Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Fragmented Soul	By : StrawberryGirl87 & Bickymonster Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Fenrir Views: 79703 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 10
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything in the fandom. no money/profit is made.

Chapter List
- 21
- 22
- 23
Chapter 22 - Power Struggle
“What the hell were you thinking?” Damon snapped angrily as he placed a still trembling Micha back on his feet, having just caught him moments before as he had fallen near enough forty feet from a tree with Harry, who had been caught by the Alpha. Neither the Beta nor the leader of the pack were looking very happy, though they were relieved that neither Harry nor Micha seemed to be too badly injured.
“You promised no more trees, little one” Fenrir told Harry sternly, the Alpha checking his mate for injuries without even bothering to put him down first and found that his head was lightly bleeding. It looked like he had hit it on the way down, blood still seeping slowly out of the cut.
“You fell!” Damon said in utter disbelief at the stupidity of the two submissive wolves. “What would you have done if we hadn’t been here to catch you?” he asked, directing the question to Micha who was trembling a little from the shock, the Beta’s tone getting angrier now as the worry faded and he realised that both of the submissive males were alright.
“Broken a couple bones?” Harry responded flippantly for both of them, as if it was nothing, having overheard the question directed at Micha. The two submissives shared a rather amused smirk between them that the Alpha and Beta didn’t miss and didn’t exactly approve of either.
“That is not amusing, Harry Prince,” Damon snapped with a definite tone of irritation, wanting the teenager to grasp just how serious the situation could have been if no one had been there to help them.
“Like I care what you think right now,” Harry growled at him angrily, not having forgotten why he had been up in the tree in the first place. He snuggled against Fenrir, enjoying being in his mate's arms as his head was spinning a little. Despite the assurances he had given Micha up in the tree he had still been scared, had a moment of doubt, before he landed in Fenrir’s arms. He had never been more grateful for his overbearing mate, with his insistent need to protect him.
“Leave it, little one,” Fenrir said sternly, not wanting another argument and realising that Harry needed to be looked at rather than entering into another bickering match. “Callie needs to have a look at your head.”
“I feel fine, Fen,” Harry assured him, though it wasn’t exactly the truth. He wasn’t in any pain but he was feeling a little light headed, but he really just wanted to curl up against this mate’s large chest and rest for a while. He would just close his eyes for a minute and he knew that everything would be fine.
The Alpha growled at him, loosening his grip slightly, so that Callie, who had hurried over the second she saw the two submissives fall, could check over Harry’s lightly bleeding head wound. She was concerned that his eyes were starting to close and she knew at once that they couldn’t let him fall asleep.
“Harry, little one, you have to stay awake,” she said insistently. “Don’t let him fall asleep,” she instructed Fenrir, letting her voice become as stern and instructive as she dared towards the Alpha male of the pack, needing to make sure that he took her seriously.
“Why, what’s wrong with him?” Fenrir asked, as close to showing outward panic as he would ever get in front of his pack. The possibility that something might be wrong with his little mate scared him more than he would ever admit to anyone.
“Is he okay?” Micha asked, finally managing to escape Damon’s fussing to get to Harry. He wasn’t entirely comfortable being in the Beta wolf's arms and he was glad to get away. Being in close confines with anyone other than Harry still unnerved him a little.
“I think he might have a mild concussion,” Callie explained for the benefit of the concerned pack members around them. “He should be just fine, but we just need him to stay awake for a little while.”
“Don’t worry about him right now,” Damon snapped angrily at Micha, “you should worry about yourself. He’s the reason you were up in that damn tree in the first place.” Damon was still trying to bring Micha back into his arms but the submissive was having none of it. He didn’t want to be manhandled or forced into anything; he wouldn’t let that happen again.
If Fenrir hadn’t of had Harry in his arms then he would have given Damon a clip round the ear for what he had said, as it was he had to settle with a low warning growl to show just how unhappy he was. He wouldn’t have anyone speaking badly about his little mate, especially not Damon, whose harsh words had driven Harry up into the tree in the first place.
“Don’t!” Micha snapped, pulling his arm out from Damon’s reach. “Touch me again and you’ll see just how pissed off I can get!” There was a definite bite to his tone as he glared at the Beta wolf. He had a fierce determination inside of him that dictated that he wasn’t going to be taken advantage of ever again, not by anyone.
“Micha…” Damon tried to say, sounding hurt at how the submissive had spoken to him but Micha wasn’t interested. He had heard what Harry had said, he even understood that it might be the truth with how the Beta was acting towards him right now but he wasn’t ready; he couldn’t even contemplate that kind of relationship with anyone yet and he wouldn't give Damon any illusions otherwise.
“No,” Micha said angrily. “Harry’s been there for me; when I needed him he was there. Where the fuck have you been?”
“ENOUGH” Fenrir roared, fed up with the two arguing wolves when his mate was injured in his arms.
Damon and Micha immediately stopped their disagreement at the sound of the Alpha’s roar. Damon however was struggling to stay calm and Micha had his arms crossed over his chest looking furious. Harry, who had been drifting off to sleep startled awake with a grumbled complaint at the loud sound. Romy handed a cloth over to her mother so she could clean the blood from Harry’s head as the small wound was already beginning to heal.
“You need to stay awake, little one,” Callie said to Harry, as she cleaned the wound. “My Alpha, can I suggest that you put him on his feet so it’s harder for him to just drift off, but stay close in case he falls over.”
“How long does he have to be awake for?” the Alpha demanded as he placed Harry on his feet, much to the protesting of the younger werewolf who just wanted to be in his mate's arms, feeling Fenrir's warmth and snuggling into him.
“I’d say a couple of hours just to be sure,” Callie instructed. “And then you should wake him up every three to four hours throughout the night as well,” she added after a moment’s thought, not wanting to take any chances of Harry slipping into a coma.
“I’m tired, Fen,” Harry whimpered, leaning against the Alpha wolf bonelessly, needing him for support.
“I know, little one, but you can’t sleep, not yet,” Fenrir said gently, supporting the weight of his young mate but keeping Harry on his feet in an attempt to make him stay awake as the Alpha could see Harry was starting to fall asleep again.
“Why,” Harry asked as his eyelids began to flutter closed again, struggling to remain conscious, his body pulling him down into the depths of sleep.
“Because you didn’t stick to our no trees rule,” Fenrir chastised affectionately, nuzzling against his mate, trying to capture Harry's attentions and stop him going to sleep.
“You hit your head,” Callie explained as Harry giggled at what Fenrir had said, enjoying the nuzzling, doing it right back.
“Sorry, Wolfie,” Harry murmured sleepily, “I needed…”
“Wake up, little one,” Fenrir said as Harry’s eyes flickered closed again, this time mid-sentence. “Tell me what you needed.”
“You Fen..., always you,” Harry muttered sleepily as his entire body swayed dangerously. “Why is the floor all wibbly?”
