Chapter 46: Chapter 45 - Takeshi

Thursday 24 December

~*Takeshi’s POV*~

“Auden tells me you can hear your wolf now?” I asked.

I had to keep an air of professionalism in this environment as we were conducting Warrior Training shortlist interviews, but inside, I was ecstatic. Hearing about Nat’s wolf had intrigued me, and this was the first time I’d been able to sit down and talk to her about it.

I watched Nat squirm in her seat opposite me. Frowning, I glanced to my right to see Spence leaning back in his chair, arms crossed and staring daggers at her. Emery was at the end of the meeting room table next to Spence, not looking at anyone because he was taking notes as we talked.

I turned to my left to see Kennedy smiling at her in encouragement, his hands loosely clasped on top of the table. Casey was at the other end of the meeting room table, next to Kennedy, and leaning back in his chair. There was a front of disinterest, but the sparkle in his eyes let me know he was hanging on every word.

Nat nodded. “Alex showed up a couple of days ago.”

“Have you been able to shift yet?” Emery asked, his head still lowered, writing down everything that was being said.

“No, not yet.” Her hands twisted nervously on the table. “Auden told me that if I haven’t shifted before next Wednesday, I’d have to because of the full moon.”

“That’s correct.” Emery paused his scribbling and finally looked up at Nat. “All wolves must shift on the night of the full moon between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six. Given what we know of your history, we expect you to shift then, if not before.”

Nat gulped. “Okay,” she said in a small voice. I could see that she was trying desperately to put on a confident front, but she was incredibly nervous. With Spence glaring at her, I decided I couldn’t blame her in the slightest.

“You know why you’re here today talking to us?” I asked.

“You’re interviewing each of the campers to see what their plans are for next year.” She fiddled with the ends of her long sleeves. “I’m not sure why you wanted to see me, though.”

I felt Spence turn in his seat to stare at me. I ignored him entirely. “We were curious to see what your plans were.” Spence let out a very audible scoff, making me frown. He and I were going to have words about this later.

“Honestly, I haven’t thought about it,” Nat said apologetically. “I always thought I’d have my memory back by now, so I figured it was a moot point to consider my future here.”

I tilted my head to one side but said nothing.

Emery decided to fill the silence. “Auden would have told you that there’s a chance you might never get your memory back, correct?”

“That’s correct,” Nat said, letting her head hang forward. “But I was hoping…” she trailed off.

“If wishes were horses…” Casey muttered with a sigh.

Nat lifted her head and looked at Casey with a slight frown on her face. “What does that mean?”

“It means that we need to think of contingencies for you, Nat,” I said. I saw both Casey and Kennedy nod in agreement and heard a grumble of dissatisfaction from Spence. “If your memory doesn’t return, would you be happy to remain in Matlock?” Spence’s grumbling grew louder. I turned to him and narrowed my eyes at him.

“ENOUGH.”

Spence lowered his eyes in submission and stopped his grumbling, but I knew he wasn’t happy that I had used my Alpha command on him. I didn’t care. He was being incredibly rude.

“Matlock provided for me when I had nothing. I would be honoured to stay here.” She beamed at me. “I’m sure I could find a job somewhere in town.”

“Would you be interested in training to be a Matlock Warrior?” Kennedy asked.

I felt Spence’s hackles rise, but he stayed silent. I saw Kennedy twitch when he felt the tension roll off me in response to how Spence was reacting. Kennedy tapped his fingers on the table rhythmically to get Spence and me to focus on the sound rather than on each other.

“I’m not sure I’m good enough,” Nat said, chewing her bottom lip.

“Your skill at sparring has been extraordinary, Nat,” Kennedy said, still tapping his fingers. “We can work on your offense, but no-one has come close to you in defence. Not for a very long time.”

“And you have shown a great aptitude for strategic thinking,” Casey added. “Your ideas in the Capture the Flag sessions have kept most of us on our toes.” I could hear the delight in Casey’s voice, even if no-one else could. He used to be a master at Capture the Flag, so I appreciated that he recognised her talent there.

Nat’s cheeks started darkening in embarrassment.

“I’ve heard that you and Bells have also found more of the caches than any team has for the past five years,” I said, as Kennedy nodded. “Therefore, your hunting and navigation skills are at an excellent base too. It will be interesting to see how you develop once you’re able to shift.”

