Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2022 05:37:23 -0400
From: Ulf Raynor <ulfr57@gmail.com>
Subject: Devil Dawg Donnelly's: Revelations Chapter Fifteen

Standard disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to people
or actual events is purely coincidental.

You may contact the author at Ulfr57@gmail.com All comments, suggestions
and/or obsevations are welcome if presented respectfully.

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Devil Dawg Donnelly's: Revelations

Chapter Fifteen:


"Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death."
Omar N. Bradley


                         * * * * *


"Are you paying any attention to me or am I just talking to hear myself
talk?" Danal Cornelius fumed, doing his best to keep his growing
frustration under control while both Max and Carl continued to lay the
cement blocks to the foundational support walls of their future residence
at the Devil Dawg Compound.

As Carl meticulously cemented the blocks into place, Max turned to face his
old friend and mentor to regard him surreptitiously, with just a hint of
annoyance flickering across his countenance: "What would you have me do
Danal, put them over my knee, send them all to bed without supper?" Adding
stoically, but far more realistically: "I'm not even sure if that's even a
possibility anymore, they are a lot stronger than they are letting on and
both Carl and I agree, that alienating them now would be far more
detrimental than good, at least they're still open to discussion, even if
we disagree with what they are doing, and I'm not as sure as you are that
that is the case."

Carl finished scraping the last of the excess mortar from the block he was
working on and interjected observationally: "Wasn't it just a couple of
weeks ago we were all saying how others were interpreting the Codex was the
biggest problem currently with the Heritage and something needed to
change?"

Carl knew exactly how to goad Danal and this was no exception, as Danal's
response grew more irate: "Discussion is one thing, to completely disregard
entirely is another!"

"Isn't that exactly what you're doing right now?" Carl stated flatly, the
heat of the mid-day Georgia sun and the rising humidity wearing down his
own patience.

Max interjected before Danal could retort, with what Max was sure was a
sardonic rebuttal that would only irritate his mate further: "Why don't we
see about having a meeting with the boys later and figure out if they are
at least willing to sit down and have a discussion about the changes
they've enacted?"

Danal stiffened his back and shook his head: "I've tried repeatedly to get
them to understand how their reckless pack expansion is going to set off a
chain of events that will more than likely lead to an escalation of
aggression and hostility from other alpha's in our own Quorum let alone
those in other districts, but they refuse to listen to reason."

Carl chuckled sardonically: "And I bet you were ever so diplomatic and
*reasonable* when you did so, huh?"

Seeing the proverbial writing on the wall, and before Danal could further
incite a battle of wits with his mate, Max moved to stand between them,
blocking them from each other's view, while holding up a cautionary hand to
Danal: "I said I would arrange a meeting for tonight, why don't you and
Hadrian come to the Lodge at nineteen hundred hours and we'll discuss all
this then, okay?" Max's tone left no doubt that he considered the matter
closed.

Danal glowered at him for a moment before responding: "While I'll be there
promptly at seven, I'm afraid Hadrian won't be attending."

It was the way Danal had said it that made Carl query: "And why will
Hadrian not be in attendance?"

Danal's grimace was both somber and dower as their gazes locked: "Because
he left a little while ago. We both thought it best if the council was
apprised of what's going on here instead of hearing about it vicariously."

Max shot Danal a heated look, his arms folding over his chest: "And you
purposely waited until after the fact to inform me of this decision
counselor!"

It was the way Max had said *councilor* that first truly alerted Carl that
things were drawing dangerously close to a full-on confrontation and though
he found himself fully agreeing with Max, he had to admit, he had concerns
about the boy's brash decision to have Jason exceed the normal, long
adhered to protocols, established millenniums ago by a then, newly formed
Council of Greges in western Europe, which had only sought to bring an end
to the ceaseless infighting between various over reaching alpha's. It was a
tenuous peace at best, but one that had worked for well over a thousand
years now.

Many had attributed the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman empire
as the cause for its collapse, and while that was partially true, and a
contributing factor, the Codex painted an entirely different picture, one
in which the incessant infighting between packs, each seeking to expand and
establish themselves in a bid for power, did so by vicious and brutal
trials of combat, that left many of their kind wounded, maimed or dead,
just to fill the void in unifying leadership left behind in the wake of the
Progenitors absence.

It was with that thought in mind, Carl insinuated himself into their
conversation: "Maybe what we really need to do is to summon a Quorum and
let Jason and Billy explain their reasons to all the pack alpha's in the
District before word of mouth takes that possibility out of our hands and
they just start showing up, one by one, demanding answers."

Both Max and Danal turned to face him, each staring at him intently, a look
of mutual consternation only thinly veiling the thought-provoking
possibilities his query invoked.

"I knew there was a reason I married you and made you my beta..." Max
winked back at him, breaking the mounting tension between him and Danal.

Danal, still skeptical, though keenly aware that Carl often had a more
nuanced subtlety to his machinations, inquired thoughtfully: " And what do
you hope that will achieve, other than the potential hastening of raining
absolute chaos down on all of our heads?"

"I would have thought that obvious old man..." Carl smirked insidiously,
adding: "Max said it already, the boys are holding out on us, there's more
here than meets the eye, and by putting them in the hot seat, I think we
stand a good chance to see what kind of hand we've actually been dealt
here..."

Smiling devilishly, Danal interjected and with a twinkle in his eyes,
finished his train of thought for him: "Confronted by a room full of angry,
questioning alphas, they'll either have to put up or shut up and we'll have
our answers either way, and we'll be better prepared before representatives
from the Council randomly show up and take control of the situation away
from us."