“How hard DID he hit his head?” Clay asked, both amused and concerned by his best friend’s behaviour.
“Hard enough to hopefully knock some sense into him,” Damon said with irritation, arms folded over his chest as he made his discontentment known.
“I’ll knock some sense into you in a minute!” Fenrir growled threateningly. He had had enough of Damon and his attitude this evening. Just because Harry was in his arms did not mean he wasn’t willing to fight the Beta wolf if that was what it came down to. The rate it was going that was exactly what was going to happen.
“Dad, just shut up,” Clayton said, shaking his head at his father. Even the oldest pup could see just how badly this was escalating. He didn’t want his father’s bad mood to get him into trouble with the Alpha. There was clearly friction between the Alpha and Beta that wasn’t going to go away without first being resolved in some way.
Damon had been about to chastise his son for speaking to him in such a manner when Harry lost the fight to stay conscious and stay on his feet, despite the grip the Alpha had on him, the teenager started to collapse. It was fortunate that the Alpha’s reflexes were fine-tuned and caught him before he could hit the floor.
“Shit,” Fenrir swore, lowering the both himself and his mate to the ground. “Little one, come on, open your eyes for me,” the Alpha said, his tone almost pleading as he caressed the side of Harry’s face, stroking his cheek trying to stir his little mate. “Can you not give him something?” He demanded rather harshly of Callie as Harry's eyes flickered open weakly.
“We don’t have anything, my Alpha; he’ll be okay.” Callie knew of three different potions that could have helped little Harry but they neither had the ingredients to brew them nor the time. They had to stick with the muggle way of doing things, which meant that Harry would have to ride it out.
“This doesn’t fucking look like he’ll be okay,” the Alpha raged, dragging Harry on to his lap and cuddling him close to his chest.
“Shh,” Harry mumbled, snuggling up to his mate. “Sleepy.”
“I have a really bad, and slightly disturbing, idea,” Clay suggested reluctantly.
“What is it?” Fenrir demanded, willing to listen to any ideas, good or bad, no matter how disturbing Clayton thought that they were.
“There is one sure fire to wake him up, my Alpha; a way I don’t think he’d be able to resist,” Clay said, he was remembering the morning when the Alpha pair had woken the entire pack with their make out session, those were sounds ingrained into his brain and would be for a very long time.
“Just tell me!” The Alpha raged, getting more than a little frustrated with how illusive Clayton was being while he struggled to keep Harry awake in his arms.
“Well, even when half asleep the other morning, he responded well to… you get what I mean right, I don’t want to have to spell it out.” Clay said, pulling a face.
Fenrir understood perfectly what Clayton meant; though he wasn’t sure he was entirely thrilled with the suggestion, he was willing to try just about anything at this point. “Come on, little one,” Fenrir said, scooping Harry up in his arms and getting to his feet. He didn’t forget to grab extra blankets either, if they were going to spend the night sharing some rather private moments away from the warmth of the clearing then they were going to need them. He didn’t think that Harry would approve of any exhibitionist behaviour.
“Where… going?” Harry asked, burying his face into his mate.
“You’ll see, little one,” Fenrir said affectionately as he headed into the woods. He left the others to sort themselves out, trusting that they would be able to without his assistance, even with Damon in the mood he was in. Between Jenson and Lukas he knew that they would manage without him for one night.
“Come on,” Clay said to Micha, putting a tentative arm around his shoulders, hoping to be able to step in and comfort him with Harry being otherwise occupied. “We should get some sleep.”
Micha nodded in agreement, however when Damon went to follow them, Micha turned to glare at him angrily, shaking his head. “Leave me alone,” he said, there was no bite to the tone that he used, there was no anger or frustration, he was just too drained and beyond needing sleep that he just couldn’t. He didn’t want to have to deal with the Beta wolf or what Harry had said about him up in that tree.
Damon watched sadly as Clayton and Micha curled up by the fire together, without him, Lukas going to join them. He couldn’t understand what he had done to make his son and… friend become so distant with him. He had only wanted what was best for Harry, at least that was how it had started.
Jenson, Callie and Romy were all cuddled together by the fire too and Damon suddenly felt hugely out of place. He sat slightly apart from the others so that he could just watch them. Lukas had curled up beside Clay and Micha, reading a book while the other two settled down to sleep. Jenson was teaching Romy how to play poker, much to the disparaging looks from Callie, who clearly didn’t approve. Tessie was watching the card game with interest, trying to pick up the rules as well, poker was not a game they had ever played in her pack and it served as a great distraction from the awkward situation around her that was really none of her business.
With Harry and Fenrir otherwise occupied with some frotting to ensure that Harry stayed awake and didn’t fall into a coma due to his concussion, he was meant to be in charge as the Beta. He had always known that he had held this position in the pack because he was Fenrir’s oldest and closest friend. Jenson would easily take the position if he wanted it.
With the shifting tensions in the pack it felt as if the hierarchy was going to be altered. Damon found that he didn’t even mind the idea of losing his status as Beta male of the pack too much, not if that was what was going to happen. He wasn’t cut out for the role, he knew that. Jenson would be much better suited for the position; he was a better fighter that was for sure. Today, Damon had made the wrong call, he had forced the Alpha’s hand, he had pushed too hard and he was going to pay for that he was sure.
FGHP
Dumbledore had a plan; then again, he always did to some degree. The article had taken him by surprise; it hadn’t been something that he had expected, to say the least. That was why he was on his way to Diagon Alley, to visit the base of operations for the Daily Prophet. The editor was practically frothing at the mouth for a one-on-one interview with him.
However, a one-on-one interview wasn’t exactly what the headmaster had in mind, more like a statement to clarify the truth of the situation regarding Harry Potter. He would ensure that the public knew only what was needed and no more. If he was once again seen in a more favourable light then that was just an added bonus.
He had written out what he wanted his statement to say and he was prepared to pay, threaten and coerce an agreement out of the editor that they wouldn’t embellish, alter or stray from a single word of what he wanted. He wouldn’t have any more howlers being sent to him after this.
FGHP
The night had been long, though not exactly painful for Harry. Fenrir had kept him awake for the two hours required with three mind shattering orgasms brought on by tender caresses and passionate kisses. Then every three to four hours the Alpha had roused him for more, ensuring that the submissive was alert, vocal and satisfied before allowing him to drift off again. All the while Fenrir had taken no pleasure for himself, at least not from Harry, dealing with his own erection himself after Harry had drifted back to sleep.
Blinking open his eyes it took Harry a while to adjust. They weren’t in the clearing; though they were in the territory. He could smell the Alpha and feel him curled around him, enveloping him in his scent. They had several blankets piled over them, staving off the cold. The memories of the previous evening came rushing back in quick succession, falling from the tree, hitting his head, the orgasms… no wonder his stomach felt all warm and fuzzy this morning.
