"Ho, dogs!" Greywolf orders, "Quiet now! Sit!"

"Who is it," asks Otter walking toward the vehicle and Greywolf with her second son with Bob on her hip while holding the hand of her three year old daughter by Roar. She has five children total now, three boys and two girls.

Greywolf shrugs, "Don't know. Some domestic female I've never seen before. There's something familiar about her scent coming from the car, but I can't place it. She's on some type of strong medication."

Otter steps up to the driver's side door and the window rolls down. Otter asks the woman, "May I help you," expecting the skinny blond woman to asks for directions because she's lost.

Instead, the woman says, "I need to speak with Talia please."

"Is she expecting you," asks Otter.

"No," the woman answers honestly, "she's not."

"Is it urgent," asks Otter trying to place the woman because there's something familiar about her.

"No, it's not urgent," answers the woman honestly.

"And your name," asks Otter.

"Sorry," the woman apologizes nervously, "I'm Sheila, Sheila Wilson."

Something about the woman's name is familiar. Wilson use to be Cougar's last name, but Wilson is a fairly common last name among domestics. Otter tells the woman, "Well, I'm Otter and this is Greywolf. I'll fetch Talia. Since she's not expecting you, she may be busy. It may take her a few minutes to come out. You can step out of your vehicle. Greywolf will keep the dogs under control. You can follow him around back and he'll show you to a spot where you can sit and relax for a few while you wait for Talia."

"Thank you," responds Sheila appreciatively as she slowly steps out of her car.

"Come on," Otter says to her two children, "Let's go find Aunt Talia," entering the mansion through the mudroom on the side by the garage.

"Follow me, ma'am," Greywolf request.

"Yes, thank you," says Sheila appreciatively following Greywolf.

Otter steps into the kitchen where she finds Eli with Roar's oldest boy, Howl, who's seventeen going on eighteen, and her oldest niece, Minnow, her brother Ba.s.s's daughter, who recently turned sixteen. They're helping Eli prepare snacks and lemon aid for the children and teenagers outside in the summer sun. Minnow lives here at the estate so she can take her on line cla.s.ses. She just earned her high school diploma on line and she'll start her on line college courses this fall. Howl is two years into his on line college courses and lives at the estate too. They each have their own bedroom, but one or the other usually ends up in the other's bedroom nearly every night. Talia got Minnow a subdermal birth control implant so she won't get pregnant too soon.

"There's a domestic woman here to see Talia," Otter informs them. "Put some lemon aid in a crystal pitcher and take out a couple of gla.s.ses." Otter directs Eli, Howl and Minnow. Otter saw Breeze toss Talia over his shoulder and carry her inside a while ago. "Do you know where Breeze carried Talia off to?"

They shake their heads. It's a huge home with lots of places to slip off to for mating. Howl and Minnow have been spending time finding those places.

"I'll check the garden room first," decides Otter. "Can you two watch these babies for me while I look for her please," she asks Howl and Minnow. Her search will go faster if she's not dragging a toddler and toting a baby on her hip.

"Sure," answers Howl scooping up his little sister."

"No problem, Aunt Otter," Minnow relieving her aunt's hip of her baby cousin.

"Thanks," Otter quickly leaving the kitchen in search of Talia. She makes her way to the garden room which has become a favorite room for the adults to come to for mating. It saves them from running upstairs to a bedroom while getting away from the children playing outside.

Otter steps into the doorway of the garden room which now has four over stuffed extra wide divans, one in each corner. She's relieved to see Talia and Breeze together on a divan in one of the back corners so she's not going to have to run upstairs to find them.

Otter takes a seat on the closest divan to the one they're using and watches and waits. Talia was riding Breeze as she stepped into the garden room and she doesn't expect them to be at it much longer. She watches as Breeze flips Talia onto her back, pretzels her up beneath him and bangs her hard. Otter wouldn't mind a good long hard bang herself at the moment, but Bob's at work. She's not in the habit of going into Megalopolis with him because that's Margie's time with him. And since Aura is here visiting with her brothers, Breeze and Windwalker, Roar will be giving her most of his attention. But she may be able to get some attention from him when the currently pregnant Aura takes a nap. Of course, Eli's Night Crawler pack is visiting too. One of their males will be happy to pay attention to her too.

Otter is pulled from her musings by Talia and Breeze o.r.g.a.s.ming together. She gets up and walks over to them.

"Mother Earth, I love you," Breeze tells Talia and kisses her slow and deep.

"I love you too," Talia returns as she pulls her fingers through Breeze's long luxurious platinum blond hair.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," says Otter, "but there's a domestic woman here to see you, Talia."

Talia frowns, "I'm not expecting anyone. Did you get her name? Did she say what she wants? You don't think she's a reporter do you? They've gotten quite bold over the last few years. They think because I let Connie come here, they're all invited too."

"She doesn't seem the reporter type," says Otter, "She's alone. No sign of a camera or recorder of any kind. She's not wearing gla.s.ses or jewelry. She says her name's Sheila Wilson and she smells of some strong medication."

"Sheila Wilson," says Talia mystified as she puts her clothes back on. Sheila's not an uncommon first name for a domestic woman just as Wilson is fairly common last name. But, "The only Sheila Wilson that comes to mind is Cougar's ex-wife," shares Talia.

"Do you think it's her," asks Breeze concerned.

Otter shrugs, "I never met her. But she was released recently, right Talia?"

Talia nods yes, "About six months ago. She got an early release for good behavior. But she has five years of probation, court ordered to continue counseling and she has to remain on stabilizers for the rest of her life… Coming here is a big no-no that's a violation of her parole. Cougar and I have full custody of Will."

"Cougar has never talked much about her," Shares Breeze, "but Mist has a few times. She sounds dangerous. If it is her, we should be very cautious."

"Should I call Cougar and Richy," asks Otter.

Talia shakes her head no, "We don't even know it's her yet. Let's not worry them unnecessarily," decides Talia as she leaves the garden room with Breeze and Otter.

As they pa.s.s through the kitchen, they find Howl sharing Minnow with Breeze's oldest son, Strong Wind, who's sixteen going on seventeen now.

"It's beautiful outside. Why are you guys in here," asks Talia.

"That domesticated woman is out there for one," answers Howl. "We know there's no mating in front of domestics."

"You still could have waited until she was gone," points out Breeze.

"We still would have come inside," responds Howl. "If I share Minnow with Strong Wind out there, nearly every other male out there would line up to have a turn with her."

"I hate when the do that," adds Minnow.

Howl continues, "I shouldn't have to share her with nearly half the males out there just because I want to share her with my best friend. Plus, the twins are out there hanging around. They like it when Daphne's around and she may not mind, but I don't want them near Minnow."

"They're creepy," adds Strong Wind.

Animalistic Tribe only has one set of identical twins. They may be forbidden to touch Talia, but all the other woman are fair game. Talia's proud of how smart, thoughtful and considerate of Minnow Howl is.

"Where are my babies," asks Otter.

"Talon, Clam and Sh.e.l.l have them," answers Howl, "and of course Will is supervising with help from O.P., Maia and Lake."

"My little man is out there trying to take charge," says Talia proudly as she steps outside followed by Otter and Breeze. And when Talia gets to where she can see her visitor's profile clearly, she stops in her tracks and says surprised, "Holy s.h.i.+t, it's her…"

"I'll call Cougar and Richy," says Otter.

"No, wait," Talia tells Otter. "At this point she's not hurting anything. She's just watching the children play… I think she just wants to see him. She wasn't even allowed to hold him when he was born. They didn't even let her have a look at him. They hung a sheet across the middle of her belly. Cougar was there recording Will's birth. He sat on the recording for over a month before he let me and Richy watch it. She's cussing and screaming at Cougar the whole time. They handed Will straight to Cougar and led him to another room to get Will's length and weight and stuff.

I'll talk to her. As long as she behaves, we won't call Cougar and Richy. I'll make sure she understands she can't come here."

"Wait," request Breeze, "Let me get Windwalker first, Talia. If this woman can be dangerous, we should both be with you."

Talia nods and waits. Breeze quickly returns to her with Windwalker, Greywolf and Eli and they accompany her over to Sheila.

Talia sits on the glide sofa with Greywolf on one side of her and Windwalker on her other side. Eli sits at her feet while Breeze stands behind her with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

"h.e.l.lo, Sheila," Talia greets pleasantly.

Sheila turns her head and smiles uneasily at Talia as she says hopefully, "h.e.l.lo Talia." She's afraid. She's knows she's not supposed to be here. She looks at all the big strong handsome men gathered around Talia protectively and admits to Talia, "I know I'm not supposed to be here… It's a direct violation of my parole. But I'm not here to cause any trouble. I just want…"

"You just want to see him," responds Talia understandingly.

"Yes," Sheila confirms afraid Talia will send her away. "Is it okay if I just sit here for a few minutes and watch him play? Just watch?"

