Page 16 of Her Wolves

When I opened my eyes again, I found Melanie staring into space, obviously trying to imagine the time I was having with my very attentive protectors.“Just one of them would be enough to keep anyone happy, but two, and soon three…The old faiths of Earth used to have this saying about someone’s ’cup running over’.Right now, Tara, it’s not exactly your ‘cup’ that’s ’running over,’ is it?”

She gave me a naughty, mischievous smile and I couldn’t help bursting out laughing.“Melanie!What a way to talk!I can’t believe you’d say a thing like that!”Cackling, I almost doubled over.

“But it’s true, isn’t it?” Melanie said, starting to laugh herself now.“Everyone knows about male lycanthropes and how they keep coming back for more, just like everyone knows about you being with them.One of them is a lot to handle, but three!”She put a hand on her stomach as if to hold in the laughs.“Oh, Tara, I don’t know whether to envy you or give you a goodbye hug.”

“It’s not as if I’ll never be on my feet again,” I said, the laughs subsiding.“They’re the ones responsible for watching over me.Their assignment is to do what I say.And if I tell them I need a rest, they’ll let me rest.”

Melanie raised an eyebrow suggestively at me.“For how long?Tara, that Nick Travis is a ‘Leader of the Pack’ type if I ever saw one.And the other two will always fall right in line behind him.You can give them orders, but you’re going to be like their ‘territory.’And a wolf in his territory will always go with his instincts.”

“I know they’re wolves at heart,” I reminded her, “but they’re trained and disciplined like men.When I say I want them only on the duties that have actually been assigned to them—actually guarding me—they’ll back off.”

“But they’ll always come back,” she said.“Wolves are relentless.That’s how they chased off the Soorns the last time.They’re stunningly gorgeous men on the outside, but whatever shape they’re in, those guys are always wolves.Relentless.You’re going to be getting in the bedroom what the Soorns got in battle, that’s all I’m saying.”

Shaking my head and sighing, I said, “Oh, it’s back to the ‘naive, sheltered Princess’ thing again.I am really not that fragile, and they’ll do as I say.”I said that last part firmly, and meant it.

“Mm-hmm,” said Melanie.“And they’ll still get what they want.They’ll only ‘back off’ so far, I’m telling you.Maybe they know how to take orders, but they also know how to take charge, and what those three are going to take charge of is you.”

“Well, that’s not such a bad thing, then,” I said.“They won’t let anything get near me—except them.Having them for a buffer between me and everyone else won’t be bad at all.Kris is coming back on duty in a couple of hours, and I’m looking forward to it.”

“ ‘Coming back on duty,’ ”Melanie repeated.“He’ll be ‘coming on’ something else soon too.”And she again gave me that suggestively raised eyebrow.

I just chuckled at her.As naughty and risqué as she was being, it did me good to know that I’d taken her mind off what she’d been through.I’d done my duty as a friend and helped Melanie.But of course she was right.In my times with Canis Guard men, the only time I’d ever had more than one of them at once was that one time in the shower with Nick and Lon.Now I would have three of them to deal with, and as exciting and arousing as the idea was, I’d have my work cut out for me.This was going to be a challenge.

But it was a challenge that I was prepared to meet.

CHAPTER 8

Kris

I wanted to be ready for Tara, Nick, and Lon when they came to pick me up from the Infirmary.I needed them to know from the beginning that I’d always be ready—for anything.

They found me up and out of bed, back in uniform with my arm out of that sleeve, looking as if nothing had happened.I was ready to begin my new duties—all of them.There were other people in the room, some of whom had come to pick up their own friends who had grappled with the Soorns’ mutations, and there were doctors present to give all the affected Guards a final scan with handheld medical sensors.Everyone checked out fine, and the Infirmary honored the usual protocol of having floater chairs brought out to bring all the patients to the lobby.I grumbled about this—“I don’t need to be floated out; I’m fine”—but like everyone else, I stuck to the protocols and Tara, Nick, and Lon, along with a nurse, walked out with me while I sat impatiently in my chair.The moment we got to the lobby, I bolted up and wanted to get out of there.

“So what’s the plan for today?” I wanted to know.“There is one, isn’t there?”I wanted to emphasize that I was definitely recovered.