From the deep, rhythmic breathing, Harry knew that Fenrir was still asleep; the Alpha wolf must have been exhausted seeing as he had been forced to sit up all night to check that Harry hadn’t slipped into a coma from his concussion. It seemed that the younger wolf owed a lot to his mate and he wanted to give him something back. Now that his head wasn't spinning and the ground was no longer swaying he felt as if he was able to do this fairly easily.
His little fingers played with the blonde curls on the Alpha’s chest, Harry nuzzling his nose into his mate, inhaling the familiar and comforting scent that gave him the nerve he needed to take the chance. Kissing his way down the muscular chest, starting with an erect pink nipple, Fenrir began to stir a little, rolling onto his back as Harry reached the waistband of the Alpha’s trousers.
With his heart pounding and fingers shaking, Harry popped the button and opened them. Fenrir was starting to wake fully now as Harry delved inside of his mate’s trousers, releasing the swollen cock from its confines.
He had no idea what he was doing but he couldn’t back out now. Harry clenched his fist around the eep-worthy erection and began a slow pumping action that initiated a low, satisfied growl from the Alpha male’s throat. It took him a moment to steal himself to do what he wanted, licking his lips nervously.
He had shifted some of the blankets aside and wiggled down to allow himself better access. Leaning forward he took the sensitive tip of his mate’s cock into his mouth, his tongue swirling across the tip, savouring the taste. There was no way he would even be able to take even half of the erection into his mouth so he kept one fist pumping at the lower part of the shaft, wanting to give his mate as much pleasure as he could.
Harry took him further into his mouth, sucking at him, tasting the salty pre cum as it leaked from the tip and on to his tongue. He knew that Fenrir was awake when he felt a large hand comb through his unruly black hair, stroking it, encouraging him to continue.
It was a strain for the Alpha not to thrust his hips upwards, to push his aching cock deeper into his little mate’s mouth. It took every ounce of reserve he had, knowing that he could hurt the submissive if he allowed his animal instincts to take over. It wasn’t going to take long after the previous evening; he had denied himself so much and would pay for that now.
“Harry…” Fenrir growled in warning as he felt his balls tighten in anticipation of the coming orgasm. His fist tightened in Harry’s hair without thinking as his climax built. His little mate took no heed of the warning, only increasing in his efforts and the suction. It took mere moments for the Alpha to spill his load into Harry’s willing mouth, where he struggled valiantly to swallow it all down.
With a low growl of irritation and without putting himself away, Fenrir tugged his little mate level with him, pulling Harry on top of his body and kissing him fiercely, relishing the taste of himself on his mate’s tongue.
“I did okay then?” Harry asked as their kiss broke. In response Fenrir pulled him down to claim his lips again. “I wanted to say thank you, and sorry, about last night, so umm… thanks and I’m sorry about breaking the rule about the trees.”
“Little one… shut up,” Fenrir growled and resumed his assault on his mate’s mouth. Their tongues clashing together, battling for dominance; a fight that, of course, Fenrir won almost at once.
He was thrilled that Harry had been instilled with enough confidence to be able to do something like that; it puffed his wolf up with pride to think of how far Harry had come since arriving in the territory. It bothered him that in less than a month Harry would be gone, all the packs pups would be, they’d be out of his reach in that blasted magical school and he would only see his little mate every full moon.
FGHP
“Do you think the Alpha and Harry will want breakfast when they get back?” Callie asked her mate, as she stirred the pot filled with porridge. Everyone was getting a bit sick of the gloopy slop every morning but it was cheap, filling and warm. No one would complain about having a full belly.
“I’m sure they will, love,” Jenson said, placing a soft kiss on his mate’s cheek, making her smile.
“Yeah, I bet they will after what they were doing all night,” Clay said with amusement.
“Don’t be vulgar!” Romy chastised, glaring at her cousin.
“You love it really,” Clay teased.
“Not this morning, you two, please,” Jenson groaned, which made Tessie smile. She was becoming fond of this group of people, their occasional vulgarity and frequent bickering. Life would never be dull here, but in a good way.
“He started it,” Romy grumbled rather childishly as she went to pass her mother the bowls to dish out the breakfast.
“And I’ll finish it,” Jenson said, though his voice lacked any stern authority; he always had been a bit of a soft touch with his daughter.
“Tea,” Lukas grunted as he made his way up from the stream, Micha trailing along after him. Callie rolled her eyes, pointing over to the two mugs on the grass that were still steaming. Lukas had spent enough time showing her exactly how tea should be made that she was sure her efforts would be up to his standards.
Tessie had been astounded by Lukas’ love of tea; she had never known anyone to be so obsessed. She did love a cup in the morning but Lukas was the definition of passionate. Jenson had already advised her not to talk about the subject anywhere near him unless she was willing to be dragged into a half hour discussion on the various blends.
“Coffee for me, please,” Clay said, he was already practically bounding around the fire, his energy levels having piqued. Jenson was half tempted to take the boy out running with him today just to burn off some of that excess energy, or maybe he would give Clay and Romy another self-defence lesson; either way, the teenage boy needed to take it down a notch before he found himself on the wrong end of a stunning spell.
“I don’t think you need to add any stimulants today,” Callie said to her nephew with a pointed look. “Tea or nothing, Clay.”
“I’ll have tea then,” Clayton grumbled unhappily.
“How about you, Damon?” Callie asked, with a glance over at where her brother was sitting looking rather miserable. He had barely said a word to anyone all morning and appeared to have rather a lot on his mind. “Tea? Coffee? Porridge?”
Damon looked up from the patch of ground he had been glaring at and stared at Callie for a few moments while he processed what he had been asked. “Coffee,” he decided.
“Coffee and porridge, please,” Callie amended with a pointed look. He might be her big brother and in a bad mood, but she wasn’t going to watch him avoid meals, nor was she going to have him setting an example of poor manners to the pups.
“Fine,” Damon agreed, grunting out his thanks when a bowl of porridge was placed rather forcefully in his hand, quickly followed by a mug of hot coffee. He felt a little bad for taking his mood out, even a little bit, on his sister; she really had done nothing wrong. Honestly, no one had really done anything wrong, except possibly Harry’s usual recklessly selfish behaviour, but his mind was just abuzz with thoughts.
“They’re back,” Tessie pointed out as Callie handed her a bowl of porridge, which she passed over to Clay, who was once again clutching the sugar bag, preparing to empty half of it over his breakfast.
Everyone turned to see the Alpha male striding proudly back into the clearing, his mate being carried in his arms, though the little one didn’t look half as happy about this as the Alpha did. Clay was rather looking forward to teasing his best friend about the pouty look he was sporting with the red, puffy lips that seemed to have been put to good, though probably disturbing, use. There was probably a very good reason that Fenrir was looking rather pleased with himself.
