Pack Mentality - Chapter 1 - CowboyWeeb (2024)

Chapter Text

Science and magic.

Two things that are the polar opposites of each other, yet similar. To have magic, one must do science, such as potion making, finding the proper ingredients to get a circle or powder just right. Yet it still relies on some sort of supernatural or demonic entities to make it work. To do weird magic, one must have the ability to use it. So even if you make a mean healing potion, you won’t be casting any lighting spells if your mana count isn’t big enough.

Science allows those who have the skills and smarts, but not the mana, to still create wonders to make lives easier. It creates machines to harvest the crops, chemicals to mess with the weather, create new cures, the possibilities are endless.

But both fields have one thing in common: imagination.

Creativity is key, because without it, you can’t improve on any ideas or find better ways to use them. So having an active imagination is key for pursuing more achievements.

Until the mamano invasion happened, science and magic rarely intertwined. Superstition had no place in the world of science.

However, when a monster girl invasion happens, and they bring with them jaw dropping magical abilities, the imagination of scientists runs wild.

Combining the two created more durable metals, more efficient and clean sources of power, and of course, more powerful aphrodisiacs.

But science had one white whale it was always trying to pursue, one that had eluded it for generations. One that they had come so close to achieving, only to have the rug pulled from underneath them.

Reviving extinct species.

This is different from necromancy. They don’t want a pile of bones coming to life or a zombified tiger running around.

They want to actually bring back long extinct species.

For years, scientists have attempted through cloning technology. And while sheep are easier to clone, there’s a big difference between that and say, a wooly mammoth.

Geneticist Dr. Aldous Webber believed they could combine magic and science to bring back species from the ice age. For years they had failed, but magic could be their chance.

Of course it wasn’t without controversy. Reviving extinct species, especially from the Ice Age, was frowned upon when there were already other species of animals across the world that needed population regrowth. And of course there was always the Jurassic Park controversy.

However,there are those that are excited to be a part of such progress. Which is why Mistress Bailey, a lich and lord of the dead, sought to bankroll the project.

She too had a dream to bring objects to life, but she wanted them to be alive, alive, with running blood, functioning organs, and actually using their lungs to breathe.

Gathering the best minds, they first got to work on what they needed to bring these creatures to life. They had the DNA, and the embryos, along with the chambers, and wombs, but the magic was the tricky part. They couldn’t use just any necromancy spell, it had to be something to supercharge the cells and make the creature a living breathing creature.

That was stumping them for the past 4 months. In order to secure extra funding and keep the hippies off their back, they decided to experiment by using current animals that were endangered.

So far, the experiments have been failures. Either the cells died, or they accidentally monsterized the species, which led to the creation of elephant and rhino girl mamano.

“Not again!” Webber groaned.

Their latest experiment on a white rhino created a white rhino mamano. Tall, strong, busty, with long flowing white hair, and right now she had her eyes on the intern. And of course, a milf, though technically a cougar since she didn’t have a kid.

“Come here little man,” she purred.

“Open the damn door!” the intern cried.

In an effort to keep their experiments contained, they did them in a chamber where the experiments could operate. The door was made of titanium and the glass was reinforced and bulletproof. Nothing could shatter it. Nothing could get in, but nothing could get out. Unfortunately the door required 5 minutes to open. It’s a safety mechanism to prevent any leaks or escapes. Not good for the intern who fell behind.

“Oooo, you are making me mad!” the rhino woman charged at the intern.

Webber clicked on the intercom. “Clap your hands at her! Loudly!”

“What?” cried the intern.

“Just do it!”

As the rhino woman got closer the intern closed his eyes, bracing for pelvis pain, and clapped his hands loudly. The rhino halted, like she had just been shot. She stared blankly ahead. The door opened and the intern escaped.

Webber sighed and pressed a button to release knockout gas. “Another failure.”

The rhino mamano collapsed quickly. Webber groaned. “That’s the third time!”

He faced his fellow scientists. All were a mish-mash of humans and mamano. He calmly asked. “So…what went wrong that time?”

A dwarf stepped forward, her voice shaking. “We…created a mamano?”

“I KNOW WE CREATED A MAMANO!!!” Webber barked. “WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!?”

An older scientist stepped forward, everyone parted like he was about to be sacrificed to a god. “Sir….cloning was already a challenging science, even with the wonders of magic it’s still difficult to produce….” Webber narrowed his eyes and the scientist quickly interjected. “But we must see this as a learning experience!”

Webber scratched his chin. On the bright side, they had shown they could create life and somewhat clone an animal just from its DNA. Instead of being an animal it was a lustful monster girl.

“Back to work,” he growled. “And take the specimens to the containment area.”

A hazmat team of werewolves in bright yellow suits shuffled in and picked up the rhino woman.

“God damn! She’s heavy!” groaned one.

“I gotta do more squats,” groaned another.

They shuffled out while scientists went back to work. Webber sat down and leaned back in his chair. So far this project has been a failure. For the past 2 years they had tried and failed. First it was the elephant and that made a 10 foot tall woman with huge tusks and a trunk, it didn’t help it was a bull elephant and was aggressive, the damage she caused put them behind for 6 months. Took 10 tranq darts with enough power to take down a gorilla to bring her down. She is much calmer now. Then they switched to rhinos for the last two only for the same results.

“Do not worry,” the calming voice of Mistress Bailey snapped him out of his frustration. He looked up to see the bone white woman with snow white hair standing over him, wearing a white pants suit . “I believe as it goes, at first if you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

Webber sighed. “Yes, but the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”

She smiled and patted his shoulder. “Do not fret.”

“But the projects cost…”

“Cost is not a concern,” she smiled. “You would be surprised how much wealth I’ve acquired over the hundreds of years of my living, well, unliving.”

Webber smiled. “But I want to put it to good use.”

“And you are!”

Webber leaned back in his chair. “Ever since I watched Jurassic Park I’ve had the dream of bringing extinct animals to life. Of course dinosaurs were too scary, but after watching Ice Age, I thought it would be easier to bring those animals to life. However, if only we could crack the code.”

On top of their usual science of DNA, genetics, gene splicing, artificial wombs, they were using demonic energy to help the experiments progress further. They didn’t want to raise babies, they wanted to create either an older one, whether it be a teen or an adult, while at the same time retaining some of their basic instincts, such as the walk, eat, hunt, graze. However, the problem stemmed from demonic energy. It added in mating, and of course turned them into monster girls. They weren’t trying to create waifus for people. They were already under pressure from the Cat Girl Alliance, who was afraid they would try to create genetically engineered catgirls. However, they had to keep these latest debacles under wraps.

He scanned the data from the last experiment. They had tried to use parts of other pieces of DNA to help the DNA fuse. They used a bit of malef dragon blood, as it was known for turning people into dragonewt. Then the apophis venom, which could turn women into lamias. Granted these were in the reptile family, but they could still work. They were also looking at werewolves as well, they could turn women into werewolves, so maybe adding a bit of their saliva or DNA could help. It’s a meticulous process, breaking down the venom, blood, and other bodily fluids bit by bit, just to find the right pieces to connect those building blocks of DNA. The demonic energy is the icing on top of, giving in the extra shock it needs to create life.

However, it can’t work if it keeps turning their experiments into mamano!

Webbing called a meeting and the scientists gathered.

The dwarf spoke first. “Sir, what we know is that we can create life extraordinarily fast! While past trials took time, we estimate we can produce a fully grown animal within 5 months!”

Webber nodded. That is good news, less time, means less of a chance things could go wrong.

“The only problem is, the demonic energy,” the dwarf checked her notes. “Its potency is overwhelming. It’s perfect for reviving the species, unfortunately….”

“It’s what turns them into mamano,” grumbled Webber. “That’s been established.”

“Yes….but we might have a way to fix that problem.”

Webber’s ears perked up. He leaned forward in his seat. “Might?”

“Emphasis on might,” the dwarf said. “We still need to run some tests.”

“Tell me,” Webber was trying not to get his hopes up. But any new hypotheses are a blessing.

The older scientists took the flood, after getting a nod from the dwarf. “Are you familiar with raging mushrooms?”

“No,” Webber said.

“Raging mushroom is a fungi from the mamano realm. This Agaricus bisporus has an interesting effect on men. It enhances their strength and stamina, allowing them to overpower their foes….”

As the scientist trailed off, Webber sighed and rubbed his eye. “Overpower them to do what, exactly?”

The scientist gulped. “Well ... .they are able to…defeat them in hand to hand combat….”

“And then?”

The scientist quickly whispered. “Matewiththem.”

Webber knew he got his hopes up. “So it’s just an aphrodisiac?”

“Yes…but I believe if we can isolate those lustful properties of it, it could be utilized for the project!”

“How?”

“Well, we’ve been experimenting with demonic energy, and we figure we need to dilute it significantly to make it function the way we want it to. However, we estimate that we would need to dilute it by 85%.”

“85%?!?”

The scientist nodded. “You have no idea how potent that is. But back to the subject, the problem is, it’s lost a lot of its power when it’s diluted. If we were to apply it to any DNA, we might get our intended result of an animal, but it would be nothing more than a homunculus, not able to think or move. But we theorize that if we add some of the raging mushroom properties to it, such as strength and stamina enhancement properties, it could fill in those gaps and allow the animal to know some basic knowledge.”

Webber drummed his fingers. “Would they be able to think? Because what I’m hearing is the demonic energy gives them thought, and diluting it takes it away.”

“That’s where the raging mushroom comes in, if they know how to move, run, walk, and even eat, the rest will come naturally.”

Webber drummed his fingers some more. “How much time do you need?”

The scientist sighed. “Well that’s the challenge, in the mamano realm the Order tried to weaponize raging mushroom but failed, as they couldn’t find a way to extract those properties. However, they did not have the resources or technology like us.”

“How much time?”

“I say, give us 4 months.”

It’s a long shot, Webber knew that. However it seemed like their best chance. “Get started, now.”

*****

“I WILL f*ck! ANYTHING THAT MOVES!!!” the college student struggled against his restraints, foaming at the mouth.

Webber and the team watched patiently from behind the one way glass. Webber said calmly. “Well, that’s the fourth one this month.”

So far their attempts at isolating the aphrodisiac portions of raging mushroom had been a failure at most. Luckily, since they are a private company they didn’t need to test on rats and could go straight to human trials. And there were plenty of college students looking to make an easy thousand dollars.

When they started the experiments, it took at least five werewolves to take down one human, luckily no one got violated. They started restraining the boys after that.

“Send in the wight,” Webber ordered.

A tall pale lady cracked her knuckles. “Let’s get this over with.”

****

About 30 minutes later the wight exited with a water bottle sized amount of white, creamy liquid. “Well, he was pent up.”

“I am so sorry we have to have you do this,” Webber said. The wight is one of their best researchers, but when the time comes, wight’s are known for giving phenomenal handjobs.

She shrugged. “It’s fine, gotta unwind somehow.”

The only way to keep the boys from humping a hole in the wall was a handjob for a wight. While one would say the tailpuss* of a manticore would be better, they had no manticore’s on staff.

“Take the seed and put it in storage.” Webber said. “We’ll sell it to a sperm bank later, and send the money to the kids.”

The wight glanced over her shoulder. “I think the handjob was enough for him.”

“Just do it.”

She shrugged and went to cold storage. Webber sighed and turned to the staff. “Come on people, we are not the Order!”

“It’s more difficult than we thought,” the dwarf said. “It’s incredibly potent.”

“But….the fifth time might be the charm,” the balding elderly scientist said.

Webber sighed. “Let’s hope.”

They decided to take the path of testing on college kids before doing any more experiments on DNA. The figured human trials would give them actual results. And they were.

The dwarf entered a room with a needle full of their diluted raging mushroom.

Another college student sat around in the waiting room, flipping through his phone. “So is this gonna take long?”

“It shouldn’t, I hope,” she quickly injected the serum into him. She then quickly rushed out of the room and locked the door behind her.

The college student looked at his arm. “Hey I’m not gonna turn into a zombie, right?”

The dwarf clicked on the intercom. “No! You won’t!”

“Ok…I’m not gonna explode am I?”

“No, not at all.”

“So…what’s this do again?”

Before the dwarf could answer the students' pupils dilated. His breathing became heavy and feral. The scientists held their breaths, awaiting to see what he was going to do.

He started jumping in place nervously, looking around. “Yo, you all got some weights or something? This is kicking hard like my pre-workout.”

The scientists looked at each other with hope. The dwarf hit the intercom button. “How do you feel?”

“Lady! I feel like I just drank a pot of coffee! I mean my body is feeling tingly like there’s needles in it!!”

The dwarf smiled at her fellow scientists. “Get him some weights.”

Even when a female went in to deliver the weights which included some dumbbells and a bench press, the student didn’t even bother with her. He instantly started lifting.

“These are too light!” He complained as he curled a 20 pound dumbbell.

They brought in 30 pounders. He picked it up with such ease it may as well have been a toy doll. They continued providing him more until he reached 100 pound dumbbells.

“Amazing,” Webber said. “He's not even tiring.”

The student then turned his attention toward the bench press. He stacked 5 plates on each side and got on the bench.

“Do you need a spotter?” The dwarf urgently asked

“Hell no! It’s lightweight baby!” Everyone held their breath as the bar fell, expecting to hear a sickening crunch. Instead, they watched as he slowly lifted the bar up and down rhythmically.

“That’s….that’s a total of 495 pounds…” the dwarf gawked. She clicked the intercom. “What were you able to bench before?”

“About 200, whatever you gave me works!” He roared. “I’m gonna get my beach body ready!”

The dwarf looked at Webber. “Success?”

Webber smiled. “Success.”

******

The scientists held their breath as they awaited the results. 3 months had passed after they introduced the rhino DNA to the diluted demonic energy and raging mushroom. It sat in the incubator, almost ready. Massive structure housed the artificial womb. It also helped advance the development along much quicker.

They were surprised to find that development in the womb was occurring much quicker.

“3 months, and she’s almost ready?” Webber couldn’t believe his eyes.

“It must be the raging mushroom,” the dwarf said. “Further studies found the diluted version was synonymous with muscle growth. It must be reacting with the demonic energy positively to enhance its reaction to the DNA.”

“Now…let’s hope she’s not a mamano…” he glanced behind him at the werewolf security officer. “No offense.”

“Hey, I’m getting tired of fighting mamano.” she said.

Webber held his breath, he could see the chamber glowing. “How are the vitals?”

“Stable,” the dwarf said.

“Any concerns?”

“No, heart rate is normal, blood pressure, normal…” she trailed off. “This can’t be right….”

“What?” Webber said concerned.

She looked at him. “Remember how I said she’s almost ready?”

“Yes.”

“She’s ready now.”

“What?”

“Yes, now.”

“Well…open it!”

Two scientists in protective gear entered the chamber, while Webber and the dwarf stood outside. The scientists approached the incubator, shaking nervously. Their protective gear was not only standard hazmat, but reinforced with riot gear to keep them safe.

They cautiously approached the incubator. One looked behind him, hoping there was a werewolf guard, there was none. Webber nodded his head, urging him to go forward. The scientist whimpered as he approached the handle for the incubator.

Webber kept his hand hovering over the red button to release the knockout gas, just in case. The scientist slowly turned the handle slowly opened the door. A puff of steam jetted out of the incubator. The scientists jumped back as a large shape slowly emerged.

“Don’t be a mamano, don’t be a mamano,” Webber thought.

A large horn split the steam, and with it came the long, tough face of the adult rhino. It lazily looked around, sniffing the air. The scientists didn’t move, they didn’t want to startle it.

“It…it works….” Webber said.

The large mammal marched out, still looking around, not panicking. Webber’s smile grew wider. He looked at the dwarf. “Get a team in here and get that rhino something to eat.” he turned around, his smile glowing. “It’s time for the next step!”

****

Mistress Bailey was all smiles when the news reached her. “And what will become of the rhino?”

“‘We’ll put her in a breeding program, we already have some zoos lined up,” Webber said.

They called a meeting to discuss what they want to do next. All the scientists, and even the guards came to the meeting.

Webber looked at his staff. “Now that this trial has been a success, we can move onto prehistoric animals…”

“TREX!” one scientist yelled.

“Utah raptor!” A werewolf yelled.

“I want a stegosaurus!” a satyr scientist said.

“Brontosaurus!” yelled a human scientist. ‘

Webber sighed. “We are not doing any dinosaurs!”

A groan came over the group.

“Have any of you even read Jurassic Park?” asked Webber.

A hush came over the group.

“It was a book?” asked the werewolf.

“Why didn’t you ask about the movie instead?” asked the dwarf.

“Because the book is far more terrifying!!!” Webber said. “I had nightmares about Dennis’s death! And the baby’s death!”

“Wait…a baby died?” asked the satyr. “That didn’t happen in the movie!”

“Read the book and you’ll understand why we are avoiding dinosaurs!”

“That’s brilliant!” Mistress Bailey exclaimed. “That will be the assigned reading!”

Webber looked at her. “This isn’t a college class or a book club.”

“I know, but it would help the group bond, and if they read it I’ll provide a $500 bonus!”

Everyone grinned eager to make some extra money just by reading.

Webber got the group back on track. “Anyways, instead of dinosaurs, we thought it would be much better to go the route with prehistoric mammals from the Ice Age.”

“Can we do mammoths?” the satyr chimed. “I love Manny in Ice Age.”

“Oooo! Oooo! Sabertooth tigers!” a werecat said.

“Giant sloth!” the werewolf interjected.

Webber nodded, all good suggestions. “I like it, but I want to start small again, we don’t want any other mistakes.”

“Small?” the dwarf asked. “What do you mean? Like a squirrel?”

“No, nothing like that, I mean something not too big, but not too ginormous.”

The group thought for a moment. The dwarf then suggested. “What about wolves?”

“Wolves?” Webber said.

“Yes, you see wolves, while predators, are a great species to study, they are related to canines and we happen to have a lot more DNA of them lying around, plus if we clone them we could track them and release them into the wild and study their hunting habits and see how they react to the modern world.”

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“Yes, but we could put them under intense surveillance, just imagine, prehistoric wolves in action, hunting down today’s deer, elk, moose, hell, even a buffalo, the data would be amazing.”

Webber scratched his chin. “How many?”

“I was thinking about 5.”

“That’s enough for a pack.”

“Exactly, we can study how they work together, how they hunt, how they interact with the modern day wildlife. Besides, there is an overabundance of deer, elk, and moose, so this could help keep those populations in control.”

Webber nodded. He had always wanted to see these animals in action, it could be a perfect opportunity.

“Start sending requests for the following: Dire Wolf DNA, Epicyon, and Cave Hyena.”

“Yes, sir.”

*****

For the past two weeks, requests were made to museums and dig sites. And thankfully they got what they needed.

“What did you bring for me?” asked Webber.

The dwarf checked her notes. “Well, we got some fresh fossils from a tarpit out in San Diego, we have an epicyon, three direwolves, and our sources in Siberia uncovered a frozen cave hyena.”

“Excellent,” Webber said. “Are they here yet?”

“The cave hyena is taking some time, proper authorities and channels need to be ... .handled, until then we are just preparing the lab. We got more artificial wombs for this experiment, and we are expanding the incubator as well.”

“Excellent,” Webber smiled. Everything is going well! Finally, after all these years, they would truly make an impact on the scientific world forever! Dreams would be a reality!

****

Work was ready to start, the fossils had arrived and the crews could get started. After getting the necessary DNA from them, they started preparing them for incubation.

“Where’s Webbing?” asked the dwarf to her human scientist friend as she carefully added the diluted raging mushroom/demonic energy substance to the dire wolf chambers.

“He’s out, he has to do an interview for some science magazine,” he replied.

“About the project?”

“Yes.” She added the next mixture to the epicyon.

“I thought they would want to keep this very hush-hush?”

“They are giving some barebones details about it, you know the usual PR stuff.” she said in a mocking voice as she added the mixture to the cave hyena. “Well, we’ve made some great advancements, and we are excited, but we can’t say anything else yet.”

The human scientist chuckled and played along. “So what are you making?”

“Well, we can’t say, but it’ll be a surprise for everyone!”

“And then millions of people read it!” laughed the dwarf. “And then they forget about it!”

The two laughed.

“Hey, is there any concern about these creatures attacking humans?” asked the human scientist. “And people are already worried about reintroducing wolves to areas already, so how will they feel about prehistoric canines?”

“As stated, they will be under surveillance,” the dwarf said. “And they plan to put them in national parks, away from ranchers….”

“But not people.”

“We’ll choose the more remote areas.”

“Ok, I think the last thing we need is…”

“Oh sh*t…” the dwarf sounded frightened.

“What?”

“We have a problem.”

“What is it?”

“Get over here!” the dwarf motioned him over. “Look into the scope!”

He looked into the scope, everything seemed normal, the mixture was surrounding the DNA..however it seemed to float in the mixture like oil in water.

“What the….it’s not bonding!!!” he yelled.

“I know!”

“But why? It worked before!”

The dwarf checked her notes. Maybe there was something they missed, an error of some sorts? They had to figure it out!! Past tests all showed the mixture bonding! Everything seemed normal.

“I mean for Christ’s sake! We created god damn mamano out of the previous ones!” the human scientist said, wringing his hands. “Don’t tell me it’s not working this time!”

“Wait…what kind of DNA did we use for the previous ones?” the dwarf asked.

“Well, rhino and elephant…”

“No! Gender!”

“Well, it was all…female….” the two looked at each other in horror.

“What gender are…the latest specimens?” asked the dwarf nervously.

The scientist gulped and looked at the charts. “Male.”

The dwarf flopped into a chair. “Oh…my…god!!!”

The scientist wringed his hands. “It’s…it's not too bad, it’s just a minor…”

“This isn’t just a minor setback! This puts the whole operation at risk! It won’t bond unless it's female DNA! It’s the damn demonic energy!”

“I thought it worked on men!”

“Well, it did…but because we diluted it to its basic self, it won’t work that way!”

He reached for the phone. “f*ck, we gotta call him…”

“NO!” she tackled him. “If we tell him he’ll be crushed! It’ll break him!!”

“Well, what do we do?”

She took a deep breath, calming herself down. “Well, what we need to do is just add some more DNA, fresh stuff.”

“But there’s already male DNA in there!”

“Well….we just need to add something else…”

“Like what?”

She took a deep breath. “Well…demonic energy does react well to spirit energy….”

“Spirit energy? Isn’t that…..” his eyes went wide. “You gotta be kidding me.”

“I think we have some wolf samples in the freezer…”

“We can’t add that! We haven’t experimented on it! And what about the hyena?”

“Look! They are all a part of the canine family, so it’s just adding a little juice to get it to bond. We’ll test it out on one for now, see what happens.”

“I don’t know…”

“Look! Webber has put a lot of effort into this, we can’t let him down!”

He groaned. “So…you sure we have some ... .samples…”

“Yes, they are in a container that looks like a water bottle, should be on the top shelf.”

The scientist left, then a few minutes later came back with the container. “ANd we are just testing this on one, correct?”

“Yes.”

He got a syringe and extracted a sample of white goo. He added it to one of the wombs. The two scientists held their breath. They just put wolf sem*n inside an experiment in an attempt to get it to bond.

“So…if this doesn’t bond….what do we do?” asked the scientist.

“Well, I gotta bottle of whiskey in my desk, I’ll probably drink that and go back to teaching public school because after we tell him what we did, I’m sure we will be fired.”

“Can I have some?”

“Oh yes.”

They waited for a couple of minutes, before looking into the womb. Their fear turned to excitement.

“It..it’s bonding…” the dwarf stammered.

“So….we aren’t in trouble?” the scientist said.

The dwarf smiled. “Add the rest to the other experiments.”

*****

“Amazing!” Webber said as he scanned the data. “They are growing at an exponential rate!”

For the past 2 months, their newest experiments were developing at a healthy rate. Their vitals were stable, there was no sign of abnormal growth.

“If everything goes well, this could be the start of something incredible!” Webber said with excitement in his voice. “The awards, the recognition, even more funding, we could be creating wooly mammoths next year!”

The dwarf and her fellow human scientist smiled politely. Nodding along.

“They’ll teach our work in colleges, and this could inspire millions of children to pursue scientific degrees!” Webber’s excitement and smile grew even bigger. He hadn’t felt this much excitement since he went to Yellowstone. It was there seeing all the beautiful flora and fauna, especially the bison and grizzly bears, awed him. He wanted to badly to study these magnificent animals. It was from there he took the path to biology: which eventually got him to genetics.

“It’s remarkable,” the dwarf added.

“Oh yes, it is,” the human scientist added.

The satyr then walked in. “Webber, we need to talk.”

Webber glanced at her. “About?”

“Why the hell haven’t they made a good dinosaur video game in the longest time!” She held up her Jurassic Park book. “This is terrifying! Can you imagine hunting dinosaurs and then hunting you? And the werewolves and the rest of us are discussing why we have been robbed of a proper dinosaur horror movie! I want to see some carnasaruses!”

Webber chuckled. “Well, this I have to see. I’m glad you are enjoying the book.”

He left to join them in their discussion. The dwarf and human breathed a sigh of relief.

“Why are you nervous?” the human asked. “It’s looking normal.”

“I was gonna ask you the same thing,” the dwarf retorted.

The two looked at the scanners and the incubator. It hummed as it prepared their experiments

“It’s all fine, right?” asked the human.

“I hope,” the dwarf said nervously. “I mean, if something went wrong, we could handle it right?”

Her friend gulped. “Isn’t that what they normally say before something goes wrong?”

*****

Vincent woke up to his shrill digital alarm blaring. He hated that alarm. But it woke him up.

The red numbers read 5 a.m.

Time for work.

He got up and quickly showered, slapped on some deodorant, and got dressed. He planned to just have some coffee in the break room. It’s Wednesday so it means Becky brings donuts to the break room. He hoped there would still be an apple fritter waiting for him. Those damn werewolves were savages.

He glanced over at the large, fuzzy shape under the covers. Her breathing remained steady, like she was sleeping. But when you are married to a hellhound long enough, you know when they are sleeping, and when they are awake.

He walked over quietly and kissed her on her forehead. She opened her bright, yet tired eyes. She glanced at him with sorrow. He gave her a small hug, instantly her big arms wrapped around him. She sniffled softly.

“I love you, Debbie,” he whispered.

“I love you too,” she held him tight. She knew he had to get to work, but she wanted his warmth just a little longer. “One more minute?”

“Anything for you sweetie.” He kissed her cheek.

*****

“Todays the day!” Webber rubbed his hands together. In just 6 hours, their experiments would be ready! “This is a true victory for science today!”

The dwarf and human had been on the edge of the cliff all these months, afraid something would go wrong. But it didn’t. Everything proceeded as planned.

Of course they still had to see what they looked like when they were done.

They had until 11:30 am.

*****

“What are they up to in there?” Vincent thought. The lab sections were off limits for him. You had to have clearance to get back there. He knew they were working on some sort of thing to bring back extinct animals, of course he didn’t know what.

“Heh, how soon until I see velociraptors running around,” he chuckled.

As a joke they put up a sign that counted the days since the last velociraptor attack. So far they were at 730 days. It earned the ire of the scientists, but they didn’t care. It was funny.

He kept thinking about his wife. She had been bed ridden the past couple of months. Not from injury, well, not a physical one, a mental one. He looked at his watch 10:30, an hour before lunch.

The gears spun in his head. He found a corner out of sight of prying eyes and dialed up his wifes phone. It rang, but went to voicemail.

“sh*t,” he muttered. Either it wasn’t on her or she didn’t charge it.

He called up his daughter, Ellie. She’s their 16 year old daughter, a good student at school, who joined the lacrosse team and excelled.

“Hi dad!” Ellie answered.

“Ellie, how are you sweetie?”

“I’m good, we are on a block schedule today so I don’t have to go into school until noon, so I’m just hanging out with Molly.”

Molly’s their other daughter, a year younger, a little ragamuffin who’s aggressive at sports, mostly rugby. Unlike her older sister, she’s a gym rat.

Vincent chuckled. “By hanging out….”

“I’m spotting her on the bench, she’s up to 150 pounds now.”

“Tell her not to push herself. Also, is your mother around?”

She paused for a second. “Yeah, she’s standing in the room.”

Vincent felt a lump in his throat. “Can you put her on the phone?”

There was a brief silence as he heard footsteps shuffle through the hallway. He heard a muffled request from Ellie. He heard Debbie’s voice, she sounded like she just got done crying and was trying her best to conceal it. “Hi honey.”

“I'm not interrupting anything am I?”

“No, not at all, sorry my phone's charging, didn’t have it on me.”

“That’s ok, well, the reason for my call is I’m craving some of that fried chicken, you know from the dragon restaurant on 14th.”

“I think they do delivery.”

“They do…but there’s one thing not on the menu.”

“What’s that?”

“Your beautiful smile.”

He could hear her blush over the phone. She responded anxiously. “Are you sure?”

“Of course, it’ll be fine, besides I want to see you.”

She paused for a moment, he could tell from her sharp breathing she was close to tears. “I’ll be there, honey. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He hung up. He glanced at his watch.

10:35.

She hadn’t left the house in a couple months. She needed this. Therapists diagnosed her with depression. He hoped this would help her, even if it gave her a smile. He wanted to stay home with her and cuddle her, as she smiled the most when he held her. However, someone had to put food on the table. Their daughters kept her entertained, and they reported that she was very huggy when they were alone with her. They kept her happy, at least until they went off to school. He was terrified leaving her alone, even though he knew she wouldn’t do anything rash, he still worried about her.

“I hope she gets here safely,” he thought.

****

“Almost ready!” the dwarf said.

Webber eagerly stood outside the incubator with the dwarf and the human scientist, along with a small security team of 4 werewolves. They were armed with tasers and tranquilizer guns, just in case. “This is a day that will go down in history!”