Nat blinked in shock. “I don’t know what to say.” I noticed she was still fidgeting, but not as much as she had when she first sat down.

“You’d be a good fit, Nat,” Kennedy said. “Now that Alex has shown up, maybe have a chat with her to see what she thinks?”

“Good point,” she said. She stared off into the middle distance and tilted her head to the side, almost like she was listening to someone, even though no-one was talking.

I watched her with curiosity. I’d seen this habit plenty of times with sixteen-year-olds. Considering that it had only been two days since her wolf had started talking to her and she had already broken the practice of responding to her out loud, I knew it wouldn’t be too long before she would break this habit as well.

“Alex says it would be beneficial for me to accept any offer put forward by Alpha Takeshi of the Matlock Pack.” Nat beamed at me. Once more, I felt Spence bristle at her wording.

“In that case, the five of us will discuss your application to the Matlock Warrior Training course over the next few days.” I smiled at her, completely ignoring Spence’s growing unsettlement.

“I feel honoured that you would consider me,” Nat bowed her head forward.

“Thanks Nat. You can go now,” Kennedy said.

She nodded and got up to leave.

Kennedy sat back once she’d left the room. “We’ve still got a few to go, but what say we all head off for lunch now and come back in an hour?”

Everyone except Spence made affirmative sounding noises, so we packed up our things and headed out. I had some leftovers back in my apartment that I’d been thinking about all morning, so I headed in that direction.

Of course, Spence decided he wanted to do the same thing. Considering that he lived on the same floor as me, I couldn’t say anything, but I knew once we were both in the elevator, he was going to start bitching and moaning about what had just transpired.

I wasn’t wrong. As soon as the elevator doors shut, he let loose.

“You can’t be serious, Takeshi.” His face started turning a wonderful shade of red.

I figured I had six levels to make him turn purple. I stood at the back of the elevator with my hands behind my back and let him pace in front of me.

“She’s got just as much right to be a Warrior as any of the other campers.”

“No, she doesn’t. She’s not one of us. She’s not pack.” His frown deepened with each sentence.

“She could be.”

Spence stopped in front of me and pointed a finger at my sternum. “Don’t you fucking dare think about it.”

Not moving from where I stood, I lazily looked down at his finger, then slowly brought my gaze back to his furious face, now turning a delightful shade of violet. I smiled to myself. I knew I could do it.

We stared at each other until the elevator chimed, letting us know we had reached the desired floor. He followed me out and down the hall.

“You know the Council has a say in who becomes a member of the pack, Takeshi.”

“I’m well aware of the rules, Spence. I’m also very aware that I’m still the Alpha of this pack. A fact that you might want to think about before you forget your place.” I paused at my door to swipe my bracelet at my door, staring him down as he stood before me. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, my lunch is waiting.”

He glared at me, his jaw ticking as he watched me enter my apartment and shut the door in his face. I breathed a sigh of relief when the door latched shut.

“Tough morning?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” I smiled, then turned to find Nahi sitting naked on my couch. Gidja was standing on the kitchen bench pecking her way through the small bowl of birdseed. “I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon. What’s the occasion? Coming to wish me a Merry Christmas?” I walked over to my fridge to get my leftovers out. “Would you like some?” I held up the container.

“Thank you, but no.” She rose from her seat and came over to me. “I’ve come for payment.”

I paused, then slowly shut the microwave door. “Do I have time to eat first?” My stomach must have heard me as it growled just as I finished asking the question.

She laughed. “Of course, Takeshi. Never let it be said I kept you from your lunch.” She settled herself on the barstool at the kitchen bench and watched Gidja.

I smiled and bowed my head in thanks, then set the microwave to do its thing. “I know you didn’t want any of my leftovers, but would you like me to get you anything else? A drink of water, perhaps?”

She shook her head. “I only came to settle our debt.”

I continued getting what I needed for my lunch. Once the cutlery was out and a glass of water drawn, I sat on the barstool next to her. “Now’s not really the greatest time.”

She reached forward and stroked my cheek, her markings faintly glowing on her face. “I know. But it must be now.”

“For how long?”

“At least the rest of your lunch break.” The backs of her fingers continued to stroke my cheek, and I leaned into them. “Would it matter if you’re a little late getting back?”