“How are you feeling this morning, little one?” Callie asked, as the Alpha pair came over to the rest of the group and sat down close to the fire where the others had gathered. Allowing Romy and Tessie to take over serving the breakfast, Callie moved over to where Harry was cradled in the Alpha’s lap.
“Fine, thank you,” Harry said politely. “Hungry though,” he added as an afterthought as his stomach grumbled loudly.
“You can have as much to eat as you like, just as soon as I look at your head.” Harry nodded and allowed her to do just that, though it was done under the watchful eyes of the Alpha. “No dizziness, headaches, nausea?” she asked. Harry shook his head. “I think you’ll be fine, little one, just no more falling out of trees.” At this Harry flushed a bright red and nodded his agreement.
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Harry said with a chuckle. ”No more trees, right Fen?”
“Right,” the Alpha agreed gruffly. Those that had been close enough to hear, mainly just Romy, Clayton and Tessie, laughed at this.
“I think that is probably for the best,” Callie told him with a hint of a laugh to her voice; they really did make quite a pair. “I’ll get you both some breakfast.”
As soon as Callie had finished her check-up of Harry, Micha brought his breakfast over to the Alpha pair where Harry had squirmed his way off Fenrir’s lap and was now sitting beside him. Micha placed himself next to the teenager and nuzzled into him a little, a gesture that Harry returned much to the displeasure of the Alpha, who snarled at them.
“You weren’t hurt were you?” Harry asked Micha, completely ignoring his mate’s discontented snarl at his closeness to another. It was the first time since the pair of them had fallen out of the tree that he had felt coherent enough to actually voice the concern he had felt for his pack brother, though he assumed the others wouldn’t have been letting Micha wander around if he was injured.
“I’m fine,” he assured Harry with a smile, as Callie handed porridge to the Alpha pair. Harry, with a silent plea, demanded the sugar from Clay and began adding it to his own bowl.
“No thanks to you,” Damon grunted. He wasn’t pleased how much the Alpha was fawning over the little pup when Harry should have been, at the very least, given a stern word after his behaviour the previous day, not whisked away for multiple orgasms and then mollycoddled. The Beta wolf was still adamant that the decision to tell Harry the truth was still the right call, it just hadn’t been handled in the best way; as usual, Harry had overreacted. He should never have tried to go up into that tree again.
“Damon,” Fenrir growled in warning; the evening before he had tolerated the Beta wolf’s attitude to some extent, but that had largely been due to his priority having been his worries for his little mate’s health. It was also in part because he was aware of the way Damon felt about Micha; he understood that the Beta would therefore be protective of the other submissive. Now, however, his patience was far more limited.
“Harry should never have been in that damn tree again, he knew how dangerous it was and how worried it would make everyone!” Damon said, voicing what he had been thinking. He was finding that his own patience was even more limited than that of the Alpha this morning. He had been trying to do what was best and as a result he was getting the blame for what had happened and the man he liked, and wanted to claim as a mate, wasn’t speaking to him.
“Dad!” Clay protested, shocked at the way his father was speaking to the Alpha. He really didn’t like where this was going. Tempers were starting to escalate already and that was a dangerous thing when everyone had hot drinks and freshly cooked breakfast in their hands.
“You’re the reason he was up there!” Fenrir snapped, his tone vicious. The Alpha couldn’t forget how insistent Damon had been about telling Harry everything; he knew it would have been too much for his little mate to handle in one go and he had been right.
“And Harry wouldn’t have fallen, if I hadn’t tried to climb up after him,” Micha pointed out. “He didn’t make me do that, it was my choice, and my own fault, no-one else’s.” Micha was determined to make his side known too; he had learned a lot from Harry in the last few days since Harlan had died and one of those things was to stand up for himself.
“It shouldn’t have happened!” Damon raged; there was fury in his voice and anger in his eyes as he got to his feet. He had had enough. Harry was like a son to him, he loved the pup dearly but the mollycoddling and passing the blame over to him had to stop.
Everyone was suddenly on edge as Fenrir and Jenson got to their feet too, realising that this temper tantrum of Damon’s wasn’t going to just be swept under the carpet so to speak. It was going to have to be dealt with.
Tessie may not have been with the pack very long or known the ins and outs of every relationship but there was one thing she had determined very quickly. There was a lot of love here, everyone cared about every other member of the pack, passionately and unconditionally. Some of them were linked by blood, others by being mated, some weren’t related by either but the love and affection was still there. It both warmed her heart and terrified her because it meant that when confrontations like these happened they were doubly as terrifying than when they didn’t involve such strong emotion.
The largest three men in the pack were all squaring up to each other now, preparing for the potential fight, Fenrir and Jenson focusing their attention on Damon; the Alpha had never wanted it to escalate this far but there didn’t seem to be any way around it now. He wasn’t going to sit back and let anyone, not even his second in command and oldest friend, bad mouth his mate.
“Damon, it doesn’t have to be like this,” Jenson said, though he feared it might already be too late to back track now after all that had been said. He had never wanted to challenge the Beta for the position, but he couldn’t sit back and watch Fenrir and Damon fight each other and do nothing. He would defend his Alpha, the man who had taken him and Romy in, saving her life in the process, and that could change everything.
“Yes, it does,” Fenrir said, his voice was almost calm though as he glared at Damon. He had often believed their decades old friendship would benefit the pack, but it seemed all it meant lately was that Damon had an unjustified feeling of entitlement to question every decision the Alpha made. It had to stop, one way or another. He needed to pull his pack back in line or else they were going to fall apart.
“Stop it,” Harry said, getting to his feet too. He had been in such a good mood up until the top ranking pack members had all started bickering like little old ladies; though he knew that if they kept going it was going to be more like a horror movie by the time they were finished.
“Little one, you need to move out of the way,” Fenrir said, never taking his eyes from Damon. Clayton, just like Harry, had moved round to approach the older wolves and was tugging his Dad’s arm in an attempt to make him leave it. The pups didn’t understand that it wasn’t something that the older three could just walk away from now.
“No,” Harry said adamantly rushing forward to try and push the Alpha away from the others, to no effect. He loved Damon, they’d known each other for four years now, but Fenrir was his mate and he wasn’t going to let anyone hurt him, not again. He couldn’t help but feel slightly responsible for this. If he hadn’t been up that tree; if he hadn't then Micha would never have fallen and then this wouldn't be happening.
“Callie! Tessie! Lukas! Get them out of here,” Fenrir said firmly, ignoring Harry’s efforts. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by any of the pups right now, especially not his mate, not if this was going the way he believed it was. He didn’t want any of them getting hurt.
“I’m not leaving you, not again, not after last time,” Harry said, hitting his hand on Fenrir’s chest, annoyed that his mate was not only ignoring him but ordering the others to remove him too.
He was determined that he wouldn’t be dragged away from his mate again, not when Fenrir was on the verge of a fight. Flashes of the image he had seen in Clay’s mind that night still haunted him on occasion, no amount of mind magic could ever rid him of that nightmarish thought and it made him all the more determined to hold his ground and stay with his mate to protect him.