“Agreed!” the dwarf and fellow human scientist said unisonly. So far things were going well, it looked like they just might pull this off.

She looked at her data pad. “Aaaannnnddd…they are ready!”

Steam fogged up the window of the incubator.

“Fresh off the grill!” the human scientist chuckled nervously.

Webber approached the door. Normally he wouldn’t do this, but he was so excited!! He grabbed the handle. “Now, keep in mind they’ll be awake but we should be able to approach them cautiously…”

Suddenly, a furry hand grabbed his jacket. Before he could scream he was violently flung into the guards. The guards went spilling like bowling pins. The dwarf and human ducked just in time. They meekly looked at the incubator as they saw large figures and glowing eyes bearing down at them.

“Now we can panic,” the dwarf whimpered.

*****

“Debbie!” Vincent hugged his wife. He lifted himself on his tippy toes to kiss her on her cheek. She smiled and picked him up to give him a proper kiss on the lips, before setting him down.

She held out a large bag. “I brought the chicken…and some mac and cheese…and mashed potatoes…and some nuggets.”

“Went all out I see.”

“Well…I also got those snickerdoodles,” she smiled sheepishly.

“I got my snickerdoodle right here,” he kissed her cheek again.

She blushed. She stuck close to him as they walked toward the breakroom.

****

Webber felt blood run down his head. That thing gave him a nasty gash when he flung him towards the werewolf guards. The guards hadn’t fared much better, they were recovering from being bowling pins.

“What…the…hell…were those?!?!?!” he growled.

The dwarf and the other human scientist had managed to escape the wraith. They looked at him nervously. “I think…those were our experiments.”

“THE HELL THEY ARE!” he grabbed a radio. “Guards! We have an escape!”

“WE KNOW!” the guard yelled over the radio. “They are cutting through us like we are made of paper! Holy shi-!”

There was silence. He looked at the two scientists. “We need backup and we have to review the data, now!!!”

The two scientists looked at eachother. The dwarf spoke sheepishly. “Actually, we might know what happened….”

****

The epicyon sniffed the air, these inferior wolves had given them little trouble. The pack followed. The laughing one easily threw the inferior wolf aside like a rabbit. These wolves were strange, walking like the apes, wearing strange outfits, what animals did they slay to wear that sort of style. His nose caught a new scene. It smelled like a bird, but there was something different. The tang of spices tickled his nose. Normally he would avoid it, but it lulled him in. It smelled hot. He could tell his fellow pack members were smelling it. They set off to find this wonderous scent, and the prey.

****

Webber kept a deceivingly calm face as the scientists explained to him what happened. “So…let me get this straight…you added sem*n to these experiments so they would bond?”

“Sir you have to understand we didn’t want this to fail!” the dwarf cried.

“You were so happy, and we didn’t want to set the project back!” the human added.

“We added wolf sem*n, but we didn’t think it would do that!” the dwarf added.

Webber scratched his head. “I should be mad…but now I’m confused… how the hell does wolf sem*n create that?”

“I don’t know!” the dwarf cried. “But I swear, we didn’t think this would happen.”

Webber scratched his chin. “Show me exactly what you used.”

They went to the freezer. The dwarf showed him the bottle. “See! I had him grab this one…”

“Wait..I didn’t grab that one.”

The two looked at the human scientists.

“What?” the dwarf asked.

“I grabbed the bottle on the shelf…but it was on the left.”

Webber pointed to the bottle. The scientist nodded.

“I..I…see…” the dwarf scratched her head. “So…what samples were in that?”

Webber looked at the bottle. “This looks like the same one where we put those college students samples.”

****

Vincent prepared the table for lunch. His wife went to wash her paws. Meanwhile he was getting the paper plates and napkins ready. He was glad she was here. Eating lunch brought back memories back to when they were in college.

He saw a shadow descend over him.

“Ah honey, you are…” but when he turned around, he did not see his wife.

Towering over him with brown shaggy fur and sharp teeth was some sort of beastman. His throat went dry. He had seen plenty of beastwomen, but not a beastman. His eyes fell to the other taller creatures, Also shaggy with fur, and beastment as well. They were shorter than the bigger one, who he assumed was their leader. He could then see one with a dirty blonde fur chuckling or laughing, drool spit out of his mouth. He was about the size of the bigger one, but just a few inches shorter.

“What…what the hell are these things?” he thought.

Fur covered their bodies, but their faces were human, but he knew they were males as they didn’t wear any pants.

The leader advanced toward him. He jumped back, his heart pounded with fear. He remembered watching that old movie Van Helsing when the werewolves came out. He wondered if these were some form of werewolf. He clutched the bag of chicken in his hands.

The leader ripped the bag from his hands, tearing it open sending the fried food all over the place. He felt a little relieved, they were just after the chicken, but would they want him next. He could see them glaring at him as he backed away. He felt a heat on his chest and realized he was covered in grease and fried chicken drumsticks and thighs. Their drool signaled that they were hungry.

Suddenly the room became silent as a husky, throaty growl entered the room. A shadow descended upon them. The pack felt their hair stand up as the mere presence of a new monster entered the room. The smaller ones turned their heads around, fearful. Vincent gulped. He didn’t know much about animals, but he knew that when a stronger presence or figure entered a territory, everyone paid attention. Of course the question is, who fights, and who submits.

Debbie stood at the doorway, her eyes alive with rage, her paws curled into powerful fists. Her teeth glistened. She stood above all of them, slowly sizing up her targets. “Stay the hell away from my husband.”

It already looked like the smaller ones had made up their mind, but the bigger one wasn’t backing down. He growled and the dirty blonde one cackled and lunged at Debbie. Debbie easily threw him over her shoulder. He crashed into the wall, still laughing, though Vincent could hear pain in his laughs. The smaller ones seized the opportunity to strike, going for her legs. Debbie delivered a blow to one’s skull, slamming him into the ground. The other two backed off, whimpering. She then turned her attention to the bigger one.

Vincent hoped this fight wouldn’t go on for too long. While he knew his wife was strong, she hadn’t worked out in a couple months. She was already sweating and he could hear her breathing hard. Even the adrenaline rush would wear off. The bigger one stared at the beast towering over him. He then got on his knees bowing before the new alpha. Debbie smiled

“Oh my goodness!” Webber said as the security team burst through the doors. “What the hell happened here?”

Debbie turned toward the team growling. “You owe us an explanation…and some more chicken.”

****

This was a PR disaster. It was bad enough their subjects escaped, it was bad enough they were monster boys, it was bad enough staff got injured, and the cherry on top was that they broke containment and nearly harmed a janitor!

“The press is gonna have a field day with this!” Webber paced the room, his clothes dripping with nervous sweat.

The dwarf and the human scientist sat in the room with him, along with the head werewolf security guard

“Well…no one died,” the dwarf said.

“You created them!!!” Webber barked. He then glared at the werewolf. “And you!!! Your girls are supposed to be the best! Why the hell did they run through you like you were a bunch of mall cops?!?”

Normally she wouldn’t take that sort of criticism from any man, but this is her employer. She professionally replied. “We weren’t expecting them to be strong. We did what we could with our current training.”

“Well why the hell didn’t they get intimidated by you?” asked Webber. “Aren’t your species the same.”

“First off, that’s a stereotype that we are all some sort of kin, hell we don’t even get along with kobolds much,” the werewolf huffed. “Second, maybe if our species was around 6 million years ago, we are far off from being genetically similar to those wolves.”

Webber sighed. “Just perfect.”

The satyr peered her head in. “Uhhhh, so Mistress Bailey is here….”

Webber shot his head towards them. “We are not here!!”

The satyr gulped, followed by Mistress Bailey’s smooth voice following. “I heard that.”

She then entered, hands on her hips, her face with a hint of slight displeasure. “So…what’s this I hear about monster boys?”

Webber was about to explain when the dwarf stepped forward. “It’s not his fault! It’s mine! When we added the DNA to the raging mushroom/demonic energy solution, it didn’t attach! I made the call to add some spirit energy and we meant to use wolf sem*n, but we grabbed human sem*n by mistake…and it inadvertently created monster boys!”

Mistress Bailey frowned and scratched her chin. “Wait…but the last experiment created a rhino, why did it not work this time?”

“I think I can answer that,” the older human scientist said. “The past couple of experiments were conducted on female DNA, this DNA was male, so it appears the concoction we created needs male sem*n to make it work with male DNA.”

Mistress Bailey nodded. “I see…” a smile came to her face. “This investment is even better than I thought!”

The trio of scientists' jaws dropped like a vase. “What?”

“You created the first ever monster boys!” Mistress Bailey clapped her hands. “This calls for celebration!”

The dwarf and older human looked at Webber, who was dumbfounded.

“We can’t celebrate!” Webber balked. “We have no way of controlling those animals! And a janitor was nearly hurt!”

“Nearly?”

“His…wife stepped in, a hellhound.”

“Oh thank goodness, so maybe I won’t have to spend too much to pay them off.”

“That’s not the point….”

Mistress Bailey turned around and walked out the door. “I got my checkbook, come along.”

****

Debbie sat with Vincent in a room. Vincent was a little shaken up, but he clutched Debbie’s arm.

“You would tell me if you are ok, right?” Vincent asked.

“I’m fine, honey,” she said, nuzzling his cheek with her furry head.

“I..I just get worried about you, and what..those things were…”

Debbie had been thinking about those boys, she knew they were boys from their scent, as well as their unmentionables between their legs. Even she was surprised, actual monster boys!!! Such creatures were thought to be extinct, aside from some rumors about Nephilim in distant lands. When she saw them hunched over her husband, her instincts had kicked in, and she disciplined them. She didn’t consider it a fight, they were untrained, undisciplined, what was shown at the end, was respect, respect by fear.

The door opened and Webber along with Mistress Bailey entered. They took a seat, Webber looked considerably more nervous than Mistress Bailey.

It was Vincent that spoke first. “You mind telling us what the hell those things were?”

Bailey calmly replied. “Those were experiments that escaped confinement.”

“Experiments?” Debbie thought. She knew they were just teenagers. Despite their large statures, she estimated that they were about her daughter's ages.

“What the hell are you all making?” Vincent growled. “Because I heard rumors that you were bringing extinct species back to life.

“That was a mistake!” Webber cried. “But now we want to ensure that you are properly compensated….”

Bailey slid over a NDA paper. “And in exchange for your silence you’ll receive just compensation.”

Vincent looked at the paper. “How much?”

Bailey fawned over her fingernails, acting distant and uninterested. “$500,000?”

Vincent’s jaw dropped. He tried to maintain his coolness.”Well…the wife had to fight them..”

“I’ll throw in an extra $400,000 for her.”

Vincent looked at his wife, expecting to see her grinning, but she was frowning.

“That’s a lot of money!!” he thought. “And she’s not smiling?!?!?”

Webber looked at Mistress Bailey, it seemed like things were going to go smoothly.

Debbie spoke. “What’s going to happen to them?”

Webber cringed, he hoped there wouldn’t be any questions like that. “It’s not of your concern.”

She glared at him, her predatory eyes fixating on him. “Oh, it does.”

Webber would have wet himself if he hadn’t gone before entering this meeting. An angry hellhound is not the type of mamano you want to mess with. He glanced at Mistress Bailey, she nodded her head.

“They…they will be observed….”

“Does that mean they’ll be locked away in a cell?” growled Debbie.

Vincent felt nervous, he was glad to see his wife showing some emotion, but this was making him nervous.

“That is all I will say,” Webber said. “They need to be studied and analyzed.”

Debbie nodded her head. “I see…then I do need something else to buy my silence.”

“What?”

“I want to adopt them.”

“WHAT?” Webber gawked.

“WHAT?” Vincent cried.

Mistress Bailey was surprised.

Vincent edged his way into the conversation. “I..I need to talk to my wife, it was a very frightening experience…”

“No, I want to adopt them,” Debbie declared.

Vincent stared at his wife in disbelief. “Honey, you want to adopt 5 monster boys? Hellhound daughters are enough, but wolf boys!?!? Your kind doesn’t even have to deal with monster boys!”

“Oh please, I’ve heard stories of some monster boys ruling their own kingdom…”

“The Nephilim story? Oh come on! That’s a story you tell the children…”

“Might I interject?” Mistress Bailey said.

Eyes focused on her.

“Thank you, now Dr. Webber, your job is to gather quality scientific data, correct?”

“Yes, yes it is,” replied Webber.

“And, what would give you the best data? Studying them in a lab, or out in the environment?”

“Well…” he scratched his head. “An open environment would show their progress and it would be fascinating to study how they adapt to the world…but you have to understand! Those are monster boys!! If the Demon Lord or anyone found out we could be in trouble!!!”

“It would cause trouble if they don’t adjust to society,” Debbie said sternly. “And those boys are misguided is all, they need a strong figure in their life to help them.”

Webber worked to choose his words very carefully. “What makes you think you could handle them?”

“As you saw earlier, I easily disciplined them, and I used to work as a school teacher.”

“How does a school teacher learn how to fight?”

“Public school.”

He gulped. “You…fought students?”

She shrugged. “If you don’t want your kids to be slapped around, you don’t go trying to fight the teacher.”

Webber had to admit, she might be the only one who could give those monster boys a run for their money. “This…this needs to go through some planning, we can’t just send them home with you today, we have to make preparations, establish failsafes…”

“What kind of failsafes?” asked Debbie.

“Wait!” Vincent balked. He looked at his wife. “You..you aren’t serious are you?”

“I am.”

“Look..can…we have the room for a moment?”

Mistress Bailey and Webber gave them the room.

Vincent looked at his wife. “Honey…you saw what those boys are like…think of our children.”

“Those boys don’t have a mother, and they need one.”

“But you are a mother!”

“I am, and I will continue to be one.”

“But..honey…”

He heard her sharply breath. She covered her eyes with her paws in an attempt to hide her tears. Vincent knew his wife well enough to know she wouldn’t fake cry to get something she wants. He gently touched her arm.

“Honey, what’s this really about?” he asked softly.

She sniffled. “I…I wanted to give you another child…”

“I know, honey, I know, and…what happened was tragic, it was..”

“I…I was ready…and…and…” she leaned into him, crying large wet tears into his shirt. “I…I still want to be a mother…”

“But honey, these aren’t just stray dogs or cats you can just bring in, or a dog from a shelter, these are prehistoric monster boys, and…” he held her. “I don’t want you to get hurt, or our daughters.”

“I know…I know…I love our daughters…but…I felt…a connection with them. They need a mother in their life, they need guidance, they can’t get that…” she gestured in the room. “Here.”

Vincent knew aside from her height, the next biggest thing in her body is her heart. She told him how when she was just a little pup she would volunteer at animal shelters and play with the cats and dogs, and help nurse any sick animals back to health. She was a tutor throughout high school, trying to help mamano and human’s succeed in their classes. It was how they met actually, he was struggling with Algebra and she helped him through that class. In fact, he came back with a lot more than just Algebra.

“Ok…but you promise you’ll keep our daughters safe?” he asked.

“I will, I promise.”

“And…you have to make sure you aren’t neglecting them either.”

“I won’t, they will each get the same amount of love.”

“Ok….” he went up to the door and knocked on it. Webber and Mistress Bailey entered the room. “We’ll do it, but we need to make some serious plans…”

“And I would like to see them..to get acquainted,” Debbie said.

“I…I don’t know if that’s a good idea…” Webber stammered.

“I’ll be fine,” Debbie said. “Send guards with me if you want.”

Webber was still unsure, though Mistress Bailey smiled and said. “Of course, it’s important you get acquainted. We will discuss the business with your husband.”

****

The pack was not happy, and they were scared.

They sat in some unfamiliar cave, with bindings around their necks, they looked like leashes and collars, something they saw put on canines in the past. But that was years ago, now they had new strength and were in a new world. The hom*o sapiens seemed to be more abundant, but also new creatures. Inferior wolves, but there was the alpha, the larger one, a female, tall, large, black, she annihilated them, yet spared them. They didn’t know why.

The hyena kept laughing, nervous about his new prison, he wasn’t sure what to make of this.

The dire wolves huddled together, hoping to stay safe.

The epicyon though, he kept his eyes fixed at the door. Even in the room, he still had the scent of the alpha on his nose. He hadn’t sensed such power like that before, and it frightened him, she could have slaughtered them, being it was the law of the land, they would have accepted their fate. Yet she spared them.

Why?

They heard clanking metal and something open. He smelled the alpha’s scent.

All eyes were on her. She stood tall over the lesser wolves. The lesser wolves feared them, as they should. The alpha walked into the room and sat down.

Debbie looked at them, noticing their chains and feeling empathy for them. “Are you hurt?”

The pack stared at her. The words sounded like gibberish, but they sounded a little familiar. They didn’t react though.

Debbie pointed to herself. “My name is Debbie.”

The pack stared at her. They weren’t sure what she said. The word, Debbie, was that her pack or type of wolf?

She took out some paper and a pen. She scribbled onto it. She showed them a picture. It was a crude drawing, but the pack could make it out, they had seen the monkeys draw these on the wall. It showed a large figure leading the pack towards some cubicle object.

The hyena co*cked his head and chuckled.

The dire wolf's eyes went wide, they thought it was some sort of cave.

Even the epicyon figured it out. He looked at the woman. She nodded. She pointed to them. “I want to help you.”

She drew on the paper, another crude drawing. It showed her, with two smaller versions of her and the monkey.

They were confused, why is the monkey with her? Is she domesticated?

The epicyon refused to believe it, an alpha like her could easily overwhelm any human.

Debbie could sense their confusion. She drew another picture. It crudely showed the monkey and her holding hands.

The pack gawked. She mated with him?!?!!

She growled at them and they stood stiff. She pointed to the picture, then ran her claw across her throat, then shook her head no. She glared at them, and did the same motion again.

The pack gulped, the hyena continued to laugh nervously. They understood, no harm to come to the monkeys, or the smaller wolves, or they would die. She smiled, she then drew another crude drawing. This one the pack understood. It was a bucket full of that delicious chicken. She held it out to them, tapping on it. The pack drooled and nodded.

Debbie smiled. She turned to the guards. “I need 5 buckets of fried chicken please.”

*****

“Ok…so you’ll chip them, and you’ll have them under surveillance 24/7, correct?” Vincent was checking to make sure there were no gaps at all.

“Yes, and we’ll also help chip in for their food,” Webber said. “But, you will have to allow our scientists to study them with you. “

“And they will be observing, correct?”

“Yes, but we reserve the right to step in to assist with any training or if we feel they are in danger or become idleness.”

“Of course, and how long will you need to prepare them and yourselves?”

“Give us a few days, and we’ll get everything set up…and you can ensure your living area will suit them?”

“Yes, we live out in the sticks, not many people around there, but they better stay away from the cattle, neighbors like to shoot first and ask questions later, but there’s a lot of deer nearby.”

That would suit Webber, it would give them the opportunity to study them in action, how they hunt, how they kill.

Vincent sniffed the air. “Hey, why do I smell fried chicken?”

They stepped outside to see werewolf guards carrying large buckets of chicken.

“What is this for?” Webber asked.

“The hellhound made a request,” the guard said. “It’s for those things down there.”

“You are giving them fried chicken!?!?!”

“Yeah, so?”

“But..that could tamper with their diet! You can’t just feed prehistoric beings fried chicken!!!”

Mistress Bailey stepped out, grinning. “This I have to see!”

“No! We have to…”

The werewolf guard interrupted sternly. “Listen, those things down there were drooling when offered chicken, if we take this away from them, we’ll have a riot on our hands, and I nearly got a concussion the last time they got angry, I don’t need to stay away for 48 hours just because some dogs didn’t get their goddamn chicken!!”

Webber gulped. “Well…as long as we study it.”

*****

“Wow….” Webber watched as the pack tore through the buckets of fried chicken. “There’s….how many were in that bucket?”

Debbie smiled. “We always get the 24 piece.”

The pack tore the meat and skin from the bone. They hadn’t had such delicious food in a long time. The spices, the fried fat and skin, it was addictive!! They remembered eating meat raw, but those humans were onto something with cooking the meat!!

The hyena finished first, still chewing on the bones. He looked hungrily at his fellow packmates bones. They slid them over to him. He crunched on the bones, savoring the marrow and the remaining juices.

“Won’t he choke on those?” Debbie said concerned.

“No, hyena’s are known for eating every part of their prey, including the bones,” Webber said. “Though one would expect them to be sucking down the marrow of some bison they killed, not a thigh piece.”

Debbie took note of their faces, they had joy on their faces as they ate the chicken. She couldn’t wait to bring them home.

Vincent though was still watching, and he remembered something. “Honey…we didn't get to finish our lunch.”

She picked him up and carried him to the dining room to finish their lunch.

****

Work was done on their house. A large sleeping quarters was added to the building for the pack. They also installed cameras and motion sensors so they could better track them.

Molly and Ellie were confused at first why strange men were working on their house, then their mother broke the news.

“We are getting brothers?” squealed Ellie.

“They are guests for now!” Vincent added. “But…your mother wants you to treat them like family.”

Molly scratched her chin. “So these cameras, are they in every part of the home?”

Debbie smiled. “Yes, they have to make sure we are safe…” she glanced at some of the workers. “And I’m sure they know what would happen to them if I find out they are abusing those privileges, correct?”

The Forman chuckled nervously. “We…we just set them up ma’am.”

She smiled sociopathically at him. “And?”

He gulped and went back to work.

Molly continued. “But mom, if those creatures are from the Ice Age, how will you control them? And won’t this be a massive culture shock for them?”

“I will help them adjust, but it’s important you help as well, they are from an era that no longer exists,” Debbie explained.

Molly then furrowed her brows. “Mom….they were trying to create prehistoric creatures, right?”

“Yes.”

“And they made monster boys.”

“Yes.”

“Are any of those scientists furries?”

Vincent and Debbie looked at each other with disbelief. But now they were curious.

Later that day Webber had to have a staff meeting with the scientists after receiving a call from Vincent and Debbie.

*****

The pack was shuffled into a different room, smaller, but it was made of metal and had wheels. They were frightened by this beast, but the alpha joined them. Her presence calmed them down. The noises it made were awful, it also felt bumpy.

“This is a car, a van to be specific,” Debbie explained.

The pack seemed to understand her, while the words made little sense, they understood this was a way for the monkeys and others to transport themselves, like the children of a possum clinging onto their mother.

The ride was easy, except the hyena kept laughing nervously. But when they halted, they knew they had arrived.

They stepped out of the van and were greeted with blue skies and the sun's rays. They saw birds chirping and thick forests on the edge of Greek fields filled with flowers and brush. They saw their home, a large structure made of wood towered over them. It reflected light at them, blinding the dire wolves. The epicyon looked at Debbie. She nodded and said. “This is my home.”

In front of them stood the monkey and the two wolf children. They looked nervously at the pack. The epicyon looked at the towering alpha and then her mate. The alpha chose such a puny mate, he didn’t want to question her.

She led the pack into her home. Instantly their noses were assaulted by foreign smells ranging from tart citrus to enchanting lavender. They smelled sweet mouth watering delicacies they hadn’t even dreamed off, smelling of peanuts. The closest thing they had was honey.

She continued to lead them through her home when they came to a room. She opened the door and gestured in.

“Yours,” she said.

The gesture alone was enough to tell them that this room is their room. They entered, shocked at first. They first thought they were in the forest, as they were surrounded by pine trees and open fields. The hyena bolted. The alpha shouted something but it was too late. The hyena smacked into the wall and fell to the ground like a freshly chopped tree.

“It’s meant to make you feel more at home,” Debbie said.

The epicyon touched the wall, the detail was good, but he knew it was fake, the pungent paint smell was a dead give away. The dire wolves huddled around a singular bed, they touched it, amazed by its softness. However they could see only one would fit. They glared at each other. The smallest one leapt into the bed, but his legs were seized by the other two and yanked out of the bed. The other two then tackled each other, fighting for dominance over the bed. The smaller one leapt onto his brother, joining the fray.

“Hey!” barked Debbie.

They looked at her, frightened. She pointed to two other beds. The sheepishly smiled then each selected their own bed.

The hyena recovered and slept in his bed. The epicyon was stunned. He was used to sleeping on cave floors. This felt foreign. Soft bed felt nice, but he still felt out of place.

He turned toward the alpha. She smiled. “Get some rest.”

The pack drifted off into sleep, except for the epicyon. He stared at the walls, they mocked him with the false imagery. He wasn’t sure what he was doing here. He felt out of place. This new body, these new feelings. He didn’t know what to do with himself. He nuzzled into this new bed and tried to sleep.

*****

“Well, they are adjusting,” Webber noted.

The scientists watched safely from their lab. They had a surveillance van on the outside of the house as well, but they could monitor them safely from the comfort of the lab. Everything had to be perfect, these creatures needed to be observed.

“I still can’t believe one literally ran into a wall,” the dwarf said.

“Someone drew those woods too realistically!” Webber barked. “Keep in mind people we aren’t trying to lose them to brain damage!!!”

“Hey, you said make it look like their home!” the dwarf said. “And so we hired the best we could find, keep in mind you wanted some sort of weird abstract sh*t!”

“Abstract is art!”

“Bull!” the human scientist stepped in. “Everyone knows it's a way to launder money!”

“It is not!” Webber barked.

“Is to!”

Two of the werewolf guards looked at each other as the scientists argued over the art. “Aren’t they supposed to be watching them?”

The other werewolf shrugged. “Don’t care, also what did you think of Jurassic Park?”

“Those little dinosaurs freak me out, can you believe they ate a baby?”

“Now I see why they didn’t include that in the movie.”

This basically went on, the scientists bickering while the guards discussed Jurassic Park. They were lucky the pack was asleep, and there’s a reason they have the surveillance van. Just in case people take their eyes off the cameras for even a second. They didn’t want anything going wrong, no mistakes at all.

****

Meanwhile at the house, the children were keeping an eye on their new guests.

Molly eyed the door. “How much do you think they can bench?”

Ellie looked at her sister dumbfoundedly. “What?”

“How much do you think they can bench?”

“Why does that matter?”

She rubbed her paws together. “It means if we want to assert dominance, we gotta lift.”

“Oh come on, that’s some alpha male BS.”

“You better listen to your sister,” Debbie said. “Where they are from, you have to show dominance, they respect me, and to an extent they respect you. But treat them kindly.”

Debbie looked at her own body. Even though she demolished them, she saw herself getting tubby around the hips. A muffin top as they would call it. Nothing too bad. She checked her arms, still strong but pudgy. “Molly, want to spot me?”

She grinned. “YES! YES!”

The two shuffled off excitedly. Vincent sighed. “Shall I order some creatine?.”

“Yes dear!” Debbie called.

Vincent started placing an order. He was nervous, normally when she worked out, she liked to have a nice post-workout struggle snuggle. He wanted to say this night would be an exception, as he heard her struggling to bench, her heavy breathing and panting filling the air. Later at night when Debbie came into the room, sweating, and growling, he stiffened in all places. Fear came over him, but happiness as well.

“Welcome back honey,” he said nervously.

She licked her lips and flexed. “Get over here and kiss me on my hot mouth….I’m feeling romantic.”

He gulped. “Be gentle?”

She smiled lustfully. “Naw.”

*****

The pack awoke the next morning to a lovely smell. It smelled of cooked pork with nose burning spices, and something else that smelled cooked, and like a bird.

They shuffled out of the room, well rested. They entered a room where the food was prepared. They saw the monkey and the two wolf children, and the alpha cooking. They were confused, they knew the monkey’s cooked their food, but why is the alpha cooking? Shouldn’t her mate be cooking?

Vincent looked up and nervously said. “Morning.”

The pack looked at the table, did the alpha expect them to sit there?

“Have a seat,” Debbie said as she gestured toward the table.

The pack was hesitant, for years they would just eat on the ground and tear their meals apart. But this alpha was cooking for them? And wanted them to act like the monkeys? Granted their bodies were almost like the monkeys’ but it was still weird.

She growled at them. “No table, no food.”

She gestured toward the food and pointed at the table. The pack nodded and sat down.

Molly eyed the hyena. “I can bench 150, what can you bench?”

The hyena laughed, not understanding her question.

Molly nodded and smiled. “I think I’m stronger.”

The hyena laughed more.

“Oh you think that’s funny?”

“Molly!” scolded Debbie. “Don’t taunt our guests.”

She set down plates of eggs, bacon, and pancakes.

The pack recognized the first two items, but not the third. They looked at her with confusion.

“Pancakes,” she said as she put them on their plates. She poured a little syrup on them, and gave them some eggs and bacon.

The pack hesitated at first, the new food was unlike what they saw.

It was one of the dire wolves that took the first bite of the syrupy pancake. He took a small bite out of the corner of the delicacy. The synapses in his mind sparked, unlocking a new craving: sweets!

He tore through the pancake, eating it savagely along with the other food. The other dire wolves, seeing how their brother enjoyed the meal, took bites out of their food. As if on cue, they dove into their meal. Soon the table turned into a war zone as the rest of the pack followed suit and ripped through the food. Food went flying everywhere. Molly and Ellie laughed while Vincent took cover.

“HEY!” barked Debbie.

The pack halted, the alpha was displeased.

“Eat slowly!” she barked. To demonstrate she cut her pancake with her knife and fork, and ate it slowly, yet menacingly.

The pack gulped. They didn’t know how to use utensils, but they ate with their hands slowly. They didn’t want to anger her.

“We got a long day today,” Debbie said as she chewed her food. “And it’s time you all started learning.”

****

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Webber asked Debbie over the phone.

“These boys need guidance, and I will provide it,” she replied calmly.

“But this idea, it’s ludicrous!”

“If we want them to adjust to modern society, they must be educated.”

“But…just you?”

“I can teach them, you just provide me with the resources.”