"You two are incorrigible" Max chuckled, shaking his head side to side in
feigned indignation, though secretly admiring his mate's astute and cogent
plan, even if it was off the cuff.

Jason and his son, as well as that little vixen Princess/Timmy, were
holding out on them. He was certain of that, and if this is what it would
take to get them to realize they weren't alone in this, then this was their
best chance at getting that message across to them, plus, it had the
additional benefit of highlighting Carl's innate capacity to continuously
impress him with how astute he could be; something that never failed to
turn him on, as evidenced by the growing boner in his pants.

"Sounds like we have a plan, gentlemen!" Max proclaimed, pulling Carl into
his arms as Danal veered off, back toward the camp, phone in hand, already
making the arrangements.

"Do you think we should call it a day and head back to give him a hand?"
Carl mused halfheartedly as he melted into Max's sweaty embrace.

Max smiled lecherously into his eyes as his fingers fumbled with the fly of
his pants releasing his raging, twelve-inch erection and slapping it
against Carl's bare belly, splattering it with the copious amounts of
precum leaking from its prodigious tip: "I think you should get on your
knees and suck this dick and get it nice and wet before a pummel that
beautiful ass or yours into the ground!"

Carl smiled jauntily as he slid down Max's hirsute body, moaning
erotically: "I love the way you think Max Donnelly!"


                        * * * * *


The late morning sunlight broke through the window blinds in rays of
bright, defused light that cascaded across the room in strips of luminous
radiance, while the smell of musky gym clothes mingled with traces of
grilled cheese sandwiches and the tomato soup Baxter Whitmore's mother was
preparing for lunch.

It wasn't often they got to eat lunch together during normal weekdays, but
Baxter's mom had taken this Friday off so she and her new besties,
consisting of Miriam Hollis and Elizabeth Dunne, could go outfit
shopping. A decision both his mom and Elizabeth had made after pushing
Miriam into a date the following night with none other than Hank Bauers.

Ever since that fateful evening, a couple of weeks ago, when he and Hank
were left alone while Max and Carl went to attend Jason Griffen's Heritage
ceremony, both Hank and Miriam seemed to really hit it off, and by the end
of the evening, it became almost embarrassingly obvious that the two had
made some sort of connection, demonstrated by their not so subtle
flirtations with each other, something both his own mother and Elizabeth
Dunne seemed actively encouraging, by way of constantly steering the duo
back together at every turn.

Baxter had never been so red-faced embarrassed as, while Hank had excused
himself briefly to go check on the security guards, his own mother had
actually told Miriam she should "hit that while the gettin's good." and
Elizabeth seconding her recommendation, followed by both women unabashedly
extolling his physical attributes, not least of which, they observed
sordidly, the sizeable bulge in his trousers.

In all his seventeen plus years, he had never heard his mother talk like
that before, and it left him wondering, what else he didn't know about his
mother, and almost equally sure, he didn't really want to know the answer
to that particular train of thought. Not that he would mind her actively
putting herself out there and maybe going on a few dates herself. It had
been years since his father's death and he was certain his dad wouldn't
have wanted or expected her to spend the rest of her life alone, and with
the way things were going with Billy, Baxter was beginning to see the world
through a different pair of eyes, not least of which was his mother's
future happiness.

Regardless of what happens with Billy, and with his final year of high
school set to begin in less than a month, he couldn't help but dwell on the
fact, that in a little over a year, he would probably be starting college
and his mom would be left here, in their house, alone.

With what had happened to Gavin Hollis's mom and his potential absence in
her life for long periods of time, this was becoming a reoccurring concern
for him, and one he strongly felt needed addressing, sooner, rather than
later.

As if on cue, Baxter heard his mother call out for him, saying lunch was
ready, with him then and there making the conscious decision, that now
would be as good a time as any, to have a little heart to heart with his
mom. But like the best-laid plans, he hadn't counted on Elizabeth Dunne
showing upright as they sat down to eat.

"I'm not disturbing your lunch am I?" She asked his mom as she swept into
the kitchen, dressed more casually than he had ever seen her before, in
soft pink trousers and a cream color short sleeve, loose-fitting blouse
with matching handbag and shoes.

The blouse looked a little too large for her frame he thought to himself,
that is until his mom asked her if that was one of the new maternity
outfits she had talked about earlier, that she had picked up when she and
Jason's uncle Merrick had hijacked him from his busy schedule to go back to
school clothes shopping earlier the last week.

Jason could hardly refuse, since he was outgrowing all his previous clothes
since his Heritage ceremony, something he had noted about Billy as well,
and wondered if that was something he was also going to have to contend
with, down the road.

He couldn't help but let his thoughts drift back to the night of his
Heritage ceremony when he saw Billy for the first time in over a month. He
couldn't believe how much he had grown during that time, not just in
height, but in muscle mass as well. Side by side, he and Jason were quite
the stunning pair, and if he hadn't known better, he would have sworn they
were cut from the same cloth.

All their lives, he and Billy had pretty much matured physically at the
same rate, with Billy always being a little larger and thicker than
himself. But that was over now, Billy had to be at least six foot two by
now, maybe even a little taller than that, while he, himself still pretty
much topped out at five foot eleven, though Max had assured him that would
probably change over the course of the next year or so.

Just another one of those changes sparked by his Heritage genes. Not that
he was complaining. It certainly looked good on Billy.

It had been scary at first, terrifying actually. But with Billy sticking
close to his side, as much as possible, he felt he was dealing with it
fairly well, considering.

"So what do you say Baxter?" he heard Elizabeth Dunne query, nudging him
slightly with her elbow as she sat there next to him, eyeing him dubiously.

Baxter didn't have a clue what she was talking about, his thoughts had
drifted elsewhere and he hadn't actually been following their conversation.