“Yes,” Tara said.“There is one.We’re going back to the Manor to get some provisions.And then we’re going to have a little outing.”

“An outing?” I said, disappointed.I had assumed we were going to get right to a particular thing once the Infirmary gave me the all-clear and let me out.“But I thought…”I looked atLon and Nick, who already seemed to know what Tara had in mind for this first day of the three of us being together.

“Just follow the Princess’s orders, Lieutenant Tynan,” Nick told me, “and don’t ask questions.”

Tara nodded at me, and I accepted what I was told like a good Guard.With that, we were quickly on our way.

*****

We went back to the Manor, where Tara changed her outfit for off-white riding clothes and boots.We got supplies for her planned outing and loaded them aboard a hover car.Then we took a short ride across the property to the Regency Stables, where our day would really begin.

Tara had arranged for the four of us to ride melobeasts out into the countryside.She told us she had learned as a girl to ride these magnificent animals, which were like mighty elks the size of Clydesdale horses, and how to groom them and keep their huge antlers trimmed short.All Canis Guards were also trained to ride them in case they were called upon for Mounted duty, and the melobeasts themselves were carefully conditioned not to react with instinctive panic to humans who were also wolves.There was one beast that Tara always rode, and Lon, Nick, and I each picked out one for ourselves.Nick had me take us three guys’ saddle bags up to the loft on the second level by myself—the lowest-ranking member of Tara’s personal guard having to take on the grunt work.I took orders without complaining and got the bags to the space up above the stalls that Tara had reserved for our later use.Then the four of us got up in our saddles on our beasts and rode from the stables and into the lush, green fields that awaited us outside.

When we trotted the beasts out into the wide-open spaces with the Manor grounds behind us and a forest in the distancebefore us, we spurred our mounts into a gallop and we Guards went immediately into formation.Nick charged ahead of the rest of us, putting himself in the lead, while Lon and I galloped along either side of Tara.At the same time, Nick reached into a pocket on the top of his uniform and tossed something into the air.The little drone took flight and spun up and away, positioning itself exactly above Tara and keeping perfect pace with her.No matter how fast she had her beast gallop, and no matter where she might turn, the flying device would stay exactly where it was, relative to where she was, while we three guards would skillfully keep ourselves in our protective triangle formation around her.We would have her 12, 3, and 9, while the sensors and scanners in the drone would watch above and behind us and sound a warning if anything came in from above.She was inside our defensive perimeter, and we would act instantly at the first sign of any danger.

I looked ahead to Nick, galloping a few lengths ahead of Tara, he turned and looked over his shoulder at her.He had a confident, almost cocky smile.On the other side of her from me rode Lon, glancing her way and laughing as he went.The Lieutenant’s manner suggested that the fun of this day was not even getting started.From Tara’s right-hand side, I smiled as broadly as the other two, my eyes narrowed in a laser-like focus.I looked over at her and ran my eyes up and down her body from where I sat in my saddle.This melobeast was hardly the most pleasing thing I’d be “mounting” today.I broke into a laugh to match Lon.Everything that I had already been through to protect her would soon prove to be very much worth it.

Not far from where the field ended and the forest began, we brought the beasts to a stop at a hitching and watering post.We Guards dismounted first.Nick walked over to Tara and offered her a hand as she swung a leg over and climbed down.Kris detached her saddle bag, the one that we’d kept, and wetethered the beasts to the post and let the animals rest and have a drink.The three of us walked over to a spot nearby and Kris opened the bag.From it we took a big blanket and the food and wine that Tara packed with it, and together we sat down with the Princess for a picnic lunch.

We whiled away part of the afternoon entertaining her with stories about where we came from and our experiences in training.I now started to learn about the two men whom I’d be sharing this duty with.Lon belonged to a very important and influential family in one of the newer settlements of Lycia.They were new in society, coming up the ranks politically and starting to gather influence.When Lon told Tara that his father planned to run against Prime Regent Landon in the next election, and that if his father won it would make Lon a Prince, Tara laughed.“If you become the next Prince of Lycia,” she said, “you’ll have the whole colony talking about who you’re spending your time with.”

Lon gave her a wolfish grin.“I guess I’ll have to find some Guard woman to keep me busy—unless someone else has some other ideas.”

---