Talia can easily see the anguish on Sheila's face even if the medication Sheila's required to take makes it hard to smell. She tells Sheila, "Well, you're lucky Cougar and Richy are both working today… You can sit there for a time and watch, but just this one time. If Richy or Cougar learned you were here, Richy would haul you in himself and they would both scold me over it."

Sheila nods her agreement gratefully, "Thank you." Then she looks back over at the children playing under a large tree with an elaborate tree house in it. There are actually three trees with tree houses. The one the children are playing in and under also has a jungle gym, a slide, a swing set along with a sand box under the tree house. The tree house to the left appears to be empty. The one to the right has adolescents hanging around it.

"So many beautiful children," comments Sheila. "I saw the interview you did after you had your twins, Orion and Maia. Which ones are they?"

"The two red heads there," Talia points out.

"The two red heads," says Sheila surprised and smiling. "But you and Richy both have black hair."

Talia shrugs, "They have their great grandfather Walter's hair."

"That's right," says Sheila recalling, "Richy's grandfather is Walter Drumpt. He sat in on the interview too." Sheila smiles amused as she recalls, "He showed off his tribal tattoo."

"Yes, he did," Talia smiling too as she remembers.

"You worry," Sheila shares with Talia, "and you wonder constantly. Is he happy? Is he loved? Does he get enough to eat? What's his favorite food? His favorite color? Is he afraid of the dark?"

"He's a serious little man," Talia informs Sheila. "He's not a joker like Cougar, and he's smart. He already reads at the level of a ten year old. He likes math, soccer, rabbit stew, being a big brother and the color green. If he's afraid of the dark, he won't admit it."

Talia's men chuckle. Their Will of Fire has a will of fire.

"And yes," Talia tells Sheila, "He is happy. He is loved. And he gets enough to eat."

Sheila nods relieved. "I think you're a brave woman. When I first saw your interview, I wasn't on my meds yet because I was still pumping breast milk for William. So I wasn't thinking clearly yet. But after I started my meds, I started to see things differently… It took guts to do that interview, to admit you have four mates, to share with the world you were a virgin the first time you were with Richy. I didn't know wild life was so complicated and dangerous. I thought all you had to worry about were predators like lions and bad weather like blizzards. I never imagined you had to worry about some guy you're not interested in trying to make you his mate against your will. And Wildcat explaining social status in wild life and how Richy and Wendel were ghosts, men without status. I find it all fascinating now… And you, you're one of her mates," Sheila points at Windwalker.

Windwalker nods confirmation, "I'm Windwalker. Being interviewed was very interesting."

"Will you introduce them all," request Sheila. "Are all of them your mates now too? Do you have more than four now?"

"I guess you could say yes," Talia answers her last question first. "But technically, I haven't taken on any extra mates. Windwalker is my fourth mate. Richy and Cougar are my first and second, my third should be back from visiting his daughter in another tribe within the next day or two. Breeze is Windwalker's younger brother. This is Greywolf and this is Eli. All three of them are my consorts."

"Consorts," repeats Sheila fascinated. "They're sort of unofficial spouses, right?"

"That's as good a definition as any I've ever head," says Greywolf. "We provide extra protection for Talia so Richy and Cougar can keep their domestic jobs. In exchange, we get the same access to Talia as her mates. And if something happened to one of Talia's current mates, the most senior of us as her consort would get to move up to mate status with her."

"So who would get to become her mate next," asks Sheila curious.

"That would be me," answers Greywolf, "I'm her first consort."

"I'm her second," shares Eli.

"And I'm her third," adds Breeze.

"How did you end up with four mates and three consorts," asks Sheila. "I know that reporter, Connie, asked, but you didn't answer. You just said, 'That's way too complicated to explain.'"

Talia takes a deep breath and blows it out, "Well, I guess I'll start with Cougar. We've always loved each other, but life kept getting in the way, what my father wanted for me, what my tribe needed from me, pursuing our individual educations. And my father was totally irritated by Cougar and believed he was totally inappropriate for me. We had believed as children we would grow up and spend our lives together. But our adult lives just pulled us further and further apart until we both believed the other was happier and better off without the other… I had known he married and I a.s.sumed it was a happy marriage. He knew I was in in a long term relations.h.i.+p with a domestic male and had a.s.sumes it was a happy relations.h.i.+p. We hadn't seen each other for years until I met Richy… The attraction Richy and I have for each other was instantaneous and powerful."

"That day I stopped by Richy's and you sniffed me," recalls Sheila, "Wendel had said there was some kind of instinct thing happening between you and Richy."

Talia nods, "It's called a true-mating. It's very rare. Richy and I were in the middle of establis.h.i.+ng ourselves as mates."

"Wendel said neither of you knew what was happening and that it was dangerous to interfere," shares Sheila trying to understand.

"Yeah," Talia confirms, "we didn't have a clue as to what was happening between us. You got off lucky. Later that same day, I nearly clawed Richy's Cousin Otter's face off. She has the scars on her outer forearm. Seemed everyone understood what was happening between us but us… But Richy and I were both very dangerous during that time… So Richy and I didn't get to pick each other. It's more like nature arranged for us to be together… Then I got shot by hunters and while I was still weak and healing from being shot, the chief of the Water Tribe, Fjord, showed up to try to make off with me for himself. I actually don't remember what happened. But some free males have the ability to scent mark their mates, and apparently so do some free females. Except the females with the ability only seem to do it when they're in danger. Wildcat thinks I was evening up the odds because Fjord didn't come alone. He had two of his tribesmen with him. So I marked two other males as my second and third mates to stand by Richy against Fjord and his two tribesmen, Cougar and my third… But I a.s.sure you, even though Cougar and I were mated, we didn't officially consummate our relations.h.i.+p until after your divorce was final… I was so overwhelmed. I went from being a virgin to three mates within a month… Richy, Cougar and my third chose Greywolf for me."

Greywolf shares, "I was honored when they came to me and asked if I would be a consort to Talia. There were a number of events that led to their decision like Fjord, and Talia getting shot. Cougar and Richy both work domestic jobs. Talia's third is an elder and he wanted someone that would be a good mate for her when he pa.s.ses on and he knew I'm in love with Talia, that I've loved her nearly as long as Cougar has. So they asked me and I accepted."

"How did you feel about that," Sheila asks Talia.

"I wasn't happy nor thrilled about it at the time," admits Talia. "I liked Greywolf just fine and thought of him as a friend. But he wasn't a love interest for me. I wanted to argue about it, but my third wouldn't hear my argument against it… At the time, I really didn't appreciate having three men, even if they were my mates, making decisions like that for me. But I'm glad they did because I came to love Greywolf very quickly and very deeply. And I can't imagine life without him, or any of them now. Trying to imagine such a thing would only upset me."

"When that reporter asked you how you got to be Talia's fourth," Sheila talking to Windwalker, "You didn't give her a direct answer. You just said something about you had been one of the males the mates she already had were trying to protect her from, but you got around them."

Windwalker s.h.i.+fts uncomfortable with the memory of how he made himself Talia's fourth, "There are some things you just don't want the whole world knowing. They are things that are private and often foolish… They weren't looking for a fourth mate for Talia, but I was desperate to be her mate… Now there was a right way for me to go about it and a wrong way. I didn't want to risk them rejecting me, so I did it the wrong way. I attached myself to Talia as her forth mate against her will and without the permission of her first three mates."

"But you proved yourself," Talia taking the hand Windwalker placed on her leg and kissing it.

"How did you two get to be one of her consorts," Sheila asks Eli.

"I'm basically a result of the way Windwalker made himself Talia's mate," Eli shares. "She was deathly ill with fever from an infection and still doesn't remember making me her consort. So for a while there I was afraid she wouldn't keep me or that Richy wouldn't let her keep me. He was very upset about the whole situation."

"How upset," asks Sheila.

"He tried to rip my head off the first time we met," answers Windwalker matter of factly.

"Oh," says Sheila surprised. "Richy always seemed to have things under control to me."

"That was part of the problem for both of us at first," admits Talia. "We were both people who were used to having control over our lives. Then suddenly, bamb, everything had been turned upside down and inside out for both of us. Events taking place we couldn't control. Sometimes it felt like a nightmare."

"But it seems everything has worked out for the best for you," says Sheila with a sad smile. "Tell me, is Wendel happy? He drank so heavily while we were married."

"Cougar used to drink," Eli asks looking up at Talia for confirmation.

"He doesn't drink anymore," shares Talia as she pushes a hand through Eli's soft brown hair. "He hasn't had a drop since that incident with your mother Richy had to pick him up from."

"But he's a happy man," adds Greywolf. "We're all happy men."

"Sounds as if your lives are perfect," comments Sheila.

They all smile and chuckle as Talia says, "Not perfect. We're parents. We have children. Nothing is ever perfect. But we're a happy family."

Then they all hear a loud collective, "Eewe!!!" from the children playing in and around the sandbox.