"About what?" He retorted quizzically, trying to reorient himself while
feeling more than a little lost at the moment.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes: "Teenage boys. What is it about this age that
makes them so oblivious to what's going on around them?" She seemed to ask,
to no one in particular. But his mom responded nonetheless: "It's not what
Liz, its whom!" his mom chortled, smiling demurely before winking at him
mischievously.

Baxter could feel his cheeks flush red with embarrassment, knowing full
well who she was talking about, and still not comfortable talking about it
with his mom, let alone with an almost complete stranger present.

Thankfully, Elizabeth steered the conversation back to their previous
discussion; looking Baxter right in the eye, repeating the question she had
asked before they both made a small sidetrack to torment him a little about
his love life.

"I was just asking..." She began again, holding his gaze stoically: "If you
don't think it was high time your mother dusted the cobwebs off and agrees
to go out with Merrick Griffen?"

Baxter just stared back at her for a moment, not being sure he had heard
her correctly, while simultaneously being elated at the prospect. Like
himself, Merrick Griffen was a beta, and not just any beta, one from a very
prestigious, elder family lineage and the brother to his own father's
alpha, and not bad looking to boot.

"Stop Liz..." his mom bristled dismissively: "He hasn't even asked, yet."

It was the way she said *yet* that had Baxter convinced: "Geez, it's the
twentieth-century mom, what's wrong with you asking him out?" he queried.

Baxter knew his mom, and he also knew exactly what buttons to push. Most
people may think she was just some stereotypical, milk toast librarian, but
more fool them. His mom was actually one shrewd, intelligent, and
determined lady.

"I don't know..." his mom said wistfully, obviously running just such a
scenario around inside her head, weighing her options and otherwise just
mulling it over.

"What's to know?" Elizabeth practically demanded, hauling her purse up from
her lap to sit it on the table as she opened it and began fumbling around
inside, until she produced her cell phone, and began scrolling through it.

In less than five seconds and before his mom could protest further,
Elizabeth Dunne hit dial and held the phone up to her ear, all while
smiling wickedly back at his now exacerbated mother.

Baxter couldn't help but beam ear to ear as the person on the other end of
that call answered within the first two rings.

"Hi Merrick, it's Liz.." she began ingratiatingly, before getting down to
brass tacks: "I know you and your father are at the compound for the
weekend for that big pow-wow Max has called for this evening, but I was
just wondering what the rest of your weekend schedule was looking like?"

As they conversed for a few moments, with Elizabeth mostly listening and
making a few studious scowls in between uh-huh's, her expression suddenly
shifted, as she held Baxter's mom, stern but questioning gaze, a look that
did a complete one-eighty, when Elizabeth stated quite succinctly into her
phone: "So, you are free tomorrow night?"

Instantly, his mother began waving frantically, shaking her head, mouthing
no, over and over again as the color practically drained from her face.

"Good!" Elizabeth concluded gruffly, amusement twinkling in her eyes as she
grinned sardonically: "You have a date tomorrow with a certain someone we
discussed last weekend..."

Baxter's mom's jaw dropped as her eyes practically bulged out of her head,
staring daggers at Liz Dunne's head.

"Yes..." Elizabeth said jubilantly, barely containing a chuckle or two:
"You can pick her up at about seven PM and don't be late, you get only one
chance to make a good first impression so don't screw it up!"

As Elizabeth hung up, still smiling smugly, Baxter's mother Anna glowered
back at her, bristling: "Why did you say that to him, he's going to think
I'm some sort of self-centered psycho?"

Elizabeth waved her off dismissively: "My dear, all men think that anyway,
partly because its true, but mostly because its all part of what they
perceive as some sort of feminine mystique."

"You make it sound like some crazy kind of game" Baxter stated gruffly, not
really sure what to make of it all.

Elizabeth reached over and patted his hand reassuringly: "That's exactly
what it is, we decide what man we want, then we get their attention and
then we coax them into pursuing us, and when they have us right where we
want them, we spring the trap and the hunter becomes the prey, all while we
make them believe they caught us. Men are such simple creatures really."

"My mom's right, that sounds psycho." Baxter concluded brusquely.

Elizabeth cocked her eye at him, her brow arching, a faint smile drawing
the corner of her lips: "Is it anymore psycho than letting some handsome,
eligible alpha chase you through the woods before you let him catch you,
right before you submit to him?"

Baxter's face blushed red again before stammering: "It wasn't exactly like
that."

Elizabeth chuckled and winked at him: "Keep telling yourself that dear boy
and maybe you'll convince yourself its true."

Outwardly, Baxter frowned at her conclusion, but internally, both he and
his beast pondered her words before being forced to conclude, that maybe
there was some truth to it after all.


                        * * * * *


Okay, this was getting monotonous, Princess thought to himself, as neither
he or Jason had successfully landed a direct hit against a much faster
Billy Donnelly, yet again.

They had been sparring for nearly an hour, using the time right after the
others had called it quits for the day, and made their way back toward
their new campsite for a quick dip in the lake, followed by their evening
meal.

This wasn't the first time they had done this. In fact, it was becoming a
bit of a trend for them, this being the only time they had alone where they
could fully open up and test their true physical potentials without the
others taking note.

Ever since they had convinced Jason to not only build a full pack but take
on any newcomers as part of it, word of mouth had spread quickly and within
a week, Jason had already added five more members to his numbers from the
stragglers who just wandered in, each with a similar story of having heard
there was a strong young Alpha in the area building his pack and all were
welcome to present themselves for his consideration.

Of course, that brought a whole new set of problems, not least of which was
Danal and of course Max, Billy's father.