Debbie wanted to make sure the pack would get educated, and maybe learn to at least speak some English. It could help break down barriers and allow them to further communicate.

She had them sitting in the kitchen, and she had a chalkboard up. They sat patiently at their desks.

“I got a class to teach, enjoy the show,” Debbie said, winking at the camera.

She then addressed the class. “Now, today you will be learning the basics of grammar and phonics, but first, we will start with the basic building blocks of grammar.

She wrote on the chalkboard an ‘A’, ‘I’, ‘O’, ‘U’, and sometimes ‘Y’.

She paused to let them absorb the letters, before continuing. “These are known as vowels, they are what make words, words.

She pointed to the ‘A’. “This is an ‘A’, it makes an ‘ah’ sound.”

The pack looked at her blankly, they weren’t sure what to make of it.

“Can you say it with me?” she asked.

The pack looked confused.

“Ah, now you.”

In broken voices, the pack replied. “Ah.”

She smiled. “Great job!”

The dire wolves and hyena couldn’t help but smile, they sensed the alpha was happy. The epicyon though was more suspicious.

“Now, let's continue…” she tapped on the chalkboard. “E here makes an ‘eee’ sound, can you say that with me?”

The pack continued as they went down the list.

Webber watched from the monitors. “I can’t believe this, she’s actually trying to teach them.”

“Well, they seem to be responsive,” the dwarf said.

“Except for subject one,” Webber noted, referring to the epicyon. The Dire wolves were Subjects 2, 3, and 4, and the hyena was 5. “He seems to be more rebellious than the others.”

“Keep in mind, his primitive mind isn’t used to learning, he wants to be out in the woods, ripping the meat from a deer,” the dwarf said.

“But he does respect Debbie, the alpha,” the human scientist added.

Webber scratched his chin, noting the epicyon’s frustrated look. “But for how long?”

*****

“Very good today!” she praised them. The class had learned pretty quick, perhaps the mixture of the human DNA along with the demonic energy helped them absorb the information much better. They got through the vowels, and had moved onto the consonants. And they were already starting out with the basics of spelling. They scribbled down words, their handwriting could use a lot of improvement, but they were learning!!

The dire wolves seemed to be eager to show off their skills, spelling words like “cat” and “bat”. They relished in their alpha’s praise. The hyena enjoyed writing as well. The epicyon grudgingly followed along, not interested in this. Debbie could sense his frustration.

She took him aside and whispered. “You did a great job.”

The epicyon did enjoy the praise, but this isn’t him!

“Now, I feel you all have earned a little exercise,” she said. She led them to the door, smiling. “Do you want to hunt?”

The pack smiled, but the epicyon’s smile was wider. The moment the door opened, they bolted, taking in the fresh air.

“STAY CLOSE!” She barked.

The pack halted, but still rolled on the ground, basking in the sunlight.

Debbie’s phone then rang. She answered it. “Hello?”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” screamed Webber.

“Rewarding them and stimulating their minds.”

“By hunting?!?!” he balked.

“If they find a deer, yes.”

“That is too risky!!!”

“You got trackers on them.”

“You must understand what will happen if people see them or if they attack them!!!”

“They are under my care, I will keep an eye on them.”

“You…”

“Besides, I figured a scientist like yourself would love to see them in action.”

He paused for a moment. “Give us 10 minutes to get some drones in the air.”

****

The pack was back in its natural state. They tore through the woods while the alpha trailed behind. Most of the pack figured the alpha wanted them to savor the kill, but the epicyon sensed that the alpha’s speed wasn’t able to match theirs. However, this is their time to hunt. The smells of the woods were a much needed breath of fresh air. The pine, the sap, the grass, the rotting decaying leaves and shrubbery. But most importantly, the smells.

They scoured the woods, smells of rodents and small game filled their noses. They couldn't sense any deer. But that didn’t matter to them.

The dire wolves jerked their heads when they saw a squirrel skittering across the ground. The trio bolted toward the small rodent. The creature scurried up the tree, escaping two of them, but not the third. The youngest used his brothers as a stepping stool and snagged the rodent, crushing it in his paws. The rodent let out a sharp scream before the little one ripped its head off.

Debbie was a little sickened, but this is how they work. She noticed the other two grabbing at their brother's kill. The youngest didn’t want to share, as it was his. He held it under his arms while the other two surrounded him.

“HEY!” Debbie barked.

The two stiffened. She walked up to them and shook her head. She pointed at the youngest. “That is his, find your own.”

The two understood, the words were slowly making sense, but even they could tell by her actions what she meant. Large kills could be shared, smaller ones, no. They turned to leave, when their brother tapped their shoulders. They turned around to see him holding out his kill. The two smiled and embraced their brother, before tearing the corpse in half.

She smiled at them, but turned away as they savagely ate the corpse. She turned to look at the hyena and the episcyon, they were still sniffing through the woods.

The episcyon didn’t have time to waste on small game, he wanted bigger game, and he would find them.

The hyena was just happy to be outside. He took the time to sniff the flowers and trees, and mark his territory.

They stayed out there for at least three hours before returning back home. The dire wolves had their bellies full of squirrel, and while the other two didn’t catch anything, they did fill their bellies with steak that night.

Meanwhile back at the lab, Webber was reviewing the footage of the squirrel attack.

“Amazing,” he noted. “The teamwork they used is remarkable.”

“Indeed,” the dwarf said. “And I found it interesting that they shared.”

“Subjects 2, 3, and 4 are related, so it makes sense,” he noted. “But…I want to see them hunt something bigger.”

“Like what?”

He tapped the desk. “Can we somehow drive some deer or elk towards them?”

“Maybe…but I think it would be more interesting if they hunted, say…a buffalo.”

“A buffalo?”

“Think about it, they were probably used to hunting bigger mammals than deer, and seeing them take down a buffalo would be interesting.”

“Well why don’t we have them take down an elephant then? They are most likely closest to the mammoth and they probably hunted that too.”

The dwarf smiled. Webber then smiled. “Let’s get the rest of the staff involved, we are putting this to a vote.”

****

The pack was once more learning, this time they were practicing their handwriting. Debbie watched, proud. Her children joined them, helping their new guests.

“It appears subjects 2, 3, and 4 are excelling,” Ellie noted. “1 is working, but lacks enthusiasm.”

“What did you just say?” Debbie was surprised to hear her address them as that.

“That’s what the scientists have been calling them,” she said.

“That’s unacceptable, they are not experiments, they are living creatures,” she pondered. “We need to give them names.”

“Oooo, can I help?” she asked.

“What’s going on?” asked Molly.

“We are going to give them names!” squealed Ellie.

“I want to help!”

“Now hold on! They are not pets, we must consult them first!” Debbie said.

“Ok!” the two said in unison.

Debbie looked at the pack as they wrote, they had to be clever with the names.

She approached the epicyon first. He looked up at her.

“Do you have a name?” she asked.

The epicyon co*cked his head. The other members of the pack scooted over, eager to hear what the alpha was saying.

“Do you want a name?” she said.

The words sounded familiar to them. They had learned some definitions of words, and name was one of them.

Debbie heard the tales of the dire wolves thumping. She looked at them and smiled. “Do you want a name?”

They nodded eagerly.

She scratched her chin. She looked at them. One had nice golden fur that looked perfect to pet, and the other had reddish fur, the smallest and a black and blueish fur.

Ellie tapped her moms shoulder. “Maybe the golden one should be named Goldy.”

Debbie chuckled. “Oh dear, that’s a little too…”

She glanced at the golden one who nodded eagerly. “So..you want to be called Goldy?”

He nodded eagerly.

“Ok…you are Goldy.”

He smiled and tried to repeat what she said, his voice sounding a little broken. “Guhld…eeee.”

“Yes, that is your name, we can work on pronunciations later,” she turned her head to the reddish one. “And you can be…”

“Red!” chimed Molly.

The dire wolf grinned, already liking his name. “Red.”

“Oh come on!” Debbie thought, but went with it.

She then turned her attention to the smaller one. She glanced at her daughters. “I think you know what you are going to call him.”

“Bluey!” they said in unison.

Debbie rubbed her eyes. “Of course you chose that.”

She looked at the hyena. He gave her a wide smile, eager to get his name.

“What about him?” Debbie asked.

Vincent peered his head in. “How about Fletch?”

“Fletch?”

“Yeah, he seems like a Fletch.”

The hyena co*cked his head. “Fl-etch?” he scratched his chin, then nodded eagerly. “Fletch!!”

Debbie didn’t question it. She then looked at the epicyon. He glared at her. He had a dictionary in his hand as he combed through it.

“He’s…reading a dictionary?” she thought. “Impressive, he is learning fast.”

Then they pointed to a word in there and said. “Mah-row.”

Debbie looked at the word. It was marrow. “Marrow?”

He nodded.

“Ok then, your name is Marrow.”

The epicyon now named Marrow smiled at her. While the alpha had defeated him, he at least took solace in knowing he got to name himself.

The lessons continued for a while, and then once more they went out to get exercise.

While the pack roamed through the woods, the scientists discussed today's events.

“I cannot believe she named them,” Webber muttered.

“I think it’s nice,” the dwarf said. “Besides, you can’t just call them subject one.”

“But why did she let the girls name them? Come on, Bluey??!?”

“My kids love that show,” one of the werewolf guards chuckled. “Hey, you think we can get that wolf to do an Australian accent?”

“Oh shut it,” Webber barked.

The dwarf scratched her chin. “Theoretically, if his mind is developing, it is possible…”

“No!” Webber barked.

****

The pack had advanced more since they got their names. In a month they were able to speak full sentences. The dire wolves loved learning, they learned so much about the new animals and were eager to see them (even though they really wanted to eat them). The hyena adjusted fairly well to the world, but Vincent “accidentally” introduced him to television, and not just anything, comedy. Now the hyena couldn’t stop laughing. Vincent said it was an accident, but she was suspicious because he put on The Chappelle Show, specifically the Rick James episode. Ever since that Fletch couldn’t stop laughing. The girls enjoyed their new guests. The dire wolves loved hanging with Ellie and Molly, mostly lifting weights and talking. They learned quite a bit about speaking and language from the girls just by talking outloud.

The final one, Marrow, the epicyon, seemed resentful. He obeyed the lessons, but she could sense his rebelliousness.

Today they were going over the book Of Mice and Men, a short reading book and a classic.

“So, what did you think of it?” asked Debbie.

The dire wolves all shot up their hands.

“Go ahead,” she said.

Goldy held up his book. “I thought the book was misleading.”

“Why?”

“Because, I was under the assumption they would turn into mice.”

Debbie’s face cringed as she tried to comprehend his comment. “Why?”

“Because, it seemed like it was their quest to turn into mice.”

“No!” Red said. “They wanted to turn into rabbits.”

“No, they wanted a rabbit farm,” Bluey said. “They wanted to be landowners.”

“Hah, if they were mice, they could own so much more,” snorted Goldy.

“How?” asked Bluey.

“Because a house is bigger when you are small,” Goldy said, tapping his forehead.

Fletch laughed. “Oh man you guys are hilarious!”

Debbie rubbed her eyes. “Maybe I should have just let them read Blood Meridian instead.” She turned her attention to Fletch. “So…what did you think of the book?”

Fletch leaned back in his chair. “Well, I thought it was one of Steinbeck's best. The setting and simple story honestly just impressed me, two guys hoping to make enough money to have their own land. Unfortunately the simple minded Lenny, while good intentioned, just knows how to screw things up and that leads to trauma for his friend.”

Debbie blinked. She never understood why Fletch acted like a goofball yet has these moments of intelligence. “Wow…that’s…that’s…”

“But I couldn’t help but laugh when he said tell me about the rabbits! It reminded me of a Robot Chicken sketch!”

She gritted her teeth. Vincent was going to get a serious talking to.

She then turned her attention to Marrow. Marrow stared at his desk, refusing to look at her.

“Marrow?” she asked softly. “Did you read?”

“No,” he muttered.

“And why?”

“Because I didn’t!” he barked. He glared at his fellow packmates. “Look at you! What do you think you are doing?”

The dire wolves were afraid of Marrow, they whimpered at him, but Fletch just smirked and replied. “Learning.”

“We aren’t supposed to be here!” he barked. “We are meant to be out there!” he pointed towards the window. “Outside! Running! Hunting! Not…” he threw the book to the side. “Reading!”

Back at the lab, Webber made a call on his radio. “Get the guards ready.”

Debbie looked at him calmly. “I understand you are upset, but I want to make sure you adjust to this world, it’s not like…”

“This world? WHAT WORLD?” He barked. “WE STAY HERE ALL THE TIME!” he looked wildly at them. “We are trapped! Prisoners!”

Fletch stood up, still smiling, though his voice rumbled into a growl. “I think you need to sit down…”

“Or what?” he glared at her. “What is she going to do?”

“You want your ass beat like last time?” Fletch laughed.

“I didn’t get hurt last time!”

“Oh yeah, I guess I learned some common sense fighting your battles,” Fletch snorted, letting out a canine laugh.

Marrow sputtered. He glared at Debbie. Debbie calmly looked at him, but had her paws clenched. She had been working out a lot more, and lost the muffin top thanks to the ab workouts. “Don’t.”

Marrow lunged at her, growling. The dire wolves froze, but Fletch knew what was going to happen.

Debbie calmly caught his right fist. Marrow was surprised by her strength, but it didn’t stop him from throwing the other punch. Debbie blocked it and threw him over her shoulder. He landed hard on the ground. Marrow heaved as the wind flew out of his chest. He gasped for air. Debbie looked at him sorrowfully.

The door flew open as heavily armed ogres and orcs entered, tranq guns ready.

Debbie looked at them, flames spewing out of her eyes as she growled. “Back off!”

The head orc gulped and spoked. “But protocol..”

She stood up, towering over the orc, snarling. “My boys, my responsibility.”

“They..they are property…”

“What did you just say?” she growled.

The orc was sweating in her body armor.

“These boys here…” she gestured to them. “Are not property.”

“They…they…”

The orc could now see their team getting surrounded. The dire wolves flanked them on all sides while the hyena grinned next to an ogre.

“So…shall we put a smile on your face?” he chuckled to her.

The orc gulped. She could feel the anger reeking from the hellhound's breath.

“Now, how about you all leave?” she said in a passive-aggressive tone.

“Hey, honey,” Vincent said. He came in with a tray of lemonade. “I made lemonade.”

Debbie smiled. “Well look at that, my husband wanted to make sure you all got something to drink.”

The orc stammered. “That’s..that’s ok…”

“Really?” Debbie co*cked her head. “Are you insulting my husband's hospitality?”

“Nuh-no ma’am!”

“Then…be a dear and take some lemonade.”

The orc gulped and took a cup of lemonade and quickly drank it.

“Was it good?” asked Debbie.

“Yes ma’am!”

“Good, now, take the lemonade and leave, and have a nice day.”

The guards took their drinks and left. Debbie then turned to Marrow. He looked at her with regret.

“Let’s talk outside.”

****

Marrow sat on the porch, ashamed of himself. Debbie, or the alpha, defeated him, and to make matters worse, saved him!! It wasn’t fair. He used to be free back in the old days. Then he woke up here and he hated it. He just wanted to be a wolf again, he wanted to be free.

“Marrow?” Debbie said.

Marrow glanced at her, but looked away. She sat down next to him.

“I’m not mad at you,” she said.

He sniffled. “You should be.”

“I’m not.”

He looked at her, his eyes watering. “What are these feelings? I hate them!”

“You had to have emotions when you were a wolf.”

“Nothing like this! I…I feel in pain because I tried to attack you!”

“In pain?”

“Yeah! In my..heart! And…I….I…”

She wrapped her big arm around his shoulder. “It’s guilt.”

“Guilt…yeah…”

“Listen, I understand, this is all new to you, and I try to get you out, but the people at the lab are restrictive.”

“I…I just want to see more…and I haven’t killed anything in awhile.”

Debbie knew what he meant. All the times they went out hunting, he hadn’t caught a single animal yet. “Don’t worry, you’ll get something soon.”

“Ok…” he leaned his head against her shoulder. “Sorry for attacking you.”

“You are forgiven, but I want you to remember this, I care about you and your pack, and my daughters, and my husband. As far as I’m concerned, you and your pack are members of this family.”

He looked at her and smiled. “Thanks.”

“Now come inside, Vincent made pork chops.

Marrow got up and followed her in. “Also can you have them do something about the temperature, it’s damn cold all the time.”

“It’s 80 degrees outside.”

“It is? It was much warmer back then.”

“I thought you lived in the Ice Age?”

“It wasn’t ice all the time!”

*****

Debbie met with Webber the next day.

“That incident yesterday was too risky,” Webber scolded.

“I handled it, I don’t need your guards adding extra stress to my family and the boys.”

He sighed. “Listen, I know you care about them, but keep in mind they still are unstable.”

“They are unstable because they have been cooped up, even going out in the woods, while stimulating, they still feel trapped.”

“Marrow feels trapped.”

“It’s not just Marrow, Goldy, Red, and Bluey keep longing to run through some plains, and Fletch really wants someone else to laugh with, he likes laughing with my husband and daughters, but he wishes he had a friend.”

Webber sighed. “Look, it’s too damn risky…give us time to prepare a press release just in case, we have to approach this carefully.”

“I’ll do my best, but you can’t keep them from being curious.”

*****

Fletch was glad to have some time outside. He needed fresh air. He loved the house, he loved his brothers, even if they weren’t biological they were still brothers. He also loved his family, Debbie was the sweetest, he learned so much from her. She also gave good hugs. An alpha giving great hugs was something that was normally rare. Most alphas kept the pack together, but were selfish a lot of the time. But she was friendly, she made him happy. Everyone seemed happy.

He turned around to go back inside when he saw Debbie trotting along outside.

“Where are you going?” he asked. “Don’t we have class?”

“Take the day off, I got called in to do some tutoring.”

“Really? For who?”

“A trouble maker.”

Debbie stretched, then bolted off down the road. Fletch was impressed by how fast she could run. But now what was he going to do?

He looked towards the woods, but couldn't really do much there. He caught a rabbit the other day, and it tasted delicious. But he wanted to do more. When Debbie mentioned a troublemaker, that got his curiosity. She seemed frustrated in her tone. It takes a lot to upset her. He wanted to meet this person.

“Too bad I have to stay in her sight, otherwise…” a spark went off in his head. “Say….technically, if I go where she’s at, I’m in her range…..”

He smiled, and he still had her scent. He took off down the road after her.

****

“Fletch is on the move!” the dwarf said.

“And?” Webber asked as he sipped his coffee.

“It’s not to the woods.”

He spit out his coffee, he whirled around to her. “Where?!?!”

“I don’t know, he’s still out of sight, but he’s going to a house. Should we dispatch a team? Or alert Debbie?”

Webber rubbed his temples. “If we dispatch a team that could attract attention….and we know they respect Debbie.”

“Well, what should we do?”

Webber thought for a moment. “Keep an eye on him, he hasn’t displayed any hostility right?”

“No, he’s actually one of the more well behaved.”

“Then observe him, for now.”

*****

Debbie knocked on the door. The door opened wide. Greeting her was a bright purple haired middle aged cheshire. She sighed with relief. “Thank you so much for coming over, Debbie.”

“Anything for you, Norma,” Debbie said. “Where’s Annie?”

Norma sighed. “In her room, waiting for you.”

Debbie went to greet Annie, when Norma grasped her arm.

“I really appreciate this,” Norma said. “I’ll make you a nice strawberry rhubarb pie as payment.”

Debbie smiled. “I’ll take it.”

She walked down the hallway, seeing a green door with a ‘keep out;’ sign on it. She sighed and knocked on the door. “Annie?”

The door instantly swung open. Staning before her was a teen age, bright smiled red haired cheshire stood in front of her. “Debbie!”

She hugged her. “It’s great to see you!”

Debbie sighed. “It’s good to see you too, Annie.”

Annie had been one of Debbie’s first students she tutored. She did some tutoring around the area years ago to help some of the little kids around the neighborhood get ahead. Childcare was limited out in the rural areas. Annie was a lovely cheshire, who got the red hair from her father. It was bright like an apple. She was a mischievous one, always telling jokes, or playing pranks. Being a cheshire she used her natural ability to do everything from putting a thumbtack under a chair, to a whoopie cushion under a student seat. She loved her pranks and her parents hoped she would grow out of it.

However, that never happened.

“It’s just like old times!” she said smiling.

Debbie smiled, but softly replied. “I heard you got expelled.”

Her smile faded, she crossed her arms. “It’s no big deal.”

“It is, you are 18 and about to graduate.”

“Well…” She sat in her chair near her desk. “It’s not my fault!”

“Didn’t you rig a bomb into a classmate's locker?”

“Now that's a lie!”

Debbie remained calm. “My apologies, I should hear your side of the story.”

Annie sighed. “Look, the girl was some dark elf bully, and she humiliated this poor guy in front of the cafeteria.”

“How?”

“She tripped him while he was walking over to ask his crush to prom, and it was pie day for lunch. Well he faceplants into it right in front of her, and she taunts, ‘that’s the closest thing to a creampie he’ll get’ and everyone laughed. He ran away crying, and I couldn’t let that bitch get away with it.”

“And what did you do?”

“Well, I snuck into her locker and rigged it to shoot whipped cream at her. It was quite genius. You see the moment she was going to open her locker, I had 10 cans of whipped cream that would spray her with cream. And then I was going to say, get this, well gee, that’s what I call a money shot!” Annie laughed at her joke. “Oh man, or..or..don’t be creaming yourself in public! Hahahaha. Or even better, I think the Japanese want to sign you!”

“I don’t get it,” Debbie said.

“You know….Japan…bukake…come on…”

“Oh…oh..Oh…” Debbie felt flushed. “But…what happened?”

Annie twiddled her thumbs. “Well…you see, I had some rubber bands tied to the ends of the can, so when she opened the locker, the caps would rip off and unleash the cream….but there was one problem…she was supposed to go there in the morning, but didn’t until after lunch…and by then, the tape I was using kinda lost its stickiness…I used scotch tape, should have really splurged for the duct tape. And so a lot of the cans started falling and getting tangled, well that put a lot of pressure on them, and…I guess right as she opened the door, the pressure was able to release.”

Debbie clicked her tongue. “In the form of an explosion.”

Annie smiled sheepishly. “They thought a bomb went off, shattered the windows near the office. And it covered her in cream….but she also lost her hearing temporarily.”

Debbie sighed. “And now you are here.”

“Yeah…” she looked up at her .”But it’ll be just like old times!”

“Annie, you are a brilliant girl, why would you do that?”

Annie looked offended. “That bitch needed to be taught a lesson! Besides, it was clean fun…it was just a mistake on my part.”

“You could have hurt her, what if something worse happened?”

Annie looked at the floor. “Look, it was just a joke…and I don’t need a reminder…I already got chewed out enough by ma and pa.”

Debbie grimaced. “You are right, it’s time for learning.”

Annie’s mood brightened. “Thanks, besides, I just need a refresher so I can get my GED.”

“Very good, now, shall we start with Geography?”

“Ah, I hate that.”

“Hence why we start with it first.”

Annie groaned but got her pencil out.

Meanwhile Fletch watched from outside the window. Debbie knew this weird cat girl, and this cat girl seemed funny. He had to stifle his laughs. He thought those puns were funny, though he didn’t know much about the Japanese, but she seems clever. He discretely watched them as Debbie worked with Annie on her geography and math.

This went on for a while, until Debbie got up. “I have to use the restroom, continue working.”

“Can do,” Annie saluted Debbie.

Debbie left for the restroom. Annie continued to work. Fletch just watched from the outside. This redheaded catgirl had a great sense of humor, throughout the tutoring she kept cracking jokes and making puns. Debbie cringed and groaned at them, but Fletch found them amusing. He also liked her eyes, they were green like a fresh spring leaf. He felt his heart beating a little quicker. He was surprised, he looked down at his chest and reached under his shirt to touch his bare skin. He didn’t feel in any danger, but he felt hot. Is this because of the catgirl? He then looked up and saw she wasn’t at her desk.

“Whatcha looking at?”

He jumped and turned around. He saw the catgirl standing there in front of him. He started laughing nervously.

“How did she get in front of me?” he thought.

She co*cked her head, sizing him up. “God damn, you are tall! And what’s with your ears? You one of those…catboys or dogboys?”

Fletch couldn’t help but emit a nervous laugh. It sounded a little high pitched.

Annie smiled. “What’s so funny?”

Fletch could only laugh. “Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh…”

“Oooo, is it a joke? I love jokes!”

“Hahahaha,” Fletch was sweating nervously. He couldn’t breathe.

“Come on, what’s the joke?”

Only one thing came to his mind. “f*ck your couch! Buy another one you rich mother f*cker!”

Annie paused, Fletch thought he messed up, she then smiled and roared with laughter. “Dave Chappelle?!?! Oh my god I love that sketch!”

Fletch grinned nervously. “Yes! He’s very funny…”

“Oh man you sir are a man of class!”

“FLETCH!”

He froze when he heard Debbie’s voice from the window. He slowly turned around, fear pumping through his veins. He grinned nervously at a furious Debbie.

“Hi…Debbie….” he whimpered.

“You know him?” laughed Annie. “He’s hilarious!”

****

“Oh this is bad, this is bad,” Webber said, pacing the lab.

“Now, no one was hurt,” the dwarf said.

“But someone saw him!!!”

“Well…we can’t blame him…”

“Who can’t we blame?” said the seductive voice of Mistress Bailey.

The two turned around to see Mistress Bailey standing in the room.

“Mistress Bailey!” they gasped.

“Is there a problem?” she asked.

Webber composed himself before groaning. “The damn hyena….”

Mistress Bailey smiled. “Fletch? He’s hilarious! His laughter is very infectious.”

“Yes, you see, he made contact with a cheshire….”

“Ooooo, so he made a friend?”

Webber sputtered. “Ma’am! This could jeopardize everything! We haven’t even formed a press release yet!”

“But did he hurt someone?”

“Well…no…he just quoted Dave Chappelle.”

“And?”

“She…laughed.”

“Laugh?”

“Yes.”

“So no one was harmed?”

“No.”

She sighed with relief. “So no problem.”

“But someone found out! If the press gets wind…”

“Now hold on, before we get involved and try to cover something up, let's see how Debbie handles this.”

****

To say that Debbie dragged Fletch home was a hyperbole. She hoisted him over her shoulders and marched him back to her house. She took him behind the house, and she was furious.

“What the hell were you thinking?” she growled.

Fletch looked down at the ground, ashamed. “I…I just wanted to see what you were doing.”

“Do you realize you are supposed to stay hidden?”

“I know, but..I did hide…she just saw me.”

It was no surprise that Annie’s parents came to the sound of Debbie’s bark, and then they saw Fletch. She had to quickly explain to them that he’s her adopted son, then they left.

Debbie rubbed her eyes in frustration. “They could take you and the rest of your brothers away! You were supposed to stay hidden.”

Fletch grimaced. “I…I was bored! We stay here and in the woods all day, we don’t get to meet anyone!”

Debbie understood their frustrations. They only interacted with the family and the pack, no one else. She hugged them. “Listen, I’ll talk with them, but I need you to stay in your room, got it?”

Fletch nodded his head and went inside.

****

Fletch laid back in his bed, cursing himself. “Well I messed up.”

He knew there was another word he could say, but Debbie made eat soap for saying it, though technically she told him just to keep it in his mouth, he accidentally swallowed it. Now he probably jeopardized everything. All to see someone else, though she was really cute. He made her feel funny, like he wanted to spend more time with her, maybe hunt, or just talk.

“I’m such an idiot!” he muttered. “Wonder what that girl even thinks of me?”

“I think you are pretty cute.”

“Oh thanks ... .HEY WAIT!” he jumped out of his bed, landing hard on his elbow. He groaned and clutched it.

Annie peered at him on his bed. “Oooof, hit your funny bone? Yeah that happens to me, hurts like a dickens.”

“You!” he balked, then started laughing nervously. “What-what hahaha are you haha doing here?”

She smiled. “Well, Debbie slung you over her shoulders like she was gonna eat you and I was looking to bring over some barbecue sauce so I could get a slice…” she looked him up and down. “But it appears you are still alive, am I too early?”

Fletch laughed. “Nuh-no haha….I mean yes! She….had to get some…biscuits.”

Annie nodded. “Ah, I prefer sourdough.”

The two laughed.

Fletch laughed. “Muh-maybe you’ll get a drumstick! Hahaha!”

“That’s my favorite part!”

The two laughed. Annie then extended her paw. “I’m Annie.”

“Hi Annie, I’m Fletch.”

She pulled him up and the two sat on his bed.

“Hi Fletch,” she clicked her tongue. “Now, can you tell me what you are supposed to be?”

“Well, it’s a long story…I’m a cave hyena.”

She nodded. “So…that’s your fursona?”

“What?”

“Well…are you a furry? Or one of those internet boys likes to dress like an animal?”

“What? No!” Fletch should be offended but he found it funny. “I’m a cave hyena, I guess they made me in a lab or something.”

She co*cked her head. “A cave hyena, so..you are a monster?”

“Well, I guess so.”

She looked down at his shorts. “So you are a guy right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I mean, you aren’t just a really really flat chested masculine tomboy mamano?”

He had no idea what any of those words meant. He laughed. “Hahaha, no I am a guy.”

She looked down at his shorts, then at him. “I’m gonna take your word.”

“So, what are you supposed to be?” he asked. “And how did you get in here?”

She smiled. “I’m a cheshire! And that my friend is a special skill that we cheshire’s have.”

He co*cked his head confused. “Are you flexible?”

“Yep, I can put my leg behind my head, want to see?”

“Yeah!”

She quickly took both legs and put them behind her head in a flash.

Fletch gawked. “Is that uncomfortable?”