"Oh, what are they up to now," Talia asking no one in particular as she looks at the children. Then she looks at Sheila, "Well, how would you like to meet our children?"

"Yes, I'ld like that," answers Sheila eagerly.

Then Talia hollers, "Hey! What's going on over there!?!"

"You did it now," says O.P. to a younger child, "Mom's going to be mad."

"Come on says Will taking the hand of a toddler, "Let's go. If we make her yell for us again, she'll just get madder and we'll have a time out."

"How do you do that," Breeze asks Talia.

"I hardly ever yell or so much as raise my voice," shares Talia. "So when I raise my voice, even slightly, they think I'm mad."

"Stinger yelled all the time," shares Breeze.

"So they're desensitized," Talia patting Breeze's his hand on her shoulder, "but that will change with time."

The children line up. They're not all Talia's. Sheila can see some of them are too old to be Talia's. None of Talia's children are old enough to be teenagers. She knows Will is the oldest at seven.

Talia looks them all over with a look only a mother can accomplish. Even the mostly grown teenagers can't look her in the eye. Talia says slowly, "So… What was that collective 'ewe' about?"

The teenagers and big kids all start talking and pointing at the same time.

"You were supposed to be…"

"I was watching…"

"You didn't…"

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Talia exhales an exasperated breath. Then she turns loving mother's eyes on, "William," knowing he'll give her the truth, the whole and nothing but the truth and she won't have to punish anyone for trying to deceive her.

"Yes, Mommy," Will's electric blue eyes focus on his loving mother, but flick occasionally to the strange smelling domestic woman.

"Tell me what all that ewing was about over there please," requests Talia.

Will scratches his curly blond head. He's basically a duplicate of his father, Cougar. The only hint of Sheila is he's the fairest skinned child of them all. But even he has a tan. And he answers Talia without pause, "Sun dared Dusk to eat a bug and she did."

Talia puts a hand over her mouth to hide that it's trying to twitch into a smile. She clears her throat, "Thank you, William… Dusk and Sun, come here please."

A boy with Talia's skin and eyes and platinum blond hair and a girl also with Talia's skin, but with grey eyes come forward.

Talia picks up the boy first and tells Sheila, "This is Sun." She kisses his cheek. Then hands him back to Breeze, and Breeze kisses the corner of his forehead.

Then Talia picks up the little girl and settles her on her lap, "And this is Dusk. They're our five year olds… So you ate a bug."

"Just a little one," Dusk tells her mother Talia as she shows her how little it was with her tiny fingers.

Talia looks over at Greywolf and says, "It was just a little bug." She looks back at her daughter on her lap and asks, "Why did you eat the bug?"

Dusk answers matter-of-factly, "Sun dared me to, said I was a 'scardy cat.' Well I not a scardy cat. You a scardy cat, Sun. I ate da bug. You didn't."

Sun crosses his arms and sticks his tongue out at his twin sister and Dusk returns the gesture.

"I thought we were a family," says Talia, "Dusk, if Sun or anyone else dared you to eat a piece of poo-poo, would you eat it?"

Dusk makes a yucky face as she answers, "No way."

"Should you have eaten the bug," asks Talia.

"No," answers Dusk.

Talia places Dusk in Greywolf's lap and takes Sun back from Breeze settling him back onto her lap. She asks Sun, "Do you love your sister?"

Sun's bottom lip pokes out as he glances at his twin sister. He admits, "Yeah," unhappily.

"Is daring your sister to eat a bug anyway to show her you love her," asks Talia.

Still unhappy, Sun admits, "No."

"If we're a family," Talia asking all her children, "how do we show it?"

"We care for each udder," answers Sun.

"And how do we do that? How do we care for each other," asks Talia.

"We look out for each other," answers Will.

"We protect each other," adds O.P.

"We love each other," supplies Maia.

"Is daring your sister to eat a bug looking out for her and protecting her," asks Talia.

"No," answers Sun sounding defeated.

Talia sighs, "Well, since you're all here, I'm going to show you all off to my a.s.sociate, Sheila."

"h.e.l.lo, Miss Sheila," the children and teens all greet together automatically.

Sheila smiles warmly, "h.e.l.lo children."

"Okay…," Talia thinking, "my nieces and nephews stand over there… And if you're not one of my children in some way, somehow you're free to go…"

"Wow," says Talia to Windwalker, Breeze, Greywolf and Eli, "We have a lot of children…" She explains to Sheila, "Breeze and Greywolf came with children. In domestic society they would be considered step-children. But we don't think like that. Their mothers are still their mothers, but I'm their mother too now. It may sound confusing, but no one is confused… I guess we'll start with Greywolf's oldest… Come here please… These are my children Greywolf came with: Black Wolf, Running Wolf, She Wolf and Growl. They are good and intelligent just like they are beautiful. And they are not going to let any of their younger brothers and sisters eat anymore bugs… Are you?"

"No, Mama," they answer together.

"Go stand with your cousins," directs Talia. Then she continues, "Okay, my children that came with Breeze… We're missing Strong Wind. But you'll know him if you see him. He's a young man with hair just like his father's…" She tells Sheila, "You'll find this interesting. Now, Greywolf's four are all recognizable as siblings because they all resemble their father strongly, but each has a different biological mother… Here comes Breeze's oldest."

Sheila glances in the direction of Talia's gaze and sees three young people approaching. One's a handsome tall lean dark skinned man with long dreadlocks. His arm is around the shoulders of a beautiful young woman with tan skin, big brown eyes and long wavy-curly black hair and her arm is around his waist. Her other hand is holding the hand of the tall lean beautiful young platinum haired man. He's a little shorter than the other young man and both look like they may grow several more inches.

Sheila turns to see two toddlers start to fuss. One pulls away from Will and the other pulls away from the red haired Maia she knows is Richy's daughter. The toddlers, both girls, make a bee line for Talia who picks up the first one who made a bee line for her. She has curly black hair. And when she looks at Sheila, she can see quite clearly the toddler has electric blue eyes.

"Here, Kitten," says Eli getting the second toddler, "Let Nu-nu hold you." And this toddler has curly blond hair like Will's and those same electric blue eyes.

Sheila is sure both of these little girls are Cougar's, that one just got Talia's hair color. And even if Sheila asks, Talia has no plans to tell her Cougar's not the father of both little girls.

Windwalker picks up a box of baby wipes for Talia and Eli and they start wiping the faces and hands of the two little girls as the platinum haired young man asks, "What's going on?"

"Dusk ate a bug," Breeze informs his oldest son.

All three of the young people say, "Ewe…" in unison.

Then the platinum haired young man asks his siblings, "Why'd you let our baby sister eat a bug? Not all bugs are good for eating. Some will make you sick. Some are poisonous and can kill you."

"I not a baby," insist Dusk from her father's arms.

"Sun dared her," says a girl of about twelve with long straight black hair and a tired platinum haired toddler on her hip, "We didn't think she would do it."

"It's alright," Talia tells the three young people, "We'll just have to keep an eye on Dusk. If she gets sick, we call Dyie… Strong Wind, go stand there for me please."

"Yes, Ma," and Strong Wind stands with the girl with the toddler on her hip and a dark skinned boy.

"Okay," Talia picking up where she left for Sheila, "now these four are my children Breeze came with. The blond hair is a trait of their tribe. There are different shades of blond among the members, but nearly all the members are blond… Since we have some obvious differences in appearances, the first thing one might think is they all have different mothers. Yet they all have the same mother. Breeze is only the biological father of our oldest, Strong Wind, and the youngest, Blossom, who's on Honey's hip. Honey's father was a member of the Water Tribe. And Viper was fathered by my brother, Roar… This is where rank comes into play again. For Greywolf and Breeze's children, I'm a second mother."

"You're our first mother," interjects Strong Wind.

Talia is honored that Breeze's children accept her so completely, but sad about what led to it. So she smiles sadly at Strong Wind and his siblings. They're wonderful children she loves very much.

Talia continues, "I know you're anxious to meet the rest of our children." Talia motions the rest of her children to her. "This is William, Orion, we call him O.P. and Maia. They're seven. William is Cougar's and O.P. and Maia are Richy's. Then we have Winter and Jaden. They're six. Winter is Windwalker's and Jaden is Eli's. Next we have today's trouble makers, Dusk and Sun. They're five. Dusk our brave bug eater is Greywolf's. And Sun, our mischievous darer, is Breeze's. Then finally we have Katherine. We call her Kitten. And this is Panther, after my grandmother. They're three along with Blossom over there on Honey's hip, and all over due for a nap."

"May we go back to playing please," asks Jaden.

"Yes," answers Talia, "but play like a family that loves each other."

"Don't eat anymore bugs," Greywolf tells Dusk.

"Okay, Poppy," Dusk agrees. She gives her father a kiss and hops off his lap.

"Be nice to your sister," Breeze directs Sun.

"I will. I promise, Bobba," Sun gives his father a kiss and skips to his twin sister after Breeze puts him down.