They weren't naive, they knew they were going to catch flack for it, but
their hope was to add enough to their numbers before they had to face down
not only those two but the Quorum and eventually the council themselves,
the latter being their biggest concern.

They were fairly certain they could win over the Quorum and was why they
had so readily agreed to meet with them that night when Max had suggested
it a few days earlier. They knew Max had done so at the behest of Danal,
they also knew they were now working within a limited time frame, having
come to that conclusion when they noticed the absence of Hadrian Mumsford.

Truth be told, they were actually very pleased with themselves, that things
so far, were going just as they expected and had planned for.

Princess couldn't help but smile to himself at that thought, despite his
and Jason's current predicament with Billy.

The three of them, along with Gavin, Atticus and Brock had gone over and
rehashed again and again what they had discussed with the others, after
Gavin's transformation.

The one thing that stuck out more than any other, the one they felt was the
most prescient to their concerns was what Aphrodite had cautioned Gavin
about concerning Billy possibly facing some danger that could bring about
his demise if they weren't ready. What was really frustrating and vexing
Princess, was that it all hinged on him finding this other half of Gemini,
especially when he didn't even know what the first half was that he
supposedly already had.

Princess was leaning more toward it being something obvious, knowing how
literal Aphrodite's prognostications had been thus far. It was Gavin who
kept pointing out, that the actual definition of Gemini meant twin or
duplicate, or two of the same thing. But both Danal and Hadrian had
cautioned that it could be two equal but opposing halves, suggesting that
Aphrodite just meant that Princess had recently gained his own Alpha status
but has as yet reached his full potential and was why Aphrodite had pointed
out to Gavin that he needed to accomplish this if he was going to be able
to be equal to some task or opponent they had yet faced.

This was why they were now taking extra time to train, both he and
Jason. If there was something or someone out there who could best or
threaten Billy, then they needed to be ready to face it, which was extra
frustrating since neither Jason nor his own best efforts, considerable as
they were becoming, were any sort of match for what Billy was capable of.

Which begged the question, how was he or Jason supposed to protect Billy
from something that could bring his downfall if they couldn't even best
Billy with their combined efforts?

Princess knew instinctively, that he was missing some key component here,
and if he didn't figure it out soon, they could be caught left holding the
proverbial bag at the wrong time.

Anyway, apparently he wasn't the only one who had had enough for the
evening as Jason suggested they head back to camp so they could get ready
for that evenings deliberations with those who showed up for the scheduled
Quorum, which Princess was actually looking forward to, since a certain,
handsome alpha, had texted and informed him that he planned to attend and
hoped they would be able to spend some time together both before and after
the meeting.

"Uh-oh.." Jason mused, jabbing Billy in the side playfully: "He's got that
far away look in his eyes again."

Jason rolled his eyes upward and pursed his lips suggestively.

Billy chortled, throwing his arm around Jason's shoulder in a show of
mutual camaraderie: "Do you mean that special look he gets when he thinks
about a certain someone who's been texting him telling him how much he's
looking forward to seeing him tonight?"

"One in the same" Jason taunted as they both winked at him suggestively.

"Paul and I are just friends" Princess asserted, but adding quickly, with
an impishly devious, crooked smile: "Though I do have to confess, I
wouldn't mind a few rounds of hide the salami with someone a little more
seasoned than the two of you."

Both Billy and Jason clutched dramatically at the center of their chest,
feigning pain: "Do you hear that Jason, how will we ever live with
ourselves knowing that Princess would rather spend time with someone he
barely knows over us?"

Jason pressed his forehead against Billy's shoulder, sobbing mockingly:
"What ever did we do to deserve such heinous treatment, Billy?"

Princess/Timmy turned from the giggling duo, shouting over his shoulder
haughtily as he headed back toward camp: "I don't have the time or the
crayons to explain it to either of you."

It was just good-natured ribbing and banter and Princess knew it, but he
had to admit, he was looking forward to seeing Paul Lakatos again despite
the circumstances of their initial meeting and his subsequent behavior
leading up to Princess having to make an example out of Paul's former and
now his Gamma, Dalton Becker.

An hour later found Princess rejoining the others, after bathing, eating
and otherwise refreshing himself, standing outside the Lodge with Jason and
Billy, greeting various guests to the compound, along side Max and Carl.

It was at times like this, that he truly appreciated the heightened senses
he acquired during his own transmogrification when he came into contact
with the same cursed silver that metamorphosed those of the Heritage.

It never failed to amuse or delight him, how much those of the Heritage
were sexually affected by his proximity.

Brock had helped clarify those particular phenomena, by telling him and
Gavin recently that those of the Heritage found the scent of people like
them alluring. He also explained that at first, he had thought that meant
any man who was gay, but Atticus had informed him it only pertained to
those descendant from Aeneas's line and that not all gay men shared that
lineage.

It was also at this time he had made the same connection, having previously
noted the difference in scent between himself, Gavin and Brock from those
of the Heritage. That scent of freshly dug earth combined with the sweet
fragrance of honey.

So, as he stood there greeting the various alpha's and their entourages, it
became a secret source of entertainment, how much his natural musk
heightened their libido's; demonstrated usually by one or more of them
prolonging the simple physical contact they made just by shaking hands,
which was usually followed by some gushing appraisal of his personal
appearance and more times than not, a remark about the wonderful aroma of
his cologne, something he never used.

During this time, Princess found himself growing ever more expectant of
Paul's arrival and slightly remorseful when Max and the others decided that
enough people had arrived and that they should proceed inside and take
their places as the appointed hour of their meeting drew nearer, and to
Princess's dismay, there was still no sign of Paul, at least as yet.