“Not at all, natural flexibility of a cat.”

“Oh, so are you able to squeeze into tight spaces?”

“Well, I have a little help?”

“What?” he felt something tap him on his shoulder. He looked to see her paw. “Excuse me for one moment.” he looked back at her, then his head shot back to her paw. It was there! Behind him! But not attached. He yelped and fell off the bed again. He rubbed his head.

“Oh, damn, I didn’t think that would scare you so much,” she said, now lying next to him.

He didn’t even see her get down from the bed. He backed away into the wall, laughing nervously. “Hahah, how…how…haha…are you doing that?”

She co*cked her head. “Haven’t you ever heard of a cheshire? We can appear…” she stood up. “And disappear.” she vanished before his eyes. Fletch rubbed his eyes in shock.

A disembodied voice then said. “And we can choose to appear however we want.”

Suddenly she appeared on his bed. “Like this.” Before disappearing again.

“Or like this.”

Fletch turned to see her disembodied head floating next to him. Fletch hopped back up on his bed. “What…what….”

His mind hadn’t seen anything like this before at all. Such creatures didn’t exist back when he was alive!

Annie noticed his distress. “Did I just blow your mind?”

“It’s….haha….it’s….wow!”

She smiled. “It’s really useful for pranks and jokes.”

“I like it!” Fletch clapped. “You are amazing!”

She loved having an audience. It made her blush.

“Can I help with pranks?” he asked.

“Of course!”

“Yaaaay, now who should we prank?”

Meanwhile, watching from outside in the van

Debbie originally was furious with him, and after calling Webber on the phone she then got word Annie was in their house! She rushed to the room to get her out when she stopped.

Mistress Bailey said she wanted to see how the interaction goes.

Debbie went out to the van to gain a look. She was surprised to see how they were getting along. While Fletch tended to laugh all the time, his laughter seemed energetic, like he was having a great time with her.

“Amazing,” Mistress Bailey said over the phone. “They are like two peas in a pod.”

“But what are we going to do about the Cheshire?” Webber asked over the phone.

“Her name is Annie,” Debbie said sternly. “And nothing. He needs a friend, my boys need a friend.”

“What?” Webber balked. “But… you can’t do that, this is…”

“A perfect opportunity to see how they interact with other mamano!” Mistress Bailey squealed. “And of course other humans.”

Debbie knew they couldn’t keep them secluded forever. They needed more social interaction, and friends wouldn’t hurt. Besides, she knew Annie.

“Let them have friends,” Debbie said. “They need this.”

****

Annie managed to mingle well with the rest of the pack. The dire wolf brothers loved her as she brought an extra sense of joy for them. They played tag, though they struggled a lot.

“She’s it again!” groaned Goldy.

“Sniff her out!” Red said.

They scoured the yard for her, they hunted in two. Goldy and Red in one pair, and Fletch and Bluey in another. They had tagged each other for a while, but noticed after a while the only ones getting tagged were the pack, not Annie. After some quick discussion they all agreed that Annie should be the one to be tagged, to help their pack hunting skills.

“How does she keep tagging us?” Red mused.

“She’s faster than she looks,” Fletch said.

“Maybe we should have her stop using her power,” Red suggested.

Her skill made her difficult to snatch, as she could vanish before they caught her, she could appear behind them, above, in front.

“If we did that, we would have the advantage, and she wouldn’t,” Fletch said.

“But that’s the point.” he scanned the area, sniffing the air. “We must use all our senses, and eventually, we will tag her, and if we can tag her, we can catch anything!”

“It makes sense!” Bluey said proudly.

“Yes it does,” Annie said.

“Thank you,” Fletch smiled, before the two whirled around to see a grinning Annie. She waved her hand like a cartoon character and took off.

The two were in hot pursuit, drooling and panting as they chased after her, hoping to get closer to tag her. Annie laughed as she bounded off. She looked ahead to see Goldy and Red barreling toward her.

“We have her trapped!” Bluey squealed.

“Oh no,” Annie fauxly said. “Whatever will I do?”

As the pack barreled closer and closer, they inched closer to finally tag her. Only for her to disappear at the last minute.

The pack’s heads sounded like coconuts clonking together. The pack sprawled on the ground, groaning.

“I see stars,” Bluey giggled.

“I got birdy’s,” Fletch laughed.

Meanwhile Goldy and Red were unconscious.

Annie giggled and stood over them. “Ouch.”

“ANNIE!”

She froze as she heard Debbie charging toward her. She gulped. She could disappear and transport herself somewhere else, but she knew that would only make Debbie madder. She turned around nervously. “Oh, is it time for education already?”

Debbie stood over her, angry. “How many times do I have to tell you….NO CONCUSSIONS!!!!”

“Now..now…now…” she backed away. “Keep in mind, their primitive skulls are far much thicker than yours and mine, so it doesn’t hurt them too bad..”

She yanked Annie by the collar. “Pre-calc, now!”

“NOOOOOO, NOT MATH!”

“NOW!”

Annie pouted and shuffled back to the house. Debbie then checked on her boys. “Are you ok?”

“Sure,” Fletch said, dazed. “I’m just gonna lie here for a while.”

“I want some ice cream,” Bluey said giggling.

Debbie rubbed her nose. “That’s the fifth time that’s happened, how does this keep happening?!?!!”

“We’ll get her eventually!” Fletch laughed.

“Maybe if Marrow joined us,” Bluey said.

She looked back at the house. Marrow wasn’t in the house, he was out in the woods hunting. He had gotten better. He caught a chipmunk. But he didn’t want to join them in their games. He preferred his own space. She sighed. He was still having trouble adjusting.

“Do you invite him to join?” she asked.

Fletch slowly stood up, a little dazed, but replied. “Yes, we do, but he says he has to work on his hunting.”

She sighed. She knew the boys were nearly 18, but that didn’t mean they could still have fun. Annie, despite her frustrations, still managed to keep that sense of joy and fun. It gave the boys something to do out here.

“There has to be a way to get him to join,” she said out loud.

*****

“It’s easy, we pull a prank on him,” Annie said smiling.

“What do you mean?” asked Fletch.

The group were trying to figure out how to get Marrow to join them. Annie suggested a prank.

“We pull a prank on him, he gets angry, and then he chases us,” she said.

“I don’t know,” Bluey said, rubbing his paws together. “Seems risky.”

“He used to be the alpha,” Goldy added. “He would be very fast.”

“And he would probably beat us up,” Red added.

“Well, not really, more like he would get some whallops in before Debbie thumps him, but it would still hurt,” Fletch added.

“Relax, he’ll find it funny,” Annie giggled.

The group pondered for a moment, but then shrugged. What the hell.

“What’s the prank?” asked Fletch.

She smiled.”First, we have to wait for him to fall asleep….”

****

They waited until Marrow fell asleep for an afternoon nap. It was on routine, he would find a place to rest, mostly in the shade of a tree, and nap.

The pack then approached him after he lay still for 15 minutes. Annie was grinning ear to ear with a can of shaving cream. Fletch had a feather.

“Will this work?” he asked.

“Of course it will,” she giggled.

She took the can and squirted a nice dollop of shaving cream onto his open paw. He twitched for a second. Everyone froze.

He kept his eyes closed, then smacked his lips and went back to sleep.

They breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Fletch and nodded.

Fletch took the feather and gently put it under his nose, gently tickling the nostrils.

Marrow twitched for a moment, but then stopped.

Fletch then tickled the nostrils again.

Marrow groaned and swatted, his head moving from side to side.

Fletch tickled again, this time Marrow brought his hand onto his face to swat whatever was on his face away.

SPLAT!

Marrow's eyes shot open with anger, and they were fixated onto the pack, and the cheshire.

The group couldn’t help but grin at the sight of Marrow with shaving cream on his face.

“That’s a good look for you,” giggled Annie as she took a picture with her phone.

Marrow let out a roar and charged towards them. The pack scurried and took off running. Marrow wasn’t focused on them, he was focused on the cat. She took off, with Marrow getting closer and closer, and they hadn’t even made it five feet from the tree yet.

“Uh oh!” Annie thought as she felt Marrow's claws swipe at her. “Time to disappear!”

She vanished right as he grabbed her hair, leaving him with a few strands.

“WHERE ARE YOU?” He roared.

“Up here!” she teased.

He whirled around to see her taunting him from the very tree that he was sleeping under.

“YOU GET DOWN HERE!” he roared.

“Come up here!”

He barked and rushed the tree. He sunk his claws deep into the bark and started hoisting himself up. Annie was impressed. He made quick work scaling the tree like a squirrel.

She smiled at him as he reached the branches, he had a maniacal look on his face.

With a puff of air, she disappeared.

“WHAT THE?” he barked.

“Down here!”

He looked down to see her waving at him. He roared and leaped off the tree, attempting to pounce on her.

She disappeared right as he hit the ground.

“Gotta be quicker than that!” she laughed from above in the tree.

He roared and scaled the tree again, only for her to disappear and land on the ground. Then he jumped off, only for her to disappear into the tree. Then he scaled again, only for her to transport to the ground.

The pack gathered around to see this sight. It went on for 10 minutes. Debbie eventually came out to see what was going on.

“What is this?” asking as she saw him scale the tree, chasing Annie.

“We are playing,” Fletch said.

Marrow was getting tired. He landed on the ground, gasping. “YOU STUPID TIGGER!”

Debbie’s mouth dropped. “MARROW!!! YOU CAN’T SAY THAT!”

Marrow looked at her, and snorted. “What? Everyone back in the ice age talked like that, I mean, we couldn’t speak your language, but the grunts implied it.”

“You still can’t say that! You can’t call other people slurs!”

“Yes you can,” Annie said. “I called that dark elf bitch a knife ear.”

“ANNIE!” Debbie gasped.

“Ooo,ooo, what about lumberfoot!” Fletch added.

“FLETCH!” Debbie gasped.

“Half-horse!” Bluey said.

“BLUEY!”

“Chimney sweep!” Goldy added.

“GOLDY!”

“Ankle biter!” Red said.

“RED!”

Needless to say, everyone got a bar of soap in their mouth after that.

*****

Marrow was still fuming after that prank. It annoyed him how simple it was and that it happened to him!

After class with Debbie, he sat on the porch scratching his chin, trying to come up with an idea. Bluey decided to approach him.

“You aren’t still mad are you?” Bluey asked nervously.

“Very, but not at you, myself,” Marrow growled. “I need to get back at that cat!”

“In what way?”

“Well, I need to pull a joke on her! But I don’t know how.”

Bluey scratched his chin. “Well, I’ll help you!”

“You would do that?” Marrow was surprised.

“Sure! Besides, she keeps cheating at tag and I want to prank her too.”

“Excellent! So what should we do?”

The two put their heads together, thinking of an idea.

“We could throw a pie at her face!” Bluey said.

“Hmmmm, but she could disappear before it reaches her.”

“Darn.”

They thought some more.

“I got it!” Marrow said. “We put rocks in her bed.”

Bluey co*cked his head. “How is that a prank?”

“It creates an inconvenience.”

“Maybe…but what if we put hair in her bed!”

“Hair?”

“Yeah! It’ll make her itch all night! And she’ll be uncomfortable!”

Marrow scratched his chin. “Wait, we are covered in hair, so that might not work.”

“Dang….what about itching powder?”

“Itching powder?”

“Yeah! It’s something that makes you itchy.”

“Wait, we don’t need to put that in her bed…” Marrow grinned.

*****

“You want to join us?” Annie smiled.

Marrow had just asked to join their game of tag. Debbie smiled as finally he was engaging.

“Yes, I realize I need to get out more,” he said.

“I’ve been cooped up too long.”

“Great!”

The group was eager.

“So, who’s first?” asked Goldy.

“You!” Annie tagged Goldy.

The group bolted and Goldy took off running. Marrow kept an eye on the cheshire, she wasn’t using her abilities now, however when she did, he knew exactly where to lure her.

“Gotcha!” Goldy said as he got Bluey.

“Dang!” Bluey then winked at Marrow. All a part of the plan.

He took off toward Marrow. Marrow sprinted ahead, getting some distance. The group new Marrow is one of the fastest, with his powerful legs. Bluey was trailing behind when suddenly Marrow's legs slipped out underneath him. He tumbled to the ground, and Bluey quickly tagged him and took off.

He smiled slyly, all according to plan. He shifted his focus towards Annie, who spied him already and took off. He barreled after her, grinning. Annie had a head start, but he knew how felines like her operated. While she may have the power to disappear and reappear, like most cats they go on instinct. And when they can’t beat or outrun a predator, they do the next best thing: climb.

She scurried up the tree, diving into the leaves. He grinned.

“Tough luck!” she taunted.

He turned around, feigning anger, but smiled the moment his back turned.

He heard the leaves ruffling and her grunting in despair. He turned around to see the little red ball of fur struggling in the tree. She scratched herself furiously. Rolling over the branches.

“Damn! Are there fleas in here?” she groaned as she scratched herself.

Marrow grinned. Bluey went up next to him. “It actually worked?”

In an effort to get back at Annie they had carefully added itching powder to the tree. They dusted the branches, and the leaves, just enough to make sure Annie got itchy.

“Indeed,” Marrow chuckled.

“So…what now?”

The branch then snapped and Annie fell out of the tree screaming. She landed on the ground hard, still scratching herself.

“It itches! It hurts! It itches!!” she bawled.

“That happens,” Marrow said as the rest of the pack rushed over to check on her.

Bluey buried his face in his hands. “Oh we are in so much trouble.”

****

Annie walked away with a nasty bruise on her back. Meanwhile Bluey and Marrow were grounded for a month.

“Well this is great!” Marrow groaned. “Now I can’t hunt!”

“It was your idea,” Bluey said, as he was passing the time reading a book. Debbie gave him a book called Bailey School Kids. “Besides, I have to figure out if this person is Frakentien.”

“We are trapped here!” Marrow growled.

“Well, you could try to leave, but you would have to wrestle the alpha, and she would twist your head off,” he remarked. “Now why the hell are giant cookies so suspicious…god I could go for a peanut butter cookie.”

“Here you go,” Annie handed him a cookie.

“Oh thanks….AH f*ck!” Bluey fell out of bed. “WOULD YOU STOP DOING THAT?”

Marrow glared at her. “You rat! What are you doing here?”

She sat on the bed criss-cross applesauce. “I thought I would come to visit you.”

“To gloat?” he growled.

“No, to commend your prank,” she put her hands together and bowed to him. “Excellent prank.”

“But you ratted us out!”

“No, that was Debbie overreacting, you think I would rat you out for a prank like that? No! It was excellent! Plus I got to take a bubble bath.”

Marrow sensed she respected him.

“Besides, I’m also here to see Fletch, we are going to hang out, but I wanted to say your prank was clever, and you got to tag me, technically,” She smiled. “And when you are done getting grounded want to join me for another prank?”

Marrow felt happy, something about this new bond brightened his mood. “So we are friends?”

“Of course!” Annie said, smiling.

“What’s the prank?” asked Bluey. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“Relax, it’ll be at night,” Annie explained.

“What are we doing at night?” asked Marrow.

She grinned. “Ever hear of cow tipping?”

****

After a month, the pack got the details of the plan.

There’s a cow farm a couple miles down the road. They would hop the fence, tip a cow, but get the hell out of there. They had to go at night, as the owner should be asleep.

“I don’t know,” Bluey said. “This seems risky.”

“Relax,” Annie said. “It’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, and..and hahaha, we get to tip cows!” laughed Fletch. “Ground beef anyone?”

Annie smiled and cuddled up closer to him. “But, you can’t be idiots, we tip one cow, or two, then we break.”

“Why can’t we all tip a cow?” Marrow asked.

“Because, the owner will wake up, she’s got sharp senses, tip one cow, it’ll stir her, a second, she’s out the door,” Annie said.

“Ok,” Goldy said. “What’ll happen if the owner catches us?”

“You don’t want to know,” Annie said.

The group looked at each other grinning. Granted they were nervous about what would happen if the alpha caught them, or the farmer, but the danger got their hearts racing!

“So what time should we go out?” asked Fletch.

“My folks are in bed around 9, what about yours?” asked Annie.

“10,” Red said.

“Then we’ll go at 10:30.”

“We’ll be there!” said Molly and Ellie.

They whirled around to see the two hellhound sisters standing there, grinning.

“How long have you two been standing there?” asked Annie.

“Long enough, and we want to come,” Ellie said.

“It’ll be fun!” Molly added.

“This is not something for pups!” Annie hissed.

“I say let them come,” Goldy said.

“Why?” Annie asked.

“Because when I was their age we did risky hunts as well,” Marrow added. “We all did, they need the experience to grow stronger.”

Annie sucked on her lip. “I don’t know, it sounds risky.”

“We promise to be quiet!” Ellie mimed zipping her lips.

“Besides, we haven’t seen a cow tipping, aside from the cartoons,” Molly added.

“Ok…but keep in mind you might not be actually tipping a cow, you might just watch,” Annie explained.

“And that’s fine with us,,” Molly smiled.

Ellie flexed her muscles. “I’m able to bench 200 pounds though, just saying.”

“Alright, then it’s agreed: 10:30 tonight.”

*****

The surveillance crew in the van had managed to upgrade to a small shack instead. It was much roomier and smelled better than a van. They still had people operating for the night shift, a vampire and a werebat as it made sense being nocturnal and all.

Already they spotted movement on the outside of the house.

“Hey, why are they leaving the house?” The Vampire asked.

The werebat zoomed in on the camera. “Hmmm, the hellhounds are leaving with them, and they are meeting the cheshire.”

“Do we call it in?”

“Let’s listen first.”

They stayed silent while the crackling audio picked up some chatter. Their boss splurged for the best, it could pick up clear audio.

“So the cows are down the way?” Bluey asked.

“Yep! Asleep and prime for tipping,” Annie grinned.

“Cow tipping?” snorted the vampire. “That’s a thing.”

“Hmmm, who owns that farm?” The werebat asked.

They had records and intelligence on all the neighbors, had to make sure they weren’t a threat. The vampire pulled up the file and scanned through, a sharp grin spread over her face. She showed it to her partner.

“Oooo, those boys are screwed if they are caught,” she giggled.

“When they are caught,” the vampire smiled as she picked up a phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Just gonna give them a wake up call, can you still do that telemarketer voice?”

The werebat giggled and grunted in a nasally tone. “I’m here to talk about your car's extended warranty.”

“Good, say that, and then she’ll be nice and awake.”

“And pissed.”

“She won’t kill them, will she? Because I’m sure we’ll get fired if we do.”

“We’ll launch a drone, and if things get out of hand we can shoot them with the knock out pellets.”

“Ooo! I want to fly it!”

“No, I get to fly it.”

“Aw come on! I never get to fly it!”

“Fine, rock paper scissors to determine who wins.”

The two went on three. Both drew rock.

They went again. Both drew scissors.

“Damn it, throw something different!” the vampire groaned.

This went on for a while, while the pack made their way down the road. They never launched the drone because they kept trying.

****

The pack hadn’t had much of a chance to explore the area at night. The roads were dimly lit by occasional lights meant to illuminate the country road. They were in need of upgrades as they gave off a yellowish unsettling light that made the roads creepy.

Outside the air reeked of humidity and cowsh*t. It made their noses cringe. Something about the night made it more pungent. Yet it felt peaceful out here. They could see the bright stars, something even when they were in the ice age they would look up at, and feel a sense of relaxation.

“We are here,” Annie said.

They could see the cows in the field, big ones, solid black and brown. Most were laying down to sleep.

“How are we supposed to tip a cow if they are lying down?” Marrow hissed.

“Calm down, we’ll find one standing,” Annie scanned the pasture. “I can see one, just the way out there.”

The pack squinted. Their eyes were good for night hunting, and they could make out the shape of a cow.

“Is it asleep?” asked Bluey.

“Should be,” Annie replied. “It’s just standing there.”

“Sooo, who’s gonna do it?” asked Fletch.

The pack thought for a moment, they couldn’t do it all together, that would just look stupid.

“I’ll do it,” Bluey said.

Marrow patted him on the shoulder. “Excellent!”

Bluey hopped over the fence and crept his way toward the cow stealthily. He made no noise, making each movement with extreme caution. He may not be going for a kill, but he didn’t want to alert his prey. He got closer to the bovine. It breathed softly. He stood a few inches taller than the cow, but he knew it wouldn’t be a problem.

Right as he touched the bovine he heard a husky country voice growl. “You have 3 seconds to take yer filthy mitts off my property or I’ll remove them.”

He jumped back and a large paw seized him by the neck of his shirt. He was lifted high off the ground and found himself staring into two fiery orange eyes. A lump formed in his throat as the moonlight illuminated the farmer. She stood tall like Debbie, but her muscles were far bigger, built by toiling around the farm. Her razor sharp teeth gleamed in the moonlight like daggers. If it wasn’t for the moonlight she would have blended into the night perfectly.

“Looks to me like I gotta trespasser,” the hellhound growled. She sized him up. “And a goddamn furry!”

Bluey choked. “I’m not that! I’m a dire wolf!”

“I don’t give a damn what your fursona is!” She grabbed at his ears and yanked hard, thinking they were fakes. “You ain’t plowing my cows!!!”

Bluey howled in pain. He slapped at her paws

“God damn these are on tighter than a bolt!” She barked as she yanked on his ears.

“Let him go!” Marrow growled.

She whirled to see the pack ready to attack, each standing tall. She groaned. “More of yah? God damn it! What the hell have you all been eating? You…”

Bluey cracked her across the jaw, she dropped him and he scurried to the safety of the pack. Despite her large dominating size, Bluey like his fellow pack members still had strength. His punch had the equivalent power of a sledgehammer hitting a railroad spike. Granted it didn’t knock her out, but it was enough to shock her.

The hellhound spat out a blood soaked loogie and looked at them menacingly. The pack was ready to pounce when a bright light blinded them. The hellhound had pulled out a large maglite and blinded them with the beam. She gripped it tightly. It was not only good for blinding and finding things in the dark, but also beating people with. “Ok, now you little cow f*ckin’ bastards are gonna…”

“Wait!!!” Molly, Ellie, and Annie jumped in front of the brooding groups.

The hellhound glared at them. “What the…Annie? Don’t tell me you are mixed up with these furries?”

“Don’t hurt them, Marge!” Annie squealed. “It’s a joke! We just wanted to tip a cow!”

“And they are our brothers!” Molly added.

Ellie pointed to Fletch. “And that one is Annie’s boyfriend!”

Annie’s face turned bright red while Fletch laughed nervously.

“What the hell are you….wait a second!” She pointed at the two hellhound girls. “You’re Debbie’s girls!!!”

The two girls gulped.

“What the hell are you doing with them?” Marge growled. “And what the hell do you mean brothers?”

“Well…they…um…..” Molly and Ellie looked at each other nervously.

Marge clicked her tongue then growled. “Looks like we need to have a talk with yer ma.”

*****

“I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!!!” Debbie roared.

They already knew they were in trouble for getting caught and breaking curfew, and getting seen by another neighbor, but a sleep deprived Debbie is a force to be reckoned with.

The pack was grouped up, heads bowed in shame, Annie, Molly, and Ellie joined them.

“WHAT ON EARTH MADE YOU THINK THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?” Debbie roared to the pack.

They winced from the rage in her voice.

Annie spoke. “It was my idea! I thought it would be…”

“YOU!” She pointed at Annie. “YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN THEM HURT!”

She then fixed her attention to her daughters. “AND YOU TWO! I AM SHOCKED YOU JOINED THIS DEBAUCHERY!”

Molly and Ellie were trying to hold back tears, they had seen their mom angry before, but this took the cake.

Marge of course was relishing in their scolding. Debbie calmed down a little when speaking with Marge. “I am so sorry, look, can we talk more about this in the morning?”

“Of course,” she turned around and grinned at the terrified group. “Y’all have a nice night.”

The group's hearts stopped as the door shut. A split second following that, Debbie’s rags came back at full force. She pointed at Annie menacingly. “I’M CALLING YOUR PARENTS!” She glared at the rest. “YOU ARE ALL GROUNDED FOR A MONTH!!! NOW GO TO BED!!”

She whirled around and marched upstairs, her intense stomps made the whole foundation shake. Annie moped and walked toward the door to go home. “Might as well face the music.”

The rest silently went off to bed. They hadn’t seen her that angry before. They all tried to fall asleep, but after a chewing out like that, their nerves were shot.

****

Webber received a call late at night, he answered. It was Debbie, she broke the news to him. He sighed. “I’m not surprised anymore. You said you’ll talk to her? Great. Goodnight.”

He laid back on his pillow. He felt Mistress Bailey's cold bosoms rub against his arm as she cuddled him. “What was that about?”

He grumbled. “Subjects decided to do some cow tipping, got caught, too tired to care.”

“Oooo, so another person knows?”

“Yeah.”

“Well good thing we got a press release ready, you are taking this well.”

“Honestly, I’m too tired to care.”

“Really? Because if you were stressed..” she kissed his neck and whispered sensually. “I could make you feel better with my mouth.”

Webber smirked in the dark. “I guess it could help.”

Mistress Bailey planted sensual kisses all the way down his body before reaching his awaiting throbbing member.

He did feel a hell of a lot better after that.

****

Marge came over the next morning, and Debbie was waiting with coffee and muffins. She gave her the run down on everything.

Marge was surprised. “Yer tellin’ me those boys are prehistoric animals?”

“Yes,” Debbie replied.

“Holy sh*t, actual monster boys,” she sipped her coffee. “Thought I would never see the day.”

Debbie noticed that Marge’s lip was a little swollen and bruised. “What happened there?”

Marge chuckled. “The scrappy one decked me.”

“Oh my goodness I’m so sorry!”

“Relax, it’s a little sore but nothin’ too bad, what’s the fellers name again?”

“Bluey.”

Marge choked on her coffee, laughing. “You pullin’ my tail?”

“No, my daughters named him and he liked it.”

“Well sh*t why not just name one of ‘em Spider-Man?” Marge laughed. “Anyways, where are they?”

“Grounded, for breaking curfew and for their mischievous deeds.”

Marge scratched her chin. “So they can’t leave the house?”

“Yep.”

“Well that little feller, Bluey, how about he works for me for a month as his punishment?”

“Why?”

“He’s the only one who touched my cow, and gave me this,” she tapped her bruised lip. “I reckon a little restitution is in order.”

“What would he be doing?” Debbie asked.

Marge grinned. “Lugging hay, shoveling sh*t, the usual grunt work.”

“Ok, and just him?”

“Easier to keep track of one feller than a bunch,” she stood up and stretched. “Go ahead and send him over this morning, I’ll put him to work. I gotta go.”

Marge left and Debbie went to the pack’s room. She opened the door, the pack was awake, but just lying in their beds.

“Bluey, come here,” she said.

Bluey walked up to her nervously.

“Your punishment is different, Marge, the lady who’s cows you tried to tip and who you struck, wants you to work for her for a month.”

There was a groan from the rest.

“Why can’t we get that?” Marrows groaned.

“We all went to the farm,” Goldy added.

“Well, she only wants him, the rest of you stay here!” Debbie scolded. “You’ll get some dumbbells to lift.”

The rest groaned while Bluey left the room. He looked ashamed.

“I hope you understand this hurts me,” Debbie said. “But you disobeyed me.”

“I’m sorry,” he whimpered.

She glanced at him. He almost looked like he was going to cry. She sighed and hugged him gently. “Listen, I’m a little mad still, but I don’t hate you, or anyone. Understand?”

“Yes,” he whimpered.

“Think of this as a time to reflect.”

“Ok, I’ll do good work for you.”

“You aren’t working for me, it’s for her,” she reminded.

“Right.” His mood brightened a little. “Do I go now?”

“I’ll have Vincent drive you over.”

*****

Fletch lied in his bed, thinking. He wasn’t thinking about the punishment, he was way past that, what was on his mind is what Ellie said last night.

“And that one’s Annie’s boyfriend!”

It made him feel funny. He knew what a boyfriend is. He learned it in class. But at the same time when he saw Annie, he felt funny already. It was the first time he ever spoke to another female besides the ones in his family. She made him laugh, and he made her laugh. That adorable red hair, that grin, those beautiful ruby red eyes. He felt tingly.

The door opened, Debbie stood at the doorway.

The rest of the pack was playing a game of poker using Cheese It’s as chips.

“Fletch, you have a phone call,” Debbie said.

Fletch stood up and walked to the doorway. She led him to the kitchen and handed him the phone.

“Hello?” he asked.

“Hey Fletch, what are you up to?” asked Annie.

Fletch laughed nervously. “Well, I’m grounded, you?”

“Ah damn, me too, such a coincidence, we have so much in common.”

Fletch laughed. “Yeah!”

“How long you grounded for?”

“A month, you?”

“Same, Debbie said she’s gonna be tutoring me a hell of a lot more.” She paused for a moment. “Hey, you aren’t mad at me are you?”

“Why would I be?”

“Well, it’s my fault we got grounded.”

“No, not at all, I had a fun time, it was a good time.”

“Yeah, well we’ll have to do something less troublesome next time.”

“Well, depends if we don’t want to get caught, then we just have to be more careful next time,” he snickered a little. He then saw Debbie’s narrowing eyebrows and he went silent. “You know, there is one thing we can do.”

“What’s that?”

He gulped. “Maybe when this is over…we could…go….on a date?”

She paused for a moment. “A date?”

“Yeah, a date.”

He found himself sweating. He was more nervous than hunting! But Debbie’s smile got wider, like she was praying for his success.

Finally, Annie responded. “I would love that.”

He covered the receiver and squealed with joy. He then responded. “Awesome…we can discuss more details as the date gets closer.”

“Yeah, we can….hey can we talk a little more….”

He smiled and looked at Debbie. She nodded at him. He then replied. “Of course.”