"I'm sorry Dusk," Sun apologizes.

"It's okay," Dusk accepts his apology. Then they hug each other.

"You're tummy doesn't hurt, does it," Sun asks Dusk concerned.

Dusk puts her hands on her tummy and thinks for a few moments, "No. It doesn't hurt. I think it's okay."

Will steps up to Talia, "I'm sorry Mommy. I should of knocked the bug from Dusk's hand. But I didn't think she'ld eat it."

Talia lovingly tucks a blond curl behind his ear, "It's alright, Little Man. Try not to worry about it. Dusk seems fine. If she gets sick, we'll call Dyie. They can get a sub for him if he needs one… Now, give us a kiss."

Will doesn't hesitate. He gives Talia a big kiss and squeezes her neck tightly, "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you too, my Little Man, with all my heart and soul," Talia tells Will. "So did you, O.P and Maia remember to feed and water the rabbits for your Paw?"

"Yes, we did," confirms Will proudly.

"Clean the cages yet," asks Talia.

Will's faces squinches up, "Not yet."

"You know the three of you need to get that done," Talia reminds Will.

"We'll take care of it now," Will ready to take action. "Come on guys," he calls to O.P. and Maia.

O.P. and Maia get a quick hug and kiss from Talia. Then accompany Will to clean the rabbit cages. And Will recruits a couple of extra helpers along the way.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Talia," Minnow coming around and taking Panther from Talia's lap as Howl relieves Eli of Kitten. "We thought Talon, Sh.e.l.l and Clam could manage the little kids without us because Black Wolf, Running Wolf, She Wolf, Honey and Growl are all here to help them."

"No one's hurt," interjects Talon. "They're all fine."

"And you didn't put the three year olds down for their nap," Minnow points out to Howl. "Poor babies are exhausted… Honey, give Blossom to Sh.e.l.l. I want you and She Wolf to spread a blanket in the shade of the tree for me so we can get these babies a nap."

"Me no baby," insist Blossom.

"Me no baby eader," adds Panther.

"Of course not," Minnow tells them, "I know you're all big girls."

"Minnow," calls Talia. "Do you know if supper's been started?"

"Yes, Aunt Talia," answers Minnow letting Honey take Panther from her to put down on the blanket for a nap. Minnow informs Talia, "Snow and Grandma have venison roasting in the pit with vegetables. Grey-pa is grilling rabbit, squirrel and catfish Kabobs."

Then Minnow whirls around and steps up to Talon, Clam, Black Wolf, Running Wolf and Growl and orders, "Since you can't manage watching the children for a few minutes, go see if you can help with supper, make sure there's enough fruit."

"You're only a year older than me and Running Wolf," Talon tells Minnow. "You can't order us around."

"Don't disrespect my woman little brother," Howl warns Talon.

"You let Dusk eat a bug," reminds Minnow. "Mother Earth only knows what kind of bug it was. Aunt Talia and her males will spend the rest of the day waiting to see if she gets sick."

Talia looks at Greywolf and sighs. Greywolf stands and calls, "Boys! Do as you're told. Go help with supper." And thankfully, all five boys do as their told without any more fuss. Greywolf retakes his seat next to Talia.

"Thank you," Talia giving Greywolf a grateful kiss.

"What does William know," asks Sheila. "Does he know about me?"

"He knows I'm not his birthmother," shares Talia. "He knows his father had a wife before me and that she was a domesticated woman. We told him that the divorce occurred before he was born, and when he was born, you were too ill to take care of him so Cougar brought him home to me, his mate, to be his mother… We didn't want to over whelm him with information he's too young to understand. He's never seen a picture of you and he hasn't asked what you look like. We figure we'll answer his questions as he asks them. But so far, he hasn't really asked anything… I know you love him, Sheila. But you cannot be part of his life. He's my child now, and not just legally… They sent your milk for a year, but I nursed him too. My milk changed his scent. If we put him in one room and you, I and Cougar in another, then asked a free person that didn't know any of us to smell him and asked that free person to go into the other room and find his parents, that free person would choose me and Cougar, not you and Cougar."

"But…," Sheila with tears in her eyes.

"Sheila," Talia's voice soft, yet serious and firm, "If you walked over there and told that beautiful little boy you're his mother, you wouldn't like the reaction you would get from him… And quite frankly, I'm just fine if he never asks much about you. I don't ever want him to see the recording of his birth where you are cussing and screaming, threatening to kill Cougar, his father, Richy, me. You even threatened to kill him. Your exact words were 'I'll kill him. I'll kill him before I let you and that nasty wild b.i.t.c.h have him.'"

"I remember," admits Sheila sadly, "I remember everything I said and did."

"Then what are you doing here Sheila," asks Talia.

"I'm not that person anymore," insist Sheila.

"Only because of your medication," reminds Talia. "Without that medication, that's who you are. And even with the medication, here you are, violating your parole, violating a direct court order. You're still not behaving properly even with a medication you'll have to take for the rest of your life."

"I just wanted to see him," says Sheila as she wipes a tear from her cheek.

"I know," Talia informs Sheila, "I understand. That's why you're sitting there drinking lemonade and being treated as a guest instead of an intruder."

"You just don't know what it's like," Sheila tries to explain, "to know that you had it all and threw it all away, to lose your only child."

"No. I don't know," admits Talia empathetically. "But such things happen here in free territory too." She puts a hand over one of Breeze's large hands on her shoulders, looks back up at him and c.o.c.ks her head slightly in Sheila's direction.

Breeze nods his understanding to Talia. Then he looks at the pathetic domestic woman. She's not much to look at, way too boney in his opinion. It's no wonder to him that Cougar was drunk the whole time he was with her. Yet he begins, "Talia showed you my children by a woman that used to be my mate. Her name is Stinger. She's a very beautiful woman and we fell in love, nearly twenty years ago. But there was a tragic disaster, and we were separated for a decade. Talia was pregnant with O.P. and Maia when she a.s.sisted her brother, Roar, in guiding Stinger safely to me up in the mountains… It can be a very treacherous journey. But they all arrived safely and I learned of my son, Strong Wind, and my daughter, Honey, for the first time… I'm sure you can imagine how grateful I was. And we were happy our first few months back together… But my older brother, Windwalker, had attached himself to Talia as her fourth mate which kind of made me automatically a consort to Talia… Initially, Stinger didn't have a problem with this. It's not unusual for brothers to share their mates and I shared Stinger with Windwalker. But when Talia accepted me completely as her consort, she marked me."

"Marked you," questions Sheila.

"Yes," confirms Breeze, "marked. Not all free people mark their mates and consorts, but some do."

"Eli," Talia pulling his hair away from his neck revealing the small scars on his neck, "This is how I mark my consorts, and Stinger did not appreciate me marking her mate… Thank you, Eli."

"That didn't look like much of anything," comments Sheila with a shrug.

"Yet it was a big deal to Stinger," Breeze continues, "She was insulted. It is considered disrespectful to mark someone else's mate. Stinger was furious with Talia for marking me and furious with me for letting it happen… After that, Stinger was nearly constantly unhappy. She complained incessantly that I was too affectionate with Talia, that Windwalker wasn't affectionate enough with her. She accused me of loving Talia more than her which in time came to be true because she was so abrasive… But Stinger finally seemed to relax while she was pregnant with Blossom. She had stopped yelling constantly at the older children for nothing… We came down from the mountain for our usual visit. Blossom was three months old at the time and Talia had just given birth to Panther and Kitten. They were barely a month old… I thought everything was fine. There wasn't anything in Stinger's scent to indicate anything was wrong."

"What happened," asks Sheila interested.

Talia holds up her left hand showing a scar about four centimeters long down the center of her palm. She turns her left hand revealing a matching scar on the back side of her left hand. Then she explains, "She caught me totally off guard. There was nothing in her scent to indicate there was anything wrong. She came into the master bedroom all smiles like she wanted to talk and she smelled content. We were having a pleasant conversation. I was putting the twin I had just finished nursing into the ba.s.sinette. I turned and a dagger was coming down at me… I got my hand up just in time."

Breeze shares, "She said Talia dead had become her happy thought. It made her smile and brought her peace." He shakes his head sadly.

Windwalker shares, "It left me and Roar deciding her fate. She is the mother of my nieces and nephews. For Roar, she's the mother of one of his sons… Do we put her to death? What do we do with her?"

"You considered killing her," questions Sheila wide eyed.

Windwalker nods, "She planned and attempted to murder my mate. And she was so comfortable and happy with her decision that none of us could tell anything was wrong… Talia is the center of the universe for me. The thought that she had tried to take her from me enraged me… Roar was very torn. Talia is his only sibling. He has no other brothers or sisters. Yet he was very fond of Stinger. He still cares for her very deeply as does Breeze."

"How did you decide what to do," asks Sheila, "Where is she now?"