It wasn't until they had made their way in and taken their seats and Max
stood with Jason and Billy to offer last minute advise, when Princes caught
sight, from his peripheral vision, of the ruggedly handsome Paul Lakatos
making his way through the Lodges main doors. Though it wasn't surprising
that Paul wasn't unaccompanied, it did rather startle Princess, that
lumbering protectively behind him, was the familiar shape of his Gamma,
Dalton Becker.

There was no mistaking the six-foot-seven, blond haired, amber-brown eyed,
muscular giant, but what he found perplexing was accounting for his
presence. He had just talked to Dalton the day before, something they did a
couple of times a week while he awaited the approval of his transfer to the
Devil Dawg Compound, something Max had assured him was still in the works
and confirmed by Brock, who processed most of the Compounds day to day
administrative duties, and Dalton never mentioned anything about
accompanying Paul to the Compound for the night.

Likewise, Paul's text had mentioned nothing of him bringing Dalton or even
indicating in any way, since their last encounter, that he still maintained
any kind of contact with him after losing him to Princess at Jason's
confirmation meeting, when he had erroneously doubted Princess's Alpha
status and Princess had challenged him when he did the same to Billy.

Princess/Timmy couldn't help but think fondly back on that day, and the
subsequent enjoyment and pleasure he had derived from his acquisition of
Paul's only accompanying gamma, Dalton Becker.

Even now, just seeing him there, strutting proudly behind Paul Lakatos
across the room to take up Paul's usual spot to the far right, made his
loins quiver in anticipation of this meetings conclusion, when they could
reunite, if time and opportunity permitted. Why else would Paul bring him,
if not to broker some sense of trust and reconciliation between them? The
idea of which, only broadened the smile that subsumed Princess's face.

If this truly was some sort of gesture on Paul's part, it was definitely
having the desired effect on Princess, who beamed even brighter, when
Paul's searching eyes finally made contact with his.

Their gazes locked and Princess nearly swooned when his handsome face lit
up and he grinned and winked at him auspiciously.

Princess basked in the glow of that smile until he caught a glimpse of
Dalton behind him, glowering nothing but pure vehemence back at him, his
eyes two burning orbs of rapacious, unmasked enmity.

The look sent shivers down Princess's spine at first, accompanied
apparently by a surprised look of shock on his face, causing a somewhat
confused Paul to turn his head behind him to confront the cause.

A few short stern words from Paul caused Dalton to lower his baleful gaze
to stare at the floor. But the moment lingered in Princess's thoughts, even
after Max called the meeting to order.

It took him a few moments, but Princess knew he had to focus on the matter
at hand, there would be time enough, after the meeting, for him to deal
with his Gamma and if need be, put him in his place.

There was no cause for such a reaction and no matter how fondly he had
thought about his Gamma, as an Alpha, he could never allow his affectations
to cloud his judgment. Something he was quickly learning through his
interactions with those of the Heritage and most of all the life lessons he
had learned from dealing with his family. He had spent his life, thus far,
trying to win the respect and love of his parents, to only be met with cold
disdain and a callous disregard for his feelings, he would not tolerate
such behavior from one of his Pack.

The meeting proceeded around him and Princess pushed the incident to the
side, for the moment, focusing his full attention on the matters at hand
and the growing unease and tension he felt slowly mounting in the room.

As was the case in his first encounter with the Quorum of district alphas,
it was clear that nearly half the room or more, led once again rebelliously
by Benjamin Frakes, the very same alpha who had previously challenged
Jason's claim as Alpha Regent of the southern district, stood in opposition
to his current Pack status.

"Let the *boy* stand and face us, let him account for his actions Max
Donnelly, it's clear to all of us who is now running things around here and
apparently that isn't you, as we were led to believe it would be." demanded
the large, burly man, whose thick coppery beard hung nearly halfway down
his rather bulbous belly, to the resounding, grumbling jeers all around the
room, as he stood there, chest puffed out like some proud prancing peacock,
putting on a show meant solely to impress and sway any onlookers and garner
their shifting loyalties to his cause.

Princes just sat back, folding his arms over his chest and crossing his
legs one over the other while he smiled smugly, knowing full well they had
expected this reaction and had discussed their own response should it go
the way they suspected it would.

Danal had been the key. Hadrian's absence was their confirmation, but what
none of them realized, they had their own expert strategist. In fact, they
had two, Gavin and Brock.

Atticus, Barin and the others had also played their parts, filling them in
on which alphas would probably be the most vocal against them and who might
lean more toward being reasonable.

Benjamin Frakes was tops on their list of dissenters. Atticus had
encountered him before, when his grandfather had sought Frakes permission,
as alpha of their region of Kentucky, to stand as sire to Atticus's
Heritage ceremony, since Atticus's parents had died in a car accident and
his own father, his grandfather's son, was unable to do so.

Benjamin Frakes had refused, stating that fate had decided Atticus's future
when it deprived him of his sire and he saw no reason to challenge its
decision.

Luckily, Atticus's grandfather was old friends with Danal and had brought
Atticus here and implored him to exert his authority as Green Father of the
Southern District and conduct Atticus ceremony without Benjamin Frakes
approval.

Danal had consulted Max and he had only one condition for allowing it to go
forward and that condition was that Atticus would agree to join the Marine
Corp. directly afterward. Something that had proven fortuitous, since
Atticus's grandfather died shortly there after while Atticus was still in
boot camp.

It was that singular event that had set the course for Atticus's life. It
had pushed him to work as hard as he did to get where he was today, and it
was alphas like Benjamin, who held so much sway within the Heritage, who
callously used it only to secure his own purchase of territory and power,
with little or no regard for those his selfish, thoughtless actions
affected and deprived of the one thing they all desired most, a Pack to
belong too.