****

Vincent dropped Bluey off at Marge’s, she was waiting for him right at the gates of her property.

“Well there’s that little trouble maker,” she taunted.

Bluey knew she was making fun of him, but he didn’t mind. He knew his purpose was to serve out his punishment. “I’m here to make things easier for you.”

She chuckled. “Well, looks like your mom gave you a damn good tongue lashin’!”

“Yes she did,” Bluey said.

Marge looked at him strangely. “Are you special?”

“Yes, I was made in a lab, and I originally was an animal, but now I’m some sort of hybrid.”

“No..I mean…nevermind, come on,” she led him onto her property and started explaining his job. “Now listen, I got cows of all kinds, beef, dairy…and well that’s it. And the problem is, they love to sh*t. Yer job…” she then handed him a shovel. “Is to shovel it all up into this wheelbarrow and bring it to me.”

Bluey took the shovel. He is familiar with the tool, but never used it. “So just shovel the…poop?”

“It’s sh*t boy, bullsh*t, literally.”

“Alpha doesn’t allow swearing.”

“Alpha? You mean Debbie?” she laughed. “f*ckin’ hell, she really did knock some sense into y’all. Just get to shoveln’.”

“Yes,” Blue started wheeling out, before turning around. “Marge, I want to say I’m sorry for striking you, I hope I didn’t damage your sculpted face too much.”

Marge cracked a half smile and laughed. “A gentleman! No sweat, barely hurt, now get to shovelin’!”

He went off to shovel, Marge turned around, but her smile faded and morphed into a confused look. “Sculpted? Me? What did he mean?”

Bluey got to shoveling. The poop smelled bad, but it wasn’t too overpowering. He remembered back in the old times when they would get the foul smells of fellow dire wolves, corpses, and cave bears, those beasts stank. He shoveled the poop pretty easily. It wasn’t too bad. He liked it because it made his muscles tense. The weather was nice too. After an hour of shoveling he filled up the wheelbarrow. He wheeled it over to the house.

“Marge!” he called.

“What?” she yelled from the barn.

“Where do I put the poop?”

She walked out of the barn. She looked at his wheelbarrow, impressed by how much sh*t he shoveled. “God damn! This much in an hour?”

“Yeah, it’s not that bad out.”

She looked at the thermometer. “It’s 90 degrees!! And you are barely breaking a sweat”

“Way cooler than when I was around.”

She chuckled. “You are a funny fellah.”

Bluey nodded. “So what about the poop?”

“Well, just bring it to the barn, and dump it into these barrels, I gotta ramp you can use.”

He wheeled it into the barn. He saw dairy cows standing around, awaiting their milking. He then saw the ramp with a blue barrel under it. He wheeled it up there and dumped the poop in the barrel.

“Easy ain’t it?” Marge chuckled.

“More shovelin’?” asked Bluey.

“Of course.”

*****

Bluey continued his task all day. It was an easy task, shovel, dumb, repeat. It was clear she didn’t get to this often, it seemed to be everywhere. But he didn’t mind.

“You are a strange one,” Marge commented as he just got done dumping the latest load.

“I’m just doing the job,” Bluey said.

“Well, yeah, but normally people start complaining,” she chuckled. “Lord knows I complain, hate the smell of sh*t.”

“Do you not plug your nose?”

“Of course I do,” she chuckled. “I smell like it afterwards, have to take a nice shower.”

Bluey co*cked his head. “Showers?”

“Yeah, you know what those are right?”

“I do, I figured you would take bubble baths.”

She laughed. “Why the hell would you think that?”

“Well, for someone in charge, a bath is a symbol of power, and I figure that’s what you did to smell flowery.”

She laughed nervously. “What..you smelling me?”

“Yes, and I think blueberries and lavender is a great scent for you.”

He turned around to continue his duties. Marge couldn’t help but smile anxiously. She sniffed herself. He could smell that out of her? She showered yesterday!

****

“So, how was the first day of work?” Vicent asked Bluey as he drove him home.

“Not bad,” he said. “I feel great.”

Vincent laughed. “God damn, you enjoyed shoveling sh*t?”

“It smelled a little bad, but I worked through it, it’s my job.”

Vincenet patted his shoulder. “You are a hard worker, it won’t go unnoticed.”

****

Marge couldn’t help but keep an eye on him the next day, he wandered through the fields, looking for sh*t, finding a pile now and then.

“This kids like one of those truffle pigs,” she thought. “If they tracked sh*t.”

He seeked out every pile to where he was clearing the area. She realized while she addressed him as a kid, according to Debbie he is at least 18.

When he deposited the latest load in the barrel, he looked at her. “Well, I can’t find any more, what do I do?”

She clicked her tongue. “You ever milk a cow?”

“No.”

“Well you are gonna learn today.”

“Ok, give me a second,” he said as he stepped outside of the barn.

Marge heard the hose turn on. “Must be getting some water first.”

She stepped outside to check on him when her jaw dropped. He was standing there bare chested, blue-black fur covered his shoulders and arms, but his chest was almost bare of hair. He was spraying himself with the hose, letting the water trail down his chest, soaking his jean shorts. It was a scene out of a music video, instead of the sexy girl spraying herself with water, it was a guy!! His body moved smoothly side to side as he sprayed himself down. Marge felt her face flushing.

“What…what the hell are you doin’?” she balked.

He looked at her, confused. “I was washing myself off, you don’t like the smell of poop and I smelled of it. I didn’t want you to be upset.”

She cleared her throat. “That is…considerate, thank you, now get in the barn.”

He nodded and walked into the barn shirtless. Marge adjusted the collar on her shirt.

“Is it hot in here?” she thought.

They went over to the first dairy cow. He sat in the stool, she sat right next to him. “Now milking a dairy cow isn’t complicated. You just have to give their udders a gentle squeeze and pull, that’s all.” she demonstrated for him. He watched intently as milk calmly went into the bucket. “See?”

He nodded. He hadn’t milked anything before, he had sucked on his mothers tit* from long ago, but that was when he was a pup.

He grabbed hold of the udders and gently started tugging. Nothing came out. He kept tugging. Marge was sitting next to him, looking nervously.

“Hey, let me help!” she said. She got behind him, smelling his hair. It smelled like the backwoods, pine and wet leaves, but it was still making her chest feel hot. She took his hands and helped him milk. “See, gently, like this.”

Milk started going into the bucket. He smiled. “I think I get it.”

“Yeah, you do…” She continued to help him milk.

After a bit, he asked. “May I do this by myself?”

“Oh…of course!” She left to milk another cow, sitting just a foot away. She gulped. “So…you remember your original life?”

“Yes,” he said. “I remember hunting with my brothers, killing many creatures and eating them, even those monkeys.”

“Monkeys?”

“The cave men as you call them,” he sighed. “I remember that, but it’s different when you are an animal, you can’t process everything, and having these human emotions, they feel foreign.”

She nodded. “I understand, it was the same for many monsters when they became mamano.”

He stopped. “It’s weird, but I had a mother, granted we were a pack, but it’s different from Alpha, Alpha wants me to be better, and is ...supportive. It’s weird getting these emotions from an alpha.”

“She’s always been a kind girl, it’s nice to see her out more.” Marge sighed.

“She wasn’t always like this?”

“Oh she was, don’t get me wrong, but for a couple months, I didn’t see a hair or hide of her.”

“Why?”

Marge sighed. “Well, from what I heard, she was supposed to have another kid, but they had an accident.”

“Accident?”

Marge grimaced. “You know…”

Bluey looked at her confused.

Marge shook her head. “It's best if you ask her.”

Bluey nodded. “Do you have a pack?”

“I got some sisters in Texas, my mother lives out in Boise, but I’m by myself out here.”

“Does it get lonely?”

She paused for a moment, then nodded. “It can be…this used to be my mom’s, I inherited it when she broke her hip.”

Bluey continued milking. “It’s shocking, if you were alive back in my time, you would have many males surrounding you, I’m surprised you don’t have any suitors now.”

She blushed a little. “Oh you are just saying that.”

“It’s true, how are there not any suitors to surround you? If you were in my pack, there would be endless suitors mounting you and giving you plenty of pups”

She gulped. “You…you mean that?”

“Of course, your body is perfect for breeding, wide hips, and with your genetics you would make the strongest babies.”

She felt her face get hot. She found herself milking the cow faster.

“Is he coming onto me?” she thought.

****

“So, what’s this show called again?” asked Fletch as he looked at the laptop.

Debbie was kind enough to allow them to watch movies and TV shows together over via video call while grounded. She still wanted them to bond.

“Oh you are going to love this,” she giggled. “It’s called the Smiling Friends, it’s hilarious.”

“Ok, it looks weird….I haven’t watched something like this before.”

“Trust me, you’ll love it.”

“Ok…”

Later after watching the first season, Fletch couldn’t stop laughing for 2 hours straight.

****

Marrow grumbled as he lifted a dumbbell, he had been locked up for two weeks. Red and Goldy were having a fun time playing go fish.

“Got any twos?” asked Goldy.

“Go fish, got any 3s?” Red asked.

“Go fish, got any…queens?”

Marrow glared at them. “Can’t you guys do something else?!?”

“We are just passing the time,” Goldy said.

“Yeah, it’s not too bad,” Red egged him on. “We could always use a third.”

Marrow groaned. “I don’t want to be here! Why did we listen to that mouth breathing feline?!?”

“Because we wanted a friend?” Goldy asked.’

“And we got one!” Red added.

“It’s not fair! Bluey gets to be outside, and Fletch still gets to talk to his mate! And we get nothing!”

“Fletch has a mate?” Goldy asked.

“Nice!” Red added.

Marrow grumbled. “When the hell are we gonna get a girl?”

“You want to mate?” asked Goldy.

Marrowed breathed in slowly. “I have…urges…”

“Don’t worry we’ll be out in a week,” Red said.

“We can go back to hunting,” Goldy added. “And we can find yourself a girl.”

“In the woods?” snorted Marrow. “What kind of girl would be in the woods?”

****

“They want mates!??!?!” Webber found himself sitting in a highchair to avoid passing out.

The dwarf sighed. “That’s not what I said, I said Fletch might have a girlfriend with the cheshire, and it looks like Bluey is flirting with the hellhound, though he might just not have much social skills and she could be taking it as flirting, factoring in how she’s about 40 years old, lives alone, prime cougar material. Regardless, we overheard Marrow say he has urges, and we theorize that the lack of outdoor stimulation due to them being grounded is causing other feelings to grow stronger, which includes feelings of lust.”

“Oh god…” he rubbed his eyes. “They want to mate.”

“Again, after their grounding ends, I anticipate once they are out in the woods hunting those feelings should subside.”

Webber groaned. “You don’t understand, the seeds have already been planted, eventually they are going to seek out mates. They’ll see those two with their mates…”

“Keep in mind, Bluey hasn’t done anything with that hellhound yet.”

“It doesn’t matter! Envy is a powerful force! Once someone gorgeous catches their eyes, they’ll be lusting after them!”

“Well, what on earth could catch their eyes?”

****

If Webber thought Mistress Bailey was the only one trying to revive extinct prehistoric species, he was dead wrong.

If someone has enough money, they’ll put it to use. That’s the case of Texas oil billionaire Matt Paul. He heard from some reliable sources about the lab's attempt to make prehistoric animals, but accidentally making monster women.

Granted while they were reliable, there was the lack of photographic evidence, but it was enough to get him investing.

With his resources they went to work building a lab, hiring the best workers, and of course, getting DNA.

While Webber’s lab was perfecting their process, Paul’s was still in the beginning stages. Around the time the boys were grounded, they just had their major breakthrough…

Later that night

Paul surveyed his lab. It was in shambles. Large deep claw marks sliced up the walls, glass was shattered, guards were in a heap, groaning. He lit a cigar. “So, she escaped.”

One of his top scientists, William Tham, shook. “Yes…she…she was more powerful than we thought, she broke containment. Sir, I am so sorry, but we will get it right.”

Paul grinned. “I think you already did!”

Tham was confused. “What do you mean?”

Tham pulled out his phone to call his salamander wife. He dialed her up. “Honey, good news! Experiments are a success!”

There was a squeal on the other end of the phone. “So that means…”

“Hell yeah!! YEEE HAWWW!”

He hung up the phone and looked at Tham grinning. “We need some dino DNA, we making a velociraptor!”

“WHAT?” sputtered Tham. “But sir, we are only able to make..mamano!”

“I know that,” Paul chuckled. “And we are gonna make me a velociraptor wife!”

Tham’s brain short circuited, as he wasn’t sure what he just heard. “What…you….you spent all this money…time…and resources….TO MAKE A PREHISTORIC MAMANO WIFE?”

Paul remained calm and took a seat. He tapped the other chair, urging them to sit down. Tham sat down reluctantly. Paul looked ahead and talked inspirationally. “Years ago…when I first saw mamano, I thought to myself, god damn that’s hot. And when I met my beautiful Salamander wife Erica, well, I was in heaven. For as a boy I loved dinosaurs, and always wondered, what it would look like as a mamano. My wife is the closest thing I can get to that. But years ago, she revealed she had a fantasy, she too, has desired another lizard woman in the bed with us, but we tried a lizard girl, poor girl wasn’t strong enough for our passionate lovemaking, she’s my second wife though and bless her heart for training at the gym to get stronger. But my wife Erica, revealed to me, she always wanted to have sex with a dino woman, with me in the middle, for the most intense love making known to man!!! So I vowed I would bring a smile to her face by making a dino-mamano!”

Tham gawked. “So…this…this is nothing but your own waifu creator?”

“It’s my money, I determine what I’ll spend it on, and I say, let a man have a velociraptor wife so me and my wife can have the most intense threeway ever!!!!”

“What…what about the lizard girl?”

“She said she would sit that out, she needs to get a little stronger first, she’s training with a wurm.”

Tham sighed, this guy does sign his paychecks. “I’ll get some Utah Raptor DNA, and it shouldn’t take too long.”

Paul patted his back. “That’s just what I wanted to hear, and he’ll if this is successful, I’ll give everyone here their very own dino wife.”

The guards and scientists cheered.

“Spinosaurus!”

“T-rex!”

“Stegosaurus!”

Paul felt a tear of joy and pride fall down his cheek. “This, this is why we value science.”

Tham looked at Paul condescendingly. “Did you forget about our latest escape?”

“Ah hell, it’ll be fine, she’ll find some man to mate with, or she’ll become a new cryptid, either way, we’ve got work to do!”

Tham looked out the broken doors, shaking. “We just released a sabertooth on this world, what the hell can stop that?”

*****

“So….this is my final day of being grounded,” Fletch said nervously over the phone.

“Yes it is,” Annie said excitedly. “And did you come up with your favorite date ideas?”

They had been discussing date ideas, and they made a list of date ideas and places for them to go.”

“Yuh-ha-yeah, I got them,” Fletch laughed nervously. He was sweating despite only talking over the phone. “So….there’s picnic….dinner……walk in woods…and..haha…heh….smoke weed, fill our bellies with diet soda…and play…ha….Burnout 2 the Revenge for the PS2.”

Annie bursted into laughter over the phone. “Hmmmm, well I don’t have any weed, or a PS2.”

“Then, picnic?”

“I would love that! Let’s meet tomorrow at noon at the hill near my house.”

“Got it.”

He hung up, sweating nervously.

“He’s gotta date!” cheered Ellie and Molly.

Debbie appeared in the kitchen smiling. “My baby boy has a date!”

Fletch laughed nervously. “So…what do I do?”

“Just do what you normally do,” Debbie said.

“But…what if she wants to mate?” asked Fletch.

Debbie's face froze. “Now...don't think about that….it’s just a date.”

“But normally when you eat food with another female, it ends in mating!!!”

Molly and Ellie had the talk, but they were giggling like a bunch of school children..

“Now, Fletch, not every date has to end with mating, but you want to maintain a friendship, correct?” Debbie asked.

“Yes,” Fletch replied.

“Well, think of this as seeing if you two click, you go on a few more dates, and then you can get to the mating.”

“Ok…so does Annie like raccoons?”

Debbie sighed. “Ok, we need to go over food to eat, you don’t start giving her the food you’ve killed until at least the fifth date.”

Fletch nodded. “Continue,”

*****

Bluey had improved immensely on his cow milking. He could do it quickly and gently. It was all thanks to Marge’s help. She watched him work those magic fingers on the cow’s udders. He never complained, even when he admitted his wrists were sore, he said it would toughen them up. Marge was hoping he could put those fingers to better use.

“So, this is your last day,” Marge said.

“Indeed, I hope I was able to serve you well,” Bluey said.

“I could think of a few other ways,” she thought. But she warmly smiled and replied. “You did, thank you.”

“It’s a shame my punishment is over, I enjoyed working for you.”

While Marge kept a straight expression, her ears twitched with joy at the words and her tail wagged aggressively. “Well, you know you don’t have to work for me just as a punishment?”

“I don’t?”

“No, you could still do work for me,” she smiled at him. “Besides, you make this much more enjoyable.”

Bluey smiled. “Oh wonderful! Then you can teach me more wisdom, and I can still be in the honor of working by your side.”

She blushed, feeling her heartbeat. “That does sound wonderful.”

*****

FInally, they were no longer grounded. The first thing Marrow, Red, and Goldy did was go off into the woods to hunt. Meanwhile Bluey went to continue working for Marge.

Fletch on the other hand was going to go on a date. He wore cargo shorts and a Hawiaan shirt. Debbie helped him pack a perfect picnic, complete with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, cookies, and grapes.

“It’s simple, effective, and grapes allow you to be romantic,” Debbie said.

“How?” asked Fletch.

“You feed them to her?”

Fletch looked at the grapes. “How?”

“You know, hold the vine over her mouth, or you cutely pop one into her mouth,” Debbie said.

“Ok…how do I know to do that?”

“Just relax, be yourself, and if that opportunity comes, you can do it.”

Fletch gulped, laughing nervously .”Ok…I can do this!”

He grabbed the picnic basket and marched out the door, head held high. He is going on a date! And it will not end with any mating!!! For they are still friends who like each other!

Debbie watched proudly as he left. Vincent entered the room. “It’s wonderful isn’t it?”

“Indeed,” she said. “So, you think we can borrow some of the listening equipment they use on us?”

“I’m sure it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

****

Marge watched lustfully as Bluey hosed himself off. It was a sort of ritual he did before milking the cows with her. She started to have him do some more physical work, such as moving hay and feed. It saved her some time, but allowed her to gander at his muscles. His wild body was lean and tone, made him sharp like a katana, but gave him muscles the size of softballs. She bit her lip, feeling her loins stirring.

“Just watching, no touching,” she thought.

“I’m ready to milk,” Bluey called.

Marge cleared her throat. “Yes, of course! Let’s go!”

She led him into the barn, watching his tail wag, along with his nice toned back flex with every step. She couldn’t help but imagine his but under those jean shorts.

“Stay calm…stay calm…this isn’t the old lands…no hellhound way…no hellhound way…” she thought. “But god damn he’s so cute!!!”

*****

Fletch stifled his nervous laughter when he saw Annie waiting for him on the hill. She already had a blanket laying out, smiling bright.

“You are here!” she cheered.

“Yuh-yeah! Ha! I’m, ha, here,” he stammered and laughed.

She giggled. “You don’t need to be afraid, relax..” she reached behind her back. “I brought the diet soda!”

Fletch spurted out another laugh. He doubled over clutching his sides as he laughed. Annie joined in laughing, amused by his reaction.

“Did..did…hahaha…you brought…” Fletch couldn't finish as he laughed harder. He stumbled over and set down the picnic basket before collapsing on the ground laughing.

Annie chuckled and looked in the basket. “Wow, good food, you make it yourself?”

“No, my mom did,” Fletch chuckled.

Meanwhile from a good thousand yards away Debbie and Vincent listened in. They got their hands on one of those listening devices that looks like a satellite dish you can hold in your hands.

Debbie facepalmed. “God damn it!”

“Relax, it’s how he works,” Vincent said. “He’ll do fine.”

Annie laughed at him, then bashfully looked at him. “If you did make your own picnic, what would you bring?”

“Do you like raccoons?” Fletch bounty asked.

Annie paused, then burst out laughing. “You are so funny!”

They dug into the food and ate.

“So, how was your punishment?” asked Fletch.

“Well, on the bright side I feel like I’m ready for my GED, your mom’s a real slave driver,” Annie said.

Meanwhile the eavesdropping Debbie growled. “I’m gonna double your algebra problems next time.”

“How about your punishment?” asked Annie.

Fletch chewed on a sandwich. “It wasn’t too bad, couldn’t leave the house, but I was glad to talk to you.”

“Really?” Annie sounded a little surprised.

“Yeah, it was my favorite part of the day.”

Annie blushed and turned away. She said bashfully .”You got a nice laugh.”

Fletch found himself chuckling nervously. “Thank, ha, you.”

Annie looked at him, her eyes sparkling. “Fletch, can I tell you something?”

“Yeah.”

“I…I really got to know you more over the phone, and remember when your sister called you my boyfriend?”

“Yes, ha.”

“Well, would you actually like to be my boyfriend?”

Fletch turned bright red and laughed nervously. He couldn't control it. He tried to cover his mouth but it wouldn't stop coming out.

Annie smiled at him. “So, I take that as a yes.”

Fletch nodded his head eagerly.

She then took his hand gently. Fletch felt his heart race. She felt so soft. It sent jitteres up his body. He trembled as he looked at her grinning.

“Really are cute,” she said.

“So..so..are you,” he stammered.

“Thanks,” she kissed his cheek.

Fletch’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell to the ground smiling. Annie smiled back. “Oh yeah, he’s a keeper.”

*****

“Well, my boy has a girlfriend!” Debbie cheered.

“Those two had grown closer,” Vincent said. “So it makes sense.”

Debbie’s phone then rang. She answered. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Marge.”

“Oh hey, how are you?”

“Uhhh…I have a question.”

“Yeah.”

“Your boy, Bluey, is he seeing anyone?”

“No, why?”

“Uhhhh….can we talk tomorrow in person?”

“Sure.”

She hung up the phone.

“What was that about?” asked Vincent.

Debbie sighed. “I think someone’s biological clock just went off.”

****

Marrow was off by himself, Goldy and Red preferred to stick together for their hunts. He was a solo man, besides, he caught something in his nose, a familiar scent, and tasty.

He licked his lips. “A deer.”

He would finally kill something, and he would have a nice full belly. Perhaps this is his reward after serving his penance.

He took off swiftly, yet quietly, setting his sights on the deer.

*****

Goldy and Red crept through the woods, glad to be outside, they didn’t care if they didn’t find any prey, being outside felt good on their senses. The decaying pine needles and living pines made a soothing scent.

“So, you think Fletch will get a girlfriend?” asked Red..

“Most likely, they were talking every day,” Goldy said.

“And that Marge, what about Bluey?”

“Maybe, lucky, he gets the eldest of alpha, that means she is prime for baby making.”

Red chuckled. “Did Marrow's words get to you?”

“A little, I haven’t thought about a mate, but I’m not sure where to start. How does one find a mate?” Goldy asked.

“We can always ask alpha,” Red replied. He sniffed the air, the got the usual scent of pine and wood, but something else tickled his nose, an familiar tangy scent. He shook his head. “That can’t be right.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Goldy.

“I smell something weird.”

“What?”

He sniffed again. He smelled something smokey and tangy, it smelled like barbecue sauce, Vincent made them ribs one night, they were delicious. But it also smelled like a sheep. “You are going to find this strange.”

“Tell me.”

“Well ... .I smell barbecue sauce, and sheep.”

Goldy looked at his brother in disbelief. “I think we were in that room for too long.”

“No, I’m serious!”

“You must be imagining things.”

“Come on, follow me.”

Red took off toward the scent, with Goldy trailing, thinking they were going on a wild goose chase.

“I wonder how Marrow is doing,” Goldy thought.

****

Marrow spied the deer. A big, hearty buck, he must be an older one, survived a long time. All the meat on him looked juicy. He would eat well, and he probably would share some with the family and pack, but he gets most of it.

He readied to pounce, his feet dug into the ground, leaving divots.

The buck was grazing, he didn’t even hear or smell him. Perfect.

Suddenly the buck raised its head, like it heard something.

“What?” he thought. “There’s no way!! The wind’s not even blowing in my direction!!!”

The deer froze for a second. Marrow growled. “This is my prey, mine!”

He bolted out of his hiding place, barreling towards the deer. The deer bolted off into the woods. Suddenly something bolted after the deer as well. Marrow barked. “THAT’S MINE!!!!”

He took off after the shape, and the deer. He was not going to let it steal his deer.

*****

“It’s over here,” Red said.

“I think you are just smelling things,” Goldy said.

“No, it’s getting stronger!”

Goldy sniffed the air, now he could smell it. His mouth watered. “What is that doing out here?”

Red approached some brush. “I don’t know but…” he pulled the brush aside, but then stepped back. He wore a blank, unsure expression on his face.

“What is it?” asked Goldy.

“I…I saw something, and I don’t know what to make of it.”

“What is it?”

“I…I..I don’t know.”

“But you just saw it.”

“I know, but I don’t know what to make of it.”

“That’s absurd,” Goldy stepped forward. “How shocking can it….”

Red tried to pull him back but he already got a gander.

Laying on the ground, was some sheep girl. She had slathered her naked body in smokey barbecue sauce. The sauce hung off her breasts and trailed all the way down to her unmentionables. She wore a sultry look on her face. Her eyes were focused on Red.

“Oh dear,” she purred. “You brought a friend, I was hoping it would just be a lone predator claiming his prey…”

Red looked at Goldy. “I’m scared, and aroused.”

Goldy then shuffled back. “I think she just wants you.”

“Don’t leave me!” Red begged.

But Goldy had made up his mind and left his brother to go back home. He looked back at the seductive weresheep. He knew of these mamano, but what the hell was one doing out here, naked and covered in barbecue sauce.

“This sauce is keeping me still, oh I hope Mr. Wolf won’t hurt me too hard,” she bit her lip, seductively rubbing her breasts. “This sheep wandered too far from her shepherd, and now is at the mercy of the big bad wolf.”

Red gulped. “Oh alpha, or even Marrow, where the hell are you?”

****

Marrow darted towards his prey, crashing through bushes, zipping through the trees. He caught only occasional blurred glimpses of the creature. It was fast, and agile. But he couldn’t make it out. It didn’t matter, all he wanted was his deer!

The deer quickly jerked toward the left as the rival predator swiped at it. Marrow caught a glimpse of the claws, long like machete blades, nearly taking the deer's head off.

Marrow went diagonally through the trees. The deer was thrown off but now it had slowed down, which presented the perfect opportunity to head it off. He charged through the brush. He felt so exhilarated, his prey was getting closer! He could smell the adrenaline, the fear. It would make the meat taste better when he sunk his teeth into it.

He spied the deer, still bolting with effort, but a little slower.

“Mine!” He barked as he leapt out of the brush. He flew through the air, eyes focused on the deer. This would be the last image the deer saw.

But instead, he saw the rival had the same idea, and at the same time, they both were sailing mid-air toward their prey, and weren’t going to collide with the deer.

Bonk!

Marrow saw stars as he collided with the skull of the rival. He tumbled to the ground in a heap. He heard the muffled sounds of the deer escaping. He groaned and rubbed his head.

He then heard a feminine groan of pain. But not like a female predator, more like….him.

He opened his eyes. He saw a beast woman with blonde hair rubbing her bloodied head. No doubt she had been busted open. Marrow himself was feeling the trickle of blood going down his forehead. She had small spearhead shaped dirty blond ears, her back legs were powerful and showed she could jump as far as she could chase prey. She had his body build; except feminine as she was naked and he could see a pair of ripe bosoms.

The scent made the hair on his neck stand up. He recognized a certain feline scent, one that had always been a thorn in the pack's side. He growled as he stood up.

“That was mine you buck toothed ass licker!” he growled.

The sabertooth woman growled at him, revealing a sharp pair of tusks that were as long as a gladius. She stood about his height. “You ruined my dinner.”

She slowly unsheathed her vicious long claws. “Didn’t think I would run into your leg humping kind.”

Marrow growled. “Choke on a hairball.”

The two circled each other, snarling and gnashing their teeth at each other. There was no kill to fight over, for this is about territory. For Marrow, the sabertooth feline had not only ruined his hunt, but encroached on his land. While from her point of view, the wolf was just a pest.

The sabertooth sliced at Marrow's stomach, hoping to disembowel him. Marrow jumped back in time, the claws etching a bloody mark onto his stomach. Bright blood poured out of the wounds, it wasn’t dark as it didn’t go deep enough.

The sabertooth swung her claws savagely, trying to carve up the wolf. Marrow had only fought a few times in this new body, but he still retained the old survival instincts.

He ducked under her latest slash and delivered his own gruesome uppercut. He got her just able the navel traveling to her chest. She groaned and doubled over briefly. Marrow seized the opportunity and tackled her to the ground. He drove a fist across her face, but she latched her jaw into his wrist. Marrow howled as he felt his bones crack. He wailed into her face, despite the blood and pain, she refused to let go. Letting his predatory instincts take over, he sunk his own powerful jaws into her shoulder. He could hear the muffled cries of the sabertooth, diluted by his own arm meat, as he felt her shoulder crack under his jaw. He felt her own jaw tightening on his wrist. The two were ready to rip each other limb from limb as their teeth sunk deeper into each other's flesh.

Puff puff!

Suddenly both parties were hit in the face with something. They inhaled and coughed as the substance dusted their lungs. Suddenly they felt drowsy and sleepy. They feel flat on the ground, unmoving.

A drone hovered over them, inspecting them.

From the van down by the house, the guards made another call.

*****

Debbie bursted into the medical room at the lab. Marrow and the sabertooth had been airlifted to the lab.