“It won’t be like it was with the strays,” Callie said as she approached Harry, trying to reassure him, but she felt nervous about actually moving him away. The submissive teenager was small compared to the others, just as short as Romy, but he was still large, and strong, enough to seriously hurt her if he chose to. She had seen and treated the wound he had inflicted upon Jenson, she didn’t want to be bitten by the riled up teenager, who was actually doing the most natural thing in the world to a werewolf and protecting his mate.
“Come on, little one,” Lukas said, wrapping an arm around Harry’s waist and pulling him away from the Alpha. He could sense how scared Callie was about moving Harry away and he had to admit he was a little nervous about doing it himself. However, Harry seemed to allow it, despite continuing to reach out and call for Fenrir. Though after a few paces, Harry dug his heels in and would move no further.
Tessie stood back a little, the Alpha had asked her to help but she wasn’t entirely sure what she could do. Callie seemed a little fearful of the little submissive and even Lukas was rather tentative in the way he spoke to him. It made her wonder what had happened to make them a little reproachful of going near him when he was like this. However, she was sure that she didn’t want to find out from experience.
Micha was frozen in terror, it was all just too close to the surface for him; after everything that had happened with Harlan, watching the dominant males threatening to attack each other brought all the pain and the fear, which he had so far suppressed, right back to the surface. He dropped to the floor, curling himself into a ball and screwing his eyes tightly shut, jamming a finger into each ear so he didn’t have to hear what was going on either.
“Clay, we should move too,” Romy suggested in a small voice, her small fingers clasping onto Clay’s sleeve. The only time she hadn’t felt safe with her cousin was the night he had fought Harry when Fenrir had been so badly hurt. Other than that she knew that he would look after her. She didn’t want to witness the coming fight, not when her Dad was involved. It was going to be excruciatingly painful to witness as it was, she didn’t want Clayton mixed up in it too.
“You think I am going to just walk away while they gang up on my Dad?” Clayton said, his tone fierce, even to Romy, which startled her a little. However, she held her ground knowing that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, whatever mood he was in; she had faith in how much he seemed to care for her. She could see that Fenrir, Damon and Jenson were ready to pounce, to work out the issues between them, and they were only holding themselves back because of the pups' current proximity to them.
“Clay,” Romy pleaded. “Please.”
“Get out of here, Clayton!” Damon snapped at his son, who looked genuinely hurt at the tone his Dad had used with him. “Take your cousin and go. This isn’t your fight!” he snarled dangerously, his eyes not leaving Fenrir.
Clay instantly backed off, shaking his head in disbelief at the dismissal, and stubbornly refusing to cry. He was more than able to hold his own in a fight if that was what it came down to; he didn’t want to fight Fenrir or Jenson, he had a great deal of love and respect for the both them, but Damon was his Dad and he wanted to protect him.
“Romy, Tessie, help me,” Callie said quickly to draw the others away from the fight as she began to gather up the mugs of tea and coffee, not wanting anyone to get hurt with the addition of scalding liquids to the disagreement. Her mind was already going over what medical supplies they had left in the cave and she knew they were running dreadfully low.
“Come on,” Clay said to Harry a little more forcefully than the others had dared, putting a hand on his friend’s back and helping Lukas to move him further away. “Leave them to it, if they want to be idiots and take chunks out of each other, let them.”
Harry looked to Clay, shaking his head fearfully. “I can’t,” he insisted, looking back at Fenrir despite his pack brothers’ attempt to get him out of there. The thought that the three of them might literally tear chunks out of each other terrified Harry, who wasn’t the biggest fan of violence as it was; it turned his stomach to watch the people he cared about fight, it was even worse when they were fighting each other.
“Yes, you must,” Clay told him sternly, wrapping his arm around Harry’s waist from the opposite side from Lukas. Between the two of them, they managed to pull Harry away from the three top pack members, though it took some rather strong encouraging and physical strength to win against the protests that Harry put up.
It seemed that that had been all that Fenrir, Jenson and Damon had been waiting for and, with the pups moved to a safe distance, Fenrir lunged at Damon; all the time that the Beta had stepped out of line, every insolent remark, every slur against his little mate pounding in his head demanding it be settled.
The punches and kicks started flying, as the adrenaline flooded their bodies. Their attention narrowed on each other as the Alpha and Beta started to fight in earnest, Jenson prowling around the pair, looking for a way to help his Alpha, but knowing he couldn’t interfere and risk making Fenrir look weak. The violence and force behind each blow that was dealt was terrifying to those watching.
The three of them were certainly too preoccupied with one another to see or notice what was happening with the rest of the pack. That was probably a good thing, as Harry had turned to look, upon hearing the furious roars of the battling werewolves, and the sounds of the fight. He had started to struggle desperately against the hold that Lukas and Clay had on him, screaming for the Alpha.
Lukas tried to pick him up, as Harry attempted to break free and run back to Fenrir, but then one of his flailing limbs knocked into Romy who had four mugs of boiling tea in her hands. Romy gasped in surprised and Lukas yelled out, dropping his grip on Harry, who was only stopped from running to the Alpha due to Clay’s quick reaction.
“Harry!” Clay exclaimed, as he realised the hot tea from the mugs had not only landed on Lukas, but most of it had been tipped down Harry’s arm.
Despite the weather he had been only wearing a t-shirt, having been kept warm by the body heat that came from being so closely snuggled against the Alpha. Romy gasped as before her eyes Harry’s skin went bright red and started to blister; Harry, however, didn’t notice and kept struggling against his best friend in an attempt to reach Fenrir.
“Shit, Harry,” Clayton said, drawing Lukas’ attention to the injuries. Romy had instantly clamped her hands over her mouth in shock, dropping the four, now empty, mugs that she had been carrying.
“Callie, quickly,” Lukas said, keeping his voice down as Jenson and Damon started to fight. His own burns were minor, as he had been wearing a jumper, and he was sure the burns on his hand would heal quickly; it was Harry they had to worry about.
Lukas looked over at the three fighting werewolves in time to see Fenrir throw Damon several feet, before darting after him. The Alpha’s attention was clearly still on the fight. They just needed to pray that his attention remained captivated enough to keep him from noticing the rest of them and the injury Harry had just suffered.
Callie had immediately dropped what she was doing upon hearing Lukas call her so urgently. “Tessie, go to the cave. I need burn salve and bandages,” she instructed sternly as she looked over Harry’s arm, which was not an easy task when he was still struggling to get away from Clayton and Lukas.
“I’m sorry, so sorry,” Romy was saying over and over again; she had tears in her eyes as she backed away from Harry, her hands still covering her mouth in shock at what she had done.