It's why Princess sat there now, enthusiastically enjoying the show,
knowing full well the outcome once they played their hand.

Right on cue, Jason stood up, brushing Max's hand away as he sought to
hinder any further escalation, even as half the room boisterously continued
to egg Benjamin Frakes on, fueling his already overinflated opinion of
himself, enough so, that he defiantly stood his ground as the new Alpha
Regent slowly, deliberately crossed the room until he stood a mere two feet
in front of him.

Princess/Timmy looked over to Billy, seated the row down from him, who
smiled slightly back with a knowing nod of his head.

Princess noted peripherally and with some degree of satisfaction, that
everyone in the room's eyes was glued on Jason, everyone save one.

Danal Cornelius stared vigorously at Billy Donnelly, the intensity of his
scrutiny playing out across his usually unreadable, dispassionate face. It
was clear what he was expecting to play out, what his actions had planned
for, what his machinations had set in motion, just as assuredly as he drew
each expectant breath in anticipation of his plan's triumphant culmination.

Princess/Timmy smiled bemusedly as he thought to himself: "Not tonight old
man, this is not the show you were expecting, that will be reserved for
another time and will be one of our choosing, not yours or Max's."

He didn't need to see when the moment happened, the loud thump, followed by
the deepest, slavering growl he was sure had ever been uttered between
these walls, told him all he needed to know.

Still, Princess rose, to peer disdainfully over the shoulders of those in
front of him who had risen expectant of a challenge they were sure would be
issued by their young Alpha, only to all fall deathly silent, in wide-eyed
shock and awe at the large black wolf that now stood snarling, teeth bared
and growling, with his large front paws on Benjamin Frakes heaving chest
and his large spittle dripping fangs near his throat.

The absolute look of terror on Benjamin's face, was well worth the price of
admission as far as Princess was concerned, as he and Billy both pushed
their way through the silent throng and made their way to Jason's side,
where Princes knelt beside the horrified, trembling and shaking Frakes and
said coyly: "I'd submit if I were you, he doesn't look like he's in a
playful mood tonight, that, and I don't think he's that fond of you."

The black wolf growled again snapping his large jaws suggestively close to
Benjamin's exposed throat, its blazing azure eyes spiking in glowing
brilliance.

Nearly babbling incoherently with fear, Benjamin sputtered his
acquiescence, begging Jason's wolf to spare him repeatedly until the large
black wolf stepped off his chest.

But the show didn't end there. Jason's large wolf turned to the group
behind him, to the throng of men that had mostly supported Frakes previous
stance mere seconds ago, but who now shuddered and took a collective step
back as the black wolf snarled at them, baring his fangs ominously in their
direction.

The only real surprise of the evening for Princess and Billy came via Paul
Lakatos, who pushed his way forward until he stood only a few feet away
from the large black wolf.

With bated breath they all watched in trepidation as Paul fell to one knee
and bowed his head before proclaiming: "Alpha Jason, noble Regent of the
Southern Devil Dawgs, I here by pledge myself, my Pack and my territories
to you!" Paul looked up, to gaze into the wolf's glowing eyes and
fearlessly pledged: "May you never find our service wanting Alpha Regent."

Paul's actions seemed to spurn the others into action as one by one all the
other alpha's followed suit until all that was left was Max and Danal, the
latter glowering studiously, behind the rim of his bushy eyebrows, his
sight glued directly to Jason's wolf.

Max just shrugged dismissively, before sitting down, stating casually: "I
have nothing left to offer other than what I've already given."

That left Danal, who now pulled thoughtfully at his short beard, eyeing
Jason cautiously: "It seems we've got our work cut out for us Alpha if
we're going to be prepared for what most assuredly will come."

It wasn't exactly how they had imagined it, but Danal's acceptance,
faltering as it may have seemed, was proof enough, for the moment, of his
intended cooperation.

The rest of the evening passed fairly quickly, especially after Jason
shifted back to his human form, as all the alpha's clamored around him,
vying for his attention, grilling him excitedly for his future intentions
for their district and what part they would each play in it.

Their plan was a simple one for the moment, to fortify the compound and to
increase their ranks by issuing a call to all those formerly displaced by
the Heritage and offer them the one thing all those of the Heritage sought,
a place within their Packs, with all able fighters to train here at the
compound and prepare for what the future might throw at them.

Princess's favorite moment of the evening happened slightly after dark when
the moon first peaked above the distant hillsides and all those of the
Heritage stripped down and joined Jason outside and upon him shifting once
again, joined the black wolf Alpha on a glorious run through the woods of
the Devil Dawg Compound.


                         * * * * *


Saturday morning found Gavin Hollis and Princess sitting side by side at
the new bivouac, with Gavin absentmindedly poking the campfire coals with a
stick, trying haphazardly to urge enough heat from the still smoldering
embers, to produce enough heat to boil the water in the large metal pot
they all used to make coffee.

"Sorry, I'm not being very good company at the moment" Gavin apologized,
fighting back yet another yawn, before concluding: "I'm not really a
morning person and I'm barely human until I get at least one cup of coffee
in me, to get the ol' engine churning."

Princess just smiled nonchalantly back at him, mindful of the fact that he
himself wasn't really being much of a conversationalist himself that
morning, his thoughts still subsumed with the events of the previous
evening, or more precisely, a certain Paul Lakatos, as well as his Gamma
Dalton Becker.

He had hoped to connect with both of them before the end of the night, but
Jason's choice to lead them all in an evening jaunt deep into the woods of
the compound, had dashed those hopes and after waiting patiently here at
the camp, well after midnight, he had finally abandoned that idea and
turned in.