“Where is he?” Debbie growled.

The receptionist, a poor 59 year old woman stammered. “Just….just hold on….I’ll let them know…”

“My boy was injured!” she barked.

“I’ll let them know! Please wait!” the lady went back to phoning someone.

Debbie sat in a chair, sulking. She had heard from the surveillance team that Marrow was injured by some other prehistoric mamano. They airlifted him and the assailant out. She drove down here as fast as she could.

“Debbie,” Webber said. She looked up at him. “Marrows awake and ready to see you.”

She got up and they led him toward his room. Marrow was in his bed, his arm bandages, he didn’t wear a gown, so she could see the scars on his stomach.

“My poor boy!” Debbie hugged him, while Marrow turned red with embarrassment. He was used to Alphas affection, but it was still unusual. “Are you ok?”

Marrow raised his arm. “Not too bad, she crushed my arm though.”

“Who did?” growled Debbie. She was ready to take that creature's head off.

“A buck-toothed kitty, that's who.”

“What he means is,” Webber stepped in between them. “It was a mamano saber toothed feline.”

“What?” gawked Debbie.

“That’s what I was thinking, we don’t even know where she came from!”

“Isn’t she one of yours?”

“No!”

“Where is she?” asked Debbie.

“She’s sedated, took a lot of drugs to take her out, but she’s resting. And no you can’t see her. She is under observation.”

Debbie grumbled. “Best if I didn’t anyways.”

“Now Marrow will spend the night here, just for observation, but he will be released tomorrow.”

Debbie sighed with relief. She looked at Marrow. “You’ll be fine here?”

Marrow nodded. “I will alpha.”

She turned to leave when Marrow said. “Wait!”

She turned around. Blushing, he said. “Thank you for visiting me.”

She smiled, and gave him another hug. She felt him hug her back.

“I was so worried,” she whimpered.

“If I hadn’t gotten sleepy I would have got her,” he chuckled back.

She hugged him tighter. “Just rest, the family is worried about you.”

“Tell my brothers I’ll be home soon.”

“Ellie and Molly miss you too, we all do.”

He felt something flutter in his heart. He held her tighter.

“They all are your family,” she said softly.

He hugged her a little longer. “Five more minutes, alpha?”

“Of course, son.”

He held her tighter after that.

****

“What a day,” Debbie groaned as she entered her home.

Instantly Molly and Ellie were on her.

“Is Marrow ok?” asked Molly.

“Is the monster still out there?” asked Ellie.

“Marrow is fine,” Debbie explained. “And the creature, well, it’s a sabertooth feline mamano.”

The girl's jaws dropped in awe.

Vincent poked his head from around the corner. “Did you say sabertooth tiger mamano?”

“They called it a feline but I guess so,” Debbie sat in her chair.

“Did they make that?”

“They don’t know where it came from, that’s the problem, they are keeping her under watch.”

Vincent drummed his fingers on his thighs. “You think there’s more mamano out there than we thought?”

Debbie shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you. Hell I heard stories of Nephilim back in the old world, but nothing like this.”

She looked around. “Where’s the rest?”

“Fletch and Bluey are asleep, Goldy came home a bit ago, no idea where Red is.”

She stood up, concerned. “You mean he’s still in the woods?”

Goldy stepped out of the living room. “He’s fine, he met some girl out there.”

“What kind of girl?” growled Debbie.

As if on cue, they heard a knock on the door. The door opened revealing a wide eyed Red with a weresheep holding his hand. She was much shorter than him, standing about 5 feet tall. She had curly, yet dirty white wool. She wore a jean jacket and some shorts. She smiled and looked up at Red. “Thanks for walking me out of the woods, see you tomorrow.”

She gave him a small hug and skipped away, humming to herself.

“Red, who was that?” asked Debbie.

Red answered flatly. “Tasha, I think we are dating now.”

“Oh….how come?”

Red walked by her and said. “I need to go to bed.”

As he walked past her, Debbie’s nose crinkled. She thought. “Why does he smell like barbecue sauce?”

Goldy looked at his brother and joined him in going to bed. He then whispered to Red. “Wasn’t that sheep covered in sauce?”

“Yep.”

They got to the bedroom and Goldy chuckled. “Even the wool?”

“Especially the wool, she’s so soft.”

Goldy shook his head and chuckled. “Well, it looks like you caught something in the woods.”

After they entered the bedroom, Debbie marched outside to the surveillance van. She threw open the doors. “Were you watching all my boys in the woods?”

A werewolf gulped. “Is this about Red?”

“Yeah.”

“Uhhhh….” she looked toward her superior who nodded. “Well ... .if you want to know nothing too bad happened…..”

“What happened?”

“You want us to show you or tell you?”

“Tell me.”

“Well…the weresheep sort of ... .covered herself In barbecue sauce ... .and then ... .Red…..cleaned her.”

“Cleaned her?”

“Yeah…..with…his…tongue….”

Debbie stood frozen for a moment. “What?”

The werewolf gulped. “Yeah….”

Debbie remained frozen for a moment, but then calmly turned around and walked back to her house. She went to her bed and snuggled with Vincent.

“Everything ok?” Vincent asked, sensing his wife’s ire.

“I think Red might have a girlfriend now,” she replied.

“What? Who?”

“That’s what I’m going to find out.”

****

“Remarkable,” Webber observed the still sedated sabertooth woman. They had her restrained to the bed, with not only leather straps, but metal restraints around her wrists. They managed to cloth her somewhat, putting at least a bra on her, as well as some underwear. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, an actual sabertooth woman. She was lean and tall like one, standing about Marrow’s height. Her long fangs made her look like a vampire but didn’t impact her strong yet beautiful features. Her paws though, those were something. They were as big as a tire on a truck with retractable claws. They managed to get a peak at those claws, they were already fairly worn, and they found traces of blood from animals (thankfully) and Marrow, but they were mostly animals like deer, rabbits, possums, and other prey. They analyzed her age and while her record is technically 10,000 years old, she was “born” no more than a month ago.

“She is a sight,” Mistress Bailey observed. “Reminds me of a jinko.”

“It’s funny you say that,” Webber flipped through his chart. “When we analyzed her DNA, we found of course sabertooth cat DNA, and demonic energy, but what’s interesting is they added in jinko DNA to help bond the DNA.”

“Really?” Mistress Bailey scratched her chin. “That would explain a lot. But why did we get mamano without using any mamano DNA?”

“Because demonic energy is a powerful substance, it can heal, create life; and create mamano. With our experiments, the DNA was female and it was fairly intact. It made the revival process easier. When using more ancient and decayed DNA, it made it more difficult, hence why we had to use other DNA to fill in the gaps so it would take.”

“Fascinating, strange they used jinko DNA.”

“I believe it was intentional.”

“What?”

“You see, out of all the DNA, why jinko? Yes they are related to tigers, but doing that would intentionally create a mamano. According to Marrow she speaks and displays intelligence.”

“Fascinating, it’s like when the new demon lord took over. All monsters, including the savage brainless ones like hellhounds or wurms, suddenly found themselves able to speak, granted they weren’t the best but they were still able to communicate.”

“Exactly, whoever created this, wanted to create a mamano, but the question is, why?”

Meanwhile back at Paul’s lab

Tham couldn’t believe what he was doing. He called up Paul. “Sir, the incubation process has started, she should be ready in about six months.”

“Yeeee haw! We getting a velociraptor wife honey!!!”

*****

When Debbie woke up the next morning she was ready to talk to Red about his “friend”, but was not expecting a phone call from Marge.

“Hey! Are you busy?” asked Marge.

“Just getting up, why?”

“I need to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“So..your boy Bluey…he’s been working for me a long time….and….you know…I think the boy….is flirting with me.”

Debbie froze for a moment, this was another surprise that woke her up far better than coffee. “How?”

“He…he compliments me! He said I’m fine breeding material…”

“HE WHAT?!?!”

“Yes!! He said I would have strong babies and that I would be used many times by the pack!”

“I will have a serious talking with him…”

“What? Oh no, I’m honored!”

Debbie stiffened, then sat down. “What?”

“I was calling because….well…I haven’t found a man yet…and…your boy’s cute…and he’s been flirty….”

“Are you wanting to lay with him!?!?!?”

“No….not yet at least…”

Debbie sighed. “He’s not seeing anyone, but keep in mind, he, like his brothers, isn't familiar with flirting. Knowing him, he’s saying that because it’s what he actually thinks, but he’s not sure if it’s romantic.”

“Oh…..well….can I still….”

“Sure…just…be careful.”

She hung up the phone. Vincent walked in. “Hi honey, what do you want in your coffee?”

“Whiskey,” she groaned.

Vincent looked at her. “Well, I guess we are going Irish today.”

****

Marge fiddled with her hair as she waited for Bluey to come over. Her heart beat rapidly as she checked the clock. He will be over soon! She took out a brush and combed the knots out of her hair. “Ah hell, why am I doing this? I’ll just wear a hat anyways!!! She put on her straw hat, but quickly doused herself in lavender perfume. She looked at herself in the mirror, she wore her overalls and a white undershirt.

“Maybe I could lose the undershirt…..” She jostled her bosoms. “Probably not.”

However, she was wondering if what Debbie said was true. That Bluey might just be honest and not flirting.

“But still…it’s sweet…”

She bit her lip thinking about how he hosed himself down in front of her, that had to be flirting!! Then again, he could just be a little slow.

“Wait ... .how slow…” her eyes fell to a little garment she had picked up for him. “No way….”

She then heard the car pull up. She clicked her tongue. “Well, let’s test a little hypothesis.”

She stepped outside all smiles. “Hello, Bluey.”

He smiled at her with those cute, yet sharp teeth. “Hi, Marge! I’m ready to work.”

“Yeah….uhh…I got something for you to wear for work…..” she pulled out the items. It was a leopard skin man thong.

Bluey co*cked his head. “What’s that?”

“It's ... .a garment…for..milking…” she quickly backtracked. “You don’t have to wear it, it’s a gift…”

“Oh boy!” he grabbed it out of her hands. “It looks amazing! I’ll put it on now.”

“Ah…that’s swe-wait did you say now?”

Bluey started taking off his pants, and Marge’s mouth went dry as she caught a gander of his flaccid co*ck, a nice length when soft.

“Either he’s flirting or he’s really dumb!!!” she thought.

He slipped on the thong, impressed by the bulge it gave off. “This is most comfortable, thank you! I like the way it feels on my genitals.”

Marge felt hotter. “Yeah…it….looks…amazing…”

“Well, let’s get to milking!”

He skipped into the barn. Marge bit her hand as she entered behind him. “Stay calm…stay calm…no mate…just….keep it in the bank….”

****

“Enjoying the pancakes, Red?” asked Debbie.

Red stuffed his face with pancakes and nodded. He awoke to pancakes and bacon, something he really liked.

“Good, now, I need you to tell me one thing,” she leaned forward. “Who was that girl?”

He gulped. “She’s…a friend…I think my girlfriend now….”

“Really?” Debbie didn’t even try to sound surprised. “How did you meet her?”

“In the woods.”

“And what was she doing in the woods?”

He turned red and stared at his plate.

“Did it have anything to do with barbecue sauce?”

He choked on his food and coughed. He looked up at her. “I….I….”

Debbie breathed in, calming herself down. “Do you even know her name?”

“Alice.”

“Where does she live?”

“I….I didn’t ask that.”

“Why?”

“Mouth full.”

Debbie leaned in closer. “I’m not mad at you…but…I have a right to know how someone's tongue is being used.”

Red stayed silent for a moment. Debbie then asked. “Anything to say?”

“.....She tasted good.”

*****

Vincent was about to head out to pick up Marrow, when Annie and Fletch approached him.

“Hey, where you off to?” asked Fletch.

“Gonna pick up Marrow, just waiting for Debbie,” Vincent responded.

“Ooooo, I heard it was a cat that did him in,” chuckled Annie.

“It wasn't a cat, it was some sort of sabertooth woman, and don’t say cat, if you say that outloud he’s gonna be in a mood the rest of the day,” Vincent said. “Even though he won’t show it, he hates how his hunt was interrupted by a catwoman.”

Annie whistled. “This is something I have to see.”

“You both can come along, just gotta wait for Debbie,” Vincent said.

The door flew open with Debbie dragging Red out by his ear. She looked furious.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow,” Red cried as he was dragged along by Debbie.

Vincent gulped, he saw that look on her face a few times before. “Oh, are you…”

“Something came up,” Debbie gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Go on without me.”

“Ouch, ouch, what are you doing?” Red cried.

“I just want to talk to her,” Debbie replied as she dragged him along.

“You sound mad!”

“I just want to talk to her.”

“She’s cute!”

“I just want to talk to her.”

She dragged him across the field while Vincent shook his head.

“What’s happening?” asked Fletch.

“And when did Red get a girlfriend?”

“I have no idea,” Vincent replied.

Molly and Ellie then appeared out of the house.

“Can we come?” asked Molly.

“We want to see the monster,” Ellie added.

Vincent sighed. “You can come, but choose your words carefully around Marrow, you know he’s gonna be sore about that.”

They all piled into the truck and drove down the road. Vincent couldn’t help but think about that poor girl, she was about to either find herself thrown through a wall, or get a stern talking to. Either way, you never wanted to be on the receiving end of that.

He passed Marge’s place and spotted Bluey. He was about to wave when he slammed on the brakes. He saw Bluey wearing what looked like a thong, parading outside while carrying hay.

“Why is Bluey wearing that?” asked Molly.

“Girls close your eyes!” Vincent cried.

“Wow..your brother rocks that well,” Annie looked flirtatiously at Fletch. “I think I’ll order one for you.”

Fletch laughed nervously.

Bluey then noticed them and waved eagerly. “Hi Vincent! Hi Molly! Hi Ellie! Hi Fletch! Hi Annie!”

Vincent waved nervously and drove off. He stared straight ahead, not wanting to talk.

“Why was Bluey wearing that?” asked Ellie. “It looks impractical.”

“Yeah, I mean you don’t even wear that,” Molly added.

“Girls, can we play the quiet game?” asked Vincent.

“We aren’t 5 anymore dad,” Molly said.

*****

They entered the facility after a long and awkward car ride. The first they saw was Marrow. The girls rushed him and hugged him.

“Will you be able to hunt again?” asked Ellie.

“Yes I will,” Marrow said.

“Good, because I still need my spotter, and I’m gonna get you back into shape,” Molly said with a grin.

“I will need it,” he looked at his bandaged arm and growled. “Blasted buck toothed milk lapper took a bite out of me, but I bit her!” HE grinned eagerly.

“You ready to leave?” asked Vincent.

“Say…” Annie looked around. “Where is the cat?”

“Somewhere in the facility,” Marrow said. “Somewhere dark I hope.”

Annie nodded. “So when do we leave?”

After they got Marrow out of the bed they moved to the doors. The guard at the dek then stopped them. “My apologies, but weren't there five of you who entered?”

They looked around.

“Where’s Annie?” asked Vincent.

Fletch then laughed nervously. All eyes were then on him.

“Fletch…”

He laughed. “She…she…ha..ha…went to…ha…see the kitty.”

****

The sabertooth slept, for that is what she can only do. She despised that wolf boy or whatever he was. He interrupted her hunting, and now she was in this foreign place, and she was hungry. She tried to move against the restraints, but they did not budge. She didn’t even know why she was here!!! She remembered roaming around the dense forests, hunting some delicious deer, then she fought a rival sabertooth for the meal. Everything went black after something pierced her neck. Then she woke up in some strange land in a new body, new feelings. He got out of that place, and then wandered the land, hunting. Everything was going well, then she ran into that stupid wolf boy. She felt an irritating itch on her nose. She wiggled it, trying to get it to go away. She couldn’t get it to stop. She whined.

“Your nose looks itchy,” said a voice.

She opened her eyes and looked around. She saw a red haired girl sitting next to her, she had pointy ears, despite her humanish appearance, her scent smelled of a feline, like her.

“Want me to scratch it?” asked Annie.

The sabertooth only narrowed her eyes.

“I’m gonna scratch it.” Annie leaned over and scratched the sabertooths nose.

Normally the sabertooth didn’t like to be touched by something she didn’t recognize,, but she was willing to make an exception because her nose was really itchy. She breathed a sigh of relief as she gently removed that itch.

“All better,” Annie smiled. “My name's Annie, I just had to see you…” she leaned in. “I heard you fought Marrow.”

Marrow? Is that the name of the wolf? The sabertooth didn’t want to answer, she narrowed her eyes and growled. “What sort of weak, bastardized kitten are you?”

Annie chuckled.”You have quite the mouth on you.”

“I have no need to speak with inferior beings who don’t respect me.”

Annie rolled her eyes. “Man, you must have no friends.”

“Silence!”

“I think you need to hear a joke.”

The sabertooth growled. “Leave me!!”

“Hmmmm…” Annie wondered how many mamano this sabertooth had seen. Probably not much. She smiled. “Why do hummingbirds hum?”

“I don’t care.”

“Do you know what a hummingbird is?”

“I don’t care!”

“It’s a simple question.”

“You are annoying!”

“It’s because they don’t know the words.”

“Ok how about this, what’s a bird that’s scared to fly?”

“I don’t know, a titanis?”

“No, chicken. But I’m not afraid to fly.”

The sabertooth snorted. “What?”

Suddenly Annie disappeared in a puff. The sabertooth’s eyes went wide. She blinked, wondering if this had been a mere hallucination or a dream.

“Hi.”

She looked up to see Annie’s head floating in front of her. “Heads up.”

The sabertooth screamed in horror. She struggled against the restraints, trying to get out of them.

Annie disappeared again. The sabertooths eyes went wild.

“Hey, over here.”

In the corner of the room, the saber tooth saw bright red eyes and shining teeth. She wailed. “DEMON! DEMON!!”

“Oh my god, she’s never seen a cheshire!” Annie thought. She smiled as she thought of some fun to have .

Annie disappeared and said while her disembodied voice shouted.“Yes, I am a demon, and you have angered me!”

“Don’t hurt me!” the sabertooth whimpered.

“I don’t know…” She appeared next to her ear. “You were very rude…”

“PLEASE! I didn’t know!!!”

Annie then appeared, sitting on the sabertooths chest. She scratched her chin dramatically. “Hmmm, I guess it’s not your fault…but you need to learn about this world!”

“I will! I will!”

“So you will live with me!”

“I will! I will listen to you!”

She smiled. “And you’ll be my friend!”

“I promise! I promise!!”

Annie smiled. This was too easy.

“You won’t be the only family with adopted ice age creatures,” she thought.

****

Guards sprinted through the hallways intensely, with Vincent and the rest following. Right now there was a major security risk, and potential bodily harm. The guards had large cattle prods as well as tranq guns ready, and were wearing full on riot gear, meant to protect them from claws, teeth, and it was incredibly durable, as it was built with absorption to handle powerful blows. They had learned from their last encounter with prehistoric beasts. And considering this creature had jinko DNA in it, it was not best to approach it naively.

They took positions, the guards spread out, just enough to give them space between each other, but the cattle prod guards took the front, the tranq guards readied their weapons, they would unload into the sabertooth and zap that kitty.

When they arrived, instead of dealing with a hostage situation, they saw Annie sitting on the sabertooths chest, talking to her.

Annie smiled at her. “Now that we are friends we are going to have so much fun!”

“I promise! I will be a good friend!” the sabertooth whined.

“Relax, you don’t need to put in a lot of effort, but you will need to treat those wolf boys with respect, or at least not hurt them.”

“THOSE MUTTS?” gawked the sabertooth, but her tone quickly changed when Annie glared at her. “I….I will…at your command.”

“Great!” Annie turned around to see everyone and smiled. “And here is everyone!”

She waved at them, while Fletch was the only one waving back.

“She’s coming home with me!” Annie said. “She wants to!”

“Please don’t let the demon hurt me!” sobbed the sabertooth.

Vincent facepalmed and groaned. “Great, just great….”

****

Webber felt a headache come one when Vincent explained the situation. “So, the cheshire gaslit the sabertooth into thinking she’s a demon, and now she’s convinced she has to live with the cheshire in order to not feel the demon’s wrath?”

“Yeah,” Vincent sighed. “I am so sorry.”

“You know what, it’s fine,” Webber threw his hands up. “Honestly with all the sh*t going on, I don’t really care.”

“Oh….are you still going to…”

“Yeah we’ll monitor her, besides better she be outside that cooped up here.”

“Any word on where she’s from?”

“Nothing yet, it’s something we are looking into, but listen, we’ll be increasing surveillance, after the fight she had between Marrow, we want to avoid a repeat.”

*****

The sabertooth rode in the back of the truck with Annie. She was shocked to see this device, wondering if it was alive. She did lock eyes with Marrow before getting into the truck. The two scowled at each other. Vicent was afraid another fight was going to break out, but luckily, they silently separated.

“You are going to love my place,” Annie said to the sabertooth. “My mom is going to love you.”

“Uh Annie,” Vincent called from the front. “Did you tell your mom about this?”

Annie snapped her fingers. “Damn it, I know I was forgetting something.”

Vincent groaned under his breath, thinking. “I wonder how Debbie is doing.”

*****

Debbie, while dragging red, found the weresheep hanging out underneath a tree waiting for him. Her face turned white when she saw the hellhound .

“Oh sh*t,” she squeaked.

“DON’T YOU MOVE!” barked Debbie.

The weresheep froze. “You…you are his mother…right?”

“How the hell do you know that?” growled Debbie.

The weresheep gulped. “I’ve…I’ve been…watching…”

“You’ve been spying on us?!?!”

“Well ... .think of it more as looking at…that…” she looked at Red. “Sexy…beast of a man…”

Red looked away, his face flushed.

“What the hell is your game?” growled Debbie. “You think it’s funny taking advantage of my boy like that?”

“Taking advantage? Oh no, no!” the weresheep sputtered. “You see…I am in love with him!”

Red’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“I am Tasha, and I….really…really…” she looked lewdly at him. “Really…like…your...son…”

“Do you even know his name?”

“No, it was hard to exchange names when his tongue was…”

Debbie waved her arms. “Ah, ah ah! No!”

“I have a mate now?” Red grinned.

“Yes!” Tasha looked at him with heart shaped eyes.

“Now hold on!” Debbie barked. “We don’t even know her intentions! For god's sake she put barbecue sauce on herself!”

“Oh…do you prefer another condiment instead?” asked Tasha.

“That’s not the point!” Debbie growled. “I want to know your intentions right now! Or else you won’t see him ever again!”

“NOOO!” bawled Red. “I want my mate!”

Debbie knew that was harsh, but she had to see what kind of girl she is.

Tasha sighed. “Ok…I’ll tell you. “ she took a deep breath. “Long ago I read the children’s story Little Red Riding Hood, and I…I…I fell in love with the big bad wolf!”

Red wasn’t familiar with that story, so he just stared straight ahead. Meanwhile Debbie’s jaw dropped.

Tasha continued. “You see, I desired a…a man that’s…a predator!! The problem is I drove away most boys…until I saw…” she looked lustfully at Red. “Him…my perfect wolf.”

Red giggled bashfully and played with his hair.

Betty continued. “And so…I knew I had to have him!! And I would be the perfect prey for him….

“Wait a second…is this a fetish?!?!!” Debbie growled.

Tasha averted her eyes from Debbie’s glare. “Well...maybe…but I assure you, I will be the best childbearer….”

“IS THAT WHY YOU COVERED YOURSELF IN BARBECUE SAUCE?”

Tasha cleared her throat. “Maybe….”

Debbie was shocked. Her mind was unnerved by this revelation. “You…you….you….you’re sick!!”

“I am not!” Tasha pouted. “Besides, if he was going to hurt me, I would have given him the John Lennon Special.” She then pulled out a .38 revolver. “But I am so glad he didn’t hurt me, I hope we can go on another date.”

While Debbie’s mind was still trying to comprehend this, Red co*cked his head. “Where were you keeping that?”

Tasha winked. “Let’s just say, it’s good your tongue didn’t go too deep.”

Red didn’t get it, but Debbie did. She gagged a little. “You…you…”

She didn’t even know what to think. Or say.

****

Bluey hummed to himself as he milked the cow. He was surprised how easy this is, and he really enjoyed it. Sure his wrists ached a little, but there was something therapeutic about milking a cow. It made him feel good. He squired the last bit of milk into the bucket when he noticed that Marge wasn’t anywhere around him. He looked around. That was the last cow. And now he didn’t know what to do. He did like the thong she gave him, he felt much cooler working in this than his other clothes.

“Marge?” he called. “I’m all finished.”

But he didn’t see her. He sniffed the air. Marge had a signature scent, today it was overpowered with lavender, but still had a dash of blueberries. The pungent aroma of lavender led him to the house. He poked his head in, and didn’t see anything. But his ears were picking up something in the house, heavy breathing.

“She must be lifting something,” Bluey thought.

He walked into the house. He could smell her still and it led him to her bedroom, and the noise was getting louder. It sounded husky and heavy, like she was really struggling.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m here,” he thought.

He got closer to her bedroom, the noise getting louder and louder. He got closer to the bedroom.

“I wonder what she could be lifting,” he thought. “The bed?”

He opened the door and was greeted to a sight he hadn’t even imagined.

Marge was in her bed, overalls off, naked as the day she was born. Her fingers were plunging in and out of her womanhood aggressively as she cupped her breast. She moaned loudly as she was lost in an ecstasy of pleasure.

“God, f*ck,” she groaned as she viciously rubbed and f*cked herself. “That’s right boy, that’s right, right there, right there

“Oh,” Blue said.

Marge’s eyes shot open. Her heart stopped as she saw the very person she was flicking the cl*t to in front of her, except now, his package was on display as his erect member poked out of his thong.

“I’m….I’m gonna leave you…be…” Bluey said as he turned around slowly and left the room. “I’ll be outside when you…are done.”

Marge thought about going after him, but after seeing him getting hard, it was the only image in her head now. “Well…I’m close….”

****

When Vincent got home, he saw Debbie sitting at the table, rubbing her temples. The rest followed.

“Everything ok?” asked Vincent.

“You look stressed.” Marrow said.

Debbie sighed. “Well, it appears Red has a girlfriend who has a predator-prey fetish.”

“What’s that?” asked Marrow.

Debbie got up and gave him a hug. “I don’t really want to talk about this now.”

“We can talk more later,” Vincent said. “I gotta drive Annie home, and her new guest.”

“Fletch is not living with them!”

“No, it’s…the sabertooth.”

Debbie froze again, this time her eyes ignited. “WHAT?”

Vincent gulped and stood in front of his angry wife. “She’s living with Annie!”

“WHAT?!?!?”

“Webber is ok with it!”

“WHAT THIS…THIS..THIS….” she then lost steam. “God damn I’m too exhausted for this! What’s next?”

Vincent decided to keep the Bluey thing a secret, at least for now, but it was dashed when Molly said. “Ooooo, we saw Bluey in a thong!”

Vincent winced as she said that. Debbie groaned. “Why…why….oh god I’m gonna have a talk with Marge later.”

******

Granted, Anne’s parents were surprised to see a sabertooth tiger woman with them, but they were welcoming.

“I promise, she will behave herself,” Annie said to her parents.

“Well, I must say, she…is big,” Norma said nervously. “But she’ll be living in your room!”

“Sounds good!”

She led the nervous sabertooth to her room. The sabertooth was shocked, this was like the huts the monkey’s used to make, but it was made of wood, and bigger.

“So the monkey, what is he doing here?” she asked.

“The monkey?” Annie looked back at her. “You mean my dad?”

“That is your dad?!?!”

“Yeah, he’s the best!”

The sabertooth didn’t think demons would lay with those monkeys, but then again, a lot had changed. She couldn’t believe where the demon lived. Her room was green and had an area that was meant for her to sleep, but also on the floor was a large, rectangular object, a mattress is what they called it. The sabertooth touched it, it was soft, way softer than the one at the facility.

“You like it?” Annie asked.

“What…is this for me?”

“Yep!”

“Why?”

“Because we are friends!”

Annie smiled at her. The sabertooth smiled back.

“So, do you have a name?” asked Annie.

The sabertooth thought for a moment, but shook her head no.

“Don’t worry, we’ll think of one.” She then grabbed a remote. “How about we watch some TV?”

“TV?”

“Oh, so before we start I’ll explain to you, it’s basically a device that beams pictures for entertainment, so, don’t freak out.”

She flipped on the TV and chose a nature show as a way to ease her in. The sabertooth was wowed by the pictures, seeing new animals that she hadn’t seen before. Annie told her about them. She was taken away by the ginormous, yet graceful elephants. The powerful and dangerous tigers. She was in awe of it.

“This world…is beautiful,” she said.

“I know, there’s all sorts of beautiful sights on earth.”

“And so many tasty animals,” the sabertooth licked her lips.

Annie chuckled. “You’ll definitely get along with Marrow.”

The sabertooth spat. “That blasted mutt ruined my hunt!”

“He’s a hard ass, not like Fletch.”

“Fletch?”

“The laughing boy.”

“You…are with that mutt.”

Annie narrowed her eyes. “That’s my boyfriend…don’t anger me.”

“My apologies! Forgive me!”

Annie smiled. She was not going to get used to that. Then again, how would the sabertooth react to mages, angels, valkyries, demons, and other magical creatures.

Then the nature scenes on the television changed. Instead a large tractor rolled across the screen over a farmers field.

“Ah damn,” Annie groaned. “Friggin’ ads. What’s the point of paying for a service if they are just gonna show ads?”

But the sabertooth was enthralled by the tractors. She leaned closer. “What is this?”

“Those are tractors.”

“They are powerful.”

“Yes, they are.”

She looked at the name of them. John Deere.

“That will be my name.”

“What?”

“John, to capture the power of those machines!”

Annie chuckled. “John’s a guy's name, how about Jane?”