"Talia suggested we return her back to her home tribe into the care of her family," answers Windwalker, "And that's what we decided to do. She's not to leave their territory unescorted. Stinger's brother, Mantis, is chief of their tribe and he's allowed to bring her to visit her children, but she hasn't taken advantage. He comes to visit his nieces and nephews, but Stinger stays behind."

"That was very merciful," comments Sheila not sure she could be that merciful.

"I just didn't want the children to suffer any more than necessary," shares Talia. "I felt their mother being put to death would be too traumatic. At least this way, they know where she is. They may want to visit her one day. And she may get better. She was a good person once and I hope that person returns."

"What do you think went wrong," asks Sheila.

They all shrug. None of them has an answer for Sheila.

"Richy usually makes it home in time for supper," Talia informs Sheila. "You should get going. We'll walk you to your car."

Talia walks alongside Sheila with the men just behind them.

"The man that kidnapped you, Tad Brody," says Sheila.

"Yes," Talia waiting to hear what Sheila has to say.

"I knew him," admits Sheila.

"I know," Talia tells Sheila. "Fjord mentioned you to me while he had me."

"Fjord," questions Sheila, "He's that Water Tribe chief you mentioned earlier."

"He is also Tad Brody," Talia informs Sheila. "His mother was domesticated, so Tad Brody was his domesticated name. But his father was a member of the Water Tribe, so he also had a free name, Fjord."

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Sheila looks a little blown away as they pause near her car, but she continues, "He was a customer of mine as well as someone I did business with sometimes. My father's business that I took over specializes in s.e.x toys and adult videos. He had a company that provided mine with several videos that all used wild women. Now I have an idea how he got his hands on some of those women. And many people that want our products don't want to use their own names. So we would also act as a proxy for a very generous fee… He came to see me a couple of times after I first went to jail. Then I didn't hear from him. And when I learned he'd kidnapped you and killed his accomplice, I didn't think I'ld hear from him ever again… But a week ago I got a phone call. The man's voice was familiar, but I couldn't place it at first. He wouldn't say his name and I was going to hang up when it just clicked in my head who it was because he always had this way of talking that let you know he was positive he's better than you and he always knows more about you than he should… When I realized it was him, I panicked so I don't remember everything he said. But he said something about getting William for me while he got his woman and I just kept saying, 'No, no, stay away from my son.' I feel so helpless. I just wanted to make sure William is safe… Tad Brody is out there and he still wants you and he's trying to find a way to get his hands on you."

Talia holds Sheila's hands rea.s.suringly, "It's okay Sheila. Thank you for warning us. Here's my card. If you want to send Will gifts, you can send them to my office and I'll make sure he gets them… As for Fjord, don't worry about him. You told him to stay away from Will so he will."

"But you're the only mother William has ever known. He needs you," Sheila truly concerned for Talia. "I want to be the mother he needs and deserves, but I know I can't. I know I can't."

"Just continue to put your life back in order," Talia directs Sheila, "so one day we can bring Will to meet you. Okay?"

Sheila nods her agreement, "Okay."

Talia hugs Sheila, "It'll be alright. I promise."

Sheila takes a deep cleansing breath and blows it out. Then she gets in her car. And as she's pulling out the end of the driveway, Richy is pulling in driving his sheriff's vehicle.

Windwalker hugs Talia tightly and kisses her rea.s.suringly, "Try not to worry about it. I know Mist updated the security system. Then there are all of Greywolf's dogs to get past."

"I know," responds Talia allowing herself to be rea.s.sured for the time being.

Richy gets out of his vehicle and says in disbelief, "You're not going to believe this, but the woman driving that car looked just like Sheila and I know she's not that stupid."

The look on Talia's face causes Richy to fall silent. The haunted look she has on her face now had been on her face for months after they had recovered her from Fjord. And the faces of the men with her, men he has come to think of as brothers, that he loves like he loved his brother, men who love and adore Talia every bit as deeply and completely as himself, men that would fight to the death for her just like he, Cougar or Wildcat would, those men's faces tell him something was seriously wrong.

Talia takes Richy's hands. She holds a little more firmly than she intended. Her retractable claws slip out and bite into his skin causing him to focus intently on her lovely round tan face. He can smell Sheila's medication on her and how strong Sheila's medication is. She tells him, "She didn't come to start any trouble. There was nothing confusing about her scent. Her medications have her thinking clearly… She just came to see William. To make sure he's safe because… because Fjord contacted her."

Talia tells him everything Sheila was able to tell her. And she concludes with, "If she goes back to jail for violating her parole by coming here, he'll know we're aware he's close. That he's planning another attempt to kidnap me."

"I'll call Cougar," Richy reaching into his pocket for his phone.

Talia stops him, "He'll be home from work tomorrow. And Wildcat should be getting back from Amazon territory tomorrow too. Once you're all here then we can start discussing how we should proceed." And she plans on being part of the discussion. She doesn't like it when they make important decisions that affect her without her input.

Cougar was a little irritated by the fact that they didn't call him at work. But he couldn't become very angry. It wasn't as if he hadn't partic.i.p.ated in the same action for Richy a time or two. He squeezes Talia's hand rea.s.suringly as she sits between himself and his father, Wildcat, who's holding her other hand in both of his own large competent hands.

Richy is pacing as he talks, "Fjord doesn't have a tribe to go back to. Water has been absorbed into the other tribes of Wild Mountain Territory. And there isn't a chief that would welcome him here. He still has living relatives on his mother's side, but none of them has ever had anything to do with him nor do they ever want anything to do with him."

"We've got plenty of dogs," reminds Greywolf, "Fjord nor any stranger could not walk onto the property unnoticed. And there's too many of them for him to take out with a sniper rifle like the rifle that was found in his aunt's house where he kept Talia and Puddle. Too many people around all the time too. We have our own small tribe growing here. Plus, we always got company visiting from other tribes."

"You spoke with Sheila's parole officer, right," Cougar asks Richy.

"Yeah," Richy answers nodding confirmation. "He's agreed to be the go between for us between Sheila and ourselves. So if Fjord calls her, emails her or anything, she'll contact him and go in like she's checking in or he'll contact my office with details."

"Breeze and I will start alternating our visits so one of us is always here," Windwalker informs them.

"Maybe we should still look into a different type of security system," suggest Richy.

Talia's hand tightens around Cougar's hand, "I'm not going to start locking up my home like a paranoid domestic city dweller. We installed extra camera's and motion sensors, but I won't start locking the doors and making my own family and tribe feel unwelcome."

Richy sighs. Free people don't lock each other out. It just wasn't done because it wasn't necessary. Someone like Fjord among free people happened next to never. They didn't steal from each other nor lie to one another. They took care of each other. And rarely did they have strong negative emotions toward one another like Stinger had developed for Talia. The doors to the home he had grown up in had never been locked. And unfortunately, most security systems required locking the doors. He won't push the issue on this one with Talia and a.s.sures her, "We're not going to start locking the doors."

Talia relaxes visibly.

"I just feel so helpless," Richy admits frustrated.

"We all do," Cougar reminds Richy. "You're not alone in this. We're all in this together. And we'll get through it together."

"So why contact Sheila," Cougar's not asking anyone in particular as he thinks out loud. "What's he up to?"

"He still want's Talia," Eli says stating the obvious.

"He's hunting for a partner in crime," states Wildcat, "looking for a like-minded person that would be useful to him. He thought Sheila was his best bet because her boy's here and he knows she wants her boy. He was hoping she might still be unstable enough or desperate enough to have her son that she would help him. Instead, he spooked her. She knows what he's capable of and doesn't want him near Will of Fire. He just made her want to make sure he's safe."

They're all silent with thought for a moment. Then Talia says thoughtfully and quietly, "He's watching."

Richy sits down across from Talia. He can see she's in deep thought. And in that beautiful mind of hers, she's someplace very far away. He asks her, "You think he's watching us, baby?"

"Yes," Talia answers positive, "like he did before. He watched for months to learn our schedules, to figure out the best way to get me alone so they could s.n.a.t.c.h me. But Cougar didn't leave fast enough and he was taking the time to see me off before he left. He walked me to the car carrying Will for me, Fjord was forced to use the sniper rifle to shoot both of us with tranquilizer darts before I could get in my car and drive off for Megalopolis."

"But you don't have a schedule for Megalopolis any more, Dearest," states Wildcat. "Your people from your department come out here for a week once a month now."

"Richy and I are the only ones with work schedules now," adds Cougar.

"He's watching," repeats Talia. "He's sitting up there in the rocks somewhere on the other side of the highway just outside of wild territory and he's watching… sometimes in the same spot he sat with the sniper rifle."

"There are too many dogs and people around now for him to try to take out with tranquilizer darts," Cougar tells Talia a.s.suringly.

"He's smart," states Talia. "So much smarter than any of you realize. He knew that tranquilizer wouldn't kill me. He knew those emergencies would get both of you called in. He's eluded domesticated authorities for years. He has friends in low places that can get him a new ident.i.ty because he can pay well for their services so we don't know how many ident.i.ties he has now nor how many bank accounts he has… We're stuck waiting for him to make his move with no intel on him while he watches and waits and plans."