He had secretly hoped that at least Dalton would join him in his tent after
the run, but upon rising that morning and noting otherwise, he had made his
way to the campfire, where he found Gavin, lethargically stabbing at the
smoking coals, trying to reignite their former heat without actually
spending the energy to gather some more wood and stoking the flames anew.

Having grown impatient, Princess watched as Gavin loaded the pots hopper
with coffee grounds and thrust it back inside, even though the water was
nowhere near hot enough to make the effort worthwhile.

He was about to offer to gather more wood, when Brock made his way out of
the tent he shared with Atticus and lumbered his way over to them, before
plopping down on Princess's left side.

"Rough night?" Gavin asked, noting the stiffness of his movements; his nose
actually telling him the potential reason why.

Princess smiled coyly and batted his eyes at Gavin, while tapping the side
of his nose with his index finger: "I think we both know what aches
Mr. Gryzinsky."

Brock just shook his head dismissively: "I get it..." he grumbled: "You
both have super-duper senses just like them now."

"No need to be snarky dude" Gavin retorted: "At least you got some last
night, that's more than either of us can say at the moment."

"Arlis still not biting huh?" Brock mused, trying to take the heat off of
himself for the moment, while nudging Princess conspiratorially with his
elbow.

Princess shot him a cautionary look but then realized there was no real
point pretending. They were the only three of their kind here amongst all
these Heritage men and if they couldn't discuss their problems with each
other, openly, then who could they talk too?

"Gavin made the mistake of telling Arlis that he fooled around with Billy a
little bit." Princess said, matter of fact, but without a hint of judgement
in his voice.

Gavin's gaze stayed locked on the tip of the prodding stick he held tightly
in his hand: "I was taught that honesty is the best policy and at the time
Arlis said he understood and that it was okay, but..."

"No need to explain bro... people can be so judgemental and possessive at
times, they ain't no different." Brock concluded.

Princess just sighed and rolled his eyes, a mild annoyance in the timbre of
his tone as he interjected: "Do you two actually not get it?"

Both Brock and Gavin turned to glower at him questioningly before he added:
"I get that Brock might not be able to sense it, but you don't have that
excuse Gavin..." Princess paused for a second, looking questioningly back
and forth at both of them, before explaining further: "He's not jealous of
Billy, at least not in the way you think!"

"Then whats wrong, I thought the way we smell and all was supposed be a
turn on to these guys?" Gavin queried, genuinely at a loss, thinking his
revelation had killed any possibility he might have ever had of being with
the one person he could ever imagine being with.

Princes chuckled slightly, shaking his head and reaching over to grip
Gavin's shoulder in a show of support: "Gavin, its not you, it's him..."

The confused look on Gavin's face said it all and Princess decided to put
him out of his misery.

"Gavin, he's a virgin, how do you not get this?" Princess mused, locking
gazes with Gavin's: "In his eyes, you've been with an Alpha and not with
just any Alpha but THE Alpha. Did you ever stop to think about how that
would make him feel? He's not passing judgment on what you've done..."

Gavin's eyes lit up, full of realization and hastily concluded Princess's
words for him: "He's worried about how he could possibly measure up to that
and is why he's throwing himself so gung ho into working harder than anyone
else on the team."

Gavin smacked himself on the forehead: "I'm such a friggin' dunderhead, it
so simple, a child could've seen it."

"One did." Brock taunted, beaming sardonically from ear to ear at Princess,
who just leaned back, smiling impishly: "Ya know Brock, I sometimes envy
the people who've never met you."

They were all having a good chuckle after that, with Gavin's mood
noticeably growing lighter, when Princess caught, out of the corner of his
eye, the familiar shape of his Gamma, Dalton Becker, standing roughly about
forty feet away from them, downhill from where the new camp was, leaning
against a tree, right on the edge of a small grassy clearing that separated
the wooded area they were in from the compounds parking lot.

Even from that distance, they could all make out the stern expression on
his face as he stared right at them, or more precisely, Princess.

'What's his problem?" Brock queried, with more than a hint of stoicism in
his voice.

"I don't know" Princess conjectured, standing up: "But I'm about to find
out!"

As Princess drew nearer the gamma, the overpowering scent of anger suffused
the breeze blowing mildly in his direction. Everyone of his senses
cautioned him as he boldly strode forward, closing the gap between them.

Princess watched, as he approached the giant blond, as he moved away from
the tree he was leaning against, his hulking frame growing taut as his fist
clenched repeatedly by his side, his stance one of pure aggression.

Behind the gamma, and still, some distance away, having just exited the
Lodge, Princess noted Paul Lakatos heading in their general direction, just
as Princess moved to stand directly in front of Dalton, fully intending to
get to the bottom of his insubordinate behavior.

Without so much as a word, the gamma's eyes flashed a brilliant amber as
his right hand, shifting, with near razor sharp talons extended, swept
toward his midriff in what could only have been an attempt to disembowel
him.

If it hadn't been for Princess's years of honing his body to respond
reflexively, instead of now having four-slice marks through his favorite
white, sleeveless sweatshirt, he'd be clutching four gaping wounds across
his abdomen.

Momentarily startled by the gamma's hostile actions, Princess was caught
unawares of the swinging roundhouse kick of his thoroughly enraged
opponent, which caught him soundly against his chest hurling him backward,
through the air, to land unceremoniously skidding across the grass. leaving
him fully exposed in the small clearing.