“Jane…” the sabertooth pondered the name for a moment, then smiled. “I like it.”

Annie smiled. “Well it’s good to have you, Jane.”

*****

Debbie drank a shot of whiskey, rubbing her temples. Sitting at the chair was Bluey, smiling innocently.

“That drink smells distasteful,” He said.

“Well, I need it after today,” she groaned.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no, it’s just another sh-I mean…issues have really piled on,” she knocked back another shot. “Now tell me...how has Marge been treating you?”

“Oh wonderfully!” Bluey smiled. “I feel like I have direction with her.”

“And the thong?”

“She gave that to me, I was so excited I put it on right there.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I undressed on the spot.”

Debbie started at him sorrowfully, then poured herself another shot and knocked it back. “So you got naked in front of her?”

“Yes! Given we work together, it’s no big deal.”

“Are you….attracted to her?”

“Well, I have to work with her, so she attracted me.”

“No, no, like…romantically?”

Bluey blinked. “What do you mean?”

Debbie sighed. “Do you….wish to be her partner?”

“Like a mate?”

“Sure.”

Bluey smiled, turning red. “Me? The mate of someone like that? Am I even worthy? There must be other suitors!”

Debbie couldn’t help but smile. “Well, maybe she likes you, but if you like her, I want you to be happy. And don’t be hard on yourself, you are a good looking man.”

He smiled. “Maybe that’s what she was thinking about.”

Debbie laughed. “What do you mean? Did you see her naked?”

“Yes!”

Debbie froze with a pained smile on her face. “You know…that was a joke right?”

“She was naked, it was my fault, I saw her in her room ....pleasuring herself, with her fingers!”

Debbie’s eye twitched. “Oh…I see.”

“And so I think she must have been thinking about me!” A big smile came over his face. “She wants to mate with me!”

Debbie choked on her words. “Now, hold on!”

“Oh boy! I can’t wait to tell my brothers!” he hopped out of his seat and ran to his room.

Debbie was about to pour herself a shot, when she realized a shot wasn’t gonna do.

“Bottoms up,” she thought as she downed the whole bottle.”

*****

Vincent woke up to Debbie throwing open the door. She looked at him drunkenly and lustfully.

“Debbie….are you ok?” asked Vincent. Post workout Debbie was one thing. But drunk Debbie, she was scary.

“Bluey…is horny…and now…” she smiled. “I’m drunk…and in the mood for some Vinnie meat.”

“Oh no….”

“Get over here and kiss me on my hot mouth…” she stumbled towards him predatorily. “I’m feeling romantical!”

Later that night their bed broke, but that didn’t stop her love making.

*****

Marge awoke the next day to her phone ringing. She groped tiredly at the device. She had stayed up a little late, she couldn’t stop flicking her cl*t last night, images of Bluey in that thong polluted her mind to where she was having some very weird dreams.

“Hello..” she mumbled as she answered the phone.

“Marge, it's Debbie, mind telling me why Bluey was wearing a thong?”

Marge snapped awake and gulped. “Well…I…I offered it to him…and….he…well…you said he wasn’t flirting and he just put it on!”

“IN FRONT OF YOU???”

“I didn’t even tell him!!! You cannot tell me he likes me!!”

Debbie groaned. “Well listen, he thinks you want to mate with him.”

Marge paused for a moment, then said in a robotic response. “Oh…he does…”

“And if you wanted to mate with him hypothetically, you would not do it the hellhound way.”

“What? I would never…!”

“I said hypothetically, knowing you, you wouldn’t dare do that to my boy.”

“Oh…oh yes, I wouldn’t at all, I promise.”

“In fact, you would take it slow, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Debbie hung up, and Marge splayed on her bed. She grinned and stared at the ceiling. “Wow….” she clutched her chest eagerly. “I got a man…potentially.”

She got up and slid on a pair of daisy dukes. She didn’t wear a top, it is her house, she can be topless if she wants. She looked at herself in the mirror. Despite her age, she still had a decent body. The constant moving kept her body toned and worked. Her stomach was flat, no abs though. Her arms were meaty, not like a bodybuilders but at least showed she could lift. At the same time her breasts were a nice pair of double ds that bounced around a little too much. She had to keep them underwraps a lot, finding a comfy bra was a challenge. She resorted to using pasties under her shirt because her girls felt much better free. Her long black hair went all the way down to her shoulders. She bit her lip looking at herself.

“He likes me, and wants to mate with this?”

Her tail wagged and she smiled. “I still got it!”

****

Meanwhile, back at the lab, the voting poll was finally finished. For a reminder a while ago they wanted to vote to see what animal they wanted the pack to hunt. It had been a long process, delayed due to the recent events. However, they finally picked one.

Webber looked at what they had voted on. A bison. He was surprised, he thought they would vote for a water buffalo, an elephant, hell, even a moose. But they chose a bison.

“Well, this will be fun,” he looked at Mistress Bailey. “Let’s start booking a trip to Yellowstone.”

*****

The boys were sitting around the table, all grinning after Bluey told them the news last night. Debbie had made French toast for them this morning, with sausage.

“So, you will actually get to mate?” asked Red.

“Yes! With an alpha like her!” Bluey smiled.

Fletch sighed. “Annie and I mostly kiss, she’s so soft.”

“My mate is soft,” Red giggled. “And I got to lick honey mustard off her the other day.”

“BOYS!” Debbie barked. They all stiffened. “Let’s..avoid talking about mating at the table, keep in mind there are others there.”

“We know what mating is mom,” Molly said.

“Yeah, you had the talk with us when we were kids,” Ellie added.

“Besides, they are lucky to have mates,” Marrow looked at Goldy. “While we may not have mates, it does not mean we shouldn’t celebrate their success.”

Marrow scarfed down his food and stood up. “I’m going hunting, anyone want to join me.”

“Just a minute,” Debbie looked at him sternly. “You stay out of trouble.”

“I will,” Marrow said as he walked to the door.

“That means avoiding that sabertooth.”

Marrow growled. “I will.”

“I mean it, no fights!”

“I got it!”

He left while the rest continued to eat their breakfast.

“So, are you going to tutor that sabertooth?” asked Vincent.

“I don’t know,” Debbie said. “It would be hard to be in the same room as the woman who hurt my boy.”

“I think Annie’s got a tight leash on her, got her thinking she’s a demon or something.”

“But how will she integrate?”

“I hear Webber’s been sending over tutors as well, getting her to adjust.”

Debbie growled. “If she doesn’t I’ll trim that kitty's claws.”

*****

Jane grumbled as she left Annie’s house. As a part of the agreement of living with the demon, the demon told her that she had to be educated. Strange monkey’s trying to teach her how to write, and read. Why the hell is that necessary? After being in a room for a couple hours, all she wanted to do was go hunting. She was itching to sink her teeth into some fresh meat. She stretched her arms and bolted off into the woods.

She felt more at home here. Yes, the mattress was soft, but out here, she loved the fresh air, the smell of pine, the warm sun on her skin, as well as the nice breeze and the epicyon wolf in her territory….wait a minute!!

She sniffed the air and growled.

“Oh come on!” Marrow groaned.

She whirled her head around to see the epicyon standing in the woods with a disappointed look on his face.

“Want a rematch?” she growled.

“Piss off you crotch licker,” Marrow huffed.

“CROTCH LICKER?” she barked. “You ball lickers to that too you ass lickers!”

“Go cough up a hairball!”

“Go get domesticated!”

The two locked eyes, balling their fists up.

Marrow wanted to clock her in the head, but then remembered what the alpha said. He turned around and left.

“Oooo, you scared?” taunted Jane.

“I have better things to do than fight you,” huffed Marrow. “Like finding a deer.”

Jane growled. “Well…so do I!”

She caught the scent of a deer and went toward it, which coincidentally was the same way Marrow was going.

“Hey, stop following me!” hissed Marrow.

“Stop following me from the front!” Jane hissed.

“I caught a deer’s scent!”

“So did I!”

“Oh no you don’t! This is mine!”

“Not if I catch it first!”

The two growled at each other and set off. Once more it was a competition. The two darted through the woods predatorily. They remained silent, only glaring at each other. They each wanted their own deer.

Finally, they spotted her. A doe, gently grazing under a tree. Marrow licked his lips. Jane’s heart raced. The deer hadn’t even noticed her! She got ready to pounce.

Marrow bolted first, startling the deer.

“That mouth breather!” Jane thought. She leapt out of her hiding place and gave chase.

The two sprinted through the woods after their prey. This deer seemed weaker than the buck, more tired. It would make it easier for them to catch. Marrow had been out a little more than Jane, and was more agile. However, Jane had plenty of time in the woods, running around, and hunting, mostly small game. It kept her belly fed. So she knew what to do to get this deer.

Suddenly a sharp pain ripped through her leg. “OUCH!”

She stumbled and fell over onto the ground. Her foot caught a tree root before falling, sending even more pain up her leg. She broke her fall with her arms, but it still hurt. She shook off the pain and started getting up. A sharp pain went up her right ankle. She whined and dropped to her knees. She looked ahead to see Marrow close to the deer.

“NO! IT’S MINE!” she thought as she struggled to get up. Her leg gave out in pain. She groaned.

Marrow hadn’t noticed, all he saw was that he was so close The deer was faltering. He swiped at the deer’s legs. He nicked the leg, and the deer stumbled. He leapt onto the deer and sunk his powerful jaws into her throat. He ripped her throat out aggressively. The deer let out a gurgled death rattle before it lay still. He swallowed the mass of meat he tore out. He felt happy. He did it!!!! Before him, his kill. He howled in celebration, the howl echoing through the woods. He looked behind him, ready to gloat at the sabertooth. However, he could see she was way behind him. He snickered. Looks like someone was out of shape.

He grabbed the deer and slung it over his shoulder. He walked proudly toward her, gloating. “Someone’s out of shape, licking yourself too much?”

Jane glared at him. “I would have had that deer! My damn leg is hurting!”

“Did you strain it while licking it?”

“Haha, shut up!”

He looked at her. She tried to stand up on it, but winced in pain. She dropped to her knee again, groaning.

“You shouldn’t be walking on it,” Marrow said.

“You think?” she growled. “I’m fine! Just…leave!”

Marrow shrugged and left. It wasn’t his problem. If she didn’t want his help, so what? Besides, he got what he sought. He looked at the sky, they had been out here longer than he thought, it must already be the afternoon, judging by the position of the sun. But that would mean it would be dusk soon, and then night. And you don’t want to be in the woods at night. He stopped for a moment. And looked behind him. He had put some distance between them, but he could still see her. He wondered what alpha would think if he left someone in the woods? He assumed Alpha isn’t a fan of the sabertooth, but then again, even she would not look fondly upon his actions.

He groaned and turned around. He marched back to her. She looked up when she heard him approaching.

“Haven’t you gloated enough?” she growled.

He stood over her and dropped his deer. “How bad does it hurt?”

“Really bad.”

“Figured,” He then scooped her up.

She sputtered and slapped him. He dropped her to the ground and rubbed his cheek.

“That hurt you fleabag!” he barked.

“What are you doing?” she growled.

“I’m trying to help you!”

“Why?”

“Because alpha won’t like it if I leave you ass to die in the woods!”

She crossed her arms, trying to conceal her flustered face. “Well…don’t pick me up that way.”

“Fine, get on my back.” he crouched down.

“Fine, will you be able to lift me?”

“I will.”

“I doubt it.”

He started leaving again. “Fine, then I’ll leave you.”

“No wait!”

He returned and she quickly climbed onto his back. She wrapped her legs around him and clung on. He then picked up his deer. “I am not leaving this behind.”

She could smell him, he reeked of blood, deer, and the forest, but he also smelled powerful, his musk seemed to tingle her nose.

“You won’t drop me, will you?” asked Jane.

“No, I won’t,” Marrow replied.

“You better not!”

“I won’t!”

He carried her through the woods. “So how did you hurt your leg?”

“I…I just felt a pain in my leg when running, then I tripped, then I guess I sprained it.”

“Sounds to me like you pulled a muscle first.”

“How?”

“Did you stretch?”

“Why would I do that?”

“These new bodies, while strong, can be fragile, we stretch before going out, it allows us to pursue our prey better…well…it might just be me and Goldy now.”

Jane detected a bit of sadness in his voice. “What’s wrong?”

“Well, it appears most of my brothers now have mates, or will get mates, and I don’t have anyone. I miss it when we used to hunt in packs, and now, nothing.”

“Are they all related?”

“Well, no, they are different species, but we were a pack,” he sighed. “It would have been nice if they saw me take down a deer.”

Jane looked at his kill. “I thought you did very well.”

“You saw?”

“Oh yes, you took that deer down cleanly, very well done…for a wolf.”

Marrow smiled a little. “Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “While, I do think your kind is a bunch of flea bitten mouthbreathers, perhaps I could learn some things from you.”

Jane smiled. “And while I think you are nothing but an anus licking leg humper, I could learn some tips from you too.”

He continued to carry her and they continued to talk about other items, such as how they hated education.

“And I hate how we have to be educated,” Marrow groaned. “I already know how to hunt, I don't’ want to work at a bank!”

“Yeah!” Jane added. “Why the hell do i need to write? I don’t need a checkbook!”

“I don’t mind learning how to read,” Marrow said. “I like the books, they are nice.”

“Hah! What books?”

“Well, I did like this book called No Country for Old Men, not a bad read.”

“What’s it about?”

“A hunter that finds money, and is hunted by a man sent to retrieve the money.”

“Hmmmm, then I will give reading a chance too.”

“Honestly, I wish I could be out in the woods more. I don’t mind Alpha's cooking, but there’s something about breathing the fresh air that is just nice.”

“I know! The cooking the demon’s mother gives us is good, but I long for the satisfaction of ripping the meat from a fresh kill.”

“Say, maybe we can kill our own food, and try to cook it!”

“Yeah! We can!”

Suddenly, both realized that they were out of the woods and near their homes.

“I’ll take you home first,” Marrow said.

“Thank you,” she said.

He carried her to the house and set her on the porch.

“I got it from here,” she said. “Also, my name is Jane.”

Marrow smiled. “Marrow.”

He then grabbed his kill and yanked hard on the leg. The sound of meat tearing from the bone sounded like wet canvas tearing. He presented her with a bleeding leg. “For you.”

“Oh, you are giving me a portion of your kill.”

“It’s not the best to come home empty handed,” he threw his kill over his shoulder. “Besides, I get the rest of it.”

She smiled. “Thank you, goodnight, mouthbreather.”

He chuckled. “Good night, puss* licker.”

He left her with a deer slung over his shoulder. When he got home he presented his kill to everyone.

“Good kill,” Goldy praised.

“You finally got one!” Red added.

“Why is it missing a leg?” Bluey asked.

“He must have gotten hungry,” suggested Fletch.

“No, I ran into the sabertooth,” Marrow said.

Debbie poked her head into the kitchen. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, she hurt her ankle so I had to carry her out, but…we might try hunting again, together,” Marrow said.

“Marrow’s got a crush on her!” teased Fletch.

Marrow glared at him. “Say that again and I’ll punch you in your laughing box!”

Debbie found herself smiling softly. “So did you make a friend?”

“Yes, a friend,” Marrow replied.

“And soon to be mate!” laughed Fletch.

“That’s it!” Marrow pounced on Fletch. “Take it back!”

“Keep denying it!” laughed Fletch.

“You bastard!”

Debbie jumped in and pulled the two apart, but Marrow wasn’t letting up.

“Let us settle this!” Marrow growled.

“It’s only proving me right!”

“How??!?!”

“Your reaction!”

“That means nothing!”

“Does too!”

“Does not!”

Debbie groaned. This was going to be another long night.

*****

“Amazing…..” the dwarf noted the relationship between the sabertooth and epicyon had evolved. Before they were literally at each other's throats. Now they were almost friends. “Shouldn’t they be natural enemies?”

Webber nodded. “Very true, those are the last creatures you would expect to get along with. It could have something to do with their new human emotions.”

The dwarf nodded. “True, while their predatory and territorial instincts still come out, we have seen them suppress those or have them replaced. For example, the weresheep…”

“Do not talk about the weresheep.”

“But it’s important…”

“That woman is weird!”

“Yes but…”

“She covered herself in barbecue sauce hoping to seduce him!”

“And if you remember he didn’t eat her….at least, not in that way….”

“Stop talking.”

“But my point is this: if that was a normal sheep, she would be dead. But the fact she’s a mamano, and that he’s a monster boy and instead he desires her as a mate. The Cheshire and the hyena, also lovers. No one would expect those two yet because of their emotions and personalities they are able to bond.”

Webber scratched his chin. It made sense. The interests of the two couples brought them closer. Even the blue one is pursuing another hellhound, but he’s acting on his instinct to breed with the toughest and strongest member of the pack.

“But the sabertooth and epicyon, what do they have in common?” asked Webber.

“Well, from what I can gather, they seem to desire to be free. Go back to their roots and hunt all day, live under the stars.”

Webber nodded. “And of course that can even make those two bond.”

“Indeed.”

Webber scratched his chin. “Have any of them engaged in coitous yet?”

“No, why?”

“I’m thinking, what kind of hybrids could this create?”

The dwarf gulped, for years echidnas, the mother of monsters, had been the only ones who could make hybrids. But this added something else. “I don’t know.”

Webber wondered this a lot. Would they be mixed of cheshire’s and hyenas? Hellhounds and wolves? Would the mamano DND overpower theirs? Would they give birth to boys? This was adding more scientific questions to his plate.

And he hoped to get an answer soon.

******

Debbie sighed as she sipped her coffee. She was glad that Fletch and Marrow stopped fighting, but it was a long process. She had to bonk them both on the head hard, which reminded them that she is the alpha. Of course that was after an intense 30 minute struggle.

Vincent was reading the paper. “So, you think he’ll actually date that sabertooth?”

“We’ll see.”

“It wouldn’t be so strange, keep in mind, Fletch is dating Annie, and they are two separate species.”

“Yes but..she tried to kill him.”

“And he tried to kill her.”

“I just….” she took a sip of her coffee. “I don’t want him to get hurt.”

“He’s a tough guy, he’ll be fine.”

They heard a knock on the door. Vincent answered, and saw it was Webber.

“Hi sir, coffee?” he asked.

“Yes please,” he joined them at the table. He looked at Debbie. “Glad to see you are still in one piece, that fight looked intense last night.”

“Siblings bickering,” chuckled Debbie. “Nothing I’ve seen before. So what do you want?”

“Well, we wanted to do another field test,” Webber smiled. “How would you like to go to Yellowstone?”

Debbie and Vincent looked stunned.

“You are joking,” Vincent gawked.

“What’s the catch?” asked Debbie.

“They are going to hunt bison,” Webber said.

“Bison?” Both asked.

“Yes, you see, we want to see how they handle taking down one of North America’s largest animals, and considering they might be getting tired of deer and small game, this would be a chance to see them at their full potential.”

Debbie drummed her claws nervously. “I don’t know, it seems dangerous.”

“It’ll be fine, the permits are taken care of, and we’ll have medics and security on standby,” Webber explained. “And it’s all expenses paid, courtesy of Mistress Bailey.”

Debbie was still unsure. Bison are big, and while they look tame they can just as quickly become dangerous when provoked or attacked.

“This could be a good opportunity for the girls as well,” Vincent said. “They’ve been wanting to go on a trip for a long time. This would be a great opportunity for them.”

They hadn’t gone on a vacation in a couple years. But this would be exciting for them!

“You know; I could use a nice vacation,” Debbie smiled at Vincent. “And our room would be private?”

“Of course.”

“And the boys?”

“We figured they would stay in their own separate rooms, and the girls would stay in their room.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Is that sabertooth coming?”

Webber remained calm, though his back was already wet with sweat. “Yes, but she would be rooming with Annie.”

“Annie’s coming?”

“And her family, we want to see the sabertooth in action as well. I can assure your daughters will also have their own separate room.”

Debbie didn’t trust that sabertooth. She made her uneasy. “You’ll keep an eye on her right?”

“Of course.”

“You promise? Because if I find out one of my girls or boys even gets a cold from her, there will be hell to pay.”

“I can assure you, there won’t be any problems.”

Debbie looked at Vincent. He grinned at her. “We could really use this.”

She then answered. “Let’s hit the road.”

****

Mistress Bailey set them up in some cabins in Yellowstone which were near a hot spring. Molly and Ellie were eager to have their own cabin and quickly staked their claim. The pack and the sabertooth were wowed. They smelled fresh air, and heard nothing but the sounds of nature. The trees surrounded their little clearing, but for the first time, they felt like they were back.

Marrow's ears were soothed by the sound of birds chirping and trees cracking. Jane inhaled the clean air, she felt her lungs sigh with relief as it cleansed her.

“Come on, Jane!” Annie grabbed her hand and pulled her to their cabin. “Let’s get settled.”

“Now boys,” Debbie said. “Don’t go running off, relax today. You’ll be hunting tomorrow.”

They nodded eagerly and set upon their cabin.

Debbie and Vincent and Norma and her husband watched as their children set upon their cabins.

The mamano clutched their husbands and made their way to their own cabin for some snuggles.

After everyone got settled, the boys and girls went to the hot springs. Each group sat in their own gendered hot spring. While it wasn’t enforced by staff, it was enforced by Debbie cracking her knuckles.

The boys were eager about their hunt for tomorrow.

“Bison, it's been so long!” drooled Marrow.

“Eh they were always more fur than meat, like biting into moss,” Fletch laughed.

“That’s because you never caught one fresh,” teased Bluey.

“Those guys are hard to catch! How can something so fat be so fast?” Fletch replied.

“Ask your mom,” chuckled Red.

Fletch laughed. “Ooooo, you better hope alpha didn’t hear that.”

Red laughed softly. “Yeah…alpha…”

Fletch was still smiling but then he got it. He was referring to his own ancient mother. He didn’t remember much, just nuzzling at her bosom, eating, then eventually leaving on his own. “You ever think they’ll find the fossils of our own parents?”

Goldy shrugged. “I’m no scientist.”

“It would be nice to see more of my kind around,” Marrow sighed. “It would be nice to have some more company out in the woods.”

“Hey, we can still hunt with you,” Goldy said.

“Yeah, we can have your back!” Red added.

“But most of you have mates now,” Maddie sighed.

It is true, Goldy knew those girls had taken up most of the pack's time.

“What about that sabertooth?” asked Goldy.

“That feline?” snorted Marrow.

“Yeah, she likes spending time in the woods and hunting, she seems like a match.”

“I never trust retractable claws.”

The pack groaned.

“Not this again,” Bluey groaned.

“Claws are not meant to be retracted!” Marrow declared. “They are a cowards way of fighting!”

Fletch rolled his eyes. “Sure, sure, that’s why you gave her your back.”

“I did not! I simply assisted her the most feasible way!” Marrow retorted.

“But the scary sabertooth could have used her…retractable claws!” Fletch mimed claws coming out of his hands. “While your back was turned!”

“Silence! She would have had nothing to gain from attacking me again,” Marrow snorted.”

“Yeah, she would have lost her boyfriend,” snorted Fletch.

“For the last time! We are not boyfriend and girlfriend!”

“Yet.”

The group giggled and Marrow splashed Fletch.

“Speaking of girlfriends,” Fletch looked at Red. “I hear yours is a freak.”

Red blushed. “She’s, she’s not a freak….”

“She covered herself in barbecue sauce to seduce you,” laughed Goldy.

Red gulped and laughed nervously. “She… ha….is just really passionate is all.”

“Passionate about breeding with you,” laughed Fletch.

“I mean; she’s more than…that, she kisses me….”

The boys ooo’d and laughed.

Red continued. “But she tells me she feels safe with me. And she says I’m very gentle, and she likes how I’m cautious. I mean, not gonna lie, she is a little weird with her dirty talk….”

Fletch leaned forward grinning. “Do tell.”

“Oh….I don’t think that would be appropriate…”

“Does she say things like…” Fletch made a falsetto voice mimicking her. “Oh you brute, please don’t bite me in my sensitive areas, please predator, don’t eat me, I’ll be a good prey.”

Red blushed bright red. Fletched smile got bigger and he laughed. “Right on the nose!”

Goldy then intervened. “Ok, ok, enough torturing him.” He looked at Bluey. “How about your mate?”

“Well; we haven’t mated yet, but she’s been pretty flirtatious. The other day, she showed some cleavage.”

Fletch chuckled. “Ooo scandalous, what’s next, her ankles?”

“Actually she did! She wore some nice shorts, really showed off her powerful thighs,” Bluey replied.

Fletch giggled. “Ooooo, I bet you couldn’t stop ogling.”

Bluey co*cked his head. “Well, they were in front of me, so how could I not stare? With thighs like those she could have led a powerful pack, taken down the biggest of beasts.”

“I bet you told her this.”

“I did, she then blushed and got flustered.”

“When the hell are you going to mate with her?” Fletch asked. “She’s sending some pretty obvious hints.”

“When she wants to, with her prowess it would be foolish of me to initiate mating with her, as the lead she will determine when it’s time.”

Fletch rolled his eyes. He knew their alpha had her eyes on Marge making sure she wasn’t going to pull anything. So the likelihood of her making the first move was slim.

“Speaking of which,” Red looked at Fletch. “How’s Annie?”

Fletch giggled. “She makes me laugh, and we’ve been really connecting. She’s shown me a lot of comedy movies, which are hilarious! We’ve also just been hanging out more and getting closer. I like talking to her. She has dreams of being an actress or a writer. She asks me for help with stories.”

“What kind of stories?” asked Goldy.

“Mostly stuff about our hunts, a little about what I remember from before, she sees me as an inspiration, and also I think she likes hearing my laugh.”

Goldy nodded. “So, what’s the plan for the hunt tomorrow?”

“Well, these bison are big, not as big as the ones before, but we’ll need to work together to take down two of them,” Marrow said. “Fletch and I will take on one, you 3 take down another. Remember to go for the slowest.”

The group nodded. It’s a simple strategy, but effective.

Meanwhile in the girls hot spring, Jane and Annie relaxed.

“This, feels, nice,” Jane groaned huskily. She hadn’t felt this relaxed in forever. The warm water relaxed her muscles. She never realized just how tense and tired she was.

“I know,” Annie sighed, closing her eyes. “I feel like I could nap now.”

“Not when they are nearby,” Jane looked over to where the boys were.

Annie chuckled. “Oh yeah, we are so vulnerable, why, Marrow could come over and kiss you!”

Jane’s eyes snapped open. She glared at Annie. “I would rip his ears off if he did that!”

“Oh right, you want to initiate.”

Jane growled and looked away.

Annie chucked. “It’s a joke, lighten up.”

“You may prefer the companionship of those canines, but I don’t!”

Annie rolled her eyes. “You sure didn’t mind it when Marrow carried you home.”

“That was different! He offered to help!”

“And he gave you a nice bouquet of deer leg, it’s not flowers but it’s enough,” Annie then made kissing noises.

Jane growled and pouted the rest of the night in the hot spring.

****

The next morning the pack made their way through the woods stealthily. They found a nice area with a sizable herd, where rarely any tourists came. Jane took her own path, wanting to get her own bison.

The pack came across the herd, they licked their lips. The bison looked healthy, with shaggy brown fur. They grazed like cows, but were far from them. They huddled together in a massive brown sea of fur.

The pack was frustrated. They couldn’t see any stragglers. They did see some baby bison, but they didn’t want an appetizer, they wanted a full meal. Rushing the herd was an option, but that risks a stampede, and their numbers would overwhelm them.

Marrow ordered them to spread out, look for a straggler, or an opening.

The pack spread out.

Goldy stayed low to the grass, trying to stay out of sight. The wind was blowing against them so they didn’t have to worry about their scent. However there’s always a chance. His brothers took different routes. It was a little nerve wracking being this far apart, but they had to be cautious. They wanted a fresh bison. Granted they could try and chase them off a cliff and get one at the bottom, but that would kill hundreds.

He scanned the herd, no gaps. They were bunched together tight forming a wall of horns and shaggy fur.

As he scanned the gaps, his eyes fell upon a large mass of fur lying a few yards away from the herd. Looks like one is taking a nap away from the herd. Perfect. He slowly started to approach the mass. All he could see was the brown shaggy fur. He grinned. He knew the standard takedown, jump on it, try to go for the throat or eyes, if the bison shook him down, go for the legs. Granted he should alert the pack, but he didn’t want to wait a second longer. Besides they would follow after he took down the prey.

He got closer and closer, as he got closer he realized this bison was bigger than the others. It was as if someone put 3 bison together. That meant a lot more meat. He dug into the ground, building up the power in the back of his legs. His heart raced as adrenaline coursed through his veins. His excitement for this kill was growing.

He lept through the air, landing on its back. He dug into the soft fur and prepared to clamp down.

WHAM!

An elbow hit him smack in the nose. Goldy saw stars and red and black colors as he fell to the ground. That hit certainly rang his bell as he couldn’t see straight.

“What the hell?” The bison growled.

Goldy assumed that blow to the head was making him delirious. Bison don’t talk.

“God damn wolves trying to get my herd!” The bison growled.

Goldy assumed he had a concussion. His body shook as he stood up. That bison would charge soon and he didn’t need to be in its sight.

“Now you are gonna….what in the name of the Great Spirit?”

Goldys vision unblurred, and standing before him wasn’t the round shaggy face of a bison. No, instead it was a pair of powerful, shaggy legs the size of oak trees.

“Wait a minute ... .bison don’t have thighs!” he thought. Then he saw powerful arms, tone with scars running down them, most likely earned from previous bites and scrapes. Many were faded, but there were fresh ones built on top of them like someone was trying to fill out a tattoo after doing the outline. “Or elbows!!!”