Clayton was struggling, despite the assistance Lukas was giving, to keep hold of Harry and he had finally had enough. He knew better than to hit Harry but he had to get his friend under control before Harry hurt himself any further. Trusting Lukas to hold Harry still for a few seconds, he let go and took hold of his best friend’s head with both hands.
“Harry!” he said firmly as he stared trustingly into panicked, emerald green eyes, forcing Harry to focus on him and him alone. “You’re hurt, Fenrir will be fine, now let us take care of you!” he said forcefully, keeping the eye contact until a second later Harry had stopped struggling.
“I’m hurt?” he asked, his eyes still trying to search out the Alpha, but all he could see was Clay’s worried face. He was so confused as to how or when he had managed to get injured and it was so difficult to care when nothing hurt and he knew his mate was in danger.
“It was an accident,” Lukas told Harry as Tessie reappeared with everything that Callie had asked of her.
“Clayton, please go and talk to Romy,” Callie instructed her nephew, with a nod towards her slightly hysterical looking daughter, “before she sends herself into shock.”
Clay nodded and, once he was sure that Harry was no longer fighting against Lukas, he went to do as he was told. He could see that Romy shaking and knew that she was utterly terrified.
“Romy, hush, it’s okay, it was an accident,” Clay said, taking her in his arms as she started sobbing, curling into him as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I didn’t mean to; the Alpha will be so angry. He’ll kill me for hurting Harry. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to,” she rambled, her voice breaking as she spoke.
“Don’t be silly,” Clayton said calmly, trying to sooth his cousin. “You didn’t mean to, it was an accident. Harry will be healed in a couple of days and be fine.” He felt elated to have her in his arms, even under the circumstances; her scent intoxicating him as he tightened his grip protectively around her. “Even if he did try, I’m not about to let anyone hurt you.”
Callie, as Clayton had comforted Romy, had hastily applied the burn salve to Harry’s arm and then, as quickly as she could and with help from Tessie, wrapped the bandage around the pup’s arm. The last thing she wanted was for the Alpha to see the extent of the damage done and hopefully by the time the bandages were removed tomorrow the worst of it would be healed.
A roar of victory carried through the clearing that clearly belonged to Fenrir; the suddenness of the sound made them all turn to look. He was standing over where Damon was lying on the floor. Harry went to run to him, but Lukas quickly stopped him, knowing that it wasn’t over yet. With the Alpha no longer fighting and Harry able to see that he was okay, the little submissive seemed to accept the restriction.
There was a pause in the clearing. It wasn’t over; it felt a little too anticlimactic; though they were concerned about the state Damon might be in, given he had yet to move from the floor. But then he did and there were several screams as the pack watched Damon throw himself towards the Alpha, who was no longer looking in his direction.
Jenson was quick though and intercepted the attack, knocking himself and Damon to the floor, the fighting beginning anew; everyone seemed to be holding their breath as they watched the conflict that would decide who would be Beta wolf of the pack. Already Damon would likely have been ousted from the post, having lost so decisively to Fenrir, but this fight would allow Jenson to prove himself, to earn the position for himself without question, something which the pack needed.
It didn’t take long, given how beaten down and exhausted Damon already was, and it was likely Jenson could have taken him down even on one of his better days. It was still a frightening sight to see; Jenson was towering over the former Beta wolf, a hand pinning the slightly smaller werewolf down as he cried out his own victory, much as the Alpha had done. He was the Beta now, he had won the position and made it rightfully his.
The fight was quite suddenly over; Damon had taken a fair beating but still had the use of his legs and, as soon as Jenson released him, he didn’t even stagger when he used them. He had, however, landed his own blows, made evident by the broken and bleeding nose of the new Beta wolf of the pack. Now that Damon had been demoted to just being another pack wolf he felt, as well as looked, dejected and downtrodden. He didn’t want to be around the others for a little while. He needed time to lick his wounds away from the group.
“Dad!” Clay called after him as Damon began to head towards the forest and out of the clearing. He was worried that this might be the last time he saw his Dad and he didn’t want that to be the case; he would fight tooth and nail for them to stay here.
“Just let him go, Clay,” Micha said, putting an arm on Clayton to stop the pup from going after his Dad. He had finally uncurled himself and stood up after the first roar of victory had echoed around them and he had regretted it as it meant he had seen the second fight. It had been distressing to witness even as much as he had, having kept his eyes and ears closed for most of it. He just wasn’t ready to be around such dominant behaviour yet, but he knew enough to know Damon would need a little space; even, or maybe especially, from Clayton.
“He’ll be back,” Callie assured her very worried looking nephew, “just give him a little time.” Sadly Clayton nodded his head, understanding how bruised his Dad’s ego would be. For the moment he would let him go.
The Alpha male neither looked pleased nor upset about the shift in positioning’s in his pack as he approached the rest of the group. He had a few cuts, some bruises that were already starting to show and his lip was bleeding pretty badly, but overall he seemed to have fared pretty well from the fight. At least nothing was bleeding profusely and nothing had been broken.
Jenson didn’t seem to be feeling much better than Damon or Fenrir did about the situation that had just unfolded; he had never wanted to challenge Damon for the position of Beta wolf, it was not a position he had ever coveted but what was done was done. There was no question that the bitterness would have to be suppressed on Damon’s side. There would be no more blame passed around and there would be no more snide comments either.
Now that Fenrir had turned his attention back to the pack, he saw, to his horror and bemusement, that Harry’s arm was suddenly bandaged. He rushed to his mate, needing to know what had happened in the brief amount of time that he hadn’t been keeping an eye on his precious little one; he honestly couldn’t look away for a second, he thought with frustration.
“What happened?” he demanded angrily. If he couldn’t even turn his back on the pup for five minutes how was he supposed to feel comfortable about only seeing him once a month, for the full moons, while he went to Hogwarts. Harry could get himself into all sorts of trouble in their time apart. He wasn’t sure that he was at all comfortable having that knowledge.
“It was an accident, Fen,” Harry reassured him as the Alpha began to sniff at him, seeking out any other injuries he might have. “I knocked into Romy when she was carrying some hot drinks. It’s my fault, I was trying to reach you.”
“Oh, little one,” Fenrir said, pulling Harry closer to him and kissing him, the taste of blood mingling in their tongues from the Alpha’s bleeding lip. “Next time, listen to me. If I tell you to move, do it.”
“Wolfie,” Harry said with a sigh, “you don’t get it do you?” Fenrir raised an amused, questioning eyebrow. “I’m not going to willingly leave you if you’re in trouble, not ever, no matter what you say.”
“As stubborn as ever,” Fenrir said disapprovingly.
“And you wouldn’t have me any other way,” Harry said with a smile.
“Does it hurt?” Fenrir asked, motioning to the arm.
“Not at all, I didn’t even know that it had happened, not until Clay told me about it. Though you might want to talk to Romy, I think she’s worried you might want to kill her for hurting me.”