Though he was aware of the shouts sounding out from the camp and from
behind him, Princess ignored them as his full attention zeroed in on the
now fully shifted, raging gamma charging toward him. Timing it just
perfectly and leaping last minute into the air, he soared heels first into
the muscular giants solar plexus, effectively knocking the air out of him
just as his knees shot up to catch the beast right beneath his gaping maw.

The force of the blow hurled the gamma's head back as Princess fingers dug
into the golden fur around his thorax, using it as a hand hold to swing
upward, allowing his momentum and weight to swing the gamma off balance,
resulting in him landing with a resounding thud, right on his back.

Eyes blazing a brilliant azure, Princess/Timmy landed squarely on his
chest, the impact of which once again drove the breath from the gamma's
lungs as he dropped knees splayed, pinning the beast's arms.

Princess thrust the steely tips of his fingers around his expansive neck,
locking them with a vice like grip that bereft his sizeable opponent from
drawing a single breath.

"SUBMIT!" Princess commanded, fully expecting his Gamma to comply or face
the consequences.

Princess couldn't imagine what had overcome Dalton to behave in this
manner, but he was equally determined to get to the bottom of it and
reclaim what was by right, his.

He was vaguely aware of the rapidly approaching footsteps from directly
behind him, certain that it was Paul rushing to his defense, but for the
second time that day, he was caught unprepared as two powerful arms locked
around his rib-cage and with the same force and strength he usually only
encountered while sparring with Jason and Billy, was hurled off to the
side, and sent rolling across the grass.

Princess regained control and sprung up, his eyes blazing once again, as he
glowered back at Paul Lakatos, who hovered protectively between him and the
now shifting and gasping Dalton.

Brushing the dirt and grass from his clothing, Princess confronted the
alpha: "I am so going to kick every square inch of your ass, if you don't
explain right now, why you are coming between me and my gamma!?"

Paul held his left hand up defensively, his voice calm and soothing: "I
mean no disrespect Princess, but he is not your gamma, he is mine, and
while his actions merit punishment, that punishment is mine to dispense,
not yours."

Princess continued to glower at Paul as the blue fire intensified behind
his eyes, even as every perception he possessed cautioned him that
something wasn't quite what it seemed.

As Princess considered the course of his next actions, Atticus and Barin
came running to a halt beside him, followed shortly by Brock and Gavin.

"What the fucks going on here?" Atticus demanded, looking from Paul to
Princess and back again, concern for Princess clearly showing in his
actions as well as rising anger for the alpha standing defensively in front
of the brooding gamma, still gasping for breath.

"This is none of your concern beta, this is between Princess and I" Paul
stated, in his usual matter-of-fact tone, that most perceived to be haughty
and dismissive.

Atticus was having none of it.

"You are in my Alpha's territory, everything within it is definitely my
concern Lakatos." Atticus shot back, adding quickly: "Princess is a guest
and a close friend of my Alpha, and from what I have seen, you and this
gamma were attacking him, unprovoked I might add."

Atticus's tone left no doubt whose side he was on, but Paul remained
resolute, but clearly no longer physically aggressive.

Paul nodded his head: "Princess I formally apologize for both mine and my
gammas actions. I should not have laid hands on you, I only did so out of
fear for my gamma's safety."

The fire in Princess/Timmy's eyes faded as he took a step toward Paul:
"That's just it, I don't get why he attacked me in the first place?"

Princess had more to say, not least of which was to inquire why Paul was
asserting that Dalton was his gamma once again when that was clearly not
the case.

What kind of game was Paul playing at? Princess thought to himself, knowing
full well, that while he may not be completely versed in Heritage
etiquette, he was fairly certain things didn't operate that way.

Once again, the hulking gamma's eyes blazed amber as he tried to shove his
way past Paul, his face a contorted mask of anger, his lips twisted into a
snarl as he practically growled: "You violated my brother, you corrupted
him, took him away from his Pack, from his family!"

His vehemence didn't hit him as soundly as his words, as a sudden, creeping
realization struck Princess harder than any of the gamma's previous
physical blows. This carbon copy of Dalton was his brother, not just his
brother, his twin.

Princess was left stunned by the revelation, speechless even. How could he
have missed it, Dalton had told him he had a brother, had even told him he
also was part of Paul Lakatos's pack, but he never dreamed he meant an
identical twin.

Princess was still trying to process it all when he felt the tug of Gavin
Hollis's hand against his arm as he leaned in and nearly whispered: "Dude,
this is the other half of Gemini, this is what Aphrodite was referring
too."

Indeed, Princess agreed, recalling the goddesses dire warning about himself
and the White Wolf falling and the entire planet being plunged into
darkness if he didn't reunite and join with Gemini.

There were a lot of other things Aphrodite had said as well, but the one
that now prevailed in his mind, as he stood there staring at the ruggedly
handsome, sandy-haired Paul Lakatos, as he commanded his bristling gamma to
stand down, that Aphrodite had told Gavin that he would have to secure the
unwilling second half of Gemini by winning over his equally reticent future
mate.

Princess sighed and rolled his eyes skyward, wondering how in the hell he
was ever going to accomplish that and was about to have Atticus gather
Jason and Billy together for a quick con fab when the phone in his pocket
rang, nearly startling him out of a years growth.

Princess fished it out of his pocket, surprised that it still remained
intact after the previous events and sighed again as his fathers name
flashed on the chiming phone.

Princess turned from the group and stepped away as he answered hesitantly
and waited for the familiar, droning voice of his paternal parent to
respond.

"Timothy..." began the cold sterile disembodied voice on the other end.

"Yes dad, whats up, I'm right in the middle of something." he responded
haltingly, hoping to make this as quick and painless as possible.

"You need to come home, we've just got the news, your grandmother Ericson
has passed away."