unnecessarily difficult" Randall added in. He ran his fingers through his hair. "We've lost so much of our hunting grounds...I'm grateful that the rains came before it got to our dens. I don't know how many hours I went without sleeping"

"I heard that Sasha's expecting a little one?" Gwen blurted out. The baby started to stir and then cry, but like a pro, Gwen lifted the baby's blanket over her chest and adjusted herself to nurse the hungry pup. "I was thinking about maybe having Sasha experience what it's like to take care of a werepup"

Randall did not seem to keen on the idea, but Lilian thought for a moment. "Are you going to assist her or..."

"I thought I'd share my experience with the whole being human while pregnant with a werepup...Maybe she'll know if she's ready or not"

"Well...I suppose"

"Hmph, don't they do those childrearing things in home economics or health class?" Randall asked.

"Randall, how many classes have you take care of a werepup?" Gwen retorted.

"There's no difference"

"There's a huge difference...you just don't know how to take care of a human child"

"I know how to care for a human child"

"Didn't you tell me that you didn't date a human who had human children? Because you were scared of them?"

"I didn't say I was scared of them! I didn't want one blurting out that their mom was dating a werewolf...which your son did by the way"

"Maybe if you weren't so...wolf like around him...he wouldn't have known or feared you" Gwen finished before she looked up at Toby walking down the stairs smiling. "Hey Toby! Boy you look just as big as Randall"

Randall snorted before he asked, "How's that internship at the Zoo going?"

"Um...it's going quite well actually" Toby told him before he looked over at Gwen. "Why are you all doing up here?"

"I've come to share our pup. He was just born a couple days ago"

"Trying to coax Sasha into having a child like Beo and Zoe tried to do?" Toby asked.

Gwen rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. "Oh please, I only want to educate her. She must be real scared right now"

"So, I'm assuming she going with him up to the mountain for Solstice?" Randall asked.

Lilian nodded. "That she is" she said while she pouring everyone iced tea. "Now that her brother has been turned...though, her father has gone off the rails some" she said.

"Oh, I heard about him. I would watch out for him. I've told Bernie that he should have you all relocated" Randall suggested.

"I don't want to move!" Phoebe protested.

"I don't think we're there yet, but...if we have to, then we'll move. It's wouldn't stop them from tracking us. Toby's too high profile" Lilian told him.

"Let's talk about something more pleasant" Gwen suggested before she said, "You know I heard, it's supposed to be a harsh winter this year. Once you're there in the mountains, you might be snowed in. You know Toby, you could really show off how great a hunter you are"

Tommy and Phoebe laughed at that notion. "A hunter? More like a bystander!" Tommy stated.

Randall crossed his arms over his chest. "I heard from Ulf and Bernie. Rumor has it that you went full wolf on them when you went hunting last night"

Toby rubbed his arm awkwardly unsure whether or not this was a scolding. Randall smirked looking him over. "Not bad...don't know why your so insecure if you could do that. Maybe this football stuff was all you needed...or is it that you found out you can do something Zoe can't do?"

"I can't control it...not completely. My wolf is in full control. I'm there, but I'm not there"

"Going Lycaon form is like that for any that go that far. That's only because what triggers a Lycaon shift is not a common emotion a werewolf would ever experience. Numbness. I've been there before. I've been stuck like that before. Only a wolf whose been through many traumatic events could do something like this" Randall explained.

"So that's why you all were upset when he transformed" Lilian asked.

Randall nodded. "Yea...we all knew what you have to go through to do it, and he's young. Most wolves who go Lycaon only do it because of being in wars and combat. It's why it's glorified by other wolves. A badge of bravery and strength. For a young one...it only leaves to the imagination what sort of abuse they went through"

Lilian looked away feeling ashamed, but Gwen reached over to touch her hand. "We know what happened, Lilian"

"Only you know...can you imagine what the other wolves will think?"

"But they don't know...all they know is Toby goes through rigorous training with Bernie and his family. That is how it happened" Randall explained. Phoebe and Tommy stared at their brother, but they actually felt bad about it all.

"Why did you tell them about this?" Toby asked.

"Because Toby! I think they need to know why this happened. I ain't going to pussyfoot around it like Bernie and Jean has just so no one gets hurt feelings! Yes, you have held things in, but it's not what has gotten you to feel this way" Randall spoke to him stern but not harshly.

"Toby, we care about you..." Gwen told him before she held out her son. "Would you like to hold the baby?"

Toby did not get much say in the matter as she pushed the infant into his arms. The pup did not fuss as he was now in Toby's possession. Gwen smirked and sat down observing him while propping her head up with her arm on the side of the couch. "You've done this many times before"

"Is his stomach supposed to gurgle like that?" Toby muttered.

"He's probably sucked in air. You might want to burp him or he might..." Gwen said before her newborn spit up all over Toby. "...Do that"

Toby stared at her annoyed as his siblings snickered at him. He handed back her child albeit without holding him like a sack of potatoes. "Why didn't you burp him yourself?"

"I'm teaching you" She told him before she started whipping milk off her son's face. "You're a natural at this. You knew something was wrong without me telling you. I just didn't tell you what to do fast enough"

He rolled his eyes before he went upstairs to go change. Gwen smiled at Lilian. "Ya know, they get those instincts young...don't they? At least the wolves do"

"Hmph, we're you expecting something else when you gave him Conri?"

"It just makes me happy to see it...also because he's got a child on the way" Gwen said before she handed Lilian her baby. "Any who, guess what Bernie has been cooking up?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, Bernie has been thinking about rebuilding the cabin on Steele's mountain. What do you think about that idea?" he asked.

Lilian frowned. "Is this for me or for Toby?" she asked.

Randall cleared his throat. "Well, it's more for Toby. Ulf already has a place in the mountains, doesn't he?" he asked.

"Seems far from the Zoo...don't you think?" Lilian asked.

"I think we can get him a much higher paying job...something that more suits what he's equipped for?"

"Steele's old job?"

"Yea...he's not meant to be working in a cage if you know what I mean" Randall stated.

"I guess...but...I don't know how he'd take it"

"Well, it would take a couple years to complete, but there will be many security upgrades and technological updates. It's his hunting grounds. He has a right to it" Randall stated.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I think this is something you should ask Toby...it could help him, but it could also trigger more heartache for him"

"Lilian...If he doesn't want to live there, Jean still plans to erect a proper memorial for Steele there. Everybody knows what Toby does during Solstice..." Gwen spoke up.

"Alright...I suppose"