His eyes followed the arms to see, towering over him, built like a wooly mammoth, with powerful shoulders and a dominating torso that was tough like a cliff side, a bison woman. Her skin was a lighter brown like grain, whereas the parts of her that had the shaggy fur were darker. Her mocha colored eyes glared at him. Her face was dirty with mud and dust and rough showing how the elements had toughened her skin , yet sensual at the same time with smooth cheekbones and a cute nose. She had shaggy dark brown hair that seemed to cover her pointy horns. Goldy felt his mouth dry. He knew he was at least 7 feet tall, but this creature towered over him! Like a giant! She had to be a few feet taller, as his head reached to her hips..

She grunted at him. “I don’t know what the hell you are; but….”

Red and Bluey, seeing the beast and sending their brothers peril, quickly rushed over and flew through the air onto her shoulders, digging in. The bison woman yelped and thrashed, trying to throw them off.

“Goldy!” Marrow scooped him up away from the beast, he threw him on the ground and growled. “You got worms in your brain? What are you doing?”

Goldy only was fixated on the large bison woman, she easily threw his brothers off. She let out a low moan of aggression before setting her sights on them.

Unlike his brothers, Goldy didn’t fear her.

No, he was in love.

*****

“A bison woman?!?” Webber quickly assembled a security force. “Out of all the animals we find, it’s a goddamn bison woman!”

Debbie fretted in the corner. “How soon until they arrive?!?! My boys!!!”

“It’ll be five minutes!”

“Can’t you shoot her with the drones?!?!?!”

“With a beast that size they won’t be effective!!!”

“WHAT?”

“They can’t take down a woman like that! And besides, we’ll hit the….oh my god…” Webber looked in horror at the monitor as Goldy walked toward the enraged beast, who was trying to smash his brothers like they were ants. It looked like he was in a trance. “WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?”

*****

While Goldy was proud of his brothers and his pack for obtaining mates, he couldn’t help but feel a little left out. However, there were a few instances where he started to slowly garner a type.

First was when he saw Tasha, Red’s sex crazed weresheep. The fluffy wool really aroused him, made it where it looked really soft to touch. He imagined petting that fluffy wool and just burying himself into it. Of course he would never do that to Red’s mate.

Then there was Bluey’s mate, the hellhound. Something about a tall strong woman taller than him was arousing. Granted it could be because one did knock some sense into him, but Bluey, being the shortest, lucked out with a tall woman with a dominating, muscular, toned figure, who could easily pick him up.

Now that is very difficult for him, being seven feet tall.

All those factors made him long for a mate like that. And what did he come across?

A 11 foot tall, fluffy and shaggy amazon of a woman, while enraged, had ignited a neuron in his brain. That neuron was not one of fear, but one of arousal, lust, and pleasure.

He walked to her in a trance-like state, she hadn’t noticed him as she was busy trying to squish Bluey, but thankfully failing, though her powerful hooves made divots in the ground so big one would think mortars hit the ground.

Finally she turned her attention to him, snarling. “Well, come back for more? You ain’t touching this herd!”

Goldy’s face was still sore, but he ignored it, his eyes were fixated on her as he continued to walk towards her. His mouth hung open in a trance-like state.

The buffalo-woman didn’t take notice at all, she thumped the ground in rage, preparing for a charge. She bolted towards him, head lowered, ready to skewer him.

Goldy stood there, a plan forming through his mind. He could hear the back and his brothers begging him to get out of the way, but he ignored them.

She got closer, and closer, barreling with the might of a locomotive.

Before she could touch him, he slid underneath her and wrapped himself around her legs. She fell to the ground with a thud and rolled on her back.

She roared and raised a fist to strike him.

There was another thing Goldy had remembered about Red and his mate. When Red met her, he touched her more sensitive area, licked it, kissed it. It was called eating her out.

Goldy decided it was his time to do that.

Goldy opened his mouth, seeing the large bush of shaggy hair covering her delicate flower. He didn’t care, he knew after hacking his way through that forest, he would have the sweet, sweet nectar of her woman hood.

He buried his head in her muff with aggression.

The bison-woman’s eyes went wide, she screamed in horror, thinking he was trying to bite her sensitive areas.

“AHHHHHHH….” but she did not feel teeth, she instead felt a tongue burying itself in between her folds. “Ooohhh…ohhh…ohhhh…..oooo….”

Goldy latched himself onto her muff, licking her and kissing her tender snatch. Her juices ran down his throat, intoxicating him and only increasing his thirst. The bison-woman untensed and leaned back, still moaning with a mixture of surprise and arousal. She gently grabbed the back of his head and pressed him in further.

“Ooo…ooo..oooo,” she moaned.

Meanwhile, the rest of the pack looked in a mixture of confusion and horror.

“Uhhhh….is this a new way to take down a bison?” asked Bluey.

“No…he’s…he’s….wow…” Red was shocked. This was his first time.

Jane, who had been watching from the sides, gawked at the sight. She walked up to Marrow, her mouth gaped open. “Is…is this how you normally hunt?”

“I….I didn’t teach him that!” Marrow gawked.

“Well…at least one of us is eating tonight,” laughed Fletch.

Meanwhile Webber and Debbie watched from the drones.

“Did…did he just take down..a…cryptid…with…cunninglingus?” gawked Webber as he tried to wrap his mind around this.

“I…I…GOLDY THERE ARE PEOPLE WATCHING!” shouted Debbie.

“He can’t hear you.”

The bison herd looked over at the sight, and remained unbothered. They went back to grazing. None were slaughtered that day.

As for Goldy and the bison-woman, this went on for about an hour.

The pack went back to the cabins after 30 minutes, with Jane joining them.

Goldy would join them later.

*****

Goldy found himself buried between the bison woman’s massive mounds. The softness of her breasts were enhanced by the shaggy fur in between her cleavage. He felt as though he was snuggling in a pile with the pack, except it was all one woman. She held him tightly, panting. Goldy was sticky with her juices, as Old Faithful finally erupted after years of neglect.

“By the Great Spirit…..I never thought in all my years of fending off wolves, coyotes, and other predators, that I would encounter you, or be taken like that,” she panted.

Her massive mounds enveloped him, trapping him in heat, and fur. Her scent was ripe, as her only baths were strolls into the river or the rain, but also rubbing herself in the dust and mud. However it only enhanced her scent, making her more desirable in Goldy’s eyes; showing she’s just as rugged and untamed as he once was. A worthy mate.

Godly nuzzled his head deeper. “To be forward, when I saw you, I was smitten, and I had to have you. And my brother told me the best way to please a woman is orally.”

She bit her lip. “He is wise. I haven’t felt pleasure like that in a long time.”

“Are there more like you?”

“Not that I know of,” she sighed. “Aside from the buffalo here, and the occasional human, I’m really alone.”

“Excuse me,” the bison woman turned to see Webber and Debbie standing in front of her. “I hope we aren’t interrupting anything, but we….have some questions.”

Goldy could smell Debbie and shouted eagerly. “Look alpha! I found a mate!”

“Yeah….I saw,” Debbie replied.

“Ask away,” the bison woman replied.

“First, can you let the boy down?” asked Webber.

“No,” she said. “I like him here.”

“As do it!” Goldy added.

Webber sighed. “Ok, and do you mind telling me what you are?”

“I am known as a Pte Oyate, at least that’s what the Lakota call me, I guard this herd so it may flourish.”

Webber looked at the herd. “It’s very impressive, are there any more like you?”

“I don’t know, all I know is I’m the only one.”

“Does anyone else know about you?”

“Some, they visit me, they always have.”

“May we meet them?”

“I don’t know where they live, they found me.”

Webber sighed, this was going to be tougher than he thought.

An old voice, deep yet sharp like a knife then spoke. “I can answer your questions.”

Webber and Debbie turned around to see an elderly Native American man with long flint colored hair, accompanied by two others, armed with long hunting rifles.

Webber put up his hands. “We don’t mean any harm…”

The old man smiled. “I’ve never seen a wolf take down a bison like that before.”

Webber laughed nervously. “It’s the first time for a lot of us.”

The old man motioned. “Come, sit, let’s talk.”

Webber and Debbie followed them. The men set up a campfire and they all sat around it.

“As she stated, she’s a Pte Oyate, or you might know her as a Buffalo person,” the old man explained.

“Where did she come from?” Webber asked.

“Skan,” the man replied. “Skan created the buffalo people to conduct the will of the Great Spirit, and act as guardians of the buffalo.”

“Are there any more?”

The old man sighed. “When the buffalo died out, so did the buffalo people, this one though, was a rare sight we thought we would never see.”

“How long ago?”

The old man cracked a smile. “100 years ago.”

“IMPOSSIBLE!!” Webber looked at the buffalo woman still snuggling a grinning Goldy. “That means she’s over 100 years old!”

The old man nodded. “Surprising isn’t it?”

Webber looked at her again, she didn’t look over a hundred. If he had to guess, maybe her early thirties?

“Goldy, you want to get down from there?” asked Debbie.

Goldy looked up from the mounds. “Naw.” and buried his head back into her.

“I think it might be a good idea…”

“I’m fine!”

Webber looked at the old man. “Listen, this is a discovery of a lifetime, and it appears she has fallen for…”

“She has been lonely for so long,” the old man said. “I feel she has found a mate.”

“GOLDY REMOVE YOURSELF FROM HER NOW!” Debbie barked.

“NO!” Goldy went deeper into her mounds and fur.

The old man chuckled. “But we need something first…”

Webber took out his phone. “I hope Mistress Bailey doesn’t mind cutting another check…”

“Wait, while some money would be good, we need help with another problem….” the old man rubbed his hands together nervously. “We have a bear problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“There’s a giant bear that’s been terrorizing the woods lately, we heard rumors of it in the past, just assumed it was a grizzly bear. It mostly stayed in the deep parts of the woods. However, lately the bear’s have been pushing further and further out of the woods and closer to more populated hiking areas.”

“Has anyone….?”

“No, but we are concerned.”

“Why?”

“Because we don’t think it’s human, it’s felled enormous trees with it’s claws, picks an entire elk clean from the bone, the paw prints leave enormous holes in the ground one would think a meteor hit them, very deep.”

“Why haven’t you told the government?”

The old man smiled. “Let’s just say, we aren’t big fans of the feds.”

Webber gulped. “And our job would be…?”

“Well, you are a scientist, take it out, kill it or capture it, and you can study it.”

Webber’s scientific curiosity got the better of him now. If there was such a thing as a massive bear roaming around Yellowstone, studying it could bring them immense scientific opportunities. Alive would be better. But how would they find the bear?

He then remembered the pack still needed something to hunt.

He grinned. Debbie saw his grin. “No.”

“We’ll ask the boys.”

“No you won’t!”

“It’ll be their choice!”

“I mean it and…damn it Goldy!”

“It’s warm here!” Goldy shouted.

*****

Webber came to the pack and told him the idea, that they could help hunt a massive bear and try to bring it in alive, emphasis on try.

Debbie wrung her hands nervously. She told them that it would be dangerous and risky.

However, the pack all smiled.

“We get to kill a bear?” asked Bluey.

“We haven’t done something like that in years!” Red added.

“That will be a fine hunt!” Marrow declared.

“I want in,” Jane said.

“Fine,” Marrow said.

“I don’t know, it sounds like we’ll bear-ly make it out alive,” laughed Fletch. He then hi-fived Annie.

Marrow glared at him. “You are going to take point.”

Fletch smiled. “Good, that means I get first crack at the beast and it means if I kill it I get first dibs on the good meat.”

“Wait, I want to take point now,” Marrow said.

“Now keep in mind,” Webber said. “We don’t want you to kill it if you have to, just try to injure or restrain it.”

“Yeah, yeah, but it’s not required to do that right?” Jane added. “So I could still go for its throat and rip it out?”

“Well, yes, but try to…”

“I like the way you think,” Marrow nodded at Jane, who looked proud of her comment while trying to hide her bashfulness.

“Get some rest,” Webber said. “Tomorrow, we try your hunt again.”

*****

Word from the locals is that the bear had been spotted somewhere east of Yellowstone, way out in the deep dark woods where even a birds eye view won’t give you a clear picture. The pack was flown out there, and came across their first clue, a downed tree. It was crudely cut down, they could see deep cuts into the tree that looked like someone took a chainsaw to it drunkenly, as the tree was sliced so many times. The cuts were deep into the solid tree, and this tree was one of those big thick ones, not a skinny tree.

Marrow sniffed the tree. “It’s a bear alright….” A smile came over his face. “A cave bear.”

The rest of the pack grinned eagerly.

“A cave bear?” gawked Webber. “That can’t be…wait…are you referring to the short nosed bear?!?!!”

“That’s what you call it?” asked Marrow.

“Short nose, and temper,” laughed Fletch. “Those bears are nasty.”

“Never killed one, but we fought them many times,” Goldy said.

“I wonder what they taste like?” asked Red.

“Probably gamey,” Bluey said.

“Remember, try to bring it in alive,” Webber said. “Just try to subdue it, and we’ll sedate it.”

“I hope it fights until the bitter end!” Jane growled.

“Now you're speaking my language,” Marrow added.

“Alive!” Webber cried. “Remember!”

The pack grinned as they set off to find the beast. The scent was old, it smelled of wet fur, blood, berries, and exhaustion. However, they found they didn’t need the scent. The bear left a trail of destruction wherever it went. The pawprints left small craters, leaving behind a massive print.

The pack was astonished at the sight.

“Well this bear has been eating well,” Fletch remarked.

“Hopefully it won’t think about eating us,” Red said.

“Maybe they’re full,” Goldy added.

“Let’s continue,” Marrow said, licking his teeth. “I’m hungry.”

“You didn’t eat breakfast?” asked Jane. “That’s stupid.”

“If I’m hungry, I’ll focus more on the kill.”

“If you are hungry, then you are reckless,” Jane snorted. “Then you’ll only end up dead and starving.”

“Oh go retract your tongue!”

“Oh there it is again, go sniff the hyena’s butt!”

“He hasn’t done that in awhile,” Fletch sighed.

“SHUT UP!” Marrow growled. “I don’t sniff butts! I especially don’t sniff his!!”

Fletch whimpered. “So, that night, a month ago, meant nothing.” He sobbed dramatically.

“I swear if you don’t shut up, I’ll have hyena meat instead!” barked Marrow.

“Alpha would frown upon you eating her boys,” Goldy said.

“What alpha doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” growled Marrow.

“She always knows,” Red said.

Marrow huffed and continued tracking the bear. Red mosied over to Goldy and smiled.

“So, that buffalo-woman,” he grinned.

“She’s wonderful!” panted Goldy. “And tastes amazing!”

“What’s she taste like?”

“Like a buffalo, gamey, ripe, but her scent drives me wild!”

Red nodded. “I’m surprised that was your first time.”

“Agreed, but I just did what you told me you did to your mate.”

“And what’s the deal with you being stuffed into her breasts like a monkey?”

“It’s comfortable,” he sighed. “She’s so soft.”

“I just prefer to cuddle my mate, it’s like I have a personal pillow. Also, your mate is huge!”

“I know!”

“How’s it gonna work when you eventually have to mate with her?” Red asked. “Will you mount her? Will she mount you?”

“I’ll find out,” Goldy said.

The pack continued to trek through the woods. They came across a still-standing tree with large gashes into its side. And next to it, they found a moose skeleton, its body picked clean of flesh, meat, and guts. There were some dried out small intestines, but nothing else.

“A moose, why didn’t we go for one of these to hunt instead?” asked Bluey.

“The bear must really like moose,” Marrow said as he looked at the skeleton. “It was here about a day ago…” his eyes fell to the broken ribs on the skeleton. “Looks like it skewered the moose, must have gutted it after that.”

“Impressive,” Jane looked fondly at the bear's work. “This must be one powerful bear, it better put up a good fight.”

It put them on the right track to find the animal and they continued their journey.

While the pack tracked the animal, Webber and his team were miles behind, tracking them. They put a tracker on each of the pack members and Jane. The moment they found the bear, Marrow would shoot up a flare, and he and the strike team would teleport to their location thanks to the help of some dark mages. It would be much easier than using a helicopter to fly in.

They kept moving through the woods when Marrow halted them. His ears twitched as he listened. He could hear something big breathing heavily. The scent was much stronger. He grinned and looked at his packmates. He nodded and they moved more stealthily toward the breathing. They came over a ridge and saw the short nosed bear. They could see its back, it stood on its hind legs and was tall with an intimidating build.

“Were they always that big?” whispered Goldy.

“Been awhile, but maybe,” Marrow said. “So here’s the plan….”

Before they could discuss the plan, the bear turned around. Everyone’s jaw dropped, and there were groans coming from Jane and Marrow.

The bear as they saw had cream colored skin on her face, and of course had massive bosoms like the buffalo-girl. She had incredibly powerful arms with long claws swinging from side to side. Her hair was a shaggy black mess. She sniffed the air, but then leaned against a tree to scratch her back.

“Another one??!?” groaned Marrow.

“Where do these keep coming from?” asked Fletch.

Goldy grinned and stood up. “I think I got this.”

He hopped down and lurked his way up to the bear-woman.

“God damn, that’s it,” she yawned as she scratched her back.

“Hi,” Goldy said.

The bear-woman opened her eyes and fixated on the small wolf boy in front of her. “What the…..?

He grinned at her, impressed by her height. She was a few feet taller than the buffalo-woman. “I see you are scratching yourself, got an itch?”

The bear-woman was not amused. She readied herself for a fight, growling.

But Goldy stood his ground smiling. “I can scratch another itch for you.”

The bear-woman swiped at him with her long arms. Goldy could feel the air literally get cut with her claws. He dived underneath her, seizing her thighs. She reached to pry him off, when she felt him latch her lips on her hairy muff.

She bellowed out a growl. “Rrrrrraaaarrrr….” but them she felt his tongue enter her folds and gracefully lick her up and down. “Oooooh…oohhhh..oooo…oohhhhh.” she leaned against the tree, pressing him deeper into her.

“Is this really happening again?” groaned Marrow. He glared at Red. “He learned that from you!!!”

“And he’s doing an amazing job!” Red praised.

Marrow sighed and took out the flare.

Fletch said. “Wait, give him at least 15 minutes.”

They gave him 30 minutes instead.

****

“You have got to be kidding me!” Webber groaned. “Where the hell did she come from?!?!?”

The bear-woman had Goldy tucked away in between her gargantuan bosoms when they teleported them back to camp.

Debbie was also in a state of shock. “GOLDY! GET OUT OF THERE!”

“NO!” He yelled.

“YOU GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW! PEOPLE CAN SEE!”

“AND THEY ARE JEALOUS!!”

She sputtered. “DON’T MAKE ME TELL YOUR OTHER WOMAN!”

“Other women? You mean a mate?” the bear-woman asked.

“Yes,” Goldy said nervously.

She smiled. “Well, with skills like that, it is not surprising that you have another mate.” She nuzzled him close to her bosoms.

Webber wiped a trail of sweat from his head and addressed the bear-woman. “So do you have a name?”

She thought for a moment, then answered. “Osa.”

“Osa..I see…and how did you get here?”

She sighed. “I was born to my mother…a Great Spirit woman, like a god according to my father. She bred with a human man, and I came to be. My father raised me as best as he could, until sickness took him. He taught me to speak.”

“I apologize for your loss….how long ago was that?”

She pondered for a moment. “I’ve been around for 50 years, my dad died when I was five, been alone ever since. Didn’t want to be around people much…” she then nuzzled Goldy again and spoke in a baby voice. “Until I met this cute boy here.”

Goldy blushed.

“A god?” Webber sat down. “I think I need a drink.”

“Why?” asked Debbie.

“Because now we actually might have proof of spirits and gods in this world, outside of what was brought from the mamano world!”

****

When they returned to their cabins, the buffalo-woman came out ready to see her lover. She had taken the time to clean herself and especially had washed her private parts for her lover. She halted when she saw Osa, and saw Goldy stuffed between her tit*.

“Who is this?!?!” she growled.

“I am the other mate,” Osa said. “I take it you are his first mate?”

“Yes,” she growled. “He has eaten me out.”

“Me too.”

“Well…” she yanked Goldy from Osa’s mounds. “He needs to snuggle with his freshly cleaned mate!” She buried him in her mounds and took off.

Osa followed behind yelling. “GET BACK HERE!”

“NO!” the buffalo-woman yelled. “TAKE A BATH FIRST!”

“I WILL THAN!” she stormed off looking to clean herself while the buffalo-woman ran into the woods.

“Should we help him?” asked Red.

“He’s fine,” Marrow replied. “Let’s just go to bed.”

*****

The next morning, the pack awoke to clear skies. Goldy was sandwiched in between his two new mates outside. While the pack went off to get breakfast, which consisted of steak and eggs, and of course, bacon, one member of the pack went off to do his own hunting.

Marrow didn’t want to partake in that sort of breakfast, he wanted something fresh. For two days he had been denied a proper hunt, and this time, he wasn’t going to let anyone stop him.

He did let Debbie know because he did not want to incur her wraith. He told her he wanted to hunt this morning, and she let him, sensing his desire to hunt. She told him to not go too far. He promised.

He took off into the woods, he hoped he could get anything. He would take a rabbit, a squirrel, a gopher, but if he found a deer, or an elk, or even a moose, that would be very delicious.

He slunk through the woods, sniffing the air and laying low. There should be some bigger game out, it was still early. He worked his way through the woods, his ears twitching, trying to get a bead on movement.

He heard a branch snap.

He jerked his head towards the sound and sniffed the air. A deer!!! Finally!

He locked eyes with a young buck and gave chase. The deer darted its way through the woods with Marrow in hot pursuit. There was no need for stealth, as his prey was right in front of him now. He felt the adrenaline kick in, he got closer to the deer, closer, finally a fresh kill. He drooled as he was about to grab ahold of that deer. He bursted out of the tree line, mouth open to grab.

WHACK!

And he ran right into a tree branch. He tumbled down the hill until he landed down on a trail. Once more he felt humiliated.

“What the hell?” a husky voice asked.

His eyes snapped open, that did not sound like any female he knew. He opened his eyes to see a tiger woman and what looked like a jaguar woman standing in front of him. He recognized them as a jinko and an ocelomeh.

“Is that one of those furries?” the ocelemeh asked.

Marrow groaned and stood up. The women were aghast by his height and muscle. “You stupid box sh*tters, I am not one of those things!! I am a epicyon!! And…you know what, I don’t have time for this!”

He had better things to do than explain himself. He was hungry, and now he wanted to get some bacon after this failed hunt. Unfortunately for Marrow, in his anger he did not see that these women now wanted to know him a little more personally, as seeing a muscular 8 foot tall wolf man was increasing their desires.

He felt the strong paw of a jinko grab his arm. “Now that was rude young man..” he could hear an underlying tone of flirting in her voice. “...sounds to me like you don’t talk to a lot of women.”

“And a strong man like you needs some help, adjusting,” the ocelomeh purred.

Marrow shook them off. “Not interested in you hairball coughers.”

“Well, now you really need to be taught a lesson.” the ocelomeh growled.

Before anything could happen, a loud roar shook the woods. “STAY AWAY FROM MY MAN!”

They all looked to see Jane land in front of them, growling, her eyes glaring at the two mamano women.

“What…the…” the jinko stammered as she readied herself for a fight.

Both women could sense the primitive hostility from the woman. The ocelomeh stood ready, but Jane struck first. She plowed into the ocelomeh, sending her flying back. The jinko tried to kick her, but Jane caught her leg and easily threw her down the trail. The ocelomeh tried to stand up but had the wind knocked out of her. The jinko got back up, but Jane was already on her. She drove her knee into the jinko’s chest. Air flew out of the jinko’s lungs as she fell to the ground gasping.

Marrow stared in awe at the sight. “Amazing.”

Jane spat. “I thought these modern women were supposed to be tough.”

She turned around. “Come on.”

Marrow followed her. “What did you mean by my man?”

“Nothing!” she said blushing. In reality she didn’t know what came over her. Seeing Marrow surrounded by those women, and they laid their filthy paws on him!!! It was like instinct, but not the protector instinct, no, it was one that had laid dormant for a long time. She kept a stoich face and continued walking forward. “Come, we have bacon to eat.”

****

“Well, look who's returned,” teased Fletch as Marrow and Jane emerged from the woods. “And empty handed!”

Debbie rolled her eyes. “No luck.”

“No, but we ran into some mamano,” Marrow said.

Debbie eye’s eyes went wide with anxiety. “What?”

“Oh but it wasn’t too bad, Jane taught them a lesson.”

Jane smiled while Debbie dropped a tray of bacon. “WHAT?!?!”

****

When Webber got the news, he instantly dialed up Mistress Bailey.

“Webber, you know I don’t do phone sex,” she said. “I prefer it to be in person.”

“No…it’s something else…remember the saber toothed woman?”

“Yes.”

“Well….she got into a fight with some mamano.”

“Oh dear, did she lose?”

“No, that doesn’t matter, it still means we are in a lot of trouble.”

“Well it’s a good thing I’ve been keeping this press release ready.”

“When’s it going out?”

“It went out 15 seconds ago.”

“WHAT??!!?”

“Yeah, I infomed marketing when you told me.”

****

News of the monster boys spread like a wildfire. For the first time in a millenia, there were actual monster boys alive and well. What concerned mamano groups was the fact they were born of science and magic, and not natural births. With it came scrutiny over if more males could be made, and if they bred with humans or mamano, would there be male children?

Mistress Bailey’s Public Relations and Marketing consultants did a great job doing damage control, claiming that the boys weren’t violent and were having very wholesome mamano relationships. That satisfied the mamano media outlets.

However, the bison-woman, who’s name turned out to be Aurora and the short-faced bear Osa opened up a new can of worms as now it was confirmed that cryptids and other mythological creatures had been around before mamano had even come to their world.

However, what really got the mamano media and leaders in a frenzy was the fact someone created a mamano in a lab! Thankfully Mistress Bailey’s creations weren’t too much of a problem, but it was the sabertooth woman that drew the ire of mamano. The jinkos and ocelomehs were upset because it represented the possibility of having more competition for mates, especially if all these sabertooth women were stronger than them. And of course the smaller cat girls like neku’s were upset that another muscle mommy cat woman was catching the eyes of the men.

The question was, where did she come from? A quick investigation into the lab found that there was a similar lab owned by billionaire Matt Paul, and further investigation from journalists and authorities found that the technology was similar to Mistress Bailey’s, and DNA also utilized prehistoric animals. It was at that moment, Matt Paul addressed the media.

Paul clicked his tongue and said bluntly. “Folks, I know there is speculation that we are making prehistoric mamano. And I won’t lie to you, we are making mamano.”

The press bolted off of their seats, each one asking a different question, but the jest and underlying message was this: why?

“Now folks, I had a dream, a dream that I would be able to bring dinosaurs back to life. And when I met my lovely wife here…” he gestured to his smiling salamander wife. She waved at the press. “…she also loved dinosaurs. And both of us realized that dinosaurs are amazing. But you know what’s even more amazing? Dinosaur woman.”

“You are playing god!” screeched a baphomet reporter of The Cunny Times.

“I did it all to make my wife happy, for she wanted to have a three way with a dinosaur, and what kind of husband would I be if I didn’t help? So, now I have a velociraptor wife!”

As if on cue a toned woman, about as tall as Paul’s wife, jumped down. She had long green-blue scales that traveled up her body. She worked a leather jacket and a skirt, her tail remained balanced as she stared at the crowd. She had long flowing black hair, and sharp dagger teeth.

Paul sniffed. “Isn’t she beautiful? My gorgeous Utahraptor wife Emerald.”

She waved at the crowd with her long clawed hands.

One reporter stood up, a human. “Uh, Billy Jones, Daily Star, have you cloned any others?”

“Yes we have! I made a T-rex!”

“A T-rex?”

“Yep!” Eagerly he pulled a curtain back. Standing 10 feet tall, a large powerful T-Rex woman with long red hair stood over the crowd. She smiled at them and waved. She wore a large red dress.

The reporter gawked. “Is….is she single?”

“Yes she is!” Paul declared.

The T-Rex woman winked at the reporter, who blushed red.

“Yep, so I’m making dinosaur waifus! And no one can stop me!”

“You are insane!” screeched the baphomet.

“I am not! This is all for family!”

“How?”

“Because, I accidentally created a son!”

A hush fell over the crowd.

Paul explained. “You see, I wanted to bring back a spinosaurus, and through a little mix up of some human DNA, well, I made a spinosaurus son!”

“You lie!” the baphomet cried.

Paul looked at his salamander wife, she quickly left, then returned with a blue haired boy, he had a large blue scaly sail coming out of his back. He snuggled his mom.

“I have! And I love this boy! He is my son!” Paul declared. “And sons of bitches will never take him from me!”

The Utah Raptor wife grinned as she eyed the crow.

A minotaur stood up. “Shery Fullglassofmilk, The Milk, how many of these have you made.”

Paul put his hands together. “Well, I accidentally created a bunch of sabertooth cat girl cubs by mistake, and the thing is we are looking for loving cat women to raise them.”

“How many?”

“A full litters worth.”

“How..how did that happen?”

“Trial and error, and god damn they are cute!”

He showed pictures of the cubs on the screen, and an awww fell over the crowd. Paul nodded. “We will be screening for adoptions after this.

Despite the cuteness of the sabertooth catgirls, after that incident there came calls from mamano to restrict these actions, the argument being that the only time a new mamano should be created should be through an echidna. However, other mamano groups saw this as the next stage of evolution, and being that these populations were small, there was no means to mass reproduce these women.

In regards to the monster boys, there wasn’t really much of a care. After discovering that science could create more mamano, public attention shifted to that. The boys were created by accident, due to a sperm mix up, and that wouldn’t happen again.

The boys were happy as now they didn't have to worry about any unwanted attention. All they had to worry about was their mates.