"Dearest," Wildcat's voice confident and a.s.suring, "I'm sure it won't take him long to figure out there's no way for him to get his hands on you, not without getting himself killed. He'll move on to something or someone else."

"And what if that someone else is one of our daughters," asks Talia. "They don't know him. When they're old enough to mate and start exploring our territory on their own, he could lure one of them away… He may have marked me and attached himself to me as my fifth, but he doesn't play by the rules like the rest of us. When he decides there's no way to get his hands on me, he'll wait for our daughters to be old enough to mate and conceive and Maia is our oldest, Richy… That would just tickle his funny bone to get his hands on one of our daughters that you fathered, f.u.c.k her backwards, forwards, sideways and upside down, then dump her on our front step pregnant with his child… You don't know how he thinks, none of you do."

"You know how he thinks, Dearest," asks Wildcat very interested in her answer.

Talia lifts her eyes to Wildcat's. The big brown eyes that meet his electric blue ones are haunted by ghosts she won't share. She still hasn't gone into detail with any of them about her time alone with Fjord.

As she looks Wildcat in his eyes with that haunted look, she nods yes. She licks her full lips. "All his thoughts are outside of the box. He doesn't have any inside of the box thoughts. He talked constantly. He's actually the loneliest person I've ever known. And loneliness and I were close companions for a long time. He misses his parents and aunt Milly terribly. They were the only people he loved and respected enough to try to please. Once they were gone, he was free to please himself… Yet like I said, he's lonely. He basically wants the same things we all want: love, home, family. Except he wants them the way he wants them. He wants a woman for his mate that he sees as his equal. The average female will not do. She has to be his equal in intelligence and be able to give him the children he wants and average children will not do… He respects you Richy yet despises you with a pa.s.sion. He sees you as an equal. But to him, your morality and compa.s.sion are great weaknesses… He doesn't respect you, Cougar, yet he likes you. He gets your sense of humor because it's outside of the box like he thinks. He sees you as an intellectual equal. But you're not a full fledge equal because you're not a guardian… And I am his first choice because he sees me as a full-fledged equal. I equal him in intelligence and I'm a guardian. Plus, he knows I can give him the extraordinary children he thinks he deserves… I was his only choice. But now that I have daughters, I'm not his only choice anymore. And if he got his hands on me right now, I'm only six weeks pregnant. He could get that baby butcher to terminate my pregnancy."

"We're not going to let him get his hands on you," Richy tells Talia.

"But there's not just me to protect," Talia reminds Richy. "We have daughters. They will become young women. They'll want to experience life to the fullest. We can't lock them away to protect them from Fjord."

Richy pulls his hands over his face and blows out a deep breath. He nods as he tells Talia, "I know, baby, I know… I'm just trying to figure out what to do… he's always a step ahead."

Talia sighs. In so many ways she's not the same woman she was when she first met Richy. And in so many ways he is still the same man. There are times when she would give almost anything to be that woman she was again. Some people would say she's grown as a person. But she knows the changes in her were molded by survival. The woman that she was would never suggest what Talia's about to suggest.

"He'll contact Sheila again," Talia says positive Fjord will call her again just to be sure she won't be of any use to him and she's correct.

"Sheila will contact her parole officer if he does," reminds Richy.

"And what good will that do us," asks Talia sadly. "If it's a phone call, it will have come from a payphone or a disposable phone. If it's an email, it will have been sent from some internet café and have been routed through a thousand different servers. No matter how he contacts her, you won't be able to trace it back to him. He won't make a mistake like that."

"Talia," Wildcat's gravelly voice questions Talia softly, "What are you thinking, Dearest?"

"Let me contact him through Sheila," answers Talia resolutely. "Let me give him permission to contact me directly so I can arrange to give him what he wants after this set of twins are born."

Thus far Talia has had fraternal twins every time. Dr. Zaniski after getting a hold of her and apologizing profusely had explained that he and his family had been threatened and that was why he had called her for the unnecessary amnio test. The person that threatened him even told him what to inject into Talia's womb to cause a miscarriage. Talia knows it was Fjord and he blew up one of Dr. Zaniski's vehicles just to let him know he meant business, to demonstrate to the doctor just how vulnerable he and his family are. So Talia has accepted Dr. Zaniski back as her family doctor. But she doesn't go in for scheduled appointments. She just drops by if she feels like it when she just happens to be in Megalopolis. But he discovered that her uterus has four fallopian tubes and four ovaries. He believes she's putting out up to four eggs a month. They tried a new birth control implant that would last ten years for a normal woman. But with Talia's unique system and body chemistry, the implant only lasted two years. So her twins, Kitten and Panther, who were fathered by Cougar and Wildcat, are three. She got a three year break from being pregnant. Nursing full-time prevented her from getting pregnant for a year and the implant added two years to that. And it's too early to tell who the father or fathers of this pregnancy are yet. Her scent won't change until the start of her second trimester. There's a good chance she may be pregnant by Mantis. He uses his nieces and nephews as an excuse to visit often even though his sister, Stinger, refuses to visit her own children. Mantis isn't one of her favorite people to let mount her, but she is one of his favorite females to mount.

Richy's mind takes Talia's suggestion in a different direction and he says, "We could set up a sting, have you arrange to meet with him and have peace officers waiting for him instead, and…"

"Richy," Talia interrupts him softly as she shakes her head slowly. "He would smell them a mile away, literally. He would never walk into that situation. It would just p.i.s.s him off. Plus, you would be endangering those domestic officers' lives and free people all over the world. Where we would never bring up our guardians anywhere near a domesticated person no matter the situation, Fjord would. To keep himself from being caught he would bring up his guardian and slaughter those domestic peace officers. It would be closed caskets for all of them. Then domestic authorities would know we have a second form and a.s.sume that every free person can change like that. Innocent free people all over the world would be slaughtered out of fear."

Richy slumps back in the chair across from Talia. "d.a.m.n," he says softly knowing Talia is correct and such an attempt would be a disaster.

"Allow me to send him a message through Sheila," Talia request again, "and give him permission to contact me directly. Once he has what he wants from me, he'll pretty much be content and not so much of a nuisance."

"Then he can continue with whatever corrupt activities he likes for the rest of his life without paying for his crimes," says Richy unhappily, "No… No f.u.c.kin' way."

"Richy," Talia's voice firm now, "he's not going to play nice and go to jail. At least this way he'll be mostly focused on me. He won't take one of our daughters if he can have the child he wants with me."

"No," Richy being stubborn as usual, "There's got to be a better way."

"Richy," Cougar trying to reason with his best friend, "She's right. He won't play nice or fare. Unless he shows up here in our territory where we can kill him, there's no other way. For years, he managed to make off with young females from different tribes in our area to sell into prost.i.tution without anyone catching him at it. Talia and Puddle are how we know it was him. He could sneak in and make off with someone and one of our daughters would be his most likely target, particularly Maia cuz she's our oldest."

"No," Richy unyielding, "there has to be a better way."

Wildcat gives Talia's hand a squeeze that's meant to be rea.s.suring. Except she gives him a look that lets him know she's not rea.s.sured. Wildcat says calmly, "Mist, how long do you think it'll take you to come up with a better way. Talia's way is reasonable considering who we're dealing with. It's better she arrange to meet with him than he steal one of our daughters."

"And what if a onetime visit isn't enough for him," asks Richy in a demanding tone, "What if he wants regular visits with her?"

"Better that than sacrificing one of our daughters," answers Talia becoming upset.

Wildcat moves a hand to her shoulder to calm her. "He did attach himself to her as her fifth mate," he reminds Richy. "An unwanted fifth mate he may be, but he's still her mate too none the less. And an unwanted fifth or not, he still has rights to her as such. Currently, he has gone several years without his chosen mate. You try to imagine going without Talia this long. He's probably starting to go crazy from it which will just make him more dangerous. And he knows that if we catch him back in wild territory we'll put him to death. He's too dangerous. Talia's way makes him less dangerous to everyone, domesticated and free. So how long do you think it'll take you to come up with a better plan?"

Richy shrugs, "I don't know. I just know I don't want Fjord touching her."

"Neither do we," Cougar reminds Richy. "But I don't want him making off with one of our daughters. They would never be the same."

"Just like I'm not the same, but worse," reminds Talia.

Richy knows Talia's time alone with Fjord changed her. She can be sitting right next to him yet feel like she's a million miles away. She lets Ba.s.s have alone time with her. She has a room in the house where she goes to be alone with Ba.s.s, Cougar, Eli and sometimes Puddle. He knows there are s.e.x toys in that room and she needs things s.e.xually now that she's too afraid to ask him for. And he's not sure he could handle knowing exactly what Fjord did to her. The situation was similar to the night the men from her own tribe asked for the justice session, relax and enjoy as much as you can or be tortured by it.