Fenrir snorted in amusement at this. “I’ll talk to her,” he said.
“Be nice, no big scary Alpha. Okay, Fen?” Harry said giving him a pointed look.
“Fine,” Fenrir said, completely unimpressed.
“My Alpha,” Callie said hesitantly, “that was the last of the bandages,” she informed him. “With the rate Harry is going through them we’ll need to get more relatively quickly.”
Fenrir growled at the reminder of just how much medical attention his little mate had needed since coming to the territory. It was happening too frequently for his liking; and, while he could accept occasional injuries were to be expected, the fact that Harry once again hadn’t even noticed that he was hurt, worried him a great deal.
The Alpha didn’t really want to send anyone to get supplies while Damon was off licking his wounds, but they had little choice. The former Beta would likely need medical attention when he chose to return to them too, and as much as he was furious with his best friend at the moment for forcing the fight, Fenrir still wouldn’t see him go uncared for. He was still Damon's Alpha after all, not to mention his friend.
“Fine,” he said in annoyance, as he looked around trying to work out who could go.
Lukas and Jenson would stay, he needed them to stay and protect the territory; Callie he wanted to stay too, just incase Jenson, Damon, or, Merlin forbid, Harry needed any more medical care; and there was no way he was taking Micha with him, given how unpredictable he was at the moment.
“Tessie, you’ll come with me,” he said decisively, not really seeing any alternative in the matter.
“Why can’t I go with you?” Harry asked.
“You get yourself into enough trouble just in the territory,” Fenrir said dismissively, “I’m not taking you out of the territory today.”
“But I can’t get into trouble if you’re with me,” Harry said manipulatively, smiling up at his big, strong Alpha mate sweetly.
“I think Clay could use a friend right now anyway, Harry,” Micha pointed out quietly, taking a seat next to the Alpha pair and when Harry looked in Clay’s direction he could see what Micha meant.
“Yeah, okay,” he agreed; he was reluctant to let the Alpha out of his sight, granted he didn’t look hurt at all, a few bruises and minor cuts, but it was difficult for Harry to comprehend how he could just go off into town after such a vicious fight, and one against his best friend no less.
“I’ll be back soon, little one,” Fenrir reassured, as Harry began to nervously chew at his bottom lip, unsure about being separated from his mate; it just didn’t feel right.
“Can’t someone else maybe go?” Harry asked, as Fenrir made to get to his feet. He hated sounding weak, as if he couldn’t cope without his mate but it wasn’t about that. It was about the fact that he had just seen the man enter into a rather violent fight and Harry couldn’t stomach the violence of it or the knowledge that it could have been a hell of a lot worse, like the last time. It brought back all the memories from when Fenrir had been so badly injured and it had shaken him to the core.
“Little one…” he said in a low but gentle warning. “Stay with Clayton. And don’t leave the clearing,” he added as an afterthought. While he trusted the other pup to keep his little mate safe, he didn’t trust either of them to not cause problems if let out from the watchful eye of the others.
Clayton really did look quite miserable, despite Romy’s efforts to draw him out of himself. Hopefully Harry would have more luck, and the time and effort that would take would keep all three of the pups out of trouble while the Alpha did the supply run.
“Don’t take long,” Harry ordered sternly, crossing his arms over his chest as he and his mate stood up. He felt vulnerable and he didn’t like it one bit.
Fenrir frowned at the clear command; but there was obvious concern on Harry’s face and, given the rather precious way his little mate was attempting to give him orders, he let the disrespect slide. “It will not take us long, little one,” he assured him.
However, he would not leave any doubt about who Harry belonged to, nor who was in charge, and so he pulled Harry up to his feet, pulling him against his larger frame, making the teenager let out a rather startled yelp at the sudden movement. “Behave,” he growled low in warning, before pressing his lips firmly against his little mate’s.
Harry all but melted into the kiss, which was hard enough that he was sure it had bruised his lips, but he hardly cared; and when Fen moved his mouth to his neck to mark him, he just wished he was better at holding back the little moans he made. It was a little embarrassing having the rest of the pack see him that way. He liked to portray himself as strong and independent, bending to the Alpha’s will after a few kisses was not going to maintain this image for long.
“I always behave,” Harry said cheekily, feeling the need to re-establish himself a little after his mates display.
Fenrir snorted in amusement. He was fairly sure that Severus must have just completely failed to teach Harry the meaning of the word behave. Either that, or Harry had learned it from Clayton. Either way his little mate was sadly misinformed.
“Then let me rephrase, try not to get yourself injured, don’t wander off and, until I get back, Jenson is in charge!”
“Yes, Alpha bossy boots,” Harry said with a grin, standing on his tip toes and pleading for one final kiss before the Alpha had to go.
Tessie was already waiting rather anxiously to the side of them, not sure what to do with herself as she waited. She was astounded when she heard Harry’s nickname for the Alpha but decided not to say anything and just watched as they shared another passionate kiss. She still found this whole pack really weird sometimes, even if she rather liked their oddness.
Harry watched Fenrir walk off with Tessie, not liking the fact that he was leaving. So busy admiring the back of the Alpha as he left the clearing, it made him jump when an arm was woven around his waist and a head came to rest on his shoulder.
“He’ll be back soon,” Micha said softly and Harry nodded, placing his arm around the other submissive in turn. “In the meantime I think there is someone else who needs you even more than I seem to lately,” he told him, jerking his head towards Clay, who still had Romy sitting next to him.
“What do I even say?” Harry asked. He was worried it would be awkward given it was his mate who had just beaten up Clay’s Dad, though Romy’s Dad had helped with that too and she was still talking to him just fine, even if she wasn’t making much progress.
“He’s your best friend,” Micha pointed out with a shrug of his shoulders. “Let’s just go and sit with him.”
Harry nodded and together the two of them headed over to Clayton and Romy, who were more than happy to see them. The four of them snuggled together, no words passing between them as they just cuddled into one another for comfort. Clayton was the first to speak.
“What happened to start this?” he asked, though it was very clear that the only one of them who would know anything was Harry, even though the question was not directed directly at him.
“When we fell out of the tree I think,” Micha said.
“No, before that. Harry… why did you go up there again? The first time I kind of understood but…” Clay said, desperately seeking an explanation. He didn’t want to blame Harry, but it seemed that yet again he was the source of the problem; he loved his best friend enough, though, to give him a chance to explain.
“It’s so complicated, Clay…” Harry said, not sure that his friend needed to hear this and not sure if he was ready to talk about it. He had so far done a rather skilful job at avoiding anything relating to the name Potter or the Daily Prophet; not even Fenrir had questioned him on it since they had woken up this morning.
“I don’t give a shit about complicated!” Clay snapped. “I want to know why my Dad just had the crap beaten out of him!”
“Because he told me that my Dad wasn’t my Dad, that he kidnaped me,” Harry snapped right back, sitting up from the mini puppy pile the four of them had created. “Because he tried to tell me my whole life was a lie.”