A tired smile grew on my face. “The way this morning went? Not at all.”

She smiled in understanding but said nothing in response.

We let the enjoyable silence drift over us until the microwave beeped. I sighed as our pleasant bubble broke. I watched Gidja take flight through the room to land on the balcony railing outside.

Once I got my lunch, I stood at the kitchen bench to eat. “You’re aware that Nat is hearing her wolf now?”

She rose from her seat and started wandering the room, looking at everything that she had seen dozens, if not hundreds, of times before. The apartment hadn’t changed since her very first visit all those years ago. “I am.”

“You know of the troubles I’m having with Spence and the Council?”

“I do.”

“The Borderlands?”

“Yes.”

I shoved an overlarge serving into my mouth to give me some time to think. “Is there anything that you don’t know?”

She turned to me with a wry grin on her face but remained quiet.

I laughed. “You knew I had to try?”

“I did.” Her smile grew.

I washed my lunch down with the remaining water in my glass, then popped the now-empty container into the sink to wash later. I looked up to find Nahi watching me carefully from the other side of the room.

“Are you ready?”

I inclined my head. “As much as I can be.”

I blinked once, and Nahi was behind me. She wrapped her arms around me, her fingers deftly moving their way down my torso, undoing my shirt buttons as they moved. I held the edge of the kitchen bench with both hands to fool myself into thinking that I was steady when I was anything but.

She worked my shirt off, first lifting one arm from the bench, then the other. Coaxing me away from the kitchen bench, she turned me around to face her. Her fingers drifted down my bare torso, the barest of caresses enough to light up all the markings on her body, and kick-starting my own needs into gear. Her eyes began shimmering but hadn’t turned lilac yet. I knew from past payment sessions that would come later.

Staring into each other’s eyes, we shuffled towards my bedroom, her hands undoing my belt buckle, then unzipping my pants. I tested the boundaries by lifting a hand next to her cheek but not touching her. The colour in her eyes flared briefly, before she moved her face mere millimetres from my hand but stopped herself from leaning that last tiny distance. She wasn’t ready yet.

Her fingers were still at work, unbuttoning my pants and springing my now very hard cock free from its confines. She guided me towards the bed and pushed me to sit on the edge. Kneeling in front of me, she removed my shoes and socks and coaxed me to lie back. Once I was where she wanted me, she removed the last pieces of clothing I was wearing until I was as naked as she had been since I walked in to get my lunch.

She softly trailed her hands up my thighs, then my torso, as she rose over me and onto the bed. My cock twitched, first at the ticklish feelings she was giving me, then again when I saw how bright her markings glowed. She was in full absorption mode now.

Wasting no more time, she slowly lowered herself onto my waiting cock. I groaned as I slid into her easily, her hands on my chest to keep her balance. Gripping the bedcover with one hand, I raised the other to hover in front of her breast and waited for her to make the connection. She rose and fell once, then leaned forward into my waiting palm. I wasted no time in massaging her breast, slowly at first, then harder when her movements became more insistent.

Nahi reached for my hand that was gripping the bedcover and brought it to her other breast. She rode me easily, knowing exactly how to bring us both to orgasm. She held my hands to her breasts, encouraging my kneading, leaning into my hands as she moved.

I could hear her breath hitch as she got closer to the edge, before finally crying out when the feelings all became too much. I felt her orgasm call mine and as I pulsed into her, her markings blazed brilliantly in time with her contractions until they faded back to the steady glow of our typical connection.

Our breathing slowed, but she didn’t rise off me, preferring to let me soften inside her. She leaned forward and lay on my chest, moving my hands around her waist to let me know she wanted me to embrace her. When she let go and brought her hands back to my chest, I moved my hands up her back and held her to me, letting her head rest against my chin.

I held her there in silence for several minutes, simply letting her body absorb what it needed. I sometimes wondered if this simple connection after completion was what she craved more than the act of sex itself, so I was happy to hold her until she decided she was ready to move.

Finally, she started stirring, the top of her head brushing against my chin. I smiled into her hair when she tweaked my nipple, my cock already stirring for round two, still inside of her.

She rolled us over and kept me close, her arms reaching around my broad torso, her lips drifting across my own.

It was time for the next payment.