"Do you really think you can come up with something better," Windwalker asks Richy.

Richy shrugs, "I would at least appreciate some time to try before we resort to this."

"How much time," asks Breeze, "A few days?"

"Maybe a week or two," speculates Eli. He's just a consort. Richy's Talia's first, so what he says usually goes unless Cougar and Wildcat can convince him otherwise. And the convincing for this may take a couple of weeks. But Eli doesn't blame Richy. Talia is precious to them all and this man, Fjord, whom he's never met, is dangerous.

Richy thinks for a few moments. He finally says, "Give me six months. If I haven't come up with something in six months, then we'll let Talia contact Fjord through Sheila."

That answer was actually progress for Richy. It doesn't make Talia feel any better at the moment though. She would feel better if she were making contact with Fjord and arranging to meet with him in the not too distant future. And there was a time when she couldn't stand the thought of him touching her. Now, it was what needed to be done to ensure the safety of her daughters in the future. Besides, whatever makes Fjord the way he is doesn't seem to be hereditary. All of his children are sweet, kind, loving and thoughtful. Honey, Stinger's daughter was fathered by Fjord. Of course now she's Talia and Breeze's daughter and you couldn't ask for a more wonderful child. She's really good with the younger children and Talia trust her completely to help look after them.

As Talia stands, she physically vibrates with tension. Cougar and Wildcat reach for her at the same time. She puts her hands up stopping both men from touching her. "I'm fine," she insist, "I'm fine."

Richy didn't mean to frustrate her so badly. She won't allow any of them to attempt to comfort her when she's like this, not even Cougar and Eli. She steps away from them and starts to walk away. Richy looks in the direction she's headed and sees Puddle and Ba.s.s.

Puddle, Richy thinks he understands what the deal is with Talia's relations.h.i.+p with Puddle. Poor Puddle was alone with Fjord and Grimm for three months before they kidnapped Talia. He doesn't even try to imagine what she suffered alone with those two men. Then Puddle had Talia to comfort her and vice versa. Puddle returned pregnant. Her son, Gully, was fathered by Grimm and is the only other red haired kid running around here with O.P. and Maia. She has a second child now too. A little girl named Pond whose father is Buck. Buck is gentle and kind so Richy understands why Talia and Puddle both like him. Puddle basically shares him with Sandy. And even though Puddle and Buck don't officially call each other mates, Buck treats Gully like he's his. Gully may have physical traits from his biological father, but his personality is bashful like Buck's. Everybody loves Gully because Gully is easy to love.

Now Ba.s.s, Richy doesn't know what to make of Talia's relations.h.i.+p with Ba.s.s at all. But he's glad Ba.s.s basically only spends summers here. And with Fjord officially gone, it's not like he has any trouble getting laid anymore. He knows Ba.s.s gets laid every day. Ba.s.s and Hyena have a little boy named Turtle who's two. Ba.s.s and Hyena are another couple that don't officially call each other mates yet live together and take care of each other's children like they're their own.

While Talia is no longer annoyed by Ba.s.s like she used to be, Richy has never smelled her get aroused for him. But she no longer treats him like a ch.o.r.e she has to do. Ba.s.s likes to make a show of the fact that he can now walk up to Talia and mount her without asking.

Richy watches Talia and Puddle hug each other. Puddle comforts Talia by gently stroking her hair and kissing Talia's cheek. She lifts Talia's chin and gives her lips a chaste kiss. Chaste kisses are very common between close friends and family among free people. The kiss isn't any different than one would give their child, parent or sibling. The two women have no s.e.xual arousal for one another. They simply smell sad. Ba.s.s on the other hand, Richy can smell his arousal loud and clear as he steps up to Talia and Puddle. He touches the hair of each woman in a comforting gentle manner and gives each woman a chaste kiss. Then he grabs each woman's a.s.s and pulls them both against him. His hands knead their a.s.ses as he inhales their scents deeply.

Richy hears Ba.s.s say softly to Talia, "Let me and Puddle make you feel better."

Talia sighs sadly yet nods her head yes to Ba.s.s. Ba.s.s smiles brightly, takes Talia's hand and leads Talia and Puddle upstairs. Richy knows they're going to the room with the s.e.x toys. It's the only room in the mansion that's always locked and only Talia's hand scan will open it from the outside. Once the door shuts, it locks again immediately.

Cougar drapes an arm across Richy's shoulders, "She's just very tense and worried. She'll be fine."

Richy nods as he responds, "I just love her so much. Sometimes it drives me crazy that I'm not everything she needs and wants, that I can't protect her properly by myself… She'll be sitting right next to me yet be so sad and so far away. I don't know how to make things better for her, easier for her. I feel so helpless."

"But you're not helpless," Wildcat tells Richy, "just love her. That's all you have to do… I'll be outside with the children." The other men follow him out.

"I do love her," Richy tells Cougar confused by what Wildcat said.

"We all know you love her," Cougar tells Richy. "She knows you love her. But you still have a tendency to walk around here grumpy because this isn't the ideal life you thought you would have with her. And when you're grumpy, she feels guilty. Things aren't how she wanted them either but she always does her best to make the best of it. But you make her feel like a failure as your wife, your mate and the mother of your children."

Richy shakes his head, "She's everything a man could want and more. And she's a wonderful, loving, kind, understanding, nurturing mother."

"But she knows how you feel," Cougar reminds Richy. "She knows how you wanted things to be. She knows that every time she gives birth to a child you didn't father, that you're disappointed. You need to do like my dad said and try to imagine going without her. Maybe if you could really imagine that, you might truly appreciate having her. Even if it's not the way you wanted it to be, isn't it better than not having her at all. Take it from me, the alternative sucks."

The door to the bedroom shuts and locks. Ba.s.s rubs his hands together eagerly. The fact that neither woman is attracted to him doesn't bother him. The fact that neither woman is aroused by him doesn't bother him either. He'll still have a good time.

"Okay beautiful ladies," says Ba.s.s grinning from ear to ear, "Let's get naked."

Normally, Talia would come in here with just Ba.s.s or just Puddle, not both at the same time. In here with Cougar and Eli at the same time isn't unusual for her. During her time with Fjord, he liked to have Talia and Puddle do things together while he watched. And of course, sometimes Fjord would have himself a three some with Talia and Puddle. The two women weren't excited about it, but learned to find comfort in touching one another. So for Talia and Puddle, it's not about s.e.x. They're not s.e.xually attracted to each other nor other women. It's about comforting each other. For Ba.s.s, it's about s.e.x. He's the only excited person in the room. Things are to the point with him and Talia that he doesn't have to beg or even ask for what he wants to do with her anymore; especially, not in this room. He can just do it or tell her what he wants. Outside of this room, he can technically walk up to Talia and mount her anytime he wants. But he's careful not to disrespect Richy or her other mates. He doesn't want to get the s.h.i.+t kicked out of himself.

"How should we begin," Ba.s.s asks with the two naked women before him. He's so excited, he doesn't know what he wants to do first.

Talia and Puddle both roll their eyes in response to his question. Puddle leads Talia to the king sized bed and both women climb onto the bed together. Ba.s.s stretches across the foot of the bed deciding he'll start by watching the two women. And at first, they just lay there holding each other. Their hands caressing over each other comfortingly until Puddle inches down and takes one of Talia's nipples in her mouth. Talia pushes her fingers through Puddle's hair and kisses her forehead as Puddle suckles at her breast. Puddle slides a hand between Talia's thighs where she messages Talia's c.l.i.t and pushes a finger in and out of her bringing her to a quick little o.r.g.a.s.m. Talia takes a vibrator from the night stand and hands it to Puddle. Ba.s.s watches happily as Puddle works the vibrator in and out of Talia until another o.r.g.a.s.m ripples through her. Next Talia straps on a phallus. Puddle lays back and spreads her legs for Talia. Talia messages her c.l.i.t until she climaxes. Then she works the phallus into Puddle. The movements of her hips are slow and rhythmic as she works the phallus in and out of Puddle.

"Come on Talia," Ba.s.s demands, "f.u.c.k her good and hard."

"Yes, Talia," Puddle agrees breathily, "f.u.c.k me good and hard with that d.i.c.k."

Talia puts Puddle's legs over her shoulders and does as she was told. But the strap on phallus does more than just get Puddle off. At its ba.s.s it has a piece that slides inside the wearer and fits between the wearer's outer l.a.b.i.a against the c.l.i.toris. So as Talia is f.u.c.king Puddle with the strap on, she's stimulating herself as well. And as Puddle is climaxing, so is Talia.

Talia collapses breathless next to Puddle. Ba.s.s has decided he's tired of watching and picks up with Puddle where Talia left off. Puddle already being thoroughly stimulated thrashes wildly beneath Ba.s.s as he f.u.c.ks her. Talia removes the strap on and catches her breath as she holds Puddle's hand while Ba.s.s f.u.c.ks her.