“Why would he do that?” Romy asked curiously. It was no secret that Damon loved Harry almost as much as he loved Clay, so it seemed so unexpected for the man to say such things, at least without good reason.
“There was an article in the paper; there was a picture of all of us from when we went to Diagon Alley. They called me Harry Potter. It said that I was meant to be dead; it said that my Dad died the same night my Mum did. That he was some guy called James.”
“Wasn’t that what those weird guys called you that time?” Clay asked. “You know, the night we went to that club.”
Harry frowned in thought. “Maybe, I can’t really remember.”
“You two went clubbing?” Romy asked with a frown, completely missing the point.
“Yeah, Harry started a fight and we got kicked out,” Clay told his cousin before turning back to Harry. “But I’m sure that’s what they called you.”
“Honestly, even if it is true, I don’t think it changes anything,” Harry tried to explain. “My Dad is still my Dad.”
“How did we just skip over the fact that Harry started a fight?” Micha asked, still finding it hard to believe.
“It was just a little fight,” Harry told them. “They couldn’t handle being beaten at pool,” he added with a shrug.
“It was not a little fight, you would have beaten him to death given half a chance, he was only a puny muggle,” Clayton said with an air of smugness about him. “He wouldn’t have stood a chance against the two of us.”
“It’s not something to be proud of Clayton!” Romy snapped at him. “As for this stuff in the paper; what does it matter who the rest of the world believes you are? Jenson has shown me more fatherly love than my real father ever showed me growing up; he’s my Dad regardless of blood.”
“Damon isn’t my Dad by blood either, but he’s still my Dad,” Clay said with a shrug. “Romy’s right about that at least. What does it matter? Severus loved you; he died to protect you...”
“That’s what I said!” Harry interrupted, glad that Clay and Romy understood, even if Damon had completely failed to.
“I wouldn’t let it worry you too much, Harry,” Romy said kindly. “At least you know now, and you won’t have someone suddenly be able to turn around and use this against you.”
“So you think it’s true?” Harry asked.
“I don’t know,” Romy said honestly, though something nagged at the back of her mind, something that she might have read, though she didn’t want to mention it, not yet, not until she could find it and confirm it first.
“We’ll always be your family, little one,” Micha said, nuzzling into Harry a little, making him smile and returning the gesture.
“Romy…” Clayton said and instantly her suspicions were raised at his tone.
“No,” she answered, knowing she wasn’t going to like the suggestion whatever it was.
“Hey, no fair, you at least have to let me ask first,” he protested, as Harry and Micha laughed at him.
“Fine. Yes, Clayton, what is it?” she asked warily. She was still pretty certain what her answer was going to be, but she could humour him for a minute at least.
“You know that Jenson was teaching you to play poker…” he said, using the same pleading tone as before.
“No,” she said again. Her Dad had started teaching her the despite her mother’s protests about it not being a suitable game for someone of her age, but her Dad had promised that there would be no gambling and Callie had reluctantly agreed. However, Romy was certain that her cousin would not have the same respect for those conditions that she did.
“What? Why not?”
“Because you’ll use the skills for evil!” Romy told him, with a tone that said that she knew that he knew full well why not.
“I wouldn’t!” Clayton protested, but even his own tone of voice made it sound like he was already plotting how he could do just that.
“You so would, she has you completely figured out” Harry added, “but I still think Romy should teach us.”
“Not happening, why don’t we just play rummy?”
“You are such a spoil sport,” Clay told her grumpily, sulking like a small child. “Please…” he said, in a pleading tone of voice.
“Come on, Romy,” Micha said, joining in. “We could all do with a bit of fun.”
“You three having fun is what worries me,” Romy said with a sigh, “Fine, I’ll teach you, but no gambling!”
Harry and Clay gave each other knowing looks, grinning happily. “Oh, of course not,” Clay said and Harry nodded his agreement.
Micha laughed, rolling his eyes. “I’ll fetch the cards,” he said, disentangling himself from the puppy pile and going to fetch them. Jenson, Callie and Lukas all giving them rather suspicious looks.
Later, when Fenrir and Tessie returned to the clearing their suspicions were raised when they were met with raucous laughter, it made the Alpha rather concerned as to what they could be up to considering he could hear his little mate giggling hysterically.
“What’s wrong, my Alpha?” Tessie asked, sensing his unease and instantly becoming more alert herself, fearing an attack.
“They’re laughing,” Fenrir stated stiffly.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” She asked with confusion, relaxing a little.
“Not when it’s Harry and Clayton that are the ones laughing.” Fenrir said, “When you’ve been here longer, you’ll understand.”
FGHP
No one in the pack was settling as night fell, no one would be able to either, not until Damon came back. He had been gone for the entire day since Jenson had replaced him as Beta wolf and now the evening was drawing in and there was still no sign of him.
Fenrir and Tessie had had a rather uneventful but successful trip into town and had returned early afternoon to discover the pups all learning how to play poker. The Alpha hadn’t been too impressed with that but had said nothing about it as he was just relieved that they hadn’t been getting into any trouble.
Harry had detached himself from the card playing group as soon as Fenrir had returned and they had spent the next hour reacquainting themselves with each other, much to the revulsion of Clayton, who had lost the game of cards to Romy and blamed it on the kissing noises being made by the Alpha pair.
The pack had been settling down to dinner, which had been prepared by Callie and Harry, when silence fell around them, the casual chatter dying as a bruised and battered looking Damon re-entered the clearing. It had clearly taken a lot of courage to come back, his pride had taken a huge knock and his ego was in tatters. Yet here he stood, his head held high as he walked back to his pack, his family.
Fenrir gently removed Harry from where he had been sat in the Alpha’s lap and got to his feet, ignoring the protests from his little mate at the loss of the older wolf’s warmth. Fenrir stood up, followed closely by Jenson, approaching Damon, who showed his submission to both. It was only then that the three of them shook hands and the tension eased in the group. They didn’t need words; it was done, the matter settled. That was the end of it, the position of Beta had been passed, as it should have been when Jenson joined but now the pack had righted itself and they would be stronger for it.
The Alpha motioned for Damon to take a seat, instructing Callie to fetch her brother something to eat. He would need medical attention as well but that could wait until after he had eaten. The former Beta tentatively went and sat down next to his son, looking for acceptance from him too almost, after everything that had happened.
Damon needn’t have worried though, the moment he had taken his seat, Clay shuffled over to him and hugged him; there was no question that he still loved his Dad, there was no blame for what had happened. Damon looked over towards Micha who was, as usual, sat with Harry and Fenrir. The older of the two submissive males gave a small smile but didn’t maintain their eye contact for long. Though it was enough to give Damon a small flicker of hope that the damage done to their friendship could be repaired even if it wouldn’t be anything more than that.

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Fragmented Soul