Ba.s.s pushes hard and deep as he c.u.ms inside Puddle. But he's only getting starting. He orders, "Talia, come suck me back up."

Talia crawls around Puddle and kneels between Ba.s.s's legs. Ba.s.s hisses with pleasure as she takes him in her mouth. He pushes her head down as he says, "Yes, yes… suck me b.i.t.c.h, suck me."

"That's good," says Ba.s.s releasing Talia's head. He lifts her face by the chin. "You're a good b.i.t.c.h. Now turn around and stay on your hands and knees."

Talia complies and Ba.s.s mounts her. After a while, he flips her onto her back and pretzels her under him and f.u.c.ks her until she's writhing beneath him and he's close to c.u.mming. Then he flips her onto her stomach. Puddle hands him the lubricant.

They wash up in the locked bedroom's bathroom and wipe themselves down with baby wipes. So when they exit the locked bedroom, all three of them smell way too clean. And Talia and whomever she's been with in the locked bedroom always exit smelling way too clean.

They join everyone else outside. It's a bright happy sunny day and Talia is glad to be outside in the suns.h.i.+ne playing with her children, mates and consorts.

A week goes by and coworkers from Megalopolis come to the estate to spend the work week with Talia at the estate. It won't be all work. They'll have fun too.

Jude hands Talia a package, "This is the package Sheila dropped off at the office."

"Thank you Jude," Talia says accepting the package. "It's a gift for the children. Come on everyone, let's walk it out back to them."

Jude, Sally and the others follow Talia out back. Sally doesn't officially work in Talia's department, but she and Jude come every month. The others are all from Talia's department like Jude. But it's not always the same five people that come with Sally and Jude.

Talia strides along tossing the package in the air as she walks. She comes to a stop as her children gather around her.

"What do you got Mom," asks O.P.

Talia gives it another toss in the air, catches it, holds it out in front of her and looks at it. "A package," she answers as if it isn't special.

"But what's in the package," asks Will.

Other little voices echo him, "What's in it?" "What's in it" "Yeah, what's in it?"

Talia tosses up again, catches it and shrugs, "I don't know."

There's a collective irritated, "Mom!" at Talia.

"Okay, okay," responds Talia amused and smiling. "Well, since Will, O.P. and Maia are the oldest, you three should open it up."

Talia holds the package out and it's s.n.a.t.c.hes from her hands. She hops back out of the way telling the other adults, "Look out!" And she watches with delight as the children shred the package to get to its contents.

"It's a soccer ball," shouts Will triumphantly. And all the children cheer with glee. Then they're all off kicking and chasing the soccer ball.

"Watch out for the little ones," shouts Talia.

Talia and her team set up laptops to work outside. They have lunch with Talia along with her children, tribe members, her mates and consorts. Jude and Sally have each been spending time with a couple of men from Talia's tribe. And all the free folks are on their best behavior while Talia's domestic coworkers and a.s.sociates are visiting.

They have a good work week. Jude's relations.h.i.+p with Grizzly and Sally's relations.h.i.+p with Greywolf's brother Savage are serious. The other coworkers are just hooking up. Both men are sulky when it's time for everyone to leave.

"You're killing me," Savage tells Sally. "Every time you leave it rips my heart out."

"I'll be back," Sally responds with tears in her eyes.

"Do you have any idea how badly I miss you," asks Savage.

"Yes," Sally confesses.

The good-bye conversation between Jude and Grizzly is much more simplistic. Grizzly simply says to Jude, "Stay."

"I will," says Jude speaking of the future.

"Please," pleads Grizzly.

"I can't get out of my lease," states Jude as a tear rolls down her cheek.

Talia steps up and hugs each woman good-bye. She says the same thing to each woman, "When you're ready, you may move into one of my guests houses."

The two women each nod their understanding. They all lode up into the rented minivan and head back to the city to their regular everyday lives. Grizzly deals with this by going off to spend some time by himself for a couple of days. Savage comforts himself with Talia's body.

Yet Greywolf is still worried and concerned for his brother Savage because he's down to only mating with Sally and Talia. He asks Talia, "Can't you talk to her?"

"I have," answers Talia. "She's scared. They're both scared. They're not ready to give up the lives they worked so long and hard to build. Neither has ever been in love before nor ever been so serious about a man before. It's a scary thing. Savage and Grizzly just both need to be patient."

"They've been seeing these two women for nearly three years," Greywolf reminds Talia. "They've been very patient. They want to have children with the women they love."

"And how long did you wait before you found yourself at my side as my consort," Talia ask Greywolf. "…I know it was much longer than three years. Then a couple more years pa.s.sed before we were blessed with Dusk. They just need to be patient and loving… Now, don't tell them this, but Sally and Jude are not planning on renewing their birth control this year. Jude is stuck in an apartment lease like she said, but it ends in six months… But both women are very nervous. Everyone has always been on their best behavior while we have domestics visiting. And both women understand that they won't necessarily get the man that they love to themselves and that they may occasionally need to share themselves with a man that isn't the man they love… They're both still trying to wrap their domesticated heads around that."

Greywolf nods his understanding to Talia. Margie, who's eight months pregnant with her first child by Bob stays with him in the city while he's working. She stops by the estate to visit with Talia, but she won't stay here with Bob. She's decided it's better to share him than go without him, but she shares him on her own terms and Greywolf has talked to her and she's shared how hard it still is for her to share Bob.

While having dinner at the adult picnic tables, Windwalker asks Richy if Talia can come visit in Air Territory for a couple of weeks. Richy actually thinks it's a good idea for Talia to get away from the estate for a while. Since the children started coming she hasn't been able to go off on her own. She gets plenty of time outside with the children and other women. But a good long hike and sometime away from the estate would be good for her. Plus it will give him some time to think of a plan without everyone looking at him like; well dude, come on.

They decide on who's going, how to tote the younger children, what food stuffs and supplies to carry. Richy nor Cougar can go because they both have work. Although, they have taken their vacations at the same time so they could both go up and visit in Air Territory with everyone else to visit. But it's been a couple of years since they've visited. And Talia hasn't gone without them since she helped Roar escort Stinger to Breeze.

Talia gets three weeks where she's not worried about Fjord or Sheila. She doesn't think about work nor how to help her two love struck domestic friends overcome their fears or her two love struck tribesmen that want their domestic lovers to leave their lives in the city for them. The only unpleasantness occurs when they're getting ready to return to the estate from Air Territory.

An Air elder named Flurry steps up to Talia and accuses, "You weaken us."

"Flurry," shouts Windwalker angrily as he heads toward Talia and Flurry.

Talia puts a hand up to Windwalker stopping him and tells him, "Let him speak his mind. He is an elder and knows much more than you and I, and we will respect that."

Flurry continues, "You weaken us. Our chief divides his time between the care of his tribe and you. He mates with no one but you, and you have so many mates and consorts that while you have whelped eight children since becoming his mate, only one is his child. Winter is his only child, and Windwalker deserves a mate what loves him enough to be at his side at all times, not one who lives with one foot in the tame world and is busy cultivating her own little Civilized Tribe."

"I hear and understand your concerns," acknowledges Talia. "But you need to remember, he chose me for his mate, not I him. And I have accepted him as my mate because he has proven to be a good mate despite the inappropriate way he attached himself to me. And he was well aware that I already had three mates when he chose me… As for him mating with no else but me that is not something I have asked of him nor any of my mates and consorts. It's their choice. They are free to mate with other females. I certainly can't give each the time he truly deserves."

"Flurry," Windwalker's anger waning, "I know I am gone a lot. Do not blame Talia for this. I chose her against her will and without the permission of the three mates she already had. I am just truly grateful that they have accepted me… And while you worry about how this is affecting the tribe; as of yet, there have been no negative effects on our tribe, quite the opposite. We are interacting more with other tribes again and because of this our choices for mates has broadened for everyone in our tribe. And we're setting up roadside stands again, trading for items we cannot grow or make ourselves. I know you enjoy the rice we've traded for from domestics. And the women enjoy the silk that comes from Dragon Tribe. And many of our women enjoy the attention they get from Talia's older brother, Roar. My sister Aura is expecting her second child by Roar. He has fathered a few children for our tribe. Without new blood from other tribes, a tribe would suddenly find themselves with no available mates because everyone is a relative… And when there is someone who can take my place as chief without running our tribe into the ground, I will gladly step aside as chief and live with Talia for the rest of my days. Until then, you and the other elders do a fine job of running things when I am not present… Now, I'm going to escort my mate home. Breeze will be here in my place while I'm gone. We will be alternating going to see Talia for a while so one of us will always be present for a time."

This seemed to appease Flurry. Then minus Breeze, who made sure he got intimate time with Talia just before they left, they returned to Talia's estate.

It feels good to be home. Yet the thought occurs to Talia that if Fjord is watching closely like she suspects, he didn't like her absence. She wasn't in the habit of disappearing deep into Wild Mountain Territory. And she's sure he didn't appreciate her going someplace where he had no way of watching her.